Nine Colored Divine Phoenix Demon Awakening (2)

In a basement, a man sat and recorded an emergency transmission from the Qi State Palace. He quickly closed the letter and sealed it with the Yi seal before sending it off.

At the same time, Huang Dawei entered the Huang Estate and formations were activated, isolating them from the world. The first to meet Huang Dawei was the shadow tasked to deliver the message.

"This came through the wire?" he asked.

"Yes, Lord." the shadow replied.

Huang Dawei sighed. His awakening was just too spectacular.

"Send a massage. I mean no harm. The Emperor should continue with his marriage to Yi Fei and I'll speak to him and his mother personally. Give me no trouble and I'll gift him the Divine Congestion Pill. That's the last I want to hear of this matter. And the last time they will summon Yi Fei to speak of my affairs. We're all people of Qi." Huang Dawei spoke firmly but fluidly enough to allow goodwill if the royal family wished it.

Of course, he was merely buying time for a plan that was outside of mortal perception.

The Emperor received the message with great shock to himself and the Dowager as the shadow appeared in the room with them. No one notice the messenger until he made himself known.

Looking over the message, the Emperor grimaced. "He's buying us off. What should we do?"

"Deal," said Ouyang Di, "And if you manage to break through Wuzong, then we'll have more face."

"I know what to do." Cao Qiqing sighed, her past now coming to haunt her and the entire Qi State. She had just finished listening to Zhao Gao tell her about the State affairs when a member of the Yi Army appeared with Huang Dawei's message. A message addressing their intention to speak to Yi Fei about Huang Dawei's identity.

Cao Qiqing only wondered how Huang Dawei could know a private topic. Then again, Yi Fei had yet to answer the summons of the emperor. With the current information she had, some would call it a disaster. However, she saw this as a blessing, if she could maneuver properly.

"Gao'er, you say the Qin boy is after Lingshan. But she thinks highly of Qin Yuechi's bastard" she began, "It will do well to remove that man's blood from the line of succession and strengthen our own hold in case Zhao Kexin is planning something."

"What are you thinking, Qing Qing?" Ouyang Di asked.

"I'm thinking that Prince Huang's family are the owners of the Ice Phoenix Jade of the Yi family. A payment for keeping him as a ward. It only makes sense. Why else would the Yi Family have such a mysterious thing? I will give it back and give them the blood they deserve." Cao Qiqing took a breath...

" Propose marriage between the Qin bastard and Zhao Lingshan after the tournament of the Five Kingdoms. You continue with your wedding with Yi Fei. Also, Zi Xun could hug the leg of a noble son from higher heavens, the Qi State is bound to rise. Better strike now before Qin Batian returns and pushes for marriage between Qin Yuechi and Huang Dawei."

"Mother, what of your cultivation? If you return the…"

"It doesn't matter. The Ice Phoenix Jade stopped benefiting me long ago. And the Treasure Hall has hit a wall in acquiring the Blood Vine Pill for us. Give it back and in return, Prince Huang is in our goodwill and together we open the Hongmen Secret realm after spinning a story of our own making. If his theory is right, then the Golden Peng with him can access all areas of the Secret Realm. We need him." Cao Qiqing reasoned.

"Ouyang Di, let us retreat and prepare for the Secret Realm. Gao'er I'll leave the affairs to you." Cao Qiqing finished and departed.

Still, Cao Qiqing was haunted by her own thoughts as only she seemed to notice the most dangerous aspect of Haung Dawei and that was his shadow. As a peak Wuzong warrior, Cao Qiqing couldn't sense the man. She then began to wonder how many more of them were in the palace.

All though she was now high alert, Huang Dawei had inserted his qi into the Master Seal that commanded the slave marks branded into the souls of his Yi warriors. While the messenger was traveling to the palace, the remaining forces were leaving the palace. By the time the royals received his message, the Yi Army had long departed the palace.

This only served to scare Cao Qiqing more as she searched and couldn't detect anyone who wasn't supposed to be in the palace.

"Qing Qing, maybe we shouldn't be so rash. The children are returning for the opening of the Hongmen Secret Realm. We should make a decision after seeing their progress and fortune. Besides, maybe he doesn't know about our involvement." Ouyang Di reasoned.

Cao Qiqing snorted, "He knows. There's not a royal in this family that can pose as a weak steward for five years. That boy is made of something different. I wouldn't be surprised if his murder of the experts in the Great Zhao State wasn't calculated." Cao Qiqing then stopped walking.

"Who knows what he's been up to as the steward of the Emperor's favorite concubine and now it's too late to investigate." Cao Qiqing sighed, "I think it's best you return to the Great Wei Dynasty. You should start lobbying and taking note of the new market."

"Qing Qing." Ouyang Di was slightly hurt to be pushed away.

"It has to be done. The Hongmen Secret Realm is our priority. It's even greater than the Ancient City tournament. And what you do in the Great Wei Dynasty will help us bring it to its full potential."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the Huang Estate, Qin Yuechi had entered her son's room. She wore a warm smile and sat beside him. She had just returned from speaking to Huang Dawei and her only responsibility for the night was keeping her son in sight.

"Will he talk to me?" Qin Chen asked.

"Of course, Chen'er. He's just busy tonight. He says to find him in the morning." Qin Yuechi explained, more like a submissive wife than a Wuzong Expert.

Even Qin Chen was a bit taken aback by her tone. Qin Chen stood up and looked at the door. He moved, but Qin Yuechi quickly grasped his arm. With pleading eyes, she asked him not to leave the room.

After coming face to face with her lover after his awakening, Qin Yuechi felt as if he was the embodiment of the black pool of the endless abyss. No matter how hard she tried to see through him, she only found herself confounded, aroused, and craving his touch. And for a woman who'd tasted him before, she nearly lost the battle against herself and gave into carnality as memories of their union pushed her to the edge.

Noticing the oddity in Qin Yuechi, Huang Dawei suppressed his presence. She then drifted from arousal to awe-inspiring fear. She stood before a mountain. And the longer she stood, the smaller she felt. Qin Chen couldn't grasp his mother's emotions but sighed as he reluctantly returned to his seat. He then closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

To Qin Chen, his mother was a lowly woman with a potential reincarnated hegemon as a lover and master.

How could he make things difficult for her?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Midnight, Huang Estate, Meeting of the Five Yi Commanders.

Huang Dawei sat in his chair wearing simple olive green and golden robes. He stared at the Five Yi Commanders and wondered what the hell was happening. But each of the Yi commanders couldn't bear to look the man in his eyes. Huang Dawei truly knew not what he did to mortals in his presence.

It had been an eon since his blood had resided in the mortal world. Its effect on mortals couldn't be recalled in his ancestral memories.

Pah!

Huang Dawei suddenly smacked the desk startling the commanders.

"Speak, Damn it!" he ordered and the seals within them calmed their minds.

"Lord." Yi Er'Long began, "Allow me to start."

"Please," said Huang Dawei.

"After you left the capital, we followed your orders, naturally. To begin, the jade rabbit was lost to us. It made its way west and was never seen again. A failure we deeply regret."

"It was merely a hope. I had nothing reliant on its capture." Huang Dawei cut their anxiety.

"Next, Commander Zuo Li has been healed and made a breakthrough to the peak of Early Xuan and the Yi Army is working its way into the city guard. Thanks to them the Palash Pavillion has been booming. Speaking the Palash Pavillion, I'll stop there to inform you of the raid." Yi Er'Long took a breath, "It was successful and we acquired their shipment of treasured rocks from the Shenglou Realm. But…"

"One of the rocks was hit in the scrimmage and a treasure was revealed," said Yi Tianguang, while handing out a large piece of ravaged scroll.

"It speaks of some great power called Brahma," said Tianguang.

Huang Dawei took the fragment and focused his eyes. It was long before his pupils dilated briefly.

"I'll look into it. But what made this so special?" he asked.

"It killed the first man that touched it," said Yi Er'Long.

"Oh…I can see how that can become a thing," said Huang Dawei glancing at the fragment of the scroll.

"Aside from that, the treasured rocks are beneath the estate." said Er'Long, "Finally for the root of the problem."

"I'll take it from here." Cai'er spoke up, "It can get very complicated, my Lord. So I'll keep it simple so we can get to the essence of this meeting, your decision."

Cai'er looked at the four commanders and no one protested so she continued. She and they knew that as the head of staff, Cai'er was well-versed in reciting important and concise information.

"Around the time you took the Gold Peng, the Five commanders, we, decided to enact executive command. As a unit, we executed the extraction of ten treasures and reassigned their units to the Song State. The ten treasures, based on your analysis, are as follows: Linglong Treasure Pogada, Amethyst Spiritual Bamboo, Violet Cloud Peach Tree, Ancestral Record of the Dongling Family, Blood Hornet Hive, Twin Carps, Silver Stripped Golden Snake, and Butian Paviliion's Sword monument and Lightning Catching Gourd."

"And the tenth team?" Huang Dawei asked. "Butian Pavillion was surveyed by one time."

"Go on," said Yi Hong

"The black-cloaked man that carries the special flame. He killed the tenth unit and escaped," said Cai'er.

Huang Dawei sighed. "Assuming that only the sword monument is still in the rubble of Butian Pavillion, everything else is in custody?"

"All of it placed in the designated area…" said Yi Tianguang.

"After this meeting, find a new assignment for the Grove guards. After my trip, I've found a new way to contain my treasure." said Huang Dawei, "Continue."

"All the units, eleven, including the Hongmen Peak unit and Shui Bo's Trackers, minus the deceased unit, are in Song State. This brings us back to Palash Pavillion. Yi Er'Long established contact with Wenren Wushen. Yi Tianguang spoke well with Shanguang Mu. We've discovered that Song State has discovered a Temple ruin in Diyu Gorge."

"They're preparing to excavate." Huang Dawei interrupted.

"Yes. By contracting the Night Fragrance Court, the Su Royal Family of Song wants maximum distance and complete control. If the Five Kingdoms noticed Song State moving resources to something other than the preparation for the Five Kingdom Tournament, it would draw attention." Cai'er explained.

"If the excavation has anything good, Song State will become the sixth Great State" Huang Dawei spoke to himself, "what of this Night Fragrance Court?"

"They have agreed to a partnership with the Palash Pavillion. All acquisitions of Qi workers are taxed. They have agreed. Finally, Shangguang Mu would like to speak with you." Cai'er was hesitant but she squeezed her hand and said, "We think you should see her and ignore her. The other Commanders and I feel it's more efficient to subjugate and rob the Song State blind."

The room was stiff. Huang Dawei chuckled happily. "Before I say anything. You lot must have opened the treasury to make this deal with Night Fragrance Court, am I right?"

Their faces turned ugly and they began to sweat. Why else would they snatch treasures and reassign units? They need something good to appease Huang Dawei as they station their people for a hostile takeover that would happen the moment they convinced Huang Dawei it was better to puppet and rob.

In the end, the treasury will be replenished two times over. All the while, they digest the power and influence of the Night Fragrance Court.

"Don't worry about it." Huang Dawei put them at ease with a charming smile, "I fixed the resource problem. The treasures you snatched will add to it. You did well to position our people, but I want to broaden the scope." Huang Dawei wore a diabolical smile.

The Five Yi Commanders shivered.

"Recall all of the units except for the ones in Song State. Don't worry about their assignments. Between your actions and my trip, I'm satisfied."

"Then why do we have to recall everyone?" Yi Hong dared to ask.

"Yi Ba will have command of the Yi Army. Yi Hong, Yi Er'Long, Yi Tianguang, and Yi Cai'er. You three will retreat to Evergreen Star Pond. Become as stable as possible. Use everything you have and prepare for my gifts. One week is all you have to break through. With the Night Kiss Codex, you should all succeed." said Huang Dawei, "In the coming days, I have matters to attend to. However, Uncle Tian, you should take your Heavenly Enchantress away with you. Even the slightest mishap and the Dowager will discover her. If she discovers the Palash Pavillion is ours, new problems will arise."

The Five Yi Commanders could sense something big coming. Huang Dawei was different and his words were essentially telling them to drink the rest of the blood of the Yi Army. He needs them at the Wuzong Level in a week.

Adding Xiao Ya, Qin Yuechi, and Zhao Kexin. That was eight Wuzong warriors. And if Huang Dawei decided to wait for Yi Ba to break through, that would make nine.

'What the hell is he planning?' they all thought as their minds wandered.

Huang Dawei pulled a strand of his hair. He held it in his palm and blew it away. It burst into flames and became a feather before it zipped away.

The Five Commanders stared at him like a stranger. Huang Dawei paid them no mind and dismissed them.

Across the city, Chen Yuefei, the young beauty from the Treasure Hall was cultivating quietly after finally freeing herself of her new entourage of ass-kissers. Once she received Huang Dawei's words of encouragement, she took and passed the test to become a refiner. Causing her fame to rise rapidly.

While Master Liang Yu was a rank 2 refiner, she was a rank one. The gap was wide and narrow depending on the talent of the refiner. With Huang Dawei's small advice over the years, she appeared to be a great talent in Qi State.

Now, a flaming feather landed in her lap. She didn't even notice as it dissolved and the particles inserted into her pores. Her eyes then opened and looked into the distance with a warm smile.

"With your guidance and my results, I should regard you as my master, Lord Huang," she spoke softly to herself, recalling all the moments of hidden affection for the young man who saw her beauty but took note of her kindness and love of refining. Speaking to her without losing himself to thoughts of manipulating her.

"If it is you, I can burn the whole Zhao State" she hummed. She then moved to her knees and secretly bowed three times in Haung Dawei's direction, swearing to earn the right to do three more bows in his presence before sharing a cup of tea with the great man in her heart.

Finally, without notice, Chen Yufei took her necessities and departed the capital.