Free Web NovelChapter 425: Chapter 259: Truth of the Celestial Gate, New Emperor’s Ascension, Contest for the Celestial Mandate, Arrival of a Great Era
No matter how the winds and clouds shifted beyond the Celestial Gate, should they reach out to interfere in the Mortal World, the first to bear the brunt would inevitably be the Emperor of the Mortal World, the sovereign of the Celestial Destiny Dynasty.
Since that was the case, if he were to become Emperor, why couldn’t he unite the Central Plains, establish a Supreme Fortune Dynasty, make the laws of the Human Race into celestial law, and slay any god or buddha who dared to defy it!
...
After Wei the Ninth single-handedly blocked the Divine Beings, the world fell into a brief period of peace.
Emperor Yong’an’s death left behind nothing but countless messes.
The very next day, Lu Mingyuan proclaimed to the world that he was ascending the throne as Emperor. He changed the era name to Longyuan, bringing the age of Yong’an to a definitive end.
He announced Emperor Yong’an’s various crimes, the most severe of which included inciting chaos in the nation, practicing the Forbidden Techniques of enemy nations, and worshiping the Saint of the Netherworld.
Within the Imperial Palace, Lu Mingyuan leafed through the records of major events from the sixty-nine years of the Yong’an era.
He discovered that if Emperor Yong’an had died twenty years earlier...
...his father might have truly been a worthy and enlightened ruler.
Though he couldn’t compare to the Grand Ancestor or the other founding monarchs of the dynasties, he had still been a wise and brilliant sovereign who ushered in a golden age.
But the things he had done in his last twenty years were too numerous to count.
Using the techniques of the Taoist Sect, Lu Mingyuan found a secret chamber hidden in Emperor Yong’an’s bedchambers. In addition, he discovered that the former emperor had constructed a subterranean altar beneath the Imperial Palace, specifically to feed an Ancient God.
This was all the best evidence.
With such irrefutable evidence, no amount of debate from the Court officials would matter.
In the end, his father had been destroyed by his own greed.
His desire for eternal life, for a dynasty that would last ten thousand generations, and for absolute power free from the grasp of the Three Religions had consumed him, turning him into a mere Puppet of the Divine Beings.
The first year of the Longyuan era.
Qianyuan Hall.
This was where the Emperor conducted his daily life.
At this moment, a tall man stood before a Copper Mirror. He was incomparably handsome, with skin as fair and flawless as jade.
The morning sun rose, gradually brightening the sky above the Great Yan Capital City and casting its light upon the Copper Mirror in Qianyuan Hall.
The man wore a wide, bright yellow Dragon Robe embroidered with five-clawed dragons and intricate gilt patterns, its length extending past his ankles.
The Great Yan Dynasty ruled by the virtue of fire, so the Jade Belt of the Dragon Robe was red.
Lu Mingyuan had finally donned the Emperor’s Robe, yet he remained calm as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror.
Eight beautiful Palace Maids attended to him, adjusting his attire, as the morning court session was about to begin.
The first morning court of the Longyuan era.
Standing beside him was a tall woman with a gentle and virtuous bearing. She wore a bamboo-green, chest-high dress, her hair arranged in a high coiffure. A sheer white gauze draped around her collarbones revealed the flawless skin of her back, and her long-limbed, slender figure made her seem even taller.
She personally leaned in to adjust Lu Mingyuan’s sash.
Lu Mingyuan gazed at the woman before him, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Mu Xue, from now on, you are the Empress. You can leave these tasks to them."
A gentle smile graced Qi Muxue’s lips, a simple expression that was itself the picture of peerless beauty.
"I was always the one who did these things in the Cold Palace. It’s hard to get used to letting the servants do it now." freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Lu Mingyuan gave a helpless smile, but could only let her be.
Some habits had formed in the Cold Palace, and they couldn’t be broken in a day.
"Your Majesty, it is time for the enthronement ceremony."
Hearing the Palace Maid address him as "Your Majesty" with a bowed head, Lu Mingyuan felt a brief sense of unreality.
’Three years ago, could I have ever dared to imagine sitting on the throne of the Venerable Emperor?’
’Probably not.’
’And now...’
’As I truly take my place on this throne... ’
’Looking back, the path here is paved with countless graves.’
On the way to the Celestial Altar Ancestral Temple, Palace Maids carried the long train of his ceremonial Emperor’s Robe until they reached the entrance of Celestial Protection Hall. freēwēbnovel.com
Celestial Protection Hall was the grand sacrificial hall of the Great Yan Celestial Altar. It was extremely vast, covering an area nearly a kilometer wide. As far as the eye could see, there were only neat, symmetrical palace structures.
But no matter how vast it was, at this moment, for the enthronement ceremony, it was packed to the brim with people.
The Great Yan Dynasty combined the rituals for succession, enthronement, and worshiping heaven and earth into a single ceremony.
As the Empress, Qi Muxue’s delicate face was exceptionally solemn. She stood beside Lu Mingyuan on the high platform of Celestial Protection Hall, looking down upon the crowd.
Everyone had arrived. They were only waiting for the official from the Ministry of Rites to recite the prepared proclamation.
"Since the Grand Ancestor founded our nation, his rule has swept across the eight wildernesses. The Emperor was sagely, his ministers loyal, and the Four Seas submitted..."
"But now, the Barbarians and Rong-Di tribes—a pack of wolves—circle our borders..."
...
After the lengthy ceremony concluded, the official finally announced:
"The new Emperor has ascended the throne! A general amnesty is declared across the land! The era name is changed to Longyuan!"
As soon as his voice fell, a deafening roar rose from below.
"Long live the Emperor! Ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
"Long live the Emperor! Ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
The assembled officials kowtowed, prostrating themselves completely.
The Great Yan Dynasty had welcomed its new master.
Just as the ceremony was completed,
ROAR!
A loud, resonant dragon’s cry, incredibly abrupt, echoed between heaven and earth.
Everyone heard the sound.
Lu Mingyuan seemed to sense something and raised his head.
Above the Capital City, a ceaseless stream of Destiny gathered, like a phoenix achieving Nirvana or a True Dragon being born.
High in the firmament, a divine lotus ten thousand zhang tall appeared. It shone upon the Central Plains World, upon every Blessed Land Cave Heaven, every mountain, river, and marsh, and every great Dynasty. Everyone saw this sight.
"That’s the Destiny Divine Lotus, formed from the convergence of the Celestial Mandate!"
The sheer scale of the National Fortune Phenomenon shocked the assembled officials.
The Great Scholars, Saints and Sages present for the ceremony, as well as Wen Sheng, who was seated in the guest of honor’s place for Great Yan, all frowned.
A Great Scholar asked for guidance, "Senior Wen Sheng, isn’t the Celestial Mandate something that is preordained? Why has the Celestial Destiny Divine Lotus appeared now, when there are still a hundred years left in the cycle?"
"Throughout history, the Celestial Mandate, which appears once every five hundred years, has been impossible for ordinary people to predict. Only the Saints of the Confucian Temple can glimpse a part of the whole and obtain a sliver of the Celestial Secret. With the new Emperor’s ascension and the appearance of the divine lotus, does this portend something?"
"A scene like today’s is truly a rare sight in ages!"
Wen Sheng did not answer. Instead, a grave look appeared in his eyes.
The struggle for the Celestial Mandate was something that every Dynasty in the Central Plains World cared about. Almost no Emperor could refuse a gift from the Celestial Dao.
However, at that very moment, the divine lotus in the firmament transformed into six rays of Golden Light and plummeted toward the Mortal World.
"The Destiny Divine Lotus split apart?"
"What is happening?"
"Let’s go after them and see!"
For a moment, countless people were bewildered. They didn’t understand what had happened. They had originally thought that the appearance of the Celestial Mandate’s protection during the new Emperor’s ascension was a good thing.
But now, it seemed it wasn’t that simple.
The six rays of Golden Light fell in different directions, attracting numerous Cultivators who gave chase, intending to investigate.
Soon, people discovered the destinations of the six rays of Golden Light.
They were Great Sui, Golden Crow, Nanli, Silver Frost, Great Wu, and the Song Clan.
The only one missing was Great Yan.
...
