Establishing a Heavenly Imperial Court
Translated by FireTrucker.
Book 2: The Golden Lock of the Eight Gates
Chapter 14: Establishing a Heavenly Imperial Court
Demonic Body Toning Method, Level Two!
In the moment that decided life or death, Zhong Shan suddenly broke through to the second level. However, since he was still using the foundations of the first level of the Demonic Body Toning Method, right now his body ached all over and he must rest for a couple of days to recover. That being said, once he's recovered, his power will be increasing by leaps and bounds, at least while under the effects of the Demonic Body Toning Method.
Yunqian was looting the giant red snake's body in the distance, especially since the giant red snake's body was riddled with treasure.
"Zhong Shan, how do you feel?" asked Tianling-er with worry as she immediately inspected his body for injuries.
"I'm fine, I just need a couple days of rest." said Zhong Shang shaking his head.
Beiqingsi stood close by watching the both of them and at that moment she had very mixed feelings, not knowing how to face Zhong Shan. As such she stood to the side awkwardly and silently. She then looked over to Yunqian but her mind was still on Zhong Shan.
"Where's everybody else?" asked Zhong Shan looking around, noticing that it was only them left.
"I don't know." answered Tianling-er as she wiped her tears.
At the time, Tianling-er's attention was solely focused on Zhong Shan and the giant red snake, why would she be thinking about anything else.
Seeing Tianling-er tearing up like a little kitten, Zhong Shan smiled and tried to reach out to wipe the tears away, but halfway out, he saw how bloodied his hands were and thinking it would be counterproductive, he lowered his arm.
"Third shijie, what had happened earlier?" asked Tianling-er turning her head to face Beiqingsi.
Since Tianling-er asked her a direct question, Beiqingsi had to turn her head back, but upon seeing Zhong Shan she felt awkward again, however she still pretended not to remember anything that happened from that day.
"Hao San escaped under the protection of the Qiu Dragon. The eunuch killed himself and everyone else left to chase Hao San." answered Beiqingsi candidly.
Seeing Beiqingsi's pretending to be calm and collected, Zhong Shan just nodded his head, to avoid making Beiqingsi feel more awkward.
"I'm going to do some breathing exercises. Ling-er, can you see if there are any ponds around, I need to clean up." said Zhong Shan.
Wiping away her tears, Tianling-er's earlier sadness was replaced with happiness as she nodded eagerly and went to complete the request Zhong Shan asked of her.
After her eager reply, she immediately ran in all directions looking for a pond.
Since Yunqian was still dismembering the giant red snake so Beiqingsi was the only one left with Zhong Shan.
"I'll go help look for a pond." said Beiqingsi, sensing the tense atmosphere and without waiting for Zhong Shan to reply, she immediately flew in Tianling-er's opposite direction.
Seeing Beiqingsi leave, Zhong Shan chuckled as he shook his head then closed his eyes and started his breathing exercises.
This time, the wounds were very serious.
Zhong Shan sat for an two hours and his body recovered only slightly. However, his Zhenqi was only a third of what it use to be.
Opening his eyes, he saw the other three had come back.
"Zhong Shan, how do you feel?" asked Tianling-er with worry in her wide-opened eyes.
"Much better, have you found a pond?" asked Zhong Shan.
"There's one five miles away over there. It's very close." answered Tianling-er immediately.
"I'll take you there." offered Yunqian.
"Thanks." nodded Zhong Shan.
And so, Yunqian waved his hand and his flying sword enlarged and the back of it seemed to resemble wood as it emanated a soft green glow. Zhong Shan stepped on and with Yunqian driving, they very quickly reached the mountain valley where the pond is.
Descending, Yunqian said, "It's just over there."
"Thanks." nodded Zhong Shan.
As for the corpse of the giant red snake, Yunqian didn't mention a word about it. It wasn't an issue either, Zhong Shan didn't bother to ask. Quickly undressing, he hopped into the pond and washed himself.
He had fresh clothes stored inside his bracelet however, everything had been dissolved by the snake's stomach acid so he could only wash his current bloodied clothes in the pond and wear those.
After he finished washing himself, despite still possessing heavy wounds on his body, his person seemed a lot more relaxed and refreshed.
They reconvened with Tianling-er and Beiqingsi.
"Shijie, da shixiong told us to go to Cuiyun Mountain. He'll be there within five days." Yunqian told Beiqingsi.
"You go meet with him." said Beiqingsi frowning.
"But, I already promised him, shijie, just wait a while, otherwise it'll be difficult for me to explain. And anyway Da shixiong already promised to accompany you to Eight Gates Mountain, if you leave like this, it……" said Yunqian with a conflicted expression.
Frowning, Beiqingsi thought about it and nodded as though she had an idea, "Alright, we'll go wait for him on Cuiyun Mountain."
"Cuiyun Mountain?" asked Zhong Shan frowning.
In Da Kun Kingdom, there was also a Cuiyun Mountain. It was also Da Kun's most dangerous mountain, normal people couldn't climb it because it had sheer cliffs on all four sides as though it was a giant stone pillar, that was also incredibly tall. Only the mountain peak was a green plain, as though it was an emerald cloud in the sky. Could it be?
"Eight hundred miles west, we can reach it by evening." Yunqian said after giving it some thought.
Indeed it was that very same Cuiyun Mountain.
Turning his head to look at Tianling-er, Zhong Shan frowned because he promised to find Da shixiong for her but now that he had left, they could only go wait on Cuiyun Mountain.
"Ling-er, what will you guys do?" asked Yunqian.
"We'll go with you and wait together." answered Zhong Shan.
Hearing Zhong Shan's reply, Yunqian frowned. Wait for Da shixiong? Who asked you to go wait for Da shixiong? But since Beiqingsi and Tianling-er were both there, Yunqian couldn't say anything more.
As for Tianling-er, she obviously had no qualms. Now that Zhong Shan is no longer in danger, why not go wait for Da shixiong?
As for Beiqingsi, she watched Zhong Shan and her eyes showed her to be slightly uncomfortable, but in the end she didn't have anything against the idea.
They boarded two flying swords, Beiqingsi took Tianling-er and Yunqian took Zhong Shan. By evening, they arrived at the peak of Cuiyun Mountain.
There was a stone table on the peak of Cuiyun Mountain, as well as some stone chairs. It seemed very simple. Everyone landed on the mountain peak and Zhong Shan stood on the edge and had a look down.
"So we'll just wait here?" asked Tianling-er frowning.
"Yes, right here. It's only a few days." Says Yunqian casually.
Seeing Yunqian's nonchalance, Zhong Shan sighed. Wait here doing nothing? And a few days at that? Well sure if the weather's nice, but if there's a storm, the first to be struck by lightning would be the one on the mountain top.
"There's a manor house at the base of the mountain, I bought it before entering Kaiyang School. How about we go down there to wait?" asked Zhong Shan.
"We can't. If Da shixiong came and couldn't find us, what then?" rebutted Yunqian immediately.
Seeing Yunqian being stubborn, Zhong Shan frowned. When he talks to Zhong Shan, Yunqian's tone suggests that he looks down upon Zhong Shan. Although with Zhong Shan's shrewdness, he could take it lightly, however tolerating it from this little man was not Zhong Shan's style.
"In that case, you can wait here, while we go down to wait in the manor house. When Da shixiong arrives, just notify us." Said Zhong Shan.
Hearing Zhong Shan's words, Yunqian frowned but in the end didn't say anything.
"Ling-er, shishu, let's go down the mountain." Zhong Shan sad to Beiqingsi and Tianling-er.
Seeing Zhong Shan include herself, Beiqingsi frowned but in the end nodded.
"Hope it's not a bother, shidi." said Beiqingsi to Yunqian.
At that moment, Yunqian finally felt regret, because he thought that Zhong Shan was only going to take Tianling-er down the mountain, but now he's been left up here all alone, and so he felt unbelievable stagnant, at the same time annoyance towards Zhong Shan.
"No problem." nodded Yunqian reluctantly.
Then, Beiqingsi took both Tianling-er and Zhong Shan down Cuiyun Mountain, with Zhong Shan giving directions.
Yunqian stood at the top of the mountain, watching the descending Zhong Shan, feeling angry but because he couldn't do anything, he could only watch as they landed in front of the manor house. Noting its location, he went back to waiting for Da shixiong, feeling sad and annoyed.
Arriving at the manor house, Beiqingsi knew to imitate a mortal person to avoid unnecessary attention.
Zhong Shan led the both of them forward. Zhong Shan's look had changed but by showing the token he had retrieved earlier the housekeeper let him become the master of the house.
In the manor house, they quickly arranged lodging for the three of them.
Tianling-er ate some food and then went to sleep, probably because she used so much energy earlier. As for Beiqingsi, she also went to her room.
Zhong Shan, in his own room, began to reorganise his storage bracelet.
Inside, a large number of silver notes were now useless. The giant red snake's stomach acid was too strong. Using some large porcelain bowls, he finally cleaned it out properly.
The two swords that he received, had long been thrown aside. The last Blood Puti had also been dissolved by the stomach acid. After cleaning all of the stomach acid, only two useful items still remained.
One is the formula he acquired before. Fourth Level Pellet Formula for the Kuang Hua Pellet.
The other is a beautifully carved, peach wood box. Seeing this box, this treasure, Zhong Shan's eyes glimmered. Even in the presence of the stomach acid, there wasn't even a mark on the box, how is that possible? Is this not made of normal peach wood?
The servants delivered fresh water and Zhong Shan washed the box thoroughly once again, there was really not a single mark on it.
At that moment, Zhong Shan remembered something that had happened before. Hao San released all those giant snakes in all directions to deliver an item or items, so maybe there were other items within the other snakes stomachs.
Ignoring his missed opportunity, Zhong Shan eyed the peach wood box in his hand. What could be inside?
The peach wood box wasn't sealed so it was easy to open. Carefully, Zhong Shan flipped the locking mechanism.
"Ka~~"
The peach wood box was unlocked. Zhong Shan slowly and carefully lifted the box lid.
Slowly, in the ambient light of his room, Zhong Shan saw the contents of the box.
A scroll? A golden scroll? The scroll seemed to be made of silk, it looked magnificent.
Carefully, he took out the scroll. Seeing this scroll, Zhong Shan suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. This scroll, why, why did it feel so much like an edict? Yes, it is an edict. An edict from an emperor in the mortal world. A golden edict.
Carefully, Zhong Shan unrolled the scroll. Indeed, it looked exactly like an edict.
Slowly, as he fully opened the scroll, Zhong Shan could see numerous tiny characters. Seeing all these characters, Zhong Shan felt his arm shaking with excitement.
At that moment, Zhong Shan suddenly had an urge to scream at the sky, so much so that in his eyes, there were streams of emotional tears. Zhong Shan is usually a very grounded and collected person. Even when seeing the Hongluan Manual or the Demonic Body Toning Method, he had never lost his composure, however, in this moment, Zhong Shan finally wasn't able to control himself.
On the left of the edict, there are three characters, which are also the title of this passage.
"Establishing a Heavenly Imperial Court"
It was titled 《Establishing a Heavenly Imperial Court》.
The first line: "Gather the fortune of the country, gather the fortune of the earth, gather the fortune of the heavens, gather the fortune of the entire world, defy the heavens, live forever!"
The second line: "Establish the heavenly dynasty, create a country, with the congregation of fortunes of the country, the earth, the heavens, and the entire world to obtain the power to defy karma and achieve one's position amongst heaven and earth."