An arm and a thigh were placed into different tombs by Immortal Zhao Li. Wei Yuan could not discern anything unusual about either tomb, so he assumed it was a secret known only to Zhao Li.
Not long after the immortal remains were laid within the tombs, Wei Yuan felt the earthly qi begin to swell. The earth veins deep underground gradually grew stronger, steadily enhancing the fortune and feng shui of Zhao Li.
Immortal Zhao Li led Wei Yuan to the summit of a secondary peak, where a pavilion sat offering an unobstructed view over the myriad lights of Zhao's royal capital. Twilight was falling, lanterns were being lit, and clusters of lights spread out one after another, glowing with pockets of warmth amid the wind and snow.
Taking a seat in the pavilion, Immortal Zhao Li said placidly, "Our Zhao Li Dao path relies on human fortune as an aid, which is why among the Nine States, we have always been known for caring for our people, enriching the nation, and strengthening the realm. Successive Kings of Zhao prided themselves on being enlightened rulers, striving to give the commoners respite, purify the administration, and expand our borders.
"All along, I believed Great Zhao had done rather well. Even if we fell slightly short of Southern Qi over the past century, ever since Shenji ascended the throne, we have been closing the gap step by step. I originally thought Shenji was quite exceptional—until Qingming burst into the world."
Wei Yuan hurriedly offered a few words of modesty.
Immortal Zhao Li continued, "There is no need for false modesty. To be frank, before Qingming, we ran in circles on the same plane for thousands of years, never dreaming mortals could live in such a way, or that a golden age could shine so brilliantly!
"During our duel that day, I kept asking myself: is one man's immortal path more important, or are hundreds of millions of lives? When one cultivates to the end, they merely become precious earth, returning to heaven and earth. Assisting the Venerable Master would yield nothing more than that, yet Zhao's nearly ten billion subjects would be cast back into poverty, living through a so-called golden age where they could eat only chaff and watery gruel."
Immortal Zhao Li sighed softly and concluded, "In this fleeting life, one must leave something behind for those who follow. For our generation that ascends to immortality, our duty is to leave a haven for future generations, truly transforming the world. Only then can we be worthy of the authority over the Great Dao entrusted to us."
"Senior's righteousness is profound!" Wei Yuan stood and bowed.
Immortal Zhao Li chuckled freely. "Spare me the platitudes! There are still... two kittens left. You had better take good care of them."
A sudden pang struck Wei Yuan's heart.
Back then, Immortal Zhao Li had pointedly warned Wei Yuan, speaking of 'several kittens.' One would never use 'several' to describe only one or two; at that time, he had included Consort Yuan, covertly reminding Wei Yuan to look after her.
Yet Wei Yuan had already decided to thrust Prince Chu forward to hold Baohua Pure Land in check, never anticipating that this would break Consort Yuan's heart completely, leading to her departure.
Now that the matter was mentioned again, both men fell silent.
A smile returned to Immortal Zhao Li's face as he asked, "How do you plan to handle the Lu family?"
Without hesitation, Wei Yuan replied, "Uproot them entirely—if no one stops me."
Immortal Zhao Li remarked meaningfully, "You will be shaking their foundations. Those people will not tolerate that."
Wei Yuan said calmly, "Could they tolerate my killing Lu Changhe? Didn't things turn out fine anyway? If I don't do this, they might keep playing deaf and dumb. Now that I am digging up the Lu family's very roots, someone ought to step forward to negotiate terms, shouldn't they?"
Immortal Zhao Li said, "The Venerable Master and the great figures behind the scenes have schemed for thousands of years, possessing immense foundations. You have only won a minor victory; you must never let down your guard. Right now, it is wiser to take half a step back, maintaining stillness to govern motion and using consistency to meet every change."
"I understand. If the other side is willing to negotiate terms, I will negotiate in earnest."
Immortal Zhao Li nodded. "It is good that you see it that way. I will say it once more: under no circumstances should you be careless. As matters stand, I no longer dare set foot outside Ancestral Mausoleum Mountain."
Wei Yuan was taken aback, only now realizing how grave the situation had become.
***
High within the Immortal Heaven, Cangwu walked through an ice-bound canyon. The oncoming wind made even him, an immortal, shiver from time to time.
Quickening his pace, he hurried across the inhospitable canyon and arrived at its mouth. His pupils suddenly contracted slightly as he noticed a stream flowing through the mountains had turned dark red!
Feigning ignorance, Cangwu walked deeper into the valley. Only half of the valley remained, as though sliced through by a blade, leaving an impeccably smooth cross section. Beyond it lay pure void.
Approaching the sheer precipice, Cangwu came to a halt, bowed, and said, "May I ask what orders the Venerable Master has for summoning me?"
Before Cangwu was no human figure, but rather roiling masses of darkness, from which the Venerable Master's voice emerged: "Go to two places. First, visit the Xu family in Ningzhou; it would be best if you can meet Xu Wangu. After that, go once more to Baohua Pure Land and look at Spirit Mountain."
At the words 'Spirit Mountain,' Cangwu's body trembled slightly, beyond his control.
Without the slightest fluctuation, the Venerable Master's voice continued, "Once you have seen them, simply return."
Cangwu could only voice his assent before turning back along the same path, once again traversing the long, frozen canyon. The piercing wind grew even more unbearable.
While struggling against the cold, Cangwu's thoughts drifted. He suddenly felt that the Venerable Master's voice sounded somewhat peculiar, yet he could not put his finger on what was strange about it.
***
In an unknown secret realm, the earth shook and mountains shifted. The ground split open, continually spewing subterranean fires dozens of zhang high, painting an apocalyptic scene.
Two figures darted through the bursts of earthfire and falling boulders, narrowly dodging mortal perils time and again.
As they ran, the gap between the two gradually widened. The man sprinting in front suddenly stopped, scooped up the woman lagging behind, and resumed his mad dash.
The woman struggled, shouting, "Put me down! We'll both die!"
The man refused to let go, saying, "The more you move, the slower I run! Stop talking—we shamans are favored by heaven, so we definitely won't die! I swear on my good brother going a hundred years without ever winning the one he loves—"
"Where do you even have brothers left?!"
The two of them—or rather, the two shamans—dashed forward until they finally spotted a drifting patch of black mist and plunged straight into it.
In the next instant, the two shamans appeared in midair over a desolate mountain, tumbling out of empty space and crashing down half-dead.
Unable to stand for a long time, the woman raged, "Didn't you say we were going to seek refuge with a Heavenly Shaman? Why did you drag us into exploring a secret realm again?"
The man smiled wryly. "Do you know how low the odds are of finding an unowned Immortal Heaven? This is the only one in a thousand years! Since we stumbled upon it, how could we not explore it? Besides, how was I to know it was so fragile? We only collected a single treasure, and the whole Immortal Heaven abruptly collapsed! Someone even set up an Immortal-Binding Grand Array inside. Good thing the array wasn't aimed at us, or we'd both be done for! Even a powerful true immortal couldn't withstand the collapsing force of an Immortal Heaven."
"Who set up an Immortal-Binding Grand Array?"
The man shrugged. "How should I know? A grand undertaking like that certainly wasn't meant for tiny ants like us. I'd love to know who it was meant for, too, but unfortunately we'll never get the chance."
The woman asked, "Could it be that retrieving the immortal treasure triggered a trap, causing the Immortal Heaven to collapse?"
The man froze, then threw his head back and laughed dryly. "Hahahaha, absolutely impossible!"
The woman understood at once: that was precisely how the trap had been triggered. Thinking back to the collapsing Immortal Heaven and the apocalyptic destruction, lingering fear washed over her in waves.
"No matter what, we got our hands on an immortal treasure! It was worth any risk! Now let's see what kind of prize it really is." With that, the man pulled a scroll from his robes and slowly unrolled it.
This man and woman were none other than Shengxin and Huixin. After many years, both had advanced in rank; one was now a Saint Shaman, and the other a Nether Shaman. However, Huixin had not yet had the chance to establish a realm in the Nether Cold Realm, so her magical power and divine abilities were considerably weaker than those of an ordinary Nether Shaman. Even so, the speed of their advancement was exceptionally rare among the Shaman Clan, showing that they had enjoyed non-stop miraculous encounters over the years.
Having narrowly escaped with their lives from the catastrophe of the collapsing Immortal Heaven, they were naturally filled with anticipation for this immortal treasure that had triggered the world's destruction.
Holding their breath, Huixin and Shengxin slowly unrolled the scroll. Depicted upon it was a cultivator with a short beard, looking untrammeled and carefree, drawing water beside a stream.
The painting was extraordinarily lifelike—it almost felt like a frozen sliver of time itself.
Staring at the figure, Huixin felt a chill run down her spine, though she could not tell what was wrong. Her voice trembling slightly, she asked, "I-Is this person alive?"
Shengxin's voice shook as well. "I don't know... It's... possible..."
Shengxin was among the youngest Saint Shamans of the current era, ranking high even across history. It was said that after hearing of him, Minglei had held him in high esteem and intended to reserve a seat as a Heavenly Shaman for him.
Yet even someone of Shengxin's stature could not help but shudder before the painted figure.
Just then, Shengxin noticed several characters on the scroll. They seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, definitely absent a moment before. Seeing those words, he could not help but read them aloud: "Liuli Immortal Lord."
The instant the title was spoken, the figure in the painting abruptly came to life! He stood upright, looked out from the scroll, and shot two beams of glazed light from his fingertips, which instantly arrived before the two shamans' foreheads!
However, the painted immortal frowned slightly, halting the glazed light beams, and muttered to himself, "Strange. Why are they two little shamans? Where did things go wrong?"
Fixing his gaze on Shengxin and Huixin, he saw through them inside and out in an instant; not a single secret could remain hidden.
Having scrutinized them thoroughly, the painted immortal's brows knitted even tighter. "Two little shamans, yet carrying such massive karma? Eradicating them would be somewhat troublesome—I would inevitably have to trade blows with the Ancestral Shaman. Forget it, I will seek out the principal target first."
With that, the painted immortal vanished, and the scroll in Shengxin's hands turned entirely blank.
Shengxin froze for a moment, then blurted out, "This won't do—"
He stopped mid-sentence as Huixin caught his arm, slowly shaking her head.
Scratching his head, Shengxin said in distress, "I know we can't afford to offend that guy. But if we just sit by and do nothing, I feel I will definitely regret it in the future—very, very deeply!"
"Even at the cost of your life?"
Shengxin grew solemn. "Even at the cost of my life!"
"Very well. There is much I don't understand, but whatever you wish to do, I will support you! I suppose once I become a Heavenly Shaman, I will understand naturally." Huixin withdrew her hand.
Shengxin embraced her briefly, then fell into thought. A moment later, he offered a prayer to heaven and earth: "My best brother would never lie—otherwise, strike him with lightning!"
***
At that very moment, Wei Yuan was strolling through the immortal garden with Zhang Sheng, saying as they walked, "Bringing Princess Ningguo over this time was only so she could keep the Sixth Princess company. I have absolutely no other intentions—"
Before Wei Yuan's words could finish, a slender bolt of lightning materialized above his head, striking him square on the crown!
Naturally, such a wisp of lightning could not harm Wei Yuan, barely even singeing a few strands of hair. Yet it was unmistakably tribulation lightning—the byproduct of Words Followed by Law. Put plainly, a violated oath had come to pass.
Zhang Sheng and Wei Yuan looked up at the sky simultaneously, both catching sight of a faint speck of glazed light on the horizon. Though it was merely a subtle dot, it already overpowered every color in the world!
Chapter 1145