“It’s great that you’re fine, Li Tianming. You’re bound to have some good fortune after surviving such a disaster,” the Sky Hall King said with a warm smile. Although she might be a hundred years old, she still looked like a gentle mother.
“Thank you, Sky Hall King,” Tianming immediately replied. Tianming had asked Bai Zijin about the Sky Hall King previously, so he could instantly guess this woman’s identity.
“Not bad. Your temperament is as likable as Qingyu’s,” said the Sky Hall King.
Right at that moment, the Future Hall King reached out and grabbed Tianming. Staring at Tianming with his eyes wide open, he asked, “Where’s the lifetime curse?”
“That? I washed it away. It turned out that its quality was actually so bad that I could just wash it off,” Tianming replied.
Everyone knew that the lifetime curse wasn’t something that could just be washed off. But since it had disappeared in just two months, it meant that the marking wasn’t successful. The three Hall Kings exchanged a look and smiled. It must be the Prime Tower!
“Great!” Bai Zijin’s eyes lit up.
Right at that moment, the exalted ones standing by the side asked, “What do you mean?”
“Take a look for yourself. The lifetime curse is gone.” Tianming brushed his hair away and revealed his forehead. When the exalted ones saw that the lifetime curse was indeed gone, their faces were unsightly. For them, Tianming’s death would be better than him being taken away by the Decimo Dao Palace.
Without uttering a word, the Future Hall King pulled Tianming behind him. The three Hall Kings practically surrounded Tianming. “It’s impossible for Li Tianming to stay in the Ancient Qilin Clan anymore after this incident. As a descendant of the Li Saint Clan and a pentabane, we’ll be taking him away with us. Do you have any objections?”
“That’s right. We’re taking him with us today,” said the Sky Hall King. Their words left the faces of the exalted ones unsightly.
“Have you ever thought of what’ll happen when the Theocrats find out about this?” Chong Yang locked his brows together.
“That’s our business,” said the Sky Hall King.
“Since that’s the case, I can only hope that you can be careful about it. You jolly well know about the Theocrats’ practice. Be careful, or you might lose the foundation and inheritance of the Decimo Dao Palace by going against them,” Chong Yang replied with a fake smile.
“We know. Thank you for your reminder.”
“Is an octabane really worthy of you taking such risks?” Chong Yang gnashed his teeth.
“Who knows? It’s getting late, so we’ll be taking our leave first. Goodbye, everyone,” the Future Hall King brushed it off. He clearly didn’t want to answer Chong Yang’s question. Protecting Tianming in the middle, they openly left.
As for the Ancient Qilin Clan’s exalted ones, they could only suck it up and vent their anger after the Decimo Dao Palace left. Chong Yang said, “Did you see how Li Tianming used his left arm to tear apart the barrier? That means that he’s capable of releasing the Infernal Soul Race, so he’s a huge threat to the Theocrats. We must immediately head to Divine Capital and report this matter to the Primeval Autarch. At the same time, we can complain about the Decimo Dao Palace’s tyranny. We weren’t able to see the Primeval Autarch before, but this time he’ll definitely see us, right?” said Chong Yang.
“I’ll come with you,” said Mo Yu.
“Chong Yang is right. Now that Li Tianming has become a hidden threat, there’s no way the Decimo Dao Palace can protect him. As long as the Theocrats are willing to take action, Li Muyang can see what becomes of his son.” There was nothing they could do to Tianming with the Decimo Dao Palace’s protection, but the Theocrats weren’t afraid of the Decimo Dao Palace.
Just as Chong Yang was leaving for the Divine Capital, Tianming also arrived at the barrier’s upper layer. There were thousands of Ancient Qilin Clan disciples in the surroundings. All of them watched Tianming being taken away by the Decimo Dao Palace. Over the past two months, Tianming hadn’t suffered anything, and he had even beat up many of their fellow disciples. All of them were depressed, and they started throwing out insults. They would probably cry out if Tianming left like this.
“I heard that you were pretty ruthless when you beat them up. You don’t feel guilty about the Ancient Qilin Clan at all?” the Future Hall King asked.
“Nope, not at all.” Tianming waved his hand.
“Haha!!” The Hall Kings laughed.
“Oh, right. Who was it that framed me? I still have no idea who Yun Zhenzhen’s murderer was.” Tianming turned to look at Bai Zijin.
“You’ll never guess!”
“Don’t tell me you’re the culprit? Just because I won’t let you play with the yellow chick?”
“Nonsense! It was Ning Wushuang!” Bai Zijin said.
“Her?” Tianming narrowed his eyes into slits.
“Yeah. That lady was ruthless, killing Yun Zhenzhen with a Thunderfiend Chain and framing you for it. Moreover, she probably won’t suffer any punishment for it,” said Bai Zijin.
“Oh, then she got off lightly. If I’d known about it, I would’ve killed her,” Tianming sneered. He had no idea that he was being framed during their fight. The group had already left the Ancient Qilin Clan’s Manor City and was heading toward the heart of the Divine Capital.
“Wait a minute!” Tianming suddenly called out when they arrived at a remote mountain. There were mountains, the sun, fluffy white clouds, flowers, and birds in the surrounding. It was time for Ye Lingfeng to experience the outside world.
……
The Imperial City was the Theocracy of the Ancients’ foundation in the Divine Capital. It was located in the heart of the Divine Capital, and it made up about a fifth of the entire capital. Compared to the majestic capital, the Imperial City was gorgeous and flourishing, with countless magnificent buildings lined up in rows. The Imperial City was where spiritual energy converged. If anyone stood on a high mountain, they would see nine spiritual fountains there. As the fountains released dense spiritual energy into the sky, it would drift down and cover the entire Divine Capital in a white fog that made it look like a celestial realm.
Nine veins of spiritual energy ran through the entire Theocracy of the Ancients and converged in the Imperial City. This majestic city proved that the Divine Capital was the land of destiny that had the qualification to rule the whole dynasty. Throughout the ages, the Ancient Theocrats had been nourished by the spiritual energy, which allowed them to produce geniuses in large numbers. There had been countless challengers to their position throughout history, such as the Infernal Soul Race, but none of them could shake the Ancient Theocrats’ position.
Today, Chong Yang and Mo Yu had come to the Imperial City to seek a meeting with the Primeval Autarch. As they walked through the majestic city, they were brought into the depths of the palace by a eunuch.
“Exalted ones, please wait here for further instructions.” The eunuch who spoke had white hair and a cold gaze; anyone could tell that he was a master.
“Eunuch Wei, you must bring this news to the Primeval Autarch. The Infernal Soul Barrier is a huge matter, and it involves the stability of the Ancient Theocrats’ rule,” Chong Yang immediately said.
“I got it, so don’t be so longwinded. If it weren’t for your urgent matter, I wouldn’t have brought you here. But the Primeval Autarch went into seclusion three months ago, and I was specially ordered not to allow anyone to disturb him, even if the sky were to collapse. I can only let Lord Virtuous know about it. He’s the one who will decide if you can meet with His Majesty,” said Eunuch Wei.
“Thank you, Eunuch Wei.” Chong Yang said, taking out a box and giving it to Eunuch Wei. “Please, have this.”
“You’re too polite.” Eunuch Wei finally smiled. Taking the box, he opened it and looked satisfied. “I’ll go look for Lord Virtuous now.”
Chong Yang and Mo Yu exchanged a look. They clearly felt that the traces of Li Muyang and the matter of the Infernal Soul Barrier were enough to grant them a meeting with the Primeval Autarch. Chong Yang said, “We’re not very lucky that his majesty is currently in seclusion. If he wasn’t, how could the Decimo Dao Palace take away such an important person?”
“Will we be blamed for not keeping Li Tianming if His Majesty knows about it?”
“Probably not. After all, if he personally wanted Li Tianming, the Decimo Dao Palace can only follow his orders,” Chong Yang said, stroking his long beard.
Suddenly, a loud cry echoed out and instantly swept across the entire Divine Capital. The cry was loud and shocking. For a moment, the entire Divine Capital seemed to tremble. In the Imperial Capital, the entire range of the Divine Capital—the Ancient Qilin Clan included—could hear this mournful cry.
“What’s going on?” Chong Yang and Mo Yu were shocked. They immediately rushed out from the hall and looked at the palace.
“It’s the cry of the autarch beast!” Eunuch Wei wasn’t far away. When he heard the loud cry, he immediately froze in position. The autarch beast was the lifebound beast of the Primeval Autarch.
“What?” Chong Yang and Mo Yu stood in their position, staring blankly. “The autarch beast is so powerful, and it's unrivaled in the Theocracy of the Ancients. So why does it sound so sad?”
The Heavenly Trigram Palace was the forbidden zone in the Imperial City. But at that moment, everyone was alarmed by the cry and started heading in that direction. Even Chong Yang and Mo Yu only exchanged a glance before they followed the crowd.
During this time, the autarch beast wailed three more times, each cry more heartbreaking than the last. The cries had instantly submerged the entire Divine Capital in a grieving atmosphere, and almost everyone had come out of their houses.
“What’s going on?” Everyone had the same question. Even though Chong Yang asked around, no one knew what was going on. But a quarter-hour later, a hunched old man came out from the Heavenly Trigram Palace with tears on his face. With his body shaking all over, he turned around and threw himself to the ground, kowtowing in the direction of the Heavenly Trigram Palace.
“What’s the matter with Lord Virtuous?” Everyone was dumbfounded while they watched this scene.
After Lord Virtuous kowtowed nine times, he turned around and announced, “His Majesty has passed away! Prepare for the national funeral!”
The sky was falling over the Divine Capital.