ATEG Chapter 69.1

Within the Li Manor, the white mist shrouding the courtyard suddenly began to ripple, churning restlessly like clouds.

Hou Li’s expression grew solemn. “Jin Yan, go and bring Ding Qin back.”

Jin Yan wasted no words. After acknowledging the order, he flew directly toward Ding Family Village. Though he didn’t know what had happened, after High God Li Chi had been in the fog for so long without emerging, unease had taken root in his heart.

Though Hou Li could now leave Li Manor, his speed was far inferior to Jin Yan, who had become a demon from a turtle dove. Actually, communication techniques would be fastest, but with the spiritual essence between heaven and earth in chaos, Hou Li couldn’t guarantee the safety of such transmissions. If the technique failed, or worse, if the message fell into someone else’s hands, that would be disastrous.

Hou Li gazed at the turbulent, surging mist, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

……

Above the Daqing Mountain range, a massive white crane flew swiftly past.

Ding Qin lay prostrate on Crane God Bai Hong’s back, the divine seal on her forehead pulsing abnormally. She pressed one hand to her forehead, praying in her heart—High God Li Chi, please don’t let anything happen to you…

A quarter-hour earlier, in Ding Family Village.

Ding Qin had been sparring with Bai Hong. Previously, she’d been busy setting up formations, with all the turbid demons attacking the village handled by Bai Hong. Now that this strange calamity had entered a relatively stable phase, things had improved for Lu Kingdom—the water source problem was solved, and rain would fall intermittently. Though not abundant, it was barely sufficient.

People were taking advantage of summer to replant crops. With luck, they might harvest some grain before winter arrived. With the common people having hope of survival, the rebel army lost its fertile ground. Though this year’s circumstances were dire, based on Lu Kingdom’s current development, they should manage to weather it safely.

The remaining troublesome issue was the maddened turbid demons and vengeful ghosts who hadn’t recovered after being affected by baleful qi. In the Daqing Mountain range area, with the Ghost King presiding, there were almost no vengeful ghosts still roaming, but outside there were still many turbid demons attacking any living thing. Even if people could hide within village formations, other wild creatures had almost nowhere to shelter. Moreover, people needed to leave the villages for tilling, planting, hunting, and so on. The former protective talismans had almost no effect on maddened turbid demons—even if they crashed into things until bloodied, as long as they didn’t die, they wouldn’t stop attacking.

To solve this problem, Crane God Bai Hong had no choice but to constantly patrol the areas it protected, searching for and eliminating those maddened turbid demons.

According to the Crane God, with Ding Qin having “such powerful strength, it would be too wasteful not to use it.”

But before letting Ding Qin face those turbid demons alone, Bai Hong needed to gauge her abilities. As a result of this sparring session, the Crane God found her wanting.

“With this level of skill, how did you manage to defeat that lizard demon that had lost its wits?” Bai Hong looked down at her, head drooping.

Ding Qin replied somewhat sheepishly, “That lizard demon didn’t notice me. I basically ambushed it.”

She’d hardly fought a few times and had never studied combat specifically. She possessed the means to fight but lacked combat awareness.

Bai Hong sighed while helping her fill this gap, remarking, “What kind of deity did you find to teach you? How is it they taught you sword qi and divine arts, yet somehow neglected to instruct you in actual fighting?”

Because the various deities had different responsibilities, what they excelled at often differed. The breadth of Ding Qin’s divine arts had amazed Bai Hong these past days.

Yet though she knew almost every divine art, she’d never actually applied any of them. Ding Qin’s use of techniques was relatively simple… or rather, because her available options were so vast, she only needed to select whichever technique had the most direct effect, and thus didn’t need to think about how to deeply explore a technique’s uses, nor had she formed the quick reactions and habits needed for various situations.

“Too slow.” Bai Hong’s long talons struck out, directly interrupting Ding Qin’s divine art. “Before you’ve decided which technique to use, the battle could already be over.”

“Purely defensive tactics are useless too. Do you think you can compete with me in a war of attrition? But what if your enemy has a method to break through barriers?” The crane’s beak struck like a drill at the weak point in Ding Qin’s defense, then its neck extended, the sharp beak already approaching Ding Qin’s throat.

Just as Ding Qin prepared to spin away, she suddenly felt dizzy.

Bai Hong’s sharp beak stopped in time before Ding Qin’s neck. “What’s wrong?”

Ding Qin clutched her forehead. The divine seal’s power was pulsing abnormally.

An anomaly in the divine seal could only mean something had happened on High God Li Chi’s end. She had to go back!

The Crane God’s speed was faster, so it carried Ding Qin flying toward Li Manor.

When they reached the sky above the Daqing Mountain range, still some distance from Li Manor, they spotted Jin Yan from afar.

When the two parties met, Ding Qin learned from Jin Yan what had happened.

“We also don’t…” Jin Yan was mid-sentence when he suddenly froze, staring slack-jawed toward the other side of the Daqing Mountain range.

“What is it?” Ding Qin asked while turning to look.

On the other side of the Daqing Mountain range, in the direction of Liang Kingdom, a sky-covering mass of gray-black shadow like an enormous tidal wave was flying toward them with a terrifying buzzing sound.

Bai Hong stared in shock at that tsunami-like shadow, murmuring, “What is that?”

It was a sky-covering swarm of locusts.

……

In Zhangning City, within the royal palace.

Lu Hong was listening to Zhong Yongwang’s report. During the great calamity, many cultivators who had been hiding in Lu Kingdom had emerged. Among them were those who, out of compassion, rescued people in one area, and those who wanted to fish in troubled waters with ulterior motives.

If the former were willing, Lu Kingdom would be happy to support them with proper etiquette. As for the latter… though Lu Kingdom was a mortal nation, it wasn’t without supernatural power at its disposal. If these opportunists knew their limits, Lu Kingdom would turn a blind eye, but if they didn’t know better, even though current circumstances were difficult, he wouldn’t let them act unchecked. For instance…

“…After repeated verification, we can now confirm that it’s the Xuanqing Sect who’ve been secretly inciting and gathering displaced people into rebel forces.” Zhong Yongwang reported.

Lu Hong’s eyes held a bone-chilling coldness. “Have you discovered their origins?”

He enunciated each word slowly and heavily. The tragedy at Taiwu County was still fresh in his mind. Back then, because some powerful being had concealed things for them, and because the Xuanqing Sect itself remained hidden, they’d been unable to trace the sect’s origins or location. But now that they’d emerged and taken action, they must have left traces.

“We can’t be completely certain, but nine times out of ten they came from Liang Kingdom.” Zhong Yongwang said.

He’d expended considerable effort on this matter, but in the end had only discovered this much. What was the Xuanqing Sect’s relationship with Liang Kingdom? Who controlled it? When was it established? What was its purpose?… None of these questions had been answered.

Currently, the deepest clue Zhong Yongwang had regarding the Xuanqing Sect was probably the cultivator named Mutou from Poison Mountain. Though Mutou seemed to have some connection to the Xuanqing Sect, he himself didn’t remember it, and was puzzled by it, trying to find information about the sect. Zhong Yongwang had later provided Mutou with some methods that might help recover his memory, but they’d been useless. For now, this lead could only serve as decoration.

Though Zhong Yongwang’s findings were limited, Lu Hong showed no dissatisfaction. How deep the Xuanqing Sect’s waters ran could be seen from how the Divine Court had taken no action after receiving information about them.

As for Liang Kingdom… unlike Lu Kingdom’s devout worship of the deities, the relationship between Liang Kingdom’s people and the gods was far more complex.

Most cultivators in Liang Kingdom who practiced the divine path were not deities of the Divine Court. Without the Divine Court’s constraints and guidance, these cultivators’ methods of obtaining faith and incense were often crude and extreme. Their most common and simplest tactic was using threats to obtain incense, using fear to control faith. Those unwilling to make sacrifices to them would face their divine punishment.

For example, many self-proclaimed “River Gods” in Liang Kingdom used floods or droughts to intimidate believers into providing sacrifices.

Beyond this, Liang Kingdom had many cultivators who demanded faith and incense who weren’t even divine path practitioners—they simply needed incense to accomplish certain purposes, such as refining special magical treasures. These cultivators only sought temporary incense. Those with better character would find people in difficulty, perform good deeds to help them solve problems, and thereby obtain incense. The worse ones would secretly cause disasters first—strange illnesses, fires and floods—then, when the victims were in unbearable suffering, appear as saviors to receive their gratitude.

Due to this environment, many evil cultivators were hidden in Liang Kingdom. It wasn’t surprising that a Xuanqing Sect was concealed there as well.

Because of the separation by the Daqing Mountain range, though Lu and Liang Kingdoms shared a border, their contact was limited. If the Xuanqing Sect’s people truly came from Liang Kingdom, having gone to the trouble of crossing the Daqing Mountain range, their aims must be significant.

The coldness in Lu Hong’s eyes intensified. “Xuanqing Sect… Liang Kingdom… I understand. You’ve worked hard on this—go rest now.”

After Zhong Yongwang left, Lu Hong went to the ancestral shrine. Since the Xuanqing Sect matter involved the Divine Court, though he had his own thoughts, he still needed to consult with his ancestors.

In the ancestral shrine, a map of Lu Kingdom was engraved as a bronze disc hanging on the wall. Before the bronze disc, the spirit tablets of successive generations of Lu Kingdom’s Lu clan ancestors were arranged in high rows. Among these ancestors, some had cultivated into ghost spirits, some had already reincarnated and their whereabouts were unknown. But their tablets continued to be enshrined on the altar. Whether those who’d reincarnated could still receive this worship or not, it represented their heartfelt respect for ancestors who’d blazed trails through thorns.

Having respect for ancestors and knowing how difficult it had been for Lu Kingdom to develop to this point, one could have a caring heart for Lu Kingdom’s territory and people, making every command sufficiently prudent. Having reverence for the deities, as the most powerful person in a nation, the ruler could constrain his own conduct and not lose himself to excessive desire for power.

Lu Hong calmed his mind, lit three sticks of incense before the ancestral tablets, his thoughts rising with the ethereal incense smoke.

After a moment, the will of a Lu clan ancestor descended from the void.

Act according to his own ideas, don’t wait for the Divine Court’s help, don’t coordinate with the Divine Court, and don’t consider the Divine Court.

Lu Hong confirmed repeatedly several times. His ancestor’s meaning was to act as if they’d only just learned of the Xuanqing Sect’s existence, and treat the Xuanqing Sect as just an ordinary evil cultivation sect, rather than as a force with the ability to conceal heavenly secrets.

But clearly, months ago, even before the great calamity, they’d already learned of the Xuanqing Sect’s existence. Even if only a name, they knew this sect was extraordinary. Lu Kingdom had taken no action against the Xuanqing Sect only because they’d truly been unable to discover anything, but the Divine Court certainly knew something.

With the Divine Court taking no action all this time, and now having this attitude—did they not want Lu Kingdom’s cooperation, or was there some other reason…

“Don’t overthink it. When the time comes to act, the Divine Court will act.” The ancestor’s voice rang out from the void.

The previous message had been conveying the Divine Court’s attitude; this was now the Lu clan ancestor’s guidance to his descendants.

Lu Hong raised his head and asked, “What if the Xuanqing Sect begins using means beyond Lu Kingdom’s ability to resist?”

He couldn’t help but worry. Though the Xuanqing Sect forces currently emerging in Lu Kingdom were just ordinary people who’d mastered a few simple spells, he wouldn’t believe this represented the Xuanqing Sect’s true strength.

“At that time, the Divine Court will act.” The Lu clan ancestor said.

Lu Hong gained understanding and was preparing to return and make arrangements when the bronze disc hanging on the shrine wall suddenly began to hum.

Lu Hong’s heart jumped.

A Lu clan ancestor had once asked a powerful cultivator to bury eight talismanic objects in Lu Kingdom’s territory, connected by vital energy to this bronze disc, with wondrous uses.

This bronze disc could sense situations in various directions. At this moment, a blue-black color was encroaching toward Lu Kingdom’s interior from the southeastern direction of the Daqing Mountain range.

Blue-black color represented baleful qi.

Though the blue-black color’s spread on the bronze disc wasn’t fast, this was a map scaled down countless times. If its spread was already visible to the naked eye on the disc, then how fast must this baleful qi actually be spreading in reality?!

What on earth had happened at the Daqing Mountain range?

Lu Hong begged his ancestor’s pardon and hastily left the shrine.

Before long, news arrived. Liang Kingdom had been immoderate—the few Divine Court deities there had been forced to respond to the strange calamity by adjusting destiny principles and adding disasters of sudden death.

Liang Kingdom had suffered prolonged drought without rain, breeding locusts that filled the sky and covered the land. They were now crossing the Daqing Mountain range, flying toward Lu Kingdom.

Lu Kingdom had only just recovered its peace, and now faced this unwarranted disaster. The Daqing Mountain range stretched vast and wide—what quantity of locusts would it take to cross it?

Lu Hong’s hand trembled as he held the urgent report. What about those cities and towns near the Daqing Mountain range border… how were they now?

……