Chapter 481 - Chapter 481: Chapter 429: The plan begins, old issues are brought up again

Chapter 481: Chapter 429: The plan begins, old issues are brought up again

The emperor and the council elders had been holding meetings in Yangxin Palace from dawn till dusk for three consecutive days, piquing countless people’s curiosity. However, no one was able to glean much information about these meetings, adding an air of mystery to them.

After the third day, the council elders, the kings, and the noble officials, though revealing some signs of fatigue from these three continuous days of meetings, appeared very upbeat and not a single one of them complained about being tired.

A week later, the emperor issued a decree delegating the responsibility of overseeing the preparations for the establishment ceremonies of the Divine Dynasty to Xia Yan, the current First Minister, and Yan Weizhong, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. All the council elders were authorized to oversee the preparations, various other government offices in the Court were to cooperate fully with the Ministry of Rites, and nothing could be overlooked to ensure that the altar was completed on time.

At this point, everyone began to understand what these important people had been discussing in Yangxin Palace for three days, and they finally realized that the much-publicized plan for the Divine Dynasty had commenced.

“The day has finally come!”

“I hear that establishing the Divine Dynasty on earth allows those who hold official positions under the dynasty to receive divine blessings, to be conferred divine gods, and to grasp authority, even achieving immortality!”

“Even if you don’t join, the establishment of the Divine Dynasty will definitely attract the favor of heaven and earth. As subjects of the Divine Dynasty, we will also be able to receive the blessings of Qi Luck, thus our cultivation will progress by leaps and bounds.”

“Divine Dynasty on earth, the rumored everlasting dynasty…”

Many details about the Divine Dynasty had already been circulating amongst the people, and countless people were aware of the benefits of the dynasty.

Suddenly, martial artists everywhere started moving, given that such benefits lay ahead, they could use this opportunity to rise rapidly and change their destiny.

The establishment of the Divine Dynasty might seem like the interest of a particular family or surname, but in reality, it was greatly beneficial for all subjects within the Divine Continent and the Great Ming territory. There was hardly any opposition to this and many powerful people took the initiative to join the dynasty at this moment.

The preparations for the Divine Dynasty plan had been going on for a long time, actually, the preliminary work like site selection had been completed way in advance, and everything was ready for the plan to start anytime.

The moment the imperial decree was officially issued, the feudal empire revealed an unprecedented level of action and execution.

Within Tiandu, a near hundred-foot-long wall of the Imperial City was pushed down according to a location calculated by countless Feng Shui masters. A ritual altar would be constructed on this spot for the enthroning ceremony.

The altar was built with Han white jade stone, ninety-nine feet tall, divided into nine layers, symbolizing the number of nine layers of heaven, and at the highest spot was a five-color soil altar for the enthroning ceremony.

Countless skilled craftsmen gathered in Tiandu for this project and worked day and night without rest.

Within Tiandu, at the National Teacher Daoist Temple.

Pei Xuanjing looked at two people and laughed, “You two actually dared to enter Tiandu, aren’t you afraid that the royal family will take action against you?”

Although the Great Ming imperial court had temporarily put aside their grievances with these two at the moment, they would certainly not let go of any opportunity that arose.

“What could the Great Ming imperial court possibly do to us?” Zhao Baiyang sneered.

Xue Wuheng chuckled lightly, “As long as the National Teacher does not take action, what can the masters of the Great Ming imperial court do?”

He added flatteringly, “If we’re in the National Teacher’s Daoist temple and the National Teacher protects us, even the imperial court wouldn’t dare to offend this place.”

Zhao Baiyang added in a low voice, “All their attention is on that altar at the moment, even if they knew about our presence, they wouldn’t choose this time to take action.”

At such a critical time, even if they appeared there, as long as they were not there to disrupt the proceedings, the Great Ming imperial court certainly would not dare to provoke them at this moment.

They would choose to tolerate for the big picture and not sacrifice the major for the minor. They had already once put aside grievances temporarily for this project, why would they fall out at such a crucial time?

The most important thing was that the true promoter behind the scene of this plan was right there, as long as Pei Xuanjing did not speak, no one would dare to act rashly at this time and spoil Pei Xuanjing’s plan, thereby inviting disaster upon themselves.

Pei Xuanjing did not confirm or deny this, and instead said, “Since both of you are here, why not stay here for a while until everything is complete then leave, how about that?”

At this point, Pei Xuanjing wanted to ensure that his plan was carried out smoothly, and all the potential sources of trouble were under the careful watch of Bai Xiaosheng, so that any unexpected developments could be prevented.

If these two had not shown up, it would have been fine. Now that they had arrived, Pei Xuanjing wanted to ensure that there were no exceptions, he needed them to stay here and not act rashly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Baiyang and Xue Wuheng exchanged a glance and nodded. They had their answer.

Zhao Baiyang laughed and said, “That’s very good, we two were actually hoping to witness the grand event under Brother Pei’s guidance.”

Actually, they had already anticipated this result before entering Tiandu. After all, everyone had to guard against potential disturbances when their plans were about to succeed.

Zhao Baiyang knew that if they didn’t come, it would be fine. However, if they came to Tiandu and didn’t show themselves but hide instead, they might not only invite the suspicion of the Great Ming imperial court, but they would also arouse Pei Xuanjing’s wrath.

That’s why they took the initiative to go to Pei Xuanjing in person, to show him that they meant no harm this time.

Suddenly, Xue Wuheng spoke up, “I remember when we were at the meeting on the Shenxiao Mountain, National Teacher promised us that if we supported the establishment of the Divine Dynasty, we could conspire about immortality together. I wonder if today’s agreement still counts?”

When Pei Xuanjing first proposed the idea on Shenxiao Mountain, he had invited them with the idea of the Divine Dynasty. Now that the Divine Dynasty was about to be established and it seemed possible to attain immortality, Xue Wuheng naturally wouldn’t sit idly by; he wanted a piece of the action too.

This was the real reason why Xue Wuheng and Zhao Baiyang risked entering Tiandu.

“Indeed, I wonder if Brother Pei would still honor his word.” Zhao Baiyang also looked at Pei Xuanjing expectantly.

Pei Xuanjing made no immediate comment after hearing these words.

Looking at the silent Pei Xuanjing, the Daoist temple became eerily quiet. Even to the point of feeling ominous.

Zhao Baiyang and Xue Wuheng exchanged a glance, both maintaining a peaceful smile on their faces, but they were already on their guard, ready for Pei Xuanjing to turn against them.

“Haha!”

The next moment, Pei Xuanjing’s laughter rang out. He looked at the two with a gentle smile, “Of course, my word remains. But what would you exchange for it?”

In an instant, it was as if a spring breeze had blown across, making the erstwhile silent air start to warm.

Zhao Baiyang and Xue Wuheng also relaxed their vigilance a little bit. Zhao Baiyang took the initiative to speak, “What would Brother Pei want us to exchange with?”