Prophecy of the Mandate of Heaven
It was as if it were an illusion, as if the rolling clouds in the sky and the verdant greenery on the ground were all drawn to this place, transforming into thousands of rivers and ravines, rushing straight towards this mountain peak.
The stone beside Li Wujiu is called the "Ascending to Heaven Stone." Legend has it that an immortal who had achieved enlightenment once ascended this stone to the heavens.
"I bet the Emperor Star will rise from the south, ascend to the zenith, restore order to the land, and bring peace and prosperity to the world."
Li Wujiu's voice was like a spring breeze and rain, sweeping across valleys and streams, and reaching the vast and boundless land beyond the southwest.
"I bet that the Han dynasty will be restored, that the army will march out of the Central Plains, that rites and music will flourish, and that all nations will come to pay homage."
Li Wujiu's voice was actually beautiful and melodious, like the clinking of golden bells and the harmonious ringing of jade pendants. But at this moment, it seemed to carry the immense power of heaven and earth, crashing heavily against the indescribable boundaries of this space, as if trying to rush into the future ten years from now and glimpse the unfathomable will of heaven.
Xiao Chang'an felt as if a huge rock had struck his chest, his whole body trembled violently, and his face was filled with extreme shock and disbelief.
Even though he knew nothing about divination, he could tell that Li Wujiu must have used his own cultivation and power to make some kind of prophecy about this land and the future of the Central Plains.
A moment later, the clouds dispersed and the thunder ceased, all was quiet, and sunlight shone through the layers of branches, once again bathing the hilltop.
Sunlight streamed down the "Ascension Stone," making it exceptionally conspicuous. Li Wujiu, standing beside it, remained unchanged.
All the strange phenomena just now seemed as if they had never happened, making one almost suspect that it was just a dream.
Xiao Chang'an looked at Li Wujiu with disbelief, only to hear Li Wujiu say leisurely, "May I ask, did I win?"
The ten-year agreement was just a bet, and no one could judge the winner until the outcome was clear. But Xiao Chang'an said with delight, "Sect Master's divine calculations have broadened my horizons. You have naturally won." He then smiled meaningfully at Xiao Yu and said, "Congratulations, sister. From now on, you can stay in the Hidden World Sect with peace of mind."
Xiao Yu was overjoyed when he heard Xiao Chang'an admit that his master had won, and admit it so readily.
She is, after all, a daughter. If she had a choice, it would be her own choice, and how could she not hope to receive the blessings and support of her family?
Xiao Chang'an bowed and said, "I will go down the mountain now. As for Prince Ning, the elders in my family will handle the matter of annulment. Sister, you don't need to worry. The Xiao family has the ability to do so."
He then gently instructed her, "From now on, even though you are in the mountains, please visit your family often. You are learning your skills at the Hidden World Sect, not becoming a nun and severing ties with your relatives. The Xiao family still recognizes you as their daughter, so please don't ignore us."
When Xiao Yu saw that such a troublesome matter was decided by his master with a single word, he felt both relieved and happy, and naturally agreed to everything.
Afterwards, when she took charge of the sect's affairs, her maternal family, the Xiao clan, indeed provided strong support from all sides and helped her to connect with the powerful clans and families in the southwest, which made the Hidden World Sect's prestige rise. Now, it has become the de facto leader of the martial arts world in the southwest.
The more A Qiu listened, the more she felt something was amiss. Having studied various schools of thought in Lanling Hall since childhood, she knew perfectly well that no matter how ingenious the divination techniques were, Li Wujiu's use of the power of mountains and rivers and his own cultivation to issue a prophecy of destiny could not possibly be without a price.
Xiao Chang'an's nonchalant admission of defeat stemmed from his already substantial gains. Having learned that destiny had turned to the Southern Dynasty, he was naturally pleased to see Xiao Yu join the Hidden World Sect and would offer his full support. Knowing that the Southern Dynasty's army would pacify the Northern Qiang in ten years, it would be far better to remain in the Hidden World Sect as the head of a major sect than to marry his sister to a prince of a defeated nation. Moreover, the better the Hidden World Sect developed, the more advantageous it would be for the Xiao family, as their family would have more leverage in the new dynasty.
Gu Yi seemed to have exhausted all his strength. Even leaning against A Qiu, he could no longer stand and slid down, his bamboo hat, which he used to cover his body and appearance, also fell to the ground.
His gray pupils trembled as if about to shatter, and he gritted his teeth and said, "So that's why he... didn't give me a single word of explanation when he entered the life-or-death situation. It turns out that... his time was coming to an end, and he had no strength left to make any arrangements for his affairs."
Furthermore, why did Li Wujiu, knowing that Xiao Chang'an was harmful to him, allow Xiao Chang'an to infiltrate Chang'an under the guise of the Flying Phoenix Guard and linger around him?
It turns out that it wasn't that Li Wujiu didn't want to care, but rather that he was no longer able to.
Because he had staked all his cultivation and all the power he could extract from his physical body on Gu Yi's side, betting that the Han dynasty would be restored and that Gu Yi would definitely succeed.
The scene of his first meeting with Li Wujiu many years ago involuntarily surfaced in his mind and heart.
That was the first day he broke through the barrier after he had cultivated the 'Body Beyond the Realm'.
He reached out and touched the sunlight streaming through the woods, watching the golden spots fall into his palm, a feeling that was both novel and extraordinary.
Trees near and far intertwine to form a huge dome, their branches and leaves spreading out, where the sounds of birdsong and cicadas blend harmoniously, creating a natural symphony.
I felt the gentle breeze caressing my body again, soft and warm.
There is a heartbeat inside the chest cavity, and blood vessels pulsating beneath the skin.
He suddenly realized that this was the feeling of being alive.
The feeling of being alive was exhilarating. He spent the entire day in the mountains, where wild animals occasionally appeared, but they ignored him as if he were part of nature itself, and were not surprised by such sights.
He was adapting to the rebirth-like transformation his body was undergoing, and he hadn't yet figured out how to face the everyday life down the mountain, because that was bound to be a completely unfamiliar world to him.
This carefree state was shattered as dusk approached.
The incident began when a hunter who had gone into the mountains to hunt bumped into him face-to-face on the mountain path on his way back.
With his keen senses, he could have easily avoided it, but he didn't, because he felt he wasn't a wild beast, so why should he avoid his own kind? Besides, he would eventually have to return to the human world anyway, so since he had encountered people now, he might as well try to get some experience in interacting with them.
He still remembers the extreme terror that flashed in the hunter's eyes when he came out of the forest and onto the mountain path and met him face to face.
The hunter was no stranger to wild beasts, yet his face was deathly pale, his lips trembled, and he retreated repeatedly, his body visibly shaking violently.
He was puzzled and bewildered, and tried to explain that he was not a monster or a mandrill. But the strange sound that came from his throat as soon as he opened his mouth startled even himself.
Perhaps because he had not spoken for many years, his tongue was not very obedient, and what he managed to produce could be called human voice, but it could absolutely not be called human speech.
The hunter was even more frightened when he heard him call out, but after all, he was a hunter who often saw wild beasts and venomous snakes. Seeing that he had blocked the mountain path in front of him and was moving as fast as the wind, he knew that he could not escape. After the initial fright, he calmed down and quickly drew his bow and aimed.
Although the era was long and his memory was hazy, he still recognized the weapons. As soon as he saw the other party beckoning him with a bow and arrow, he almost instinctively leaped forward and landed in front of the hunter. With one palm, he knocked the bow and arrow away, and with the other palm, he reached out and grabbed the hunter's throat.
The hunter cried out in alarm, his cry startling the birds that had been roosting in the forest into flight, and he felt inexplicably anxious.
He knew he hadn't done anything wrong, yet the other man wanted to kill him. His shouting made him worry it would attract others. For a moment, unsure what to do, he tightened his grip. The hunter's eyes rolled back, and he gasped for breath; a second longer and he would surely die.
At that very moment, the extremely elegant sound of a xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute) rang out from a short distance behind him.
He instantly released his grip and whirled around. It wasn't the sound of the flute that moved him, but rather the strange and unpredictable location from which the sound came; if he didn't turn around, he would be easily ambushed.
The hunter, now saved, immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, not even having time to be afraid of the immortal. His lips trembled as he kowtowed and said, "Thank you, immortal, for vanquishing the demon and saving me."
He sneered inwardly, thinking, "Where in the world are there immortals?" He stared intently at the source of the flute music, only to be stunned.
A handsome young man in green robes, with delicate features and fair skin, was tucking a section of white jade flute back into his waistband and bowing respectfully with a smile. His eyes were bright and clear, his demeanor carefree and elegant. What was even more remarkable was the air of leisure he exuded, which seemed to transform the entire mountain path into a fairyland.
No one would doubt that he is a fairy boy who stepped out of an ancient painting, as if he could summon a white crane or a fairy deer with a wave of his hand.
He was somewhat unconvinced, but thought that although it was just a child, it was still a person, and this person seemed much more polite and easy to talk to than the one before, so he asked who it was.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, his strange voice terrified the hunter on the ground, turning his face as pale as paper and trembling uncontrollably. The boy, however, was not surprised and smiled, saying, "Get up and go. This is not a monster, but a friend of mine. He usually does not harm people. When you go back, do not talk about it, lest you frighten the villagers."
Gu Yi found it increasingly grating: how could he, the teacher of emperors and a disciple of Guigu, now expect ordinary villagers to take care of him out of consideration for a mere child? And the phrase "ordinarily harmless"—were they truly treating him like a wild beast?
The hunter, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, quickly agreed and hurriedly ran down the mountain, circling around him from a distance, as if afraid his parents had lost two legs. He prayed silently, "May the immortals be merciful, may the immortals save me."
Gu Yi knew that his voice was not presentable at the moment, so he kept quiet and stopped talking.
Fortunately, the boy did not mock him. He simply instructed him, "From the Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, then to the Three Kingdoms, and now to the present, the Five Barbarian Tribes are fighting in the north, and the Han Chinese regime in the south is the Huan Dynasty. You are probably not familiar with human languages, customs, or the current situation. It would be best if you stayed with me in Mingyue Pass for the time being, and I told you all about it before you went down the mountain."
Although Gu Yi had just broken through his cultivation barrier, he was not a newborn infant or a three-year-old child. Of course, he would not go with anyone casually. However, the boy in front of him looked like an immortal, and his appearance made people feel at peace. Most importantly, he was not afraid of him and seemed to know his origins very well.
Unable to speak, he made a gesture, pointing to himself and then to him, his eyes filled with inquiry.
The boy paused for a moment, then understood and smiled, saying, "You ask me who you are, and who I am?" He thought for a moment, then tried to choose words that Gu Yi could understand, and replied gently, "You are a disciple of Guigu, a teacher of emperors passed down through generations, named Gu Yi. Am I right? As for me, I am the current sect leader of the Hidden World Sect, named Li Wujiu, and I am the one destined to support, protect, and help you."
The candlelight flickered on the table, illuminating Gu Yi's snow-white, loose hair, and his silver-gray pupils, which now shone with a strange crystalline light.
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