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.
Passing through the entire wedding scene. Ye Que and Ye Zhengru stared at each other. Ye Que caught Ye Zhengru's gaze earnestly. Reflected in his eyes were a sense of inquiry, curiosity, bewilderment, and even hatred. Even after dominating the Three Realms in his previous life, one regret remained in him: he never managed to meet Ye Zhengru. It was also his heartache. Ye Que's eyeballs remained motionless. Ever since he started looking at the old man, it felt as if his gaze had become frozen. On the other hand, the faraway Ye Zhengru didn't harbor many thoughts. In Luoyang City, even in the entire glorious Tang Empire, there were countless people who admired him or even considered him their target. He had gotten used to this kind of gaze a long time ago. His gaze was no longer as sharp as it had been in the past—in fact, his eyesight had worsened. Even so, it took him one glance for a faint voice to
The seventh day of the seventh month. It was close to 11 pm. The Imperial Palace of the glorious Tang Empire, the Forbidden City. The little monk that walked into Luoyang during the day was now standing tall on the roof of the Ziluo Golden Palace with his hands clasped behind his back and pale green kasaya billowing in the air. It made for an incredibly peculiar scene. On the worshipping square several kilometers away from the Ziluo Golden Palace, the Emperor of the glorious Tang Empire was leading a dozen or more of his cabinet ministers. He waved his hand and looked at his ministers. "Is this the person the astronomer of the Star-harvesting 18-storey Tower?" "In response to Your Highness: This person is called Zhai Xingzi. Even though he looks about eight or nine, he's more than 60 years old. He's the most senior astronomer in the Star-harvesting 18-storey Tower. If even he fails to calculate where the River Soldiers would be
"I have bought the Peony Pavilion, along with the rest of the other buildings and premises adjacent to it, Brother Ye," Qian Shuxiao muttered suddenly, still plopped in his seat in Ye Que's dwelling. "The Peony Pavilion?" Ye Que managed. He was caught off-guard by the name. "The place we were first met," Qian Shuxiao described, further expounding more on the realization of his vision, "The preliminary phase of its renovations is almost complete. I wish to open it to the public in a few days." "Open it to the public? What are you doing with it?" Ye Que asked, the feeling of dread growing stronger with every word. "A seminary for our Divine Sect!" "I wish to start a Divine Sect Seminary!" "This seminary shall be where we, the students of the Divine Sect, meet," said Qian Shuxiao, the excitement and fervor evident in his eyes. Ye Que took in Qian Shuxiao's present demeanor with exasperatio
"The great Divine Tool—the River Soldiers will appear soon!" "It will manifest at the Imperial Mausoleum, at the ley lines of the imperial sovereignty!" On the very same day the Emperor had received the results of his seers' and soothsayers' auguries, word of the prophecy began leaking quietly out of the imperial city into the public through various channels. Like the faint trembling spreading from the centermost skeins of a vast spider web, the news caused ripples in the domains of the Cultivation World and the Five Main Tribes of Demon Race alike; the news was readily available to anyone who had an ear to it. The site of the Imperial Mausoleum, with its restrictions and the various dangers that skulked within, became known to anyone interested. What should have been a carefully-guarded secret had become as public as a flaming brand in the dark. It was no longer a secret; but a general knowledge to everyone, even the common fo
At the head of the Bridge of Long Life. Thirty-two soldiers of the Ye Clan guarded the bridge, casting stern glances upon the group of curious onlookers that began to crowd around them, as many of the people began clamoring distastefully at the blockade. "What's going on at the front? Why are you barring the road? This is outrageous!" A man shouted loudly at the soldiers. "The Ministry of War is conducting an investigation. No irrelevant personnel is allowed to pass until further notice," growled the sergeant of in charge of the troop. "Irrelevant personnel? What irrelevant personnel? I used this road every day! In what way are we irrelevant people here." "Anyone without the authorization pass issued by the Ministry of War is considered irrelevant personnel." "My house is just at the street in front. How am I supposed to go with you fools barring the road?" Another voice yelled over the boisterous di
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