Chapter 217

Chapter 217

"It's nothing," Su Yi replied gently, not saying anything excessive, even to the illusion.

But as her words fell, a flash of silver light, like a crescent moon, arced through.

Everything before her eyes was cleaved in two, like a mirror, cracking until it shattered.

It was as if the world was collapsing, and even the graceful beauty who had been holding hands with Su Yi disappeared.

The silver light that had just flashed was more like a sword light than ordinary light.

The beautiful illusion, reminiscent of a fairyland, was shattered by the sword light.

And Su Yi's girlish and delicate outfit could no longer be maintained, reverting to its original form.

Now, Su Yi looked strikingly similar to the lunar beauty from before.

If it weren't for the fact that the illusion disappeared along with it, they would have looked like identical twins face to face.

Only, Su Yi's left hand now held an unusual sword.

And the silver light was a sword strike infused with intent.

Evidently, this was the source of that sword intent.

A sword intent that was unmistakably in the style of its master, overwhelming and commanding.

At first glance, only the hilt was visible, the blade almost transparent, as though it were invisible, yet the blade seemed to flow.

It was as if flowing water had gathered to form the blade, with delicate golden veins running through it, like the veins on a leaf, emitting a subtle glow.

It didn't look like a sword meant for battle, more like a delicate treasure, flowing like moonlight.

In contrast, the hilt seemed rather plain, just a simple wooden hilt, without any extra patterns, utterly unadorned, somewhat mismatched with the blade, yet indispensable.

"Just wanted to cause a bit of chaos," Su Yi added, finishing her earlier sentence.

She said it in jest, but her actions were anything but a joke.

The intense battle aura around her was no joke, and as she spoke, her figure moved, several slashes already unleashed, with no intention of stopping to finish her words before starting.

Su Yi wasn't the type to stop and issue warnings before a fight.

A sword cultivator who doesn't cause a ruckus isn't a good sword cultivator.

As long as the power is gathered, she dives right into the fray.

The Heavenly Dao is truly no good, not doing anything humane, just a deceptive old schemer.

A Heavenly Dao with self-awareness is different from one without, always creating more complications.

She really didn't want to recall such terrible memories; they soured her spirits.

It was like dropping rat droppings into a pot of soup.

Out of so many beautiful memories, it had to pick the foolish ones.

And to put her A Ruo together with that foolish entity, it was really too much.

How could A'nuo possibly lecture her for the sake of that idiot!

The logic makes no sense at all!

Who are they trying to fool? It's really infuriating, immediately making her lose patience. She had originally intended to stay a bit longer.

However, what she hates most are fools.

Not only are they infuriatingly stupid, but their spiteful stubbornness is like a venomous snake lying in wait, ready to bite at any moment. At best, a scratch; at worst, a fatal wound.

Li Ke is one, and so is that Junior Concubine.

It's truly strange how, even after being hurt to the point of being covered in wounds by the same person, they can still crawl back, wagging their tails and begging for scraps.

Pathetic, isn't it?

Of course, it's pathetic. After all, she's really in a pitiful state.

It makes your heart soften against your will.

But these fools are so deceitful, their knives only stab those who pity them.

And those who trample her into the mud, no matter how cruel they are, she won't hold a grudge. With just a snap of their fingers, they can make the fool crawl back, wagging its tail and begging for scraps, turning the knife on those who genuinely pity her.

All just for a scrap of fake affection.

The unexpected danger of these fools is downright terrifying.

That sly old fox actually wants to use such fools to 'reform' Su Yi. It's as absurd as telling a predator to go vegan.

And dragging A'nuo into this is even worse.

That damned Heavenly Dao—whether it's that guard, the Junior Concubine, the palace maid, or all the other incidents—hasn't it all been orchestrated by that dog who's 'enthusiastic' about arranging 'fates' for people?

The guard, chasing thrills, was simultaneously involved with two women in the imperial harem, playing both the palace maid and the concubine, doubling his pleasure.

That's not chasing thrills; that's just plain insanity.

In the imperial harem, aside from the concubines, there are only eunuchs and palace maids—everyone's watching. Even if the guards are patrolling the palace, they would only be in Kangxi's Qianqing Palace, in the front court.

Concubines rarely venture there.

For a guard to chase thrills under so many watchful eyes is like committing a crime in broad daylight.

Those selected to serve as guards in the palace, whether they are imperial guards or inner court guards, all come from the Upper Three Banners: the Plain Yellow Banner, the Bordered Yellow Banner, and the Plain White Banner.

The imperial guards and the Qianqing Gate guards are part of the inner court guards, personally selected by the emperor. They are chosen from among the Manchu, Mongolian noble families, imperial clan members, and guards favored by the emperor.

This selection process essentially narrows it down to the Upper Three Banners, as the primary criterion is family background.

Only those from the Upper Three Banners are chosen. Those lacking loyalty to the royal family, or with problematic speech and behavior, are disqualified. Loyalty is paramount, preferably from families with a long history of loyalty.

Assassinating the emperor would result in the extermination of one's nine clans.

Cuckolding the emperor is no different—it would also lead to the extermination of nine clans.

The nine clans aren't just nine families; they include the father's four clans, the mother's three clans, and the wife's two clans, often implicating dozens of families. With such consequences, what excitement is there to seek? It's a direct path to the extermination of nine clans.

Moreover, with a decent family background, their children are often arranged with concubines and maids at a young age, and wives and concubines are plentiful. Yet, they still risk seeking excitement, charging straight to their death.

But what if it's unreasonable? Because "You can't fight fate."

What's written in the 'book' has to come true, as it is the predetermined process and outcome.

Niohuru and Min Yi should follow the same path.

When Su Yi truly becomes Niohuru, Su Yi must also shoulder the 'destined' fate of Niohuru.

Otherwise, she will always be an outsider, never truly accepted by this world.

Thus, the moment she loses her value, she will be ruthlessly cast out by the Heavenly Dao using the exclusivity of the laws of time and space, removing the anomaly.

Because Su Yi, who has strengthened her body and soul through heavenly trials in the cultivation world, even without her original body, can pose a threat to this spiritless, low-energy world unfit for cultivation with just her soul power. She is too dangerous and will be excluded.

An outsider can only avoid rejection by helping the locals, essentially gaming the system.

This act is similar to possession.

But gaming such a loophole must be based on a real body, not a shell that's nothing more than a container—no different from an inanimate object—and thus cannot truly be acknowledged by the laws of time and space.

Such a 'specially' prepared shell for Su Yi is a ticking time bomb, bound to go off eventually.

Unless she submissively accepts the 'chains,' she cannot be judged as controllable and earn her 'freedom.'

Otherwise, even if she eliminates her enemies, the buried landmine will drag her down with it.

It's like having a troublemaker who can't be kicked out because of a loophole, so someone capable of clearing the troublemaker is brought in.

However, after bringing them in, you have to take precautions, like leashing a dog to make it temporarily controllable.

Pitting the two against each other, if they both get hurt, take the chance to wipe them out, eliminating two threats in one go, clearing the dangerous outsiders.

If the person brought in successfully completes their 'task' and clears the trouble, they have fulfilled their purpose, and the outsider can be expelled—a perfect move to cut off the problem at its root, just flawless.

And it doesn't require much effort to solve the problem.

Only a seasoned schemer could come up with this, far more ruthless than just following the rules.

But Su Yi is not Niohuru.

Su Yi won't accept this forced 'Heaven's Mandate.' It would be strange if she did.

Cultivators practice the Dao to defy Heaven's Mandate, to act against Heaven's will. A cultivator without such resolve cannot go far.

Su Yi has faced countless trials and inner demons, only to relax once and be expected to accept the 'Heaven's Mandate' here.

Really, it's more wishful than a dream.

Freshly arrived and a bit shaky, she needs to lay low for a bit.

But now, having confirmed, it's time to stir things up.

Even if not a person, how can it still be so clueless?

Just because it can thunder, does it think it can thunder in others' territories too?

How wretched.

The sky is overcast, pitch black without a single star, the dark clouds rolling in the sky as if alive.

The rumbling thunder seemed to be brewing a tempest, with purple lightning streaking through the dark clouds, ready to strike at any moment, intertwined with silver flashes, colliding and merging, splitting the black clouds apart.

Piercing through the darkness, a faint glimmer of starlight emerged.

Where the purple and silver lightning intersected, the thunder roared, bridging heaven and earth.

This sudden change in weather appeared utterly terrifying, not a prelude to a storm, but rather a harbinger of divine wrath about to descend. Such an extraordinary celestial phenomenon left people visibly anxious and uneasy, fearing they had somehow provoked the heavens, resulting in this sudden upheaval.

Thunder and lightning clashed, and the rain poured down in torrents.

It jolted the people who were still in shock. In that instant, everyone instinctively sought refuge, not just because of the heavy rain but also out of dread of this extraordinary celestial phenomenon.

Those who dared to peek out from their homes could only do so cautiously.

The celestial phenomenon showed no signs of abating; instead, it intensified. A single bolt of lightning struck the ground, cleaving it with a long crack. The residual force wreaked havoc on everything around, causing explosions and collapses.

Fortunately, no one was lingering in the vicinity, but the commotion terrified those who heard it from a distance.

Such a massive commotion had already drawn someone's attention.

Unlike ordinary people who were terrified and uneasy due to the unknown, a figure cloaked in black with a hood, sitting cross-legged, seemed to sense something and suddenly opened their eyes, their dark gaze filled with disbelief.

In the next instant, the figure who had been sitting cross-legged vanished.

Meanwhile, inside the palace, it was the same—torrential rain, thunder and lightning, the constant roar of thunder, as if the heavens were enraged, quite terrifying. The servants on the palace paths dared not linger and hurried back.

"Your Majesty, the rain is heavy. Please take shelter!" Liang Jiugong's voice, usually steady, was now strained. Even with a hat, he couldn't avoid the rain splashing on his face, drenching him.

The rainstorm came at an inopportune time. Halfway through their journey, the sky suddenly darkened, and the rain poured down, soaking everyone. Even though His Majesty was in a sedan chair and wouldn't get wet immediately, they couldn't continue.

The wet ground was slippery, and a misstep could startle His Majesty, so Liang Jiugong urged him to take shelter in a nearby palace. The rainstorm was fierce, and it was unclear when it would stop, not to mention the terrifying thunder and lightning.

The servants were pale with fear, their bodies stiff and trembling at the sound of thunder.

A servant who had gone to fetch rain gear returned, followed by Consort Yi and her entourage, who had braved the rain to persuade Kangxi to take shelter in a palace to avoid catching a cold.

In such heavy rain, the consorts naturally stayed safely in their palaces. However, this torrential downpour, though frightening and making the paths slippery, was a rare opportunity, especially since it was already night, and the rain showed no signs of stopping.

So Consort Yi gritted her teeth and ventured out into the storm. Even though her qipao dress and shoes were soaked immediately, she didn't retreat. Instead, she thought the more disheveled she appeared before the Emperor, the better—more natural than any deliberate act of suffering. She even avoided some of the servants' umbrellas.

By the time she arrived, her clothes were almost completely drenched, and a strand of her neatly combed hair had come loose, dripping water down her cheek.