Chapter 34 Losing the "Toy", the Ancestor Emerges from Seclusion
The old ancestor was determined to die.
Yan Kuo was a first-rank celestial official second only to Duan Jiuyou. He appeared to be nearing eighty, but was actually several generations younger than Duan Jiuyou. Before the War of Heaven, the two had worked together under the previous emperor.
Yan Kuo was old-fashioned and disapproved of Duan Jiuyou's dissolute lifestyle, often skipping court sessions whenever she wanted. He frequently criticized her, both publicly and privately, for abusing her seniority. Duan Jiuyou, in turn, resented his meddling and often publicly and privately berated him for disrespecting his elders and for having a head full of white hair.
The two harbored deep resentment, but what truly made Yan Kuo hate Duan Jiuyou was that she personally killed her nephew Yan Liansheng.
That was the child he had raised since childhood. He had become a beastman after being tainted by the blood of a beastman while accompanying the divine general Longya to Mount Gongxi to kill the poisonous spirit beast.
Yan Liansheng had already lost his mind. Duan Jiuyou was ordered to kill him. Yan Kuo begged Duan Jiuyou to spare his nephew's life, but he couldn't save Yan Liansheng.
The blood of the Poisonous Spirit Beast is an incurable poison; a human corroded by its blood becomes a walking corpse. Yan Kuo, a pharmacist, always believed he could develop an antidote to counteract the beast's blood. However, Yan Liansheng, transformed into a beastman, posed a significant threat to the Heavenly Realm at the time. No one dared to give him time to develop a cure, nor was anyone willing to let him bring Yan Liansheng back to the Heavenly Realm for treatment, including the then-Emperor Xuanhuo.
Duan Jiuyou didn't want to make this enemy, but at that time, he was not afraid of beast blood and the only one who could kill Yan Liansheng was himself.
Now she wants to go to Yan Kuo to ask for the Fuling Pill. Not only do the disciples think it's not going to work, but Duan Jiuyou also thinks it's not a good idea.
However, she is a very easygoing person, and there are many difficult things that she can handle. She just deals with whatever comes her way.
Things had to be done one by one, and people had to be met one by one, she instructed her disciples as she jumped down from the furnace.
"Add some more firewood, it's too cold to sit still."
The sword-forging had been going on for some time now, and even if it wasn't for merit or spiritual power, she still wanted to make an appearance in front of Bai Yanxing.
What should he do after showing up? Duan Jiuyou pondered this as he walked out of the sword-forging room, unaware that a minor incident had recently occurred in the Heavenly Realm.
The barrier around Zhaozhao City has been broken.
A large number of the imprisoned artifacts rushed back to the Heavenly Realm. Du Heng sent troops to stop them, but they were met with a collective resistance from the artifacts. The one who led the charge was Qi Xinghe, who fought his way out of Du Heng's personal guards and escaped back to the Heavenly Realm.
Compared to the piles of memorials on the Emperor's desk, this matter was originally not a big deal, but once it was brought up to the emperor, it involved a wide range of people and became extremely troublesome.
The divine artifacts were unwilling to remain in the city, and the various immortals who had regained their artifacts were also unwilling to let their own divine objects suffer in the city again.
Du Heng lost a large number of "toys" and refused to let it go, submitting twelve memorials in succession requesting that the divine artifacts be returned.
Du Heng possesses a handwritten letter from an ancient emperor and is also a meritorious official who cut off the Rong Sheng River, so the Heavenly Realm naturally has to consider his feelings.
But once these feelings were taken into consideration, the divine artifacts that had finally escaped had to be returned. The immortals hugged their treasures and wept bitterly, truly reluctant to part with them.
They then jointly submitted a memorial, and collapsed in tears before the Longsheng Hall.
"That Zhaozhao City is no place for humans to live. It has all sorts of strange things, and you can't even get a decent meal on a regular basis."
"Although they are objects, they have fought for the peace of the Heavenly Realm. Even if they have no merit, they have still worked hard."
"The barrier of Zhaozhao City originally contained a magic pearl that could absorb magical treasures and artifacts. It couldn't have been lost by our own carelessness. Your Majesty cannot just listen to one side of the story; you must seek justice for us."
“They were weapons before, but now they are living people. It’s like someone taking away your child. Now that the child has finally run back, how can you send him back?” Your Majesty.
They had always felt that the new emperor was too soft-hearted, fearing that he would be suppressed by Du Heng. After all, emperors throughout history had relaxed many terms for crossing the Quling River because Du Heng was difficult to deal with.
Unexpectedly, Bai Yanxing, who seemed gentle, was actually very decisive in his actions. After handling the important political affairs, he issued an imperial edict that since the divine artifact had been returned, it should be given an official position and sent to court according to its past merits, and would not be sent back.
As for Du Heng, he presented her with a landscape painting scroll.
This item is extremely valuable, depicting the entire landscape of the Heavenly Realm. Du Heng's physical body cannot leave Qujing to cross the river, but his spirit can enter the painting. The reason he insists on keeping those magical "toys" is precisely because his physical body cannot move and is constantly confined to one place. The landscape painting allows him to travel freely within it, effectively giving him the opportunity to travel around.
Du Heng was very fond of this landscape painting and submitted twelve more memorials of gratitude, but in the last one, he made a request.
Please, Your Majesty, help repair the river-crossing barrier.
The barrier of Zhaozhao City was originally set up by the previous Emperor Jiang Ran, and the two Heart-Gathering Lotuses at the core of the formation were also planted by Jiang Ran himself in the river crossing.
The barrier had never had a problem for millions of years, until this turmoil known as the "Calamity of the Four Seasons".
There's a hidden story behind this that even Bai Yanxing and Du Heng themselves are unaware of.
Two lotus flowers bloom at the riverbank; if either one is plucked, it will cause the barrier wall to tremble.
More than half a month ago, Di Jiang and Duan Jiuyou picked a flower. Everyone who knew about this had their memories erased. Only Liu Tianshi, who unexpectedly regained his memories, and Qi Xinghe, who was told the whole story by Liu Tianshi, knew the inside story.
The two originally intended to break out of Zhaozhao City while the barrier was weakened, but they did not expect that the little demon Siji would also become human at this time. She was childlike and lived next to Duhe. Before leaving, she saw another lotus flower blooming brightly at the riverbank, so she picked it from the river and put it on her head.
The key point of Zhaozhao City's formation has been breached once again.
Xiao Siji's casual action unwittingly shattered the barrier of a city, awakening a large number of divine artifacts which rushed to the breach. Du Heng arrived with his troops, and Qi Xinghe, seeing the dire situation, rallied everyone to fight against Du Heng's personal guards. His original intention was to escape in the chaos, but because Liu Tianshi was possessing his body at the time, and the two shared one body, he stubbornly helped the other divine artifacts escape, unexpectedly becoming a hero in this event.
When Xiao Siji realized she had caused trouble, she packed her bags and fled in the middle of the night, covering up the fact that a Heart-Gathering Lotus had been picked by the Ao Zong Ancestor at the riverbank. They assumed that both Heart-Gathering Lotuses had been mistakenly plucked by Siji. Unable to catch her, Du Heng could only complain to Tian Jing.
At this moment, the gates of Zhaozhao City have opened, and there is an urgent need to set up a new barrier. There are only two Heart-Gathering Lotuses left, and in order to rebuild the barrier, it is necessary to find new spiritual species to cross the river.
However, the river water was extremely hot, and ordinary spiritual objects could not be used as the array's core. Several senior ministers gathered around Bai Yanxing's desk to brainstorm ideas, and after much thought, they found that only one thing was most suitable.
“The Jade Bamboo Vine from Dongchuan Flame Mountain,” one of them said. “This vine grows deep within Flame Mountain, its roots nourished by lava. The higher the temperature, the greener it becomes. The temperature in the river is almost the same as in Flame Mountain, so the Jade Bamboo Vine will definitely survive.”
“But the temperature there is extremely high. Let alone picking the vines, it’s very difficult to even get close to the edge of Flame Mountain,” someone raised a different opinion.
"Not only that, there are also fire-eating beasts guarding the Flame Mountain area. These beasts are sacred beasts, and there are only two left in the entire Heavenly Realm. If we attack them too hard, we may damage their very foundation, but if we attack them too lightly, we may not be able to scare them away."
Some people suggested, "Why not use the cloud fire as bait to lure the fire-eating beast out of the Flame Mountain, trap it outside the mountain, and then release it once we have taken out the Jade Bamboo Vine?"
Some people said, "This method is simply a joke. Fire-eating beasts eat fire every day in Flame Mountain, yet you try to lure them with cloud fire that is not as intense as the flames of Flame Mountain. It's simply a pipe dream."
He suggested using the Ten Thousand Beasts Formation to subdue the Fire-Eating Beast.
Some people even suggested using a "heart lock".
There were many solutions and a constant stream of opinions, but in the end, each approach still had its shortcomings. The most crucial question was: who should be sent to carry out the mission? This person couldn't be afraid of fire, could withstand the intense heat of the Flaming Mountain, and also needed the speed to launch a surprise attack, as well as practical experience in fighting such a massive creature.
Bai Yanxing listened to their discussion until dawn, but ultimately they came to no conclusion.
He walked to the window.
The mornings in the Heavenly Realm always give people a sense of tranquility. He watched the orange light of dawn tinge the clouds, watched the celestial birds and cranes fly freely, and then—the cranes suddenly flapped their wings in panic, a loud bang came from the southeast, and a huge black cloud rose from the ground, spitting out a massive sword as big as a mountain. Beneath the sword was a profile of someone looking up, wearing a long robe and with their small hands tucked in.
The discussion abruptly stopped. The celestial official followed the sound and looked out the window with Bai Yanxing. Someone muttered something under their breath.
"It seems that the old ancestor of Earth Breath Mountain has emerged from seclusion."
Bai Yanxing subtly twitched the corner of his mouth.
Why is it that every time she appears, it's so earth-shattering?
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