Ch. 1818 - The Queen Mother's Decision; Treasure Lineage's Qin Guan

At these words, Xia Changshan's face changed completely.

Being made to leave the Jade Court was worse than death itself.

To be a Four Seasons Valkyrie meant not only exceptional personal strength and access to resources, but also an incomparably noble status.

Within the Jade Court, the Eighteen Lineages kept one another in check, maintaining a balance.

But outside the Jade Court, the status of the Four Seasons Valkyries was even more exalted, for they did not answer to any of the Eighteen Lineages, they belonged exclusively to the Queen Mother's personal guard.

Aside from the Queen Mother herself, no one in the Jade Court had any right to command them; they stood as equals to all.

It was precisely because of the unique nature of the Four Seasons Valkyries that the Eighteen Lineages of the Jade Court all sought to court and win them over.

This only made their standing all the more privileged.

Xia Changshan did not want to leave, for she could not imagine a future without her identity as a Four Seasons Valkyrie.

This was worse than being killed.

They took pride in being Four Seasons Valkyries.

"Queen Mother, please forgive me just this once. I swear this was the only time I accepted anything, it will never happen again," Xia Changshan knelt on the floor, tears streaming down her face, pleading desperately.

"Please, Queen Mother, punish me however you see fit, I will accept any punishment. Only do not drive me away."

Xia Changshan cut a wretched figure. She had believed it was all done in secret, merely accepting gifts and occasionally speaking up for the Casting Crane Lineage on one or two matters.

Little did she know that everything occurring in the entire Jade Court, indeed, throughout all of Kunlun Mountain, lay within the purview of the Queen Mother's Heaven-Watching Mirror.

The Queen Mother showed no mercy.

Mercy shown by one in a position of power is the most pitiable thing of all.

From within the mist, a pair of jade-like hands seemed to wave gently, and Xia Changshan's figure was immediately sent flying out.

The heavenly island fell into complete silence.

The other Four Seasons Valkyries were utterly cowed, every one of them lowering her head, not daring to utter another word.

From within the mist, the Queen Mother's powerful voice resounded once more.

"Hold your position and fulfill your duty. I know the Four Seasons Valkyries are precious, and many will seek to win your favor. But you must also remember one thing. I can bestow this honor upon you, and I can take it away just as readily. If any of you, like her, should one day lose your way, you will end up with nothing."

As the Queen Mother's voice fell, every Four Seasons Valkyrie in the hall dropped to her knees at once.

"We humbly accept the Queen Mother's sacred command. We pledge to place the protection of the Jade Court above all else, and to involve ourselves in no other affairs."

"Qingcheng," the Queen Mother's voice rang out once more.

Ye Qingcheng, seated beside the principal seat in the closest position, turned to face it.

"Your disciple awaits your instruction, Master," Ye Qingcheng replied.

"I hear you had some prior acquaintance with this person?" the Queen Mother asked.

"There were a few dealings, yes," Ye Qingcheng nodded. "Though not a deep familiarity, merely a single encounter."

"As you know, very few things can be hidden from me," the Queen Mother's gaze seemed to pierce through the mist and land upon Ye Qingcheng.

"In truth, we were not very close. He has some connection to someone who once saved my life," Ye Qingcheng replied, unruffled.

"Do you know how he came to be within the Jade Court?" the Queen Mother asked.

"At present, Kunlun Mountain is sealed. Aside from honored guests invited to the Peach Blossom Banquet, there is only one way to enter the Jade Court," Ye Qingcheng pondered briefly before answering.

"The Mirage Tides Heaven."

In truth, before all this, those from the Azure Mystic Heaven had also been able to reach the Jade Court via transmission formations. However, as tensions between the Azure Mystic Heaven and the Jade Court had grown increasingly strained of late, the transmission formations connecting the two had been severed. Otherwise, imagine, at the height of their conflict, if the Azure Mystic Heaven were to use a formation to teleport an army of demon beasts directly in. That would be catastrophic.

"Correct, the Mirage Tides Heaven," the Queen Mother replied. "A living person who came through the Mirage Tides Heaven. I wonder what the Lord of Death has in mind, or what purpose lies behind all this. In all these years, this is the first living person I have ever seen to emerge from the Mirage Tides Heaven."

"Is Master instructing me to make contact with him?" Ye Qingcheng asked.

"Ask him what purpose brought him to the Jade Court. Surely he didn't come all this way simply to help us," the Queen Mother said.

"Understood," Ye Qingcheng rose to her feet, thought for a moment, then asked again. "And what of the Casting Crane Lineage? He has slain Wang Xie and others, the Casting Crane Lineage, and perhaps other Lineages, will not let this rest."

"Take my token with you. A great battle in the Jade Court draws near, and everyone must stand united against the common enemy rather than turn on each other," the Queen Mother said coldly. "If there are those who refuse to listen, then discipline them accordingly. Before the battle begins, I will not allow any destabilizing elements to remain."

With that, Ye Qingcheng's mind was settled. She rose into the sky and departed from the Heavenly Island.

Within the Peach Garden.

With a single slash from Xu Zimo, not even a corpse remained of Wang Xie, he had been utterly annihilated.

Everyone could feel an ominous pressure bearing down, as if a storm were gathering.

The sky itself seemed to be falling.

Just as they were all thinking this, movement stirred outside the Peach Garden. A great azure crane let out a long, piercing cry, its sharp sound echoing across the four corners of the Jade Court.

"That's the Heaven-Shaking Crane, the sacred crane of the Casting Crane Lineage," someone called out.

"The Heaven-Shaking Crane only calls when something major has happened. One cry is a summons to all disciples of the Casting Crane Lineage. It seems news of the Peach Garden incident has already reached them."

"Of course it has, it's been long enough that any disciple could have reported it by now."

"This is finished. This young man's strength may be peerless among the younger generation, but against the elder generation's powerhouses, I'm afraid he still falls far short."

The crowd buzzed with commentary, yet none of them left, they all stayed to watch the spectacle.

Wang Ya grabbed Xu Zimo's arm, her voice anxious. "Run, I'll go find Grandpa Tree. If he appeals on your behalf, there may still be hope."

Grandpa Tree was an elder of the Plant Lineage and, by now, one of the very last remaining senior powerhouses of that Lineage. He was also the paternal grandfather of Wang Ya and her younger brother.

"There's no hurry," Xu Zimo waved her off.

He raised his gaze to the horizon. Already several figures of tremendous presence could be seen closing in through the air from all directions.

It was evident that the Casting Crane Lineage held a truly lofty position within the Jade Court.

It had rather the feeling of a single flaming arrow bringing a thousand troops galloping to the call.

"If we don't leave now, it really will be too late," Wang Ya said urgently.

"I've done what I've done, and I never intended to run. Besides, now that I'm here, I might as well fight my way through. There's a path in every direction," Xu Zimo said.

His thinking was straightforward. if he kept fighting, he might very well end up face-to-face with Queen Mother herself. He did not believe that at this critical juncture, the Jade Court would truly dare to go to open war with him.

"That's Qin Guan of the Treasure Lineage, he's come too," someone called out at that moment, looking toward the edge of the Peach Garden.

A treasure warship descended from the heavens. Once it drew close to the airspace above the Peach Garden, it shrank to several times smaller than before, the size of a palm, and returned to the hand of a young man.

The young man wore a pale black robe, his brow carrying a certain overbearing air. His robes were inscribed with flowing Dao-script.

With each step he descended, the sounds of the Great Dao echoed beneath his feet.

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