Chapter Thirty Two: Changing Situation
writer:
无罪 update:2022-07-21 15:26
The body of the Donghu monk, which looked like it would split into pieces at any moment, and seemed to contain endless energy. He carried the three people and moved at terrifying speed on the Chu-Qin border. He walked an unknown distance until the sky was dark before he stopped for a moment.
This should be an end of the Yin Mountain range on the Chu-side. Flowing among the mountains were streams of melting glaciers. The cold was bone-chilling. On the battlefield, the wilderness was summer, but here, in the dark of the mountain, it was still winter.
Ding Ning used his hand to scoop up water. The water from melted glaciers had an unique light blue color, coming from some ore in the mountain rock. The cool water flowed into his burning body, cooling it down slightly.
His body had an unusual heat. First, it was caused by his weakness due to his injuries, and the second was due to the energy in Yuanwu’s last attack.
The energies that did not belong to this world radiated in his body, constantly burning, and stopping his wounds from healing. Even more importantly, the invisible energies that did not belong to this world could not be consumed by even the Nine Death Silkworm.
The Donghu monk was starting to weaken. He started to breath, quickly entering meditation to replenish his energy.
Ding Ning glanced at Fu Su on the side, calmed his breathing and said softly, “Since you can move now, you can drink some water and take care of your wounds. This place cannot compare to Changling. If your wounds worsen, even if you do not die, you will likely get many hidden wounds that will hamper your cultivation in the future. But, you do not need to think about attacking any person here, this is something you cannot accomplish.”
Fu Su’s injuries were mostly from the extreme cold energy in Zhangsun Qianxue’s attack, and not the momentum. His organs had moved slightly in the shock previously. This was not a serious wound for a cultivator, but Zhangsun Qianxue’s lifebond energy contained great coldness. They seemed to form many ice needles that did not melt in his body, and stopped his energies from calming down.
Unable to calm down meant chaos, and if a person could not calm their energies, the cultivator’s body could completely collapse.
The ice shell that had restrained him came from Zhangsun Qianxue’s power. At this time, Zhangsun Qianxue had sunk into a healing state like a deep sleep, and the ice shell restraining him had slowly disappeared. Fu Su could move now, and just like Ding Ning had said, he was pretending to still be frozen, waiting for a chance to attack.
Fu Su was not very scared after Ding Ning exposed him. He was silent for a moment and asked, “Why do you not run in the direction of the Chu Dynasty army, but this path?”
Ding Ning explained calmly, “You should listen to your father. The final goal of this war is not to conquer the Chu, not in weakening the Chu Dynasty in order to destroy it, but to confirm my existence, force me to come out, and kill me.”
“Killing me will completely destroy the Ba Mountain Sword Field, and the hopes of many who oppose the Qin. So starting from when he appeared, this became the only goal of this great war. He and Zheng Xiu set up such a situation, so this means that while the Qin army may be defeated, at least they will have a chance of retreating. But all of the powerful cultivators of the army will likely leave the army to come chase after me. When these powerful cultivators leave the army, they will become trackers and assassins in the wilderness. Some are even elite cavalry. So running towards the Chu-Qin battlefield is going to death.”
Ding Ning paused and had a chance to breathe. He drank some more water and then looked into Fu Su’s eyes. He said seriously, “You saw your father’s choice. You should understand that he does not care how many cultivators and military die, as long as I will be killed.”
Thinking of the words Yuanwu had said, Fu Su suddenly became silent. After a while, he raised his head and looked firmly at Ding Ning, saying, “If it is me, I will not have accepted such a concession. If you did not control me, I would have killed myself.”
“I know,” Ding Ning said.
Fu Su grew furious and said, “So you purposefully forced my father to say such things.”
Ding Ning looked calmly at him and said, “But that is his choice. At least, you heard his choice. You can imagine, if the roles were switched, and you were facing this choice, should you choose to sacrifice your son?”
Fu Su was very angry, his chest heaved up and down, but he instinctively felt that he could not argue back.
“Truthfully, you are not curious if you are his son or not?” Ding Ning looked at him and said, “He made the choice to sacrifice you, maybe it is because his confidence has been shaken, and he is not certain you are his son or not.”
Fu Su’s body froze for a moment, and then he turned his head, saying coldly, “You will not be able to escape.”
“We still have a chance.”
Ding Ning started to regulate his breathing. Feeling the imperceptible energy burning in his body, he said, “Such realm eight power will disappear in about a fortnight. He will no longer be able to sense then.”
Fu Su was usually gentle and kind, but at this time, his temper was very violent. He gritted his teeth and turned to look at the black sky, say, “No matter if you are that person’s heir or him reborn, you should know that some people from the imperial palace will be much faster in giving chase than the fastest cavalry in the world.”
“The tamed beasts of Jiaodong Commandery.” Ding Ning understood his meaning. He narrowed his eyes slightly and seemed to see some black shadows in the distant light. “But we have a chance because Yuanwu himself will not dare to give chase.”
Fu Su was angry again. He wanted to speak, but Ding Ning kept on speaking. “Because he fears death.”
“He used realm eight power in fighting us. In this world, even the distant Chu cultivators know that he has come in person, and know of his existence. To those Chu people or the cultivators of other dynasties, killing him will be their only goal. He is seriously injured, so he will not dare to risk himself to come.”
Ding Ning slowly kept on going. “Before he was wounded, no one in the world could kill him. But now it is different. Many people can pose a threat to him. Even if the one in charge is Ye Xiao, Zheng Xiu or people from the marquessate establishments, as long as he is not coming in person to put his life on the line, we have a chance to escape.”
“A fortnight is not a short time, even if you flee, the general area will be known.” Fu Su took a deep breath to calm down. He said in a cool voice, “A fortnight is enough for the cultivators of other dynasties to receive news and get here. Everyone in the world knows the Nine Death Silkworm is here, and will suspect that you are that person reborn. I do not know how many people will come to kill you, or try to get methods from you.”
“This is what I am truly worried about.” Ding Ning hung his head slightly and responded, looking at the stream water.
In a person’s life, no matter how strong they were, no matter how intelligent they were, there were also things that could not be predicted. He had not expected that Yuanwu would publicly guess in the battle that he was Wang Jingmeng reborn. This would cause an astounding change. He was not worried for himself, but for the fates of many people related to him.
Volume 4 27 - So This Is How It Is
The power of Celestial Seal Sect’s seals was that they could use special seal paper and ink with vital energy to make seals. Different seals would have different effects. When used against the enemy, they could slowly output the accumulated power. What kind of seal essence to be comprehended, what kind of seal to be created, and what kind of seal to be used instantly was cultivation.
Fang Shunyi released tens of thousands of seals instantly. While each small seal was of the same type, it was astounding he could use his vital energy and produce so many seals at once. What was more shocking was his willingness and determination.
Zhang Yi had cultivated the seal path for a long time, and he knew it would take lots of time to make even a simple seal with energy and ink. He did not know how many years Fang Shunyi had taken to accumulate so many seals. But he had used all of his years of hard work in one instant. This was courage. This was like a general who dared to order all arrows shot in one moment. This was courage.
And these seals were also so strong …… Thousands of seals flew like falling peach blossoms. Then the seals turned to energy, violent primal energies of the universe.
Within the wild primal energies appeared many pink rays of light. Space seemed to be split apart, giving off unpleasant sounds. The power that Fang Shunyi expressed in this moment could no longer be measured with his cultivation.
Many Celestial Seal Sect students looked on with fanatical gazes. In their view, if Fang Shunyi’s power was used on the battlefield, it could create enormous damage against an army, and even threaten a peak realm six or even realm seven cultivator.
Facing these tens of thousands of seals, the youth from Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect awkwardly threw out a seal. He threw that seal without any feeling of beauty like a farmer throwing mud in the field.
A yellow seal, there was a hiss.
This yellow seal was torn to shreds as though it could not stop the expansion of Fang Shunyi’s thousands of seals. It felt like if those pink rays of light fell on the youth, the youth’s body would be torn apart just like this seal.
But at this moment, Zhang Yi sensed something and gazed skywards. Many of Celestial Seal Sect’s cultivators also followed suit.
The clear blue sky had turned yellow like an enormous yellow seal paper had formed in the sky.
The youth who had thrown out a seal in an awkward manner withdrew his hand, his fingers flicked in unison.
A layer of yellow light fell from the yellow sky and blocked in front of him.
This scene was very simple. Even Zhang Yi could feel that he seemed to have created a powerful seal out of thin air from the yellow sky above and threw it out. It was like he had torn a small seal off a larger seal.
This yellow light could not completely block Fang Shunyi’s power and immediately collapsed, but it had won a bit of time for this youth.
The youth’s hand moved again, another layer of yellow light fell down. Then another, layer after layer they descended. The youth still felt awkward but he was methodical like he was weaving cloth with great skill.
The heated emotions in Murong Xiaoyi’s eyes quickly faded into shock and incomprehension.
No matter how the layers of light the youth created could not stop Fang Shunyi’s power, he was still safe. He was dispelling Fang Shunyi’s power in layers. Even more importantly, the power in the yellow sky above did not seem to fade greatly.
“What seal is that?” Someone exclaimed in shock.
The youth was taking seals from the sky as though they would never exhaust.
Fang Shunyi paled slightly. He felt that he could not threaten this youth directly, so he looked up and a pink seal once again flew out of his left sleeve.
This seal turned into a light that stabbed into the yellow sky.
Boom!
An enormous golden flower appeared in the sky. Each petal of the golden flower was a thick bolt of golden lightning.
This seal was one of the most powerful seals of Celestial Seal Sect. The Lightning Peach Divine Seal. A previous grandmaster of Celestial Seal Sect had comprehended and created this powerful Lightning seal through the core patterns when lightning had struck peach trees and split them apart.
Yet the golden lightning spreading through the yellow sky was like gilding the lily and had no effect. This youth from Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect still unconcernedly took out seals. His seemingly awkward posture had a smooth frequency. Each layer of descending yellow light was like a weak sword light he threw away.
But even the weakest flying sword was a flying sword. After a few dozen breaths, the pink rays of light attacking his body could no longer threaten him and he started his counterattack.
One yellow light after another fell towards Fang Shunyi.
When many of the Celestial Seal Sect students looked on from the side, each of his minute movements looked like he plucked an enormous yellow crystal sword from the sky and slashed towards Fang Shunyi.
Fang Shunyi took a deep breath. The vital energy in his body all gushed out. The golden seal he had pinched between two fingers on his left hand immediately disappeared. Behind the youth, a golden thread appeared silently.
This golden thread was not a pure product of primal energies of the universe and vital energy. It gave off a real presence of metal. This was a flow of completely melted metal.
There was a powerful weapon from the Chu Dynasty called the Vermillion Needle.
This weapon would look like a long fiery needle, but after it was ejected, it would spin furiously. The heat created would not melt the outer shell, but it would turn the core into astoundingly hot liquid. In the end, at the moment of collison, the hot liquid would spray out of the needle tip.
This kind of power could even penetrate and destroy flying swords.
Fang Shunyi’s seal had power close to this. This was one of Celestial Seal Sect’s dozens of true seals, the Lava Armor-Breaking Seal.
The youth from Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect sensed the murderousness behind him. He turned around but his movements were still awkward. He pulled down a seal from the yellow sky like he was pulling a thread.
This time, it was not yellow light, but white light.
A cold white flow charged towards this golden thread. With a hiss, the golden thread had a layer of icy frost, and then the frost instantly evapourated.
Then there was another white flow.
One after another, a dozen white flows surged. This golden thread gave off a clear cracking sound, cracking open into countless pieces.
Fang Shunyi stopped attacking and remained silent.
The battlefield was quiet.
Many Celestial Seal Sect cultivators could use multiple seals at once, yet no one could be as fast as this Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth in successively using seals. The greater the power, the more buffer time was needed. Like a blacksmith, the heavier the hammer he used, the more energy and time he needed to swing it again.
But this Yellow Heaven Daoist youth did not have astoundingly powerful individual seals, but he was truly powerful, and did not seem to need much time to use them.
Able to suppress this youth in an attack but not defeat him. Yet when the other attacked, he could not stop the other’s attacks.
This kind of opponent …… Fang Shunyi could not win so who could win against him?
Murong Xiaoyi looked dazedly at this Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth. Several names appeared in her mind, but in the next, she had no confidence in them.
Zhang Yi looked at the Yellow Heaven Daoist Sect youth. Because of the great admiration he felt, he forgot to be ashamed.
Volume 2 27 - A Simple Victory.
This chapter has been brought to you by me, and larkspur.
The milky white medicinal pill was an extremely valuable Spirit Lotus Pill. Other than the unknown means of the noblest woman in Qin at manipulating the energy of the stars, the pill also required unique methods of growing spirit lotuses.
To have the spirit lotuses produce the lotus seeds she needed, no one knew how many spirit veins had been diverted to the imperial palace in Changling. While the Spirit Lotus Pill was only made from the fallen lotus leaves and petals during the spirit lotus’ growth, its effect was already astounding.
Ding Ning consumed this Spirit Lotus Pill and felt the threads of cool medicinal power fill his meridians. Immediately the pain and dryness in his body disappeared. However, his feeling of discomfort grew stronger because he knew that Mo Shoucheng already harboured a faint suspicion towards him.
Mo Shoucheng possessed extraordinary status in Changling. Even though he had not entered the formation like the king of Chu and held no clues, even if his suspicions were as unrooted as the clouds floating in the sky, this suspicion was enough to cast a great shadow over Ding Ning.
In a sense, Mou Shoucheng’s hint of suspicion towards him meant that the noblest woman in the Changling palace would have a hint of suspicion towards him.
This was enough to determine his future in Changling.
Compared to Mo Shoucheng, he needed to be more worried about the king of Chu.
A simple matter of using the power of the palace to deal with Forefather Zhou had involved so many unexpected and hard to control consequences.
Ding Ning felt a wave of bitterness rise.
Destiny could never be determined by one person.
Mo Shoucheng’s gaze pulled back from the deep crater ahead to land calmly on Ding Ning and Fu Su.
In reality, his attitude was not as serious as Ding Ning imagined. While he held doubts about this matter, he did not relate this to the Nine Death Silkworm. Ever since Xue Wangxu’s battle with Liang Lian, he had a positive opinion of Ding Ning. He had some understanding of Ding Ning, and knew that he possessed astounding cultivation talent and comprehension capabilities.
Even if Ding Ning had deliberately concealed something, the result was that he had Fu Su come out alive.
The king of Chu had not obtained the flesh bodhi and Fu Su had not been killed. While the Deer Mountain Conference had not formally started, in his mind, as a cultivator of the Qin Dynasty, Deer Mountain Conference had gotten the first merit in this unprecedented event.
He was aware Ding Ning had been preparing for the upcoming Min Mountain Sword Trials. In his view, this great merit was enough to secure Ding Ning a spot in the Min Mountain Sword Sect.
So at this time, he looked at Ding Ning and Fu Su with a hint of undisguised satisfaction.
"You followed Forefather Zhou from Changling wanting to see the spectacle of the Deer Mountain Conference. Since Foreather Zhou is dead, then I will take you to Deer Mountain," he said kindly, without an extra word.
The formation had been destroyed, and all the mist from the mountain valley had cleared away. The mountain peaks turned more humid. Over on Goddess Peak, a storm of rain descended.
"Interesting."
The king of Chu, his face covered in age spots and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed even deeper, looked up at the clouds and rain. He smiled slightly and murmured to himself.
He was not in a hurry to return to Deer Mountain and headed to Goddess Peak again. The wait of decades had come to naught for he failed to obtain the flesh bodhi. Before the formal start of the Deer Mountain Conference, he had nothing else to do.
So he was very idle.
He felt very relaxed right now.
As one of the longest-ruling monarchs in the world, he naturally had extraordinary traits. His entire life had been spent fighting with some of the strongest people in the world. He knew more about how while one could plan, success depended on the heavens.
The cultivator who had set up the formation on Goddess Peak was much stronger than him. The person had spent great energy to make a cage for the blind dragon. Of course, this was so the blind dragon could guard the immature flesh bodhi, waiting for the day that he or his descendants could use it. But clearly, the cultivator who had created the formation, and his sect had been destroyed in the river of history.
It was normal, in his view, if he did not obtain the flesh bodhi. Compared to the flesh bodhi, he felt he had obtained something more interesting.
"Ignoring the blind dragon, only that person could have destroyed the legendary Blue Lightning Absolute Heaven Formation. No matter how talented something is, they cannot possess such insight."
After saying the word "interesting," he floated above the clouds, and sat down on one of the cliff faces of Goddess Peak. He harvested a few pieces of wild tea among the rocks, and used vital energy to create a stone pot. Then he ignited true fire, and obtained clean water from the mist in front of him. As though he was a true immortal, the king of Chu smiled and brewed tea.
He murmured to himself, "Such a good rain."
Rain had also suddenly descended upon the peak of Deer Mountain.
In the temporarily constructed Chu Palace, a cultivator wearing a white jade longsword seemed to sense that this rain contained unusual meaning. He warily looked up, but saw nothing other than rain in the sky.
Yet, at this time, his heart suddenly contracted.
In the next moment, his heart was crushed as though it had been grasped by an invisible hand.
Blood gushed out of his mouth.
This court cultivator of the Chu Dynasty wasn’t even able to make a sound before collapsing to the floor and dying.
An old bamboo hat appeared in the rain.
Then, like a ghost, a slightly hunchbacked grey shadow appeared under the bamboo hat.
"Bleak wind, icy rain, green vines, chaos. Spirit Master Ku Yu 1 did not come to Deer Mountain early or late, but at this time. I do not understand your intentions."
Consort Zhao Xiang looked calmly at the grey figure who had appeared in front of the palace gates, shook her head as she spoke.
While her words were spoken calmly, her eyes were unspeakably tempting, rippling like gentle waves.
The person under the bamboo hat laughed bitterly, then slowly raised their head to show an ordinary fifty-something face.
"I travelled a thousand miles for the matter of the crown prince."
This man, who looked to be in his fifties and already had a hunched back, slowly said, "We want the fifth imperial son to be the crown prince."
Consort Zhao Xiang smiled brightly. "But our king has already established the crown prince."
The man she called Spirit Master Ku Yu said, "If Li Lingjun is dead, we can establish another crown prince."
"The Deer Mountain Conference is about to start. What the Chu Dynasty needs right now is stability." Consort Zhao Xiang looked at him and said softly, "I do not understand why people like you are so determined to do something like this."
She paused, looked at him and said, "Theoretically, you should not care whether the fifth imperial son or Li Lingjun becomes the crown prince."
The man she called Spirit Master Ku Yu was silent for a moment before speaking, "I do not have to tell you the reason."
Consort Zhao Xiang frowned slightly and said, "You cannot kill him."
"I did not come alone. Chu Qifeng is also coming, so Fan Wugou will not appear here," Spirit Master Ku Yu looked at her seriously and said.
When he had walked into this palace, the words that Consort Zhao Xiang had spoken
, were not a phrase describing the scenery. Rather, it represented the four famed cultivators of the Chu Dynasty.
"You were once the four strongest cultivators of the Chu Dynasty, but you also know that in these years, grandmasters like Fan Wugou have appeared who can rival you." Consort Zhao Xiang could sense his absolute confidence but she was not nervous at all. She smiled and said softly, "You should also know, even back then, when they said you were the strongest, it was because many people did not display their full power, and some people in the palace were excluded."
"So today, you cannot kill Li Lingjun."
She paused and then advised sincerely. "No matter what people have said to you to make you come here, this will not succeed. So, you should give up such thoughts."
"His Majesty is not here," Spirit Master Ku Yu shook his head and said determinedly.
This represented his final decision.
The king of Chu was not here. He believed he could kill anyone here.
So at the same time his words were spoken, his body seemed to abruptly fade into the air.
Countless streams of strange, thin and almost traceless but unusually tough and powerful presences came out of his body. Like the soft spring rain, they permeated Consort Zhao Xiang’s body.
These streams flooded towards Consort Zhao Xiang’s heart. Consort Zhao Xiang’s heart stopped beating and started to contract violently.
"You are wrong."
Consort Zhao Xiang’s expression did not change, she looked with pity at Spirit Master Ku Yu and uttered softly.
Then she started to walk towards Spirit Master Ku Yu.
Spirit Master Ku Yu’s breathing and heart suddenly stopped.
In this moment, within his perception, Consort Zhao Xiang’s heart seemed to become the strongest object in the world. The power he had sent into Consort Zhao Xiang’s body could not compete with her power.
An enormous explosion rang out in the empty palace.
A white fist, carrying terrifying waves of energy, quickly grew large in Spirit Master Ku Yu’s sight.
Spirit Master Ku Yu shouted, his power venting out of his body. Two faint indigo swords floated out of his hands and cut on the white fist.
In the next moment, the two light indigo swords flew backwards, disappearing like two meteors. The bones in his arms were shattered, and so were many of his ribs.
His body flew dozens of feet away and smashed to the ground.
Consort Zhao Xiang gently pulled her fist back. Her fist appeared very fragrant, tender and soft, but in the previous moment, it had become one of the most terrifying weapons in the world.
Spirit Master Ku Yu coughed up blood, so shocked he could not speak.
"Now you understand why I said you were wrong."
Consort Zhao Xiang looked at him, her long eyelashes trembling. She said, her lips slightly pressed together, "Now you understand why our king has favored me so much in these years and why he is willing to put the entire Chu Dynasty in my hands."
"Because …… " She looked flirtatiously at her own fists and said, "……because my hands can be very soft, but also very hard…… because I am the strongest person in Chu, only next to him."
Translator Ramblings: I don’t think the author ever said how Li Lingjun ranked among his brothers but he managed to overcome not being the oldest, being born of a lowborn woman, and having been sent away as a hostage to become the crown prince through working on his own reputation and allying with others. That’s a pretty good accomplishment, regardless of anything else.
Ku Yu means icy rain. Literally "bitter rain" but in the phrase, it is "bleak winds and icy rain" ↩
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