Chapter 404 - Impatience
Before completing this feat, Yun Yang himself would never have thought that his spontaneous response to the trap would bring so many positive gains to him before he came to the Empire of Ziyou.
He actually felt slightly guilty for deceiving them – he had first become Ziyou’s Old Forefather and the acknowledged guardian and pillar of the nation before he pocketed their national treasure; had he gone over the line?
He would most probably be the national enemy now.
In spite of this, Yun Yang thought that he would not think it was excessive to obtain such gains every day for even a dozen times after checking the space of his deific consciousness.
He could not be blamed for being a glutton. Yun Yang had always thought that he was a humble and cautious person, content with what he had and was never greedy - but the newly acquired soul of the star had truly brought about so much!
The soul of the siderite was assumed to be Emmie’s foundation in the deific sense as it buried it all under its roots.
Emmie was as healthy as it could be now; the thickness of its leaves was that of a finger, while there was a distinct layer of trichrome on them; they seemed to have grown two times larger in just a short span of time.
There were only three leaves, but they were emerald and rippled like acres of a lotus pond. It was a majestic view.
As for Emmie, having received a boost from the soul of a star, the power it could unleash was unprecedentedly strong.
The conscious space was brimming with purplish gas now like it was about to rain. Just a rough sense told of the intensity of spiritual Qi that had grown five times stronger than it was before.
Furthermore, this was only the effect before the soul of siderite actually showed its true efficacy, for now.
"If you absorb all the power of earth within the star’s soul, master can become a deity right away!" Emmie's observation was correct of course – it was simple and frank and at the same time, very tempting!
Yun Yang had, of course, very high expectations.
Emmie’s last words filled Yun Yang with delighted surprise – "Possessing this star’s soul is like condensing all the essence of Tianxuan Continent into a single object, and all these will belong to you alone."
"The value of this siderite is worth much more than the entire Tianxuan Continent. I believe that even the legendary force of earth might be just like this!"
Yun Yang was dumbstruck with elation once he heard this, but was pulled back down to reality by Emmie as it said, "The only regret is that the power is too strong. Master can’t take it at all; even a single drop would cause you to implode."
Yun Yang woke up from the wild dream at once, feeling upset.
He was at least at the cultivation base of a heaven realm beginner now and was even equipped with various manifestation powers; how weak was he to be unable to afford a single drop?
Under Yun Yang’s pestering questions, Emmie replied, "That’s a concentration of unimaginable force of earth that surpasses the entire Tianxuan Continent. With the small body master has now, you really can’t take a single drop of it; you're not even qualified to slowly absorb it. Of course, when master can combine all of the Nine Supremes’ manifestation powers into one, then you can take this energy bit by bit. In other words, the day Nine Supremes’ various powers merge into one will be the day you can consume this powerful force!"
Yun Yang was filled with anticipation once again.
What was more important now was still the initial intent he had come here – Old Dugu!
He had to solve it quickly!
His identity as Old Forefather had its loopholes after all. It would be better to solve his issue as soon as possible in addition to the matter of the ancestral remains of Shangguan Family of Generals – if it was possible, he should try and solve it altogether. Otherwise, it would only be Shangguan Family’s eternal looming fog that weighed them down forever!
Heaven had heard his wishes; things had gone smoother than Yun Yang expected.
Old Chancellor Lan was actually more impatient about the recovery of the soul than Yun Yang was.
"Old Forefather, can the soul recovery begin now?" Lan Wuxin asked.
From what Yun Yang knew about Lan Wuxin and his character, being the Empire of Ziyou’s head of civil officials, there was simply no reason for him to be so anxious and frank about it. Should he have been more tactful when asking?
Yun Yang was subconsciously taken aback when he heard him. "Is it so very urgent?"
The shock he experienced was not an act. Yun Yang’s honest thought would be to mention the treatment himself, but considering the fact that he might seem too eager and garner unnecessary suspicion, he was still racking his mind on how to voice it out.
Should he showcase his acting talent and be passionate to demonstrate his talents as the expert he was, since the nation had treated him so well? Or perhaps he should be reluctant and take one step forward and two steps back...
Who would have known that Chancellor Lan would ask straightaway upon meeting him and was exceptionally impatient?
"It is urgent, of course." Chancellor Lan’s face was pressed together in a frown. The calm, collected and graceful chancellor that he was before outsiders and even the emperor was not even attempting to conceal his impatience in front of the Old Forefather.
He was just like a child before the old forefather; why should he hold onto that sort of dignity?
"The people from the Shangguan Family of Generals have arrived!"
Yun Yang heart skipped a beat as he blurted, "You mean Shangguan’s people have already entered the city?"
He then continued in dismay, "Didn’t you say there’s still a thousand miles to go? There should still be around three days before they arrive!"
Lan Wuxin sighed, "A thousand miles was during the day before yesterday. Now… they’re here anyway. Everything’s on a stretched bow, we can't hold on without releasing it!"
Yun Yang’s mind spun rapidly, thinking of ways to handle the sudden change. He really could not figure out why Shangguan Lingxiu had entered the city after all; his letter had reached her, had it not?
Yun Yang’s expression turned grim as he asked in a low voice, "Are you going to execute the initial plan?"
Lan Wuxin heaved a deep sigh and said, "Initially, it was to be executed, but now, we can’t even if we wanted to. According to our previous estimates, Shangguan Lingxiu came with eight thousand Shangguan Family of Generals’ soldiers, but now, she has only brought a hundred men into the city!"
This was what distraught Lan Wuxin.
If all eight thousand men had entered the city together, Lan Wuxin might have opted to wait and see if Yun Yang had a solution, after asking for his opinion but if there was no solution to recover the soul, then Lan Wuxin could order to have all of Shangguan’s people killed without hesitation.
However, the fact now remained that Shangguan Lingxiu had only brought a hundred men into the city.
The Empire of Ziyou was in an awkward position. Even if given a hundred more courageous souls, they would not dare attack these hundred people!
If Supreme Cloud was not within this hundred men, not only would they alert him to their plan, they would also become a joke.
According to intelligence, each of the hundred people who had come with Shangguan Lingxiu matched the characteristics of those in the Shangguan Family of Generals, be it their identity, appearance, traits or mystical skill. Their profiles could be tracked back to tens of years ago; there was no deceit here.
In other words, under the careful observation of the powerful intelligence web, there were no unfamiliar faces within the group – everyone that was supposed to be here was here as expected!
As for Supreme Cloud, whose origin was a mystery, he would never be Shangguan’s personal family official!
Therefore, Supreme Cloud was most probably not within these hundred people, but could these hundred people hide Supreme Cloud within their ranks?
It was uncertain. Most probably did not mean an absolute guarantee, there was still a potential for error. This was how awkward the situation had become – there was no way to be certain that he was one of them as well as there was no way to be certain he was not among them.
If they attacked and all hundred people died. but Supreme Cloud was not inside… it would be a disastrous and unrecoverable incident.
They could not afford inaction, though. If Supreme Cloud was indeed among the men, they would then miss a God-given chance! The opportunity would not repeat itself!
Consequently, everyone from the emperor to the experts of the Four Seasons Tower was all distraught and in an awkward place after knowing that Yutang’s Shangguan had entered the city. All of them were stricken with a dilemma, not knowing whether to go forward or take a step back; it was difficult to both kill or release them.
The Four Seasons Tower wanted to act there and then; they did not wish to contemplate the repercussions of mass slaughter. The consequences had little to do with them anyway, but Ziyou’s aristocrats had denied them wholeheartedly.
"It’s better to wait a bit more. Just wait a little more. We must wait some more."
What was there to wait for?
Without a doubt, it was to see the outcome of Yun Yang's healing efforts and whether this Old Forefather could recover the assassin’s soul!
Hence the impatience of Chancellor Lan who had to come urge him, despite knowing it would be a faux pas.
"My condition is better than expected. I can indeed try now." Yun Yang frowned and said, "I initially thought that I would still have eight to ten days when I recover a level or two of cultivation base after three to five days. Only then would we do this… If it had to be today, this old man has not much confidence. I believe Chancellor Lan has to be aware of this."
Eight to ten days? It was absolutely impossible for them to wait that long!
Even if it had been three to five days, it was still too long.
"Today it is then?" Lan Wuxin asked earnestly.
"Alright…" Yun Yang shrugged helplessly after being quiet for a bit.
"Right now?!" Lan Wuxin asked immediately. He was truly pressed for time now and could not care less about grace and mannerisms; he was just like a child who was asking for sweets!
To Lan Wuxin himself, though, he was just like a child before this old sir; he would take advantage of that even if he had to act more petulantly. Embarrassing as it was, it was fine as long as it worked.
Yun Yang looked at him like he was watching a fool; this man's current behavior was nothing like that of a chancellor of an empire.
Lan Wuxin flushed, actually feeling like a primary school child who had done something wrong. "It’s… really… urgent."
Yun Yang nodded helplessly. "Certainly, we’ll do it now then."
Standing by the side, Sun Chengfeng had finally decided upon his path and said, "Old Forefather, your health is fine now. Just rest well in the future. This grandchild will bid my leave now."
Yun Yang nodded. "That’s fine."
Lan Wuxin had his head filled with national affairs now and could not muster the proper response to the news that his old friend was leaving, saying, "You're leaving? Very well then."