Erecting the Stone Tablet

Jiang Yao removed his Invisibility Talisman and stood before the bed. "Emperor, why did you murder General Jiang and General Lin?"

The Emperor's eyes widened as he scrutinized Jiang Yao. His pupils constricted. "Jiang Yao, you really are still alive."

"You entered Luan'an City... could it be that you have a spirit root and have become a cultivator?"

"Cultivators must not interfere in the karma of mortals. I am the Emperor, mandated by Heaven. If you harm me, the Heavenly Dao will not let you off."

"Why did you kill my parents?"

"Their achievements overshadowed the throne. The common people knew only of the Jiang and Lin families, not the Emperor in the capital. If I had let them live, would the Great Jing still belong to the Chen family?"

"If the war hadn't ended, my parents would have preferred to take me back to our ancestral lands to live in seclusion. Do you think everyone craves power?"

"Words are cheap. Why should I believe you?"

Now that he knew the truth, Jiang Yao didn't want to say anything more. The Emperor was still trying to argue, but the conversation was over.

It had only been a theory before, but now he knew for certain that his parents had indeed been framed and killed by the Emperor.

Once the incense was extinguished, the Emperor closed his eyes and returned to sleep.

Wen Xuan held his wrist to check his condition. Only after confirming that there were no issues did she let go.

After all, the Emperor carried the Mandate of Heaven and governed a mortal territory.

It was best for cultivators to avoid such entanglements.

After Mu Chenze retrieved his array plate and wiped away all traces of their presence, the five of them returned to the border.

When soldiers died on the battlefield, if their home province could be identified, their remains were usually sent back to be buried in their ancestral soil.

However, because Jiang Yao's parents and their personal guards had been framed, their bodies were never found and had been left to the elements.

Jun Luo found a massive boulder and carved it into a grand monument, twenty meters high, ten meters wide, and ten meters thick.

Mu Chenze set up a concealment array, and Jiang Yao took the massive tablet, erecting it a hundred meters away from the front-side of Dingsha City.

"Leave the rest to me."

An inscription like this could be the catalyst for the fall of a dynasty; the karmic involvement was deep.

He was seeking revenge for his parents, which was justifiable.

But if his friends got involved, they might not be able to escape the karmic backlash.

Gu Ningyun and the other three understood his meaning and didn't insist, simply standing by to support him.

Jiang Yao used object-kinesis to rise into the air. Using his spear as a pen and gold spirit energy as ink, he carved lines of large characters with swift strokes.

"Chen Yue, the Emperor of Great Jing, is suspicious by nature and too narrow-minded to tolerate others."

"For his own selfish gain, he plotted to frame the Commander of Great Jing, Jiang Xun, and the Vice Commander, Lin Qiwen, and attempted to exterminate their only survivor, Jiang Yao."

"He slaughtered honorable generals, causing two hundred thousand soldiers at the southern border to die in his web of schemes and calculations;"

"He poisoned loyal officials, ensuring that no one in the imperial court would dare seek the truth for the fallen."

"The soldiers suffer injustice; the loyal officials' bones weep."

"Outside the border, on the battlefield, within the court, and among the commoners."

"In this vast world, there is no one to seek justice for these loyal souls."

"Soldiers guard the borders to protect their homes, their country, and their sovereign, but above all, for the sake of righteousness!"

"To die on the battlefield for one's home and country is a sacrifice, a glory;"

"To die in a foreign land because of the games of imperial power is a mockery, a humiliation."

"How can such an emperor be worthy of loyalty? How can such a regime be worthy of protection?"

"I ask the soldiers: when the Emperor's suspicion rises again, and the blade of calculation is swung at your heads once more..."

"Are you ready to offer your necks to the slaughter?"

The exact same inscription was carved on all four sides of the stone tablet.

This ensured that mortals could see the words clearly regardless of which direction they approached from.

Once he finished the inscription, Jiang Yao retracted his spear and retreated into the shadows. Mu Chenze then deactivated the concealment array.

Seeing the massive stone tablet appear out of thin air, the guards on the city walls nearly had their eyes pop out of their heads.

One man rushed down the wall, and soon, someone who looked like a commander came up.

The leader studied the stone tablet carefully before turning and running back into the city.

Before long, a large troop of men and horses left the city gates, gathering beneath the stone tablet in a grand procession.

Judging by his attire, the man at the front was clearly a high-ranking general.

"Chen Yue, the Emperor of Great Jing..." Upon reading the Emperor's name, everyone fell silent, but their gazes, sharp as knives, continued down the text.

Every word of the inscription was a gem, every sentence cut to the bone, and the final question struck right at the heart of reality.

There were rumors about the Jiang family's downfall. The Emperor knew, the officials knew, they knew, and even the commoners knew.

Being a military commander was difficult. When the news of the Jiang family's survivor being hunted down broke, the border had been thrown into turmoil.

They continued to guard the border only for the sake of the people behind them.

They hadn't taken action because the imperial power was difficult to defy, and because of a small, lingering hope in their hearts.

They weren't as powerful as the Jiang and Lin families; perhaps as long as they remained loyal, the Emperor wouldn't necessarily fear them.

Until this inscription appeared, forcing them to remember the scenes of blood flowing like rivers and making them face the cruelest reality.

When the Emperor's suspicion rose again, and the blade of calculation was swung at their heads once more...

Were they ready to offer their necks to the slaughter?

Offering their necks to the slaughter... how ridiculous, how tragic.

Everyone's eyes turned toward the man at the front. "General."

The leader turned his horse around. "Station men to guard this place in secret. No one is allowed to damage it."

"If anyone wants to come and look, let them."

After giving the order, he called over a confidant and whispered to him.

"When the late Emperor was alive, he intended to pass the throne to Prince An. It was only because Prince An was schemed against and sent to North County for disaster relief that the current Emperor found an opening."

"Prince An was raised and taught by the late Emperor himself. He is broad-minded and cares for the people. Now it seems he is indeed the one better suited for that seat."

"Send word back to Prince An. This general is willing to have a discussion with him."

Not far from the stone tablet, the keen hearing of Foundation Establishment cultivators allowed the five to hear everything clearly.

With one last look at Dingsha City, Jiang Yao turned and rose into the air. "Let's go."

Long after they had left, and before the troops returned to the city.

The general at the head of the column halted his horse before the city gate and looked back toward the monument. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

However, his confidant understood his silent words.

"Is it you?"

"You're still alive."

"That's wonderful."

...

On the way back, Gu Ningyun received a message from her master.

Yi Chu: Disciple, have you forgotten something important?

Gu Ningyun: What is it, Master? I made a plan and am following it step by step; there shouldn't be any omissions.

Yi Chu: Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, you can begin practicing primordial spirit techniques. Why haven't you gone to the library to collect one yet?

Yi Chu: Disciple, having a primordial spirit technique means having an extra means of dealing with enemies. Do not forget this.

Gu Ningyun: I understand, Master. I'm on my way back to the sect. I'll go to the library as soon as I return to Xiaoyao.

Her master had mentioned this to her after she finished learning the sword-kinesis technique.

However, after she broke through to Foundation Establishment, her first thought was to master her current strength and prepare for leaving the sect.

Eating the Blue Lake Scallops and learning to use the flute artifact was both to improve her strength and to wait for Wen Xuan and the other three to finish their seclusion.

Ever since they learned of Jiang Yao's past, although the five of them hadn't mentioned it again, the matter had remained like a thorn in their hearts, a sharp pain that wouldn't go away.

A cultivator's primordial spirit grows as their cultivation level increases.

Only through methods like epiphanies can the primordial spirit transcend levels.

A cultivator's divine sense is the externalized power of the primordial spirit. If it is consumed, it can recover on its own over time.

Primordial spirit techniques are techniques that promote the recovery of divine sense and allow it to be used for more purposes.

As long as one doesn't delay too long, starting cultivation before reaching the middle Foundation Establishment stage made little difference compared to starting a few days earlier or later than others of the same rank.

The divine sense was not easy to cultivate, and they didn't know how long it would take to master a primordial spirit technique.

Their minds had been set on going to the mortal realm to resolve the matter of Jiang Yao's parents, so the primordial spirit technique had naturally been pushed to the back of their minds.

It was the same for her, and for Wen Xuan and the others.