The mouth of the underground cave was hardly large enough to enough adequate flow for the water from the violent Luo River to fill up the entirety of the main hall quickly. Nevertheless, the water was rising noticeably.
Jue Shuo from the Judicature was the first to spring into action; without any shred of hesitation, another look into the main hall, nor any forlorn longing for the Divine Tool, he roused the company, with Li Jianqi in tow, and everyone rushed toward the entrance of the cave. The rushing flow of water coming in would flood the passage coming into the hall with water from the Luo River by now.
The hall, where the Divine Tool had manifested, was a perfectly-furnished circular chamber with no other way out.
Even in the presence of a secret passage, it would be impossible for the company to find the mechanism to open the portal in a short time in the midst of the turmoil.
The most direct way would be to retrace their
The moon was reflected on the water, its image so pristine like a mirror's impression with plumes of clouds clustered together like a fortress in the sky. The waters of the 3000-mile long Luo River had flooded the subterranean Imperial Mausoleum, turning the place into an underwater necropolis, lost and submerged in the depths. Ye Que swam with Red Bean on his back, passing Lake Mingjing, the forest of obelisks, the passage of mermaids, the apothecary furnaces around the Giant Tree, and the halls of the golden mountain. Finally, he reached the main portcullis of the golden palace. He had encountered not a single person on his way there; everyone else he had encountered along the way before had disappeared and there were no corpses too, as if they never existed. As if everyone and everything had been consumed by this huge magical formation. Everything around him was colorful yet peculiar in the mysterious blue world of the under
Xiao Huating was indeed gambling. However, she wasn't betting on Li Chunyu's victory. It didn't matter to her who would win. All she needed was to convince the Second Prince to start the counter-attack, so the massive army of the Ye Family could go on an expedition to the grassland with legitimate reasons. The crows cawed when the moon went down and the fog misted up. Li Chunyu was holding a secret letter that he had waited for a very long time. It seemed that by telling him the approaching cavalry from the grassland, Xiao Huating was thinking for his future, wishing for him to make great contributions to the nation—on the condition that all her words were true. After all, the cheating and deceiving that were taking place within the imperial court were way more outrageous than anyone could've thought. As a prince and a promising candidate to the crown, he must think thoroughly before making any decision, because any mistake could bring him i
It snowed for an entire night in Luoyang City. At dawn, the invitational memorial from the Ye Army was delivered into the palace. Xiao Huating received affirmation from Li Chunyu. The latter had readily agreed to even the request for Ye Yunhai to accompany him on the conquest. He seemed to have made up his mind to become the Second Prince. Of course, this had caused the minute guilty feeling in Li Chunyu's heart to disappear. The hearts of Emperors were made of steel and cold as ice. Since Li Chunyu had such an ambition, it was natural that he made such requests of himself. However, he could not have imagined that Xiao Huating's goals were aligned with his to a certain degree. Li Chunyu had promised his father to never allow the Ye Army back into Luoyang—not even a single steed. Likewise, Xiao Huating was not planning to allow the souls of 200 thousand soldiers slip away from her grasp. She had spent the past two
Snowfall on Mount Mei was slightly stronger than that in Luoyang, and a chilly wind was blowing. It howled across the mountain, and the secluded valley, with its shriveled grass and single flickering flame looked far from civilisation and pitiful. There was a small pile of firewood in the cave now, and a fire was burning beside it. Not far away from it lay the still unconscious Red Bean. Her soaked long robes had already been dried by the fire, but it was obvious that the temperature in the cave was still a little cold for her. Her eyes were shut, and she kept shivering. At the same time, her brows were tightly furrowed, and it was evident that she was suffering. Ye Que stood serenely beside the fire. He was holding onto a wooden stick, and a snowcock was pierced through by it. The feathers of the chicken had been plucked cleanly off, and its innards had already been dug out, leaving only the tender flesh of the bird on the sti
Why did his heart beat 52821 times? Ye Que had begun counting when both his and Red Bean's heart were beating to the same rhythm, up till the time when hers began to beat irregularly. Ye Que knew that the woman he was hugging close to his chest had already awoken when he sensed the difference in her heartbeat. Otherwise, it would not have undergone such a change. Instinctively, he lowered his head to look at Red Bean. He realized that she was still nestled in his chest and had not moved at all. There was not even any difference in the regularity of her breathing, and she looked as though she was a newborn child. Her eyes were still tightly shut, and her long eyelashes did not blink at all, as if she was deep in sleep. Ye Que knew that she was already awake, however, and wanted to wake her up when he realized that he was hugging her. What should he tell her after waking her up? How could he explain himself? In an instant, Ye Que
After eating the whole wild boar, Red Bean patted on her stomach and wiped her mouth contentedly. A small mountain of pig bones was piled up next to the fire, and there was no meat left on the bones. All the meat had been eaten. "Are you full now?" Ye Que asked, sitting next to her. He was really shocked now after watching Red Bean to eat the whole wild boar from the beginning, because the weight of this pig was about to catch up with two of her. So how could this whole wild boar be loaded with such a little belly? Ye Que's expression was now full of curiosity. "Half full, maybe." Looking at Ye Que, Red Bean said casually, "I will eat it later, now I have to consume the calories." "Half full!" After hearing the answer from Red Bean, Ye Que decided not to talk anymore. This little girl was too anomalous. How could she eat meat so fierce like a monster? If he could smell any Demonic Qi on Red Bean, Ye
Ye Que returned to the cave under the falling snow. After feeding Red Bean's bottomless belly, the story continued. Red Bean had long been waiting. She seemed to love the stories, and for the first time, she found that listening to a human telling story was such a happy thing. What she used to do every day was really boring, although there was a reason that she had to do that and would never waver. But this did not affect her to cultivate her own interests and hobbies. These two words were also learned from the stories of Ye Que. The Eldest Young Ladies in Luoyang City and the Princess of the Royal Palace also had their own interests and hobbies. Red Bean thought, since she was also a Royal Highness, she must have an interest and hobby. It was a very tangled thing to decide on hobbies and interests for other people, but Red Bean made decisions quickly. Her later interest was to listen to Ye Que to tell stories, an
It had been snowing for seven days and seven nights in Mount Mei. In the early morning of the eighth day, the snow finally stopped and the sun was rising. Ye Que and Red Bean were standing outside the cave and looking into the distance. All they could see were white. The roads up the mountain and down the mountain were all covered with heavy snow. There was no footprint on the snow. "I want to go back to Luoyang City, what about you? Go home?" Ye Que asked. "I'm wandering in the Human World, and I can go anywhere." "It's not the time to return home yet. I have told you that I am going to be the best practitioner of the world." "So, I decide to go to Luoyang with you. Since Luoyang claims to be the Divine Capital, there are certainly many opportunities to meet the masters from all over the world. After I completely refine the Dragon Bone in my body, I will start to challenge them." Red Bean said calml
Li Jianqi was a Formless Realm expert who had absorbed the Battle Soul of the Great Founder. Even though she was not well versed in formations, she did not have to be so careful. However, both Uncle Jiao and her walked extremely carefully. The higher the realm, the more a practitioner was able to understand how tough the path to cultivation was, and the more he or she was able to understand that there was always someone more powerful than them out there. Moreover, the formations gave off an obvious prehistoric aura and were evidently not from any technique of the current Cultivation World. As such, neither of them dared to take the formations lightly. They were not in the royal palace. Who knew what sort of offensive capabilities Ye Que had incorporated into these formations? What if they attacked them without differentiating between friend and foe? They were not really worried about dying in the manor, but mostly they were afr
Even Ye Que himself was not entirely sure of the phenomenon, much less Li Jianqi. However, a lack of understanding would not obstruct him from learning. The Divine Book seemed to have grown increasingly amazing. Till now, there were already more than 20000 Divine Sect Seminary disciples, and its name was already known among all of the people at the bottom of society in Luoyang. It did not collect fees nor commission and imparted cultivation methods for free. It took it upon itself to explain one's doubts in cultivation away, and it was not a front. The methods Ye Que taught his disciples really allowed them to sense Nature's Spiritual Qi. It was only natural that something as wonderful as this was passed on by mouth, and more people began joining. No one was able to withstand the temptation of progressing in the world of cultivation once he or she entered it. Naturally, they would join the wild goose chase. As its
Winning the competition held among the troops stationed in Luoyang with a set of saber skills? One had to know that the Southern Encampment did not consist of troops stationed at the border. Even though they underwent much training, their prowess in battle was still somewhat behind the border troops. During the previous competitions of such small groups of a thousand soldiers each, the four encampments were not favorites to win. Ye Que had just allowed 1000 soldiers from the Southern Encampment to win the competition after teaching them a set of saber techniques consisting of only about a dozen moves over three days! It was no wonder that Zhang Yue would find it necessary to report the matter to Li Jianqi. "Is the saber technique related to the Southern Encampment winning the competition?" Li Jianqi asked somewhat suspiciously. There were battle techniques in the army as well. Each encampment had its own recognize
Ye Que remained in the Southern Encampment for three days. Ye Que began to hypothesize on the third day the reason that caused the strange phenomenon within his Spiritual Sea. With the aid of the soldiers, Ye Que was finally able to come to a conclusion. The Divine Sect Seminary disciples and the soldiers had practiced the Mountain-Splitting, Water-ceasing and Heaven-Splitting techniques, and there was no reaction from his Spiritual Sea if there were 100 or less than them. If there were more than 100 of them, however, his Spiritual Sea would begin to froth, but only when seminary disciples who had learned the Divine Sect's cultivation technique were present. It did not react when soldiers from the Southern Encampment practiced the Mountain-Splitting stroke. Also, if the energy and spirits of the disciples were not in sync, and they were training at their own pace, there would not be any reaction from his Spiritual Sea. Four cri
"Lend me a thousand soldiers. I have to test a hypothesis." The figure in red light armor standing in front of the military monument had just stopped releasing more sword energy when Ye Que walked up to her. When she turned to face him, Li Jianqi's aura had reverted back to the youthful and beautiful young woman, completely devoid of the bloodthirsty battle intent she displayed earlier on. As Ye Que thought about it, he believed that it should be the effects of absorbing her ancestor's Battle Soul in the Imperial Mausoleum. "Ye Que?" Li Jianqi exclaimed, somewhat shocked. "You want to borrow a thousand soldiers? For a deduction?" "Stop asking me so many questions. I can't explain all of them right away. Just tell me if you would lend them to me?" Ye Que asked somewhat impatiently. Anyone would also be in a hurry to prove his or her theory correct after experiencing so many amazing things and a way of amplifying the power of one's own cultiva
Three saber strokes were made before the gates of the seminary. Ye Que's Spiritual Sea exploded thrice. Ye Que nearly stumbled off the Bridge of Long Life and looked incredulously at the disciples not far away from him. They had still not noticed him and were still practicing their saber techniques. This was because they had also discovered something amazing. It was common for practitioners to be unable to grasp the essence of their training while practicing saber techniques on their own. Their physical selves, sabers, Spiritual Forces, Spiritual Seas and pathways of their sabers were always in disharmony. Training with thousands of other people, however, would speed things up, causing man and saber to reach a state of harmony very quickly, as if the larger the number of practitioners, the greater the benefits. Some of the practitioners had not realized this fact during the first round of training, but by the third round, even
Xichuan Town was a small ordinary town at the western border of Tang State, but it was renowned far and wide. This was because it was situated at a position that was nearly as far away from each of the six neighboring nations at the western border. During a normal day, cargo and trade flowed in and out of the town, as did merchants and travelers. A teahouse was located at the entrance to the town, and two elders sat at a table near the windows. Both of them had white hair, and a chess set was placed right in front of them. The black and white chess pieces were engaged in a titanic battle, and the moves they made were so complicated that it was hard to tell who would emerge as the victor. The elder on the left of the table pinched up a white chess piece with his fingers. "The Tang State has sent out 30 thousand light cavalries to Western Xia. Looks like they are expecting a quick victory." The other elder at the opposite end of the table laug
Gradually, the sky took on a marble-white color as dawn arrived. Frost and dew gathered on the walls of the palace. Li Chunzhi's brows were decorated with a layer of frost. The Chief Councillor of the Grand Council of Tang State trailed behind him, with the imperial bodyguards staying put a short distance away. Countless cultivators from the Judicature lay in ambush at all corners. Tang State continued to be compromised from all sides. If anything happened to Li Chunzhi, it would be the cherry on top of their misfortune. No one went up to stop him. Neither did they dare to. They could all tell that this soon-to-be Emperor was stewed in worries underneath his expressionless face. At dawn, Li Jianqi draped a white robe over her shoulders and climbed up the tower atop the walls. She stood behind Li Chunzhi and contemplated for some time before saying gently, "Father, you should mind your health. You've stood here for an entire nig
Inside the quiet General's Manor, a black-clothed man was shouting himself hoarse. Ye Que didn't think he would be ambushed on his first official return to the manor or that the assassins would be survivors of the Ye Army. These people must have mistaken him for being a Devil Seed after he used his Sword Qi to bind them. Perhaps the battle in You Prefecture left too deep a trauma in them that they would mistake anyone with supernatural powers as a cultivator, a devil, and the culprit behind their brothers' massacre. "Did all of you run from the city of You Prefecture?" Ye Que had released the bind his Sword Qi placed on them. The group of men remained deeply wary of him even after they were freed. However, they refused to let Ye Que distort the truth out of principle. "I'll repeat this again. We didn't flee from the battle. We broke out of the siege under Chief Wu's orders. We didn't run." The person repeated hims