Fang Zhengzhi's mouth twitched when he heard that.
He did not know what Ping Yang meant when she said sage, but she knew that there was a saying in the Great Xia Dynasty that went 'one pavilion, four sages, 13 constabularies.'
The pavillion referred to the Heaven Dao Pavilion, whereas the 13 constabularies referred to the 13 pillars of support in the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty.
These were all powers in their own right.
However, the four sages were four individuals.
The fact that the four of them stood above the 13 constabularies was testament to the power they had.
Fang Zhengzhi did not like to be restrained, but he knew that someone of lesser power and ability would always be restrained. Only when he was at the level of the four sages could he roam the empire without restraint.
"The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?"
Fang Zhengzhi looked into the depths of Cang Ling Mountain. He smiled as he looked past the tall dense forest and the night mist.
Cang Ling Mountain...
This was his territory!
"Oh yes, I saw you kill some people just now?" Fang Zhengzhi asked as he recalled Ping Yang's brazzen charge through the army camp.
"Is there a problem?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi doubtfully.
"Killing is against the law. Furthermore, you killed quite a few soldiers. That's akin to rebelling!" Fang Zhengzhi reminded Ping Yang helpfully.
"Law? I am the law! Rebel? They attacked me, they are the rebels!" Ping Yang said arrogantly, completely ignoring Fang Zhengzhi's reminder.
"Everyone is born equal. Their job is to guard the camp. How can you call them a rebel just because they are of lower rank?" Fang Zhengzhi continued.
"What's the problem? I am the princess!"
"Princess is just a title, just like my Sword Envoy post. I can't possibly charge them simply because they raised their voice at a higher official, can I?"
"Why can't you?"
"I can?"
"Of course!"
"Oh I see, thank you your highness!" Fang Zhengzhi chuckled.
"How stupid. How can you not know this? How did you manage to become a rank four sword envoy?!" Ping Yang replied haughtily when she saw Fang Zhengzhi's expression of gratitude.
Chi Guyan could not help but open her eyes when she heard this. Her eyes glimmered like stars in the night sky.
"You're getting more and more shameless!"
"Sister Yan, you're awake?" Ping Yang rushed over when she saw Chi Guyan open her eyes.
"Mm, let's go."
"Sure!"
The deeper into Cang Ling Mountain they went, the thicker the mist was, almost as if there was a layer of dust and ash intent on blocking one's line of vision.
The mist was extremely heavy near the center.
This made it the perfect hunting ground for the ferocious beasts. They had superhuman olfactory senses and night vision. They became the masters of the mountain with these talents.
"Roar!"
An earth shaking roar rang out from deep inside the forest.
The ordinary soldiers would never wander this deep into the mountain. They were just in charge of holding the perimeter. The depths of the mountain were not a place they should be in.
Ping Yang was not as calm as before. She clinged onto Chi Guyan's arm tightly. She even took some time to don her Red Flame Flower Armor.
However, the moment Ping Yang finished wearing her armor, Fang Zhengzhi covered her with a black cloth.
What a joke.
This was the depths of Cang Ling Mountain.
The gaudiness of the Red Flame Flower Armor was like a shining beacon for ferocious predators to flock towards.
"Didn't you want to find a few powerful beasts to play with? Now you're scared? Actually, there's no need to be scared. This is my territory. Just follow behind me and you'll be safe. Just remember to tip me afterwards!" Fang Zhengzhi 'comforted' Ping Yang.
"Oh please, like I'll ever believe you!" Ping Yang was put off by Fang Zhengzhi's actions. However, after Chi Guyan advised her, she swallowed her pride and put on a black cloak, pouting as she did so.
Fang Zhengzhi was way more calm and composed than Fang Zhengzhi. He sauntered, almost as if he was taking a walk in the park.
Surprisingly, even though they heard the roars of beasts as they went along, they never actually ran into any powerful ones.
Chi Guyan kept staring at Fang Zhengzhi's leisurely expression, her eyes revealing traces of surprise. She knew that their safety was all due to Fang Zhengzhi's abilities.
"You know the territories of all the beasts?" Chi Guyan guessed.
"Of course." Fang Zhengzhi replied without hesitation.
"However, even if you know their territories, you can't possibly know how they will move or where they will be. The hungry beasts will still infiltrate other territories to hunt. Furthermore, there are so many overlaps. After some beasts die, their territories will be taken over by others, how do you..." Ping Yang was discontented with Fang Zhengzhi's reply.
"Do you know how to judge position by sound?" Fang Zhengzhi replied condescendingly.
"Judge position by sound?" Ping Yang said in surprise.
"You won't understand it with your intellect." Fang Zhengzhi replied.
"Isn't it just judging position by sound? What's the big deal? I thought that you were doing something special, but you're just hiding!" Ping Yang huffed.
"I see." Chi Guyan nodded. She finally understood why they had yet to be attacked by any beasts.
After understanding the territories of the beasts, Fang Zhengzhi had planned the best possible route. Along the way, he pinpointed the locations of the beasts through the sounds they made.
That way, their journey through Cang Ling Mountain would be much safer.
Fang Zhengzhi led the group on a four hour journey towards the depths of Cang Ling Mountain.
The mist around them got thicker as the roars also got fewer and far between.
At this point, Fang Zhengzhi stopped all of a sudden. Even Ping Yang and Chi Guyan stopped at the same time.
In the middle of the fog was a faint glow.
"Is there a fire?" Ping Yang looked at the light doubtfully.
"No, I think we are here." Chi Guyan looked at the faint light, her tone calm, almost as if she had known it all along.
"It's a bit different from what I expected." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head as he looked at the light.
"What were you expecting?" Ping Yang asked curiously.
"The location of the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet should be well lit, immaculately clean, and there should be lightning, thunder, and tremors! That is the only way to match its power!" Fang Zhengzhi lamented.
"Your imagination is quite vivid!" Ping Yang said disapprovingly.
"Boom!"
A loud sound echoed out just as PIng Yang finished.
It was almost like a thunder clap in response to Fang Zhengzhi's comment.
"Is it about to rain?" Fang Zhengzhi raised his head and looked to the sky.
The light glowed weakly above them. The moon was also shining brightly on the land, but most of its light was blocked by the foliage.
"It doesn't look like it's about to rain..." Fang Zhengzhi murmured.
At this point, the earth shook, almost as if something had tunneled from underneath.
"Kaboom!"
The intense tremor and the subsequent boom caused Ping Yang's expression to change as she jerked her head towards Fang Zhengzhi.
"Is it really an earthquake?!"
"Boom!"
A loud boom echoed throughout Cang Ling Mountain.
However, there was no accompanying lightning.
A ray of light shot skyward. The intense boom was caused by the ray of light when it exploded from the surface.
"Is that the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?" Ping Yang asked.
"No!" Chi Guyan shook her head, her eyes glimmering like stars in the sky as she stared intently at the ray of light.