Chapter 263: The Small Field Order

Since the Zuoqiu Gate hosted and won the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, there was no turning back.

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

Therefore.

The ownership of the Hidden Dragon cannot have any mistakes.

What the Zuoqiu Gate wants is not only the support of the Dudu Temple, but also momentum.

Just like Tang Wanqiu's exclamation of "destined by heaven," if the whole world feels that heaven's mandate is with Zuoqiu, they will compete to come and rely on them, and their power will grow like a snowball.

The Hidden Lord said: "Actually, the Zuoqiu Gate only wants a name, and you happen to need this name right now, to add a layer of protective golden light. I think it's not bad... don't look so miserable, you got the advantage and are still acting like you're suffering. Zuoqiu Hongting's aptitude, talent, and appearance are all unparalleled in the world; to be able to marry her, I don't know how many people in the world are envious and jealous."

Li Youyi said: "I'm not distressed because of the marriage alliance! It's that we had already decided to take the initiative to fall from the forefront 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 Gate?"

Li Youyi said: "It's not fear, it's just... hey, forget it, the evil I did myself cannot be blamed on others. What happened 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 helped a lot. I shouldn't have teased her like that. Women and men are always different; I lack a free and easy heart."

The Hidden Lord patted his shoulder and laughed: "Just for these words, I think Zuoqiu Hongting should look at you with even more admiration. Actually, having her, this stunning young emperor, at the front can greatly help you block the eyes of the outside world."

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 over.

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 to the Third Heaven.

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

She stood on the edge of a cliff rock 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 Taoist ruler hung at her waist.

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

Li Youyi watched this back view 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 sunset in the sky: "About fourteen years ago, that year I was nine, it was also such a sunset. The news of my father's death due to the Small Field Order came from Lingxiao City."

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

"After I got older, dressing as a man couldn't hide it, so I could only practice the Disguise Technique. I know I am not the Great Palace Master's opponent and might never be able to take revenge, but... it seems that dressing as a man is like competing with her, and the hatred from childhood can be calmed down a little."

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

Zuoqiu Hongting's face, illuminated by the sunset, was white and jade-like, and the contour of her side face was extremely beautiful. She said: "So, the nonsense about looking at the sky at dawn and clouds at dusk, thinking of you while walking and sitting, was all teasing me?"

Li Youyi smiled wryly: "Not entirely! Among the men in this world, as long as they have seen your stunning appearance, who dares to say it's not beautiful? Who doesn't want to get close to you?"

"Get close to me? 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 it's only in front of you that I can talk nonsense without scruples. Because I still treat you as a brother, and in front of you, there is no need to disguise or restrain myself; I can laugh and scold, or joke and tease. If it were Jiang Ning, I would definitely be well-behaved, at most scolding each other, how would I dare to tease her like this?"

"Yes, it's good to always be brothers!"

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

"If the Zuoqiu Gate wants to take over the world, it must get the support of the Dudu Temple."

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

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

She continued: "From a brother's perspective, 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... headache, 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 two different personalities.

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

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

Li Youyi restrained his smile: "Do you mean that even if 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: "Is it 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 only heard Hidden Twenty-Four say that "Small Field Order" seems to be the literal meaning.

Zuoqiu Hongting's eyes were deep, and her thoughts drifted back fourteen years: "Take the bottom of the word 'kill', take the top of the word 'man', that is 'Small Field'."

"Kill Man Order?"

Li Youyi was shocked to the scalp.

He understood instantly why the world was full of righteous armies, why the contradiction between the righteous armies and the imperial court could not be reconciled, and why everyone said the Great Palace Master was crazy... This was definitely crazy, and crazy not lightly.

No wonder the imperial court had such powerful strength but could only control eight prefectures.

No wonder core members of the imperial court like Jiang Ning had bluntly said 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 rely on the demon race.

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

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

"No one knows what happened to her."

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

"Lingxiao City was the first to suffer; 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 countless submissive ones, and eunuchs were born on a large scale."

"Fortunately, after the Great Palace Master issued this order, it seemed that something went wrong, and 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 each prefecture. In addition, the men of the world hid, and it did not really turn the Lingxiao Life Realm into a daughter country."

"But this decree 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, white clothes for thousands of miles."

"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. The righteous armies of each prefecture rose up one after another, and even the interior of the imperial court was in 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?"

"Do you understand now? If you were really recruited by Jiang Ning to the imperial court, when the Small Field Order revives, you would definitely be among the first to suffer."

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

The problem was far more serious than he had imagined.

The survival of the world, all the knots, were 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 succeeds in making the Great Palace Master issue a decree of self-reproach and cancel the Small Field Order, the major human forces will 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, or even becomes darker and more paranoid... the Lingxiao Life Realm will undoubtedly become a human purgatory.

After Li Youyi parted ways with Zuoqiu Hongting, he returned to the place where the Nine Li tribe Wu Xiu were healing.

The Silver Feather Demon King's meat had been cooked.

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

After eating their fill, everyone felt their bodies burning, and the blood energy in their bodies grew rapidly, so they all practiced martial arts moves together to refine 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 battle between transcendents, the major forces participating in the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival were still stranded in Qiuzhou Prefecture City.

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

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