Chapter 420: Chapter 419: Da Xia’s Reform, the Old Versailles
The journey home was short.
Before long, Li Jing and Jiang Yini had returned to Longyu’s base and had contacted Ji Youyu to meet at the Heavenly King Group’s camp for a briefing.
Through Ji Youyu, the two learned that within a single day, Da Xia Imperial City had become a gathering storm of events, with multiple instances of instability.
Fortunately, Xia Qianqian managed to withstand the pressure in the end.
She proved quite adept at playing her part.
She used her designation as the Heavenly Saint Guardian’s chosen one and branded herself as a ruler chosen by destiny, playing the royal mandate card.
But this was just to fool those with outdated views.
What really grounded Xia Qianqian was her bold initiative to enact several reforms shortly after being named the successor to the Da Xia Regal Authority. She deliberately requested a copy of the laws currently in effect in the Present World from Longyu as a reference, and abolished all the unfair laws of Da Xia.
One regulation was crucial.
No longer were cultivators superior to ordinary people.
Everyone in Da Xia was now equal, and no one, not even those in the royal family, had special privileges anymore.
Her decree hadn’t even been implemented yet when it immediately received widespread adulation from the commoners of Da Xia’s Earth Realm, who had long been oppressed.
How does the saying go?
Win the people’s hearts, and you win the world.
Citizens of Da Xia, who initially didn’t care who the emperor was, became die-hard supporters of Xia Qianqian one after another when they learned about the reforms that directly affected them.
If it were the Da Xia of the past, things wouldn’t have been so simple.
After all, sixty percent of Da Xia’s population practiced the Sky Demon Great Method and were the owners of these privileges.
Even if Xia Qianqian’s reforms earned the support of forty percent of the ordinary citizens, any radical change would still end up stillborn, and she might even lose her emperor’s position.
Not just Da Xia cultivators, but also powerful sects, would not turn a blind eye to this.
However, times have changed.
Shi Miaoying summoned the Sky Demons, causing almost total annihilation of Da Xia’s military force, leaving only a few "unfortunate" cats and kittens stationed in the imperial city. Moreover, the previously thriving sects were completely wiped out, with only a few disciples surviving, descending cultivators who didn’t get a chance to fight the Beast Tide.
Under these circumstances, could they create any waves?
Those who previously constituted the majority and seemed powerful were now in the minority, and it required strength to cause trouble.
While Xia Qianqian herself didn’t have much strength, and with her initial entry into the Immortal Path’s cultivation level, she couldn’t even defeat a someone from the Second Realm, she had Li Jing’s designation as the "guardian".
It’s not that there weren’t people who were restless.
However, the devastating might of the World Thunder Punishment was deeply ingrained in the minds of those in the imperial city who had the opportunity to vie for the emperor’s position.
During this time, Xia Qianqian also played it smart.
She didn’t rush to promote the cultivation methods of the Present World, allowing the ordinary people, who potential was high but wasn’t compatible with the Sky Demon Great Method, to get involved in cultivation. She avoided making those who practiced the Sky Demon Great Method feel threatened, give them the illusion that they could "change their fate" if they improve their cultivation level one day.
That Xia Qianqian herself had entered cultivation was no secret.
Many people within the court and the countryside knew about it.
But since she was late to begin, it was widely believed that no matter how much she practiced the cultivation methods of the Present World, she wouldn’t make any significant progress in this life.
By contrast, though the Beast Tide caused a commotion, the gathering of Netherstones proceeded as planned.
As long as they waited for the Netherstones gathered from the frontline fighting to be brought back, they would have ample opportunities to improve steadily.
In this respect, Xia Qianqian also reaped some benefits.
The power of the sects had completely collapsed.
All the Netherstones that had fallen due to Shi Miaoying’s actions were to be owned by Da Xia.
However.
This had to be exchanged for benefits.
After all, Da Xia itself had collapsed completely.
Most of the harvested Netherstones would fall into the hands of the forces of the Present World. Essentially, they were successful in defending against the Beast Tide.
Xia Qianqian would have to buy Netherstones from the various forces in the Present World through trade.
The sacrifices made during the process were naturally not small.
But through trading, those forces in the Present World that were deterred by Li Jing’s "Divine Might" and didn’t dare to stir up trouble, but couldn’t stop having some ideas, could reluctantly stand down.
Xia Qianqian put forward proposals for various forms of cooperation with Longyu and the Northern God Kingdom, and had sent envoys to discuss the plans overnight.
However, the benefits couldn’t only be given to Longyu and the Northern God Kingdom.
To stabilize the current situation in Da Xia, the support of just two forces would not be enough.
The more assistance, the better.
Even if they didn’t get any help, it was better than adding chaos.
Looking back.
With a large amount of Netherstones in hand, the remaining Da Xia cultivators would have only one path to choose, to take refuge in Xia Qianqian and be used by her.
Although giving Netherstones to Da Xia cultivators to improve their cultivation level was a return to old habits, this was a "worm" she had to raise.
Da Xia was already severely ill.
Shi Miaoying’s actions had only brought temporary relief to chronic ailments.
But curing them completely isn’t a task that could be accomplished in a day or two.
The implementation of the Orthodox Immortality Path cultivation method couldn’t yield results in the short term either.
To restore the prosperity of Da Xia, "raising the worm" was a must.
In terms of ruling a country, it must be said that Xia Qianqian did have some tricks up her sleeve.
...
Two days passed quickly.
During these two days, Jiang Yini was busy with Ji Youyu, doing God knows what.
On the other hand, Li Jing swiftly transformed into a bystander, hiding in the Heavenly King Group’s camp without stepping out.
Even besides Jiang Yini and Ji Youyu, no one at Longyu’s base knew he was there.
When it came to lazing around, Li Jing was an expert.
What bothered him, however, was.
Liu Sisi still hadn’t achieved a breakthrough.
There weren’t any other major issues. The key was that he needed to promptly return the books from the Tianque Palace Library to Shi Miaoying.
Although he didn’t contact Shi Miaoying during these two days, she was probably looking forward to it.
After two days of settling in, the situation had begun to stabilize.
Xia Qianqian wasn’t in a hurry to implement the cultivation methods of the Present World, but she needed to start nurturing her own foundation quietly.
The sooner the training started, the sooner she could carry out in-depth reforms in the future.
Only a few cultivation methods that Li Jing gave her weren’t enough to offer several options for practitioners, and none of them were related to magic skills.
...
Noon.
Heavenly King Group camp.
Li Jing lay listlessly in the tent, pondering over a book about formations in his hand.
With the max level of Reverse Space, he’d successfully mastered the Seven-Star Formation.
Given his deep understanding of the Seven-Star Formation, his knowledge about their ways experienced a significant increase.
The various formation maps that used to be cryptic and daunting, he could now make some sense of.
These past two days, Li Jing was engrossed in studying the ways of formations.
Formations were not at all ostentatious.
The more he read, learned, and understood, the more progress he made naturally.
Of course.
The premise was that you needed to understand what you were looking at.
Simply looking at something you know nothing about is of no use.
His understanding of the Seven-Star Formation provided Li Jing with a solid foundation.
In just two days, he had successfully mastered over a dozen simple formation positions.
Although they weren’t particularly useful, his understanding of the way of formations was gradually deepening, making his future quite promising.
While engrossed in reading, Li Jing suddenly sensed something.
Liu Sisi had broken through.
Without a second thought, Li Jing entered the Little Universe with a thought.
Heavenly Palace.
Liu Sisi, who had just broken through, hadn’t yet opened her eyes, and was busy consolidating her realm.
In terms of talent, she was not lacking.
And, just like Jiang Yini, she, too, had a unique physique.
But when it came to cultivation, she lacked quite a bit of experience.
Unlike Jiang Yini who could bounce around instantly after a breakthrough, she couldn’t.
It wasn’t that Jiang Yini didn’t need to consolidate her realm after a breakthrough, only that she had better control over her power, and didn’t need to deliberately consolidate it; letting her body naturally adapt to the growing power within itself.
Seeing Liu Sisi consolidating her realm upon entering, Li Jing wasn’t impatient and while waiting by her side, he sent Jiang Yini out with a thought.
Jiang Yini had a keen sense of time.
When she said two days, she meant two days.
In two days, she had made all the necessary arrangements.
Early this morning, she ran to Li Jing and requested to enter the Little Universe to observe the Heritage Stele.
After all, while waiting around, wasn’t it more enjoyable to participate in Qingyuan Fairy Palace’s Heritage Stele than to stare blankly with Li Jing?
Jiang Yini darkened her face when she was abruptly sent out of the Little Universe.
However, she understood that Li Jing sent her out because Liu Sisi had awakened.
Without any delay, she pressed her communication earpiece to contact the Research Institute.
...
Over an hour later, Liu Sisi opened her beautiful eyes after stabilizing her realm.
Seeing a certain someone by her side when she opened her eyes, she smiled sweetly.
"Husband, I’ve broken through."
"Coincidentally, so have I."
Li Jing smiled.
"..."
Liu Sisi.
Li Jing didn’t follow the oxymoron routine to congratulate her, but instead hit her with an "I also did."
This casual humblebrag left her absolutely dumbstruck.
The critical point was that she was well aware that he was already a Seventh Realm power, comparable to Guardian Gods.
He broke through...again?
Liu Sisi looked at Li Jing, her mouth agape, and confirmed, "So, you’re...in the Eighth Realm now?"
"Mm."
Li Jing smiled faintly, extending his hand to help her up from the ground.
"A lot happened while you were in seclusion, we’ll talk about that later. I came across some fortune, not only have I broken through, but I am also only a step away from entering the Ninth Realm."
"..."
Liu Sisi.
Li Jing rarely discussed cultivation with her, but he never deliberately concealed his true cultivation level.
He never lied to her.
Therefore, he was indeed just a step away from entering the Ninth Realm.
How could she not be disoriented?
"Finally" having made a breakthrough and stepped into the Fifth Realm through arduous study, Li Jing was on the brink of entering the Ninth Realm.
Ninth Realm!
This was the realm that everyone in the world knew about but had no idea who had ever reached!
As a member of the Liu family, one of the Seven Great Families.
She knew well that there were no living beings in the Eighth Realm in the current world.
What on earth did she marry?
After a while of silence, Liu Sisi pouted.
"I’m kind of not in the mood to talk to you right now."
Facing her somewhat miffed outburst, Li Jing was dumbfounded, then laughed it off.
"I’ll take you to see something good."
Soon after, with a thought, he brought Liu Sisi to the location of the Qingyuan Fairy Palace’s Heritage Stele.
The sight of the Heritage Stele left Liu Sisi momentarily stunned.
By stepping into the Fifth Realm, her perceived understanding of it had improved.
She could tell at a glance how extraordinary the stele was.
The Heritage Stele was surrounded by Linglong, Qingfeng, and Smoke Eye, the three spirit weapons, who were sitting cross-legged, appearing to be in deep comprehension and digestion. It would be hard for her to miss this.
She looked around at the majestic and ancient palace, a strange expression on her face as she asked in a low voice.
"Is this still your Little Universe?"
"Yes."
Li Jing responded, lowering his voice as well to avoid disturbing his three spirit weapons.
"I found this Immortal Palace by accident and also retrieved a remnant soul with it."
"..."
Liu Sisi was taken aback.
Finding an Immortal Palace by accident... Usually, she was blindly confident in Li Jing but she truly had a hard time believing this unbelievable story.
But Li Jing did not care, he turned and called out softly.
"Longxu."
As his voice faded, Longxu made his appearance.
Upon seeing someone leading a beautiful woman before the Heritage Stele, looking much more intimate than Jiang Yini, Longxu respectfully bowed and greeted her.
"I am Longxu, I meet my mistress."
Longxu’s greeting was quite impressive.
Liu Sisi wasn’t startled by the sight of Longxu’s phantom-like form, instead, she was shocked by the energy he projected.
This remnant soul was far from ordinary.
Seeing him call her his mistress, Liu Sisi flicked her eyes twice and gently nodded.
"Hello."
Having seen them exchange greetings, Li Jing began to speak in a gentle voice.
"Sisi, the stele here not only contains the heritage of Qingyuan Fairy Palace, but also enhances comprehension. Yini had some clear insights here and gained a lot. You can sit down and ponder. If you have any questions, you can ask Longxu. I need to arrange for the books from Tianque Palace to be scanned and returned to the Research Institute."
Liu Sisi knew about Li Jing intending to return the books from Tianque Palace.
Upon hearing what he said, she obediently nodded.
"Sure, you carry on what you need to do, I will..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Li Jing cut her off.
"I will come find you later. Take it easy with this Heritage Stele. It doesn’t matter if you can gain something or not. After all, it probably won’t match our formal cultivation."
"..."
Liu Sisi was at a loss.
This statement of Li Jing’s had some big problems.
However, it was actually irrefutable.
The current Heritage Stele was indeed very impressive, but surely it couldn’t surpass the benefits she gained from dual cultivation with Li Jing.
Normally, the cultivation difference between the two parties involved in dual cultivation would affect the practice. Now that Li Jing’s cultivation had half stepped into the Ninth Realm, and she had just entered the Fifth Boundary, if they started to cultivate formally, she would definitely soar.
On the other hand,
Even if she had some gain from understanding the Heritage Stele, it could only lead to a slight improvement at most.
Now the question was,
Could dual cultivation be considered formal cultivation?
Also!
He said he would find her later, did that mean he wanted to "cultivate" later!?
Watching as someone passed a message and promptly disappeared, Liu Sisi felt both amused and helpless.
She had just made a breakthrough, and Li Jing had already arranged for "cultivation"...
Although he already had three, she had to withstand it all by herself.
It was...
So hard!
...
The Heavenly King Group’s camp.
Jiang Yini had already contacted the Research Institute and was now waiting alone in Li Jing’s tent.
When she saw him appear alone, she frowned slightly.
"Where is Sisi?"
"She’s comprehending the stele in the Immortal Palace."
Li Jing responded.
Hearing that Liu Sisi had gone to the Immortal Palace to comprehend the stele right after her breakthrough, Jiang Yini couldn’t wait.
"I’ve told Ji Youyu about the situation, she has arranged for people to come at any time. Let’s get them in quickly, and once the scanning arrangements are in place I also want to comprehend the stele."
As she spoke, she mumbled to herself,
"Sisi is now in the Fifth Boundary, with her talent, she might catch up with me in cultivation in no time. I am the Group Leader, I have to maintain my dignity. One of you is already enough. I cannot have another one surpassing me in cultivation."
Seeing Jiang Yini suddenly competitive, Li Jing couldn’t help but smirk. In silence, he set a small goal for Liu Sisi- reach the Sixth Realm before leaving the Secret Realm, ideally reaching the peak of the Sixth Realm, to give the current group leader some pressure.
Without further ado, he asked Jiang Yini to get the Research Institute team while he let out Linglong in the form of a translucent Pagoda in the camp.
He knew his spirit weapons better than anyone else.
Back in the Qingyuan Fairy Palace, Qingfeng and Smoke Eye were genuinely deep in comprehension and digestion, but Linglong was just pretending.
For the past few days, his three spirit weapons had been staying in front of the Heritage Stele, and all three made various degrees of progress.
Perhaps due to Linglong’s restless nature, her gains were the smallest.
She simply couldn’t sit still.
From time to time she would run off to play with Ya’er, who had subtly become the "Mountain King", leading a group of low-grade Spiritual beasts in his Little Universe...-
If not for Li Jing, who couldn’t bear it any longer, and gave a direct order, Linglong might not have been there just now.
It’s worth mentioning that,
Although Linglong and Qingfeng hadn’t mastered Qingyuan’s Mysterious Skill like Smoke Eye, after comprehending the Heritage Stele, they both had initially acquired the ability to use magic skills. They weren’t like before, being his Origin yet relying solely on brute force despite having the cultivation level of the Eighth Realm.
This didn’t mean that the heritage of the Qingyuan Fairy Palace was strong, but the effect of the Heritage Stele in enhancing comprehension was indeed extraordinary.
...
After not long,
Jiang Yini arrived with a group of people from the Research Institute.
Li Jing promptly ushered them into the Linglong Tower and immediately took command of the laws of space, breaking reality’s constraints. In the brief moment when everyone entered the void, he forcibly transported them into his Little Universe.
He no longer felt the need to hide his current actual cultivation level and strength.
Anyway, no one in the present world can threaten him.
However, he doesn’t want outsiders to know about the existence of the Little Universe.
Luckily, with the Linglong Tower to "cheat," and his own mastery of spatial rules, keeping the members of the Research Institute oblivious was simple.
If he didn’t have the Linglong Tower to transport people, he would have to physically touch each person to send them in.
Even after shattering the space, they wouldn’t feel the pull of Spatial Displacement.
Because there would naturally be a pull once they entered the Void.
The level of their cultivation was not an issue, as their senses would be clouded the moment they entered the Void.
Once inside the Little Universe, Li Jing didn’t bother to explain anything to the Research Institute members. Without a word, he threw everyone into the Tianque Palace Library, activated the Seven-Star Formation of the Tianque Palace, and locked them in to prevent anyone from getting out.
Jiang Yini obviously wasn’t pleased about this.
Not only was she thrown into the Tianque Palace Library, but Li Jing didn’t even bother to enter.
Naturally, there was nothing she could do since it was his thing.
Since Li Jing didn’t come in, she had no choice but to repress her complaints and command the Research Institute members who were thrown into the Tianque Palace Library to not ask any questions and get all the data scanned and saved immediately.
...
Li Jing didn’t care much about what happened inside the Tianque Palace Library since Jiang Yini was there, but he wasn’t in a hurry to go find Liu Sisi to practice skills either.
Liu Sisi had just been sent to the Qingyuan Fairy Palace and it wasn’t appropriate to disturb her with practice so soon.
Besides, he also needed an undisturbed "crime scene" to practice his skills.
Teleporting to the Spring Eye of the Seven-Star Formation at Canglong Mountain, Li Jing frowned.
At the spring’s outlet, Ya’er revealed its Golden-eyed Cat body and lay there comfortably. It was plump as a ball, clearly having drunk its fill of Spirit Spring water, and seemed to have fallen asleep.
He hadn’t paid attention to Ya’er for a while.
This little thing somehow became the "king of the mountain" and was very good at enjoying life.
Whenever it had nothing to do, it would run to the spring eye to drink the freshest spirit spring water and even eat some spirit plants near Canglong Mountain from time to time.
He needed to discipline this kid a bit.
...
At the Qingyuan Fairy Palace, where the Heritage Stele was located.
Liu Sisi was gazing at the Heritage Stele.
She hadn’t fully comprehended it yet.
However, just by her short time with it, she already had unique insights into the magic skills she mastered, thanks to the deeplening understanding brought upon by the Heritage Stele.
This stele is truly a treasure!
While attempting to gain more enlightenment, Liu Sisi felt a weight on her head.
???
Liu Sisi picked up the weight reflexively, only to find an abnormally oversized furball in her hand.
From its touch, she knew it was Ya’er’s body.
Was it sent by Li Jing?
After not seeing it for a while, how did it get so fat?
Speechlessly, she took the surprised Ya’er, who was just awoken by being transported from the Spirit Spring spring eye, from her head and held it in silence.
Initially, she thought Ya’er got fat during her seclusion period.
But after taking a closer look, she realized that wasn’t the case.
This little thing drank a bellyful of water...
Drinking Spirit Spring water is good, but there’s no need to drink so much, right?
Seeing the guilty look on Ya’er’s face, Liu Sisi was hesitant to reprimand it, so she just sighed and sat down with it in her arms.
"Stay here, don’t run around. Observe this stele with me. It will be good for you."
Li Jing had indeed brought Ya’er to see the Heritage Stele.
Because of that, Ya’er became friends with Linglong and they became two little devils in the world.
Both of them are restless.
How can they sit obediently near the stele?
Linglong could be disciplined by Li Jing if she misbehaved, but he had no way to do the same with Ya’er.
It was pointless for him to force Ya’er to sit here since she couldn’t stay put.
Compared to him,
Liu Sisi’s words were much more effective.
With Liu Sisi’s orders, Ya’er was extremely obedient, genuinely looking at the Heritage Stele with her.
...
At the Spring Eye of Canglong Mountain.
Li Jing paid brief attention to Ya’er’s status after being sent to Liu Sisi. While appreciating that a mom’s words were powerful, he remotely summoned the remaining six secondary Array Eyes.
Only the most critical Spirit Spring Eye was left, so the restrictions on Canglong Mountain were instantly lost.
Li Jing closed his eyes and sensed for a moment. Relying on his understanding of the formation method from his recent readings, he one by one placed the six secondary Array Eyes in positions different from the original.
Consequently, the restrictions on Canglong Mountain became more profound.
Li Jing couldn’t manipulate the space within as in the Seven-Star Formation of Tianque Palace, but he could make the restrictions harder to decipher and limit the entry and exit.
He couldn’t continue to let Ya’er have free access to the mountain.
For one, to prevent her from soaking in the Spirit Spring all day, and second, to prevent her from messing up his "plans."
Having rearranged the formation and restrictions, Li Jing tidied up the loft at the top of the mountain.
There was nothing else for him to do now.
The scanning task in the Tianque Palace Library couldn’t be completed in a short period, after all, there were a million books inside.
To complete all of it, it would take at least one or two days.
After all, every page of the book must be turned to ensure the scanned magic inheritance is flawless.
At this time, Jiang Yini was inside the Tianque Palace Library, assigning manpower and looking for more efficient operation methods.
There was no rush to send her to the Qingyuan Fairy Palace until her arrangements were completed.
...
