Chapter 797 — The Enigma of Truth and Falsehood

The Lingxiao Hall was steeped in a killing austerity.

This place had once been the Northern Heavenly Court of the Supreme Emperor's era, and the Lingxiao Hall was where the Supreme Emperor held court with his assembled ministers, where the gods deliberated—hence the vast expanse of the great hall.

Now, within this hall, gods great and small numbered in the thousands, their faces drawn with panic as they watched the pair of "man and woman" locked in a qin duel at the center, fearful of being caught in the crossfire.

The sound of the qin rose within the hall. Of the two players, one was the scholar, a donkey standing behind her; the other was the Red Emperor Qi Xiayu, rosy clouds trailing behind her in streaks and bands like phoenix feathers.

The two faced east and west, no one else near them—even the mightiest demigods kept their distance.

The two played with abandon. The scholar was wild and unconstrained, her qin spinning ceaselessly around her, as though she had grown countless arms, fingers flying in a display of terrifying skill. In melody and fingering alike, she was flawless!

Yet the Red Emperor Qi Xiayu seemed utterly at ease, lacking the scholar's profusion of technique, possessing instead a plain and unadorned quality—and yet her music brimmed with surging, monumental emotion!

The scholar's mastery of technique was unmatched, beyond even Qi Xiayu's ability to rival—a veritable paragon of perfect melody. But in emotion, she fell far short of Qi Xiayu.

Her qin music held emotion too, but not the abundant, ever-shifting passion of Qi Xiayu's.

The two qin melodies clashed in mortal combat. The space around them twisted, stretched, became layer upon layer of membrane—space itself seemed to transform into visible musical notes, leaping and dancing around them!

Gradually the scholar began to falter. Her qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting had all reached heights unmatched in the world, yet it was precisely this natural deficiency in emotion that barred her from advancing further.

The four Celestial Masters of the Kaihuang era each had their achievements, each their strengths—but the scholar's temperament held flaws, and she could not match Qi Xiayu's courage to love and hate, her surging passion.

Her faltering grew apparent. Suddenly the donkey behind her reared up on its hind legs, transforming into a Donkey Demon King, its great mouth gaping as it brayed—hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw—piercing to the extreme.

The two women's qin music fell into chaos; each pressed a hand to her strings.

The donkey's braying was so shrill it made every powerful being in the Lingxiao Hall frown deeply and cover their ears.

Within the hall, whether demigod or god or demon, all watched the two with alarm—even the donkey inspired a measure of dread.

These two in their qin duel—thankfully they aimed at each other. Had they aimed at the others, the mighty in this hall would surely have suffered grievous casualties.

Yet six or seven people showed no change of expression, clearly each with something to rely upon, their cultivation and strength exceedingly high—they did not fear the scholar and Qi Xiayu.

"Hahahaha, I have lost after all!"

The scholar put away her qin and bowed to the Red Emperor Qi Xiayu. "The Red Emperor's skill is indeed extraordinary. After all these years, you can still best me by a notch."

"Celestial Master Zixi is too kind."

Qi Xiayu rose and returned the courtesy, her gaze flickering—she too feared the scholar immensely, unwilling to fight her to the death. She smiled. "The Earth Mother Venerable God has not yet appeared, and we have already dueled a round. Would that not make us the laughingstock?"

The scholar's gaze swept across the thousand hundred powerful beings in the hall, and she smiled. "The envoy of the Outer Heavenly Court, the Supreme Emperor's Sword God, and those under the Earth Mother, and the Red Emperor, and the Kaihuang Celestial Master—we are all gathered here, having braved perils on the road, enduring untold hardships to come to this place. Yet the host is nowhere to be seen. What sort of logic is that?"

Qi Xiayu seemed somewhat languid, surveying the surroundings, and smiled. "Indeed. Rumor had it that the Earth Mother Venerable God died long ago, yet now she suddenly appears, the Primal Realm resurfaces in the world, and she summons her old followers. Though I am the Red Emperor of the Heavenly Court, I did after all serve the Earth Mother in my early years—how could I not come to pay my respects? A pity—I still have not seen the Earth Mother Venerable God."

Suddenly her gaze fell upon Bai Qú'er, who stood with a sword on her back, plainly dressed, her eyes turned toward her.

Qi Xiayu felt a pang of guilt and hastily shifted her gaze away.

Her gaze met a one-armed man, who carried a divine blade on his back and bowed slightly to her.

Qi Xiayu nodded lightly, thinking, "Luo Wushuang of the Divine Blade has come—so there are other Heavenly Court powerhouses as well. The Earth Mother is indeed dead. Could it be that the Heavenly Court has secretly arranged this, using the Earth Mother's name to lure these people here and wipe them out in one sweep?"

The hall was a混杂 of dragons and snakes—whether demigod or god or demon, each had their own purpose, none of them simple.

Qi Xiayu also saw many terrifying beings among the demigods—though their abilities did not match hers, their numbers were not few, and all were troublesome characters.

And outside the hall, there were countless more demigods, ranks orderly, standing silently beyond the Lingxiao Hall as though soldiers awaiting inspection.

Suddenly a voice came from the rear hall, laughing. "I have kept you all waiting. The Earth Mother will arrive shortly."

The powerful beings of note in the hall all turned toward the sound. Where the voice had come from, several young women rounded a screen, escorting a girl out.

The girl had delicate features, red lips and white teeth. At first, surrounded by the women as she emerged from behind the screen, only half her face was visible. When she turned her face, everyone in the hall felt their hearts stir, secretly praising, "What a handsome creature."

The girl's halo flickered faintly behind her head. She greeted the assembly. "In those years, my master the Earth Mother Venerable God suffered a grievous wound and had no choice but to seal the Primal Realm. Now the Primal Realm has resurfaced in the world, and so my master has summoned you all here, intending to reunite her old followers and rise again."

"My master? This girl is the Earth Mother Venerable God's disciple?" The hearts of all present shook.

Qi Xiayu looked at the girl and smiled. "Waiting a while longer is no matter. But I was not aware that the Earth Mother ever took a disciple. The Earth Mother never accepted disciples—even the Supreme Emperor of the Northern Heavenly Court was mostly her child. You, a disciple—this perplexes me somewhat."

The girl smiled faintly. "The Earth Mother originally took no disciples, but after suffering that grievous wound last time, she took me as one. The Red Emperor once pulled my master's carriage—what could you possibly know?"

Qi Xiayu forcibly suppressed her anger and smiled. "When the Earth Mother comes out, I will settle accounts with you then, little girl."

Bai Qú'er said softly, "Little sister, how can you prove you are the Earth Mother's disciple?"

The girl looked at her and smiled. "So it is the Sword God of the false dynasty, of the Bai clan. This halo behind my head is the Earth Mother's blessing, protecting me from aging and death, blessing unending. Can this serve as evidence?"

Bai Qú'er looked at the halo behind her head, unable to tell true from false.

"By the halo alone, it is difficult to distinguish true from false."