Chapter 690
Chapter 690
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 690
>Chapter Title: The Directorate of Astronomy
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Chapter 690: The Directorate of Astronomy
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> The person in front of Li Huowang wore a massive mask that nearly covered his entire upper body, with only two legs clad in green pants protruding from below. It looked utterly mismatched.
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> “This is the Jian Tian Si from Later Shu. You can call him Altar Master. Since you’ve come to help, it’s only natural to get acquainted with the locals.”
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> After introducing the man, Xuanyin pointed at Li Huowang. “This is the one I told you about.”
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> Li Huowang sized the man up and down, then performed a Daoist salute with a mix of curiosity and puzzlement. “Li Huowang of Clear Wind Temple pays respects to Senior. Might I ask which sect and school Senior hails from?”
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> Only a single word bounced out from behind the mask. “Nuo.”
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> “Nuo? Nuo theater?” Li Huowang couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. From what he knew, Great Nuo wasn’t this mad world they were in?
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> Great Nuo had gone mad, yet there were still people worshiping him? And not just worshiping—he’d even become the head of the Directorate of Astronomy? Could a deranged Great Nuo still lend power to others?
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> Was Great Nuo a Si Ming? Or perhaps the legendary Great Si Ming? Or was this like Qingqiu’s Eternal Heavenly Sovereign, a god born from their imaginations?
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> Li Huowang pondered for a moment before asking the man again. “Can Great Nuo still grant power to others these days?”
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> But the Altar Master with the enormous mask didn’t answer, merely shaking his head slightly.
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> Just then, Xuanyin’s voice rang in Li Huowang’s ear. “You’d best not ask that. No matter the place, directly questioning someone about this on first meeting is terribly rude.”
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> Hearing this, Li Huowang dropped the subject. He’d only asked out of curiosity anyway—he’d come to Later Shu for serious business. “How’s the situation in Later Shu? How’s the Fa Cult’s offensive going?”
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> “Not well. Later Shu’s dragon vein was taken, and all those corpses you saw along the way are the result.”
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> “In fact, losing the dragon vein has wrecked their luck too. They’ve suffered defeat after defeat. If you’d arrived even a bit later, Later Shu would’ve fallen.”
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> Li Huowang’s brows furrowed tightly at this. He’d imagined things were bad, but not this bad.
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> “Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and take back Later Shu’s dragon vein! Where is it now?”
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> Xuanyin exchanged a glance with the Altar Master beside him before speaking again. “It might’ve been possible before, but I’m afraid it’s difficult now.”
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> “What do you mean by that?” Li Huowang’s brows knitted tighter, as if something had changed while he was en route.
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> “Battlefields shift in an instant—you can’t expect the enemy to wait. Last month, on a yang day at yang hour, the Fa Cult somehow gathered the dragon veins of Nanping, Siqi, and Later Shu into one. They’ve proclaimed to the world that Great Li now has its own dragon vein.”
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> At these words, a horrifying image flashed in Li Huowang’s mind: three dragon veins twisted together like braided dough.
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> One dragon vein was already so hard to deal with—now three? And something so precious would surely be heavily guarded by the Fa Cult.
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> In that moment, Li Huowang felt immense pressure. Jizai was utterly useless, and relying on himself alone against something like that could mean death with a single misstep.
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> After thinking it over, Li Huowang looked toward Xuanyin and the Altar Master. “I’ve just arrived—you two have been here longer and know the situation better. With things like this, what are the Jian Tian Si and Later Shu’s court planning?”
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> Xuanyin thought for a moment before replying. “We tried everything else before you came. It caused the Fa Cult some trouble, but we couldn’t reclaim the dragon vein. So the Later Shu royals want to abandon Later Shu and retreat to Qingqiu.”
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> “What?! That’s just giving up on Later Shu?!” Li Huowang could hardly believe their flippancy. How could someone with that attitude even be emperor?
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> “With the dragon vein lost and fortune exhausted, it’s only natural he’d think that way. Don’t worry—the situation hasn’t reached that point yet.”
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> “Besides, we have no other way to deal with the dragon vein right now. Retreating to Qingqiu is still a viable move, and it’s closer to Great Liang, making it easier for His Majesty to send troops.”
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> Li Huowang paced with furrowed brows, his face full of reluctance. He’d come here to reclaim the dragon vein—he didn’t want to turn tail for Qingqiu the moment he arrived.
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> “Wait! There might still be a chance!” Something occurred to Li Huowang, and he looked up at Xuanyin. “How much of that innate one qi you gave me is left? Hand over whatever you have—I need it.”
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> He’d come all this way—how could he not at least try? With enough innate one qi, he could go toe-to-toe with a dragon vein!
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> “None left.” Xuanyin’s answer was blunt.
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> “None? How is it all gone?”
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> “Because I’ve drained every cardiac prime I could find. Finding more at a time like this would be no easy task.”
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> “What did you say? That innate one qi was all extracted from other cardiac primes?” Li Huowang’s pupils shrank.
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> “Of course. Something rootless and edgeless like innate one qi—where else could it come from but cardiac primes?”
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> “Ordinary folk think cardiac primes are precious for their five viscera and six bowels, for the confusion in their hearts. But they don’t realize those are mere externalities—the true value lies in their qi.”
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> Li Huowang struggled to accept this. He’d never imagined that the thing which had made him so powerful came from ripping it out of living cardiac primes.
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> As they spoke, a fat man floated down from the ceiling above, sidling up to Xuanyin and whispering something.
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> This fatty must be one of Xuanyin’s hallucinations too. Once he finished speaking, Xuanyin said, “Heaven never seals off all paths—perhaps we can try one more time.”
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> “How?” The Altar Master, silent until now, finally spoke.
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> “Qingqiu’s Great Khan is leading a personal expedition. He’s not waiting for the Fa Cult to come to him—he plans to strike first.”
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> But no sooner had the words left his mouth than all three of them changed color and looked up at the ceiling in unison.
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> As Xuanyin’s slender hand emerged from his Daoist robes and touched the ceiling, it gradually turned transparent, revealing the overcast sky above. Accompanied by thunder, droplets of rain began to fall.
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> The Directorate of Astronomy seemed to sense something, his sharp nails quickly calculating. “Strange—the hour is off. Half a shichen short.”
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> “What did you say?” Li Huowang asked in shock.
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> “A day should have eleven shichen, but now it’s half a shichen short.”
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> “Half a shichen short?” Li Huowang seemed to realize something as a chill surged from his heart.
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> “Xuanyin, do you think the Fa Cult never wanted the dragon vein at all? That they stole it just to destroy it?”
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> The moment Li Huowang said this, the earth shook and mountains trembled—the earth dragon had turned over.
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> (End of chapter)