Chapter 503
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Pure Intentions in the Rear Palace
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Don't misunderstand. Although Lu Yang was heading to the rear palace, he harbored absolutely no wicked thoughts in his heart. It was purely because his destination lay within the rear palace.
This was all Emperor Jiayou's doing.
Though Emperor Jiayou had three palaces and six courtyards, along with three thousand concubines, he devoted himself single-mindedly to cultivation. As such, he had relocated countless cultivation scriptures from outside into the rear palace.
These included Daoist arts, sutras, and texts on the hundred arts of immortal cultivation—a truly encyclopedic collection. Emperor Jiayou proudly dubbed it the Four Libraries Dao Repository, boasting that it encompassed every cultivation method under heaven. Thanks to this hobby, the concubines of the rear palace followed his example.
From the Empress down to the lowliest Talents.
All the concubines had read the Dao books within the Four Libraries Dao Repository. Some even offered unique insights on certain texts to curry favor with Emperor Jiayou.
Of course, none of that mattered.
What did matter were the Dao arts in the Four Libraries Dao Repository. Lu Yang took great interest in them. Now that he controlled Heavenly Wu Hall, it was the perfect opportunity to peruse them thoroughly.
Soon enough, Lu Yang arrived before the palace complex housing the rear palace.
A kindly-faced eunuch stood waiting to greet him. Lu Yang smiled at the sight and stepped forward with cupped hands.
"Greetings, Friend An."
"You're too courteous, Lord Du Huan."
Eunuch An waved it off, his expression turning solemn.
"I've heard Lord Du Huan wishes to enter the rear palace. That violates protocol. Please show some restraint, my lord."
"You're right, Eunuch An."
Lu Yang chuckled.
"But I'm here on an investigation. I suspect Demon Sect spies lurk within Heavenly Wu Hall, passing information to the outside!"
"What?"
Eunuch An's eyes narrowed at once.
"Lord Du Huan, you mustn't speak recklessly. The inner court serves only His Majesty. How could we collude with the Demon Sect?"
"All the more reason to investigate, then."
With that, Lu Yang glanced around before lowering his voice.
"To be frank, Friend... His Crown Prince Highness takes His Majesty's assassination most seriously. The Crown Prince even plans to remain in Heavenly Wu Hall afterward. If the inner court cooperates fully, it would certainly put His Highness more at ease."
"This..."
Eunuch An furrowed his brow, his resolve wavering. After all, these inner court eunuchs depended entirely on the Heavenly Wu royals for their existence.
With Emperor Jiayou in seclusion, Crown Prince Longxing was their master.
If the master wished to investigate, how could they stand in his way?
Of course, Eunuch An saw through Lu Yang's pretext—he was using the investigation to browse the Dao repository for personal gain. But what of it?
A Dao Court official who sought no personal gain? Hardly.
Besides, he needed Lu Yang to speak well of him to Crown Prince Longxing!
At this thought, a smile bloomed on Eunuch An's face.
"I see. Then please, my lord, come in and investigate. The rear palace is yours to search freely!"
"My thanks, Friend An."
Lu Yang nodded, well pleased, and strode into the palace housing the Four Libraries Dao Repository.
The sight that greeted him was magnificent.
The immense hall brimmed with bookshelves stuffed full of Dao books, meticulously sorted by category. The sheer volume dwarfed even the Primal Saint Sect's Manifest Law Pavilion!
'Of course. The Dao Court rules all of Jiangdong, after all.'
In Jiangbei, beyond the Primal Saint Sect, countless sects great and small guarded their signature techniques—not necessarily inferior to the Primal Saint Sect's Dao arts.
But in Jiangdong, the Dao Court reigned supreme.
Every Dao art and divine ability fell under its dominion. A Dao repository forged by the Dao Court's full might naturally outstripped the Primal Saint Sect in both scope and depth.
'Which to choose?'
Lu Yang pondered, brow furrowed. Though he had reached peak Foundation Establishment, he lacked true prowess in combat. More often, he crushed foes through superior mechanics and stats.
Few cultivators under heaven could match him on stats and mechanics alone. Yet he never forgot the one Foundation Establishment Perfected Being whose stats and mechanics utterly eclipsed his own. Against that foe with his current strength, defeat was certain.
'Master Demon-Quelling.'
In his previous life, Lu Yang had never witnessed Perfected Being Demon-Quelling unleash his full might from start to finish. Every foe fell to a single sword stroke.
Two title-level sword intents, after all.
In the entire Sword Pavilion, only [Rigid Form Preaching True Lord] had grasped even one—and that was a Golden Core Great True Lord!
'Far too overpowered!'
Lu Yang sighed. Perfected Being Demon-Quelling had attained the pinnacle in sword intent; Lu Yang knew he could never rival that. A different path was needed.
'If quality falls short, overwhelm with quantity!'
He would select potent Dao arts, empower them via [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws], master them swiftly, and thereby elevate his combat strength.
He already had a scheme in mind.
'My five divine abilities now: natal [Heavy Separation Imperial Edict Mountains-Seas Map]; talents [Emperor's Life Mandate], [Return to the Walls Palace], [Heaven-Earth Union], [Coiling Dragon Root].'
'The natal divine ability aside. Among talents, [Emperor's Life Mandate] leans supportive, chiefly amplifying the natal divine ability's might. [Return to the Walls Palace] favors defense, containment, suppression. [Heaven-Earth Union] pairs with it to refine and suppress captures.'
'[Coiling Dragon Root]'s marvels center on mending wounds and dispelling baleful qi.'
This system echoed [Heavenly Fire]'s imagery, centered on "governance." No dedicated tools for mortal combat.
That made sense.
The heir to a fortune sits not at the hall's edge; blood-soaked brawls suit generals. In [Heavenly Fire]'s archetype, such tactics fell short.
'Yet surprises arise.'
'Emperors too lead charges and brave perils. Success hinges on Dao arts aligning with the archetype—unleashing my full stats.'
Lu Yang extended his divine sense, scouring the Four Libraries Dao Repository. Its vastness defied quick skimming; each volume demanded close scrutiny to grasp its imagery and suitability. Utterly exhausting.
Only after an age did he find two to his taste.
Noon Fire Dao art: [Beacon Tower Ember Yang Scripture]
Bing Fire Dao art: [Seeing Yang Emperor Light Register]
'Noon governs beacons, so [Beacon Tower Ember Yang Scripture] fits perfectly. It commands warhorses and soldiery fire to crush foes head-on. Drawback: overly ponderous.'
Immense power, lackluster speed.
Divine arts excelling at calamity evasion let foes slip away, squandering vast mana without victory.
'[Seeing Yang Emperor Light Register] plugs the gap. Bing Fire's wonders: Bing is the sun, radiant at zenith. Witness it like staring into dawn's blaze—divine sense stripped bare, blind to the world, oblivious to attacks, let alone evasion.'
Yet Lu Yang remained unsatisfied.
Fine arts, yes—but mere tangential ties to [Heavenly Fire]'s imagery. Pit them against Perfected Being Demon-Quelling? Pure fantasy.
'Pity my unfamiliarity with the Four Libraries Dao Repository.'
One versed in its entirety might pinpoint ideals. Even rear palace concubines rarely managed that.
Just then—
"Her Majesty the Empress arrives!"