knife

Chapter 278: Entanglement
This is a sad story.

The Heaven-Slaying Technique can actually be considered a family martial art of the Li family. This skill is extremely domineering, easy to learn, and allows for rapid progress. One can reach a very high level in a very short time. However, the side effects are also obvious, namely, it damages the brain.

No Li family disciple who cultivated Fatian to the peak of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan could escape the fate of eventually going insane.

Li tried everything to solve this problem, but to no avail.

It wasn't until Li Qing, a member of the Li family, traveled to the south that he met Qingfeng, a remarkable woman.

That was when Li Qing was besieged by several members of the Duanmu clan and was in imminent danger, Qingfeng suddenly appeared and killed all of them with a wave of his hand.

At that young age, Qingfeng was already a master of the Innate Realm.

While Qingfeng was healing Li Qing, Li Qing was shocked to discover that the martial arts Qingfeng practiced actually had a repairing effect on Fatian, thus solving the tragic fate of Fatian, who would either die or be crippled when he reached the peak of his cultivation.

The rest of the story is pretty cliché.

Li Qing launched an offensive against Qingfeng, and although Qingfeng was highly skilled in martial arts, he was quite ignorant about worldly affairs. He quickly fell in love with Li Qing and became inseparable from him.

However, Qingfeng's origins have always been a mystery; even she herself cannot say where she is from or where she came from.

In those years, the Dayong Dynasty of the Duanmu clan had reached its final moment. With the help of Qingfeng, Li Qing made great progress in the Heaven-Slaying Technique. In just a few years, he entered the Innate Realm. Together with Qingfeng, they killed off the great masters of the Duanmu clan in battle after battle.

The Li family gained immense influence and became the leader of all the rebels. Li Qing also became an absolute powerhouse within the Li family due to his outstanding performance.

Just as Qingfeng was looking forward to the happy times he would have with Li Qing after the war ended,
Li Qing suddenly married into the Sun family, another powerful clan at the time.

If the Li family wants to seize power, they must join forces with the slightly weaker Changsun family to counterbalance other rebel factions. Clearly, no matter how high Qingfeng's martial arts cultivation is, he cannot help Li Qing in this regard.

Li Qing and Qingfeng had a falling out.

Li Qing promised Qingfeng the position of Imperial Noble Consort.

But the proud Qingfeng would never tolerate being subordinate to the Changsun family.

The furious breeze has departed.

When it was time to leave, it was truly time to sever all ties. Li wanted to seize Qingfeng's martial arts secrets to completely resolve the predicament of the Heaven-Slaying Technique. However, this also made Qingfeng completely give up. She killed more than a dozen of the Li and Changsun experts who were trying to stop her. Only then did everyone realize that Qingfeng had advanced to the Divine Travel Realm at some point.

Greatly alarmed, the Li and Changsun clans withdrew their forces and deployed a large army to protect the safety of the key figures. It is said that Qingfeng cried bitterly outside the army camp and then disappeared without a trace.

Next, the rebels captured Chang'an, and the Li family took control of the country.

Meanwhile, the twelve southern commanderies, led by the Xiong clan, established the State of Chu, which stood in opposition to the Qin state of the Li clan.

Not long after, the religion was born.

At this point, Duanmu Miaomiao gave Li Dachui a meaningful look and said, "The first leader of the Divine Sect was Qingfeng!"

Li Dachui never imagined that his ancestor had such a poignant love story with the founder of the Demonic Sect.

But no matter how you look at it, this ancestor of ours is definitely a villain in this story!
"Is it because this Qingfeng Sect Leader herself didn't become Empress, so this became her obsession? As a result, the sect created an organization specifically to train outstanding girls to become Empress Dowagers?"

Duanmu Miaomiao glared at Li Dachui: "What kind of person is Qingfeng? How could he be as despicable as you make him out to be? Back then, the South was no good place. The people were extremely poor, and it was incomparable to the North. After the Li family conquered the Central Plains, they did not continue to attack the South. This was partly because the northern barbarians had suddenly risen up, but also because most people at the time felt that the South was neither good nor bad, and sending a large army to conquer it would be a losing proposition. In the end, they missed the best opportunity."

"So what? As far as I know, the Demonic Sect is practically a professional rebel group. Members of the Demonic Sect are either rebelling or planning to rebel." "In the south, the Demonic Sect initially only did things to help people survive, acting as a mutual aid organization, so it didn't attract the attention of the Chu Kingdom. Gradually, their power grew, and their political slogans, such as equalizing wealth and not paying taxes, were quite attractive to the people in the south," Duanmu Miaomiao said.

"Does this Qingfeng Sect Leader intend to rebel himself and then challenge Li Qing to a duel?"

“Or that’s what she was thinking!” Duanmu Miaomiao said, “How could changing dynasties be such an easy thing? When she was following Li Qing, Qingfeng was mainly a high-level martial arts expert. But when she had to do these things herself, she knew how difficult it would be. Moreover, at that time, the world had been in chaos for decades, and people longed for stability! So, she suffered defeat after defeat and eventually disappeared, and the Demonic Sect went underground.”

"Did this Qingfeng Cult Leader never reappear?" Li Dachui asked.

"According to my elders, this Qingfeng Sect Leader appeared when Emperor Li Qing died. However, at that time, no one could tell what level she was at!" Duanmu Miaomiao said, "Back then, several experts from my ancestors infiltrated Li Qing's funeral, intending to do something, but after seeing Qingfeng, they backed down. She just appeared, directly lifted Li Qing's coffin, glanced at him, and then disappeared before everyone's eyes, like a goddess." Duanmu Miaomiao looked up at the sky, filled with longing. "Thinking about it, it's truly awe-inspiring! At that time, the Li Qin Dynasty was at its peak, and so many top-level martial arts masters didn't even have the courage to fight in front of Qingfeng."

"Not just daydreaming?"

"Who knows?" Duanmu Miaomiao shook her head and said, "I don't even know what it's like to travel in my mind, so how could I possibly have the chance to know about the scenery above in this lifetime?"

“Qingfeng is no longer willing to fight, but the organization she left behind is still operating on its own. These people are truly remarkable for their centuries-long rebellion!” Li Dachui sighed. “But can they be considered to have succeeded in Southern Chu now? Empress Dowager Jiang Qian is the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect, and many people in power are members of the Demonic Sect.”

"They can only be considered substitutes for each other now. Their real success is when they can step into the limelight!" Duanmu Miaomiao shook her head and said, "I know a bit about the current situation in Nan Chu. It seems to be quite different from the doctrines of the Demonic Sect. I'm afraid Jiang Qian and her people are just after power!"

Just as the two of them were feeling a bit wistful, Xiao Changche came out carrying a plate of pastries and handed them to Duanmu Miaomiao: "I see you haven't eaten much just now, take these to tide you over!"

Duanmu shook his head, stood up, looked at Xiao Changche, then at Li Dachui, and shook his head, saying, "Xiao Changche, none of the men in the Li family are good people. This Li Dachui, you look respectable, but who knows when he'll turn on you faster than flipping a book! They are all people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals!"

“Aunt Duanmu, you can’t slander people like that.” Li Dachui quickly stood up, took Xiao Changche’s hand and left.

Aunt Duanmu harbored deep prejudice against Li Shi. Even now that she needed his help, she still spoke ill of him constantly. In the days to come, he absolutely could not allow her to have much contact with Xiao Changche, for it would be difficult for her to say a few kind words.

While eating the pastries that Xiao Changche brought out, Li Dachui briefly told Xiao Changche the story he had heard from Duanmu, which greatly surprised Xiao Changche.

“I never imagined that the Li family had such a deep connection with the Demonic Sect. No wonder the Great Qin has always been extremely wary of the Demonic Sect. It must have been because the Qingfeng Sect Leader was so terrifying to them back then!” Xiao Changche shook his head and said, “The founding emperor of the Great Qin has really let down this Qingfeng girl.”

Seeing Xiao Changche's unfriendly gaze, Li Dachui immediately raised his hand and swore, "Ningyu, don't worry, I will never be like Li Qing. I prefer to be self-reliant, and the things we have now in the border region are the result of our joint efforts. The two are not comparable, not comparable at all!"

Xiao Changche laughed and said, "If you want to follow your ancestors' example, I won't follow Qingfeng's example. I will immediately raise an army in rebellion."

"How could that be?" Li Dachui exclaimed repeatedly, "In this life, I've only chosen you. Everyone else can step aside!"

"We'll see if you've kept your word when our hair turns white!" Xiao Changche glanced at the old men inside the house who were shouting and playing drinking games, and pouted, "They said they were holding an engagement banquet for us, but now they're having a good time and have completely forgotten about us. All that delicious food you made for them was for nothing!"

“We can manage without them!” Li Dachui took the crystal-clear jade ruyi from his neck, poured in his true energy, and one after another, fiery red seal characters appeared: “Ningyu, this is the only thing my mother left me. I’m giving it to you as our engagement token.”

Taking the jade ruyi and holding it tightly in his hand, Xiao Changche said with some difficulty, "But I have nothing!"

“You have one, and you’ve already given it to me!” Li Dachui pulled out a sachet from his pocket—the one with crooked stitches and mandarin ducks embroidered like two ducks—and laughed, “Look, I’ve always kept it close to my body!”

Xiao Changche was extremely embarrassed and reached out to snatch it, saying, "I'll embroider another one for you; this one is just too ugly!"

"It's precisely because it's ugly that it better represents your feelings! Even if you embroider a hundred or a thousand more in the future, none of them will move me as much as this one!"

He tucked the sachet into his bosom and then pulled Xiao Changche into his arms as well.

(End of this chapter)