Chapter 101: Reduced to Ashes in an Instant

A passage Li Shun had once read in the archives of Dongshan Town surfaced in his mind:

“The land of Qing Province corresponds to the Cangtian of the East and serves as the destination where all waters converge. The waterways beneath heaven gather here in mighty torrents before flowing into the Eastern Sea.”

“The Eastern Sea is in truth the inland sea of Great Qian. Its emerald waves stretch for ten thousand miles, brimming with life. Islands dot its surface like scattered stars, while countless sails travel its waters.”

“Beyond it lies the Heavenly Dao Severance Sea, an endless forbidden expanse connected to the ocean itself. Black mists churn there, and all things are silent and dead.”

Li Shun narrowed his eyes slightly, allowing the vast gale sweeping across the Eastern Sea to strike his face.

“When I traveled from Lengshan to the Imperial Mausoleum, I was exhausted in both body and mind. I never noticed such dense moisture carried within the wind. And after remaining inside this sealed Imperial Mausoleum for so long...”

At that thought, Li Shun suddenly found himself in a daze.

The feeling of having stayed there for a long time existed only from his own perspective.

Half a year in Dongshan Town.

Nearly twenty-five years within the sealed earth grounds.

Yet in reality...

“When I first arrived in Imperial Mausoleum Prefecture, it was the sixth day of the second month, Year 753 of the New Calendar.”

“And today, the day Imperial Mausoleum Commandery returns, is only the twenty-second day of the second month.”

“Barely half a month has passed, yet it already feels like a lifetime ago.”

“The transformations of Yin and Yang's rhythms are truly miraculous.”

The gale stretching ten thousand miles roared through the torn heavens, forcefully dispersing the stale deathly aura that had accumulated for thousands of years.

Li Shun sensed that something within the world of the Imperial Mausoleum was being rapidly drawn away.

Then suddenly, the ground beneath his feet trembled faintly.

Moments later, countless streams of light rose from the earth.

Like meteors flying in reverse, they soared toward the shattered heavens above.

“That is...?”

As Li Shun was still wondering, an endless chorus of sobbing reached his ears.

His heart stirred, and realization dawned upon him.

“The human effigies.”

The innumerable human effigies standing throughout the Imperial Mausoleum like vast armies were all rising into the sky.

Like brilliant stars, they illuminated the broken firmament.

Throughout the Imperial Mausoleum, mournful cries echoed across the land.

In the past, people could still visit the statues of their departed loved ones and grieve before them.

But from this day forward, as heaven and earth underwent their transformation, every trace of the past would be completely erased.

Nothing would remain behind.

“Little Tuanzi...”

Li Qing gazed upward and murmured softly, sorrow filling his face.

But Li Shun thought of something else.

“Every human effigies contains a small remnant of life essence. Added together, the hundreds of millions of statues possess enough power to incinerate the entire world of the Imperial Mausoleum.”

“I wonder where they are being taken.”

The changes continued.

The crack in the sky was torn wider and wider by an invisible hand.

The originally gray heavens of the Imperial Mausoleum gradually faded away until they vanished completely.

In their place descended the glorious world of Great Qian.

At that moment, something seemed to have fundamentally changed.

Every cultivator within the Imperial Mausoleum held their breath and carefully perceived the mysterious fluctuations.

“So this is the transformation of heaven and earth.”

“It isn't merely the flow of time that has changed. There's also...”

Before the thought could finish, every hair on Li Shun's body stood on end.

He suddenly sensed an incomparably strange and suffocating pressure rapidly gathering.

And...

That killing intent was firmly locked onto him.

Li Shun's expression changed.

Just as he was about to trace the source of the aura, events unfolded far too quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the newly emerged heavenly light was instantly shredded apart.

Pitch-black tribulation clouds condensed out of nowhere, forming an inverted abyss that hung directly above Li Shun's head.

“Brother, watch out!”

Boom!

A pale pillar of lightning as thick as a water barrel tore through the clouds.

Carrying the overwhelming might of heavenly punishment capable of destroying all things, it struck directly toward Li Shun's crown.

The heavenly punishment came too suddenly.

Li Shun had no opportunity to evade.

From the corner of his eye, he only caught a glimpse of Li Qing's determined figure rushing toward him.

With both arms spread wide, Li Qing leapt above Li Shun, intending to use his own flesh and blood to withstand this inexplicable divine punishment.

But it was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

The lightning was not slowed in the slightest.

Blinding white light instantly swallowed everything.

Like a divine sword, the thunderbolt pierced straight through Li Qing.

Then, without losing even a fraction of its power, it slammed directly into Li Shun.

Amid earth-shaking thunder, the place where the two brothers had been standing was instantly reduced to ashes.

The tribulation clouds had come swiftly and departed even faster.

Within moments, the world-destroying clouds vanished as if they had never existed, scattered cleanly by a passing gust of wind.

Not a trace remained.

The entire Dongshan Town fell silent for several breaths before the crowd finally snapped out of their stupor.

They had all been stunned by what they had witnessed.

“The place where the lightning struck... wasn't that Li Shun's home?”

“Quick... hurry and see whether they're alright!”

When the townspeople rushed over in panic, what greeted them was a horrifying scene of devastation.

The small courtyard had already become ruins.

A charred crater had been blasted into the ground. Collapsed walls and shattered debris lay everywhere, still crackling with residual arcs of electricity.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of burning.

Everyone stood frozen in shock.

Not a word was spoken.

When Fang Xun finally arrived, even he was left dumbfounded by the tragic scene before him.

“My good disciple!”

A moment later, his knees gave way.

He collapsed before the pile of blackened ashes and released heart-rending cries of grief.

Nearby, Sun Chengyou stared solemnly at the scorched remains before raising his gaze toward the heavens.

Deep within his eyes swirled disbelief and uncertainty.

The sole surviving member of Great Qian's imperial bloodline...

Had just been struck by heavenly lightning in broad daylight and reduced to ashes.

Was it the work of a hidden enemy?

Or was it the will of heaven itself?

And if it was the latter...

What did that signify?

The news spread like wildfire.

The atmosphere that had only just begun to relax following Imperial Mausoleum Commandery's reconnection to Great Qian vanished entirely.

An even heavier current of tension settled over the entire prefecture.

Only by evening did the chaos finally begin to subside.

Within the Dongshan Town Magistrate Office.

The hall was dimly lit.

Fang Xun and Sun Chengyou sat in silence, their expressions still grave.

After conducting a meticulous investigation of the scene, they had all but ruled out foul play.

The lightning strike had indeed been a natural manifestation of heaven and earth.

Which raised the question:

Why?

Was the lightning targeting Li Shun himself?

Or...

The Mu Clan bloodline?

Fang Xun glanced repeatedly at Sun Chengyou, who sat in the seat of honor.

His lips moved several times, yet he hesitated to speak.

“If you have something to say, then say it.”

Sun Chengyou pressed his fingers against his brow without opening his eyes.

“My unfortunate disciple and I traveled from Lengshan all the way to Imperial Mausoleum Commandery,” Fang Xun said hoarsely.

“We endured countless hardships along the road, yet nothing happened.”

“And then suddenly... now of all times...”

His face turned pale.

“If there was any variable added to him... then the only possibility would be...”

He did not dare voice the entirety of his suspicion.

Sun Chengyou's eyelid twitched.

A headache threatened to split his skull.

Today was the day Imperial Mausoleum Commandery reopened.

Representatives from every faction had gathered, making the area a chaotic mix of influences.

There had been no opportunity to impose any blockade.

The news had spread almost instantly.

"On the very day Imperial Mausoleum reopened, a member of the imperial royal bloodline died beneath heavenly punishment."

“If this matter isn't handled properly, even I will be implicated.”

Suppressing the ripples in his heart, Sun Chengyou declared firmly:

“Do not speak nonsense!”

“This matter absolutely has nothing to do with the imperial bloodline!”

“As for the true cause...”

“I will personally return to the Sacred Capital and seek an answer from the Great Siming!”

“You are to remain here and keep your composure!”

Before his words had even finished, Sun Chengyou transformed into a streak of light and tore through the night sky.

In an instant, he was gone.

Fang Xun watched him depart, his expression unreadable.

The Great Siming Sun Chengyou referred to was the head of Great Qian's [Directorate of Celestial Observation].

The Directorate oversaw Great Qian's astronomy, calendar calculations, astrological divination, and the harmonization of Yin-Yang energies. It existed outside the normal hierarchy of the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers, answering only to the Qian Emperor himself.

It was said that when the setting of the sun had once been delayed, the order came from the Emperor, but the Directorate had been responsible for carrying it out.

As for the Great Siming himself, he was an elusive figure.

No one even knew his true name.

The world addressed him only by the title: “Siming.”

As the day drew to a close, a message finally arrived from Sun Chengyou.