Chapter 261

Since the Zuoqiu Sect had hosted and won the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, there was no way back.

Either become the master of the Lingxiao Life Realm, or the clan would be destroyed.

Therefore.

The ownership of the Hidden Dragon could not have any mistakes.

What the Zuoqiu Sect wanted was not only the support of the Due Temple, but also momentum.

Just like the phrase "Heaven's Mandate" sighed by Tang Wanqiu back then, if the whole world felt that the mandate was with Zuoqiu, they would compete to come and join, and the power would grow like a snowball.

The Hidden Lord said: "Actually, what the Zuoqiu Sect wants is just a name, and you currently happen to need this name to add a layer of protective golden light. I don't think there's anything bad about it... Don't look so miserable, you've gained an advantage and are still complaining; Zuoqiu Hongting's aptitude, talent, and appearance are all unparalleled in this era. There are countless people in the world who would envy and be jealous of you for being able to marry her."

Li Youyi said: "I'm not distressed because of the marriage! It's just that we had already decided to take the initiative to fall from the forefront of the storm and hide in the trough. Now, aren't we being pushed into even higher waves?"

The Hidden Lord said: "Afraid of being dragged into the world's struggle by the Zuoqiu Sect?"

Li Youyi said: "It's not fear, it's just... sigh, forget it, the evil I created myself cannot be blamed on others. The matter in the cave earlier was indeed inappropriate; Zuoqiu Ting, or Zuoqiu Hong, acted quite openly and honestly, and treated me very sincerely, never having any malice and helping a lot. I shouldn't have teased her like that; women and men are always different, and I lack a free and generous heart."

The Hidden Lord patted his shoulder and smiled: "Just for these words, I think Zuoqiu Hongting should look at you with even more admiration. Actually, having such a stunning young emperor as her standing in front can greatly help you block the world's gaze."

Li Youyi and the Hidden Lord returned to the Council Hall, first expressing his guilt and apology to Zuoqiu Ling, and then promising to be responsible for Zuoqiu Hongting, and so on.

The Q&A process was completed.

The engagement was then finalized.

The Hidden Lord and Zuoqiu Ling discussed the specific details, and Li Youyi withdrew from the Council Hall.

Outside, the sunset was falling, and the clouds in the sky were gorgeous.

Li Youyi walked down the winding stone stairs toward the Third Heaven.

Zuoqiu Hongting had restored her true appearance, wearing a green Daoist robe, her figure tall, graceful as a startled swan, waiting on the only path Li Youyi had to take to return.

She stood at the edge of the cliff that protruded like a duck's bill; below the cliff was a stretch of peach blossom branches, like a pink ocean. Her hands were folded in her wide sleeves, wearing a wooden hairpin, and a Dao ruler hanging at her waist.

Just a back view gave people a sense of quiet and ethereal immortal charm, with a beauty that was indescribable in words, as if she would ride the wind and fly away in the next moment.

Li Youyi stared at this back for a long time, knowing that the other party was waiting for him, so he walked over.

Zuoqiu Hongting did not turn around, looking at the evening glow in the sky: "It was about fourteen years ago, that year I was nine years old, and it was also such a sky, when the bad news of my father's death because of the Small Field Order came from Lingxiao City."

"Since then, I have been full of hatred, entered the Zuoqiu Hidden Sect to cultivate, appeared as a boy, and deliberately went against the Small Field Order."

"After I got older, I couldn't hide it even if I dressed as a man, so I could only practice the Disguise Technique. I knew I was no match for the Great Palace Master and might never be able to avenge my father, but... it seemed that appearing as a man was like competing with her, and the hatred of my childhood could be calmed down a little."

Li Youyi listened silently and sighed: "I'm sorry! Actually, Jiang Ning told me your secret a long time ago."

Zuoqiu Hongting's face, illuminated by the evening glow, was white and jade-like, with a beautiful side profile. She said: "So, the ghost talk about 'looking at the sky in the morning and clouds in the evening, thinking of you while walking and sitting' was all teasing me?"

Li Youyi smiled bitterly: "Not entirely! Among the men in this world, who would dare to say she is not beautiful after seeing your stunning appearance? Who wouldn't want to get close to her?"

"Get close to her? Are you this direct when talking to other women? Like Jiang Ning?" Zuoqiu Hongting's eyebrows raised slightly.

Li Youyi said: "I can swear to heaven that I can only talk nonsense in front of you. Because I still treat you as a brother to this day; in front of you, there is no need to disguise or restrain myself at all, I can laugh, scold, joke, and tease. If it were Jiang Ning, I would definitely be well-behaved, at most scolding her a few times, how would I dare to tease her like this?"

"Yeah, it's good to be brothers forever!"

Zuoqiu Hongting sighed, then said: "The chaos in the world is inevitable; the return of the Qilin Zang has further escalated the turmoil and danger, and the situation will become even more complicated."

"If the Zuoqiu Sect wants to conquer the world, it must get the support of the Due Temple."

"Li Youyi, I don't know if you are truly willing or forced to be engaged to me. But don't worry, it's only for a few years; the world won't be in turmoil forever."

"After the Zuoqiu Sect unifies the twenty-eight states, you can come to break off the engagement at any time. If you don't want to break it off, when the world is stable, we can also become Dao companions and truly get married."

She continued: "From the perspective of a brother, actually, if you can take this opportunity to cut off contact with Jiang Ning, it is a good thing."

"I've never seen a brother like you who breaks up a couple! No, now I should call you fiancée... My head hurts, I really can't face you with a normal heart..." Li Youyi rubbed his temples; this fiancée came too suddenly.

Zuoqiu Ting and Zuoqiu Hongting were completely different personalities.

At this moment, she was exactly as she evaluated herself: "hot on the outside, cold on the inside." After restoring her true appearance, she was truly extremely cold, not smiling, quiet as an orchid, and her whole body was filled with an aura that kept people thousands of miles away.

Zuoqiu Hongting said: "From the standpoint of a fiancée, I will stop the two of you even more."

Li Youyi restrained his smile: "You mean, even if the Qilin Zang returns and the demon race is powerful, the major human forces still cannot be of one mind? The contradiction with the imperial court cannot be resolved?"

"Why? What is greater than the threat of the demon race?"

Thinking of something, Li Youyi said: "Could it be because of the Small Field Order? What exactly is the Small Field Order? Everyone seems to be secretive about it, not even daring to mention it."

He had only heard Hidden Twenty-Four say that "Small Field Order" seemed to be the literal meaning.

Zuoqiu Hongting's eyes were deep, and her thoughts drifted back fourteen years: "Taking the lower part of the character 'kill' and the upper part of the character 'man' makes 'Small Field'."

"Kill Man Order?"

Li Youyi was terrified.

He understood in an instant why the world was full of rebel armies, why the contradictions between the rebel armies and the imperial court could not be reconciled, and why everyone said the Great Palace Master was crazy... This was definitely crazy, and not lightly crazy.

No wonder the imperial court had such powerful strength, yet could only control eight states.

No wonder Jiang Ning, a core member of the imperial court, once said bluntly that the Great Palace Master had become dark and paranoid, lost herself, fell into an inner vortex, and made a big mistake.

No wonder those human forces would rather join the demon race.

Zuoqiu Hongting said: "Objectively speaking, a thousand years ago, the Great Palace Master did indeed fight for a piece of heaven for the Lingxiao Life Realm; without her, there would be no twenty-eight states today."

"For a thousand years, she has indeed worked diligently and loved the people like her own children; these are things the people of the world can feel."

"No one knows what she has encountered."

"First, she found the legendary Mother-Child Spring, and then encouraged large-scale planting of Benevolent Rice. Fourteen years ago, the Small Field Order was finally promulgated."

"Lingxiao City was the first to suffer the disaster; all those who were unwilling to be castrated were to be killed. The wind and clouds changed overnight, and countless people died. Of course, there were also countless people who obeyed, and eunuchs were born on such a large scale."

"Fortunately, after the Great Palace Master issued this order, it seemed that something went wrong; she locked herself in the palace and has not appeared since."

"Therefore, after the Small Field Order left Lingxiao City, its power was greatly reduced, and it was extremely difficult to implement in various states. In addition, the men of the world hid one after another, so it did not really turn the Lingxiao Life Realm into a daughter country."

"But this piece of paper became a means for those with ulterior motives to attack hostile forces and also provoked huge opposition. In those few years, there was constant killing and endless contradictions."

"A piece of Small Field Order, thousands of miles of white clothes."

"Those who cry at graves in the middle of the night are all widows."

"Some people, like me, lost their fathers. Some lost their husbands, some lost their sons or brothers..."

"A few years later, the war finally broke out and quickly swept the world; rebel armies in various states rose one after another, and even the interior of the imperial court was in constant turmoil."

Zuoqiu Hongting looked at Li Youyi: "You say, in such a situation, who can join hands with the imperial court? Although the Small Field Order has long existed in name only, as long as it is not cancelled, it is a knife hanging over everyone's head."

"What if one day the Great Palace Master walks out of the palace gate and, with her prestige and cultivation, re-implements this order? What kind of catastrophe will that be?"

"Now you understand, right? If you are really recruited by Jiang Ning to the imperial court, when the Small Field Order is revived, you will definitely become the first batch of people to suffer."

Li Youyi had not experienced that era and found it difficult to empathize, but just listening to her account, he could feel the uncertainty and danger caused by the Small Field Order.

The problem was much more serious than he had imagined.

The survival of the world, the knot of everything, was entangled in one person.

Is this the energy of the world's number one person?

Every word and action determines the life and death of countless people.

Can Chan Hai Guan Wu untie this knot?

Originally, Li Youyi was extremely opposed to Chan Hai Guan Wu going to Lingxiao Palace, but now, his heart began to waver.

If she successfully makes the Great Palace Master issue a decree of self-reproach and cancel the Small Field Order, only then will the major human forces have the possibility of joining hands to deal with the demon race.

Conversely, if the Great Palace Master walks out herself, re-implements the Small Field Order, and even becomes more dark and paranoid... the Lingxiao Life Realm will undoubtedly turn into a human purgatory.

After Li Youyi parted with Zuoqiu Hongting, he returned to the place where the Jiuli clan martial cultivators were healing.

The meat of the Silver Feather Demon King had already been cooked.

Perhaps because the ingredients were top-notch, the taste was actually not bad.

After eating their fill, everyone felt their bodies heating up, and the blood energy in their bodies grew rapidly, so they practiced martial arts moves together to temper their bodies.

At the same time.

The engagement invitations for Li Youyi and Zuoqiu Hongting were sent to all parts of the city like snowflakes.

Due to the large-scale transcendent duel, the major forces participating in the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival were still stranded in Qiuzhouzhou City.

The engagement banquet was set for three days later, the twenty-fifth of the first lunar month.

The Zuoqiu Sect was in a hurry, wanting to settle everything before the transcendent duel ended.

(End of chapter)