Chapter 507 - 304: Qi Muxue Attains the Dao, Inherits the Mantle of Li Sheng, and Champions the Confucian Dao

Qianyuan Hall.

In the council hall, a tea table was placed in the center. Lu Mingyuan, dressed in a golden-yellow Emperor’s Robe with his hands clasped behind his back, exuded a sharp and powerful aura. His noble and handsome appearance was framed by his posture, with his back to the others.

He was currently listening to a report from the Commander of the Imperial Guard.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, after the Demoness disappeared, we did indeed find traces of her outside the city. However, judging from the tracks, it seems she has already left the Capital City."

Lu Mingyuan furrowed his brow and murmured, ’Am I still a step behind?’

He had immediately sent people to intercept her, but they still failed to catch her.

Then, his gaze sharpened.

"However, this general has found a culprit who willingly confessed."

The Commander of the Imperial Guard waved his hand, and a Daoist Robe Woman was soon brought forward.

At her side was a monk.

This was the new Mountain Master of the Vajra Temple, one of the Three Academies. He was a High Monk in a red robe with a gentle demeanor. His fingers were extremely coarse and tough, as if each one had been tempered to the point of being as indestructible as a vajra.

Sui Yuqing appeared dispirited. Her hands were bound by a glowing golden rope as she was escorted forward.

She didn’t dare to meet Lu Mingyuan’s eyes, merely saying in a low voice:

"I was the one who let Witch Palace Language go..."

"What do you mean?"

Lu Mingyuan asked with a frown.

Sui Yuqing’s voice was faint. "To be precise, it was the one inside me. She didn’t disappear. She’s still within my body."

"After I woke up today, I fell unconscious again. When I came to, I found myself bizarrely outside the city. I knew something must have gone wrong. On my way back, I ran into the Imperial Guard, who were searching the entire city for the Demoness. That’s when I realized this must have something to do with me."

Sui Yuqing never could have imagined it.

That she would become the culprit who set Witch Palace Language free.

Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan fell silent for a moment before sighing. "It seems she has become a part of you. Perhaps she’s now another personality, no longer a simple Heart Demon."

"Personality?"

It was the first time Sui Yuqing had heard this new term.

"It means another soul," Lu Mingyuan said coolly.

A dual personality.

’Such a familiar term.’

Simply put, two completely different souls were hidden within one body.

Now, Lu Mingyuan finally understood how Witch Palace Language had used the Heart Demon to perform the Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell technique and leave the Capital City.

"The other ’her’ inside you sought me out last night. Thinking back now, her purpose wasn’t pure. It wasn’t to attack me, but to free Witch Palace Language."

Lu Mingyuan paused, his gaze sharp. "First, she staged a suicidal act, forcing me into dual cultivation with you, Fairy. Then, the Black Turtle Shell was guided away, leaving my control. Finally, she used the Turtle Shell’s power to complete a Divine Soul swap with Qi Muxue, allowing the two of them to switch back."

The entire process involved a degree of psychological warfare.

The Heart Demon first made a failed attempt to offer herself up, laying the groundwork. She gambled that I would do whatever it took to save Sui Yuqing’s life. As long as I suppressed the Karmic Fire, she would have her opportunity.

She let the Black Turtle Shell slip from my control and used that brief window of time to complete the Divine Soul swap with Qi Muxue.

Although the Dragon Lock can seal one’s Flesh Body Cultivation and Sea of Spiritual Consciousness, it cannot bind the Divine Soul.

Artifacts that can affect a person’s Divine Soul are rare to begin with, let alone ones that can seal it. Any such item would be a priceless Holy Immortal Artifact.

’All I can say is, this Heart Demon is truly ruthless.’

’She’s a bold gambler.’

’If I had been a little more selfish and chosen not to save Sui Yuqing, letting the Karmic Fire incinerate her along with her original body, this ’accident’ would never have happened.’

’The Heart Demon wouldn’t have been able to do anything to me either.’

’She herself would have even risked perishing.’

"So that’s how it was. I understand now."

After Lu Mingyuan’s explanation, Sui Yuqing seemed to understand what the Heart Demon had been doing all along.

It was all to help the Great Nether Empress escape the Great Yan Capital City.

"The Great Nether Empress escaped, and the crime is mine. I cannot escape the blame," Sui Yuqing said, pleading guilty.

But Lu Mingyuan shook his head. "You can’t be blamed. It was my oversight. I never thought the Black Turtle Shell had such an ability."

"This item is extremely mysterious. It’s the greatest treasure the Great Nether Empress has relied on in her cultivation. From the looks of it, not only can it glimpse into past events, but it can also reshape a living being’s three hun and seven po souls. It can even turn a Heart Demon into a part of your Divine Soul, which is why you couldn’t sense her existence."

"For Your Majesty to know so much about such a netherworld object..." Sui Yuqing said, surprised.

"I simply deduced it from observation."

Lu Mingyuan pondered for a moment before saying, "However, there is a benefit to suppressing the Karmic Fire. At least the Heart Demon didn’t occupy your body for long. This indicates she can no longer interfere with you excessively by using Illusion Realms or manipulating the Karmic Fire. She can only occupy you for very short periods, sharing the same body."

"So, from now on, I have to keep fighting her?"

Hearing Lu Mingyuan’s words, Sui Yuqing’s expression soured.

No one would be happy knowing another person was inside their body, even if that person was born from their own desires.

"From now on, it’s best you don’t wander about. You should probably place yourself under house arrest somewhere and see if you can overcome her."

Lu Mingyuan said gently.

’This trial is part of Sui Yuqing’s own Dao.’

’Even he could do nothing to help.’

Just as the two were speaking.

BOOM!

A massive roar echoed from the sky.

A pillar of golden light shot up from Fengning Hall.

Lu Mingyuan looked toward the pillar of light and, realizing it came from Qi Muxue’s residence, showed a look of astonishment.

"What’s happening?"

The sky-piercing golden light transformed into shining golden scriptures, as if revealing the most profound truths of the world.

"Heaven’s movement is ever vigorous."

"Thus, the gentleman makes himself strong and untiring."

A brilliant, clear, and cold female voice echoed from the Imperial Palace.

Not just in the Imperial Palace, but everyone in the entire Capital City was listening intently.

The ancient scriptures were like the world’s simplest truths, cleansing people’s Heart Spirits.

No matter who it was, even passing Palace Maids couldn’t help but quiet their hearts to listen to the ancient scriptures, as they truly brought a comforting clarity to their minds.

And as the scriptures were recited one by one, something even more miraculous happened.

Lu Mingyuan discovered that the Ritual Saint Jade Hairpin, which had been dormant in his Qi Sea, was stirring with astonishing energy.

One after another, seals appeared on the body of the hairpin.

SWOOSH!

The Ritual Saint Jade Hairpin transformed into a streak of rainbow light, left Lu Mingyuan’s Qi Sea, and flew toward Fengning Palace.

"That direction... it seems to be the Empress’s bedchambers."

Sui Yuqing raised an eyebrow as she looked over.

"Let’s go see."

Lu Mingyuan said, then rode the wind, transforming into a streak of rainbow light and giving chase.

At this very moment, in Fengning Palace.

A torrent of Literary Qi, as if it cost nothing, poured down and into Qi Muxue’s body.

Qi Muxue was dressed in a moon-blue ruqun skirt. Her peach-petal pink embroidered shoes stepped on the void. Her clear eyes were full of spirit, and she possessed a scholarly air. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed out at the world.

After she finished reciting the scriptures from her heart, she slowly straightened her back.

’My heart is clear of all things, beyond the bounds of good and evil.’

’I shall dispel all darkness.’

During the month she had spent as Witch Palace Language, her body and mind had been severely tempered, and she had come to see through many things.

At this moment, her body lacked the divine presence and extraordinary quality of a Saint. She seemed like an extremely ordinary person, yet the river of Confucian Qi before her elevated her into a figure of worldly brilliance.

She stood before the long river of time.

The river shone with a golden light and possessed an ineffable, extraordinary quality. A single glance was enough to make one fall into its depths.

Amidst it all, Qi Muxue appeared exceptionally serene.

SWOOSH!

The arrival of a cyan jade hairpin made the light of the river before her even more dazzling.

Qi Muxue snatched the Jade Hairpin from the air.

A massive amount of Destiny was absorbed into her body.

Golden light spread beneath her feet, and seals entwined with the true meaning of the Confucian Dao caused the talented woman’s aura and Flesh Body to undergo a frantic transformation.

The Destiny left behind by Li Sheng allowed her to instantly break through to the Eleventh Realm.

The Eleventh Realm of the Confucian Dao: Great Scholar.

BOOM!

Her aura permeated the entire Imperial Palace. The birth of a Great Scholar was not to be underestimated. Qi Muxue was not yet thirty years old, yet she had already become a Great Scholar. Both her potential and her talent were limitless.

Moreover, she had inherited the mantle of Li Sheng.

After a hundred years, she had become the true leader of the Li Sheng Lineage’s Confucian Dao.

...