Pei Daotong had just taken hold of the Heart-Subduing Bell when he felt as though its surface pulsed with veins and vessels. The warm, smooth touch caused his heartbeat to inexplicably quicken, and his primordial spirit grew dizzy, as if it were about to leave his body and flee to the Pure Land.
“Grand Preceptor Pei, we entrust this matter to you,” said the current emperor, Xiao Xuan, nodding beside him.
Pei Daotong stowed the bell away and solemnly cupped his hands. “This humble servant will not fail Your Majesty’s trust.”
He lifted his head and turned, his steps still steady, betraying no trace of haste or panic.
……
Xianping Prefecture, Southern Mountain Province.
High in the sky, winds stirred the clouds, and the evening glow condensed, revealing the lean figure of Meng Qi clad in black Daoist robes. His eyes flickered with cyan and violet lightning, reflecting the scene within the official residence below.
Wang Yuanfu, the prefect of Xianping and a martial cultivator, had survived one heavenly tribulation. He had been Pei Daotong’s disciple before the latter became Grand Preceptor and had remained fiercely loyal, willing to follow him even unto death. Thus, despite being mired in officialdom, he had managed to undergo the baptism of heavenly tribulation with Pei Daotong’s help and gained supernatural abilities.
Such a target—someone whose strength was not overwhelming yet could provoke Pei Daotong and Xiao Xuan—was exactly the kind Meng Qi preferred.
The images in his eyes shifted rapidly before finally settling on Wang Yuanfu, clad in his official robes. Meng Qi extended his right hand and pressed downward. Flames erupted from the void, forming a crimson pillar of fire that crashed down toward Xianping City.
The pillar appeared slow yet was deceptively swift, absorbing the surrounding stray energy to strengthen its own blaze. The flames deepened into a dark violet hue, their scale seemingly condensing, while all heat in the vicinity was sucked away, leaving behind frost and ice.
By the time the pillar reached the official residence, Wang Yuanfu barely had time to react before it struck him squarely. His body and robes instantly turned to ash, not even allowing him a final scream.
The crimson light dissipated, leaving behind a deep pit—dark, scorching, and bottomless. Its walls resembled flowing magma, slowly solidifying into varicolored glaze. Yet beyond the pit, not a single trace of burning could be seen, a testament to the precision of the attack.
With his strike successful, Meng Qi stepped onto a fiery dragon and swiftly vanished into the depths of the clouds.
Over an hour later, lightning flickered as Grand Preceptor Pei descended upon Xianping Prefecture like a celestial deity, riding a thunder dragon. He gazed down at the shimmering pit with cold fury.
“Yun Ji…” The muscles in Pei Daotong’s face twisted slightly, his voice low and seething with barely restrained rage, as if he wished to tear the man in question to pieces and grind his bones to dust.
Every acupoint in his body glowed, each housing a divine being, collectively forming the image of a celestial court. This power surged toward his brow, splitting open a vertical silver-violet eye that radiated boundless divine light.
This was the “Celestial-Searching Immortal Eye,” a supernatural ability refined through seven heavenly tribulations from the “Jade Emperor’s Divine Fist.” It combined the powers of wisdom and divination, said to pierce the heavens above and peer into the underworld below, leaving no worldly matter unseen. It was one of Pei Daotong’s greatest assets in hunting Meng Qi.
The silver-violet eye flickered, its reflections shifting endlessly, yet even after the time it took to drink a cup of tea, it failed to trace Meng Qi’s whereabouts using the residual aura from the pit.
“As expected of a Daoist Immortal who descended from beyond the heavens…” Pei Daotong’s voice remained laced with venom.
He had actually evaded the Celestial-Searching Immortal Eye!
Even the legendary Xu Tianzhi had failed to escape its gaze in the past!
Pei Daotong took a deep breath and guided his thunder dragon down to the prefectural residence, taking control of the area while awaiting further reports.
After several incense sticks’ worth of time, a streak of white light cut through the sky, landing in his palm—a white jade short sword inscribed with countless runes, the finest tool for long-distance communication in the realm.
With a light squeeze, a projection emerged from the sword, revealing a panicked official who cried out, “Grand Preceptor! Fuli City has been ambushed by Yun Ji! Governor Qin has fallen!”
Fuli? Pei Daotong’s expression darkened as his thunder dragon surged into the clouds, vanishing in an instant.
Soon, he arrived above Fuli City to find half the official residence in ruins, another deep pit scorched into the ground, with no stray traces of fire or lightning beyond its borders.
The remaining officials were in chaos, while the night sky remained clear of any intruders. Meng Qi was long gone.
Governor Qin Jiaxian had been Emperor Xiao Xuan’s tutor during his time as crown prince, their bond deep and his strength considerable—having survived four heavenly tribulations. Amidst the Daoist upheaval, he had volunteered to govern a region, his loyalty unquestionable. Yet even with the city’s defensive formation, he had not lasted long enough against Yun Ji’s assault to await rescue.
“Yun Ji…” Pei Daotong muttered the name again, but this time, his fury was tinged with urgency and helplessness. He yearned to tear the man apart, yet he knew the situation had grown dire.
Even with the Heart-Subduing Bell, how could he capture an enemy whose shadow he couldn’t even glimpse?
Yun Ji truly had no regard for the dignity of a master!
……
Far away, Meng Qi, still fleeing through the skies, shuddered as if sensing Pei Daotong’s curses.
Heh. With their outdated flying sword messaging system, how could they possibly counter my guerrilla tactics?
If this were the real world, with the omnipresent Wan Jie Tong Shi network, even without the omnipresence of legends, he wouldn’t dare act so recklessly.
The “latency” of flying sword messages was simply too high, giving him ample time to escape or switch targets!
……
After his setbacks, Pei Daotong sought Emperor Xiao Xuan’s permission to redeploy experts from the capital. They were grouped in teams and stationed at key strongholds, hoping to entangle Yun Ji with formations long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
But this left the capital’s defenses stretched thin, forcing reliance on weaker cultivators and significantly reducing security.
Within the palace, in a secluded chamber, the Ninth Prince, Xiao Kun, waved his hand to seal the doors and windows before addressing three eunuch-garbed men—Li Chongkang, Bi Chongde, and Lu Siquan—with sincerity. “You three have endured much hardship.”
These three thunder tribulation adepts had not entered the palace with Xiao Kun but through other means. The Daoist Sect, as the state religion, had roots too deep to fully purge. While most third-tribulation and above experts had been cleansed, Meng Qi’s nationwide campaign had drawn many out of the capital, leaving their posts to second-tribulation or newly ascended adepts—many of whom still harbored Daoist sympathies, allowing Li Chongkang’s group to infiltrate.
“Ninth Prince, have you confirmed the location of that extraordinary artifact?” Li Chongkang asked bluntly.
Xiao Kun nodded. “If my sources are correct, it lies within the Imperial Study.”
“Good. We’ll retrieve it tonight,” Li Chongkang declared without hesitation.
Xiao Kun hesitated. “It would be unwise to act rashly. The artifact’s resting place surely has defensive formations. A single misstep could alert His Majesty. Once the palace’s grand formation activates, escape will be impossible.”
“Do you have a better plan, Your Highness?” Bi Chongde frowned.
Xiao Kun proposed, “Since ascending through tribulations, His Majesty has favored Consort Hua for her ability to harmonize body and soul. Tonight will be no exception. Two of you should stage a diversionary attack, forcing him to focus on defense and delaying the grand formation’s activation. The third can then search the Imperial Study. Even if the formations trigger, there should be enough time to secure the artifact. Once obtained, hide it in the Heart’s Delight Pond or the garden’s rockery and flee in the chaos. I’ll retrieve it later. If it’s easily portable, take it directly.”
After consideration, Li Chongkang and the others agreed—some risks were unavoidable.
Late that night, near the former Hall of Supreme Harmony, now the Glazed Pavilion, Lu Siquan and Bi Chongde crept closer.
Exchanging a glance, they unleashed two beams of divine light—one freezing the pavilion in crystalline ice, the other shattering reactive formations with silver lightning, striking toward the bedchamber.
Suddenly, an overwhelming, transcendent aura erupted, melting the ice and dispersing the lightning as if the attacks had never existed.
From a distant palace, Xiao Kun sensed the aura and paled.
“A Creator! When did His Majesty survive the seventh tribulation?!”
……
Meanwhile, Li Chongkang infiltrated the Imperial Study and laid eyes on the extraordinary glazed lamp.
Just as he reached for it, a voice, light with amusement, spoke behind him:
“Namah Amitabha. If the donor wishes to take this lamp, he must first ask this humble monk.”
Turning, Li Chongkang saw a handsome, bald man in gray robes, exuding an air of serene detachment.
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