Chapter 2269: Xixia Sect Perspective

Inside the White Jade Hall, an open-air well was now filled with water. Its surface, smooth as a mirror, reflected not the sky above, but the entire panorama of Weian City nestled at the foot of the mountain!

Tang Jingye turned his head to look at the well. It was already dark, and the Weian City reflected on the water's surface was ablaze with the lights of countless homes, looking like scattered stars from above.

The city was truly sizable, and the clusters of lights from the surrounding counties and towns were quite dense.

The three opened their eyes. "You're back. What's the situation with this city and this country?"

"This is Weian City, part of the Cangyan Kingdom. Originally, it was a small city with only sixty to seventy thousand residents, but seven years ago, the Cangyan Royal Court ordered its expansion. Now, its population has swelled to over 700,000, nearing 800,000, making it the seventh-largest city in Cangyan," Tang Jingye said, pointing to the city reflected in the water. "Weian City's commerce is highly developed. If you include visiting merchants and transient individuals, the population easily exceeds a million."

"A million people in the seventh-largest city?" Elder Xu remarked. "It seems the Cangyan Kingdom is well-managed, not inferior to the Julu Kingdom from over a century ago."

Another Elder, Chu, nodded. "It also appears to be quite vast in area."

"Master Uncle is right." Internally, Tang Jingye scoffed, "Right, my foot! How can these two even be compared?" but his expression remained respectful. "However, the current Cangyan Kingdom is more than a hundred times the size of the Julu Kingdom."

The cultivators in the hall were all astonished. "A hundred times!"

"Yes, based on my investigation in the city over the past few days since coming down the mountain, the Cangyan Kingdom occupies the entire Glimmering Gold Plain and possesses a powerful military. It has not only inherited the territory of the Glimmering Gold Empire but has also conquered parts of Bailie and the former Ya Kingdom."

He had thought his last remark was superfluous, assuming that since Qixia Sect had been in seclusion for so long, they likely wouldn't know about these places. However, Sect Master Yuan's expression shifted. "Wait, did you say Bailie was also taken by Cangyan?"

"The people of Weidong City all say so, and it's an old story from many years ago, so it should be correct."

"The Lu family of Bailie are also descendants of immortals, with a long history and protection from Lingshan. How could they have been annexed by Cangyan?" Sect Master Yuan mused. "Could something have happened to Lingshan?"

The other elders, not concerned with Bailie, asked, "The Glimmering Gold Plain is vast; Cangyan cannot possibly occupy all of it. A few years ago, the spirit-gathering formations we set up outside lost their effectiveness, making times difficult for our cave abode. Was this Cangyan's doing?"

"I have no information on that," Tang Jingye paused, then added, "Sect Master Uncle, the Heavenly Centipede recently attacked the Tongyue mineral depot and was captured."

The Qixia Sect members were greatly startled, and Elder Chu abruptly stood up. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"I..." Tang Jingye looked speechless. Ever since he had entered, the Qixia Sect elders' questions had been incessant; he had no other mouth to speak with.

Sect Master Yuan's face was ashen. "What happened?"

"I went to the designated meeting point, but the Heavenly Centipede didn't show up, so I went to Tongyue Town to inquire. It turns out Cangyan's Imperial Bureau had set a trap, waiting specifically for the Heavenly Centipede to take the bait. They had many people, including demon immortals and an army, and the Heavenly Centipede couldn't escape. So I... I rushed back to report the news."

Elder Xu said solemnly, "The Heavenly Centipede no longer being able to acquire Profound Crystals is a minor issue. As soon as the Cangyan Kingdom interrogates it, they'll know that our Qixia Sect has emerged from seclusion."

Sect Master Yuan immediately instructed Elder Chu, "Junior Brother, go quickly and seal off the cave passage on Guye Mountain later, to prevent Cangyan from finding their way here. Fortunately, the Heavenly Centipede only knows that one entrance."

"Understood!"

Elder Xu also added, "With the Heavenly Centipede captured, our time for action is limited."

Tang Jingye took a silk handkerchief from his robes. On it was a pattern—

The pattern of a black dragon insignia.

He held a corner of the silk handkerchief and shook it twice forcefully, making the pattern emerge.

Strangely enough, the pattern floated into mid-air and became three-dimensional, protruding and receding, transforming directly from a flat image into a three-dimensional sculpture.

"I copied this from the walls of buildings in the city. This bas-relief is common throughout the city; I initially thought it was hand-carved by artisans, but it's actually naturally formed, with no traces of human craftsmanship. Each bas-relief is protected by an invisible formation."

Sect Master Yuan concluded, "This is a totem, or perhaps the foundation of a magical formation. It appears this Cangyan Kingdom possesses some unique capabilities."

"No matter how capable, it's still just a human kingdom," Elder Chu said dismissively. "Now that spiritual energy is abundant and we've emerged from seclusion to return to the human world, we have plenty of time to act freely. Why should we care about a mere mortal nation?"

Elder Xu countered, "Beijia is also a kingdom, yet I haven't seen you so dismissive of it."

"Beijia is a demon kingdom, swarming with great demons, and supported by a Celestial Demon!" Elder Chu sneered, then asked Tang Jingye, "Does this Cangyan have any protective forces backing it?"

"I haven't heard of any," Tang Jingye recalled something else and added, "Oh, right, Weian City at the foot of the mountain only has two types of temples: one dedicated to the Dragon God, and the others to nature spirits like mountain, marsh, water, and wind gods. I asked, and it turns out the entire Cangyan Kingdom prohibits any other forms of worship, only permitting these two."

"Such a large country, prohibiting worship?" Elder Chu frowned. "Does that mean it leans towards Lingshan?"

"Not that I've heard in these past few days," Tang Jingye replied, acknowledging his limited time for deep investigation. "However, the people of Weian City adamantly believe their Cangyan monarch is the reincarnation of the Dragon God!"

The powerful cultivators exclaimed in unison, "What?!"

Elder Chu couldn't help but burst into laughter. "What is their monarch? Say that again!"

"The reincarnation of the Dragon God."

The group exchanged glances, then all burst out laughing simultaneously.

"Do they even know what a Dragon God truly is?" Elder Chu asked, beside himself with mirth. "A Dragon God reincarnated as their monarch? Hahahaha, this is the biggest joke in three millennia!"

His stomach ached from laughing!

"They believe it implicitly. Many years ago, this Emperor Jiuyou, who proclaimed himself the reincarnation of the Dragon God, suddenly declared he had slain the Great Celestial Demon Miaozhantian. The Glimmering Gold people believed him completely because heavenly omens followed, making it known throughout the entire Glimmering Gold Plain. Emperor Jiuyou then used this as an opportunity to launch the Dragon God War, swiftly unifying the entire Glimmering Gold Plain and establishing Cangyan."

"What, Miaozhantian is dead?" Elder Xu was shocked. "We've only been in seclusion for a little over a hundred years. How could so much have happened in the outside world?"

"Yes, the death of Miaozhantian is already an established fact in the world; there's no dispute about it."

In any case, since they had already emerged from seclusion, such matters could be verified at any time.

Elder Chu scoffed, "Even if Miaozhantian has fallen, what connection could that have with this fake Dragon God? He's simply trying to gain fame by deceit, heh heh! This Cangyan monarch is quite adept at opportunism, daring to claim such an immense achievement for himself! Oh, those black dragon totems are likely also their trickery, meant to accumulate faith."

"The notion of a reincarnated Dragon God can only deceive mortals," Sect Master Yuan exhaled, seemingly relieved.