Chapter 32 Part 2

Involving political intrigue, the details were always vague. The clan had been wiped out, sure, but now a supposed “Li Clan remnant” came crying foul, the text obliquely suggesting the True Yang Li Clan had uncovered some Empire Sheng Clan secret before their destruction. Before revealing it, the tone shifted to the events in Tianhe Village, vehemently denouncing the Empire Daoists’ cruelty.

The entire post, aside from the Tianhe Village matter, lacked hard evidence and was all smoke and mirrors, leaving readers baffled.

That “say it but don’t quite say it” effect was exactly what Li Ruoshui wanted.

Just as Li Ruoshui was about to exit the Tianyan Mirror, a message came from Chen Buyan.

“Daoist, where are you?”

Li Ruoshui blinked and replied with two words: “Cultivating.”

Chen Buyan: “White Sun Town? That post in the Dharma Realm is your handiwork?”

Li Ruoshui: “…” What Dao law did this Daoist cultivate to be so perceptive? Was she proficient in divination? Li Ruoshui pondered darkly, then glanced back at their conversation and saw “White Sun Town.” She let out a breath of stale air.

False alarm. She had leaked it herself.

Li Ruoshui asked her: “Killing is protecting life, close friend. I feel I should deliver justice on heaven’s behalf.”

With those righteous words, Li Ruoshui decisively logged out of the Tianyan Mirror. One, she didn’t want to deal with her friend’s million questions; two, it was time to fish in troubled waters.

That Gao Yin from the Empire was probably no match for Shi Yu. He cultivated the Edict God Dao, so in defeat, he might very well draw back the spirituality from his images. The more he recovered, the less she got—turning a profit into a billion-fold loss.

Li Ruoshui shot straight toward the village’s undestroyed images.

Taking spirituality that others had refined was immoral, but for this Gao Yin, if the Empire didn’t want to be a laughingstock, they’d have to treat him as a pervert in their ranks. And conveniently, he had been corrupted by Ruin Spirits.

From this angle, her refining Ruin Spirit-tainted spirituality was a great service to the entire Nine Provinces.

With no scruples holding her back, Li Ruoshui felt invigorated. With a long whistle, surging spell power roared from her like a tidal wave. The Taiyi Blazing Fire Profound Light swept forward like a thousand cavalry charging, smashing the talisman-transformed Golden Armored Men to death amid tooth-grating impacts. The mud puppet, filled with abject terror, was shattered to fragments alongside them.

The hall pillars shook unsteadily, the beams snapped, and dust rained down. After refining one strand of spirituality, Li Ruoshui unhesitatingly rushed to the next spot, her aura surging to a peak, radiating majestic might.

She brazenly refined Gao Yin’s spirituality. One or two instances went unnoticed by him, but when most of the clay idols had been shattered, he felt boundless shock and fear in his heart. Who dared to be so audacious as to destroy his statues? Gao Yin wished he could rush to the shrine immediately, but Shi Yu’s sword was extremely tricky. Her whistling sword beams wove into a net, leaving him no escape. His cultivation was already a step below Shi Yu’s to begin with. With this moment of distraction, the Heavenly Venerable Statue he had summoned immediately lost an arm! From the bowl-sized wound, yuan qi poured out like a flood.

“Fighting me in spell arts, and you still dare to divide your attention?” A fierce glint floated in Shi Yu’s eyes as her sword beams suddenly split into over a dozen rays, mercilessly slashing toward Gao Yin.

A chill surged in Gao Yin’s heart. He mobilized all his mana to respond. Normally, after his yuan qi leaked out, he could draw on the spirituality stored in the statues, but now, when he formed the hand seals, only a scant few strands returned to his side. Facing the sharp sword beams, Gao Yin forced himself to calm down and focus. This was the Empire’s territory after all—he had already sent out a message, and if any of his fellow clan members saw it, they would surely come to his aid.

By the time Li Ruoshui had burned and refined all the spirituality in the statues from Baiyang Town’s Tianhe Village, the battle on Shi Yu’s side still hadn’t ended. In fact, the cultivators from the East Sea Alliance had already driven their cloud boats away from Tianhe Village. Shi Yu and the others were all sword cultivators, so it was entirely possible for them to leap out of the battle zone. But Shi Yu was formidable and insisted on using Gao Yin to hone her sword. This delay allowed nearby cultivators to arrive as reinforcements. Shi Yu showed no fear. She deliberately placed herself in dire straits, her sword edge growing sharper with each clash.

If Feng Qing had been there at that moment, she probably would have turned tail and run.

Among fellow sword cultivators, the difference between people was greater than that between humans and dogs.

Nearly a hundred sword lights streaked through the midair, weaving back and forth in a dazzling display.

Li Ruoshui couldn’t offer any help where Shi Yu was fighting.

She watched the disturbance not far away, wondering whether to leave, when a sudden change occurred!

The churning clouds in the sky seemed to be torn open by a sharp blade, and a dark, mysterious aura rolled in, like an evil eye peering into the Nine Provinces.

Shi Yu was closest to the rift. Her dharma sword was suddenly tainted by the eerie aura, slowing noticeably as it hovered in flight. The Empire’s cultivators seized the opportunity and launched a fierce assault on Shi Yu, trying to force her into the rift!

This was—

A Return to Ruins Gap that had appeared out of nowhere?

Li Ruoshui’s mind grew solemn. She was the one who had called Shi Yu over—she couldn’t just watch her meet with disaster. She abruptly surged her mana and, undaunted by the Golden Core Cultivator’s might, slapped a palm forward. Her figure was swift, treading the Carefree Wander, and in almost an instant, she landed in the midst of the battle! The violent yuan qi storm slashed like blades, but Li Ruoshui’s gaze was stern and fearless.

Her intervention ruined the Empire cultivators’ scheme, and Shi Yu cleansed the taint from her sword, freeing up her hands.

“Thanks.” Shi Yu twisted around and said.

Li Ruoshui didn’t speak. She vigilantly observed their surroundings, faintly sensing that the rift’s suction was growing stronger, like an invisible vortex churning away. A chill rose from the depths of her heart. Li Ruoshui pursed her lips and said gravely, “Quick, leave.”

But it was too late. The rift came alive like a ferocious beast opening its maw, swallowing everyone nearby in the fight.

The moment Li Ruoshui sensed the danger descending, she slapped a palm toward Shi Yu, shoving her out of the rift.

A Return to Ruins Gap had appeared in Empire territory—it should have been reported immediately.

But what if the Empire couldn’t be relied on at a time like this? Li Ruoshui chose to trust Shi Yu.

The powerful suction lasted only a few breaths before vanishing. A thick mist rose around them, and the sinister rift still hung in the sky. Through this rift, the aura of the Return to Ruins Realm intersected with the righteous qi of the Nine Provinces’ Tianyan. The rift would grow larger, its edges fainter, until eventually only dharma artifacts could detect it—and by then, it would have become a stable Return to Ruins Gap, renamed by the guarding sects.

Return to Ruins Gaps varied in size, and the realms of the Ruin Spirits that might emerge differed accordingly. Shi Yu suppressed her urge to plunge into the gap and, following the Nine Provinces’ conventions, sent messages to the various sects—especially the Empire.

When a new Return to Ruins Gap formed, it was typically high-realm cultivators who entered to explore. Only after they confirmed its tier would it possibly open to Nine Provinces cultivators.

In the Dharma Realm, the message “A Return to Ruins Gap has appeared in Tianhe Village, Baiyang Town, Empire” floated at the very top.

The timing and location of the anonymous post Li Ruoshui had made perfectly matched, making it hard for cultivators not to connect the two.

Empire, Prime Minister’s Mansion.

After seeing that anonymous post claiming to be from the True Yang Li Clan, Rong Yin had been harboring intense anger deep in her heart. People doing things quietly was one matter; having it exposed was another. The Empire’s Daoists were accustomed to commanding mortals and saw nothing wrong with it, but none of them wanted to bear the infamy—especially when this behavior was equated with Ruin Spirit corruption.

“True Person, a Return to Ruins Gap has appeared in Tianhe Village!” Before Rong Yin could vent her anger, the cultivator monitoring the gaps hurried in to report.

Rong Yin’s expression changed abruptly. She raised her voice: “Where is True Person Liang? Has she gone there?”

The cultivator nodded, steeling himself against Rong Yin’s radiating pressure. “But in the Dharma Realm, many Daoists believe we’ve colluded with Ruin Spirits. They lack trust in us and hope other sects’ True Persons will probe the gap.”

It wasn’t entirely because of this anonymous post. Ultimately, the collapse of the Nation-Securing Chart had bankrupted the Empire’s credibility, plummeting its reputation among the major sects.

Rong Qing had once gone to the Nation-Securing Chart to aid the Empire, only to end up with no corpse recovered.

Even if the Empire yielded this Return to Ruins Gap, few sects might be willing to send Cave Heaven True Persons.

Rong Yin furrowed her brows, a flash of disgust in her eyes. “Have the Gao Clan give an explanation.”

The cultivator acknowledged and respectfully withdrew.

After the cultivator left, a graceful silhouette appeared on the screen. A clear, crisp voice emerged from behind it: “True Person, is someone targeting the Empire? The East Sea Alliance? Anyone else? Wind Moon Heartless Sect?”

“Your Highness, you needn’t concern yourself with these trifles,” Rong Yin said expressionlessly. “Your task is to wield the Emperor Sword as soon as possible.”

The person behind the screen fell silent for a moment before saying, “Rong Ji is dead. Only Rong Luo remains.”

The chill on Rong Yin’s face intensified, her words growing no kinder: “Even if only you remain, if you can’t wield the Emperor Sword, you can’t be the Empire’s ruler.”

The Emperor Sword waited patiently—it wouldn’t settle.

Going with the flow to deal with the various kings was acceptable, but if all focus shifted to resolving the kings, it would deviate from the goal.

–

In the Taiyi Sect, atop a mist-shrouded cliff.

Mountain winds blew as Lian Rusu stood high up, holding her sword. Her fingertip lightly tapped the blade, producing a clear sword hum.

“Sect Master?” Xiang Yingshou arrived on the wind and frowned slightly upon seeing Lian Rusu’s sword-holding figure.

Her junior sister wanted to leave the grounds, but she always felt something was off.

“A Return to Ruins Gap has appeared in the Empire,” Lian Rusu said.

“There are two Cave Heaven True Persons there—they should handle it.” Xiang Yingshou had also seen the discussions in the Dharma Realm. Among the replies were many familiar faces, likely from Wind Moon Heartless Sect, venting their anger.

“But there’s already a precedent,” Lian Rusu turned to gaze at Xiang Yingshou, her eyes clear and serene.

She suddenly changed the subject. “In the Dharma Realm, many fellow Daoists come with cultivation doubts. Some from major sects, others loose cultivators. The former rarely consult me—they can ask their sect mates or go to the Immortal Altar. As for the latter—”

“They interacted with me often, but time flies. In just a few years, most of their name seals shattered.”

After binding qi to the Tianyan Mirror, unless using special methods, a shattered name seal meant death.

Xiang Yingshou was silent for a moment before asking, “So, that close friend of yours on the Vow Dao is in Tianhe Village?”

Lian Rusu nodded and replied, “Not just for her.”

She said earnestly, “The Empire’s affairs—other fellow Daoists aren’t willing to intervene, right? What if, as that post claims, the Empire’s Cave Heaven True Persons really were corrupted by Ruin Spirits?”

Xiang Yingshou: “…” Regarding that post in the Dharma Realm about the Ruin Spirits, she had discussed it with several fellow Daoists and unanimously concluded parts were rumors, exaggerating the facts. Rong Yin and Liang Daoqi’s name seals were both normal.

Why did her junior sister believe it?