Chapter 350: Chapter 72 The Etiquette of the Emperor
Wielding Sword Qi to control the prison guards was just like the day he controlled Ji Changluo and made him face Wan Dingtian.
The Great Circle Sword was Jiang Li’s lifebound sword, allowing him to infuse True Qi from afar. It seemed as if the prison guards wielded the sword, but in reality, it was the sword that commanded the man.
Under such a devious tactic, Wan Dingtian was completely taken by surprise and failed to notice anything unusual in the haste of the moment, falling victim to Jiang Li’s Heart Demon Secret Sword combined with the Five Vile Qi.
After their figures brushed past each other, Jiang Li vanished into the Evil Qi, and only then did the clear sound of a clash arrive tardily.
Wan Dingtian, as if hit by a heavy blow, retreated a step across the sky and upon landing, a streak of golden light appeared on his body, accompanied by a sword wound.
"Heavenly Gang Kanglong."
With a light shout, the golden light surged, and the sword wound was forcibly dispersed by the golden light. The tiny fragments of Sword Qi flying chaotically were quite noticeable amongst the Five Vile Qi.
Obviously, this sword strike wasn’t enough to injure Wan Dingtian’s body.
In terms of strength, Jiang Li was not as strong as Wan Dingtian, but Jiang Li did not adhere to Martial Virtue and played dirty, which allowed him to gain the upper hand in that instant of confrontation.
However, the gap in their strengths meant that even the final sword strike, which landed on Wan Dingtian, did not inflict a wound on his flesh.
Nevertheless, this sword strike injured his Divine Soul.
After dispersing the Sword Qi, Wan Dingtian’s movements continued unabated. Purple Qi emerged above his head, entering his Heavenly Spirit to guard his mind, while behind him, starlight outlined the ethereal shadow of a Star God, using Dao Fruit Divine Power to suppress the overflowing decay and corruption within his heart.
Dark Qi converged towards Wan Dingtian, almost entering his body, but under the suppression of the purple Qi, it ultimately did not get absorbed and merely dissipated around him.
"A heretic sword strike."
Wan Dingtian forcefully contained the turmoil in his heart, feeling the restless throbbing inside him fade, and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Heretic.
That was indeed the most fitting description for that sword strike.
It carried the decay and decline of the world, causing the opponent to passively experience the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, leading the body to subconsciously begin communication with heaven and earth.
Had he not suppressed this palpitation, Wan Dingtian would have begun to draw in breath directly, inhaling all of the surrounding Five Vile Qi into his body, which would have led directly to his doom.
This sword did not kill the enemy; it would only open for him a path to hell.
Without this heretical sword strike, Wan Dingtian confident he wouldn’t have let the enemy escape so easily.
Alas, it was too late for regrets now.
Gathering Evil Qi, eroding and breaking free, escaping, a sequence of actions could be said to be done in one breath. The prison door below had just opened when Jiang Li already withdrew and left.
Meanwhile, a vast authority descended from the sky, as if an invisible giant was perched high in the heavens, looking down upon the earth from a lofty position.
The wailing of ghosts faded away underground, one living creature after another lost their breath, and in the blink of an eye, the Heavenly Prison returned to calmness.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Wan Dingtian bowed to the sky.
The Emperor had come.
There was no longer any need to worry about the commotion in the Heavenly Prison.
But Yang Ji had died, and the murderer had escaped.
After Wan Dingtian finished bowing, there was a few moments of silence, as if the one above was gathering information.
Then, a violent wind suddenly arose, sweeping in all directions.
The giant in the sky began to scan his gaze across the surroundings, expanding outwards from the Heavenly Prison, relentlessly spreading, intent on finding that brazen madman.
"So similar."
Within a courtyard in the Upper City District, Jiang Li sat quietly on a large tree, leaning against the trunk. His eyes, ears, mouth, nose, indeed all around his body, bore the markings of talismans.
With all five senses sealed off, he was like a wisp of wind, a leaf, blending in with the surroundings like one of the escapees.
Combining the invisible forces of the "Yin Talisman Scripture," the transformation of myriad forms from "Qi Tomb" with the "Da Yan’s Number," Jiang Li drifted beyond the perception of the Emperor, neither alive nor dead, utterly motionless.
Yet his spirit was especially sensitive and agile, clearly perceiving the sweep across the sky.
"It’s too similar, this kind of scrutiny just like the vast expanse of the sky, looking down from above. Except for not having the ability to discern Karma, the rest looked exactly the same as before, just like Heaven..."
Jiang Li’s spirit was undisturbed as still water, outwardly showing no sign of movement, with only the words of the Karma Collection reflecting the deep shock hidden within.
He had begun to cultivate the "Yin Talisman Scripture" and had some understanding of the Heavenly Dharma and the mysterious Heaven. It was for this reason he recognized the resemblance between the Emperor and Heaven and the certain harmony with the Heavenly Dharma.
"Ji Jiji intended to create a cultivation technique for the Heavenly Dharma in ’Yin Talisman Scripture,’ and he must have had a model to refer to. Even the Yellow Emperor creating all aspected forms couldn’t do so from nothing, let alone Ji Jiji?"
"He must have had a person or object related to Heaven to study before he could create the Heavenly Dharma that imitated Heaven."
Now, Jiang Li felt that he had found the likely subject.
The Emperor’s intimate knowledge of Iron Pillar Temple’s Cave Heaven Blessed Land and his plans might also lie in this.
Ji Jiji had glimpsed the Heavenly Dharma through the Emperor over two hundred years ago and had created a cultivation technique. Later, he also died at the hands of that Emperor, and information related to that was buried since then. The current Emperor had unearthed this piece of information and made plans based on it.
Line by line, information was listed on the Karma Collection, which Jiang Li carefully combed through and interlinked, making deductions, and step by step, he unraveled the results.
Although the Heavenly Mechanism was nebulous and divination could not be conducted, he was able to come to similar prophetic conclusions based on the information at hand.
For a time, this gave Jiang Li a sense of peculiar pleasure,
as if solving a difficult math problem, deducing each step to arrive at the conclusion, the instant sense of achievement was enough to fill one’s heart.
However, Jiang Li had not forgotten his current predicament, so even though he wanted to further verify, he still concentrated his mind, silently sensing the external situation.
That vast and intangible fluctuation swept over the courtyard where Jiang Li was numerous times but never stopped. After the fourth time, the fluctuation began to recede and returned to the Imperial City.
The Emperor had not found Jiang Li.
Jiang Li continued to be in a state of sensory deprivation, quietly waiting.
With his professional eye and extensive experience, it was very possible the Emperor would circle back for a counterattack, and it might not just be once, so now was certainly not the time to be complacent.
Thus...
Jiang Li sat on the tree until the next day.
When the pitter-patter of rain fell through the gaps in the leaves onto Jiang Li, clinking against the iron armor yet to be changed, it made a crisp sound.
Jiang Li opened his eyes, the traces of the talisman faded from his surroundings and the seven orifices, finally restoring his senses, and then he sighed deeply, "No proper tactics."
Not having a counterattack made it seem silly to have sat there until the next day, didn’t it?
He flexed and the raindrops bounced off as he changed into a set of white brocade clothes on the tree, then looked in the direction of the Imperial City.
’Just don’t know whether Sect Leader Zhang is satisfied with this gift of mine?’
...
Inside the Imperial City, the rain seemed to intensify compared to other areas.
In Yunming Pavilion, Zhang Zhixuan leaned on the railing and admired the view, watching the misty rain over the Imperial City, not looking like a confined prisoner but rather enjoying a leisurely state of mind.
The Sect Hierarch of the Taiping Sect had a sharp and profound visage, looking to be in his forties, in the prime of his Spring and Autumn years. He was draped in a yellow robe somewhat similar to a Dao Robe, standing in the corridor like a noble bamboo, his demeanor free and above the common throng, difficult to forget.
Since the downpour began, Zhang Zhixuan had gone to the pavilion’s walkway, looking at the scenery outside the building, as if waiting for something.
Then, he waited until a red-robed eunuch appeared, seeing the eunuch with a tray in both hands, braving the rain from afar, entering Yunming Pavilion.
After a short while, footsteps sounded from behind, and the eunuch approached within three steps, keeping his head low, presenting the tray covered with a white cloth.
Despite coming through the rain, the profound cultivation of the eunuch kept the tray from being wet, and the white cloth covering it carried an ominous foreboding.
"The Emperor has sent a gift to Sect Hierarch Zhang," said the eunuch in a voice devoid of any emotion.
Zhang Zhixuan did not turn around, but a gentle breeze arose, lifting the white cloth and revealing the contents on the tray.
There were four Jade Talismans specifically used for storing Dao Fruits.
Inside were indeed Dao Fruits, from left to right, they were Daoist, Law Order, Thunder Master, and Five Thunders Envoy. The latter three were exclusive to the Taiping Sect, and perhaps Law Order and Thunder Master might have leaked out, but Five Thunders Envoy had certainly never been released.
Even within the Taiping Sect, those eligible to hold the Five Thunders Envoy were very few.
One of them was Zhang Zhixuan’s Direct Disciple—Yang Ji.
And Yang Ji was currently imprisoned in the court’s Heavenly Prison—if he was still alive...
Four Jade Talismans, four Dao Fruits, also represented, by implication, a single life, a single strike.
If there were only Daoist, Law Order, and Thunder Master Dao Fruits, then this life should belong to Cao Yuanlong. But now a fourth Dao Fruit had emerged, and there was no need to wonder whose life it represented.
The Emperor had delivered a blow to Zhang Zhixuan with the life of Yang Ji.
The red-robed eunuch held his breath, readying himself to withstand the wrath of Zhang Zhixuan. Even if Zhang Zhixuan would not strike, the mere force of his aura was enough to make the eunuch suffer.
However, contrary to his expectations, Zhang Zhixuan showed not the slightest intent to rage, no disturbances in Qi Mechanism, no eruption of aura; he stood there, leaning on the railing, looking at the scenery, expressionless.
"Set it down, thank my Emperor for me," said Zhang Zhixuan calmly, his tone even and steady, showing no ripples of emotion.
The red-robed eunuch, puzzled in his heart, yet dared not disobey, softly said yes, placed the tray on an indoor table, and withdrew.
He descended the pavilion, braving the rain again, and after taking some hundred steps, he suddenly looked back and saw that Zhang Zhixuan, who was leaning on the railing, was already nowhere to be seen, having returned inside.
’It seems that Sect Hierarch Zhang does feel some sorrow after all.’
Thinking thus, the eunuch knew what to report back to the Emperor.
On the other side, Zhang Zhixuan returned to the room, sat at the table, picked up the Jade Talisman containing the Five Thunders Envoy’s Dao Fruit, and gently stroked it, a trace of sorrow flickered in his eyes; then—
"Ha-ha-ha-ha."
He burst into hearty laughter, his laugh full of cheer, as if it wasn’t his own Direct Disciple who had died, but rather a lifelong mortal enemy.
"Sect Hierarch Zhang, why do you laugh?"