Chapter 1845: His Majesty (I)

From his perspective, with the [Azure Attainment Primordial Heart Instrument] present, Heavenly Plain mystics should not exist in Tingzhou. They cannot exist here. That Suining obtained Heavenly Plain at all must likewise be the work of those above.

Understanding gradually dawned in Li Zhouwei's eyes.

Essentially, a deeper scheme is concealed beneath a more obvious one. Suining certainly possesses Heavenly Plain, but the mystics he received may well extend beyond it. The future he steers us toward is very likely the future that exalted figure above desires.

That would explain Li Suining's lack of understanding of his Heavenly Plain mystics. This unseen pawn, betraying not the slightest anomaly, must have been placed specifically for the Li Family.

Precisely because of this... Suining must not receive a talisman seed. Sooner or later, he will come under those great figures' scrutiny. If he receives one, his karmic ties will vanish, leaving nothing unusual to detect. Then the Li Family's unusual circumstances will have no apparent explanation, arousing suspicion...

Li Zhouwei understood that both the Li Family, watched by countless eyes, and its members bearing talisman seeds, who found a moment's respite only upon entering the lake, only appeared free while remaining deeply imprisoned...

After a little thought, Li Zhouwei glanced at him without betraying anything. Having settled on a course of action, he asked, "How long until the next great war between north and south? Can you determine it accurately?"

Li Suining replied, "There will be clashes of varying scale over the coming years, but unless I am mistaken, the true war is still eight years away!"

Eight years from now would come the Battle of White Sea, the last joint northern campaign in which Great Song and Western Shu each pursued their own interests. It was also the war in which the Great Desire Dao committed its forces to the Huai region once more. Despite Guangchan’s death and the silence of the Great Mahayana Dharma Realm, the battlefront closely matched that of his previous life. In Li Suining's judgment, the timing should not differ by much.

Li Zhouwei, however, felt his spirits lift at these words. Eight years... more than enough...

He had not sustained any particularly serious injuries in this war. Li Ximing had also weathered his years of battle with the help of [Divided Spirit and Variant Body], enduring several scares but no disaster. That meant these eight years would be precious time the Li Family could devote entirely to growth and preparation!

He pondered for a while, then suddenly sensed something and looked up. Black banners fluttered on the horizon, announcing the arrival of people from the Song court.

Li Zhouwei rose and said, "The old elder mentioned that he wishes to see you. Once you have put things in order here, go and pay your respects to the ancestor."

Li Suining hastily assented and bowed as he saw him off. Only after the radiance in the sky had faded did he rise, standing hesitantly in his cave dwelling.

Should I tell him... or not...

By now, given the circumstances, Li Suining could naturally see where the misunderstanding lay.

He thinks I possess some unusual ability of divination...

Li Suining had begun to consider confessing the truth, yet whenever he faced Li Zhouwei, he still could not bring himself to speak.

Would telling the King of Wei the truth really be wise?

Li Suining could scarcely imagine what might happen if Li Zhouwei learned the full course of the Li Family's rise and fall. Worse still, how could he tell a seeker of the Dao that he would attain it as the world's second manifestation, only to perish soon afterward?

Though Li Suining knew little about seeking the Golden Core Realm, he understood that such knowledge could only be harmful to a pursuit so deeply bound to Dao attainment and symbolic acts!

It may be impossible to tell what I can reveal and what I must keep to myself...

Anxious, he took a jade slip from his sleeve. He read for a while but could not settle his mind. After pacing a few steps, he sank back into the main seat and closed his eyes in thought.

After an unknown stretch of time, his breathing gradually steadied. Flecks of silver radiance leaped from between his brows, connecting with a brilliant star that shone with blazing light.

————

The imperial palace towered majestically over its occupants, its inner halls hushed and secluded.

"This is Great Song."

Clad in white, Lin Chensheng was filled with conflicting emotions. Though he had learned much back at the temple, bewilderment still swept through him like the wind as he walked through Great Song's imperial palace. He almost felt as if he had stumbled into a dream.

He passed silently through the palace corridors. After a while, he found a woman waiting along the passage, her head bowed and hands clasped in a deferential posture. Only when he reached her did he recognize her.

He called out in a strained voice, "Ziyu!"

Kan Ziyu and Lin Chensheng were old acquaintances. They had grown up together, shared a measure of affection, and even ventured into a grotto heaven together in their youth. Yet the woman before him now scarcely resembled the spirited but gentle Kan Ziyu he remembered.

Only then did Daoist Master Wenqing raise her head to look at him. Her gaze flickered briefly as she replied, "Daoist Master Chensheng, you have arrived... Please follow me!"

Lin Chensheng immediately composed his expression as bitterness welled up in his heart. Even a prodigy of our Supreme Yang Dao lineage has been reduced to an usher!

He followed with his head down, saying nothing until they reached the deepest part of the palace complex. There, he bowed his head in greeting. Officials passing on either side whispered among themselves, and he faintly caught something about the King of Wei.

Lin Chensheng asked quietly, "A great victory, was it?"

Daoist Master Wenqing nodded. Though she appeared unmoved, she had much to say. "Indeed, the King of Wei won us a great victory. His surname is Li, and his given name, Zhouwei, from Li Xuanfeng's clan. Li Xuanfeng... Do you remember him, Brother Chensheng?"

Lin Chensheng’s mind immediately conjured up the image of the man who had wielded a golden bow in the grotto heaven, and he nodded. They had met only once, but he had vaguely sensed that this ruthless man possessed something his own Dao lineage lacked. The encounter had left a deep impression.

Daoist Master Wenqing added, "The King of Wei... must have been born when you and I were making our names. He now possesses three divine abilities."

Lin Chensheng fell silent for a moment before replying, "Chi Wei committed countless evils. Otherwise... he should have been a disciple of our Supreme Yang lineage..."

Wenqing merely stated softly, "It seems Supreme Yang's fortunes have run their course."

Daoist Master Wenqing had emerged from seclusion several years before Lin Chensheng. She had personally witnessed the collapse of the Supreme Yang Dao lineage's last hope, along with all the upheavals of those years. Thus, she spoke of it calmly.

At that moment, they reached the inner palace. Grand General Yang Ruiyi stood within, with a beautiful woman in jade-green robes waiting to one side.

Lin Chensheng bowed respectfully. Yang Ruiyi smiled at him, hurried forward to help him rise, and said, "With Chensheng out of seclusion... I have gained another great general and can face matters with greater confidence!"

Calling him a great general might have been a courtesy, but the added confidence was very real. However far the Great Xiukui Temple had declined, its Dao lineage remained extraordinary. What Lin Chensheng alone could bring far exceeded the contributions of an ordinary Purple Mansion Realm cultivator!

The affair involving Sword Immortal Louxing and the Lingu family had caused an uproar at the time. In truth, however, apart from some spirit items and materials, Lingu Lanying had received only two spirit artifacts, one of which even conflicted with her Dao lineage. Louxing had left the foundations on Huyi Mountain entirely untouched!

The loss of the [Great Kui Convergence Bronze Sword] hardly matters. They still have the [Profound Owl Crossing Scene Furnace], the [Surging Yang Star Command Treasure Disk], and the [Unharmed Stone], once a wondrous treasure of [Whole Pill] and later sealed away... Even setting those aside, Tian Xiu is still at Huyi!

In Yang Ruiyi's eyes, Louxing had been among the most clear-sighted figures in the Supreme Yang Dao lineage. His stance and actions back then had minimized the Great Xiukui Temple's losses while keeping the north unconcerned.

Though calculating inwardly, he wore a sorrowful expression and sighed. "Fellow Daoist Houfu... was truly an example to us all!"

Houfu had died without a sound or sign, and no one should have known. Matters of life and death, however, could hardly escape the Underworld's judiciary.

Lin Chensheng lowered his eyes and said, "My uncle died at the hands of northern cultivators. I will avenge him!"

Whatever his true thoughts, those words greatly pleased Yang Ruiyi. He helped Lin Chensheng rise, beckoned Lingu Lanying over, and introduced her. "This is Yingjia, Lingu Lanying."

Lin Chensheng turned slightly and nodded. Lingu Lanying immediately stepped back and said respectfully, "Greetings, my benefactor!"

"You are too courteous, Daoist Master!"

Although Lingu Lanying had been granted a royal title by Great Song, she dared not put on airs before Lin Chensheng. Even in decline, the Supreme Yang Dao lineage remained a Golden Core inheritance. There was no question which of them stood higher in the Yang Family's estimation... Besides, who in all of Song did not know the source of the Lingu Family's rise?

Unless she found some grounds to change that in the future, she would have to defer to Lin Chensheng!