Chapter Twelve: The Threads of Jupiter (2)
“The Beidelan?”
The Supreme Young Lord, Shadow Slayer, and Blossom exchanged glances simultaneously.
Clearly, the Beidelan that the Supreme Young Lord and Shadow Slayer knew was merely the scene presented when the immortal array was corrupted during the Trick Box Contest in the Tianmu Trial.
Only Blossom understood that this cruise ship must be the coordinate where the Netherworld descended. This implied that the cause of the so-called “time resonance” with the Jupiter Thread was indeed the Jupiter Veil, an artifact of the Netherworld’s earlier rain.
Blossom did not interrupt Jian’s words.
Jian continued, “At first, our professors thought it was a middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe, but it turned out he was merely using your so-called immortal arts to transfer the passengers on the cruise ship. The true resonance with the Jupiter Thread was triggered by a little girl in black who appeared afterward!”
Immortal Master Yuran asked, “A little girl?”
Jian said, “Our professors recognized that the little girl’s black garment was woven from the Jupiter Thread itself.”
Shadow Slayer interrupted, “Wait! Didn’t you just say the Jupiter Thread couldn’t be woven into anything?”
“So, the professors were shocked to discover that this veil woven from Jupiter Thread actually contained another element—something called an energy string.”
The Supreme Young Lord exclaimed, “Energy string… I have indeed heard of it.”
Blossom immediately caught on—it was the same as the ones found in the Panxian Cave.
“Energy strings are the fundamental building blocks of the world. Hence, billions know of them,” Jian explained. “It is true that these strings can combine with the Jupiter Thread; our professors have long established this in our research.”
The Supreme Young Lord asked, “If you already knew this, why did you say they were surprised?”
Jian replied, “The Jupiter Thread and energy strings can combine, but their first contact triggers a violent reaction. Like a chemical reaction, it is an immensely powerful and unavoidable energy release. Once they touch, this world ceases to exist. No—perhaps the entire universe will no longer persist.”
Immortal Master Yuran said, “That sounds like an immeasurable level immortal art. No, if it returns all things to the origin, it must surpass immeasurable level…”
“Super-immeasurable level?” The group was shocked, speaking in unison. “Why would the contact between the Jupiter Thread and energy strings cause such a cataclysmic disaster that destroys the world?”
Jian said, “Even if I explained, you might not understand.”
Immortal Master Yuran replied, “Young lady, the Academy of Magical Arts is after all a place of instruction; the masters and disciples here are hardly illiterate. Why not explain and see if we truly don’t understand?”
Jian opened the red grimoire in her hands, swiping her finger across it a few times. Two glowing orbs emerged—a blue one and a red one. When they collided, they instantly turned into a burst of white light and vanished.
Jian said, “This world consists of the 'spacetime' represented by the Jupiter Thread and the 'quantum field' represented by energy strings. They are inseparable in daily existence, but once separated, they cannot come into contact again. When spacetime collides with the quantum field for the first time, a new universe is formed—commonly known as the Big Bang. Do you understand?”
Blossom answered, “I believe in this age, everyone has heard of the Big Bang…”
The Supreme Young Lord pondered, “The Big Bang indeed represents a super-immeasurable existence.”
Jian said, “The contact between the Jupiter Thread and energy strings could reset our universe. Therefore, these two artifacts can never be sewn into a garment. Yet, this garment appeared in the East—or rather, it exists in the future. Its wearer only glimpses and influences the present through the future.”
Immortal Master Yuran asked, “Young lady, you said the Jupiter Thread was stolen later?”
“Correct.” Jian’s gaze sharpened as she fixed her eyes on Yuran.
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Immortal Master Yuran responded, “Perhaps we know of energy strings, but not where your Jupiter Thread is. Moreover, it seems everyone must avoid contact between these two divine objects. Even if we possessed the Jupiter Thread, wouldn’t combining them mean certain destruction?”
Jian pressed, “No, maybe you have already found the ability to integrate the Jupiter Thread and energy strings.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Perhaps your lordship is growing senile.” Jian spoke bluntly. “Not long ago, you had a great battle in the stratosphere. At that battlefield, something formed by the combination of Jupiter Thread and energy strings appeared.”
Immortal Master Yuran said, “You mean the Qiankun Guard Battle in the atmospheric stratosphere?”
“I don’t care what it’s called! In any case, that thing appeared in that battle!”
Blossom interjected, “But that veil made from Jupiter Thread was destroyed!”
“What evidence do you have?”
“I destroyed it with my own hands!” Blossom angrily wanted to raise his golden cudgel and charge forward. He had destroyed the Jupiter Veil personally; otherwise, why would the rain not have come…
The Supreme Young Lord stopped the furious Blossom and said to the mage Jian, “If that is so, you must have proof that we did not destroy that Jupiter Veil!”
“You need not keep the garment made from the Jupiter Thread. You may have found energy strings and know how to combine them. Because on the very day of the atmospheric stratosphere battle, the Jupiter Thread vanished from the treasury of the Kelin Magic School!”
Immortal Master Yuran said, “That day, all masters and disciples of the Academy of Magical Arts, including the dean Dao Lingxingjun and the academy itself, were in the atmospheric stratosphere. Our lives were at risk. How could we have gone to your so-called Lebanon…”
“Master… it’s not Lebanon. That place is Paris… Paris, France.” The Supreme Young Lord hurriedly corrected.
“Exactly. How could the Academy of Magical Arts have time to steal your treasure in Paris?”
Jian narrowed her eyes and said, “Good. That means you admit that none of you were in Saint Pingning at the time. Among tens of thousands of your masters and disciples, if one escaped, who would know?”
“Silence!” Immortal Master Yuran shouted, “The Academy of Magical Arts is not a band of thieves!”
The surrounding disciples of the Academy of Magical Arts expressed their indignation and uproar, some even cracking their knuckles eager to teach these Kelin mages a lesson.
Jian raised the red grimoire in her hand and said, “I knew you wouldn’t admit it and would keep denying! We came here today because we found direct evidence in the treasury where the Jupiter Thread was lost that the thief came from the Academy of Magical Arts!”
She shouted loudly, “Here is your evidence of thievery! Let’s see how you deny it now!”
Jian flipped open the red grimoire and swiped her finger across it.
Blossom said, “You say we stole the Jupiter Thread, but there must be a motive, right?”
“Are you truly that foolish?” Jian did not even lift her eyelids. “If the Jupiter Thread can form a garment, it can traverse time. Do you understand what time travel means?”
The girl, who looked barely more than a brat, actually called Blossom a “stinky brat.”
Blossom suppressed the sudden surge of anger and answered, “I do understand what time travel means.”
Jian said, “Good! Then tell me, with this garment, what cannot be obtained in the world?”
Blossom said, “You mean we took your things for personal gain?”
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“As long as this world exists, there will forever be struggles for profit!”
Immortal Master Yuran said, “Since you knew that the Jupiter Veil appearing in the Qiankun Guard Battle was related to your missing Jupiter Thread, you should also know that this veil belongs to our enemy, the Netherworld. Then why come to the Academy seeking it?”
“We need not care about Netherworld or not. Seeing this, we know who to seek!”
Jian withdrew her finger from the red grimoire, casting an orange magical incantation that shimmered in the air and condensed into a tiny thread of purple-gold, as fine as a single hair.
Jian extended her hand, pinching the thread between her thumb and middle finger, and said, “This!”
Immortal Master Yuran squinted, staring for a long moment before asking, “Young lady, what do you mean holding two fingers like that? Are you about to snap your fingers?”
Jian shouted angrily, “This! What I hold is a purple-gold thread!”
“Forgive me, my eyes have grown weak recently, and my sight poor. Let me take a closer look.” Immortal Master Yuran stepped forward, palm outstretched. The purple-gold thread fluttered from Jian’s hand into Yuran’s palm.
Yuran examined the thread carefully before returning it to Jian.
“This is indeed the purple-gold thread from the robes of disciples of the Academy of Magical Arts.”
The Academy’s robes were crafted by the Celestial Maiden of the Nine Heavens, who embroidered the immortal incantations from the “All Laws Return to the Origin” on the robes with this purple-gold thread, enhancing the disciples’ spell power.
Blossom recalled hearing this when he first arrived at the academy and asked, “Why can this purple-gold thread serve as evidence?”
Jian chuckled dryly, though no humor touched her voice.
“After the Jupiter Thread vanished from the treasury, this purple-gold thread was the only extra item found there. This tiny thread was too insignificant to be noticed and was left behind by the thief. Our magic professors searched every corner of the world and found no similar material. Only the robes of your Academy’s disciples contain this kind of stitching!”
The relaxed expression on Immortal Master Yuran’s face gradually faded.
From this expression, everyone realized that this mage Jian might indeed have some sort of evidence.
The Supreme Young Lord asked, “Master, could this purple-gold thread be forged?”
Immortal Master Yuran shook his head.
“Besides the Academy’s robes, is this purple-gold thread used on any other items?”
Yuran still shook his head and said, “In Saint Pingning, only our academy robes are embroidered with the Celestial Maiden’s special purple-gold thread. Neither heaven nor earth has this elsewhere.”
Shadow Slayer grew anxious and said, “So, does this mean disciples of the Academy of Magical Arts have been to that Kelin Magic School?”
Immortal Master Yuran glanced at Jian and said, “If the other side is not deliberately framing us, then this might indeed be evidence.”