Zhaoyuan

The monster's words were utterly merciless, directly heaping insults upon the Cui Clan's Real Person. The gathered cultivators all paled in unison, lowering their heads and exchanging glances. Cui Juechen, who was kneeling at the very front, froze on the spot, not daring to utter a peep. Beside him, Cui Jueyin was even more stunned, a wave of bitterness washing over his heart. *So that was it… So that was how it was…* Yet the creature simply held his head high and stood upon the sand, sneering coldly. Sea patrollers belonged to the dragon kind. Their ranks varied from great to small, but most merely borrowed the dragons' prestige to throw their weight around. Normally, they would never dare offend a divine ability master, yet Yangya was an exception. Back when the Cui Clan first established themselves in the Eastern Sea, they had faced the peril of total extinction. It was the Cui family head of that era who urgently pleaded before the Flood Dragon Palace, offering a wisp of Mingfang Xuanyuan to resolve the Dragon King's pressing crisis. Only then did the clan gain a firm foothold in the Eastern Sea. From that moment on, the Cui Clan relied upon the dragon kind. Though they lacked the official title of vassals, they were vassals in all but name. Having risen under the dragons' aegis and resided in the West Sea for years, it was only proper for someone from the clan who attained a divine ability to travel to the palace and pay homage. Yet Yangya had holed up in the West Sea and completely ignored them… Fortunately, his branch of the clan was rooted in the West Sea, giving him some excuse not to come, which was why he had not faced any direct reprisals. Were Real Person Yangya present in the flesh, this beast would never dare utter such mockery… But everyone understood that while the Dragon King might not care, people beneath the waves remained resentful. Yangya had never once met with the dragon kind's envoys, giving this creature the confidence and righteousness to vent his spleen. What could Cui Juechen do? His status was far too lowly. He could neither retort against the beast nor shift the blame onto Real Person Yangya. All he could do was kowtow repeatedly with loud thuds, answering: “The arrangements of a divine ability master… are truly beyond our knowing. We only know that my second brother reached a bottleneck in his cultivation and had a chance to strive for a divine ability, so he brought back resources from the lakes… Surely both Real Persons gave their noble consent… I beg the sea patrol to grant us mercy for the sake of my second brother's modest ties!” The moment he said this, the cultivators to his left and right dropped to their knees in a rustle of robes. Patrol Hui's face hardened as he scolded, “Are you implying… that I am letting personal bias trouble you?” “I would never dare…” Cries of panic rose from all around. Out at sea, the colossal beast let out another roar, sending spray flying high into the air and instantly drowning out the clamor. Patrol Hui waved his sleeve, his enthusiasm waning as he said, “Enough, enough… Have that second brother of yours come out to speak with me!” Feeling as though he had been granted an amnesty, Cui Juechen hurriedly withdrew. Cui Jueyin stepped forward, bowing respectfully as he said, “Cui Jueyin, a descendant of the Chongzhou Cui Clan, greets Your Excellency!” “Oho!” The creature dropped his chilly demeanor, squeezing out a warm, beaming smile as he said effusively, “So it's you! Aiya! Why call me Your Excellency? You're flattering me to death!” The monster's swift change from arrogance to groveling left everyone flabbergasted. Even Cui Jueyin lost his composure, bewildered as he was led forward by the creature, who chuckled: “You… you… why still call it Chongzhou this and Cui Clan that? How could they ever hold someone like you! If I were you, I’d swagger about as the master of this place! I wouldn't call myself the Chongzhou Cui Clan—I'd call myself Cui Jueyin, Envoy under the Qilin! How grand would that be!” Cui Jueyin did not know whether to laugh or cry, but he maintained a deferential facade, answering, “That would never do… never do…” “It would do splendidly!” The beast had no sense of restraint, taking him by the hand and walking inward. Suddenly, he noticed the surroundings falling dead silent. The Cui clan members all raised their heads, staring blankly into the distance. “Hey!” Patrol Hui's temper flared again, and he opened his mouth to snap, but his ears twitched. He realized the sound of crashing waves had ceased. Brightness seemed to envelop the area, turning even the sandy beach into a sheet of glittering gold. His heart skipped a beat. *Heavens above… could Yangya be back?!* Running his mouth only to slam into the true master of the house immediately threw Patrol Hui into deep embarrassment, his heart hammering like a drum. Never mind whether Yangya was willing to bear the consequences of killing him—if a fuss broke out, a minor figure like him was dead for certain! Apprehensively, he glanced back, only to find the gloomy clouds ablaze with radiant light. A man in long robes with gold-patterned sleeves and golden eyes strode out of the Great Void with his hands behind his back, quietly hovering upon the clouds. Those golden eyes cast a casual sweep below, as though freezing the very air across the entire beach. Patrol Hui's mind went completely blank, yet he heard the young man beside him step forward, collapse to his knees with a thud, and say in a trembling voice: “Jueyin pays his respects to Your Highness!” His voice was slightly hoarse, brimming with excitement and bewilderment. The youth on the clouds looked down, his gaze softening with a touch of gentleness. “Jueyin.” *Thud!* Immediately afterward, the sea patrol fell to his knees as well. His catfish-like face scrunched up tightly, his eyes fixed on the ground as he cried out, “Huiyao… Huiyao pays his respects to Your Highness!” This monster was none other than Huiyao! Back in the day, he had served under the Zhunan Sea territory and handled the tributes from the Li family's overseas base on Zongquan Island… He was an old acquaintance of the Li family! Dazzling celestial light descended as Li Zhouwei arrived before the two. Recognizing him at a glance, he showed a hint of surprise. “Huiyao? You've certainly moved up!” The beast pressed his forehead flat against the ground, completely still in an attitude of supreme humility. “Your Excellency's light is dazzling and glorious, and the tiniest sliver of that brilliance blessed this humble monster. Blessed with good fortune ever since, I was able to come patrol such an affluent area. I am endlessly grateful… Hearing that Real Person Yangya was failing to appreciate kindness, I was just questioning them…” He spoke with utmost righteousness, but when his words fell upon the ears of the Cui Clan members, shock rippled through their hearts as they finally recognized who stood before them! *So it is this Highness…* Li Zhouwei chuckled and shook his head. The colossal beast in the sea had already vanished, materializing into a middle-aged man who walked forward with restrained deference and silently bowed. Huiyao did not dare stand up. With his face turned toward the ground, he forced a broad smile and introduced, “This… this is General Zhanlin… He has met Your Excellency in the past… He is a good friend of Ying Hebai, and back then he performed martial arts before the two Highnesses, establishing an acquaintance…” “A Baolin crossing beast.” Li Zhouwei nodded for him to rise, raising an eyebrow as he asked, “Ying Hebai… how is he doing these days?” That Ying Hebai was the King of Beijin River, formerly a river demon of Jiangbei who had rendered a few small services. Later, he had retreated because of the matter regarding Li Qianyuan, subsequently dropping out of sight without a trace of news. Huiyao sighed with deep emotion and replied, “He comes from noble blood as well, but I heard he has a relative—whether an elder sister or some senior, I know not—who served under the Monster King of Xushui… For some reason she fell out of favor, and amidst petty jealousy, the Monster King took her down… and locked her in the dungeons. “When Ying Hebai returned from Jiangbei, he had already lost his authority and held no real claim to being a king. Then he spent day after day trying to rescue his relative, which provoked the Monster King's displeasure… He has fallen on quite wretched times!” As Li Zhouwei listened, Cui Jueyin gritted his teeth in secret, raised his eyes, and said, “Reporting to Your Highness… This subordinate knows of him as well. Back then, when Guest Elder Ding was stranded in Jiangbei, it was he who stepped in to save him…” “I understand.” Li Zhouwei nodded, then asked, “His Highness Dingjiao… is there any news of him?” Hearing this, Huiyao, who had only just stood up, dropped to his knees again, beaming from ear to ear. “The Crown Prince has attained a divine ability!” “Oh?” A faint smile appeared on Li Zhouwei's face. “That is indeed joyous news! When will the banquet be held? I ought to bring gifts to offer my congratulations!” “There should have been a banquet…” Huiyao's expression suddenly grew solemn, and he lowered his voice. “However, a momentous event occurred in the sea depths recently. An elder of the dragon kind experienced a great joy… Even His Highness was no exception to the duty of attending, so the banquet was postponed. His Highness… His Highness departed a day ago to offer his congratulations…” *A day ago…* Li Zhouwei felt a surge of gravity in his heart, yet his expression remained natural. Murmuring that it was a pity, he swept his eyes across the surroundings and answered, “Then I shall not disturb your sea patrol.” “Your Highness speaks too heavily!” Huiyao chuckled. “Since Your Highness has arrived, this humble one would never dream of spoiling Your Excellency's mood. What is there left to patrol…” Ever since becoming acquainted with the Li clan at Zongquan, Huiyao's official career had flourished, and his kin in the sea depths lived much better lives. Naturally, he was full of gratitude. Offering a deep bow, he said respectfully, “Please proceed as you wish, Your Excellency!” Li Zhouwei paid no further heed to the two beasts. Nodding, he strode toward the island's interior. The cultivators on either side parted hurriedly. Watching this, Cui Juechen was scared out of his wits. Scrambling forward on hands and knees, he kowtowed beside Li Zhouwei. “My Lord… this humble one will attend to My Lord!” Those monsters of the dragon kind had always looked down their noses at everyone. To have a dragon patrol behave with such utter deference, to possess such dazzling divine ability, and to have Cui Jueyin address him directly as Your Highness—who else could he be? Thus, Cui Juechen scrambled up from the ground, not even pausing to straighten his sleeves, and bent low to guide Li Zhouwei forward all the way to the elevated golden hall. He invited the lord to take the central seat and stood waiting respectfully at the side. Only then did an old man with a head of white hair ascend the steps. Sitting down to keep him company, the old man bowed respectfully and said, “This humble cultivator, Cui Changyan, greets the Real Person.” This was presumably the elder currently managing affairs on the island. Cui Jueyin immediately rose to serve tea, while Li Zhouwei turned to him and asked, “Jueyin, Yangya told you to return to cultivate, yet here you are, still toiling out in the open.” The moment these words fell, the Cui clan members on both sides broke out in a cold sweat. Given this lord's divine ability, power, and ties to the dragon kind… should he become displeased, Chongzhou would suffer consequences it could never bear! Fortunately, Cui Jueyin bowed hurriedly and answered, “The sea has been restless of late. Having just exited seclusion, I joined the others in standing guard…” His words made Li Zhouwei set down his cup. He raised his eyes toward Cui Changyan, who quickly averted his gaze, lowering his head in silence as sweat drenched his brow. Li Zhouwei said nothing. As those golden eyes bore into him, the old man felt as though he were being scorched by a blazing sun, his heart failing and his breath growing short. Droplets of sweat trickled down his wrinkles, and his tightly pursed, aged lips began to tremble, on the verge of speaking. “Your Highness!” Cui Jueyin took a step forward. The white-robed man dropped to his knees with a thud, raising the bowl of clear tea above his head as he pleaded, “Please partake of the tea, Your Highness!” The golden-eyed youth paused, finally looking away. He cast a deep glance at Cui Jueyin, took the tea from his hands, took a gentle sip, and answered, “My visit this time… is first to see how you are doing. “And second… to meet the remnants of the State of Wei.” Silence fell over the hall, filled only by the echoes of his calm voice. “Speak of the past affairs of your former country.” He raised his cup, listening to the old man heave a deep sigh. “Reporting to Your Highness… our Cui Clan… had seven main branches. Our Chongzhou Cui Clan stems from the third branch. Our ancestors originally belonged to the same family as the Dongli Cui Clan, though the Dongli branch was of nobler standing and produced a True Sovereign… When the State of Wei stood, our branch focused primarily on cultivation and often managed affairs within the Zhaoyuan Immortal Mansion… “Later, Emperor Gong of Wei sought to find Penglai and dispatched our ancestors aboard treasure ships… but year after year passed without success. We eventually settled in Chongzhou, searching in all directions for traces… But great chaos erupted within the realm, at one point shattering the Great Void and agitating the spiritual mechanism… Having lost contact and lacking anyone to direct us, we simply remained on the island.” Li Zhouwei raised his brows and asked, “The Great Void was shattered… in what manner was it shattered?” A look of dread surfaced on Cui Changyan's face as he answered, “This matter was recorded in books with merely four words, but the oral account passed down at the time described it thus… It was said that the spiritual mechanism gathered without dispersing, jagged and disordered like countless bands of light scattered across heaven and earth. In the sea, these strips either condensed into fog or were completely devoid of spiritual mechanism…” Li Zhouwei understood immediately upon hearing this. The foundation of the Great Void lay in the spiritual mechanism. If a place was completely devoid of it, then the Great Void did not exist there either, and one could find no landing point in the Great Void to descend into that location. If the spiritual mechanism in reality truly gathered into strips and bands, the Great Void must have been fractured into countless pieces… Pondering briefly, he asked, “Which lineage of the Three Mysteries did the Zhaoyuan Immortal Mansion belong to? How many True Sovereigns did it have, and how did it conduct itself when Wei fell?” Cui Changyan gritted his teeth and replied, “According to the divisions within the realm, it should belong to the Douxuan lineage of the Three Mysteries, though such a classification is not entirely accurate…” A hint of pride crept into his tone. “The Mingyang ruled as Emperor, styled Guanyuan. Sacrifices were offered at the Great Chamber, the Qian Palace opened, and war drums and bells sounded, flogging the worldly renouncers across the realm and abolishing three thousand two hundred sects—Daoist true immortals were stripped of crowns and clipped of wings; demonic scions of Qinling had their baleful auras refined and heads hung high; wicked cults of many mountains were bound and dragged to Wei; shamanic petty domains were overthrown and brought under custody… The guilty were executed, the upright yielded, and the untainted were sheltered and gathered into a single Zhaoyuan Mansion to plan for the realm… “The single mansion of Zhaoyuan presided over the glorious heavens of Wei. It did not belong to any single family's lineage, but was the legal mansion of orthodox Dao for the entire dynasty of Wei!” Li Zhouwei lifted his chin, his gaze toward the old man shifting slightly. “So it was a school of its own.” Having recited the very last word, Cui Changyan plunged back from that magnificent past into bleak reality. The radiant gleam in his eyes vanished, replaced by a low, subdued tone: “As for True Sovereigns… we only heard of one… His Dao title is unknown, but he did not enter the imperial court.” “Did not enter the imperial court.” These words were intriguing, instantly catching Li Zhouwei's attention. The State of Wei practiced the methods of an immortal empire, where all official posts carried empowerment. Even a mortal devoid of cultivation would obtain a measure of cultivation upon receiving an official post, and the highest ranks even bestowed divine abilities… Not entering the imperial court highly suggested that this True Sovereign had cultivated entirely on his own! Setting his cup down gently, he suddenly felt a stir of sensation. Looking up, a faint, intrigued smile touched his lips. Almost in that very instant, the entire island began to shake. Brilliant radiance emerged above the horizon, and the rolling dark clouds parted immediately, revealing drifting iridescent clouds and countless rays of celestial light! This celestial light was neither domineering nor harsh; rather, it was as soft as cotton and poured down between layer upon layer of clouds like a waterfall, drifting and swaying upon the rooftops, cascading down window curtains like countless white raindrops flowing between palaces. Uproar swept through the island. Cui Jueyin was young after all, unfamiliar with what this omen signified, and looked up in bewilderment. Cui Changyan's face, however, turned deathly pale. The old man did not know how many times he had witnessed the scenery of this Mingyang shifting. Whether his father or his brothers, they had fallen one after another. Now that the omen had risen once more, all blood drained from the old man's face. He sat in his chair, terrified and trembling, looking toward Li Zhouwei with a glimmer of hope. Yet he saw the golden-eyed youth shake his head with faint amusement, saying softly, “Congratulations!” Shock filled Cui Jueyin's eyes. Across Cui Changyan's face, an explosive surge of wild joy erupted. Rising to his feet as if in a dream, he looked at Cui Jueyin, then back to Li Zhouwei. That joy transformed into boundless awe, leaving his lips trembling and words failing him. He dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing as though drained of all strength, weeping, “Never did I imagine Your Highness to be such a figure!”