Chapter Eighty-Nine: Ancient Spirit Stone

The Days of Becoming Brother to Wukong

After fingerprint verification, a band of seven-colored brilliance shot through the crack of the door. The iron gate slowly swung open, and the light grew ever stronger, making it impossible for eyes to remain open in the dim room. Liu Yunfei was the first to dart inside. He found a small square chamber, with a tiny table in the center. Upon it sat a glittering polyhedral stone, and the dazzling radiance came from that stone.

It was a kind of crystal Liu Yunfei had never seen before. Its light was not mere reflection, for there was no source of illumination in the room. Nor was it the faint glow of a phosphorescent stone. It was a brilliant, multicolored blaze that kept shifting and changing, as though gleaming water were flowing within the crystal itself.

Shadi stepped forward and gently stroked the stone, as tenderly as one might stroke the head of a beloved son. Tears of age immediately spilled down his face. He let out a long sigh and said slowly, “Back then, I was still only the chief enforcer. In that year, I learned that this sacred stone, capable of transmitting energy, had been kept by a tribe of savages in the Arabian Desert. The former leader and I immediately rushed from our base in Iran to the tribe’s territory, where we fought their shaman for three days and three nights. In the end, the former leader used his divine splitting technique and sacrificed himself to seize the stone. On his deathbed he placed it in my hands and instructed me that I must complete the great work of resurrecting the True God. At that time I had already suffered grievous internal injuries, and many of those savages were still hunting me. Yet the True God protected me. Just when I was near death, I met King Aziz, who had already passed away. He saved me. After my body recovered, I discovered that the descendants of the Saudi royal family were in fact the most suitable vessels for the True God to inhabit. At that moment I thanked all the gods. I also thanked King Aziz. I swore that I would repay him. I would make his son become an omnipotent True God.”

Haddina suddenly grew curious. “Repay him? After the True God takes possession, will he still have consciousness?”

“No. By then the true self is already dead. He becomes the reborn True God Iblis. Even so, at least his body gains eternal life and boundless power. That, of course, is repayment.” Shadi’s stern gaze swept over Haddina, who could not help trembling. He hurriedly replied, “Of course that is repayment. To gain the world, what does such a small sacrifice amount to? The old leader is truly wise.”

Liu Yunfei wanted nothing more than to leap out and slap that old beast twice. What sort of repayment was this? It was a monstrous betrayal of kindness. A man saves his life, and he plots in secret to ruin the man’s son, yet he speaks so grandly of repayment. He could not even make his own words add up.

That old beast, Shadi, continued telling Haddina about the past. “Everyone knows that our True God has no body of his own. He must take refuge in the heart of another. Yet the True God’s power is far too great. If he were to possess one person’s heart entirely, that person would be unable to endure it and would die. Therefore, one must spend more than ten years cultivating the resurrection technique. But who would have thought that the old king’s son would be so disappointing? Just as the resurrection technique was about to be perfected, he suddenly refused to become the True God’s furnace and kept insisting that it all be made public. At that time he had not yet completed the technique; even if I forced him, there would have been no way to let the True God take possession. I could only harden my heart and kill him.”

Haddina flattered him at the right moment. “The leader was indeed wise. To accomplish a great cause, one must be decisive and abandon petty personal kindness. That is the conduct of a true man.”

“Yes, I did not want to kill him either. I had no choice. So with Ovari, I changed my method. I no longer told him what cultivating the resurrection divine art was for. I only told him that it would be beneficial. His body was even more suitable than his father’s to serve as a vessel. It seemed as if the resurrection art had been created just for him. In only ten short years he reached perfection. Now everything is complete. Even if he knows he must offer his body to the True God, he will be unable to resist. Ha ha ha ha.”

Shadi laughed as he strode outside. For decades he had been pretending to laugh, and only in these few days had he truly laughed. It felt wonderful.

Haddina followed close behind, still flattering him. “All the formal members of our order have already arrived near the holy city of Mecca. We are merely waiting for tomorrow night, to witness the glorious moment when the leader invites the True God.”

Liu Yunfei flew over the ancient sacred stone, thinking that he had never seen such a thing before. He had no idea how much it might be worth; if stolen and sold, it would probably fetch at least a billion. Even if it were not sold, leaving it to one’s descendants as a family heirloom would not be bad. But he could not alert the enemy. He endured the urge to pocket the crystal, twisted his head away, and flew out.

After Shadi and the others left to eat dinner and rest, Liu Yunfei paused on a small tree outside the house and pondered their conversation. It was now perfectly clear. The so-called attack on the oil summit was merely a diversion. Their true target was the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Tomorrow night, while the guardians of the holy sanctuary were away, they would bring Ovari into the mosque and open that legendary, mysterious seal, allowing the inner demon Iblis to be reborn within Ovari’s body.

Should he act at once, or first let the guardians return to the mosque? Or should he wait until they gathered tomorrow and destroy them all in one sweep? Liu Yunfei felt that it would be more prudent to discuss matters with the old prince first. He found a deserted place at a distance, resumed his original form, and called the old prince.

The phone was answered by the old prince’s secretary, Hodman, who said that he too could not find the old prince. Liu Yunfei had no choice but to call Shalena as well. But Arab women did not concern themselves with affairs outside the home, and she knew nothing either; she only said that he might be receiving the presidents of various countries.

Could something go wrong? Liu Yunfei began to worry. Thinking that there was no particular issue on this side for now, he decided it would be best to return to Riyadh and discuss a plan with the old prince.

Back in Riyadh, Liu Yunfei knew that the enemy’s eyes and ears were everywhere. He dared not reveal his true form, and no one was asking after anything, so he could only wander about aimlessly. He went first to the old prince’s home, then to the palace, but even the old king was not there. After that he went to the Four Seasons Hotel.

The more urgent the matter, the more impossible it seemed to find anyone. After nearly two hours circling Riyadh, he still had found no one. Even in the form of a servant, he could not learn anything; these days people were on edge, and the whereabouts of the king and the old prince were all kept secret. Flying above Riyadh, he spun in circles in frustration, when he spotted a convoy below on the main road, with police cars leading the way in front and behind. He hurried down to investigate.

Indeed, persistence pays off. Although the car windows were covered with black curtains, a narrow gap remained, and through it he saw the old prince lounging comfortably inside. Judging by his flushed face, he had probably drunk some wine again under the excuse of entertaining foreign guests that day. The windows were shut up as tightly as a barrel, and Liu Yunfei very nearly smashed through the glass and rushed inside. But the bulletproof glass was linked to an alarm; once broken, it would immediately transmit a signal to the central control center and sound the siren. He had no choice but to follow the car onward.

The car wound through the streets and, in the end, stopped outside the old prince’s residence. Liu Yunfei felt a surge of annoyance. If only he had waited here from the start.

Hovering above the old prince, he saw the old fellow head straight for the room of his young concubine. Quickly, he whispered in his ear, “Saleh, go to the small study.”

The old prince first froze, then immediately realized it was Liu Yunfei. Turning around, he went to the small study, shut the door, and Liu Yunfei appeared. The old prince spoke first. “The steward, Shadi, is missing.”

“He’s gone to Mecca. I came to discuss that very matter with you. Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Even the king isn’t at the palace.”

“The heads of the various countries have all arrived. The king is even busier than I am. He’s been receiving them and talking with them one by one, until he’s exhausted. Let’s get to the point. Why did Shadi go to Mecca?”

Liu Yunfei recounted the conversation between Shadi and Haddina. With his memory, he reproduced the dialogue of the two men word for word. He wanted to see whether the old prince, upon hearing it, would have the same reaction as himself, thereby confirming his own judgment.

The old prince fell into thought. After a while, he raised his head and looked at Liu Yunfei. “Could the legend that the demon Iblis is sealed within the Grand Mosque of Mecca really be true? Could that seal actually be broken? In this day and age, could there still be demons? It’s unbelievable. Could those fanatics from the Sun Temple sect be insane?”

As he spoke, the old prince found it himself somewhat laughable. In truth, he had never believed in such ghostly legends. He was even dissatisfied with the guardians of the holy sanctuary, who did nothing and still took the money, year after year. Of course, it was not that he minded the money so much. The key was that they would not lift a finger even when asked. They kept insisting that they could not leave the holy sanctuary. This time the old prince had truly been angered. If those guardians would not work, then they could forget about receiving royal funding in the future. Guardians also needed to eat, to drink, and to have money to spend, so in the end they had no choice but to compromise and all set out to serve as bodyguards for the presidents of various countries.