Sun and Moon Rise Together

Pedestrians on the street, including the noodle shop owners, were all frightened away by the chilling killing intent that Ge Xiantong had just released.

The bridgehead was deserted; all sound had vanished.

In this eerie silence, only the clatter of chopsticks and bowls from the two people inside the shop could be heard.

Li Weiyi said, "Actually, I'm terrified. Knowing that I'll be facing the envy of the number one expert of the younger generation at dawn, I even thought about hiding in the seabed outside the South City and not coming out until the night after tomorrow."

Ge Xiantong said, "Wouldn't it be better to escape the city?"

"I'm afraid that even if I escape the city, I'll still be doomed," Li Weiyi said.

"Etc..."

Ge Xiantong looked at him strangely and asked with a smile, "What is meant by 'jealousy-induced murder'?"

Li Weiyi said, "Everyone in Qiuzhou City knows that I Defeat All Enemies Within Five Moves. When I cultivate to the Seventh Sea, I can also defeat you within five moves. Do you dare to say that you don't feel even a trace of jealousy or a sense of crisis? Did you really come to kill me only out of a sense of public duty?"

Ge Xiantong solemnly replied, "If you, Li Weiyi, could serve the Imperial Court, become a loyal and righteous man, uphold the nation, and save the people from suffering, I would admire you greatly. Why would I want to kill you?"

"I thought that those with talent at our level should be concerned with the well-being of the world and uphold the righteous path, aiming for transcendence in their martial arts cultivation, and dreaming of exploring the vast world to emulate the sages of the past. But seeing you today, I am truly disappointed. Your heart and vision are too narrow; you are still stuck on the jealous rivalry between two young men."

Li Weiyi secretly admired Ge Xiantong's sharp wit. He had intended to use the word "jealousy" to shake Ge Xiantong's heart, but Ge Xiantong instead used the word "jealousy" to express his narrow-mindedness and defeated him.

Moreover, he did not fall into the trap of defeating him in five moves when they were of equal strength.

Li Weiyi said, "When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when prosperous, one should benefit all under heaven. With our cultivation at the Five Seas Realm, we can't even cultivate our own virtue; we need the protection of powerful forces behind us. To shout the slogan of benefiting all under heaven, isn't that overestimating ourselves? At present, we can only go with the flow. To benefit all under heaven, to aim beyond the ordinary, and to follow the dreams of the sages—if you can't do any of these, then you are just being unrealistic. These three sentences, spoken by your master Yu Yaozi, have some credibility."

Ge Xiantong said, "The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise. Aren't you ambitious? You, Li Weiyi, have ambitions greater than the heavens. If you were allowed to grow up, you would surely become a great scourge to the Imperial Court."

Li Weiyi said, "So your idea of benefiting the world only applies to benefiting the Imperial Court? Isn't that narrow-minded?"

Snowflakes began to fall outside.

Inside the stove, the firewood was burning fiercely.

Ge Xiantong finished his noodles first, wiped his lips, and said, "You and Jiang Ning must have some special relationship. Even she couldn't win you over, so I won't waste any more words. Stop dawdling and eat quickly. After you finish, I'll send you on your way."

"By chance, I helped her once, and she really wanted to help me escape today's massacre to repay the favor. Unfortunately, our positions are different, so we had to part ways and broke off relations last night."

Li Weiyi sighed, then asked seriously, "Ge Xiantong, how long do you think this world will remain in chaos?"

Ge Xiantong was amazed by Li Weiyi's calm demeanor. He sat opposite him and called him by his name without any fear or cowardice. He was truly a dragon among men.

Soon, his thoughts drifted back to the closed palace gate deep within the Lingxiao Palace, his expression complex, unable to answer Li Weiyi's question.

Li Weiyi said, "The Imperial Court faces numerous formidable enemies, including the Ash Region of the Far West, the Xue Jian Tang Ting, the Lei Xiao Sect, the Vermilion Gate, the Dragon Gate, and many more. Within a few years, once the Ash Region the Far West march west, Lingxiao City will likely fall this year. And I, this so-called future threat, am merely a small fry."

"Killing me would be meaningless to the Imperial Court."

Ge Xiantong composed himself and said, "I've heard you're extremely skilled at sophistry, but it won't work on me. Do you know why the Imperial Court was so determined to crush Zuoqiu Courtyard at the Qianlong Lantern Festival? Even to the point of killing Zuoqiu Hongting?"

"Why?" Li Weiyi asked.

Ge Xiantong said, "You know about the Longevity Pill, right? Whoever obtains the Longevity Pill will obtain the world."

"But only the Du'e Temple can refine the Longevity Pill, and it sends ten of them to the Lingxiao Shengjing every sixty years. For the past thousand years, these Longevity Pills have been sent to the Lingxiao Palace, and the Imperial Court decides who will receive them as a reward."

Li Weiyi knew the Longevity Pill was precious, but he hadn't expected it to be this rare. "Only ten elixirs are produced every sixty years; the Imperial Court will probably consume them all!"

Ge Xiantong nodded. "Without the Longevity Pill, even Lingxiao First Seat like Zuoqiu Ling would need to reach the age of fifty to break through to immortality. His achievement of breaking through to immortality at the age of sixty has made countless Dao Seed Realm Martial Cultivator admire him to the point of prostration, unable to catch up, and astonished by his Celestial Person."

"But what the world doesn't know is that, with the help of the Longevity Pill, many martial artists in the Imperial Court whose talent is inferior to Zuoqiu Ling have already entered the Longevity Realm in their thirties or forties."

Li Weiyi said, "None of the inheritors of Myriad Gate Families are qualified to consume the Longevity Pill, which is made ten times every sixty years?"

They don't even have the right to smell it.

Ge Xiantong said, "The Great Palace Master who hold core power in the Imperial Court, and the eight transcendent ones, each have a powerful force behind them. Their disciples, prodigies, and descendants are all waiting for these ten Longevity Pills, which are simply not enough to go around."

Li Weiyi said, "The Imperial Court's actions have led to its current predicament of being an enemy of the entire world; it is entirely its own fault."

Ge Xiantong did not deny this. "If you were to sit in that position, you wouldn't fare much better. If you don't provide for your disciples and descendants, who will support the Lineage and guard your tomb when your lifespan ends a thousand years later? If you give resources to your enemies, they will plunder your home and desecrate your grave."

Li Weiyi said, "Therefore, the struggle for the support of the Du'e Temple is essentially a struggle for the distribution of the Longevity Pill. Even if you destroy the Zuo Clan and kill Zuoqiu Hongting, the Du'e Temple will turn to support other Rebel Army. They are clearly utterly disappointed with the Imperial Court and have already abandoned you."

"We're not trying to gain the Du'e Temple, but rather to gain the support of Zuoqiu Courtyard. Hard to understand, right?" Ge Xiantong said. "Didn't you say earlier that everyone knows the Ash Region of the Far West is coming from the west? If it really is coming from the west, where will it be affected first?"

"The Western Territory and the southern border," Li Weiyi said.

The Ash Region of the Far West are clearly already making their moves; otherwise, so many forces from the Western Territory and Southern territories wouldn't have joined the ranks of Phoenix-born Unicorn-young.

Ge Xiantong said, "If the Zuoqiu Courtyard loses the support of the Du'e Temple and faces the Ash Region of the Far West, they will only have two paths left: either submit to the Ash Region of the Far West or submit to the Imperial Court. The Zhu Clan will face the same fate."

Li Weiyi then realized that this was how the Imperial Court was thinking about the issue.

If the Ash Region of the Far West truly sweep in with overwhelming force...

"Faced with the Calamity of Clan Annihilation and the life and death of people in several states, the higher-ups of the Zuoqiu Courtyard and the Zhu Clan had no choice but to compromise. As for Zuoqiu Hongting, a junior who died in a fair struggle, in the face of the greater good of the world, she was like a pebble thrown into a river, just a few ripples," Ge Xiantong said.

"Survival and power are both art forms of compromise."

Li Weiyi nodded slightly and then asked, "Are you so certain that they would just stand by and watch a Young Son of Heaven be killed by you?"

Ge Xiantong smiled and said, "In the eyes of the Du'e Temple, the martial arts foundation of Young Son of Heaven- level being can be cultivated. As long as they are willing, the Dragon Hall can elevate them, as can Lu Cangsheng and Tang Wanqiu. Their discipline and dignity are ten or a hundred times more important than the life of a Young Son of Heaven."

"Du'e Temple hasn't made a final decision yet, and Zuoqiu Courtyard has the best chance. So Xue Jian Tang Ting, Dragon Gate, Zhumen, Lei Xiao Sect... everyone has come and is vying for it."

"The Jiu Li Tribe can only choose the Zuoqiu Courtyard, which is just two more paths than the Zuoqiu Courtyard Jiu Li Tribe."

"In chaotic times, everyone stands on the edge of a cliff; no one can maneuver with ease, and everyone is helpless."

Ge Xiantong's murderous aura returned, his eyes devoid of any gentleness. "Zuoqiu Hongting deserves to die! And you, this unexpectedly appearing Young Son of Heaven, are you not also deserving of death?"

Li Weiyi calculated the time; it was almost three-quarters of an hour. He wondered if Li Ling, Zuoqiu Hongting, and Cangli could understand his meaning. Helping them lure Ge Xiantong away was already the limit of what Li Weiyi could do.

The mere invisible killing intent made Li Weiyi feel as if he were trapped in a quagmire, as if something was pressing down on him from all sides.

"You've been fighting all night, your magical energy must be severely depleted, right? Are you still at your peak?" Li Weiyi adjusted his breathing, trying to enter a state of clear mind and spirit to prepare for the most difficult life-or-death battle to come.

Ge Xiantong said, "Killing you shouldn't require me to be at my peak! I'm at the Seven Seas Perfection stage, Breathing and Exhaling allows me to absorb the Heaven and Earth Mana Qi, so I recover very quickly."

Li Weiyi felt the pressure of Ge Xiantong's Battle Intent, his body instantly felt incredibly heavy, and his killing intent was boundless.

The surrounding area was shrouded in white mist, obscuring all other scenery and creating an endless expanse of white.

His five senses were completely suppressed by the opponent's Battle Intent.

"Whoosh!"

Opposite him, deep in the void behind Ge Xiantong, a sun and a moon rose, like the two eyes of a cosmic giant, overlooking all living beings on earth.

After hiding for a night, Qi Xiao and Shi Shishi searched for Li Weiyi throughout the city.

Previously, those who were hiding in the shadows had naturally heard the three long howls from the city wall, knowing that Li Weiyi was nearby.

The two suddenly stopped and looked across the river at the noodle shop next to the bridge.

The place was extremely eerie; all the snowflakes momentarily froze in mid-air, forming a unique field. They could see Li Weiyi sitting facing them, and another white figure with its back to them, whose identity was unknown.

"Brother Weiyi..." Shi Shishi shouted.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar came from the direction of the governor's mansion, and the earth trembled.

The Great Mind Master of Zuoqiu Courtyard unleashed a sky full of runes.

Three more high-grade Hundred Character Scripture Magic Tool rose from the governor's mansion, releasing brilliant light as they hurtled towards the location of the Imperial Court's camp. The formation was breached layer by layer, war drums thundered, tigers roared and monkeys howled, and a fierce battle that would determine the outcome of the Qianlong Lantern Festival erupted.

At this moment, however, the most core leader of the Imperial Court's martial arts practitioners was not at the center of the battlefield.

Ge Xiantong released his Battle Intent, and the battle with the governor's mansion began almost simultaneously.

Li Weiyi secretly exclaimed, "Heaven is helping me!" He sensed Ge Xiantong's growing suspicion and fear from the loosening of his Battle Intent. He then added fuel to the fire, deliberately provoking him. "Ge Xiantong, you've fallen for their trap! Three long howls signify a breakout from the Imperial Court direction in three quarters of an hour. Without you in command, who among the Imperial Court martial artists can stand against Zuoqiu Hongting, Cangli, and Zhu Yibai? This bowl of noodles is very expensive."

At the same time, the hand holding the bowl emitted a burst of magical light.

"Bang!"

As the magical energy shattered the bowl, it also activated the Earth Spirit Ash Spring hidden at the bottom of the bowl.

The gray spring burst open instantly, turning into a gray mist that filled the entire shop.