Tianyi frowned when he saw the Dao Manifestation relating to the Law of Fire. He could sense that it contained the charm of the Law of Five Phases, but this was nothing beneficial to him. Instead, he turned toward Daoyi, who was still staring at Yang Linyin's Dao Manifestation in a daze.
He waved his hand and prevented the new Dao Manifestation from interrupting Daoyi. Then, Tianyi focused on the Law of Yin contained in the Dao Manifestation. He had started comprehending the Law of Five Phases, and it would take too long to increase his comprehension. It was better to focus on other laws.
Laws like the Law of Yin and the Law of Yang. Like the Law of Five Phases, the Law of Yin-Yang was also a divine-level law.
Yang Linyin's Dao Manifestation lasted a little over a day and a half. A far cry from Tianyi's nine days and nights. Most Dao Manifestations only lasted only for a few short hours, so Yang Linyin's Dao Manifestation was far above the norm.
However, Yan Nie's Dao Manifestation lasted a little under two days. Yang Linyin's promotion to an immortal monarch should have been a moral boost, but not only did it not boost the Eight Pillar Sect's morale, but it lowered it instead since they were compared to Yan Nie's accomplishment. Had Yan Nie delayed his promotion for even a few months, this situation wouldn't have happened, but there are no ifs.
Not that Tianyi knew this at the time. Even after Yang Linyin's Dao Manifestation disappeared, he and Daoyi secluded themselves in Reversed Heaven Abode to digest their gains.
Six months later, Tianyi opened his eyes. He exhaled, and a murky mist exited his mouth. The black mist contained a terrifying aura that killed the very air it touched. It didn't last long as, seconds later, the murky mist dispersed.
'I didn't think comprehending parts of the Law of Yin would allow me to take the final step and master the Law of Death,' Tianyi thought. He turned and glanced at Daoyi, who was still immersed in comprehension. His gaze left her, and he closed his eyes to continue digesting the gains in the Law of Yin.
Almost another year later, Daoyi finally opened her eyes. Something silver swam within her pupils, but it quickly vanished, and her eyes returned to normal.
"Looks like you made quite a bit of progress," Tianyi said.
"Aren't you bored? You must have already finished, why bother accompanying me?" Daoyi asked as she looked over.
"Eh, I got used to it," Tianyi said. "Besides, aren't we husband and wife? I'll brave the boredom just for you."
Daoyi hid her mouth behind her sleeve and tried to stifle her giggle. She failed, and Tianyi also chuckled. "Alright, we've been cooped up here for over a year. Let's leave."
She nodded, and the husband and wife duo met up with Ba Shifang to get updated on the situation. Because both of them had been cultivating for the past year, Ba Shifang rejected the Eight Pillar Sect's request to continue setting up the teleportation formations. He used Tianyi's sudden secluded cultivation as an excuse, to which the Eight Pillar Sect agreed. It helped that both Yang Linyin and Tai Wuling also started secluded cultivation, and they needed Yang Linyin and the Eight Way Mirror for the operation.
"So, should we agree to their request if they ask again?" Ba Shifang asked.
"Wait, let me communicate with the sect first," Tianyi said. He had also left a conduit in Jade Peak. He could easily ask Sect Master Xia at any time since his mission was on the high-priority list for the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
Moments later, Tianyi smiled. "Sect Master Xia said to delay as much as possible, using any excuse. Let's use the fact that Tai Wuling used Daoyi as a distraction as a reason to demand compensation first."
Daoyi looked over. "You're still angry about that? I was trying to kill him first, but Yan Nie screwed up my plans."
"They can't prove that. Honestly, I kinda want to kill Tai Wuling. For some reason, he just gets on my nerves. Does he think I can't sense when he is looking at me? And he stares at Daoyi, she's my wife, dammit." Tianyi paused. "Does this make me overprotective?"
"Perhaps," Daoyi said, but with a smile. "Why don't you stick a conduit onto him so you can trap him in your inner universe at any time?"
"I thought about it," Tianyi admitted. "However, after experiencing the Yellow Mausoleum, I vetoed the idea. Theoretically, I should have the power of an immortal emperor, but I have not fought one, nor do I have a wealth of experience. I don't want to reveal my skills at critical moments."
Daoyi nodded. Some might call it cowardly, but in her opinion, this was focusing on the bigger picture and not petty squabbles.
"Ah, but I'm so regretful," Tianyi suddenly said. "If I absorbed the Yellow Mausoleum, my inner universe's foundation would have increased. Instead, I only got a small portion of the realm essence!"
"Why didn't you?" Daoyi asked.
Tianyi looked at her. "Same reason as why I didn't attach a probe on Tai Wuling. Actually, I had the thought of just secretly trying to absorb the pocket dimension but thought better of it. If I wasn't going to risk exposure for a pocket dimension formed by a divinity, I'm certainly not risking exposure for a mere Tai Wuling."
"Don't look down on him too much. I sensed that his soul had upgraded. Everyone else got nothing from the Yellow Mausoleum aside from law fragments except for him," Daoyi reminded.
"You're right," Tianyi said. "It's a bit strange. Before, true immortals and immortal monarchs were rare, but hundreds of new true immortals appeared in the last hundred years, and almost ten immortal monarchs. The only continent that hasn't made a sound is the Mortal Continent."
"You know what they say. War is the best nourishment for progress," Daoyi said. "When people are forced, they can explode with unimaginable potential."
Tianyi stared at Daoyi. He felt that she wasn't merely talking about war but something else. Still, he didn't pry since it seemed that she didn't want to talk about it.
Tai Wuling's eyelashes twitched as he digested the insights gained from Yang Linyin's Dao Manifestation. He had ignored Yan Nie's Dao Manifestation because it was useless for him since he had already mastered the Law of Fire.
Of the two laws Tai Wuling mastered, the Law of Earth and the Law of Fire, he focused on their hard, or yang, aspect, but the Law of Water was different. If applied with yang traits, the Law of Water would display aspects of the Law of Ice. What he lacked was the softness, or yin, of water, and after five years of secluded cultivation, he mastered the Law of Water.
Now, out of the five laws that formed the Law of Five Phases, he mastered three.
Honestly, Tai Wuling had expected it to take thousands of years to master a single law. He clenched his hands, feeling the power welling within. Not only that, but his gains from the Yellow Mausoleum far exceeded his expectations.
In fact, it would not be wrong to say the evolution of his body was more important than understanding the Law of Water because his comprehension of the Law of Water had increased thanks to it. He hadn't noticed at first, but he gradually noticed during his secluded cultivation. Instead of his comprehension speed decreasing, it increased.
Tai Wuling punched forward. Space twisted wherever his fist passed. He even had a feeling he could shatter space if he punched hard enough. His body had far surpassed an average immortal monarch's. It might have even reached the emperor or half-emperor level.
His thoughts drifted toward Xi Tianyi. He was confident that if the two fought, he would not be one whit weaker than the other. Victory might be difficult, but it wouldn't be hard not to lose. Furthermore, he had a feeling that he had yet to reach his body's upper limit.
He calmed down. It wouldn't do good to underestimate his foes just because he was drunk off his newfound strength. There was a reason why numbers were meaningless against immortal monarchs. Conventionally, at least.
Tai Wuling stood up from his lotus position. It was time to leave.
"Brother Yang," Tai Wuling called out as he saw Yang Linyin in the garden of the residence.
Yang Linyin frowned when they saw him. "You can call me Sister Yang in this form from now on."
"What? I thought you hated when I called you sister," Tai Wuling said in shock.
They glared. "Things are a bit different now."
"Oh, okay. I'll call you Sister Yang in this form now," Tai Wuling said. Although he didn't know the reason, he still felt happy at the change in address. However," What's wrong? You seemed troubled. You didn't even notice my presence."
Yang Linyin sighed. "It's Monarch Nine Heavens."
Upon hearing this, Tai Wuling immediately frowned. "What'd they do this time? Do they want to go back on the deal after receiving a realm artifact?"
"They're no longer carrying their part of a deal. But it's because they feel that we betrayed them and can trust us no longer." They gave him a strange look. "They say that you used Jiang Daoyi as a decoy and set her up for death after confronting the Divine Flame Lord."
"What?!" Tai Wuling said. "That's just preposterous. I even suspect that Jiang Daoyi wanted to ambush me and only failed by accident. I didn't raise the issue, yet they dare to?!"
Yang Linyin sighed. "They have irrefutable evidence. Of course, the evidence depends on the interpretation, but it definitely doesn't look good for you."
"Show me," Tai Wuling said through gritted teeth.
They agreed and took out a talisman that they handed to Tai Wuling. After taking it, he inputted his immortal sense into the talisman, and he was shown a vision.
It showed the vision of someone ascending the central mountain in the Yellow Mausoleum. Not long later, the person ascending reached the peak and entered the divine palace and then into the throne hall.
It wasn't difficult for Tai Wuling to guess that this was what Daoyi saw.
Inside the hall, he saw the battle between himself and Yan Nie. A sense of shame assaulted him as he realized how inept he had seemed in this situation. Worse, it had been recorded down.
Tai Wuling didn't even want to think about how many people saw this. Still, he forced himself to continue watching. Then, he saw Daoyi sneak in. He watched as his double stopped in front of Daoyi, making her pause. Moments later, he moved out of the way as Yan Nie's spear pierced toward her.
That was when the vision stopped.
Tai Wuling had an ugly expression as he stared at the talisman in his hand. From her point of view, it did seem that he had all planned this. Because he had, just not in the way the vision pointed toward. He had been leading Yan Nie because he wanted to escape through the entrance, not because he knew of Daoyi's presence!
Worse, the vision had emulated his and Yan Nie's auras. The profundities of Yan Nie's spear strikes were exactly the same. It even recorded how his body seemed to be changing.
Normally, scrying techniques couldn't replicate the aura of the people inside, but this was clearly not true. Did the Buzhou Immortal Sect have such advanced methods?
Tai Wuling snapped his head up. "It isn't like this! They must have falsified this. There's no way she could have recorded that scene."
Yang Linyin sighed. "We also tried to argue on this, but Monarch Nine Heavens refused to budge. Unless we admit the mistake and hand you over, they won't continue to cooperate with us."
Tai Wuling clenched his hand. "Those shameless bastards!"
He gazed into Yang Linyin's eyes. "You believe me, right? I had no intentions for Jiang Daoyi to die."
"Do you think I don't know you? Of course I believe you," Yang Linyin said. "Don't worry, the sect won't hand you over. You're too important. Right now, it's a matter of compensation. Until then, we can sharpen our claws and wait for our chance for revenge."
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