An Invitation to Tea—Even Wounded, He Still Covers the Sky with One Hand
An Invitation to Tea—Even Wounded, He Still Covers the Sky with One Hand
There was actually a reason Heavenly Monarch Ziyang had appeared here.
On one hand, he had no idea where else to go.
On the other hand, he wanted to learn the latest news, and while he was at it, wait here for the arrival of his senior brother, Qin Wuya.
When he learned that the abduction of Qing Xiaoyi was closely tied to the Successor of Demonic Arts—
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang’s entire being went blank, as if struck by lightning. His head buzzed, and for a long while he couldn’t come back to his senses.
His first reaction was that all these rumors were fake, that they were all slander against him.
After all, he had been perfectly occupied hunting down the Successor of Demonic Arts. Though he hadn’t caught the man and had instead lost quite a few followers,
how could the abduction of Qing Xiaoyi—something deeply connected to the Successor of Demonic Arts—possibly have been his doing?
Then, when he obtained the details of those rumors, Heavenly Monarch Ziyang was utterly enraged, his hatred surging to the heavens. With a single roar, he shattered the mountains and rivers within ten thousand li.
He had been schemed against and framed!
He had done nothing at all, yet such an enormous black pot had been slammed onto his head—?
His followers could all testify to this. Ever since he had set out from the Imperial Capital of the Black Tortoise Empire to hunt down the Successor of Demonic Arts, he had practically never acted alone.
How could he have rushed to the White Tiger Empire in such a short span of time to abduct Qing Xiaoyi?
It was simply impossible.
But the many details in those reports—including the scenes recorded in the Photographic Stones—left Heavenly Monarch Ziyang utterly dumbfounded, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets.
If he didn’t know perfectly well what he himself had been doing during this period, he might even have suspected that he really had been the one to abduct Qing Xiaoyi.
After all, it involved the Chaos Force!
The person who had struck back then actually possessed the same power as him.
But as far as Heavenly Monarch Ziyang knew, aside from himself, there was no second person in this world who possessed this power.
And the circumstances at the time were such a coincidence. If the other party had deliberately framed him, then where had they learned that Qing Feng possessed a divine artifact like the Flask of World Domination?
Without the Flask of World Domination, Qing Feng would undoubtedly have died back then, and the existence of the Chaos Force would never have been exposed.
All of it looked like pure coincidence—perfectly logical and natural, with no flaw or explanation to be found anywhere.
Moreover, combined with another matter that had shaken all sides, his last path of retreat was practically sealed off.
Hadn’t he gone off to hunt down the Successor of Demonic Arts?
So why had the Successor of Demonic Arts appeared in the Black Tortoise Empire, luring people to the Eternal Overcast right before the eyes of every prodigy?
Prince Shen had fallen, and Gu Changge had been gravely wounded!
The sensation caused by this affair was tens of thousands of times more shocking than some abduction of Qing Xiaoyi, and its impact was simply unimaginable.
It made Heavenly Monarch Ziyang’s entire body run cold. His vision nearly went black, and a terrifying chill shot from his tailbone straight up to the crown of his head, leaving him almost unable to move.
Alarm, fury, unease... but most of all, fear.
No matter how he explained something like this, there was no way to clear his name—unless he could find the true culprit who had abducted Qing Xiaoyi.
Find that mysterious person who, like him, possessed the Chaos Force.
But the difficulty of that was even greater than clearing his name.
The other party was out to destroy him.
And it just so happened that the moment he declared he was hunting the Successor of Demonic Arts, the Successor of Demonic Arts appeared—slapping him hard across the face.
This way, everyone would believe he and the Successor of Demonic Arts had planned it all together from the start.
Layer upon layer of scheming, each link interlocking with the next—terrifying enough to make one’s heart palpitate.
“Qing Xiaoyi possesses the Celestial Demonic Physique. Aside from the Successor of Demonic Arts, there’s practically no one who would abduct her... And the one I was hunting back then turned out to be a fake Successor of Demonic Arts. The whole point of all this was to scheme against me...”
“How hateful! Don’t ever let me find out who’s scheming against me!”
At the thought of all this, Heavenly Monarch Ziyang was incomparably furious and unwilling to accept it.
His fists clenched tight, his killing intent surged to the heavens, nearly enough to split the sky itself. He wished he could grind the one scheming against him to dust and slice them into a thousand pieces.
But soon after, he calmed down. He was not a rash, brainless man, and he knew this rage was nothing but futility.
“The priority right now is to find out who the enemy is.”
“The Purple Mansion behind me can’t possibly abandon me over this!”
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang calmed himself and began to seriously think through countermeasures.
Because of his status—similar to the other ancient freaks—the family he was born into was the ruling lineage within the Purple Mansion.
So he wasn’t too worried that his backing power would abandon him over something like this.
Then, after hesitating and struggling for a moment, Heavenly Monarch Ziyang decided to employ a secret art—though doing so would wear away the immortal runes within his Foreseeing Eye.
Using it again in the future would become even more difficult.
“There’s no other way. If I don’t even know who the enemy is, then what use is any countermeasure?”
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang convinced himself.
Weng!!
Abruptly, numerous runes surfaced within his bloodline, surging ceaselessly, all converging toward the crown of his head.
Then the runes between his brows split open, and a hazy radiance emerged—incomparably brilliant and condensed, as if all manner of divine lights were flickering within.
A hazy scene appeared.
It was a broken fragment of the future. Though blurry, Heavenly Monarch Ziyang clearly made out that person’s figure.
“What?”
“That’s... Gu... Changge!?? Why is it him again?”
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang’s eyes went wide as saucers, the corners of his eyes nearly splitting. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Though it was only a blurry figure, that temperament, that bearing, that face—how could he possibly fail to recognize them?
This was his great enemy, Gu Changge!
Could it be that Gu Changge was moving against him again? That all of this was actually Gu Changge’s scheme?
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang couldn’t figure it out at all. His mind was a complete mess. He wanted to see the details within more clearly.
But the next moment, that heartfelt, palpitating terror came over him once again.
Faintly, he saw the scene of a mountain gate being destroyed—obliterated by that single palm strike that had come sweeping across the Eight Thousand Continents.
Every inch of his cells, flesh, and bones trembled, producing an indescribable fear.
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang’s face went pale, great beads of sweat covering his forehead. His whole body was drenched, as if he had just been fished out of water.
“How is this possible...” His voice trembled, his eyes filled with horror and dread.
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang simply couldn’t understand why he would suddenly see that nightmarish scene—the one that had accompanied him lifetime after lifetime, impossible to erase.
...
The Saintess of the Purple Mansion was named Ziyan, but her original name was actually Liu Ziyan.
Her father was the current Sect Leader of the Purple Mansion, wielding tremendous power in the Beyond.
Although Liu Ziyan had not entered the ranks of the Ten Great Ranked Disciples of the True Immortal Academy,
she was still at the level of a quasi-Ranked Disciple. She was simply very low-key; few had ever seen her take action, but her strength was definitely not weak.
There were even hobbyists who collected portraits of all the heavenly damsels of the True Immortal Academy and finally selected the ten most beautiful women, naming the list the Ten Gracious Portraits.
Liu Ziyan was prominently among them.
Her countenance was breathtakingly beautiful, her figure slender and graceful. Dressed in a long violet gown adorned like blossoms,
each lotus step she took was like an immortal flower swaying—cold, elegant, and noble, radiating a stunning beauty.
The encampment of all the Purple Mansion disciples in the Black Tortoise Empire.
Inside the palace hall.
Liu Ziyan stood at the head, her delicate brows tightly furrowed, her voice laced with coldness.
“Gu Changge is inviting all of us over for tea?”
Behind her stood the other disciples of the Purple Mansion, their faces heavy with unease and tension. All of them had subsequently joined the True Immortal Academy as well.
This time, they had followed Heavenly Monarch Ziyang to the Black Tortoise Empire for the trial.
Only, because Heavenly Monarch Ziyang’s standards were rather high, many of them had not become his followers and were merely stationed here.
“This is my master’s order. I hope Saintess Ziyan will not make things difficult for us.”
“My master said that if Saintess Ziyan refuses his kind intentions, then we will have no choice but to take action and forcibly bring you all over.”
Before the palace gates, a tall young man whose entire body flowed with divine light spoke in a deep voice. His name was Wang Zhong.
His gaze held divine runes, wisps of divine light flickering, carrying great majesty with every opening and closing of his eyes.
Behind him followed quite a few prodigies, all of them powerful in cultivation with astonishing vitality. Throughout the entire True Immortal Academy, there was practically no one who didn’t know of them.
The vast pressure enveloped the area, causing many Cultivators and beings on the streets to look over, utterly shocked.
“Gu Changge really has some fine methods!”
Hearing this, Liu Ziyan’s delicate brows knitted tightly, her voice like ten-thousand-year-old black ice—crisp, yet freezing.
By status, she and Gu Changge were of the same generation, yet Gu Changge adopted such an attitude, not taking her seriously in the slightest.
········Seeking flowers······
To Liu Ziyan, these things actually didn’t matter much.
What unsettled her heart was whether Heavenly Monarch Ziyang’s current affair would implicate them.
Back at the True Immortal Academy, there had already been conflict between Gu Changge and Heavenly Monarch Ziyang.
And afterward, Gu Changge had even taken action, humiliating Heavenly Monarch Ziyang before the eyes of every prodigy and Elder.
That grudge was not one easily resolved.
And now was a troubled season.
The affair of Heavenly Monarch Ziyang had become known to the whole world, and Gu Changge had even declared he would seek justice for that Qing Feng.
Liu Ziyan had already guessed Gu Changge’s purpose.
Sending people at precisely this moment to invite them over for tea.
Tea was the pretense—a Hongmen Banquet and house arrest was likely the truth.
“Saintess Ziyan, please!”
“My master has already prepared the tea banquet and awaits the arrival of everyone from the Purple Mansion.”
“Additionally, my master asked us to pass along a message. He is currently injured, so his hospitality may be somewhat lacking when the time comes. He hopes Saintess Ziyan will not take offense!”
Wang Zhong spoke again, very courteous, yet every word brooked no refusal.
This was already an undisguised threat.
As if the moment Liu Ziyan dared refuse, he and the people behind him would immediately strike and suppress everyone present.
Liu Ziyan was so angry her delicate body trembled, her silver teeth clenched tight.
“What a fine Young Master Changge!”
Even gravely wounded, Gu Changge was absolutely not someone she could contend against.
0....
Not to mention Gu Changge’s words had already made it plain—if they dared disobey, he would give the order to directly suppress everyone here.
Such a domineering attitude left Liu Ziyan incomparably furious and unwilling, yet helpless, with no recourse at all.
The many disciples behind her also had pale faces, filled with dread and unease.
After all, this group of prodigies before them had been sent by Gu Changge!
In this Black Tortoise Empire, who didn’t fear him?
Even the Elders who had rushed over to take charge of the situation didn’t dare offend Gu Changge!
“Even gravely wounded, he still covers the sky with one hand!”
“Fine. Please ask Young Master Changge to wait a moment. Ziyan will come shortly.”
Taking a deep breath, Liu Ziyan calmed herself and spoke to Wang Zhong before her.
Heavenly Monarch Ziyang was the ancient freak of the lineage behind her. By seniority, he ranked many generations above even her ancestors.
Liu Ziyan refused to believe Heavenly Monarch Ziyang would do such a thing.
She had once, under Heavenly Monarch Ziyang’s guidance, comprehended an ancient heavenly art that she had cultivated for many days without being able to enter its threshold.
She had also heard Heavenly Monarch Ziyang speak of his ambitions and his Dao Heart. She did not believe he was someone who would collude with the Successor of Demonic Arts and abduct Qing Xiaoyi.
“Saintess Ziyan misunderstands. My master means to invite everyone to come over right now.”
“My master’s time is precious. He doesn’t wish to waste it on such trivial matters.”
But the words Wang Zhong spoke next made Liu Ziyan’s entire body stiffen, endless humiliation and fury welling up in her heart.
Just how domineering, how much of a bully did one have to be to speak like this?
Undisguised contempt and utter indifference!
Though the other Purple Mansion disciples were equally furious, they only dared to be angry without daring to speak, not uttering a single word.
Seeing this scene, a trace of mockery flashed through the eyes of Wang Zhong and his companions.
Still putting on airs before our master?
“Fine. Then we’ll go over right now!”
Then, forcing herself to calm down, Liu Ziyan practically spoke through gritted teeth. In all her years of life, this was the first time she had felt such powerlessness and humiliation.
Soon after, Liu Ziyan and the others left the place and headed for the palace district where Gu Changge resided.
Upon arriving there, Wang Zhong led them into the hall.
They finally met the Gu Changge who had invited them for tea.
“Gongzi, can’t you just let me win for once...”
“You’re so heartless every time.”
Inside the hall, a chessboard was laid out, with two people seated across from each other.
The ethereally beautiful woman wore a face full of grievance, looking at her own lustrous white face, which had been smeared pitch-black with ink.
The man across from her wore white robes and white socks, his ink-black hair draped loosely, his expression lazy and careless—completely oblivious, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
His gaze swept over in this direction, and he smiled as if suddenly realizing.
“Oh, Saintess Ziyan has arrived?”
“Qingge, hurry and brew the tea. Don’t neglect my honored guests.”