Chapter 1021: Zhaoyuan

The demon's impudent words were directed at the Cui family's True Man, causing all the cultivators present to change their expressions. They exchanged glances and lowered their heads, while Cui Juechen, who was kneeling at the front, remained frozen in place, not daring to utter a sound.

Cui Jueyin, standing nearby, was equally stunned. A pang of bitterness welled up in his heart: "So that's how it is... so that's how it is..."

Yet, the demon stood on the ground, head held high, merely smiling coldly.

Sea Patrols are typically members of the Dragon clan, holding various ranks. They often project an air of authority, much of it borrowed, and usually wouldn't dare offend those with divine powers. However, Yangya was an exception.

When the Cui clan first established itself in the East Sea, it faced the imminent danger of extinction. It was the then-head of the Cui family who urgently appealed to the Flood Dragon Palace for aid. He used a 'Bright Method Profound Essence' to resolve a pressing issue for the Dragon King. Only then did the Cui family gain a firm foothold in the East Sea. From that point on, the Cui family relied on the Dragon clan; though they held no official subordinate title, they functioned as one.

A True Man of the Cui clan, having originated under the Dragon clan, had resided in the West Sea for many years. Logically, having achieved divine powers, he should have paid respects at the palace. However, he chose to stay in the West Sea, disregarding this tradition. Fortunately, his branch of the clan was based in the West Sea, providing a plausible reason for not attending, which spared them from any trouble.

If True Man Yangya were present, this demon would not dare to speak mockingly. Yet, everyone understood that although the Dragon King himself didn't care, there were still those in the sea who harbored dissatisfaction. Yangya, for his part, never met with emissaries of the Dragon clan. This allowed the demon to scold them with righteous indignation and confidence.

What could Cui Juechen do? He was a person of little importance and influence. He could neither properly answer the demon nor shift the responsibility onto True Man Yangya. He could only kowtow repeatedly, replying: "Regarding the arrangements of the divine powers... we truly are not privy to them. We only know that my second brother here... his cultivation has reached a bottleneck, and he has an opportunity to attempt a breakthrough to divine powers. That is why he retrieved resources from the lake... We presume that the two True Men also gave their assent... We only hope that you, Sea Patrol, will show some leniency for my second brother's sake and spare us!"

As soon as he finished speaking, people on both sides immediately knelt down. Hui, the Sea Patrol, hardened his face and cursed, "Are you implying... that I am abusing my power out of personal bias to make things difficult for you?!"

"How dare we..." Cries of deference erupted from all sides. The giant beast in the sea roared again, splashing water everywhere, instantly suppressing all the noise. Hui, the Sea Patrol, flicked his sleeve and said indifferently, "Enough, enough... tell your second brother to come out and speak with me!"

Feeling as if he had received a great pardon, Cui Juechen quickly retreated. Cui Jueyin then stepped forward, saluting respectfully and saying, "Cui Jueyin, a disciple of the Cui clan from Chongzhou, greets you, honored sir!"

"Oh!" The demon dropped its cold demeanor, squeezed out a smile, and said eagerly, "So it's you! Oh dear! Why call me 'honored sir'? You truly flatter me!"

The demon's swift change from arrogance to deference was astonishing. Even Cui Jueyin was somewhat flustered, letting himself be led away dazedly as he listened to the demon laughingly say: "You... you... why do you still identify as 'Chongzhou, Chongzhou,' or 'Cui clan, Cui clan'? Those titles are too restrictive for you! If I were you, I would proudly act as the master here. I wouldn't call myself Cui of Chongzhou anymore; I would call myself Cui Jueyin, Emissary under the Qilin! Wouldn't that be magnificent!"

Cui Jueyin was inwardly amused yet exasperated, but on his face, he remained submissive, replying, "I wouldn't dare... I wouldn't dare..."

"You dare too much!" This demon, utterly impolite, pulled his hand and started walking inside. But it suddenly noticed the silence around them. All the Cui family members had raised their heads, staring fixedly into the distance.

"Hey!" Hui, the Sea Patrol, growing impatient, was about to curse again. However, he twitched his ears and noticed that the sound of the waves had ceased. The surroundings seemed to become bright, and even the beach shimmered with gold.

This made his heart skip a beat: "Heavens... could Yangya have returned?!"

Having been arrogant and now finding himself in the master's presence, Hui, the Sea Patrol, was instantly flustered. His heart truly pounded. Regardless of whether Yangya dared to bear the consequences of killing him, if things truly escalated, he would surely be dead!

He turned his head back with trepidation, only to find a bright expanse within the dark, heavy clouds. A golden-eyed man, clad in a long robe with golden patterns embroidered on its sleeves, emerged from the Void with his hands clasped behind his back, standing quietly on the clouds.

Those golden eyes casually swept over, as if freezing the very air on the entire beach. Hui, the Sea Patrol's mind went blank. Yet, he heard the young man beside him step forward, fall to his knees with a thud, and say tremblingly, "Jueyin greets Your Highness!"

His voice was slightly hoarse, filled with excitement and bewilderment. The golden-eyed youth lowered his head and glanced, his gaze becoming a little more peaceful: "Jueyin."

"Thud!" Immediately, the Sea Patrol followed suit, falling to his knees. His face, like that of a blue fish, crumpled. His eyes were fixed on the ground as he called out, "Huiyao... Huiyao greets Your Highness!"

This demon was indeed Huiyao! He had once worked in the Zhu Nanhai domain, responsible for the tribute to Zongquan Island, the Li family's overseas outpost. He was, therefore, an old acquaintance of the Li family!

Dazzling heavenly light descended as Li Zhouwei stood before the two. He recognized Huiyao at a glance, saying with slight surprise, "Huiyao, you've certainly made progress!"

The demon pressed its head to the ground, motionless, displaying extreme humility: "Your Radiance, with your brilliant light and one-in-ten-thousand splendor, has graced this humble demon. From then on, I received blessings, able to patrol the seas in this prosperous land. This humble one is inexplicably grateful... Also, I heard that True Man Yangya does not know what's good for him, and I was just questioning them..."

His words were delivered with apparent righteousness, yet to the Cui family members, they brought a profound shock. They finally recognized the person before them: "So it's His Highness..."

Li Zhouwei shook his head with a chuckle. The giant demon beast from the sea had already vanished, manifesting as a middle-aged man. He walked forward cautiously and bowed silently.

Huiyao dared not rise, his face still pressed to the ground, squeezing out a full smile as he introduced: "This... this is General Zhanlin... he has also met Your Radiance before... He is good friends with Ying He Bai... and once demonstrated his skills before both Highnesses back then, so there's a connection..."

"General Zhanlin." Li Zhouwei nodded, gesturing for him to rise, and then raised an eyebrow, asking, "Ying He Bai... how is he doing now?"

This Ying He Bai was the King of Beijin River, formerly a river demon from Jiangbei. He had provided some minor assistance. Later, due to the matter involving Li Qianyuan, he withdrew and had since disappeared without a trace, with no news of him whatsoever.

Huiyao looked quite crestfallen, replying: "This one is also of noble lineage, but I heard he has a relative, I'm not sure if it's an older sister or an elder, who worked under the Xu River Demon King. For some reason, she fell out of favor and then got caught in a jealous dispute, resulting in her capture by the Demon King and imprisonment."

"Ying He Bai returned from Jiangbei, having already lost much of his power and influence, and no longer bears the title of 'King'. Day by day, he tried to rescue his relative, displeasing the Demon King... he is already quite destitute!"

Li Zhouwei listened for a moment. Cui Jueyin secretly gritted his teeth, then raised his eyebrows and said, "Reporting to Your Highness... your subordinate also knows him. When Guest Official Ding was stranded in Jiangbei back then, it was he who rescued him..."

"I see." Li Zhouwei nodded and asked, "Is there any news of His Highness Dingjiao...?"

Upon hearing this, Huiyao, who had just risen, promptly knelt down again, his face beaming: "The Crown Prince has achieved divine powers!"

"Oh?" Li Zhouwei smiled faintly and replied, "That is indeed wonderful news! When will the banquet be held? I should bring a gift to offer my congratulations!"

"There should have been a banquet..." Huiyao's expression suddenly became solemn, and he whispered, "But recently, there's been a major event under the sea. An elder of the Dragon clan received great joy... even His Highness (meaning Dingjiao) is no exception, so the banquet has been postponed. His Highness departed a day ago to offer congratulations."

"One day..." Li Zhouwei's heart felt a bit heavy, but his expression remained natural. He sighed regretfully, glanced around, and replied, "Then I won't disturb your sea patrol."

"Your Highness exaggerates!" Huiyao chuckled and replied, "Since Your Highness has come, this humble one would never disturb your leisure. What else is there to patrol now..."

Since Huiyao became acquainted with the Li clan at Zongquan, his official career had been very smooth. The underwater clans had also fared much better, and he was naturally grateful. He bowed deeply and respectfully said, "Please, Your Radiance!"

Li Zhouwei paid no more heed to the two demons. He nodded and stepped towards the island's interior. People on both sides respectfully retreated. Cui Juechen, witnessing this, was utterly terrified. He scrambled over, half-rolling and half-crawling, knelt beside him, and kowtowed once, "Your Radiance... this humble one will serve Your Radiance!"

These dragon-affiliated demons usually looked down on others. For a Dragon clan Sea Patrol to be so utterly deferential, for someone whose divine powers shone brilliantly, and for Cui Jueyin to directly address him as "Your Highness," who else could this person be?

So Cui Juechen scrambled up from the ground, without even time to tidy his sleeves. He then bent his waist and led Li Zhouwei forward, leading him all the way to the Golden Hall situated on high ground. There, he invited the honored guest to sit in the central seat, and then respectfully waited by his side.

Only then did an old man with a head full of white hair ascend the steps. He sat down beside Li Zhouwei, respectfully saying, "Humble cultivator Cui Changyan greets the True Man."

This must be the current elder in charge of the island. Cui Jueyin immediately rose to offer tea. Li Zhouwei, meanwhile, turned his head to ask him, "Jueyin, Yangya told you to return to cultivate, but now you're still busy outside."

As soon as these words were uttered, the Cui family members on both sides instantly broke into a cold sweat. One must know that this Lord's divine powers and his relationship with the Dragon clan could, if he were dissatisfied, be enough to cause Chongzhou immense trouble!

Fortunately, Cui Jueyin quickly bowed and replied, "It's because the sea has been restless lately, and I happened to emerge from seclusion, so I joined in guarding..."

These words made Li Zhouwei set down his cup. He then raised an eyebrow to look at Cui Changyan. The old man quickly averted his gaze, lowered his brows, remained silent, and was drenched in sweat.

Li Zhouwei said nothing, his golden eyes gazing intently at him. The old man felt as if exposed to a scorching sun, his conscience troubled and his breath short. Drops of sweat trickled down his wrinkles, and his tightly pursed, aged lips trembled, on the verge of speaking.

"Your Highness!" Cui Jueyin, however, stepped forward. The white-clothed man fell to his knees with a thud, raising his hands above his head, offering a bowl of clear, bright tea, pleading, "Please, Your Highness, have some tea!"

The golden-eyed youth paused, finally averting his gaze. He looked at him deeply, then smoothly took the tea from his hand, took a small sip, and replied, "This time I came... firstly, to see you."

"Secondly... also to meet the surviving lineage of the Wei Dynasty."

Silence fell in the hall for a moment, only his calm voice reverberating: "Let's discuss the matters of the former dynasty."

He picked up his cup, listening to the old man sigh deeply: "Reporting to Your Highness... my Cui clan... has seven main branches. My Chongzhou Cui clan originates from the third branch. Our ancestors were originally one family with the Dongli Cui clan, though the Dongli Cui clan was considered more noble, having produced True Monarchs. During the Wei Dynasty, our branch primarily focused on cultivation, often overseeing affairs within the Zhaoyuan Immortal Mansion..."

"Later, Emperor Gong of Wei sought Penglai and dispatched my ancestors on a treasure ship... but they never succeeded. So we settled in Chongzhou, searching everywhere for traces... but then great chaos erupted within the seas, which at one point caused the Void to shatter and spiritual energy to fluctuate wildly... We lost contact and, with no one to command us, simply settled on the island."

Li Zhouwei raised an eyebrow and asked, "The Void shattered... how exactly did it shatter?"

Cui Changyan's face showed a hint of horror as he replied, "This matter is only described by four characters in ancient texts. The common saying at the time was this: spiritual energy gathered but did not disperse, chaotic and uneven, like thousands of light bands scattered across heaven and earth. Within the sea, it formed strips and bands, either condensing into mist or containing no spiritual energy at all..."

Li Zhouwei understood immediately. The essence of the Void lay in spiritual energy. If a place had no spiritual energy at all, then the Void would not exist there either, and no point of descent could be found within the Void to reach it. If spiritual energy truly gathered into strips in reality, who knows how many fragments the Void would have been divided into...

He pondered slightly and asked, "Which of the Three Profound Paths does the Zhaoyuan Immortal Mansion belong to? How many True Monarchs did it have, and how did they fare when the Wei Dynasty fell?"

Cui Changyan gritted his teeth and replied, "According to the divisions within the sea, it should belong to the Douxuan lineage among the Three Profound Paths, though such a classification is not entirely accurate..."

His tone revealed a hint of pride: "When Mingyang became emperor, styled Guanyuan, he sacrificed to Taishi and opened the Qian Palace. He sounded the drums and bells, scourging the extraordinary people of the world and abolishing three thousand two hundred sects. True Daoist cultivators had their crowns removed and wings clipped; Qin Ling's demonic disciples were cleansed of their evil and beheaded; the heretical cults of Chongshan were bound and brought to Wei; and minor shamanic states were overthrown and subdued. The guilty were executed, the virtuous followed, and the innocent were taken in. All were united under the Zhaoyuan Mansion, to plan for the world..."

"The Zhaoyuan Mansion, residing in Wei Huangtian, was not merely the lineage of a single family; rather, it was the official legal and doctrinal institution of the entire Wei Dynasty!"

Li Zhouwei raised his chin, his gaze towards him showing a slight change: "So it was a self-contained entity."

After Cui Changyan finished the last word, he fell back from the magnificent past into the bleak reality. His bright eyes dimmed, and he said softly, "As for True Monarchs... I only heard of one... whose dharma name is unknown, but he did not serve in the imperial court."

"Did not serve in the imperial court." These words were quite interesting, immediately capturing Li Zhouwei's attention.

The Wei Dynasty practiced the law of an immortal kingdom. All official positions, great or small, within the dynasty carried blessings. Even mortals without cultivation, upon gaining an official position, would naturally acquire a measure of cultivation, and at the highest ranks, even divine powers. Therefore, not serving in the imperial court highly likely meant that this True Monarch achieved his cultivation independently!

He gently set down his cup, suddenly sensing something. He looked up, revealing an interesting smile.

Almost instantaneously, the entire island began to shake. Brilliant light appeared above the horizon, and rolling dark clouds immediately retreated, revealing floating colorful clouds and countless heavenly lights!

This heavenly light was neither overbearing nor intense, but soft as cotton. Like a waterfall, it poured down from layer upon layer of clouds, floating gently onto rooftops, and then cascading along curtains, as if countless white raindrops, flowing between the palace buildings.

A clamor arose across the islands. Cui Jueyin, being young, did not know what this phenomenon represented. He looked up somewhat bewildered, but Cui Changyan's face instantly turned pale.

The old man didn't know how many times he had witnessed this changing scenery of Mingyang. Whether it was his father or his brothers, one after another they had perished. Now that the phenomenon reappeared, it left the old man's face devoid of color. He sat blankly and fearfully in his seat, his eyes hopefully turning to Li Zhouwei.

Yet, he watched the golden-eyed youth shake his head with interest, and quietly say, "Congratulations!"

Shock appeared in Cui Jueyin's pupils. A burst of wild joy erupted on Cui Changyan's face. He stood up from the side, as if in a dream, looked at Cui Jueyin, then looked at Li Zhouwei. This joy transformed into infinite shock, making his lips tremble, unable to speak.

He fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing as if exhausted, and cried, "I never knew Your Highness was such an extraordinary figure!"