Chapter 264: Separation

The uproar from the engagement banquet, like a major earthquake, left Qinzhou City in turmoil for the next few days. All the top talents who had excelled at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival stayed indoors, fearing similar assassination attempts. Rumors spread wildly, causing widespread panic.

"It's rumored that one of the top members of the Imperial Embroidered Guard made the move, intending to instigate conflict between the Zuoqiu Family and the Jiuli Tribe."

"Such an incident occurring at the Zuoqiu ancestral home, with the culprit escaping, how is it any different from Zhu Huan's death? Perhaps the Zuoqiu Family truly has issues."

"But I heard it might have been the Xuejian Tang Court. They've supposedly allied with the demon race, aiming to divide and rule Lingxiao from north to south. They originally intended to kill Zuoqiu Hongting as well, but failed."

"Those are all rumors. The most reliable news is that the assassins were top experts from the Far West Ashlands faction, quite possibly Xu Fodu or Yuwen Yan."

For several days, the Zuoqiu Family dispatched all its experts, purging the Far West Ashlands faction hidden in the city, resulting in many casualties. Consequently, various parties suspected the demon race the most.

After the incident, many factions sent teams to Peach and Plum Mountain to visit. Only a few young talents, those with closer ties, were able to see Li Wei.

After descending the mountain, these young talents shook their heads in dismay.

"His life was saved; the Zuoqiu Family's Confucian ancestor personally intervened to rescue him. But his Ancestral Field is completely destroyed... At best, he can only become a weak-rooted Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator in the future."

Someone lamented, "He shone brightly at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, transcending a realm. He was no less capable than the Dragon Hall or the severely wounded Zuoqiu Hongting, who could draw with Luan Sheng Linyou. One can imagine that in the same realm, he could certainly surpass those young emperors. With such talent, to fall from the peak of his life, can his spirit endure it?"

"No one could endure that!"

"A person who can reach such heights must be filled with love and passion for martial arts, surely valuing it more than their own life. To be unable to pursue martial arts is to lose one's soul."

"The wagging tongues of the world are the most terrifying. They can praise a person to the heavens when things are going well, and trample them to death when they face adversity."

"Yesterday, I heard some young disciples from the Zuoqiu Family publicly mock and taunt him. They believe Li Wei should have just died; being half-dead like this makes things difficult for the Zuoqiu Family. Breaking off the engagement would invite criticism, but not breaking it off means he'd be a burden to the young emperor."

On the fifth day, a talent who visited Peach and Plum Mountain brought back news: "Li Wei is no longer as cheerful as he was a few days ago. He seems to have inadvertently overheard some gossip and has become silent. A sword mark appeared on his neck, with a stitched-up trace. Although well-hidden, it was still noticed."

"The Zuoqiu Family has already dealt with those young disciples, directly crippling their cultivation and sending them to guard the ancestral tombs."

"The more severe the punishment, the more it suggests that this matter might be true."

"Li Wei is completely finished. He's still too young; his spirit isn't resilient enough."

"Someone who rose so rapidly from nothing in just one year, like sudden wealth, how could they have such a resilient state of mind? He must have had some extraordinary opportunity a year ago!"

This "fall of a genius" anecdote gradually cooled down. Discussing it too much made it lose its novelty; too many major events were happening in the world.

On the eighth day after the incident, an even more significant piece of news spread throughout the land: The conflict among the Transcendent Beings has ended! Several human Transcendent Beings have fallen, and the rest are severely wounded, leaving the Lingxiao Living Realm in a precarious and dangerous state. Therefore, after deliberation, the Transcendent Beings jointly issued an Internal Martial Ban for Human Longevity Cultivators! This decree prohibits Longevity Cultivators from major factions from participating in internal killings and conflicts, encouraging them instead to jointly confront the forces under the demon race. This ban is to last until the Transcendent Beings recover from their injuries and emerge from seclusion.

After learning about this decree from Yin Jun, Li Wei wondered, "Can it truly be enforced?"

"It can't fully ban it!" Yin Jun replied. "But with this decree, the conflicts between major powers will de-escalate to an acceptable level for everyone. It's like returning to before the war erupted, when there was an unwritten rule: 'Mortal affairs are to be decided by mortals; Longevity Cultivators must not interfere.' Once they interfere, conflicts escalate endlessly, eventually drawing in all the severely weakened Transcendent Beings."

"Dao Seed Realm martial cultivators are called 'mortal overlords' precisely because, for a thousand years, there has been such an unwritten rule in the Lingxiao Living Realm. Dao Seed Realm cultivators play an extremely crucial role in the struggles over worldly affairs."

Li Wei nodded, "It seems, given a choice, Longevity Realm martial cultivators also prefer not to be tied down by such mundane matters, happy to leave them to the next generation. The pursuit of longevity is far more captivating than the pursuit of worldly gain."

Yin Jun asked, "Do you know why the Transcendent Beings didn't directly implement a complete ban on conflicts between human martial cultivators?"

"The war has lasted eleven years, accumulating too much hatred. Guiding everyone to resist the demon race together, I believe, is already the result of various compromises. A complete martial ban... would only make the Transcendent Beings' decree as laughable as waste paper," Li Wei replied.

Yin Jun nodded gently, "Once this decree is issued, I must also withdraw to the background. The Jiuli Tribe's publicly acknowledged top Dao Seed Realm expert is Yao Xingyue, Yin Twenty-Four's father."

"The Jiuli Hidden Gate's top Dao Seed Realm expert is Yin One. There's a way to find him in the 'Hidden People's Register.'"

"Oh, and the Immortal Master of Du'e Monastery has returned. He originally wanted to check your injuries, but I fended him off by saying you had just attempted suicide and couldn't handle any emotional stimulation. The Zuoqiu Family's Confucian ancestor will speak ill of you indirectly to him, so I expect the Immortal Master will be utterly disappointed in you. The Immortal Master is also severely wounded and won't focus his energy on you. He should return to Du'e Monastery soon. Once he leaves, you won't need to make yourself so miserable anymore!"

The suicide act was originally intended to deter the Immortal Master of Du'e Monastery. Otherwise, if the Immortal Master had taken Li Wei to Du'e Monastery for treatment, he would have had no reason to refuse.

Yin Jun continued, "Because the invitations and tickets for the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival were either lost or in disarray, they could no longer be tallied. The Immortal Master decided to select some of the most talented and outstanding martial cultivators from various factions to bring back to Du'e Monastery for cultivation, to reshape their Trace Veins, Wind Mansions, and Ancestral Fields, and to build the strongest foundations."

"Currently, there are ten slots, and nine have already been decided: Li Wei, Zuoqiu Hongting, Ge Xiantong, Cang Li, Tang Wanqiu, Zhu Yibai, Lu Cangsheng, Jiang Ning, and Yin Nine."

According to the rules of the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, only martial cultivators who collected all the Dragon Bone Tickets or Dragon Seed Tickets from one of the four regions (East, South, West, North) were eligible for this special reward. In reality, no one achieved this. Now that the Longevity Pills, Dragon Seeds, and Dragon Bones were lost, Du'e Monastery could only compensate in this manner.

Li Wei said, "Give my slot to Yao Yin. With her talent, she will surely impress the Immortal Master of Du'e Monastery."

"That might be difficult to negotiate," Yin Jun replied. "The Jiuli Tribe already has Cang Li and Yin Nine among the selected. Both of them earned their spots legitimately; no one can fault that."

Li Wei took out a stack of invitations and handed them over: "Use these to negotiate!"

The Immortal Master of Du'e Monastery was clearly worried about delays. After selecting the ten individuals, he prepared to depart the very next day.

Before leaving, Zuoqiu Hongting came to visit Li Wei and bid him farewell. Thinking Li Wei didn't know about their impending journey to Du'e Monastery for cultivation, and not wanting to upset him, she hid the truth, saying, "I'll be traveling far, for three years at most, or one year at least. Recover well here on Peach and Plum Mountain and wait for my return."

Li Wei painstakingly propped himself up from the bed. His face was pale, but he forced a smile: "Going to Du'e Monastery?"

Zuoqiu Hongting replied, "Yes!"

"You don't need to be so careful. I'm not that fragile. Going to Du'e Monastery to reshape your foundation is very good. In the future, you can walk more steadily, and further..." At this point, Li Wei's eyes darkened, and he fell silent.

Zuoqiu Hongting didn't know how to comfort him. So, she performed a disguise technique, changing her appearance to match Li Wei's. Like a twin brother, she sat beside him, put her arm around his neck, and laughed, "Don't look like the sky has fallen, kid. Have you forgotten that you can also cultivate psychic power? You're an incredible insect master. When psychic power is cultivated to its peak, it's definitely no worse than martial arts."

"Haha, you're right, I can still cultivate psychic power! Don't worry, I'm fine, really fine, I'm not that fragile," Li Wei said.

Hearing Li Wei emphasize "I'm not that fragile" twice, Zuoqiu Hongting felt pain for him. She forced a cheerful smile and said, "Let me tell you some good news: Miss Jiang came to see me and said some strange things. She thought I might abandon you and told me to let go early, as she would take you to Fuzhou. How about that, happy? It seems she genuinely has some feelings for you!"

Of course, Li Wei was happy to be cared for by Jiang Ning, but he sighed deeply and said, "She's just pitying me! Pity is temporary, but feelings need to stand the test of time. You're not the only one going to Du'e Monastery, are you? Once you're there, you'll surely meet many amazing people, and your spirits will soar... I'm a bit tired. You can leave now..."

Li Wei's mood suddenly shifted, and he directly asked her to leave.

Zuoqiu Hongting walked out of the room, looked at Li Ling outside, and sighed, "Take good care of him. Don't let him hear any more of that nasty gossip. If anyone starts wagging their tongue again, I'll cut it out directly."

That evening, the Immortal Master of Du'e Monastery led the ten chosen prodigies, riding a strange bird, disappearing into the colorful sunset.

Supported by Li Ling, Li Wei walked out of the room and gazed into the distance, only seeing the last small speck of bird-shaped light on the horizon. He thought to himself, "My Zuoqiu brother, there was really no other way. When you return, I'll apologize to you properly."

Yao Yin took Li Wei's place and went to Du'e Monastery. Since obtaining the battle-intent of the Jiuli God, the Ice Soul Cold Qi in her body had never flared up again. Therefore, Li Wei temporarily did not take her to see Zen Sea Monastery.

Time flew by; half a year passed.

Over Tanggu Sea, a thick fog began to rise. Xihe flowers floated across the entire sea, emitting a bright glow, like a thousand divine lamps. In the distance, the Fusang Divine Tree's gnarled trunk grew straight towards the sky, its leaves like thousands of moons suspended in the cosmos.

A jade boat, over thirty meters long, floated on the sea. Li Wei sat at the bow of the boat, breathing in and out, using the power of the Fusang Divine Tree to refine the Dharma Qi in his Wind Mansion. Two months prior, after completing the Qi refinement of the Fourth and Fifth Seas, he began cultivating the Sixth Sea, the "Wind Mansion."

The Wind Mansion is a living internal world. When opened in the Flowing Spring Realm, many martial cultivators' Wind Mansions were only fist-sized. After two months of cultivation, with the aid of the Dao Lotus, Li Wei's Wind Mansion had expanded to ten thousand cubic units. The method of expansion was to continuously accumulate Qi, expanding the Wind Mansion.