The whole of the Pure Heaven Bureau was busy, but Shi Fengchen, a high ranking official of the Vice Inspector, was so leisurely. It could only mean one thing: he had been sidelined.
He started investigating the case in Chaonan City three years ago, and it wasn't until last year that he found the real culprit. Unfortunately, he found the culprit was the Aoyama Sect.
After he returned to Zhaoge City, he was scolded and reprimanded by his superior, almost losing his official position. It wasn't until the Royal Concubine in the Imperial Palace intervened that he was safe. Last year, he went to the Imperial Palace to express his gratitude to the Royal Concubine, but he didn't have a connection with the Royal Concubine. As a result, he lost his value in the eyes of many people, so he was ostracized and lost his official position.
Until now, he still didn't understand why the Chief Commander was so angry even though he had offended the Aoyama Sect. As far as he knew, Chief Commander Wei was a free-traveling practitioner who didn't have much relationship with the Cultivation sects in the southern land. It was Duke Lu who recommended him all the way to his current position.
It was better not to think about these issues. The tea in the teacup tasted good. Leisurely life had its advantages. At least he wouldn't have to make the best spring tea into a soup just because he didn't have time to drink tea, and he wouldn't have to make the tea in the teacup into a clear soup just because he didn't have time to change the tea.
Thinking of this, Shi Fengchen squinted at the Plum Garden in the distance.
The Plum Garden was located in the west of the Imperial City, where the Plum Meeting was held.
Many years ago, the monsters of the Snowy Kingdom invaded, and the imperial court lost its legitimacy. The human race was in a critical situation. The only descendant of the imperial family and a few young leaders of the orthodox Cultivation sects made a blood oath in the Plum Garden. They worked together to quell the rebellion of the refugees, and then defeated the army of the monsters of the Snowy Kingdom, restoring the human race to its former glory.
To commemorate this historic alliance, the Imperial Court would hold a Plum Meeting every few years, inviting the orthodox Cultivation sects and many other Cultivation sects to participate. In addition, the current Plum Meeting was more important because the Alliance of the orthodox Cultivation sects would decide the amount of crystals and resources each sect would get in the following years according to their ranking at the Plum Meeting. For the giants like Zhongzhou School and the Aoyama Sect, the increase or decrease of resources was not important, but who would be willing to lose face?
Many years ago, the Plum Garden was just a Plum Garden. Shi Fengchen had once visited the ruins. It was only a few acres in size, with dozens of Plum Trees growing sparsely. It was very common. However, the appearance of the Plum Garden had changed a long time ago. It could be said that it was one of the most magnificent buildings in Chaotian; even the nearby royal palace was inferior to it.
Today, the plum garden was made up of dozens of high platforms, connected by a straight stone path. Plum blossoms were planted everywhere, both on the sides of the path and on the platforms. If one looked at it from afar, the building itself looked like a huge plum tree, but it was covered by the clouds and mist summoned by the formation, so ordinary people couldn't see it at all.
Now the most favored concubine in the palace was Concubine Mei. It was said that she was about to threaten the status of Concubine Hu.
Thinking of the day when he entered the palace to meet the Royal Concubine Hu, Shi Fengchen narrowed his eyes even more, almost forming a straight line, and the mocking smile on the corners of his mouth became even more obvious.
But this time it was a self-mockery.
At the time, he thought the clue found in the pile of old papers was the weakness of the Royal Concubine Hu, so he planned to take the opportunity to threaten her to do something for him. Unexpectedly, the Emperor had already known about it. If Shi Fengchen hadn't been good at observing people's facial expressions and reacted quickly enough to change the topic, he would have been dead by now.
The path wasn't working!
Shi Fengchen thought to himself sentimentally that the Emperor had chosen a vixen as the Royal Concubine; it was a sign that the world would be in chaos. Like the young peak master of the Aoyama Sect, would those evils from many years ago come out to wreak havoc in the human world? Yet, he was merely a regular official of the Pure Heaven Bureau who had been marginalized; what could he do for the people of the world? He couldn't count on the Royal Concubine Hu, and she was even problematic. The Imperial court couldn't punish her, and the law and discipline couldn't punish her, so he had to … kill her by himself.
"Kill you, I'll definitely kill you."
Shi Fengchen murmured while looking at the distant sky, looking like a madman. … …
In the late spring in Zhaoge City, the sky was blue and cloudless, and dozens of sword marks could be seen clearly.
…
…
The major sects like the Zhongzhou School and the Aoyama Sect had to try their best to participate in the Plum Meeting. As for the small sects like the Three-Du Sect and the Haotian Sect, being able to participate in the Plum Meeting was already enough, so they didn't want to do anything else. All they wanted was to see some legendary figures, so they could brag about them to their colleagues when they returned to the mountains.
The high platform enshrouded in clouds and fog was full of plum blossoms, looking like a real fairy realm. The masters and disciples of the small sects stood on it, feeling a bit nervous, but also excited. Some disciples asked curiously why there were so many plum blossoms in the late spring, which was met with mockery from their colleagues in a low voice. This was the Plum Garden, where all kinds of plum trees in the world grew. The plum blossoms would bloom in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Moreover, the Great Formation was involved in the mysteries of heaven and earth. Even if it wasn't the right time, the blooming of tens of thousands of flowers could still be controlled by the Emperor's will.
"The highest cold platform in the north is the Zhongzhou School. Which sect is on the highest platform in the west? The Guocheng Temple? "
"The Guocheng Temple usually doesn't hold any events, and they seldom participate in the Plum Meeting. Why would they sit there?"
"Idiot, the host of this year's Plum Meeting is Zen Master, so it's impossible for the Guocheng Temple not to send someone here."
On the stone platforms close to the ground, the disciples of various sects were talking about it. Thinking that they were so close to those rumored figures, they couldn't help but feel excited.
The current Plum Garden was made up of dozens of high platforms, looking like a plum tree from a distance.
Those high platforms looked like the leaves or plum blossoms, hidden in the clouds and fog all year round, so they were called cold platforms.
The name was derived from the meaning of the solitary plum blossoms growing alone in the cold.
Since the Plum Meeting, the positions of most of the sects had been fixed, with few changes, especially the dozen cold platforms at the highest point.
The Zhongzhou School was located on the highest cold platform in the north. It was said that Lo Huainan and Tong Yan didn't come today, which disappointed many people. Below the platform was the position of Yimaozhai. Without a teacher to guide them, the ten scholars sat on the futons in Silence, either looking at the plum blossoms to inquire about their hearts, or looking at the sky to inquire about their Dao. They were completely different from those poor scholars on the streets of Zhaoge City.
The highest cold platform in the west was the position of the Guocheng Temple. The other two cold platforms with similar heights were the ones of Shui Yue Nunnery and the Western Sea Sword School. The female disciples of Shui Yue Nunnery all wore white veils on their faces, which were fluttering in the wind, looking very similar. It was hard to tell who was the personal disciple of that mysterious Lian Sanyue. The relationship between the Western Sea Sword School and Zhaoge City was quite ordinary, so only a few people came to the Plum Garden. The upright young disciple standing in the front attracted many gazes. He was Tong Lu, who had become more and more famous in recent years.
The cold platforms in the south belonged to the Ōzawa Sect, the Platanus Sect, and the No-Mercy Sect, which had been suppressed by the Western Sea Sword School in recent years.
The cold platform at the highest point faced the cold platform of the Zhongzhou School in the distance. They were both located at the highest point of the Plum Garden, but they were still empty.
It was the position of the Aoyama Sect.
…
…
The positions of the cold platforms in the Plum Garden were the approximate distribution of the orthodox sects.
The Jing Dynasty had been on the rise for many years, but the situation hadn't changed much. The Aoyama Sect and the Zhongzhou School were still the undisputed leaders. Though the young generation of the Aoyama Sect had been suppressed by the Zhongzhou School in the last few decades, the Cultivation practitioners had a long lifespan, and the path toward heaven was full of dangers. Nobody could predict how the situation would change in the future. For instance, the Aoyama Sect had produced a few outstanding disciples in the last few years, like Guo Nanshan and Zhuo Rusui, and of course, Zhao Layue.
Moreover, the Aoyama Sect had ten swordsmen in the Broken Sea State and two in the Heavenly Arrival State. Who in Chaotian dared to challenge such a powerful force?
The year before last, Yuan Qijing, the Master of Shanghai Peak, had finally entered the Heavenly Arrival State and became another important figure in Chaotian.
The guests of various sects gathered in Aoyama at the moment. They all felt a chill in the air while congratulating Yuan Qijing.
If it weren't widely known that the Sect Master of Aoyama and Yuan Qijing were not on good terms with each other, the other Cultivation sects would feel even more uneasy.
"The Aoyama Sect is here!"
A surprised cry suddenly broke out in the field.
Dozens of sword lights illuminated the sky, and then abruptly converged above the Plum Garden.
Dozens of figures appeared on the highest cold platform in the south. Apart from the peak master of Qingrong, Nan Wang, the rest of them wore green sword robes, looking heroic.
The discussions broke out on the dozens of cold platforms, even on the cold platforms of the Kunlun Sect and Ōzawa Sect.
"Who is Zhao Layue? I don't see a girl with messy hair. "
"Who is Jing Jiu? Is he really that good-looking? "
…
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