65: Chapter 65 Since we're already here, shouldn't we bring something?

The streets of Heavenly Saint City were decorated with lanterns and streamers. The coronation ceremony of the new Emperor of Great Xia was grand and ostentatious. Xia Qingyue knew very well that she could only sit in this position because of the Everlasting Gu Family backing her. Thus, this grand ceremony was less about announcing the succession of the new Emperor to the world and more about setting a stage for the Gu Family.

"How are the preparations on Ji Ruxue's side?" Gu Sheng asked.

[She has finished her secluded cultivation in the Great Xia Ancestral Land. After being cleansed by seventy percent of the dragon vein qi and tempered by the sub-fire of the Great Sun Golden Flame, her current cultivation can no longer be suppressed. She could Breakthrough to the Soul Transformation Stage at any moment.]

"If it can't be suppressed, then don't suppress it. On the day of the ceremony, let her break through her realm in front of the public." Gu Sheng unfolded his folding fan. "As the Reincarnation of an Empress, she needs to have a bit of a grand entrance."

The System was silent for two seconds: [Host, you are planning to rub the Great Xia Dynasty's face into the dirt. Someone else is ascending the throne, and your disciple is going to go steal the spotlight?]

Gu Sheng smiled. "Xia Qingyue is a smart person. She knows what role she needs to play. The Great Xia Dynasty's face was already completely lost when Xia Ruotian was pinned down and beaten by two Saints. What she needs now is for the Gu Family to display a foundation sufficient to suppress everything, forcing those restless forces to shut their mouths."

Three days later. Great Xia Imperial City.

Golden Scale Platform.

This was the Holy Land where successive Human Emperors of Great Xia offered sacrifices to heaven and ascended the throne. The square paved with white jade was vast and boundless, with nine coiled dragon pillars standing around it.

Today, the atmosphere at the Golden Scale Platform was exceptionally eerie.

Envoys from various Holy Lands and Hidden Families were lined up on both sides. Taichu Holy Land, the Infinite Demon Sect, the Southern Border Demon Race, and even the Western Wasteland Buddhist Sect, which usually kept its doors closed, had sent representatives.

Everyone was waiting.

Waiting for that rumored Everlasting Gu Family that had forced the Great Xia Old Ancestor to retreat and supported the Empress's rise to power.

Xia Qingyue wore a bright yellow dragon robe and a Pingtian Crown, standing atop the jade steps. Her expression was calm. Since the Awakening of her Supreme Forgetfulness Body, her temperament had become increasingly cold, like an emotionless deity.

The officials of Great Xia knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the Emperor."

Xia Qingyue raised her hand, just about to speak.

Suddenly, a high-pitched dragon roar came from the horizon.

The clouds were forcibly torn apart.

A massive purple-gold flying boat broke through the air. At the front of the flying boat, Xuan Kong stood with his hands behind his back, his pressure at the Creation Realm Peak released without reservation, like a great mountain pressing down over the Golden Scale Platform.

In the guest seats, many Cultivators with weaker cultivation were directly pressed down onto their tables, their faces turning pale.

"The Everlasting Gu Family has come to observe the ceremony." Xuan Kong's voice was not loud, yet it clearly spread throughout the entire Imperial City.

In the Taichu Holy Land seats, an old man with a sinister face snorted coldly. His Middle Stage Dao Integration cultivation circulated, forcibly withstanding Xuan Kong's pressure.

"The Gu Family certainly puts on grand airs. At the coronation of the new Great Xia Emperor, for you to usurp the host's role like this, could it be that you treat Great Xia as an annex of your Gu Family?" The old man's voice was sharp, every word meant to cut deep.

His name was Qi Yuan, the Second Elder of Taichu Holy Land. A Soul Transformation Elder had died in the Luoxia Mountains, and Taichu Holy Land had already found out it was related to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion; he had come today specifically to make trouble.

Xia Qingyue stood on the high platform without making a sound. This was a game between the Gu Family and Taichu Holy Land; she only needed to watch.

On the purple-gold flying boat, Gu Sheng, dressed in white and waving a folding fan, walked slowly to the bow.

He looked down at Qi Yuan, his gaze like he was looking at a dead man.

"Taichu Holy Land." Gu Sheng closed his folding fan and tapped it against his palm. "I haven't even gone to settle the score with you for what happened in the Luoxia Mountains, yet you've jumped out yourselves."

Qi Yuan sneered. "The Luoxia Mountains? That was my Taichu Holy Land apprehending a thief who stole a great treasure. What, does the Gu Family intend to harbor the remnants of Baicao Valley?"

"Thief?"

A cold female voice came from outside the Imperial City.

A black rainbow pierced the sky as Luo Qingxue landed steadily in the center of the Golden Scale Platform, bringing Su Qianxue with her.

Luo Qingxue's clothes were as black as ink, with the nine nether soul-suppressing zither floating by her side. She looked at Qi Yuan and said coldly, "The people from your Taichu Holy Land committed highway robbery and were killed by me. Any objections?"

When Qi Yuan saw Luo Qingxue's face clearly, his pupils shrank suddenly.

"Xuanming Hall... Luo Qingxue!"

The guest seats instantly erupted into a commotion. The malevolent deity from three hundred years ago was actually standing here in the flesh. And looking at the situation, she seemed to have a connection with the Gu Family.

Gu Sheng watched this scene from the flying boat, giving Luo Qingxue's entrance a perfect score in his heart.

Su Qianxue stepped forward and held the black wooden box high.

"A congratulatory gift sent by the Master of Tianji Pavilion," Su Qianxue said loudly.

The wooden box opened.

An ancient, vast Imperial Aura soared into the sky. The fragment of the nine heavens and ten earths demon subduing seal lay quietly in the box, emitting heart-palpitating fluctuations.

The entire Golden Scale Platform fell into a deathly silence.

A fragmented Imperial Weapon!

Qi Yuan stared at that wooden box, his eyes turning red. The news sent back from the Luoxia Mountains was true!

Gu Sheng stood on the flying boat, looking down at the entire field.

"For the Great Xia coronation, the Gu Family presents a fragment of an Imperial Weapon as a gift." Gu Sheng's voice was steady, yet it carried an irresistible authority. "Who agrees, and who objects?"

No one spoke.

With an Imperial Weapon fragment in front, a Creation Realm Peak Dao Protector behind, and an unfathomable Luo Qingxue added to the mix, this lineup was enough to sweep through more than half of the Central Province.

Just then, Ji Ruxue, who had been standing behind Gu Sheng all along, suddenly took a step forward.

The aura within her body could no longer be suppressed.

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged frantically, turning into a massive Spiritual Qi vortex that poured into her body.

The barrier to the Soul Transformation Stage shattered instantly.

The Yao-Light Immortal Body erupted with brilliant divine light, and an illusory Empress manifestation flickered behind her.

Breaking through her realm right then and there in front of everyone.

Xia Qingyue looked at the girl in hemp clothes bathed in divine light, a flash of complexity in her eyes. She knew that from today on, the Great Xia Dynasty would be completely tied to the Gu Family's war chariot.

The situation in the Central Province would also be completely reshuffled at this moment.

Above the Golden Scale Platform, the Spiritual Qi vortex poured in frantically. Ji Ruxue was surrounded by brilliant divine light; although that illusory Empress manifestation only showed a corner of itself, it exuded a pressure that looked down upon all eternity.

Qi Yuan, the Second Elder of Taichu Holy Land, stared fixedly at that manifestation, his back teeth grinding together. A fragmented Imperial Weapon, a Creation Realm Peak Dao Protector, the Xuanming Goddess from three hundred years ago, and now another peerless Prodigy breaking through in public. Just how many trump cards did this Everlasting Gu Family hide?

"Elder Qi." Gu Sheng stood at the bow of the purple-gold flying boat, tapping his folding fan against his palm. "Just now you said the Gu Family was usurping the host's role. How about now?"

Qi Yuan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger surging in his heart. The situation was stronger than the man; if he really made a move here, that white-clothed man named Xuan Kong could slap him into meat paste with a single palm.

"The Gu Family's foundation is profound; this old man has been taught a lesson." Qi Yuan threw out a stiff sentence and turned to leave.

"Hold on," Gu Sheng spoke to interrupt him.

Qi Yuan's footsteps paused, his face looking ugly. "Does Pavilion Master Gu have any further instructions?"

"For the people of Taichu Holy Land to come to the Great Xia Imperial City to observe the ceremony and leave without even leaving a word of congratulation, that would be far too ignorant of the rules."

Qi Yuan laughed out of sheer anger. "What do you want?"

"Leave behind a Heaven Rank Magic Treasure as a congratulatory gift." Gu Sheng pointed with his fan. "Otherwise, you won't walk out of the Golden Scale Platform today."

An uproar broke out in the guest seats. Publicly extorting an Elder of Taichu Holy Land—this Pavilion Master Gu truly acted without any inhibitions.

Qi Yuan trembled with rage. Just as he was about to erupt, Xuan Kong took a step forward. The pressure of the Creation Realm was like something physical, pressing heavily on Qi Yuan's shoulders. Qi Yuan's knees buckled, and he almost knelt on the spot.

He bit the tip of his tongue to forcibly steady himself, pulled a bronze-colored shield from his storage ring, and threw it toward the high platform with a flick of his hand.

"Low Grade Heaven Rank, black tortoise shield. Pavilion Master Gu, the mountains are high and the rivers are long; we shall see!" Qi Yuan turned into a streak of light without looking back and fled in panic.