Longevity in Two Worlds: Double Pupils Are the Road to Invincibility

Chapter 290 Imperial Decree for Amnesty: Internal Suppression Must Come Before External Resistance; The Cycle of Life and Death

Ancient Moon Peak.

Chengming Palace.

At this moment, a large number of people had gathered in the main hall.

The last time they gathered like this was because of the start of the national war, and the crisis had already spread to Beiyuanzhou City.

Now that the national war has ended, the army of the Canglang Khanate has retreated, and the people of the Xuanniao Merchant Alliance have also completely withdrawn. Logically, everything should return to calm. However, under these circumstances, the Taiyi Sect still made such arrangements, and judging from the situation, it did not seem like a reward for meritorious service. This made people wonder about the reasons behind it.

When Shi Yi and Lin Wenze arrived, there were already quite a few people there, and some others were on their way.

The two of them weren't the last to arrive; there were others outside the city who would need some time to get here.

After Shi Yi entered, what he saw most clearly was the image of Gu Qianqiu, who was still cultivating within the array formation of the Chengming Hall on Guyue Peak.

Gu Qianqiu was sitting in the center of the main hall. His physical body appeared to be cultivating with his eyes closed, but in reality, his mind was absorbing the energy transmitted by the great formation to recover from his physical exhaustion.

At this moment, so many people came into the hall, and they all waited very quietly without anyone speaking.

The atmosphere at the scene was very oppressive.

After a long while, Gu Qianqiu finally opened his eyes and stood up.

"The reason I've called everyone here so urgently today is because something big has happened within the sect."

Gu Qianqiu looked at everyone and slowly began to speak.

His eyes showed some fatigue; maintaining the Hidden Dragon Formation on Guyue Peak had taken a toll on his energy.

Practicing spirituality now is also a form of recovery.

"After the national war ended and Marquis Weiwu returned to the capital, the imperial court issued an order to offer amnesty to the major sects in the seventeen states of the Great Zhou."

"Make all sects submit to the Great Zhou Dynasty and serve it."

"The sect's core inheritance is handed over to the imperial court, and a certain amount of cultivation resources are offered to the sect every year."

Gu Qianqiu's face appeared calm, but his words were anything but.

In fact, after seeing that the Great Zhou Dynasty possessed the Moon Boat, a divine artifact, high-ranking officials like Gu Qianqiu knew that the Great Zhou royal family must have other plans.

I just never imagined the move would be so big and so domineering.

When the imperial court issued the order to offer amnesty, to some extent, if they did not accept it, they would be considered rebels and would be besieged by the government.

Only by accepting amnesty can the sect be preserved.

As for the relationship between the two parties.

Previously, they were equals.

Now, they've made all the major sects kneel down!
They knelt down to accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty.

Even if you want to stand, you'll die, let alone sit.

"As expected, after demonstrating its strength, the Great Zhou Dynasty is now trying to establish its authority!"

"The target of establishing authority is the major sects within the Great Zhou Dynasty."

"So, is this a plan to pacify the internal situation before dealing with external threats?"

Shi Yi was not surprised to hear this.

He had had this feeling vaguely before.

Previously, the Great Zhou Dynasty lacked the ability to suppress the seventeen states and was also worried about the various sects joining forces. After all, if this force were united, it would be enough to overthrow the Great Zhou royal family and bring a new royal family to the throne.

This is also the pattern of dynastic downfall.

However, when a dynasty is powerful, all the major sects need to be careful!

Those forces that are too high-profile will definitely be singled out as examples.

Of course, when a dynasty is plotting something, it will be targeted regardless of whether it is high-profile or not, because its very existence is a threat.

At this time, the Great Zhou Dynasty's approach was the most direct: it didn't look for any other excuses and used its overwhelming power to exert pressure.

The power of the Moon Ship, the king of divine artifacts, above Beiyuan City was still fresh in everyone's mind. Even experts at the Tribulation Immortal level would be crushed in front of it, let alone Daoist masters at the God Immortal level!
Martial arts masters at the Celestial Martial Saint level are powerful and possess immense strength, but even they find it difficult to withstand the repeated attacks of the King of Divine Artifacts.

Therefore, within the Great Zhou Dynasty, both cultivation sects and martial arts sects had to make choices.

The fact that the Great Zhou Dynasty did this directly, giving them time, clearly shows that it is not afraid of these forces uniting together.

This reflects an extreme belief in the power of the Moonship, the king of artifacts, capable of shattering all conspiracies and schemes, and an immense confidence in this power.

Faced with such confidence, the higher-ups of the Taiyi Sect naturally felt even greater pressure!

If the imperial court resorts to underhanded tactics, they still have ways to deal with it.

What I fear most is this situation where I've already revealed my hand and made my move, leaving you free to react however you like.

It's as if they already knew they had won the moment they made their move!

"After discussions among Sect Master Cang, the three Supreme Elders, and many sect leaders, our sect has finally decided to accept the imperial court's order to grant amnesty."

"You have all witnessed the strength of the imperial court. Even with the protection of the Hidden Dragon Formation, and with the combined strength of the entire sect, my sect cannot withstand more than a few attacks."

"Furthermore, this world originally belonged to the Great Zhou, and our sect's position in Beiyuan Prefecture will not change."

Gu Qianqiu's voice was somewhat low when he said this.

In the face of the overall situation, personal emotions are not important, because they cannot fundamentally change the big picture.

The higher-ups of the Taiyi Sect actually contacted some other sects to test their attitudes.

But the final choices were all pretty much the same.

There aren't many sects that are stubborn.

If a sect wants to last, it must lie low and accumulate strength when the court is powerful, and then rise up when the court is weak.

This is also the rule for the longevity of sects.

Although being granted amnesty sounds unpleasant, as it makes them seem like rebels, reputation isn't always that important, especially for those with power.

When circumstances are beyond one's control, one can only go with the flow.

Upon hearing this, everyone else in the Chengming Hall fell silent, but no one voiced any objection.

"I thought this was going to be a war, but I didn't expect them to just admit defeat!"

"However, the difference in strength is too great."

"The Taiyi Sect doesn't even have a Tribulation Immortal expert, so it has no ability to confront the imperial court head-on."

Shi Yi was somewhat surprised when he heard this.

He thought that the Taiyi Sect had joined forces with other sects to take action against the Great Zhou royal family, because whether it was the core inheritance of the sect or the tribute to the court, it could be said that they were digging up the roots of the sect, but not completely hollowing it out.

It's very upsetting, yet not entirely unacceptable; it's quite complex.

Shi Yi and the others continued listening to Gu Qianqiu's words, which mentioned some changes.

The most obvious example is in their attitude towards government officials.

Previously, the Taiyi Dao Sect held a high and mighty position; from now on, their disciples should be more mindful and adapt to the new changes. After all, in the past, the government in Beiyuan Prefecture was, to some extent, merely a figurehead; in crucial matters, the Taiyi Dao Sect made the decisions. Now, that decision-making power is changing!
When Zhao Qingcang, the Marquis of Shenwei, was the governor of Beiyuan Prefecture, he was a powerful figure who held military power. However, even so, he still had to bow down when facing the Taiyi Sect.

This is not only due to the issue of its own strength, but also related to the attitude of the imperial court behind it.

If Zhao Qingcang were still alive, the power he wielded would be exactly what he had dreamed of while he was alive.

Zhao Qingcang entered the Menglan Ruins seeking an opportunity to break through to the Celestial Martial Saint realm and gain sufficient strength, but unfortunately he failed!
Those who come after don't need to do this at all.

After Shi Yi and the others left Chengming Hall, Lin Wenze invited a few people to a small gathering to celebrate Shi Yi's promotion to core disciple.

Previously, I was busy with the national war, and afterwards I was busy repairing the Hidden Dragon Formation, so I didn't have much time.

It was only because the sect allowed them to return that the time was postponed.

Shi Yi agreed to the small gathering.

After completing the registration for core disciples, he will move to the core disciple residential area. His residence will be closer to the core of the formation on Guyue Peak, and his cultivation environment will be better.

Of course, these things are of little help to Shi Yi now, because his cultivation of Daoist arts has reached a bottleneck.

Even if he were to cultivate in the Chengming Palace, it wouldn't be of much help to him, let alone anywhere else!
The five of them had a small gathering at Lin Wenze's residence, which was quite lively. They inevitably talked about the imperial court and the moon boat.

Anyone who has personally experienced the power of the Moon Ship knows how terrifying its existence is.

Although most of the battles took place in the air, the commotion was enormous, and the casual attacks that fell from the sky further disrupted the Hidden Dragon Formation.

The battle area was controlled, otherwise the entire Beiyuan Prefecture city would have been affected.

Even so, due to the aftermath of the battle, it took the Taiyi Sect even longer to repair the Hidden Dragon Formation.

In comparison, the damage caused by the attack of the Canglang Khanate army was much smaller!

Not to mention the scene of the Moon Ship charging the army of the Azure Wolf Khanate, which amazed everyone who watched the battle and made them understand why the sect's higher-ups had compromised.

Faced with such a powerful weapon, the Taiyi Sect had no power to resist.

Even when uniting with numerous sects, this remains true; everyone who has witnessed the Moon Ship's combat power knows this.

This is also why everyone remained silent and no one objected when they heard this in the Chengming Hall.

If we had the strength to fight, we wouldn't have done this.

During the small gathering, everyone drank quite a bit of alcohol. They seemed happy, but their true thoughts had actually changed somewhat.

Compared to Shi Yi, Lin Wenze and the others had spent more time in the Taiyi Sect and had witnessed its power. In Beiyuan Prefecture, they were basically the ones who had the final say.

But now, all of that has changed!

Over the years, the Taiyi Sect has not declined, and its disciples have all diligently cultivated themselves and competed for cultivation resources for the sect.

Even so, it still couldn't keep up with the speed of development of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

With the Moon Boat, the king of divine artifacts, making its appearance, the Taiyi Sect's development over the years seems utterly laughable in comparison.

The Taiyi Sect has always hoped to be promoted to a holy land, but now it is getting further and further away from this goal!

When Shi Yi left Lin Wenze's residence, he reeked of alcohol.

However, after returning to his residence, the smell of alcohol on him disappeared!
If he doesn't want alcohol, he can simply refine it; it won't affect him at all.

"Once the Great Zhou royal family has completely taken control of all forces within the Great Zhou Dynasty, they will definitely take the initiative to start a war!"

"At that time, all the major sects will definitely be forced to join the army in the war."

"Participating in the war is of no use to me; it would only waste my cultivation time."

"I'll continue my seclusion until I reach the Immortal Realm!"

"With my current cultivation level, participating in the national war will not change anything at all, and it may even expose some of my secrets."

"After I register as a core disciple tomorrow, I'll go see Master Gu again and tell him about my long period of seclusion."

"Given my previous contributions, it shouldn't be a problem."

"It would be even better if the Great Zhou Dynasty did not choose to go to war in the short term, but continued to recuperate."

"Even if war breaks out, I will not be forced to leave my seclusion to participate in the war while I am in seclusion."

Shi Yi pondered the next steps.

He was very clear about his own situation.

If it were just a conflict between sects, with his current level of Dao cultivation, he would basically not encounter any danger. After all, he has ways to deal with even if a master at the Immortal Realm were to make a move. But if it were a war between nations, that would be a different story!

The previous intervention by a Tribulation Immortal expert was not an isolated incident.

The foundations of each dynasty are not limited to just one Tribulation Immortal expert; there are also experts at the Celestial Martial Saint level.

Previously, the war between the two countries had not yet reached that point, and time was of the essence, so some manpower had not kept up.

Otherwise, if the battlefield becomes intense, even more powerful forces will inevitably gather.

The fact that the national war ended so quickly was ultimately related to the Moon Ship, the king of artifacts, which shattered the intermediate battles.

This is true for this national war, but it may not be the same next time.

"In the time to come, I will spend more time gaining insights on Earth."

“The birth of a baby, the death of an elderly person, the death of a patient, and the recovery of a patient are all emotional changes between life and death.”

"The cycle of birth and death is a natural process, and also the key to enlightenment."

"My chance to ascend to the realm of immortals must lie in this."

Shi Yi is very clear about his future.

Because he had already sensed the direction ahead.

There is great terror between life and death.

Only when a person is between life and death can they break through the barrier between life and death, comprehend the mystery of the womb, and possess the ability to possess another body. When the physical body perishes, one can also possess another body and be reborn.

At that time, the Yin spirit will also transform into a divine soul, undergoing another qualitative improvement. The divine soul will become even more powerful, and the Taoist arts it unleashes will be even more terrifying.

"And as for the future Faith Body, I will try my best to gather all nine of them, which will greatly enhance my abilities."

"When I advance to the realm of immortals, I can also improve along with them. Even if I have to undergo tribulation later, these future faith bodies can still lend me a hand."

Shi Yi's goals are very far-reaching.

What he sought was never just the realm of immortals, but something much more.

Having witnessed the prowess of a powerful figure, his goals naturally became more ambitious!

"Martial arts cultivation cannot be neglected either. I am now a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm, but I already have enough cultivation resources."

"I will use these cultivation resources to help me cultivate."

"First, I will raise my martial arts cultivation to the level of Grandmaster, and then break through to the Heavenly Martial Saint realm to forge the Azure Storm Sacred Body within the Azure Storm Sword Technique. At that time, my physical body will also become stronger, preparing me to advance to the Human Immortal realm."

Shi Yi also did not give up his martial arts training.

He first came into contact with martial arts cultivation, but his progress in martial arts cultivation has never been as good as his progress in Taoist cultivation. However, Shi Yi has never given up on martial arts cultivation.

(End of this chapter)