Chapter 422: The Qian Emperor's Sacred Edict

At the mountain gate, someone walked through the air, the sound like footsteps, like a heartbeat, like drumbeats rolling outward, and across the dozens of li, everyone on the Qi-Sensing Platform felt a pressure on their chests!

"The will of a Great Grandmaster."

Li Yuan felt his chest tighten too, as if pressed down by a great boulder!

A Grandmaster who has entered the Dao can have their true qi contend with Heaven and Earth, transforming qi into astral qi, condensed and undispersed, able to kill across several li, even dozens of li!

And a Great Grandmaster, with the three elements merged into one, uses their astral qi as a medium to project their own will and interfere with the mortal world!

Li Yuan switched his Wu Gong combination that bolstered the spirit, focused his gaze, and felt as if the mountains before him were shrouded in a layer of mist!

And all of this came from the one who came walking through the air!

Restrained and not yet unleashed, yet already bearing such force—if fully exerted, how terrifying would it be? "Such will... no wonder Long Dao-zhu and the others weren't surprised. So the man hasn't arrived, yet his spirit has already descended."

Suppressing the pounding in his heart, Li Yuan looked toward Long Long Yingchan!

Walking through the air above the mountain gate—this was naturally an extreme provocation to the Zhidao Sect, but let alone Long Long Yingchan, even Long Xi Xiang and Nie Xianshan did not show anger!

They merely watched the black-clothed man walking through the air with indifference!

Crack.

Thunder seemed to explode in the sky!

"Ink Dragon!"

Long Long Yingchan gazed calmly, and slowly rose!

Everyone on the high platform had also risen; at this moment, neither on nor off the platform was there a single person who could remain seated.

The will of a Great Grandmaster manifested itself in an overwhelmingly domineering manner.

The cold wind howled, snow swirled, winter thunder occasionally cracked—as if that man's will alone could influence the very phenomena of the heavens!

"Dragon God Form."

Watching the ripples spreading through the air, Li Yuan's expression was solemn; beneath the interwoven qi, one could faintly see within the wind and snow a vast black dragon's qi-rhyme!

Concealed within the clouds and mist, neither head nor tail visible, only occasionally could one catch a glimpse of those blood-red dragon eyes, and that will as solid as substance!

"When the Dragon King goes on patrol, wind and thunder attend him!"

Li Yuan heard someone muttering; a sidelong glance revealed the agitated Pei Jiu, whose long sword in his palm was emitting a ringing hum!

He had heard this saying before—it came from the "Yuan Qing Zhuan," describing how that True Person Yuan Qing broke through the celestial astral qi, descended with peerless bearing, and wiped out an enemy clan to the last!

Legend had it that when he descended, wind and thunder followed, a blazing sun instantly shrouded by dark clouds, and heavy rain fell for three days and three nights!

"And this is only a spirit form—if Wan Wan Zhuliu himself were here!"

Li Zhou felt a chill in his heart. After that rainy night, he had asked the old dragon head about the origins of this Ink Dragon!

The Dragon Shadow Guard was made up of Grandmaster-level experts who had died over the years under the Demon-Slaying Dragon God Blade, and this commander of the Shadow Dragon Guard was the spirit form severed by Wan Wan Zhuliu, transformed into being!

Feeling that will as solid as substance, and that qi-blood dazzling even across ten li, Li Yuan could not help but recall what he had seen when listening to the sound—the Dragon Demon Daoist dripping blood to create a man!

It was as if creating a person out of thin air.

"Wooo."

The little tiger cub on the cliff face crushed the rock, its pale golden eyes brimming with killing intent!

"In these past forty-some years, Wan Wan Zhuliu's Wu Gong hasn't improved much."

Qin Li Shixian restrained her thoughts and heard the old man's muttering!

"Over forty years ago, he could already sever out this spirit form."

Qin Li Shixian was slightly startled!

It seemed the surnamed Wan had already been building momentum!

"Divine Palace."

Qin Li Shixian inquired—in fact, she had guessed the same: in the present age, and even going back several hundred years, Wan Wan Zhuliu was the one most likely to step into the Divine Palace and become a supreme Great Grandmaster!

Even she had to admit it!

"A Divine Palace cannot be forged in a single day!"

The old man's reaction was very calm: "Watch the show!"

Whoooosh.

A great brush moved with the wind; the Ink Dragon strode forward, halted outside the coverage of the Dragon-Tiger Longevity Furnace, and across more than ten li, gazed toward the Qi-Sensing Platform: "The imperial edict has arrived."

"Long Long Yingchan, receive the edict."

The Qi-Sensing Platform was in an uproar, but the people on the high platform were not surprised—the Ink Dragon had come to Mount Hengshan this time precisely bearing an imperial edict!

An imperial edict!

Qin Li Shixian's head sank; feeling a chill, she could not help but be startled—a ripple of astral qi made even her heart and spirit uneasy!

But the old man's aura flared and was instantly withdrawn, not leaking in the slightest!

"Where is the edict?"

Long Long Yingchan was unhurried, and spoke to ask!

The Dayun imperial court was the overlord of all under heaven; the Wudadao Sect and the Qitazong Sect alike acknowledged it—the lands of the various sects came from Pang Pang Wenlong's enfeoffment!

In a certain sense, the Zhidao Sect of today was precisely the fallen king of the former dynasty!

"Whoosh."

The Ink Dragon produced a scroll of bright-yellow imperial edict; with a single shake, it was like a golden dragon tearing across more than ten li of long sky, landing on the Qi-Sensing Platform!

In an instant, the bright-yellow radiance blazed, and the sound of surging tides came from the air!

Li Yuan's heart leapt—he sensed a will utterly different from the Ink Dragon's, yet equally intense and vast, and moreover…

Written with the blood of the Azure Dragon as ink, upon the hide of the Azure Dragon, infused with the will of a Great Grandmaster!

【Wu Gong requirement: None】 "This edict... is actually a divine weapon."

Li Yuan's eyes went wide!

Even knowing the imperial court's foundations ran unfathomably deep, this was still far too extravagant—the imperial edict could serve as the base material for a divine-weapon-grade inner armor!

It would take a Grand Master Artisan to act; who knows, they might be able to craft a pair of boots at least sixth-tier or above, and…

"The Qian Emperor truly is a Grand Master…"

Li Yuan was not surprised; after all, when he had listened to the sound earlier, he had already made a guess. Now his thoughts drifted, and what he was thinking about instead was the matter of that person wanting to disperse his cultivation and re-cultivate!

What could make the lord of a nation, a Grand Master-level titan, willing to disperse his cultivation and re-cultivate just to pursue it?

"Is Sect Leader Long going to defy the imperial edict?"

Mo Long's face was expressionless!

"Longhu Temple, receive the edict!"

Glancing at the imperial edict that coiled through the air like a dragon, radiating golden light, Long Long Yingchan cupped his hands slightly, and Long Xi Xiang and Nie Xianshan also cupped their hands!

The three responded, and including Li Yuan and Long Long Xinglie, a group of Longhu Temple disciples all cupped their hands in unison!

It was rather the disciples from other sects watching around who seemed at a loss—some retreated far away, while others cupped their hands in imitation, such as Grand Master Master Dading, Xie Xie Tongzhi, Brother Zhongli Wang Luan, and others!

No one knew how many years it had been since the Hengshandao Sect last received an imperial edict; the crowd only found it somewhat rare, their curiosity outweighing their astonishment!

Mo Long raised his hand and grabbed; the imperial edict was already pinched in his palm. He paid no heed to whether the Longhu Temple crowd stood or knelt, and spoke indifferently in the Qian Emperor's tone: "The assassination of the sovereign at the Star-Plucking Tower, the intent to rebel—all sects under heaven shall jointly punish them…"

On the cliff face, the little tiger cub was perfectly calm, her cold eyes sweeping over that imperial edict. Had Wan Wan Zhuliu not suddenly appeared that day, she would have certainly pinned that Qian Emperor to the wall of the imperial city with a single spear!

The wording on the imperial edict was very concise. The opening sentence mentioned the Star-Plucking Tower; the second sentence mentioned Yan Yan Chunyang, the stripping of his title and other such punishments, as well as offsetting merits against demerits, and so on!

This was all nonsense!

Li Yuan grumbled to himself. That old dragon-head's Jiang Mo Chu, no matter how much it resembled a spear, was still a hammer-type weapon—one strike down, and the head would be gone!

The third sentence spoke of the theft of the incense offerings, questioning Longhu Temple, stating that suppressing the unorthodox paths of the jianghu was the Hengshandao Sect's responsibility!

Longhu Temple, the Hengshandao Sect personally enfeoffed by the Founding Emperor, bears the duty of guarding the land and protecting the people, and should also share the imperial court's burdens!

At this point in the words, Mo Long paused slightly, his voice taking on a few more degrees of coldness: "The Zhenwu Hall and Jingping Bureau pursued that traitor to Mount Hengshan city and then lost track of him. Someone memorialized, saying Longhu Temple colluded with the rebel—you must prove your own innocence."

The dagger was at last revealed.

Li Yuan's heart tightened slightly. He strongly suspected whether this clause was even on the imperial edict, but now that the black dragon had spoken it, it was the imperial edict!

"Prove our own innocence?"

Long Ying

chan frowned and said nothing. Nie Xianshan, however, gave a cold snort: "Others slander and frame you, yet you demand the victim prove their innocence—what kind of logic is that in this world? This poor Daoist suspects Zhenwu Hall colluded with the Star-Plucking Tower. Should your Zhenwu Hall also prove its own innocence?"

"Ridiculous."

Old Daoist Nie flared up at the slightest spark. With his true qi surging, every word was like thunder. Li Yuan even saw his chest heaving, the airflow from his mouth like a pillar!

How thunderous his voice was! Li Yuan, being a bit closer, felt his ears buzzing endlessly. Sensing Qi Platform, his voice carried for dozens of li!

"There is no such reasoning in this world."

"Indeed."

"Does the imperial court mean to make things difficult for our Longhu Temple?"

When the Sect Master spoke, naturally the responses came like clouds—at the Sensing Qi Platform, for a moment, the place was in an uproar!

"This matter is indeed too much."

A deep, resonant voice rang out at the right moment. Xie Xie Tongzhi turned around in astonishment, looking at Grand Master Master Dading with his palms pressed together. The Xinyi Sect and Longhu Temple had ties he did not know of. "If you say there is guilt, then there is guilt—then today you question Longhu Temple, tomorrow will you question my Xinyi Sect as well?"

Grand Master Master Dading spoke with lowered eyes!

"That traitor fled into Mount Hengshan. Longhu Temple—this was personally witnessed by Zhenwu Hall and Jingping Bureau. How could it be false?"

The black dragon spoke calmly, but his heart chilled slightly!

The Xinyi Sect and Longhu Temple had no ties; speaking up at this moment made it hard not to make him think of that scabby-headed old monk…

"This poor Daoist saw with his own eyes that the Star-Plucking Tower Master was hiding in Zhenwu Hall!"

Old Daoist Nie gave a cold shout: "There is not a single false word in what this poor Daoist has said."

"If you doubt it, feel free to memorialize. If His Majesty issues an imperial edict, then my entire Zhenwu Hall will certainly prove our innocence."

Mo Long cast a cold glance at him, his gaze falling on Long Long Yingchan: "Sect Leader Long, is your Longhu Temple going to defy the imperial edict?" Hmph!

The drifting wind and snow seemed to freeze solid…

On and below the high platform, and even the little tiger cub crouching on the distant cliff face, all looked toward Long Long Yingchan!

"Longhu Temple, receive the edict!"

Long Long Yingchan's sigh traveled far; everyone on the Sensing Qi Platform could hear it: "But I do not know how the imperial envoy thinks we should prove our innocence. Should we all be locked up in prison, or each have our shoulder blades pierced and be escorted to Ducheng?"

"Old fellow…"

Mo Long narrowed his eyes slightly: "Longhu Temple possesses the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, the Longhu Nurturing Furnace. It is said this furnace possesses unfathomable might!"

"Mm."

Long Long Yingchan pinched his two long eyebrows, seemingly a little astonished: "What, this furnace must also be handed over?"

"How could His Majesty seize another's treasure?"

Glancing at the Longhu Pagoda radiating a faint glow, Mo Long took out a bronze mirror: "This is a treasure of the imperial household."