Chapter 1165: Not Pretending Anymore, Laying All Cards on the Table

The great wind howled, sweeping through the immortal palace.

In the dark night, amidst the thunder and lightning, Xu Qing's figure advanced through the storm.

The cosmic order was in disarray, but his mind remained undisturbed.

The firmament was altered, but his resolve was steadfast.

Tonight's events were almost entirely clear. The child transformed from the Daughter of Nine Shores was the signal for Xu Qing to turn the tide, and after this signal, he would still need a spear.

So, his figure appeared outside the Aurora Halls in the central area of the immortal palace. Unfazed by the terrifying divine senses scrutinizing him, he did not slow down in the slightest, directly crossing the plaza, and stopping only when he was in front of the Grand Aurora Hall.

Here, the wind and rain were even stronger. The rain poured down, flying in the wind, cleansing the void and washing the bluestones on the ground.

Splashes of water were everywhere.

Immersed in it, amidst the lightning and thunder, Xu Qing bowed his head, saluted the grand hall, and spoke loudly.

"Father!"

"Tonight, I have a few things to do."

"I wish to use the marriage contract!"

The heavenly thunder rumbled, yet it could not drown out Xu Qing's voice.

After observing and judging for some time, he was now very confident that his request could be granted.

Because the marriage contract originally belonged to the Young Master!

Furthermore, even if he initially had some hesitation, after this time, he didn't believe that Aurora, as the Immortal Lord, would be unaware of what had transpired in the immortal palace regarding the outsiders!

Although this segment of history was merely a mirrored timeline, the beings within it were of extremely high status. Therefore, Xu Qing didn't believe that the elders in the immortal palace wouldn't have noticed the anomaly!

Yet, they surprisingly chose to remain silent from beginning to end.

They did not interfere!

They neither helped nor hindered, whether it was to maintain order or to change.

And silence, to some extent, was tacit approval!

Tacitly approving all actions!

Therefore, after synthesizing his observations and judgments over this period, Xu Qing embarked on this journey tonight!

At this moment, his voice entered the grand hall, falling upon the figure seated cross-legged inside.

That figure slowly opened its eyes. Its left eye was pitch black, its right eye brilliant, as it gazed outward.

A moment later, the wind and rain paused, the heavenly thunder ceased, and everything froze. A golden light slowly rose from beneath the Grand Aurora Hall, floating before Xu Qing.

It was a golden iron tablet, with a marriage contract inscribed upon it.

It was precisely the marriage contract between Young Master Aurora and Immortal Fairy Linghuang.

Accompanying the marriage contract was the calm voice of Immortal Lord Aurora from within the grand hall.

"For certain reasons, I, your father, cannot help you with the matters you need to handle."

"Handle them yourself."

"After you're done, remember to go back and rest early."

Xu Qing bowed his head, and after a moment, affirmed.

He then took the marriage contract and turned to leave.

Heavy rain was behind him, the storm ahead.

Tonight's wind and rain intensified somewhat as Xu Qing left, until the thunder roared for the third time, and Xu Qing's figure had already appeared outside the Immortal Palace's academy!

As for the academy, Xu Qing was no stranger to the place, thanks to the Young Master's memories.

In his memories, the academy mostly consisted of buildings made of immortal wood, their roofs covered with green tiles, surrounded by immortal trees. The environment was tranquil and secluded, sometimes featuring small bridges over flowing water, creating a peaceful learning atmosphere.

However, viewed through the wind and rain in the dark night, it appeared different.

The trees swayed violently, the flowing water was unseen, and the small bridges were blurry in the rain curtain, while the buildings emitted a soft glow, as if isolated from the world.

Gazing at the academy, Xu Qing stepped forward.

He stepped into the blur, into the soft light, and all restrictions here simply did not exist for him.

As the Young Master, only a few areas within the entire immortal palace were forbidden to him, and the academy was not one of them.

So, as he moved forward, Xu Qing soon arrived in front of a closed row house, stopping before number thirty-seven.

This row of houses was specifically for students' secluded cultivation, and also a place where students faced the wall as punishment from their teachers.

Thus, they possessed the power of the immortal palace, making them impervious to brute force.

And inside number thirty-seven, a figure was seated cross-legged in meditation in the darkness.

The moment Xu Qing appeared, the figure seemed to sense something, suddenly opened its eyes, turned its head to look outside, with a look of surprise and doubt.

"You..."

Almost simultaneously with his words being spoken, lightning flashed, instantly illuminating the ground and casting light on the two figures separated by the door, to different degrees.

Outside the door was Xu Qing.

Inside the door was Li Tianjiao.

"Young Master!"

Li Tianjiao blinked, displaying a bitter expression.

During this time, his heart was extremely anxious, and he held deep resentment towards the Fourth True Monarch.

The opponent's obstruction caused him to fail in approaching the Young Master. According to his original plan, approaching the Young Master was just the first step; subsequently, he needed to constantly observe the Young Master's actions to discern the true history.

This was what his principle aimed for.

His principle was mist; this mist was peculiar, not ordinary, but originated from history.

The mists of history were the essence of his principle.

The clearer he saw history, the more he could dispel the mists. And those dispelled mists would be absorbed by his principle, thus becoming his own law.

But unfortunately, he was curbed at the very first step.

Now he could only watch helplessly, sealed here, waiting for it to end.

He could leave early, but he was not resigned to it.

So, upon seeing the Young Master's figure at this moment, his bitter voice was heard.

"Young Master, it's not that I didn't go to the Myriad Beasts Garden. It's just that I, Li, was schemed against and punished here... I..."

"Li Tianjiao."

Xu Qing spoke calmly, interrupting the other's explanation.

He had no time to listen to the other's words; his own words were like sharp blades, piercing Li Tianjiao's mental barrier.

"You previously preferred to cause ripples in time to approach me, and made efforts to prevent your own secluded cultivation, a preordained historical trajectory. This was also the first step of your plan, wasn't it?"

"But I don't care who you are or what your purpose is."

"I only ask you: do you want to succeed? Do you want to get out?"

Xu Qing's calm voice, in Li Tianjiao's ears, instantly surpassed the rumbling heavenly thunder outside, exploding with a booming sound within his mind.

His pupils instantly contracted. The bitterness he had displayed just moments before vanished completely in an instant, transforming into disbelief.

"Who are you!"

Li Tianjiao took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He stared at Xu Qing and spoke in a low voice.

Xu Qing did not reply; instead, he turned and walked out. At the same time, he raised his hand and waved, and the door that sealed Li Tianjiao, preventing him from leaving, silently opened.

Wind and rain surged in, accompanied by Xu Qing's voice, carried from a distance as he walked away.

"No matter what your purpose is in this fourth-layer world, I can make you succeed, and I can also make you fail."

"Now, I want you to do something."

"Go assassinate the Fourth True Monarch, and ensure he personally severs one of your arms."

Xu Qing departed.

As thunder roared, Li Tianjiao remained silent inside room number thirty-seven.

After a long moment, he slowly raised his head. The ripples in his heart were still intense. The revelation that the Young Master was an outsider, this answer, shocked him while also stirring a deep sense of powerlessness.

The threatening intent in the other party's words, if spoken by someone else, would indeed just be a threat, and whether it could be accomplished would be another matter.

But coming from the Young Master's mouth...

"I can only believe it..."

Li Tianjiao took a deep breath, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. As he stepped forward, he walked out of the open door!

Time and space began to ripple!

A person who, in history, should have remained in seclusion until the catastrophe descended and died within that secluded place,

had now become the Young Master's confidant,

and had also become the caretaker of the Myriad Beasts Garden.

Furthermore, he was no longer in seclusion, and had even planned and executed an assassination attempt on the Fourth True Monarch,

and had one arm severed by the Fourth True Monarch.

Such a fluctuation would completely alter this person's historical trajectory.

"This is tonight's first layer of ripples!"

"Next is Li Mengtu."

In the dark night, amidst the wind and rain, Xu Qing's figure moved forward, leaving the academy, and when he next appeared... he was already outside Zhong Chi's residence.

Meanwhile, outside the Lightning Punishment Palace, in the Fox Beauty's courtyard.

The Fox Beauty trembled all over, her eyes filled with bloodshot veins. The suppression from the God-Marking Command made her feel the terrifying power emanating from within it.

This command token, capable of suppressing deities specifically within the Fifth Star Ring, contained incredibly astonishing power within it.

Even though she was infinitely close to the Divine Platform, under this God-Marking Command, her divine soul still trembled.

She could even feel that this God-Marking power seemed capable of truly affecting her true body.

And in front of her, the Fourth True Monarch, with a calm expression, was seated cross-legged.

Gazing indifferently at the struggling Fox Beauty, he spoke lightly.

"This night is almost halfway over. I'm very curious whether there truly exists behind you what I suspect... Hmm?"

Before he could finish his words, his eyes suddenly flashed, and he turned his head to look towards the academy.

The disordered ripples there caught his attention, but his gaze only lingered for a moment before he withdrew it and looked towards... the courtyard's main gate.

Thunder rumbled in the firmament, and the palanquin of the Daughter of Nine Shores arrived amidst the wind and thunder.

The moment it appeared, Immortal Fairy Linghuang, from within, stepped out with an unpleasant expression. The instant she appeared, before the Fourth True Monarch could speak, she preempted him.

"True Monarch, what is the meaning of your treatment of my senior sister like this!"

The moment her words were spoken, the black-armored guards behind her had already stepped into the courtyard, enveloping the surroundings.

The Fourth True Monarch's eyes gleamed with a strange light, and a rare feeling of surprise arose in his heart.

"I am surprised that it is you who came."

Linghuang's eyes held fierceness, and she spoke decisively.

"The Fox Beauty is my master's disciple and also my senior sister. If she encounters such a matter, I naturally must come!"

"When was this identity established?" the Fourth True Monarch slowly spoke.

He had used the rebellion of the Evil Spirit Son to shatter the Fox Beauty's identity, but now she had been given a new identity by the arriving Linghuang.

"It was decided long ago. If you don't believe me, you can ask my father. Furthermore, if I say it is so, then it is so."

Linghuang took a step, walked to the Fox Beauty's front, raised her hand and waved, helping to shift away some of the God-Marking Command's power using this host body.

The Fox Beauty sighed in relief and chuckled softly.

"Master, I almost thought you truly weren't going to save me."

Linghuang was proud and paid no heed.

Watching all of this, the Fourth True Monarch was silent, but finally laughed, looking at Linghuang with deep meaning.

"I really didn't expect it would be you coming to save her!"

"However, your appearance has finally allowed me to see through the mystery of this matter."

"Either you are the hidden manipulator I've been waiting for, or if you are not, then I have roughly guessed who the true hidden manipulator is."

"Unexpected, truly unexpected..."

"An identity that should have been impossible to acquire was actually acquired..."

The Fourth True Monarch slowly stood up, his eyes hazy, and he muttered hoarsely.