Chapter 238: Chapter 127: Tranquility Amidst Chaos

After reading the letter, Wang Ping understood Xia Yao’s plan. She would likely make her appearance to save the Xia Dynasty, lead a great army to victory in the northern expedition, and then win the hearts of the people. At a critical juncture, she would absorb the fortune of the masses to proclaim herself Emperor.

However, this path would surely be besieged from all sides. Even with the support of Lishui Prefecture and the True Yang Sect, it would be fraught with immense difficulties.

"If I were Xia Yao, I’d prop up someone else to take the throne. For example, that disciple from the Imperial Family who follows her around isn’t a bad choice." Yu Lian, having read Wang Ping’s thoughts, offered a rather good suggestion.

"If it were you, would you do that?"

"I’m very powerful!"

Hearing this, Yu Lian somersaulted through the air and revealed her true form. Her true body was now over a hundred feet long, and she truly looked like a small white dragon.

In the training grounds, Shen Xiaozhu and Wang Yang stared at Yu Lian in shock. It was the first time they had ever seen her true form.

Wang Ping’s body floated up lightly and landed on Yu Lian’s back. He found a comfortable spot to lie down, gazed at the blazing sun in the sky, and said, "Let’s go fishing at Baisui Lake."

"Alright!"

Yu Lian cheered, then carried Wang Ping up into the clouds.

Before long, they landed beside Hu Qianqian’s Dao Field at Baisui Lake. There was a small pier here, built from rubble, where Wang Ping liked to come fishing in his spare time.

Outside the gate of a strange palace built against the mountain in the distance, a White Fox was playfully tussling with a smaller fox, comfortably kneading a soft cushion on a cloud bed. When it saw the massive body descending from the sky, it instinctively flattened its ears. But upon sensing Yu Lian’s aura, they both shook out their fur.

The little fox was the first to leap off the cloud bed. As it ran, its body transformed into a Fox Demon wearing a blue training uniform. Halfway there, however, she suddenly stopped and composed herself, for she had spotted Wang Ping jumping down from Yu Lian’s back.

Hu Qianqian in the distance did the same. She instantly transformed into her human form, and after leaping down from the cloud bed, she became a Cultivator with a serene temperament.

The members of the Water Race who had been playing in the lake all froze in unison. Their reaction was the complete opposite of Hu Qianqian’s and Hu Xin’s. They were terrified and tense upon seeing Yu Lian, but breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw Wang Ping jump down.

Seeing this tableau of different reactions, Wang Ping couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh. He then took his fishing gear out of his storage pouch and got busy. Hu Qianqian obediently sat beside him to brew tea, while Yu Lian dove back into the lake to play. At first, she played near where Wang Ping was fishing, but after he chided her, she moved farther away.

Wang Ping sat on that pier for a full day, only returning to the Mountain Peak Dojo the next day just before it was time for his morning exercises.

His cultivation routine did not change in the slightest because of Xia Yao’s letter.

Wang Ping had intended to discuss this matter with Yu Cheng Taoist, but he wasn’t in his small courtyard. After asking the courtyard attendant, Wang Ping learned that Yu Cheng Taoist had taken Zhang Xinghuai to Sanhe Prefecture the previous afternoon.

’There must be a new gathering.’

Wang Ping didn’t press the matter. He knew that since his master hadn’t told him, the gathering must not be anything important.

He continued his ascetic cultivation...

Before he knew it, the Spring Festival had arrived.

This Spring Festival, only Zuo Xuan, Hu Qianqian, and her disciple Hu Xin came to visit him. Liu Shuang was still on a mission for the Daoist Scripture Hall, while Liu Ling and Zhao Yu’er were already in seclusion. They would not emerge unless they broke through to the Entering Realm.

After the Spring Festival, Yang Hou came to the Mountain Peak Dojo as usual.

"Martial Uncle, there’s news about the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Wood you requested. I’ve already paid the deposit. It can be shipped from the Far East Continent via the Daoist Scripture Hall’s transport routes within half a year."

"Excellent!"

Wang Ping was overjoyed. He took stock of his assets again and allocated three million taels of silver to Yang Hou specifically for this task.

After Yang Hou left, Wang Ping looked at the lazy Yu Lian in the locust tree and said with a smile, "We can’t be lazy anymore. I have to finish making the puppets for the Soldier Talisman first."

"You make them. It’s not like I have to be busy."

"..."

「Two months later.」

Wang Ping’s cultivation fell into a repetitive daily cycle.

Every morning, after finishing his daily regimen, he would check on the flowers and plants in his courtyard. After breakfast, he would dive into his carpentry workshop and not emerge until the afternoon. In the afternoons, he sometimes savored tea, sometimes played chess, and sometimes received visitors. Zhang Xinghuai, for example, seemed to have ideas about breaking through to the Entering Realm, and recently, he would come to ask Wang Ping for guidance whenever he was free in the afternoons.

This routine continued until June.

The news of the northern defeat finally spread throughout Zhongzhou, shaking the entire realm.

Emperor Jianwu immediately issued an imperial edict of self-blame, taking all responsibility for the defeat. He provided for the families of the fallen soldiers and then held a grand sacrificial ceremony outside Shangjing City. He knelt before the altar for three days and three nights, begging for the forgiveness of Heaven and the people of the realm.

At the same time, the "truth" behind the failed northern expedition also surfaced.

A great demon was causing chaos!

It was a ridiculous reason, but the people of the realm believed it.

Many people had come to Qianmu Temple these past two days, and Yang Hou received most of them.

Wang Ping had Yang Hou console the visitors, then went to discuss the matter with Yu Cheng Taoist. Yu Cheng Taoist’s advice was to wait: wait for the situation to become clear, or wait for instructions from the Xiao Shan Lord.

’This was the way for minor figures to survive. At critical moments, one must never act rashly.’

This wait lasted for a month.

Lately, when Wang Ping performed his morning practice, he felt inexplicably irritable and restless. This was because the chaos in the realm was affecting the Inspiration Realm, which in turn affected the Spiritual Qi, making it more volatile than before.

This was why, in times of chaos, many sects chose to seal their gates—to prevent the turmoil from affecting their cultivation.

「The sixth day of the seventh month.」

In the morning, after Wang Ping finished his daily regimen, he went to the courtyard to tend to his flowers and plants. He suddenly had a premonition, so he took out the divination blocks he carried with him and cast them toward the courtyard gate.

However, he did not look at the result of the divination himself. Instead, he asked Shen Xiaozhu, "What is the trigram?"

"A Yin Trigram!" Shen Xiaozhu answered, a little nervously.

Hearing this, Wang Ping turned his head to look at the trigram at the courtyard gate. It was indeed a Yin Trigram. He frowned and then held out his hand.

Wang Yang quickly walked over, picked up the divination blocks, and handed them to Wang Ping.

He cast them again.

Still a Yin Trigram.

Just then, an attendant approached from outside the courtyard gate with his head bowed and reported, "Grandmaster, Mr. Zhang is outside seeking an audience."

"Let him in."

Wang Ping projected his consciousness outside the main gate. Zhang Xinghuai was wearing the long robes of a great scholar today, and beside him was a young man dressed in the clothes of a Scholar.

The young man beside him was Zhang Xinghuai’s direct disciple, Liu Huai, who was also Liu Zixiu’s great-grandson.

Liu Huai formally performed the salutation of a junior.

Afterward, Zhang Xinghuai got to the point. "Half a month ago, Emperor Jianwu summoned the Ninth Lady of Lishui Prefecture and restored her status as a Princess. If all goes as expected, Princess Xia Yao will take over as commander-in-chief of the northern expedition army in the middle of this month. At that time, the war in the Northern Land will no longer be merely conventional. I’m afraid Entering Cultivators will join the fray as well!"

After listening, Wang Ping fell into a long silence. When he finally spoke, he asked, "What is your Brother Su’s current situation?"