Chapter 148: Yue Wu Xia’s Thoughts
A few more days passed. With the arrival of the vast majority of guests, the Peach Banquet of Yaochi officially began.
According to tradition, the Peach Banquet had several steps. The first step was originally to discuss the movements of various parties and to alleviate the conflicts of some prominent families and Sacred Lands with tense relationships. But this time, the first step was obviously different.
Yaochi had held the Peach Banquet countless times and had ample experience. Normally, nearly three-fifths of Yaochi’s territory was not used and was only simply maintained. But during the Peach Banquet, these areas would be used to accommodate guests from all over.
These areas were similar in function to the outer courtyard of the Huang family, but they were much larger. The vast majority of the Huang family’s area was provided for the Huang family women to live.
On this day, the sky was filled with colorful clouds, and various auspicious signs filled the sky. And the grand venue of Yaochi was filled with cultivators, bustling with excitement.
Mingyan also followed the people of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow to their designated area and sat down. As Yue Wu Xia’s personal disciples, Mingyan and Yue Qingying naturally sat beside Yue Wu Xia. To their left was the Huang family. Past the Huang family was Yaochi, and to the right was an unknown Sacred Land or prominent family.
There were too many of these Sacred Lands and prominent families on the Yao Guang continent. In the millions of years, more than a hundred Supreme Dao Great Emperors had been born, all of whom had left behind their inheritance. Some had even created another Dao lineage when they lived out their second life. So, there were many Sacred Lands and prominent families left behind, scattered all over the place.
Besides these, there were also some alternative Sacred Lands and prominent families. They were not like the others, who had a Supreme Dao Great Emperor. They were a level lower, but they were still much stronger than ordinary Blessed Lands. They would also receive invitations.
Mingyan scanned his gaze over and found a dense crowd of people. It was rare to see so many people in the cultivation world…
These people were also the top figures on the Yao Guang star. Basically, the Sacred Masters of the Sacred Lands and prominent families, as well as the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens, were all here. If some traitor had the ability to deal with all the people here now, then the Yao Guang star could just give up. There was no need to struggle.
After all, even if the Great Empress could intercept the top existences in the outer realms, she would be held back by the other party. Without these middle-level powers to fight against the remaining invaders, it would be useless.
The Great Empress had not yet shown up, and the venue was already abuzz with discussions about the Dark Era. But generally speaking, because there was a Great Empress in power in this era, everyone was still relatively optimistic.
This was also a good thing. At least they would not be in disarray. Otherwise, panic would bring a series of troubles.
Not long after, a blurry figure appeared in the sky. That majestic Emperor’s might spread out. Everyone instantly realized her identity, and the venue immediately became quiet.
This was the aura of the Great Empress. Although her figure was blurry, no one dared to question it. They all quietly waited for the Great Empress to speak.
“It has been nearly a thousand years since I attained the Dao and became an Emperor,” Great Empress Qingzi finally spoke. Her voice was not loud, but it echoed in the hearts of everyone present.
Even if Great Empress Qingzi’s speech was slurred, who would dare to treat her words as a passing wind? Even if they had to prick up their ears, they had to listen carefully to every sentence she uttered.
“As a Great Empress, it is my duty to protect this world, to protect the Yao Guang star, to protect this starry sky,” Great Empress Qingzi looked down at the crowd. “And now, our threat is close at hand, imminent!”
“I believe everyone has already experienced the inconvenience after the spatial fluctuations. These spatial fluctuations are the most favorable evidence that the invaders from the outer realms are trying to enter our world! I have carefully read every record about the Dark Era, and I can tell you for sure that in at most twenty years, the invaders from the outer realms will arrive.”
At most twenty years…
This time made everyone present take a cold breath.
Perhaps for ordinary people, twenty years was very long. But for cultivators, twenty years, for the younger generation, might be their age. But for the mainstay who could truly fight against the invaders from the outer realms, it was nothing.
Huang Junyi had been stuck at half-step Human Gateway for nearly four hundred years. What was twenty years?
In twenty years, even the most top-tier genius could not reach the Human King realm… not to mention a realm like the Human King. It would be difficult even to reach the Rotating Core Realm. To be able to reach the Divine Seal Realm was already very impressive.
Above the Divine Gate Realm, there was Tai Yi, Divine Seal, Rotating Core, Human Gateway, Manifest Saint, Great Saint, and Human King… the difference was not too far. Even the current Great Empress had spent nearly eight hundred years to reach the Human King realm, and that was without the suppression of the Great Dao!
With the suppression of the Great Dao, a world-class talent like Yue Wu Xia, in over eight hundred years, had only just broken through to the Manifest Saint realm not long ago.
“Twenty years is enough for a newborn to step into the gate of cultivation and cultivate to the Divine Gate Realm. But twenty years cannot make a Human Gateway become a Saint, cannot let all the young generation here grow up, grow to the extent of being able to fight against those dregs from the outer realms. So, twenty years… the time left for me is not much,” the Great Empress said.
“But there is no need to be too pessimistic. Besides me, there are still people in this world who can compete with the invaders from the outer realms. We can still fight. In fact, if we can drag out enough time, and wait for our new generation to grow up, we can even launch a complete counterattack! Completely end the invaders from the outer realms!”
Completely end the invaders from the outer realms…
Great Empress Qingzi was, after all, a Great Empress. After she attained the Dao, she was on par with the Dao. The sound of each word was not loud, but it was deeply engraved in everyone’s heart.
A Great Empress was invincible. This point had never changed since ancient times. No Great Empress had ever been defeated head-on. They might fight to the death and end up in a draw, but they would never be defeated!
So, as a Great Empress, Great Empress Qingzi’s words made them feel the urgency of the situation, but not to the point of being in disarray.
Moreover, the Great Empress had said that besides her, there were other people in this world who could compete with them. This was of course not referring to them, but… that kind of existence close to the Great Dao…!
If there really was another such existence, then they had even less need to panic.
But Mingyan frowned. Was the Great Empress referring to his sister… or the phoenix?
If it was his sister… in twenty years, could Mingyan break through to the Human Gateway Realm? If he couldn’t, what would he rely on to save his sister?
If it wasn’t his sister… who else could it be?
Then it could only be the phoenix. The phoenix’s nirvana, although she could not recover her strength in a short time, if the Great Empress helped, the phoenix could probably fully recover to a half-step Great Dao within twenty years. And, the phoenix herself was an existence that had once truly reached the Great Dao. Her understanding of the Great Dao was at the level of a Great Emperor. Such a half-step Great Dao, her true combat power was probably extremely terrifying.
But the phoenix… Mingyan was silent…
Thinking about this problem, Mingyan couldn’t even hear what the Great Empress said afterward. By the time he came back to his senses, the Great Empress had already reached the end.
“The competition of this Peach Banquet, I will watch the whole process. And, I will take the final winner as my own disciple and teach them my scripture.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the venue fell silent. And the eyes of the younger generation were shining with fire, their fighting spirit burning!
Not to mention the younger generation, even those Human Gateway Realm Sacred Masters wanted to go and compete with them!
That was the inheritance of a Supreme Dao Great Emperor. And they would also receive the guidance of a Great Emperor. Then their breakthrough to the Manifest Saint realm to become a Saint, wasn’t that a sure thing? They might even break through to the Great Saint realm.
Of course, they also knew that the Great Empress was probably unlikely to accept them, these Sacred Masters… The Great Empress’s meaning was simple. The current younger generation could not be used to fight against the Dark Era. She was planning to give them room to grow, to let them grow up. She was planning for a counterattack!
This was clearly a protracted war.
Even Mingyan was a little surprised. The Great Empress was actually going to take a disciple?
Then was there any need to look? It was either Gu Hanshuang or Jade Peony. Perhaps in the eyes of those who did not know of Jade Peony’s existence, this was basically a foregone conclusion for Gu Hanshuang.
As for Mingyan… he had his own master. There was no need to take another as a master. Besides, he didn’t think his sister was any worse than the Great Empress.
Just as Mingyan was thinking that his own master was also very good, Yue Wu Xia sent a mental message to him. “Are you confident in defeating Jade Peony and Gu Hanshuang?”
Mingyan was immediately surprised and looked at Yue Wu Xia. “Mas… Master, what are you talking about?”
“I’m asking you, do you think you can defeat them?” Yue Wu Xia’s face was calm as she continued to ask.
“Why must I defeat them?” Mingyan was surprised. “If I really succeed, then won’t I have to take the Great Empress as my master?”
“You don’t want to take her as your master?” Yue Wu Xia’s eyes were calm as still water. The voice transmitted was even more emotionless, making it impossible to guess her thoughts.
“Why should I take her as my master?” Mingyan retorted, “I already have my own master.”
Yue Wu Xia looked at Mingyan and sent a mental message, “A Great Emperor’s personal disciple. The things you can obtain are far more than you can imagine. Mingyan, don’t act on impulse.”
Mingyan frowned. Hearing his master’s words, he was extremely disgusted. Mingyan took a deep breath and then replied to Yue Wu Xia, “If you plan to expel me from the sect, then you can speak now. I will definitely not say another word.”
Yue Wu Xia looked at Mingyan, was silent for a while, then sighed. “You are wasting your talent.”
Mingyan stared at Yue Wu Xia. For the first time… for the first time, he felt that in some aspects, his master really needed to be corrected…
Before, Mingyan had thought that whatever his master did was right, so he would not argue. Because his master always had her reasons. But now, Mingyan thought that in some aspects, his master really needed to be corrected.
Did Mingyan need the Great Empress’s guidance? Even his sister had said that Yue Wu Xia was qualified to teach him. And his master herself thought that she would waste his talent…
Mingyan knew that he couldn’t blame his master for not being confident. After all, the other party was a Great Empress. Although Yue Wu Xia was a world-class talent, she was only a Saint.
But more so, his master always felt that he should think about his own future. For this, he could sacrifice other things. Just like the last time the two of them had argued, Yue Wu Xia had even said that if she encountered danger, his first thought should not be to save her, but to protect himself…
Perhaps his master was right. But to Mingyan, a person who couldn’t even protect the people he cherished, what right did he have to protect others?
It was precisely because of this that his master was thinking of letting Mingyan compete for the position of the Great Empress’s disciple, right?
But Mingyan didn’t need it. His master, Yue Wu Xia, could also teach him, and could even find him supreme Dao immortal gold to forge a weapon for him, wholeheartedly protecting his Dao. Even if she was angry, she would always pay attention to his existence.
Mingyan had changed masters once. That master had introduced him to the gate. Mingyan was still grateful to him. But this time, Ming an was not willing to change again. Unless his master also, like his previous master, declared that he had graduated, or expelled him from the sect. Then even if Mingyan was unwilling, he would leave.
Seeing Mingyan silent, Yue Wu Xia finally withdrew her gaze. Yue Wu Xia sighed. “Forget it, forget it… why did I have to meet such a stubborn person like you? Others are thinking of ways to beg the Great Empress to take them as disciples. You, on the other hand, are just clinging to me.”
Seeing that his master had finally given up this idea, Mingyan finally sighed in relief. Mingyan said seriously, “In my heart, you are my best master. Even if one day, my cultivation surpasses yours, you are still my master.”
“Hmph, you don’t listen to me now. When your cultivation surpasses mine…” Yue Wu Xia snorted lightly. She didn’t even dare to think about that time.
Mingyan blinked. I’m looking forward to that day…
Yue Wu Xia looked away. Yue Wu Xia closed her eyes, making it completely impossible to guess her thoughts.
Perhaps, even Yue Wu Xia herself didn’t understand her own thoughts.
