Too much had changed in the past year—one upheaval after another. Now, it was time for Great Yi to reassess its stance and carefully decide on a final course of action. Only with preparation could it avoid being caught off guard when disaster struck.
"Your Majesty," said Jiang Ni, stepping forward, "this humble official has observed the stars at night and discovered that the astral patterns have grown chaotic. It has become nearly impossible to divine the flow of time through celestial phenomena. Meanwhile, the earth is giving rise to murderous aura and hostile qi, which have begun to pervade the heavens and earth. The heavenly will is unclear—this is a sign that a great calamity is imminent. Unless I'm mistaken, this catastrophe will center around the three races: Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin."
As the Chief Astrologer of the Imperial Observatory, Jiang Ni was responsible for monitoring all celestial and terrestrial phenomena within Great Yi. Over the past few months, he had unmistakably sensed a drastic change in the very essence of the world.
If such changes continued, they could culminate in an unfathomable slaughter calamity.
The murderous aura (煞气) was by no means a benign force. Once it pervaded the world, any living being that absorbed or came into contact with it would be influenced. Minds would grow muddled, tempers irritable, and bloodlust would surge. As time passed, conflict and killing would only intensify—further amplifying the aura in a vicious cycle. In the end, this suffocating cloud of hatred would inevitably erupt into a cataclysmic bloodbath.
A slaughter calamity was not just a disaster—it was also nature's way of releasing the mounting karmic burden saturating the world. Once the bloodshed had run its course and the aura was vented, it would disperse. The calamity would naturally fade.
But should someone absorb too much of this murderous qi, even peak-level experts or divine-level cultivators could find themselves dragged into the slaughter—whether they left their homes or not. Disaster would find them regardless.
The aura carried the weight of cause and effect.
In such times, "disaster from the heavens while sitting at home" was not a metaphor but a very real danger.
Once the slaughter began, it would be nearly impossible for Great Yi to remain untouched. Unless it had a foundation of overwhelming strength, isolation was not an option.
By marrying two dragon princesses, Great Yi had already stepped into the game. Hoping to stay uninvolved was no longer realistic. No faction would sit idly by and let Great Yi remain a bystander.
"Indeed," Yi Tianxing nodded thoughtfully. "The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans have clearly declared their intent to compete for dominion of the world. And that competition can only be resolved through war—by proving supremacy on the battlefield. Our top priority now is to preserve the core strength of the Great Yi Dynasty and ensure the safety of our tens of billions of citizens."
Although the slaughter had not yet begun, the signs were undeniable.
"It has also come to our attention through the Disaster Secret Guard that the wilderness within our borders is undergoing unusual changes," reported Emperor Tong. "Large numbers of dragon-blooded beasts have entered a mating frenzy. Regardless of species, once aroused, they mate by force, producing vast numbers of offspring in mere months. Even non-dragon beasts have given birth to young bearing thin traces of dragon blood."
He paused grimly.
"Furthermore, all beasts—whether avian or land-dwelling—have seen a dramatic surge in fertility. Their populations grow with each passing day. In the oceans, marine beasts are multiplying at a terrifying rate, and many carry traces of dragon lineage as well. The coastal immortal cities are already under pressure."
Unlike land-dwellers, sea creatures—especially fish—could spawn in the tens of thousands in a single season. That was an apocalyptic level of proliferation. And with the sea as the ancestral domain of the dragon race, most aquatic creatures now bore dragon blood, making them not only stronger but even more fecund.
The growing tide of dragon-beast sea creatures defied estimation and had already begun to threaten several of Great Yi's coastal strongholds.
If left unchecked, a beast tide would surely erupt, overrunning immortal cities and inflicting devastating damage on the empire. The danger was not theoretical—it was imminent.
"Ministers, the situation is clear," Yi Tianxing said. "Let us discuss countermeasures. We must decide what actions to take."
He was fully aware of the implications.
If this escalation wasn't dealt with swiftly, all the effort invested into taming the wilderness would be undone. The frontier would become a dead zone once more, and the consequences would not only undermine national security but also damage Great Yi's fortunes of destiny (地运).
The regions under firm control by Great Yi emitted bright golden qi, while areas further from the cities displayed diminishing levels of this energy—reflecting the empire's influence and sovereignty.
In normal times, deploying the army would be the obvious choice. But now, the problem involved the Three Divine Races—direct military intervention could spark disaster.
"Your Majesty," said Qi Jiguang, "this general believes we should crush all beasts that assault our cities or endanger the people. No mercy."
His voice was iron, filled with the unyielding will of a warrior. The way of the military was clear—slaughter the enemies, decide victory on the battlefield.
"Unwise," countered Huang Chengyan. "These beasts are tied to the three great races. If we kill them indiscriminately, we may provoke the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin simultaneously. That would be suicidal. Instead, why not ask the dragon princesses to intercede, and have the dragon race restrain their offspring? That would ensure the safety of our people without open conflict."
The current situation was a powder keg. No one could predict what spark would ignite the explosion.
"Good," said Xun Yu, nodding. "We are now connected to the dragon race. His Majesty is their son-in-law. But we mustn't rely too heavily on this relationship. Our strength must be our foundation."
To resolve this mess, contact with all three races was unavoidable. If Great Yi could persuade the dragon race to act, the immediate threat would evaporate—they naturally held dominance over their dragon-blooded kin.
"But what about the phoenixes and qilins?" asked Jia Xu. "Even if we manage the dragon beasts, we still need to deal with the others. We must locate the leaders of the Phoenix and Qilin clans and try to negotiate—possibly even form alliances."
"In truth," added Zhuge Liang, "we have three paths:
Ally with the dragon race.
Stay neutral, avoiding ties with any of the three.
Become enemies of all three.
Option three, of course, is suicide. We may be protected by the Heavenly Dao's seals now, but once those break, any great power from the three races could annihilate Great Yi."
"We have intelligence on the Phoenix Clan's territory," said Emperor Tong. "It's called Wutong Mountain, covered in sacred phoenix trees—including a legendary phoenix spirit tree. Many young phoenixes have emerged there after undergoing rebirth through nirvana. There's also a rumor that a true ancient phoenix lives there—but this hasn't been confirmed."
"Wutong Mountain, a real phoenix?" murmured Cai Yan, then turned to Yi Tianxing. "Your Majesty, do you remember that phoenix that flew across the sky years ago?"
"How could I forget?" Yi Tianxing replied. "If it hadn't landed, we wouldn't have found the Immortal Tomb, or obtained the Primordial Yellow Jade, or gained that great opportunity. That phoenix was likely the same one."
"There's also a known gathering of qilins on Qilin Mountain," Emperor Tong continued. "We can't confirm their numbers, but they dwell within a vast island-like landmass. By their standards, it's a mountain—but by ours, it's a continent, no smaller than Yi Prefecture."
That was simply the disparity in perspective between ordinary races and divine ones.
"In any case, send envoys to make contact," Yi Tianxing ordered. "Mao Sui, I entrust this task to you."
"This humble servant accepts," Mao Sui replied without hesitation.
This was what he had hoped for. He had never feared danger—only hoped to serve Great Yi with all his strength.