Chapter 1402
Hunting
Chapter 1402 Hunting
Shu capital.
Fireworks filled the air, and songs resounded.
"In the past, I hated fame and reputation; today, I am an enemy of my father and son. I know that there is no permanent ruler in the heavens. Spring sorrows arise under the Azalea Bridge. When my benefactor passes away, how can I repay him? I must ask whether he stays or not... whether he stays or not? The human world is full of strife and suffering, and even the old tyrant has become a false emperor!"
Red silk hung from the eaves, swaying gently. The emperor's throne was empty, with two seats of different heights beside it. The taller seat was also empty, while a real person sat astride the shorter one, holding a cup and gazing into the distance.
"The east wind blows high and far, and flocks of birds perch on the skirts and hairpins. Yin Dezheng met with the end of the first Xuan, and then cut down the jade tree to bring misfortune... All sons and grandsons, after drinking the wine to celebrate the merits, can also become servants."
The man gently tapped the table beside him, turned his head, and said calmly:
"That's interesting."
The old man beside him nodded quickly and smiled:
“My lord… these vulgar and frivolous tunes are for us outsiders to hear; they are rarely seen in the grotto.”
The young man clapped his hands, shook his head and chuckled, stood up, and said:
"Senior Shangguan, you are too kind. I was indeed impolite today. However, I heard that your junior has been captured by Mingyang, and the news has reached the Emperor's ears. We must be wary of this."
The old man shook his head repeatedly, quickly cupped his hands in greeting, and said:
"It was my useless junior who caused such a big commotion. His Majesty's leniency in not blaming him is already an extraordinary act of mercy! It's a pity that I'm so sickly and useless!"
Qingzhuo nodded and smiled:
"No rush. This matter won't be pursued by the old master. Shangguan is loyal to her duty. If something really happens in the end, the old master's old injuries won't be healed anyway..."
The old master immediately understood.
'If Mir perishes, they will compensate me...'
This old man was none other than the Old Master of the Shangguan Clan, whose Daoist name was [Tan Fan]. He was a cultivator of the Li Huo Dao (Path of Departure Fire). In his early years, he suffered some injuries that shook his supernatural powers, and he was struck by the Shaoyang Fire. Although he recovered in general, he was left with lingering health problems.
However, he is still a real person after all. He has gone through many ups and downs over the years. Shangguan Mi has achieved supernatural powers and his life has improved. But today, he has arrived here with a bitter taste in his mouth.
'They're using me as a hostage…'
Qing Zhuo stared at him from the side, his eyes gleaming slightly.
He stayed in the capital to supervise the Shu Emperor. He had already communicated with his own Grand Master, and if anything happened in the east, he would immediately ask the Shu Emperor to personally lead the expedition!
This was quite an important matter, so he kept a close watch on it while also looking for something new to amuse himself. After listening to three verses, he was quite pleased and asked:
“You call this frivolous entertainment? I don’t think so. It’s just pleasant to listen to. Why don’t we give it a name and a troupe and send it to the mountains so that Miaoqing and the others can have some fun?”
Tan Fan hurriedly said:
"What I'm talking about is... this song is 'Celebration Wine,' while the previous songs, such as 'National Unity' and 'True Emperor,' were all popular songs at the time."
Qing Zhuo was about to ask another question when, as if sensing something, his expression changed drastically. He suddenly stood up, took a step, and instantly reached the horizon.
In the distance, earth and rocks, and thunder roared across the sky!
The face of this direct descendant of Changhuai was unusually ugly. He slowly took out the string of talismans from his sleeve and found that each one was flashing with golden light, as if it was about to explode at any moment!
Qing Zhuo stood there, stunned. Tan Fan hurriedly chased after him, his expression slightly changed, and whispered:
"What's going on?!"
Qingzhuo murmured:
"The white unicorn has arrived in Ranwu."
'Oh... so you've cleared another level...'
To be honest, Tan Fan wouldn't be surprised to hear what kind of pass the White Qilin had broken through. Breaking through Wu Chuan was a formidable attack, and breaking through Yi Ling was a crushing defeat, though not impossible.
He was even told that all three passes had been lost, and the old master could only sigh, "Truly, Mingyang is powerful; now the grotto-heaven has no choice but to take action..."
But he figured out the meaning behind those two words:
'Ranwu?'
Where? Ranwu?
His expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in horror:
"Ranwu...is guarded by Master Fan!"
How could he not know what kind of person this Fan was? Let alone Fan Yuan's mere supernatural powers, even he, Tan Fan, was nothing more than an old dog on the roadside in front of this King Wei!
Qing Zhuo seemed to be plunged into even greater shock—this direct descendant of Chang Huai knew more, and was therefore even more astonished by the audacious actions of the King of Wei. He murmured:
Ranwu is lost.
Tan Fan remained silent.
If Tanshan is the gateway to suppress Qize, then Ranwu is the inner gate of Shu. Shu has a strong vein and many dangerous mountains, but its interior is a basin. Once this gate is opened, a vast expanse will follow!
"If we compare it to the eastern front, it's like... he conquered Wuchuan, Yiling, and Yufu, then subdued the formidable Loushan Pass, crossed numerous mountain ranges, went up the river, broke through two river defense passes, and then crossed Pingyang..."
The difficulty of breaking through these passes is no less than fighting all the way from Jianghuai to Yanmen. Otherwise, how could Xiao Wu have retreated to Shu so easily after the establishment of Dayue?
'Coming from the east, we still had territory to defend, a place to gather our defeated troops and fight back. But now that we've crossed Ranwu... won't we be coming right to their faces? Where will we find a foothold then?'
To make matters worse, all the nation's supernatural powers are currently focused on the Three Passes. If those cultivators cannot arrive in time, it's no different from being dead!
Meanwhile, the distant sound waves pierced through the void and slowly arrived. The sound was like a bolt from the blue, causing Tan Fan's expression to change drastically as he realized a problem.
'Ranwu is lost, but what about Tanshan?'
The dust and thunder on the horizon were reflected in his pupils, and combined with the thunderous words, Tan Fan turned pale, took a step back, and sobbed:
"Brother Li!"
Shangguan was close to Li in his early years. His injuries were inflicted when he helped Li in Qize. At that time, there was a lot of turmoil. Some cultivators from Daxiyuan came down the mountain, and Shangguan You fought against them in Tanshan. That's how he got injured, which led to the Shaoyang Fire.
Shangguan You didn't harbor any resentment—even if his ancestors were at the Purple Mansion level, they were only a small branch. When they escorted this branch of the Li family south, the Tanshan Li family at that time only had a few Foundation Establishment cultivators. He, Shangguan, gained legitimacy and, in turn, won over the remaining loyalists who had fled south, reaping great benefits...
Over the years, the Li family of Tanshan has done a bad job, so Shangguan Mi was naturally a little resentful. But Shangguan You just thought it was a way of repaying his family. His father took him to Tanshan back then, and they became sworn brothers. They even had the same Taoist names!
The two had a close relationship, even though their previous falling out over the broken marriage alliance had caused them great unpleasantness, and they hadn't seen each other for a long time. Upon hearing that they had been killed by Mingyang, Shangguan You felt as if the sky had fallen and the earth had darkened, and he wept:
"A tragic fate!"
But there was another person whose world was in utter chaos.
Qingzhuo was completely stunned.
What Elder Master Shangguan could think of, how could he not think of? But his focus wasn't merely on the surface situation of the world; as one of the core loyalists, all the clues in his mind were slowly connecting:
The Qi Ze possesses the Heavenly Treasure [Wan Xun Ke Lu Shu], a rare treasure even in the grotto heavens. Why was it completely unnoticed?
With their own people watching over them in the desert, how could they have been completely unaware until now?
They had clearly calculated things accurately. Li Zhouwei was weak and alone, unlike the two emperors of the East and West who had the Yin Si and Chang Huai as their constant helpers. In order to gain a foothold, they had to be benevolent. Why would he suddenly be so aggressive and kill them without hesitation?
He glanced east, then turned to look south, twirling the talisman in his hand to contact the servant sent down by the Divine Pill, only to find that communication had indeed ceased. He murmured:
"It's the underworld...that's why he was so silent, and that's why he chose so precisely, choosing Tanshan..."
"It's Jin Yi! Taking advantage of Zhenjun's absence, he plotted against us... This is bad..."
He felt a chilling terror. Everyone knew the methods of that powerful figure, Jin Yi. What was even more terrifying was the soaring light of dawn rising again on the horizon. With everything laid out before him, Qing Zhuo was forced to confront a question:
'what to do?'
Currently, almost the entire nation's resources are focused on foreign affairs. Since both sides are plotting against Changhuai, there will inevitably be major turmoil at the Three Passes, making it difficult to return in time. Looking at the people he currently has at his disposal, apart from Qingzhuo, there are only a handful of others!
He realized the problem was both quick and severe, putting him, the Qing family, in a very difficult position—truly befitting Kim Il!
Qing Zhuo's eyes darkened, and the commands resurfaced before his eyes. He pressed the talisman in his palms, closed his eyes slightly in thought, as if listening to something. When he opened his eyes again, he had calmed down.
He opened his palm and looked at the golden characters that appeared in his hand, like insects.
[The emperor's decree is the handle of power. External resources can be bestowed upon it.]
Not bad.
In that brief moment, a consensus had been reached within the cave!
'The Emperor of Shu must not be harmed.'
Qing Zhuo resolutely turned around, landing coldly. His steps were swift, passing through the numerous palaces in front of the courtyard, venturing deeper into the palace grounds, saying:
"Bring Master Tong back immediately!"
The northern barrier of Shu is extremely strong, even stronger than the three passes and one mountain in the east. Only the Tao River area is passable, and there are more than 100,000 people there. The one guarding that area is the last mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator in the entire country.
'Unfortunately, the timing was really wrong... I originally planned to escort the old master to his final moments, watch him reincarnate, and then return to my grotto-heaven to attempt to break through to the Purple Realm...'
He was also an outstanding person, and his mind suddenly became as clear as a mirror, understanding what those elders were thinking.
'Our own family has already allied with the Northern Daoist tradition. True Qi is neither useful nor worth discarding, but the Shu Emperor is ultimately a leverage point we can use against them; we cannot easily abandon him!'
'As for the nation's strength and overwhelming momentum, since we've already lost more than half, we can't afford to fight a battle of wills. Let it be, don't worry about it. Just send people to hold him off, not to win, just to buy him some time... If he wants to cause trouble, let him cause trouble.'
Qingzhuo walked step by step into the depths of the palace, and the terrifying light seemed to have already appeared before his eyes, his eyes filled with gloom.
'But will it really... work?'
Qingzhuo suddenly had a strong premonition. The pair of bright golden eyes that had caught his eye when he stood in the desert years ago seemed to reappear before his eyes. That calmness and silence had made him feel that it was not like Mingyang. But at this moment, everything seemed to have a different flavor.
This direct descendant of the Qing family walked with varying paces, his emotions seemingly churning with his inner turmoil.
'What if...what if the White Qilin takes advantage of this?'
'If he insists on confronting the Shu Emperor, who will stop him? How will they stop him?'
For a moment, Qingzhuo found it funny.
'But...what can we do?'
Our own True Lord is currently a guest in the Northern Grotto-Heaven. To put it bluntly, using True Qi to fill Mingyang is a gift to that Tianxia... But what about now? Let alone whether sending someone can stop the White Qilin who made a great vow. If they do manage to stop him, it will be a complete failure and a great loss to Mingyang's aura.
How could our own True Lord sit still in the North!
To put it bluntly, they only have the right to retreat after Bai Qilin takes this step forward. But what if Bai Qilin takes another step forward after they have retreated?
Qing Zhuo coldly observed that the best course of action now was to ignore everything!
'The moment the White Qilin crosses Mount Tan, the Shu region will become a burden to us! What's wrong with a brave man cutting off his own arm?'
But he also understood that the group of elders in the cave could not ignore it. The Shu Emperor himself was not only an important pawn for Chang Huai in the future, but also concerned the interests of many elders. This matter involved not only the fate of the Shu Kingdom and the Shu Emperor, but also another person.
Pingwen Zhenren, Qingtang Yin.
To use a fake to steal the real thing.
This former Daoist disciple of Changhuai is still in seclusion. In any case, at least for now, Qing Tangyin is closely connected with the Shu Emperor. At this critical juncture, if anything happens, Qing Tangyin, whose vital energy is connected to his and who is constantly being nourished, will definitely suffer a catastrophic backlash! This is not only affecting the pawns of the True Lord above, but also the future of the entire Qing family!
Although Qingzhuo didn't have time to enter the cave to participate in the discussion, he knew better than anyone else what was going on.
'The Shu Emperor must be protected! This is a matter of utmost importance for the entire lineage! As long as he can be saved, no sacrifice is too great!'
He had no intention of thinking about it anymore. It seemed that he was not the one who had to bear all of this. Qing Zhuo had already passed through many pavilions and walked along the dark and long dragon path to the inner courtyard.
The inner courtyard was much brighter, with three pillars standing in the center, engraved with countless intricate runes, and an ancient-style treasure of true energy, the [Fengzhen Ce Xuan Whip], placed on top.
This is the treasure that the current Shu emperor has refined through life and death.
It was also something that Qingtang owned back then.
The soldiers on either side dared not stop him, allowing him to step forward, cross the taboo, and enter the palace.
The palace doors were tightly shut, the lights were dim, and a dark shadow was cast on the windowsill, swaying slightly with the flickering light, making it appear exceptionally long.
Qing Zhuo first took a step back, lifted the hem of his robe, knelt down, and respectfully said:
"Your Majesty, the White Qilin army circled around Qize, utterly defeated Tanshan, and killed two divine beings. They have also crossed Ranwu Mountain. We are terrified and our sins are beyond measure!"
Surprisingly, the inside was completely silent. The man seemed to have heard the resounding voice long ago, even before the swearing of the subject. He raised the pen in his hand, gently blew on it, and whispered:
"What does the real person think?"
"At this opportune moment, the White Qilin has not yet approached..."
Qing Zhuo slowly straightened his back, his hands, which had been clasped in front of him, now reached his face. His eyes, peering through the space between his thumb and forefinger, coldly gazed at the main hall.
"Please move your carriage to the two passes of the Northern Hunting Pass!"