Chapter 89: The Upgrading of the Mountain-Sea Mirror

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“People say that the art of thunder cannot be cultivated to any true achievement, but they do not realize this is only because the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has dissipated. Thunder techniques require harnessing the might of heaven and earth, and the spiritual energy scattered throughout the world is the most basic prerequisite. Thus, thunder methods have lost their true power... In ancient times, the thunder arts were the embodiment of righteousness, restraining all evil and malevolence in existence.” Amid these ramblings, a colossal projection of a Thunder God surged up from within A-Jing’s body, swelling ever larger until it stretched nearly a kilometer across, then rapidly shrinking into a spark of electricity no bigger than a fingertip. It shot into A-Jing’s brow, vanishing without a trace.

“Fool, truly a fool!” Qiongqi laughed uproariously, pounding the ground with his sharp claws as though he found the whole thing irresistibly amusing.

“All the clans of the Spirit Realm say the Demon Emperor is a great fool, but it turns out it’s not just the Demon Emperor—even the Thunder God is a fool! What are you all so foolish for? For those utterly unrelated humans?” Qiongqi laughed until tears ran down his twisted, ferocious face, though whether from true mirth or to mask an inner sorrow, it was impossible to say.

“Fierce beast Qiongqi?” A-Jing awoke—or rather, at this moment he should be called Wu Ming. The instant Wu Ming received the Thunder God’s law, all negative afflictions vanished from his body, and his entire memory returned.

From the Classic of Divine Marvels: Western Wilderness: “In the northwest there is a beast, shaped like a tiger, with wings to fly, preys on people, and understands human speech.”

From the Classic of Mountains and Seas: Western Mountains: “Traveling another two hundred and sixty li west, there is Mount Gui. Upon it dwells a beast shaped like an ox with bristling hair, named Qiongqi, whose cry is like a wild dog. It eats people. The Meng River rises here, flowing south to join the Yang River, where yellow mussels abound; the Ying fish, with a fish’s body and bird’s wings, makes a sound like a mandarin duck, and when seen, great floods come to the city.”

From the Classic of Mountains and Seas: Northern Lands Within the Seas: “Qiongqi is shaped like a tiger, with wings, eats people starting at the head, and consumes the unkempt. Located north of the dogs. Some say it starts at the feet.”

From the Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of the Five Emperors: “Shaohao had an unworthy son who destroyed trust and maligned the loyal, exalting wicked speech; the world called him Qiongqi.”

In a flash, all this information Wu Ming had read in the Daoist records came to mind. This Qiongqi seemed extremely troublesome, not easy to handle! But apparently, it was a beast-form spirit; if only the Mountain and Sea Mirror could capture it, that would make things much simpler. The Mountain and Sea Mirror could subdue beast-form spirits and monsters, but who knew if such a powerful one could be subdued at once.

“That’s me, kid. You’ve got a good eye!” Qiongqi sat back, picking his teeth with a foreclaw.

“But don’t think just because you recognize me I won’t eat you. Even if you weren’t a delicacy like that monk, I wouldn’t let you go, not with that perverse old dragon Thunder God’s law inside you!” Qiongqi paced forward, slowly approaching Wu Ming.

“You can’t eat me. I’m the leader of the One Qi Dao Sect!”

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“You, the leader of the One Qi Dao Sect? Then I must be the Three Pure Ones!” Qiongqi sneered, spitting on the ground.

“What will it take for you to believe I’m the leader of One Qi Dao Sect?” Wu Ming muttered inwardly, “Villains always die from talking too much—he’s bound to take the bait, he must respond...”

“Unless you show me your sect’s Mountain and Sea Mirror!” Qiongqi seemed hesitant.

My goodness, this fellow is really playing along! He’s picking up the lines without missing a beat—perfect!

Wu Ming felt a thousand times relieved—this cooperation was almost too good to be true.

“Recognize this?” Wu Ming raised the bronze mirror high. The birds, fish, and insect motifs on the mirror shimmered with strange light and began to rotate. Slowly, a piece of emerald jade protruded from the center of the mirror’s back—distinctly the very jade embellishment from the Spacetime Divine Mirror.

Examining the patterns on the back, Wu Ming noticed they’d become even more intricate and refined. He even spotted the image of the Nine-Headed Serpent. Perhaps the Mountain and Sea Mirror was slowly repairing and perfecting itself. He would have to ask the mirror’s spirit about it when time allowed.

“Could it be that the Mountain and Sea Mirror absorbed and fused with the Spacetime Divine Mirror?” Wu Ming had never seen anything like this. He’d thought the Spacetime Divine Mirror vanished in a previous accident, but now it seemed the Mountain and Sea Mirror had merged it into itself.

“Have you finished looking, boy? If you’re done, toss it over so I can see if it’s the real thing! Move quickly, or I’ll eat you!” Qiongqi glared menacingly at Wu Ming.

“Let’s go in and see together! Follow me!” Wu Ming pointed at the Mountain and Sea Mirror. A white light immediately enveloped both him and Qiongqi. Contrary to Wu Ming’s expectations, Qiongqi did not resist but cooperatively slipped into the light, even shrinking his great body to make the transition easier before leaping into the mirror.

A flash of white light, and as Wu Ming’s eyes adjusted to the Mountain and Sea Mirror’s inner world, he gradually saw his surroundings clearly.

Within the mirror appeared a massive palace, constructed entirely of mutton-fat white jade. Though colossal, each brick was exquisitely carved Hetian jade. Wu Ming’s mouth watered at the sight—so much Hetian jade could buy all of America! This palace was extravagantly luxurious.

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Wu Ming gingerly stepped onto the jade stairs, carefully removing his tattered coat to wrap around his feet, unwilling to defile such a perfect work of art.

After ascending a dozen steps, he spotted a familiar figure—or rather, a familiar beast. The Nine-Headed Serpent, Jiuying, was on a distant platform, all nine heads bowed low to the floor.

“Welcome home, my lord. Your loyal servant Jiuying greets your return!”

Wu Ming was so embarrassed by this grand salute he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Um, you can get up now. Also, could you shrink down a bit, or even turn human? Your current form is just too overwhelming—it’s unbearable!”

“As you command, my lord. Jiuying is ever at your service.” Before the words had even faded, Jiuying transformed into a bewitching woman, though nine strands of hair floated independently about her head—Wu Ming knew those were her true heads. He couldn’t help thinking mischievously, if Jiuying went to a barber, it really would be head-shaving, not just a haircut—a slip of the razor and she could actually lose a head!

“By the way, Jiuying, didn’t the Mountain and Sea Mirror’s space say it could only subdue non-humanoid creatures? But you look human now?”

“My lord, it is thus: the Mountain and Sea Mirror refers to beast forms. Generally, as long as one isn’t of the human or divine race, one possesses a beast form. We exotic beasts, demon beasts, and other races all have beast shapes; only in our true forms can we reach peak combat power. So under the Mountain and Sea Mirror’s power, any creature in its original shape during battle can only be subdued and tamed by the mirror’s might!” Jiuying replied respectfully.