Chapter 73: The Training of Su Daji

“Haha! I was only teasing you. Things like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and radishes are mostly used as pig feed in our time—they're dirt cheap.”
A little joke left King Zhou and Su Hu both deeply embarrassed.
It’s hard to refuse someone who’s fed you, or to deny a gift that's been given. They took his words seriously.
Chu Xiaoyu paused, his face thoughtful, then said, “I have a treasure that can contain all things under heaven. Since you managed to pass through the gate of immortals, perhaps this is the special fate connecting us. Here, this Universe Pouch—I’ll gift it to you, King Zhou.”
As he spoke, Chu Xiaoyu held out the Universe Pouch, his expression unchanged, gifting it directly to King Zhou.
Such a treasure given so casually—King Zhou cradled it carefully in both hands, overwhelmed with excitement, and promptly knelt before Chu Xiaoyu: “Your Majesty thanks the gentleman for his generous gift. I will remember your kindness for a lifetime.”
As King Zhou knelt, Su Hu followed suit, both lord and minister bowing in anxious gratitude.
Chu Xiaoyu waved his hand grandly and said, “Stand up and speak, both of you. There’s no need to kneel all the time. Here, we don’t follow such cumbersome rituals.”
“Yes, yes,”
The two rose, trembling slightly.
Chu Xiaoyu quickly instructed King Zhou on how to use the Universe Pouch: “King Zhou, this treasure is easy to use. Operate it with your mental power—once you can freely take and store things, your mind will be fused with the pouch, and you’ll be able to control it at will.”
“This treasure’s capacity is immense—it can contain all things under heaven. Use it with caution; never treat it lightly, or you’ll bear the consequences.”
As he taught, Chu Xiaoyu gave a stern warning.
It was thanks to this Universe Pouch that he had once collected the Five-Finger Mountain of Great-Eared Tathagata and rescued the Monkey King.
Without this treasure, the Monkey King would have been trapped under the mountain for five hundred years.
Fortunately, the Monkey King’s fate had already been rewritten.
“Rest assured, sir. I will guard this treasure carefully and never dare to treat it as a plaything,” King Zhou promised.
“With this treasure, you can transport all those sweet potatoes and potatoes from the backyard at will.”
“There’s one thing though—don’t take everything and run off. I’ll need to hire people to plant again if you do.”
“Sir, we won’t. We just want a little, really just a little,”
King Zhou promised again, though his eyes sparkled with greed.
You old rascal, how sly you are.
A man’s words are always deceitful—trusting you is a fool’s errand.
Despite this, King Zhou wielded the Universe Pouch and ruthlessly swept up nearly all the crops in Chu Xiaoyu’s backyard.
Anything visible to the eye was collected into the Universe Pouch.

Manipulating it with mental power, he could act as he pleased.
Such a domineering and powerful treasure was unheard of in the world.
King Zhou and Su Hu departed together.
Su Daji, however, was left behind.
As Su Hu left, though he was reluctant to part with his daughter, she was now possessed by the fox spirit. She looked like his daughter, but she was no longer herself.
What could he do, torn between letting go and holding on? Su Hu could only leave, troubled.
In the main hall, Su Daji was still shackled.
Chu Xiaoyu snapped his fingers, releasing her from her restraints.
Su Daji collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.
Defeat before the mission had even begun.
According to the original plan, she was to enter the palace and bewitch King Zhou—she and the other two spirits dared not forget the mission given by Nuwa.
“Heh, should I call you Miss Su, or simply address you as Fox Spirit?”
Chu Xiaoyu’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light.
By interfering, he had disrupted Nuwa’s elaborate scheme, trapping the fox spirit on the farmstead. He wondered if Nuwa would explode in anger when she heard of it.
“What... what do you intend to do with me?”
Now, Su Daji’s spirit was crushed.
She’d discovered her magic was completely ineffective—she couldn’t perform even the smallest spell.
Escape? The world was vast, but there was nowhere to run.
This strange manor was bizarre beyond measure.
“Of course, I’ll be giving you some discipline and reform. How about this—we make a pact of three rules? You have the right to refuse, but... in my manor, you’d best behave, or you’ll suffer plenty.”
Listening quietly to Chu Xiaoyu’s words, Su Daji trembled uncontrollably.
A devil!
This man must be a fiend from the underworld!
“Heh, your silence counts as consent. Now, let’s talk about the rules.”

Chu Xiaoyu watched Su Daji’s anxious, fearful face with great interest. “I know the task Nuwa gave you, and your two sisters—Chicken Spirit and Pipa Spirit.”
“Did Nuwa tell you three that the Shang dynasty’s fate was spent, and the true ruler of West Qi had emerged? Then she sent you to bewitch King Zhou, disrupt the court, corrupt the people—am I right?”
His words left Su Daji utterly stunned. “How... how do you know these things?”
Su Daji was shaken to her core.
Heavens!
Who exactly was this young man before her? What terrifying identity did he possess?
Back then, Nuwa had summoned the three demon sisters, and secretly entrusted them with the mission.
Only heaven, earth, and they themselves knew—but who could have guessed the secret would be revealed?
“Are you surprised, shocked, wondering how I know all your melodramatic affairs? If I told you I’m a prophet, able to foresee the future at will, would you believe me?”
He bluffed, an unparalleled trickster!
A man’s words are always deceitful.
“I... I have no choice but to believe.”
“To speak frankly, Nuwa’s tolerance is rather lacking. Just because a man expressed admiration for her holy image and composed a poem in praise, such a beautiful thing was deemed blasphemous. Ha...”
Chu Xiaoyu sneered, “Nuwa thought herself clever, setting up a scheme, not realizing she was making wedding clothes for the Three Pure Ones, culminating in the Investiture of the Gods. Nuwa gained nothing from it—a cosmic joke, second to none.”
Who, in the web of the Investiture of the Gods, was the true beneficiary behind the scenes?
Ancestor Hongjun?
Nuwa?
Lord Lu Ya?
The Western Guide?
The Western Quasi-Ti?
Laozi or the Prime Lord of Heaven?
Perhaps only a genius could know.