Chapter 124: Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, Human Harmony
Little Eight acted swiftly.
In merely three days, he returned and informed Li Qingqiu that Xu Ning and the others had already met with Li Sifeng’s group and were now on their way back.
Only then did Li Qingqiu let out a sigh of relief.
However, he could constantly sense an eerie aura emanating from the direction of Zhenyang Imperial City, making it difficult for him to calm his mind.
With his current strength, he no longer feared such an aura.
What unsettled him was that he didn’t know its source — whether it stemmed from the Emperor, Grandmaster Jiang, or Xuan Gong — and whether they still had hidden trump cards.
The world was vast.
He first had to ensure the safety of the Clear Sky Sect before he could even consider saving the world.
Nine more days passed.
Xu Ning and her group finally returned.
Every one of them was travel-worn and visibly exhausted.
From Zhongtian Province to Clear Sky Mountain, the journey was long and arduous; for them to make it back so quickly meant they had used Vital Energy to hasten their travel.
Li Qingqiu summoned all the Hall Masters on the mountain — this time, even Shen Yue attended.
When everyone had gathered, Xu Ning was the first to report their situation.
The Taiwu Sect and Li Yin Sect had already been annihilated by their hands.
However, upon arriving at the Jianji Sect, they discovered that the sect had already evacuated, leaving no trace behind.
They had investigated for several days but could not find any clues about the Jianji Sect’s whereabouts and could only abandon the search.
Li Qingqiu did not comment much on that and instead had Zhang Yu recount their earlier experiences.
Zhang Yu began from the siege of Martial God Pass.
The three of them had followed the Coalition Army of the Seven Provinces through nearly two months of brutal warfare.
When they finally reached Zhenyang Imperial City, they were met with a group of strange black-armored soldiers leaping onto the city walls, charging toward the hundreds of thousands of soldiers below.
At first, no one paid much attention, but soon they discovered that those black-armored soldiers possessed monstrous strength and terrifying speed.
In an incredibly short span of time, they inflicted severe casualties upon the coalition.
Li Sifeng and Wu Man’er joined the fray but could not slay the black-armored soldiers easily.
Not only that — even the Forbidden Martial Guards entered the battle, and before long, the Emperor himself appeared.
The Emperor’s martial prowess left Zhang Yu and the others deeply shaken.
Li Sifeng couldn’t help but say, “I felt that the Emperor was even stronger than Senior Shen. His power was terrifying — with a single palm strike, he could grievously wound dozens of soldiers. His movement technique was incredibly fast; when I crossed blades with him, I couldn’t even land a hit. If Xu Ning hadn’t arrived in time, I might’ve been seriously injured.”
There was one thing he didn’t say aloud — he had sensed that the Sword Spirit of the Emperor Mystic Sword was also restless, as if facing a formidable enemy.
That only deepened his fear toward the Emperor.
Everyone was astonished.
Shen Yue narrowed his eyes.
Yang Jueding couldn’t help but ask, “Was the Martial Legend’s Inner Core truly that powerful?”
“Perhaps it wasn’t just that Inner Core,” Zhang Yuchun said gravely.
“The Emperor has commanded people to refine pills for years. His cultivation must be unimaginable. No wonder he didn’t stop the coalition armies from gathering — he truly fears no worldly power.”
Xu Ning added, “The Emperor’s martial arts are indeed formidable. Though I exchanged only a few moves with him, I could sense that defeating him would be nearly impossible — one would need to fight with the resolve to die. I feared that the disciples would suffer casualties, so I had no choice but to withdraw.”
Zhang Yuchun nodded approvingly.
“You made the right decision. Your mission was to annihilate the Three Founding Sects of the Great Dynasty, not to slay the Emperor.”
The True Transmission Disciples Xu Ning had led were all of the Third Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
Losing even one would be a grave loss to the Clear Sky Sect.
“According to what you’ve said, those demonic soldiers likely didn’t consume Martial God Pills or Yin Ghost Pills. The Emperor must possess an even more sinister type of elixir,” Shen Yue spoke up.
When he had fought the Forbidden Martial Guards before, he hadn’t found the users of the Martial God or Yin Ghost Pills particularly difficult to deal with — after all, they were still of mortal flesh.
But from Zhang Yu’s account, those demonic soldiers seemed to combine the effects of both pills — immense strength, ghost-like agility, insensitivity to pain, and the ability to devour the inner energy of martial artists.
Just imagining such beings was enough to make one’s skin crawl — and there were reportedly over ten thousand of them.
Zhu Yan frowned.
“If there are that many demonic soldiers, then the Emperor must have been preparing for this for a long time. I suspect he deliberately waited for the Coalition Army of the Seven Provinces to reach Zhenyang Imperial City. That army wasn’t composed solely of soldiers — many martial experts were among them. If the Emperor truly needed martial artists as ingredients for his elixirs, then this would indeed play right into his hand.”
Li Qingqiu had remained silent throughout.
After hearing the intelligence Xu Ning’s group brought back, he began to weigh the Emperor’s current strength and whether the Clear Sky Sect could possibly contend against it.
Those tens of thousands of demonic soldiers were not to be underestimated.
If he led his disciples to war, casualties would be inevitable — no matter how strong he was, he could not be in two places at once.
Zhang Yuchun turned toward Li Qingqiu and said, “Senior Brother, we must not act rashly. The world is vast; the burden should not rest solely upon the Clear Sky Sect. If all the provinces unite against the Emperor, victory might yet be possible.”
The Great Li Dynasty was immense.
The combined strength of the seven provinces was far from its full might.
Zhang Yuchun believed that once word of this spread, even greater forces would gather.
Li Qingqiu nodded, though inwardly he wondered — if they delayed, would that only benefit the Emperor?
Zhu Yan said, “Indeed, we cannot be reckless. Sect Master, I will send people to investigate the situation within Zhenyang Imperial City as best we can.”
The others agreed.
They could all sense that this time, the situation was unlike that of the Guzhou State Capital — they now faced a far more terrifying power.
Li Qingqiu said, “For now, increase patrols. Have the disciples minimize their trips down the mountain.”
Everyone nodded.
The matter weighed heavily on all their hearts — not just because the Emperor’s power was overwhelming, but because no one knew what he ultimately sought.
——
In the dimly lit Qianwu Hall—
Thud!
A corpse rolled down the steps and landed on the floor of the great hall.
All around, dozens of corpses lay strewn about — some in prison garb, others in armor.
At the top of the steps, Zhao Zhi sat cross-legged before the dragon throne, his palms resting upward on his knees as black energy coiled around his body.
His long hair hung loose and fluttered, giving him a truly sinister appearance.
One after another, the Forbidden Martial Guards entered the hall, dragging away the corpses.
As soon as they finished, another group escorted in new prisoners and soldiers.
“Zhao Zhi, may you die a miserable death!”
“Your Majesty, I was wrong! Please, give me a chance — I’ll serve you faithfully!”
“Zhao Zhi, as the Son of Heaven, you are the father of all under heaven! How could you commit such atrocities? Do you not feel shame before the Imperial Ancestor Emperor and your people? Tell us — are you still human, or have you become a monster?”
“Your Majesty, do not be deceived by those demons! No one in this world can truly live forever!”
“Dog Emperor! Even as a ghost, I will never forgive you!”
As the prisoners were dragged in, chaos erupted in the hall.
Zhao Zhi raised his right hand and, with a gesture, pulled one prisoner into the air.
His fingers clamped around the man’s throat, silencing him instantly.
The sight left the others frozen in terror.
Under their horrified gazes, Zhao Zhi opened his mouth and drew in a faint, wisp-like vapor from the prisoner’s face.
The black energy around him surged violently, forming a dreadful, ghastly phantom.
“G-ghost… a ghost…”
One prisoner muttered in despair, eyes wide with terror.
The Forbidden Martial Guards, masked and cold, merely watched in silence.
Soon, agonized screams filled the Qianwu Hall — a scene like the depths of hell itself.
Half an hour later, the guards began dragging the corpses out one by one.
At that moment, Xuan Gong entered the hall and approached the steps, bowing deeply to Zhao Zhi.
“Your Majesty, the array platform is being constructed. It will be completed in at most three days, but the Grandmaster says we must wait for an auspicious time,” Xuan Gong reported.
“Then follow the Grandmaster’s advice.”
“Your Majesty,” Xuan Gong said solemnly, “I recommend beginning the Grand Plan to Mend the Heavens as soon as the platform is ready. We cannot delay any longer. At this stage, we cannot afford a single mistake.”
“The Grand Plan to Mend the Heavens cannot be rushed,” Zhao Zhi replied calmly.
“As the Grandmaster said, the path to immortality requires heavenly timing, earthly advantage, and human harmony — none can be missing.”
Hearing this, Xuan Gong cursed inwardly, Fool.
Just as he was about to persuade him further, an old minister entered the hall, stopped beside him, and said to Zhao Zhi, “Your Majesty, a messenger from Fengxia Mountain in Southern Chu has arrived. He calls himself Daoist Baishu and bears a decree from the Late Emperor, claiming to offer Your Majesty a treasure.”
At that, Zhao Zhi opened his eyes, intrigued.
“Fengxia Mountain? The former Two Saints of the Martial World? Back then, the Late Emperor sought to recruit them but was refused, leading to the founding of the Three Sects to replace their fame and standing. I didn’t expect that today they would come to visit of their own accord. It is said that Fengxia Mountain can divine the will of Heaven — could it be they have foreseen My attaining immortality? Bring him in.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The old minister withdrew at once.
Xuan Gong cautioned, “Your Majesty, Fengxia Mountain’s visit may not be in goodwill.”
“Oh? In this great hall, would he dare to assassinate Me? Even if Li Qingqiu himself came, I would not fear him.” Zhao Zhi sneered.
Xuan Gong fell silent but did not leave, waiting in the hall.
Zhao Zhi did not dismiss him and simply resumed his cultivation.
After a while—
The old minister returned, leading Daoist Baishu into the hall.
Zhao Zhi opened his eyes and examined him.
Daoist Baishu held a horsetail whisk in his hand, his expression calm.
He walked to Xuan Gong’s side, bowed to Zhao Zhi, and said, “This humble Daoist, Baishu of Fengxia Mountain, observed the heavens months ago and foresaw great change in the Great Li. Thus, I have come to offer Your Majesty a treasure.”
As he spoke, he took a scroll from his robe and approached the steps to present it.
Xuan Gong raised a hand to stop him.
“Give it to me.”
Daoist Baishu glanced at him, then handed over the scroll.
Without consulting Zhao Zhi, Xuan Gong unfurled it.
Inside was a landscape painting — seemingly nothing unusual.
“What value or meaning does this painting hold?” Xuan Gong asked, eyes fixed on the Daoist.
Zhao Zhi sat on the steps, watching them playfully, not stopping the questioning.
Daoist Baishu replied, “This painting was left behind by my sect’s founding patriarch. According to his words, only one who bears the Mandate of Heaven can glimpse the heavenly secrets within.”
Upon hearing that, Zhao Zhi said, “Xuan Qing, hand the painting to Me.”
After a brief hesitation, Xuan Gong carried the scroll up the steps.
The old minister looked on curiously, unsure of what mystery the scroll contained.
But just as Xuan Gong stepped before Zhao Zhi, blocking his view, Daoist Baishu suddenly raised his hands to his chest and began muttering rapidly.
With the sound of a sword being unsheathed, a flash of cold light pierced through the hall.
Instinctively, Xuan Gong turned — and saw a phantom streaking toward the Emperor from his side.
His pupils contracted.
From the corner of his eye, he realized that the phantom looked exactly like Daoist Baishu — yet the Daoist still stood below the steps, staring intently at him.
Two Daoist Baishus?