Chapter 1857: All Shall Be Settled In This Life (I)

Snow rustled softly.

The lake had frozen solid along the shore. Heavy snow filled the sky, casting a deep gloom over the world. The path was all but deserted. Wrapped in a thick cloak, Li Suining stood quietly in the snow.

Crunch.

The ice and snow broke beneath his feet with low, crisp cracks. He trudged a few uneven steps, then stopped and watched the snow sweep toward him.

So this... is how [Heavenly Plain] is used?

Being reborn a second time filled Li Suining with almost delirious joy. Countless tangled thoughts unraveled at that moment. Even looking back over the past few years brought fresh understanding.

I was certainly not the only one influencing what happened to Guangchan. I am not the only person behind the differences between the present world and my first life. At Xuanmiao Temple, beside Ch'i Lanyan... there is another!

This resolved so many of the mysteries that had troubled him.

Gongsun Bei's inexplicable arrival at the lake had a reason, too. It was not a consequence of my actions, but his... Fan Kang's...

As far as he knew, Fan Kang was a disciple of the Pavilion of Profound Order, and all Ch'i Lanyan's recent actions stemmed from him! He had caused Li Suining considerable trouble for a time. Only after Zhao State lost Jiangnan was Ch'i Lanyan forced to flee, suffering defeat after defeat. In the end, Fan Kang had died at the hands of the Li Family's own people.

Yet another uncertainty soon clouded his mind.

But this is now my third life.

Do all [Children of Heavenly Plain] possess this ability, or am I the only one?

Li Suining had never left Moongaze Lake, much less had the chance to meet others who were likewise [Children of Heavenly Plain]. Even if people knew they had been reborn and possessed memories of the future, few would think to wonder how many times they had been reborn... or what differences there might be...

He remained silent.

If it has happened twice, could there be a third time? When I first returned... there were still five years before the Yang Family took the throne... I entered meditation in the tenth year of Cultivation and Martiality. Fifteen years in total.

Is it the passage of time? Or some particular action? When will it happen next?

His gaze grew distant. Ever since his rebirth, Li Suining's eyes had been steady and composed. Yet now, standing beneath the falling snow, he felt a trace of uncertainty.

These past fifteen years... have I done right or wrong?

He had thought he could turn everything around. The scenes revealed through his second rebirth had confirmed the difference he had made. He had saved almost everyone at Moongaze Lake who could be saved, and reduced the devastation of the Changhe Rebellion, when the Murong Family's Compassion Dao had advanced south, to a minimum.

As for the Underworld's judiciary, his youngest uncle had survived, and the King of Wei's entry into court had never taken place. Relations between Song and Wei had grown closer still. Even Situ Huo's rebellion had been nipped in the bud, leaving the old man to remain reluctantly at Capital Immortal Dao.

The dragons had also reached a consensus. The Dragon King had finally abandoned his intentions, and the King of Wei's tomb planned for the Eastern Sea had become an empty bluff. Guang Fou, the Dragon King of Dan Sea, had even visited the island in person to present the King of Wei with the Wei descendants' method of attaining the Golden Core Realm, which had been lost in the Dragon Palace!

They had even obtained the all-important method of attaining the Golden Core Realm! The family's Daoist Masters had poured their hearts into the effort, doing almost everything within their power. The King of Wei's achievements and renown had been several times greater than in Li Suining's first life!

But someone on Mount Luoxia had made a move, and their entire carefully laid plan had collapsed like an avalanche. Li Suining, who had expected to witness the King of Wei attain the Golden Core Realm, had died before Li Zhouwei. Almost the entire Li Family had perished as Li Zhouwei was attaining the Dao!

Li Jiangchun had fallen in battle in Jianghuai. Li Quewan, hastily emerging from seclusion, had been forced to face Yao Guanyi, whose divine abilities had reached perfection. As for their people in Zhao State, their fate scarcely needed imagining. The King of Wei's sons could not possibly have seen him even one last time. How many of the remaining troops had joined the Buddhist Dao, and how many had surrendered to Zhao, was anyone's guess...

Luoxia and the Underworld's judiciary must both have Dao Embryos. In other words, immortals.

The overwhelming gulf in strength left him feeling trapped in an icy cavern, chilled to the bone. Li Suining realized that he needed more than to change events. He had to defeat those directing them. Simply growing stronger would not suffice.

He gazed somberly at the lake, a trace of remorse appearing in his eyes.

Wei Xuanyin.

In his first life, Wei Xuanyin, Great Zhao's National Preceptor, had died seeking the Dao. He had reportedly been only a step away from a Golden Position, and his death had shaken the world.

But in his second life, the King of Wei had routed Zhao's armies ahead of time, invaded Qi, contended for supremacy in the Central Plain, and then entered Guanlong. His cultivation had advanced twice as fast, and his imperial presence had reached its utmost height.

Overjoyed, Li Suining had immediately begun plotting against the Pavilion of Profound Order, intending to ambush and kill Wei Xuanyin. He had proposed, Your majesty should slay Xuanlou and reenact the imperial might of old to seek a Golden Position.

Yang Zhuo had strongly supported the plan and stressed it several times. Yet while seated in the secret realm, the King of Wei had shown clear displeasure, remarking, Xuanlou seeks to uphold the proper balance of Yin and Yang. His great Dao is upright and imposing. There is nothing to gain by killing him.

Li Suining, however, had hoped to smooth the King of Wei's path to Dao attainment while also fulfilling the Song Emperor's wish. He had also believed that the surge of Yin Qi released when Wei Xuanyin died seeking the Dao would affect Li Zhouwei. If they could eliminate him beforehand, even the prestige gained would be worthwhile.

By then, the favorable situation had clouded his judgment. In Li Suining's eyes, his tireless efforts in his second life had brought the Yang and Li Families exceptionally close. The Song Emperor and the King of Wei were friends. The emperor was certain to ascend and valued his promises. With a Golden Core Realm cultivator's protection, the clan's path of retreat was as guaranteed as could be.

With a retreat secured, naturally he had hoped to go one step further and see Li Zhouwei attain the Dao.

After weighing the matter for three days, he had finally made up his mind and said, Without killing Xuanlou, the north cannot be pacified. Your majesty has perfected all five divine abilities. Eliminate him, and the Song Emperor will owe you a favor and extend his protection to our clan.

Meanwhile, tensions in the north had intensified, driving the turmoil to its height. With all these factors at play, Grand Daoist Master Xuanlou had fallen in Great Zhao's imperial capital.

Only now did understanding strike him, filling his heart with bitterness.

Wei Xuanyin did not represent Great Zhao, the Pavilion of Profound Order, or even the [Dao of the Observation Transformation Heavenly Tower]!

He may not have seemed closely connected to Luoxia, but he represented the ideals or plans of a faction on Mount Luoxia. His death stripped them of their dignity before everyone. It acted as a warning that worldly affairs had slipped out of control and begun threatening their broader interests! It forced Luoxia to turn its gaze upon us!

The sudden upheaval in my previous life began with his death. Once Yao Guanyi took charge of worldly affairs below the mountain, it was just as he said... Matters were already beyond remedy!

Even now, recalling it cast a shadow over his eyes.

Ch'i Lanyan should have realized something when Xuanlou protected him. Wei Xuanyin has actually been keeping the situation from escalating all along. That is what the King of Wei meant when he said Xuanlou sought to uphold the proper balance of Yin and Yang. No one wished to prevent Yin and Yang from destroying one another more than Wei Xuanyin.

Judging by how my second life ended, Yang Zhuo was not free to act as he wished either. Emperor and king joined forces, but despite all their struggles, the Underworld's judiciary reaped the greatest gains. The light of Cultivation and Martiality was several times stronger than in my first life. Certain figures in Luoxia, meanwhile, suffered both humiliation and losses among their people.

He closed his eyes in thought, then inwardly shook his head. But if things went badly for Yang Zhuo, the Yang Family must have suffered too. In truth, Luoxia and the Underworld's judiciary still came out ahead. Only the smaller factions beneath them lost out...

As he stood there thinking, the falling snow started to bury his boots. Li Suining did not notice, continuing to gaze silently ahead.

The Underworld's judiciary is cold, but Yang Zhuo is not a bad man. The dragons are fickle, but Guang Fou can be of use. Luoxia is powerful... Fortunately, the one the King of Wei must defeat is not that immortal. It is the figure directing Yao Guanyi.

Only by making that figure miscalculate can we break free of this predicament.

He stood in the snow for a long time, putting his thoughts in order.

Whatever happens, I must not leave Moongaze Lake lightly. I should not even go to the northern shore. Staying on the southern shore would be best... Once the Daoist Masters break through, the secret realm is established, and my nature and life are anchored within it, things will be much more secure.