BW Chapter 159
Dark Domain (1)
Mortal Realm, Capital City.
Endless burning clouds painted the entire sky in orange-red hues. In the distance, majestic and magnificent palaces stood row upon row, and the accumulated snow on the glazed tiles had melted into water drops, sweeping past the vermillion palace walls and falling heavily onto the ancient stone-paved roads with dull sounds.
On the high steps, the heavy official robes were lifted slightly by the cold wind.
“Fang Daren, please follow me.” A sharp, slightly feminine voice reached Fang Wanchen’s ears.
Fang Wanchen suddenly came back to his senses, nodded slightly to the person who had come, then followed behind the other party as they walked into the resplendent palace.
All along the way, he kept his eyes slightly lowered and looked straight ahead. When the person leading the way in front stopped and left, he unhurriedly lifted his official robes and prepared to bow and kowtow, “This humble minister——”
“No need.” An unfamiliar voice rang out in the great hall.
Fang Wanchen looked up in confusion and discovered that standing before him was not the emperor, but a young man dressed in black clothes, who was smiling as he gazed at him.
His eyes showed bewilderment. He turned his head to look around, only to discover that the person who had led him here earlier had already left. In the empty great hall, only the two of them remained.
Fang Wanchen stepped back warily and said, “Who are you, sir? And where is His Majesty?”
A trace of surprise flashed through the other party’s eyes, “You don’t remember me?”
Fang Wanchen was completely bewildered. He had clearly forgotten everything that had happened in the Mass Resentment Illusion Realm at Yuquan Village. He looked very confused, “I have never seen you before.”
“It seems Chengfeng doesn’t want you to get involved. So be it.” The other party smiled and said, “We can get to know each other anew. My name is Pei Heguang. This name was given to me by my younger brother, taken from ‘harmonizing one’s light with the dust.'”
Fang Wanchen felt this person was somewhat inexplicable.
A bright yellow object was thrown over by the other party. Fang Wanchen instinctively reached out to catch it, only to discover that what had been thrown to him was actually an imperial edict.
“Open it and take a look.” Pei Heguang was very patient.
Fang Wanchen opened the imperial edict and looked at it for a long while, then frowned and said, “Since you are the State Preceptor chosen by His Majesty, you should know that I am not a practitioner of the mystical arts.”
“You can learn.” Pei Heguang said.
“Strange forces and supernatural phenomena are not where my aspirations lie.” Fang Wanchen’s face turned cold as he spoke.
Pei Heguang patiently persuaded, “The path of cultivation can allow one to ascend to heaven and descend to earth, achieve immortality and longevity, and ascend to the great Dao… Which of these is not better than living alone and desolate in the mortal world for just a brief moment?”
“Complete nonsense!” Fang Wanchen said sternly, “It must be you practitioners who have bewitched His Majesty with your heretical words, causing him to issue such an absurd imperial edict. I demand to see His Majesty!”
Pei Heguang folded his sleeves and shook his head, “Xiao Wu, I came on this trip specifically to fetch you. The mortal realm is about to face a great calamity. If you stay by my side, you will certainly be safe and sound.”
Fang Wanchen said harshly, “My surname is Fang, given name Wanchen, courtesy name Zhonglin, and I am the third child in my family. You must have found the wrong person!”
Pei Heguang smiled and shook his head, “Come with me. I will slowly tell you about what happened before.”
“Absurd——” Before Fang Wanchen could finish speaking, everything suddenly went pitch black before his eyes.
Half an hour later, at the entrance from the mortal realm to the Seventeen States.
Xie Jiu looked at the person Pei Heguang was carrying and cupped his hands, saying, “Master, everything is ready. Are you really planning to bring a mortal back to the Seventeen Prefectures?”
Pei Heguang glanced at him lightly, “What, do you think it’s inappropriate?”
“This disciple wouldn’t dare.” Xie Jiu lowered his eyes and said, “It’s just that this disciple fears he might have difficulty adapting when he suddenly enters the cultivation world.”
“I will naturally teach him well.” Pei Heguang stepped into the entrance, then suddenly stopped and said, “Ah Ci, do you resent me for leaving you behind in Yuquan Village that time?”
Xie Jiu pressed his lips together and said in a deep voice, “Master naturally considers things more thoroughly than I do.”
Pei Heguang smiled at him, “Ah Ci, doesn’t it hurt to be so duplicitous?”
Xie Jiu raised his head to look at him.
****
Seventeen States, Zhen Prefecture.
Wushi Sect’s main peak.
Ever since the great sect selection had concluded, this was the first time Wushi Sect had been so lively. The sect masters and family heads of various major sects and clans had brought their disciples to gather in one place, and colorful banners fluttered and rustled in the wind.
The great hall was filled with the buzz of voices. Chu Linyuan sat in the main seat, conversing in low voices with the neighboring Wei family head, Wei Lian.
“…Linyuan is incompetent, to still require you to personally come out of seclusion to preside over the situation.” Chu Linyuan felt rather guilty.
Wei Lian’s hair and beard were completely white. Although his complexion looked rosy, he had many wrinkles. If others didn’t know his identity, they might just think he was an ordinary cultivator whose lifespan was about to reach its end. But those who knew the inside story held him in considerable respect.
The reason was simple: if one truly ranked by seniority and age, Wei Lian could be considered the longest-living human cultivator currently alive in the Seventeen States. As for how long his lifespan was, no one knew anymore. Even Chu Jun’s master, Zhuozhi Zhenren, would bow respectfully when seeing him, as his seniority was extremely high.
Wei Lian waved his hand and said slowly, “This is a matter concerning the life and death of the Seventeen States. My Wei family’s children have received much care from you in ordinary times, and I am taking this opportunity to express my thanks.”
Chu Linyuan said respectfully, “You flatter this junior too much. Wushi Sect and the Wei family have always been on good terms. This is all as it should be.”
The sect leaders of the major sects and clans in the upper seats conversed courteously and warmly, seemingly casually probing each other’s attitudes. The elders in the great hall were also having their own conversations, while the disciples who weren’t qualified to enter the hall could only wait respectfully outside the hall doors.
“I heard they invited that old ancestor of the Wei family to come out of the mountain. This matter is no small thing.” Han Wujiu, the chief disciple of the Hanyan Sect, said in a low voice.
“Naturally it’s no small matter. These past few days, the spiritual power in the Seventeen States has been fluctuating severely. The Eight Trigrams Great Formation is about to be unable to hold up, and the Linglong Bone is currently missing… Otherwise, do you think the sect masters and family heads would gather together when they have nothing better to do?” The heir of Canghai Tower said, “I heard that something seems to have gone wrong again on the Dark Domain side. Zen Master Mingsang has been leading people to guard there…”
“…This old ancestor of the Wei family doesn’t know how many thousands of years he’s lived. With such a big incident happening, why didn’t he speak up earlier? Could it be that he doesn’t even care about the lives of his own Wei family descendants?” Someone wondered.
“Shh, do you want to die?” Someone else scolded in a low voice, “The old ancestor naturally has his own considerations.”
“What considerations? I think he’s lived too long and has no hope of ascension, so he simply doesn’t care about others’ lives…” Someone muttered.
“If you can’t speak properly, then shut up.” A disciple standing by the door said coldly.
This disciple looked somewhat out of place among the crowd of people in fine clothes and luxurious garments. He wore tattered clothing and carried three short knives at his waist. Next to him stood someone with similar attire, who was also looking impatiently at the person who had spoken.
“Those two weirdos from the Wei family…”
“It’s better not to provoke them.”
The disciple who had spoken slunk away into the crowd.
Wei Xuesong and Wei Qingquan stood there with cold faces, and the focus of the disciples’ conversation shifted to other topics.
“That demon Ning Buwei has been keeping a low profile recently and disappeared from sight. Who knows what schemes he’s plotting…”
“…I heard the Wang family is in complete chaos now. Old Ancestor Wang Bin showed up near Wanxuan Academy before and then disappeared again…”
“Speaking of which, Wanxuan Academy has started classes. My nephew skipped school on the first day and got his leg broken by my brother…”
“Kids will be kids…”
“If we could find the Linglong Bone, the current predicament could be directly resolved. Sect Master Chu mentioned it before, so why is there no movement now?”
“…The various old ancestors and true masters have their own arrangements. We just need to follow orders.”
“…………”
In the great hall above, Chu Linyuan gave a general account of the situation in the Seventeen States, saying, “Now the Eight Trigrams Great Formation is in precarious condition, and the Dark Domain’s prohibitions have been forcibly broken by someone. Once the prohibitions completely disappear, the spiritual power of the Seventeen States will surge into the mortal realm. At that time, whether for the mortal world or the cultivation world, it will be a great calamity… I hope everyone will work together with one heart to overcome this difficult time.”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone began discussing among themselves. At this moment, an abrupt voice suddenly interjected:
“Sect Master Chu, you shouldn’t avoid the important issues and dwell on the trivial. The current predicament can only be resolved by the Linglong Bone. You clearly know that the Linglong Bone is at Wanxuan Academy, so why don’t you tell everyone?”
The entire great hall suddenly became quiet.