The Emperor Reigns Them All-Chapter 396 - Shuddering
Chapter 396 Shuddering
When Feihong Bodhisattva retrieved the Jade Vase, Li Ye came before her. After glancing at the vase, he said with folded hands, “Thank you for your help.”
Feihong Bodhisattva said lightly, “I’m not helping you.”
Li Ye smiled and said, “Are you helping yourself?”
Feihong Bodhisattva looked at Li Ye aboveboard and said naturally, “You’re my lucky chance and good for my cultivation, so I don’t want you to die so early.”
Li Ye nodded and said with no modesty, “I can’t refute that.”
It was true. After Feihong Bodhisattva entered the secret region, her cultivation was significantly improved. As Zhang Ji’s deputy, although He Jingcheng’s cultivation and fighting ability were lower than Feihong Bodhisattva’s, Feihong Bodhisattva couldn’t defeat him so easily before entering the secret region.
Otherwise, when Chen Jizhen and Huang Jingyuan appeared, Feihong Bodhisattva could have resolved them easily. Then, there wouldn’t be the battle in the secret region.
Li Ye was getting more and more powerful in the secret region, so was Feihong Bodhisattva.
After Li Ye comprehended the Tao of Yin and Yang, he could use the “Purple Qi Yin and Yang” very smoothly. Feihong Bodhisattva’s movement seemed casual, but it was full of the power of the Tao of Yin and Yang so that He Jingcheng couldn’t resist at all.
However, even though Li Ye couldn’t refute it, it didn’t mean there was no mistake.
Feihong Bodhisattva noticed Li Ye’s eyes. “Are you interested in my wine pot?”
The wine pot she said referred to the Jade Vase. It was a famous Magic Treasure in the immortal territory. She seldom used it to fight, but often used it as a wine pot in daily life.
Many Great Cultivators had a grievance about the way she used the Jade Vase and criticized that she misused it, but Feihong Bodhisattva never cared.
The Jade Vase could be filled with a lot of wine, enough to drink forever. Common Magic Treasures couldn’t be so powerful. It was good and suitable for a lover of wine.
Of course, Li Ye wouldn’t say that he was very thirsty for the Jade Vase. After all, in the previous battle, a few drops of water from the willow branch made He Jingcheng retreat in a panic not only because of the improvement of Feihong Bodhisattva’s strength but also because of the power of the Jade Vase.
Li Ye said earnestly, “I probably want to drink wine.”
Upon hearing this, Feihong Bodhisattva smiled immediately.
In fact, the biggest loneliness of drunkards was that no one drank with them. However, instead of throwing the Jade Vase to Li Ye, she said slowly, “Don’t you feel embarrassed that I always invite you to drink?”
What she said was true. Since they entered the secret region, Feihong Bodhisattva always invited Li Ye to drink wine. After all, Li Ye wasn’t so interested in the wine that he wouldn’t always carry it.
Li Ye smiled and said, “Then, how about going to Taiyuan? I heard that the specialty of Taiyuan, ‘Ten Step Drunk’ is the rare good wine. It’s strong and fragrant.”
Feihong Bodhisattva said, “Let’s go now!”
Li Ye ordered all the demons, Nangong Diyi, and the others. “Retreat and return to Taiyuan!”
Then, they flew to Taiyuan together.
As Feihong Bodhisattva went with Li Ye, “the enemy of Land Buddhism”, the monks of Land Buddhism looked at each other and couldn’t figure out what was on Feihong Bodhisattva’s mind.
However, ordinary people couldn’t understand what was on her mind. They were at different levels. The arhats’ realm was too low to understand that. Therefore, they had no choice but to keep up.
Nangong Diyi caught up with Li Ye and asked, “The people brought by Zhang Ji are more powerful than 72 Earth Devils. Although Zhang Ji is dead now, the cultivators he brought are still there. Will they follow us?”
Nangong Diyi’s concern was reasonable. The cultivators brought by Zhang Ji were very powerful. Even if Li Ye was in his prime, he wasn’t sure that he could deal with them. After all, it was difficult for him to deal with He Jingcheng, and what was more, he was very weak now.
But Li Ye was not worried at all. He glanced at Feihong Bodhisattva and said, “Don’t worry. They dare not.”
What he meant was that they didn’t dare to take action for the time being because Feihong Bodhisattva was here.
Nangong Diyi nodded and felt relieved. But his worries didn’t go away entirely because he didn’t know what Feihong Bodhisattva was going to do.
“The Pinglu Army occupied Taiyuan. Li Keyong retreated to Daibei. The core base of Land Buddhism in the Tang Empire is going to collapse. Will Feihong Bodhisattva help Li Keyong fight back?”
“This is about the plan of Land Buddhism.”
“Moreover, the competition for the Luck of heaven is over. How long will Feihong Bodhisattva stay in Hedong?”
“How long will the Immortal Court allow Feihong Bodhisattva to stay in the Tang Empire?”
Li Ye didn’t seem to think of it or worry about it.
The altar in Taiyuan.
The sacrificial ceremony was over, and the officials and generals left in succession. Leaning on the stone steps, Chu Nanhuai was sweating and panting. He looked exhausted and weak.
When Li Ye absorbed the power of the Tao of Heaven in the secret region, it caused a serious anomaly. However, when the altar in Taiyuan communicated with the Tao of Heaven in the secret region, it didn’t cause any anomalies. For ordinary people, it was just a common sacrificial ceremony.
Only Chu Nanhuai, who hosted the sacrificial ceremony, could understand the danger.
Standing on the stone step, Li Xian quietly looked at the eastern sky with his hands clasped behind his back. A long time later, he said to Chu Nanhuai, “Is the matter really settled?”
Although his skills were extraordinary, he was still in the “human” level. He could charge or capture cities with the army, but he couldn’t personally experience the mysterious things in the Immortal Realm.
Chu Nanhuai didn’t answer, nor did he need to, because Li Ye, Feihong Bodhisattva, and the others arrived at the altar successively as the long rainbows flew from the sky.
Chu Nanhuai stood up and patted the dust on his robe. He saluted to Feihong Bodhisattva. “Feihong Bodhisattva.”
When Feihong Bodhisattva looked at Chu Nanhuai, her expression changed slightly, but she didn’t say anything more than a slight nod.
Li Ye knew that at Feihong Bodhisattva’s level, she wouldn’t respond to ordinary people’s worship, but she responded to Chu Nanhuai’s salute. It was not only rare but also strange.
Li Ye looked at Chu Nanhuai differently. He knew that the browned cloaked Taoist was not common and that the White Deer Sect was very mysterious. Now it seemed so.
Li Ye walked to Chu Nanhuai, put his arm around Chu Nanhuai’s shoulder, and took him aside. Leaning closer, he whispered, “Tell me honestly, what is the White Deer Sect, and who are you?”
The browned cloaked Taoist looked like a scoundrel and didn’t intend to say more. “Your Highness, I don’t understand what you mean. The White Deer Sect is just a sect for cultivation, and I’m just a poor Taoist.”
Speaking of this, he immediately flattered Li Ye with a bright smile. “Since the White Deer Sect wants to develop and become the first sect in Pinglu in the future, we need to rely on you!”
Li Ye sneered and tightened the old Taoist’s neck. Gnashing his teeth, he threatened, “If you don’t explain it clearly today, you will not have wine to drink for a month! Don’t make a fool of me. From defeating the Buddhist Guardian Deities and the 800 monks’ corps on Fengqi Mountain to helping the Pinglu Army occupy Taiyuan, you always appeared at the most critical time and brought the power to turn things around!”
“It’s no exaggeration to say that I would be defeated several times and reincarnated without you!”
“I also heard that whenever the world is in chaos, the White Deer Sect will go out into the world and its disciples will become famous all over the world. It’s common that they will be promoted or granted a noble title. Because of this, the White Deer Sect is known as the fifth sect in the world, apart from Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Militarism! Even with such achievements and influence, there are only seven disciples in each generation of the White Deer Sect! Do you still want to say that it’s just a common sect?”
“There are thousands of disciples in Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, or Militarism. The Taoist sect has the Immortal Court as its peak force, and Buddhism has Land Buddhism. The White Deer Sect can stir up the situation in the world. If it has no extraordinary force in the immortal territory, who will believe that? Especially this time, you helped me so much that it affected the world’s situation, in a sense, it directly decided the world’s trend!”
“If you say again that you are just a common old Taoist, I will dig your sect and let you farm!”
Li Ye was tightening Chu Nanhuai’s neck. A while later, Chu Nanhuai’s face turned red.
When Li Ye loosened his arms, he immediately covered his throat and coughed. He cried out in protest. “I’m very old now, but you treat me rudely. Shouldn’t you respect and care for elders?”
Li Ye squinted at him and sneered, speechless. It seemed that whatever Chu Nanhuai said, it wouldn’t distract him.
However, Chu Nanhuai still stuck his neck and didn’t intend to tell the truth.
His fearless look made Li Ye very angry.
This time, he didn’t hold the other side’s neck but said coldly, “In the chaos, the world is at war. To cope with the chaotic world, to safeguard the interests of their own sect, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Militarism have made arrangements in advance. They want to get the first opportunity, make achievements in the chaotic world, and affect the world’s Luck.”
“The Taoist sect has the Immortal Court, so they’re the most arrogant, but they also made many immortals reincarnated. Because of my presence, the situation changed very fast, and many reincarnated immortals didn’t grow up. Therefore, the Taoist sect was blocked everywhere. Even so, the Immortal Court successively sent Great Cultivators down to the human world through Kunlun and began to deal with me directly.”
“Buddhism colluded with Li Keyong and secretly expanded the number of cultivators to form 18 Guardian Deities. In addition, western Buddhism sent 36 arhats and 800 monks’ corps into Shenzhou directly. They wanted to compete for the hegemony with the Taoist sect during the Huang Chao Uprising!”
“As early as when I took office in Pinglu, I knew that Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Militarism, and all the people with lofty ideals in the world, including the greenwood heroes, began to make secret arrangements, in order to cope with the chaotic world.”
“As the situation develops, the arrangements of Taoism and Buddhism shows, but the arrangements of Confucianism and Militarism don’t! Compared with Taoism and Buddhism, Confucianism and Militarism hiding in the dark are scary. I think they must have a big plan and that it will likely be earth-shattering!”
“At present, heroes rise in the Tang Empire, and wars begin everywhere. For these people, the Tang Empire has to fall, the world has to be thoroughly chaotic, and the old order has to collapse completely so that they will have the opportunity to take over the world, create a new order, and make great achievements.”
“As Prince An of the Tang Empire, I have the emperor’s trust and 100,000 troops. When I suppressed Hedong, hundreds of thousands of troops followed. It seems that I’m awe-inspiring, and no one can compare with me in the world. Unconsciously, however, I become the target of the whole world, and many forces with evil intentions are spying on me!”
“If I don’t die, the Tang Empire will not collapse. Then, they won’t succeed.”
“Under the circumstances, Confucianism and Militarism still keep a low profile. What are their intentions and arrangements? When and how will they take action? How can we not be afraid?”
“Moreover, the whole world looks like a great mystery and an abyss hidden beneath dark clouds. It makes one shudder at the thought!”
Speaking of this, Li Ye took a deep breath. He looked at Chu Nanhuai with sharp eyes. “So, I ask you again what the arrangement of the White Deer Sect is.”
