The Fu Dynasty triumphed over the Skybrush Sect, but at a heavy price. Their sole venerable, Empress Ling Lihua, died to deliver the critical blow to the Skybrush Sect's jiangshi and top echelons. Their emperor committed suicide in grief after the empress sacrificed herself, not naming a successor at all.
Their emperor, Fu Xiuyi, had no children despite sitting on the dragon throne for over a hundred years. It was not that no officials had requested the emperor to take more concubines since none of his consorts, including Ling Lihua, had children, but the emperor refused on the point that the empress had yet to conceive the first crown prince.
When Ling Lihua had heard Fu Xiuyi say those words, no language could describe her happiness since that meant that her husband, the mighty emperor wanted her to conceive their first child. Yet, she purposely overlooked the fact that he never touched her, so how could she conceive a child unless she gave the emperor a green hat?
Fu Xiuyi simply did not want to take concubines and used Ling Lihua as a shield, yet she became happy for over a year because of his deceitful tactics. Because of Fu Xiuyi's decree, the Fu Dynasty was thrown into chaos with no ruler.
A country could not be without a ruler for a day.
It was not that there was no official with the thought of renaming the Fu in the Fu Dynasty with their surname. The truth of the matter was that many mechanisms, such as the Dynasty Barrier Formation, could only be controlled by those who inherited the Fu bloodline, not to mention that a Ling Haitang was eyeing them closely.
There was one person who tried to sit upon that throne, and that man was Duke Ling. If he had Ling Haitang's support, becoming the new emperor was but a simple task. When Duke Ling mentioned the plan to Ling Haitang, she directly laughed at his face causing him to turn red from shame and anger.
"Father, you're still as blind as before. What does a mere emperor count as once you have enough strength? Look at all the immortals in the world. Each one can become an emperor if they choose to, yet few do. Why do you think so?" Ling Haitang had asked before leaving without waiting for an answer.
Once one's strength reached a certain point, he could rule the whole world if he wanted to. The Dragon Emperor tried to do so, but he was stopped before he could reach that level of strength.
Fu Xiuyi had killed his brothers, uncles, nephews, and even sisters to claim the dragon throne. As a result, the Fu Imperial Family was lacking in numbers. In the end, the hundred officials could only name the daughter of a princess as the next emperor.
Even though the selection of the next emperor had been solved, there were still hundreds of problems that had to be taken care of. The majority of the army had been wiped out, and there were numerous forces eyeing the weakened lion that was the Fu Dynasty.
There was no other way to describe the issue as nation shaking. The Fu Dynasty could only shed off the border territories in order to protect the heartland with their remaining army.
This solution was like drinking poison to quench their thirst. With the decreased amount of land, the overall recovery and potential of the nation would be lowered. It was likely that they would eventually weaken to the point that the surrounding forces could divide their empire without much effort, but what other choices did they have?
Unless they could seek external aid. At this point, all eyes turned to Ling Haitang and Daoyi. However, Ling Haitang heartlessly rejected them all. Most left, but those that scorned and openly condemned her for being a heartless woman that didn't even care about her birth country were beaten half-dead.
That was over a week ago.
"Sister Ling, do you know who Ling Kang is?" Daoyi suddenly asked as she and Ling Haitang flew away from the Fu Dynasty.
Ling Haitang stared at the distance where the Fu Dynasty's capital had already disappeared. She had been doing so for the past few hours. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
For Ling Haitang, this was the last time she would come back. She should have left gloriously after stomping the cheating couple's faces into the dirt, yet reality did not conform to her expectation. Ling Lihua died, causing her to feel a sense of numbness, and Fu Xiuyi committed suicide without giving her a chance to enact her plans.
All of this caused her to feel a sense of emptiness. There was no exhilaration at that scumbag's death, only numbness. Perhaps it was because Fu Xiuyi really did love Ling Lihua despite all his actions. Otherwise, such a selfish man would not commit suicide.
Still, Ling Haitang thought suicide was not in line with Fu Xiuyi's style. All of his previous actions showed that he did not care about her half-sister. Maybe Ling Lihua's death made Fu Xiuyi realize his true heart? Ling Haitang gave a scornful smile.
Ling Haitang shook her head. Whatever, the two people who caused the most pain to her were dead, and now, she could wholeheartedly devote her heart to cultivation and overcoming her Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. If there was still one link that made Ling Haitang worried, it would be her mother.
She had asked her mother to leave and live with her. Although she would not be able to live in Flowers Peak of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, Ling Haitang had no problem purchasing an estate in one of the satellite cities near the sect. Her mother would be able to live without Duke Ling's oppression, but her stupid mother chose to reject Ling Haitang's consideration.
Furthermore, her mother asked Ling Haitang to make Duke Ling the emperor after she had already rejected the man. It was at that moment that Ling Haitang realized the truth. It was a fact that her mother loved her, but it was also true that her mother was nothing more than an extension of Duke Ling's will, albeit one with her own emotions. But what did that matter? A tool would never be able to disobey the user.
Ling Haitang couldn't be said to be disappointed. Perhaps she already knew, and the numbness from Fu Xiuyi and Ling Lihua's death caused her to open her eyes. Whatever the reason, Ling Haitang decided to let her mother live out the rest of her life as she wished. Who knows, perhaps her father really did care for her mother, as Fu Xiuyi did for Ling Lihua.
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After Daoyi repeated her question, Ling Haitang gave Daoyi a strange look but still answered her question. "Fu Kang is my brother from the same mother. You shouldn't have met him because he grew up with Fu Xiuyi and usually stays in the palace. Normally, no men are allowed to stay the night in the palace, but he grew up as Fu Xiuyi's study partner, so he was given special privileges. Why?"
Daoyi had to use all her self-control to prevent herself from shouting out that Fu Xiuyi was cut-sleeve, aka he was homosexual for Ling Haitang's brother. No wonder he could treat Ling Haitang and Ling Lihua so ruthlessly.
Ling Haitang's face darkened as she thought of something. "Was it my father? Did he want Ling Kang to near you in order to seduce you? It seems I should have beaten him half to death before leaving."
Daoyi shook her head and said no. She explained that someone said that name, and she grew curious if Ling Haitang was related since they shared the same surname. As for who said it, Daoyi said she couldn't remember. After processing the information, Daoyi shook her head.
'He's a dead man. A man whom I no longer need to consider. The one I should contemplate is this mysterious Great Detacher of Emotions." Daoyi thought. She made up her mind to ask her master, Xi Mengfei, when she returned to the Buzhou Immortal Sect, but before that, Daoyi planned on going to the Xi Dynasty.
Although her mother's remains had been brought to Jade Peak, the Jiang Ducal Estate still had her mother's tombstone erected in the family tomb. She had lived the first fifteen years of her life in that place. Even if it was a place of nightmares, she still had some fond memories. Daoyi decided to report to her mother there before reporting her mother's second grave in the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
Daoyi asked Ling Haitang if she wanted to visit her home country with such a plan in mind. Ling Haitang rejected Daoyi's offer as she wanted to return to Flowers Peak and sort out through her chaotic mind. Daoyi nodded, and the two went on their separate way when their roads diverged.
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The surrounding was devoid of colors, matter, and all life except one. In this void sat a man in his late teens. He wore a gold coronet and purple robes of exceptional quality, but those only enhanced the man's features. His face was handsome, but what was truly eye-catching were those pair of bedeviling eyes. Even closed, they enhanced his handsome face by threefolds.
If his face was an eight out of ten, now it was twenty-four out of ten, and his eyes were a hundred out of ten.
However, everything paled in comparison to the red dot on the man's forehead. The red dot shimmered like the sun, and two flame-like marks extended, one going up and the other going down. While training in the space prepared for him by his mother, Tianyi suddenly had a breakthrough in his Truth-Seeking Eye.
At this moment, Tianyi also felt a change in his Three Pure True Self Visualization space.
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Hardly anything had changed. The emperor, lotus, and eight spheres orbiting one sphere still existed. If there were one change, that would be the aura of the three figures. The emperor was more life-like with no stone-like qualities, the nine spheres were like the solar system with eight planets revolving around one sun, and the lotus exuded an entrancing aura.
The space also changed. Compared to before, the chaotic grey clouds and taken on an almost black tint with countless glittering motes of light. Tianyi could no longer discern any distance, only the endless void. The scene felt familiar, but he could not pinpoint why.
None of that mattered as the black primordial clouds began to rumble as the same mark appeared on the emperor's forehead. A slit slowly appeared on the emperor's head and opened, causing the red marks to be hidden by the folds. When the third opened, Tianyi felt his view of the world change.
It was not a figurative change but a literal one. The space where his three selves resided was actually full of tribulation essence. Tianyi knew that this tribulation essence wasn't created by him but resulted from the Heavenly Dao's infiltration.
A cold sweat covered Tianyi's back. He finally knew why his memories were slowly being erased, and it was lucky that he stopped cultivating the Three Pure True Self Visualization Technique. It was true that the Three Pure True Self Visualization Technique was a great aid to him.
Although the benefits weren't obvious, the foundation of all life was the soul, and the technique strengthened his soul. Tianyi could say that it was thanks to the Three Pure True Self Visualization Technique that he could cultivate so fast. Still, the technique left a significant vulnerability to him.
After some more observation, Tianyi noticed that the tribulation essence was like rootless trees. Although it existed, it could no longer replenish itself and was like an army without a commander, a bunch of sitting ducks waiting to be harvested.
Tianyi pondered the matter. If the tribulation essence was without foundation, then it couldn't have encroached into his mind so deeply. Something must have cut off the link. His eyes brightened as he thought of the reason.
"It must be because I entered the Singularity Realm. Right now, I'm cut off from heaven and earth. If my physical body weren't anchoring me, I would be like living in another dimension. This also means that the Heavenly Dao could no longer sense me." As soon as Tianyi said those words, another thought occurred to him. "Dammit, the Heavenly Dao has been eyeing me since I started cultivating! Thinking back, when I absorbed the tribulation lightning, could the tribulation essence have infiltrated this space?"
The cold sweat on Tianyi's back increased even more. Making up his mind, Tianyi tried to absorb and convert the tribulation essence within his unique space. After some trouble, he discovered that although it was slow and troublesome, it was still doable.
If it were before, Tianyi would not be able to accomplish this, but it was possible thanks to his unique Singularity Realm. His dantian was currently like a black hole that could absorb everything, be it qi, tribulation essence, lightning, immortal qi, and even pure energy.
'Thankfully, I opened my Truth-Seeking Eye and saw the hidden danger. Otherwise, once I started my Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, who knows what would have happened with this tribulation essence in my mind.' Tianyi thought.
The process was excruciatingly slow, but Tianyi gritted his teeth and persevered like never before. When it came to matters that concerned one's life and death, not to mention Tianyi, anyone would pay special attention.
Finally, all the foreign tribulation essence was absorbed, but Tianyi still felt a hint of danger. After some more observation, Tianyi saw no traces of the Heavenly Dao's secret maneuver, but he still couldn't help but question if he had gotten rid of all danger.
In light of the danger, Tianyi might have asked his mother to scan him and see any foreign influence, but now it was impossible. In the past, Tianyi was afraid of Mengfei scanning his soul and learning that he was a reincarnator by accident, so he didn't dare to do so, but now he was regretting it.
After regretting it for a bit, Tianyi pumped himself up and exited the Three Pure True Self Visualization space. Outside, his body reflected the change of the emperor inside his space and also opened its third eye. With the third eye opened, Tianyi could see the exit to the void space he was trapped, but he didn't make a move to leave.
Mengfei had purposely trapped Tianyi in this space. The condition to leave was that Tianyi had to comprehend even spacetime concepts or at least a good portion of the Law of Space. His third eye was like a cheat that directly allowed him to leave, but that would defeat the purpose of the whole exercise, so Tianyi didn't leave.
His pride wouldn't allow him to do so.
Tianyi's third eye closed, and the red dot surrounded by two flame-like marks returned. He frowned as he felt like his sight had dramatically lessened. To make a comparison, it was like Tianyi had taken off his glasses, and the world lost all color and turned blurry.
Gritting his teeth, Tianyi prevented himself from opening his third eye. Still, he had a question. Supposedly, only an immortal could open the Truth-Seeking Eye, but Tianyi had yet to become an immortal, so why could he open it?
Pushing the question in the back, Tianyi earnestly cultivated and tripled his previous effort. Right now, he felt as if some unseen beast was staring ravenously at him, able to attack him at any moment. With his efforts, Tianyi soon discovered the exit.