Chapter 1275: The White Horse Dynasty
“I never imagined there to be living beings so close to our world.” Lu Yang, now clad in the attire of the White Horse Dynasty, strolled through the streets with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
He was among the first cultivators to venture outside. No approval process was even required.
Everyone was elated to arrive outside, each flying off in different directions to see what the outer world held.
Lu Yang stumbled upon a nearby star. “The White Horse Dynasty with a thousand years of history, huh? Interesting.” He temporarily named it White Horse Planet.
After a brief investigation, he had a rough grasp of the situation on White Horse Planet.
The White Horse Dynasty was the largest nation on this planet. The scattered states around it were either vassals of the dynasty or so distant that they had only just begun to develop the concept of nationhood.
The spirit qi here was so sparse that drawing qi into the body was a challenge. Hence, the people here had blazed a different path similar to the Dao of Body Refinement—the path of martial artists.
The three strongest martial artists were the Wulin[1] Alliance Leader, the dynasty’s Grand General, and the Chief of the Imperial Guards. They could lift boulders weighing several hundred jin and were regarded as gods by the common folk.
“The ‘Divine World’ in their legends likely refers to our own world.
“They must have seen the Spiritless Land shatter and suffered quite the fright. We should pay the emperor a visit and explain the situation to put the people’s minds at ease.”
“Why not just explain it to them directly? What’s with the investigation?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was perplexed.
Lu Yang shook his head. “Since we’re here with the intention of exchange, we should respect their customs and traditions. Only by understanding their history and culture can we minimize misunderstandings during our interactions. After all, we represent the cultivation world right now. First impressions matter; we mustn’t appear haughty and overbearing.”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy let out an “oh.” I still don’t understand what Xiao Yangzi is going on about. She pointed toward the imperial palace. “I saw them communicating with pretty high efficiency, so I was wondering if you could learn from them.”
At the moment, the imperial palace of the White Horse Dynasty erupted with a terrifying aura.
~~~
At the court assembly of the White Horse Dynasty, everyone from the emperor down to the officials was gripped by panic after last night’s horrifying spectacle.
They all wanted to know what had happened last night. Had the deities manifested? They pulled strings to ask the people in the Imperial Astronomy Bureau but still couldn’t get an answer.
“Minister Wang, what exactly caused the anomaly with the Divine World yesterday? Is it a blessing or a calamity?” The emperor had asked Bureau Director Wang this question multiple times the night before.
In the end, Bureau Director Wang could only tell him what he wanted to hear and declare it an auspicious omen. Hence, the emperor wanted him to repeat it before all the officials during the morning court assembly.
Bureau Director Wang smiled bitterly to himself, praying that it truly was an auspicious omen. If some disaster strikes now, my days as bureau director will be over.
All the officials were curious to hear his answer.
“Your Majesty...” Bureau Director Wang was just about to recite his lines from last night when a hearty laugh rang out.
“That’s definitely good news!” Three figures appeared out of nowhere, hovering above the imperial palace. They radiated a bizarre sacred radiance, like the deities of legend.
“Protect His Majesty!” The Chief of the Imperial Guards swiftly ordered his men to surround the emperor, watching the three figures warily.
At the sight of the Chief of the Imperial Guards, the three figures smiled. “So you’re Zhang Longhan, the one who can lift boulders of several hundred jin—one of the White Horse Dynasty’s three great experts?”
“Don’t be nervous. We mean no harm.”
However, they saw that the crowd remained tense, clearly not buying their words.
One of the three figures snapped his fingers. Everyone, including Zhang Longhan, floated helplessly into the air, completely powerless to resist. The strength he prided himself on was insignificant before these three. He was no different from a mortal.
The figure snapped his fingers again, and everyone was lowered back to the ground.
Flight—this is something only immortals are capable of. No matter how powerful a martial artist is, they could never fly!
“Allow me to introduce ourselves. We are three Fusion cultivators from Great Xia. I am the Cold Winter Daoist Priest, founder of the first-class Cold Winter Sect. These two are the Mystic Origin Daoist Priest and Daoist Priest Wen.”
The three had originally planned to proceed cautiously, but upon discovering the White Horse Dynasty, they realized that their concerns had been unfounded. There was nothing here that could pose a threat to them.
“What happened last night came as a surprise to us as well. Simply put, four great figures removed the seal on our world, allowing us to leave.”
The officials and the emperor dared not imagine what kind of people could possibly be worthy of being called “great figures” by these three.
“S-So that’s how it is...” the emperor stammered.
The Cold Winter Daoist Priest looked at the emperor warmly. “Actually, we have a small proposal. Since your White Horse Dynasty has a large population, I presume there are plenty of people with cultivation aptitude. They simply lack spirit qi.
“Could you gather all the children of the dynasty and let us test their spirit roots? If they’re willing to cultivate, they can come to our Cold Winter Sect!”
Although the Cold Winter Sect was a first-class sect, it didn't stand out. Furthermore, with the Prison Suppression Sect, an immortal sect, and the Qi-Commanding Sect, an S-class sect, in their vicinity, they had no competitive edge in recruitment. If they could snap up a few promising seedlings before other factions discovered this place, that alone would make this expedition worthwhile.
Seeing the emperor and the officials in a stupor, the Mystic Origin Daoist Priest transmitted an auditory message to the Cold Winter Daoist Priest. “Big Brother, you forgot to mention the benefits.”
“Oh, right, I got carried away and forgot that part.” The Cold Winter Daoist Priest cleared his throat. “Gathering all the children won’t be easy for you, so how about this? We’ll fulfill any request you have.”
“Any request at all?” the emperor asked gingerly, afraid of offending these immortal beings. “In that case, could you help us solve the problem of the rising coastlines?”
“That’s not even an issue. I’ll just freeze part of the ocean and create an ice continent. The sea levels will naturally recede.” Freezing part of the ocean was as trivial as lifting a hand for the Cold Winter Daoist Priest; it could hardly be called a request. “Do you have any other requests?”
“Could you help us deal with the Calamity Star? The bureau director says its presence is the reason our dynasty suffers from endless disasters.”
“The Calamity Star is a star? Where is it?” The Cold Winter Daoist Priest stroked his chin. This is a bit more challenging.
The bureau director quickly produced the Star Observation Diagram and pointed out the direction for the Cold Winter Daoist Priest.
It was the Cold Winter Daoist Priest’s first time seeing something like this, and he found it fascinating. “This diagram is not bad. Could you sell me a copy?”
We have been fretting over not knowing the way outside, and now a map has been delivered to our doorstep. Sure enough, good deeds really do get rewarded.
“It's yours, it’s yours,” the emperor said hastily.
The Cold Winter Daoist Priest’s trio studied the chart for a long while before finally figuring it out and locating the Calamity Star.
Executing Size At Will, he reached out a large hand and tore open the imperial palace’s roof. “The Calamity Star is in that direction, right?”
It was early morning, and the sky was just beginning to turn bright. The stars were still visible, with the Calamity Star twinkling. In truth, this was a perfectly normal astronomical phenomenon, but no one present understood that.
The Cold Winter Daoist Priest’s life-bound magical treasure was the Ice Bow. He drew it back, condensed an ice arrow, and fired it straight at the Calamity Star.
Before long, under everyone’s watchful gaze, the Calamity Star exploded and vanished from sight.
“Alright, that wasn’t too hard. It’s settled,” the Cold Winter Daoist Priest remarked with a smile.
Everyone collapsed to the ground in shock. W-what divine power is this? Drawing a bow and shooting down a star—this is completely beyond our comprehension. We are practically witnessing a myth come to life before our very eyes.
Suddenly, three jiao-dragons appeared above the imperial palace.
“Dragons! They’re dragons!” a minister cried out. In their legends, dragons were auspicious beings.
The Cold Winter Daoist Priest and his companions frowned. They recognized these three dragons from the East Sea Jiao-Dragon Tribe. Have they discovered this place too?
“I didn’t expect there to be so many mortals here.” The leader of the jiao-dragons acted as though he hadn’t seen the Cold Winter Daoist Priest’s trio and transformed into human form, helping the emperor to his feet.
“Apologies. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“I-It’s fine.”
“I believe Fellow Daoist Cold Winter has already explained our situation. Would your esteemed land be willing to accept the protection of our Jiao-Dragon Tribe? We can impart to you methods of longevity and cultivation arts and provide many other benefits.”
The Cold Winter Daoist Priest’s trio furrowed their brows. “Offering protection is just another way of expanding territory. Are you trying to make the White Horse Dynasty your fief? That’s not permitted!”
The jiao-dragon smiled. “If both parties are willing, what’s wrong with that? This White Horse Dynasty is not bad, perfect for relocating our people here.”
Three more Fusion cultivators appeared, radiating an almost imperceptible chill.
The jiao-dragon frowned. “Cultivators from the Extreme North?” They rarely had dealings with people from the Extreme North.
The three Extreme North cultivators approached the emperor. “You’re the emperor here? We would like to relocate some of our people to your land.”
“Fellow Daoist, you’re overstepping,” the jiao-dragon warned. The White Horse Dynasty is our territory. How can it accommodate migrants from the Extreme North?
The Extreme North cultivator sneered. “Overstepping? You just said it yourself. If both parties are willing, what’s wrong with that?”
The atmosphere in the imperial palace instantly turned frigid. Three factions—nine Fusion cultivators—had set their sights on the White Horse Dynasty.
“Shall we fight?”
“Who’s afraid of whom?!”
“Bring it on then!”
None of the three factions were willing to yield. Their eyes turned frosty as they began channeling their mystic arts.
The emperor and his officials were terrified out of their wits, stumbling about in panic and scrambling to flee.
“Oh? Let me see who wants to fight.”
A young man leaned against the doorframe, staring at the nine Fusion cultivators with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Who is it?!”
When they finally saw the young man’s face, the nine Fusion cultivators felt as if they had been doused with cold water, calming down in an instant.
It’s Lu Yang!
Lu Yang helped Bureau Director Wang to his feet and walked toward the three factions with a smile.
“Quite the imposing display, seniors. Have you forgotten the rules? When exploring outside, avoid disturbing the inhabitants of other stars as much as possible. Have you forgotten all that?
“One comes here to recruit those with favorable spirit roots, one comes to claim territory, and one comes to colonize the place—all of you are pretty capable, huh?!”
Reprimanded by Lu Yang, the nine Fusion cultivators lowered their heads, not daring to respond. In their eyes, Lu Yang was no longer just the number one prodigy; he was a bona fide Transcendent Tribulation cultivator, someone they dared not cross.
In the eyes of the emperor and the officials, Lu Yang was now shrouded in an even thicker veil of mystery. These nine divine beings with heaven-defying powers are scared speechless before this young man. Just who is he?!
“We allowed you to venture outside to see what the outer world is like, not to throw your weight around!”
Lu Yang turned around, intending to reassure the emperor and make clear that they came in peace and that everything would be fine with him here.
But before he could speak, the emperor deferentially raised the imperial jade seal above his head. “Your Excellency, our White Horse Dynasty is willing to submit to you.”
Lu Yang was silent. No, that’s not why I’m here.
1. Wulin refers to the martial arts circle and is part of the jianghu. ☜