Chapter 1668: Zhaoyuan (II)

Li Zhouwei listened in silence for a moment. Cui Jueyin gritted his teeth, then raised his eyes and said, "Your highness... I also know of him. When Guest Cultivator Ding was stranded in Jiangbei years ago, Ying Hebai was the one who came to his rescue..."

"I understand." Li Zhouwei nodded and asked, "Is there any news of His Highness Dingjiao?"

Upon hearing this, Huiyao, who had only just risen, immediately dropped to his knees again, beaming with delight. "The Crown Prince has attained divine ability!"

"Oh?" A faint smile appeared on Li Zhouwei's face as he replied, "That is wonderful news! When will the celebration banquet be held? I ought to bring a gift and offer my congratulations!"

Huiyao's expression abruptly turned solemn. "There was supposed to be a banquet...”

His voice grew quieter as he continued, "But recently, something momentous occurred beneath the sea. A senior of the dragons had cause for great celebration... And even his highness was no exception. The banquet was therefore postponed. His highness... His highness departed a day ago to offer his congratulations..."

A full day ago...

Li Zhouwei felt a trace of unease, though his expression remained natural. He remarked that it was a pity, then swept his gaze over the surroundings and said, "Then I shall not interfere with your patrol."

"Your highness is too courteous!" Huiyao chuckled and replied, "Since your highness is here, this humble one would never spoil your enjoyment. What is there left to patrol..."

Ever since becoming acquainted with the Li Family through Zongquan Island, Huiyao's official career had flourished, and even his kin beneath the sea had enjoyed much better lives. Naturally, he was deeply grateful.

He bowed deeply and said respectfully, "Please, make yourself at ease, my lord!"

Li Zhouwei paid little further attention to the two demonic creatures. He nodded and walked into the island as the people on either side hurriedly moved aside. The sight left Cui Juechen stricken with terror. He scrambled forward on hands and knees, dropped beside Li Zhouwei, and kowtowed.

"My lord... Allow this humble one to attend to you!"

The demonic creatures of the dragons were notoriously arrogant, yet this man had received such humble deference from a Sea Patroller of the dragons. His divine ability radiated brilliantly, and Cui Jueyin had addressed him as 'your highness.' Who else could he possibly be?

He hurriedly climbed to his feet without even taking the time to straighten his sleeves, then bowed at the waist and led Li Zhouwei onward. They made their way to the golden hall atop the heights, where he invited Li Zhouwei to take the main seat and stood respectfully at his side.

Only then did an old man with a full head of white hair ascend the steps. He took a seat beside Li Zhouwei and greeted him respectfully, "I am Cui Changyan. Greetings, Daoist Master."

This was presumably the elder currently in charge of the island. Cui Jueyin immediately rose to serve tea, while Li Zhouwei turned toward him and asked, "Jueyin, Yangya sent you home to cultivate, yet here you are, still running around handling affairs."

The moment he said this, the Cui Family members on either side broke out in a cold sweat. Given this lord's divine ability cultivation and his ties to the dragons, if he became displeased, the consequences would be more than Chongzhou could bear!

Fortunately, Cui Jueyin hurriedly bowed and replied, "The seas have been unsettled of late. I happened to emerge from seclusion, so I have been helping to keep watch..."

Li Zhouwei set down his cup and raised his eyes toward Cui Changyan. The old man hurriedly averted his gaze, lowering his head in silence as sweat covered his brow.

Li Zhouwei said nothing, merely examining him with those golden eyes. The old man felt as though he were standing beneath the scorching sun. Guilt gnawed at him, leaving him short of breath as beads of sweat ran along his wrinkles. His aged lips, pressed tightly together, began to tremble, and he seemed on the verge of speaking.

But Cui Jueyin stepped forward instead. "Your highness!"

The white-robed man dropped to his knees with a thud and raised both hands above his head, presenting the bowl of clear tea as he pleaded, "Your highness, please have some tea!"

The golden-eyed young man paused before finally looking away. He gave Cui Jueyin a long, searching look, then casually accepted the tea from his hands and took a small sip. "I came this time... First, to see how you were doing. Second, to meet the surviving lineage of Wei State."

The hall fell silent, with only his calm voice echoing through it. "Tell me about the old state."

He raised his cup as the old man let out a deep sigh. "Your highness... the Cui Family's main lineage has seven branches, and our Cui Family of Chongzhou descends from the third branch. Our ancestors and the Cui Family of Dongli were once one family, though the Dongli branch was of more exalted standing and even produced a True Monarch... During the time of Wei State, our branch primarily devoted itself to cultivation and often held posts within the [Zhaoyuan Immortal Mansion]...

"Later, Emperor Gong of Wei sought Penglai and dispatched our ancestors aboard a treasure ship to search for it... Yet after years without success, we settled in Chongzhou and continued searching the surrounding region for traces. Then great turmoil erupted in the mainland, at one point even shattering the great void and throwing the spiritual energy into upheaval... We lost contact with the mainland and had no one left to direct us, so we remained on the island."

Li Zhouwei raised a brow and asked, "The great void shattered... In what manner did it shatter?"

A trace of horror appeared on Cui Changyan's face as he replied, "The records devote only four brief sentences to the event, but this was how the accounts described it at the time. The spiritual energy gathered without dispersing, becoming uneven and chaotic. It was like countless ribbons of light scattered across the world. In the sea, it formed streaks and bands throughout the water. In some places, it condensed into mist, while other places were left entirely devoid of spiritual energy..."

Li Zhouwei understood as soon as he heard this. The great void was fundamentally rooted in spiritual energy. If a place was completely devoid of spiritual energy, then no corresponding space existed within the great void, nor could anyone find a point within it from which to descend into that location. If the spiritual energy in the physical world had truly gathered into separate bands, then there was no telling how many fragments the great void had been divided into.

After a moment of thought, he asked, "Which of the Three Profundities did the [Zhaoyuan Immortal Mansion] belong to? How many True Monarchs did it have, and what became of them when Wei State fell?"

Cui Changyan gritted his teeth and replied, "According to the classifications used on the mainland, it would belong to the Douxuan lineage of the Three Profundities, though that classification is not entirely accurate..."

A trace of pride entered his voice as he said, "When Bright Yang became emperor, he took the reigning title Guanyuan. He offered sacrifices at the Grand Ancestral Hall, and opened the Qian Palace. He sounded the war drums and bells, chastised the transcendent powers throughout the realm, and abolished three thousand two hundred sects.

“The True Dao immortal cultivators were stripped of their crowns and had their feathered robes shorn away. The demon scions of Qinling were refined of their baleful energies and had their heads hung on display. The heretical cults of Chongshan were bound and brought to Wei. The petty shamanic states were overthrown and taken into custody.

“The guilty were executed; the virtuous were accepted; and the innocent were given refuge. All were brought together within the Zhaoyuan Mansion to serve the realm. The Zhaoyuan Mansion stood within Wei Radiant Heaven. It belonged to no single Dao lineage, but was the Dharma Mansion of the Wei dynasty's own Dao lineage!"

Li Zhouwei raised his chin slightly, and the way he regarded Cui Changyan changed somewhat. "So it formed a lineage of its own."

As Cui Changyan spoke the final word, he fell out that magnificent past back into the bleakness of the present. The light faded from his eyes, and he continued softly, "As for True Monarchs... I have only heard of one. His Dharma title is unknown, and he did not enter the imperial court."

Those intriguing words, ‘did not enter the imperial court,’ immediately caught Li Zhouwei's attention.

Wei had governed according to the ways of an immortal state, where every official position, great or small, bestowed its own empowerment. Even an ordinary mortal with no cultivation would gain a measure of cultivation upon receiving an official post, while the highest offices even conferred divine abilities. If this True Monarch had never entered the imperial court, it very likely meant that he had attained his cultivation entirely through his own efforts!

He gently set down his cup. Suddenly sensing something, he raised his head, an intrigued smile appearing on his face.

Almost instantly, the entire island began to quake. Brilliant light emerged across the horizon, and the roiling dark clouds swiftly receded, revealing drifting multicolored clouds and countless rays of heavenly light!

This heavenly light was neither overbearing nor intense, but soft as drifting cotton. It poured through layer after layer of clouds like a waterfall, floating gently down upon the rooftops before cascading past the window curtains like countless streams of white rain flowing between the palace halls.

A commotion swept across the island. Cui Jueyin was still young and did not know what this phenomenon signified, so he raised his head in bewilderment. Cui Changyan's face, however, instantly paled.

The old man had witnessed such changes in the Bright Yang phenomenon more times than he could count. His father and his brothers had fallen one after another, and now that the phenomenon had appeared once more, all color drained from his face. He sat frozen in his seat, trembling with fear, yet looked toward Li Zhouwei with hope in his eyes.

The golden-eyed young man merely shook his head with an intrigued smile and said calmly, "Congratulations!"

Shock filled Cui Jueyin's eyes. An explosion of wild joy spread across Cui Changyan's face as he rose from his seat. As though lost in a dream, he looked first at Cui Jueyin, then at Li Zhouwei. His joy transformed into boundless awe, leaving his lips trembling and unable to form a word.

He dropped to his knees with a thud and began kowtowing as though all strength had left his body, weeping as he cried, "I never knew your highness was such an extraordinary figure!"

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