There was indeed a Taoist scripture that Yuan Tiangang inscribed on a stone tablet on Tai Xuan Summit.
The only problem was that, in his previous life, Li Ye didn"t manage to read the Taoist scripture.
That was because Li Yao had sent someone to lay down a formation on Tai Xuan Summit in advance.
When Li Ye approached the formation, not only did the formation injure him, but it also caused him to lose the jade medallion that Prince An left behind.
"Before my father"s last expedition, he left me a jade medallion. The jade medallion contains the Taoist"s Luck left behind from the condensation of my father"s lifetime cultivation. His purpose is to give me a chance to inherit the Prince"s t.i.tle. As long as the jade medallion still exists, Li Yao will suffer a backlash even if he gets the t.i.tle of Prince An. It will affect his cultivation."
Li Ye thought, "In my previous life, Li Yao took advantage of this opportunity today and manipulated my anxiety to entrap me. He made me seek the Taoist"s Luck on Tai Xuan Summit. This gave him the chance to use the formation that he had prepared in advance to steal my father"s jade medallion."
"Not only am I without cultivation but the jade medallion as well. If that"s my Fate, my father"s disciples, friends, and subordinates, would be incredibly disappointed in me. No one will ever speak up for me again. That"s why Li Yao"s plot succeeded..."
Right then, however, Li Ye said, "If that"s the case, I"ll leave for Tai Xuan Summit in a while."
Li Yao"s eyes brightened after hearing his words. "Then I"ll wish you success, Younger Brother Ye! Once you get your hands on the Taoist"s Luck that Heavenly Master Yuan left behind, you"ll surely be able to inherit Uncle"s mantle!"
Li Ye smiled. "I hope your words come true."
Seeing Li Yao in high spirits, Li Ye secretly snickered. "The current Tang Empire is so weak that it can"t be attacked from outside and can"t serve its people inside. The crafty and fawning eunuchs are all over the court while wielding true power. Members of the Imperial Clan toy with their authority. The Immortal sects mushroom all over the Jianghu, teaching their Immortal Arts without authorization to the common folk who lap it up. They collude with provincial governments to expand the ranks of cultivators yet the imperial court is unable to ban them. From today onward, a great catastrophe is imminent."
Li Ye looked at Li Yao with a trace of disdain crossing his heart. "Even at this point in time, you don"t think of helping the country but only worry about fighting for power and profit. Don"t you know that when a bird"s nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact? You children of the Imperial Clan are doomed to burn into ashes even if you fight for power now."
Of course, he won"t say these words.
Wu You raised her small head and looked at Li Ye anxiously. "Elder Brother Ye, no one has been able to understand the Taoist scripture on Tai Xuan Summit for a hundred years. This road is long and it will go deep into the mountains. Are you really going?"
Li Ye touched her small head with a gentle smile. "Of course. You don"t want me to be unable to cultivate forever, do you?"
Wu You nodded before earnestly shaking her head. She raised her small fist and looked at him with a sacred gaze. In a solemn voice, she said, "Even if you can"t cultivate, I"ll protect you!"
Li Ye couldn"t help smiling.
It was true that he must go to Tai Xuan Summit.
How could Li Yao have known that Li Ye was a great cultivator in the earth"s Age of Dharma Decline, an expert who could cross the Void, before his transmigration?
Li Ye was traveling the world at that time and had visited Tai Xuan Summit on the Cloud-engulfed Mountain. He saw the Taoist scripture that Yuan Tiangang left behind and even succeeded in comprehending it. Through the Taoist scripture, he was able to push his cultivation to an even higher level!
Others might not be able to understand the Taoist scripture and take advantage of them, but Li Ye was an exception because he had already done it once.
"The world might not be the earth, but many things are the same. I just don"t know if the Taoist scripture that Yuan Tianguang left behind are consistent with the one on earth and if it contains the same Taoist"s Luck," Li Ye thought so. "Meanwhile, if I remember correctly, Li Yao"s formation should be the Xiaoxuan Formation... It"s not a challenge to break the formation."
Li Ye"s eyes were clear. "Li Yao did say something correctly, though. If I take this opportunity to enter the Qi-refining Stage, then no one can take away my t.i.tle of Prince An."
Mindful of this, Li Ye couldn"t help caressing Wu You"s little head again with a hint of doting affection crossing his pupils.
In his previous life, he lost his position as the Heir and became stranded in the streets. If Wu You hadn"t taken care of him in every way possible, he couldn"t have escaped Li Yao"s subsequent scheming and lived to be emperor in a good condition.
However, Wu You wasn"t able to escape when Huang Chao"s rebels broke into Chang"an and she died like a wilting flower amongst the rebels.
This was a pain in Li Ye"s heart for the next 20 years and more.
Now, there was still a chance to start over.
Of course, Li Ye loathed even more to be a puppet emperor.
After leaving Li Yao and Wu You, Li Ye returned to his resident courtyard and sat cross-legged on the legless chair. He took advantage of the time where the manor guards were preparing to travel to mull over some things.
The reason Li Yao dared to usurp the t.i.tle of Prince An was the fact that Li Ye was a cripple who couldn"t cultivate while he was a cultivation genius that the Imperial Clan favored. If Li Ye could cultivate and enter the Qi-refining Stage in the near future, the Court of the Imperial Clan had no reason to deny him the t.i.tle of Prince An. No matter how many plots Li Yao had up his sleeve, he wouldn"t have many opportunities.
It had been several days since he came to this world. Li Ye had never stopped trying and working hard to cultivate.
However, this body had no spiritual root and couldn"t sense the Spiritual Qi in the world. Thus, he was unable to cultivate at all. Li Ye"s attempts and efforts in these few days had all ended in failure.
Right then, Li Ye took something from his waist. It was a cyan jade medallion.
"Father left me this jade medallion before he led the troops to Huainan to put down a revolt. He said that this jade medallion contains the condensation of his life-long cultivation and the Chance, Qi, and Fate of Taoism..."
This was the first time Li Ye took out the jade medallion to look at it. After all, he had just transmigrated here. There were many memories that he had just finished digesting.
Looking at this jade medallion, Li Ye couldn"t help thinking of Prince An, Li Xian. Suddenly, there was a change in the jade medallion as it continuously emitted a refreshing coldness into his palms. The coldness entered his meridians, forming streams of pale golden Spiritual Qi that flowed into his Elixir Field.
The pale golden Qi continued to evolve in his Elixir Field, just like the flicking of brush strokes and the splashing of ink. It seemed as they would form a certain object.
The sudden change made Li Ye frown.
Soon, the pale golden Qi finished changing to form an object.
Li Ye"s mind was shaken when he got a clear look at the object.
With antlers, the head of an ox, the body of a snake, the claws of a tiger, the object was just like a dragon!
Dragon Qi!
After the pale golden Qi turned into Dragon Qi, it floated serenely without movement.
Now that the Dragon Qi was generated in his Elixir Field, Li Ye could clearly feel his body bursting with vitality. At this moment, he felt inexhaustible energy running through his whole body. His vision had also gotten a little clearer.
"This is... the Grand Master Realm! Has my Grand Master Realm cultivation been restored?" Li Ye felt a shock upon realizing this.
Entering the Grand Master realm was an unavoidable step in entering the Qi-refining Stage.
However, he was equally puzzled. "Even if the jade medallion contains the Inspiration to Enlighten Taoism left by my father, it"s impossible for me to generate Dragon Qi out of thin air... Because those with Dragon Qi in their bodies are called Hidden Dragons. They"re qualified to become real dragons!"
The so-called cultivation to be a real dragon meant that to reign over the world as a monarch and proclaim oneself the emperor in the south.
Li Ye swiftly recovered his senses. "I was the Emperor of the Tang Empire in my previous life. This Dragon Qi must have been coincidentally reborn at the same time as my rebirth. It must have been lurking in my body for a long time but finally revealed itself today through the Spiritual Qi on the jade medallion."
"But what"s the meaning behind this sudden birth of Dragon Qi? What"s its use?" Li Ye tried sensing and linking with the Dragon Qi but to no avail.
Li Ye mused. "Cultivators on earth wishing to become Immortals must help put a Hidden Dragon on the throne and borrow the True Dragon Qi that a Hidden Dragon would emit after transforming into a True Dragon. From then on, they would be undead. However, the Heavenly Secrets were muddled during the Age of Dharma Decline on earth and no Hidden Dragons exist to be enthroned. Thus, no matter how great my cultivation was, I couldn"t help dying... Yet I accidentally transmigrated to this world."
Li Ye gathered his thoughts and soon realized the crux of the problem. "Since I have Dragon Qi in my body, that means I"m a Hidden Dragon. Looks like I must become an Emperor on my own merit in this lifetime so I have a chance to achieve the Tao and become an Immortal."
Li Ye"s mind became clear and bright after getting this conclusion.
Being the Great Cultivator of the Age of Dharma Decline on earth, Li Ye was unparalleled in his great cultivation but unable to become an Immortal. Ultimately, he couldn"t avoid the fate of being reduced into ashes.
His transmigration to this world this time placed a great path to achieve the Tao in front of him. Naturally, he was overjoyed.
Right then, a voice came from outside the door.
"Reporting to the Heir Apparent: the gathering of the armored soldiers is complete!"
Li Ye put his thoughts aside. The most urgent thing to do now was entering the Qi-refining Stage.
In any case, he now possessed a Grand Master Realm cultivation. His hope of ascending the Tai Xuan Summit had become a lot bigger.
When Li Ye got up and opened the door, he saw a young soldier dressed in an armor of fine scales standing outside. He said nothing and left the yard with the soldier in tandem.
It took three days to travel from Chang"an City to Tai Xuan Summit on the Cloud-engulfed Mountain. Even though chaos was everywhere nowadays and a considerable number of bandits had gathered in the woods to create trouble, this was nevertheless the capital. There was naturally no need to worry about violent bandits. However, they still had to watch out for fierce beasts.
Prince An, whose real name was Li Xian, had unparalleled talent in literary and martial arts in the Imperial Clan. During his lifetime, he performed outstanding feats and obtained the highest office in court. In addition to the t.i.tle of Prince An, he also commanded the respect of all court officials and preside over all matters regarding the soldiers of the six armies. It could be said that he had all the military and political power in hand.
Prince An was also ranked Grand Prince (T/N: ranked second only to the Emperor, applicable for both sons or brothers of the Emperor). There were 800 armored soldiers guarding his manor.
When Li Ye came to the military drill ground in the manor, the guards armed with lotus armors and sabers had a.s.sembled. He glanced around the formation of 100 guards and was satisfied to see how strong they were.
"Let"s go."
Li Ye was taking a group of his armored guards to Tai Xuan Summit to read the Taoist scripture and seek the Taoist"s Luck to build his cultivation. In the opinion of the princes, dukes, and n.o.bles, he wasn"t finding a way out of an impa.s.se but doing something utterly useless.
When Li Ye led his men through the street, the princes, dukes, and n.o.bles who attended the ceremony earlier in Prince An"s Manor had not gone far. Bursts of derision would resound during their animated discussions.
These children of the Imperial Clan and the princes, dukes, and n.o.bles looked down on a useless person who couldn"t cultivate or inherit a n.o.ble rank. Thus, they were free to talk and concealed nothing in criticizing him.
"A good-for-nothing who can"t even cultivate wishes to comprehend the Taoist scripture that Celestial Master Yuan left behind? He must be dreaming!" Grand Prince Guo sneered.
"There were countless eminent members of the Imperial Clan leaving for Tai Xuan Summit to read the Taoist scripture but not a single one managed to comprehend the text. His trip this time will definitely end in his humiliation!" Grand Prince Chen kept sneering.
"Hmph! Prince An was so famous in his lifetime. How did he give birth to such a good-for-nothing? Not only did he lose Prince An"s face, but he also humiliated the Imperial Clan!" Prince Yue, the Heir Apparent, said contemptuously. "A person like him should be evicted from Chang"an!"
"It"s a joke for a good-for-nothing like him to live!"
Their voices were particularly ear-piercing. Before Li Ye could speak, the thin-scale armored guard following him failed to contain herself. She gnashed her teeth and said, "Heir Apparent, these people are so disrespectful to you. Please allow me to teach them a lesson!"