Yesterday, when Su Yi fought the Unknown Dragons, the emperor of the Great Zhou never once made an appearance. Even after they fell, the emperor was nowhere to be seen.

Yet now, this morning, the newly-crowned heir apparent, Zhou Zhili, had come here to see him. How could Su Yi possibly miss the emperor’s intentions? 

In simple terms, the current emperor of the Great Zhou didn’t care about the Unknown Dragons’ deaths in the least!

And he’d sent Zhou Zhili to see Su Yi for no other purpose than to borrow Su Yi’s prestige to intimidate the nation!

After all, the Unknown Dragons were already dead. This was no different from snapping the imperial clan’s spine. How could they ward off invasion by foreign enemies now?

The power of their mundane armies was nowhere near sufficient to intimidate cultivators.

The emperor of the Great Zhou was obviously well aware that he couldn’t make Su Yi work for him, so he sent Zhou Zhili instead. 

Su Yi wouldn’t act as the imperial family’s protector just because of that.

Thus, he had Zhou Zhili deliver a message on his behalf:

Want to borrow my prestige to intimidate the Great Zhou’s enemies?

Go right ahead.

But Zhou Zhili must be the one to lead the Great Zhou!

This was an exchange.

……

Deep within the Green Prayer Mountains.

Numerous urns were already placed in front of Ye Yufei’s grave.

These were the Su Family’s offerings.

It was drizzling, and the mountains were gray and overcast.

Su Yi stopped before the grave and stood there in silence.

Zhou Zhili, however, took out incense and joss paper, squatted, and set them on fire. Smoke rose into the air.

Some time later.

Su Yi took out the Netherworld Thunder Punishment Bell.

This was a Spirit Treasure of the demonic way, but he’d already discerned its secrets.

When it was still intact, it was an extremely powerful treasure. It was the work of a Spirit Dao advanced cultivator of the demonic way. 

Su Yi was certain that, when Ye Yufei first brought it here from another world, it was already severely damaged. 

Otherwise, that demonic spirit couldn’t possibly have been so weak.

What he found really fishy was that the bell contained the power of an extremely mysterious “brand.”

When he examined it with his divine sense, he discovered a mysterious diagram inside it.

It depicted a strange tree towering into outer space, past the blue dome of heaven and into the void beyond. Its branches were covered in the broken corpses of stars. 

The image contained a line of text written in the ancient glyphs of demons and gods—

“The origins of the azure, the emperor controls the secrets of the nine extremes.”

If not for the memories of his past life, Su Yi couldn’t possibly have interpreted such ancient characters.

However, although he could read them, Su Yi had no idea what the text meant.

The “origins of the azure” could just barely be interpreted as “the origins of the Azure Continent.” But what did “the emperor controls the secrets of the nine extremes” mean?

And just what did the ancient glyphs have to do with the picture of the tree?

In his past life, in an ancient ruin, Su Yi once saw a tree of stars. Radiant stars hung from every branch; it was wondrous to the extreme.

Yet the tree depicted in the diagram wasn’t a true tree of stars. Instead, the corpses of fallen stars hung from its branches!

This was decidedly strange. 

After mulling it over from several different angles, Su Yi’s rough guess was that his mother had likely brought the Netherworld Thunder Punishment Bell from another world precisely for the purpose of investigating the meaning behind the phrase “origins of the azure, the emperor controls the secrets of the nine extremes.”

In other words, the value of the demonic bell wasn’t its strength, but rather, that the power imprinted in it contained enormous secrets.

Some time later, Su Yi set those thoughts aside, then got down on his knees and bowed three times before his mother’s grave.

Su Yi pressed his fingers into a sword and cut, instantly opening the grave, revealing the coffin within.

He walked up and opened it.

Inside was a withered corpse. It had long since ceased to resemble his mother.

This was the difference between life and death.

In life, she was a peerless beauty of her generation and a mighty cultivator. In death, all that remained of her were withered bones buried in the dirt.

After a moment’s silence, Su Yi flicked his fingers, and a wisp of flame floated down onto the corpse, quickly burning it to ash, which Su Yi gathered into the Netherworld Thunder Punishment Bell.

“Let’s go.” Su Yi didn’t linger any further.

Su Yi came here to sweep his mother’s grave, as well as to take Ye Yufei’s remains with him. This would prevent his more ruthless enemies from desecrating her corpse to target him.

He’d already seen plenty of such behavior in his past life.

……

Upon returning to the Jade Capital, Zhou Zhili bade him farewell, then went back to the imperial palace.

Su Yi, meanwhile, returned to Pinewind Villa, only to discover that Ge Changling was already there waiting for him. After exchanging a few quick pleasantries, he took out a stone stele.

It was two feet long, black and spotted, with an air of antiquity. A line of ancient characters was carved on its surface.

“The sealed power will one day break free of the earth.

“Everything that is shackled will one day escape its bonds.

“The grand events and bloodshed of days long gone will return even grander than before.

“Before the mists part, consider all unusual occurrences omens!”

Su Yi stared intently at the text for a moment, but he didn’t discover anything worthy of notice. He then turned his attention to the stele itself.

“After discovering the stele, I realized that its materials aren’t the least bit simple. It's immune to both water and fire, and swords and sabers cannot scratch it. Even a Grain Avoidance cultivator’s full-force attack can barely shake it,” said Ge Changling. “Strangest of all, the stele can suppress the power of the landscape and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Ordinary treasures cannot even begin to compare.”

Ge Changling then let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Perhaps my talent and knowledge are lacking. Despite years of research and pondering, I’ve yet to truly discern any of the stele’s secrets.”

“It’s not at all strange that you wouldn’t recognize it,” said Su Yi. “The stone used to make this stele is called ‘Worldspirit Star Soulstone.’ It’s produced in outer space, and it’s extremely rare. It’s a top-notch material for refining Spirit Treasures. Some of it is mixed into the stele.”

Having said this, Su Yi’s expression turned a little strange. To the best of his knowledge, Worldspirit Star Soulstone was rare and precious even in the Nine Provinces of the Wilds.

Who’d have thought that here, on the Azure Continent, someone would use such a divine material to make a stone stele? How was that any different from desecrating a natural treasure?

But then, it was highly possible that whoever had made this stele didn’t care about that at all!

“Worldspirit Star Soulstone?” Ge Changling couldn’t help but feel surprised. “So, my disciple was right all along…”

Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up. “Your disciple recognized it too?”

Ge Changling said, “My disciple is called Ge Qian. He lost his parents at a young age and has cultivated at my side ever since. Years ago, when I brought this stele back from Green Ivy Yao Mountain, he recognized its materials at a glance.

“He said that he saw records of Worldspirit Star Soulstone in an ancient tome. Furthermore, he recommended that I place the stele on Skyblue Mountain. He said that it could suppress the power of the landscape and absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Over time, its presence would transform Skyblue Mountain into a treasured ground perfectly suited for cultivation.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but be surprised. “That disciple of yours isn’t simple. He actually knew how to use the stele to gather spiritual energy?”

A strange look appeared on Ge Changling’s face. “Fellow Daoist, I won’t lie to you. There’s indeed something strange about my disciple. I suspect he’s inherited the power of an ancient legacy. Fortunately, he hasn’t been possessed. Thus, I’ve never asked him about his secrets, and I’ve always turned a blind eye to his behavior.”

He paused, then continued, “Also, my disciple is incomparably cautious by nature. Or, to put it less politely, he’s a complete coward. He’s never been willing to get involved in anything remotely dangerous.”

Ge Changling then laughed. “Back when you first took those Pure Yang Fire Peaches, I sent Ge Qian to look for you. Who’d have thought that shortly after arriving in Mother Ghost Ridge, the kid would turn back for fear of something going wrong? He didn’t even dare to meet with you first.”

Only then did Su Yi realize that something like that had happened, and he couldn’t help but find it funny. “Hearing your description, it seems your disciple really is quite cautious.”

Ge Changling laughed and shook his head. “Being overly cautious is no different from being a coward. He’s been exploring the Dark Sea for a while now. When he gets back, I’d like to bring him to see you, Fellow Daoist. Perhaps you can see tell if there’s something wrong with the boy.”

“Given his cautious nature, I’m afraid there’s no way he’ll dare meet me,” said Su Yi casually. “Of course, if he is willing, I’d be happy to help you understand his secrets.”

They chatted a little while longer before Ge Changling bade farewell and left.

He insisted on leaving the stele behind, and he wouldn’t let Su Yi refuse it.

Su Yi knew that this was Ge Changling’s way of repaying his mother’s kindness.

Alternatively, one might say he was doing this to assuage his guilt. 

Su Yi put away the stele, went back to his room, and began cultivating and meditating as usual.

Later that day.

The emperor of the Great Zhou issued a proclamation that from this day forth, Crown Prince Zhou Zhili would oversee the nation and wield sole authority over its affairs, with Hong Shenshang to assist him in managing the imperial court!

When news spread, it threw the nation into uproar.

Who could miss that although the emperor had yet to officially abdicate, he’d essentially given the imperial throne to the sixth prince, Zhou Zhili, already? Once Zhou Zhili had a firm handle on the nation’s authority, he could smoothly ascend to the throne!

Later that same day, Zhou Zhili issued his first orders as the prince regent. He directly imprisoned Second Prince Zhou Zhikun and Third Prince Zhou Zhizhen, as well as their henchmen!

There was no doubt about it; Zhou Zhili still nursed a grudge over what had happened at the Western Mountain’s Tea Party!

At the same time, Zhou Zhili issued a proclamation to the entire Great Zhou, declaring Su Yi the nation’s imperial preceptor!

This news shook the populace and threw the nation into uproar once more.

Imperial preceptor!

This title was far more special than that of state preceptor. Throughout the Great Zhou’s history, not one person had ever received this honor!

After hearing this, who could fail to realize that Zhou Zhili’s current position and sole authority over the nation were inextricably connected to Su Yi?

“Back at the Western Mountain Tea Party, Su Yi helped the crown prince slay his foes and appoint the province’s next governor. Who’d have thought that just a few months later, His Highness would become crown prince and oversee the nation, all thanks to Su Yi?”

Countless people sighed.

Some people rejoiced. “With a living legend like Su Yi around, there’s no need to worry about unrest in the Great Zhou, and which hostile nation would dare invade us?”

“The crown prince’s luck… Is simply heaven-defying…”

Many people sighed to themselves. They thought that Zhou Zhili was one lucky bastard. He’d become the future ruler of the Great Zhou practically without so much as lifting a finger. Su Yi had delivered him victory in the battle of succession on a silver platter. 

Late that night, while the outside world was still in uproar, the Featherflow King Yue Shichan came calling.

Su Yi had only just finished his cultivation when inspiration struck, and he waved his brush and wrote a line of text:

The eternal sky has neither wind nor dust. Its radiant moon illuminates my sword heart.

Just FYI, while I do read ahead, there are some parts of this chapter that I can’t really interpret with 100% without knowing more than I know more. Specifically, I’m not sure whether the glyphs belong to “demons and gods” or “demonic gods” (ie the fiendgods in DE). “The Emperor Controls the Secrets of the Nine Extremes” is also my best guess, but I need more information to be sure that it’s an accurate translation. I’ll let you know if I have to go back and fix something.

___

More about joss paper here

___

This chapter is why I changed Hong Shenshang’s title. I think some of you figured that out. My apologies for the implied spoilers and any confusion. 

___

The first half of the chapter title/calligraphy seem to be a modified version of Chan Master Chonghui’s quote, 萬古長空，一朝風月, or “The skies are eternal, the wind and moon change with the dynasty.”

This source looks a bit dubious and has lots of ads, but it’s the only English source I found that wasn’t behind a paywall. Here’s a google-translated Chinese source that goes into more detail. 

The idea of the original quote is that the weather seems to change, but the sky is always the sky, so the changes are superficial. It only seems that something is changing from our limited (flawed, human) point of view.

Similarly, the world is always the world, unchanging despite whatever superficial change is occurring on the surface. 

Of course, Su Yi’s version is a bit different. The first part, “萬古長空無風塵”, translates to “the eternal sky is without wind or dust.” 

You can interpret that as you wish, of course. That said, in my non-expert opinion… “Wind” is often a poetic stand-in for change, and “dust” is often a stand-in for mortality (and the associated petty/fleeting concerns of mortal life). Therefore, I’m interpreting this as a statement about his ever-steady mental state. It’s not that he’s unaware of what’s happening around him, but that none of it really influences him. Wind and dust are fleeting, but the sky is the sky. Superficial changes cannot really influence the sky, nor can they really influence Su Yi’s mental state.

The second half of this sentence is far simpler to understand: 一輪明月照劍心, or “the bright moon illuminates my sword heart.” Pretty sure he’s just saying that, since superficial disturbances don’t affect him, he can continuously focus on what really matters to him: his sword.

If you have a different interpretation, I’d be interested to hear it. Feel free to let me know in the comments!