In this world, there was a Vân Phong Sect – Nine-Tiered Platform, renowned throughout the land.
It stood majestically like a colossal tower, situated at the heart of the Heavenly Mountain on the horizon.
An Immortal Venerable presided here, and the Vân Phong Sect was regarded as the foremost among all cultivation sects.
Though the sect was vast and its disciples countless (currently numbering nearly ten thousand), only two were the Immortal Venerable's true disciples.
One female disciple – Phong Thời Uyển, one male disciple – Vân Cảnh Ngạn.
Both possessed an immortal demeanor and bones of the Dao, as elegant as jade trees in the wind, with an aura that reached the heavens.
Naturally, the Immortal Venerable was exceedingly satisfied.
The world was renowned for its orthodox cultivation sects, such as:
• The Upper Four Sects included:
– Nam Cung Sect: Sect Leader Nam Cung Sử Định.
– Đông Phương Sect: Sect Leader Đông Phương Nhĩ Nguyện.
– Tây Môn Sect: Sect Leader Tây Bình Gia Bách.
– Bắc Đường Sect: Sect Leader Bắc Đường Tu Vĩnh.
• The Great Four Factions included:
– Thượng Lâm Faction: Faction Leader Lâm Phong.
– Thượng Hải Faction: Faction Leader Quan Hải Liêm.
– Ngạch Tâm Faction: Faction Leader Tâm Khắc.
– Mộng Liên Faction: Faction Leader Mộng Diệp Liên.
Besides these, there were also many other minor sects.
Each sect typically had a chief disciple, who was highly regarded within the sect and held a slightly higher status than ordinary disciples.
On the surface, all sects submitted to the Vân Phong Sect, but in reality, power struggles and disagreements simmered beneath the surface, merely awaiting the opportune moment to erupt.
The various sects always kept to themselves, partly because renegade elements were growing in number and threatening their interests.
And partly because they currently lacked the strength to openly confront the Immortal Venerable, instead spending their time accumulating power and recruiting allies.
• Character Illustrations.
(Illustrations sourced from Pinterest.)
Vân Phong Thuấn Trì
Phong Thời Uyển – Vân Cảnh Ngạn (Phượng Ứng Bàng Uy)
Kình Vương Dương Diễn
• Synopsis:
The ancients passed down that, in a certain spring, the world was enjoying an era of peace and prosperity, praised by all people, for His Majesty the Emperor reigned in harmony with their will.
Outwardly, His Majesty loved his people as his own children, protecting the entire nation.
Inwardly, His Majesty doted on the imperial grandson and was in harmony with his imperial relatives.
Thus, everyone believed that the empire in his hands would surely be as solid as a bronze fortress, unshakable by ten thousand spears.
However, there was one intractable matter: His Majesty never established an Empress, nor did he take any concubines.
At that time, a meritorious minister of the nation had a beloved daughter, beautiful as a flower and with the noble temperament of a plum blossom, perhaps the most suitable match for His Majesty.
Therefore, for a period, hundreds of memorials earnestly requested His Majesty to establish an Empress and marry the meritorious minister's daughter.
But all received no response.
Because, in His Majesty's heart, there was already a wife who could never be replaced.
She was a disciple from the peak of Heavenly Mountain, with no parents and unknown origins.
This was why she was never accepted by the imperial court.
It was also said that she was exceedingly beautiful, her captivating beauty stealing His Majesty's heart from their very first meeting.
Not only His Majesty, but she had also braved battlefields, eliminating evil and eradicating wickedness alongside His Majesty's elder brother.
The three of them, two men and one woman, thus spent a year roaming the martial world, majestic and awe-inspiring, under the renowned title of the Tam Giác Thần Công Hợp.
Because of this period, when His Majesty wished to declare her Empress, only that elder brother offered his support.
Three people, however, could not contend with the entire court of ministers.
The narrator suddenly asked, "Do you know what the next Emperor did?"
A profound silence settled over the entire tea and wine house. Then, someone urged, "Hurry, continue the story!"
The storyteller replied, "The Emperor had officially made her Empress, proclaiming to all under heaven that she was his first and true wife, the wife he loved most.
She was worthy."
Her enthronement ceremony was incredibly majestic, almost shaking the very heavens, as if calling upon the Jade Emperor and the Grand Duke of Jupiter to acknowledge their union.
This event caused countless officials to grumble and complain.
However, the common people revered His Majesty and always sincerely blessed him.
Moreover, such a profound love between husband and wife truly earned the admiration of all under heaven.
Afterwards, in the spring of the following year, the Empress gave birth to a fair-skinned, chubby prince. His Majesty immediately issued an imperial decree to all under heaven, organizing a grand celebration throughout the imperial city.
But on that very night, a rain of foul-smelling blood, shaking all under heaven, erupted.
This was precisely the rebellion of all civil and military officials in the court, including imperial relatives and nobility, and even famous Daoist cultivators who had once supported the imperial rule.
Such a dark night could not hide the red blood staining clothes, nor could it conceal the tears of those screaming.
Yes, the Empress, protecting her son, had become a silent, lifeless form, three arrows piercing her heart.
His Majesty, in his blood-stained imperial robes, knelt beside her, his precious sword deeply embedded in the ground.
At this moment, only a man in golden robes, his elder brother, stood alone with a single sword, gritting his teeth to protect the imperial couple.
Not long after, a vast army swallowed the palace, forcing the elder brother, who was also the Prince, to retreat.
The storyteller paused for a breath, then sighed mournfully, "Afterwards, His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, seemed to have been possessed by a demon, unleashing a furious, chaotic storm, striking with a single palm that claimed the lives of a hundred people.
That Prince, by then gravely wounded, roared, ordering His Majesty to take her and leave.
As night gradually receded and dawn broke, the common people no longer saw the imperial palace shining brightly like stars, but rather a scene of deadly silence.
The era of peace and prosperity was no more from this day forward."
In a corner of the wine and flower house, Phong Shi Wan's face, hidden behind her long silk veil, had long since become profoundly pensive.