Qian Shuhua dreamed of petals of exquisite beauty, where peach blossom flowers formed an ocean. Two youngsters sat side by side on the branch of a peach blossom tree. The cool breeze brought with it a faint delight while the migratory birds cooed. It was a poetic and picturesque scene. She didn't know when but a rain of fire began to fall from the sky above. The flames rapidly ignited all the petals, set the peach blossom tree on fire, and burned the migratory birds to death. The youngers were also separated by the fire.
Wonderland turned into purgatory. Qian Shuhua wanted to cry but no tears came. She wanted to scream for help but no voice came. All that was left in her vision was a field of red.
Out of the blue.
A pair of strong yet gentle arms embraced her. Slowly, the sea of purgatory fire extinguished. The cool breeze picked up, caressing the scorched plains. Young shoots quietly sprang from the ground, gradually replacing the blazing w
In the short span of an hour, 36 Branch Masters of the Divine Sect were all gathered in one place. Ye Que personally took charge of the meeting and put in order three missions. Qian Shuxiao didn't say a word throughout the meeting and kept his brows tightly knitted. After everyone had left, he could no longer hold himself back and said, "Brother Ye, is this the strategy that you've prepared? Isn't it a little lacking?" Ye Que glanced at him and replied, "Then what do you think we should do?" Without even thinking, Qian Shuxiao answered, "Start a war. Have a true battle with the Extinctive Sword Manor House and break the legs of that damned Lin Shan! I'll kill him for bullying my sister!" Ye Que shook his head, chuckling. "Isn't your plan the true child's play? Start a war against the Extinctive Sword Manor House? With what? With those hooligans that we took under our wings? Most of them just started cultivating three months ago
The moon and stars were pale in the quiet night. The inhabitants of Luoyang City had been struggling in the stifling heat for an entire day. The clouds that had gathered into a thick mass just before nightfall was so close to the ground that they seemed so close to touching the faraway Jinshan Temple. It was so stuffy that people could hardly breathe. Even cicadas, crickets, and toads had lost their zeal to bellow their grievances, only emitting weak cries when they simply couldn't bear the heat. First, the clouds obscured the moonlight. Then came the faint rumbling of thunder. One could even see bolts of lightning flashing in the crevices of the clouds. It seemed that a rainstorm was coming. A group of silhouettes sped along the path leading to the Extinctive Sword Manor House from the direction of Luoyang City. In no time at all, Ye Que showed up in the vicinity of the Manor House. Following right behind him were no less than
Early morning, Extinctive Sword Manor House. The head cook that had gone through a whipping personally led the group of menial workers that had been punished to kneel for an entire night to procure ingredients. Even though the head cook knew some martial arts for self-protection, it was impossible for him to walk or ride the horse after enduring 10 lashings of the whip. Fortunately, they had the five horse-drawn carriages meant for procurement. After helping his master settle down on the back of the carriage, Tian Xiaosi personally took the reins. The group of six were the earliest to leave the Manor House. Their carriage wobbled along the road to Luoyang City. From afar, the road was shrouded in the marble white fog of the mountain. The head cook had fallen asleep the moment they left the Manor House, perhaps because he didn't sleep well last night because the whipping was too vicious. He fell asleep and even began snoring. "W
The Prefectural Magistrate's Office of Luoyang was located in the middle of the southern line. It was accessible from all sides, making transportation convenient. The tip of Ye Que's foot had just touched the grounds of the Prefectural Magistrate's Office when a large crowd of commoners emerging swiftly from the 36 lanes of the city. Watching from a high vantage point, the stream of people looked like black threads. The point of their convergence was also the Prefectural Magistrate's Office. When the glorious Tang Empire was established, it was expressly stipulated in the law that all cases must be transparent and all investigation files were put on the public record to ease supervision. A significant crowd had gathered outside the lobby by the time the Senior Prefectural Official of Luoyang, Song Gongming, was prepared to begin the trials. If one were to take a careful look, one would easily discover that most of the Branch Masters of the D
Inner Hall of the Extinctive Sword Manor House. The disciples and stewards were gone, making Lin Shan and Lin Mei'er the only ones there. "There's something odd about what happened the past couple of days. I feel as if someone's deliberately trying to go against us." Lin Mei'er looked at Lin Shan with a frown, her face full of suspicion. "There's no doubt someone's trying to go against us." Lin Shan paced inside the Inner Hall, his anger still burning. "Should we seek Senior Brother Zhuo's advice? We can ask them to investigate this." Lin Mei'er pointed to an even deeper part of the Inner Hall, her voice carrying rare hesitation. Even though it was a distinguished and orthodox family, for some reason she felt distaste for Zhuo Bufan and the others. It wasn't fear; either way, she was unwilling to stay with them for too long. "No need." Lin Shan raised his head and snapped Lin Mei'er's line of thoughts. "Mount Shu
"The auspicious pair, a match made in heaven, pay their respects in the Jade Hall. The crowd fights to get a glimpse of the delicate bride and the dapper groom. The marriage is so loving that the couple had the leisure to play with parrots. They play the mouth organ, attracting the attention of phoenixes. During the family reunion in the month of flowers, the gem-lined fan is removed. The slim and graceful lady takes on a new shape. Rumor has it that she bears an heir. The days of bliss continue." The Prefectural Magistrate of Luoyang, Song Gongming, congratulated the old general, Ye Zhengru, for the marriage of his son. "Guests get drunk on exquisite wine during the delightful banquet. The luan and the phoenix soar above the houses in this magnificent nation, bearing witness to the beautiful cooperation of two families. They reflect the laughter and kissing in the newlywed home. The newlyweds play the mouth organ in bliss while mimicking Xiaoshi. They raise the platte
The Paper Sword was a sword of Mount Shu that could transmit messages over 500 kilometers. The sword ripped through the air to stop and hover in front of Lin Shan. It trembled ever so slightly before opening from the middle. The handle of the sword bent and in the blink of an eye, transformed into a slip of paper bearing the symbol of the Mount Shu. Shortly after, the slip of paper fell gently on Lin Shan's palm. "Demonic beasts have besieged the mountain." "The number of casualties is high." "Return immediately." Three lines of sentences and 14 words appeared vividly on the paper. Lin Shan's face immediately paled after reading the slip of paper. He clutched his hand to form such a tight fist that blue veins protruded on his skin. "Who exactly are you? What do you know? What relations do you have with demonic beasts?" Staring at Ye Que's smiling face, Lin Shan wanted noth
"A large group of demonic beasts has been discovered outside of Luoyang City." "His Highness has decreed that all officials from the three departments and six ministries, nine courts and five directorates, 16 guards of southern magistrates and 10 armies of northern magistrates must report to duty within an hour. No excuse for delay is permitted." Due to Lin Shan's shouting earlier, the place was already deathly quiet. Thus, the words of the red-armored man rang loud and clear in the ears of the esteemed guests and the onlookers, including the nearby Ye Yunhai. It was a rude shock for everyone to learn about the appearance of a large group of demonic beasts and during daytime at that. They rose to their feet in unison and felt cold sweat forming on their back. All of them prayed hard that their respective departments wouldn't slip up. If something happened, it would be a crime punishable with the execution of one's entire clan.
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