Calamity of Tomorrow

In a dream amidst verdant fields, Qian Wangsun bowed his head with a sense of guilt and said to Jiaojiao before him, "I'm sorry, Great Elder, I've let you down."

The Jiaojiao before him looked as though her skin was still taut, but her head of hair had turned snow-white, and an air of authority was emanating from her face, evidently an older version of Jiaojiao.

She lay on a tree branch, her eyes gazing distractedly at the withering twigs before her. Upon hearing Qian Wangsun's words, she suddenly let out a sigh.

Jiaojiao said softly, "I once believed that Zhou Bai and you were the most outstanding disciples that the Three Pure Dao Sect had nurtured since Heavenly Dao became twisted. Yet now, one of you has joined the Heavenly Demon, and the other has joined the Sky Flipping Sect."

Qian Wangsun parted his lips, intending to say something, but he realized that anything he could say at this moment would be so pale and weak. In the end, all he could do was bow his head once again.

Jiaojiao spoke, "But the Sky Flipping Sect is still better than the Heavenly Demon. I heard they are researching aberrant weapons?"

Qian Wangsun nodded, "I haven't witnessed it myself, but that's indeed what Li Xiuzhu said."

Jiaojiao fell into silence, her fingers twining through her hair, seemingly pondering something. After a long while, she asked, "What do you think of Li Xiuzhu?"

After contemplating, Qian Wangsun said, "He's someone who's always ready to die. I can't sense any fear in his eyes; he is a madman."

Jiaojiao sighed, "Yes, a madman. But perhaps it is only such a madman who can lead humanity into a new era. We have no way out; the human race has reached an unprecedentedly dark moment."

Feeling the sinking will in Jiaojiao's heart, Qian Wangsun understood that the incident with Zhou Bai must have been a greater blow to Jiaojiao than he had imagined. The Heavenly Demon and the human race shared a blood feud that could not coexist under the heavens. Any attempt to defect to the Heavenly Demon, for whatever reason, was unforgivable—the blood debt of billions of humans.

Whether it was the entire human race, the City of Donghua, or the Three Pure Dao Sect, they all shared an inextricable blood feud with the Heavenly Demon.

Qian Wangsun said, "Great Elder, I will definitely capture Zhou Bai to find out why he has done this."

Jiaojiao shook her head, "This boy's talent is the only one I've seen in my lifetime, and he is a rare individual with both high cultivation intellect and battle wisdom. The power he wields can exert tenfold its might. Now that he has joined the Heavenly Demon, his strength has likely grown by leaps and bounds. You... cannot defeat him."

Upon hearing this, Qian Wangsun clenched his fists with unwillingness, but he had to admit that the Great Elder was right.

If Zhou Bai had still been their companion, his presence would have been reassuring; but now, thinking of this demon as the enemy gave Qian Wangsun an oppressive feeling as though he couldn't catch his breath.

However, Jiaojiao's tone changed in the next moment, speaking coldly, "…unless you include me. When you return to the Sky Flipping Sect, relay a message for me. If Li Xiuzhu has truly found a way to create aberrant weapons, then my life can be given to him."

"Great Elder!" Qian Wangsun's eyes widened, and he instinctively wanted to dissuade her from this idea.

Yet he heard the Great Elder say, "There's no need to persuade me. The trouble Zhou Bai has caused this time is too great, and Heaven will certainly take the opportunity to make things difficult. Inside the City of Donghua, danger lurks at every turn, and as the leader of the Three Pure Dao Sect, my responsibility is inescapable. Moreover, rather than being dealt with by Heaven, I would prefer to be used by the Sky Flipping Sect to become an aberrant weapon, continuing to protect the human race."

Qian Wangsun: "But!"

Jiaojiao waved her hand to interrupt Qian Wangsun, "Tell Li Xiuzhu, if I am lucky enough to become a deformed weapon, able to continue exerting effort for humanity, then let him take up the task of purging our ranks..."

She spoke deliberately, her expression incredibly complex, "…bring Zhou Bai back to me. If he truly has defected to the Heavenly Demon for his selfish desires, intending to harm humankind, then slaughter him."

Having said these words, the Great Elder closed her eyes, her face seemingly aged a great deal in a moment, "He is the student I am proudest of in my life, yet perhaps also the greatest mistake I have made. I should have personally taken action to purge our ranks, but sadly, I don't have much time left."

…

At this very moment, within the base of the Sky Flipping Sect, Li Xiuzhu listened to the message brought by Qian Wangsun and sighed.

Qian Wangsun said, "I know the group's recent research on deformed weapons has hit a bottleneck, and that's because it lacks a truly powerful deformed entity as a research subject."

Ever since they mastered the Blood Transformation Divine Sword, the Sky Flipping Sect's research on deformed weapons advanced by leaps and bounds. After thoroughly researching the Blood Transformation Divine Sword, they turned to start looking into methods of creating deformed weapons.

With the help of those human cultivators who had once participated in the Immortals' research on deformation, many areas began to progress naturally. After all, they had already learned and researched extensively concerning the existence of deformed entities and deformed weapons together with the Immortals, decades ago.

Having been imprisoned in the Plague Department Laboratory for years, they also became the labor force for the Plague Department, constantly assisting with the research for the divine beings.

With their help, the research of the Sky Flipping Sect progressed quickly, but they also encountered an insurmountable hurdle.

That is, to create deformed weapons, deformed entities are needed, and not just ordinary ones, but those that possess exceptionally strong powers.

But intentionally creating deformed entities amounts to murder, and now the Sky Flipping Sect is trying to circumvent this, aiming to create deformed weapons directly through the twisted power of the Heavenly Dao, rather than through deformed entities.

After all, the formation of deformed entities also stems from the distortions in the Heavenly Dao. Their idea was correct in principle, but of course, the difficulty was immense and certainly not something that could be instantly figured out.

Qian Wangsun looked at Li Xiuzhu and said with some difficulty, "I know the Sky Flipping Sect now has the capability to create deformed weapons, so I was thinking... But it's very difficult, now that the Sky Department has settled in Donghua City, and the Great Elder has attracted the attention of Li Zhengdao..."

Qian Wangsun pondered and said, "If we can find a way to divert the Sky Department's attention and somehow secretly connect with the Great Elder, maybe… maybe there's still a chance for turning things around."

"Haoran Heavenly Noble, Li Zhengdao, eh?" Li Xiuzhu suddenly raised his head, as if an idea had struck him, "Then we simply have to kill him."

"What?" Qian Wangsun swiftly looked up, his gaze turning to Li Xiuzhu in surprise, "Isn't that too dangerous? That's a Heavenly Noble, after all."

Li Xiuzhu said, "Ten Immortals and one righteous god, which one do you choose to fight?"

Qian Wangsun paused slightly, then quickly realized the other party was talking about Xiang Tiandi's side seeking them out, prepared to besiege them with ten Immortals and the righteous god Li Zhengdao of Donghua City.

Li Xiuzhu said, "Instead of trying to scrape out a meager survival under the siege of ten Immortals, it's better to use all our strength to slay Li Zhengdao. If we can successfully refine Jiaojiao into a deformed weapon, we will have more chips to contend with Heaven, and both Jijian Pavilion and the Evil Sect will lean towards us."

Qian Wangsun took a deep breath, never expecting that Li Xiuzhu, when faced with the siege of ten Immortals, would not think of retreating but instead considered taking the initiative to strike. However, he had to admit that his counterpart made a lot of sense.