Xi Jiuge lifted her skirts and sat across from him. "Brother, why are you here?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "What, Jiuge doesn't want to see her brother?"
"That isn't what I mean," Xi Jiuge said gravely. "But this is the border, and you are the ruler of a realm. It's too dangerous for you to be here. If you had something to say, you could have sent a bluebird. Why come yourself?"
The water had boiled. He skimmed off the foam, ladled out a cup without hurry, and set it gently in front of her. "And if I had nothing to pass on, and only wanted to see you?"
"Brother," she said, her face stern, "don't joke."
He laughed at her. "I'm not joking. You, now. Your whole heart belongs to that fiancé of yours. Whenever you have a spare moment, you go to Kunlun or to Xuantian Palace. Do you even remember your brother? I waited and waited and you never came, so I had to come find you myself."
"I told you I would visit Western Heaven Palace after the annual exam. Didn't the divine official pass that on?"
"He did." The man in white stroked his knee and spoke easily. "But when my only sister meets with danger, I can't be at ease until I've seen her with my own eyes."
Xi Jiuge could not win this argument and gave up with a helpless look. The man poured himself a cup and blew on it unhurriedly. "No one else is here now, so you can tell your brother the truth. What did you run into in the Beisha Sea?"
The man before her was Shaohao, the White Emperor. He had a handsome face and a dignified, easy bearing, and he looked like a gentleman of leisure spending his days at his ease. No one would have guessed he ruled a realm. Xi Jiuge had known she could not hide anything from him. She had planned to talk with Shaohao in detail after the annual exam, but since he had come, she saw no reason to wait. She gave a general account of what had happened in the Beisha Sea, leaving out only the details of the illusion.
When she finished, she asked what she cared about most. "Brother, what exactly is the Beisha Sea? Why was there such a powerful illusion there?"
Shaohao took a small sip of tea. "The place has some connection to Pangu. It's probably one of the few Pangu continents still well preserved today."
Xi Jiuge asked in spite of herself, "When Pangu died, his body became the land. Isn't the whole world Pangu's body?"
Shaohao shook his head. "Not quite. Jiuge, how much do you know about the World-Ending War?"
"Not much," Xi Jiuge answered carefully. "Only that many gods fell in that war."
Her mother, Xihe, was among them.
A note of sorrow entered Shaohao's voice as he recalled it slowly. "How quickly time passes. You children no longer know anything about the World-Ending War, and yet it was only twenty thousand years ago."
Xi Jiuge said nothing and slowly turned her teacup. After a moment of sighing, Shaohao said, "The old grow sentimental. Let's not speak of sad things. You should know that when Pangu died, his body became one complete and fertile continent. But the World-Ending War shook the three realms until heaven cracked and the living were crushed, and the original Pangu continent was broken into fragments. The sky had holes in it, floods poured down, the earth split open, and mountain fires raged. Only when it was clear that no living thing would survive if the fighting went on did the gods finally stop. The Azure Emperor spent all his power and, with a single stroke, joined together the largest and best-preserved of the fragments. That became the Nine Provinces of today. The remaining fragments were badly damaged in the war and drifted beyond the four seas. No one wished to live there, and over time they became places to exile criminals."
Xi Jiuge asked, "Brother, do you mean the Demon Realm?"
Shaohao nodded. "The Demon Realm is among the larger fragments. Harsh as it is, it is actually the oldest Pangu continent. Like the Beisha Sea, it was formed from Pangu's body and was never pieced together by the Azure Emperor."
Xi Jiuge had been suspicious of that voice since she was in the illusion. Now that she knew the Beisha Sea was the oldest remnant of Pangu, her doubts only deepened. She thought for a moment and said slowly, "Brother, there was something else. In the illusion, I heard a voice."
"Oh?" said Shaohao. "What voice?"
She could not bring herself to tell Shaohao that the voice had tried to make her suspect him. She paused, then said, half truthfully, "In the illusion it conjured up scenes from tens of thousands of years ago. It called itself Pangu, and it said it had seen my mother."
Shaohao shook his head and smiled, as if he had expected it. "That voice was a Demon Pillar. Demon Pillars feed on evil. The heavier the resentment, anger, delusion, and greed among people, the stronger they grow. They are best at stirring up the human heart. Be careful not to give them an opening."
Xi Jiuge's heart sank to hear that it really was a Demon Pillar. She pressed at once, "Brother, what exactly is a Demon Pillar?"
Shaohao answered without haste. "Heaven and earth divide into yin and yang, and the human heart divides into good and evil. The Demon Pillar corresponds to the side of yin and evil. It is born alongside yang, and it magnifies the darkness in the heart. When there is too much evil in the three realms, the Demon Pillars grow strong, and people whose hearts they have stirred up begin to slaughter one another. When war has taken enough lives, the number of living beings falls, and the malice falls with it. The Demon Pillars cannot withstand yang energy, so they vanish on their own."
Xi Jiuge was shocked. "It is that cruel? Such a thing is monstrous. How can it be rooted out?"
"It can't be." Shaohao blew away the steam and said regretfully, "It feeds on evil, and the only thing that can resist it is one's own virtue. A person of firm will, who is diligent and honest, will withstand the Demon Pillar's temptation. But idle, evil, and brutal people will obey its lies. They will cheat, plunder, and kill, and indulge their own desires. As long as there are wicked people in the world, the Demon Pillars cannot be rooted out."
Xi Jiuge's brow tightened the longer she listened. "Even you have no solution, brother?"
Shaohao gave a soft laugh. "I'm honored that you trust me so much. But I have neither virtue nor ability, and I haven't learned even a tenth of Father Emperor's divine power. I have thought about this for twenty thousand years and still have not found a way to break the deadlock."
Xi Jiuge noticed something in his words. She raised an eyebrow. "Break the deadlock?"
"That's right." Shaohao's voice took on a wistful note. "Jiuge, do you know why that war twenty thousand years ago was called the World-Ending War?"
Xi Jiuge's eyes widened. Shaohao nodded lightly at her look. "Yes. Twenty thousand years ago, the evil in the three realms had already passed its limit. One group of gods argued for killing the surplus mortals so the three realms could return to balance. Another group refused, and the World-Ending War broke out. In the end, Father Emperor spent all his divine power to seal away one hundred and eight thousand Demon Pillars, and only then was the fighting forced to stop and peace returned to the three realms. I don't know how much longer this stolen peace will last."
Xi Jiuge drew in a cold breath. "In that case, once the Demon Pillars break free of the seal, the three realms will fall into chaos?"
Shaohao nodded. "That is how it is."
Xi Jiuge frowned and lowered her eyes, her face grave. She had experienced the Demon Pillar's skill at turning hearts herself. She had been born without feelings, and still it had made her doubt the people closest to her. How many could resist it, if it were someone greedier, someone with stronger desires?
Everyone would give free rein to their evil side. Propriety and music would collapse, and people would suspect one another. A second World-Ending War would probably break out very soon.
At that thought, all she could feel was relief. "Thankfully Emperor Jun left the seal behind. It can hold these things back for now."
Shaohao sipped his tea and said slowly, "Father Emperor's seal is not invincible. Twenty thousand years have passed. Mortals keep multiplying and the divine clans of the heavenly realm keep growing, and the false desires they produce feed the Demon Pillars. The pillars grow stronger by the day, while Father Emperor's seal weakens with time. The Suyuetan flowers you mentioned were most likely demon seeds that the demon clan threw to the outside, past the seal. You were pulled into the illusion by the Suyuetan, so the Demon Pillar must have used the chance to tempt you, hoping someone would open the seal and let it back into the world."
Xi Jiuge let out a long breath. "Thankfully we destroyed every one of the Suyuetan."
Shaohao shook his head slowly. "Without the Suyuetan it could take the form of something else. The outward shape doesn't matter. The seal Father Emperor left is the only thing that can restrain the Demon Pillars. You didn't release the Demon Pillar, did you?"
Xi Jiuge shook her head, quite certain. "No. I didn't believe its lies, and I broke out of the illusion in time. As soon as we woke, we destroyed all the Suyuetan and woke the others from the illusion."
Shaohao held the teacup in his fingers, and one brow stirred slightly. "We?"
Xi Jiuge held nothing back and told him plainly, "I wasn't the first to wake. The first one awake was Li Hanguang."
At that surname, Shaohao raised an eyebrow with an unreadable look. "Li?"
Xi Jiuge nodded. Shaohao lowered his head and drank the last of his tea, then set the cup down. "A Li. The first to break free of the illusion, and someone you know well. It seems I should meet this young friend one of these days."
"Brother, you must know of him. He is the hostage the Demon Realm sent here." Having said so, Xi Jiuge corrected herself earnestly. "And I don't know him well."
Shaohao only smiled faintly, and there was meaning in his expression. "But for you to remember his name is already rare. This young demon is not ordinary."
She had seen her brother and finished asking about the Demon Pillars. What she had come for today was done, and she should look for a chance to take her leave. But she hesitated before saying goodbye.
Shaohao noticed. "What is it? You seem to have something else to say."
Xi Jiuge knew she would have to face this sooner or later. Li Hanguang was right that a rift only widens the longer it is left alone, and it was better to cut through it cleanly. She steeled herself and asked, "Brother, you just said the Demon Pillars have no solution. But Yaochi water can purify inner demons and wash away memories. Could Yaochi water be used against the Demon Pillars?"
At this, Shaohao raised a hand and smoothed his sleeve calmly. "Yaochi only works on cultivators. Mortals have no spiritual energy to nourish them and carry a great deal of impurity in their bodies. When they enter Yaochi, their meridians are cleansed and their marrow refined, and the impurities in their hearts are expelled from the body along with the grains they have eaten. That is why it looks as if they have washed away worldly ties and purified the six senses. But for a god, the divine body is already a naturally pure spiritual body, and Yaochi water is nothing more than a spiritual spring with somewhat better effects. It is like the elixir of immortality. A mortal who takes it gains long life, but when the divine clans take it, they are merely swallowing a tonic. However, if an artifact spirit has been infected by demonic energy, putting it into Yaochi can wash away both its memories and the demonic energy."
Xi Jiuge had deliberately buried her question inside the larger one. Hearing the White Emperor say Yaochi water had no effect on the divine clans, her heart suddenly loosened, and the weight she had carried for days finally settled. She kept her face as if nothing had happened and asked, puzzled, "So Yaochi water only works on mortals, immortals, and objects?"
"You can put it that way. Why, have you developed an inner demon?"
"No." Xi Jiuge denied it at once, and shame rose in her. She had known perfectly well that the voice in the illusion belonged to a demonic thing, and still she had believed its lies and doubted her own brother and the Queen Mother of the West. She should never have done so.
Her knot of doubt had come undone. She judged that enough time had passed and said, "Brother, the annual exam at Yongtian Palace is coming soon and I have to go back and prepare. After the exam, I will come to Western Heaven Palace to pay my respects."
Shaohao sighed. "In your heart, cultivation always matters more than your brother. Never mind. Since you are safe and well, I won't hold you up from your preparations. I hear the Yellow Emperor intends to test the younger generation, and the secret realm arranged for you this time is rather dangerous. Here are two protective treasures. Keep them with you. The exam results don't matter. What matters is that you come back safe. Understand?"
Seeing that Shaohao was giving her more treasures, Xi Jiuge tried to refuse. "Brother, I already have many magic tools. You don't need to trouble yourself further."
"How can preparing treasures for my sister be trouble?" Shaohao said. "All right, I know you're in a hurry. Go. If I keep you any longer, I'll become the villain."
Xi Jiuge could not get around Shaohao and had to accept the treasures. She took a cloud carriage back to Yongtian Palace. With her suspicions pulled out by the root, she could finally settle her mind on preparing, and before long the annual exam arrived.
The day before departure, she dismissed the palace maids and went alone to the grove behind Chonghua Hall, where she played her flute softly. The music flowed along with the moonlight. Before long, a spirit bird beat its wings and landed meekly on her shoulder.
Xi Jiuge put her flute away. As soon as she raised her hand, the bird hopped affectionately onto it. Its feathers were brilliantly multicolored, but it had two heads, and when it spoke it could use human speech, with a different voice from each head.
It was a Mingming bird, two birds sharing one body but holding two hearts. Mingming birds were beloved pets bred by one of the divine clan. They carried a trace of divine blood, which was why they could speak, but their bloodline was weak, they had no talent for fighting, and they were basically good only for amusing the women of the household.
The White Emperor was skilled at taming birds, and the Queen Mother of the West could call a hundred birds to pay homage, so Xi Jiuge was also an expert with birds and naturally drew them close. A Mingming bird, with one body and two hearts, was ideal for her experiment. She had called one with her flute and had been studying it for a long time.
She fed Yaochi water to only one of the bird's heads, then had both heads speak, to judge whether they had lost their memories. The previous few times, the bird had reacted as usual and showed no sign of memory loss. Tonight was her final test.
Xi Jiuge poured out all the Yaochi water and soaked the whole bird in it. She waited half the night, then took the bird out and coaxed both heads to talk.
They chattered glibly and moved about lively as ever. When she asked about things she had said to them before, they answered fluently. By every measure, they did not look like birds whose feelings and memories had been washed away.
Xi Jiuge could finally put her mind completely at ease. If Yaochi water could not control even a Mingming bird of thin bloodline, how could it possibly control her? She had never been to the Demon Realm. The so-called wandering of her divine consciousness was something the Demon Pillar had made up to deceive her.
It was all a pack of lies, and she had dwelled on it for so long. She had secretly probed the White Emperor more than once, and then come back and run an experiment of her own. It had been truly foolish. Xi Jiuge released the Mingming bird back into the woods, returned peacefully to her bedchamber, and hurried to rest.
Tomorrow she would set out for Fanghu Wonderland. She had already wasted half the night, and now she had to save her strength for the trials ahead. With no more distracting thoughts in her mind, she soon fell fast asleep.