Script of Reincarnation

The days following the council meeting passed beneath an increasingly oppressive atmosphere.

Although the Lu Family remained outwardly calm, everyone could clearly sense that something had changed.

The news concerning the Divine Martial Hall and the Misty Cloud Sect spread throughout Canglan Prefecture like wildfire.

At first, only the upper echelons of the major cultivation families knew about it, however, as more information gradually leaked out, even ordinary Body Tempering cultivators and mortals began discussing the matter.

A Qi Sea Realm powerhouse had died and another had disappeared; such news was simply too shocking.

For ordinary cultivators, Qi Sea Realm experts were already figures akin to legends, standing at the summit of the Great Qian Dynasty, and even Essence Gathering cultivators could only look up to them.

Yet now, one had actually fallen.

For a time, countless cultivators throughout Canglan Prefecture became uneasy.

Some particularly cautious cultivation families even temporarily suspended long distance caravans and reduced their interactions with forces outside the prefecture.

Nobody knew whether the conflict would spread, nobody knew whether the missing Qi Sea elder was alive, and nobody knew what had truly caused the battle. The uncertainty itself was the most frightening part.

...

One month later.

A piece of news suddenly spread throughout the entire Canglan Prefecture:

The True Martial Sect has closed its mountain gates.

The moment this information emerged, the entire prefecture instantly stirred.

It was like a massive stone being thrown into an originally tranquil lake, causing countless ripples to spread outward.

The True Martial Sect had existed for hundreds of years.

Throughout all that time, although it had experienced numerous disturbances, it had almost never completely closed its mountain gates.

Even when several Essence Gathering Realm factions from nearby prefectures clashed in the past, the True Martial Sect had remained detached.

But now, they had actually sealed the sect.

There was only one possible explanation; the situation in Tiannan Province had become far more serious than everyone had originally imagined.

Inside the Lu Family’s council hall, another emergency meeting was quickly convened.

Lu Yang sat silently among the elders, his gaze fixed on the jade scroll in his hand.

The information recorded upon it was extremely brief: the True Martial Sect has sealed its mountain gates.

Yet, those few words were alarming enough.

The Family Head slowly raised his eyes.

"The situation has changed."

His first words caused everyone to fall silent.

The True Martial Sect was a branch of the Divine Martial Hall.

Although it had always maintained nominal independence, the relationship between the two was far deeper than outsiders knew.

Now that the Divine Martial Hall had clashed with the Misty Cloud Sect, the True Martial Sect had chosen to close itself off, which meant they were preparing for something.

Perhaps they were waiting for the storm to pass, perhaps they were protecting their foundation, or perhaps they were preparing for war.

The Internal Affairs Grand Elder frowned deeply.

"Should we send someone to inquire?"

The External Affairs Grand Elder immediately shook his head, "No."

His answer was decisive.

"At this moment, the less we know, the better."

Several elders nodded quietly.

Lu Yang remained silent as he also had the same opinion.

The Lu Family was simply too weak.

Regardless of what happened between the two Qi Sea Realm factions, they were completely unqualified to participate. The only thing they could do was protect themselves.

The Family Head finally sighed.

"Then continue according to our previous arrangements. Reduce external activities, strengthen the family defenses, and increase our reserves."

"Yes." The elders responded one after another.

The meeting soon ended, however, the sense of unease did not disappear, growing stronger instead.

...

As time passed, the matter became increasingly widespread.

It wasn’t merely Canglan Prefecture anymore, but the entire Wuyuan Province began discussing the conflict.

Soon afterwards, news spread throughout the Great Qian Dynasty.

The death of a Qi Sea Realm cultivator became the topic of countless discussions.

Some said the Divine Martial Hall had suffered a disastrous loss while others claimed the Misty Cloud Sect had secretly suffered an even greater injury.

There were even rumors that the missing Qi Sea elder had already died and that his corpse had been secretly taken away.

Naturally, nobody knew whether any of these rumors were true, yet one thing became increasingly clear; even Qi Sea Realm cultivators could die.

That realization alone produced an enormous impact.

To mortals, Qi Sea Realm experts were no different from gods and demons.

They could fly through the heavens, move mountains, destroy cities, and live for hundreds of years.

It was difficult to hear about the fall of one such being in an entire ordinary mortal lifetime.

Many mortals believed that once someone reached that realm, they had already escaped the cycle of ordinary life and death, but reality had now shattered that illusion.

They could still fight, get injured, and even die, and perhaps that was precisely what made cultivation so unfathomable.

The higher one climbed, the more terrifying the battles became.

At the same time, the Misty Cloud Sect began searching for their missing elder with all their strength.

Every Qi Sea Realm powerhouse was simply too valuable.

Even a force as powerful as the Misty Cloud Sect couldn’t casually accept losing one.

The Great Qian Dynasty itself had strict restrictions concerning the number of cultivators each major force could possess.

No matter how powerful a force was, unless it was the Emperor himself, there was a limit.

Even the various princes, generals, provincial kings, and other imperial factions could not possess more than ten thousand Body Tempering cultivators, one thousand Spirit Awakening experts, one hundred Essence Gathering powerhouses, and ten Qi Sea Realm supreme beings, much less those factions unaffiliated with the court.

These restrictions had existed since the founding of the dynasty.

Ordinary armies and weapons, however, weren’t restricted.

That was because before true cultivators, mortal armies were essentially meaningless.

A single Spirit Awakening cultivator could slaughter thousands of ordinary soldiers, an Essence Gathering cultivator could destroy an army of hundreds of thousands with a casual attack, and before Qi Sea powerhouses, even Essence Gathering cultivators could not protect themselves.

Thus, the number of supreme cultivators was what truly mattered.

On the surface, neither the Divine Martial Hall nor the Misty Cloud Sect possessed ten Qi Sea Realm cultivators. Losing even one represented an enormous blow.

Naturally, the Misty Cloud Sect couldn’t simply remain silent.

Their search extended throughout Tiannan Province, several Essence Gathering cultivators were dispatched, and even other Qi Sea Realm elders personally made a move, yet the missing elder remained nowhere to be found.

Half the Great Qian Dynasty gradually became tense.

Everyone was waiting, waiting for the Imperial Court to intervene.

After all, the Divine Martial Hall and Misty Cloud Sect were not ordinary factions.

If they truly launched an all out war, the consequences would be disastrous.

Tiannan Province had the strongest cultivation environment in the entire dynasty aside from the Imperial Capital.

Its Mysterious Grade Spirit Vein continuously produced enormous quantities of Spirit Qi, and thousands of cultivation factions had been established there.

If the two overlords fought without restraint, countless innocent mortals and cultivators would inevitably be dragged into the conflict.

Mountains would collapse, cities would be destroyed, and Spirit Veins could even be damaged.

Once that happened, the consequences would no longer be limited to Tiannan Province, and the neighboring provinces would inevitably suffer.

Even the Imperial Court could not ignore such a situation.

And indeed, the Imperial Court eventually moved.

Two months later, an astonishing piece of news spread throughout the dynasty.

An important eunuch from the East Factory had personally entered Tiannan Province carrying an imperial decree.

More importantly, he was also a genuine Qi Sea Realm powerhouse!

The moment this news emerged, countless cultivators secretly gasped.

The Imperial Court had finally revealed its fangs, sending a Qi Sea powerhouse to personally intervene.

Nobody knew what happened after that as the details remained completely confidential.

However, not long afterwards, the Divine Martial Hall and the Misty Cloud Sect simultaneously became quiet.

Neither side continued escalating the conflict, the search for the missing elder gradually became less public, and the two factions even reached some sort of tacit agreement.

To outsiders, the storm had finally subsided, causing the nearby provinces to breathe sigh of relief.

Canglan Prefecture also slowly returned to normal.

The Lu Family’s restrictions were gradually relaxed, caravans once again traveled outside the province, cultivation families resumed their ordinary activities, and the True Martial Sect eventually reopened its mountain gates.

Everything seemed to return to normal.

Yet, Lu Yang couldn’t completely relax.

Inside his courtyard, he sat beneath the pavilion, quietly reading the latest jade scroll.

At this moment, his brows were slightly furrowed.

The information contained within wasn’t particularly different from what everyone already knew.

The Imperial Court had intervened, the Divine Martial Hall and Misty Cloud Sect had temporarily stopped, and the Tiannan Province had stabilized.

Nothing seemed wrong, but Lu Yang couldn’t shake off a strange feeling.

Two Qi Sea Realm forces had fought to such an extent that one elder died and another disappeared, yet after the Imperial Court sent one Qi Sea Realm eunuch, everything suddenly stopped?

Perhaps that was indeed the authority of the Imperial Court, and maybe they did possess enough strength to suppress both factions.

However, Lu Yang still felt that something was missing.

He slowly placed the jade scroll down.

"Something isn’t right."

Bai Qinglan, who was sitting nearby, looked over.

"What?"

Lu Yang shook his head.

"I don’t know."

He couldn’t explain it; it was merely an instinct.

Perhaps it was because of his experiences, making him believe everything was a conspiracy, or perhaps it was the perspective of a transmigrator from a modern society, but that was indeed how he felt.

Perhaps this was the advantage of having memories from other lifetimes.

Still, there was nothing he could do.

He was only a Third Stage Spirit Awakening cultivator.

Even Essence Gathering Realm cultivators had no qualifications to participate in such a matter.

Qi Sea Realm?

That was a world completely beyond him.

...

Two years passed quietly.

The matter that had once shaken the entire Great Qian Dynasty gradually became history.

Occasionally, cultivators still mentioned the clash between the Divine Martial Hall and Misty Cloud Sect, sometimes wondering whether the missing Qi Sea elder was still alive or the reason behind the conflict.

However, most people had already returned to their ordinary lives, after all, cultivation was an endless road.

There were always new conflicts, opportunities, and deaths.

Even the fall of a Qi Sea Realm powerhouse could only remain the center of attention for a certain period of time.