Beneath the full moon, Feng Jiuxuan stood draped in robes as white as snow. As an illusory afterimage flashed past, the long hair at his temples fluttered softly, and a flicker of surprise showed in his sidelong glance.
Xu Yuan stared fixedly at the scene not far away.
An afterimage?
No.
Rather than an afterimage, the "intent" that had just brushed past the tips of Feng Jiuxuan's hair was more like an indescribable, nebulous mass.
With a trace of excitement, Xu Yuan said in his mind, "Old Man Luo, I felt it just now—"
The Saint's remnant soul gave a cold snort. "The intent this old man used was channeled through your body. Of course you could see it."
"What do you mean?" Xu Yuan frowned.
"Quiet down for now. We almost died just then."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan felt puzzled by the old man's words, but he obediently followed instructions.
He watched as, under the auto-pilot of the Old Man Luo-brand "AI," his own body clashed across the distance against his uncle.
Moonlight fell like a waterfall, and the surroundings were exceedingly quiet.
Soon, Xu Yuan understood what Old Man Luo had meant.
He could only sense the intent the Saint's remnant soul manifested while controlling his body; from beginning to end, he had never once detected the intent released by Feng Jiuxuan.
Earlier, it wasn't that he could see it on his own, but that he could only see it using the Saint's remnant soul as an intermediary.
Xu Yuan let out a soft, slightly disappointed sigh.
And after the Saint's remnant soul launched that counterattack, the battle quickly became completely one-sided.
Feng Jiuxuan remained rooted to the spot without moving a single step, watching the Saint's remnant soul opposite him with contemplative eyes.
Meanwhile, the Saint's remnant soul controlled Xu Yuan's body, dodging and maneuvering in utter disarray.
Old Man Luo was about to reach his limit.
As Xu Yuan watched, he couldn't help but complain internally, "Hey, hey, Old Man Luo, why are you embarrassing yourself so thoroughly?"
"Embarrassing myself?" Old Man Luo retorted crossly. "How about you give it a try, kid?"
Xu Yuan didn't care in the slightest. "I'm just a Soul Condensation realm cultivator propped up on medicine jars. How can you have the nerve to compare yourself to me?"
"..."
Old Man Luo went quiet for a moment, then gave a light cough. "Ahem. If I were in my prime, it naturally wouldn't be like this, but right now I am indeed no match for this uncle of yours."
Seeing that defeat was certain, Xu Yuan teased, "Knowing you're no match, why were you putting on such airs earlier, you old codger?"
Old Man Luo drew in a breath. "Kid, what airs was this old man putting on?"
"'I want to see just how strong the young people of this era are...'"
"Well, yes! I was just seeing how strong he was, and now I've seen it."
"..." Xu Yuan was speechless.
"Alright, that's enough."
The Saint's remnant soul chuckled. "This old man can't hold out any longer. Enjoy yourself!"
"..." Xu Yuan cursed.
Regaining control of his body, Xu Yuan instantly went on full alert, gripping the sword Qingyu to face the enemy.
Then,
his vision simply went black.
As it turned out, Xu Yuan was no heaven-born genius.
Waking once more from the despair of absolute death, Xu Yuan sighed and prepared to resume training.
Although this world was unfair in many ways, it still retained a measure of fairness when it came to growing stronger.
If one wanted to become powerful in a short period of time, one had to endure suffering beyond what ordinary people could bear.
Just like back when he sought to cultivate the Blood Yuan Heart Calamity Art.
He pushed himself up and had just retrieved Qingyu from where it had fallen nearby when Feng Jiuxuan suddenly spoke. His words were not directed at Xu Yuan, but at the Saint's remnant soul:
"Luo Daofan, come out. I have questions for you."
"..." Xu Yuan froze upon hearing that.
After a moment of silence, the middle-aged scholar floated out obediently from the soul ring, as if he had long known the other man would summon him.
"If the Sword Saint has questions, ask them directly."
Feng Jiuxuan looked at him with scrutiny. "How is it that you can borrow my nephew's body to release your intent?"
Separated by several dozen yards, the two exchanged a brief gaze.
Old Man Luo put on an act and sighed. "My past disciples were all troublemakers by nature. To help clean up their messes, this old man had to find ways to improve my methods of keeping them alive. Over ten thousand years, this old man has had time to comprehend and master many things."
A glint of understanding flashed across Feng Jiuxuan's eyes. "Your intent earlier carried a sense of sluggishness. Was it because you couldn't adapt to Changtian's body?"
Old Man Luo lowered his gaze and chuckled softly, speaking frankly: "Your family's precious treasure hasn't cultivated this old man's arts, so he cannot bring out my capabilities to the fullest at all."
Feng Jiuxuan narrowed his dark eyes, his voice indifferent. "No wonder you are so desperate to find someone to inherit your mantle."
Pausing for a fraction of a second, Feng Jiuxuan pressed a fingertip against the sword Qingyuan, his tone laced with a dense killing intent. "I recall Changge mentioning that you initially intended to take Changtian as your disciple?"
"..."
Feng Jiuxuan's heavy killing intent seemed almost tangible. Even though it wasn't directed at Xu Yuan, it still weighed on him until he could scarcely breathe.
The Saint's remnant soul seemed to have prepared his explanation long ago and said, "It was merely for self-preservation. I wouldn't dare attempt to possess him."
At this point, Xu Yuan also realized what the conversation between Old Man Luo and Feng Jiuxuan—as well as their earlier clash across the distance—actually signified.
The Saint's remnant soul had followed him for over half a year, to the point where Xu Yuan had nearly forgotten about it.
Old Man Luo was seizing this opportunity to demand compensation from the Chancellor's Manor.
Back then, although there had been an element of coercion, at the end of the day the relationship between the Chancellor's Manor and Old Man Luo was merely one of cooperation, not superior and subordinate.
Now, Old Man Luo had fulfilled his promise to escort the Third Young Master back to the Imperial Capital and had even handed over the resources of the secret realm, yet his father's side hadn't produced a whisper of news.
Not even capitalists exploited people like this.
Thinking of this, Xu Yuan laughed inwardly.
Well, capitalists couldn't, but a feudal dynasty certainly could.
Still, for Old Man Luo to bring this up at this exact moment, he must have sensed impending upheaval and was preparing to pack his bags and run.
A gentle night breeze blew past. Feng Jiuxuan suddenly glanced toward the inner court.
Then,
a middle-aged man clad in a black dragon robe with gold trim descended in the moonlight onto the open ground before the Sword Pavilion.
Xu Yinhe swept his gaze around, first looking at Xu Yuan, whose fingers were still trembling slightly from having just experienced death.
A barely perceptible flicker of concern flashed through his eyes and vanished.
Without voicing any sympathy, Xu Yinhe quietly looked at Old Man Luo's translucent soul form, his voice steady and deep: "I heard what transpired just now. Senior, rest assured; I have already found the candidate you desire for a disciple."
Hearing this, the gaze of Old Man Luo's soul form sharpened, and a smile touched the corners of his lips as he cupped his hands. "I knew Lord Chancellor wouldn't forget this matter. May I ask when this old man will be able to meet my future disciple?"
Xu Yinhe did not answer immediately, instead shifting the topic: "The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion has emerged into the world. They have already proclaimed it across the realm via communication crystals, and an envoy delegation they dispatched is already on its way to the capital to receive imperial investiture from the court. Judging by the information currently gathered by the Chancellor's Manor, their strength and scale are vast."
Old Man Luo's expression shifted, and he probed while feigning ignorance: "I wonder what Chancellor Xu means by these words?"
"Old Man Luo, can't you figure out something so simple? You are the Holy Venerable of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, after all~"
Xu Yuan chimed in at this moment, playing the straight man with impeccable timing. "Tianyan knows you are with me. Is there a possibility that while they are sending an envoy delegation to the capital to receive investiture, they also intend to 'welcome' you back along the way?"
"..."
Old Man Luo remained silent and looked at Xu Yinhe. He knew the Chancellor's Manor was entirely this Chancellor Xu's domain.
Xu Yinhe didn't speak either, simply gesturing with his eyes for him to discuss the matter with Xu Yuan.
"..." Old Man Luo's heart sank, and he began cursing inwardly.
He had witnessed this little bastard Xu Yuan's bizarre demeanor along the entire journey.
After parting ways with Ran Qingmo on the road north to the capital, there had been three secret realms along their path. He had wanted the kid to go treasure hunting inside, intending to secretly gather some items he needed for possession in preparation.
Every time he made a suggestion, this brat Xu Yuan wouldn't say a word, just staring back with a smiling expression.
It was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
It gave Old Man Luo the illusion that this kid understood him better than he understood himself.
Thinking up to this point, the Saint's remnant soul glanced at Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan blinked back at him and gave a bashful smile.
"..."
The corner of the Saint's remnant soul's eye twitched, his face turning dark as water. "I will not negotiate with this kid."
Seeing this, Xu Yuan was about to speak, but Xu Yinhe made a slight gesture with his hand, so Xu Yuan helplessly closed his mouth.
With a wave of Xu Yinhe's sleeve, the soul ring slid straight off Xu Yuan's fingertip and flew into his palm.
"Since you are unwilling to speak with Changtian, then Senior, please step over to the main hall to discuss the matter."
Having said that, Xu Yinhe nodded toward Feng Jiuxuan. "Eldest Brother, Wuyuan will visit the Chancellor's Manor tomorrow, and Changtian needs to go see her. As for tonight and tomorrow..."
***
At night, most areas of the Chancellor's Manor lacked the bustle of daytime, remaining tranquil and silent.
Xu Yinhe walked in front with steady strides, while Xu Yuan followed quietly behind.
After ten days, leaving the hellish training ground of the Sword Pavilion for the first time did not bring Xu Yuan much relief. After mulling over his phrasing for quite a while, Xu Yuan finally spoke up: "Father, about the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion..."
Xu Yinhe seemed to have long anticipated this question from his third son. "The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's envoy delegation will arrive at the Imperial Capital in about two months. It is said their Saintess will personally seek an audience with the Emperor. Changtian, you should be acquainted with her."
"..." Xu Yuan remained silent.
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Yuan asked slowly, "With the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion acting so openly, aren't they afraid the imperial court will detain their Saintess?"
Xu Yinhe glanced at him. "The overwhelming majority of sects in the two southern provinces have raised no objection whatsoever to the emergence of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. Many sects that were originally hostile to one another have even set aside their disputes."
Xu Yuan asked tentatively, "Do your words mean that the two southern provinces are already under the de facto control of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, and the conflicts between those sects were merely put on as a show for us?"
Sect forces were spread across every province in the realm. That there were none in the regions near Di'an City was entirely the result of decades of maneuvering by Li Yaoxuan and his father.
In *Cangyuan*, the depiction of the war surrounding the Purge of the Sects was quite vague, but from the general details, it was clear that the imperial court had essentially fought its way from north to south.
In the end, just as they were close to unification, the Chancellor's Manor collapsed due to a scripted plot demise.
From the looks of it, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion occupying the two southern provinces must have contributed significantly to that outcome.
Xu Yinhe kept walking beside the lake, where the water reflected the full moon. "Yes. By sending people to the capital this time under the guise of accepting imperial investiture, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion is actually applying pressure on the imperial court's military campaign in the Northern Border."
"Applying pressure?" Xu Yuan murmured.
Xu Yinhe narrowed his eyes with deep meaning. "It is impossible for the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion to stand on the court's side. Neither their stance, their interests, nor their motives allow it. Coming here to apply pressure serves as a pledge of allegiance offered to the sects across the realm."
"A pledge of allegiance?" Xu Yuan frowned. "The sects' attitude toward the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion can hardly be very welcoming. Will they accept such a pledge?"
The sects existed as individual entities, but also as a collective.
For an ancient big brother from ten thousand years ago like the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion to suddenly reemerge and seek entry into this collective would inevitably create conflict with the sects' current leader. Whether they would even accept the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion remained unknown.
In the plot of his past life, the Sword Sect was wiped out as soon as the war began.
The sects had needed a leader, which gave the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion ample room to pull strings from the shadows. But now, the Sword Sect was still intact, and Ran Jianli remained the Imperial Preceptor. With the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion stepping forward now, it was bound to cause an internal rift among the sects.
One faction would lean toward the Sword Sect, while the other would lean toward the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion.
In such a situation, the court would have immense room to maneuver between them.
Xu Yinhe sighed, turning his gaze back toward Xu Yuan, and calmly uttered a sentence: "Changtian, what if the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion acts in the name of a calamity?"
"..."
Hearing that, Xu Yuan's eyes widened slightly.
A myriad of thoughts suddenly surged through his mind, intricate and tangled.
Due to the uniqueness of the Heaven-Deducing Art, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion occupied an awkward position—one could even say they were naturally opposed to all other factions.
Few sects would follow what they said or the stances they took.
However, if it served the sects' interests, the situation changed completely.
Regardless of whether the talk of an impending calamity was fabricated by the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master, the sects would speak with one voice to confirm it as fact.
Xu Yuan frowned and walked forward a dozen yards. "If the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion is allowed to reach the capital for an audience, this talk of calamity will cause the imperial court to lose the moral high ground it currently holds."
Moral high ground was useless when ignored, but extraordinarily useful when wielded properly.
At present, Great Yan was still a single whole. Within the rules, righteous justification served as the pretext for action; it could win the hearts of the people, steady the morale of the army through legitimacy, and prevent anyone from opposing them out in the open.
Right now, the Great Yan court held the absolute moral high ground in deploying troops against the Barbarians.
Although the sects didn't wish to see this happen, the most they could do was have their mouthpieces advise the throne against 'wasting state resources and exhausting the people,' or obstruct matters through self-destructive sabotage as they had previously. Openly, they could not oppose it at all.
Yet a calamity...
The top-tier sects of Great Yan ought to know about such things. Even if some didn't, the sects that did would send word to inform them.
Under such circumstances, using a calamity as justification to preserve Great Yan's strength to confront the impending catastrophe would become an even greater righteous cause than purging foreign races.
Xu Yinhe came to a halt, gazing far to the south with profound eyes. "Costing the court its moral high ground in exchange for a pledge of allegiance to enter the sects—that Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master possesses formidable methods."
Xu Yuan rubbed the Sumeru ring on his fingertip. "Against such an open scheme, unless the court tears off all pretenses entirely, it will be difficult to counter. But right now, it isn't suitable for us to openly break with the sects."
Xu Yinhe nodded, then asked suddenly, "Changtian, do you have any countermeasures for this?"
Without a second thought, Xu Yuan uttered a single word:
"Delay."
"Delay?"
Xu Yinhe murmured the word. Understanding dawned in his mind, and a trace of a smile appeared in his eyes as he looked at Xu Yuan. "Why?"
Their eyes met.
Xu Yuan spread his hands, amusement in his voice: "The Emperor resides deep within the palace, and Father is occupied with pressing state affairs. Even if the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion spreads word of an impending calamity across the entire realm, it is inevitable that deceitful, treacherous officials might blind the eyes and ears of both the Emperor and Father.
"Before that envoy delegation arrives, neither of your lordships will have heard a single word about it."
Chapter 216