Chapter 88: My Meridians Have Opened

It was the eunuch outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony who noticed something was wrong.

When the stars rose at the zenith, he was dozing against a red pillar outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. A startling chill jolted him awake, every hair on his body standing on end, and then he heard the sword's hum rise high, sword Qi like frost and snow filling the entire palace.

The Emperor, already thirty years old this year, hurried over in a fluster, listening to the ancestor's sword hum with joy.

Three hundred years ago, on the eve of the great chaos that would engulf the realm, the Emperor of that generation could still take up a sword, drive a war chariot and command armies, and go fight the warlords of the realm. He was a tyrant, but not a fool; he still possessed the martial courage to lift a blade. Yet he died in the chaos of battle, and the realm split apart.

In the original alliance that overturned that peaceful realm were the founding monarch of the State of Ying, the first hegemon of Tuyuhun, the astromancers of the Eastern Continent's Star-Gazing School, and the outstanding young figures of the Hundred Schools of Thought. They tore apart that aristocratic clan that had lorded over the common people, that kingdom already rotten, where the populace wept blood, yearning to forge a new, clean order.

But even so, not a single one of them could lift this sword.

In the end, they could only seal the Scarlet Emperor Sword with a red cord stained with that great Emperor's fresh blood.

Rumors spread without legs to carry them.

When this Chixiao Sword was drawn once more, all the traitors of old would be thoroughly purged; beneath its blade would flow the blood of warlords. Since three hundred years ago, no one had been able to lift this sword, and this legend had gradually faded.

The great Emperor's face was wild with fervor. He prayed to his ancestors, then reached out and gripped the sword's hilt.

The sword's hum was cold and fierce.

When the great Emperor gripped the sword, his palm only suffered a violent pain. He instinctively flung his hand away; a sharp sword wound marked his palm, fresh blood streaming down without cease. So the fervor on his face froze, and he stared fixedly at the Chixiao Sword before him.

The Chixiao Sword had rejected him.

The eunuch cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, should we go inform the six Palace Masters of the Academy?"

The great Emperor drew a deep breath and said: "No need. I shall speak to them myself."

"You discovered this sword's strangeness today. You shall be rewarded."

Joy spread across the eunuch's face—and in the next instant, his head was separated from his body.

The great Emperor was wrapped in the crimson Qi of a divine dragon, gripping his own side sword, gazing at the silent Chixiao Sword. Beside him, the kneeling eunuch's hands were still cupped, cradling his own head, his face still wearing a wild smile of joy, as if still thinking of sending the money back to his parents.

The great Emperor clenched his fists, staring fixedly at the sword, his teeth grinding as if weeping blood:

"Chixiao…"

"Are you not my ancestor's sword? Is there anyone in this world besides myself worthy of matching your glory?!"

"Do you not wish to slay those traitors, those villains?!"

The Academy of the realm was founded by the second Emperor, the one after the Scarlet Emperor, who had lifted this sword.

Each generation, the six strongest among the Hundred Schools of Thought were chosen to assist the Emperor in civil governance and Wu Gong.

But the great Emperor knew well that what they acknowledged was 【the common people of the realm】, not his family.

The original heroes gathered beneath the Scarlet Emperor's banner; what they acknowledged was that unrivaled hero of humble origins.

If it were discovered that the Chixiao Sword had changed, and that he could not lift it—

The six Sect Masters of the Academy would remain here, but the Academy's thirty-six Sages and seventy-two Elites would scatter like the fires of stars across the heavens. The Academy would lie dormant, yet there, counselors would mass like clouds and fierce generals like rain, and this realm would truly undergo a great upheaval.

The Emperor bit down, blood seeping from his clenched jaw:

"Eight hundred years. The ancestor's era is already eight hundred years past. If we count twenty years per generation, that is forty generations. Even if the grace of noble men runs out in three generations, the vast majority are already commoners. Yet those who share even a thread of blood with the ancestor Scarlet Emperor—far too many."

"Chixiao, do you mean that as long as one carries this thread of blood, you will acknowledge them?"

"Or is it—"

"That a hero like the ancestor Scarlet Emperor has appeared in this world."

"And so you believe he has returned?"

"Why is that hero not me?"

"Why do you not aid me?"

The great Emperor, who now controlled only a single region of Central Province, staggered and sat down here. Before him, the Chixiao Sword, whose every unsheathing shook the realm, lay quietly in place.

And in the far-distant Jiangnan, in the Ducheng of the State of Chen, someone raised their head and saw the heroic wind in the sky.

"…The dharma-phase of the Blue Luan bird? Reflecting starlight."

"…That damned bastard!"

"The calamity star who would throw the realm into chaos, the mongrel cur who deserves to be cut into a thousand pieces!"

"Still alive?!"

……………………

Li Guanyi gathered his emotions, watching the water flow past outside, slowly calming down. He then crouched by the water and washed his face, looked at his own reflection on the surface, reached out and patted his cheeks, and only then went back to find his aunt.

He had already acquired the mutated Blue Luan bird dharma-phase.

Although neither the Blue Luan bird nor the Dark Tortoise had a corresponding Wu Gong and divine art, the dharma-phases themselves possessed innate traits—for instance, the Dark Tortoise could seek out opportunities, and the Blue Luan bird's inexhaustible vitality. Murong Qiushui paid it no mind, only hearing the youth say he wanted to heal her injuries. She teased him a couple of lines and stretched out her hand to him.

Murong Qiushui teased with a smile:

"Little cat, every day you come to heal your aunt's injuries—do you care for me this much?"

Li Guanyi's palm rested upon Murong Qiushui's wrist.

His eyes lowered slightly. The 【Four Symbols Wu Gong】 circulated. Following the guidance of the Ancestral Elder through the "Huangji Jingshi Shu," the Bai Hu and Scarlet Dragon dharma-phases flowed and transformed; the crimson firelight became a long azure wind. Li Guanyi's black hair at his temples lifted slightly, and behind him, far more resplendent than the other dharma-phases, the Blue Luan bird appeared.

The inner Qi tempered by the method of Tai Ping Gong could accommodate all manner of different powers.

Thus, the inner Qi that had originally been all-embracing, balanced and gentle, now gained thread upon thread of vitality. Murong Qiushui felt a familiar sensation flowing into her meridians. She gave a slight start; that feeling of vitality spreading through her meridians was both familiar and strange.

This is…

She looked at Li Guanyi. The Jiangnan wind brushed past the youth's temples; at the corner of his eye was a beauty mark, which scattered his fierce aura. Murong Qiushui was dazed, as if she saw a gentle, beautiful woman, a beauty mark at the corner of her eye, sitting there reading a book, holding her own wrist, healing the abrasions caused by mischief.

In a daze, that scene vanished.

She herself had already reached the age that she had been back then, and her son was just as she had been back then.

Murong Qiushui stared blankly, lost in thought, and said softly: "Blue Luan bird…"

"You…"

Li Guanyi looked at her and replied: "I remembered."

"About my mother."

Murong Qiushui pressed her lips together. Li Guanyi said nothing more, merely smiling, and spoke softly without mentioning hatred or anger:

"Just as you said, Auntie, my mother really was beautiful."

Murong Qiushui's eyes lowered slightly. She said nothing.

Under the circulation of qi, one could faintly see the azure phoenix bird spreading its wings and circling about. Li Guanyi's internal qi did not dissipate as it had last time; he could sense that although his aunt's body was frail, it was reasonably healthy, with no chronic illness.

Her breathing was long and steady.

If there was no problem with her essence and qi,

then the affliction could only lie in one place.

The azure phoenix dharma-image circulated; the bronze cauldron suddenly hummed. The dharma-image settled onto Li Guanyi, and the powers of the Crimson Dragon and Bai Hu were layered atop the azure phoenix through the method of the 【Augury of the Imperial Apex】, after which the dharma-image sensed Murong Qiushui's primordial spirit.

Misty qi swirled in Li Guanyi's eyes.

It was a pupil technique inherent to the bronze cauldron.

He glimpsed Murong Qiushui's primordial spirit, glimpsed a bird of matchless beauty, its plumage a radiant red-gold, similar to the azure phoenix upon himself yet different—more resplendent. It was a dharma-image possessed only by one who understood music to its depths, one who could rank among the foremost scholars under heaven.

It was a phoenix.

That represented Murong Qiushui's primordial spirit.

And now, Murong Qiushui's primordial-spirit dharma-image was bound by chain upon chain; the divine bird could not manifest itself outwardly, and even maintaining its own existence had become a struggle.

Murong Qiushui's dharma-image had been sealed away.

This was the true hidden wound. Under such circumstances, employing the dharma-image and the arts of qin-music would damage her very foundation. That was why, when she had earlier taught Li Guanyi the qin-music, she had suddenly broken into a violent coughing fit—it must have been the primordial spirit stirring and triggering a backlash from the seal.

Li Guanyi looked at his aunt; he wanted to ask how this injury had come about.

But the youth opened his mouth, and did not ask.

If his aunt could have resolved this wound to her primordial spirit on her own, she would have long since done so.

What good would it do to ask now, beyond making his aunt worry all the more that he would do something reckless?

Li Guanyi swallowed the question back, and spoke as usual:

"Auntie, there's nothing wrong with your body."

"You're perfectly healthy—you were just teasing me, weren't you?"

Murong Qiushui laughed on purpose: "Aiya, the little raccoon-cat has caught me out."

Li Guanyi half-knelt beside Murong Qiushui, laid her hand back down, lowered his eyes with a warm smile, and said softly: "Auntie's body is doing just fine. You'll surely live a hundred years, in lasting joy and free of care."

Murong Qiushui reached out and ruffled Li Guanyi's hair, saying softly: "I don't know much about the final fate of your parents, or what truly happened. That night was too chaotic. I don't know why a mere banquet ended the way it did."

"Why your father, invincible on the battlefield, fell in a palace of songs and dances and peace."

A killing intent coiled in Li Guanyi's heart as he said calmly: "Was it the Emperor?"

Murong Qiushui shook her head: "I don't know."

"I can only guess it was someone of the imperial clan. That night I was only seventeen. Before that night, I was proud and arrogant, thinking every famous scholar under heaven was nothing but a dog or a chicken. But in the end, I could only flee the imperial city with you in your arms, with someone else's help. Too much happened in Jingcheng that night."

"I don't even know whether the one who should have died that day was the Emperor himself; your parents simply happened to be there."

"I don't know whether the main force behind it was the noble houses, the great clans, the imperial family, the consort-kin, or whether even the power of another nation had a hand in it."

Murong Qiushui pressed her palm gently against Li Guanyi's, and said: "Guanyi is going to Jingcheng."

Li Guanyi nodded.

"The Emperor has issued an order. Leaving now would only draw more attention."

"Chen State's Riding Officers will investigate ruthlessly."

On this point, Li Guanyi had no choice.

Murong Qiushui's fingers gently rubbed the beauty mark by the youth's eye that resembled the one the woman of those years had borne, and she said softly: "Even so, you must promise your aunt one thing, little raccoon-cat."

"Don't act rashly, don't go rushing into things on your own, alright?"

Li Guanyi looked at her, let out a slow breath, and said: "Mm."

"Of course I won't take risks."

Murong Qiushui thought for a moment, then said: "If you truly run into danger, you must go to the imperial palace and find someone. Even if your identity is completely exposed, that person can get you out of the palace and keep you alive."

"Who?"

Murong Qiushui half-closed her eyes, as if recalling once more that bold and domineering woman in red, and said softly:

"Chen Qingyan."

"The Eldest Princess of Chen State."

……………………

Li Guanyi walked through the martial-training ground with his battle-halberd in hand. The halberd, usually so heavy, now felt almost light in his grip; as he executed its techniques, it seemed he was pouring out all the pent-up frustration in his heart. The halberd's edge grew fiercer and fiercer, the sound of it cutting the air whistling like a spiraling gale.

He was going to Jiangzhou City, to seek out Elder Zu Wenyuan and learn the 【Augury of the Imperial Apex】 in full.

Even just a portion of it had let Li Guanyi's Four Symbols cultivation-body maintain its balance.

If he truly mastered it,

could he circulate Bai Hu in his left hand and the Crimson Dragon in his right, or gather the power of the Four Symbols into a single strike? When the time came, Bai Hu to break armor, the Crimson Dragon to strike the foe, the azure phoenix to still vitality, the Black Tortoise to reverse bloodlines—fourfold heavens erupting in a single blow, a state stronger even than the internal force of 【Rolling Waves】 and 【Mountain Crusher】!

Then he'd go beat up Xue Shen again.

This time he was going to write a proper tally-mark on the man's head!

He also had to find 【Master Siming】.

Of all those Li Guanyi had met, the old man understood dharma-images the best.

He could see dharma-images with his own eyes; regarding his aunt's affliction, he should know how to resolve it.

Li Guanyi's mood was now somewhat lighter, because he had never known the cause of his aunt's illness, and had always been on tenterhooks. Now that he knew the root of the disease, and with Master Siming the old gentleman around, there was real hope of solving it, and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But unfortunately, Master Siming had sent Elder Zu back to Chen State for the great sacrifice.

Otherwise, Li Guanyi would have wanted to drag the old man over right now.

Good wine and good meat were served to him so he could treat Aunt's injuries.

The origins of the deadly poison, his parents' past, and the events of ten years ago—Li Guanyi felt the past was a fog; the closer he got, the more he understood, and the more problems appeared, obscuring the truth and making it hard to see clearly.

But only this way was he truly approaching the truth of the matter.

He did not plan to act rashly, but since Jiangzhou was unavoidable, it was reasonable to gather some intelligence at the place where the incident occurred while ensuring safety. Jiangzhou City had a place for Juan Sect records, which for officials was a place to sit on a cold bench. Li Guanyi planned to go to Jiangzhou and read through the public records.

In histories and records, there is the Spring and Autumn brush method.

Regarding the same matter, different books often have different explanations. This is what was obscured. Relying on different records, one could likely piece together some useful things. And that Princess…

Why was Aunt certain she was reliable?

Li Guanyi did not understand. With a movement of his palm, moves he could not perform before were now forcibly completed in his Golden Muscle and Jade Bone state. The shaft of the battle halberd could not withstand this force and snapped with a crack in the middle. The battle halberd fell to the ground, and Li Guanyi bent down to pick up the wooden shaft.

His body relaxed, feeling his sinews and bones strong, his qi and blood surging, rushing like a dragon.

Under the Golden Muscle and Jade Bone, a martial artist below the Entry realm wielding a hundred-times-refined weapon could not break his defense.

And martial artists of the same realm, whether in strength or defense, were far from being his opponents. He could rampage through his peers with raw power and remain invincible. The power of the Qingluan Bird Dharma Image compensated for the weakness of the Golden Muscle and Jade Bone's recovery, making his physical body already extremely powerful.

Even the battle halberd had been broken by his swings.

"For something like this, the old man should reimburse me, right…"

Li Guanyi set the battle halberd down. His longing for power grew stronger in his heart. Even if he knew the truth, without power, it would be meaningless. The anger from back then would just be a joke. Li Guanyi had originally intended to conceal his cultivation for a while before asking for further techniques.

After all, going straight to Meridian Opening just a few days after Body Forging would likely scare the old man.

He had to hide his abilities.

But at this moment, Li Guanyi suddenly recalled the words the old man had once said.

Hide his abilities?

"Hide my ass!"

An extraordinary person does extraordinary things!

Li Guanyi went to the Listening Wind Pavilion. The old man was drinking tea and reading a scroll. Seeing Li Guanyi arrive, he beckoned him to come eat. Li Guanyi did not move, only saying: "Xue Lao."

Xue Daoyong raised his head: "Hmm?"

Li Guanyi said: "I've broken through."

The old man's body paused, and the next moment he was beside Li Guanyi, saying: "You, you've reached Qi Condensation?!"

The old man's tone had even changed, as if he had seen a ghost.

He then comforted himself, forcing a smile: "L-look, it seems your internal qi was already very condensed before, so this step came relatively quickly."

Li Guanyi shook his head: "No."

Xue Daoyong breathed a sigh of relief, saying: "Did the Shattered Jade Fist break through?"

Qi erupted from the youth's body, appearing simultaneously from his shoulders, lower back, and wrists. His internal qi condensed and flowed, as if transforming into a fierce tiger crouching behind him. Li Guanyi raised his hand, his internal qi swirling. The previous suppression, pressure, anger, and longing for the truth condensed into four simple words.

"I've opened my meridians."

So the Bai Hu beside him pressed down its claws.

So the old man's expression froze little by little.

"Huh???"