Trouble

Daoist Zhuang's pupils froze. He knew who the man in the sky was. That face—a face that had terrified him so deeply he could not enter meditation, a face that had flickered through his mind tens of thousands of times—hardly anyone in Changxiao Gate was more familiar with it than he was. Li Zhouwei. Back then, when the martial brothers had gathered on the lake to surround and slaughter him, Zhuang had not only examined him closely, but had even wounded him with spells, coveted his treasures, and hurled insults at him... Calculated closely, it was enough for him to die several hundred times over. *Thud...* The old man below the seat of honor sank to his knees bit by bit, unable to tear his gaze away. Even though everything had arrived right before his eyes, his mind remained an utter muddle: *What... what is happening...* From Daoist Zhuang, who was stationed by Changxiao Gate to guard this place, to the random members of minor clans and sect relatives at the banquet, none had ever imagined such a scene. None had thought that the White Qilin would stand before this mountain gate. Not only had they never thought it, but even upon seeing it, they found it impossible! *The White Qilin? What is the White Qilin doing here? Visiting friends?... Visiting friends at Changxiao Gate? Huh?* It was no wonder everyone was bewildered—Changxiao Gate had enjoyed peace for far too long, and the rule in the State of Yue that conflicts stopped before going too far had lasted far too long. Over these past several hundred years, all their battles had been fought overseas through proxies. How many times had fighting ever reached a sect's mountain gate? Even if battles did reach the gate, that only happened after the sect's Violet Palaces had perished completely! What kind of joke was this? Changxiao Gate still had a living Great Real Person! Although no one said it openly, in an era where Qingchi had waned and the sun had lost its brilliance, even if Changxiao Gate boasted of being the foremost immortal sect, one truly could not find a rival to match it in the present State of Yue! *Then what is this... for? Since visiting friends is impossible...* *Drip...* The night was silent, the lamplight soft. Wine flowed bit by bit across the table, reflecting the dazzling kaleidoscope of lights in the sky. The sound of dripping was exceptionally grating. In an instant, everyone lowered their heads and looked up toward Daoist Zhuang at the highest seat. *Then he must have come for revenge.* Daoist Zhuang's eyes were dull, his body slumped limply in the seat of honor. His neck was stiff, propped in his seat like a statue. His pupils were dilated to the extreme, every expression wiped from his face, leaving only despair. The divine ability in the sky gave them little time to ponder. Everything happened too fast to react. Daoist Zhuang's legs were still limp, but the night sky had already turned into an endless expanse of white, vastly surging to fill everyone's pupils. It was impossible to see one's own hand before one's face—nothing remained but boundless white. *Boom!* The array atop the sky was as fragile as an eggshell, vanishing into nothingness before the white light. The white light continued to descend, yet it brushed past everyone's faces like a gentle breeze, causing not the slightest harm. The entire terrace beneath their feet rumbled loudly as all its formations and runes went blind at once. Cold sweat broke out across everyone on the stage. Whether losing control of their bladders or bursting into wails, all were frozen in place, unharmed, merely bound within the billowing bright light, unable to move a muscle. The grand array hailed as endlessly miraculous, one of the foremost among Foundation Establishment arrays, was like a joke before a divine ability. The heavenly light in the sky was like a colossal beast, blowing away the array on the ground with a mere breath, and it even had to restrain its force for fear of trampling the entire market town into dust. "Hmm?" Only at this moment did the youth in the sky slightly shift his gaze, noticing the Daoist on the ground. Like a heavenly deity gazing down, he looked across the vast distance. In the very next instant, boiling heavenly light poured into Daoist Zhuang's seven orifices. He could not endure even for a fraction of an instant. The body he had cultivated for years, laden with Lihuo, suddenly swelled and burst into a thunderous explosion without warning. *Boom!* Boiling Lihuo erupted outward, and blood burned into roaring flames, spraying everywhere from where he stood and falling like rain. Those to his left and right lost their voices together, their robes soaked beneath them. They could only tremble where they stood, daring not look up. A massive flying vessel had already descended from the sky. Armored troops hurried down into the market town, storming everywhere without mercy. Footsteps echoed all around, but under the flickering white light in the sky, the cultivators on the terrace dared not stir, standing dazed in place. Yet all the white light was still surging upward, keeping them rooted where they stood. The countless white lights that had rained down from the sky earlier flowed backward, converging into a single point. Dragon banners and phoenix carriages wove past, and billowing rainbow clouds enveloped the entirety of Helin Commandery. Winds rose and clouds surged, revealing a glimpse of an immense entity. A heavenly gate densely covered in profound runes, blanketing the firmament. *** Changxiao Gate. The mountain range rose towering and magnificent, dotted with palaces. White mist billowed and leaped upward. Before the highest profound palace, two white vases shone with dazzling radiance, gushing forth dense spiritual qi that cascaded down the stone stairs. Yet inside the golden palaces of Changxiao's mountain gate, utter chaos reigned. White robes patterned with golden runes fluttered, but the colorful clouds and banners whipped wildly in the wind. A throng of elders and guest retainers flew back and forth across the peaks, their expressions either terrified or furious, cries rising from every quarter. "Sect Master!" The magnificent sect master's robes looked all the more exalted in the iridescent light, yet the old man was pale with dread, trembling all over as he stood dazedly upon the peak. Cultivators knelt in a circle all around him, every eye fixed on him. "Sect Master!" The group of cultivators were filled with wrath, surrounding him at the center as their voices clamored: "The Li clan... was originally run by demonic evil! To think they attained the Violet Palace... and now dare provoke our glorious orthodox path!" "What insolence! What kind of place does he think Changxiao Gate is? We are the orthodox lineage of a Great Real Person! How can we permit his wanton behavior?!" "We beg the Sect Master to invite the Zhenren to come forth from the mountains and subdue this evil!" Fierce anger showed on everyone's faces, yet Baibinzi, the Sect Master, was utterly disconsolate. His pupils were dilated, and his attention was not on their words at all. Instead, his hands and feet were icy cold, shivering relentlessly. *For the Li family to raise troops and come here... they could never have come just to wipe out a single market town!* His gaze rested on the dense cloud of light streaks in the sky. He had an extremely ominous premonition, vaguely sensing that all the rainbow clouds were lifting upward. This immense divine ability had been unleashed to its limit, clearly visible across the entire plain. Wherever the iridescent clouds covered, whether cultivators or mortals, all looked up in terror. Beneath the gaze of tens of millions, there was only boundless unease and panic. "What is he going to do?" Before the eyes of tens of millions, the heavenly gate came crashing down! Bearing rolling purple flames and heavenly light, it slammed with a thunderous roar toward the majestic mountain gate of Changxiao, thick with immortal towers! As the divine ability descended, an overwhelming suppressive force crashed down like collapsing mountains and overturned seas. For a time, the streaks of light that had been cowering and watching at the edges of the mountain gate lost their footing entirely, plummeting in unison like countless falling stars, white light showering like rain. The entire mountain gate of Changxiao was enveloped in rainbow light. The sky had already filled with brilliant silver radiance as Changxiao Gate's mountain-protecting grand array activated on its own! [Tianyi Zhixi Spiritual Array]! Densely etched with profound runes, the array emerged from the Great Void and enveloped the entirety of Changxiao's mountain gate. Before its radiance could even reach its brightest peak, the heavenly gate slammed down with a resounding impact: *Dong...* An ear-piercing resonance echoed through the entire mountain range. Disciples tumbled down the mountain in disarray, finally consumed by terror, flying about like headless flies. Amidst the endless clamor, intense white light spread ceaselessly across the grand array... Baibinzi fell flat on his backside, his heart freezing cold. The clamor of shouting and cursing in his ears came to an abrupt halt, replaced by whispers of disbelief: "Is this... trying to destroy our Changxiao Gate?! How could this be..." "Where are the immortal traces of the Great Real Person?!" Baibinzi's mind was a complete blank. He was the Sect Master after all, so he knew what attitude Real Person Changxiao held, which only deepened his terror: *Never mind the Great Real Person—we don't even know where the Zhenren is... Even if the Zhenren is truly in the sect... could he possibly prevail against the joined hands of the White Qilin and Zhaojing?!* *Dong!* Mountain trees shook violently; the earth trembled and the mountains swayed. The spiritual qi surged and shifted wildly. Baibinzi slowly scrambled up from the ground. The cultivators around him were all stricken with panic. The old man raised his eyes to look. Looking out from within the mountain gate, nothing remained in the sky except intense white light so glaring that one could hardly open one's eyes, and that towering heavenly gate standing upright in the white light. Boundless purple flames poured down from the gate, scorching the surroundings into grey smoke. Beyond that, there was nothing else. "Zhenren... Zhenren..." Covered in cold sweat, Baibinzi stared at the white light outside the array, fumbling through his sleeves, yet unable to produce anything. He had long since crushed the jade talisman Chengyan had given him. Chengyan definitely knew! Even if he didn't, with the earth shaking and mountains quaking to this degree, how could it escape the Zhenren's ears and eyes?! Baibinzi seemed rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the horizon. Suddenly, the surrounding clamor ceased abruptly, and the old man's pupils dilated once more. The heavenly gate standing alone within the endless white light finally changed. A youth stood beneath the heavenly gate holding a halberd, looking down coldly at them. The man had long brows and cold eyes, his aura wholly transformed. The long hair that had once been tied up now hung loosely down, swaying slightly. Billowing divine abilities clustered around him, and the towering, radiant heavenly gate behind him framed him like a monarch. Years ago, when he lowered his brow, it had meant composure, calm, and utter stoicism. But when he raised his brow, it was entirely different—ferocity revealed in full, golden eyes glowing brightly, evil and demonic to the extreme, as if choosing someone to devour. Those golden eyes seemed to pierce through the concealment of the grand array, looking down unobstructed from on high upon everything. That palpable terror—as if gazing directly into the eyes of a Violet Palace—made Baibinzi's heart skip a beat. A heat surged in his chest, and in his panic, he nearly spat blood. Not just Baibinzi. When this White Qilin of the mortal world manifested in the sky, all the curses across the mountain fell silent. This man seemed to strip away everyone's courage at once while simultaneously planting dread in every heart. No matter which corner a cultivator hid in, the same fear and inexplicable intimacy welled up within them: *It feels... it feels like he's looking at me...* They stared upward in a daze, unable to resist. *Thud...* In the faint sound of mountain wind, the soft sound of someone dropping to their knees suddenly rang out. Like a spark falling into dry kindling, that soft sound seemed to trigger a transformation, and the sounds of kneeling rose one after another: *Thud... thud...* More and more disciples knelt down across the mountain, bowing their heads in fear. Those of higher cultivation fared slightly better, but those of lower cultivation were already kowtowing. An eerie atmosphere began to spread. Baibinzi forced his eyes shut, the defenses of his mind on the verge of collapsing at any moment: *How is this possible... Even the Great Void is cut off! How could his divine ability penetrate a Violet Palace grand array... How could it pierce through a Violet Palace grand array to affect them...* He had experienced firsthand what the White Qilin was back then, but how could the pressure back then compare to today? *Zhenren... Where is the Zhenren?!* Beneath that gaze, every second felt like a year, his limbs trembling. Finally, a brilliant brown light shone forth, blanketing the mountain gate and illuminating endless profound radiance. A man clad in brown garments appeared before their eyes, standing quietly upon the solitary peak. His face was unsightly, watching the heavenly light outside with a dark, mercurial expression, visibly irritated. It was none other than Zhenren Chengyan! Conversely, Baibinzi practically exhaled a breath of relief. With a thud, he fell to his knees and wailed: "Zhenren!" No matter what thoughts Chengyan harbored at this moment, as long as he showed himself, Baibinzi would have a glimmer of hope. What he had feared most was that the Zhenren was not in the sect at all, or that the major powers had agreed among themselves to sell out the mountain gate to this or that clan—in which case there would truly be nowhere in heaven or earth for him to run! His crying voice contained untold relief, but Chengyan had no mood to pay him any attention. Never mind the disciples and elders across the mountain; even Chengyan himself was filled with shock and doubt at this moment! *Wait... what?* *Without rhyme or reason... why this sudden murderous intent?! Are the various sects simply going to ignore this?! Changxiao said our dao is glorious and upright, and that we need only wait for the Yang clan to come recruit us... Lord Yang didn't harm a single hair of ours either. What madness has seized the Li family?!* He was both enraged and suspicious, yet the Li family possessed true power. Without Changxiao's aid, he reckoned he would struggle even against Li Zhouwei alone, let alone with Li Ximing added to the fray... Most importantly, for the Li family to mobilize troops with such confidence, they likely held some sure card! The Zhenren cast his gaze around, his face dark as the bottom of a pot. With a heavy flick of his sleeve, a burst of Wutu radiance erupted across the mountain, sending a floor of elders and disciples tumbling. The eerie atmosphere permeating the mountain instantly loosened, yet no one dared speak, silently rising to their feet one by one. Sensing outward, Chengyan felt an ugly knot in his chest: *The Yetian Gate is right outside the array... Suppressive divine abilities have always been loathsome; it's impossible to slip away unnoticed...* His expression grew darker and darker as the grand array beneath his feet continued to shudder. Chengyan raised his eyes, only to find the man beneath the heavenly gate slightly lifting his gaze and speaking: "Chengyan." The voice sounded exceedingly calm. Resonating with the divine ability, it penetrated the array. Zhenren Chengyan's face changed slightly, and for a moment he dared not meet the youth's eyes, slowly shifting his gaze away. Yet those words snapped the last strained thread of Baibinzi's nerves. The old man stumbled back several paces in a manic state, collapsed to the ground, his lips trembling, and cried in horror: "He can see! He can see us!" His shrill voice echoed across the mountains, throwing everyone into panic. Under this shout, the low-level cultivators who had finally managed to stand straight collapsed limp like cut wheat. Those with weak wills even resumed kneeling and kowtowing. If one truly considered it, Zhenren Chengyan knew better than anyone in the sect just how terrifying that figure clad in Mingyang light was in the sky—he was someone whom even Shilou Yingge could not take down! At this moment, being addressed so directly chilled his heart. Forcing himself to remain composed, he raised his brow. Through the bright light, he saw the long halberd rise and point toward the mountain range beneath his feet, sharp and blinding. The youth commanded: "Step out of the array and accept your execution. Your sect members will be spared." Chengyan had not expected him to say such a thing, causing him to lose all face. Though apprehension stirred in his heart, his face remained as calm as an ancient well, his expression sinister. Before he could speak, he saw the palm of Li Zhouwei's hand grow increasingly bright, and a wisp of silver-white radiance leaped forth. This wisp of radiance was concentrated to the extreme, dispersing and reconverging from time to time like playing carp, dancing nimbly up and down in his palm. Yet as it moved, it stirred up dazzling lightning, exuding an aura of destruction. Chengyan finally came to a sudden realization, his face draining of color rapidly. With the vision of a Violet Palace cultivator, he could naturally see clearly what that wisp of silver radiance was! Though it appeared as a single wisp, in reality it consisted of hundreds upon thousands of sesame-sized specks of silver-white lightning packed densely together, uncountable in number. Each sesame-sized speck of silver-white lightning that manifested was a silver-white lightning wedge like a long sword! "As for breaking the array and executing Fellow Daoist... Minghuang does not mind the trouble. The only trouble is that Fellow Daoist would perish and turn to earth." The youth's contemplative, even slightly smiling voice echoed from all directions, drifting into his ears: "When that happens, Wutu falling upon the mountain gate will cause countless casualties, and sullying the spiritual vein would be ill-advised."