Volume 5
Chapter 5 Part
2
Complexity and
Trickery, Friend-Fishing in the Lees 2
Translator : PolterGlast
―Princess Yingmei
At the same time as Li
Haoran's declaration, the sacred realm where Akira and the others were invited
began to shake.
A spiritual vein rose
up from under Haoran's feet, and a girl appeared from the dripping shadows.
Her white-fish-like
limbs were wrapped in a luxurious qipao with a black base. Her hairpin jingled
softly, and her dark eyes glared down at the guests (Akira and the others).
The rising divine
power undoubtedly caused Lingying and the others, excluding Akira, to kneel on
the floor.
Hiding behind them and
following their lead, Akira clenched the barrier talisman he had prepared in
his pocket.
Sealing his heart and
mind, Akira put all his strength into his concealment.
As Haoran had said,
this sacred realm was the divine pillar itself. It was unclear whether the
concealment would be effective, but it was better than nothing.
The emotionless eyes
reflected Akira,
―and then passed him by.
Was the gamble
successful or was he simply being overlooked? Akira breathed a sigh of relief,
clinging to the fact that Princess Yingmei's attention had shifted.
Unaware of the
struggle behind her, Lingying sharply turned her gaze to Haoran.
"You should
refrain from making such presumptuous remarks."
"An arrogant
disagreement befitting a teaching that only crowns the heavens.
Are you trying to say
that the Yuzenma Sect that only lurks on the ground is not worthy to have a
divine pillar?"
"That's not the
problem, is it? All the Yuzenma Sect received from Taiyuan Zhennü was a wind
hole in the ground and a divine artifact as proof of the Yuzenma Sect. It's the
height of arrogance to claim a great divine pillar, surpassing Taiyuan Zhennü,
the only divine pillar in Tsongma."
"―How brave, the
youngest daughter of the Dai Tian family."
Before Haoran could
respond to Lingying's accusation, a low voice echoed from the depths of the
darkness.
A small old man
emerged, standing there, seemingly out of nowhere.
"You've brought
me a lot of trouble at this busy time.
But I'm willing to
grant you a favor in return for seeing such a nostalgic face."
"It's been a
while, sect leader. ...Has it been two years?"
"About that. As I
get older, time flies by."
The old man, who
looked frail, sat down.
He stroked his
beardless chin, and his wrinkled old face twisted into a smile.
"Is Yu doing
well?"
"...My
grandfather passed away three months ago. My father has now taken over the
duties of the sect leader."
"I see. I don't
know if he's gone to heaven or nirvana, but he's probably running wild as he
pleases."
Mo Li Tao, the sect
leader of the Yuzenma Sect, laughed sadly at the news of the death of someone
he had known before the severance.
He took out a pipe
from his pocket and filled his lungs with purple smoke.
"With all due
respect, I have something I would like to ask you, Tao-sama."
"It's about
Princess Yingmei, isn't it?"
"―Sect
leader."
"It doesn't
matter. Since we can't hide it, it will be revealed sooner or later."
Haoran raised his
concerns, but he stepped back at the old man's gesture.
Beyond the smoky
vision, Dai Tian Lingying's gaze was resolute.
Looking up at Princess
Yingmei, whose emotions were unreadable, Lord Tao nodded.
The dragon veins, which
are raging torrents of spiritual energy, are not naturally allowed to be
handled by ordinary people.
However, just as there
are gentle currents in a great river, there are also gentle currents in dragon
veins.
These are the two
types: dragon holes, which are the source of spiritual energy, and wind holes,
where diverse spiritual energy gathers.
One obtains the
blessings of the nation through the dragon holes where the Great Divine Pillar
resides, and one obtains the blessings of the earth through the wind holes
where the local deities reside.
The problem is that
while there are many wind holes in Tsongma, there is only one dragon hole, the
hidden Kunlun.
Qingdao is a wind
hole, and it is not qualified to house a great divine pillar. However, it is also
true that the divine pillar before their eyes is emitting divine power that
sets them apart from local deities.
"What did you do
to the wind hole in Qingdao?"
"Well, to be
honest, I don't know either.
―All I know is that the local deity suddenly left around
the end of spring last year."
"What?"
Tao bit the mouthpiece
of his pipe, ignoring Lingying, who couldn't grasp the meaning.
His old throat
swallowed the smoke unpleasantly, and a small amount leaked out, clouding the
air.
Despite the outrageous
act of smoking tobacco in the sacred realm, Princess Yingmei showed no emotion.
"I heard that in
Rondaria they call this the Iron Age.
Right now, it's just
that the demons have decreased, but if we leave it like this, everything will
wither."
"Where did your
local deity go?"
"I don't know.
But Rondaria made a proposal, and we accepted it. We blocked the dragon vein of
the wind hole and forcibly brought down a divine pillar with the surging
spiritual energy.
―We were used as experimental subjects, but since we
had no other means, we couldn't complain."
In other words, they
brought the replacement for the departed local deity just for the convenience
of the people.
The meaning of Mo Li
Tao's words sank into Akira and the others' understanding, a breath later.
"Such absurdity.
What will the other sects think?
In the first place,
even if you say you brought down a great divine pillar, where did you bring it
from, and how!?"
"We haven't been
told either. ―But we were able to roughly understand the trick of the
Rondarians.
They brought in a
technique to seal the divinity from somewhere and sealed the exit of the wind
hole."
In essence, the idea
is the same as building a dam by blocking a river.
If the spiritual
energy continues to increase indefinitely, theoretically, the amount of water
alone should be able to reach the dragon hole.
"Artificial
dragon hole. ―But what about the divine pillar? Which divine pillar did you
place in Qingdao as Princess Yingmei?
Such an outrage. If
it's exposed in Kunlun, Taiyuan Zhennü's wrath will be unavoidable."
"It's a gamble,
but I think Taiyuan Zhennü will overlook our actions.
Because Princess
Yingmei is,"
"―Because she's
the same as Taiyuan Zhennü. Right? Tao-sama."
Akira interjected
before Tao could finish his sentence.
Perhaps out of
interest, one of the old man's eyebrows, etched with the white marks of time,
twitched.
"Hou. You've
managed to see through the mechanisms of our sacred realm."
"If that's your
reaction, at least I'm not off the mark.
Princess is a good
name. She's Zhennü's avatar, isn't she?"
Akira took Princess
Yingmei, who hadn't shown a shred of emotion since she appeared, into his field
of vision.
For a divine pillar,
its image is its very self, which can never be faked.
However, Princess
Yingmei, who stood beside Mo Li Tao, didn't feel like that at all.
It's not that she's
not interested. It's that she doesn't exist from the very beginning.
Even if she has the
status of a divine pillar, she doesn't have the "self" that forms the
foundation.
―Given the discrepancy in her being, there's only one
possibility that comes to mind.
"Perhaps it was a
direct connection between the artificial dragon hole and the divine artifact,
and the forceful elevation of the artifact to the status of a divine pillar.
...The original divine
artifact is probably the one gifted by the Six Sects.
"That's right.
The Jade Shadow Scripture, the divine artifact of the Yuzenma Sect, is the
origin of Princess Yingmei."
Dai Tian Lingying bit
her lip at the Yuzenma Sect leader's declaration.
Divine artifacts are
objects forged by divine pillars, separating their images.
If the existence
claiming to be the divine pillar before them was Qingdao's divine artifact,
then in a sense, it was equal to Taiyuan Zhennü.
The idea of treating
divine artifacts and divine pillars as tools was a unique way of thinking, not
only in Tsonma but also in the world.
Tao-sama's lips
twisted as he glanced at the shuddering Lingying.
"Knowing that the
other sects wouldn't accept it, Li also tried to eliminate his own younger
brother, who had become an outsider.
―It's been a while, Fengjun. Did you gain anything by
joining the Heavenly Sect?"
"...Yes. I gained
a lot. I would like to let you know if I have the opportunity."
"I'm busy right
now, so I'll look forward to that time.
Haoran. I'll leave the
rest to you. Help them leave the country."
"Please wait.
...The Rondarians have disappeared from Qingdao..."
The old man stood up
heavily and turned on his heel.
The old man's feet
stopped slightly at Lingying's question thrown at his back.
"Is it related to
the reason you said you were busy earlier?"
"What are you
talking about? Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) is just around the corner.
Our hardships have nothing to do with the people below.
...I don't know about
the Rondarians. But I feel refreshed that I haven't seen them lately."
The reply was short,
and he continued to walk without stopping.
The old back and
Princess Yingmei's figure disappeared into the darkness, and Li Haoran blocked
their path.
"That should be
enough, youngest princess of the Dai Tian family.
It's the sect leader's
intention. If you want to leave Qingdao, we'll be happy to cooperate."
Akira tilted his head
behind Lingying, who was relieved by the disappearance of the divine pillar's
pressure.
"Spring
Festival?"
"What is it? ―Oh,
you use the solar calendar.
Do you understand if I
say Lunar New Year?"
"Oh, the Lunar
New Year. In Tsongma, the year hasn’t started yet, huh?"
There was nothing
special about the conversation exchanged in whispers.
Contrary to their
initial concerns, the atmosphere remained calm. Nothing happened after that,
and Akira and the others finished their meeting.
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