Calamity

The elegant, antique study was utterly quiet. "For... mankind?" Feng Jiuxuan spoke in a flat tone, but his disdain for the notion was obvious to anyone listening. Old Man Luo paid the tone no mind and replied, "Yes. When the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion was founded, it truly was for the continuation of mankind. "At least back in my generation, the pavilion still held to that original purpose. Internal power struggles were fierce, but when the aberrant ghost calamity arrived, you could say we knew that without the lips the teeth grow cold—and the result was that the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion shouldered half the sky for the human race. "Of course, "whether their purpose has changed now, I cannot say. After all, one can only speak of ideals and noble purposes once one has survived and grown strong, can't one?" At this point, Old Man Luo offered a careless chuckle and continued, "I imagine you know what it means when the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master can no longer see the future, Chancellor Xu?" Xu Yinhe pondered for a moment. "I do. In my youth, I found several ancient texts concerning the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion in certain secret realms." The scholar-like remnant soul of Old Man Luo smiled with refined warmth. "In that case, I need not explain further." Xu Yinhe lightly stroked the stiff paper edge of the memorial with his fingertips, his voice deep and heavy. "So, Senior, what you mean is that my subsequent actions will trigger a calamity?" He knew that what he and Li Yaoxuan intended to do would result in countless deaths. Many innocent people would be displaced, and countless happy families would be plunged into ruin. Yet a calamity... A true calamity meant that, with the slightest misstep, nine out of ten human homes across the realm would be left deserted. Old Man Luo rubbed his chin and demurred, "Not necessarily. The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion has recorded many descriptions of calamities, but in summary, they are almost always struggles between races." Xu Yinhe's fingers froze, and the air in the room instantly turned rigid. "Struggles between races?" Old Man Luo said unhurriedly, "The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion has existed for a very long time. The ancient texts in the scriptures pavilion suffered several chronological gaps due to past calamities, but the calamities that were recorded were almost all instances of other races seeking living space and trying to conquer the Central Plains." "Alien races, then..." Xu Yinhe narrowed his eyes and tapped his forefinger against the open memorial on his desk. "Guyuan?" Among the neighboring foreign races, the only true threat was Guyuan. The logic was simple. The Great Desert and the Barbarians occupied barren lands with harsh climates, entirely incapable of supporting the rise of a dominant race. The demon race of Guyuan was different. Not only did they hold the massive gorge of Guyuan itself, but they also possessed the hundred-thousand-li-long Wanxing Mountain Range as their personal domain. However, they were far from united internally. Marred by endless strife among diverse tribes, had it not been for their shared ambition of entering the Central Plains, they would essentially be a miniature Great Yan Dynasty. "That I do not know." Faced with this question, Old Man Luo answered frankly, "In truth, while calamities are dangerous, they are also influenced by personal factors." Xu Yinhe looked up, his gaze solemn. "How so?" Old Man Luo smiled and explained, "Two myriad years ago, the calamity stirred up by the Meishen tree spirit could have swept across the world, but because of the tree spirit itself, it was ultimately confined to the Qionghua secret realm." "..." Xu Yinhe did not understand, but Feng Jiuxuan murmured from the side: "The Meishen cherry tree, the Qionghua secret realm?" A thoughtful, peculiar look crossed his narrow eyes. "So that was it..." Xu Yinhe turned to Feng Jiuxuan. "Did you discover something?" "A few things." Feng Jiuxuan nodded, a trace of reminiscence surfacing in his eyes... *** Inside Vault Palace, immortal mist drifted ethereally. Two white-clad figures moved through the remnants of the mountain-protecting grand formation as if entering an uninhabited realm. Within the vast palace complex, aside from the damage caused by those few juniors and the decay brought by time, most places still maintained the appearance they had myriad years ago. Feng Jiuxuan, clad in his white robe, walked side by side with Tianyuan, whose court gown fluttered softly. Both could feel the immense pressure radiating from the other's circulating cultivation technique. In terms of Cangyuan's levels, it was like two level-120 players running a level-85 dungeon; their greatest threat could only be each other. Cooperation did not preclude the possibility of drawing swords. Reaching the deepest part of the secret realm, Feng Jiuxuan glanced sideways at the cold, veiled woman in white. "It seems the location your disciple gave you wasn't accurate either." The great hall was completely empty. There were no white bones, no corpses, and no Sumeru rings. Tianyuan displayed little emotion as she met Feng Jiuxuan's gaze. "That was two myriad years ago. How many changes occurred, and how many people came searching during that time, are unknown variables." Feng Jiuxuan offered a concise analysis. "The Meishen tree spirit was still alive until Changtian arrived. An outsider could not have taken them." "..." Tianyuan said no more, divine light shimmering in her golden eyes. Feng Jiuxuan watched her quietly. She appeared to be performing a deduction and search. After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Tianyuan's tall figure suddenly drifted into the air. The snow-white, intricate hem of her gown fluttered without wind, the thin veil lifting slightly to reveal fleeting glimpses of her peerless beauty. Sword in hand, Feng Jiuxuan watched her impassively. The next instant, *Rumble—* The entire Qionghua Hall began to shake. The remaining array formations activated, only to shatter in an instant. The stable structure of the hall seemed engulfed by an immense force, trembling violently before gradually disintegrating under the unbearable weight. The grand vaulted ceiling, the crossbeams, the supporting stone pillars, the floor... Within a few breaths, the imposing Grand Qionghua Hall was dismantled into floating pieces of building material hovering in midair. The two white-clad figures also rose into the air along with the disassembled masonry. Standing upon a stone block, Feng Jiuxuan looked down, his pupils contracting slightly. "This is..." Beneath Qionghua Hall lay an ink-black abyss. With Feng Jiuxuan's cultivation, he could naturally pierce the darkness to see the scene below. Along the cliff walls of the abyss were countless thick, withered vines and roots, and tangled among these gnarled boughs hung innumerable corpses. At a glance, they were packed together so densely that no end could be seen—no fewer than a million bodies. Most had long since weathered to dust. At the very bottom of the abyss lay several dozen well-preserved skeletons. Among them, one skeleton of brilliant gold stood out prominently. One could faintly see that its ribcage was completely crushed, and its right arm and left leg were missing. "..." Seeing this, even someone of Feng Jiuxuan's composure felt his mind waver. What... what had happened here? "Xu Changtian didn't tell you about this place?" Tianyuan's voice drifted over, ethereal and cool. "Even without a divine soul, he should still remember a few things." "My family affairs are no concern of the Pavilion Master." Feng Jiuxuan's gaze returned to cold detachment, but his hand instinctively tightened around Qingyuan. That little brat hadn't told him about something this important? When he had seen Changge beating the boy half to death in the past, he had felt a twinge of heartache. Looking at it now... Good. Truly good! After a moment of silence, both drifted downward in unison. They touched down at the very bottom of the abyss. Pitch darkness surrounded them, yet it did not hinder their vision in the slightest. Resting his hand on his hilt, Feng Jiuxuan stood in place and surveyed the surroundings. "What happened here?" Tianyuan made no attempt to conceal it, walking toward the golden skeleton. "These were all people controlled by the Meishen tree spirit, serving as nutrients to feed it." Feng Jiuxuan fell into step behind her, brow furrowed as he murmured, "A monster fed on such a vast number of cultivators was trapped here and slowly worn away by time?" Tianyuan halted before the golden skeleton. "The Meishen cherry tree was not trapped here. You should know that no matter how meticulous an array formation is, it cannot endure for two myriad years without maintenance." "What do you mean?" Feng Jiuxuan frowned. Tianyuan glanced at him without emotion as she retrieved a Sumeru ring from the finger bone of the golden skeleton. "A sword fanatic like you wouldn't understand. You can ask your nephew; he and my disciple relived the Meishen tree spirit's experiences in an illusion." "..." Feng Jiuxuan ignored her words, his thumb pressing against his hilt to bare an inch of cold blade. "What did you just take?" "A relic of the previous Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master." Tianyuan turned around, her clear golden eyes striking in the dark. "Xu Yinhe sent you here to claim these Sumeru rings to reinforce the Northern Border. There is no point in us slaughtering each other here. Take what you came for and leave." "..." After staring at each other for a moment, Feng Jiuxuan drew his thumb back. Seeing this, Tianyuan soared straight into the air and vanished into the dark abyss without another word... *** Having listened intently to the account, Xu Yinhe, seated behind his desk, cast an expressionless glance at Xu Yuan. "..." Xu Yuan remained silent. "It seems our Changtian has kept quite a few things from his father." "*Cough*... Father, let me explain." Xu Yuan gave a light cough. "My memories of the Qionghua secret realm are very hazy. Even if I wanted to say something, I couldn't find the words." Hearing this, Old Man Luo chuckled with an ambiguous sneer. "Hazy... tsk, tsk." "..." Xu Yuan shot the old man a flat glare. Old Man Luo chuckled and cupped his hands toward Xu Yinhe. "Chancellor Xu, you really can't blame young Xu for this. Without the Heavenly Yan divine soul, there are many things he simply cannot remember." "Enough." Xu Yinhe's remark was merely a light, harmless reprimand. He changed the subject: "What happened two myriad years ago is in the past. What matters is the present. The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's emergence—" "Father, wait a moment," Xu Yuan suddenly raised a hand. The three present turned their gazes toward him. Xu Yinhe remained calm at being interrupted; after all, his son had always been like this. "Changtian, what is on your mind?" Weighing his words, Xu Yuan walked over to find a chair and sat down. "Father, the reason the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion is so widely resented is their ability to divine the future. If they are allowed to continue growing, everyone might end up with an overlord ruling above them. "Now that the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion has emerged, it could indeed be because a great calamity approaches. After all, when a calamity draws near, they cannot see the future, stripping away their most loathed ability. That removes the world's motive to wipe them out before the crisis is resolved. "But is there a possibility—I only mean a possibility—that the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion was forced into the open because they could no longer remain hidden?" In Cangyuan, right up until the storyline ended and peace was restored across the realm, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had never appeared, nor had any so-called great worldly calamity. It had simply been sects across the realm fighting back and forth. The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's early emergence was almost certainly the butterfly effect of his own actions. When Xu Yuan finished speaking, a long silence fell over the room. Xu Yinhe seemed to be weighing Xu Yuan's speculation. He suddenly raised his hand, sealing off Old Man Luo's five senses. The illusory figure of the scholar in the center of the study vanished instantly. "..." The Saint's remnant soul was cut off. For a moment, only the three family members remained in the study. Xu Yinhe looked at Xu Yuan and asked in a low voice, "Changtian, do you mean to say Luo Daofan cannot be trusted?" Xu Yuan shook his head. "No, Father, Luo Daofan can be trusted. He is a traitor to the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, and traitors usually strike harder against their own kind than against enemies. "What I mean is that you need not let the talk of an impending calamity influence your judgment of the broader situation." "Heh..." Xu Yinhe chuckled, shaking his head as he slowly rose from his chair. "Changtian... your father has never believed in fate. "Ever since you gave that warning last time, Lou Ji's investigation has already yielded some leads. Add to that what your uncle encountered this time, and the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's existence truly could not have remained hidden much longer. Their decision to step into the open may very well be out of desperation. "If the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion truly exists for the continuation of mankind, then Great Yan can simply appoint a new Imperial Preceptor. If they exist for their own ends, then an enemy hidden in the shadows has merely surfaced. Either way, it works to our advantage. "It is only that the world's situation has grown more complicated—just like whoever enticed you into targeting that girl Mu Zhiyun back then. To this day, we still have not determined whether it was the sects, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, or someone else entirely..." "..." Xu Yuan lowered his eyes and remained silent. By this point, with the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion emerging on Tianyan's side, his plot knowledge had collapsed completely. Once the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion fully emerged, it would most likely displace the Tianyuan Sword Sect. With such a power in play, there was no telling whether the sects that had historically sided with the Chancellor's Manor would defect. The future had become entirely unpredictable. Xu Yinhe strolled over to Xu Yuan and patted him on the shoulder. "Changtian, seize every moment to cultivate. There won't be much time left for you. If you need anything, contact Hua Hong directly." With that, Xu Yinhe turned to Feng Jiuxuan, who was leaning against the wall. "Eldest Brother, please look after Changtian's cultivation." Feng Jiuxuan gave Xu Yinhe no face whatsoever, letting out a cold snort. "Changtian is Qian'er's child. You needn't tell me what to do." "..." At the mention of Qian'er, the majesty in Xu Yinhe's eyes gave way to complex emotion. Returning the soul ring to Xu Yuan, he walked out of the study in silence. *** In the days that followed, Xu Yuan's life consisted of nothing but cultivation—monotonous, relentless cultivation. Feng Jiuxuan did not teach Xu Yuan the Sword Dao right away, instructing him instead to first break through to the fifth-rank Soul Condensation realm. Even with an Innate Dao Body and the cheat of boundless wealth, breaking through to the fifth rank still took time. Day after day slipped by. Eventually, Xu Yuan finally progressed from a sixth-rank weakling to a fifth-rank novice. At the same time, Far from the Imperial Capital, at the southern border of Great Yan where the empire met the boundless Great Desolation, a colossal tower suddenly rose into the clouds. The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had emerged.