Chapter 527: Riding the Sword to the Divine Capital (Make-up Update 7)

Hum—

Light and shadow intertwined, flowing like water.

In the blink of an eye, Li Yuan felt his body grow light, his spirit leaving his flesh, and in a manner he still could not comprehend, he shot upward at extreme speed; in a flash, he felt only light and dark alternate.

It seemed with but a single daze he had already broken free from Zi You Jing.

Whoo—

Returning to himself from his trance, Li Yuan opened his eyes and immediately saw fluttering banners, and the great sun Jin Lin Bell hanging high above.

"This place again?"

Li Yuan looked around. The sky was just about to brighten, the mist hazy.

He was no stranger to this place. He had come here before when listening to the heavenly sound — it was the tallest structure in the Dayun imperial city, the Star Observation Platform.

"The great sun Jin Lin Bell."

Li Yuan looked up. The bronze bell was already very close to him, but in his current state — neither solid nor phantom — he could not approach it, let alone seize it by force.

The Star Observation Platform was utterly silent. Li Yuan drifted like mist to its edge, looking down upon the entire imperial city. His present state was very strange — formless and unsupported — yet his vision was astonishingly keen.

Even from three thousand meters above, he could see the various buildings of the imperial city clearly. Focusing slightly, he already spotted the great black umbrella below the Star Observation Platform, and the Dayun imperial guards arrayed in strict formation all around.

"A sacrificial rite?"

Li Yuan's gaze sharpened; he instantly recalled the bell-sound from before: "A sacrificial rite from the Sky Cloud Demon race beyond the heavens?"

Whoo—

The moment Li Yuan's mind stirred, he felt an invisible force arise; with a single tug, it dragged him bodily down from beneath the Star Observation Platform.

Three thousand meters of altitude vanished in a blink, and he clearly saw Huang Huang Longzi beneath the great umbrella.

"A guest from beyond the heavens."

Looking at the middle-aged man — full-bearded, dark-faced, with emerald eyes — Li Yuan's heart stirred, and he drifted down onto the high platform that seemed to have been erected not long ago.

Up close, this guest from beyond the heavens had the air of a marketplace hero-knight about him, but what Li Yuan focused on more were those emerald pupils; faintly, he sensed the gleam of weapons within.

Yet it seemed blocked by something, and he could not see it clearly.

"The Cloud Demon race does have some foundation. This rite is rather interesting... piercing past and present, seeing the future, peering upon the gods? Quite the bold claim..."

Li Yuan heard Huang Huang Longzi muttering to himself.

This guest from beyond the heavens sat cross-legged, holding the umbrella in one hand and flipping through a silk book with the other.

Li Yuan focused his gaze and saw listed upon it many names of spirit-beasts and rare treasures — presumably required for the rite.

"The God-Peering Sacrifice?"

Li Yuan's heart grew wary. He suddenly saw Huang Huang Longzi put away the silk book and press the horsetail whisk at his waist; he turned and looked, and at once spotted Wan Wan Zhuliu in armor and gripping a blade.

After him came Emperor Qian and Wu Wu Yingxing.

And last of all, the ten Yun Xiang Ding brought by the imperial guards.

"... Such a grand display?!"

Li Yuan's heart gave a jolt.

The light of incense and offerings met no obstruction; at a glance he saw the radiance surging like tidewater. Each of these ten Yun Xiang Ding was far larger than any he had obtained before, and the incense-power within far greater!

Clearly, they had been prepared for the sacrifice.

"Your Majesty!"

The imperial guards near the high platform bowed in unison, but Emperor Qian said nothing, merely standing with hands at his sides, waiting.

"The God-Peering Sacrifice... it can't be meant to find me, can it?"

Daoist Li felt a premonition of alarm. From the moment he had entered the Eight Directions Temple, he had felt uneasy in his heart; the very existence of the imperial court was a bone in his throat.

Whoo—

Emperor Qian did not speak, and all around it was so quiet one could hear a pin drop — terrifyingly still.

Li Yuan drifted with the wind, circling the crowd, observing Wan Wan Zhuliu, Emperor Qian, and the others up close; the radiance of the various divine weapons was dazzling.

"Subduing-Demon Dragon-God Blade, Sea-Calming Shan Xuan-Gui Armor..."

Li Yuan was both wary and covetous. Counting the great sun Jin Lin Bell atop the Star Observation Platform, a full three Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing were laid out before him.

But alas...

"Begin the sacrifice!"

At a certain instant, Li Yuan heard Huang Huang Longzi's voice, long and drawn-out like a chant of proclamation.

The next moment, there came a 'clatter-clatter' of armor grinding, and the imperial guards outside the altar stepped back in unison, leaving an open space a hundred zhang across.

Emperor Qian did not retreat, but Wan Wan Zhuliu and Wu Wu Yingxing moved closer to him.

Li Yuan drifted behind Emperor Qian. Though he did not believe this rite could harm him in his present state, it was still no harm to be cautious.

Boom!

Upon the high platform, Huang Huang Longzi lightly flicked his horsetail whisk, and the ten great cauldrons shattered at once; dense incense-power surged skyward, yet did not scatter, instead coiling above the altar.

"What extravagance!"

It was the first time Li Yuan had ever seen so much incense-power burning at once; he could not help clicking his tongue. The foundation of the Dayun imperial court was truly terrifyingly deep.

Whoo-whoo—

Upon the altar, Huang Huang Longzi kept flicking his horsetail whisk, muttering incantations. A moment later, he suddenly looked up, and everyone present — Li Yuan included — followed his gaze.

The churning sea of clouds was dyed red by the dawn light, and then four great suns leapt forth from the sea of clouds.

Whoo—

The instant the great suns rose in the east, Li Yuan felt the altar trembling, the incense-power burning fiercely, and then he beheld an impossible sight.

Sunlight, swift beyond compare, streamed in from the edge of the sky, and with it came purple qi rolling like a flood!

"Purple qi from the east!"

In an instant, in Li Yuan's vision, only purple remained.

The purple qi drawn forth by the incense offerings covered the altar, shrouded the imperial city, and seemed in a breath to fill the entire Divine Capital!

"Hm?!"

In a certain guildhall in the Divine Capital, Long Long Yingchan, who had not slept all night, seemed to sense something. He raised his hand and pushed open the window, only to see purple qi surging like a sea of clouds filling the city.

From the streets and alleys immediately rose a chorus of exclamations.

"Where did this purple qi come from?"

From next door came Nie Xianshan's startled voice. He smashed through the window and leaped onto the eaves of the tallest nearby tavern, while several figures flashed past around him at the same time.

Fang Fang Sanyun, Grand Ding Chan Master, Tian Tian Shezi, and others had also keenly detected the anomaly.

"The ley lines are trembling!"

Daoist Feng Yuanqing suddenly appeared before the crowd, his gaze piercing through the purple qi toward the imperial city: "This looks like some kind of ritual....."

"Another ritual?"

"What does the imperial court intend? Didn't they invite us to observe the Grand Ritual in fifteen days?"

"Moved up? No, this isn't a ritual!"

The masters of several great Daoist sects exchanged glances, transmitting their discussion by voice. Suddenly, Long Xi Xiang's voice came through:

"Look east!"

East?

The few men started, looked up, and their expressions all changed.

At the horizon, the sea of clouds churned as four newly risen great suns projected four beams of purple qi as solid as substance, impossibly thick.

Purple light rolled and converged above the Divine Capital.

Within, light and shadow intertwined, flowing and shifting at great speed........

"Th-this huge a commotion?!"

Beneath the Star Gazing Platform, Li Yuan was somewhat wide-eyed and baffled: "Wh-what principle is this?"

There were no shortage of Wu Gong in the jianghu that inhaled the purple qi from the east; he had learned some himself. But a scene of four great suns seemingly opening floodgates and spewing four pillar-like beams of purple qi was still rather too shocking.

"The God-Peering Ritual!"

On the altar, Huang Huang Longzi swept his horsetail whisk once, and his voice was finally intelligible human speech:

"With man observing heaven, one sees only heaven; with sun, moon, and stars observing heaven, one may glimpse the ancient and the present, the ages…"

Yu

With his final sweep of the whisk, the incense offerings gathered on the altar rose into the air like an upriver waterfall, pouring straight into the place where the four beams of purple light converged.

Boom~

As the incense offerings poured backward, the surrounding purple qi, as if summoned, also shot skyward, gathering into a mass. Accompanied by a tremendous roar, the illusory purple light became like a tangible scroll, suspended in the air.

"Gods!"

The spectacle was too magnificent and shocking. Even Li Yuan was wide-eyed; in the Divine Capital, countless commoners fell to their knees in terror, kowtowing without cease.

"What is this thing?"

Seeing people kneeling all over the ground, Nie Xianshan could not help frowning. The worship of gods ran too deep among the Heng Long and Wan Long Dao; listening to the various cries to the gods, he felt quite irritated.

"Like a painting?"

"Nonsense!"

The masters of several great Daoist sects were also greatly shaken within.

Yu!

At this moment, not only the imperial city and the Divine Capital, but even beyond the Divine Capital, and in far more distant places, people saw that scroll of purple qi.

Then, under the gaze of countless people, the scroll slowly unfolded, and the ever-shifting light and shadow within had long since calmed.

"The God-Peering Ritual has succeeded!"

Only then did Huang Huang Longzi on the altar let out a long breath. He too was watching the scroll above, but at one glance his heart gave a sudden lurch.

A sidelong glance swept past; the Qian Emperor, Wan Wan Zhuliu, and others all furrowed their brows.

"The Divine Capital?!"

A guard could not help crying out.

The great city that appeared within the slowly unfolding scroll was unmistakably the Divine Capital; at a glance one could spot familiar buildings such as the Star Gazing Platform.

"This thing.... …"

Seeing the great city in the scroll, Li Yuan's heart also gave a sudden lurch; he almost thought he had been exposed.

And just as he drifted away from the Qian Emperor, he actually heard a sound, coming from the scroll suspended in the air.

Boom!

A majestic bell toll echoed across the vast sky.

"The Great Sun Jin Lin Bell!"

The familiar toll came, and the faces of the Dayun court officials all changed. After that one toll came another, and quickly forty-six tolls had sounded!

By now, the scene within the scroll had grown ever clearer.

Under the gaze of countless people, the sky seemed to become a great mirror, reflecting the entire Divine Capital!

The difference was that the Divine Capital in the scroll was now drifting with goose-feather snow; the streets and alleys held few pedestrians, only an extremely large number of armored soldiers and guards darting through the city.

"Boom!"

The bell tolls went on echoing.

Glancing at the Dayun court officials whose faces were dark as water, and the guards kneeling all around, Li Yuan finally sensed something was wrong.

The Great Sun Jin Lin Bell tolling in succession meant something had changed in the imperial city, and the armored soldiers darting through the city in the scroll, as if facing a great enemy, each wore a white cloth on their heads....

"The Emperor has passed away?"

As Li Yuan's mind raced, a 'Crack!' sounded; the stone slabs beneath the Qian Emperor had turned to dust, and the expressions of Wan Wan Zhuliu and Wu Wu Yingxing beside him had also changed!

In the scroll, Wu Wu Yingxing had even appeared, wearing a white headband just like the others!

"This......"

Li Yuan's gaze sharpened as he watched the Great Yun attendants and Imperial Guards surging toward the city gates like a tide in the scroll, and a thought inevitably sprang to mind.

Do the scenes in this scroll come from the future, after the Qian Emperor's passing?

"Your Majesty, this......"

Wu Wu Yingxing was terrified, his face draining of color.

"Just watch!"

The Qian Emperor's face was as calm as water; his gaze swept coldly over Huang Huang Longzi before he raised his head to look at the sky again.

In the scroll, the Divine Capital was desolate: north wind, heavy snow, bell tolls, Great Yun armored soldiers draped in white, guest scholars......

The moment this scene appeared, chaos instantly erupted within the Divine Capital.

Most people in the city did not see anyone they knew in the scroll, but everyone in the Divine Capital knew full well what it meant for the Imperial Guards to wear mourning.

For a moment, the Divine Capital fell into dead silence, then Yu Yu Xuanji, it boiled over with uproar.

"What does the imperial court intend?"

On the eaves of a wine house, Long Yanchan, having witnessed this scene, fell into deep thought, wondering why the imperial court would release such a vision.

"This seems to be from many years in the future......"

Daoist Yuan Qing squinted slightly; he saw many acquaintances in the scroll, though they all appeared far older than they were now.

"The little Emperor is dead?"

In a wine shop somewhere in the city, Qin Li Shixian squinted slightly but was not surprised; as long as she lived, that little Emperor would inevitably die by her hand.

It was only that what displeased her somewhat was that the scene reflected in the scroll seemed to be from many years in the future?

"Did the Star-Picking Tower assassinate the Emperor again?"

Li Yuan ascended the Star-Gazing Platform with the Qian Emperor and others; from this spot, he could even see the grief and terror on the faces of those Imperial Guards and attendants.

Wuu~

The Imperial Guards in the scroll followed behind Wu Wu Yingxing, arriving outside the city gates. Outside the Divine Capital, the north wind howled and heavy snow fell.

Under the gaze of countless people inside and outside the scroll, an extremely dazzling sword light came from the horizon at immense speed; amidst the interweaving sword lights, it seemed a Daoist stood upon it!

The author says

Goodnight everyone...