svetikya Page 641
Page 641
An aged and ethereal voice finally rang out from inside the door: "Is the emperor of the Great Feng still practicing Taoism?"
Cao Qingyang nodded: "Yes."
"Humph!"
A cold snort came from under the door.
Cao Qingyang continued, "Recently, a major piece of news came from the capital: Emperor Yuanjing has lost the hearts of the people and has been sidelined by the extraordinary experts of the Great Feng Dynasty."
Now he has the title of emperor, but no real power.
The emperor's real power fell into the hands of Heavenly King Li Chang'an and Empress Huaiqing.
"Hmm?" Kou Yangzhou's puzzled voice came out.
"The Ji family royal family has been usurped by someone of a different surname? Is that really true?"
Cao Qingyang said, "The fundamental reason why Emperor Yuanjing was forced to abdicate and was sidelined was because extraordinary experts united, and the supervisor tacitly approved of this."
The immediate cause was that the Prince of Zhenbei intended to slaughter the people to advance his own career, while the long-term cause was that Emperor Yuanjing was obsessed with Taoist cultivation, leading to chaos in the government and widespread suffering among the people.
The Heavenly King Li Chang'an, who held power, was a second-rank expert who had connected with extraordinary powerhouses and gained the approval of the Supervisor.
"Oh." Kou Yangzhou was no longer surprised to hear the supervisor's approval.
“The Great Feng Dynasty did not perish, and the Empress was a member of the royal family, so this makes sense.”
"But this Li Chang'an is a second-rank expert? I know Zhao Shou, the head of the Human Sect, and the supervisor of the extraordinary beings in the capital, but I have never heard of this person."
Cao Qingyang continued, "In the past year, the world has undergone tremendous changes, and now three more extraordinary individuals have emerged in the capital."
"Master Hengyuan, the founder of the Great Feng Buddhist sect, Wei Yuan, who has regained his second-rank martial arts cultivation, and Li Tianwang, who cultivates Confucianism, Taoism and martial arts simultaneously, reaching the second rank in martial arts and the third rank in the other two disciplines."
"What!" Kou Yangzhou clearly hadn't expected that the situation would change so drastically in just one year!
With the sudden appearance of three extraordinary beings, Da Feng's strength is likely to reach a new level.
"Grandmaster, I will tell you about these things slowly."
"The trigger for the upheaval in the capital was that the Prince of Zhenbei, in his attempt to break through to the Great Perfection of the Third Rank, actually planned to massacre 380,000 people in Chuzhou City..."
Cao Qingyang immediately gave a brief account of the news.
"Well done!" the voice replied.
"Afterwards, the extraordinary beings discovered that Emperor Yuanjing knew about it beforehand and even sent the Zhenguo Sword to help Prince Huai."
The news caused a stir in the capital, and coupled with his years of Taoist cultivation, he was ultimately abandoned by the supervisor.
"That damned emperor deserves to die!" The voice deepened.
"Grand Ancestor, please calm down. There's more to this story," Cao Qingyang said hastily.
The tremors in the mountain stopped, and the two red lanterns on the cliff face went out immediately, indicating that Kou Yangzhou's anger had subsided.
Cao Qingyang exhaled, his stern and upright face showing obvious signs of relaxation, and then said:
"At the court assembly, Wei Yuan publicly displayed his cultivation level, and the officials forced Emperor Yuanjing to issue an edict of self-reproach. He then appeared in the palace in a supernatural manner..."
There was no sound coming from inside the stone gate for a long time.
After a quarter of an hour of silence, a faint sigh came: "The Great Feng Dynasty is about to change, the world is about to change, and a great war is imminent."
Cao Qingyang didn't quite understand, so Kou Yangzhou said, "Tell me about that Heavenly King Li."
"Ancestor, Li Tianwang came from the martial arts world of Jianzhou and was once a sworn brother of his disciple's grand-disciple."
"Oh?" A hint of curiosity lingered in the deep, ethereal voice. "In that case, it is indeed a strange thing."
"Ancestor, when Li Chang'an was in Jianzhou, he and Li Miaozhen, the Holy Maiden of Tianzong, performed chivalrous deeds and earned the reputation of the Golden Eagle Couple."
After arriving in the capital, he saved Princess Pingyang and caused the three powerful families to be wiped out. Not only was his cultivation level strangely high, but he was also proficient in poetry, prose, and political strategy.
Before long, the eldest princess, Wei Yuan, Zhao Shou and others vied to win him over, but he seemed rather indifferent and did not participate in court affairs.
However, his reputation has always been very high, and he enjoys great prestige among the people. His poems and essays are widely circulated.
Until he broke through the third rank of Confucianism, and stood at the forefront on the night when the Buddhist sect of the Western Regions oppressed the capital.
Later, he even enlightened Master Hengyuan to establish Mahayana Buddhism and uncovered the affair of the Prince of Zhenbei in Chuzhou.
He possessed both extraordinary strength and immense prestige among the people, which enabled him to seize control of the imperial court.
The aged voice carried a hint of amusement: "I have been stuck in my ways for hundreds of years, unaware of the world beyond, unaware of the rivers and lakes of the Nine Provinces."
"It's truly unbelievable that the Great Feng Dynasty has produced such an extraordinary figure. The Great Feng Dynasty has really changed a lot."
The fact that the Martial Arts Alliance could dominate the Jianghu of Jianzhou, making the government wary and the imperial court tacitly approve of it, naturally has its unique strengths.
What Cao Qingyang was most proud of was not the experts in the alliance, nor the 20,000 heavy cavalry, but the intelligence system he had built himself.
In Cao Qingyang's view, the intelligence system composed of peddlers, laborers, and wandering knights, while not as powerful as Wei Qingyi's night watchman spies, was far superior in terms of grassroots information.
Therefore, apart from the correspondence between the two, Cao Qingyang could recount Li Chang'an's major experiences in the capital in detail, including all the big and small matters.
"But this time, Li Tianwang's appearance in Jianzhou is truly unexpected," Cao Qing said with some doubt.
As the leader of the rebel army at that time, his views on matters far surpassed those of Cao Qingyang, a mere outlaw.
"This matter is not simple; Li Chang'an must have a purpose behind it."
"Because the world situation has changed, the number of extraordinary beings in Da Feng has suddenly doubled, and Li Chang'an can mobilize all of them."
"This means that the Buddhist kingdoms of the Western Regions will be worried about the strength of the Great Feng Dynasty, and some people who are secretly hostile to the court will not watch Li Chang'an integrate the extraordinary and lead the Great Feng Dynasty on the road to revival."
"Most importantly, Wei Yuan's Northern Expedition this time is extremely crucial!"
"What exactly is his purpose? If he really has the potential to defeat the Witch God Cult, the fate of the Great Feng Kingdom will rise."
"I wonder...won't some people get restless?"
Following Kou Yangzhou's line of thought, Cao Qingyang immediately realized that it made perfect sense.
Kou Yangzhou further analyzed, "His high-profile appearance in Jianzhou is definitely not as simple as just protecting the lotus seeds."
Cao Qingyang, of course, couldn't fathom Li Chang'an's purpose, and could only say, "Grandmaster, what should your grand-disciple do?"
Kou Yangzhou didn't hesitate much and said directly, "I'll give you a drop of my essence blood."
"In that case, you can refine it at any time and gain the strength of a third-grade martial artist."
"If Li Chang'an is really setting up a trap, you can lend him a hand and exchange a section of lotus root for it. There shouldn't be any problem."
Cao Qingyang was secretly pleased, as he had no intention of becoming enemies with Li Chang'an.
Then, a drop of blood essence flew out from the crack in the stone door and entered Cao Qingyang's brow.
Buddhist kingdoms in the Western Regions.
Xu Pingfeng, a white-robed sorcerer with an indistinct face and a vague presence, stood under the shade of a tree.
What brings you to Aranya?
A soft, melodious voice came through; it was the most captivating voice a woman could have.
A white-robed bodhisattva appeared before Xu Pingfeng.
Her skirt was layered and trailed on the ground. Unlike Buddhist monks who shave their heads to remove all worldly cares, her black hair was casually draped over her shoulders and fluttered in the wind.
She has typical Western Region features, with three-dimensional facial features and rare glassy eyes.
Dressed in white, she was dashing and unrestrained, with a beauty that could topple kingdoms.
Barefoot, a pair of jade-like feet, untouched by the slightest speck of dust.
Xu Pingfeng gazed at Mount Aranya, seemingly oblivious to the bodhisattva woman so close at hand.
He lamented, "After the power struggle in the capital, the fortunes of the Western Regions have become unstable, which is not a good thing."
"Wei Yuan, the military god of the Great Feng Dynasty, has recovered his second-rank martial arts strength and has led troops to attack the Witch God Sect."
"King Li Chang'an and Imperial Preceptor Luo Yuheng have both achieved the Great Perfection of Yang Spirit, and can support the battlefield with their Yang Spirit at any time."
“In the past, Luo Yuheng would not have gotten involved in this matter.”
"But now that she claims to be Li Chang'an's Daoist partner, the possibility of her taking action is much higher."
"If the fate of the Great Feng Kingdom were to soar again... Bodhisattvas, would you be willing to see this outcome?"
Chapter 380 Wei Yuan Subdues the Demons and Barbarians! The Heavenly King Descends upon Jianzhou!
The northernmost border of the Great Feng Dynasty is Dingyang Pass.
One hundred thousand troops were stationed here, and after resting, they immediately headed north.
Wei Yuan was discussing military strategy with his generals when his commandant reported that a barbarian envoy was requesting an audience.
"Lord Wei, the envoy of the twelve tribes of demons and barbarians, originally intended to come to the capital to seek help."
"Upon learning that Duke Wei was leading his troops on a northern expedition, they have been waiting at Dingyang Pass for three days."
Nangong Qianrou sneered twice, "There are no Jili Zhigu and Zhujiu, the twelve tribes of demons and barbarians are just lambs to the slaughter."
The current Yao Barbarians have lost their qualification to become a major force in the Nine Provinces.
Because demons and barbarians are not extraordinary.