“The narrative isn't quite so simple; blocking the entrance to the Qin Emperor's tomb should have sufficed to prevent his escape. But now, with only Chi Hongyi acting alone, one person is not enough to hold the line.”
Li Biexue shook his head, though his face betrayed neither dejection nor any pronounced emotion. “This matter has become somewhat thorny—”
Mo Lian fell silent again; the issue was that Li Biexue could not directly target the Qin Emperor's tomb.
This was due to the intense scrutiny the tomb was currently under from all the Saint Venerables between heaven and earth. They also worried that any direct action might betray their presence, allowing Qingxuan Taihuang of the Daoist Sect to notice something amiss.
After all, one of the greatest adversaries of the Heavenly King Ran Wu in those bygone years was the Daoist school.
Who knew how much those Daoist Saint Venerables currently understood about the Divine Artifact, the Wing of Supreme Profundity?
It was likely those venerable figures were already feeling curious. After finally achieving a truce, the Demonic Path was already setting up an operation to encircle and slay Zong Shou in less than four months.
Treachery was hardly unusual among those of the Demonic Sect, but to undertake such an act when the Cang Sheng Dao and the Great Qian Dynasty were at their zenith, and they themselves were severely weakened, seemed like utter madness—a direct path to self-destruction.
Yet, Li Biexue had proceeded anyway. Was this not astonishing?
Furthermore, in ancient times, the First Emperor of Qin had summoned all the Qi Refiners, the Mohists, and the Legalists from across the realm to jointly devise methods to restrain the Saint Venerables of the Supreme Realm.
The Twelve Bronze Men were one of the achievements of the Mohist school back then. It was said that when the twelve bronze figures formed their array, they could forcibly suppress the cultivation level of any Supreme Realm Saint Venerable within a thousand-mile radius by half a rank!
And the remaining Qi Refiners and Legalists were rumored to have also derived several methods to counter the Supreme Realm during those decades, though these findings were never revealed to the world.
Now, all these secrets were entirely hidden within the Qin Emperor's tomb, which served as a forbidden zone for every Supreme Realm Saint Venerable!
One must remember that when the First Qin reigned supreme across the world, the majority of the Supreme Realm Saint Venerables in the Cloud Realm tried their utmost to evade him.
The First Qin annihilated Confucianism, yet the three great Confucian Saint Venerables of that time were utterly helpless. Two of them perished sequentially, and the remaining one was forced to flee far beyond the boundaries of the Cloud Realm.
This was precisely why Li Biexue needed to borrow the strength of those two great alien races from beyond the domain.
Currently, four of the seven Saint Realm experts had fallen during Zong Shou’s counterattack. In reality, however, Li Biexue was relying solely on Chi Hongyi, which was indeed insufficient to stand against the tide.
As she wrestled with these thoughts, Li Biexue had already made his decision. He raised his hand and tossed over a jade talisman intricately inscribed with dark violet demonic patterns.
“Take this item and travel to Feng Hui Mountain in the extreme North. If that person is willing to swear an oath of the heart and soul, agreeing to carry out this task for me, you may release them. Remember to go quickly and return swiftly; I need this person to appear inside the Qin Emperor's tomb within half a day!”
Mo Lian couldn't help but pause. Wasn't the next step supposed to be activating the backup piece on the board?
She had witnessed it firsthand that day and knew Li Biexue possessed another means.
A realization dawned upon her: could it be related to Zong Shou’s words as Chi Hongyi departed?
Was it because that heaven-defying ultimate magic truly couldn't withstand Zong Shou’s Styx Death Sword?
But what exactly was the connection between these events?
Could it be that this Supreme Primordial Demon was truly so far-sighted as to cultivate a successor with unparalleled talent for the Demonic Path?
Though confused, Mo Lian dared not linger on these thoughts at this juncture. She tucked the purplish-black jade talisman into her sleeve.
Only then did it fully register. Feng Hui Mountain in the extreme North? Could it be that person?
Immediately, a chill ran through her entire body.
That individual was someone whose name once made both the Righteous and Demonic factions blanch in fear.
Was Li Biexue truly intent on unleashing him? Indeed, for the Wing of Supreme Profundity, this Saint Venerable was now willing to pay any price.
Mo Lian sighed inwardly for Zong Shou. If that person emerged, the sovereign of Great Qian would likely have a slim chance of survival.
※ ※ ※ ※
At almost the exact same moment, deep within the Qin Emperor's tomb, someone else was observing Zong Shou and his entourage as they entered the main burial chamber from afar.
Shi Yue stood tall and solitary on a rise of land, his hands clasped behind his back. Beside him rested a massive crystal shaped like an eyeball. This was the Chaos Crystal Eye, one of the Divine Artifacts of this era. However, it possessed no other function besides a single character: Perceive.
It could perceive the essence of all things, the true meaning of laws, and could also project images across billions of miles, even peering into dozens of worlds—
But at this moment, the fact that the Chaos Crystal Eye was focusing on the forms of Zong Shou and his four companions was an unexpected outcome.
It was originally intended to observe what those allied foreign Saint Realm experts intended by gathering here.
Yet, it had fortuitously witnessed the spectacular and utterly breathtaking scene that had just unfolded.
The three Night Demon Venerables had successively perished beneath Zong Shou’s sword. Following them, another Free God-Demon met the same fate, annihilated by a single strike.
Even their subsequent dialogue was clearly visible. The Chaos Crystal Eye could not capture sound, but discerning lip movements based on the cultivation levels of those present was hardly difficult.
“The Ephemeral Flower of Life and Death, the Styx Death Sword—this current Saint Lord constantly surprises people; his methods are truly fierce. Those Saint Realm experts, it seems, are no longer a concern.”
Since the people were dead, there was naturally no need to worry about them anymore.
However, Shi Yue frowned deeply. “And yet, why is the Demonic Path acting this way? Going so far as to ally with foreign races, defying the world?”
He had no one accompanying him save for three others. One was Shi Wuji, clad in silver-black armor, his expression as cold as ice.
Compared to the awkwardness and curiosity he displayed when he first entered the cultivation world a few years ago, Shi Wuji now resembled a colossal boulder that would never shift, and within the silver-black armor resided a hidden power as immense as mountains and oceans—immeasurable.
The other two were Gongsun Minglie and Qiu Nan, his foremost generals. One had once, on the battlefield, torn apart seventeen God Realm cultivators consecutively with his bare hands within two hundred breaths, remaining completely unharmed.
The other, despite being only at the God Realm, fought evenly against those at the Saint Rank with a blade.
To conquer seventy worlds in the Outer Domain in just a few short years, these two men deserved the greatest credit.
Unlike Zong Shou’s explosive rise, the Shi family boasted millennia of heritage, a substantial foundation.
Especially through the meticulous management of Shi Qianli over several decades in these last two generations, the Shi clan and its vassal families had accumulated many rare talents.
This provided the Shi family with ample personnel, over twenty of whom could lead independently.
Gongsun Minglie and Qiu Nan were the very cream of this crop.
Even after conquering those seventy worlds, they suffered no manpower shortages and integrated the territories far more effectively than the Great Qian Celestial Dynasty, which currently only possessed an empty framework.
“To drive someone like the Supreme Primordial Demon to madness, there must be sufficient benefit motivating him—”
Qiu Nan smiled, a mysterious gleam in his eyes.
“In my subordinate’s estimation, Zong Shou must be obstructing something that concerns the Supreme Primordial Demon. Either he possesses something that Li Biexue covets above all else.”
“Taishi cultivates the Law of Finality, placing him in direct opposition to Zong Shou; they are mortal enemies. But would the Supreme Primordial Demon truly risk everything at this moment to snatch benefits for Taishi?”
Gongsun Minglie mused thoughtfully, “As for an object, what else in this world could Li Biexue set his sights on? The Zhou Book would be excellent, but it doesn't warrant such a cost. Unless it is something that can further his cultivation—”
Though he spoke this way, he could not be certain.
Perhaps Taishi had offered the Supreme Primordial Demon some promise or benefit, or perhaps there were other reasons entirely.
What could possibly move Li Biexue to this extent was truly difficult to fathom.
Shi Yue knew that endless speculation would yield no results. Before acquiring more concrete intelligence, he could not guess Li Biexue’s true intentions.
However, Zong Shou’s progress in the Way of the Sword was genuinely astonishing.
Although he had used the Sword of Death just now, it was infused with a dense Daoist rhyme.
Shi Yue had previously assumed that since Zong Shou followed the path from complexity to simplicity, he would surely be overtaken, perhaps even surpassed, by Shi Yue. Yet, even now, they remained equals in their path.
Shi Yue found it comparatively easier to progress from simplicity to complexity by relying on the Chaos Crystal Eye. Zong Shou, by mastering the Zhou-level Book of Worldly Affairs, was not falling behind in his cultivation progress.
The only advantage Shi Yue possessed was longevity. But once one entered the Supreme Realm, what significance did the reserve of years truly hold?
He shook his head and stopped the discussion.
“We need not worry about the affairs of the Great Qian Emperor. At least within this Qin Emperor's tomb, until we contend for the Bronze Men, we are friends, not enemies. That person must also be aware of this.”
As he spoke, Shi Yue gazed toward the direction of Xian An City within this small thousand-world realm.
“What I wish to know now is whether Xu Fu has returned to the Cloud Realm, and whether he has successfully achieved the Supreme Realm.”
“If even the Lord Master’s Chaos Crystal Eye cannot ascertain the details, how can we know for sure?”
Gongsun Minglie offered a wry smile. “However, my subordinate still maintains his previous stance. The situation over there is currently too perilous; there are already four known Saint Realm Qi Refiners. And even setting aside the Twelve Bronze Men, there are twenty Saint Realm Corpse Generals buried as escorts. We still haven't clarified what the current state of that Qin Emperor is. Rushing in recklessly would not be a wise decision.”
Shi Yue, however, let out a carefree laugh. “If you don't enter the tiger's lair, how can you catch the cub? To understand the cause, we must eventually enter and see.”
Among the four, only Shi Wuji remained, staring somewhat distractedly in Zong Shou’s direction.
The Saint Lord of this Age! He had visited Qiantian Mountain a few months prior, participated in the Confucian debate convention, and traveled through various parts of Great Qian.
The people were prosperous with light taxes, the law was esteemed while the people were cherished, citizens lived and worked in peace, and the monarch governed with humility, sharing dominion with the scholar-officials.
Although in regions where the decrees of Great Qian did not reach, there were still various lawless acts, collusion between officials and merchants, oppression of the common folk, and constant attempts to deceive the masses—with instances of embezzling state funds and imposing unauthorized taxes being not uncommon—yet, everything was visibly improving.
In just a few short years, the cities surrounding Qiantian Mountain as a core were already showing glimpses of a flourishing age.
This might be the governance of the Three Sovereigns of antiquity, which the Confucian school so eagerly sought to restore. It was no wonder that an increasing number of Confucian scholars now recognized Zong Shou as a true Saintly Sovereign in the world.
Then, in the future, would he have to stand against such a person?