Chapter 847: Taking Flight

Suddenly, nearly another month has passed. Every minute and every second, the clock never rests, just like a steed galloping on a straight mountain path; no one can control its reins, and even if a cliff lies ahead, it charges forward without hesitation.

For this month, both worlds have been very calm. Clearly, there is much that could be done, but the highest echelons of both the Human world and the Tianmo Jie have unanimously chosen restraint.

With a great disaster imminent, all manner of matters and all kinds of conflicts are set aside to be dealt with after this great event passes.

Yet, although the strongest at the very top are suppressing things with all their might, the two worlds, as well as the Suiyu between them, have gradually begun to grow restless.

There is no help for it; everyone has eyes.

That powerful world is drawing near. At first, there were no signs, but the closer the deadline approaches, the more obvious various omens have become. The sky grows increasingly gloomy, the ground trembles slightly from time to time, rivers either dry up or overflow, snakes, insects, rats, and ants scurry about in panic, vegetation begins to wither, and even when people walk, they feel lighter than before—not to mention that at night in the Suiyu, one can vaguely see a certain oppressive black shadow in the sky. All these signs cause those with even a little insight to have a few words flash through their minds: "The end of the world is at hand!"

When encountering strange omens, birds and beasts will panic, and so will people. Those with a bit of ability begin to run about, activating their connections, seeking only a piece of news. Not to mention the Tianmo side, even on the Human side, the Imperial Court has come to the Sword Court to inquire about the situation.

Yes, the Human Emperor has actually always been able to communicate with the high-level officials of the Suiyu. According to the tacit understanding between the Human World and the Suiyu, not only are both sides independent of each other, but the Human World should use its resources and manpower to support the Qianxian, while the Suiyu should not interfere in the political affairs of the Human World and should respect the Human Emperor. When major events occur, they must communicate with the Human World, and even, when necessary, cooperate with the requirements of the Sacrifice to manifest divinity. During the stable period of a Human dynasty, this tacit understanding functions well.

However, in the last few decades, the Human dynasty has headed toward decline and has been unable to support the Qianxian. But by this time, the Qianxian had long since established a firm foothold, and its various developments were even stronger than those of the Human World. Being close to the water, it obtained a large amount of resources from the opposite side and the Void, not to mention the almost inexhaustible supply of Sword Seeds. Local Sword Guests have grown generation after generation, and in fact, they no longer need support from the Human World, so they took the opportunity to cast off their connection to their ancestral homeland. But because it was unnecessary, no intense conflict or public falling-out occurred.

Nevertheless, the Human Emperor still holds the channel to contact the Sword Court, which is generally not activated, but now is precisely an extraordinary time. Only then did the Sword Court remember that at such a critical moment, the Human World cannot be in chaos. Once it falls into chaos, never mind the world being destroyed; if it is not destroyed, it would cost a great price to quell the chaos afterward, which would be of no benefit to the subsequent grand plans of resisting the Tianmo and surviving in the Void.

Thus, the Sword Court—that is, the Taiyang Shengdi—made the decision to send envoys to the Human World to explain and request that the Human Imperial Court assist in stabilizing the situation from top to bottom, so as not to add fuel to the fire for the already chaotic Qianxian. For this reason, the Sword Court also broke a certain unspoken rule and sent several steady and prudent Sword Heroes down to help stabilize the situation in the Human World. It was not to interfere in the rise and fall of the dynasty, but to warn those disobedient small factions: "Behave yourselves at this juncture; after this passes, no one will care if you stir up trouble to the heavens, but if you dare to move now, I will strike!"

At this time, Wei Se came out to request to join this envoy team to return to the Human World to report the news, mainly to return to Yunzhou to report. This request was proposed by himself, not suggested by Tang Zhao. At this time, Tang Zhao had already gone to the secret place with Wei Zhangle to prepare for the Changjie Sword Technique, and Wei Se was left alone here at the Taiyang Shengdi. The Sword Court thought that Wei Se could not stay above any longer and that returning to his hometown to report news was equivalent to going home to rest. Out of consideration for Tang Zhao, naturally, no one hindered him, and they let Wei Se hitch a ride back.

Little did they know that Wei Se really had an important mission upon returning, a heavy responsibility related to the safety of the world. He must go back to fill in the missing link in the time loop.

One must know that Wei Se is the key figure who started this series of major events. He arrived in the future first, then was sent back to the past by the Gaoyuan Marquis, bringing the news of the future back to the past, which led to the glimmer of survival today. But in the future—that is, the present—how did the Gaoyuan Marquis, an old lady recuperating in a remote place in Yunzhou, have such detailed and accurate intelligence to allow Wei Se to bring it back without any deviation?

That, of course, is because someone told her. That is to say, the current Wei Se is going to tell the Gaoyuan Marquis, to tell her the news that the Wei Se who came from the past needs to bring back to the past.

If Wei Se does not make this trip, the logic of time cannot be closed, and unexpected things might happen; no one wants to take that risk.

Tang Zhao did not need to give special instructions; Wei Se knew he had to make this trip, but his mood was very heavy. Because his going there would be a declaration of the Gaoyuan Marquis's death. The Gaoyuan Marquis exhausted all her vitality sending Wei Se back, and eventually passed away.

Putting aside Tang Zhao's friendship with the Gaoyuan Marquis, Wei Se also deeply respected her. Although he had only met her a few times, he felt an inexplicable and strong affinity for her. If Wei Se's emotions were not specifically expressed, even Tang Zhao could not perceive them, but the Gaoyuan Marquis could. For this reason alone, Wei Se cared very much in his heart; this is also the fate between people.

Although sad in his heart, Wei Se still rushed back to Yunzhou. There, he not only notified the Gaoyuan Marquis and the high-level officials of Yunzhou about the matters in the sky, but also reported his safety to everyone. There was also the matter of the Gaoyuan Marquis pulling him aside to entrust Yunzhou to Tang Zhao. Wei Se was somewhat troubled. Although it seemed that everyone had previously tacitly agreed that Tang Zhao would take over Yunzhou, according to what he had seen and heard these days, Tang Zhao's responsibilities were too great and there were too many things to do; he was afraid that he might not have the time to govern Yunzhou. Moreover, given Tang Zhao's status, it would not be appropriate for him to personally control a region of the Human World, unless Yunzhou were set to a higher status—for example, after Tang Zhao's status became sufficiently exalted in the future, enclosing the entire Yunzhou to establish a "state within a state" similar to the "Taiyang Shengdi."

Of course, he was not qualified to make such long-term plans, and Tang Zhao might not even consider them; even if he did, they could not be realized now. Most obviously, Tang Zhao is still a Sword Immortal, and there is more than one Sword Saint in the sky; several of them are also from the Human World. If Tang Zhao wanted to enclose a region as a state within a state, then the Sword Saints would have to enclose two or three regions each, right? You enclose one piece, I enclose one piece, and the Imperial Court would directly fall apart, learning from the Hundred Races of the Tianmo Jie to govern themselves and fight their own battles. Unless Tang Zhao truly becomes the master, Yunzhou has nothing special.

Wei Se obscurely explained Tang Zhao's status, and at the same time felt very sad that Tang Zhao could not even come to see her for the last time. The Gaoyuan Marquis expressed deep regret, saying, "It was I who was too greedy. I originally knew that a feudal lord cannot last long, and I have no ability to vie for the throne, nor do I intend to bear the sin of splitting Shenzhou. I was originally waiting for a wise ruler to emerge to return Yunzhou, but since there happened to be a reliable successor by my side, I couldn't help but want to pass it on. It seems that Heaven does not allow it. However, returning it to the Imperial Court just like this is too hasty; I don't know if the one on the throne is a human or a dog. Azhao told me that the current one is half-human and half-dog, so I wanted to keep Yunzhou for a while longer until I was sure that the one on the throne could truly be a human. But I truly cannot hold on any longer. Since that is the case, let Fu Xianchan watch over Yunzhou for me for a few years."

Although Wei Se had no position or qualification to comment on the personnel arrangements of Yunzhou, he was a bit surprised by the Gaoyuan Marquis's arrangement. He did not expect that the first in line after Tang Zhao would actually be the Li Hua Sword, Fu Xianchan. But immediately after, he understood a little. Fu Xianchan was also a young genius, becoming a Sword Hero even earlier than Xing Ji. When Xing Ji was only a local Town Guardian, she was already a regional inspector, which shows her deep qualifications. And what is important is that because of her sword, she has been a benefactor to many people; this is the cornerstone of her standing. Her personality is not as sharp as people like Xing Ji, and she is well-liked and has no enemies. In the expansion period, her personality and strength might not be enough to become a heroic ruler, but in the contraction period, she is more than enough to be a ruler who maintains the status quo. Even if Tang Zhao adopts the method of remote control from the sky to take over Yunzhou in the future, Fu Xianchan can accept it and will not cause turmoil due to fighting for power. This must be the candidate the Gaoyuan Marquis has carefully considered.

With the successor determined, the Gaoyuan Marquis seized the time to arrange various handover matters, while also waiting very calmly for her final moment.

While things were progressing on the Human side, the other side was also advancing step by step, working overtime. Twenty days ago, the resources and conditions required by Wei Zhangle were finally fully prepared, and he was about to start his Changjie Sword Technique. The Human side gave him a very suitable stage, which was a "Bantianwaitian," the "Dayantian."

This name is certainly grand, but it is actually just a semi-independent domain attached to the Suiyu. The reason it was placed here is that this place was originally a practice villa built by the master for his own cultivation; it can also be considered a "Forbidden City." Besides having some commemorative significance, its location is also excellent—at the very edge of the seam between the two worlds, facing the direction of the invading world. It can be considered a "salient" of the Suiyu reaching into the Void, which is a strategic high point. After Wei Zhangle is prepared here, he only needs to take one step outward to reach the close-quarters combat of the Qianxian.

Wei Zhangle has been preparing inside for a long time, and Tang Zhao has been accompanying him as his assistant. Although the two entered the Void early on, if one speaks of the order of action, they are actually behind; there is a major event ranked before them.

Yes, it is the takeoff of that agreed-upon Great Ship.

After a period of arduous tug-of-war, the humans finally withdrew from the Relic Project entirely, and the resources paid were much less than previously agreed. There were many voices of dissatisfaction among the Tianmo, but as the Great Ship sailed into the Huangbaijie and the hundred-year plan was about to be realized, those discordant noises gradually dissipated.

More than ten days after Tang Zhao and the others entered the Dayantian—that is, seven days before the countdown to the invading world's invasion of the Human World—the Great Ship was finally fully prepared.

Although the humans did not board the ship, they still gave enough face. Several Sword Saints, including Gan Jian, went to the Huangbaijie together to attend the expedition ceremony and see off the young seeds.

As the horn of the expedition sounded solemnly, the ground of the Huangbaijie shook, and that unimaginably massive Great Ship finally rose into the air, and under the impetus of an unknown force, flew toward the boundless Void.