"Seventh Elder, that's not right!"
As soon as the Seventh Elder finished speaking, the Third Elder objected. "The Eastern Continent is vast, and it's not suited for cultivation. If our clan's disciples spend too long searching, it will surely delay their cultivation."
"The Sixth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm is approaching. Our clan's disciples will have to enter the world and compete with disciples from the various Ancient Clans for resources."
"If their cultivation is delayed, how will they compete with the other Ancient Clan disciples during this Heaven and Earth Cataclysm?"
"Befriending the Ye Imperial Clan is certainly important, but we can't afford to miss out on the coming Heaven and Earth Cataclysm either!"
The Third Elder's words left the Seventh Elder at a loss for a response. The entire hall fell silent once more.
Li Tianchen sat in the Clan Leader's seat, silently watching everything unfold in the hall. He had summoned the elders to discuss the matter precisely because he wanted the clan's disciples to enter the world and find this Innate Dao Body.
Seeing that the time was right, he spoke up. "Elders, each of you has made a good point. There's something I forgot to tell you."
"Fifteen years ago, I asked the Judgment Divine Envoy to capture Li Changqing in the Canglan Domain."
"I suspect that the surviving remnant of the Criminal Branch may have been hidden by Li Changqing among the common folk in the Canglan Domain."
Li Tianchen's words made the elders' eyes light up. The Canglan Domain was not small, but compared with the vast Eastern Continent, it was a much more limited area.
The difficulty of searching would drop by who knew how many times. The clan's disciples would spend far less time, and the search would hardly affect their efforts to compete for opportunities in the coming Heaven and Earth Cataclysm.
The risk was well worth taking if it meant winning the favor of the Ye Imperial Clan.
"Clan Leader, rest assured. We'll return at once and send the disciples of our branches to the Canglan Domain to search for that remnant."
The many elders in the hall didn't hesitate. They immediately rose and headed back to give their disciples orders to go to the Canglan Domain and find the Innate Dao Body.
After sternly reminding Qiuyue, Ye Jing had breakfast and then went to work at the Hanlin Academy.
Along the way, the runners continued to barge into the homes of one commoner after another, taking all their chickens and ducks.
The streets of the Imperial Capital were full of ragged people who had nothing to eat, collapsed along the roadsides.
It was hard to imagine that this was the capital of a nation, the wealthiest place in all of Dali.
The Dali of today was rotten from the top down. Petty officials constantly squeezed the people for every last drop, leaving the whole nation in chaos and its people destitute.
If Hu Jie could overthrow Dali, perhaps he might give the people of the world a chance to live.
Watching scene after scene unfold on the streets of the Imperial Capital, Ye Jing felt a glimmer of hope stir in his heart. He hoped Hu Jie would succeed.
Putting those thoughts aside, Ye Jing arrived at the Hanlin Academy and began another day's work.
He picked up a historical text from the desk and began to read.
The book recorded the life of Chen Liu Xian, a master array crafter of his generation.
Five thousand years ago, a prodigy of Formation Dao was born in the Chenliu Ancient Kingdom: Chen Liu Xian.
Chen Liu Xian was born into a declining minor family. He began studying Formation Dao at the age of five, and by nine, no one could match his mastery.
At just eighteen, he had become the foremost Array Master in the Chenliu Ancient Kingdom.
But the Chenliu Ancient Kingdom flourished in Martial Arts, while Formation Dao had few Great Array Masters. To pursue even greater heights in Formation Dao,
Chen Liu Xian left his homeland alone at eighteen and set off for the immortal mountains overseas to seek the Dao.
After just ten years of seeking the Dao overseas, his attainments in Formation Dao had reached perfection. He became a true Formation Saint, unmatched by any other.
Once his Formation Dao had reached perfection, Chen Liu Xian resolutely returned from overseas to the Chenliu Ancient Kingdom and founded the Formation Sect. Before he was even twenty-eight, he had become its founding patriarch.
Ten years later, a Demon Tide erupted in the Southern Ridge. Three thousand Great Demons led a million Demonic Creatures out of the Southern Ridge and into the Chenliu Ancient Kingdom. Among them were many Great Demons at the Demon Lord level.
The Chenliu Ancient Kingdom flourished in Martial Arts. It had over a hundred Peaks of Humanity, and even two Ancestors who had one foot in the realm of the Gods of Heaven and Earth. Its national strength was formidable, yet it could not stop the rampaging Demon Tide.
Everywhere the Demon Tide's army passed, the people of the Chenliu Ancient Kingdom became blood food.
In just three days, the entire Chenliu Ancient Kingdom had become a living hell. Its population had fallen by a full seventy percent, and for a thousand miles in every direction, not a soul remained.
When word reached Chen Liu Xian that a million demons had plunged the Chenliu Ancient Kingdom into misery, he emerged from seclusion.
Throughout those ten years of seclusion, Chen Liu Xian had devoted himself to studying arrays. His skill in Formation Dao had grown day by day, and by then, it had reached unfathomable heights.
Gazing at the bones strewn across the ground and the thousand miles of crimson earth, Chen Liu Xian finally erupted in fury. For the first time before the world, he unleashed the Great Heavenly Divine Formation, a marvel that would astonish the ages.
Using the Qujiang River as the Array Eye, Dutian Peak as the formation's corner, and the capital of the Chenliu Kingdom as its tail, Chen Liu Xian drew the entire territory of the Chenliu Ancient Kingdom, spanning millions of square miles, into the formation.
He refined the million demons within the Chenliu Ancient Kingdom into blood essence. But this heaven-defying formation drained every last trace of Chen Liu Xian's life force.
That was why Chen Liu Xian died young, at just thirty-eight.
Though Chen Liu Xian died young, the True Understanding of Formation Dao he left behind was undeniably one of the greatest treasures of the Array Master's craft.
[You witnessed the life of Chen Liu Xian, a Formation Saint. You paid close attention and activated Heaven-Defying Comprehension.] [With your Heaven-Defying Comprehension, you understood the True Understanding of Formation Dao.]
He'd actually understood the True Understanding of Formation Dao! This was an incredible treasure!
This was the Age of Dharma's End. For ordinary cultivators, advancing even a single step in Martial Arts required tremendous effort and sacrifice. The most fundamental reason was the scarcity of spiritual energy in heaven and earth.
Qiuyue had revealed extraordinary talent. Though there might be complications surrounding her origins, Ye Jing didn't want to waste her potential.
However, her background might prove a hidden danger. He was only at the Grandmaster Realm, after all.
Although he had comprehended an incredibly heaven-defying domain like the Time Domain, his combat strength was only that of a Great Grandmaster. He was no match for the famous figures on Dali's Great Grandmaster Ranking.
When Qiuyue cultivated, the resulting disturbance in spiritual energy was astonishing. Any Grandmaster who passed by Ye Manor could easily detect the abnormal spiritual energy there.
But Ye Jing was reluctant to stop Qiuyue from cultivating. A flawless jade like her was destined to roam the world. How could she possibly be trapped in the tiny Imperial Capital of Dali like him?
But now that he had understood the True Understanding of Formation Dao, things were different.
The True Understanding of Formation Dao contained thousands of formations, ranging from the mighty Great Heavenly Divine Formation to the small Spirit Gathering Treasure Formation.
Now that he had understood it, he could set up a Spirit Gathering Formation above Ye Manor and draw the spiritual energy from the void into the estate.
That way, he wouldn't have to worry about Qiuyue being exposed. She could safely stay within Ye Manor and cultivate in peace.
With Qiuyue's cultivation talent, she could become a towering figure in Martial Arts in just a few years.
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