After the purple rain subsided, the energy swords surrounding the Longevity Sword faded away. The Longevity Sword dropped down.
So long as Yu Shangrong had the sword, he would survive. After sensing the location of his Longevity Sword, he controlled his Qi.
The Longevity Sword shone anew. It zipped under his feet at lightning speed.
For this reason, Yu Shangrong fell several hundred meters down. As he hovered there in the darkness, he felt as though he was in a dry and bottomless well. When he looked up, he could only see a patch of oval grey sky. The setting sun gradually brought all light away from his surroundings.
The light faded from the east of the towering Heaven’s Moat. The entire mountain range was soon plunged into darkness. The heavens… closed its eyes.
…
In the darkness.
On one side of Heaven’s Moat, on an ice-cold surface near the top of the 100,000-foot-deep abyss, young Yu Zhenghai was sprawled on the ground, deathly still. His hands were still tightly wound around the scabbard, and his body was stiff.
Snow fell, and the night wind blew.
Yu Zhenghai suddenly shuddered. He opened his eyes and turned over! He looked around his surroundings, clearly disoriented. He did not feel cold in the snow. Instead, he was sweating. He could not see anything at all. The only thing he remembered was losing control and falling into the abyss after the energy seal under his feet vanished. He could not even remember when he lost consciousness.
“Is this hell?”
Nobody knew what hell looks like. The darkness should be one of the most basic characteristics of hell.
Young Yu Zhenghai thought that he had died and gone to hell. The deathly stillness of his surroundings was almost unbearable. He could hear his heartbeats. He tightened his hold on the scabbard and called out softly, “Senior brother?”
His lonesome voice rang and echoed in the darkness, unanswered.
He had too many experiences with darkness… His will and courage far surpassed that of his peers. With his tenacity, he suppressed his surging emotions. He felt about in the darkness. He felt the cold surface of the ground and shuffled forward.
After a few meters.
Swoosh!
“A cliff!”
He quickly retreated. The ruble dropped into the abyss soundlessly.
His heart shuddered. He dared not take another step forward.
He looked up at the sky. He could not see anything. Aside from the biting night wind, his surroundings were terrifyingly still. He did not move any further.
There was only one thing he could do, and that was to wait.
It was a sleepless night.
Young Yu Zhenghai did not close his eyes to rest. However, he did take short naps when he could not keep his eyes open.
When dawn was breaking… he finally had a glimpse of his surroundings.
The 100,000-foot-dee0 abyss was one foot in front of him!
He took a deep breath… and got up with difficulty.
He looked down into the abyss. He could not see anything aside from darkness.
“Where is he?”
“Where are you?” He shouted into the abyss.
His question remained unanswered.
He walked around and looked at his surroundings… Aside from the towering Heaven’s Moat and the bottomless abyss, he was alone.
The sun rose.
He remembered Yu Shangrong said Great Yan lay on the other side of Heaven’s Moat. He turned around and looked at Heaven’s Moat. He stepped forward, still holding onto the scabbard.
…
Young Yu Zhenghai had been walking for what seemed like hours. He would sit down when he felt tired and drank from the pool when he was thirsty.
When the sun was high up in the sky, he was still not at Heaven’s Moat yet. It seemed so close, but it was so far away.
Just when he felt helpless… he saw clouds of smoke rising in the air. He saw a village, and he could smell the aroma of food. He ran ahead excitedly.
At the entrance of the village…
Young Yu Zhenghai saw several villagers coming out. He staggered forward. “Roulians? A person from Lou Lan?”
Two stocky and young villagers saw the young man at the entrance. Although Yu Zhenghai’s robes had been sliced short, what remained of it and his own aura gave away his identity soon after.
“A Great Yan citizen?”
Having spent his days at the bottom of society and endured many hardships, Yu Zhenghai could sense that something was amiss. He turned around and ran!
“Catch him!”
“Don’t let him get away!”
Swoosh!
Two wolfdogs larger than Yu Zhenghai sprinted out of the village after him. Although Yu Zhenghai ran as though his life depended on it, without his cultivation base, he could hardly outrun the beasts.
Even though Yu Zhenghai ran as though his life depended on it, without his cultivation base, he could hardly outrun the beasts.
The wolfdogs, under the orders of the villagers, barred Yu Zhenghai’s way.
“Looks like we have another slave for our Guluo Village!”
…
Two days later.
There was a discussion in Dazheng Palace.
Lu Zhou paced about with his hands on his back.
Hua Chongyang stood in the palace and said, “After two months of work, the nine provinces are now basically stabilized. The court officials are cooperating well… The Divine Capital is basically free of spies. We’ve only found one spy throughout the past month. The four city gates are guarded by the brethren from the Nether Sect’s four halls. Nothing can go wrong… However, I’m not the best person for governance. Miss Fifth is doing most of the work. We couldn’t have achieved this without Miss Fifth’s help.”
Zhao Yue did not have any experience of governing as well. The only person who had such skills was the Empress Dowager. Since she was Princess Yun Zhao’s orphan and the Empress Dowager’s granddaughter, it was reasonable for the Empress Dowager to advise her.
However, in the eyes of the others, Zhao Yue was being advised by Lu Zhou.
Pan Litian offered his praise. “Pavilion Master, I didn’t know you’re skilled in both literature and martial skills. Your martial skills are enough to usher in peace in the nine provinces, and your literary skills can pacify the world. You’re truly the greatest person in history!”
Zuo Yushu rolled her eyes at him and said, “We don’t need you to tell us that brother has both integrity and talent.”
Lu Zhou raised his hand… and interrupted them. He was not in the mood to listen to their flatteries. He looked at Duanmu Sheng and asked, “Is there any flying letter from Liang Province?”
Duanmu Sheng said, “Seventh Junior Brother has said that Liang Province is peaceful. I think there won’t be any conflict in the short term. Besides that…” He swallowed his words. However, after giving it some thought, he said, “Eldest Senior Brother has successfully returned to life… but… but on their way back, the people of Lou Lan laid traps and ambushed them. Things… might not be going well for them.”
When he heard this, Lu Zhou frowned slightly. He stopped stroking his beard and turned around. He asked, “Have they crossed Heaven’s Moat?”
“I… I don’t think so.”
Actually, the question was pointless. If they crossed Heaven’s Moat, they would have been safe. With Si Wuya’s abilities, it was impossible for them to not be brought back by now.
However, ‘things might be bad for them’ contained too many possibilities. It could mean death or injuries… In any case, none of the possibilities were good.
Lu Zhou had not received any notifications of any of his disciples’ deaths. He could not allow his disciples to die without a clear reason.
“Hua Chongyang.”
“Your orders, patriarch?”
“Can I leave the Divine Capital to you?”
Hua Chongyang was taken aback. “Uh…” He was only a Seven-leaf cultivator. How was he supposed to look after the Divine Capital? In the past, the Divine Capital was protected by the eight great generals. It would be too difficult for him, a single Seven-leaf cultivator, to take care of. The sect master was not here. Even if the three Great Protectors were healed, they would still need time to recover their cultivation base.
A Nine-leaf cultivator was like ten Eight-leaf cultivators. The patriarch seemed intent on leaving the Divine Capital. Without a Nine-leaf cultivator looking after things here, it was only natural that Hua Chongyang did not feel confident.
Zhao Yue bowed and said, “Master, I’ll stay in the Divine Capital…”
Lu Zhou nodded. Zhao Yue had royal blood in her, after all. It was beneficial for her to remain here.
At this moment, Ye Tianxin bowed and said, “Master, I’ll stay here and guard the Divine Capital.”
Lu Zhou swept his gaze across the people present in the palace before he said, “Zuo Yushu, you’re a Confucian elite, and you’re skilled in Formations. You’ll stay here.”
“As you command, brother.”
“Hua Wudao, you’re skilled in defense. You’ll stay. Hua Yuexing, you’re a skilled archer; you’ll be a great asset to defend the city. You’ll stay.”
“Yes, pavilion master.”
Lu Zhou shifted his gaze away from Leng Luo and Pan Litian. He studied his other disciples.
When Zhu Honggong saw his master’s eyes on him, he bowed and said, “Master, I’ll always be at your beck and call!”
Zhu Tianyuan who was standing next to Zhu Honggong pulled his son aside and said, “In that case, I’ll go as well.”
Zhu Tianyuan had lost face throughout these few days. He no longer cared about what the others thought. All he wanted to do was to follow his son around.
Lu Zhou said, “Zhu Honggong, you’ll stay here and look after the Divine Capital.”
“Huh?”
“You’re not willing?”
“No, no, no… Of course, I am!” Zhu Honggong kowtowed loudly.
The four Evil Sky Pavilion elders were giving him a thumbs-up in their minds.
‘The pavilion master’s move is brilliant!’
With Zhu Honggong here, Zhu Tianyuan would also be restricted to this place.
Zhu Tianyuan and the Ancient Saint Cult were equivalent to an Eight-leaf cultivator. They would be able to hold the fort in case of an attack.
After assigning the different tasks to the different people, Lu Zhou said, “Send word to Si Wuya. Tell him to send the cloud-splitting chariot over.”
“Understood.”
Lu Zhou would bring the others with him.
The Nine Provinces were already settled. It was time for him to search for the crystal. Pan Litian and Leng Luo had experience in the lands of the Other Tribes. They would be beneficial to him if he brought them along. His other disciples seemed to have grown much stronger as well. They could help him deal with some minor problems.
He had a feeling that some other secrets were contained within the memory crystal.
…
In the afternoon of the next day, the cloud-splitting chariot departed for the Evil Sky Pavilion from the palace.
At night, the flying chariot landed at the Evil Sky Pavilion and they rested for a day.
The next morning, the flying chariot departed again for Liang Province.
