"I report to Your Excellency — there is urgent intelligence. My subordinate Cui Hao, while investigating the demonic cultivators, has discovered something of the utmost importance."
"He and Senior Sister were acting under Tai Dao Sect's orders, operating in secret to investigate the destruction of the Wu Xuan Observatory all those years ago."
"Based on intelligence analysis, the Wu Xuan Observatory's sect master must have obtained a fallen Heavenly Meteorite back then. Only with such a thing could he have incited Chu Xingchen and Yu Yang Daozi to wage war at the Observatory — and reduce the entire sect to a deep valley."
"After the great battle, however, Tai Dao Sect's search turned up no trace of the meteorite. Tai Dao Sect's sect master had personally arrived on the scene, and Yu Yang Daozi was present as well — the probability of Chu Xingchen obtaining it should have been infinitesimal."
"Therefore, in Tai Dao Sect's intelligence records, this Heavenly Meteorite was classified as lost — or possibly hidden away by the Wu Xuan Observatory's sect master."
"But the reality may be quite different."
"Cui Hao has confirmed that the demonic cultivators who made major moves recently likely possess the Heavenly Meteorite hidden by the Wu Xuan Observatory, and have been conducting experiments with it."
"Their goals go far beyond simply becoming warlords of some territory. This also explains why a merged-realm demonic cultivator was willing to get involved."
"The most troublesome part, however, isn't the merged-realm cultivator. Aside from Cui Hao's group, other sect cultivators are also carrying out Tai Dao Sect's orders — and Tai Dao Sect itself is investigating."
"Given the demonic cultivators' methods, it's only a matter of time before they're tracked down."
"The longer we wait, the greater the risks and uncertainties. But my current forces are far weaker than before. Still, this matter is of immense consequence, so I can only boldly petition Your Excellency for reinforcements."
"If our clan can obtain the Heavenly Meteorite, we may be able to break free from our current predicament. Even if not, it would be an enormous boost!"
Inside a dark, gloomy cave.
Donggua lay prostrate on the ground, her forehead pressed to the stone. Before her stood a grotesque clay figure clad in heavy armor, its fierce face faded with age.
The clay figure's body rippled and churned ceaselessly, its featureless expression rendered all the more unsettling by the writhing.
Donggua breathed softly, tension spreading through every fiber of her being.
She had lied to her superiors before — after all, there were plenty of tasks she'd failed to complete, and Donggua had learned long ago how to deflect blame. Otherwise, she wouldn't still be operational.
Whether her superiors had noticed the lies, or simply decided that a cunning operative was more useful in the field than a punished one — that, she didn't know.
But a lie of this magnitude? This was genuinely her first time reporting something so flagrantly false.
Yet Donggua had thought about it long and hard, and concluded this was the only way to get those above to dispatch a merged-realm cultivator as reinforcement.
Only by framing it around something Her Excellency cared about most deeply would they receive the kind of blind, all-out support that Cui Hao had described — the kind born of fear of failure.
After all, she'd likely only get one chance to lie. Her Excellency contacted her rarely enough as it was. And even if she could somehow keep lying, doing so too many times would invite not trust, but suspicion — and an investigation into her.
The opportunity came only once. So Donggua went all in.
The clay figure continued to churn silently, offering no response.
The silence grew heavier with each passing moment, pressing down on Donggua until she hardly dared to breathe.
Then the clay figure's deep, hoarse voice broke the stillness.
"Can you show me definitive proof right now?"
"The matter is urgent — I haven't yet prepared clear intelligence to present, and the information itself is limited." Donggua's voice trembled slightly, and she hurriedly pressed on.
"But Cui Hao is willing to vouch for it with his life. He has his methods of verification."
"This news is simply too important. Naturally, I'd rather believe it to be true — but I must also report it to Your Excellency."
Donggua pressed her head firmly against the ground.
If the plan fell apart, she could always throw Cui Hao to the wolves. That wouldn't be unreasonable.
If Cui Hao actually ended up in the underworld, he'd probably agree that she had no other choice.
And if he had a problem with that, well — he could come up here and tell her himself. Assuming he could even make it up here.
The clay figure's painted, fierce eyes locked onto the prostrate Donggua. Its voice remained flat.
"If it's true, then of course it must be pursued. At the very least, we need to confirm the intelligence."
Donggua took a breath and, steeling herself, interjected before the clay figure could continue.
"Your subordinate is inadequate. To properly confirm things, that merged-realm cultivator is a threat beyond threats. Currently, I..."
Donggua didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she kowtowed heavily and began again.
"Your subordinate is inadequate!"
The churning around the clay figure intensified abruptly. It fell silent once more, and after a long pause, it spoke.
"To have reached this stage, there can't be only one merged-realm cultivator. With a Heavenly Meteorite's aid, that blood-aura demonic cultivator might have only just reached the merged realm."
"I will adjust the deployment. I will contact you when the time comes."
"Prepare the intelligence. Conduct a thorough analysis. Ideally, determine whether the Heavenly Meteorite truly exists — and provide detailed confirmation."
The clay figure paused, those fierce eyes sweeping over the prostrate Donggua before continuing.
"If this is truly a Heavenly Meteorite, you shall have performed a great service. Your reward shall be passage to — the Beyond the Heavens."
Donggua's heart eased, but she feigned excitement, her voice fervent.
"Thank you, Your Excellency! Your subordinate will give everything to see this through!"
But the clay figure offered no reply to those words.
After a moment, Donggua sensed the oppressive presence recede. She rose to her feet and gazed calmly at the now-still clay figure.
She said nothing more and turned to leave.
The Beyond the Heavens — that was the dream of every demonic operative working in the field.
What lay inside, Donggua didn't truly know. She had never seen it for herself. She only understood that it was a place of immense reward.
A place where one could elevate one's strength — where a lowly chess piece, scrambling in the outer world, could become the hand that decided the game.
Perhaps even a day when she could pull the strings herself.
Under normal circumstances, hearing such a promise would have sent Donggua into fits of ecstasy. She would have done anything for it.
But this time, the whole thing was pure fabrication.
There was no Heavenly Meteorite. She hadn't even figured out what the demonic cultivators were truly after.
This time, all Donggua wanted was to survive long enough to complete the mission.
The Beyond the Heavens...
Heh.
Donggua knew the truth. She'd probably never lay eyes on it in her entire life.
But staying alive — that was enough for her.
——————
"You're saying the demonic cultivators may possess a Heavenly Meteorite, and Cui Hao personally vouched for this. Have you confirmed this intelligence?"
In another hidden mountain ravine.
Half a Xigua lay prostrate on the ground just as Donggua had before, one hand bracing his battered form.
Before him stood a paint-flaking, antiquated wooden puppet.
Xigua answered quickly. "I've heard nothing of it. Donggua never mentioned it to me."
The old puppet fell silent for a moment before asking.
"Then do you think Donggua is withholding this to claim all the credit — or has she had a change of heart?"
Xigua's response came more slowly this time. He thought for a long while before speaking.
"Between heaven and earth, we alone have no place to call home. She had no choice."
"As for what Donggua reported — your subordinate finds it far too vague and insubstantial. It doesn't feel real."
"At the very least, I've sensed nothing, and I have no intelligence to corroborate it."
"As for Cui Hao — Donggua is likely no match for him. She may well have been deceived."
Xigua lowered his head in silence. This was as far as he could go.
It was, in a sense, undermining Donggua — yet also protecting her.
When those above sent operatives into the field, they would never truly let one person monopolize all the power.
Donggua had fire in her belly. She had passion. She dared to act and dared to risk her life — and in urgent situations, people like that could prove enormously useful.
Xigua, by contrast, carried the air of someone past their prime. Though steadier and cleverer than Donggua, he was no longer the optimal choice for a lead role.
That was why she had been selected to manage this operation.
Xigua still had his uses, though. He was the silent piece set to the side — unremarkable, perhaps, but critically important to those above.
Steady. Clever. Loyal. Capable of delivering clear intelligence.
The eyes that kept those above from being blinded.
Xigua sighed softly inside. Donggua hadn't seen through his death wish — that it was for her sake, and for his own.
With only the two of them remaining, if Xigua died, Donggua could act freely without restraint.
And if he died, he would finally be free. He would never again have to worry about the soft place in his heart that yearned for the Beyond the Heavens.
"I understand."
The old puppet's reply was deliberately ambiguous.
It was impossible to tell whether it had been listening to Donggua — or to half a Xigua.
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