Chapter 1193: Turmoil at Incarceration Peak
Even the Xia Emperor found the intelligence from the Dao-Seeking Sect absurd when he thought back about it.
The Nine Palaces of the Luoshui Guard are all shrewd and capable. They have spent the better part of a year analyzing intelligence about the Heartless Creed day and night. It hasn’t been easy for them to pinpoint Yang Kongtong’s rough location, yet Lu Yang has already gotten rid of him.
Had it been unnecessary for Great Xia to establish the Luoshui Guard?
~~~
At the Dao-Seeking Sect, a new prisoner stood at the entrance of Incarceration Peak, lost in thought.
Despite all my fame and glory, I’ve been reduced to a miserable fate of imprisonment. How tragic and lamentable.
~~~
“Old Duan, does this line in my cultivation manual mean that we cultivators should be ascetic?” Mo Xiaochou, a Divine Transfiguration cultivator, asked Duan Qingshui, who had come in with him.
Both had been captured by Lu Yang at Xitian Temple and imprisoned in Incarceration Peak. Among the numerous formidable experts, Mo Xiaochou ranked last in cultivation, and Duan Qingshui was second to last. The two often exchanged cultivation insights. During their time confined in Incarceration Peak, though they couldn’t cultivate, their knowledge and life experience multiplied exponentially.
Duan Qingshui glanced at the line Mo Xiaochou was puzzled about and shook his head gently. He kindly suggested, “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask the Blood Devil Venerable Lord? He wrote this line, didn’t he?”
The Blood Devil Venerable Lord was the Imperial Preceptor toward the end of the Great Yu era. He could barely be considered a notable figure at Incarceration Peak, where Transcendent Tribulation cultivators were everywhere, and Fusion cultivators were worse than dogs.
This was precisely Mo Xiaochou’s intention. He then heard the hushed murmurs around him gradually escalate into an argument.
“What’s wrong with speaking a few words of truth? Why should I be scared of the Great Qian cultivators hearing it? You all be the judge—in what way does Great Qian surpass our Great Yu?” the Myriad Spells Daoist Lord clamored.
He had only been telling nearby prisoners about how decadent Great Qian was, but some Great Qian prisoners overheard him. His companions tried to hold him back from running his mouth, which instantly made him more disgruntled.
“Our Great Qian has far more half-immortals than your Great Yu!” the Thunder Arbiter Divine Lord retorted.
The Myriad Spells Daoist Lord looked down on the Great Qian Dynasty, and the Thunder Arbiter Divine Lord himself looked down on the Great Yu Dynasty just as much. If the two dynasties could clash across space and time, the Thunder Arbiter Divine Lord believed the Great Qian Dynasty would win by a landslide.
“Half-immortals?” The Myriad Spells Daoist Lord snorted contemptuously. “You have the nerve to flaunt Incipient Dao Fruits condensed from faith power? I could take on two of you watered-down half-immortals by myself!”
“Arrogant!”
Hearing this, the Timekeeper Divine Lord was even more incensed than the Thunder Arbiter Divine Lord. “You only lucked into becoming a half-immortal by relying on the Longevity Immortal Physique. What’s there to brag about when you were born with such an advantage? Despite having a Quintuple Spirit Root, I reached the Transcendent Tribulation Stage and was fortunate enough to be valued by Lord Fate Arbiter, who bestowed upon me an Epoch Incipient Dao Fruit.
“If you only had a Quintuple Spirit Root, it’d be doubtful whether you could even reach the Fusion Stage!”
“A Transcendent Tribulation cultivator who climbed his way up through murder and robbery—what’s your success worth?” Wu Youdao, the sixth Yu Emperor and the second most talented emperor of Great Yu, sneered. “The resources spent on you alone would have been sufficient for me to groom three Transcendent Tribulation cultivators!
“Wasting resources and squandering treasures; no wonder the Great Qian Dynasty declined with each generation, until we Great Yu took its place.”
Mo Xiaochou and Duan Qingshui found themselves caught in the middle, not daring to interject or ask about cultivation techniques now. They were cultivators from the Buddhist Kingdom, not belonging to either of Incarceration Peak’s two major factions.
Although the Buddhist Kingdom had three hundred thousand years of history, the most it had produced were a few half-immortals, never an immortal. They were not qualified to participate in this debate.
“You were just the tallest among a bunch of dwarfs. Just because you became a Transcendent Tribulation cultivator, you think you’re all that impressive and have the face to represent Great Yu?” The Nightmare Supreme Lord, who had ended the Great Qian Dynasty but was defeated by Wu Yao and Guan Shanhai, mocked. His experiences had left him with a grudge against the Great Yu Dynasty.
“Ha, you were the one who destroyed the Great Qian Dynasty, yet you have the face to stand on their side?” A Great Yu Transcendent Tribulation cultivator laughed, ruthlessly exposing his hypocrisy.
“A Transcendent Tribulation cultivator dares butt in?!” The Nightmare Supreme Lord snapped upon his sore spot being hit. In the outside world, a single glance from him could plunge his target into an endless dream from which they would never wake. But on Incarceration Peak, neither Incipient Dao Fruits nor spells and techniques could be used.
At this thought, the Nightmare Supreme Lord yanked off his shoe and hurled it through the bars of his cage, smacking the other person in the face and leaving a big shoe print.
The Great Yu cultivator was momentarily stunned before flying into a rage. A half-immortal means nothing in Incarceration Peak. Besides, I have Guan Shanhai backing me.
“How dare you hit me! Brothers, get him!”
Soon, a barrage of shoes flew toward the Nightmare Supreme Lord.
“You think only you, the Great Yu, have backup? Everyone, attack!” the Thunder Arbiter Divine Lord shouted.
Seeing the Nightmare Supreme Lord being bullied after standing up for Great Qian, the Great Qian cultivators couldn’t just stand by.
Incarceration Peak descended into chaos as everyone, from half-immortals to Fusion cultivators, joined the melee.
When the Great Qian side ran out of ammunition, the Thunder Arbiter Divine Lord had a flash of inspiration. He crumpled up the newspapers into balls and threw them at the opposing side.
The Dao-Seeking Sect valued human rights. Every time they printed newspapers, one copy would be sent to the prisoners on Incarceration Peak, keeping them informed of the outside world.
The Great Yu cultivators followed suit, crumpling their newspapers. The two sides engaged in verbal warfare as they hurled the paper balls containing their fury.
In an instant, paper balls flew everywhere like a snowball fight.
Suddenly, a paper ball landed on Guan Shanhai, who was resting on his side.
Both sides immediately fell silent, not daring to make another sound. They cursed inwardly at whichever careless fool had thrown the paper ball toward the Imperial Preceptor. Guan Shanhai himself had printed all these newspapers.
Guan Shanhai sat up. Beneath his calm eyes were waves of ire. He clutched the paper ball and enunciated every word. “Is this how you’re supposed to use the newspapers?”
He sat with his legs wide apart, his placid gaze sweeping over the Great Qian and Great Yu cultivators as he slowly uttered one word. “Disgraceful.”
Both sides trembled in fear. They lowered their heads, afraid of meeting Guan Shanhai’s gaze.
“And you still argue about whether Great Yu or Great Qian is stronger? What a laughable question. If Great Qian was so powerful, how did Great Yu replace it? Is such a silly question even worth debating?”
The Great Yu side secretly rejoiced. The Imperial Preceptor is on our side after all.
On the other hand, the Great Qian side felt their blood boil. They wanted to refute Guan Shanhai and say that Great Qian cultivators had gone into hiding to reduce the influence of faith power and that if they hadn’t, there wouldn’t have been any opportunities for Guan Shanhai and Wu Yao to rise.
The Thunder Arbiter Divine Lord and the Timekeeper Divine Lord wanted to speak up the most. They had followed the Midheaven Emperor-Lord and the Fate Arbiter in conquering the world and felt the deepest loyalty to Great Qian.
However, before an immortal, they harbored a deep-seated fear—a psychological trauma left by the Midheaven Emperor-Lord. Facing Guan Shanhai, who was also an immortal, they could never straighten their backs and dared not speak their minds.
“This will be your room.” Yun Zhi’s voice broke the strange atmosphere on Incarceration Peak, delivering a new prisoner.
The Fate Arbiter looked at his two trusted subordinates, the Thunder Arbiter Divine Lord and the Timekeeper Divine Lord, unsure of what to say. They must have been looking forward to me rescuing them, but I’ll have to disappoint them. I’m now trapped behind bars myself, unable to break free.
When the Thunder Arbiter Divine Lord and the Timekeeper Divine Lord saw the Fate Arbiter, tears welled up in their eyes.
“Lord Fate Arbiter, we’ve been looking forward to your arrival for so long. You’re finally here!”