The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

At the same time, in a leeward canyon somewhere in the Tianshan Mountains, thousands of miles away from the wasteland where Zhao Qing was.

The cold moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the sparse tents of the Qiang tribe in the distance. The twinkling stars were like will-o'-the-wisp fires, barely dispelling a small patch of thick darkness. The rugged black ridges looked like dormant beasts in the night, and the night wind blew, making whimpering sounds.

Heba Xuangao sat cross-legged on a relatively flat boulder, his eyes closed, his face three times paler than the snow that had accumulated for thousands of years. The Eclipse Staff was still across his knees, but the pale green gem on the top of the staff was dim, and the hideous crack was like a poisonous snake, coiling on it.

Not far from him, a burly figure was half leaning against the cold rock wall. It was the axe-wielding master who was urged to enter the "Netherworld Demonic Transformation" and severely injured by Emperor Han Chen.

This person has already exited his demonic form, his bones are broken in countless places, he is dying, there is a huge charred fist mark on his chest, with the horrible smell of Dan fire remaining, but he has miraculously retained a breath, and his injuries are slowly healing - all he paid was the price of becoming a "servant".

Heba Xuangao suddenly opened his eyes!

Deep in the eyes, bloodshot and a dark, cold light intertwined.

He did not look at the dying men around him, but cast his cold gaze towards the east, as if he had penetrated through the mountains and saw again the southern shore of the Hot Spring where he had suffered a great defeat, saw the damned Emperor Han Chen, and also saw the cunning and treacherous Zhao Qing who had disappeared in the depths of the abyss!

A fierce look flashed across his face.

He slowly raised his withered right hand and extended his index finger. There was no true energy light at the fingertips, but there were wisps of invisible and intangible things that made the space slightly distorted - divine thoughts!
He used his divine thoughts as a guide, and began to carve slowly and laboriously in the void in front of him. Without any traces of strokes, strange light symbols began to condense out of thin air in the void, with simple and vigorous lines, carrying a majestic pressure from ancient times.

What was shocking was that the core area of ​​the rune was not an abstract pattern, but was condensed from pure dim light - large ancient seal characters exuding a primitive aura, like blood dripping, hanging in the air, emitting a bewitching light under the bleak moonlight:
"Yin, Ji, Ying, Liu, Li, Zhao... Tuoba, Murong, Yuwen, Yelu, Wanyan..."

These surnames are actually the founding surnames of many dynasties in another parallel Earth.

Because of Emperor You's own bad taste, he bestowed it on his patrol kings, divine generals, and attendants, or in other words, he specially selected talented people with these surnames for promotion, divided the land and enfeoffed them, and branded them with blood contracts.

However, perhaps because of their ugly and unpleasant sounding names, names like Borjigin and Aisin-Gioro were not included.

“In the name of the Emperor…” Heba Xuangao’s voice was like a cold spring flowing under a glacier, icy yet hot like a crazy sacrifice, “Awaken the sleeping blood! Return to the source! Descendants of the gods, you must obey the will of heaven! You must repay the promise of your ancestors! Those who break the oath will be hated by heaven! Your clan will be exterminated!”

When the last three words were uttered, the suspended surname talisman exploded and turned into thousands of gray-black streams of light as thin as hair, like living ghostly poisonous snakes, which instantly drilled into the void and disappeared without a trace.

……

In the Qin capital Changling, the observatory was silent.

Emperor Yuanwu stood with his hands behind his back, his back to the brightly lit imperial city. His eyes penetrated the glazed roof and he stared for a long time at the sky in the north that seemed to never be silent again and was filled with grand aura at every moment, his brows furrowed.

His aura was like a deep ocean, but at the bottom of the ocean was suppressing an unspeakable restlessness. The face of this emperor with a will as strong as steel rarely lost his usual cold and hard control, and was replaced by a trace of deep fatigue and... a crack of self-doubt.

There were stars in the sky, but the distant light of Hengsha was drowned by layers of brilliant "fireworks" that rose and fell without stopping. The pure and vast energy of the fireworks still shocked Yuanwu's mind even though they were thousands of miles apart.

I don’t know how many times this has happened!
"Pfft..."

In the deep ravine below the observatory, an old carp that had been raised for thirty years swung its tail and jumped into the water out of boredom, shattering the reflected starry sky in the pool.

Yuanwu's eyes twitched.

This subtle sound was like a heavy hammer in the dead of night, hitting hard on his self-control that he was so proud of. He clenched his left hand that was holding the white jade railing tightly, and his knuckles turned white.

"It's been a quarter of an hour..." Yuan Wu's voice was dry and filled with an incredible sense of absurdity, as if he was trying to convince himself, "It's been a full quarter of an hour... and the fluctuation is still continuing... and... it seems to be heavier than any time I've sensed before?"

He closed his eyes tightly, and the veins on his forehead throbbed slightly.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a rare hint of confusion and... frustration in the depths of his eyes?
"It was alright a few days ago, but every now and then, someone occasionally caused the stars to change, and I just put up with it..."

"But this...what is this?"

"Every moment, someone succeeds in 'Enlightenment', but the Qi never dissipates? It even gets stronger and stronger?" His voice deepened, and his fingers unconsciously clenched together, with his bones making a slight crisp sound. "Is it my perception that has gone crazy, or... is this world... really crazy?!"

Suddenly! He turned around, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, and fixed on the old man in yellow robe who was standing in the shadow corner and remained silent the whole time - the head of the Ministry of Rites, Xu Fu!

"With the celestial phenomena in such disarray, what is the purpose of the observatory?"

Xu Fu bowed deeply: "Your Majesty, calm down. The celestial phenomena have changed suddenly, and the energy is confused. It is beyond human power to understand. The changes in the northwest sky are unprecedented, the star tracks are chaotic, and the vitality is surging... This old minister... can hardly see the whole picture. I am afraid that there are... anomalies that have never appeared in the world, or... a force beyond cognition that is stirring up the world."

In fact, these phenomena were of course all caused by Zhao Qing. In the previous period of time, she provided several people at the peak of the seventh realm, including Emperor Chu, with experience cards that allowed them to temporarily enter the eighth realm. The great masters of various dynasties who were able to sense this found it incredible and anxious.

Emperor Yuanwu snorted coldly, obviously dissatisfied with this vague answer.

He took a half step forward, came to the edge of the observatory, and looked down at the majestic and silent outline of Changling in the darkness.

When he spoke again, his tone had returned to the solemnity of an emperor, even with a hint of deliberate, cold calmness, as if he didn't want to bother with the phenomenon anymore: "How's that matter going?"

Yuan Wu did not explain it in detail, but Xu Fu knew what he meant. "How is the excavation of the... great mausoleum going?"

The so-called "digging" actually refers to "burying". The inheritance books were secretly buried in the Gushan Sword Collection, and then "openly" delivered to Queen Zheng Xiu through Li Si's hands, allowing her to comprehend the secrets at a time when the peak of the seventh realm seems to have fallen, and break through to become the second eighth-realm Qi Tian in the Great Qin Dynasty.

The imperial couple, the supreme rulers of the world, are prisoners of the pinnacle of power. The core bond that maintains their relationship is no longer affection and trust, but endless suspicion, calculation and constraints. Even though Yuanwu chose to "give in" and "reconcile" first, he was unwilling to show any emotion first.

In front of the queen who was equally proficient in power and tactics and who might have known his thoughts clearly, any "soft gesture" that was shown in advance could instantly turn into a deadly blade stabbing at himself, and become a change of tactics that broke down the cooperation. Xu Fu knew this very well, and was not disturbed by such court intrigues. He maintained a humble attitude, lowered his head even lower, and used shadows to cover his expression:

"Your Majesty is blessed. Although the traps are vicious and the obstacles are deep... but with the 'key' in hand, all the layers can be broken. The mausoleum path is now unblocked. A total of three mysterious doors have been dug open, and seventy-three ancient bans have been broken."

"Three hundred and sixty volumes of core tomes and twelve imprints of the true meaning of ancient swords are all sealed in the rune secret cabinet and have sunk along with the core array disk... We are just waiting for your majesty's decision and the right time... to act."

Emperor Yuanwu nodded slightly, "If she can break through... that's good too. The situation here is no longer what it was yesterday." Troubled times are coming, the game has begun, and he must hold the strongest chess piece.

……

The vital energy tide that swept across a thousand miles in the Tianliang ancestral land was like a huge rock thrown into a silent deep pool, causing ripples.

The first to be affected was the Wu Kingdom, which was adjacent to the ancestral land and had regarded itself as the "guardian" for generations.

At almost the same time, deep in the wilderness to the southeast, separated from the desolate wonderland of the Zushan Basin by only the undulating Gobi hills, was the top of the watchtower of "Tiegu Pass", an important border town of the Wu State.

A middle-aged man wearing a heavy wolfskin robe, with half of his face covered by a fur hat, looked up at the sky.

He is the great wizard of the Wu Kingdom, Zhan Maha, who holds a high position in the Wu Kingdom, is both a national teacher and a prophet, and is deeply respected by the royal family! Or... the last surviving member of the Tianliang clan!

When he noticed the vast energy that seemed to tear apart the original order of the sky and confirmed the direction it came from, Zhan Maha took out an old sheepskin map that depicted the Tianliang Ancestral Mountain and its surrounding basins. He gently ran his finger across the black mark representing the ancestral mountain, and his whole body trembled slightly.

He was not in reverence, nor was he angry because of an enemy attack.

He was so surprised and excited that his eyes were burning with an unusual fire - a fire mixed with pain, determination and a hint of crazy ambition. His gaze passed over the shadows of the Hangai Mountains undulating in the moonlight and landed precisely on the huge basin covered by endless deathly silence and divine aura.

The origin of his bloodline, Tianliang Ancestral Mountain!
As a descendant of the anonymous "Tianliang Gravekeeper", he carries a cold and cruel mission given by Wushuang Fengyujian and others in the past, which has nothing to do with himself: to lurk in the Wu family for generations, keep the secrets of the ancestral mountain, and kill all insiders who may reveal the shortcut to the entrance.

This heavy shackle bound his ancestors for generations, all for the purpose of guarding an "evil creature" left behind by the remnants of a distant dynasty that should not have existed in the first place, maintaining its seal, and piling up mountains of bones to carry out this mission of protection!

His parents and grandparents all wasted their lives in this twisted duty and eventually died silently.

His eyes swept across the areas on the periphery of the map marked with danger symbols, and he seemed to see endless, stacked layers of gray-white bone fragments, piled up like rivers.

They were the people of Tianliang in the past, the countless tribal coalitions who intended to fight for the elixir of immortality, the Wushuang Fengyu Sword comrades who guarded the ancestral mountain until their death, the Wu herdsmen who mistakenly entered the forbidden area for hundreds of years, and the practitioners who came here to search for treasures...all the flesh and blood of everyone eventually turned to the same dust!

"sacred?"

Zhan Maha roared silently into the biting night wind, but with a chill that seemed to have accumulated for thousands of years, he asked: "A holy place built with the corpses of millions of innocent people? A restricted area dedicated with the blood of the eternal guardian as sacrifice? Does it deserve such holiness?!!"

How many of these corpses were his ancestors? How many were civilians who should not have died?
The silent sacrifices of generations of ancestors only earned the Wu family superficial reverence for their ancestral land. In reality... they were just afraid of the death restriction set by the ancient strongmen, which even they themselves could not control!

This ancestral land itself is the source of all misfortunes, a twisted existence!

Ever since it attracted the meteorite that brought the elixir of immortality but also endless disasters, it has ceased to be a blessed land, but a source of sin and endless curses!

"The Wu family reveres it as if it were a god. Successive Wu emperors have sworn to protect it, and even established ancestral rules: Anyone who enters the ancestral land without permission will be executed by slow slicing, and the entire family will be implicated! How stupid! How... pathetic!"

Zhan Maha whispered to himself, every word was soaked with irony and exhaustion after seeing through a thousand years of lies: "It should have been destroyed long ago! To protect it is to continue this cycle of killing that has lasted for hundreds of years! This ancestral precept itself is a blood-stained shackle!"

It must be destroyed! End it all! Why can't he master the power of the elixir of immortality, end this meaningless sacrifice, and bring a new order to this wasteland? Even if... the price is to no longer be completely himself? So what!

The Wu family is now in a precarious situation under the shadow of the powerful Qin. With wars raging on the border, the people at home are in panic. They need an absolutely strong man to stand up and follow the example of the Qin and Chu dynasties to set off a wave of reform and revival and restore their past glory!

Even if I bear eternal infamy, even if I am despised as a traitor!
Of course, Zhan Maha knew very well that his cultivation at the upper level of the seventh realm was not enough to shake the protection of the core of the ancestral mountain. He needed a knife sharp enough to break the last seal!

And the mysterious strong man who is now in the depths of the ancestral mountain and causing strange phenomena in heaven and earth is the best bait and pioneer!
Without a moment's hesitation, Zhan Maha turned around, and the last trace of struggle in his eyes was replaced by cold determination.

He quickly summoned his trusted guards and threw a domino carved with a wolf howling at the moon totem, speaking in a low and rapid voice:

"Hurry up and take my Moon Wolf Order and ride to the royal court! Report to the Queen Mother Wanyan: The sacred land of Zushan is shaking, strange phenomena are falling from the sky, and an unparalleled strong man has trespassed into the forbidden land and desecrated the holy mausoleum. His power... may be that of the sky! It may be able to shake the seal! Please ask the Queen Mother to immediately mobilize the elite troops and order Marshal Yelu to seal all exits of Zushan!"

"This beast's strength is unpredictable, and it can only be defeated by a large army! Also..." He paused, with a fierce light flashing in his eyes, "Tell the Queen Mother that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and there is hope that we can explore the ancestral mountain!"

Although Zhan Maha was certain that the actual ruler of the Wu family, the Empress Dowager Wanyan who was revered as a deity, had no idea of ​​the existence of the "elixir of immortality", the attraction of the "fountain of youth" and its rich spiritual power alone was enough to make her, an elderly woman, excited and willing to take the risk.

The guard took the dominoes and felt them cold to the touch, as if he could sense the storm contained in them. He did not dare to ask any more questions, so he bowed and accepted the order and ran away, his figure silently blending into the shadows.

Zhan Maha put away the parchment scroll and stood alone in the cold wind. A crescent-shaped scimitar suddenly appeared between his hands and turned to fly upwards, rising higher and higher, shining brightly.

Many breaths later, the sound of dry grass breaking came from under the tower and quickly approached his side.

A silver-white giant wolf leaped up dozens of feet and appeared beside Zhan Maha. There was a saddle on its back, and even some food and thick blankets were tied to it.

Zhan Maha patted the giant wolf's head, without saying much, sat on the saddle, and started heading towards the ancestral land!

...(End of chapter)