Chapter 682: Beacon Smoke in the Northern Lands

Chapter 682: Beacon Smoke Over the North

The Blind One only wished to vent her poetic sentiment, but Zhao Changhe squinted at her: "Would anyone ask where the Xie family is, and whose house the swallows fly into?"

Stunned by the question, the Blind One replied: "Even if this destroyed family was surnamed Zhao, this poem works just the same. The original poem merely laments the fall of the noble clans and the changing of times. You didn’t actually think it was about where the swallows of the Wang and Xie families fly, did you? Liu Yuxi’s coffin lid couldn't even hold him down."

Zhao Changhe almost grabbed her collar: "What are you showing off for? This isn't the time to make announcements. There are still matters in the capital! What if you startle the snake by striking the grass?"

"The affairs in the capital are nearing their end, and I am thinking of another poem, so stop shouting." The Blind One paused, finally realizing something was amiss: "Did you mistake something? Why on earth should I coordinate with your schedule?"

Zhao Changhe's eyes went blank for a moment. Right... when did it start becoming this natural...

"Wait, the capital's affairs are almost finished? What's the outcome?"

"...Why should I tell you in advance? What kind of misunderstanding do you have about our relationship?"

Zhao Changhe grinned.

In truth, there was no need to say it; from this attitude alone, one could basically guess that the capital was fine.

Knowing she had leaked the secrets of heaven again, the Blind One said testily: "You should still go pay your respects to your Wang Daozhong. I think your mind is completely unhinged."

"..." Zhao Changhe indeed felt like paying his respects to Wang Daozhong. Daozhong, oh Daozhong...

Yet at this moment, with his hand resting on the Wang family's sacrificial altar, and his wife and brother-in-law watching, suddenly running off to see Wang Daozhong might make people think he was a madman...

Forget it, open the floodgates.

When Yangyang broke through the hidden realm, she obtained a small fragment of memory regarding the other swords, and she had mentioned back then that the Wang family's secret realm was different from the Cui family's.

The essence of the Sea-Quelling Sword lay in "quelling." It was originally inserted into this platform, its purpose being to suppress this secret realm.

This was a powder keg, filled entirely with terrifying and boundless waters, belonging to one of the various destructive attributes from the world's original annihilation. It was merely suppressed within a single space by the Ethereal One using the Sea-Quelling Sword, and the force used for suppression was atmospheric pressure. This was the origin of the Wang family's Cloud-Cleaving Sea-Quelling Technique. The one cleaving the clouds was water, and the one quelling the sea was air; the two sides were a delicate state of balance, completely incompatible and extremely exclusionary.

When the Sea-Quelling Sword was no longer present, this secret realm relied entirely on self-balance. Once invaded by an external power, it was highly likely to be shattered instantly. Both air and water would rush toward the newcomer simultaneously, not only tearing the intruder to pieces but even turning the entire Langya into ruins. Only by opening it with the martial art comprehended from the Sea-Quelling Sword—the Wang family's Cloud-Cleaving Sea-Quelling Technique—could both attributes be accommodated at the same time, preventing an exclusionary explosion.

Of course, that would also require a relatively strong foreign force to trigger the rejection. Ordinary forces were like a mere itch, unworthy of being paid attention to. Consequently, the elders of the Wang family, when facing their final hour, could not even find a sufficiently powerful person to perish together with, and could only trick Cui Yuanyong into opening it himself.

As it turned out, Zhao Changhe arrived...

Theoretically, if you never touched this thing, it could maintain its balance for eternity. However, in today's world, it could not be left alone. Any random god or demon landing a punch on it would end everything. This hidden danger had to be eliminated. To eliminate it, could they recast the Sea-Quelling Sword?

That was clearly ill-timed.

Zhao Changhe pondered for a moment, then slowly channeled a martial force identical to the Wang family's into the sacrificial altar.

A ripple of light flashed, disappearing on the spot as if it had been absorbed.

Cui Yuanyang let out a sigh, murmuring to herself: "It really works..."

Cui Yuanyong looked on in disbelief: "Hey, according to what you secretly told me before, it's terrifying inside, right? He vanished in there alone, and you aren't worried at all?"

Cui Yuanyang shook her head, her expression carrying a hint of wry vexation: "Why do you think Xia Chichi could shake the flaw in Wang Daoning's water soul?"

Cui Yuanyong was stunned: "Why?"

"The Xuanwu passed it down. Do you know how the Xuanwu passed it?"

Cui Yuanyong: "?"

Cui Yuanyang stamped her foot and said: "Passed down through a double-headed dragon! The guy who just went in is their double-headed dragon! He's not afraid of water at all!"

Cui Yuanyong turned his head away.

They know how to play even better than our great aristocratic families.

Rest assured, I am not a big mouth; that has been proven before.

"Then you guard this place, I have a mountain of things to do." Cui Yuanyong hesitated for a moment, yet still said: "Regarding the Qinghe Sword, it would be a lie to say I'm not envious. But thinking about it, it's better than being broken before, so I've come to terms with it. Without your husband, who could recast it, right? At any rate, if you gain any insights from Qinghe in the future that surpass our family's ancestral records, I hope you'll share them. Other than that, there's nothing else."

Cui Yuanyang gave a sweet smile: "Mhm."

She truly felt very happy. Her brother saying this wasn't trying to beg for things, but was intentionally eliminating any estrangement that might exist between siblings. Among family, the worst thing was keeping things hidden; once spoken aloud, all issues vanished.

In contrast to the now-vanished Wang family, this kind of affection was actually more precious than any flourishing power.

...

Time must still be wound back to last night, the moment the battle between Zhao Changhe and Huangyang commenced.

To the west of the capital, a troop of light cavalry braved the wind and snow, swiftly approaching.

Each rider had two horses, rotating day and night. They had been galloping for several days, yet they were still in high spirits. Clearly, every single one of them was an elite martial artist, their cultivation and will far exceeding ordinary soldiers.

The cavalry wore felt hats, donned sheepskin cloaks, and had long hair draped over their shoulders. They were all barbarians.

The guardian cavalry of the barbarians' Eternal Heaven Temple, every single one was an absolute elite. Several among them possessed the eighth or ninth level of the Meridian Pass and could serve as grand generals elsewhere. Leading them was the nineteenth on the Earth Rankings, the temple protector Yeleto.

Although there were fewer people from the steppes on the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Rankings compared to the Central Plains, it was mainly because their total population fell short; in reality, their top-tier combat power had never been inferior. Especially after Xia Longyuan's death, the top two on the Heaven Rankings were both in the steppes, their weight crushing the remaining eight combined. No matter how many pitfalls the Blind One had dug into these rankings, it was highly invigorating to the warriors of the steppes.

This time, they had bypassed directly from Guanzhong; Yanmen had always been a natural chasm they couldn't cross.

But this time, if the plan succeeded, Yanmen would no longer be an obstacle.

The capital was empty. The armies capable of fighting had gone south to Langya, and at this moment, it was unknown if they had even reached Juancheng. Within the capital, there were only the Four Symbols Sect disciples, the Demon Suppressing Bureau, and the useless Imperial Guard.

The Four Symbols Sect disciples had seized the upper hand upon Xia Longyuan's death and controlled the capital because others lacked organization. Once the high officials and nobles in the capital formed an organized network, the power they could unleash would definitely not be much inferior to that of the Four Symbols Sect disciples. If an army suddenly arrived at the city gates, complemented by internal chaos within the capital, it remained unknown to whom the capital would belong.

Was Vermilion Bird in the capital? It mattered not. In truth, there were also gods and demons in the capital... The one whom Zhao Changhe had forced back with a single arrow back then had not left at all; he was secretly licking his wounds in the dark.

This was the best opportunity to take the capital.

Even if they couldn't take it immediately, it didn't matter. The Li family's army behind them was also on the way, arriving shortly.

As long as a certain stalemate could be achieved, with the capital in crisis, the Cui family would inevitably withdraw their troops to defend, and the offensive faced by the Wang family would resolve itself. Furthermore, knowing the capital was in crisis, would Huangfu Yongxian feel compelled to rush to the Emperor's aid?

North of the Great Wall and south of the desert, Temur had already launched a surprise attack on the Batu tribe of the southern desert under the cover of the snowy night. What would the Yanmen Army do, and which side would they care for?

Behind Yanmen, there was also the allied army of the Shanxi merchants who had previously been beaten back by Huangfu Shaozong. They were currently staring at the rear of Yanmen Commandery, ready to stab Huangfu Yongxian in the back at any moment while he was caught in a dilemma.

To think that the tranquility of the past half-month meant everything was fine was a mistake; the eruption of a storm required time to brew, and now it had arrived.

This war fire across the northern lands, the beacon smoke on all sides—could a new court without the absolute martial might of Xia Longyuan sitting at the helm... manage to cope?