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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 3: [Qiu Prefecture Lantern Festival]
Chapter 92 (236): [Sun and Moon Rise Together]
(92nd of Volume 3)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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The pedestrians on the street, including the noodle shop owner, had all been frightened away by the chilling killing intent Ge Xiantong had released moments ago.
The bridgehead was now deserted, the sounds of the city completely vanished.
In this eerie silence, only the clinking of chopsticks and bowls remained within the shop.
Li Weiyi said, "To be honest, I'm terrified. Knowing I'll face the jealous wrath of the younger generation's top expert at dawn, I've even considered hiding in the seabed beyond South City's Outer City, only to emerge again the night after tomorrow."
Ge Xiantong asked, "Wouldn't it be better to escape the city?"
"I fear that escaping the city would only lead to certain death," Li Weiyi replied.
"Wait..."
Ge Xiantong's expression turned strange as he asked with a smile, "What do you mean by 'jealous wrath'?"
Li Weiyi explained, "Everyone in Qiu Prefecture City knows that at the same cultivation level, I can defeat any opponent in five moves. Once I reach the Seventh Sea, I'll be able to defeat even you within five moves. Can you honestly say you feel no jealousy or sense of crisis? Are you truly here to kill me solely for the greater good?"
Ge Xiantong replied solemnly, "If you, Li Weiyi, were to serve the Imperial Court, become a loyal and righteous official, uphold the nation, and save the people from suffering, I would admire you beyond words. Why would I want to kill you?"
"I had assumed that those with Innate Talent at our level would strive to benefit the world, cultivate their Dao Heart through righteous conduct, focus on the Transcendent realm to refine their Martial-Mystic Path, and dream of the vast heavens to emulate the ancient sages. But today, I'm deeply disappointed. Your heart and vision are too narrow, still trapped in the petty jealousy of two young men."
Li Weiyi secretly admired Ge Xiantong's sharp tongue.
He had intended to use the word "jealousy" to shake his opponent's resolve, but Ge Xiantong had instead turned the word back on him, framing it as a sign of narrow-mindedness.
Moreover, Ge Xiantong had avoided falling into the trap of a five-move defeat, which Li Weiyi had set for those in the same realm.
Li Weiyi countered, "When poor, cultivate oneself; when prosperous, benefit the world. At our Five Seas Realm cultivation level, we haven't even mastered self-cultivation, relying on the protection of powerful factions. To proclaim our intention to benefit the world seems overly ambitious. In truth, we're all just drifting along with the current. To benefit the world, focus on the Transcendent realm, and emulate the ancient sages - if you can't achieve any of these, you're merely setting your sights too high. These three phrases would carry some weight if your Master, Yu Yaozi, had uttered them."
Ge Xiantong said, "The azure heavens are dead, the yellow heavens shall rise. You're not aiming too high? You, Li Weiyi, have a heart bigger than the sky itself. If you were allowed to grow, you'd become a major threat to the Imperial Court."
Li Weiyi replied, "So your 'universal salvation' only extends to the Imperial Court? Isn't that rather narrow?"
Outside, goose-feather snowflakes began to fall.
In the hearth, the firewood burned fiercely.
Ge Xiantong finished his noodles first, wiping his lips: "You and Jiang Ning must have some special connection. Even she couldn't recruit you, so I won't waste any more words. Stop dawdling and eat quickly. Once you're done, I'll send you on your way."
"By chance, I once helped her. She desperately wanted to help me escape this killing fate and repay the favor. But our positions are irreconcilable. We had to part ways, severing ties last night."
Li Weiyi sighed, then asked earnestly, "Ge Xiantong, how much longer do you think this world will remain in chaos?"
Ge Xiantong was astonished by Li Weiyi's composure. Sitting across from him, he addressed him by name without fear or hesitation - a true dragon among men.
His thoughts soon drifted back to the closed palace gates deep within Lingxiao Palace, his expression complex.
He couldn't answer Li Weiyi's question.
Li Weiyi said, "Beyond the Imperial Court lies the Far Western Ashlands, and within, countless enemies like the Snow Sword Tang Court, the Thundercloud Sect, the Zhu Clan, and the Dragon Sect. In just a few years, when the Ashlands launch their westward invasion, Lingxiao City will likely fall. And I, the so-called future threat, am merely a small pawn in this grand scheme."
"Killing me serves no purpose for the Imperial Court."
Ge Xiantong composed himself and said, "I've heard you're skilled at sophistry, but it won't work here. Do you know why the Imperial Court was so determined to crush the Zuoqiu Clan at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, even to the point of killing Zuoqiu Hongting?"
"Why?" Li Weiyi asked.
Ge Xiantong replied, "Do you know about the Immortality Pill? Whoever obtains the Immortality Pill controls the world."
"But only the Calamity Crossing Temple can refine the Immortality Pill, and they send only ten pills to the Lingxiao Realm every sixty years. For the past thousand years, these pills have been delivered to Lingxiao Palace, where the Imperial Court decides who receives them."
Li Weiyi knew the Immortality Pill was precious, but he hadn't realized it was this valuable.
"Only ten pills every sixty years? The Imperial Court probably consumes them all internally!"
Ge Xiantong nodded: "Without the Immortality Pill, even someone like Zuoqiu Ling, the Lingxiao First Commander, would have to wait until their fifties to breakthrough to Eternal Life. His achievement of reaching Eternal Life within a sixty-year cycle left countless Dao Seed Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators in awe, utterly beyond their reach, and regarded as a miracle."
"But the world doesn't know that with the aid of the Immortality Pill, many Martial-Mystic Cultivators in the Imperial Court, whose innate talent was inferior to Zuoqiu Ling's, had already entered the Immortality Realm by their thirties or forties."
Li Weiyi asked, "Do the Inheritors of the Ten Thousand Sects not even qualify to receive the ten Immortality Pills issued every sixty years?"
"They don't even have the right to hear about them," Ge Xiantong replied, "The three Palace Masters who hold the core power in the Imperial Court, along with the Eight Transcendent Ones, each represent a powerful faction. Their disciples and followers, as well as the Heavenly Prides among their descendants, are all vying for those ten Immortality Pills. There simply aren't enough to go around."
Li Weiyi remarked, "The Imperial Court's actions have led to its current predicament of being universally reviled. They brought this upon themselves."
Ge Xiantong didn't deny this: "If you were in that position, you wouldn't be much better. If you don't give it to your own disciples and followers, and your descendants, who will uphold your family's legacy when your lifespan dwindles after a thousand years? Who will guard your tomb? Giving to outsiders only invites them to plunder your home and desecrate your grave."
Li Weiyi said, "So, the struggle for the Calamity Crossing Temple's support is essentially a fight for the distribution rights to the Immortality Pill. Even if you crush the Left Sect and kill Zuoqiu Hongting, the temple will simply switch its support to another righteous army. They've clearly lost all faith in the Imperial Court and have already abandoned you."
"We're not trying to win over the Calamity Crossing Temple; we're trying to win over the Zuoqiu Clan. It's hard to understand, isn't it?" Ge Xiantong said, "Didn't you say earlier that everyone knows the Far Western Ashlands are coming from the west? If they truly do, where will they strike first?"
"The Western Territory and the Southern Territory," Li Weiyi replied.
The Far Western Ashlands were clearly already making their moves, otherwise so many factions in the Western and Southern Territories wouldn't have pledged allegiance to Luansheng Linyou.
Ge Xiantong continued, "If the Zuoqiu Clan loses the Calamity Crossing Temple's support and faces the Far Western Ashlands, they'll have only two choices: either submit to the Ashlands or surrender to the Imperial Court. The same applies to the Zhu Clan."
Li Weiyi finally realized how the Imperial Court viewed the situation.
If the Far Western Ashlands truly descended upon them with overwhelming force...
"Faced with the threat of annihilation and the lives of countless people across several provinces, even the highest echelons of the Zuoqiu Clan and the Zhu Clan would have no choice but to compromise. In the grand scheme of things, Zuoqiu Hongting, a mere junior who died in a fair duel, is like a pebble tossed into a river - just a ripple," Ge Xiantong said.
"Survival and power are both arts of compromise."
Li Weiyi nodded slightly and then asked, "Are you so certain they'll stand idly by while you kill a Young Emperor?"
Ge Xiantong chuckled: "In the eyes of the Calamity Crossing Temple, a Young Emperor's Martial-Mystic Path foundation is something that can be cultivated. If they wish, they can elevate the Long Dian, Lu Cangsheng, and Tang Wanqiu as well. Their rules and authority are ten or even a hundred times more important than the life of a Young Emperor."
"The Calamity Crossing Temple hasn't made its final decision yet, but the Zuoqiu Clan has the greatest chance. That's why the Snow Sword Tang Court, the Dragon Sect, the Zhu Clan, the Thundercloud Sect... everyone is here, vying for the opportunity."
"The Jiu Li Tribe can only choose the Zuoqiu Clan, and the Zuoqiu Clan only has two more options than the Jiu Li Tribe."
"In this chaotic era, everyone stands on the edge of a cliff. No one can navigate it with ease; everyone is helpless."
Ge Xiantong's killing intent surged again, his gaze devoid of any softness: "Zuoqiu Hongting deserves to die! And you, this unexpected Young Emperor, are no less guilty of a capital crime!"
Li Weiyi calculated the time. It was almost three quarters of an hour past the appointed time.
He wondered if Li Ling, Zuoqiu Hongting, and Cang Li had understood his meaning.
Leading Ge Xiantong away was the limit of what he could do.
Just the intangible killing intent alone made Li Weiyi feel as if he were sinking into a muddy swamp, with pressure squeezing him from all sides.
"After fighting all night, your Spiritual Qi must be severely depleted. Are you still at your peak?" Li Weiyi adjusted his breathing, entering the Wisdom-Clarity Divine State to prepare for the most arduous life-or-death battle ahead.
Ge Xiantong replied, "Killing you shouldn't require my peak state! I've reached Seven Seas Perfection. With each breath, I can absorb Heaven and Earth Dharma Qi, so my recovery is swift."
Li Weiyi felt Ge Xiantong's battle intent press down upon him, instantly making his body feel as heavy as ten thousand jin. An endless killing intent surged through him.
The surrounding white Mist was vast and boundless, obscuring all sight.
His five senses were completely suppressed by Ge Xiantong's battle intent.
"Whoosh!"
Across from him, deep within the void behind Ge Xiantong, a sun and moon rose, like the eyes of a cosmic giant gazing down upon the myriad living beings of the world.
Qi Xiao and Shi Shishi, who had been hiding all night, were searching for Li Weiyi throughout this city district.
Having been concealed in the shadows earlier, they had naturally heard the three long howls from the city tower, knowing Li Weiyi was nearby.
The two men abruptly stopped and turned their gazes toward the opposite side of the river, to the noodle shop beside the bridge.
The scene there was utterly bizarre.
All the snow had momentarily frozen in midair, forming a unique field.
They could see Li Weiyi sitting facing them, with a white-robed figure behind him, whose identity remained unknown.
"Brother Wei..." Shi Shishi shouted.
"Boom!"
A deafening roar erupted from the direction of the Governor's Manor, shaking the earth.
The Great Spiritual Master team of the Zuoqiu Clan unleashed a sky full of talismanic runes.
Three more High-Grade Hundred-Character Scripture Artifacts rose from the Governor's Manor, radiating brilliant light as they crashed toward the Imperial Court's formation.
Layer after layer of the formation shattered under the attacks. War drums thundered, tiger roars mingled with monkey cries, and a desperate battle erupted, one that would determine the victor of the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival.
Yet at this critical moment, the Imperial Court's core leadership - its most influential Martial-Mystic Cultivators - was nowhere near the center of the battlefield.
Ge Xiantong had unleashed his battle intent almost simultaneously with the start of the fighting at the Governor's Manor.
Li Weiyi inwardly rejoiced, thinking, "Heaven helps me!" He sensed Ge Xiantong's growing unease from the wavering of his battle intent and decided to pour fuel on the fire, deliberately provoking him.
"Ge Xiantong, you've fallen into a trap! Those three long howls signaled a breakout from the Imperial Court's side in three moments. Without you to lead them, how can the Imperial Court's Martial-Mystic Cultivators stand against Zuoqiu Hongting, Cang Li, and Zhu Yibai? This bowl of noodles is going to cost you dearly."
As he spoke, the hand holding the bowl erupted with Spiritual Qi.
"Boom!"
The Spiritual Qi shattered the bowl, simultaneously triggering the Earth Spirit Grey Spring hidden beneath.
The spring instantly burst open, releasing a dense grey mist that filled the entire shop.
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END OF CHAPTER
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