Mountains and Rivers Luck

"She's in too much danger like this..." Li Qingjun said with some difficulty, "Isn't she afraid of assassination? Will the Witch God Sect do everything in her power to protect the palace?"

"The fact that you're asking this shows that your understanding of the backlash from the Mountains and Rivers Luck isn't very intuitive. Let me put it this way..." Humble Origins thought for a moment and said, "If you connect the destruction of the Great Joy Temple with this, you'll probably have a clearer understanding."

Qin Yi was taken aback. "Is this related?"

"If it's unrelated, why was a Qian Yuan Level sect destroyed in such a short time?" Humble Origins asked. "Don't you really think they wiped it out too easily?"

"It's easy, but is it partly due to luck?"

"It's not luck, it's destiny. It's because they were too deeply involved with the fate of the Da Qian Kingdom that they suffered a karmic backlash." Humble Origins said, "There are thousands of martial arts competitions that have been arranged, and none of us have ever had any problems. Why did they have to? It all started because you inexplicably offended you and the Immortal Palace, which led to Zheng Yunyi getting involved and Heavenly Mystery Child getting involved. A small matter directly led to the beginning of the disaster that wiped out the entire family. This is all due to cause and effect."

Qin Yi said, "This is related to the karma of our Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace."

"On the surface, it's a series of problems stemming from hatred towards you, but in reality, it's just a matter of their luck running out. Otherwise, would they die for offending you? You yourself never even considered uprooting them completely, right? They didn't either. Why did their affair just happen to involve Zheng Yunyi, implicate Heavenly Mystery Child, and then conveniently align with Heavenly Mystery Child's Path to Enlightenment, leading to the explosion? What was Zheng Yunyi doing in Daqian? Did it have anything to do with them?"

"..."

"The downfall of destiny is like this. It's not as obvious as a meteorite falling from the sky and killing you. It manifests in every detail. For example, in that competition, the leader made a mistake in judgment and was too careless... People would say that he made a mistake, but if such a large sect really has destiny, what does it matter if they make a few mistakes? A few people dying is nothing, but they were killed in one blow... Everything seems like an objective mistake, or that the enemy calculated well, but there are too many coincidences, so it becomes fate."

"Well..."

"Look, Minghe presided over the arbitration, which caused Celestial Pivot Divine Palace to completely fail to uphold justice. Even when Cheng Yuan and your palace master were both seriously injured, as long as it wasn't too severe, Great Joy Temple would at most be injured but not killed, and could simply retreat into seclusion. But it really came to the point where they were so badly injured that they could only run away, as if the heavens and earth were against them." Humble Origins said seriously, "This is not luck, it's destiny."

He paused for a moment, and seeing that the two of them didn't seem too accepting, he sighed, "Maybe you still think it's far-fetched and unrealistic... Anyway, I've heard that some witchcraft can manifest this kind of cause and effect in advance. Those bizarre things like being hit by a meteorite or going into a state of Qi Deviation can really happen. You'll see when you witness it."

The more Qin Yi thought about it, the more convinced he became that it was a sign of bad luck.

Otherwise, how could a sect at the Qian Yuan Level die so easily? If any link in the chain were not properly connected, they would not die.

When fortune smiles, heaven and earth lend their strength; when fortune turns, even heroes are powerless.

Even if these are all far-fetched interpretations, as long as the cultivators believe them, they are true, and no one wants to be associated with them. In some ways, cultivators are more superstitious than ordinary people.

Even the question of whether or not you should kill mortals while upholding justice is a point of contention between the Celestial Pivot Divine Palace and Penglai Sword Pavilion. Qin Yi and Li Qingjun have both had disagreements with them on this issue. Even Witch like Meng Qingying, who could easily wipe out a small town, didn't dare to recklessly use area-of-effect attacks when fighting here, fearing that the capital city's prosperity and the different people involved would cause far more severe backlash.

If killing ordinary people is done so easily, how much more so the fate of a nation and the aura of an emperor? Can they be manipulated so casually?

It's not that none of the cultivators have considered manipulating human kingdoms and capturing all the world's talents. It's just not worth it, because you never know when you might get involved in something you shouldn't.

"You might consider killing a dying emperor, but a founding emperor at the height of his power? Forget about it," Humble Origins said. "The Taiyi Sect wouldn't dare touch a hair on her head. The consequences would be enough to completely collapse the Taiyi Sect, even faster than the Great Joy Temple. If they wanted to assassinate her, they would only send low-level cultivators or mortal martial artists with little connection to the matter, and even then, they could only hint at it. They absolutely couldn't openly get involved. Even the slightest contact would cause the sect to collapse."

"But isn't there still the possibility of assassination attempts?"

"Yes, I'm telling you this to tell you not to be afraid of a Qian Yuan level expert taking her head from a thousand miles away. If she stands in front of the Taiyi Sect, even the Taiyi Sect wouldn't dare to touch her. As for other assassinations... she's really not afraid."

"Hmm..."

"However, the Witch God Sect still sent many powerful female cultivators to protect her." Humble Origins's expression was solemn. "But precisely because of this, I think it's because she has begun to be unable to resist the Witch God Sect's actions, because she didn't do this in the early days, it only started recently. This kind of protection is tantamount to surveillance, and may even be the beginning of her being trapped as a puppet."

Qin Yi frowned; his earlier fears had come true.

The close protection from the Witch God Sect meant they dared not meet Xiao Wu Xian, otherwise they would be too easily discovered.

I believe she has some plans for this, but no matter how I think about it, the disparity in strength is too outrageous. I'm afraid she can't do it, and she might gradually fall into the abyss of being manipulated by the Witch God Sect.

Humble Origins said, "For example, there are two recent measures that are not very easy to understand."

"What measures?"

"The first item is to build an altar in the north of the city. The altar is still under construction and its details are not yet apparent, but its appearance already shows the shadow of the Tribal Witchcraft of the Witch God Sect. It is obviously built for the Witch God Sect. Of course, the Witch God Sect has done a lot for her, so it is only reasonable to set up an altar. The only concern is that this altar may contain some Evil Method that could harm the people of the capital, and that this could be the beginning of her becoming a complete puppet."

Qin Yi pondered for a long time before asking, "What about the second option?"

"The second thing is that she announced that she would Imperial Expedition the Northwest. This trip is not reasonable, and many people suspect that she was kidnapped by the Witch God Sect."

Indeed, if setting up an altar for the Witch God Sect is an understandable reward, then the Imperial Expedition is simply unreasonable.

At the human level, it's now a classic case of ten mines against one; it's hard to lose. The only factor that can influence the course of the war is the outcome among the immortals, which the Witch God Sect can handle. Why is he going out there himself?

Staying in the capital is much safer. Leaving the capital base to go to the front lines is tantamount to handing yourself over to the enemy's hot seat. All sorts of arrows will be shot at you, and you'll just die Taiyi Sect that kills you... It's completely unnecessary.

Just as he was pondering this, a customer arrived at the tavern.

Two officials stepped into the tavern and casually greeted, "Manager, the Usual Four Dishes."

"Here you are!" The Humble Origins eagerly went to prepare the wine and dishes.

It's clear he's a regular customer; these kinds of conversations with officials are one of the main sources of information for Humble Origins.

Qin Yi and Li Qingjun lowered their heads and drank, while also silently listening to the officials' conversation, trying to see what they could gain.

The very first sentence made them pale. "His King still hasn't listened to advice; today he says he's going to personally lead the army into battle."

"Even the Imperial Preceptor couldn't stop it?"

"I didn't stop him. I've seen through him; the Imperial Preceptor is just the King's sycophant..."

"... The King a man of great talent and ambition; hopefully, she has other plans."

"I hope so... but she's still just a thirteen-year-old girl... isn't it normal for a teenager to have a carefree and impulsive nature?"

Qin Yi and Li Qingjun could no longer sit still. They quietly left the tavern and headed straight for the military camp.