Chapter 788 — Treading the Fragrant Path on a Donkey's Back

When the Primordial Realm's seal broke, Jingping was caught in the upheaval as well, and the mountains and rivers, the whole geography of Jingping, unfolded like a folding fan and spread out on every side.

The roads that once linked the cities were all severed; city now stood ten thousand li from city, and between them lay countless relics of high antiquity, riddled with peril, so that even gods must tread with the utmost care to travel from one city to another. The Primordial Spirit Conference too was suspended for a time, for there was peril aplenty in the Primordial Realm; many of those relics seethed with divine powers left over from high antiquity, and let a primordial spirit drop its guard for a single instant, and those lingering powers would wound it, and it would scatter into ash and smoke. With the land routes cut and the air routes cut, and now even the Primordial Spirit Conference impossible to convene, it was exactly as the Martial Combat Celestial Master had foreseen: Emperor Yanfeng's rule over the empire had fallen to freezing point.

The capital was in chaos, and Emperor Yanfeng, acting on the instant, ordered the gods of Jingping to go forth to the great cities and steady the hearts of the people first of all. And in the capital, a strange man wrapped in a black cloak came to the mansion of Khan Luandi. "Khan Luandi, eagle of the grasslands, now that you have become a god, can it be that you are content to remain a subject of Jingping?

" the man said to him. Khan Luandi looked at the man and said, "The grasslands are already the territory of the state of Jingping.

I was defeated by the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, and I submitted to him willingly. So long as the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping lives, I will not rebel.

" The man threw back his cloak and laughed, "The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping cannot escape death.

The people of the grasslands are of mixed human and divine blood, the descendants of Mahakala. What power has Emperor Yanfeng, that he should dare make you his subject?

The grasslands belong to Mahakala, and now that the Primordial Realm's seal is broken, Mahakala will surely return in might. Why should you call yourself a vassal?

To contend for the world, to contend for the throne, that too may be counted on in the days to come! " Khan Luandi looked at the man's face and was left gaping, tongue-tied: the man had thrown back his cloak, and behind his head a black sun leapt forth, while his skin was of a dazzling golden hue. The deity smiled and said, "Khan Luandi, will you stay in Jingping as a vassal, or return to the grasslands and be once more the eagle that spreads its wings and vies with the champions? " Khan Luandi's spirits rose greatly, and he said in a low voice, "My wife and children are in the capital. If I return to the grasslands to rebuild the empire, they will surely be murdered!

" The black sun deity laughed, "So long as you live, will you not have wives and children in abundance? If you cling to your wife and children, you will lose this chance.

I will look for another! " Khan Luandi at last made his decision, and said resolutely, "Then I leave the capital now!

" The black sun deity covered his head with his cloak and walked out of the khan's mansion with him. The two set off toward the city outskirts, and saw a youth coming toward them.

The youth saw the two, halted and looked them over, then said abruptly, "Luandi, where are you going? " At the youth's side followed several gods and demons with three heads and six arms, their aura exceedingly powerful.

Khan Luandi, seeing those three-headed, six-armed gods and demons, felt a chill in his heart, and made no attempt to conceal it: "I mean to return to the grasslands.

" "The grasslands are a lost cause," said the youth. "The world has changed violently.

Demigods are everywhere; relics and gods and demons of every sort are stirring, eager for the fray.

Even if you return to the grasslands, you will hardly accomplish anything; instead you will drag the people of the grasslands into danger, with the calamity of annihilation upon them.

You gave me the grace of begetting me, and that is why I warn you. " Khan Luandi sneered, "Back then you nearly poisoned all the people of the grasslands to death, and you still have the face to speak of putting them in danger?

You and I cut all ties long ago.

If you still care for the bond of blood, then do not stand in my way! " The youth frowned slightly, stepped aside to let him pass, and said, "Do not forget: it was the First Ancestor who saved our forebears. " Khan Luandi hesitated a moment, but ground his teeth and walked past him.

The black sun deity glanced back at the youth and said in a low voice, "Who is that? I observe that he too carries the bloodline of Mahakala. " "The Great Venerable of the Golden Palace of Loulan, who seized the body of my son Banggongcuo, and is now of the Divine Bridge realm," said Khan Luandi.

"Though he shares my blood and counts as my son, he has thrown in his lot with the Chiming remnant clans, and will never come back to aid me. Let us leave at once.

There are many masters in the city, and several dreadful gods and demons hold it.

" The two left the capital, and in a moment had taken wing and were gone. Banggongcuo and those three-headed, six-armed deities went on their way, and came to the imperial city within the capital, where they saw a black tiger, small and nimble as a civet, racing along the eaves and walls, with a white fox behind it, leaping and skipping along the palace wall in pursuit of the little black tiger.

"Tiger Venerable, Miss Ling," Banggongcuo halted and said, "Are the Woodcutter Sage and Cult Master Shen here?

" The little tiger, catlike, stopped and sat on the palace wall: "Banggongcuo? And several fellow cultivators from the South Sea. The world is in chaos, did you not take advantage of Jingping's weakness to seize territory?

" The white fox stopped too, and transformed into a little girl of seven or eight, unable to hide the seven tails behind her: "Great Venerable, in the past you would flee in panic the moment you saw the Young Master.

Why do you now seek him out of your own accord? " Banggongcuo smiled, "Jingping has no time to look after itself now, and neither does the South Sea. Therefore the Chiming Divine Son has descended in projection, and invites the Woodcutter Sage and Cult Master Shen to come to the South Sea for a talk.

" The white fox said, "The Young Master is not here.

Has the Chiming Divine Son come in projection, or has he come to the South Sea in his true body?

Great Venerable, your words are not truthful. " Banggongcuo smiled faintly and did not answer.

"The Old Master Woodcutter, the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, and the Emperor are building a Great Teleportation Array to link the various regions. " The little black tiger shook its body and became a black tiger ten feet in length. "Follow me!

" The little girl leapt onto the tiger's back, and the black tiger bounded away. Banggongcuo followed them into the imperial palace, where the black tiger halted; there they saw a great many craftsmen, under the leadership of Mo Jiang, building a tremendous gateway, and among them were the Woodcutter, the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, and the Emperor, calculating numbers and celestial patterns.

"Banggongcuo comes at the command of the Chiming Divine Son to pay his respects. " Banggongcuo bowed together with those deities, then straightened and said, "The Great Teleportation Arrays are set in each city, letting soldiers and civilians pass among them and travel between cities.

Yet the medicines and stones consumed each day are beyond counting, and moreover, should anyone harbor thoughts of rebellion, he need only shut down the Great Teleportation Array and Your Majesty would be left helpless.

Why should Your Majesty labor in vain?