Chapter 408: Li Guanyi Awakens

Pain, pain!

Li Guanyi's vision was dim and hazy; he felt his consciousness drifting, sometimes as if soaring to the clouds, at other times sinking to the abyss.

In this state, he seemed to recall his youth, when he had been poisoned, every part of his body aching uncontrollably.

This pain was constant, never ceasing.

It seemed to surge up from every tiny crack in his bones.

The intense agony nearly tore him apart.

Originally, a warm, gentle energy had circulated within him, countering this tearing pain and keeping his body comfortable—but now, this endless force appeared to be finally fading, vanishing bit by bit from within him.

At the peak of his agony, Li Guanyi felt the searing pain erupting from his bones, from every fissure in his limbs and body, plunging him into a haze where he relived his first poisoning.

His aunt held him, singing a lullaby meant for children, slowly suppressing that unbearable pain.

As Li Guanyi faintly struggled, a soft, delicate sensation touched his palm—just like his aunt's hand holding his, accompanying him through those most painful, weakest years.

Li Guanyi instinctively gripped the thing in his hand; the tender, gentle presence beside him brought him gradually calm, and the pain rising from his limbs and bones no longer felt quite so unbearable.

No matter when, he did not know how long had passed.

Each time the tearing pain surged through his limbs and body, that warm, comforting sensation remained beside him.

Li Guanyi endured layer upon layer of pain, then sank into deep, heavy sleep.

After an unknown length of time, the agony and the sensation of burning fire both faded; he slowly opened his eyes, seeing the surroundings—

All around, vast and distant, stood a colossal bronze cauldron, solemn and majestic, rooted between heaven and earth; Li Guanyi himself lay upon the earth, gazing at the flowing light along the horizon.

Li Guanyi sat up at once, looking around, seeing the massive bronze cauldron.

He pondered: "The Nine Cauldrons…"

"Is this the world inside the Nine Cauldrons? Or is it merely an illusion projected into my Nascent Soul by the Nine Cauldrons?"

Li Guanyi clenched his fist, but felt no surging rush of blood and qi—he confirmed his condition, steadied himself, and murmured: "... I fought Jiang Su, relying on military momentum to endure."

"Then I remember returning to the camp."

"Once my essence, energy, and spirit relaxed, I lost all awareness."

"It seems I passed out."

"Did my Nascent Soul suffer excessive damage, exceeding the limits of my spirit and body?"

Li Guanyi had clear awareness and expectation of his condition.

His attention was drawn again to the magnificent Nine Cauldrons; he stared at this grand, overwhelming structure that seemed to fill his entire consciousness, noticing that two-ninths of its surface were now covered in golden markings.

One golden pattern formed a flourishing water system, with clouds and auroras swirling above, a crimson dragon roaring; another golden pattern became the vast western desert, where nine-colored divine deer appeared and vanished among the clouds.

"The Nine Cauldrons…"

Li Guanyi shifted his consciousness, arriving at the second layer of the Nine Cauldrons.

Within shafts of light, divine weapons rested.

The Tiger Roar Heaven Spear, the Cloud-Piercing Thunder Bow, the Dragon Map Sword, the Red霄 Sword—all in place, slowly rotating, emitting steady waves of power.

Li Guanyi's gaze shifted to the rear; within the space of the Nine Cauldrons, layers of cloud qi parted, and the stairs he had failed to climb before now reformed—this time, the steps converged within the cloud qi, stretching upward to even greater heights.

"Can I ascend to the third layer of the Nine Cauldrons?"

Li Guanyi felt surprise and curiosity.

The Nine Cauldrons could absorb primordial qi, gather jade nectar, nurture divine weapons, and manifest their powers—allowing Li Guanyi, even with an ordinary bow, to unleash the Cloud-Piercing Thunder Bow's guaranteed hit, or with an ordinary spear, to gain the Tiger Roar Heaven Spear's resilience and might.

More importantly, it allowed Li Guanyi to summon divine weapons at will.

Previously, every attempt to climb the stairs ended with him falling and immediately waking; now, standing on the stairs of the second layer of the Nine Cauldrons, he looked down and faintly saw swirling clouds and auroras, lost in thought.

"It seems that if I simply jump down from here—"

"Would I wake up?"

After all, he had no idea how long he had slept; with Hou Zhongyu's Elixir of Immortality, his Immortal Body's endless vitality, and his eighth-layer foundation that required no food, Li Guanyi lay there, breathing primordial qi—he could sleep for years without dying.

The world was now in turmoil; Li Guanyi worried about what lay ahead.

Just looking at the stairs stirred a strong urge to jump down.

But then again—

Li Guanyi raised his head, gazing at the third layer.

"I've come this far…"

"Might as well go up and see."

He stepped forward, placing his foot upon the cloud-stairs; the steps solidified beneath him, and he felt firmness—his heart steadied, and he climbed step by step, wind whistling past his ears, swords and blades singing—until he crossed the final step.

The third layer of the Nine Cauldrons opened before him.

Li Guanyi saw only deep darkness, with scattered light forming a complete map of the world; many regions were detailed, others remained dark, showing only vague outlines.

"This is… the state of the world…"

Li Guanyi scanned the detailed regions—each was a place he had lived long: Yicheng, Jiangzhou, the Jiangnan region; while places like the northern grasslands of the Tujue, the buffer zones between Tujue and Ying, the northern frontier beyond the passes—

The Ying state's western forces, the central plains' powers—

And the western frontier defenses of Chen state, where Lu Youxian was stationed—

These regions showed only vague outlines, unclear.

They remained shrouded in darkness, veiled in mist, unlit.

Li Guanyi walked slowly, murmuring: "... So everything here is constructed from my own knowledge and perception. Hmm… the places I know best are where the Nine Cauldrons were forged."

Li Guanyi raised his palm and gently pressed against the ripples forming in the void.

Instantly, light blazed forth.

The western regions and Jiangnan flared brightly, transforming into twin pillars of light shooting skyward, their aura surging powerfully, their human qi flourishing—these represented the two Nine Cauldrons already forged.

Yet now, these two Nine Cauldrons were separated by distance, unable to connect.

Li Guanyi faintly sensed something—

Or rather, a deeper perception.

When the qi of these two already-cast Nine Cauldrons linked, Li Guanyi himself and the Nine Cauldrons would undergo a transformation—what is called "same qi, connected branches," though not entirely precise, could still roughly describe it.

"To connect the qi of the ten thousand people represented by the Nine Cauldrons…"

"Requires completing the next strategic step."

Li Guanyi walked slowly across the land covering the entire third layer of space, standing at the region representing the southwestern frontier—the land where the Yi people dwelled, a place even the Red Emperor had never fully subdued.

For centuries, they had repeatedly surrendered to the Central Plains imperial courts only to rebel again.

Only over a decade ago did his father, Tai Ping Gong, finally pacify the southwest, making it part of Chen's territory; but because its integration into the Central Plains was still recent, the ruling lineage granted the title of King of the Southwest to forever guard this land held little allegiance to Chen.

Even during the great conflict between Chen and Ying, they sent no troops.

Rather, according to past customs, the fact they did not rebel at this time proved just how high Tai Ping Gong's prestige had reached in the southwest.

"To advance further—whether in overall strategy or the Master Path I have chosen—I need the support of the southwest."

"But large-scale warfare is no longer feasible."

As Li Guanyi gazed at the southwest, his spirit stirred, and the light of the southwest flared; the Nine Cauldrons seemed to simulate the changes and reactions following this glow, and in an instant, the southwest, the south riverlands, and the northwestern frontier all linked into a single stream of radiance.

Li Guanyi sensed an infusion of primordial qi.

Both his strength and speed rose to a certain level.

The magnitude exceeded that of any single Nine Cauldron in the south riverlands or the western frontier.

Li Guanyi understood, murmuring to himself: "When the qi of the Nine Cauldrons link, I will simultaneously gain the support of the western frontier's Nine Cauldron and the south riverlands' Nine Cauldron…"

"And in the grand tide of the world, I will truly stand firm."

"So, I still cannot rest."

"We must pursue the fleeing enemy with our remaining vigor…"

Li Guanyi raised his head and saw the Nine Cauldrons' radiance surging upward, piercing the heavens; faintly, above the third layer of the Nine Cauldrons, it seemed another space existed. Li Guanyi said: "The third of the Nine Cauldrons—does that mean there is a fourth?"

How many layers does this inner spiritual space of the Nine Cauldrons truly have?

Li Guanyi felt his essence, qi, and spirit gradually coalesce and sink downward, knowing he was about to awaken; the celestial map before him felt like a dream, and as he awoke, it shattered into fragments—yet in his final awareness, he pondered:

How many layers are there inside the Nine Cauldrons…

Four?

Or perhaps…

The fifth layer of the Nine Cauldrons.

The 【Nine-Five Position】?

The Nine Cauldrons howled; Li Guanyi's vision dissolved, and as he fell, he felt himself return to his body, his eyelids trembled, then slowly opened—he was just awakened, unaccustomed to the blinding light.

After squinting for a short while, he gradually adjusted.

Li Guanyi sensed a gentle, warm aura beside him, and suddenly remembered the presence that had stayed with him during the boundless agony of his dream; his heart softened.

That presence, day and night, never left him, never loosened its hold.

"Is it Yao Guang…?"

The young man turned his head slightly.

He met a pair of clear, tranquil eyes.

Li Guanyi froze.

His mind stalled, with only one thought echoing:

This, this…

Where did you bring me?

Is this still the western frontier battlefield, the forward military camp?

The eyes blinked, and a warm, soft voice spoke: "You've awakened?"

The eyes before him belonged to a beautiful… beautiful deer.

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer had taken the form of a fawn, quietly lying beside Li Guanyi, its clear eyes fixed on him, radiating waves of profound warmth and vitality—vitality like a spring in the desert, enveloping Li Guanyi's body and rapidly restoring his exhausted, near-dead frame.

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer is a true omen.

Unlike the ancient Taigu Chilong, whose divine beast title was forcibly seized through battle.

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer is not skilled in combat, but possesses marvelous abilities in all other respects.

Li Guanyi suppressed his body's agony and gently thanked, smiling:

"Did you save me? Thank you…"

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer said: "Not quite me. When you collapsed on the battlefield, you were immediately brought here; within you, a vitality lingered, unextinguished. Master Siming said it was the Immortal Elixir forged by the last descendant of the Witch-Cult lineage."

"This thing kept you alive."

"Called the Elixir of Immortality—it may not grant true immortality, but it does have some means of preventing death. At that time, your entire body, even your bones, were on the verge of crumbling to dust, yet you were stubbornly kept alive."

"Stubbornly neither dead nor alive."

"From your condition, this lineage seems to begin with pursuing 【Immortality】, then seek 【Eternal Life】; if one survives a thousand or ten thousand years, to ordinary people, isn't that eternal life?"

"It is the Daoist path of 【progressing from deliberate action toward effortless action】."

"It seems almost orthodox."

"Just from this core technique, even the so-called True Daoist Orthodoxy lacks such methods."

Li Guanyi was stunned.

Hou Zhongyu—the sorcerer he had slain in his youth—was, the more he traveled the world, the more he realized the man's weight; he understood how vast the world was, how countless the talented and the strange, and that Wu Gong alone could not determine everything.

Only now did Li Guanyi realize just how immense Hou Zhongyu's worth truly was: a mere third-tier sorcerer with no ancestral sect backing, yet he became the chief sorcerer of Chen Dingye, the tyrannical venomous dragon, and seized control of a forbidden palace.

Li Guanyi suddenly felt a strange sensation.

Did I really, when I first stepped out into the world, slash to death one of the top three great sorcerers of this era? No, with his attainments, even across all of history, he might still rank among the top ten.

He died simply from a single breath of the Fire Qilin's ancient flame.

Li Guanyi chuckled: "Then I ought to thank Hou Zhongyu."

"If one day the Lingyan Pavilion erects statues, they'll probably have to build one for Hou Zhongyu too."

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer said: "You yourself called him a mere sorcerer."

Li Guanyi smiled: "A dead old Hou is the good Hou Zhongyu."

"What a truly great benefactor!"

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer said: "But that Elixir of Immortality? It was merely an afterthought. With your Immortal Body, swallowing the pill would only keep you barely alive, slowly healing—there were other reasons."

"On the day you returned."

"A Daoist with silver hair fell from the sky, broke through your army's encirclement alone, found you, transmitted a breath of energy into you, then completely dissolved the Elixir of Immortality into your body."

"Only then did your vitality stabilize completely."

"He said he was merely an unnamed Daoist."

"He left you a few words: 'Back then, did you have a teacher named Wang Tong?'"

Li Guanyi froze, then answered: "Yes."

"Did Master Wang Tong leave any message?!"

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer shook its head, gazing at the anxious young man before it, hesitated, then spoke with a gentle, compassionate expression:

"That Daoist once said he could use wondrous methods to extend Wang Tong's life by three years. Wang Tong replied: tell the Daoist to find you—he was just a scholar, useless in every way, plagued by illness."

"He said: 'Let this spring wind stretch three thousand zhang.'"

"Let it carry his three years of life to you, to help you cross your tribulation."

"You were master and disciple, teacher and student—your karmic bond in this life has already dissolved."

"If you meet again on the path of reincarnation, walk slowly. When you hear word that the world is at peace, it will be enough to make his life without regret."

"His grave lies beneath the great tree of the Academy. When you one day conquer the Central Plains to the north, do not forget to pour him a cup of thin wine there—then, no matter what, his wish will be fulfilled."

"He said…"

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer fell silent, staring at the young man before it. For some reason, even as a blessed omen, it felt the fate of this famed youth was bitterly hard: his parents died young, he wandered homeless; as he grew older, he fled from all corners of the land.

And the teacher who taught him, guided him, and helped him solidify his beliefs and choose his path.

After teaching him,

one by one, they left.

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer said:

"Wang Tong had no power to establish destiny for the people, but to dissolve a tribulation for a single disciple—he could do that. A gentleman's friendship is as plain as water; no need to grieve."

"The path of the world is hard."

"Keep walking. Keep walking."

"Never look back."

Li Guanyi froze.

Suddenly, his chest ached as if pierced. That quiet teacher—who had passed without even telling them—had reached out to him at this very moment.

Master Wang Tong had been dead for over a year.

He could still see the quiet Confucian, his spine straight and thin, walking away step by step.

The teacher walked alone.

Li Guanyi whispered: "He was my teacher…"

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer nodded: "Though I never met him, from his words, he must have been a fine young man." Li Guanyi nodded, his spirit sinking. He forced a smile: "Thank you, Elder, for staying by my side all this time."

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer blinked: "???"

"I… stayed by your side?"

Li Guanyi also froze: "Isn't that you?"

Then he saw in the Nine-Colored Divine Deer's eyes a kind smile. The creature twitched its ears, lifted its head slightly, and said: "I only gathered primordial energy to heal you—I couldn't possibly have stayed here the whole time."

"If you mean the child who never let go of your hand…"

"You should turn around."

"Ah, was my primordial energy too dense? Did it make you overlook that side…" The Nine-Colored Divine Deer reflected inwardly.

Li Guanyi turned his head with effort, feeling a sharp pain in his back—and saw, beside the bed, a silver-haired girl, quietly asleep.

Even now, she still held Li Guanyi's hand.

"For seven days and seven nights while you were unconscious, she never left your side. She was so exhausted, I just persuaded her to rest a little. Oh, but that martial legend seemed to have gone mad with rage."

The Nine-Colored Divine Deer murmured gently.

Li Guanyi watched the silver-haired girl quietly. She seemed to sense his gaze—her eyelashes trembled, then slowly opened. Her clear eyes lifted, met his, and she froze.

The silver-haired girl's gaze softened, her voice calm, unruffled.

As if the seven days and nights of vigil had never happened, she simply said:

"You're awake."

Li Guanyi: "Mm."

Yao Guang's voice was tranquil: "I'll go find Master Pojun and Master Wenhao." She rose, then stumbled. Li Guanyi reached out, grasped her wrist, and pulled her gently back.

The silver-haired girl sank back into her original seat. Li Guanyi said:

"Rest a while longer."

The silver-haired girl looked at him, bit her lip, and whispered: "Then, forgive the rudeness." She cupped his hand with both of hers, closed her eyes, lowered her gaze quietly, and murmured: "It's so good…"

"The stars above heard my plea—or perhaps it was only my foolish wish—but you're awake. It's so good."

The silver-haired girl watched him in silence.

Li Guanyi suddenly felt a pang in his heart; he looked at Yao Guang and said, "If I hadn't woken up..."

The silver-haired girl gazed at him.

Then she softly revealed a faint smile.

For some reason, this delicate smile carried a tranquil, soul-stirring beauty.

She nodded slightly; silver strands from her temple fell as the silver-haired girl whispered:

"I will stay with you."

It was her usual, effortless, unthinking reply.

Li Guanyi pressed his lips together and said no more; such resolve, such earnestness—no one could remain unmoved. The silver-haired girl lay quietly beside Li Guanyi and fell into a light sleep.

Li Guanyi's spirit grew calm with the girl's breathing; he gazed outside, and after awakening, the first thought that came to him was of the distant battlefield and the Yu Langwang.

At the very least, he had done his utmost.

Then, Uncle...

Have you achieved what you wished for?

Have you done what you wanted to do?

…………

At this moment, the world was engulfed in war across all four directions, with smoke and fire stretching endlessly; news could not travel swiftly, especially on the northern battlefield, where Chen Dingye led the Chen army against Yuwen Lie, originally without advantage.

But even though the second-greatest general under heaven had taken the field, and even Yuwen Lie could not stand against him, Yuwen Lie still held his lines, and even when forced to retreat, he remained steady and composed.

Chen Dingye had fought fiercely for days, going without sleep or rest for several days straight.

Yet on this day, a Captain from Ying State arrived as an envoy; as the saying goes, during war, envoys are not slain—Chen Dingye did not cut the man down. The envoy came personally, bearing gifts, and in every gesture, from entering the gate to exchanging pleasantries, his manners were meticulously proper.

He bowed deeply and knelt, saying:

"I have come under the orders of Your Majesty and the Grand Tutor. Our Ying State and Chen State are both vassals under the Crimson Emperor, and once we swore brotherhood. Now, with war raging everywhere, the people suffer and soldiers endure pain—why not each cease hostilities and rest and recover?"

"These are gifts from my lord and the Grand Tutor to the Lord of Chen."

He held out a box with both hands and offered it reverently.

Chen Dingye opened it.

Inside the box.

Was the severed head of the Yu Langwang, Chen Fubì.

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