Chapter 71: The Rostrum

Chapter 71: The Podium

After the Chu Clan Patriarch finished recounting the evolution of the birdman, the Grand Elder fell silent for a moment.

After a moment, he repeated the same words: "Keep an eye on his condition, and guard against the Heart Demon."

Whether it was about finding his parents or becoming parents himself.

The Chu Clan Patriarch agreed wholeheartedly.

The Grand Elder had personally probed the Omen Owl egg long ago, and its chances of life were slim. Moreover, the egg was not particularly fortunate—one could even say it was cursed with bad luck. The more heaven-defying a divine beast, the more it needed to absorb the essence of heaven and earth.

Yet now, with the spiritual energy turbid and the times unkind, born at the wrong time, it simply couldn't hatch.

No one held out hope—except for Chu Jingxi, who was currently under mental health surveillance, and who still had dreams!

He devoted himself to crafting dreams for the egg, even going out of his way to consult the Grand Elder. After untangling his bizarre reasoning, the Grand Elder ordered the Butterfly Demon to fetch an incense stick.

"Dream-Guiding Incense—burning it can guide a person into dreams. Whether it can guide an egg, I cannot say."

Chu Jingxi thanked the sponsor. No one understood the power of external assistance better than he did—with enough help piled on, qualitative change was inevitable.

Meanwhile, Yan Zizhan had also borrowed a dreamcatcher from his sect for him.

The two studied how to hatch the egg methodically every day. On the fifth day of trying every trick, the Patriarch came to find Chu Jingxi.

The door to the secluded courtyard was open, and the strangely affectionate scene directly met his eyes.

But the next instant, the eggshell suddenly emitted light, and the Patriarch's steps quickened as he entered.

Did he actually manage it?

Out of the corner of his eye, Chu Jingxi caught sight of the Patriarch and stood up, but showed little surprise at the glow. "Just a natural occurrence."

A few days ago, when he first saw light, he had been thrilled too—until he realized it was just energy overflow from a failed dream infusion.

Hearing Chu Jingxi's sigh, the Patriarch, who had intended to persuade him to stop, thought for a moment and set a brick on the ground.

"..." A method even more terrifying than artificially speeding up growth had appeared.

Chu Jingxi shot a glance at the spirit bamboo, who wrapped two big leaves around the egg and moved to stand behind Yan Zizhan.

Ignoring their little tricks, the Patriarch said flatly, "This is a door-knocking brick. I can lend it to you for now."

Chu Jingxi recognized the outrageous name.

He had seen it in the family's redeemable artifact list. Probing it with his Spiritual Sense, he found it was indeed there—and each rental cost a hefty amount of contribution points.

The door-knocking brick was not an offensive artifact. Used to strike ores or as a mortar and pestle for grinding medicine, it had a chance to add extra attributes to the final product and raise its potential.

"Thank you, Patriarch. I'll definitely use it well to lull the embryo to sleep."

At that, the spirit bamboo couldn't help but snicker, and Yan Zizhan lowered his head, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

The gloomy atmosphere caused by the spiritual energy issues eased a bit. The Patriarch was used to his glibness, but now was the time for that silver tongue.

"It's not lent for free. The Immortal Alliance recently sent word—they want you to record a message to calm the public."

Chu Jingxi hadn't expected his fame to pay off so quickly. He agreed without hesitation: "Alright, I'll prepare."

Everyone thought he could speak eloquently off the cuff, so they cast surprised looks his way. Prepare what?

Public speaking was a craft, and Chu Jingxi couldn't explain it to the uninitiated.

A good speech could drive people powerfully in the short term—like when a speaker came to his school to sell gratitude books and made everyone cry. Chu Jingxi had been moved and bought one too, wanting to kowtow to his parents right then—until he remembered he didn't have any.

Now, with emotions among all factions at their peak, at the tipping point, it was the perfect time for guidance.

Chu Jingxi prepared meticulously for half a day. The next morning, he strode confidently to the Dao Discussion Platform.

Among the younger generation, his influence was deservedly number one.

The family scions from Sea City were, as an exception, permitted to attend in the Immortal Domain. Some instructors and guest elders also came, with their own motives—they believed Chu Jingxi's public speech would inevitably reveal important information. This indirectly led to a sea of people, making the scene a hundred times livelier than the day of the family competition.

Recording Stones around the area were already prepared long in advance. Everywhere you looked, there was an audience.

Before Chu Jingxi took the stage, Yan Zizhan worried he might be stressed and whispered, "Don't be nervous. Even if you mess up, the Immortal Alliance will cover for you."

Chu Jingxi understood—anything could be edited out.

He calmly ascended the high platform, swept his gaze over the familiar—but mostly unfamiliar—faces below, and took a deep breath: "War is coming."

"..."

The Dao Discussion Platform, which could hold over a hundred thousand people, fell dead silent. The four words struck without warning, and some nearly stumbled where they stood.

Chu Jingxi was quite pleased with the effect.

Before the speech, everyone looked anxious. Now, they were expressionless—just mouths slightly open.

"By now, you've all likely sensed it. Soon, we will have a great battle with the Ghost Clan—so soon that war might break out the moment you open your eyes tomorrow."

He knew why he had been chosen to stand here.

Besides his fame, some plain truths were unsuitable for those in power to speak—he was just right for the job.

With war imminent, many cultivators still chose to comfort themselves, believing that day was far off.

That meant not everyone could accept such a blunt opening. An elder instinctively looked at the Patriarch, silently asking whether they should stop him.

Cultivators disliked pointless talk, but this opening was far too direct!

A cultivator from the Immortal Alliance nearby nodded in agreement, wondering where to even start cutting the footage.

Seeing the Patriarch make no move, the elder was about to speak when a gaze fell from above: "This elder."

He instinctively looked up.

"Do you think, if the spiritual energy hadn't gone wrong, a Golden Immortal would have broken through within a year?"

Forced into the interaction, the elder's face twitched as he shook his head.

What kind of question was that? Not in a year—probably not even in a thousand. Golden Immortal combat power had already hit its ceiling.

Chu Jingxi: "What about a Heaven Immortal?"

"No."

In the past century, only two had broken through from Heaven Immortal to Golden Immortal—and one of them had defected.

“Earth Immortal?”

“Very few.”

After three rounds of questions, the elder had a vague sense of what he was getting at.

Chu Jingxi smiled. “In other words, when it comes to the coming battle, nothing’s really changed at the top-tier combat level.”

His gaze swept from the elder over the crowd. “As for us cultivators, even if we do break through normally, we’d still need time at first to solidify our cultivation bases. It won’t affect the overall war at all. Even me—the guy who loves breaking through more than anyone—I’m facing reality head-on.”

For the second time, the room went dead silent—you could hear a pin drop.

When you think about it from that angle, Chu Jingxi was clearly the biggest victim—he was breaking through on average about once every two weeks.

Chu Jingxi kept hammering on the most basic facts: “The martial artists’ training systems are different—they’re not affected, and thanks to how body refinement techniques have developed, they can at least offer some protection to ordinary folks.”

“The root of the spiritual energy contamination is the Ghost Clan. Wipe out the Ghost Clan, and the ghost qi erosion problem solves itself.”

The System said, “Makes sense.”

Chu Jingxi blinked.

So you’re actually paying attention? Coming to me for a little pep talk means the System’s a bit on edge too.

Didn’t it say before that once the Ghost Clan was gone, everything would work out? The plan was already set—so what was there to be nervous about?

“As long as we’re not the ones getting wiped out first.”

“……”

After getting through that brutal opening in one breath, Chu Jingxi shifted into the high-energy tone a proper speech needed: “Fellow Daoists, there’s no turning back. Though our bodies die, our spirits live on; though our souls fade, we’ll be heroes among the dead!”

He hit every stressed syllable perfectly, quoted the classics, and even borrowed a bunch of hype internet lines!

Even just the passive effect of his talent had the cultivators on-site feeling a rush of excitement.

As the speech wound down and emotions hit their peak, right in front of everyone, a faint glow came from the eggshell in the dreamcatcher at Chu Jingxi’s waist!

The shell got so thin it was see-through, making it look like something inside was fighting to break out.

Everyone knew Chu Jingxi had brought back an Omen Owl egg, and they all knew the odds of it hatching were basically zero.

All eyes on the debate platform were now on that egg. The Omen Owl was an auspicious beast that carried wishes, and it picked this exact moment to show signs of hatching.

Chu Jingxi took it as a good omen: “Everyone, heaven has sent us this auspicious sign—this battle, the Primordial Continent is sure to win!”

“Victory!”

“Victory!!”

The Chu Clan Patriarch, who knew that egg had glowed dozens of times over the past few days: “……”

Just then, the Immortal Alliance Leader sent a message asking how things were going on-site, but before he could finish, a sharp racket blasted through the Message Talisman: “Why is it so noisy?”

Wasn’t this supposed to be a speech to calm everyone down?

Chu Clan Patriarch: “He’s giving a pre-battle pep rally.”

Immortal Alliance Leader: “???”

Wasn’t that supposed to be his job?

*

The speech that day was a huge success. Chu Jingxi smoothly shifted the focus onto taking on the Ghost Clan.

He knew human nature well—he understood that the frustration of not being able to break through needed a clear, concrete goal to dissolve. After the speech, even the Immortal Alliance cultivators who’d come to record felt oddly pumped up.

By the time the Immortal Alliance Leader got his hands on the Recording Stone, half a day had gone by. After watching the whole thing, he went quiet for a bit.

…Not a single word needed to be cut.

This time, the Immortal Alliance didn’t circulate the Recording Stone right away. Instead, they sold it through the Wangdao Tower for one High-Grade Spirit Stone.

Within a day, the Chu Clan’s private speech video leaked, and it sold like hotcakes. Buyers felt it was packed with info, but on second thought, it seemed like it said nothing at all.

Gradually, whether in the sects or out in the streets, people’s conversations shifted to the coming war.

Meanwhile, Chu Jingxi got a notice to pick up his recording fee from the Immortal Alliance at the mission hall. On the way there, everyone he ran into asked how the egg was doing.

Chu Jingxi gave the same answer every time: Soon, soon.

After grabbing the spirit stones, he looked down at his waist. “The world’s about to end—you sure you don’t want to come out and take a look?”

Only this one could resist the urge to peek.

Just as Chu Jingxi was about to flash a thumbs-up and spout more ridiculous nonsense, Elder Wusheng—who’d just walked into the mission hall—tossed him out on the spot. Yan Zizhan, who’d come with him, missed the catch and got dragged along by Chu Jingxi’s sleeve into an impromptu flight.

The two landed on a celestial peak, where a fierce, imposing multi-clawed flood dragon was waiting—its body nearly the size of a mountain.

“Lord Dragon.” Chu Jingxi greeted him with a cupped-fist salute after only a beat of hesitation.

The flood dragon was instantly thrilled. It had heard plenty of respectful titles before, but none hit its soul quite like those four words!

“You got here faster than I expected. Looks like you’re taking this training seriously.”

Chu Jingxi looked confused but quickly figured the family must’ve set up some special training, and Elder Wusheng had just dropped him off.

The flood dragon’s slit pupils turned to Yan Zizhan: “Go see Cang Kun. Since you’ve already formed a Sword Bone, it can teach you some other stuff.”

Yan Zizhan stayed on guard, like he was still trying to confirm something.

Chu Jingxi knew his paranoia was kicking in and said quietly: “This is Lord Dragon, the Ancestor’s one and only battle companion. He only shows up in legends—I’ve been lucky enough to meet him a few times.”

That last bit was enough to prove the flood dragon meant no harm. Only then did Yan Zizhan relax. And while the flood dragon soaked in a second wave of smug satisfaction, Yan Zizhan made sure to stuff some Array Talismans into Chu Jingxi’s hands.

“Be careful.”

Chu Jingxi nodded, and Yan Zizhan took off.

Right there, the flood dragon’s deep voice shook the clouds: “The clan said your work is all about ambushes and risking your life, so they had me train your speed.”

On one hand, Chu Jingxi was the fastest in the cultivation world—the Space-Time Law could teleport him straight across spatial dimensions, but it cost a ton. On the other hand, he didn’t have a wind spiritual root, so without the law boosting him, his speed was no better than anyone else’s at his level.

So he was just as eager to train.

Flood dragon: “You ready?”

“Ready!” Chu Jingxi answered, all serious.

The flood dragon flew up in front of him, raised two massive claws, and the next second, strapped a pair of little wings onto Chu Jingxi.

The Dragon Scale Wings, forged from a hundred treasures, let you fly the moment you put them on.

"Training complete." The flood dragon was thoroughly pleased, its whiskers quivering with a satisfied hum.

"..."

A massive hand reached out of the clouds and, without warning, grabbed the flood dragon by the tail and flung it somewhere else.

Its power suppressed, the flood dragon couldn't resist: "Master, I was wrong!!!"

The immortal peak collapsed, boulders tumbling. After a long while, a claw struggled out of the ruins, and the flood dragon flew back, trembling in fear.

Facing the stunned Chu Jingxi, the flood dragon, now back, obediently began training: "I'll use my dragon might to create a tenfold gravity environment. Practice your footwork in it."

The commotion of the flood dragon being hurled from the immortal peak was immense—the tremor of its dragon might was felt even across the Endless Sea.

"That flood dragon just got smacked for being sneaky." Cang Kun, who perpetually coils in the high clouds, said to Yan Zizhan: "The swords of the Taiqing Sect prize unyielding advance—but since ancient times, what's too rigid snaps easily."

Li Yan had already pointed out the same issue to Yan Zizhan at the realm barrier.

At the time, he didn't see a problem—if it snapped easily, it just wasn't hard enough. But now Yan Zizhan's thinking had shifted; he sought both offense and defense.

But this defense wasn't for himself.

Cang Kun's eyes seemed to see right through everything: "There's a method that suits you perfectly—the Qiankun Mother-Son Sword."

The mother-son sword wasn't just two blades; the number of son swords could vary.

"Master swordsmen can control hundreds of son swords at once. Since you've transformed into a Sword Bone, you can try blending illusion and reality—one sword becoming ten thousand, or even more."

Yan Zizhan stood in silence, pondering why Cang Kun would single him out for guidance.

This beast, possibly over a thousand years old, had barely guided even the Chu family's direct disciples.

"Ha—" A uniform cry suddenly sounded from afar, but its sound waves didn't spread across the Endless Sea—Cang Kun dissipated them all.

Yan Zizhan suddenly remembered that Elder Feng was drilling the Ten-Thousand-Sword Combined Formation.

"Swords come, swords go, swords come again," Cang Kun rasped. "The enemy, seeing this, would find fate truly humorous."

"..."

Not just the Chu family—almost every major power was running targeted training.

Few wandering cultivators were seen out and about now. Across the immortal domain, factions that once might not contact each other in a decade were now holding nearly ten meetings in three days.

In the Star River Realm, the core zone of the Immortal Alliance, seventy-two primordial spirits sat in various positions.

"To date, a total of one hundred seventy-two formations have been destroyed—one hundred twenty of them independent Grand Refining Arrays. The rest should be components of a ritual targeting the entire continent."

The Array Formation Sect Master explained: "What's certain is that the blood refining array aimed at the Primordial Continent has reached a residual state, greatly reducing its power."

A miniature map of the continent displayed in full panorama mid-air, with sparse red dots marking locations where array masters predicted refining arrays might exist but had no time to explore.

"Central zone forces can't be relocated," the Immortal Alliance Leader finally spoke. "Notify the Human Dynasty in the north to begin migrating south."

The south had the fewest arrays; the future troubles of migrating toward the demon domain weren't a consideration for now.

"At the realm barrier, the legions remain the main force as usual. Each faction must send at least a hundred Heaven Immortal combatants as support."

The Taiqing Sect Master volunteered: "I'll lead sect disciples to hold the central domain."

The Holy Land Elder: "The Three Holy Lands will commit equal combat strength and stand with the Taiqing Sect to the death."

Every major power pledged to hold at least one position.

The Immortal Alliance Leader then zoomed in on certain points: "Dao Source pollution is advancing; the ghost race will soon achieve full descent. In the immortal domain—the Thousand Slaughter Sea, Qingyun Peak..."

From the immortal domain, the Endless Sea, down to the lower realms, every location had traps and relatively safe zones prepared; once the ghost race descended, they could be lured in. "Over a hundred puppet array points are also set within the demon domain."

The Primordial Continent was vast, and the deployments tailored to different ghost race scenarios took hours to arrange.

Afterward, when it came to strategic resource distribution, poison pills were at the forefront.

The Xiadan Sect Master stepped forward: "The red vials are pills that fully restrain ordinary Ghost Cultivators; a common Ghost General can be weakened by a fifth of its power, taking effect immediately. However, efficacy against high-rank Ghost Generals is unstable—ranging from negligible to halving their strength directly."

It's all a matter of luck.

"At least three thousand Warships and Star Annihilation Cannons must guard supply points across regions, and they won't participate in other rescues."

From sunrise to sunset, the pre-war council ran for three straight days. As it neared its end, someone asked curiously: "What about Chu Jingxi?"

Not a single word had been mentioned about Chu Jingxi throughout, even though he could be a trump card against the ghost race.

"Other arrangements." The figure in the main seat vanished on the spot.

The crowd exchanged glances, understanding dawning on them.

No one could be certain whether someone might be captured and turn traitor in the future; these days of preparation were likely just a fraction of the overall strategy.

The true core of the plan was known only to a select few.

Chu Jingxi, closely watched by many Great Cultivators, had just completed intensive training two days earlier and been directly assigned to a garrison point in the central region.

Now, cultivators across the entire cultivation world were dispatched to various locations. The central domain was considerably safer than the front lines, but still the second most dangerous area, with Taiqing Sect cultivators stationed there too.

"I thought they'd send you to the front lines." Inside a temporary garrison town, Chu Tiannan was surprised at the assignment.

Chu Jingxi teased: "If even you thought so, wouldn't the ghost race be even more sure?"

The crowd burst out laughing.

The younger generation of the Chu family, who had previously drilled in formations, were now all gathered in nearby regions.

The central domain had roughly five hundred garrison points, forming a river-like buffer zone against the war.

Due to the vast area, each stronghold was responsible for guarding hundreds of thousands of miles or more; with limited manpower, the periphery relied more on traps and patrols to keep things under control.

Surrounding civilians had largely withdrawn to the inner defense lines.

The people living on this continent adapted quickly to reality—even ordinary mortals soon grew used to the prolonged darkness and murky air, continuing their three daily meals and normal labor amid fear.

"I hope this peaceful time lasts a little longer."

One day, as Chu Jingxi was talking with Yan Zizhan, a shadow appeared on the distant horizon, obscuring the scant sunlight.

A twisted, unnatural wind howled through the garrison point.

Nearby villagers tending their fields looked up to see the sky as if shattered from within, the cracks visibly expanding right before their eyes.

At the same moment, blackish-red vortices appeared across multiple locations on the Primeval Continent, and the cultivators stationed at the guard points went pale.

Countless massive phantoms came down like a plague of locusts.

The ghost clan invaded.

Author's note:

Just-for-fun bonus scene:

Later, in Chu Jingxi's autobiography:

My life was a total disaster from the start, and I've faced countless sky-falling crises since. But I never give up. Be myself, do great things!

System: Of course you don't give up, because it's me who's falling apart.

"Though bodies die, spirits live on... to become ghost heroes" is from Qu Yuan.