Autumn Unfolds the Clear Firmament Heaven (I)

Morning light broke, and the Azure Nether gradually brightened.

The spiritual atmosphere had changed.

From the center of the Cloud-Heaven Azure Palace, the thirty-six peaks below gave off azure light, and the autumn wind rustled.

The earth veins bore autumn fruit, mountains and rivers were dyed with golden blossoms, and frost gathered on the grasses and trees without making them wither. Spiritual Qi circulated with the course of autumn.

It was a scene of autumn, filled with the feeling of autumn.

The energies of heaven and earth across eight million li of Yunlan Heaven had nearly been kneaded into shape, taking on substance.

Qiuran Palace was lively for the first time in many years.

Pretty maids filed in bearing cloud garments, brocade robes, a white jade crown, and accessories. At their head was a woman with delicate features and a slender figure.

"This servant is Qiniang. By the mistress's command, I have come to help the young master change."

Ye Qiniang performed her obeisance with meticulous care, her eyes showing humility and obedience.

She had received kindness from his mother in the past and had served her for decades. When the Lineage was torn by internal strife, she had been exiled to a side palace in the forbidden grounds, without complaint or regret.

Now that the True Lord had returned, everything was as before.

These people had made the arrangements properly enough, but he did not know how much thought lay behind them. Were they offering their allegiance, or...

At that thought, Ye Jinyu smiled and helped her up. "Qiniang, thank you for your efforts all these years."

"Are you a cultivator from a Ruin Realm?"

"This servant... is a lowly person." Ye Qiniang's eyes reddened slightly, and she immediately fell to her knees.

"Heh."

Ye Jinyu gently pinched Ye Qiniang's cheek and chuckled. "There's no need to kneel. If you are loyal, my Household won't treat you unfairly."

She helped him change.

Then she attended him before a spirit mirror. In the mirror, the youth stood tall, and his brows and eyes already showed hints of distinction.

"Young master, you truly resemble the master when he was young," Ye Qiniang said softly.

"Let's go."

Ye Jinyu shook out his long robes, brimming with the high spirits of youth.

At the third quarter of the hour of the dragon, bells rang from the ancestral temple.

Streaks of light rose from thirty-two peaks, converging on Qingming Heaven Hall.

In the great void above the Cloud-Heaven Azure Palace, a violent distortion suddenly opened, and a cold, vast, unfathomable power poured out in full.

Heaven and earth were dyed blue. Water-phase Spiritual Qi, concentrated to the extreme, condensed into countless drops of rain.

"What a grand spectacle. How long has it been since Jiangnan was this lively?"

"Fellow Daoist Azure Nether, how long has it been..."

A soft sigh came from the great void, the heavens, the boundless firmament, and the myriad falling raindrops. The rain gathered in the air, then formed a supreme throne and a canopy of fortune, with boundless manifestations surging forth.

Upon the throne sat a man in brocade robes embroidered with dragons. He had come from Huainan, crossing tens of millions of li. Imposing and cold, he had the look of a hawk and a wolf, especially in his brows and eyes.

The man slowly rose.

Water-phase force surged through heaven and earth, its might bearing down on Yunlan.

That terrifying pressure drained the color from Yunlan's eight million li. Flying birds and immortal cranes fell, and the entire Cloud-Heaven Azure Palace seemed to have been immersed in water.

Purple Mansion cultivators did not dare speak loudly, and even had to cut off the thoughts in their hearts.

"It's that one from Huainan."

"The Sima Clan's True Lord of the Luo River and Firmament."

"Why has he come to the Ye Clan? Could it be... for the Heavenly Position?"

Before the ancestral temple of the Cloud Palace.

At that moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on the cave abode at the highest point of the Cloud Palace.

[Cloud Mist Qingming Heaven]

He's gone too far in bullying our Ye Clan! Where is the ancestor?! Why hasn't he made a move yet?

Among the Ye Clan, some were awed, some curious, some puzzled, and some held themselves back.

Ye Zhanshan stood in the ancestral temple's main hall, clenching his fists.

The Ye Clan elders were expressionless, their faces stiff and unnatural, cold sweat pouring beneath their robes.

Then Ye Zhanshan forced a broad smile. "Since a True Lord of the court has arrived, quick, hurry and..."

Before he could finish, a cool, indifferent voice came from Qiuran Palace:

"Fellow Daoist Huanyu, you have come from afar. Forgive me for failing to welcome you."

"But slapping my Ye Clan in the face like this is a little much... Would you care to have a bout with me?!"

The voice was calm, yet it instantly swept away the watery vapor filling the sky.

The rain stopped. A long sword pierced the canopy of heaven, splitting the blue between heaven and earth in two.

The drops froze in Yunzhong and in midair, then silently evaporated.

Lesser Yin Qi appeared abruptly. Heaven and earth fell still, Autumn Waters and Boundless Sky merging into a single color.

The finest details revealed true skill...

Sima Huanyu narrowed his eyes as he looked at the sword light, a trace of apprehension flashing through them.

The rampant, unrestrained air in his hawkish, wolfish features subsided slightly.

Then the throne beneath his feet trembled faintly.

An Azure Nether Wind blew out from the hidden cave abode at the highest point of the Cloud-Heaven Azure Palace.

Everyone suddenly realized that a figure had appeared inside the Ye Clan ancestral temple, towering like a mountain and still as a deep pool.

He stood there quietly, without the slightest trace of the rhythms of heaven and earth, yet naturally one with them.

Sima Huanyu saw him at once.

A flicker of anger passed through the depths of his heart. Hadn't they said that old thing Azure Nether was failing?

This is failing?

He concealed it so deeply! This is clearly the bearing of someone at the peak of Golden Core. In that case, haven't I been sitting in a cauldron of oil in Huainan?! How could I speak of suppressing Jiangnan?

Those good-for-nothings at court, those bastards-and I even lost the post of Yangzhou Governor over this.

The secret pavilion of Firmament Heaven, and all those spies and agents sent out, deserve to die...

That old thing Azure Nether has already reached the point where the minute reveals the manifest. Every thread, every strand, every particle is clearly discernible; his whole being is one, utterly seamless, revealing nothing. He is only a step away...

If this goes on, I'm afraid Jiangnan will one day bear the Ye surname... I must report this to Luoyang and let elder brother and the ancestor decide.

Sima Huanyu pondered for a moment, and no one made a sound.

For a time, the whole world was so quiet that a falling needle could be heard.

After a long while, Sima Huanyu rose from his throne, cupped his fists in salute, and said with a trace of apology, "Please forgive me, fellow Daoist Azure Nether. I did not think things through."

"And fellow Daoist Qiuran, congratulations to you as well," Sima Huanyu said, his voice like the tides, bringing a trace of chill to the spiritual atmosphere.

"After ten years apart, you have attained the Dao of Golden Core. The Ye Clan's flourishing is also a blessing for our Cangxuan Ancient Realm. I have come precisely to offer my congratulations."

"I was merely fortunate."

Ye Zhanqiu appeared above the ancestral temple, dressed in an azure robe, his expression serene.

The two looked at each other.

No imposing forces clashed, and no Principles contended.

Yet everyone felt the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth trembling.

The two Golden Core True Lords faced each other in an invisible standoff.

After three breaths, Sima Huanyu suddenly smiled.

He took a step forward, and his throne dissipated as he landed in the square before the ancestral temple.

"I too have come to offer congratulations today. I came uninvited, hoping to beg a cup of wine. You don't mind, fellow Daoist Ye?"

"Of course not."

Ye Zhanqiu landed and strolled forward, making a gesture of invitation.

The two walked side by side into the ancestral temple's main hall.

The whole place fell silent.

Ye Zhanshan was slightly hunched, breathing heavily.

The other elders looked at one another, their backs soaked through.

That brief standoff of a few breaths had already made them feel as though they had fallen into an abyss. Was this the gap between Golden Core and Purple Mansion?

If they had really started fighting, even the Cloud-Heaven Azure Palace would have...

"Oh... there is one more thing."

Sima Huanyu's eyes shifted, and he spoke suddenly.

"Fellow Daoist Ye has attained the Dao. How could the court offer no congratulatory gift?"

Having said that, he did not wait for Ye Zhanqiu's response.

With a movement of his divine sense, Spiritual Qi throughout the heavens surged. A fissure in the great void trembled as a pair of hands tore it open, and then Sima Huanyu's bold, unrestrained voice rang out in Huainan, tens of millions of li away.

In an instant, a rift opened in the sky. Water surged forth, the vast Luo River emanating terrifying fluctuations, and an imperial edict appeared from within it in brilliant splendor.

It was the radiance of Huangchu, the manifestation of Greater Yang's [rank] and [hierarchy], and one of the three portions of Greater Yang the Sima Clan had obtained by usurping Wei.

The edict appeared and descended from Huainan. Everywhere it passed, the people and cultivators of Jiangnan all bowed in worship.

Seeing this, the Jin Court's resident commander in Huainan hurriedly gave an order.

"Begin the sacrifice!"

Soldiers drew their bows, and slaughtering blades were raised.

Thirty million people of the Ruin Realms fell, their blood flowing into rivers. That boundless Blood Qi drove the greater momentum.

The spiritual atmosphere of heaven and earth surged once more, and the light of Greater Yang was restored.

The spaces of one superior Ruin Realm and twelve intermediate Ruin Realms opened. Thirteen pillars of light burst forth, shining upon one another, and all under heaven knew.

All under heaven rejoiced, and the greater momentum was about to be realized. Only the austere, killing autumn revealed a desolate silence.

The Huangchu Imperial Edict: "Qiuran of the Cloud Mist Ye Clan has ascended to the rank of True Lord. Lesser Yin has manifested, and the Dao belonging to autumn under heaven has been established. In celebration, the court hereby opens thirteen Ruin Realms to strengthen the cultivators of Cangxuan..."

He was to Jin the Heavenly Position, drawing the joy of the [autumn] season and a canopy of fortune.

From this day forth, he would be honored as [Autumn Unfolds the Clear Firmament Heaven].