Chapter 2269

In the Bai Yu Hall, a courtyard pond was now filled with water, its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting not the four directions of the sky, but the full view of Weian City below the mountain!

Tang Jingye turned his head to glance at the pond. By now the sky had darkened, and the water's reflection of Weian City showed countless household lights; looking down from above, it resembled scattered stars.

This city is truly not small, and the scattered lights of the surrounding counties are also quite dense.

The three opened their eyes: "You're back. What's the situation with this city, this country?"

"It's called Weian City, belonging to the Cangyan State. Originally just a small town of sixty or seventy thousand, but seven years ago the Cangyan Wang Ting ordered its expansion, and now it has gathered a population of seven or eight hundred thousand, making it the seventh-largest city in Cangyan State." Tang Jingye pointed to the city in the water, "Weian City's commerce is highly developed; if you count merchants and wanderers, the population easily exceeds one million."

"A seventh-largest city with a million people?" Xu Lao said, "It seems Cangyan State is well-governed, not inferior to the Ju Lu State of over a hundred years ago."

Another Chu Lao nodded: "Judging by its area, it's not small either."

Otherwise, how could Weian City rank seventh?

"What the shushu said is correct." Damn it! What's there to compare between these two? Tang Jingye muttered inwardly, but kept a respectful expression, "However, nowadays this Cangyan State has an area over a hundred times that of Ju Lu State."

The cultivators in the hall were all startled: "A hundred times!"

"Yes, according to my investigations in the city these past few days after descending the mountain, Cangyan State occupies the entire Shan Jin Plain, its military forces strong. It not only inherits the territory of the Shan Jin Empire, but also seized parts of Bailie and Qian Ya State."

He had thought this last remark was purely superfluous, since the Qixia Sect had been in seclusion for long and likely knew nothing of these places. But Yuan Sect Master's expression shifted: "Wait, you said Bailie was also taken by Cangyan?"

"The people of Dongcheng all say so, and it's been years since it happened, so it should be correct."

"The Bailie Lu family are also descendants of immortals, with ancient history and protected by Ling Mountain—how could they be annexed by Cangyan?" Yuan Sect Master pondered, "Could it be that Ling Mountain has undergone some change?"

The other elders didn't care about Bailie, and asked instead: "The Shan Jin Plain is vast, and Cangyan cannot fully occupy it. Years ago, we set up spirit-gathering formations outside, which have now failed, making our cave dwellings difficult to sustain—could this be Cangyan's doing?"

"I have no information on that front." Tang Jingye paused, then added, "Sect Master Shibo, the Tianwu recently attacked the Tongyue Ku warehouse, was defeated and captured."

The Qixia Sect members were greatly startled; Chu Lao sprang to his feet: "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"I……" Tang Jingye looked speechless. Since he arrived, the Qixia Sect elders' questions hadn't ceased—he had no second mouth to speak with.

Yuan Sect Master's face sank like water: "What happened?"

"I went to the designated meeting point to contact it, but Tianwu didn't show up, so I went to Tongyue Town to inquire. It turned out Cangyan and the Yuan Si had set a trap, waiting specifically for Tianwu to take the bait. They had many forces, including yakshans and armies, and Tianwu couldn't escape. So I… I… hurried back to report the news."

Xu Lao said solemnly: "Tianwu failing to recover the Xuanjing is minor; if Cangyan State interrogates it, they'll learn that our Qixia Sect has emerged from seclusion."

Yuan Sect Master immediately said to Chu Lao: "Shidi, you should quickly go seal the cave passages of Guye Mountain, to prevent Cangyan from finding us. Fortunately, Tianwu only knows that one entrance."

"Yes!"

Xu Lao also said: "With Tianwu captured, our window for action is short."

Tang Jingye took out a piece of silk from his bosom, the silk bearing a pattern—

The pattern of the Black Dragon Mark.

He gripped a corner of the silk and shook it hard twice, and the pattern flew out.

Strangely, when the pattern floated into midair, it became three-dimensional—front protruding, back recessed—transforming directly from a flat design into a solid statue.

"This is a rubbing I took from the wall of a building in the city. Such carvings are common in the city; I originally thought they were hand-carved by artisans, but they are actually naturally formed, with no trace of artificial carving. Around each carving, there is an invisible formation protecting it."

Yuan Sect Master concluded: "This is a totem, or perhaps a formation node of a law array. Judging by its appearance, this Cangyan State does have some capability."

"No matter how capable, it's still just a human state." Chu Lao said indifferently, "Now that spiritual energy is abundant, we emerging from seclusion to return to the mortal world have plenty of time to let loose—why care about a mere mortal nation?"

Xu Lao said: "Beijia is also a state, yet you don't seem indifferent to it."

"Beijia is a demon state, with great demons gathering, and backed by heavenly demons!" Chu Lao sneered, then asked Tang Jingye, "Does this Cangyan State have any protective forces behind it?"

"I've never heard of such." Tang Jingye recalled something, then added, "Oh right, below the mountain, Weian City has only two kinds of temples: one worshipping the Dragon God, the other venerating mountain, marsh, water, and wind nature gods. I inquired, and found that Cangyan State nationwide prohibits sacrificial rites, allowing only worship of these two."

"Such a large state, prohibiting sacrificial rites?" Chu Lao frowned, "Then it must be relying on Ling Mountain?"

"In these past few days, I've also heard nothing of the sort." Tang Jingye said, having only spent a few days gathering news after descending the mountain, unable to obtain deeper information, "But the people of Weian City swear that their Cangyan State ruler is the incarnation of the Dragon God!"

Several great experts exclaimed in unison: "What?"

Chu Lao couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Their state ruler is what? Say it again!"

"The incarnation of the Dragon God."

Everyone exchanged glances, then burst out laughing in unison.

"Do they know what kind of existence the Dragon God is?" Chu Lao laughed uncontrollably, "The Dragon God could reincarnate as their state ruler? Ahahahaha, the greatest joke in three thousand years!"

Their bellies ached from laughter!

"They firmly believe it. Long ago, this self-proclaimed incarnation of the Dragon God, Ji You Dadi, suddenly declared he had slain the Great Heavenly Demon Miao Zhantian, and the Shan Jin people believed it, for soon after, heavenly omens appeared, and the entire Shan Jin Plain knew of it. Thus Ji You Dadi used this as a pretext to ignite the Dragon God War, quickly unified the entire Shan Jin Plain, and established Cangyan."

"What, Miao Zhantian died?" Xu Lao was startled, "We've only been in seclusion for over a hundred years—how did the outside world undergo so many changes?"

"Yes, the fact that 'Miao Zhantian is dead' has long been established in the world, without any dispute."

Anyway, since we've already emerged from seclusion, we can verify this anytime.

Chu Lao snorted: "Even if Miao Zhantian had truly fallen, what connection could it have with this fake Dragon God? Deceiving the world and stealing fame—hehe! This Cangyan State ruler is quite adept at opportunism and ingratiation, daring to claim such a great achievement for himself! Oh yo, those black dragon totems are probably their doing, trying to accumulate faith."

"Such a claim of reincarnated Dragon God can only deceive ordinary mortals." Yuan Sect Master exhaled a breath, feeling relieved.