With those parting words, Li Junqing vaulted cleanly over the railing and leapt straight down from the "airplane."
Sensing this, Xu Yuan was momentarily stunned.
He had half-expected the scoundrel to shamelessly freeload on his flying palace for the rest of the journey, not expecting him to leave with such decisive neatness.
On second thought, though, it made perfect sense.
This was Xu Yuan's first time returning to the capital as the young master of the Prime Minister's Manor. If anyone spotted the Third Prince aboard his flying palace...
It would be like getting yellow mud in your breeches—no matter how innocent, everyone would assume it was shit.
That slippery bastard was as cautious and calculating as ever.
Watching Li Junqing's figure gradually vanish into the distance, Xu Yuan felt an inexplicable twinge of sorrow stir in his chest.
This surprised him somewhat.
His relationship with that slippery third prince was hardly close.
The few times they had helped each other were born purely of mutual self-interest, and at the slightest hint of danger, they would immediately pass the buck and screw each other over.
They were nowhere near true friends—fair-weather drinking buddies at best.
Yet after a moment's reflection, Xu Yuan chuckled and let out a soft sigh.
Some things simply couldn't be rationalized. Take their uncanny sense of instant familiarity, forged from the countless traits they shared.
Both loved slacking off, both loved shifting blame, and both wanted all the perks without any of the responsibility.
Li Junqing truly was just like him.
In fact, it was almost as though they were the exact same person raised in two entirely different environments.
The only difference was that one had grown up in an affectionate Prime Minister's Manor, while the other had been reared in the cold, ruthless royal court.
At this thought, something suddenly dawned on Xu Yuan. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and muttered under his breath, "Wait... that prick's parting words weren't just a bunch of bullshit to farm my goodwill, were they?"
Supreme power was something everyone coveted, but the price one was willing to pay to obtain it remained an individual choice.
Some were willing to sacrifice everything, while others wouldn't part with so much as a pinky finger.
Did Li Junqing want to be Emperor?
Of course he did.
Yet as a kindred spirit, Xu Yuan knew the rascal's mindset all too well.
To hell with "with great power comes great responsibility."
A guy like Li Junqing only wanted to indulge himself without paying the price.
Or rather, the environment Li Junqing had grown up in meant he completely lacked the underlying drive required to become an Emperor.
His imperial father? No affection.
His imperial mother? Doting solely on the Crown Prince.
His royal brothers? Constantly on guard against him scheming for the throne.
Raised in such a toxic nest, even if they had met five or ten years earlier, Li Junqing would still only have felt tempted—he would never have actually agreed to ally with him.
A gentle easterly breeze swept across the high sky. Xu Yuan cast an odd look back toward the direction Li Junqing had gone.
To think he had spent so long seeking a partnership, only to realize at the very end that the idea had been stillborn from the start.
That kid had actually dared to play him for a fool.
Still, regardless of everything, Third Prince Li Junqing could be considered the first friend this "Xu Yuan" had ever made in this life—and, to date, his only one.
This parting might very well be forever.
No matter who emerged victorious in the coming turmoil, Li Junqing would likely never set foot on his homeland again.
Whether the Prime Minister's Manor or the great sects laughed last, the bloodline of the former imperial clan would be the first to be purged.
And even if the Great Yan royal family managed to turn the tables, an imperial prince who had accepted investment from the Prime Minister's Manor would just as surely face execution.
Taking one last glance in the direction Li Junqing had slipped away, Xu Yuan turned back, waved a hand toward the empty sky, and sent a voice transmission:
"Thanks, then! Here's wishing you smooth sailing to become a five-star Emperor over in Dongying.
"And one more thing...
"If the Prime Minister's Manor wins, I'll allow you to come back to Great Yan for a visit once in a while."
His voice drifted away with the wind, melting into the boundless blue expanse.
Inside the grand side hall, Xu Yuan stepped through the doorway to find two men already waiting in the guest seats, with a woman standing in attendance at the side.
The Old Celestial Master, the Young Celestial Master, and a maidservant.
The Young Celestial Master was still dressed as a man, her disguise far superior to a certain idiot's crude attempts. There wasn't the slightest hint of feminine softness about her; at a glance, she appeared handsome, dashing, and spirited.
The maidservant was a Grandmaster with delicate features. She was the woman Xu Yuan had met once during his first trip back to the capital—his mother's personal maidservant, and the only attendant aboard this flying palace.
Upon seeing Xu Yuan enter, she curtsied respectfully to him, stepped back several paces, and quietly withdrew through a side door.
Xu Yuan's gaze swept past her and finally settled on the Old Celestial Master.
An elderly man who exuded the effortless, transcendent air of an immortal Daoist.
Xu Yuan found this truly rare.
He had encountered a fair number of Saints by now, but those advanced in age were either muscle-bound hulks wielding giant greatswords like Ran Jianli or eccentric crackpots like Qin Ke. It was his first time meeting an immortal Daoist with fluttering white whiskers like this Old Celestial Master.
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
His footsteps echoed softly through the vast, quiet hall.
When Xu Yuan drew within thirty feet, the handsome "man" spoke via voice transmission, a teasing laugh coloring her feminine voice: *"Hey, brat, remember your big sister?"*
Xu Yuan paused and glanced over.
Tang Weijun winked at him.
Xu Yuan smiled faintly and was just about to reply when the sagely elder beside her rose to his feet and chided the Young Celestial Master, "Weijun, mind your manners."
Tang Weijun reluctantly averted her gaze.
With a soft grunt, the Old Celestial Master raised his hands, his voluminous Daoist robes billowing without any wind. Bringing his palms together, he bowed respectfully to Xu Yuan. "Jing Li of Celestial Master Manor greets the Third Young Master."
Seeing this, Tang Weijun had no choice but to cup her hands and bow reluctantly as well.
Xu Yuan hastily returned the courtesy, saying, "This junior, Xu Changtian, greets the Old Celestial Master and the Young Celestial Master."
Once the formalities were concluded, Xu Yuan said with a warm smile, "Old Celestial Master, there is no need to stand on such ceremony. You may simply address me as Changtian—"
"Third Young Master, propriety cannot be cast aside."
Before Xu Yuan could finish, the Old Celestial Master cut him off directly. "This old man has come today only to ask the Third Young Master to relay a message to the Chancellor..."
"Master," Tang Weijun blurted out, abandoning all pretense and speaking in her natural woman's voice.
"Silence."
A faint golden glow flickered in the Old Celestial Master's aged eyes. Glancing sideways at his disciple, he reprimanded her via voice transmission: *"Do I need to remind you how much trouble you caused recently? Do you wish to bind Celestial Master Manor and the tens of millions of common folk across Daying Province to the Chancellor's Manor all on your own whim?"*
*"..."* Tang Weijun fell silent.
Though Xu Yuan had not intended to eavesdrop, hearing the transmission made his heart sink slightly. Maintaining an unruffled expression, he walked over to the main seat, sat down, and said softly, "Old Celestial Master, please take a seat. Whatever words you wish to pass to my father, Changtian will certainly deliver them."
The Old Celestial Master's white beard fluttered. He neither sat down nor spoke, merely watching Xu Yuan calmly with eyes gleaming with golden light.
Tang Weijun kept her eyelids lowered, standing quietly alongside her master.
The entire side hall fell dead silent, save for the distant cry of the giant eagle as it soared through the clouds.
Some things could not be spoken openly, nor did they need to be; both sides understood each other perfectly.
Amidst the silence, Xu Yuan slowly rose from his seat and said in a low voice, "Changtian understands the Old Celestial Master's intentions."
Hearing this, the Old Celestial Master let his qi dynamic disperse. His heavily wrinkled face relaxed slightly, and his fluttering white beard parted as he spoke: "Celestial Master Manor is a small temple; it cannot accommodate the Chancellor's grand vision. I hope the Young Master can understand."
Letting out a quiet sigh in his heart, Xu Yuan took a deep breath, bowed his head, and murmured, "Changtian understands your difficulties. Still, regarding my elder brother's affair, I thank the Old Celestial Master for intervening. As for compensation—"
The Old Celestial Master shook his head gently and sat down, murmuring, "Compensation is unnecessary. I contributed nothing to that matter, merely offering a few words of counsel to both sides. To walk away alive from the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master was your brother's own doing."
Xu Yuan chuckled softly at this and used his source qi to float a porcelain teapot and fragrant cups over to the two of them. "This junior has just returned from the Western Desert and knows the Pavilion Master's capabilities well. While my elder brother certainly has skill, he isn't quite at the level where—"
"Third Young Master, Xu Changge truly possesses such skill."
The Old Celestial Master cut him off once again, murmuring with utter seriousness, "When I arrived at the scene, he had already battled Overseeing Heaven Pavilion for half a quarter-hour. Even had I not intervened, the Pavilion Master would have withdrawn on her own once she secured that heart."
Xu Yuan sighed inwardly.
It seemed this Old Celestial Master had made up his mind, refusing to leave even the slightest room for pleasantries or overtures.
How had Xu Changge survived against the Pavilion Master?
Tianyuan had fought Feng Jiuxuan for an entire day without falling into a disadvantage, not to mention that spell arts possessed innate counter-relationships.
Xu Changge's Karma Sword was indeed absurdly powerful and completely unreasonable, but the death substitution secret art from the Life and Death Chapter of the Heaven Evolution Formula was a flawless counter to it.
If Xu Yuan were to fight Xu Changge right now, he wouldn't even need to use his Void-Stepping Slash; he could literally stand there and trade blows toe-to-toe with that pretentious poser.
Xu Changge could slash him a hundred times and barely scratch the surface,
whereas a single hit from Xu Yuan would be lethal.
Sensing Xu Yuan's helplessness, Tang Weijun suddenly spoke up, still using her feminine voice: "Third Young Master, my master speaks the truth. Even if he hadn't arrived, the Pavilion Master would still have retreated."
Xu Yuan reflexively glanced over.
Tang Weijun sighed, her tone tinged with helplessness. "Afterward, Xu Changge told me that if Master hadn't arrived, he was prepared to trade his life to grievously wound the Pavilion Master—and at that critical juncture, she could never afford to suffer an injury of that magnitude."
Saying this, Tang Weijun reached up to touch the long hair trailing down her back and murmured wistfully, "Knowing him, he wouldn't lie."
"Weijun," the Old Celestial Master coughed lightly in warning.
The light in Tang Weijun's eyes dimmed slightly.
Xu Yuan fell silent.
Just like in the dozens of timelines in *Cangyuan*, Celestial Master Manor remained determined to maintain its strict neutrality.
*Found a sect, protect a land.*
Celestial Master Manor had adhered to this doctrine from beginning to end.
Even after Xu Changge died and Tang Weijun took over as the new Celestial Master, that stance had never wavered.
Yet Xu Yuan wasn't ready to give up just yet. Choosing his words carefully, he said, "Changtian understands.
"Old Celestial Master, if I recall correctly, Celestial Master Manor's World-Entry Rite should be taking place over these few days, shouldn't it?"
Tang Weijun looked up, the corners of her lips curling into a smile. "You little brat, you want to attend as a guest?"
The reason the common people of Daying Province could live in such peace and prosperity was largely due to Celestial Master Manor's World-Entry Rite.
Among cultivation sects, Celestial Master Manor was a peculiar anomaly.
Having endured for a millennium, it had never devolved into an ossified clique of cultivation clans.
Every single disciple of Celestial Master Manor was selected from among the common folk as a child, nurtured from youth until they grew into the sect's elders.
This went against ordinary human nature, yet it truly existed here.
And perhaps the biggest reason was this World-Entry Rite, preserved ever since the sect's founding.
Upon turning sixteen, every disciple of Celestial Master Manor was granted one hundred taels of silver for travel expenses, tasked with entering the mortal realm to journey ten thousand li, and then expected to compile a detailed account of everything they witnessed.
Celestial Master Manor would assess the conduct of these disciples along their ten-thousand-li journey through inquiries, spot checks, and covert tracking.
The outstanding ones were inducted into the inner sect, or even taken as direct personal disciples by elders.
During this journey into the mortal world, there were inevitably those who made false reports or slacked off, but thanks to the rigorous assessment system, most disciples—driven either by self-interest or a righteous conscience—would slay monsters, uphold justice, and eradicate bandits.
Naturally, during their travels, these disciples would also identify mortal children gifted with cultivation aptitude, bringing them back to the sect to begin the cycle anew.
It had its flaws, but it was the closest thing to an ideal immortal sect.
Xu Yuan had long admired it, and he said softly, "If it is possible..."
"The World-Entry Rite concluded today; I am afraid the Third Young Master will have to wait until next year." The Old Celestial Master's hooded eyes intervened, cutting into their conversation.
"..."
*That old bastard.*
Xu Yuan cursed inwardly.
As a Transcendent Realm expert, when his vessel flew past Celestial Master Manor's mountain gates, he had seen clearly with his own eyes that guests from all factions were only just beginning to ascend the mountain. And now it was magically over just because he showed up?
Unfortunately, he couldn't voice this aloud. He could only play along and say, "If that is the case, it truly is a pity."
The Old Celestial Master offered a faint smile. "Third Young Master, following the incident in the Western Desert, the city of Di'an is far from peaceful."
Xu Yuan's eyes flickered as he considered the meaning behind those words. "This junior is aware."
The Old Celestial Master continued unhurriedly, "There is one more matter that brings me to disturb the Third Young Master today."
"I am all ears."
"The day before yesterday, Ran Jianli sent a secret letter to me—or rather, to several sect masters on good terms with him."
Xu Yuan reacted swiftly, asking, "The letter is about Ran Qingmo?"
"If we crossed paths with you, he hoped we would take his disciple off your hands rather than let her accompany you to Di'an."
With those words, the Old Celestial Master lifted his porcelain cup, took a delicate sip of the fragrant tea, and rose to his feet. He said softly, "Both matters have been conveyed. Sect affairs are pressing, so I shall not disturb you any longer, Young Master."
Xu Yuan remained silent for a moment before rising to his feet as well. In a low voice, he said, "Please wait a moment, Old Celestial Master. Allow this junior to inform Ran Qingmo on your behalf."
Chapter 704