Chapter 136: I Shall Converse with the Holy Teacher, and the Ye Family Army Crosses the Canglang River! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Snow fell from the high sky, dropping bit by bit onto the ancient stone tablet. The tablet was covered with a thick layer of white snow, blurring the characters inscribed upon it.

Yet, when An Le wiped the snow away from the stone tablet, he still managed to make out the two ancient seal-script characters carved thereon.

Lishan.

Drawing upon the power of the Sword Intent Golden Core, the imperial stone statue had executed a total of two sword strikes. The first had sheared off the sleeve of the Yuan-Mongol Emperor and left a sword scar upon his formidable physique, while the second had carried An Le and Zhao Huangting away from the Yuan-Mongol Grand Capital, materializing them at the foot of this mountain range.

Verdant peaks brush the azure vault like painted screens, while scarlet clouds spin wool to blanket heaven and earth in snow.

Flying snow cascaded down the mountain, making the entire range appear utterly devoid of life, resembling a colossal tomb lying prone in the mortal realm, radiating a bone-chilling frost and profound sorrow.

"Senior, are you still there?"

An Le’s palm brushed the accumulated snow off the stone tablet, asking softly in his heart.

The bamboo sword Qingshan hanging at his waist had returned once more to stillness, as if devoid of even a sliver of brilliance.

With a flick of his mind, his consciousness sank into the bamboo sword Qingshan.

Vague bamboo groves shrouded in mist.

An Le’s consciousness appeared upon the stone path of Qingshan. The shower of golden rain that had once fallen had long since vanished, and heaven and earth had returned to a deathly stillness—a stillness that drifted through the passage of years as it always had.

That incomparably majestic imperial stone statue still sat here, standing and gazing into the distance, its eyes seemingly filled with a lingering nostalgia.

An Le’s query echoed throughout the entire space within Qingshan.

The bamboo groves among the mountains swayed gently, emitting the rustling sound of bamboo leaves rubbing together, creating a rather secluded ambiance. Beyond the tenth stone step, the path gradually became shrouded in mist, obscuring it from clear view.

An Le did not rashly ascend the stone steps. He knew that to climb them, he needed to bear the weight of the imperial stone statue, which would help him sever the lingering immortal apparitions left upon the steps.

As for the sword intent golden core that could revive the senior, it also originated from these stone steps, from those severed immortal apparitions.

Looking upward, the stone steps were densely packed and endless, making it impossible to tell how many there truly were.

And Qingshan towered boundlessly into the void.

At present, he had merely shouldered the stone statue and stepped onto the mountain's stone steps.

His journey had only just begun.

"Do you wish to see the scenery at the summit?"

A gentle voice suddenly drifted through the air.

Thinking that the imperial stone statue had fallen into complete dormancy, An Le could not help a flash of pleasant surprise welling up in his eyes: "Senior?"

"The power of the sword intent is too scarce; the solitary one could only execute two strikes—one to make a show of force, and the other to carry you away."

"That alien emperor is no weakling. Had the ley lines not restricted him, making it difficult for him to unleash his full strength, it would have caused no small amount of trouble."

The voice was ethereal. Although its source was untraceable, An Le knew it was the imperial stone statue speaking.

"Ten thousand years have passed, yet never did the solitary one imagine that the Central Plains today would be ruled by an alien emperor... The solitary one never foresaw such a day."

The gentle voice carried a trace of regret.

Yet, it did not seem entirely surprised.

"The alien tribes have never been weak. Living in harsh environments, they yearn for beautiful things. The Central Plains hold a great temptation for them, and for the powerful among them, the Central Plains protected by ley lines are a place of yearning."

"The solitary one once ordered the Great General to garrison the borders, with an army of demons overawing the alien tribes, yet in the end, the aliens still ravaged the Central Plains."

The soft voice was like a gentle breeze, growing fainter and fainter.

"Can Senior awaken once more?" An Le asked.

"The power of the Sword Intent Golden Core allows the solitary one to behold the rivers and mountains of the mortal world. Ascending the stone path of Qingshan and reclaiming the sword intent used to slay immortals will allow the Sword Intent Golden Core to condense once more... However, if you wish to continue climbing the stone path, you must first step into the sixth realm."

"I need the sixth realm just to continue? I am only at the tenth step now..." An Le asked with some perplexity.

The stone path was boundless, yet with his dual fifth-realm cultivation, he could only climb ten steps?

Was the fifth realm... truly so worthless?

"If the solitary one were to help you slay the immortal apparitions, you could naturally ascend with ease. But now that the solitary one has exhausted the power of the Sword Intent Golden Core, the next step must be walked by you alone, and the immortal apparitions must be slain by your own hand."

"To slay the immortal apparitions of the next step, one must reach the sixth realm. The stone path of Qingshan... was never a road meant for cultivators below the sixth realm."

The voice of the imperial stone statue was airy, entirely devoid of impatience.

Hearing this, understanding suddenly dawned on An Le.

"An Le, grow stronger earnestly. For an alien to style himself emperor in the Central Plains truly displeases the solitary one."

"The solitary one finds this hard to let go."

The voice of the imperial stone statue grew softer and softer.

An Le nodded solemnly, uttering the answer he had once written upon his imperial examination scroll.

"To drive out the foreign invaders and recover the Central Plains—I will do my best."

This was a promise.

Not merely a promise to the imperial stone statue.

The imperial stone statue seemed well satisfied; a faint sound of laughter drifted vaguely through the air.

The bamboo sea was serene, swept by a fresh and crisp breeze.

The voice of the imperial stone statue grew lower and lower, nearing a deep slumber, yet it still spoke: "An Le, do you know why you were sent to Lishan?"

An Le naturally knew some of the reasons, but at this moment, it was not convenient for him to voice them.

The imperial stone statue gave a soft chuckle: "Beneath the soil of Lishan, stretching endlessly, lies the destiny the solitary one has left for you... However, as you are now, you still lack the capability to master this destiny."

"That alien emperor possesses remarkable talent, having broken through the tenth realm in both soul refinement and physical tempering, and has continued advancing further along the tenth realm. The solitary one has seen his ambition... he wishes to enter the eleventh realm."

"Yet the eleventh realm... is too difficult, far too difficult..."

"Therefore, this alien emperor gathers the power of the Central Plains' ley lines, while Lishan... suppresses the final ley line... Now that the solitary one's will has awakened from Qingshan, the underground palace of Lishan will soon open as well..."

The voice grew increasingly blurred toward the end, resembling the murmurs of a sleeping person talking in dreams, and the words became somewhat intermittent.

An Le listened attentively.

The imperial stone statue had brought him here, certainly not without purpose.

As for what that purpose was, An Le did not yet know.

When the stone statue fell completely silent, sinking back into slumber just as it had in the beginning, An Le knew that if he wished to awaken this peerless existence from ten thousand years ago once more, he would perhaps... have to wait until he stepped into the sixth realm and severed the immortal apparition on the eleventh step before having another chance to converse with him.

His consciousness withdrew from the space within the Qingshan sword.

Outside, the wind and snow still raged.

An Le’s hand remained pressed upon the "Lishan" stone tablet. Standing before this ancient monument, amidst his touch, he vaguely felt the pulse of the stone tablet...

A pulse that originated deep beneath the earth and extended all the way to the stone tablet.

Hum...

Within the bamboo sword Qingshan, a streak of sword Qi suddenly burst forth, carving an imperceptible crack into the stone tablet before vanishing without a trace the very instant it struck.

Zhao Huangting sat in the snow. At this moment, he looked utterly aged, yet his expression was very calm.

He gazed with complex emotions at An Le and at this mountain, Lishan.

Zhao Huangting had traversed the length and breadth of the Central Plains on foot. Even without this inscribed stone tablet, he would have known what mountain this was.

Lishan... the burial place of that renowned emperor from ten thousand years ago.

Was it a coincidence?

The will awakened within Qingshan had brought An Le... to the doorstep of its own tomb.

Would even such a mighty cultivator still harbor lingering attachments?

Or perhaps, after ten thousand years, that existence... still harbored a chance to awaken and truly behold the rivers and mountains of the mortal world?

Zhao Huangting felt a chill. Having lost his cultivation, he could only feel the cold of heaven and earth gnawing at his body without a moment's respite, and he sensed the very clear departure of his life force.

Once the fires of Nirvana burned out, death naturally followed.

Zhao Huangting had long since prepared himself. Once upon a time, he had believed he would die in the Yuan-Mongol Grand Capital and meet a most miserable end.

Perhaps his head would be severed and his corpse hung from the city tower to be mocked by the masses...

Yet, he had stepped into the Grand Capital without a shred of resentment or regret, fighting the Yuan-Mongol Emperor with all his might, holding nothing back and leaving himself no retreat whatsoever.

He was a dying man in any case; what need had he for a retreat?

"This is the underground palace where that emperor slumbers. Rumored to be... the hiding place of the opportunity to breach the eleventh realm. Over the past ten thousand years, many powerful cultivators have attempted to enter, but all have failed."

"That person... bringing you here was perhaps to leave you an opportunity, to let you enter the underground palace?"

Amidst the wind and snow, Zhao Huangting drew a breath with some difficulty. The cold air pierced his mouth, making even breathing arduous.

At this moment, he was nothing more than an aging, ordinary old man.

"Do you wish to enter the mountain?"

"If you wish to enter, simply find a place and set this old man down."

Zhao Huangting said with a smile.

Carrying his sword box on his back, An Le withdrew his hand from the stone tablet, the sword Qingshan still resting at his waist. His gaze fell upon the old man, and he smiled: "Senior, what are you saying..."

"Now is not yet the time to enter. The underground palace is about to open, but has not yet opened, and I... am still too weak, temporarily lacking the qualification to enter."

"I must strive to earn the qualifications to step inside before the underground palace opens."

An Le glanced at Lishan, shrouded in wind and snow, and let out a breath.

Then he added: "We must leave quickly."

"Where does Senior wish to return to?"

An Le hoisted Zhao Huangting onto his back, his internal qi and blood surging to banish the chill brought by the surrounding wind and snow, bringing a healthier hue back to Zhao Huangting's pale complexion.

Hearing An Le’s question, a hint of bewilderment actually surfaced in Zhao Huangting’s eyes.

Where to return?

Naturally, home...

"Return home, but... where is home?"

Zhao Huangting muttered softly.

Hearing this, An Le raised his head, feeling the falling ice crystals of snowflakes dancing about. Snowstorms always made it easy to lose the road home.

"Shall we return to the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"

An Le asked.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple in Lin'an Prefecture.

The place where An Le and the old man had first met, and where the old man had bestowed Qingshan upon him.

The place where all destiny began.

Leaning on An Le’s back, Zhao Huangting’s stooped body trembled slightly, and a faint light flickered in his eyes.

"Lin'an... the Ancestral Temple..."

Was that his home, Zhao Huangting's home?

Yet, having stayed in the Imperial Ancestral Temple for five hundred years, even if he refused to admit it, that place ultimately held the most memories for him.

"No need, let us return to the Sword Pool Palace."

Resting his head on An Le’s shoulder, Zhao Huangting thought for a moment and changed his mind.

The Ancestral Temple was within Lin'an Prefecture, and the current Lin'an Prefecture was hardly a friendly place for An Le.

The Grand Court's prison in Lin'an Prefecture was perpetually prepared for An Le.

If An Le were to step foot in Lin'an, that foolish Zhao family Emperor would probably grin from ear to ear, and his blade would strike without a shred of hesitation.

However, An Le smiled: "Senior, before long I shall be able to come and go as I please in Lin'an Prefecture, so going there will pose no problem whatsoever."

"The Sixth Mountain Master said that by rescuing Senior, I have fulfilled the third requirement left by the Sage Master. The first requirement was to become the top scholar in the imperial examinations, which I have accomplished. Thus, to see the Sage Master, only one requirement remains: to rank in the top three of the Lesser Sage List."

This requirement was not particularly difficult.

However, entering Lin'an under the guise of challenging those on the Lesser Sage List should present no problem.

At least, until his challenge ended in failure, there would be no danger.

Hearing this, Zhao Huangting also understood the reasoning behind it.

Indeed, given the temperament of the Zhao family Emperor, if An Le truly headed to Lin'an bearing the name of the Sacred Mountains, the Emperor would not dare do anything to An Le before the dust settled.

Zhao Huangting smiled faintly at this: "You rascal, you had already planned this out, so why bother asking this old man... Let us go directly, then."

"You and I met at the Ancestral Temple, and now returning this old man to the Ancestral Temple can be considered bringing our destiny full circle."

Zhao Huangting said softly.

An Le smiled involuntarily.

"Senior, then let us set off."

"Very well, I yield to your arrangements."

Amidst their exchange.

The youth carried the old man on his back, step by step, striding into the boundless wind and snow.

...

The events that transpired in the Yuan-Mongol Grand Capital had already spread throughout the entire world.

The mystery concealed within that bamboo sword Qingshan was also brought to light at this moment, letting many powerful cultivators understand that this once unremarkable sword weapon was actually connected to that peerless, eternal emperor of ten thousand years ago.

For a time, some grew envious, some burned with ambition, while others sighed deeply.

Those who grew envious naturally wished to seize Qingshan and replace An Le, while those who sighed felt that even such an eternal emperor had ultimately fallen amidst the passage of time, inevitably lamenting the tragic truth that no one in the world could achieve immortality.

Naturally, the youth who wielded the bamboo sword Qingshan was also recognized as the inheritor of that ancient existence, leaping into the sights of all major factions and powerful experts in an instant.

Breaking the Zhao family Emperor's schemes in Lin'an Prefecture and striking the sword bell thirty-six times at the Sword Pool Palace—the renown combined from these two deeds paled in comparison to the attention drawn by being the inheritor of the eternal emperor's will.

Undeniably, the first two achievements were indeed quite extraordinary, but a person’s reputation preceded them just as a tree’s shadow did. Some individuals could remain dead for ten thousand years, yet their mere name retained an unusual weight capable of stirring winds and clouds.

The emperor who had united the four seas and brought peace to the realm was precisely such an existence.

Therefore, as the inheritor of such an entity's will, An Le was naturally extraordinary.

Of course, there was another matter that drew the attention of various factions: the will of that ancient emperor had manifested in the mortal world, and vaguely, the ancient underground tomb beneath Lishan outside Chang'an City seemed to show signs of opening.

That ancient tomb reportedly concealed the secrets concerning the eleventh realm.

The primary emperor of ten thousand years ago, reputed to have stepped into the eleventh realm and looked down upon the world—the emergence of this secret naturally provoked immense frenzy. For the numerous ninth-realm pinnacle Sendai cultivators who could not even breach the tenth realm, this was a momentous affair capable of unbalancing their minds.

Consequently, many powerful experts hesitated not a moment, choosing to rush directly toward the ancient city of Chang'an and toward that ancient mountain renowned for its underground tomb.

At the foot of Lishan.

Not long after An Le carried Zhao Huangting away.

A sonic boom that tore through the wind and snow suddenly erupted, and a hulking figure strode forward. A roiling surge of qi and blood instantly swept across the area, obliterating both wind and snow.

The newcomer was like a scorching sun suspended high in the air, with qi and blood winding around his physique like coiling dragons.

It was none other than the Yuan-Mongol Emperor, who had forced the Heavenly Gates back with a drawn bow.

"Breaking through the void with a sword and coming to this place... Nostalgia? Or..."

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Yuan-Mongol Emperor stepped through the empty air, his gaze falling upon the Lishan stone tablet.

There was a scar carved into the stone tablet by sword Qi.

After a single glance, he paid it no further heed. His deep gaze remained fixed upon the mountain.

Lishan, the tomb and underground palace of the eternal emperor, was rumored to harbor immense secrets—secrets that could allow one to surpass the tenth realm and step into the eleventh. The Yuan-Mongol Emperor was both curious and tempted by this secret.

The eleventh realm was a path even he had yet to fully comprehend, still groping through the fog as he tried to cross it.

Staring at Lishan, the Yuan-Mongol Emperor closed his eyes. His consciousness instantly swept across the entire mountain like a violent storm, scouring every corner of the earth.

He could feel that deep within Lishan, a colossal earthy dragon-type entity lay coiled.

"The final ley line..."

"Once the solitary one devours all eight ley lines, this palace, sealed for ten thousand years, will naturally open."

"The secrets hidden within will see the light of day once more!"

"And the solitary one shall finally behold that peerless emperor of ten thousand years ago with his own eyes."

...

The swirling heavy snow possessed a distinct geographical boundary.

Just a little further south, the heavy snow transformed into a fine drizzle, which gradually faded away entirely, leaving only heavy, brooding clouds rolling across the sky.

Carrying Zhao Huangting on his back, An Le hurried all the way toward the Canglang River.

The Yuan-Mongol Empire had reacted swiftly; numerous troops and powerful experts began searching and investigating to capture An Le and Zhao Huangting.

Although the Yuan-Mongol Emperor had let An Le leave, he had merely allowed him to depart from the Grand Capital.

This was already considered the Yuan-Mongol Emperor showing respect to that ancient emperor from ten thousand years ago.

After all, Zhao Huangting had traveled north to issue a challenge, mounted the city walls of the Yuan-Mongol Grand Capital, and departed unscathed without dying—this was naturally a slap in the face to the Yuan-Mongol Empire.

Therefore, while the Yuan-Mongol Emperor had given no explicit orders, the various intelligence agencies of the Yuan-Mongol Empire frantically disseminated news, and garrison cultivators in major cities soared into the air, intending to hunt down An Le and Zhao Huangting.

Yet, bizarrely, the two men seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.

Instead, Wan Jieliujun’s figure was discovered, drawing the pursuit of quite a few powerful experts.

However, hunting down a ninth-realm expert was no easy task.

As for the other individual—the Sacred Mountain's Sixth Mountain Master, who strolled leisurely through the northern lands—no experts of the Yuan-Mongol Empire were foolish enough to provoke him, leaving the grim-faced Sixth Mountain Master, who had hoped to draw away and divert the army's attention, with a rare expression of dissatisfaction.

The experts of the Yuan-Mongol Empire were genuinely baffled: where could a fifth-realm youth carrying a dying old man possibly hide?

Finding nothing after their searches, the Yuan-Mongol Empire's experts concentrated their forces primarily along the Canglang River defense line.

Since An Le and Zhao Huangting could not be found, they would simply wait for them to throw themselves into the trap; after all, the two men would inevitably have to cross the river to head south.

And since they had to cross the river...

The moment they showed their faces, their whereabouts would be exposed and known.

For a fifth-realm cultivator to break through the defense line...

Was absolutely not going to be an easy feat.

...

Canglang River, Southern Bank.

Inside the military camp of the Ye Family Army.

Ye Longsheng sat quietly inside his tent, clad in white robes, with the precious sword Jianghong slung across his waist. He was reading a secret report sent back by a scout in the northern lands.

Ye Wengxi stood quietly and obediently to the side in red robes.

"Grandfather, can we go support them?"

The moment Ye Longsheng put down the letter, Ye Wengxi immediately spoke up to ask.

Seeing the anxious and worried look on Ye Wengxi’s face, Ye Longsheng smiled rather helplessly: "It’s not that we won't go support them, but rather... we don't know how to support them."

"If we knew their whereabouts, we could mobilize our troops across the river to draw the attention of the Yuan-Mongol barbarians and ease the pressure of their river crossing."

"Yet An Le and the Old Imperial Uncle... seem to have vanished into thin air in the northern lands, and no one knows their whereabouts."

"The Old Imperial Uncle is understandable; the fires of Nirvana burned away his cultivation, reducing him to the equivalent of an ordinary mortal. A mortal without a shred of internal qi walking the vast northern lands is naturally like finding a needle in a haystack."

"As for An Le... he is a fifth-realm cultivator after all. Even with many ninth-realm experts scanning the area with their divine sense, they still couldn't find the slightest trace..."

Ye Longsheng stroked the Jianghong sword at his waist and said softly.

Ye Wengxi thought for a moment: "It must be because of that bamboo sword..."

"That bamboo sword, Qingshan, has the ability to conceal one's aura. Under the sword's concealment, I couldn't see through An Le's cultivation at all."

"Therefore, wielding this weapon and intentionally concealing one's aura, it is only natural that he is difficult to detect."

Hearing this, Ye Longsheng quite agreed with this explanation. Recalling the weapon An Le wielded, he could not help but think of the magnificent spectacle that had occurred outside the Yuan-Mongol Grand Capital under divine sense surveillance, as well as that world-shaking awakened will.

A sharp gleam rose in his eyes for a long moment.

"How can the Central Plains lack heroic spirit, and how can an alien dare style himself emperor... Well said! How indeed can the Central Plains lack heroic spirit? The rivers and mountains of the Central Plains are the ancestral homeland of all us Central Plains people."

Ye Longsheng said softly.

Pity that the Zhao family Emperor in Lin'an Prefecture thought solely of longevity and possessed not an ounce of ambition for a northern expedition.

He had clearly submitted so many memorials expounding that the present moment was the optimal time for a northern expedition, yet the Zhao family Emperor stubbornly refused.

Dragging things out would only become increasingly disadvantageous for the Great Zhao Dynasty.

The Yuan-Mongol Emperor was currently refining the Central Plains' ley lines; the longer they dragged it out, the more Yuan-Mongol prodigies would emerge, and the more powerful experts would appear, until finally they could no longer be resisted or contained.

Yet refining the Central Plains' ley lines was both an opportunity and a shackle for the Yuan-Mongol Emperor. It was the best opportunity for the Great Zhao Dynasty to launch a northern expedition, mustering national fortune to march north, which would inevitably disrupt the Yuan-Mongol Emperor's efforts to refine the ley lines.

And it might even carve a path to survival out of a dead-end game of chess.

"If only the Zhao family Emperor possessed a fraction of the Old Imperial Uncle's backbone..."

Ye Longsheng let out a light sigh.

"Grandfather, where do you suppose... An Le and the Old Imperial Uncle will go?"

Ye Wengxi harbored deep disgust for the Zhao family Emperor at this point and had no desire to hear a single word concerning him, prompting her to ask this instead.

However, before Ye Longsheng could formulate a reply, a swift arrow came hurtling through the air from outside the tent.

Ye Longsheng raised his hand and caught the shaft.

A document was attached to it.

Unfolding and glancing at the document, Ye Longsheng’s gaze suddenly tightened slightly.

"The location where An Le and the Old Imperial Uncle will cross the river heading south... we know it."

Ye Longsheng stood up, and the armor hanging on the rack instantly fitted itself onto his body.

He patted Ye Wengxi’s shoulder.

Then he stepped forward and strode out of the tent. No sooner had he emerged than two hurried figures met him head-on.

They were the eunuch and the imperial inspector dispatched by the Zhao family Emperor to monitor the military officers.

Seeing Ye Longsheng, the purple-robed eunuch's expression shifted slightly as he raised the imperial decree in his hand: "General Ye, His Majesty has an edict."

However, Ye Longsheng merely glanced sideways at the eunuch, as if he had long known what the edict would say, and therefore couldn't be bothered to care.

His qi and blood instantly surged into the clouds like a startled dragon, and his resonant voice echoed throughout the entire camp.

"Hear my order, Ye Family Army!"

"Form up! Prepare the ships! Let us go spar with the Yuan-Mongol barbarians and provide cover for Young Master An and the Old Imperial Uncle!"

"Cross the river!"