Shamoli raised his head as he walked out of the courtyard. However, much to his surprise, he did not see his usual large group of pampered wives and concubines.
The courtyard was empty, save for only a few leaves scattered on the ground. A middle-aged man stood there and was leaning against the stone chamber, watching him quietly.
"I am Chen Donghe, greetings to Your Majesty... Congratulations on your breakthrough to the Qi Cultivation Realm!"
Chen Donghe's greeting was polite. The title made Shamoli feel utterly content and pleased, causing him to nod happily.
With a sweep of his spiritual sense, he recognized that this man was at the second heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm. Shamoli had seen him before at the side of Li Yuanxiu, though it was only now that he found out his name. He then cupped his fist in response.
"Greetings, fellow Daoist!"
However, Chen Donghe did not acknowledge him but bowed deeply with respect and said in a solemn voice, "Second Uncle, this person is Shamoli."
Shamoli was momentarily startled. Upon realizing that another person was present, he instantly broke out in a cold sweat and was alarmed.
The newcomer was dressed simply in a gray robe. His eyebrows were long, and his demeanor was majestic. He carried a sword on his back that was wrapped tightly in cloth, yet another sword hung at his waist, which was rather unusual. His cultivation was evidently at the ninth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm.
"Shamoli greets the elder..."
It was at that instant that Shamoli then realized that this man was in fact Li Tongya, the revered elder of the Li Family. In a flash, he was half-kneeling on the ground and cupping his fist, too nervous to speak.
Li Tongya glanced at him and said softly, "Show me your condensed true essence."
After observing the Secret Thunder True Essence in Shamoli's palm, Li Tongya nodded approvingly. The Purple Thunder Secret Origin Technique was truly extraordinary, possessing significant power and the rare force of thunder. It was no wonder it required such hard-to-collect Profound Yin Thunder Liquid.
If Shamoli had cultivated using pure spiritual qi of heaven and earth, he would certainly be considered a strong cultivator in the early stages of the Qi Cultivation Realm.
Li Tongya's spiritual sense surveyed Shamoli for a while before finally speaking again.
"Rise, I will send you back to Mount Yue to claim your throne."
Although Shamoli was prepared, he was still overwhelmingly excited upon hearing this. He lowered his other knee and repeatedly pressed his forehead on the ground, uttering words of thanks. When he looked up again, Li Tongya had already disappeared.
Before Shamoli could recover, several people hurried into the courtyard. They stripped him of his eastern garments and adorned him with various animal bones along with jade stones. The eastern-styled crown on his head was also removed along with the jade hairpin, causing his long hair to cascade over his shoulders. Now, he properly resembled a true man of Mount Yue.
"Um..."
Feeling his long hair tickling him, Shamoli, having stayed long in the eastern lands, secretly despised this disheveled appearance but could only chuckle awkwardly.
After changing his clothes and ornaments, Shamoli was led out of the courtyard. Upon seeing the steps in front of him lined with kneeling Mount Yue people—prepared by the Li Family as his retinue, including over ten of his playmates from recent years in the eastern lands—he hurriedly descended the steps.
"Each of you is my backbone! Please, rise quickly!"
Shamoli's words came out impulsively, sounding nothing like what a great king of Mount Yue would say. The crowd got up with puzzled expressions. Only then did Shamoli, now beaming with joy, walk through the crowd and step onto a carriage pulled by two large horses.
Clatter...
Shamoli's banner was raised and he was escorted by a group of soldiers, marching majestically out of the town.
Lying in the spacious carriage, Shamoli listened to the clanging of weapons and the sound of footsteps, repeatedly touching the comfortable fabric of its interior. He picked up a fruit and placed it in his mouth before a satisfied smile formed at the corner of his lips.
"This is what life should be like! What were those earlier decades all about..."
The curtain flapped open unexpectedly, and in walked an old man with fleshy folds on his face, snow-white hair, and a matching beard. His bulging eyes bore into Shamoli with intense scrutiny. Startled, Shamoli choked and quickly straightened up, desperately trying to feign composure.
"Who might you be..?"
The old man, at the peak of the Embryonic Breathing Realm and clad in Eastern attire with his white beard curling upward, relaxed his stern face a little. Looking quite elderly, he then spoke.
"Your Majesty should know... I belong to the Mount Yue tribe that once occupied the present Eastern Mount Yue. Having been defeated by Jianixi's eastward advance, I took refuge with the Easterners and followed Lord Xiangping back and forth through Mount Yue seven times, earning numerous merits over twenty-one years."
"You're Jianixi's adversary?!"
Shamoli was genuinely startled by the man's bold claims, knowing that someone like Jianixi was considered a divinely appointed ruler in Mount Yue. His own father had been merely one of Jianixi's generals.
He quickly showed his respect and asked politely, "May I know your name, Senior?"
"Ahuici!"
The old man grinned as he replied, revealing yellow teeth. He looked straight into Shamoli's eyes as he spoke slowly, "I am merely the Great King's high shaman, in charge of hunting, healing, and agriculture."
Shamoli stiffened momentarily. The high shaman's role in Mount Yue was akin to a vice king. Barely seated on the throne, the Li Family had already arranged everything, making him feel incredibly awkward. However, he did not dare show his emotions and instead forced a smile.
"I will need much assistance from you in the future!"
"That is already expected."
Watching Ahuici's neatly tied hair, Shamoli shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Finally unable to endure it any longer, he coiled his hair and secured it with a jade chopstick from the table.
"I really can't stand this barbaric look!" He laughed after letting out a huge sigh of relief.
Ahuici laughed heartily, lifting his head proudly.
"The etiquette of the Easterners is complex, Great King... you have much to learn!"
"Indeed!" Shamoli nodded solemnly.
————
"Brother, have you thought through how we will govern this land of Mount Yue?" Li Yuanjiao asked as he stood in the swaying carriage, gazing into the distance at the rugged mountain road ahead.
Unlike Shamoli's carriage, the one he and Li Yuanxiu rode was a battle chariot designed for charging, offering a broad view. The cold wind slapped against their faces, but as cultivators in the second stage of the Embryonic Breathing Realm, they felt no chill at all.
"Hmm."
Li Yuanxiu nodded in response, resting his arm on the support next to him before speaking softly, "The common people of Mount Yue will be under Shamoli's control. We will operate behind the scenes, maintaining governance as usual, and all positions related to the path of immortality will be held by our people. Once we conquer Eastern Mount Yue, we will immediately survey the land and assess the spirit fields... These spirit fields and resources will rightfully belong to our Li Family. We will dispatch people to cultivate and harvest them. The territory of Eastern Mount Yue is vast, and there are likely many spirit fields."
Li Yuanjiao nodded as he listened to all this before whispering, "Our cultivators might not suffice; we'll have to choose the most fertile spirit fields to start with."
Li Yuanxiu smiled and shot a brief glance at Shamoli's carriage ahead before replying, "Eastern Mount Yue has over two hundred thousand people, we can turn many of them into cultivators of the Embryonic Breathing Realm. Although these people might not be fit for combat, they can certainly cultivate spirit fields. Even if the people of Mount Yue are not skilled in farming, a few years living in the east will naturally make them eager to learn."
The brothers shared a smile. They recalled how over the years, many from Mount Yue who came east were influenced by the lavish and refined lifestyle. They voluntarily wore the easterner's attire—robes and hair crowns—and adopted their official language. They even despised the natives of Mount Yue more than the native Easterners did. Hence, the brothers felt confident about changing these people.
"When the barbarians enter our land, they transform into Easterners!"
Li Yuanxiu chuckled before patting the long sword in his hand. He then lowered his voice and said, "What one cannot have is always the most precious... Once we control Eastern Mount Yue, we will strictly limit the eastward migration of the Mount Yue people and force them into selling their possessions in order to afford a trip east. Within twenty years, a top-down admiration for the east will pervade among them, and they will be no different from the Easterners!"