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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 4: [Shuangsheng Dao Sect (Twin Rice Sect)]
Chapter 170 (425): [Master and Disciple]
(170th of Volume 4)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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Li Weiyi exhaled deeply, having extracted the Transcendent Disciple's Dao Fruit, claimed the Cosmic Pouch, and retrieved the Thousand-Character Weapon Wheel spiritual artifact.
He then activated his Body Technique, appearing on higher ground. Focusing his spiritual power into his Double Pupils, he observed the direction in which the Wind-Chasing Beast and the Demon Kingdom cultivators were retreating.
Blood Mist billowed across the horizon, spreading toward the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain. It crawled along the Formation's barrier, which Zen Hai Guanwu had established, scaling the sheer, three-thousand-zhang cliffs toward their summits.
The distance was too great to discern the exact situation.
Yet there was no doubt that the Demon Kingdom's objective was to breach the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain's Defensive Formation.
"This looks like a Blood Sacrifice," Li Weiyi murmured, turning to face the opposite horizon.
As expected, Blood Mist also permeated the sky in that direction.
"How many experts has the Demon Kingdom deployed? Do they truly see the Lingxiao Realm as mere plunder?"
"Hmm!"
Li Weiyi's Psychic Power sensed crimson patterns spreading across the ground beneath both Blood Mist-shrouded areas, converging to form a connection.
"The Blood Mist to the left is about 240 miles away, while the one to the right is approximately 290 miles away. To completely envelop the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain, we'd need over twenty such formations."
Li Weiyi, having studied countless ancient scriptures at the Twin Rice Sect's Main Hall, possessed a rough understanding of these bizarre formations.
"The Marquis they mentioned must be the one presiding over that Blood Mist ahead. His cultivation level can't be too high; otherwise, he could easily strike me with a Dao Technique from over 200 miles away."
"No attack! This can only mean his cultivation isn't strong enough to reach this far."
"The more he hesitates to confront me, the clearer it becomes that this Blood Sacrifice is crucial and he can't afford to abandon it. That only strengthens my resolve to stop it."
"Forget it! With the Grand Palace Mistress's protective aura, even an Immortal Realm Great Power is worth testing."
Li Weiyi gritted his teeth, hoisted the little girl onto his back, and charged forward, pursuing the fleeing Little Marquis and his entourage.
Raising his spear, he leaped across the treetops, his arrogant demeanor a deliberate provocation.
This was his chance to gauge the Marquis's cultivation level and see at what distance he would strike.
If the Marquis proved to be a Great Immortal Realm expert like Hall Master An, Li Weiyi would turn and flee without hesitation.
.....
"Didn't the Second Palace Master go to the Western Territory?"
Within the city, the Imperial Court's Immortal Realm Great Powers were reeling from this sudden turn of events, their faith shattered.
For the past decade or so, while the Grand Palace Mistress had secluded herself in the palace, the Second Palace Master had been the one overseeing the Imperial Court's affairs.
At the peak of Phoenix Pavilion, Duke Tai Shi clutched his chest, his eyes bloodshot and his breath ragged. He finally understood why his teacher had said she saw no way to save Lingxiao City.
How could it be saved?
The Crown Prince of the Demon Kingdom's intimate address to her revealed their long-standing collusion.
Duke Tai Shi recalled the events of the past decade.
While the Xiaotian Edict had indeed been issued because the Grand Palace Mistress was under the influence of the Six Thoughts Divine Mind Curse, she had withdrawn into seclusion immediately afterward.
The subsequent chaos within and outside the Imperial Court was clearly orchestrated, with someone exploiting the edict to eliminate rivals and seize personal gain.
This conspiracy against the Grand Palace Mistress and the Lingxiao Realm had likely begun over twenty years ago, the day the Crown Prince of the Demon Kingdom arrived in Lingxiao City.
Today was merely the day they came to reap the fruits of their victory.
Over two decades ago, the Crown Prince of the Demon Kingdom had offered terms too tempting for the Grand Palace Mistress to refuse.
The Holy Infant had always been the Lingxiao Realm's greatest threat. Each border incursion cost at least ten million lives.
Within the Human Race, Demonic Path factions cultivated by the Holy Infant specialized in collecting human infants, providing a constant supply for his consumption.
For millennia, the Grand Palace Mistress had ventured into the Nether Realm over a dozen times, seeking to slay the Holy Infant, only to fail each time. Her efforts only provoked the Holy Infant's increasingly frenzied retaliation.
When the Crown Prince of the Demon Kingdom offered an alliance to kill the Holy Infant, the Grand Palace Mistress would undoubtedly accept, even if she suspected ulterior motives.
Slaying the Holy Infant was the key to everything.
The Crown Prince of the Demon Kingdom sought to overthrow the Lingxiao Realm, plunder its resources, and avenge the Demon Monarch.
But what were the Second Palace Master's motives?
Duke Tai Shi roared hoarsely, "Why? Xianmin, why betray the Lingxiao Palace? Why? Did you harm the Grand Palace Mistress? Are you responsible for the decades of war that have plagued this world?"
The Second Palace Master's voice remained calm, "Senior Sister's cultivation turned demonic, trapping her in an extreme state of mind from which she could not escape. This led her to commit countless grave errors, which are the true root cause of the world's chaos. The Lingxiao Palace has failed, and the people have suffered. It has long since lost the hearts of the people. Let it be destroyed. Only after destruction can true rebirth occur."
"Second Senior Sister?"
The Third Palace Master's eyes widened in disbelief as she gazed at the increasingly luminous Phoenix Terrace. Her mind faltered, leaving her vulnerable to Madam Ye's psychic attack, and blood trickled from her lips.
With their Master's return, even in this dire situation, she felt no fear. She firmly believed that as long as they stood united, they could overcome any adversity.
Even if they couldn't save the Lingxiao Palace, they could still retreat and rebuild anew.
Xianmin's betrayal struck her like a sword through the heart.
Below, Lingxiao City erupted into chaos.
At the foot of Phoenix Terrace Mountain, Ge Xiantong's face was ashen, his Double Pupils blazing with the light of the sun and moon, a mixture of fury and anguish.
For the past decade, the Second Palace Master had personally guided his cultivation, their bond as close as that with the Grand Palace Mistress.
"Why?" Ge Xiantong demanded, his voice trembling, "Did you harm our Master?"
The Imperial Martial Cultivators assisting in activating the Formation - Princess Yun Chang, Xingyuenu, and others - felt as if their souls had been ripped away, their fighting spirit utterly extinguished. The despair was beyond words.
For over a decade, the Second Palace Master had been the Imperial Court's guiding star.
"What's the point of asking?" Tai Shi Yu sneered bitterly, "To her, you're nothing. The Second Palace Master probably became the Crown Prince of the Demon Kingdom's consort long ago. She's going to destroy Lingxiao... Hahaha, I've accepted my fate. I'll be buried in this city today."
The City-Protecting Formation and the Nine Heavens Beyond the Clouds Grand Formation were collapsing, a cataclysmic spectacle resembling the Ninth Heaven itself crumbling.
Facing the serene, smiling gazes of the Transcendents, Zen Hai Guanwu remained the calmest of all, though her eyes betrayed a flicker of introspection, regret, and disappointment.
She had long suspected this, yet refused to accept it.
Now that the truth unfolded before her eyes, as their Master, she bore the deepest pain and heartbreak.
Zen Hai Guanwu murmured to herself, "I shouldn't have allowed Yu Yao to teach you the Void Enlightenment Manual back then."
She still remembered her Master's warning: the Void Enlightenment Manual could only be passed down to one disciple per generation, or disaster would surely follow.
The manual's unique characteristic lay in its ability to transfer the Master's cultivation to their disciple upon death. Passed down through generations, each successor would inevitably surpass their predecessor, eventually ascending to become an Immortal Ancestor.
This was precisely how Zen Hai Guanwu had been able to directly utilize the Other Shore Heavenly Pill refined by Jade Yaozi.
Of course, her own profound mastery of the Martial-Mystic Dao had also been crucial in her swift mastery of the pill's power.
Therefore, when accepting disciples to inherit the Void Enlightenment Manual, strict character assessments were essential to prevent the risk of patricide and the theft of cultivation.
This was why Zen Hai Guanwu had never doubted Yu Yaozi's character, daring to meet her face-to-face.
Years ago, she had simultaneously accepted Yu Yaozi and Xianmin as disciples, teaching them the Void Enlightenment Manual and the Nine Heavens Secret Treasury respectively.
Xianmin, feeling slighted by what she perceived as favoritism, secretly learned the Void Enlightenment Manual from Yu Yao, who had a soft heart.
When Zen Hai Guanwu discovered this after emerging from seclusion, she repeatedly resolved to cripple Xianmin's cultivation.
Yet each time, she was moved by the sincerity and goodness of her younger self, believing that with her guidance, she could keep the sisters in check and prevent them from turning against each other.
But who among us wasn't once genuine and virtuous in our youth?
No one is born inherently evil.
The Second Palace Master, adorned in magnificent phoenix robes, emerged from the grand hall, her dark hair flowing like a cloud.
Spiritual Qi surged from her body in countless streams, activating the formation within the Phoenix Terrace.
Looking down, her voice remained calm, "Master has always been partial. Only Senior Sister is your True Disciple; the rest of us are merely Registered Disciples."
"Master, you are dead. Yet by seizing Senior Sister's Other Shore Heavenly Pill, I could instantly possess your current combat power."
"If that Heavenly Pill were given to me, and I absorbed her entire cultivation, I could fully assimilate it within a century and ascend to the Martial-Mystic Dao Heavenly Emperor Realm. That is the true pursuit for a Martial-Mystic Cultivator!"
"I've never understood one thing: cultivators should strive for ultimate freedom and supreme power. Why, then, did you and Senior Sister confine yourselves to this mere Lingxiao Realm? Master, are you guarding some ancient secret here?"
Zen Sea Mist Dao replied, "You cannot reach the Martial-Mystic Dao Heavenly Emperor Realm. You haven't even broken through your current realm! If you could, why would you have chosen this wicked path?"
"What is wicked, and what is righteous? Master, you never taught me that," the Second Palace Master said.
"I did teach you. You've simply forgotten!"
Zen Hai Guanwu continued, "Let me teach you again! If your Senior Sister had absorbed your cultivation, she would have long since broken through to become a Heavenly Emperor. Yet she never harboured such a thought. This is the difference between righteousness and evil!"
"Righteousness and evil aren't determined by how many people you kill or save, but by whether you can control your desires. Humans are nothing but bundles of desires!"
The Second Palace Master bowed respectfully, "Thank you for your teachings, Master! Now, your disciple requests your death to complete my path to becoming a Heavenly Emperor."
"Boom!"
The Lingxiao Palace's second Supreme Artifact, the Thunderstrike Jade, having fully absorbed Spiritual Qi from the Heaven-Law Earth Spring atop Phoenix Terrace Mountain, began to spin and ascend.
From the size of a bracelet, it expanded into a colossal jade ring over a mile in diameter.
"Rumble!"
Supreme power erupted as the Thunderstrike Jade unleashed thunder and lightning, transforming the sky into a sea of tribulation lightning.
Spiritual Qi boiled, and the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain became a crucible of thunder and lightning.
This was once the Thundercloud Sect's most treasured artifact!
With the Phoenix Terrace Formation and the Heaven-Law Earth Spring at her back, the Second Palace Master felt confident that, wielding the Thunderstrike Jade, she could suppress and kill any enemy below the Martial-Mystic Dao Heavenly Emperor.
Even if a Martial-Mystic Dao Heavenly Emperor appeared, she dared to measure her strength against them.
Zen Hai Guanwu raised her head, Spiritual Light blazing between her eyebrows.
"If I hadn't sustained some injuries, you wouldn't have dared to reveal yourself, let alone become so recklessly arrogant."
"Whoosh!"
A formidable psychic power erupted from between her eyebrows, severing the connection between the Second Palace Master and the Thunderstrike Jade.
Then, Zen Hai Guanwu reached out with her hand across the void, executing one of the Twelve Dispersed Hands of the Chan Sect: the Spirit Treasure Seizing Hand. She had learned it simply by watching Li Weiyi use it repeatedly!
With her cultivation level, her execution of the Spirit Treasure Seizing Hand resonated perfectly with the Heavenly Dao Laws.
A divine phantom hand materialized in the void, seizing the Thunderstrike Jade.
Zen Hai Guanwu had indeed fallen a thousand years ago, her Martial-Mystic Dao cultivation dissipating.
However, her head remained intact, and the Spiritual Power (Nianli) Stars within her Spirit Realm between her eyebrows had merely withered, neither shattered nor completely extinguished.
This was the fundamental reason she had not truly died!
With the aid of the Fusang Divine Tree in Tanggu Sea, all her Spiritual Power (Nianli) Stars had been rekindled.
Yet she had not yet returned to the level of Emperor Realm Psychic (Spiritual) Master.
That final step could not be achieved solely through the Fusang Divine Tree.
Within the Spirit Realm, the starry sea blazed brilliantly.
Though not an Emperor Realm Psychic Master, the Psychic Stars now possessed fifty percent of the power of Emperor Flame.
"Whoosh!"
The Thunderstrike Jade coalesced into a sphere several dozen meters in diameter, hovering above Zen Hai Guanwu's palm.
Her eyes sharpened as she swung her hand forward. The Thunderstrike Jade transformed into a celestial wheel of thunder and lightning, its radiance reaching its zenith.
It instantly obliterated a Transcendent from the Sacred Dark Family who was attempting to flee overhead, reducing him to a cloud of blood mist.
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END OF CHAPTER
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