Chapter 393: Far-Reaching Consequences
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Within the holy ground of the Heaven Lake Sect, there was a world made completely out of fire and ice. Half of it was freezing ice while the other half was blazing flames. The two sides were clearly demarcated. While there was no conflict between the two, there was no integration as well.
Cao Wei stood quietly in this world made out fire and ice, silently. The two entities surrounding him too were quiet.
After a long while, a voice came from the world of fire, "No worry, let him come. The two of us shall receive him."
At this point, an old, raspy voice came from the world of ice, "Let us put aside the issues of the Mountain and River Crucible and the Green Bronze Crucible of Emptiness for the moment."
"Wait for the two of us to leave this place before you take the initiative to attack. Before that, do not act rashly."
Cao Wei's expression was indifferent. He nodded his head and said nothing.
From the world of fire, the voice said again, "The Green Bronze Crucible of Emptiness belonged to the little one called Shi Tianhao. Please take note. When the right moment comes, he will surely exact vengeance on the cultivator with polycoria from the Great Qin Empire."
"At that time, the various powers would all participate in this battle. Carefully analyse the battle situation before you act."
Cao Wei then said, "My thoughts exactly. I plan to act at that time too. Uncles (Translator's Note: Familial terms are often used to denote hierarchy in a sect; 'Uncle' here would mean that Cao Wei's master belonged to the same batch as the Elders of Ice and Fire), you have been training behind doors for a thousand year. If our sect is not facing an existential crisis, I would not have asked the two of you to step out."
One of the two Elders of Ice and Fire remarked, "We two will not want all of our efforts to be wasted too."
The other said, "The Mountain and River Crucible is more important, but time is not on our side. If it really comes to that, then we shall have to stop our closed-door cultivation."
Cao Wei nodded his head, "I understand. Please don't worry, uncles."
Exiting the holy ground of his sect, Cao Wei returned to the top of the snowy mountain. He looked towards the southwest and sighed after a long while. He could feel a heaviness in his heart.
"During the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai, I was too rash."
...
In the southeast corner of the Great Qin Empire, on top of the Sword of Radiance Sect's territory, the Xingyun Peak, a few people stood at the edge of the cliff. They looked towards the direction of the Kunlun Mountains.
One of them was a middle-aged man who resembled a scholar. He was the Sword of Radiance Sect's mid-Nascent Soul stage, the Purple Cloud Grandmaster. At this point, his expression was slightly odd. He appeared troubled, happy, and then scared. Most importantly, he was bitter.
Behind him were the other Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the Sword of Radiance Sect, including the Red Cloud Grandmaster and the Azure Clouds Grandmaster.
No one dared to make fun of the Purple Cloud Grandmaster's expression as all of them felt the same way.
The Red Cloud Grandmaster smiled bitterly and shook his head, "We were lucky that the Celestial Sect of Wonders did not use all of their powers when they came over earlier on, if not..."
The female Nascent Soul stage cultivators shook her head and did not continue. The other Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the Sword of Radiance Sect nodded their head in tacit agreement.
Earlier on, Xiao Yan came up to them and demanded to settle his three years old score with Murong Yanran.
After witnessing Xiao Yan's true powers during the Battle of Shazhou City, as well as being cognizant of Murong Yanran's power as her master, the Azure Clouds Grandmaster knew immediately that Murong Yanran was no match for Xiao Yan.
At that point, the Sword of Radiance Sect considered using other tactics to win that fight. However, as they did not want to worsen their ties with Lin Feng and the Celestial Sect of Wonders, they decided against it.
Looking at it now, some of them felt fear while the others felt joy. It was fortunate that they played by the books back then and did not try any dirty trick. If not, the result would have been tragic.
While no one dared to say it out loud, the Purple Clouds Grandmaster and the rest knew in their hearts that the powers of the Aeolus Sect and the Sword of Radiance Sect were similar.
Disciples of the Sword of Radiance Sect were sword cultivators. They were apt at killing and well-versed in swordplay. On the other hand, the disciples of the Aeolus Sect cultivated the Aeolus Formless Mantra and could summon the Nine Heavens Formless Squall. Their powers too could not be underestimated.
The two formations that the two sects could summon, the Cloud-Sky Sword of Radiance Formation and the Nine Heavens Squall Formation, were of similar abilities.
Hence, here came the problem. If Lin Feng could easily destroy the Nine Heavens Squall Formation, then he could destroy the Cloud-Sky Sword of Radiance Formation as easily too.
Had there really been a fight then, the Sword of Radiance Sect would have lost it.
Having obtained this conclusion, the Purple Clouds Grandmaster felt a great sense of futility.
On top of Xingyun Peak, in an exquisite palace, the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster sat cross-legged quietly. However, his gaze was fixated on the Kunlun Mountains as well.
His eyes brightened, then dimmed, before lighting up again. It went on non-stop.
...
On top of the Purple Clouds Peak on Mount Thunder resided the Purple Clouds Sect.
A turbulent and dark storm enveloped the mountaintop for tens of thousands of years. The sun could never be seen, and one could only see the flash of lightning and the roar of thunder. Dark clouds swirled like waves in a sea.
The disciples of the Purple Clouds Sect were all used to this sight, except for the newcomers. For them, such a sight appeared foreboding and suppressing. They were perpetually afraid that a lightning bolt may strike them from above.
The results of the Battle of the Kunlun Mountains had already spread. The Purple Clouds Sect had received news too.
A girl stood before an abode on the Purple Clouds Peak and looked towards the Kunlun Mountains. She smiled and shook her head, "I could not believe that the one known as 'Xiao Budian' could be so powerful. With the mastery of a mid-Aurous Core stage cultivator, he could kill a mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivator. This is truly an unprecedented feat."
A man smiled, revealing his dimples. It was the disciple of the Purple Clouds Sect who had taken part in Spiritual Conference of Huanghai earlier on, Gu Lei.
The female was naturally his fellow disciple, Li Kuiyin. She sighed and shook her head, "During the Spiritual Conference, we all saw his battle against his senior Zhu Yi. He was terrifyingly strong, but who knew that he was this powerful?"
Within the main hall of the Heavenly Thunder Temple, the Blue Pavilion Holy Man too shook his head and sighed, "Both Heavenly Wind and Xuanming lost, but that's still alright. But he managed to suppress the Golden Crow Grand Sage and blast apart the Holy Wind Mountain. That was unexpected."
Opposite him sat a middle aged man of above-average stature, he appeared unextraordinary, but the aura he gave off was much more terrifying than the Blue Pavilion Holy Man.
From appearance only, he appeared to be a heavy storm cloud that refused to rain. In his silence and calm, he contained a crazy amount of power.
This was the current master of the Purple Clouds Sect, the Thunderclouds Holy Man.
Hearing the Blue Pavilion Holy Man's words, the Thunderclouds Holy Man nodded his head slowly and said, "Big Senior is right."
His enunciation was extremely weird. Every word that he spoke sounded like a rumble of thunder.
Just like what the Blue Pavilion Holy Man said, they were more concerned that the Holy Wind Mountain, guarded by the Heavenly Wind Holy Man's Nine Heavens Squall Formation, was so easily breached by Lin Feng than news of Yu Xintao's escape.
Every single time the Golden Crow Grand Sage invaded the Divine Lands, he would retreat unscathed, leaving charred bones and skeletons in his wake. However, who could foresee that he was stopped this time?
The Blue Pavilion Holy Man may be the Thunderclouds Holy Man's senior, but he respectfully said, "Master, what shall we do next?"
The Thunderclouds Holy Man said slowly, "I think I have to trouble you to make a trip to the Kunlun Mountains."
The Blue Pavilion Holy Man said warily, "Senior, the Celestial Sect of Wonders have many enemies. Not making an enemy out of them is one thing, but should we really get so close to them?"
"Many times, the lines between friend and foe isn't as clear as it seems," said the Thunderclouds Holy Man. "I received news that the Mount Shu Sword Sect's Lixiong Swordmaster wished to participate in the battle this time too, but he was stopped by the Great Void Sect."
The Blue Pavilion Holy Man turned pensive as he asked, "Is the Great Void Sect re-structuring their plan?"
The Thunderclouds Holy Man did not explain any further beyond, "Ever since the Great Thunderclap Temple had been destroyed, the Great Void Sect had been changing their plan. Today, however, their plan is slowly coming to fruition."
The Blue Pavilion Holy Man said, "If that's the case, then I shall make a trip to the Kunlun Mountains."
The Thunderclouds Holy Man said, "Sorry for the trouble."
...
In the northern quarters of Xiling City of the Great Qin Empire, a 30-years old scholar sat quietly on a rattan chair in the Prime Minister's Residence.
He was clad in white and appeared elegant. His face was clear with refined features. His eyes were deep like the sea and one could not fathom his thoughts by looking at them.
This ordinary-looking scholar was, in fact, the feared Prime Minister of the Great Qin Empire, Wu Qingrou. At that moment, his hand gently tapped on the table before him, while he kept silent.
Next to him stood a young man who said quietly, "The Celestial Sect of Wonders chose to spare the Yu Family, but they destroyed the Aeolus Sect."
"As expected," said Wu Qingrou, his fingers still tapping on the tabletop. He laughed softly, "If it was me, I too would have spared Yu Xintao and left him to be at the mercy of the Great Qin Empire. I'll deal with him after dealing with the Aeolus Sect."
"Who could suffer an enemy so close to one's bed? By getting rid of the Aeolus Sect, the Celestial Sect of Wonders could dominate the Kunlun Mountains. Its influence and power would increase dramatically, not just by twice, but possibly by three times, four times or even more."
Wu Qingrou then said quietly, "After pacifying the entire region and getting rid of opposition, the Celestial Sect of Wonders stand to benefit the most from such an arrangement."
"From a certain perspective, this is similar to the Great Qin Empire's plan of destroying the powers of the major houses. One must get rid of one's internal threats."
The young man then said, "It has been a few days since the incident. The master of the Celestial Sect still hasn't summoned all the smaller sects of the Kunlun Mountains and called for a gathering, particularly those smaller sects that reside in the southern foothill of the Kunlun Mountains ."
Wu Qingrou smiled, "There's no need. After the destruction of the Aeolus Sect, no one could compete with the Celestial Sect of Wonders for control over the Kunlun Mountains. There isn't even anyone who could remotely be their enemy. The Celestial Sect of Wonders now leads the Kunlun Mountains."
"For such an event, it's best to just go with the flow. The middle and smaller powers of the Kunlun Mountains would gravitate towards the Celestial Sect of Wonders. If he were to summon them and asked them to recognize his hegemony, then it would have been most distasteful."
He sighed, "Looking at it now, the master of the Celestial Sect is not so simple."
The young man then asked, "Does that mean we could commence with the second step of our plan?"
Wu Qingrou nodded his head, "Yes, it's about time."
...
In the capital of the Great Zhou Empire, Tianjin, the Emperor, Liang Pan, sat on his dragon throne, lost in his thoughts. After a long while, he lifted his head to look at the three people before him: the Marquis of Xuanji, Zhu Hongwu, Yan Mingyue and Mei Wulang.
"Your son, Zhu Yi, will be returning to the Great Zhou Empire to take his exams."