The night was tranquil, but the drunken crowd inside Merit City was anything but.
The members of Skynet lay on the grass in the Inner City.
For these hundred-odd criminals who had gotten out of prison and managed to survive for centuries in the Duravia Trade Prefecture, this was a moment of rare peace.
Gu Yinming, who had dived headfirst into the forging furnace, had been fished out and was now gazing at the stars and moonlight formed by spiritual power in the sky above Merit City.
"The Li family promised that after this war, we can take a great deal of treasure and leave. Or, within the territories of Eternal Sun and the Duravia Trade Prefecture, we can choose a piece of land to establish our own sects, or even hold important posts in Eternal Sun. The Li family has influence in the Imperial Dynasty. Our criminal records will be destroyed, and the Imperial Capital's Immortal Enforcement Department will no longer hunt us."
The Skynet Boss's bamboo hat lay beside him. He let out a heavy breath.
"We've spent hundreds of years in the Duravia Trade Prefecture, all in pursuit of this: to no longer suffer the disaster of imprisonment, to have a clean identity. After this war, what are your plans?"
Gu Yinming took a large swig of wine. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm staying right here in Merit City. Damn it all, my art of corpses and bones is an orthodox technique, an ancient art! But no matter where I go, I'm treated like an evil cultivator. Outside of Eternal Sun Prefecture, even with a clean record, I'd still be hunted down sooner or later."
"I'm staying in Eternal Sun Prefecture too."
Han Yun's eyes gleamed. "If I can't be a Prefecture Lord, then becoming a Region Prince is fine by me. I refuse to believe it! Being a Prefecture Lord landed me in prison; you think being a Region Prince will end the same way?"
Daoist Poxu grinned. "I hear Hundred Treasures Mountain is short on people. There must be a place for me there. To be honest, I have an idea. I want to open a brothel. I grew up in one, and all those girls had been abducted; their lives were full of suffering. Heh, but in the brothel I open, they will perform their arts, not sell their bodies. In this age of chaos, it can be a refuge for girls in hardship, a place of refinement, and a great spot for gathering intelligence."
"You're a Formation Master, what the hell are you doing opening a brothel?"
The old man rolled his eyes. "This old man has never had a proper place to call home. I suppose I can finally settle down here. With you bastards around to help out, I might as well stay. But what about you, Lady Dongfang?"
"I am thinking."
Dongfang Xuan gazed at the bright moon. She felt as if she could see Li Yaowen's eyes staring back at her.
It was just like during their half-month of war simulations; she had been completely and utterly outmaneuvered, and it was infuriating.
The Boss of Skynet raised his wine gourd and laughed loudly.
"Good! In that case, let's all stay here in Eternal Sun Prefecture! We'll seek a good path forward, a grand path to immortality!"
In perfect unison, the others raised their wine gourds, and the wine flowed down their throats.
A moment later, all that remained was the sound of long, deep breathing as they fell into a peaceful sleep, accompanied by the rustling of the wind in the grass and the chirping of insects.
...
Inside the Li family residence.
The old fellows from Azure Cloud had their arms slung over each other's shoulders, continuing to drink in the Li family's grand hall.
They were old friends of the Li's by now and had long been looking for a chance to raise a ruckus here.
The grand army was about to march. They didn't know if they would ever have another chance to gather with their old friends after entering the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
They all cherished this brief moment...
"Damn you, Mi Zhunqi!" Feng Chunlin had the Mi family's Region Prince in a chokehold.
"Of all the Region Princes in Azure Cloud, you're the most shameless! Always so quiet and unassuming, yet your family's ancestor has already reached the Divinity Transformation realm."
"Speak up! A few days ago, a descendant of mine was killed in a Secret Realm. It was a clean job. Was it your family that did it, you bastard?"
"Didn't we agree that we old timers wouldn't get involved in the affairs of the younger generation?"
Mi Zhunqi rolled his eyes. "How the hell would I know which little bastard did it? If you're really not satisfied, in a couple of days, I'll have a boy from my family marry into your Feng clan. Won't that make us even?"
"Well said!"
While the two were still haggling, Ancestor Tianye gritted his teeth and interjected, "How can you pay that back? Then what are you going to give me back, huh? During the last disciple recruitment from the mortal world, I finally found a genius with a mutated Heavenly Spirit Root, and another promising seedling with an Ice-Wind Spirit Root. And you two shameless old coots—one of you had your family marry her, and the other recruited him as a son-in-law!"
"That's right!" another sect leader chimed in. "Are you fucking human? Who are the real sects around here, us or you?!"
Ancestor Tiangui roared in fury, "Screw your immortal ancestors¹!"
"Ah, that's enough, that's enough!"
Heavenly Master Wushou hurriedly tried to intervene.
"A bunch of old coots who won't die… we don't even know if we'll survive this, what's the point of…"
But he trailed off and fell silent.
It was the same for everyone. Li Yaozu, who had been sitting in the secondary seat and drinking quietly, rose to his feet. Under the watchful eyes of all present, he raised his wine cup.
"Everyone, let us revel in this moment! After tonight, we march on the Duravia Trade Prefecture. Life and death will not matter. I, Li Yaozu, will lead the charge. For the next generation of Azure Cloud, we will seize—"
"A thousand years of peace!"
Drink, then smash the cup!
To seize a thousand years of peace—that was reason enough. Wasn't this why they had all gathered here? In this chaotic age, how difficult was this word "peace" to obtain?
The group of old-timers went back to their drinking.
A voice transmission came from the sword box.
Li Yaozu glanced around furtively, and then, like a thief, he lifted his wine gourd, opened the sword box, and quickly poured some inside.
He smiled as he looked at his many old comrades. He was just like them; he too did not know what the outcome of this war would be. But even if he had to be sacrificed in the Duravia Trade Prefecture in exchange for a hundred generations of glory for the Li family, so what?
---
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