Chapter 101

On the eve of the beginning of summer, the green shade spreads over the fields, changing into a new light, and the warm breeze lengthens the first day.

Students of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan set off from Shengjing, a group of twenty heading to Jingzhou Ferry to take an immortal ship toward the southwest.

At this time of the season, the matter of the demon race entering the borders had already spread along with the exotic beasts soaring and landing on Longevity Avenue.

Along with them came many spiritual herbs unique to the Snow Region, spirit stones of extremely high quality, and even some rare metals for making weapons, which were successively transported into the Nine Provinces.

But there was endless debate over whether to allow the demon race to enter the borders.

Because even though the two races had once fought side-by-side in blood against the Primordial Remnant Races, the Seven Great Immortal Sects still held a high level of vigilance toward the demon race.

This seemed to confirm the Demon Emperor's maxim: "Those not of my race must have different hearts."

However, what happened subsequently led the scholar-emperor, who lived deep in the imperial palace, to personally sign the document allowing the demon race to enter the Nine Provinces, and the Seven Great Immortal Sects also tacitly consented to this matter without obstruction.

The reason was none other than that the barbarian race in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains had surged out, attacking the Northern Plains again, pointing their swords at the Cold Iron Pass.

Since the founding of the Great Xia, the human race and the barbarian race had been constantly clashing, back and forth, and the Cold Iron Pass was that dividing line.

In the thousand-year history of the human race, the barbarian race had approached the Cold Iron Pass several times, but had never broken through.

But this time, it was clearly different.

After the temperature in the Northern Plains rose with the approach of summer, the barbarian race had poured out almost all their strength, coming with fierce momentum.

Even the barbarian powerhouses had participated in this campaign, plunging the Northern Suppressing Army into a bitter struggle.

"The demon race's territory is in the Snow Region on the west side of the Northern Plains; they are actually neighbors with the barbarian race. If it weren't for the Kunling Mountains separating them, they would likely have been on good terms long ago."

"The human race cannot lose the Nine Provinces, and the Seven Great Immortal Sects are unwilling to lose the Northern Plains, this land that breeds innate spiritual herbs. Regardless of the purpose, the human race cannot have a conflict with the demon race at this moment."

"Even if... both of these races have the same wolfish ambitions."

"The first battle of the summer was fought with extreme difficulty by our army; if the demon race were to invade as well, the Cold Iron Pass would surely fall."

"There will be no more enemy forces approaching the Cold Iron Pass, while the Northern Plains suddenly experience a heavy snowstorm, burying the barbarian army and declaring that the human race is the master of the Nine Provinces."

"I do not know why this world has become what it is today..."

In the towering palace, the emperor in his imperial robes stood with his hands behind his back in front of the imperial hall, gazing at the distant sky that was gradually darkening.

He was only thirty, in the prime of his life, with a dignified appearance.

The only thing not aesthetically pleasing was that his brow had deep 'chuan' (river) shaped wrinkles even when he wasn't frowning, as if carved by a sharp blade.

The Inspector of the Inspectorate of Immortals was named He He Jingyuan; he was standing behind him at this moment, not speaking upon hearing the emperor's sigh.

Because he knew that His Majesty was speaking to himself.

Subsequently, the emperor sighed lightly and withdrew his gaze from the dim evening sky; where he looked, songstresses were dancing, and the sound of strings and bamboo lingered, sounding joyful and festive.

And that young noble of the demon race was sitting at the banquet, his demonic blue pupils incomparably deep, showing no emotion.

"Why is the Imperial Brother here?"

Just at this moment, a woman in magnificent robes came over gracefully, speaking in a soft, warbling voice; her face was somewhat similar to the emperor's, looking gentle and virtuous.

He He Jingyuan bowed upon hearing this: "Greetings, Princess."

The Princess nodded lightly and turned to look at the emperor: "The wind has picked up. The Imperial Brother has drunk quite a bit of wine; it would be better to go back."

The emperor shook his head, resting his hand on the stone pillar in front of the hall: "Let me watch a while longer; perhaps one day, I will become a monarch of a fallen nation."

He He Jingyuan furrowed his brows: "Your Majesty jokes; my Great Xia's mountains and rivers will surely last for ten thousand years."

The emperor laughed lightly and turned to look at the two: "It is strange to say; I originally thought the demon race would be arrogant upon returning to the Nine Provinces—at least they should be toward me, after all, everyone knows the Great Xia Dynasty is just a tool for the Seven Great Immortal Sects to rule the people—yet I didn't expect them to be so polite?"

"Before entering the palace, the demon race took a sword strike on Longevity Avenue; I'm afraid their arrogance was cut down by a few points, so they couldn't be arrogant anymore."

The emperor was also somewhat surprised: "Who struck the sword?"

He He Jingyuan looked toward the nearby Nishan: "A student from the outer court of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan named Seeing Ji You."

The emperor was slightly startled upon hearing this, then nodded: "The fellow who sensed the Little Little Tian Shu upon entering the academy..."

"Exactly."

"I heard he is a fellow townsman and good friend of the Top Graduate I personally appointed, but I don't know why he and the demon race had a conflict?"

"It is said that when the demon race landed on the exotic beast, they almost stepped on a young child. Seeing Ji You happened to be on the street and acted to save him, but he couldn't dodge in time, so he punched the exotic beast."

Upon hearing this, the Princess's eyes trembled, her mouth opening slightly in surprise.

The emperor raised his eyes and remained silent for a long time before saying: "Bring my Top Graduate up; let him manage the demon race's entry into the Nine Provinces in the Ministry of Revenue, and concurrently serve as the Mu Tisi of the Reception Office of the Inspectorate of Immortals."

He He Jingyuan thought carefully upon hearing this, and after a long time, he spoke: "This... is perhaps too fast, and the Supervision Office has reported that he was once very close to Wei Li's granddaughter."

"No matter; he was originally one of the few fellow travelers I have..."

After this imperial night banquet, the demon race began to appear in the Nine Provinces one after another.

It was just that when the demon race, especially those with obvious physical features, appeared on the streets, it inevitably caused some discussion and suspicion.

However, no chaos occurred during this time; although rumors of the demon race eating people constantly arose, they turned a deaf ear to them.

The Seven Great Immortal Sects currently had no mind to care about the demon race, because there were contradictions within them as well.

The Mountain and Sea Pavilion and the Heavenly Sword Peak lineage of Spirit Sword Mountain came to Huangyun Mountain at the same time, confronting each other outside the protective formation of the Chen clan, the three immortal sects at daggers drawn.

It was precisely because of this situation that travelers outside the sects in the Nine Provinces were often drawing their swords against each other.

Thus, with Qingzhou as the boundary, undercurrents were surging on the western wilderness.

Besides this, the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan group traveling south along the Nujiang River by ship from Shengjing also received attention.

"Look, the only two direct disciples of the Hall Masters of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan; the one behind is Seeing Ji You, who has no family background."

"Going to Spirit Sword Mountain?"

"Correct, the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan is going to 'Ask the Dao' at Spirit Sword Mountain."

"If Seeing Ji You's sword is truly as rumored, he is actually more suited to be a disciple of Spirit Sword Mountain; it's a pity he was born in Fengzhou."

"I heard that a few days ago, he stabbed a sword at the demon race delegation when they were heading to Shengjing?"

The immortal ship flew at high speed; three days later, Xiyang County, Liangzhou.

The Heavenly Tian Shuyuan students disembarked at the ferry and stayed at the Zhaoyang Inn here; the reason they stopped here was because the Pill Sect was located on the southwest side of Liangzhou.

You You Buyu wanted to visit Danshan, and this place was where they were to reorganize before heading there.

However, because Xiyang County was the only way to Qingzhou, there were many cultivators coming and going, more than half of whom were heading toward the Chen clan of Wenshan.

Along the way, they had seen the demon race and seen cultivators fighting; the uneasy atmosphere began to grow increasingly heavy.

Seeing Ji You was currently in his room at the Zhaoyang Inn, all his body's energy apertures wide open, continuously drawing spiritual energy into his body and igniting spiritual fire.

The mystical pale blue firelight darted through his body, finally bursting out of his skin, continuously tempering every inch of his flesh.

And his forehead also broke out in dense beads of sweat as a result.

This was the basic method for refining spiritual essence, because Seeing Ji You's spiritual essence was shattered and his spiritual energy was scattered throughout his limbs and bones, so he used this method to refine his physical body.

After a long time, the whistling energy dissipated, and after the brilliance shone in all directions, it quickly retracted; Seeing Ji You slowly opened his eyes on the bed.

The eighth 'Dim Illumination' of spiritual light, completed.

This time, he felt his blood and energy were much more vigorous.

Besides this, he discovered that there was an extra burst of energy in his physique, which would continuously collide during the refining process and then sink back into his limbs and bones once finished.

On the day at the Ascending Immortal White Jade Terrace, that Sun Bin had taken an elixir, condensing a milky protective spiritual light to guard against his sword control.

And now, his physical strength should be about the same as the spiritual light Sun Bin had condensed.

Rock-hard, indeed; I wonder which family's young lady will be so lucky...

He swung his fist upward, and the 'Mountain-Shaking Fist' he had been practicing moved with the energy; the fist wind expanded in the room, and tiger roars erupted everywhere.

After his physique became strong, his strength also increased quite a bit; this was a mutually reinforcing matter.

Ji You clenched his fist, recalling the battle with the demon guard on Longevity Avenue, savoring the energy that had pierced through from the spear shaft, thinking to himself that among all the ten thousand races in the world, the human physique was indeed the weakest.

If he hadn't already 'Dimly Illuminated' three times before that day, he might have really had his hand bones broken in that street fight.

Just at this moment, the door was knocked; Wen Zhengxin came over in a cloud-brocade skirt, calling him down to eat.

"Does Senior Sister know why the demon race doesn't cultivate techniques?"

"The demon race also cultivates techniques, but it is said to be much more difficult than for the human race, and only those with exceptional talent can succeed. I heard from an inner court instructor that this is because they themselves are not in harmony with the Heavenly Dao."

Wen Zhengxin walked gracefully in front and added: "However, the demon race also has its own secret cultivation techniques; their combat power is not low, and like the barbarian race, they have some bloodline talents. Now that the Great Xia allows the demon race to enter the borders, if Junior Brother encounters them on the street, you must not take it lightly."

During their conversation, the two arrived on the first floor, where the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples were already gathered in the front hall.

You You Buyu, who had already taken his seat, glanced at Seeing Ji You, his expression gloomy.

The Heavenly Tian Shuyuan's 'Asking the Dao' at Spirit Sword Mountain, although not as grand as the confrontation between Shanhaige and Heavenly Jianfeng against the Chen clan, could still be considered a major event, and the journey here had drawn much discussion.

Especially since he, a direct disciple of a Hall Master, had come out of the mountain; being the center of attention should have been a matter of course.

But who knew that Seeing Ji You's popularity was also not low, and even when many people saw him, the attention originally on him would be shifted away.

In the final analysis, Ji You's one-man, three-sword strike against the demon guard on Longevity Avenue had been highlighted by the controversy caused by the demon race's entry, making it already of extraordinary significance.

He had told He He Lingxiu before coming that he would go to Danshan as a direct disciple of a Hall Master, to let Yuan Yuan Caiwei know his 'gold content', but what was being shouted by the outside world now was all Seeing Ji You's name.

He He Lingxiu was also looking at Seeing Ji You, who was coming down the stairs, thinking for a moment: "This Seeing Ji You's presence seems to be changing every day."

"Is it?"

"I didn't notice it while traveling the day before yesterday, but yesterday..."

He He Lingxiu had passed by Seeing Ji You's side yesterday, and a cultivator's keen senses allowed her to acutely perceive that Seeing Ji You's blood and energy were becoming more and more surging.

Especially his heartbeat—thump, thump—like a heavy hammer falling to the ground; recalling it felt like it was vibrating in her ears.

(End of chapter)