Chapter 409: The Collapse of Ge Xiantong

Li Weiyi stood at the bow of the ship, raising his hands above his head.

"Boom!"

Seventy-two pillars of lightning descended from the sky, forming a lightning array. The surrounding water immediately began to boil.

He drew all the spiritual energy back into his body and murmured, "Only seventy-two lightning arrays! Lu Cangsheng could cultivate thirty-six lightning arrays in the Five Seas Realm, so he should also be capable of seventy-two in the Dao Seed Realm. His talent in lightning arts is truly extraordinary; no wonder he's called the most gifted person in Thunderclap Sect in a thousand years. The true scriptures of the *Nine Heavens Secret Treasury* are indeed different. Just a few days of study have yielded great rewards."

Li Weiyi returned to the Divine Martial Pagoda and placed the purple jade stele into his Blood Mud Space. He then packed up all the interpretive notes from the bookshelves and took them with him. The other two volumes of Daoist scriptures were no exception. The entire fifth floor of the Divine Martial Pagoda had been emptied.

Zenhai Guanwu, dressed in red, arrived on the fifth floor of the pagoda. Seeing the empty space inside, she paused for a moment and asked, "Are you planning to escape?"

Li Weiyi knew that the commotion from his breakthrough had startled her. He smiled and said, "Coming to Fengge at such immense risk, I had to take something, didn't I? How are things on your end?" Most of the ancient texts in the Divine Martial Pagoda were collected during Zenhai Guanwu's time. Li Weiyi felt it was not excessive, as if she were collecting a dowry before a significant life event.

Zenhai Guanwu broke through the array and pushed open a window on the fifth floor of the Divine Martial Pagoda. Outside, the view was expansive; under the starlight, vast palaces and vegetation of Fengge could be seen. Below the mountain, the Spiritual River flowed far into the distance, with the city stretching for a hundred miles.

She said, "I saw her! But I couldn't awaken her. The Rice Sect's headquarter's curse must still be active. Now, we can only hope that Zuoqiu Family breaks into the underground immortal manor and destroys the altar as quickly as possible."

The strategy Zenhai Guanwu and her three masters had agreed upon was for Southern Realm forces like the Zuoqiu Family and the Nine Li Tribe to deal with the Rice Sect.

Li Weiyi frowned, "Relying entirely on Yuyaozi is too passive! Even if Yuyao can't wake up, there's still me, isn't there?"

Zenhai Guanwu turned around and smiled sweetly, "I'm very curious. That day, when I asked if you wanted to come back to Lingxiao City with me, you answered immediately without hesitation. Why was that?"

Li Weiyi gave a wry smile and shook his head, "I can't answer. I'm afraid of making grand promises I can't fulfill. I'm afraid of losing certain people, I'm afraid this living realm will become something I utterly despise. I'm afraid of many things. But what I fear most is that if I flee without a fight this time, in the future, whenever I face any difficulty or challenge, my first thought will be to escape, losing my ability to confront danger. When danger actively seeks me out, I will be helpless. Zenwu, I must possess an indomitable fighting spirit to pursue the pinnacle of martial arts."

Zenhai Guanwu gazed at him for a long time, then nodded gently, "We don't have much time left! There are two things that need to be done immediately. First, go to the Imperial Treasury and retrieve the Governor's Robes and Governor's Seals stored there. Once fully activated, they can significantly increase the court's strength."

Half of the Governor's Robes and Governor's Seals were stored in the Imperial Treasury.

Li Weiyi said, "The Imperial Treasury holds the most precious resources of Lingxiao Palace, comparable to the national treasury. It's heavily guarded, making entry incredibly difficult. Taking out the Governor's Robes and Governor's Seals from there is virtually impossible. The supervisor of the Imperial Treasury is the Blood-Clad Grand Steward, one of the ten transcendent beings of the court. Is he trustworthy?"

Zenhai Guanwu replied, "He is not the person I trust most! If we must rely on the power of a transcendent being to retrieve the Governor's Robes and Seals, I would have to choose the one I trust the most."

Li Weiyi didn't press her on who her most trusted transcendent being was. Instead, he asked, "What's the second thing?"

"Force the demon race, the Rice Sect, and the Demon Kingdom to act prematurely, and it must be done immediately to disrupt their operational rhythm," Zenhai Guanwu said.

Li Weiyi replied, "I'll handle it. The Nine Li Hidden Gate can accomplish this. We'll strive to clear out all internal threats in the city within a day, or even half a day."

"I'll have a transcendent being cooperate with you on my side." Zenhai Guanwu seemed very confident in the person she was about to meet.

Li Weiyi said, "The Six Thoughts Zen Temple and that traitor are the biggest hidden dangers, and the greatest threats."

"In this world, where is there perfection? We are simply seeking a sliver of possibility within the impossible."

Zenhai Guanwu took a deep breath, lowered her gaze, and gently bit her red lip. "Actually, there's a third thing... We could try to embrace first, to find that feeling of closeness..."

"Wouldn't that be too deliberate?" Li Weiyi asked.

Zenhai Guanwu replied, "It's better than remaining so distant. People are strange. They can boast and swear to win a beauty's heart, but when they actually try to do something deliberately, it always feels like their conscience is being tested."

Li Weiyi stretched his arms, exercised a bit, then walked to her side and stiffly pulled her into a hug. His body rigid, he looked at the night view below the mountain, his nose catching the fragrance of her hair.

Zenhai Guanwu feigned ease and chuckled, "I've heard that many couples meet for the first time on their wedding night. Although they're nervous, isn't there still a sense of anticipation? Aren't we two like a newly married couple who have gone through all the rituals—engagement, betrothal gifts, wedding ceremony—and are now sent into the bridal chamber?"

A light bulb went off for Li Weiyi. "You're right, I see the problem! I should go through the process in a true sense. We can skip the matchmaker and betrothal gifts, but there should at least be a witness, shouldn't there?"

An unusual glint appeared in Zenhai Guanwu's pretty eyes, and she squinted. "Let Li Ling and the Seven Little Ones be the witnesses."

"Them? That's... strange... but I guess it'll do! Drinking a toast to each other, bowing to heaven and earth, and setting up a bridal room—I think those are also necessary," Li Weiyi said.

Zenhai Guanwu replied, "As you wish."

"Actually, I have another question," Li Weiyi said.

Zenhai Guanwu frowned, "It's truly too difficult for you to ask me about 'feelings' right now. Just consider us a pair of Dao companions forced by heaven and earth to marry. Our karma was sown on the bronze battleship, completely beyond our control. The heavens just decreed that you would land on my tomb, your blood would awaken me, and by chance, I wasn't completely dead."

Li Weiyi said, "No, no, what I wanted to ask was, how exactly does the secret art of 'awakening a corpse with blood' work?"

Their conversation quickly returned to cultivation.

Ge Xiantong's eyes were blank and filled with pain. He was like an empty shell without a soul, suppressing his emotions as he walked back towards the Cloud Mist Array. For ten days, countless shifts of Embroidered-Robed Divine Guards had watched over the array.

"Master Ge!" An Embroidered-Robed Divine Guard called out to him, but he seemed not to hear at all.

A gap opened in the array, and Ge Xiantong dazedly walked through. Arriving at the foot of Fengge Mountain, tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. He pulled out a jade talisman and activated the palace gate array.

After closing the palace gate and the array, Ge Xiantong could no longer hold back. He slammed his head fiercely against a nearby pillar to alleviate his pain and helplessness. He dared not do this outside, afraid of being seen and mocked for his weakness, thus shaming the Grand Palace Master.

"Master!" Ge Xiantong, his face wet with hot tears, shouted towards the mountaintop. Then, as if all strength had left his body, he walked and crawled up the steps, crying out mournfully, "Master, please wake up... Open your eyes and look at the current Lingxiao Living Realm, look at Lingxiao City now... The Western Realm suffered a great defeat... The Vermillion Gate is destroyed! In the three states, billions of people have become food for the demon race... They're eating people! The great demons and lesser demons are rampaging through every city and town, unstoppable, utterly unstoppable..."

He recited,"Battlefield blood, enemy-slaying blades,All for a chaotic age, refusing to bend.Bones in the wilderness, formation-breaking halberds,Only for a prosperous age, a single mat."

"In the Western Realm, only the West Sea Slaves are still desperately holding on. If they fall... then all is lost... all is lost. The Western Realm will be completely annihilated. Humans will no longer live like humans; they'll be two-legged sheep... The Snow Sword Tang Court has occupied Feng Province. The Demon Prince is throwing his weight around in Lingxiao City, his terrifying power unchecked, and no one can stop him... Your disciple is suffocating under the pressure. I want to fight the enemy to the death, but I'm afraid I won't even be able to die, and instead be captured by the enemy and used against the court, bringing shame upon your name... This identity as the Grand Palace Master's disciple makes my life so miserable; everything I do is wrong, and I can do nothing... Master, say something, why won't you speak..."

Ge Xiantong mustered great courage and roared, "This disaster is your doing! How can you keep hiding... You... Li Weiyi..."

Ge Xiantong's mind went blank. He wiped away his tears with his sleeve, immediately straightened up, and looked at the man and woman walking down the mountain, confirming he wasn't mistaken, that it wasn't an illusion.

Li Weiyi stopped a few dozen jade steps above and smiled, "Old Ge, why are you crying? Why are you so sad?"

Ge Xiantong's eyes suddenly turned cold. He shifted his gaze from Li Weiyi to Zenhai Guanwu beside him, first startled, then angrily exclaimed, "Li Weiyi, Zuoqiu Hongting, how did you two sneak into Fengge?"

"Whoosh!" The Arrogant Dragon Whip flew out from his ancestral field, and spiritual energy burst forth. He immediately entered battle readiness.

Li Weiyi paused, looked behind him, and seeing no Zuoqiu Hongting, he suddenly understood. He then asked gravely, "What exactly is the situation in the Western Realm now?"

Ge Xiantong said, "Zuoqiu Hongting, you're too brazen! How dare you disguise yourself as the Mist Heavenly Emperor? Why not disguise yourself as my Master? You are absolutely lawless!"

Zenhai Guanwu looked at Li Weiyi, "In his current state, he doesn't seem capable of a proper discussion. Let's restrain him first, lest he jeopardize our important matters."

"Alright," Li Weiyi agreed.

Ge Xiantong clearly understood that he was no match for Li Weiyi and Zuoqiu Hongting combined. So, he turned and fled. This matter was too bizarre. The foundational array of Fengge was left by the Mist Heavenly Emperor herself back then. How could two mere youngsters possibly break in? Even if the Saint Spirit King Diviner from the Zuoqiu Family came in person, breaking the array silently under the noses of the Second and Third Palace Masters would be an absolute pipe dream.

"Don't go, Old Ge, let's talk." Li Weiyi unleashed his Dao Heart Manifestation, enveloping Ge Xiantong. Immediately, spiritual energy condensed into seven-clawed flaming celestial dragons, pursuing him ahead.

During this period, although Li Weiyi had been studying Daoist scriptures and cultivating his Divine Palace Dao Seed, his Wind Mansion Dragon Seed had advanced even faster, continuously absorbing the scriptures from the Longevity Golden Core. His cultivation had already reached the peak of the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm.

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