Free Web NovelChapter 269: Chapter 3: The Scene of the Dharma Assembly
The man was Liang Breath, the young apprentice of Ren Kong, the newly appointed Pacification Envoy of Mozhou Road. Like Liu Shuang, he too had gathered a group of Entering Cultivators around him.
"Liang Breath, where do you think I should stand? By your side, running your errands? What can you do besides hide behind your master’s authority?" Feng Miao’s lineage was different from Ren Kong’s. Plus, now that she was cultivating on her own, she had no reason to fear Liang Breath’s warning.
"Traitor!" someone beside Liang Breath snapped.
"Who the hell are you to be spouting such nonsense?" Feng Miao shot back. As an orthodox successor of the True Yang Sect, she had the confidence to speak this way.
Just as Liang Breath was about to speak, a voice came from the side. "Fellow Daoist, I suggest you think carefully before you speak again. This isn’t the True Yang Sect. Here, a mere Entering Cultivator like you... Hell, even if your master himself were here, he could end up leaving a piece of himself behind if he says the wrong thing."
The newcomers were a group of cultivators from Lishui Prefecture, followed by a contingent from the Lishui Prefecture Daoist Scripture Hall. The speaker was Liu Chang. The moment he finished, the cultivators from the Daoist Scripture Hall walked up to converse with Feng Miao.
Liang Breath wanted to say something to save face, but someone beside him whispered a few words in his ear, making him abandon the idea. He merely swept his gaze over Liu Shuang and the others before striding quickly toward the palace gate.
After he left, Liu Shuang looked at Liu Chang and said, "Lishui Prefecture and the True Yang Sect are supposed to be allies."
There was a hint of jest in her words, and upon hearing them, the crowd burst into laughter as expected.
"How could a few words from nobodies like us possibly affect the big picture? If they could, I’d have a lot more to say," someone chimed in first.
"The best solution is to just take that little young master out!" Someone said this deliberately loudly, causing Liang Breath, who was up ahead, to narrow his eyes.
But Liu Shuang, Feng Miao, and Liu Chang all frowned, turning their gazes to the person who had spoken.
The three of them had, in fact, already been planning to get rid of Liang Breath. This was Lishui Prefecture’s territory, after all. But with this genius blurting it out in public, they would have to reconsider if they wanted to make a move.
The three exchanged a look—an unspoken understanding passed between them. Then, chatting and laughing, they walked into the palace.
The grand hall had been simply renovated. The surrounding area was arranged into tiered seating, creating an assembly hall capable of holding over a thousand people. In a sunken area in the center sat an enormous rectangular wooden table, over five zhang long. Ornate cloud beds were placed at either end of the table, with a total of thirty seats flanking its sides. Behind these seats were rows of chairs.
Liu Shuang, Feng Miao, and Liu Chang sat together. Their followers took seats in the rows behind them, allowing them to confer with each other before speaking if the need arose.
"Fellow Daoist Feng Miao, you shouldn’t get involved in this matter. After today’s assembly is over, just find an excuse and head back to Zhongzhou first," Liu Chang instructed in a low voice.
Feng Miao’s eyes lit up. She nodded and agreed, "Alright!"
Liu Shuang commented, "It’s an easy ruse to see through, but all we need is a plausible excuse to get away."
"Exactly!"
Liu Chang appeared very amiable, the same affable demeanor he showed when dealing with cultivators from Sanhe Prefecture. Yet, his casual attitude just moments ago about killing Liang Breath was decisive and ruthless.
One could only say that every Entering Cultivator had their own way of navigating the world. They might seem easygoing, kind, and righteous in normal times, but that didn’t mean they were incapable of killing. This was especially true for the dragon-blooded, who had survived their tribulations against all odds.
While the three of them were chatting, two disciples from Lishui Prefecture appeared at Liang Breath’s side. They seemed to be trying to persuade him of something, but Liang Breath remained unmoved.
A short while later, the fourth-tier attendees began to enter the palace. As they sat down, many of the sixth-tier juniors and Entering Cultivators in the back stood up to go pay respects to their respective elders, and the hall descended into a temporary, bustling chaos.
Liu Shuang, Feng Miao, and Liu Chang were no exception.
About Half an Hour later, the Dragon Monarch’s eighth son—Liu Chang’s father, Yang Shu—strode into the hall with the air of a true magnate, escorted by six Second Realm Cultivators from the Dragon Palace.
The bustling chaos was instantly suppressed. Everyone tacitly returned to their seats. Yang Shu didn’t say a word. He walked slowly to the great table at the very front and sat in the seat marked with the Dragon Palace’s insignia. Utterly unconcerned with the thousands of gazes fixed upon him, he formed a hand seal, casting a Spell to activate the Array around the table.
A rather beautiful, grayish-white halo of light materialized around the table. Simultaneously, countless Array Runes lit up on the palace ceiling, echoing the halo on the ground and transforming the hall into a fantastical, extraordinary space.
A few breaths later, illusory images began to appear in the seats around Yang Shu. As time passed, the ethereal figures slowly solidified until they looked almost like True Men.
"How magical!" Feng Miao whispered.
"It’s the Changqing Taoist!" Liu Chang said, pointing at one of the figures.
Liu Shuang had already seen him.
A moment later, Feng Miao saw him too. She mentally measured the distance between them, and suddenly, her previously resigned attitude wavered slightly.
Wang Ping found it magical as well. He could hear the voices of the people around him and clearly see the faces of those opposite him. Zi Luan, who had been sitting cross-legged to his left, was now in front of him, seated in one of the individual seats by the great table.
"How does it feel to be instantly transported thousands of miles?" Zi Luan’s voice sounded in his ear. This was a message transmitted via Primordial Spirit—not an illusory sound, but a real one.
The next moment, Wang Ping felt Zi Luan’s aura beside him. His Primordial Spirit Consciousness quickly distinguished reality from illusion.
’This is just like the holographic projections people used to talk about before I transmigrated.’ The thought suddenly occurred to him. ’Maybe this world’s civilization could develop along a different path.’
But he quickly suppressed the idea. ’With my current influence, I’m in no position to decide the course of this world’s civilization.’
Yang Shu, the only third-tier member present in the flesh, stood up, looked around, and cupped his fist. "I have been entrusted by all parties to preside over this assembly. I hope everyone will abide by the rules of this venue."
"This assembly originally had only one item on the agenda. However, due to some unpleasant events that occurred recently in the Northwest Region of Zhongzhou, the aftermath has created some trouble for the Northwest Daoist Scripture Hall. Therefore, after some discussion, the Lords have urgently added another topic."
"Let me briefly explain the situation..."
In a very casual tone, Yang Shu recounted the struggle that had occurred between four Third Realm Cultivators in the Northwest. He attributed the cause of the conflict to a fight over a Demon Soldier.
"The Lords’ intention is for us to hold a temporary joint trial to pass judgment on the crimes of these four Fellow Daoists. Of course, the assembly grants the four of them the right to debate their case."
"The second matter is the main purpose for holding this assembly..." freewёbnoνel.com
Yang Shu paused, as if considering his words. "As the Daoist Scripture Hall is dealing with an increasing number of difficult cases, the Lords intend to add two new third-tier members. There are a total of seven Fellow Daoists participating in this election. We will need three days, or perhaps more, to select two from among them." frёeωebɳovel.com
"First, let’s resolve the issue concerning our four Fellow Daoists from the Northwest..."
