Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 240: All Gone

It wasn’t uncommon for lightning to strike the platform in heavy rain. With the rumbling of thunder and the blinding lightning, no one dared to check the situation up on the platform, let alone even get close to it.

What was even more strange was that, during the thunderstorm, people could hear beast roars and terrifying screams from the platform, making it even more difficult for people to approach.

Although the imperial guard of the Yang world did not dare to guard the area around the platform, the gods of the various divisions of the City God of the Capital Prefecture and the underworld officials had already blocked some entrances and exits both inside and outside the stages.

Naturally, they didn’t need to go up on the platform to catch people. Apart from keeping an eye on a couple in particular, just to be on the safe side, they would also check the “experts” that had escaped the platform one by one to determine if there were any evil ones who had managed to sneak away among them.

As for those innocent practitioners who really just wanted to take this opportunity to attain the title of “Heavenly Master,” as long as they were not entangled with any hostility or resentment, then they could even turn a blind eye to the rogue spirits and monsters for the time being. At the very least, they could safely get through this next nine-day period of the Ten Gatherings.

Originally, they would never let these spirits and monsters go, but this time, the immortals, monsters, and gods of the realm gathered together, and the Capital Prefecture’s underworld was happy to afford them this courtesy.

In fact, there were others like this back when Emperor Zheng Yuan had been seeking immortality. They had shallow skill in cultivation, and even no hope of progressing, so they used trickery to fool people and try to reduce their karma with the heavy imperial aura, while at the same time trying to use the emperor’s decree to gain a title.

Then as long as they could find a chance to escape, they could work hard to improve their practice.

However, this kind of thing was also very risky. Royal extravagance was the most “poisonous” trend in the world. Even if only experiencing it for a short period of time, such practitioners with shallow concentration could easily lose themselves.

But understanding was one thing, reality was another. Even knowing that it was very dangerous, but there were still people who couldn’t resist the temptation. Everyone could claim that they would be the “exception,” but if one truly was the “exception,” with such character and perseverance that they could truly be titled and escape, then how could their path of cultivation possibly require this kind of method to turn things around?

In contrast, it was the spirits and monsters who had not yet gained high achievements, but persisted in practicing hard, who were more likely to seize this opportunity. If they could be granted a title, the first thing they would consider was how to find a chance to slip away without hesitation. Most of them wouldn’t dare stay in the city, knowing that it was under the underworld’s jurisdiction.

Of course, in addition to these individuals with shallow cultivation, there would inevitably be some masters hiding in the crowd. After all, the formation on the Assembly platform only targeted evil; if they were righteous, they could naturally leave.

All parties of Dazhen, including Ji Yuan, couldn’t tolerate evil beings stirring up trouble. As for the righteous people, as long as they didn’t act outrageously, they would only be startled. However, since they had come to participate in the Ninth Heaven and Ten Gatherings, they might not be scared away, just like the old beggar.

. . .

In a teahouse about two li away from the platform, more than a dozen experts who had left the platform sheltered from the rain. There were also some imperial guards present.

Some sore their soaked clothes, while others simply took off their wet clothes and were shirtless, without keeping up the image of a “experts.” However, the Imperial Guard wold not take off their armor, even if the inner lining was wet.

As they sheltered from the rain, everyone’s attention was focused in the direction of the distant platform. Seeing the falling lightning, many people had lingering fears.

“Ah! If I hadn’t run away, I might have been struck to death by lightning!”

“Yeah, didn’t it kill a few people on the platform?”

“Well, maybe the platform was built too high.”

“No, no, no, I think that the way the emperor held the ceremony on the platform was definitely correct!”

“Oh? What do you mean?”

A group of experts gathered together to discuss seemingly unfathomable topics, and even some of the resting imperial guards stretched out their hearing to listen carefully.

“Think about it, why was there a sudden thunderstorm today? I suppose it can only be because they were dissatisfied with the emperor…”

“How dare you! How dare you speak ill of His Majesty!”

Some of the imperial guards stood up immediately, and many of them put their hands on the hilt of their swords, causing some of the mages to turn pale with fright.

“Sir Guard, Sir Guard,¹ calm down. How could we dare to disrespect His Majesty? Just listen to me, let me finish!”

Seeing that the imperial guards had relaxed, the man breathed a sigh of relief. The suffocating energy just now was absolutely uncomfortable.

He couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘it is said that the soldiers of the imperial city were unbloodied.² Who the hell made this rumor? If these imperial guards had never seen blood, how could they have such a strong murderous aura?’

Almost everyone else in the teahouse had their attention attracted by him, and telling stories on such a rainy day created a special atmosphere.

“I didn’t mean to be disrespectful to His Majesty just now, but why do I claim that the Heavens are dissatisfied? Think about it, His Majesty wishes for the dynasty of Dazhen to be forever stable, and he also wishes himself to be wise and renowned for generations…”

Most people understood the second half of the sentence: the emperor wished to reign immortal and enjoy the power and blessings of the country forever.

“It is no exaggeration to say that this is an act against Heaven. Only our wise and powerful emperor can accomplish such a feat!”

The expert who was speaking flattered the emperor slightly,³ before continuing with his own understanding.

“If such a heaven-defying act could not be accomplished, then the Heavens would naturally not have any reaction. However, the might of the Heavens reacted at this point in time, which shows that the method His Majesty is seeking is already defying the Heavens…”⁴

“That makes sense!”

“Yeah, it does make sense.”

“Master, what immortal land are you from?”

“Well I… Oh, I need to pee. I will take my leave to go and relieve myself.”

The expert felt the urge to urinate, and he had a long story to continue telling, so he simply left people in suspense, then smiled and directly left to the toilet at the back of the teahouse.

The outhouse was located around the back porch of the teahouse. It was particularly dark outside, as the sky was covered in storm clouds. When the expert came back inside after relieving himself, he suddenly felt cold as he passed by the corridor.

This kind of cold was very strange. He looked around, but couldn’t see anything special, and there is no wind outside.

‘Something’s wrong! ’

After thinking about it for a while to try and figure it out, he took out a handful of incense ash from his pocket, dipped it in his own saliva, closed his eyes, and smeared it on his eyelids.

When he opened his eyes again, the expert’s body shook violently.

There were several Yin ghost messengers with faces that were either dark blue or incredibly pale standing next to him. There was also a ghost messenger with a long tongue and thin eyebrows, whose gender he couldn’t distinguish, staring at him with a half-smile on their face.

At this time, an imperial guard happened to come out to the outhouse. When he passed by, he saw the expert curled up against the wall, motionless, and found it a little strange.

“Expert, what’s wrong with you?”

Seeing his pale face, the imperial guard stepped closer and reached out to touch his forehead.

“Oh… Your temperature is quite hot, and you’re sweating a lot. Looks like you caught a cold. I’ll go pee first and them come back to help you.”

The imperial guard withdrew his hand and walked away, muttering, “why is it so cold here…”

The expert there didn’t dare to move. He stood stiffly with an extremely unsightly expression. It was scary to have so many evil spirits surrounding him in broad daylight. He had no idea what they were going to do.

The long-tongued, narrow-eyed ghost scrutinized the expert up and down, and then waved his hand.

“Let’s go, this person is fine.”

The expert only managed to gasp for breath once the ghost messengers had left the teahouse.

. . .

In some key locations and important places in the city, either in the streets or on the roofs, there were one, two, or even three cultivators wearing feathered or long robes. In addition, there were others with profound spiritual powers carrying Heavenly⁵ Jade Talismans and riding the wind, hiding in the air.

Compared to the chaotic atmosphere at the Assembly platform, these cultivators all had divine light in in their eyes, and powerful spiritual energy in their bodies. They were all accomplished practitioners, and were some of the immortal cultivators that had left Yuhuai Mountain.

This time, Yuhuai Mountain had mobilized a large force, led by the five great immortals of Yuzhu Peak, who all had profound attainments in Taoism and great spiritual powers. The other cultivators that had left the sect were also worthy of the title of “immortal” in their Mountain. Among them was Qiu Feng, the Yuhuai Mountain cultivator with a close relationship with Ji Yuan, who had a high enough cultivation as well.

Just looking at the shining light in the direction of the platform and the falling lightning in the sky, many people felt that they had no chance to take action.

The heavy rain finally stopped before noon, and the dark clouds gradually dissipated.

Yan Chang and the other court officials, the Imperial Guard, and some of the surrounding experts then carefully went up to the platform to check on the situation after the clouds dispersed.

However, the terrifying scene they had imagined did not appear. The high platform was clean, and no one was left. Even though they had heard some experts say that people had been killed by lightning, there were now no corpses left on the platform.

Those experts who escaped said that there were still hundreds of people up there, but now not a single one was left. This was quite strange.

However, the disappearance the people was still a trivial matter; the failure of the ceremonial ritual would be fatal, as the emperor would surely punish them. This matter could not be concealed. Led by Yan Chang, the responsible officials had no choice but to think about how to smooth this over.

In the palace, before lunch began, Emperor Yuan De received a report from the Ministry of Rites that the whole blessings ceremony was not going smoothly.

Even though he had been mentally prepared, Emperor Yuan De couldn’t help but grow furious. He angrily scolded the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Astronomical Department for being useless.

However, his anger didn’t last long before it subsided, and he listened to the reporting official’s following words.

Interestingly enough, the official’s subsequent explanation was exactly the same as that of the expert that had been frightened by the ghost messengers in the teahouse.

After their analysis, Emperor Yuan De felt much better.

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T/n: this just goes to show that the most important life skill you can ever practice is how to tell a good story

1. 军 (jūn): of the military, 爷 (yé): grandpa/old gentleman
2. i.e. had never seen real combat
3. Lit. “patted the emperor’s horse”
4. T/n: LOL this guy can BS with the best of them
5. 太虚 (tàixū): great emptiness/the void/heaven/the skies/universe/cosmos