Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me-Chapter 1269 - 874 Spring and Autumn Brush

"The Spring and Autumn Brush indeed shattered, but just because it shattered, doesn’t mean it cannot be repaired? The sharpness of the Spring and Autumn Brush, capable of piercing even a Saint’s body, is a rare treasure in Prehistoric World, one that can threaten the Saints themselves."

"While the Confucian Saint was still alive, naturally, no one dared to covet the Spring and Autumn Brush. But what about after the Confucian Saint’s demise? Without the Saint’s deterrence, countless powerhouses in Heaven and Earth longed for this treasure."

"Even before his death, the Confucian Saint had foreseen that after his demise, many Great Divine Transcendents, and possibly even the Saints themselves, would personally strive to seize the Spring and Autumn Brush."

"The Saint was acutely aware that after his passing, with the existing power of the Confucian Dao, it would be utterly impossible to preserve the Spring and Autumn Brush from the covetousness of so many formidable foes."

"Therefore, at the time of his collapse, the Saint deliberately took both the Spring and Autumn Brush and ’Spring and Autumn,’ these two divine artifacts, to be destroyed alongside him."

"However, the difference is that after the Saint’s collapse, he turned into a River of Upright Qi, with no possibility of resurrection. But those two divine artifacts were merely broken, and naturally, once the time is ripe, they can be reassembled."

As he held the Spring and Autumn Brush in his hands, the First Emperor laughed and said to Jiuyuan and the others.

There was no need to hide such matters because even if he didn’t say it, with the appearance of the Spring and Autumn Brush, everything would soon be uncovered, and the course of events quickly deduced by the other Great Divine Transcendents.

This is not the real world, where learning the sequence of events requires investigation from multiple sides. In Prehistoric World, there’s no such trouble; direct deduction based on existing clues quickly yields the desired answers.

"So to speak, when you summoned the disciples of the Hundred Schools to Xianyang City years ago, was it to collect the fragments of the Spring and Autumn Brush?"

Recalling all that the First Emperor did back then, Jiuyuan and the others gradually connected the dots into a clear picture.

"Correct, I obtained fragments of the divine artifact, the Spring and Autumn Brush, from the hands of the Confucian disciples."

"But, to prevent you all from discovering that this divine artifact was in my possession, I also collected a large number of manuscripts from the disciples of the Hundred Schools."

"Then, I sealed the fragments of the divine artifact, the Spring and Autumn Brush, within these manuscripts, using the aura of these scholars to mask the aura of the Spring and Autumn Brush, eluding your perception."

The First Emperor smiled and nodded, revealing his strategy to Jiuyuan and the others.

"You had obtained the divine artifact, the Spring and Autumn Brush, even before your demise, yet you did not utilize this treasure and instead hid it. The purpose, then, was to wait for this moment to trap and eliminate us three in one fell swoop, right?"

Jiuyuan, Xuan Yuan, and Guiyi, the three Great Divine Transcendents who practiced the Innate Water Dao, felt their hearts sinking continuously at this moment.

Only now did they realize that the moment they appeared in Xianyang City, they had already fallen into the First Emperor’s meticulous scheme.

The entire Xianyang City was a trap the First Emperor had set up specifically to catch all three of them.

"Yes, after obtaining the Spring and Autumn Brush, I knew that if I wished, I could kill any one of you three at any time."

"But that was all, regardless of which of you three I killed, the remaining two would be informed immediately and would then go into hiding in the Outer Chaos."

"The Spring and Autumn Brush is a major trump card for the Human Race, and if it were to be revealed just to kill a Great Divine Transcendent, that would be quite unworthy."

"However, if it were possible to kill three Great Divine Transcendents, then revealing the Spring and Autumn Brush would be utterly worthwhile."

"So, without the certainty of capturing all three of you, I resisted making a move against any one of you, even after my own demise, without revealing the existence of the Spring and Autumn Brush."

The First Emperor spoke with considerable sentiment. Jiuyuan, Xuan Yuan, and Guiyi were extremely cautious individuals. How cautious were they?

Ever since they realized they were no match for Da Yu, they never appeared in one location together again. The three of them were always far apart, doing so out of fear that Da Yu might gather the Human Race’s experts and capture them all.

By being separated, their strength was weakened, but it also prevented Da Yu from acting rashly against them. After all, it’s easy to kill one but difficult to kill three simultaneously.

Should Emperor Yu dare to strike at them, if he could not capture them all in one fell swoop, what would await the Human Race would be the frenzied retribution of two Great Divine Transcendents.

Such a price, the Human Race could not afford.

Therefore, although Emperor Yu certainly had the confidence to deal with any one of the three, he still hesitated to make a move.

"You deliberately left the sealed manuscripts of the Spring and Autumn Brush in the Emperor’s tomb instead of Xianyang city, to lead us to subconsciously overlook the artifact, didn’t you?"

"This move is indeed formidable, who could have imagined that you would place the Spring and Autumn Brush, such a supreme sacred artifact, within the tomb you constructed for amusement."

"We have been careless!"

The trio from Jiuyuan now deeply regretted that they too had neglected the Emperor’s tomb in the past, thinking nothing unusual of it at the time.

The sealed manuscripts of the Spring and Autumn Brush they had seen back then but dismissed as mere ordinary texts.

While the manuscripts concealed the aura of the Spring and Autumn Brush’s fragments, their own presence was influenced by the power of the Spring and Autumn itself on the brush, losing all might and becoming mundane.

Thus, even the Great Divine Transcendents failed to see through their true nature.

Back then, the Emperor’s tomb was filled with treasures of mortal dynasties, and these manuscripts were inconspicuous among them. Everyone treated them as ordinary burial objects. Who would have thought that they contained the sacred Spring and Autumn Brush?

It was only because Jiang Chen practiced Ancient Martial Arts and was closely connected to the fate of the Human Race, that he was able to awaken the manuscripts’ might and unveil their true power.

For anyone else, even if they obtained the manuscripts, they would notice nothing unusual and treat them as ordinary items.

"If I were to leave the manuscripts in Xianyang city, then with the Great Divine Transcendents’ terrifying spiritual perception, there would be a certain chance they would detect the danger. Then, how would you dare to risk coming to Xianyang city?"

"Although this chance is very low, I cannot afford to take any risk. Therefore, I left the manuscripts in the Emperor’s tomb."

"No matter how you calculated, the conclusion you would arrive at would be that the greatest threats in Xianyang city are my Martial Dao will and the twelve bronze men, along with the Human Race experts lurking in the shadows."

"Without the threat of the Spring and Autumn Brush, your prowess naturally does not fear these elements. Thus, upon seeing the twelve bronze men about to upgrade, the three of you became restless and rushed to Xianyang city."

This was the true plan of the First Emperor. Xianyang city was the bait, lacking the strength to threaten the trio from Jiuyuan, its purpose being to lure them into the city.

And the real trump card had always been outside, only returning to Xianyang city at the final moment.

"Impressive. So, the burning of books and burying of scholars, that too was part of your plan?"

"The Spring and Autumn Brush is a Confucian sacred artifact that can only unleash its full potential with abundant upright qi. However, as the uncrowned ruler of the Human Race, Emperor Yu, you are unique. Even without upright qi, you can somewhat drive the Spring and Autumn Brush."

"But in doing so, how much of the Spring and Autumn Brush’s power can you exert?"

"At this time, you need someone to provide you with a vast amount of upright qi, in order to fully awaken the Spring and Autumn Brush’s potential."

"If my speculation is not wrong, the burning of books and burying of scholars was merely a smokescreen, and your actual objective was to gather the power of the Confucian scholars to create a vast amount of upright qi for you."

After a long silence, the strange Great Divine Transcendent suddenly spoke up.

Though powerful, the Confucian sacred artifact has significant limitations, and not just anyone can wield it. Only those in possession of upright qi or the Human Race’s sages and sovereigns can unleash its power.

If one does not meet these requirements, then possessing the Spring and Autumn Brush would yield no greater effect than holding a common chisel.