Chapter 456: The Mid-Autumn Heat

In the blink of an eye, it is already mid-August; the scorching sun is like fire, and the summer heat is rising in waves.

The sky breaks earlier and earlier; by the time the golden rooster crows for the first time, the east is already bright. Over the past half-month, you have cultivated diligently without pause, and your martial arts cultivation has reached a new level.

After stepping into the Ocean-Viewing Realm, you have devoted yourself to studying the supreme arts of both Buddhism and the demonic path—the Buddhist "Jin Gang Indestructible Art" has reached the realm of the Small Jin Gang Body, and the method of Qi soldiers in the Demonic Gate's "Purple Firmament Cave Demon True Scripture" has also been mastered.

That night, all was silent.

You sit cross-legged in the courtyard, the true essence within your body surging like a river, and the Qi and blood churning between your meridians.

Suddenly, a layer of glazed golden light appears on your body, followed by the sound of evening drums and morning bells from a Buddhist temple, "Dong—", and the Buddha light suddenly surges.

In an instant, a three-zhang-tall glazed Great Buddha rises from the ground in the small courtyard, its golden, brilliant dharma image towering over the courtyard wall.

The Great Buddha has its hands pressed together, its appearance solemn and majestic.

You stand in the air at the heart of the golden Great Buddha, your gaze level with the vigorous parasol tree in the courtyard.

As your thoughts shift slightly, the muscles of the Great Buddha tense up, and it throws a punch according to your will.

With a "Boom—" explosion, the air shatters wherever the fist wind passes, and the sound of the sonic boom is deafening.

This is precisely the supreme technique of the "Jin Gang Indestructible Art"—the "Buddha Dharma Body."

Within this three-zhang golden body, ordinary techniques can hardly invade even a fraction; sword slashes and axe chops are like flicking away dust, water and fire cannot penetrate, and all evil retreats.

Furthermore, by borrowing the might of this glazed Great Buddha, your strength increases several times over with every gesture, and splitting mountains and cracking rocks is nothing more than a trifle—this is the supreme treasure technique secretly passed down by the Buddhist school!

However, you do not stop there; with a shift of your thoughts, the true essence within your body suddenly surges, transforming from golden Buddhist true essence into demonic true essence.

Under the operation of the "Purple Firmament Cave Demon True Scripture," the vast true essence in your dantian turns into rolling demonic Qi, churning menacingly.

The void trembles, and a long spear with dark patterns condenses out of thin air, wreathed in purple electric arcs, crackling and popping with awe-inspiring demonic might.

Once this spear appears, the surrounding air seems to be twisted by an invisible force, and the sound of ghosts crying and gods howling faintly echoes.

This is precisely the supreme technique of the "Purple Firmament Cave Demon True Scripture"—the "Purple Firmament Demon Spear!"

With a shift of your thoughts, the golden Great Buddha suddenly raises its hand, and as its five fingers close, it actually firmly grasps the Purple Firmament Demon Spear wreathed in electric arcs!

In an instant, Buddha light and demonic Qi intertwine and surge, and the violent energy whips up a gale in the small courtyard.

Streaks of electric arcs dart about like lightning snakes, exploding in a series of blinding flashes in the courtyard, and the blue brick ground is scorched with streaks of burn marks.

The violent air waves sweep in all directions, the courtyard walls tremble, and the roof tiles rattle, as if the entire small courtyard is about to be blown away the next moment!

Seeing that the situation is not good, you immediately cease your cultivation.

The golden Great Buddha dissipates into specks of golden light, and the demon spear also disintegrates into wisps of black Qi.

Your sleeves flutter as you drift down slowly from mid-air, your toes lightly touching the ground.

Looking around, you see that all the dust in the courtyard has been swept away by the powerful wind, leaving only a patch of pure land where you stand; fortunately, the house and courtyard walls were not damaged.

At this moment, you have fully comprehended these two killing moves of Buddhism and the demonic path; once your martial arts cultivation breaks through the nine realms of the Xuan Dan, you will be able to exert their power to the extreme, however...

How could the martial arts Xuan Dan be easy to deal with? Even with your natural talent, it will take at least a year to consolidate your foundation.

Only by progressing step by step can success be achieved. For now, you must remain steady and solid.

Over the past half-month, although your Primordial Spirit cultivation has improved, it is still too far from the realm of the Yang Spirit.

You close your eyes and concentrate, suppressing all distracting thoughts, and continue to immerse yourself in cultivation.

At this time, faint ripples appear in the water vat in the corner of the courtyard, and Lady Ruan quietly surfaces.

She stares at the courtyard where the strange phenomenon just erupted, her whole body tense as if facing a formidable enemy, and even her hair stands on end like a startled cat.

If she hadn't known early on that you had no malicious intent, the pressure from that moment would have almost made her kneel to the ground.

"What kind of cultivation technique is this?", she wonders in secret, "It can actually contain both the solemnity of Buddhism and the menace of the demonic path, and what's even more bizarre is that the two can actually blend together like water and milk..."

Recalling the scene of you swallowing the essence of the Great Sun Golden Crow during your daytime cultivation, that supreme Yang, brilliant like the scorching sun, she does not know what kind of mysterious treasure technique it is.

Besides that, the article on the stone table with ink not yet dry that you write every day, the biting sword intent revealed between the lines, she has already guessed must be the "Nine Sword Inheritance" of the Second Master!

But the other two types seem to be no less than the Second Master's inheritance; what are they? Lady Ruan has no way of knowing.

The next day, the sky breaks.

The path of cultivation is, after all, day-after-day accumulation and polishing; time flies like an arrow, and another month has passed!

Today the sky is exceptionally gloomy!

The gray clouds hang low, and the air is filled with a damp breath—this is a sign that a heavy rain is coming.

As your Primordial Spirit cultivation becomes increasingly profound, your connection with heaven, earth, and nature becomes more sensitive. Whenever thunder and lightning interweave and gales rise suddenly, your spiritual platform faintly feels a touch. Your martial arts cultivation also allows every pore of your body to perceive the subtle changes between heaven and earth—the flow of water vapor, the slight vibration of insects flapping their wings, all can be used to deduce the changes in celestial phenomena.

However, recently, this weather has become treacherous and unpredictable.

Within a single day, or even within a short two hours, there will be several changes.

When you got up this morning, it was clearly filled with thick fog, and it should have been a sunny day with the sun shining brightly.

But before noon, the black clouds had already pressed down on the city, the lead-gray clouds were heavy and about to fall, and it actually turned into a sign that a rainstorm was coming.

At noon, the thick clouds suddenly dispersed, and the blinding sunlight pierced through the sky like a sharp sword.

You frown slightly—a few months ago, with your cultivation, you could still accurately deduce the changes in celestial phenomena for the next day or even the next half-month.

But now, it is difficult to even predict the wind, rain, overcast, or clear weather of today.

This treacherous and ever-changing celestial phenomenon is clearly caused by the entanglement and agitation of the righteous and evil Qi between heaven and earth.

You look up at the ever-changing firmament, and your heart is clear—the heavenly secrets of the great catastrophe are in chaos, and no one can stay out of it!

The sky, which was clear and cloudless just a moment ago, turns gloomy again in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Guan! There is news!"

Xie Yuan rushes into the courtyard, his sleeves bringing a gust of wind, and his face has an extra touch of anxiety, "News has come from both the Eternal Heaven and the Great Sui; the outcome is clear!"

Xie Yuan hands you two reports; you first unfold the one from the Great Sui, and as your gaze sweeps across the lines, it is indeed as you expected!

This battle of the Great Sui Emperor Sui Shengdi was a complete defeat. In fact, ever since this emperor, who claimed to have great talent and bold strategy, started this great war, the ending had already been destined!

It's just that who could have imagined that a dignified monarch of a country would eventually lose his life at the hands of the person sleeping beside him.

The report clearly states that the most favored Imperial Consort was actually a secret agent planted by the Sanzhen Sect. What's even more ironic is that even the personal eunuch most trusted by Emperor Sui Shengdi was a devout believer of the Sanzhen Sect.

One hundred thousand Sanzhen Dao soldiers gathered outside the capital city, and before they could even brandish their weapons, a carefully planned palace coup had already caused the former Emperor Sui Shengdi on the throne to fail and die at the hands of a woman, leaving only empty sighs in the history books.

The Liu royal family of the Great Sui was thus uprooted.

This outcome was actually expected by the court in Above Bianjing long ago.

The Sanzhen Sect has been established for three thousand years, and behind every dynastic change since the fall of the Yan Kingdom, the shadow of this behemoth has been faintly visible.

They take "saving the world and helping people" as their doctrine, and the common people of the world have received much of their favor; the prosperity of their incense has long since permeated into the marrow of the Great Sui.

Xie Yuan shakes his head and sighs: "Emperor Sui Shengdi was blind to what was under his own nose. Even children in Above Bianjing, thousands of miles away, know the terror of the Sanzhen Sect, yet he sat at the foot of Mount Zhongnan and treated this ancestral court of the Daoist school as nothing."

If this had happened a few months ago, such a major event of changing dynasties would have surely shaken the entire Above Bianjing.

But now, the common people in the marketplace all have an expression of being accustomed to it; now is a time of many troubles, and earth-shattering major events are happening one after another!

Xie Yuan's tone suddenly sinks: "After the Sanzhen Sect helped the new monarch to the throne, they suddenly dispatched more than 300,000 troops yesterday, galloping from the western route, pointing directly at our Great Qi territory. Their momentum is fierce, and their intention is to bring troops to the capital road and strike directly at Above Bianjing, I'm afraid."

"What's even more suspicious is that the Sanzhen Sect has actually sealed the mountain, and all three thousand disciples of the sect have gone down the mountain. This is something that has never happened before."

"The Sanzhen Sect has been thinking about transcending the world for the past few hundred years; I didn't expect that now, they have actually entered the world!"

Xie Yuan unfolds another report, "He Lan Yanyun eventually killed his own brother and seized the position of Khan."

His finger slides across the text on the report, "Three days ago, the 300,000 iron cavalry of the Eternal Heaven had already set out from Mobei, also pointing directly at the capital road—this posture clearly intends to encircle Above Bianjing with the Great Sui."

"The Xu family of the Golden Family of the Eternal Heaven, and the Demon Sect of the grassland have all come out in full force."

You are shocked when you hear this; the Great Sui and the Eternal Heaven dispatching troops to Above Bianjing at the same time is by no means a coincidence.

The Sanzhen Sect and the Demon Sect are also gathering in Above Bianjing!

The world is really going to change; the Sanzhen Sect can be so battle-ready for only one thing!

The opportunity for ascension concerns the hundred-generation plan of the Sanzhen Sect!

You ask, "Is there any movement in the Southern Buddhist Kingdom?"

Xie Yuan thinks for a moment and suddenly remembers something: "It's strange to say, but there has been no movement of troops in the Southern Buddhist Kingdom. However... I heard from several uncles that the Dongsheng Sect recently sent a team heading north, with only four people, and they seem to be heading towards Above Bianjing as well. Among them is the Buddha Son of the Dongsheng Sect, who is known as the general who hasn't appeared in a thousand years."

"Brother Guan, it seems the world is really going to change. What you said a few days ago about Above Bianjing being breached seems to be coming true. My right eye has been twitching non-stop recently."

"The Great Sui wants to invade our Above Bianjing, the Eternal Heaven is the same, and the Sanzhen Sect and the Demon Sect are gathering together. How many years has it been since this happened?"

Xie Yuan sighs, "If the Master were here, and the Second Master were still here, what would it matter if the three countries joined forces?"

"Now the Master has gone to seek immortals and has not returned, the Second Master has already gone after opening the Heavenly Gate at the Qunfang Banquet, and there is internal strife in the Great Qi with the Red Eye Army... Above Bianjing is no longer as solid as a golden soup."

After deep thought, you ask, "How is the court responding after receiving the news?"

The Great Sui and the Eternal Heaven dispatching troops is like a giant rock thrown into the lake of Above Bianjing, about to stir up giant waves.

Even descendants of the nine great surnames like Xie Yuan feel a crisis; one can imagine what kind of mentality the common people in Above Bianjing must have?

Xie Yuan says, "Su Xiang issued a hand-written order this morning to summon the nine great surnames to discuss matters at the Zichen Hall tomorrow."

You frown slightly; with Su Xiang's power to cover the sky with one hand, he could have acted arbitrarily, why the need to discuss with the nine great surnames?

Even in such a critical autumn of survival, no one in Above Bianjing dares to openly defy this powerful prime minister—it can be seen that his control is so deep that it has truly reached the point where even the nine great surnames are silent like cicadas in winter.

What exactly is this Su Xiang plotting? No one knows.

Xie Yuan's eyes are filled with sorrow, mentioning that the current Xie Fu also seems to reveal something bizarre.

Especially the Second Courtyard, which has now become a taboo in the mansion—even the servants walk around it, and no one dares to approach it at night.

Xie Qi moved out of the Second Courtyard a month ago and is now staying with the Fourth Cousin of the Zhang family.

Sister Wu Tong once quietly told you that Lady Zhao's temperament has changed drastically recently, and she whips the servants at every turn.

In just half a month, nearly a hundred servants were beaten to death in the Second Courtyard. When Lady Yuan went to visit, Lady Zhao closed the door and refused to see her. Rumors in the mansion say that this is because the pain of losing her son has not faded, and the death of Xie Renfeng has made Lady Zhao depressed.

And over at the Daguan Garden, the Old Matriarch Xie has been bedridden for many days, and now all the affairs of the mansion are presided over by Lady Yuan.

Since the incident with Xie Ling, Lady Yuan has also become violent and capricious, scolding or beating the maids at the slightest dissatisfaction.

When descendants of the direct line like Xie Yuan wanted to visit the Old Matriarch, they were all blocked outside the door by Lady Yuan on the grounds that "the Old Matriarch needs to rest."

Outside the courtyard gate, Xie Yuan is ready to leave, "Mother is packing her luggage these days and wants to send me away from Xie Fu—not to the Zhuge family, but to the Zhang family."

He came here today specifically not only to pass on the news but also to remind you to be careful in everything.

Tomorrow morning, he will set off for the Zhang family.

You nod slightly, understanding in your heart why it is not the maternal family of Lady Zhuge.

Recently, among the nine great surnames, the changes in the Zhuge family have been the most bizarre—first Empress Zhuge inexplicably threw herself into a well and committed suicide, and then several pillars of the clan in their prime became insane one after another, actually wandering the streets of Above Bianjing naked.

"Brother Guan, be careful in everything; it's not a peaceful time anymore."

You look at Xie Yuan's departing back, lost in thought.

The Great Sui, the Eternal Heaven, the Sanzhen Sect, the Demon Sect—all are about to gather in Above Bianjing!

And the Red Eye Army of the Jiangnan Road!

You are just about to walk into the small courtyard when your heart and mind shift slightly.

Looking back, your eyes reveal a rare warmth and joy.

Outside the courtyard gate, three figures are walking slowly.

The Lady Gongsun at the head is graceful and charming; this courtesan who should have redeemed herself and left the capital has actually returned. She bows gracefully, her red lips parting lightly: "Young Master Guan, have you been well since we last met?"

Your gaze, however, passes over her and lands on the two people behind her. One of them is the female Daoist of the Sanzhen Sect who was beside the Great Sui Crown Prince Liu Yuan on the bank of the Yanbo Lake that day.

The female Daoist's eyes dodge slightly when she sees your gaze, remembering the incident at Yanbo Lake.

You don't care, your gaze landing directly on the last figure, who is a woman.

She has a tall figure, wearing a bamboo hat and white gauze, covering her face, and a plain white wide robe, wrapping her entire figure.

"It really is...", a smile appears on your face, and you greet, "It really is good to see you again!"

(End of chapter)