Dali Imperial Palace, Purple Gold Pavilion.
"Imperial Lord, we have brought back the Medicine Manor remnant. This is the scroll we found on her."
After bringing Yao Qingyin into the Purple Gold Pavilion, Li Lianying respectfully placed the scroll beside the Dragon Bed.
A moment later, a hand as lifeless as withered grass reached out from behind the curtain and drew the scroll inside.
Before long, a loud, dignified laugh rang out from behind the curtain.
"That's right, that's right. This scroll records the current location of the Secret Realm where Yao Xingchen had his fortuitous encounter all those years ago."
"Over the past thousand years, seas have turned to mulberry fields. With this scroll, we need only find the place it records and wait quietly for the Heaven and Earth Cataclysm. When the Secret Realm descends once more, we can enter and seize every opportunity within."
"Hm?"
After the laughter subsided, a soft exclamation came from behind the curtain.
"According to the rumors, after Yao Xingchen emerged from that mysterious Secret Realm, he not only possessed the unfathomable Art of Pill Dao, but also brought an Ancient Jade out of it."
"Lianying, what happened? Where is that Ancient Jade?"
Hearing this seemingly casual rebuke, Li Lianying hurriedly fell to his knees, a trace of alarm on his face. "Imperial Lord, that... that Ancient Jade isn't... isn't on this young woman."
"Not here? What happened?"
A cold voice came from behind the curtain. It wasn't loud, but it rang clearly in Li Lianying's ears.
Li Lianying hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, the Medicine Manor remnant must have hidden the Ancient Jade."
After hearing Li Lianying's explanation, the person behind the curtain flew into a rage. A terrifying aura, powerful enough to swallow mountains and seas, surged out from behind the curtain. Then a voice like divine thunder and heavenly law rang out.
"Lianying, that Secret Realm is of the utmost importance to Me. With your methods, you still couldn't make the Medicine Manor remnant reveal where the Ancient Jade is?"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
Li Lianying bowed his head even lower, nearly pressing his face to the ground. It was hard to imagine that not long ago, he had been a peerless figure with mastery of the Dao.
One could only wonder what sort of existence the Imperial Lord was, to make such a person bow so low.
When no further voice came from behind the curtain, Li Lianying continued, "Your Majesty, there is something I forgot to report just now."
"The Medicine Manor's ancestors once saved the Sword Sect. The Sword Sect Master has just declared that the Great Li Imperial Family must not take her life."
"Otherwise, with this old servant's cultivation, I doubt I could have taken the Medicine Manor remnant from the Sword Sect Master."
"Imperial Lord, you know your old servant has a few methods at his disposal. But this Medicine Manor remnant is only at the Innate Realm. If I tried those methods on her, I fear she would die and her Dao would vanish."
Silence fell behind the curtain once more. After a long while, a voice tinged with helplessness finally spoke. "The Sword Sect Master made his move! You fought him. How strong do you think he is?"
Li Lianying pondered for a long time, weighing it again and again before replying uncertainly, "Your Majesty, this old servant is ashamed to say that the one I fought was merely a Divine Soul of the Sword Sect Master."
"Though it was only a Divine Soul, it contained astonishing power. I've never seen any 'Dao Enlightenment' expert whose Divine Soul held such power."
"Not to mention 'Dao Enlightenment,' even an existence at the 'Dao Master Realm' couldn't have a Divine Soul that carried such astonishing power like the Sword Sect Master's."
"You mean..."
The figure behind the curtain paused, as if he had thought of something, but the words that followed simply wouldn't come.
Li Lianying's gaze flickered. He gritted his teeth, then finally spoke with resolve. "Imperial Lord, this old servant... suspects the Sword Sect Master has already entered the 'Fate Realm.' He may even be just one opportunity away from reaching 'Dao Attainment' and becoming a God of Heaven and Earth."
"Hiss!"
The figure behind the curtain drew in a sharp breath. Then a wild, savage laugh, as cold and desolate as a sea of thunder, burst forth.
"'Fate Realm,' 'Fate Realm'! I never thought anyone in this age could reach the 'Fate Realm'!"
"Jian Wuhen, you insist on opposing Me! A hundred and twenty years ago, you brought Me to this state, and now you would block My path again!"
After venting his rage, the figure behind the curtain calmed down. "Forget it. This isn't your fault."
"The Great Li Imperial Family is now in decline, its foundations unstable. The calamity of King Zhennan in the Southern Ridge remains unresolved. If more turmoil breaks out, Great Li—standing firm for a thousand years—may fall apart before the Sixth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm even arrives."
"The Sword Sect Master has reached the 'Fate Realm.' Though the Great Li Imperial Clan has deep reserves, and many Ancestors have slumbered in the Forbidden Land throughout its thousand-year rule..."
"Few of them can reach the 'Fate Realm.' What's more, the sword's offensive power is unmatched. Even if the Imperial Ancestors awaken from their seclusion, they may not be able to deal with the Sword Sect Master."
"My goal is only the opportunity in that Secret Realm. For the Sword Sect Master's sake, there's no harm in sparing the Medicine Manor remnant."
"Bring the Medicine Manor remnant here. I'll use the Spiritually Connected Ancient Jade to probe her Sea of Consciousness."
Li Lianying followed the order and brought Yao Qingyin before the Dragon Bed. Li Lianying had sealed the true qi in her body and blocked her acupoints, leaving her to be moved about like a puppet.
When Yao Qingyin was brought before the Dragon Bed, a hand as withered and dull as the root of a dead tree reached out. It placed an emerald Ancient Jade radiating Divine Radiance against Yao Qingyin's forehead, and she promptly fell into a deep sleep.
The Spiritually Connected Ancient Jade was a treasure of the Great Li Imperial Family. The first Emperor Li of Great Li had stumbled upon it in an unknown Ancient Tomb.
There had been nine Spiritually Connected Ancient Jades in that tomb, but over the thousand years, the other eight had all been used up. This was the only one left.
The Spiritually Connected Ancient Jade was unfathomably wondrous, able to probe the Divine Soul and wield the power of a God of Heaven and Earth.
Over the past thousand years, the Great Li Imperial Family had used the jade to seize countless heaven-defying inheritances and opportunities from others. If there had been any other way, he would never have wasted this rare treasure.
The figure behind the curtain activated a Mystic Method to awaken the Spiritually Connected Ancient Jade. Then, closing his eyes, he sent his divine sense into Yao Qingyin's Sea of Consciousness.
The Sea of Consciousness held all the memories of a cultivator's life. The figure behind the curtain's divine sense raced through Yao Qingyin's Sea of Consciousness, soon reaching the moment she fled the Medicine Manor.
As she fled, a member of the Demon Sect struck Yao Qingyin with a palm, sending her tumbling down from the eaves and rolling to a stop before a young man.
The young man bent down to examine Yao Qingyin's injuries. The Great Li Imperial Lord's divine sense couldn't see his face. Just as the young man lifted his head, the air behind the curtain suddenly churned. The Spiritually Connected Ancient Jade shattered, and a mouthful of blood sprayed across the curtain.