Chapter 1601: Temporary Understanding

"You’re...finally...here," Yan Hai muttered.

"I am, so hold on," Qiyuan said before casting a spell: [Protect Origin of Life]. While he hadn’t learned Wang Wei’s observation technique because he didn’t meet the requirement, he still learned a great deal from studying the technique. One of his achievements was this spell that allowed him to protect [Existence] and prevent it from collapsing.

His sister was in pretty bad shape, so Qiyuan immediately used this spell to appease her situation. "You’re in terrible shape."

"I know, but it was worth it."

"Is it?"

"Yes, so buy me enough time to finish what I started," Yan Hai said.

Qiyuan sighed. After years of living, fighting, and dying together, he knew better than to persuade her about things related to achieving the pinnacle of swordsmanship. So, he fixed his eyes on the winged beast that the Glass Pen Sage was trying to get through.

"Grand Chancellor, you need to wake up," Glass Pen said while holding a bell that emitted a strange melody or frequency. Literary Way cultivators are known for their abilities to deal with demons or devils, and the Sage used one of these methods and boosted it with the destiny of the entire Literary Way.

A moment of confusion flashed in the beast’s eyes; the madness retreated before returning, forming this eternal cycle of struggle. "Humans and beasts are different at a fundamental level, and our intelligence best manifests that. Grand Chancellor, are you a human or a beast?" His words resonated with the bell, but it angered the creature even more.

’Damn it, he can’t fall like this,’ Glass Pen Sage thought. While he had many criticisms of Dugu Baitian, he also understood the latter’s importance to the alliance. If he dies or becomes a mindless beast, their faction will be annihilated. And that was not an exaggeration.

Most of the Overlords might survive in some shape or form if their leader or Ancestor-tier character dies, but not the alliance. Unlike other factions that decentralized their power, Dugu Baitian held control of most of the alliance’s Qi Luck, meaning that if he dies, the backlash will be devastating.

Secondly, the chances of the Earth Sword God remaining loyal to the alliance are almost zero. He might even take his own life to follow his master. The best outcome would be to convince him to continue and find a method to revive Dugu Baitian, but the likelihood of success is unknown.

Finally, the outer members of the alliance — whom Dugu Baitian had arm-twisted into joining — would immediately revolt once their faction’s luck was no longer tied to the overall coalition. Glass Pen Sage cares about two things: the prosperity of his True Education Academy and the rise and return of the Literary Way to be on equal ground with Buddhism and Taoism.

The death of Dugu Baitian would be extremely detrimental to these things. His academy will not be untouched by the luck backlash, and the last thing they currently need is to be weakened. The existence of Emperor Kong is a sign that Glass Pen might be losing his status as the leader of the Literary Way, and such a blow would only accelerate things.

"I think it may be useless," Qiyuan said as he appeared next to him. Glass Pen Sage did not hide his annoyance. He couldn’t help it. A while ago, this bastard was beating him up like a young man abusing an elderly person. But now, they had to work together.

"Instead of talking all this nonsense, why don’t you help me?" Glass Pen Sage said in a sharp tone. However, Qiyuan’s focus remained on Dugu Baitian. If not for his sister’s safety, he would have used this opportunity to send this bastard into Limbo.

"One of the darkest truths of this universe is that everyone is a pawn of someone or something. You should understand this, so why were you messing with powers beyond your comprehension?’ Qiyuan shook his head before raising his hand.

[Origin of Mind]

All things in the world have a beginning — an origin. Qiyuan’s Dao is to interact, influence, and use these origins. Two intertwining orbs appeared on his palm: one red and one blue. "This is worse than I thought," he frowned.

"What is it?"

"Whatever power he was using has already corrupted 35% of his mind. Once it passes the 50%, he’ll be gone forever."

"That also means there is still time."

"Yes, but not much."

"How about we ask the others for help?" Glass Pen Sage suggested. "My Mind Suppression Bell won’t last long, and I don’t think we alone can deal with him."

Qiyuan squinted. The sage’s objective might be to save Dugu Baitian, but that was not his. The current situation might be a perfect opportunity to eliminate the Grand Sect Alliance by eliminating their leader. However, he needed to plan carefully. The last thing he wanted was for Dugu Baitian to regain consciousness and retain all the powers from this red beast.

’How long do you need to sublimate?’ Qiyuan asked through divine sense.

’I don’t know exactly, but I’m almost there,’ Yan Hai replied.

’Do you think you can kill this beast in one blow?’

’Definitely.’

’Good. But don’t meditate inside the Void Battlefield.’ The last thing he wanted was for her to become a target in the upcoming fight. Qiyuan then sent a message to Wang Chong and Li Ming before finally replying to Glass Pen. "There is no need."

"But —"

"I’ll try to separate their connection." Qiyuan used his right hand to separate the red and blue orbs. The Glass Pen Sage glanced at him before secretly communicating with his other companions.

"ROAR."

A shockwave pushed Qiyuan and the Sage thousands of miles away while annihilating the Mind Suppression Bell. "What’s happening? What have you done?"

"The good news is the corruption has decreased by 5%," Qiyuan replied.

"The bad news?"

"The other consciousness is fighting back."

As soon as his words ended, Dugu Baitian grew another pair of wings, two red horns that curved on the back, claws on his feet, four sharp fangs, and a second row of teeth on both the lower and upper jaw.

"Damn it," Glass Sage Pen cursed. The fact that the leader was losing his humanoid characteristics was the worst sign possible. It also made him suspicious. "A dedicated and well-trained mind full of virtue can see through the veil of the world." The Sage’s eyes turned golden as he observed the beast.

Qiyuan was not lying. Another mind or will was slowly corrupting the leader, and his technique did alleviate the problem. However, he did it in such an aggressive manner that it was bound to elicit a backlash from the other consciousness.

The Sage waved his pen and started writing in the air. His poem turned into an angel — not a being with wings — but a beautiful maiden with a celestial raiment. Before the light race became popular among God-Path Cultivators, celestial maidens were once their messengers, representing the connection between the mortal and Heavenly Realms.

The heavenly maiden carried a mirror that she gently pointed at this beast, releasing an intense purifying light. However, the creature did not even enact any form of protection and allowed the spell to hit him. It then looked at Glass Pen with disdain, making the latter redder than the beast’s aura. This was one of his most powerful spells, but it was insignificant.

Glass Pen Sage swiftly calmed down. This was a reality check. Five-tier Grand Construct Skills are essentially useless in this fight. Without much hesitation or fuss, he summoned a golden tally in the shape of a pen and scroll. The tally dissipated into his body. With the Luck Condensing Artifact of the Literary Way, Glass Pen Sage could finally reach the requirement for the last Grand Construct: the River of Fate.

’But this is not enough,’ he thought. While Qiyuan did not have Yan Hai’s attack potency, he made up for it with his versatility. Before he proved the Dao, he was known as the man with 3,000 innate talents, and to some degree, he has preserved that title. So, the sage utilized the advantage that allowed him to fight off someone of Qiyuan’s caliber for so long: a third-stage Golden Body of Merit.

Although it was on the low end, it did not matter. Glass Pen Sage spent countless years developing the concept of the academy to ensure the prosperity of the Literary Way. Although he did not originate this concept, as academies existed before or during the Tribulation Era, he was the one who spread it throughout the Eternal Ascension World.

Glass Pen Sage fused with his golden body, feeling more secure than ever. More importantly, he could feel the fatigue from the previous spell rapidly recuperating. A light of ambition flashed in Glass Pen’s eyes. One day, when he has truly mastered the last Grand Construct, he will be unstoppable with the stamina blessing of the Golden Body.