Chapter 208: Chapter 166: [Shao Yang] Gaze Upon Me, and the World Shall Know the Scion of Jiang

Majestic in its eighteen layers stood the Profound City Central Palace.

The graceful figure seated upon the Jade Platform suddenly felt a stir at her fair wrist, as if the red thread tied there had been tugged.

A moment of divination was all it took to grasp the situation.

’To willingly step into the Daoist Monarchs’ gambit. Indeed, an Upper Cultivator’s judgment may falter, but a Golden Position does not lie.

This is the true bearing of the new True Monarch of Shao Yang!’

The corners of Lady Xuan’nv’s lips lifted into a subtle, almost imperceptible arc, as if in a smile.

’Since he has chosen Xiaoqiao and taken the Slaying Sword, Inverted, then...’

The thought had barely formed when the deep, profound Qi Mechanism, layered like heavy curtains, suddenly convulsed!

RIP! It was the sound of silk being torn asunder.

Lady Xuan’nv furrowed her elegant brows. A misty Tai Yin radiance bloomed around her, shimmering like ten thousand fireflies floating in the twilight.

This change immediately caused the four great sun-wheel pillars, suffused with a majestic light, to rumble and roar.

Countless Tai Yang dharma seals rained down like a deluge of fire, blanketing everything.

Eighty-one fiery dragons soared and coiled, binding the Jade Platform tight. The scorching heat they emanated burned a gaping hole straight through the Great Void.

In that instant, the fiery energy surged, and flames raged with abandon.

Lady Xuan’nv’s expression remained unchanged as an endless Tai Yin radiance diffused outward, like an immense bank of clouds rolling back upon itself.

The two opposing Qi Mechanisms collided with immense pressure, then subsided into nothingness a moment later.

"He took the Slaying Sword, Inverted, and chose Xiaoqiao, yet he still wishes to come to the Profound City Central Palace?"

Lady Xuan’nv lowered her eyes, a rare hint of a baleful aura clouding her features.

What exactly was this new True Monarch of Shao Yang planning?

...

...

At the Ghost Gate of Shuo Mountain, beneath the peachwood tree.

Perhaps because Jiang Yi had declared himself the new True Monarch of Shao Yang, the Carefree Flowers carpeting the mountainside bloomed with even greater vigor, coalescing into ribbons of color that shimmered like twilight clouds.

Witnessing this sight, the maiden in green felt the profound beauty of the world.

Jiang Yi and Xiaoqiao stood shoulder to shoulder, only a hand’s breadth between them.

He joined her in quiet admiration for a moment before speaking softly,

"Miss Xiaoqiao... I wish to enter the Profound City Central Palace now."

Qiao Yu showed no surprise. The two had already revealed their intentions to one another and laid out the stakes.

This new True Monarch of Shao Yang was not afraid to confront the Immortal Dao, nor to face Tai Yang head-on.

Quite the opposite, he even had the audacity to enter the game of his own accord.

He was willing to step into the Profound City Central Palace and allow the Daoist Monarchs enthroned at the very peak to watch him.

Such bold, sharp-edged spirit was a rare sight even in the Lun Jian Xuan of one hundred and twenty thousand years ago.

"I’ll go with you."

Qiao Yu said simply.

"In that case—"

Jiang Yi turned to the side and took two steps back.

Just as when they first met, he cupped his hands in a salute and said with a smile,

"I’ll have to trouble you then, Lord Qiao."

Qiao Yu’s eyes curved into crescents as she beamed. She waved a small hand with the air of a Great General commanding a vast army.

"This Lord shall see to your safety!"

She was about to head down the mountain when she suddenly remembered she hadn’t retrieved the Slaying Sword, Inverted, which had fallen to the ground.

’Oh dear, I was so preoccupied with talking to Young Master Jiang!’

Qiao Yu quickly scooped up the Black Sheathed Ancient Sword with both hands, wiped it down carefully, and presented it to Jiang Yi.

"Here. This is my entire dowry. The new True Monarch of Shao Yang can do with it what he will!"

Jiang Yi laughed.

"I would rest easier if it remained in your hands, Lord Qiao.

Wait until I’ve established that Yang Qi Taiyin Heaven and prepared a proper ’betrothal gift,’ then I’ll come to claim the sword."

With that, he turned, beckoned to True Master Xuanmiao, and scooped the calico cat—which had somehow gotten even rounder—into his arms.

As for the Slaying Sword, Inverted, it was something Jiang Yi had long coveted.

Among the Dao Materials of the Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineage, one’s prowess in Magical Combat depended on four things: Daoist Skills, Magical Artifacts, Cultivation Merit, and personal talent. Of these, the first two carried the most weight.

And Slaying Swords, among all the various Magical Artifacts and Magical Treasures, were the items that gave Cultivators the most grief and against which they were most helpless.

This was because the very form and substance of a Slaying Sword was miraculous. Supremely refined and pure, it was the perfect vessel for purified Sword Intent, possessing the ultimate killing power to extinguish spiritual awareness and annihilate one’s true self!

In the countless ages of the Yanfu Vast Land, there had even been rare instances of a True Monarch of the Sword Dao risking their life to damage the Golden Position of a Daoist Monarch with a single, desperate strike!

’Unfortunately, the Slaying Sword, Inverted, is unwilling to acknowledge me for now.’

Jiang Yi sighed softly. Just as Xiaoqiao had said, this Slaying Sword’s standards were absurdly high; it gave no face whatsoever to the new True Monarch of Shao Yang, nor to his destiny as a Saint King of Utmost Perfection.

Had he reached out to take it just now, the Slaying Sword, Inverted, though seemingly dormant, would surely have erupted with violence.

While it might not have gone so far as to sever his head or destroy his Life Essence, he would have undoubtedly suffered for it.

Qiao Yu led the way down Shuo Mountain, where she boarded an orchid boat to return by the same path they had come.

Halfway through their journey, her bright eyes suddenly twinkled as a thought occurred to her.

’If I’m the one to bring the new True Monarch of Shao Yang to the Profound City Central Palace, who will this fated connection be credited to?’

Qiao Yu looked down at her own frost-white wrist. A crimson thread was wrapped around it, interwoven and tied into a knot.

This was the "Bond of Fate."

The maiden in green let out a long sigh of relief.

’Thank goodness, thank goodness. My sister is devoted to Cultivation and has long aspired to become a Daoist Monarch. If she were to take on this fated connection with Young Master Jiang, it would interfere with her ascension to the Tai Yin position.’

On the return journey, Qiao Yu was unusually quiet. She turned her head to study Jiang Yi, who sat cross-legged, seemingly in meditation.

The first True Monarch of Shao Yang was rumored to be a faithless philanderer.

But this Young Master Jiang before her seemed to be an upright gentleman, far more dependable.

...

...

"Xiao Jiang, Xiao Jiang! One Slaying Sword, Inverted, is nowhere near enough!"

True Master Xuanmiao, a leopard unable to change its spots, sidled up to Jiang Yi’s ear and sent a hushed voice transmission.

"Since you’ve accepted this fated connection and stepped into the sights of the Daoist Monarchs, you might as well go for broke!

Xiaoqiao has deep ties to the Lun Jian Xuan. Her share of the Sword Dao’s fortune is even greater than that Xuan Chanzi fellow’s!

And that... Lady is a True Monarch who ascended via the Ghost Dao. If you could assimilate both of these Hidden Daoist Lineages, heh heh heh heh, then even the Great Power Daoist Monarchs would have to look at you in a new light and scramble to place their bets on you!"