Modern Patriarch

Chapter 119: Changes (1)

Three weeks had passed since Yao Shen, Grand Patriarch of the Modern Sect, had descended into the depths of the Gorge of Death.

During those three weeks, the forces that sought to conspire both for and against Yao Shen had, predictably, not remained silent in his ostensible absence.

Zhiquang Yi heard a knock rap against the door to his private chamber, forcing his attention away from the gently simmering cauldron that rested atop a portable Flame Qi burner. Normally, such a disturbance would attract his ire, but he had been expecting it expecting a response from Meili Zhu, an Elder that held a great influence over the legacy families of the Sky Division, one that rivaled Zhou Huis own.

And Zhiquang Yi very well knew that the once comrade was no more and no less than Yao Shens puppet now, a dog that would bark and bite only at the command of his master. What price Yao Shen had paid for such loyalty indeed interested him, but that interest was incepted from a place of malice he wished to know, if only to counter.

The current Zhou Hui could command the legacy families, but he no longer held any real sway over the hearts and minds of the Elders.

The others would not listen to him, he knew. Old and wise he may be, but Zhiquang Yi was no fighter. His abilities were beyond valuable, but only if one possessed the power to guard the resource that was his alchemical skill and knowledge. Elder Meili Zhu, however, was now in a position to consolidate power.

The Elder was supremely skilled in combat and age had not blunted the edge of her vicious daggers. She was the master of the faceless, implying ruthlessness, cunning and a fearsome loyalty to the sect. One trusted with secrets that could never see the light of day was naturally adept in the Dao of Darkness, the ideal Dao Element to conceal traces both physical and qi-based. And even now, Zhiquang Yi believed that whilst Meili Zhu might not win in single combat against Zhou Hui, killing her was still out of the wind cultivators reach./

Zhiquang Yi snapped free from his considerations as he came to a stop before reinforced metal double-doors, his gaze angling downwards towards a small rotary-dial mechanism that he had developed after Yao Shens traitorous disciple, Xiaoli, had stolen the formula for his Familys Enhanced Foundation Establishment Pill.

Worst, the sly little rat had bit the hand that had fed him, taught him and raised him to marry into his honorable Yi Family. Though Yao Shen had been the one that handled the negotiations, Zhiquang Yi was not obstinate enough to deny the truth. It was Xiaolis genius, that terrible, cunning genius that had unearthed a slight miscalculation that was also perhaps an intentional one, a miscalculation that was the secret behind the Yi familys overflowing coffers and profound status.

The efficacy of a pill was a curious thing. Increase it and the masses would thank you, heaps praises upon you and laud you as a genius a once in a century genius that had accomplished the impossible. Zhiquang Yi had, after Yao Shen had forced him to increase the efficacy of the pill that he had deliberately kept watered down.

The glory had been quite pleasing.

The gifts and the fawning too, had not been dislikable.

For a year.

Then, Zhiquang Yi knew the consequences he had been trying not to think about. The sales of the enhanced foundation establishment pill plummeted, as legacy families no longer tried to stockpile it and mortal origin cultivators only needed to save for a single pill in the place of multiple. As for hiking the price? After he had drunk the gifted wine and been lauded as the blessed alchemist of the Heavenly Sky Sect?

What a farce.

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Xiaoli had to die for the affront he had caused to him, the damage he had caused to his Yi Family.

A click gently sounded out as Zhiquang Yi finished inputting the code in the correct order. If any tried to force through his door without entering the code, the room would immediately begin to release a colorless, odorless hypnotics that would cause anyone in the room to fall into a dreamy trance, their body assailed by an overwhelming desire to rest and their mindscape intruded upon by hallucinations. Anyone except him, of course If Zhiquang Yi had not made sure he was immune to the agent, he would not dare use it as an attack vector in his own chamber.

He swung open the door, unsurprised to find one of Meili Zhus faceless accompanied by an alchemist of his.

I trust Lady Zhu sends favorable tidings? Zhiquang Yi probed, his lips drawn into a thin line as he gazed down upon the faceless dainty features.

This one does not know. Please, She offered him the scroll sealed in a metal canister, a divine sense brand placed upon it to prevent tampering.

Zhiquang Yi reached out with his own divine sense and immediately recognized that cold, bone-chilling Qi that had an air of mastery to it. Not even Yao Shen possessed a Major Dao in the Darkness Element, so he could not imagine it being faked.

Very well. Convey my thanks to Lady Zhu, He said to the faceless, before unceremoniously retreating to his chamber and hurriedly closing the door behind him. Another click followed by a whirring sounded out as the rotary dial lock reset itself, the simple gimmick turning out to be more than useful.

Once he was seated on his desk, he overwhelmed the small divine sense brand with little difficulty, unscrewed one of two onion-dome caps and finally, unfurled the scroll. His eyes darted from one line to the next in anticipation, but he found himself abruptly pausing upon realizing that the words did not make sense. He retreated back to the beginning of the letter and tried again.

Zhiquang Yis expression got paler by the word, as he got through the first half of the letter.

Detailed records of his movements in the last three months. His secluded discussions with other legacy family elders. The two Hui Family Cultivators he had promised grand rewards to in exchange for providing him more information on Yao Shens disciples. The gifts he had generously offered to other Legacy Families, including the Zhu Family. On and on the letter went, until its nature changed.

Past the half-way mark, as the former contents were only intended to prime him for the rest.

Records of his betrayal. Xiaoli had not been the first one to discover his sneaky ploy. Meili Zhu had been observing him for years, no, for the last two decades!

T-This, He rasped under his breath, his forehead beaded with sweat. H-Howwhy, he trailed off.

Finally, there were two lines addressed directly to him, at the end of the letter.

Two lines written in a delicate, wispy handwriting, as if it was mastered to give an impression of the writers ethereal nature.

Old friend, if you make a move against Yao Shens disciples, then I will personally extinguish both your Mortal Coil and Nascent Soul. The times have changed change with it or perish.

Yours in life and death,

Zhu

The scroll fell from Zhiquang Yi as the cold realization struck him.

Yao Shen had outmaneuvered him before the battle had even begun, before he had even realized that there raged a war!

Sinking into the comforts of his plush armchair, Zhiquang Yi finally understood the terrible nature of the enemy he had tried contending with.

What was the truth? What was the lie?

The Enemy? Ally?

One of the Legacy Families that he had reached out to had betrayed them.

Or perhaps all of them had betrayed him?

No, not all but perhaps more than one.

Why, he whispered under his breath.

There was no answer from the empty air around him as Zhiquang Yis hands limply collapsed onto the armchairs cushions, the electric excitement that had been coursing through his veins merely a few minutes ago gone, replaced by a weary listlessness.

He would not betray Meili Zhu.

He did not have the gall to and she very well knew that.

Zhiquang Yi had lost.