Indeed, as a descendant of Shao Jian, Fang Canran could not resist taking vengeance against the Ke family, whose ancestors had betrayed their country for personal gain and glory.
Avenging national enmity and family feud all at once—this was what drove Fang Canran.
He Lingchuan had been to the Ke estate and remembered its resplendent, worldly luxury. If nothing else, their gardens had been the height of exquisite extravagance, continuously refined and crafted over more than a century to stand unmatched among all the Floating Isles. Yet in a single night, it had all been trampled to ruins under the hooves of the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth.
Sect Master Xue chimed in, "Though the Lingxu Incident caused tremendous shock and commotion, the true losses were not primarily monetary."
They lay in prestige and in the hearts of the people.
Elder Dao continued, "The Heavenly Palace announced it would remain closed for over two months, ostensibly to repair the palaces—after all, the damage was severe. Who knows whether it has reopened by now. In our view, however, it is far more likely they spent that time behind closed doors in protracted negotiations with Juju."
He Lingchuan chuckled. "Juju is sinister and greedy. The Heavenly Palace certainly picked a fine opponent for itself."
"Indeed." Hearing him hit upon the nature of Mount Xu's mountain spirit with such accuracy, Elder Dao and Sect Master Xue immediately knew the youth had likely dealt with Juju personally.
First involved in the Lingxu City Incident, and acquainted with Juju to boot.
Naturally, they kept their suspicions to themselves. Elder Dao said, "Once Juju broke free of the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation's shackles, even if it couldn't defeat the celestial gods and monsters of Lingxu, no one could do a thing to it as long as it dove deep into the fiery core of the earth. Such an advantage is truly unique."
Had Juju not been so uniquely situated, the Heavenly Palace would never have sought to win it over in the past and appoint it Mountain God of Mount Xu.
Everything had its advantages and disadvantages. The moment that creature slipped out of control, it immediately became an insurmountable stumbling block to the Heavenly Palace's post-disaster reconstruction!
If the celestial gods refused the conditions it demanded and Juju threw a fit, would it merely be striking the palaces on the mountain or rattling the city below?
Every bit of damage would be a slap to the faces of the celestial gods and the Demon Emperor!
With all of Lingxu City and all of Beijia watching closely, the Heavenly Palace itself was under immense pressure.
"Did they reach an agreement in the end?"
"It seems they did, because Lingxu City experienced two more minor tremors afterward—supposedly so faint they couldn't even knock over a teacup." Elder Dao beamed as he brought this up. "I suspect Juju secured quite a satisfactory price."
"I'd wager so as well." He Lingchuan shook his head. "Still, the celestial gods are accustomed to lording over everyone with haughty arrogance. They are used to trampling others underfoot, never letting anyone twist their arm. I doubt the Heavenly Palace can stomach this indignation. Sooner or later, they will seek a chance to retaliate."
"All the better, then!" Elder Dao clapped his hands and laughed. "They are neighbors who cannot move away. It will never be too late for them to settle scores."
"What about the Mount Xu formation?" He Lingchuan asked again. "Mount Xu is the source of Lingxu City's spirit veins. With the original grand formation destroyed, it can no longer gather spiritual energy from all directions for Lingxu City's use. How will the great demons cultivate from now on?"
Once accustomed to privilege, how could they bear to part with it?
"That remains unclear for now," Elder Dao shook his head. "Juju was tricked and suffered once before. Now that it is wide awake, it will surely obstruct them by every possible means."
Even if Lingxu City managed to procure another star map, if Juju were to shift the positions of Mount Xu's nine peaks, they would still likely be unable to erect a new grand formation.
"Speaking further of the aftermath of the Lingxu City Incident, I hear the royal court in Lingxu City almost blew the roof off arguing over whether to build walls around the imperial capital."
"Build walls?" He Lingchuan recalled his very first glimpse of Lingxu City—beneath the blue sky and white clouds, that colossal city without a single city wall had been overwhelmingly awe-inspiring to any ordinary mortal.
Back then, Bai Ziqi had told him that Lingxu City needed no walls.
The pride and confidence behind those words had been palpable.
And now? How many people of Lingxu City still held onto that confidence?
"Indeed. The officials advocating for walls argue that if Lingxu City had possessed towering gates and deep ramparts, the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth might not have devastated the lower city so badly, and the righteous heroes who stirred up chaos that night—er, well, they call them rioters—would not have escaped Lingxu City so easily." Having spoken at length, Elder Dao took a sip of water to moisten his throat. "To avoid repeating the disaster and to grant the populace a greater sense of security, they say Lingxu City ought to construct walls and gates; there is no need to court hidden dangers just for the sake of face."
"The opposing faction, on the other hand, argues that omitting gates and walls demonstrates formidable confidence while championing openness and freedom, which is precisely why talented individuals and great minds across the world flock to them. Erecting towering gates and thick ramparts would instead project weakness, terrifying the city's inhabitants all the more. I even heard that Lingxu City's Minister of Agriculture made a remark before the imperial court—"
"Oh?" He Lingchuan was intrigued. It seemed the Minister of Agriculture's household had successfully evaded severe punishment in the elixir of immortality case, leaving Yao Mao with enough peace of mind to debate in court.
"He said: 'At a time like this, Beijia's face is far more important than its substance.'"
"An argument like that won't reach a conclusion," He Lingchuan said leisurely. "How did the Demon Emperor finally rule?"
"Unclear. We haven't received the latest news yet."
He Lingchuan recalled what he had seen and heard at the Lingxu Imperial Academy, where countless scholars praised Lingxu City's ethos of freedom, openness, and inclusivity.
Lingxu City had stood for nearly six hundred years and developed its own system of governance. Certain ideals had become cast in stone; whoever attempted to shake them would cause deep fissures.
Erecting city walls was merely one example.
"Surrounding the hunt for culprits, the assignment of blame, and reconstruction, there are countless other disputes," Elder Dao sighed. "I can't help feeling a headache on the Demon Emperor's behalf."
*And yet you're grinning from ear to ear?* He Lingchuan asked him, "Is there any word on the elixir of immortality case?"
"Oh, yes, though it was overshadowed by the Lingxu Incident. In the end, they wrapped up the case hastily, and no one raised any objections." Elder Dao thought for a moment. "National Preceptor Qingyang, as the principal offender, was stripped of his title as National Preceptor and demoted to a commoner. Cen Boqing, as an accomplice, was stripped of his noble title and office, had his estate confiscated, received one hundred strokes of the rod, and was exiled to the northern territories. Oh, right—before his exile, he and Yao Xingning were divorced by mutual consent."
A noble family of the Minister of Agriculture's standing could never remain tied to a convicted criminal. He Lingchuan understood that no matter how deep Cen Boqing and Yao Xingning's love had been, when great disaster struck, the birds had to scatter in separate directions.
It was even likely that Cen Boqing escaping execution was the result of vigorous strings pulled by the Minister of Agriculture and Yao Xingning, the condition being that Cen Boqing had to agree to the divorce.
"As for the Minister of Agriculture Yao Mao himself, he was held accountable for dereliction of supervisory duty, demoted half a grade, and fined one hundred thousand taels."
He Lingchuan did not hear the name he was listening for, so he pressed, "What about Nian Zanli? The surrendered general from the Yuan Kingdom."
"Nian Zanli? Who might that be?" Elder Dao muttered the name several times before shaking his head. "Never heard of him."
He Lingchuan let out a quiet sigh.
Perhaps Nian Zanli's post was too lowly to reach Elder Dao's ears, or perhaps the charges against him were never made public at all, dealt with behind closed doors by the Heavenly Palace.
Whichever the case, Nian Zanli's fate would be no different.
The most absurd part of the entire elixir of immortality case was that National Preceptor Qingyang, the one with the gravest culpability, received light reprimands and light penalties—he did not even have to suffer a beating, merely returning to commoner life to go on living; while Nian Zanli, who bore the least guilt—no, Nian Zanli, who had had nothing to do with the case whatsoever—was now rotting alone in some forgotten corner, his fate unknown.
Chapter 753