The Primordial Law

Chapter 236 Ge Xiantong

Yao Lijia, the chief of Yao Xingyue, was already waiting outside the city gate to receive the person. He clasped his hands in thanks to Li Weiyi, his gratitude unspoken.

Li Weiyi knew from Yao Xingyue's eyes that there were definitely experts rushing towards the city gate. He returned the greeting and quickly left, heading towards the north of the city.

I thought to myself, "The little nun still has a conscience!"

Li Weiyi was very observant and could tell that the Truth of Suffering didn't really care about the Truth of Origin of Suffering's life or death. The reason for his compromise was simply to use Li Weiyi as a tool to release the person.

……

…………

North City.

The imperial court's largest stronghold in Qiuzhou, the governor's mansion, was breached last night by Zuoqiu's forces through a coordinated attack from within and without.

Now, the governor's mansion has become a sanctuary for the Zuoqiu sect and the martial arts practitioners of the Jiuli tribe. The Jiuli martial arts practitioners, such as Cangli, Liling, and Lijiufu, have all retreated here.

It's not that they don't want to retreat to the south, but that they can't go back.

The enemy outnumbered them several times over, and they were able to hold out until dawn entirely because the governor's mansion had enough array formations, which were well preserved.

Li Weiyi dared not approach the governor's mansion.

Several miles from the governor's mansion, one could already see many martial arts practitioners from the imperial court, the far western Ash Region, and the Snow Sword Tang Court, guarding various street corners.

Ge Xiantong and Luan Shenglin must be somewhere nearby, and this place can be described as extremely dangerous.

In the southern part of the city, the attacks were mainly carried out by the Dragon Gate and the Thunder Cloud Sect, who were responsible for destroying the various strongholds established by the Zuoqiu Sect. The main forces of the Imperial Court, the Ash Region of the Far West, and the Snow Sword Tang Court were all gathered in this area, surrounding the Governor's Mansion like an iron barrel.

Li Weiyi wandered the edge of the area, gathering various information and devising a rescue plan.

If the governor's mansion is breached, how many more will be roasted alive, how many will be beaten to their knees, stripped naked, and utterly stripped of their dignity? The demons and monsters of the far western Ashlands possess methods that can make people wish they were dead.

But real-world wars are only far more brutal.

In reality, the westward expansion of the Ashlands in the far west, conquering human territory, is something even a junior like Li Weiyi can clearly see; it's an inevitable trend.

The defeated lose more than just their lives.

Li Weiyi walked around the periphery surrounding the three major powers' strategic deployments, his heart heavy with sorrow. Experts were everywhere; Five Seas Realm formations stretched as far as the eye could see, and Grand Mind Masters were setting up arrays along the streets…

The number of top experts is so large, with nearly half of the two hundred powerful individuals holding posts gathered here.

In this situation, let alone one Li Weiyi, even ten Li Weiyis would be reduced to ashes if they went in.

……

State pastoral office.

After withstanding the attacks of the three major forces all night, everyone was exhausted, but they dared not rest and did their best to recover their magical energy and mental power.

Cang Li sat atop the towering mansion wall, his right arm hanging limply. During the pursuit last night, he had been covering the retreat alone, and his bones had been broken by Luan Shenglin You, nearly following in Yin Jiu's footsteps.

Li Ling's mental energy was severely depleted, almost all three hundred golden arrow talismans were destroyed, and she had multiple wounds on her body.

The Zuoqiu Clan suffered heavy casualties, with nine of their Seventh Sea experts killed in action. Each of them was a renowned prodigy in their respective province. Now, their bodies lie coldly on the ground, covered with white sheets.

Everyone was in low spirits, knowing that simply holding out until dawn was a miracle. Faced with the encirclement and suppression of the three major forces, utter defeat was only a matter of time.

If given the option to surrender, some of them would certainly be very tempted.

Zuoqiu Hongting wore a wooden mask and a blue Taoist robe, her entire body stained with blood. Last night, she fought two against one to intercept Ge Xiantong and Luan Shenglinyou, and she also suffered serious injuries.

But beneath the mask, her eyes remained sharp, showing no sign of dejection.

Walking up to Cang Li and Zhu Yibai, she stood tall and imposing like a battle flag on the mansion wall, looking at Luan Shenglinyou sitting in the middle of the street in the distance, and asked in a low voice: "Do you two regret cooperating with me?"

Zhu Yibai lay sprawled on the ground, not even wanting to move his eyelids: "What's there to regret? The Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival was just a rehearsal of the world's situation. If we lost, at least we helped the Zhu family blaze a bad trail, showing that cooperating with the Zuoqiu family could very well be a dead end. It's good, it's valuable."

Cang Li said, "Whether you regret it or not, the Jiuli tribe and the Zuoqiu sect have long been in the same boat. The Ash Region in the far west is coming on strong, and the imperial court is too busy to take care of itself. If we can't get the support of the Du'e Temple, how will the southern and western territories stop them? This is not a personal battle, it is a matter of the world!"

Zuoqiu Hongting smiled and said, "You two are able to transcend the confines of the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival and see the state of the world. This is the vision that a true inheritor should have. In fact, there is no need for you all to be so discouraged. Given the strength of the five major forces, we should have died last night if they had joined forces. Why are we still alive now?"

Many eyes were cast toward her.

Zuoqiu Hongting was full of energy: "Because the five major forces cannot cooperate sincerely, they did not stop fighting in secret at all last night. It would be good if they could exert 60 or 70% of their strength!"

"Lu Cangsheng and Long Dian have not yet arrived in the North City, which means they have not yet destroyed all our strongholds in the South City."

Cang Li shook his head: "That shouldn't be the case. With the strength of the Thunder Cloud Sect and the Dragon Gate, they should have cleaned up the South City long ago."

Zuoqiu Hongting said, "Therefore, something must have changed in Nancheng... wait... Li Weiyi..."

Li Ling and Cang Li immediately stood up and looked into the distance, following Zuo Qiu Hongting's gaze.

Ten miles away, on the inner city wall.

Standing atop the towering city wall, Li Weiyi let out three long howls before vanishing in a flash. Several experts from the imperial court and the Ashlands of the Far West rushed out in pursuit.

Cang Li was puzzled: "What does he mean by this? Even if he lured away a few experts, it wouldn't change the overall situation, and he's put himself in danger."

Zuoqiu Hongting's eyes, hidden behind her mask, gleamed with a strange light: "Li Weiyi is no fool; there must be a deeper meaning behind his actions."

“Even if there’s some deeper meaning, facing Ge Xiantong and Luan Shenglinyou, it’s still a dead end,” Zhu Yibai said.

Zuoqiu Hongting didn't think so. Suddenly, a thought struck her: "I understand! The direction he was standing just now was directly facing the area where the imperial martial arts practitioners were located. Perhaps he was telling us to break through from this direction."

Zhu Yibai sat up: "Facing Ge Xiantong and Chen Ziliang? I'd rather fight Tang Wanqiu."

Li Ling said, "I think Sister Hong's analysis makes sense. Li Weiyi would never run there and howl three times for no reason. He must be trying to send us a message and coordinate with us from the inside."

Zuoqiu Hongting suddenly chuckled: "I know how to break this deadlock! Besides the governor's mansion, where is the largest stronghold of the imperial court?"

“Naturally, it’s the Attendant Hall located in the southern part of the city,” Cang Li said.

Zuoqiu Hongting said, "To break the deadlock, we must first break the current balance of power in the city. The imperial court and the Ash Region of the Far West are too powerful. Only by crippling one of them and giving the other a chance to eliminate their biggest competitor can the Zuoqiu Clan escape the deadlock of being besieged."

Zhu Yibai was overjoyed: "You mean, at all costs, we should severely damage the court and then capture the Attendant Hall. Let Luan Shenglin and You see an opportunity to deal with the court, our biggest rival?"

Zuoqiu Lancheng said, "This is too difficult, isn't it? Whether we can break out of the encirclement is still unknown. Then, we still have to attack the Attendant Hall with an exhausted army. Every step is as difficult as climbing to the sky. And even if we succeed, it will only benefit Luan Shenglin's child."

"It is difficult, but this is our only chance to rewrite the course of the war. Only by breaking the existing balance of power and causing Luan Shenglin to fight against the imperial court can we have a glimmer of hope."

Zuoqiu Hongting said, "It's decided then! Right now, we can only choose to trust Li Weiyi. Since he roared three times... notify everyone to rest and recuperate quickly, and in three quarters of an hour, we will charge out from the direction of the imperial court. The outcome of this battle will be decided in life or death."

……

…………

Li Weiyi changed her appearance and clothes, and ordered a bowl of soup noodles with beef at a noodle shop near a bridge on the riverbank.

He sat facing the shop's entrance, where he could see boats passing by on the wide river, which was several dozen feet across.

Beside the bridge, a storyteller dressed in a scholar's robe was recounting the fierce battles that had taken place the previous night.

"The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise. In the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world."

After the old man shouted this slogan, it was met with applause and cheers from the crowd.

Li Weiyi felt that the old man in the Confucian robe sounded familiar, so he channeled his spiritual energy into his eyes, trying to see what he looked like.

Suddenly, a figure flashed before his eyes, and an uninvited guest sat down opposite him, blocking his view, and called out in a delicate voice, "Shopkeeper, please cook me a bowl of soup noodles."

The owner of that delicate voice was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old. His skin was as white as porcelain, his eyebrows were blue and his eyes were clear. He wore a spotless white robe and a jade crown. He had an elegant and noble air about him, which made him completely out of place in the environment.

But he was very easygoing, always smiling and polite.

Li Weiyi's soup noodles were served first. After holding them in her hands, she hesitated for a moment and asked, "Why don't you go first?"

The delicate-looking young man quickly waved his hand: "There is a first-come, first-served rule in everything. How can I take it? It's like, if everyone tries to take Lingxiao Palace's territory, the world will be in chaos and people will suffer. If the rules are broken, everyone will have to pay the price for those who break the rules."

Li Weiyi said, "Wasn't the territory of Lingxiao Palace also seized from Leixiao Sect?"

"That was indeed the case when the Mist Emperor was alive. But the catastrophe a thousand years ago wiped out the Lingxiao Realm once. It was the Grand Palace Master who carved out a new Lingxiao Realm for all living beings. Without the Grand Palace Master, there would be no living beings in the Lingxiao Realm as we know them today."

The handsome young man said, "You seem to know who I am?"

Li Weiyi took a sip of noodle soup and sighed, "Do all the people in your court have noses like dogs and eyes that can see through everything?"

The handsome young man said, "Since you escaped, you shouldn't have reappeared. You know, my name isn't actually Ge Xiantong, but Ge Xiantong. It's just that when I was little, I always followed the Grand Palace Master and looked like a child, so I was mistakenly given this name."

Li Weiyi said, "This is a misconception! I thought the art of disguise was an extraordinary technique, but I never expected it to have met its match. Do you really have a pair of immortal eyes?"

Ge Xiantong scrutinized Li Weiyi, observing his gaze: "Strange, very strange. Didn't Jiang Ning convey a message to you? Why aren't you afraid of me at all? Don't you know I'm here... to kill you?"

The moment the word "kill" was uttered, a chilling killing intent enveloped the entire shop.

The wind can't blow in, and the sound can't get in.

The soup noodles in the bowl no longer steamed; all movement was suppressed.

"Since you've already cornered me here, what's the use of being afraid? Who are you, Ge Xiantong? You're not in a hurry for the time it takes to eat a bowl of noodles, are you?"

Li Weiyi started eating noodles.

"No rush, I'm hungry after fighting all night!"

Ge Xiantong pulled out a pair of chopsticks, quickly stood up, and reached out to take the soup noodles that the shopkeeper brought over.

The murderous aura had temporarily subsided.

(End of this chapter)