Chapter 536

The waves rose from Qingping.

Unnoticed, before the world realized, the waves fermented, then sprouted; when the billows suddenly rose, heaven and earth had already been shattered.

Linghu Jian personally stepped forward, to borrow the Black Heaven Cauldron from Wu Tie once, and promised him wealth and honor, even the benefits of a fiefdom. One must know that only a noble title can enjoy a fiefdom, and in the Divine State of Great Jin, besides the few founding meritorious families, all noble titles are exclusively of the Sima clan.

Different surnames cannot be enfeoffed as kings; since ancient times, many dynasties have seemingly become an iron law.

Yet Wu Tie actually refused Linghu Jian, and even employed a grand formation to forcibly suppress him, injuring him severely.

This was a heavy stomp on the Linghu clan's face, and moreover it ruined the Linghu clan's action of gathering the supreme treasure of heaven and earth. Especially the second point: the Linghu clan had originally prepared to expend all its strength, to strike at the East Garden Forbidden Army, kill Wu Tie, and seize the supreme treasure.

Just as the Linghu clan was sharpening its knives, ready to strike violently, good news arrived: Old Master Hu had smoothly obtained from the depths of the Blue Pit an item of boundless power and unfathomable change—a jellyfish vial!

Thus, the Linghu clan's violent action was indefinitely postponed.

The Linghu clan fell into another inexplicable atmosphere; everyone's attention shifted from the matter of killing Wu Tie and seizing the supreme treasure to another subtle direction—Old Master Hu, who is the eldest legitimate son of Linghu Qingqing. If Old Master Hu and his descendants were to grasp all of the Linghu clan's future state-protected heavy weapons…

Although Old Master Hu Linghu Gu is the eldest legitimate son of Linghu Qingqing, several thousand years ago, during the Eastern Palace incident, Linghu Gu feigned death to escape; in the awareness of everyone in the Divine State of Great Jin, Linghu Gu is already considered dead.

Now the rightful heir of the Linghu family is Linghu Jian!

Linghu Jian's sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons completely regard themselves as the eldest branch of the main line, the most orthodox and pure inheritors of the Linghu family estate; they would absolutely never relinquish this title. In the future, the Linghu clan will replace the Sima clan, Linghu Qingqing will become the divine emperor, and Linghu Jian will certainly and must be the crown prince.

This is the consensus among Linghu Jian's sons, grandsons, his own lineage, and the high-ranking military commanders, the offering masters, and other court and countryside forces that have clung to him for many years. Linghu Jian must rise to power, absolutely not allowing his authority to face any threat.

But if, in the future, all of the Linghu clan's state-protected divine artifacts were to be grasped by Old Master Hu and his descendants… hehe!

The plan to strike the East Garden Forbidden Army and Wu Tie was delayed, day after day, month after month. Linghu Jian secretly gathered experts, and secretly drew from the major clans of his vassal forces the strongest innate and acquired spirit treasures they could provide, as well as large quantities of heavenly divine weapons and nine-refined immortal weapons, and so on.

Crowds upon crowds of Embryonic Storage realm experts came swarming from Linghu Jian's vassal clans; large units of elite private forces, the bottom‑of‑the‑box strength of every major military clan and family, all under Linghu Jian's coordinated orders, continually converged upon the locations he designated.

Old Master Hu indeed possessed a heavy treasure of state-protected divine artifact grade, but such a grade of treasure is not easy to refine, nor easy to unleash its full power.

Before Old Master Hu's people fully mastered these supreme treasures, Linghu Jian could very well rely on a massive army formation, hundreds or thousands of times the number of secret treasures, and hundreds or thousands of times the number of Embryonic Storage experts, together with pre‑arranged grand formation seals, to seize those state-protected divine artifacts from Old Master Hu's hands.

Of course, this is only about seizing the treasure, not killing people.

Seizing treasures—this sort of thing Linghu Qingqing can understand and tolerate; indeed it is a good way to test the personal strength of the younger generation of the Linghu clan, making clear their standing within the family.

But mutual slaughter among blood relatives, especially a second son killing the eldest son, Linghu Qingqing would absolutely not permit, and Linghu Jian would not be foolish enough to do such a thing. What he needs to do is merely to seize the treasure.

Regarding these matters, Linghu Qingqing seems to know everything, yet also seems to know nothing.

However, when the fleets of Wu Tie, Old Master Hu, and others returned from the deep sea to the continent and set out toward the northern frontier wilderness of the Divine State of Great Jin, at the Linghu clan's senior‑level regular meeting, Linghu Qingqing lightly asked: 'The Duke of Yuzhou who once humiliated my Linghu clan—lately he seems to be living quite comfortably?'

Just that one sentence was enough.

In the manor outside the city where Silver Fish resides, Linghu Qingqing once ordered the Linghu descendants to act against Huo Xiong, but after these days passed, the Linghu family secretly mobilized troops, busy as could be, yet the East Garden Forbidden Army showed not the slightest movement.

Putting it broadly, this is the Linghu descendants disregarding the will of their ancestor Linghu Qingqing; it is the Linghu descendants' collective contempt for Linghu Qingqing's authority… this is extremely fatal, and could even shake the foundations of the Linghu clan—a vicious incident.

Moreover, not only is the East Garden Forbidden Army living comfortably, but even Princess Jingcheng and Sima Fei and other royalty are also living very peacefully.

Princess Jingcheng daily indulges in song, dance, and feasts, frantically courting the commanders of the West Garden, North Garden, and South Garden Three Gardens Forbidden Army, and even reaching out to the Twelve Guard Forbidden Army. As for Sima Fei, that jade‑banner‑pole crown prince, he likewise stirs up trouble within the Twelve Guard Forbidden Army.

Unlike Princess Jingcheng's grasp for power, Sima Fei, this crown prince, directs his interest toward embezzling military provisions and consuming them.

Of the Twelve Guard Forbidden Army, five of its divisions have already been meddled with by Sima Fei, who inserted his trusted officers such as Sun Bubing; after these fellows received their pay and arms, they took their troops out of the city to set up camps, and what followed is just like what happened before with the East Garden Forbidden Army—everyone understands.

The conscripted soldiers were dispersed, leaving only a few token old, weak, sick, and disabled for show; large quantities of military equipment were sold off, and countless provisions were taken by Sima Fei.

Therefore, Sima Fei is not a problem.

But Princess Jingcheng is important.

As for the East Garden Forbidden Army side, it is even more important.

Therefore, Linghu Jian and company cannot merely focus on gathering strength to plot against Old Master Hu; they must also, according to Linghu Qingqing's will, create some disturbance in Anyang City. Whether it is the Duke of Yuzhou Huo Xiong inside the East Garden, or Princess Jingcheng within Anyang City, they cannot remain so tranquil, so at ease.

As Wu Tie accompanied Old Master Hu, gradually approaching the northern barbarian wilderness, at midnight the Nine‑Bend Creek Hall in Anyang City was brightly lit.

Sima Wuyou again sat in the small study of the Three Halls Hall, looking through the floor‑to‑ceiling crystal glass with a cold eye at the opposite group of princes and nobles feasting all night. These fellows today erected an enormous stage on the lake surface; a troupe of actresses with superb vocal talent and marvelous tempestuous skill were performing, dressed as men and women, old and young, monks, Daoists, and common folk, dancing the dance of heavenly demons and producing the sound of splitting stone.

Fireworks entwined the stage, with continuous 'boom‑boom' sounds; occasionally a blaze shot up into the sky, transforming at high altitude into illusory light‑shadows of various divine beasts—dragons, phoenixes, qilins, suan ni, and the like.

Sima Wuyou saw clearly that, before the stage, on the waterside platform, the most boisterously merry were several decadent young masters of the First Clan of the Great Jin military aristocracy.

The Linghu clan controls seventy percent of the Great Jin military aristocracy; among the remaining thirty percent that it cannot influence, the First Clan is the leader of that thirty percent, and also the only military faction that can barely contend with the Linghu clan.

Within the First Clan, illustrious generals abound—for example, the commander of the Great Jin Divine Might Army, the master of the Divine Might Hall in the Great Jin Military Bureau, the First Army commander, who is today the fiercest warrior and strongest fighter in the Great Jin military.

Even so, every great family inevitably has a few unworthy members.

Just like those few decadent young masters of the First Clan on the opposite shore of the lake, they are surrounded not by any military offspring, but by a group of decadent scions of Anyang City's esteemed scholar-official families. These people wear disheveled clothing, laughing and drinking on the platform, frolicking; moreover, a large troupe of gorgeous women mingles among them, a crowd pulling and tugging, rubbing and dancing—truly a foul miasma, vulgar and low‑brow.

Among those fellows, one is even the legitimate son of the First Army, born to a concubine of the First Army.

The First Army commander is only a little younger than Linghu Qingqing, and this concubine‑born son is merely sixteen… despite the First Army commander being iron‑blooded, cold and stern, usually the very picture of dignity, when faced with his young son he inevitably shows a bit of lax discipline.

This lad named First Show Peak, though young, has learned all sorts of chaotic nonsense.

Sima Wuyou coldly regarded First Show Peak and said sternly: 'After all, he is the legitimate son of the First Army; help him restrain a bit… First Clan, you are still loyal to the imperial house—do not let such decadents ruin his family tradition.'

Outside the study door, Mr. Li softly assented.

Sima Wuyou prepared to personally discipline First Show Peak; it is clear that this boy's bitter days are about to arrive.

Sima Wuyou's gaze then fell upon a luxurious pavilion diagonally across the lake. Its exterior walls were uniformly large crystal glass; various colored treasure lamps and night‑pearls emitted brilliant light, making the pavilion resemble a crystal palace, truly not of this world.

Inside the crystal palace, Princess Jingcheng in a fur‑red dress, barefoot, with one shoulder exposed, held a seven‑jeweled‑inlaid crystal wine flask, laughing freely as she fluttered among a group of young officers like a butterfly, filling their wine cups to the brim.

Dozens of young officers holding key posts in the reorganized Three Gardens Forbidden Army and Twelve Guard Forbidden Army were each like a mad bull, eyes blood‑red, breathing heavily as they stared at Princess Jingcheng.

She is the most favored princess of the Sima imperial house, the most beautiful princess of the Sima imperial house, and at the same time the most unrestrained, the most benevolently generous princess.

To be able to share a spring night with her is certainly a delight of the mortal world.

Best of all, her husband, the vice‑master of the Great Jin Military Bureau's Pivot Hall, of the Zhao military clan Zhao Xiu, fell on the southwest front. The present Princess Jingcheng is thus a free‑spirited widow.

'Hehe!'

If one could completely win her favor, how wonderful… such a beauty, such a lineage, gaining both wealth and color, moreover able to become the imperial prince‑consort, thereafter rising smoothly to the clouds, stepping onto the peak of life—truly the utmost of this joy.

To be valued by Princess Jingcheng and placed by her into the reorganized Forbidden Army, these officers may have humble origins, but their strength is strong, their qualities in all respects high; naturally, their ambitions are also intensely fervent.

Their blazing gazes, as if about to ignite, could not detach even a bit from Princess Jingcheng's person.

They stared fixedly at Princess Jingcheng, each emitting a low, heavy pant, their bodies trembling slightly; from time to time they responded to her summons, suddenly raising their wine cups, laughing loudly and gulping down deep draughts.

A crowd of maidservants fluttered through the crowd like passing flower butterflies, delivering plate after plate of fragrant grilled meat or other tasty dishes to these young generals.

Princess Jing Sheng suddenly burst into loud laughter, her voice even cutting across a span of over ten li of water, reaching the small study pavilion of the Three Provinces Hall.

Sima Wuyou coldly gazed at Princess Jing Sheng, muttering in a low voice: "Make a fuss, make a fuss… I'll create convenience for you, hehe, are these generals enough in number? If not, I'll help you recruit more outstanding youths."

"Jing Sheng, you must strive, you must definitely strive. Don't let me down." Sima Wuyou pursed his lips in a faint smile, a touch of self-satisfaction, lifted the tea cup before him, and gently sipped a mouthful of clear tea.

Then, just as Sima Wuyou was caught off guard, fresh blood spurted in the crystal palace opposite, and a shrill howl echoed through the heavens.

Among the crowds of maidservants attending these young generals, suddenly nearly a third of the maidservants drew sharp, poison‑coated daggers—whose quality was at least six‑refined immortal weapons or better—cold‑hearted and ruthless, and stabbed them in the back of the head from behind.

The deadly poison‑coated strange dagger pierced straight through the skull, exiting after penetrating the forehead.

The strange poison erupted instantly, directly piercing the young generals' divine fetuses and annihilating their divine souls. Thereafter, unknown what profound mystery lay on those daggers, waves of terrifying cold intent burst from them, instantly freezing the young generals' bodies.

These maidservants were extremely ruthless; dozens of the young generals' bodies froze into ice blocks, and with a single palm strike they shattered those humanoid ice sculptures into pieces.

The throng of maidservants screamed and scattered in flight.

Outside the crystal palace, Princess Jing Sheng's guards howled in fury, turning into massive gusts of wind and flame that roared forth. Overwhelmed with shock, they neglected to restrain their aura; wave after wave of terrifying aura from the peak of the Fetus Storage Realm shattered all surrounding flora into fragments, the crystal palace itself was shaken apart into scattered crystal shards, and many maidservants were shaken until blood poured from their seven orifices and they collapsed unable to rise.

Still, many maidservants clung to their large floral dresses, faces panicked, running wildly in all directions.

A dozen or so maidservants simply barged into the pavilion where the First Elegant Peak and others were feasting; Sima Wuyou's expression changed abruptly, he rose to his feet before he could take any action, and the First Elegant Peak and company had already gone to meet those maidservants, vaguely audible as they roared and asked what was happening.

Three maidservants' bodies suddenly swelled up, without hesitation turning into three balls of blazing flame.

With three booming explosions, three fireballs hundreds of zhang in diameter engulfed vast halls; a huge shockwave swept across the water with a splashing sound, shaking the bamboos in the courtyard of the Three Provinces Hall into a frantic sway.

Sima Wuyou's face darkened.

"Who? Who? Is it Great Wei? Great Wu? Or… or…?" Sima Wuyou's whole body flickered with a layer of pure, hazy Dao light, a dreadful aura faintly merging with the entirety of Anyang City.