Once Sun Chao'en had departed, the King of Ji rose and paced back and forth in the study for a long time. Only then did he seem to reach a firm resolve, saying, "The grand game laid out by the Martial Ancestor is on so magnificent a scale it can truly be called altering heaven and earth. Down through the generations, countless talents endowed by heaven have been trapped within it, with no way of escape. Only in recent years has a slim glimmer of hope appeared, which is why everyone has gone mad.
"What this king hesitates over now is whether to be the first to break the game—leaving a name in the history books even if it means stinking for ten thousand years—or... struggle a little more?"
Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, is struggling of any use?"
The King of Ji replied, "If even Li Shenji could struggle his way ashore, this king certainly can as well. Among the rulers of the Nine States, only Li Xuance of Southern Qi commands my respect; the rest are mere mediocrities.
"...What I am thinking now is whether I should be this ruler of a fallen state. If the State of Ji must fall, it can only fall by my hand. I do not wish to leave this burden to future generations."
By the end, the King of Ji had even changed the way he referred to himself, dropping his royal style. Wei Yuan did not quite understand the King's intention in saying all this, so he quietly waited for what would follow.
The King of Ji glanced at him and said, "Take out some of your mortal karmic luck and put it to use. Cut off the heavenly secrets so we can speak freely! Hoarding all that mortal karmic luck without using it—aren't you afraid it will go moldy?"
Wei Yuan remained unmoved. "Your Majesty occupies an exalted throne. In terms of mortal karmic luck, you ought to possess far more than I do. Why not use some of your own, Your Majesty?"
The King of Ji snorted. "I have been tyrannical, autocratic, fatuous, and incompetent, turning the State of Ji into a shambles—only thus does anyone have a chance of breaking the game. You have been in the State of Ji for many years; naturally, you know who is watching from above. How could they possibly let this king possess mortal karmic luck?"
Wei Yuan thought it over and found truth in his words. With a wave of his hand, he laid down a formation to seal off the heavenly secrets, channeling a little mortal karmic luck into it. Never in his wildest dreams did he anticipate that the moment he poured it in, the mortal karmic luck would surge out relentlessly like floodwaters bursting through an opened sluice gate, impossible to stop!
The formation swallowed tens of millions of points of mortal karmic luck in one breath before finally stabilizing. It severed the profound secrets of the Great Dao of heaven and earth, creating an isolated, silent space within this realm. Speaking or acting here incurred not the slightest thread of karma; neither above the heavens nor beneath the earth could the gaze of any mighty figure pry within.
That the formation required so much mortal karmic luck vastly exceeded Wei Yuan's expectations. It appeared that either the royal palace was an exceptionally crucial karmic luck node, or a multitude of mighty figures from Immortal Heaven were watching this place, so deceiving heaven and crossing the sea demanded an enormous price.
Now that the grand formation was complete, it was too late for Wei Yuan to regret it. He could only hope that the King of Ji would offer something of real value to justify so much mortal karmic luck.
As the grand formation took effect, the King of Ji's posture suddenly straightened. His previously hunched back snapped upright, and he shot up by more than half a foot, standing nearly eye to eye with Wei Yuan. His aura transformed entirely; his eyes were imperious as lightning, and with just one cold glance at Wei Yuan, Wei Yuan felt as though lashed by an electrified whip.
At this moment, the King of Ji was no longer a tyrannical, debauched, and fatuous monarch; he carried the bearing of a sovereign of his era, looking about with formidable pride.
When he stretched his limbs, it felt as though the very rivers and mountains trembled with him.
A look of relaxed ease appeared on the King of Ji's face, and he let out a deep sigh. "It has been so very long since I felt this comfortable. Ever since childhood, I have possessed an innate divine ability: if anyone watches me from the shadows, I sense it. Since ascending the grand throne, the gazes fixed upon me have never ceased for a single moment. Only now, in this brief instant, am I free from putting on an act."
After merely stretching his frame, the King of Ji composed himself and said solemnly, "Time is short. The Venerable Master and those figures high in Immortal Heaven will soon realize something is amiss. Fortunately, you formed the array with mortal karmic luck, the natural bane of the power of Immortal Heaven. They should only be able to sense that something secretive is occurring, without knowing what it truly is."
Then the King of Ji continued, "As everyone knows, the core of the Martial Ancestor's scheme lies within the royal houses of the Nine States. Everyone assumes the arrangement must take the Tang dynasty as its central axis. Yet through all these years of entering the board myself, contending with those above, and calculating in secret, this king has found that the Tang dynasty is very likely a mere hollow facade, entirely unrelated to the Martial Ancestor's scheme. Thus, the decline of the Tang dynasty appears to be a sign that the Martial Ancestor's game is faltering, but in truth it is not. It is quite likely a contingency move in the Martial Ancestor's scheme, meant to lure out all the enemies lurking in the shadows and wipe them out in one stroke."
Wei Yuan was stunned. He had never imagined such secrets existed.
The King of Ji then spoke of how many past ancestral kings of the State of Ji had defected to the Venerable Master, using secret arts to deceive the heavenly secrets and reincarnate generation after generation.
Wei Yuan caught on immediately. "It seems those princes sent to Qingming to study abroad were all past kings."
The King of Ji replied, "Some are, some are not. But if I were to send every past king off to Qingming, Cangwu would likely turn hostile on the spot. With the Venerable Master's ability, a slight deception of heaven and earth is all it takes to arrange for me to die of old age in my bed, ushering in the next King of Ji."
Wei Yuan was taken aback. "Does that mean the rulers of all Nine States can be replaced at whim?"
The King of Ji shook his head. "The Venerable Master has cultivated his influence in the State of Ji for nearly a millennium, binding great karma to it, and only thus can he deceive heaven and earth. Were it any other state, had he dared meddle with a sovereign's destiny, he would instantly trigger a counterattack from the Martial Ancestor's contingency. It is said that when the Martial Ancestor laid out his scheme, the Venerable Master attempted to resist, only to be heavily wounded by a single strike from the Martial Ancestor. He fled to hide beyond the heavens, yet was still dragged back into the game. If he were struck by another of the Martial Ancestor's contingency moves, he would likely perish on the spot."
Hearing this, Wei Yuan felt a sudden chill run through him. The Martial Ancestor's game concealed so many secrets; if one carelessly triggered a hidden contingency, one might die without ever knowing how.
Yet was what the King of Ji said truly the truth? Wei Yuan naturally would not believe everything he heard; he merely listened to what the King of Ji said, taking it with a grain of salt.
Wei Yuan was more than happy to learn secrets of the Martial Ancestor, but if anyone asked him to meddle in the Martial Ancestor's scheme—whether to sabotage it or uphold it—Wei Yuan would politely decline.
Checking the time, the King of Ji said swiftly, "In my view, the Martial Ancestor's arrangement in the royal houses of the Nine States is like driving stakes into the ground and chaining a ferocious hound to each. The stake is the throne of the state, the chain is the royal bloodline, and the ferocious hound is the contingency. The moment something goes wrong with the stake or the chain, the hound will instantly break loose and tear into its prey.
"Yet none of this should be the core of the scheme. The true key likely lies in whatever is suppressed beneath the stakes."
The King of Ji abruptly stopped speaking. His frame slumped back into a hunch, and his face once again took on the exhaustion of one long steeped in wine and lust. Wei Yuan slightly adjusted his posture, looking haughty and rebellious, as though he held the King of Ji in no regard at all.
The formation dissipated, its Dharmic powers dispersing back into heaven and earth, while the mortal karmic luck neutralized all manner of obscure influences and dissolved numerous threads of karma.
In an instant, Wei Yuan felt as though he had stepped from an immaculate sanctuary straight into a bustling marketplace; several gazes swept across him immediately. These gazes had originally been profoundly obscure and lofty, as subtle as a breeze rustling grass, drawing no attention in ordinary times. But having just stepped out from the grand array, Wei Yuan perceived those gazes inspecting heaven and earth at once.
Wei Yuan acted as if he had noticed nothing at all, simply looking at the King of Ji.
The King of Ji rubbed his temples and sighed. "If you give Li Zhi free rein and all-out support, then there is nothing left for us to discuss."
Wei Yuan said, "Brother Li and I are like brothers. If he is in trouble, I naturally will not sit idly by. Yet the rule of the Nine States must not be shaken, nor do I wish to see the common people plunge into misery. Could both sides take a step back? The southern commanderies are already lost anyway. Why not negotiate peace with Li Zhi and grant him the southernmost borderlands as a fief, bestowing upon him the casual title of Military Commissioner? In the future, he can even guard the southern gates for the State of Ji. What does Your Majesty think?"
The King of Ji furrowed his brows deeply. "And what if he pushes his luck and demands even more?"
Wei Yuan immediately replied, "Then I shall naturally aid neither side. I believe that with the might of the Ji military, holding off Li Zhi's expeditionary force will pose no difficulty. Given enough time, Li Zhi will defeat himself without a battle."
The King of Ji nodded slowly. "That is not entirely out of the question, but you must sell me enough armaments to equip an army."
Wei Yuan replied without hesitation, "Rest assured, Your Majesty. Not just one army—I will sell as many armaments as you require."
With the agreement reached, the King of Ji breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "These past days have been utterly exhausting. This king shall arrange for Cai Miao and Xu Shang to perform a dance, how about it?"
Wei Yuan quickly shook his head. "My confidante is unrivaled under heaven, and Wei does not wish to betray her. I can only thank Your Majesty for your kind intentions."
The King of Ji remarked with considerable regret, "You have missed out on something truly fine!"
Wei Yuan's thoughts stirred, and he said, "I have a small request, though I know not whether it is appropriate to speak of it."
"Speak freely."
Wei Yuan said, "I have never seen the royal palace in its entirety. I wonder if Your Majesty might take me on a tour through the palace, so that I may broaden my horizons?"
The King of Ji did not find the request insolent at all; instead, his spirits lifted. He promptly took out two invisibility talismans from his desk, handed one to Wei Yuan, and they slapped the talismans onto themselves, concealing their figures.
In truth, formidable formations existed within the palace capable of tracking their movements; even Wei Yuan at his current level would have found it difficult to evade their surveillance if he pushed his powers to the limit. However, the King of Ji held supreme authority over the formations and gave Wei Yuan one of his personal identity waist plaques. The grand formation identified Wei Yuan as the King of Ji, so naturally it was not triggered.
Thus, the King of Ji and Wei Yuan roamed the deep palace by night. With the King of Ji serving as guide and explaining along the way, the various palace secrets and histories broadened Wei Yuan's horizons immensely.
In the blink of an eye, deep night had fallen. The King of Ji was leading Wei Yuan along the top of a palace wall, peeping at an imperial concubine stepping out of her bath, when Wei Yuan experienced a sudden premonition. He saw a tiny child run across the courtyard and tiptoe back into a room.
The child appeared no more than five or six years old, yet his behavior was exceedingly bizarre, exuding mature cunning. Were it not for that diminutive figure, he would have looked entirely like a seasoned old crook.
Wei Yuan understood then: the King of Ji had actually brought him here to see this child. It appeared that this child was not only possessed by an ancestral king, but by a crucial one at that. Otherwise, this one would have been on the list of princes sent to Qingming.
Chapter 1109