Li Zhouwei’s brows rose as he opened his golden eyes, staring at White Banyan and Dingjiao. Both demons appeared truly shocked; they were not faking it. A flicker of surprise crossed his face, then wave after wave of doubt surfaced, Is this the real Li Xunquan, or a fake... If Li Xunquan was killed in Dianyang City, why is he here... and who did this? What is the Dragon Clan’s intention?!
Questions flashed through his mind like lightning. Dingjiao glanced at him and asked softly, "Li Xunquan? I am Dongfang Dingjiao. My grandfather is Dongfang You... who bound you here?"
The voice below paused, trembling with barely contained pain, and rasped, "Uncle[1]...? The pain is unbearable... I beg you, Uncle, loosen the bindings!"
Li Zhouwei listened in silence. Li Xunquan had clearly only caught half a sentence and had mistaken him for Dongfang You. Dingjiao seemed frustrated because no matter how many times he asked, the man kept repeating his plea for the bindings to be loosened.
Fifteen minutes passed before Dongfang Dingjiao asked again, "What binds you? How long have you been here?"
It seemed Li Xunquan had reached the limit of his endurance. His voice turned sharp, piercing all three of their ears, "The Fuxi[2] Binding Lin[3] Cord... Where is Yao Chenlin?! Loosen the bindings!"
"Hmph..." Dingjiao grunted as his brows furrowed. It was clear that the mountain god had once again been shaken to death. Endless wails rose from below, while Li Zhouwei observed quietly.
The white serpent dragon paused slightly and said softly, "My demon energy is running low. Let's head back up first."
The spirit artifact beneath his feet slowly began to rise. White Banyan also withdrew his spell, and the noise and wails vanished. Li Zhouwei glanced down at the bottomless abyss.
Dingjiao seemed a bit gloomy and said quietly, "Minghuang, I only heard there was something strange here. It was said that a senior was imprisoned underground. My clan never speaks of it, so I decided to investigate. I never imagined it would be him..."
Truth be told, Dongfang You was a close friend of Emperor Gong of Wei. Dingjiao’s father, the Dragon King of Bei Sea, addressed Emperor Gong as uncle. By seniority, Dingjiao should be calling Li Xunquan his uncle as well. Their relationship was just one or two generations apart, so it was close enough to be calling him uncle.
Human sentiment faded with absence. Dingjiao had only mentioned this connection to build rapport, and to Li Zhouwei it carried little real weight. But Li Xunquan was different... as crown prince, he may very well have had close conversations with Dongfang You himself.
That was why Dingjiao’s emotions were especially conflicted. Though he had been mentally prepared, the sight before him still stirred him deeply. As a crown prince, he had rarely suffered setbacks growing up, let alone watch a senior be imprisoned underground while he remained powerless.
He could only mutter, "His mind is already gone... he only reacts to a few names. He must have been tortured for a very long time."
White Banyan had spent the most demon energy and was somewhat listless. He murmured, "The fall of Wei's Li was fifteen hundred years ago. He was displayed in Dianyang City for nine years. Perhaps, he was captured and dragged underground afterward. No one could endure fifteen hundred years of pain!"
Of the two demons, White Banyan was simply sighing with emotion, while Dingjiao was genuinely anguished and indignant. The dragon crown prince said coldly, "Though Emperor Qi was ruthless and cruel, the Jie tribe still owed favors to Emperor Gong. They only executed Uncle and a few of his followers to display their heads in Dianyang City. Perhaps they didn’t want to kill him, or maybe they couldn’t. They would never torture him like this. Besides, the Qi State was long ago destroyed by the Tuoba Family...
"The ones who imprisoned him here must be one of the current great northern Immortal Dao faction. They are hostile to Wei's Li, and covetous of Bright Yang!"
White Banyan listened with growing unease, muttering inwardly, This kid isn't stupid! You're practically naming Mount Luoxia directly with how detailed you're being! Dingjiao, oh Dingjiao...
White Banyan understood clearly that Mount Luoxia had always had poor relations with the Dragon Clan, and with most of demonkind. Even his own Mount Dali had suffered under them more than once. But Mount Luoxia was guarded by a Dao Embryo Realm cultivator; it wasn’t a Dao lineage one could casually mention.
How could Li Zhouwei not catch the implication? Zhao State was now little more than a toy in the hands of Buddhist cultivators. The number of great northern Immortal Dao factions could be counted on one hand. He could guess the name from the clues alone.
So though he made the connection, Li Zhouwei chose not to respond directly and instead asked solemnly, "Your Highness, the matters of Wei, Qi, Liang, and Zhao are rarely recorded in the South, so it's hard to grasp. May I ask, what Dao did Emperor Qi cultivate?"
Li Zhouwei now knew quite a lot. At his question, Dingjiao sighed. "Emperor Qi, Shi Chang, cultivated the Radiant Essence Dao, which complements Lesser Yang. They are always paired. This Dao now allows one to transform Bright Yang into Lesser Yang... it's clearly aligned with what’s above."
White Banyan quickly stepped in, afraid Dingjiao might mention Mount Luoxia again, and said, "Exactly! The Supreme Yang can be divided into Lesser Yang, which gives rise to Radiance, and Radiant Essence in turn transforms Bright Yang into Lesser Yang. It’s the very cycle of mutual generation."
Li Zhouwei made a mental note; after all, he cultivated the Dao of Bright Yang. If he ever encountered someone who practiced Radiant Essence, he would need to stay on guard. When Dingjiao placed his hands behind his back, he spoke softly, "Thank you both. This matter has now reached a conclusion. Though the outcome isn’t entirely satisfactory, I now understand the situation."
Dingjiao observed their reactions and knew his words had sunk in. He didn’t spell it out further. Nodding slightly, the spirit artifact beneath his feet accelerated, transforming into a white streak that shot upward.
Dingjiao said softly, "This matter in the abyss is a secret, and not exactly something to be proud of. I ask that the two of you keep it confidential for your own sake as well."
"Of course." The two responded promptly.
Dingjiao said with a smile, "Rest assured, there is no great void here. I came specifically on a special day. The inland cultivators can’t calculate the actions of our Dragon Clan today, and those arrogant Dao lineages seldom concern themselves with outer-sea affairs, let alone trace anything back to us."
His meaning was now even clearer; he was telling them not to worry. White Banyan nodded with a smile, while Li Zhouwei mulled over his words, A special day...
Li Zhouwei paused slightly, then suddenly understood. After calculating carefully, he silently praised, Today is the Dragon Monarch’s birthday!
When Li Zhouwei and the others went to Thunder Island, they had overheard Miao Ye mention the Dragon Monarch’s birthday. At the time, Li Zhouwei had asked White Banyan, who said there was still about half a month to go.
"And all this commotion has taken about twelve days. The moment we were down in the abyss just so happened to be the second day of the middle month[4]!"
He glanced at Dingjiao, while White Banyan remained silent. Li Zhouwei now understood, The Mount Dali fox tribe knew this was the best date... that’s why White Banyan rushed so urgently, and the Bicolor Scaled Beast's travel time had been calculated ahead of time. Dingjiao acted like he came and went on a whim, but that was far from the truth...
1. The raw is '世伯' which means 'Uncle'. The uncle here refers to a respectful term for an older male friend or acquaintance. ☜
2. 凫 (fú): literally means 'wild duck' and 晞 (xī): means 'to dry in the sun' or 'sunlight after rain'. ☜
3. 麟 (Lin) – refers to the qilin, a divine mythical beast symbolizing nobility, auspiciousness, and spiritual authority. Often associated with celestial omens and protective power. ☜
4. 仲月 (Zhongyue) – “Middle Month” in the seasonal lunar calendar; the second month of a given season, used in traditional timekeeping. ☜