Sun God Stone

At the easternmost edge of the former Central Lands lay a fertile tract of land, the unavoidable overland passage between the Eastern Lands and the Southern Lands. The Huai River, one of the Four Great Rivers, flowed through it, nourishing ten thousand miles and irrigating the land in every direction. Scatter a handful of seeds, and autumn would bring a bumper harvest of all five grains, filling the granaries to the brim.

The Xu Kingdom was the vassal state charged with guarding this region, so this land of abundant water and fertile soil was also called Xu Province. Since ancient times, it had been a battleground military powers could not afford to ignore.

Xu Ying was the daughter of the Xu Kingdom's ruler. Her mother was no ordinary woman either, but a descendant of the Gaotao Ying Clan, a great clan of the Yan Kingdom beneath Kunlun in the Eastern Lands.

Ten years ago, Li Yu had already been one of Hanging Moon Peak's finest Qi Refinement disciples, yet he had not become the outer sect's senior brother. There had been an even more formidable Qi Refinement disciple named Ying Ruomu.

Ying Ruomu belonged to a collateral branch of the Gaotao Ying Clan and was also Xu Ying's grandnephew.

Li Yu had originally planned to yield for one term, then compete for the position in the next after Ying Ruomu moved on. Who could have expected Ge Jin to come down the mountain one day and, after imparting techniques, point at Li Yu before all the outer sect disciples and say, "From now on, he is Hanging Moon Peak's outer sect senior brother."

Although Li Yu had been somewhat shocked, he reacted quickly. Without the slightest show of modesty, he accepted outright.

Ying Ruomu's face turned livid with resentment, but under Ge Jin's piercing gaze, he did not dare step out of line in the slightest.

Soon afterward, word spread that Xu Ying, Hanging Moon Peak's former elder of general affairs, had entered seclusion to attempt Core Formation, and Ge Jin had taken over her duties. Ying Ruomu also found a long-term assignment away from the sect and never returned to Hanging Moon Peak.

Li Yu knew he had probably been drawn into the overt and covert struggles between Wen Weilan's two great True Disciples. But given another chance to choose, he still would not have declined.

At least that choice had earned him a spiritual treasure for Foundation Establishment.

But was he now about to suffer the consequences of the karma he had incurred back then?

Looking at Xu Ying's back, Li Yu felt a crushing pressure.

Even if she had failed to achieve Core Formation, she was at least at Foundation Establishment perfection. She could crush him to death with a single finger.

The only thing that reassured Li Yu was that they were aboard the sect's flying ship, in broad daylight beneath a clear sky. Xu Ying certainly would not make a move here.

At that thought, Li Yu let out a small breath of relief and even asked Xu Yao, "May I go over and pay my respects to the elder?"

After all, they nominally belonged to Hanging Moon Peak. As an outer sect disciple, Li Yu was theoretically obliged to greet an elder like Xu Ying when he encountered her.

Xu Yao considered for a moment, then said, "I'll go ask my aunt. Please wait a moment, senior brother."

Before long, Xu Yao, standing beside Xu Ying, nodded to Li Yu.

Li Yu took a deep breath, rose, and walked toward the front rows of the flying ship.

Just then, the last Five Lotus Sect disciple holding a ticket boarded. His face was ordinary and utterly unremarkable. After coming aboard, he glanced around the cabin with apparent casualness, but his pupils contracted when he saw Li Yu standing beside Xu Ying.

"Junior brother, take your seat. We're about to close the door," the Transport and Herding Bureau disciple by the entrance reminded him. The ordinary-looking disciple nodded repeatedly.

With an invisible ripple of spiritual energy, an enormous illusory lotus lifted the flying ship into the air, carrying it toward the coastal Zhao Kingdom.

Standing beside Xu Ying and looking at her faintly cold expression, Li Yu steeled himself and said, "My respects, Elder Xu."

Xu Ying remained seated without speaking, but her spiritual sense surged out to probe the ordinary-looking disciple watching them. She had thought he was targeting her, but soon realized his target was Li Yu beside her.

When Xu Ying did not respond, Li Yu prepared to return to his seat. Just then, she spoke. "You didn't go to Kunlun?"

Kunlun? She meant the Heavenly Change Sect's planned rebellion.

Li Yu immediately understood. Unsure of Xu Ying's stance on the matter, he could only continue using the same excuse. "This disciple failed at Foundation Establishment and wishes only to live out what remains of his life..."

After hearing him out, Xu Ying finally turned to look him in the face. Then she shook her head and said, "Junior Sister Ge truly must have had no one capable under her when she had you replace Ruomu."

Her meaning was obvious: she was mocking Li Yu for being timid and unworthy of cultivation.

Li Yu did not argue. He lowered his head and said, "This disciple will take his leave."

After returning to his seat, Li Yu considered how he could make Xu Ying think twice once they reached the Zhao Kingdom. Hao City, where the flying ship would land, was the kingdom's center, with experts of the Rizhao Hao Clan stationed there. Surely no one would dare make a move.

I'll stay in Hao City for now. Xu Ying probably won't waste her time on a small fry like me. Recalling Xu Yao's remark that they were only passing through the Zhao Kingdom, Li Yu decided to wait until they left before considering his next move.

Having thought it through, Li Yu stopped worrying. After all, he was already aboard the ship.

Time flowed steadily past. Since the great lotus flying ship bore the Five Lotus Sect's unmistakable markings, no one dared approach it for fear of causing a misunderstanding, even though they encountered quite a few groups of cultivators along the way.

An hour and a half later, Li Yu saw a prosperous city built beside the sea. Above it hung an enormous, fiercely burning stone, like a great sun.

Having cultivated the Purple Cloud Art, Li Yu sensed the tremendous power contained within that great fiery stone the moment his gaze touched it.

It was the purest great sun purple qi. Even a single wisp could reduce him to ashes.

This was the Sun God Stone, an ancient sage's supreme treasure passed down through the Rizhao Hao Clan for ten thousand years.

Long ago, Tianyi had swept through the Central Lands like a blade splitting bamboo, yet had been held outside the imperial capital for ten years.

At that critical moment, the Rizhao Hao Clan's ancestor had led twenty-four clan experts in a heaven-worshipping secret rite to unseal the Sun God Stone. After receiving sufficient sacrificial offerings, the stone blazed with roaring flames and flew from above Hao City all the way to the Central Lands. Like a vast fiery meteor falling from the heavens, it smashed through the imperial capital's great formation left behind by Emperor Qi.

It was precisely because of this that the Rizhao Hao Clan ranked first in founding merit in the Great Xuan Dynasty, basking in boundless glory.

The Sun God Stone was also one of the Eastern Lands' ten great divine artifacts. Only by combining all five of the Five Lotus Sect's Creation Divine Lotuses could they barely stand on equal footing with it.

This was Li Yu's first visit to the Zhao Kingdom, and he could not help being entranced by the divine artifact suspended in the sky.

He was not the only one. Many passengers aboard the flying ship wore the same expression.

Li Yu soon came back to himself, however. Rather than immediately standing, he first checked what Xu Ying and her companion were doing.

The two women had seen the world. Paying no attention to the Sun God Stone, they had already disembarked.

The flying ship landed at a mountaintop port in the countryside outside Hao City, where quite a few people waited.

Li Yu also recognized the person waiting for Xu Ying and her companion. It was none other than Ying Ruomu.

Xu Yao seemed to tell Ying Ruomu about Li Yu. Ying Ruomu looked up, and upon spotting Li Yu, the corner of his mouth curled into a faint, icy smile.

Li Yu sighed in frustration.

But Xu Ying and her companions seemed to genuinely have important business. Ying Ruomu did not wait specifically for Li Yu either. After meeting the two women, he immediately left the port.

Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. Just as he was about to rise and leave, Xu Yao's voice suddenly reached his ear through a voice transmission: "Senior brother, the person seated behind you in the right-hand corner has been secretly watching you ever since boarding."

Li Yu's heart tightened at her words. What's going on? I've only just fled, and someone already has their eye on me?