Chapter 753: Being Your Bridge

Chapter 753: Be Your Bridge

In truth, Yue Hongling’s spirits were slightly low, not entirely due to her sect’s troubles. Compared to Vermilion Bird, who felt her troublemaking here was uniquely meaningful, Yue Hongling always felt she hadn’t played much of a role as a “local” on this trip, and it left her a bit embarrassed.

Yet she herself hadn’t realized how significant her role truly was.

Not to mention forcing Bo’e out in public, which made the Li family’s subsequent affairs extremely troublesome, the more crucial point was that she had planted Wei Changming as a chess piece—though Yue Hongling had yet to grasp its value.

Regardless of her gloom, with her lover’s comfort, Yue Hongling wasn’t one to dwell on things. Soon her mood lifted, and she smiled as she tugged Zhao Changhe to go eat.

The embassy meal had just been prepared when Huangfu Qing, who had been hiding somewhere earlier, reappeared. She teased, “Just now you were sulking, and now your face is all red? Did he kiss you so well?”

Yue Hongling lowered her head to eat.

Why were all the women around him like this? Sisi was already a little demon, and this one was a great senior, a venerable master—how could she be so mischievous too? Oh, it’s the Demon Sect, so that explains it.

Huangfu Qing didn’t know why she wasn’t particularly jealous of Yue Hongling. Perhaps it was because they had known about each other for a long time, and the mental preparation was already complete; or maybe it was because they both wore red robes, plain and unadorned. Looking at Yue Hongling, she felt a bit like seeing her younger self—the same dashing and spirited demeanor, except she had done many evil deeds while Yue Hongling performed chivalrous acts. But she hadn’t always done bad things; she had once gone to the battlefield for training, charging on horseback under her father’s command, with no one knowing that was the Vermilion Bird Venerable of the Four Symbols Sect. In those days, she was happy.

And so now, Huangfu Qing found Yue Hongling particularly agreeable. That rotten disciple? What was she but a piece of trash? So much so that even though she clearly sensed the opposing nature of their techniques, she couldn’t be bothered to care. After all, the Night Emperor was now Zhao Changhe, and even if there was opposition, it had been subdued by our Night Emperor’s charms, hadn’t it?

Huangfu Qing bit into a meat sandwich, her cheeks bulging as she spoke grandly: “Hongling has reached the Imperial Realm at such a young age—truly formidable. Unlike someone in our sect, who had all the resources of the Holy Sect piled on her, devoured countless heavenly treasures, and even stirred up a storm overseas just to seek a Azure Dragon blessing for her. And in the end? I don’t even know if she’s broken through the third secret treasury. Comparing goods makes you want to throw them away.”

Yue Hongling humbly said, “Xia Chi… well, Her Majesty is an emperor, too busy to cultivate, and doesn’t need to focus on cultivation. She’s different from us wandering martial artists.”

“Don’t say she’s too busy being emperor. The palace has abundant resources, and the Four Symbols techniques have been fully aligned with the ancient ways, while also receiving greater faith power. Except for a lack of experience, her conditions are many times better than before. If she still can’t break through the third secret treasury this time, I’ll break her legs!”

Zhao Changhe said leisurely, “What if she breaks through to the Imperial Realm?”

Huangfu Qing glared: “Her? Worthy?”

Yue Hongling couldn’t help but laugh. This was the kind of thing where she was afraid her disciple couldn’t keep up in cultivation, yet also afraid the disciple might surpass her.

But for the sect, Xia Chichi was a representative of a completely different lineage from you, not really a disciple. In other organizations, these two lineages might even come to blows… As Yue Hongling thought about it, she again considered the conflicting yet complementary martial meanings between herself and Vermilion Bird, and decided to try it out with Xia Chichi and Yuan Sanniang later; perhaps she would gain something new.

Thinking of this, Yue Hongling turned to Zhao Changhe and asked, “What do you think about the conflict and complementarity of our martial paths? Since you were able to break through to the Imperial Realm from our cooperation, you must have some insights.”

Zhao Changhe said, “It’s nothing more than what I said before about the transition from sunset to starry night. Day and night are certainly opposites but also unified. The ancient Night Emperor lacked the sun… pfft… cough cough…”

Blind Girl: “?”

Both women glared at him in exasperation.

“Cough…” Zhao Changhe took a sip of soup to calm himself, then continued, “And ever since I forged the Star River, I’ve been moving toward that unification. I couldn’t break through before because the concept was too vast, and I had no direct technique reference. I could only rely on the intent of the Lesser Star River to repeatedly verify and familiarize myself. But both of you are at the Imperial Realm, with powerful and intuitive intents. When you two attacked together, it felt like an epiphany, instantly clearing things up. So it was actually the result of long-term accumulation, and your cooperation gave me the key.”

Yue Hongling said, “I know you broke through because of that. What I’m asking is, since you have a combined understanding of both our practices, do you have any suggestions for us?”

“Yes, let’s start with the Four Symbols side.” Zhao Changhe said, “Actually, I feel that in ancient times, there might not have been a Sun Emperor or the like, because those who practice righteousness and light all share this intent, without a specific representative. The Night Emperor himself wasn’t evil or darkness; that domain belongs to the Nine Abysses. So the Night Emperor isn’t truly opposed to this; on the contrary, she should seek to encompass this intent. But limited by her understanding, she couldn’t encompass it, and might have even rejected it before.”

Huangfu Qing said, “The Night Emperor indeed has no evil intent, only indifference and impartiality, close to inhumanity.”

Zhao Changhe said, “So for her to improve, she first needs to tilt her stance.”

As he spoke, he made a gesture of twisting a butt.

Blind Girl: “…”

She shouldn’t have revealed her identity. Once it was out, this guy wouldn’t stop…

Huangfu Qing had no idea that he was secretly teasing the god she once worshipped. She was still thinking: “Do you mean that our techniques also need to incorporate Hongling’s sword intent to become stronger?”

“Yes. This conflict isn’t the light-dark opposition we thought before; it’s just a bias in techniques caused by limited understanding, leading to rejection. But since the essence isn’t conflicting, the techniques can certainly complement each other’s deficiencies. Combining them would create a stronger, flawless path.” Zhao Changhe said, “But modifying such major techniques is beyond us for now, unless the Night Emperor does it herself, or until we reach that level. For now, we can only do things like splitting into branches and forming formations.”

Formations.

Huangfu Qing and Yue Hongling exchanged glances and nodded. Their routine cooperation already gave opponents the feeling of a formation. If they truly formed one, the power could double.

If they added Sanniang and Chichi to study a grand formation together, it might be even stronger than the traditional Four Symbols Formation. They could use the original Four Symbols Formation as a base. Originally, lacking one person made it hard to form the formation, but now inserting Yue Hongling could create a four-corner formation without changing the number of people—just modify the formation patterns.

This was a way to achieve a huge short-term improvement. And if there was a possible conflict with the Dao Venerable of the Nine Abysses tonight, they could even study it and use it directly.

Huangfu Qing turned to Zhao Changhe and asked, “Hey, you just broke through to the Imperial Realm. Do you need a quiet room to meditate and consolidate? Otherwise, rushing into battle without mastering the changes from before and after would be like gulping down food without chewing.”

Yue Hongling also nodded: “If you plan to go to the Tower Terrace tonight, you should consolidate a bit now.”

“?” That made sense, but why bring it up out of the blue? Zhao Changhe asked curiously, “You broke through to the Imperial Realm during idle talk that day, and you didn’t go into seclusion.”

Yue Hongling said impatiently, “Because I was already sitting in meditation at the time. Unlike you, who were fighting and then arguing with people. Have you sorted out your current cultivation? You know it yourself. Go into seclusion. I’ll study formation coordination with Sister Vermilion Bird.”

Zhao Changhe understood the tacit understanding between these two. They were making excuses to get rid of him, afraid that if the three of them studied together, something embarrassing might happen.

“You’re burning the bridge after crossing it!” Zhao Changhe grabbed one hand of each: “I broke through by watching your cooperation. Shouldn’t you help me consolidate together? And your so-called formation, without me as a link, would be lacking something. We can’t do the Four Symbols Formation now, but we can do Sun, Moon, and Stars…”

“Hey, hey, hey…” The two stumbled as he pulled them into the adjacent bedroom.

Of course, he had a point; it would be better for the three to help each other. But this guy had been spoiled by Xia Chichi and Sisi, those two little vixens, and was always thinking about stacking up. Who wasn’t afraid of him messing around? This was their first day meeting, even if they got along well, you couldn’t just do that!

And the place he pulled them into was obviously suspicious: “Your so-called seclusion is in a bedroom?”

“Of course.” Zhao Changhe said matter-of-factly: “This is an embassy. Where is there a quiet room for cultivation? The most private place left is the bedroom, isn’t it?”

“You know this is someone else’s territory!”

“Bang!” The bedroom door closed, revealing a soft large bed. The three fell silent, the atmosphere awkward.

The two women crossed their arms, one on each side, looking at him askance with an expression that said, “Let’s see what excuse you can come up with.”

Zhao Changhe looked even more surprised than them, scanning their faces left and right: “I say, you two are too lustful. What are you thinking? Let’s form a Three Talents Formation and sit in meditation to practice.”

“?”

Without another word, Zhao Changhe sat cross-legged on the bed in one spot: “What are you thinking? We’re about to fight. Who has the mind for that? I’m such an upright person, and you’re going to lead me astray… Ouch, damn it…”

Two long legs kicked him in unison, sending him tumbling off the bed. They withdrew their legs together, exchanged a glance, and then huffily sat cross-legged on the bed.

Accusing us of being lustful, turning the blame around. Why would we think of such things? You know perfectly well.

Forget it.

Zhao Changhe scrambled back up, and the three sat in a triangle, each extending both hands, palms facing each other in pairs.

Qi flowed back and forth among them. Before long, all the chaotic thoughts vanished, and each person’s mind entered a state of clarity.

They had told Zhao Changhe to consolidate his insights, which was an excuse to send him away, but it was also reasonable. How could one break through without properly organizing the differences before and after, and understanding what level they had reached? This settling was necessary.

Of course, meditating alone to consolidate wouldn’t be as effective as having both companions nearby to reinforce the insights. After all, before, he had only watched; now, both of them were channeling their intents directly into him, making it as intuitive as could be.

If there was one biggest difference from before, it was that he used to rely mainly on his own power to fight, but now every move seemed to invoke resonance with heaven and earth, with himself as the foundation. The power of the stars nourished him back, strengthening his physical body.

It was called “Imperial Star River,” but the concept was still too vast. To actually cause a cascade of stars or a river to fall from the sky was still an exaggeration. For now, it was more about simulating imagery to achieve similar effects. In detail, what he currently controlled was mainly his own blood and qi, using the microcosm of his body to echo the real universe, moving toward the ultimate goal of waving his hand and bringing down stars.

To put it in concrete terms: before, his full-strength punch could supposedly stop a tsunami, but that only referred to a single wave—stopping a tsunami was an exaggeration, though it was already very strong. Now, if he threw a punch, a tsunami was still an exaggeration, but smashing a mountain seemed truly possible…

Shattering mountains and filling seas—this was already the power of legendary immortals.

This was the Imperial Realm: mastery over one aspect of the laws, becoming the representative and deity of that attribute, with true divine and demonic abilities.

Previously, he could fight on par with Imperial Realm experts and even win, partly because Huangyang and Fengyin hadn’t fully recovered their Imperial Realm power, and partly because he hadn’t reached this level himself. In fact, he had been relying on the divine weapons Dragon Sparrow and Star River to barely hold his own. Now, he could rely on himself. And with this power, when he used Dragon Sparrow and Star River, he could maximize their potential, more than doubling his overall combat strength.

Zhao Changhe was certain that if he met Huangyang and Fengyin again, and they were still at their previous level, he could take their heads within three strikes.

In the battle within Chang’an, everyone had deliberately concentrated their power to avoid excessive release. If they had fully erupted, the Imperial Realm battle could have reduced the entire prosperous city to ruins, leaving no living being within a hundred miles.

But now, Zhao Changhe was more focused on his five senses, especially the Eye at the Back of His Head.

How his relationship with Blind Girl would develop—this was always a thorn in his side.

He tested it and found that the range of his overlooking eye was now astonishing… Previously, he could shoot an arrow at a target over ten li away and hit Poxun, but that wasn’t the limit. He was shocked to discover that if he fully extended his perception, he could see most of the Guanzhong Plain.

Yes, the Guanzhong Plain, not just the city of Chang’an.

No wonder the Blind could observe the world; now I myself have seen the mold. Logically, others' realms of mastery aren't this outrageous; I wonder how great the blessing of the Eye Behind really is.

"Blind..." Zhao Changhe called out habitually, though he didn't really know what he wanted to ask.

This time the Blind did not respond, whether because, as she said, "I'm not here," or because she truly couldn't be bothered.

Zhao Changhe shook his head, not dwelling on it, and focused his mind into the "formation."

If he wanted Huangfu Qing and Yue Hongling to form the formation, the understanding and tacit agreement between them were still far from sufficient, and their techniques were incompatible; Zhao Changhe himself was the most suitable adhesive for both sides.

True twin-headed dragon.

If Yue Hongling's image was the sun, and Huangfu Qing's image was the star, the sun and star could hardly coexist; but once the moon appeared, then sun, moon, and star could shine across the heavens. At this moment, Zhao Changhe played the role of the moon, linking the two together.

Zhao Changhe could clearly feel two completely different streams of true qi passing back and forth in his hands, their intersection carrying a fierce, gnashing contention; he labored somewhat to smooth both sides, pulling them gradually into fusion.

Actually, relatively speaking, combining the techniques of Yue Hongling and Huangfu Qing was easier, since the Vermilion Bird belonged to fire, also a blazing and bright image. If Guigui or Chichi were here, coordinating with Hongling would be more troublesome.

But even with these two easier ones, Zhao Changhe was already struggling. Their cultivation systems were not the same, and each had conflicts. It was as if a little Huangfu Qing and a little Yue Hongling collided, then kicked each other; he grabbed one with each hand, carefully pulling their little hands together.

Then both sides started bristling and struggling, their little feet kicking at him together, as if saying, "I won't be friends with her." Zhao Changhe had no choice but to separate them slightly, pressing one down with each hand, and they kicked at each other across him, unable to reach.

Zhao Changhe: "..."

At this rate, when will they ever coordinate?

Zhao Changhe gritted his teeth, and in for a penny, in for a pound, grabbed the little Yue Hongling on his right and fiercely kissed her.

Huangfu Qing was a bit better, but you, you're even more unruly than your senior!

Actually, this was the image of their technique cultivation, not their personalities; Zhao Changhe was completely imagining things. It was just that Huangfu Qing consciously sought Zhao Changhe's new Night Emperor intent of sun-moon coexistence, while Yue Hongling, unfamiliar with this system, was naturally more at a loss.

But when Zhao Changhe pressed down on Yue Hongling's cultivation and "kissed" her, she struggled but feared hurting him, so she obediently restrained herself and let his dual cultivation technique merge in. Seated cross-legged, Yue Hongling's face burned like fire; she felt as if she had been stripped naked in the sea of consciousness of the three.

Such a pure and bright scene of sitting cross-legged, palms touching—how could this bastard turn it into such an image?

She shouldn't have come in with him.

Fortunately, she was not alone. After Zhao Changhe suppressed her, he went all the way and suppressed and merged Huangfu Qing's cultivation as well.

Thus, in the sea of consciousness, one could observe the vision of three souls rolling together naked, as if the three were sharing a dream.

Huangfu Qing's face also flushed crimson.

Your dual cultivation technique is truly well-practiced... Even the founder of the Maitreya Sect might not have your skill; you can even perform spiritual intercourse!

But no matter how disgusting this fellow was, the effect was truly good. Before long, the three cultivations flowed back and forth seamlessly, blending like water and milk.

Sun, moon, and star shone in the sky of the sea of consciousness; heaven, earth, and man formed a trinity, like a single whole.

"Clang!" Sword intent swept across the sky, transforming into a sea of sunset clouds. The sunset clouds took the shape of a Vermilion Bird spreading its wings, its eyes like sun and moon.

The Vermilion Bird flapped its wings, a sea of fire scattering across the universe, falling into the void, then turning into ten thousand swords like rain.

The three shuddered simultaneously, as if some other rain had spilled out.

Huangfu Qing and Yue Hongling opened their eyes, their faces flushed, and each could see the other's shame and anger, and the spring in their eyes. They hadn't expected this operation to be so pleasurable... without doing it, it felt like they had. The two women subtly shifted their crossed legs, unsure if they were a bit sticky...

The Blind, who had been quietly observing this meaning, quietly withdrew from his sea of consciousness. Such a lofty matter, something that could even provide reference for the ancient Night Emperor and the Spirit of the Celestial Book—why did it turn into such a degenerate form in front of this pervert?

"Ahem." Only Zhao Changhe remained unperturbed: "If I'm not mistaken, it's now midnight. Shall we set off?"

The two women exchanged a glance, then simultaneously reached out and pressed Zhao Changhe's shoulders, and with a "bang" threw him out the window: "Go die first, then we'll talk about setting off!"