The Liyue Immortal Dynasty.
The Gathering Immortal Hall.
Today's grand court assembly was unusually lively, with the ministers arguing incessantly.
It was mainly because of the Great Emperor's Diary.
"Based on the latest revelations from the Great Emperor's Diary, this golden finger refers to the Great Emperor's ability to cultivate in his dreams, right?"
"Exactly. So that's what it means."
"So 'golden finger' doesn't mean someone born with golden fingers. I thought it meant people with extraordinary talents."
"Then what exactly is this dream cultivation?"
"Could it be because the Great Emperor ate the Longevity Immortal?"
"And what about Black Silk? Why hasn't the Great Emperor mentioned it lately..."
The ministers were arguing among themselves, each voicing their own opinions. From time to time, their debate grew heated.
The chancellor, Gongyang Mu, looked a little awkward. He thought for a moment, then addressed Empress Ye Qingge:
"Your Majesty, since 'golden finger' refers to dream cultivation, what should we do with the people we recruited earlier who were born with golden fingers?"
It had been his suggestion in the first place.
Only now had they realized they'd made a blunder. A golden finger didn't mean someone was born with one.
It was the name for a unique kind of auxiliary ability.
Gongyang Mu grumbled inwardly. Why did the Great Emperor come up with all these strange terms? He could've just called it a secret auxiliary technique.
In the Cultivation World, plenty of cultivators had secret auxiliary techniques.
Ye Qingge glanced at him coolly. She knew this wasn't Gongyang Mu's fault.
They'd already recruited those people. What else could they do?
She considered it for a moment, then spoke in an even voice that rang through the hall. "As long as those people aren't exceptionally untalented, let them stay in the imperial court and cultivate."
"That can serve as compensation for them."
Gongyang Mu bowed gratefully. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The Jade Pool Holy Land.
The Great Elder, Cang Yuan, was utterly baffled. Lately, he'd been doggedly searching for Black Silk.
He still hadn't found Black Silk, and now this Dream Cultivation Technique had appeared.
Just how many secrets did this Great Emperor have?
"Dream cultivation? You can get stronger just by sleeping? Is there really something this good in the world?"
Cang Yuan had lived for more than twenty thousand years and had seen his share of things.
But he'd never heard of such a blissful way to cultivate. If that was how it worked, why would anyone need to seclude themselves for cultivation?
They could just find a place and sleep!
"Could it be a special function of the Transmigration Longevity Herb?"
Cang Yuan hesitated, beginning to wonder if he'd been pursuing the wrong thing all along.
Black Silk wasn't the key.
The Longevity Immortal Herb was. It had granted the Immortal Great Emperor limitless life, giving him the constitution of a Transmigrator.
And now it had activated a special function, allowing people to cultivate in their dreams?
The more Cang Yuan thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. But he still couldn't help exclaiming in frustration:
"Then what role does Black Silk play in all this? If it's useless, why does the Great Emperor keep bringing it up?"
He couldn't make heads or tails of it.
The more he thought about it, the deeper and more unfathomable the Great Emperor's Diary seemed. Deciphering it was harder than climbing to the heavens.
Cang Yuan paced back and forth, then stopped after a moment.
A firm glint flashed in his eyes. He said solemnly, "I refuse to believe it's impossible. I'm going to find out what this Black Silk is!"
Elder Cang Yuan was tenacious to the core, never willing to admit defeat.
Once, he'd spent thousands of years opening a cave abode, refining its master's seal bit by bit.
In the end, he'd gained a tremendous opportunity and broken through to the Mahayana Realm.
That showed how steadfast he was. The only downside was that he could get too fixated on things.
Yuan Ruoyu knew that about him, so she didn't try to talk him out of it.
She was intensely curious about Black Silk herself. If the Great Elder could find it, she thought, that might not be a bad thing!
Elsewhere.
Aboard a flying ship.
Jiang Youlong seemed distracted, his expression troubled.
Seeing this, Hua Hongyi asked, "Young Master Jiang, what's wrong? You've seemed out of sorts for the past few days."
"Did something happen? Tell us, and we can think it through together."
Zuo Qingtian chimed in. "That's right, Young Master Jiang. Surely you don't have to be so formal with us?"
"Sigh..."
Jiang Youlong let out a sigh, then turned around. He hesitated before finally speaking.
"Have you noticed anything strange?"
Hua Hongyi was taken aback. "Strange? What do you mean?"
Zuo Qingtian's eyes widened slightly as well, unsure why Jiang Youlong had suddenly said that.
They were in charge of tracking the Immortal Great Emperor. The more of the Great Emperor's Diary that came to light, the more information they learned.
That also meant the day they completed their mission was drawing closer.
Everything was going according to plan.
What could possibly be strange?
Jiang Youlong fell silent. After a moment, he said gravely, "This Blood Spirit Sect incident!"
"It feels bizarre to me!"
"A sect that dominated Qing Province's Southern Region for tens of thousands of years was wiped out over a single line in a diary. Isn't that enough to make us wary?"
Zuo Qingtian retorted:
"The Blood Spirit Sect was only a minor sect. Any one of our families could've wiped it out with ease. What's so special about that?"
Jiang Youlong shook his head. "Brother Zuo, think about it more carefully..."
"Suppose the Great Emperor's Diary had mentioned the Jiang Clan instead of the Blood Spirit Sect. Or your Zuo Clan, or the Hua Clan!"
"What would happen to us?"
Zuo Qingtian opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he froze.
If it had been the Zuo Clan, their fate wouldn't have been any different from the Blood Spirit Sect's!
The Zuo Clan was an ancient cultivation clan with formidable strength. Naturally, it couldn't be compared to the likes of the Blood Spirit Sect.
But the terrifying part was that the forces that had attacked the Blood Spirit Sect after the diary's revelations were no ordinary powers either!
The Liyue Immortal Dynasty!
The Jade Pool Holy Land!
The Primordial Beginning Holy Land!
The cultivation clans—the Pei Clan, the Gu Clan, the Helian Clan, and others.
If all these forces joined hands, forget the Blood Spirit Sect—even the Jiang Clan, the Zuo Clan, and the Hua Clan together would struggle to stand against them.
Hua Hongyi stood there, stunned. She seemed to have realized something, and her face paled.
She thought it over, then gritted her teeth. "This was just a chance occurrence, wasn't it?"
"The Blood Spirit Sect was destroyed because it had once attacked the Immortal Great Emperor."
Hua Hongyi continued, "But we have no enmity with him. He can't just make up a story out of thin air to come after us, can he?"
Zuo Qingtian let out a breath and said, "Exactly!"
Jiang Youlong replied bluntly, "No enmity? Then what is it we're doing right now?"
Hua Hongyi's expression changed. "..."
Zuo Qingtian froze as well, his face ashen.
Silence fell for a moment.
Jiang Youlong voiced his concern. "Have you noticed? The diary's revelations started with the Xuanqing Sect, then moved on to the Blood Spirit Sect, and even exposed the hidden Yuan Ruoyu..."
"It's like he's been testing the waters, again and again!"
Jiang Youlong spoke faster. "That's right. The Immortal Great Emperor must be testing something."
"But what?"
"What is the Immortal Great Emperor's goal? Why is he doing this?"
Hua Hongyi and Zuo Qingtian looked even more troubled.
Neither of them spoke for a long while.
Only after Jiang Youlong fell silent too did Hua Hongyi ask, "All of this is just your guess."
"Couldn't it all just be a coincidence?"
Jiang Youlong sighed again. "If it's a coincidence, then that's for the best. Otherwise, the Immortal Great Emperor is far too terrifying."
"Just wait!"
"As more of the diary is revealed, some clues will eventually come to light."
Hua Hongyi and Zuo Qingtian nodded.
But both looked worried now, their minds elsewhere.
"Let's hope it really is just a coincidence!"
Before you continue