Chapter 188 Adopted Daughter
While Li Miao was fiercely beating Zhou Offering, causing trees to fall, stones to crack, and flesh and blood to fly, we won't dwell on that.
Let's return to Ji Tianrui.
The old man surnamed Yang family was Yang Lixuan's cousin, named Yang Lizhang.
And seeing his furious, gritting-teeth expression towards Yin Ruihua, one could tell their enmity ran deep.
One should know that Yin Ruihua was a master who roamed the martial world when Great Shuo was founded. Although it's unknown why he is still alive now, he clearly hasn't appeared in public for many years. What kind of feud could he have with Yang Lizhang, a 'youngster' of about seventy years old?
This matter, however, must be traced back nearly two hundred years, to the founding emperor of Great Shuo.
The founding emperor of Great Shuo, a beggar by birth, ultimately unified the realm. Among emperors throughout history, he could be said to have the lowest origin, hence the saying, 'the most legitimately founded dynasty'.
Everything is difficult at the beginning, and rebellion even more so. How he started from a beggar with no clothes to cover him and no food to eat, and eventually rose to power, has been debated for years. Some unofficial histories even record that he relied on 'entertaining with his beauty' to accumulate the capital for his rebellion.
Of course, the person who wrote that unofficial history has been meticulously minced into ground meat.
The more widely circulated theory in the martial world is that after reaching a dead end, he joined the Ming Cult, gained the appreciation of a prominent figure within the Ming Cult, and used the Ming Cult's power to cultivate his base, eventually rising to prominence.
This statement is both right and wrong.
He indeed rose to power with the help of the Ming Cult, but there was never any 'prominent figure' who appreciated him.
Or rather, he himself was that 'prominent figure'.
By the time the realm was in chaos and heroes contended for supremacy, he had already de facto controlled the entire Ming Cult. And the then Ming Cult Master was merely a puppet he placed in front, named Yang family Haofeng.
When he was contending for the realm, the Ming Cult secretly carried out assassinations of enemy generals, intelligence gathering, or other unsavory tasks for him. It can be said that they rendered great service.
In short, he later unified the realm and established Great Shuo.
When the Ming Cult finally felt they could step into the forefront, full of plans on how to enlighten the world after becoming the 'state religion',
They were met with the emperor's 'righteous purge'.
Even Yang family Haofeng, who had served as the Ming Cult Master for him, also became a rebel and inexplicably lost his life.
Actually, if you think about it, the Ming Cult were old rebels. They would rebel in times of peace, and they would rebel in times of chaos; they would rebel when the Han people were in power, and even more so when foreign ethnic groups were in power; if life was bad, it was 'why aren't we rebelling when life is so bad?', and if life was good, it was 'since we're idle anyway, why don't we rebel!'.
How could an emperor truly elevate such a troublemaker to the forefront?
Furthermore, the Ming Cult at that time was doing his dirty work. A dirty knife, of course, must be discarded. It would not do for blood to get on his body and make him appear unclean.
And the descendants of Yang family Haofeng took over the Ming Cult and began to rebel against Great Shuo, continuing to this day.
As for the grievances between Yin Ruihua and the Yang family, that is another story.
In short, when enemies meet, their eyes turn red with hatred.
The old man named Yang Lizhang stared intently at Yin Ruihua, then suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"Good, good!"
"I thought you harmed my ancestor, your sworn brother, back then for some kind of glory and wealth! Turns out you've just been a grave keeper for that old fellow for over a hundred years!"
"Seeing you live such a miserable life, I am relieved! Hahahaha--"
Ji Tianrui chuckled softly from behind and raised her hand.
Two women darted out from the dense forest behind her and came to her side.
Covered in scars, they were clearly from the 'Yong Nu' lineage. They exchanged glances, then suddenly raised their hands into claws.
And plunged them into their own bellies!
Their arms moved within their bodies, their faces showing no change, blood trickling down their arms onto the ground.
Plop, plop.
Two soft sounds.
The two women held up two clumps of flesh and placed them into Ji Tianrui's hands.
The moment their internal organs left their bodies, their faces began to age rapidly. The two women took two steps back, like the Yong Nu kneeling before the Miao King's coffin in the Miao King's Tomb, they knelt on the ground before Ji Tianrui and exhaled a long breath.
And then, they lost their breath.
"Ah…"
Ji Tianrui stepped forward and stroked the tops of their heads, sighing.
Then, she put the two clumps of flesh into her mouth and swallowed them.
As the flesh entered her stomach, Yin Ruihua's gaze shifted to Ji Tianrui.
"Three paths combined into one? Storing one's cultivation realm within others, and only retrieving it when needed, to circumvent the Celestial Human Five Declines?"
"That's quite a method."
Ji Tianrui smiled charmingly and bowed respectfully.
"I don't deserve such praise from Elder Yin. These are just some unorthodox methods, incomparable to your method of longevity."
"Without this method, I also wouldn't have been able to evade the court's Celestial Human searches and wouldn't be alive now."
Yin Ruihua waved his hand.
"In the path of martial arts, the accomplished come first."
"For thousands of years, how many senior masters have sought ways to circumvent the Celestial Human Five Declines? Our Great Shuo can only rely on the method of turtle breathing to temporarily delay it."
"Your method, however, is far more brilliant."
Yin Ruihua glanced at Yang Lizhang, then looked at Ji Tianrui.
"You're not surnamed Yang family, are you?"
"I don't want to be."
"In that case, would you be willing to be surnamed Yin?"
Yin Ruihua completely disregarded Yang Lizhang's suddenly darkened expression and spoke kindly.
"Offer this secret method to the court, and I guarantee that the matters of the Yang family and the Ming Cult will no longer concern you. You won't have to hide and can practice martial arts with me here."
"You can freely browse the divine arts and secret manuals collected by the court; you can enjoy any rare treasures offered from all corners of the world. With your talent, you might even be able to transcend the Celestial Human realm and touch the threshold of an immortal in this world."
"How about it? It's surely better than living a life of rebellion with these fools, isn't it?"
Ji Tianrui smiled without speaking, glancing at Yang Lizhang as if intentionally or unintentionally.
Yin Ruihua, however, waved his hand.
"Don't look at the fools of the Yang family. You are different from them. Seeing how those two women willingly died for you just now, I know you are a thoughtful person."
"The Yang family, hah. They don't even understand that accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger, yet they blindly rush forward without leaving any retreat. On the verge of death, they still put on a wronged expression as if they've been betrayed, without considering why they must die."
"Do you think I wanted to kill Yang family Haofeng? It's just that he had to die. Dying by my hand at least granted him a quick end."
Yin Ruihua looked at Ji Tianrui.
"I won't speak in riddles with you."
"With your talent, you might one day inherit my mantle and protect the legacy of Great Shuo. As long as you don't touch certain things, I guarantee your safety."
"How about it, are you willing to be my adopted daughter, Yin Ruihua's adopted daughter?"
Under the moonlight, Yin Ruihua extended his hand towards Ji Tianrui.
Yang Lizhang and the middle-aged man supporting Yin Ruihua both held their breath.
They clearly knew that if Ji Tianrui stepped forward and placed her hand in Yin Ruihua's, she would no longer be a rebel.
And she would soar to great heights!