Imperial Scepter

During the high-purity formation of the bloodline origin crystal.

Gao Xuemei and Gao Qingfeng, a married couple, stood in their own courtyard, their eyes fixed on Gao Chun's courtyard not far away.

That area was firmly shrouded by a layer of pale golden array, the array patterns flowing and separating the inside from the outside into two independent worlds.

Above the courtyard, in the void, a headless figure strolled leisurely, occasionally flicking his long whip. The white sheep in the void in front of him trembled and cowered, their fur quivering and even their hooves shaking slightly in the void.

What's most heartbreaking is the sheep's eyes.

The pupils, clearly those of livestock, were filled with human despair, with undried tears hanging from the corners of their eyes, rolling down their wool and dissipating into tiny specks of light in the void.

Their steps were stiff, lacking the agility of livestock, as if they were being controlled by an invisible force, exuding a deep-seated sorrow and fear.

The couple stared at the eerie and unsettling scene with grave expressions.

They knew in their hearts that this headless man was no ordinary person; his strength was unfathomable, and he was someone they could never afford to offend.

There's a hunch that the other party might be a friend, not an enemy, who came specifically to bring Gao Chun an opportunity.

After all, it was too much of a coincidence that Gao Chun was born on the very day he came to the void of Ping'an County for the second time to herd sheep.

"What on earth is this headless powerhouse doing?" Gao Xuemei stared at the figure in the void, her tone urgent, her brows furrowed tightly.

"Look at those sheep, trembling like leaves, their eyes don't look like livestock at all, just filled with despair, and tears are still on their faces, it's so eerie!"

Gao Qingfeng gently rubbed his cuffs with his fingertips, his gaze calm yet profound, fixed intently on the eyes of the sheep, and slowly spoke:

"It's truly bizarre. Ordinary livestock wouldn't have such eyes, much less shed tears in the void. These sheep are probably no ordinary creatures."

"That's right!" Gao Xuemei immediately replied, her tone tinged with impatience and apprehension.

"What kind of sheep can walk in the air and cry like a human? This headless man is really strange. Instead of doing something perfectly good, he insists on herding this group of mournful sheep here. It makes people feel suffocated just looking at it."

"However, if this powerful being truly harbored malicious intent, he wouldn't have just been herding these 'strange sheep' in the void." Gao Qingfeng changed the subject, his gaze falling on the array formation in Gao Chun's courtyard.

"The second time he came, Gao Chun was born with a Dao seed, and the father's face was filled with ecstasy at the time, so he must know something inside. This time he's probably here to bring Gao Chun an opportunity as well."

"It's good to offer opportunities, but don't make it all superstitious!" Gao Xuemei snorted, her tone still impatient.

"What if we attract powerful figures from the Eastern Chen Empire? Wouldn't Gao Chun be in trouble? We've been hiding here for so many years; we can't afford to be exposed by this sudden appearance of a powerful expert!"

"Don't worry, someone of such great power has his own methods."

Gao Qingfeng spoke calmly and reassuringly.

"Since he dares to openly appear in the void, he must be fearless. Look, he has already appeared three times, but no one dares to follow him. This proves everything."

"That's true." Gao Xuemei's tone softened slightly, but still carried a hint of resentment.

"But Gao Chun is really lucky. He was sealed for so long, and only a few years after he was awakened, he encountered such an opportunity. Compared to Cheng Zhi, his luck is worlds apart."

"It's all fate, and you can't force it." Gao Qingfeng sighed softly. "Although Chengzhi doesn't have such a miraculous encounter, he is diligent and down-to-earth, and he may very well achieve something in the future."

"Diligent?" Gao Xuemei immediately frowned, her tone suddenly becoming stern.

"Is that what you call diligence? He's always reading a storybook, and he's always trying to slack off during cultivation! I think he needs to be strictly disciplined and his playful thoughts cut off, otherwise he'll never amount to anything in this life!"

Gao Qingfeng smiled gently, his tone mild yet firm: "Xuemei, children have their own nature. Chengzhi has never slacked off in his cultivation, and reading novels is just a way to regulate his mind. Why push him too hard? It's a blessing to have a hobby in this life."

"You spoil him too much!" Gao Xuemei glared at him, her tone domineering.

"In other families, a doting mother spoils her son, but what about our family? If you keep indulging him like this, he'll develop problems sooner or later! What good will his limited abilities do when things really get tough?"

Gao Qingfeng did not refute, but his eyes were filled with affection as he asked, "You asked me about advancing to the King Realm. Actually, I have recently gained some insights, and I only need a few more opportunities to comprehend the King-level intent."

"How much more luck are we missing?" Gao Xuemei stamped her foot anxiously. "It's been so many years! Can't you hurry up? We still need revenge, we still need to rebuild our sect. Without the strength of a King Realm expert, how can we contend with the Dongchen Empire?"

"This headless being is powerful, but we can't rely on outsiders for everything, can we?"

"In matters of cultivation, haste makes waste."

Gao Qingfeng remained calm and spoke in a gentle tone.

"The realm of artistic conception is also divided into five levels. The first level, the bronze realm, only requires understanding the appearance; the second level, the silver realm, requires agile control; the third level, the gold realm, requires authority and dominion; the fourth level, the king realm, requires merging one's own soul; as for the fifth level, the divine realm, it requires creating something from nothing."

"The reason we left our sect in the Southern Wilderness Forest and came to Gao Family Village was precisely to experience more of this mundane world and feel the coldness and indifference of human relationships, wasn't it?"

"Haven't all these years of training been for the purpose of tempering one's character and better understanding the essence of the King?"

"To comprehend the essence of a king, magical artifacts are no longer the deciding factor; one must rely primarily on life experiences and insights."

He paused, his thoughts drifting away from the contemplation of the scene, his gaze falling on the trembling flock of sheep in the void.

His eyes narrowed, and he said thoughtfully, "Speaking of cultivation at the King Realm, I heard that some time ago, several Kings from other sects went to explore a secret realm together, and then disappeared without a trace. They were never seen alive or dead. At the time, we just assumed that the secret realm was dangerous and that they had perished there, so we didn't investigate further."

"Now that you mention it, I remember!"

Gao Xuemei suddenly snapped out of her daze as she followed his words, her eyes narrowing sharply. She subconsciously looked at the sheep, her tone filled with surprise and disbelief.

"Those are true King-level experts, with profound cultivation and remarkable skills. How could they have disappeared so quietly? Not even a single message has been sent out?"

"Could it be...could these sheep be the transformed forms of those missing kings?"

She became increasingly alarmed as she spoke, her voice trembling as she pointed at the flock of sheep: "Look at the look in their eyes."

"That was a despair that penetrated to the bone, a resentment that refused to succumb! And those tears still wet in the corners of his eyes, clearly flowing from inhuman pain and humiliation! If someone hadn't forcibly stripped him of his intelligence and altered his form with great supernatural powers, who would look like this?"

A sharp glint flashed in Gao Qingfeng's eyes. He slowly nodded, his tone growing increasingly serious:

"Now that you mention it, it's quite possible. That headless powerhouse's strength is unfathomable. It wouldn't be difficult for him to easily subdue a King Realm cultivator and unleash such a form-transformation technique."

"These kings must have inadvertently entered the forbidden area of ​​a powerful being in the secret realm, or angered this being, which is why they suffered such punishment."

"That's definitely it!" Gao Xuemei said with certainty, but her voice betrayed a lingering fear.

"Luckily, we acted cautiously and never rashly offended this powerful being. Otherwise, given his methods, our fate would have been a hundred times worse than these sheep!"

"That's not how it works," Gao Qingfeng said calmly. "Great beings act according to their own methods. We don't need to know the cause and effect, nor should we make arbitrary judgments."

"We just need to wait and see, protect the children, and leave the rest to fate."

As they chatted, the topic unconsciously circled back to the old stories of the sect, and Gao Xuemei's expression suddenly became agitated.

She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, saying, "Don't mention the sect! If it weren't for that scoundrel Emperor Dongchen leading the Netherworld Sect in a surprise attack, how could we have fallen to this state?"

"My parents... my parents sacrificed themselves to protect us!"

She became increasingly agitated as she spoke, her eyes reddening and her voice trembling: "That scoundrel ruined everything we had! I wish I could skin him alive and tear him apart!"

"If I weren't afraid of offending that headless behemoth, I really would have liked to go up and ask him if he could help us get revenge!"

Gao Qingfeng gently patted her back, his tone gentle yet firm:

"I know you hate it, and so do I. But since this great being is willing to give Gao Chun an opportunity, he will not easily interfere in worldly grievances."

"We must avenge ourselves in the end, but we cannot rush it."

He gazed into the void and slowly said, "Now that the Eastern Chen Empire has unified the Nine Provinces, its 'One Chief and Six Offices System' combined with the 'Aristocratic System' has won the hearts of the people. If we fight it head-on, it will only be like throwing an egg against a rock."

"The will of the people?" Gao Xuemei sneered, her tone disdainful. "These grassroots sorcerers are nothing but sycophantic scoundrels!"

"The Eastern Chen Empire has only just revealed a sliver of a path to advancement, and they've already forgotten the freedom of the sect era, forgotten the ruthless monopolistic attitude of the aristocratic clans towards cultivation resources!"

"Xuemei, you can't say that," Gao Qingfeng patiently advised. "The common folk cultivators at the bottom of society don't ask for much; they just want to live a peaceful life."

"Their spiritual paths are mostly monochromatic or bichromatic, and they are powerless to pursue immortality. If they have even a sliver of hope for advancement, they will naturally cherish it and keep thinking about climbing higher."

"We cannot expect everyone to be like us, burdened with deep-seated hatred."

He looked at his wife and continued, "The era of sects was good, but it was also filled with war and displacement of people. Now that the Eastern Chen Empire is unified, although there are injustices, it has brought peace. This is the general trend."

"The general trend? I don't believe in any general trend!" Gao Xuemei said stubbornly.

"All I know is that our sect cannot have been destroyed in vain, and my parents cannot have died for nothing! I must make the Eastern Chen Empire pay the price, and I must bring the Nine Provinces back to the era of sects!"

Gao Qingfeng did not argue, but a wise glint flashed in his eyes as he said softly, "Whether it's revenge or rebuilding, it must be done in accordance with the times. Going against the tide will only lead to less effort and less success."

"Since that powerful being has bestowed this opportunity upon Gao Chun, it means that this child is the chosen one. We might as well take advantage of this opportunity and make a long-term plan."

He turned his gaze back to Gao Chun's small courtyard and said slowly, "Perhaps we don't need to be so fixated on rebuilding the sect."

"Gao Chun possesses the bloodlines of two of the twelve great bloodline families and has also received gifts from a powerful being. If he can enter the Eastern Chen Empire's system and start from within, he may very well be able to change the world."

"Start from within?" Gao Xuemei paused for a moment, then frowned, her tone skeptical.

"You mean you want Gao Chun to defect to the Empire? How can that be allowed! We are sworn enemies of the Empire, how can we let him become their accomplice?"

"If my parents in the afterlife knew this, wouldn't they be heartbroken?"

"It's not about surrendering, but about leveraging their strength." Gao Qingfeng's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable power. "The Nine Provinces are now under the Tian family's control, but this control doesn't belong solely to the Tian family."

"If Gao Chun can gain a foothold within the system and rise step by step with the help of that powerful figure, in the future... the Gao family may very well be able to take his place."

"By then, avenging our grievances and restoring our sect will be a natural outcome, won't it?"

Gao Xuemei's eyes flickered, as if she was pondering his words, but she remained stubborn: "Even so, he still needs to cultivate properly first! Once he's strong enough, wouldn't it be more satisfying to storm into the capital and kill Emperor Dongchen? Why go through all this trouble!"

Gao Qingfeng smiled gently and reached out to tuck a stray hair behind her ear: "Silly girl, a moment of pleasure is not as good as a lifetime of peace. Even if we could kill the Eastern Emperor, so what? Would the world be at peace?"

"Let's take it slow and follow the flow of fate; opportunities will come eventually."

His eyes held a deep sense of planning, but he said nothing more, only softly saying, "When husband and wife are of one mind, their strength can break metal. You have your fierceness, and I have my plans. If we seek common ground while reserving differences, we will surely achieve our goals."

Although Gao Xuemei was still somewhat impatient, she knew he was right, so she just snorted and stopped arguing.

Her gaze returned to the headless man and the flock of sheep in the void, the sheep still trembling, tears streaming down their faces.

Her expression grew increasingly complicated.

There was a sense of awe for the powerful, an expectation of a rare and precious opportunity, and a hint of pity and suspicion for those strong individuals who had been turned into sheep.

……

At the same time.

Huang Xiaoming's father stared intently at the Gao family's courtyard, his eyes filled with inquiry and certainty.

Huang's mother leaned over and poked his arm, her tone tinged with confusion:

"What are you staring at Gao Chun's courtyard for? Even if you want to get closer to him, there's no need to stare at him all day long, is there?"

Mr. Huang rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "Long hair, short brains."

But he patiently asked, "Didn't you notice anything different about Gao Chun's courtyard today?"

Following his gaze, Huang's mother paused, then exclaimed in surprise:

"Huh? Why can't we see what's inside anymore? We used to be able to see that big locust tree in their yard clearly from where we were standing, but now we can't see anything at all!"

She looked bewildered, her clear eyes revealing genuine confusion.

Father Huang rolled his eyes again, sighing inwardly: This silly daughter-in-law, she is clearly a mid-level Bronze Realm cultivator, but she lacks the common sense that a cultivator should have. She is truly "all looks and no brains".

The thought only briefly crossed my mind.

He immediately put on a gentle smile and patiently explained, "This is because the formation has been activated! The formation isolates the inside from the outside, so naturally you can't see inside."

Mother Huang's eyes lit up, and an expression of interest appeared on her face, but her doubts remained: "Why would they set up an array in broad daylight? Aren't they curious about the headless people herding sheep in the sky?"

Mr. Huang sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. He mentally berated his wife a thousand times over, but outwardly he still smiled and said dismissively, "Who knows? Maybe they have something important to do at home."

But in my heart, I already knew perfectly well what was going on.

How could he not know anything?

The day Gao Chun was nine years old when the seed of his Dao was born was precisely the day the headless shepherd appeared for the second time in Ping'an County. What a coincidence!

And this time, when the headless shepherd came again, their family used an array to isolate him once more. Once could be a coincidence, but could twice be?

more importantly.

He had long ago decided to curry favor with the Gao family, so he had been secretly keeping an eye on their movements all these years.

The more he observed, the more he felt that the Gao family was not simple.

They are definitely not the ordinary Silver Mystic family that they appear to be.

But he was meticulous and knew the principle that "things are accomplished in secret and ruined by being revealed," so he never mentioned these discoveries to anyone and kept them all to himself.

On the surface, he became increasingly attentive to Gao Changhe's family, and even though Gao Chun had been slow to develop a Dao Seed, he dared not underestimate him in the slightest.

As it turned out, his judgment was correct.

When Gao Chun was about to reach the end of his Dao Seed's lifespan at the age of nine, he suddenly awakened the three-colored Dao Seed. That day happened to be the day the headless shepherd appeared.

At the time, he vaguely guessed that Gao Chun's abnormality was probably related to this mysterious headless man.

Now that the headless shepherd has reappeared, and the Gao family has activated their protective formation, the connection between these events makes him even more certain of his conjecture.

He naturally couldn't tell his wife these thoughts.

My wife is great in every way, except she's a bit dim-witted and has a loose tongue. She loves to gossip and talk about everyone else's business.

If she finds out about his guess and it gets out of the house by accident, incurring the displeasure of the Gao family, then his plan to curry favor with them will be completely ruined.

He knew perfectly well that currying favor with the powerful wasn't just about being obsequious; it was a real art.

You must know how to share the burdens and solve the problems of your partner, and always consider their needs.

One must strike a good balance; one should neither be too deliberate nor appear distant.

You also need a long-term vision and plan ahead to hold on firmly.

This skill is absolutely not something you can teach your silly wife; she simply can't learn it.

Thinking of his children, who were also good-for-nothings, he couldn't help but think of his most prized son, Huang Xiaoming.

This son is his pride. Not only is he the first dual-type Dao seed genius in the Huang family in hundreds of years, but he has also thoroughly mastered his "mastery of clinging to the powerful".

Now that the "true Buddha" of the Gao family has settled in Gaojia Village, it is truly a blessing from heaven for the Huang family!

Father Huang prayed silently in his heart: "Heavens, thank you for your kindness to the Huang family. Our Huang family will be forever grateful!"

He observed a vegetarian diet and chanted Buddhist prayers on the first and fifteenth of each month, and it seems that he finally moved Heaven.

Not only did they bestow upon him a genius son, but they also taught his son the essence of currying favor with powerful figures, and even brought the Gao family, a powerful backer, right to his doorstep.

Isn't this a classic case of "being near the water tower allows you to get the moon first"?

The day when the Huang family rises to power is just around the corner!

As long as he closely follows in the footsteps of Gao Changhe's family, and his son Huang Xiaoming sticks close to Gao Chun, he doesn't believe that the Huang family can't soar to the top: enter the imperial system, replace one of the five great clans of Jiuyang Town, and become the new powerful clan of the town!

……

at the same time.

Li Quan stood in his own courtyard, his gaze fixed on the direction of Gao Chun's house, and immediately noticed that something was wrong.

The courtyard was shrouded in an invisible barrier, and the view of the courtyard that could be vaguely seen in the past was now completely gone.

"The formation must have been activated," he muttered to himself, his tone certain.

His son, Li Daoqiu, had already returned from outside and was now diligently cultivating inside the house.

Gao Chun returned earlier than Dao Qiu, and considering the headless figure in the void, Li Quan's guess became clearer.

Gao Chun and this headless man must have an unusual connection.

"Which of the Ten Sects and Twenty-One Religions does the Gao family belong to?"

He frowned, his mind racing with calculations.

Looking across the entire Nine Provinces continent, only those sects and cults with long-standing traditions have such profound foundations that they can be involved with such mysterious and unpredictable powerful beings in the heavens.

"I hope that the sect to which the Gao family belongs has no enmity with the Two Extremes Sect."

Thinking of this, Li Quan subconsciously touched his empty left eye socket, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

He hated the Two Extremes Sect, where the enemy who took his left eye resided; yet he also had an inseparable bond with the Two Extremes Sect.

He grew up in the sect. His father and grandfather were both disciples of the Two Extremes Sect, and he also had relatives and close friends in the sect.

He felt conflicted about the Two Extremes Sect and his own family: a deep-seated hatred mixed with an indelible longing.

He shook his head, dismissing these chaotic thoughts.

The grudges and entanglements of the previous generation are likely to remain unresolved in his lifetime, and all his hopes are pinned on his son, Li Daoqiu.

Moreover, he and Daoqiu were only able to survive until now thanks to the rescue of Gao Changhe's family.

By chance, the father and son encountered a great calamity, and it was Gao Changhe who came to their aid, allowing them to move into Gaojia Village and live next to the Gao family, gradually developing a deep bond.

Especially Li Daoqiu and Gao Chun, the two little guys have been playing together since they were little, they are inseparable childhood friends, and their relationship is as close as brothers.

With this bond between them, the two children will surely become each other's most reliable brothers in the future.

Now that Gao Chun has exhibited such unusual behavior, his talent must be extraordinary. Coupled with his connection with the headless powerhouse, his future is destined to be earth-shattering.

Although his own son, Daoqiu, was able to awaken his bloodline and develop supernatural powers in the future, his talent was ultimately slightly inferior—he was only a two-color Dao seed, and the "White Eye" supernatural power he awakened was mostly auxiliary, making it difficult to compare with Gao Chun.

"Ah, children and grandchildren have their own blessings." Li Quan sighed softly, suppressing all his worries. "I don't need to worry too much; I'll just let nature take its course."

He turned his gaze back towards his own house, his eyes filled with anticipation for his son.

……

At this moment, almost every household in Gaojia Village had someone looking up at the headless figure herding sheep in the void, a strange and shocking sight.

Gaojia Village was built along a third-grade mystic vein, with a well-organized layout: the inner circle was inhabited by mystic families, and the outer circle was inhabited by ordinary mortals, totaling more than 800 households.

At this moment, whether they were cultivators wielding profound power or ordinary people working from sunrise to sunset, everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered in the courtyard or at the village entrance, their eyes all fixed on the sky.

"My God! That thing has no head? And it's still herding sheep?" The ordinary farmers on the outer edge of the enclosure gaped, their voices filled with horror.

"Those sheep look strange! They're shaking violently, and it looks like they have tears in the corners of their eyes? Could they be possessed?" An old man squinted and murmured with a face full of doubt.

"I've lived most of my life and never seen such a strange phenomenon! Is it a good omen or a bad omen?" A woman, holding her child's hand, asked anxiously.

"Who cares if it's auspicious or not? This kind of spectacular sight is probably something you'll never see again in your lifetime!" The young man watched with great interest, his voice full of excitement.

Among the Xuanzhe families in the inner circle, although a few vaguely sensed the abnormality of Gao Chun's family, they did not think too deeply about it. Most of their attention was still drawn to the headless man and the flock of sheep in the void.

"The strength of that headless powerhouse has probably already exceeded the realm of the King. Such methods are too terrifying." A Xuan master whispered among himself, his tone full of awe.

"Those sheep are no ordinary creatures. To be treated like this by such a powerful being, I wonder what wrong they committed." Another cultivator frowned slightly, secretly speculating.

Discussions rose and fell. Some were full of surprise, marveling at this once-in-a-millennium spectacle; others looked solemn, secretly worried that the strange phenomenon might bring changes to the village; still others were simply watching the excitement, finding it novel and thrilling.

A mix of emotions permeated the air above Gaojia Village.

Just as the villagers were discussing it.

The headless figure in the void seemed to have completed some task. With a gentle flick of its long whip, the trembling white sheep immediately ran even faster.

With a slight movement, it transformed into a streak of light and gradually disappeared into the horizon.

The sky returned to its usual clarity, as if the breathtaking shepherding spectacle had never happened.

[This chapter contains 6600 words. Originally, I was going to reduce my daily update volume before the book was published in order to increase recommendations. Updating one chapter in the morning and one in the evening is the minimum I'll set for myself.]

I've updated 15.3 words in seven days, I'm so worried, and I'm only now getting the first recommendation!