CHAPTER 1168: CHAPTER 736

The rain broken by Powerful Qi was only temporary; within half a day, the rift forcibly torn into the clouds over the Capital Region faded away seamlessly.

The vast, thick rain clouds spanned thousands of miles, creating a spectacular sight.

The autumn rain began to fall once more.

The waters of Dayan Mountain were beautiful, veiled in a layer of gray-blue like an ink painting.

This tranquility was suddenly disrupted by a middle-aged man who came from above the clouds, hair streaked with gray, his black clothes untouched by the rain, descending straight into the undulating towering mountains.

Contrary to the picturesque beauty seen from afar, a closer look revealed a scent of decay pervading the mountains and forests, the bodies of animals, decaying dead leaves, but fortunately, the rain washed away the majority.

The rain pattered against the dense forest, creaking and rustling, as Xu Yinhè walked alone through the desolate woods, treading upon the carpet of dead leaves as he moved upward.

The dense woodland formed a path broken open by an invisible force as he passed. His steps were slow, yet his pace was swift, and some of the forest’s native inhabitants barely had time to catch sight of this uninvited guest before his black-clad figure had vanished.

After a few breaths,

Xu Yinhè was already before a mountain cave.

The cave mouth was several meters wide, dark and lightless within, resembling the maw of a giant man-eating beast.

He entered, proceeding to the end,

and looked at the burly old man sitting cross-legged on a boulder; Xu Yinhè did not speak immediately.

Within the cave, the Energy Mechanism was visibly chaotic due to the burly old man’s breathing techniques. Once he gathered his Cultivation Technique and opened his eyelids, everything returned to peace.

Eventually, Ran Jianli spoke first, his tone holding a hint of helplessness as he regarded the black-clad middle-aged man in the darkness:

"Xu Yinhè, you hid quite deeply. During this Northern Hunt, I always thought Li Yaoxuan was hosting the deadly feast, but never imagined you to be the strongest on the scene."

Xu Yinhè approached slowly, stopping a meter away:

"Li Yaoxuan is not weak either."

Ran Jianli narrowed his eyes, his tone somewhat wistful:

"It seems you really thought of regicide in the Imperial Dragon Forest..."

Xu Yinhè did not deny it and said:

"It’s no longer important."

"That’s true. So, Prime Minister, have you come all this way just to kill me?"

Ran Jianli teased with a laugh.

He was not a serious person, never had been; age had made him steadier, but his nature remained the same.

Xu Yinhè’s expression was serene, his voice echoing:

"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have allowed you to leave from the start."

Upon hearing this, Ran Jianli pondered for a moment and casually asked:

"Speaking of which, what technique did you use earlier? The Energy Mechanism’s tremor when you and I clashed was strong, but not enough to obscure the Cosmic Technique trace on your Hanging Air Ring. At such a close distance, with Li Yaoxuan’s cultivation and eyesight, he should surely have noticed."

At the moment the transmission from Di’an’s upheaval arrived,

the two of them began to fight.

For practitioners of their level, strength and weakness, victory and defeat, the result was generally clear at the moment of encounter.

When spells met that heavy sword the first time, Ran Jianli realized he was no match for this Prime Minister, and the gap was quite significant.

Life-and-death combat is never absolute, but the gap between him and the other had already exceeded that boundary.

Ran Jianli did not feel much despair at that time.

Instead, he thought,

this damn Xu Yinhè and the bastard Xu Changtian both speak nonsense as if justified.

On the night when Sword Saint fought Xi’en Supreme, he claimed he hadn’t defeated Feng Jiuxuan in twenty years, damn it, if you haven’t competed, it’s not a win, is it?

No wonder they are father and son,

truly two of a kind, like that wretched Xu Yuan.

But knowing the gap was one thing, fighting to the death was another.

If someone wants to kill him, he can’t just submit to death.

Ran Jianli saw death lightly, and before arriving in the Capital City, he was prepared for the cycle of life and death, yet when he decided to fight this Prime Minister to the death, he sensed a Cosmic Technique fluctuation envelop him.

At that instant, Ran Jianli was completely bewildered.

He even thought of directly asking Xu Yinhè through transmission what the hell he was doing.

But everything happened so fast.

There was no time for him to ask, nor was there time for him to react.

Only one choice out of two options.

Either accept the Universe Dao Technique, unknowingly transported to some place by Xu Yinhè.

Or use the Energy Mechanism to break free from this Cosmic Technique and stay in the Imperial Dragon Forest to fight Xu Yinhè to the death.

Two choices,

choosing the former, though unclear in purpose, offered a chance of survival.

Choosing the latter, unless the Emperor and the military formation teamed up to gang up together against Xu Yinhè, it meant certain death, and even if Xu Yinhè was determined to kill him, the Emperor and the military formation might not be able to stop him.

Thus, Ran Jianli chose the former.

He wanted to see what Xu Yinhè aimed to do.

Half a day pondering a great deal, and now that the other side had indeed come to find him as he suspected, he openly asked what was on his mind:

"Also, why did you transmit me away?"

Xu Yinhè stood silently in place, speaking softly:

"Li Yaoxuan was distracted by something else, so he wouldn’t perceive the Cosmic Technique fluctuations. As for not killing you..... it was unnecessary."

"Unnecessary....."

Ran Jianli slightly furrowed his brow, staring at the calm expression in the darkness. The dismissal incensed him slightly, but he felt helpless, heaving a soft sigh:

"Alright... Li Yaoxuan was distracted? Was there something else present at the time?"

Xu Yinhè did not answer this question.

Ultimately, Ran Jianli lacked the sensitivity to perceive the presence of higher intentions.

If this was the case, it was better not to answer.

He merely said:

"My statement of unnecessary is not an insult."

Hearing this, Ran Jianli knew the other did not wish to say more, so he waved a hand in the darkness, saying:

"So, why not kill me? If I return and reveal myself in the Sword Sect, the determination you and your third son showed this time will all be for naught."

Xu Yinhè shook his head, his words resolute:

"You won’t."

Ran Jianli squinted his eyes, laughed heartily:

"Hahaha... Even though I’m naturally free-spirited, I’m still the Sect Alliance Leader, and I wouldn’t take this opportunity to fake my own death and leave."

Xu Yinhè saw through the pretense and directly faced the issue:

"The Sect Alliance was founded on the principle of Immortal Tax. On other matters, there’s internal strife and obstacles. You need to use your death to unite the sects and prevent some internal pests from seeking appeasement towards me."

The Sect Alliance is too loose, with a strong attitude of saving oneself at the expense of others, every sect considering its own interests, thinking the Imperial Court will ultimately compromise.

But likewise,

there are clear-headed leaders within the Sect Alliance.

They clearly understand the Prime Minister will never compromise.

War is inevitable.

Therefore, they need the death of someone weighty enough to awaken those within the Sect Alliance who harbor dreams of appeasement!

Ran Jianli came to the Capital City for the purpose of dying.

Having Xu Yinhè reveal his purpose for coming to the capital with just one sentence, Ran Jianli gradually restrained the smile on his face and said:

"So, are you planning to let me return first, and then announce the news of my feigned death?"

"Perhaps."

Xu Yinhè did not deny it.

Ran Jianli’s eyes were heavy as he grinned:

"If you release this news, how do you plan to justify it to the Imperial Family? Aren’t you afraid that Li Yaoxuan will suspect you of having intentions to usurp the throne?"

Xu Yinhè shook his head and said plainly:

"You and I are not the same."

"...." Ran Jianli suddenly fell silent.

One knows their own matters best; Ran Jianli was well aware of the situation within the Sect Alliance, and if the sects across the world knew that the Prime Minister secretly spared the doomed State Preceptor Ran Jianli, how would the situation escalate?

The most crucial part is,

his own daughter, the chief disciple of the Sword Sect, indeed had an unclear relationship with that damned Xu Changtian.

Ran Jianli truly didn’t know how the Tianyuan Sword Sect, as the leader of the sects, would handle the situation, nor how he, as the Sect Alliance Leader, would explain himself.

The Prime Minister’s Mansion, on the other hand, had no such concerns.

Because there was the endorsement of Xu Yinhè’s accumulated prestige and credibility built over several decades.

Moreover,

if Li Yaoxuan didn’t trust Xu Yinhè, how would he have allowed him to grow strong until now?

After a long quiet moment, Ran Jianli sighed:

"Prime Minister, your sinister plan is truly vicious. So you came to find me to gather evidence?"

Though there was fierce internal strife in the Sect Alliance, if Ran Jianli remained in hiding feigning death, others wouldn’t believe the Prime Minister’s side of the story.

Therefore, Xu Yinhè needed evidence.

Evidence of Ran Jianli clearly being alive in the world.

Thinking of this,

Ran Jianli was already inclined towards suicide.

Even though Xu Yinhè was strong, if he truly wished to die, the other couldn’t stop him.

Seeing the robust old man whose legs hadn’t yet healed, Xu Yinhè gently shook his head:

"If I intended to do this, you would certainly suicide."

At this point,

Xu Yinhè paused, indicating the other to dissipate the intent to self-destruct with Energy Mechanism, and continued:

"So I will not forcefully gather evidence, and besides, the Prime Minister’s Mansion needs you in the shadows to restrain those hidden sects. If you were to die, if the Sword Sect were to fall, there would be no mainstay within the current sects, and they’d quickly be merged by those hidden sects, which would be detrimental to my Imperial Court....."

"Why do I feel the more you say, the more I want to die?"

Ran Jianli suddenly clicked his tongue in a low voice.

"...." Xu Yinhè remained silent.

"Just joking."

Ran Jianli grinned when he saw this, raised his hand to stroke the white beard on his chin, and whispered:

"Since you won’t kill me, nor seek evidence, then why did you come looking for me? With your character, you shouldn’t be doing something so redundant."

The matters just discussed by the two, even if Xu Yinhè hadn’t personally told him, Ran Jianli could infer them from the interests involved, but it wouldn’t be as certain as now.

And this question, Xu Yinhè answered very straightforwardly:

"I once promised Changtian to give him a chance."

"A chance?"

Ran Jianli’s expression instantly turned peculiar, with confusion written all over his face: "You... are you trying to have him persuade me to bring the Sword Sect under your Imperial Court?"

"I don’t know."

"What?"

"I just made the promise, whatever he intends to do, I don’t know."

"Tsk....."

Ran Jianli clicked his tongue lightly, his expression somewhat disdainful, but suddenly realizing something, he steadied his gaze on the man in the black robe and said:

"What if his intentions are contrary to yours?"

Xu Yinhè pondered for a few moments, chuckled lightly, and said calmly:

"Then let it be by his measure."

"....."

His voice dissipated into the darkness of the silent cavern.

This caused Ran Jianli’s pupils to constrict, leaving him unable to speak for quite some time.

Let Xu Yuan be the measure.

What a joke?!

A ruling power nurturing an heir, transitioning power, is simply not done this way.

"Hoo..."

Suppressing the chaotic emotions, Ran Jianli exhaled and sighed:

"You truly have great faith in him, and you’re indeed in a hurry.

Prime Minister, why insist on acting alone?

If there is no war, wouldn’t it be nice for us to be peaceful in-laws?"

"......"

Xu Yinhè’s gaze remained silently, as if looking at a fool, calm and indifferent.

Ran Jianli, on the other hand, casually shook his head:

"Haha, do not take my lamentations seriously. Although you and I haven’t deeply interacted this lifetime, I do know that someone like you who has been resolute in fulfilling lifelong vows will certainly not discard them.

"But now that we’re speaking openly, I have a feeling that we may never meet again in this life. So I’m speaking my mind openly, actually from the time your reputation began to soar, I’ve always been quite curious about you.

"Xu Yinhè, could you answer a question of mine?"

"....."

Xu Yinhè fell silent for a moment, nodded:

"State Preceptor, please ask."

Ran Jianli took a deep breath, looking directly into his eyes:

"I remember, you were originally a son of a sect aristocrat; back then, why did you resolve to change the world this way?

"Was it for the common people of the world?"

As the words fell, the cave became silent.

The middle-aged man wearing the Black Dragon Robe fell silent after hearing this, seemingly unprepared for such a pointless question, yet maybe caught up in memories of the past.

This question’s answer was truly so distant.

So distant that,

even someone like him, who had been the Chancellor of the Dayan for decades, almost forgot.

As time went by,

no one knows how long it had been, when Xu Yinhè’s voice slowly resounded:

"It doesn’t matter anymore...."