In an inn in Divine Farmer City:
The Mosquito Daoist watched gloomily as Gu Hai’s flying ship entered the Qian Nation’s residence.
Over the past three months, the Mosquito Daoist had seen numerous openings in the defenses of Gu Hai’s flying ship. However, he did not dare to attack, worried that they were traps, so he waited until now.
The Mosquito Daoist narrowed his eyes. “Humph! I have already waited for one thousand years. I can afford to wait this long. Furthermore, Gu Hai seems to have enemies everywhere. Now, he is in Divine Farmer City. The Azure Emperor seems to have a deep grudge against him. It must be a deep grudge. I’ll let the Azure Emperor deal with him. If the Azure Emperor cannot, this place is Jiang Lianshan’s territory. Jiang Lianshan will definitely make a move.”
The Azure Emperor sat cross-legged in his residence, circulating his energy.
Boom!
Suddenly, an azure light burst out from him.
Huff!
The Azure Emperor breathed out.
“Imperial Lord, how is it? Do you need this subordinate to concoct more Great Returning Pills?” Dan Wang asked carefully.
“There’s no need. Our injury has already completely recovered. Long Zhanguo? He is indeed strong.” The Azure Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly.
“What should we do about Gu Hai?” Dan Wang asked in a whisper.
A look of hatred flashed in the Azure Emperor’s eyes.
“Imperial Lord!” Suddenly, Seven Kills’s voice came from outside the building.
“Come in!” Azure Emperor said.
Soon, Seven Kills came in with a ball of paper.
“Imperial Lord, this subordinate was resting earlier when an arrow shot over. I immediately searched for that person but could not find anything,” Seven Kills said.
“Oh? To think that there is something you can’t find with your hearing?” The Azure Emperor raised his eyebrows.
“Yes. There was a letter on that arrow!” Seven Kills respectfully proffered that arrow and the letter.
The Azure Emperor received the letter and carefully read it.
“Gu Hai is in Divine Farmer City? Why did no one report this to us?” The Azure Emperor glared.
“Perhaps Gu Hai is based too far north, so the person from the ministry of rites did not recognize him. Furthermore, Gu Hai might not have reported his name. Also, many people have the same name,” Seven Kills guessed.
“Seven Kills?” Azure Emperor looked coldly at Seven Kills.
Seven Kills’s expression turned solemn as he said, “Imperial Lord, it is true. This subordinate focused my hearing on select areas and verified that it is really Gu Hai at the Qian Nation’s residence.”
“Oh?” The Azure Emperor raised his eyebrows.
“Imperial Lord, the person who sent the letter probably has ulterior motives,” Dan Wang said.
The Azure Emperor nodded.
Clearly, the person who sent the letter has a grudge against Gu Hai. Is that person trying to kill by another person’s hand?
“Imperial Lord, should we make a move?” Seven Kills asked.
“Imperial Lord, they are the Qian Nation envoys, in the end, representing the Qian Heavenly Emperor. If we go, would it…”
The Azure Emperor said coldly, “The Qian Nation envoys? Humph! This is the Yan Heavenly Dynasty, and we are the Yan Heavenly Dynasty’s Azure Emperor!”
Whoosh!
The Azure Emperor stood up and walked out.
The Qian Nation’s residence, Qian District:
After making arrangements for accommodations, Gongyang Sheng set up a banquet to welcome everyone.
However, the matter of Yanxuan and Yehua’s capture gave him a strange feeling.
“Lord Gongyang, I wonder how the Yan Heavenly Emperor would feel about our late arrival?” Gu Hai asked out of curiosity.
Gongyang Sheng replied with a faintly bitter smile, “Mister Gu, I came here three years earlier than you. However, I have seen Jiang Lianshan only once and not again after that.”
“Oh?” Gu Hai said, feeling puzzled.
“Furthermore, that meeting was very rushed. It could be considered as Jiang Lianshan giving face to His Holy Eminence and meeting the Qian Nation envoy. However, he seemed to know what we wanted to say, so he avoided us. After that, I kept requesting a meeting, but…,” Gongyang Sheng said with a bitter smile.
“If we don’t meet Jiang Lianshan, there will be no way to broach the subject,” Gu Hai said with a frown.
“Indeed. I have been continuously befriending Yan Nation officials for the past three years in hopes of paving a way to meet Jiang Lianshan,” Gongyang Sheng said with a deep breath.
“How effective was it?” Gu Hai asked.
“How effective? Hah! They are willing to host banquets, but they avoid the topic when I mention wanting to meet Jiang Lianshan. No one dares to go against the things that Jiang Lianshan decided. Even the White Emperor, the Azure Emperor, and the Scarlet Emperor do not,” Gongyang Sheng said, frowning.
“We just arrived today. Would we be able to meet Jiang Lianshan, then?” Gu Hai asked.
“You can’t. The ministry of rites official brought you to me. That equates to two envoy groups merging. They will not let us meet their emperor again.” Gongyang Sheng shook his head.
Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“Unfortunately, the Six Paths Immortal has taken away the cultural Dao. Otherwise, I could write some admonishing texts with my cultural talent. That might have had some effect,” Gongyang Sheng said with a soft sigh.
“Then, do you have another way to meet Jiang Lianshan?” Gu Hai asked.
“Meet Jiang Lianshan? There are only two ways now.”
“Oh?”
“One is to get the recommendation of the White Emperor, the Azure Emperor, or the Scarlet Emperor. However, none of them are willing. I…,” Gongyang Sheng sighed.
“What about the second method?
“The second is to admonish the classic,” Gongyang Sheng said.
“Admonish the classic?” Gu Hai asked.
“That refers to the Lianshan Classic, also known as the Classic of Changes. That is Jiang Lianshan’s proudest accomplishment, but he is still not satisfied with it. He wants to find flaws within it to make it more perfect. So, he makes an exception for anyone who can find flaws in the Classic of Changes and meets them,” Gongyang Sheng said.
“Find flaws in the Lianshan Classic?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“Indeed. Although Jiang Lianshan arranged this Classic of Changes and gave the public access to its verses, even placed them in the center of every district, we still do not understand the Classic of Changes. Without Jiang Lianshan’s inheritance, we do not understand the Classic of Changes. How do we find flaws in it?” Gongyang Sheng said with a bitter smile.
“However, how would Jiang Lianshan know if the criticism is true or not? What if someone just made a random criticism?” Gu Hai asked.
“The center of every city has a large stele that is connected to the Lianshan Ritual Array. Anyone who has any thoughts about it can write it on the stele. If it is truly compatible with the Lianshan Ritual Array and identifies a flaw in the Lianshan Classic, that stele will sense it, and it will be presented through the Lianshan Ritual Array. That will do. However, I heard that it had been one thousand years since anyone found a flaw with the Lianshan Classic,” Gongyang Sheng said with a bitter smile.
“No one has managed to find any flaw in one thousand years?” Gu Hai asked.
“Indeed. It has been one thousand years. The Lianshan Classic is continuously being perfected. One thousand years ago, Old Mister Guan Qi came and used a Go Dao ritual array to simulate it, resulting in the reaction of the stele and finding a point of contention. However, I heard that Jiang Lianshan did not accept that contention, so it was left unsettled,” Gongyang Sheng said with a bitter smile.
“Old Mister Guan Qi used a Go Dao ritual array to simulate the Lianshan Ritual Array and found a point of contention?”
“Yes. I heard that Old Mister Guan Qi completely overthrew Jiang Lianshan’s Lianshan Classic. The Lianshan Classic has the Gen Hexagram as the lead hexagram. Old Mister Guan Qi’s simulation apparently contained all phenomena in the world and had the Kun Hexagram as the lead hexagram. Kun symbolizes earth, the origin of life. Old Mister Guan Qi debated with Jiang Lianshan for a long time, and the two worked on mutually verifying it for many days. However, Old Mister Guan Qi specialized in the Go Dao, so he could not offer a thorough explanation of the sixty-four hexagrams. It remained unresolved in the end,” Gongyang Sheng recalled.
However, Gu Hai frowned heavily.
The Lianshan Classic has the Gen Hexagram as the lead hexagram.
The Guicang Classic has the Kun Hexagram as the lead hexagram.
Old Mister Guan Qi managed to use a Go Dao ritual array to evolve the Lianshan Classic, pushing it towards the Guicang Classic?
“Mister Gu, forget about the second method. It would be better to focus on the first, getting the Azure Emperor, the White Emperor, or the Scarlet Emperor to facilitate a meeting. I recall that the Azure Emperor seems to think highly of Mister Gu. Should we…,” Gongyang Sheng said in anticipation.
Gongyang Sheng did not know that the Azure Emperor and Gu Hai were hostile to each other. How could Gu Hai go and buy trouble by seeking out the Azure Emperor?
“Gongyang Sheng, you greatly underestimate the hall master. You might not understand the Classic of Changes, but the hall master does. Isn’t that so, Hall Master?” Long Aotian said with a faint, cold smile.
Not long ago, Gu Hai had said that he understood a little. Long Aotian had been skeptical. Now that he had such a chance, he naturally would use it to criticize Gu Hai.
“Huh? Mister Gu, is what Long Aotian said true?” Gongyang Sheng asked with a skeptical expression.
Long Sanqian, Ao Shun, and Sima Changkong frowned at Long Aotian, clearly blaming him for trying to embarrass Gu Hai. It was too much.
“Oh! I do understand a little!” Gu Hai nodded.
“Huh?” Sima Changkong’s and Long Sanqian’s expressions turned stiff.
Did I hear wrong?
Gongyang Sheng goggled at Gu Hai.
“How can this be possible? Jiang Lianshan’s Classic of Changes has never been passed on to anyone. Did Mister Gu get his inheritance?” Gongyang Sheng said with wide eyes.
“Inheritance? I did not. I only know of a few points where the Classic of Changes is different from this.” Gu Hai shook his head.
“Hahaha! Gu Hai, do you really understand it? Are you still bragging even now?” Long Aotian called out, feeling depressed.
I was only criticizing you. To think that you really dare to declare this?
“Since every district has a stele that connects to the Lianshan Ritual Array, would Mister Gongyang bring me there if you do not think it beneath you? I can try writing down the contents of the Classic of Changes I know and see if there are any effects,” Gu Hai said seriously.
Gu Hai had indeed studied the Classic of Changes before, but he did not have a thorough understanding of it. Even so, he still knew the complete Classic of Changes. There was no loss in trying. Perhaps it might help?
However, everyone mistook this as Gu Hai having confidence.
If it were another person, they would not have believed him. However, it was different for Gu Hai.
Firstly, Gu Hai’s Go Dao ritual arrays seemed to have been brought to perfection. If Old Mister Guan Qi could find flaws, perhaps Gu Hai could. Secondly, Gu Hai could write the Classic of the Dao and Virtue. Maybe he really could find flaws?
“When shall we do it, Mister Gu?” Gongyang Sheng asked with a strange gaze.
“We should not tarry in this matter. How about going now?” Gu Hai suggested.
“That quickly? Shouldn’t Mister Gu study the Lianshan Classic first? After all, aside from its contents, the calligraphy and conception behind Divine Farmer City’s Lianshan Classic have some differences from those circulated outside. It won’t be too late to write after Mister Gu carefully studies it first?” Gongyang Sheng suggested.
Study the Lianshan Classic? Gu Hai thought about it for a while and gave up on it. He had already studied his Classic of Changes for many years and only understood a little of it. He probably would not understand this Lianshan Classic. Hence, he was better off not bothering.
“There’s no need. Just bring me over. There’s no need to waste time.” Gu Hai shook his head.
Gongyang Sheng nodded. “Alright, then. Mister Gu, please come with me.”
Sima Changkong, Long Aotian, Long Sanqian, and Ao Shun all looked at Gu Hai with strange expressions.
“This has to be just braggadocio, right?” Long Aotian muttered under his breath, feeling depressed.
Chapters for July: 19 / 30
