The sounds of the evening were melodious, and the distant mountains gradually faded away from sight. The clouds looked like burning coals, and there was a faint darkness around them.
Heaven and Earth seemed to have been separated as one gazed out of the third storey of the Divine Sect Seminary. If one gazed below, one would see huge crowds of people, horses and carriages. If one gazed above, one could see the Sun setting.
They had finished speaking and drinking their tea, and remained silent for a while.
Ye Zhengru coughed softly after a long while and stood up slowly. He placed one hand on his cane, and raised the other toward the skies, before pausing and bringing it down to Ye Que's shoulder. He patted his son twice, neither lightly nor heavily.
"I'm old, and can't sit for long," Ye Zhengru said softly before turning around and walking out slowly. He stopped after taking two steps and continued, "I couldn't make decisions fo
The Divine Sect Seminary was obviously not a heavenly paradise. How could a place situated in the worldly Luoyang City become a gateway to Heaven? Those 17 civilians managed to enter a meditative state so quickly because of Ye Que's help. The path that Ye Que bashed through after studying the Divine Book was no ordinary one leading to the Psychic Realm. It was not exaggerating to call it a path to Heaven. Of course, it was not the Heaven in the skies, but the 'Heaven' of Spiritual Energy. Normally, practitioners would train their True Energy, but Ye Que cultivated his Divine Energy. The difficulty of breaking through was unavoidable. Similarly, in the process of breaking through, the environment around him was also be more or less affected. Everything Ye Que took a step forward, he swung his saber once, and every time he did that, a seal script would be slashed into pieces. It would delay the Spiritu
The leaves of the lotus flowers had begun to fall, and the lushness of summer was fading away. The West Wind blew, and it was quiet all around the city. It was time for White Dew to fall, and the cicadas remained silent in the night. Warmth faded away slowly, and the birds began to migrate to warmer climates in flocks, from the North to the South. Overnight, the General's Manor was completely draped with white cloth. Lamps burned throughout the entire night, incense paper and joss sticks were lit, and sounds of crying rang out. Ye Yunhai had arrived in the palace dressed in mourning wear for the morning court session, and the news quickly broke out throughout the entire Luoyang City. General Ye Zhengru had passed away! It caused a great ripple across the entire city! Even though there had been news that the old general was getting on in age and bedridden, he was seen outdoors yesterday. So how could he have passed
The sounds of mourning passed through the windows into Ye Que's ears. He walked to the windows and gazed far away to the head of the Bridge of Long Life, shaped like a stone arch. He caught sight of Ye Yunhai wearing a mourning head dress and clothes of hemp. A huge coffin was following him from behind, and Xiao Huating was standing behind it humming a dirge softly. Further away behind them was an endless procession of mourners. "Has someone from the General's Manor passed away?" Ye Que thought instinctively before an idea struck him. "How many people are worthy enough of causing Ye Yunhai to put on mourning wear, and for Xiao Huating to hum an elegy? Aside from Ye Zhengru, I doubt anyone else has such influence." "Impossible!" Ye Que rejected the idea because he had just seen Ye Zhengru a few days ago. Although the general's body was indeed weak and he was afflicted with illness, Ye Que judged that he would not be in any risk
After moving out of the way and returning to the Divine Sect Seminary, Ye Que shot Qian Shuxiao a look. "You better give me one..." Qian Shuxiao threw a jade pendant at him before he could finish his sentence. Ye Que caught the pendant with ease and looked at it. "Why is this pendant with you?" Ye Que remembered vividly that this jade pendant was something his mother left behind. Several days ago, he had personally delivered it to Ye Zhengru. How did it end up in Qian Shuxiao's hands? "Old General Ye's housekeeper delivered it to me. It's his private housekeeper; you've met him," Qian Shuxiao explained. "The day after your meeting, he secretly came here in the evening to see you. But you were in the midst of your close-door meditation then, so he handed it to me. He also left a message." "What is it?" Ye Que frowned. "Tell Ye this: River Soldiers." Qian Shuxiao counted on his fingers as he spoke. "Fi
Unorthodox men had a heart of steel. When the sage didn't see the river filled with red autumnal leaves, it was like a traveler's eyes were filled with blood. Ye Que didn't cry. Though his journey was doomed to be perilous, he didn't think that he wouldn't be able to return. He had said everything that he had to say and met everyone that he had to meet last night. Thus, he left this morning without bidding farewell. Out of the things the Qian siblings gave him, he took nothing except for a spice bag. There would be many treasures in the ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum and an abundance of golden Divine Energy in the Spiritual Sea. He also had his 13 Spring and Autumn Swords in his heart. These were more than enough for him. With his hands clasped behind his back, he left Luoyang City amid the exquisite morning sunshine and the bleakness of the autumn air. The ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum
The moon fell behind the crevice of the mountains, leaving only a ray of moonlight to emerge quietly in the night. Leaves the color of blazing flames enveloped the maple forest before Ye Que. Following a sweeping autumn wind, the firey-red maple leaves appeared even more coquettish. Coupled with the tall piles of dead leaves on the ground, the world seemed integrated as a whole. He felt as if he had stepped into a fairyland. The bonfire built on a pile of maple wood had long ceased burning, leaving behind star-like sparks and a wisp of smoke. By now, the forest was shrouded by a thin layer of frosty mist. It was as if it was putting on a thin layer of clothing on the maple leaves that covered the entire mountain. The cold wind emerged from the crevices of the canyon. It swept a wide-awake Ye Que, the mist shrouding the forest, as well as the frosted maple forest. The wind carried a fiery-red maple leaf to him.
The ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum. The waterfall at the Grass-pecking Cliff. Nalan Rongruo stood at the edge of the waterfall, feeling her rage burn in the pit of her stomach. She was so furious that she nearly died of anger. She hadn't believed her Senior Brothers when they told her how shameless those from the Chamber of the Rainy Duel could be. Now, she was witnessing it with her own eyes. "Shameless" was too kind a word to describe them. Nangong Jie, dressed in a snow-white attire, stood 10 meters away from her with a three-feet-long sword in hand. He looked distinguished and proper yet his behavior was beyond disgusting. He was the great Young Chamber Lord of the Chamber of the Rainy Duel. Having entered the Starburst Realm at the age of 18, he was known as the future genius of the Chamber. It was shocking for him to do something as outrageous as stealing someone's prey, amb
Nangong Jie didn't sense the sword at the back of his head at all. To a Starburst Realm cultivator like him, it was either that the newcomer was an expert manipulator of True Energy who didn't leak any of his energy or that the sword behind him was a high-level weapon. Level 1 was a Taoist object while Level 2 would make it a spiritual object. This sword was at the level of Spirit Sword at the minimum. The gurgling sound of running water rang next to Nangong Jie's ears. He lifted his hands. Sweat was forming on his forehead and he dared not to make any movement. He could feel the skin on the back of his neck tremble from the ice-cold sensation coming from the tip of the sword. Without turning his head, he asked cautiously, "Who are you?" "I'm nobody," Ye Que replied indifferently. "You wield a Spirit Sword and even ambush someone from behind?" Nangong Jie continued, innuendo lacing his words. "That's
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