"Kill Qiye? Surely not?"
"Didn't the Yuhua Dynasty always look down on our Qingxuan Sect anyway? They always felt that marrying the Goddess to Qiye was beneath her. Now that Qiye has called off the marriage, why are they still coming here demanding blood?"
The headmaster of the Qingxuan Sect was momentarily stunned.
He had gone to the Yuhua Dynasty in person and knew their attitude better than anyone. Back then, to secure this match for his prized closed-door disciple, he had even spent a fortune on bribes before the Yuhua Dynasty finally agreed.
In fact!
Initially, the Yuhua Dynasty had flatly refused. It was only right as Xu Qingyun was preparing to leave that some sudden change seemed to occur within the dynasty, causing them to reverse their stance and approve the marriage.
To seal the deal, Xu Qingyun had even brought along Chen Qiye's biological father.
Precisely because this marriage had been so precarious—and given the Goddess's unique status—the Qingxuan Sect had been so eager for Chen Qiye to call it off and hastily ally with the Yuhua Dynasty.
And now, after their own Qingxuan Sect backed out, the Yuhua Dynasty was refusing to accept it?
"Chen Qiye, receive the Yuhua Decree!"
"Two days from now, at the Chen family ancestral tablets in Weicheng, you shall face Yuhua family justice!"
Outside the Qingxuan Sect's mountain gates, just as Chen Qiye and Xu Qingyun stood frozen, an ancient and terrifying voice rang out. It was not loud, yet it echoed across the entire Qingxuan Sect.
Immediately afterward, an ancient and mysterious golden light streaked directly toward the Immortal Lord Hall.
The Qingxuan Sect was, after all, a sect with a legacy spanning ten thousand years and possessed a profound foundation. The moment the golden light flashed, powerful auras erupted into the sky from within the sect, as several figures tried to intercept the beam directly.
The Immortal Lord Hall was the Master's Hall; unknown external entities were generally barred from approaching it altogether.
"Do not intercept! Let it through!"
However, upon seeing this, Qingxuan Sect Master Xu Qingyun's expression shifted drastically once more. He barked out a sudden order to stop them, and darted out in person to catch the streak of golden light with his own hands!
Yuhua!
The golden light was, shockingly, a token.
Its material was neither gold nor jade, yet possessed traits of both. Daoist rhythms swirled across its surface, and faintly, it even contained the majestic aura of the Heavenly Dao!
"Is that the Yuhua Decree?"
"The person outside the mountain gate didn't come to kill Qiye? They came to deliver a token?"
Inside the Immortal Lord Hall, an elder who had remained in the main hall over the last three days recognized the token at a glance, and his expression, too, shifted slightly.
"Uncle-Master, what is this Yuhua Decree used for?"
Chen Qiye had already snapped back to his senses.
He had a strong inkling that his refusal to call off the wedding and his subsequent move to marry the Goddess might have infuriated the Yuhua Dynasty. After all, an ancient dynasty like that could easily slaughter a minor nation for the sake of a shred of dignity.
Yet Chen Qiye also knew that the Qingxuan Sect stood behind the Tianqi Dynasty; no matter how tyrannical the Yuhua Dynasty was, they generally wouldn't dare to take direct action against the Qingxuan Sect lightly.
However, daring not to kill the Qingxuan Sect did not mean they wouldn't dare to touch him, Chen Qiye.
Earlier, Chen Qiye had been so preoccupied with avoiding the Child of Fortune that he momentarily forgot how easily such a high-profile rejection could provoke a behemoth like the Yuhua Dynasty.
He had been too careless!
As Chen Qiye quickly reined in his racing mind, he fiercely reflected on his own actions!
The waters of the cultivation world were unfathomable; he could never afford to let success go to his head! Aside from the Child of Fortune, there were countless other forces in this world capable of threatening him!
"The Yuhua Dynasty's external decrees generally come in two types."
"One is the Yuhua Imperial Edict, usually bestowed upon officials of the Yuhua Dynasty. These are issued only when major events occur within the imperial court, and only by the highest authority of the Yuhua Dynasty. They represent the supreme imperial power of the realm."
"The second type is this Yuhua Decree. These are personally issued by peerless titans of Prince-level rank within the Yuhua Dynasty! They are generally used to handle private matters concerning princes!"
The elder in the main hall spoke as he looked past the doors of the Immortal Lord Hall toward Headmaster Xu Qingyun, who had just caught the token, and continued: "Although the Yuhua Decree is used for private matters, it still carries the majesty of the Yuhua Dynasty's imperial power. Whoever receives the decree must carry out its commands; otherwise, the entire dynasty shall hunt them down!"
"What? Refuse the decree, and the entire dynasty hunts you down?"
Hearing this, Chen Qiye felt the world go dark before his eyes!
Holy shit!
What merit did he, a mere nineteen-year-old Chen Qiye, possess to warrant facing an ancient dynasty head-on?
"Then—what does the content of this Yuhua Decree actually mean? What is this about 'two days from now, at the Weicheng Chen family ancestral tablets, facing Yuhua family justice'?"
Chen Qiye's throat felt rather dry, and he hurriedly pressed the Qingxuan elder for answers.
In his mind, Chen Qiye was already frantically considering whether he should just run for his life! The Qingxuan Sect and its ten-thousand-year heritage might not even be able to withstand the pressure of the Yuhua Dynasty!
Although he had now displayed the potential of an ancient prodigy, Chen Qiye knew all too well that a prodigy possessed little practical value before truly maturing.
The cultivation world was cruel; the probability of a ten-thousand-year sect with tens of thousands of cultivators fighting to the last drop of blood for a single individual was vanishingly small.
Unless the Tianqi Dynasty standing behind the Qingxuan Sect could step in to block it, the Qingxuan Sect might genuinely crumble under the pressure.
"The messenger's intent is for you to hurry back to your hometown, the Weicheng Chen family, two days from now. They intend to administer punishment right inside your clan's ancestral hall!"
"According to the past precedents of the Yuhua Dynasty, they will likely make you endure a single strike from one of their titans. If you survive it, the matter is settled. If you cannot survive it, you die!"
The Qingxuan elder's expression grew grave, his face as dark as water.
Chen Qiye had only just awakened the Heavenly Dao Double Pupils; if he were allowed to mature, he could protect the Qingxuan Sect from decline for ten thousand years. A matured Heavenly Dao Double Pupil could rival a Great Emperor—that was by no means an empty boast.
Yet now, was he going to fall prematurely over an insignificant marriage alliance?
"Wait a minute! What did you just say, Uncle-Master?"
"Do you mean to say that this Yuhua Decree simply means their punishment for me is just taking a single strike from a Yuhua Dynasty titan in front of my family's ancestral hall? Just one strike?"
Chen Qiye's brain, which had been frantically plotting ways to flee, suddenly ground to a halt.
His overwhelming anxiety came to an abrupt pause. Chen Qiye abruptly raised his head and locked eyes with the Qingxuan Sect elder.