126: Chapter 126 The King in Yellow

Time flies like a white horse passing a crevice.

Half a year was nothing more than the flick of a moment.

Xie Feng stood at the doorway of his courtyard, bringing his cold crystal blind staff down heavily onto the ground, and instinctively spread out his spiritual perception to scan the small cabin he had lived in for nearly three years.

The table was covered with his summaries and notes, a few pages of rune notes torn from the handwritings of the Hall of Archives were pinned to the wall, and a stack of modified copper shells given by Tu Ziguan was piled at the corner of the table, the topmost one having one of its corners knocked flat by his blind staff.

He pushed the copper shells aside, fished out the rune veil given by the Third Princess from the drawer, examined the extremely fine dark golden rune circuits along the edge against the window light, then folded it up and tucked it into his bosom, placing it right next to Zuo Ciyuan's jade pendant.

Half a year had passed.

In these past six months, he had hardly stepped out of the Sect.

Every day, he would get up before dawn to meditate, running the Spiritual Qi of the Fourth Realm's First Heaven through his six meridians for several major circulation cycles, and then open those three forbidden books to devour them.

"cultes des goules"

"book of eibon"

"revelations of glaaki"

Judging by a wizard's abilities, Xie Feng could now be considered a legendary archmage.

He had already pretty much chewed through the Spells in these three books.

At the same time, Brain Matter was not idle either, and it had also taught Xie Feng the Grasp of Nyogtha.

Over the past six months, the reputation of the Artifact Hall of the Qingyun Sect had been growing louder and louder across the Nine Provinces.

After Tu Ziguan was taken in as a disciple by Elder Qin, he practically treated the Artifact Hall as a personal workshop, sending a new batch of products to various prefectures every so often—ranging from modified versions of maxim machine guns to portable Spiritual Qi furnaces, and from simplified rune circuit schemes to ammunition mass-production processes.

Every time Xie Feng passed by the Artifact Hall, he could see Mo Tang squatting at the entrance dismantling Puppet cores, and occasionally Wen Yushu would be inside helping out.

Speaking of Wen Yushu, he was now at the Fourth Realm's Fifth Heaven, having broken through several heavens in just half a year along the path separating immortals and Mortals in the Fourth Realm.

When Xie Feng asked him how he trained, he narrowed his eyes and said that ever since his Breakthrough in the Fourth Realm, his Dantian structure seemed a bit different from ordinary people's, with Spiritual Qi pouring in on its own and refusing to slow down even if he wanted it to.

Xie Feng felt he was putting on an act, but he had no evidence.

An extremely familiar sound of footsteps came from outside the door.

The pace was fast, the soles of the feet landed heavily, and the clinking sound of copper shells at the waist could be heard right through the courtyard wall.

"Xie Feng! A letter! From the imperial city!"

Tu Ziguan shoved open the courtyard door, holding up a letter in his hand.

Xie Feng took it and opened it.

The handwriting was neat and proper—The expeditionary force to the Northern Continent has been fully prepared. The Qingzhou detachment is under the charge of the Qingyun Sect. Gather at the imperial city in three days and depart immediately.

Xie Feng folded the letter and tucked it into his bosom.

Tu Ziguan had already rushed back to his own room to pack his things, and the clinking and clanking of copper shells collided across the courtyard wall, while his new leather boots creaked crisply on the stone slab floor.

Xie Feng leaned against the door frame, brought his blind staff down onto the ground, and shouted toward his direction.

So he also began to pack his baggage, holding the cold crystal blind staff in his hand, shoving the three forbidden books back into the inner pocket of his robe, and folding the rune veil to place it inside his bosom.

The half-year recuperation had come to an end.

Furthermore, Xie Feng planned to take Tu Ziguan along to the imperial city because leaving Tu Wu here alone might very well result in him getting backstabbed by Nyarlathotep, so it was better to just leave together.

There were a total of three people from the Qingyun Sect preparing to go to the Northern Continent.

They were Xie Feng, Tu Ziguan, and Lu Mingyuan respectively.

Ever since joining the Sect, this person had shown talent in many areas; his knowledge was extremely rich, and he had a deep understanding of geography and the local customs of different provinces, which he claimed was because he had previously been traveling across various provinces.

Moreover, after entering the Sect, he joined the Artifact Hall, and together with many Seniors of the Artifact Hall, he developed many new products.

Under his strong request, Tu Ziguan brought him to meet Xie Feng. Although Xie Feng did not want more people to get dragged into this, Lu Mingyuan had indeed demonstrated his usefulness—more people meant more strength—so he simply decided to bring him along.

Emperor Zhou Weixi's letter from the imperial palace outlined the lineup.

Aside from the numerous guards and entourage members, there were also the Third Princess Zhou Tanghua, her elder brother Zhou Jinglan, plus Xu Liujing.

This was the first time Xie Feng learned the name of that petite Third Princess.

Besides, why bring Xu Liujing along? Wasn't he someone who studied Seals?

Carrying his doubts, the three of them boarded the flying boat, and Xie Feng stomped on the wood grain of the flying boat.

"Floating wood core, right?"

The imperial family really knew how to deceive people. To practice Spells, Xie Feng had tossed and turned plenty in the back mountain of the Qingyun Sect.

After summoning a Byakhee in the back mountain and sending it back, Xie Feng was now one hundred percent certain that this flying boat was able to fly entirely thanks to the movement of these patterns.

This flying boat was skinned with the hide of a Byakhee.

This thing was an inferior servant race in the cthulhu mythos, usually serving the "Indescribable Hastur". The body of a Byakhee consisted of two parts: the chest and the hind body.

The chest grew a pair of wings, a pair of upper limbs, and a head.

The hind body grew a pair of lower limbs.

Their form was a winged hybrid: neither crow nor mole; neither vulture nor ant, nor a rotting humanoid form; but rather a terrifying thing "that cannot and must not be recalled". (This is the original text — H. P. Lovecraft, "The Festival")

However, Xie Feng sent it back right after summoning it out.

Although the Byakhee was a legendary mount that was extremely useful to ride, this creature was also a lunatic.

The Byakhee could travel at 400 times the speed of light. If you mounted it without drinking golden honey wine (a Cthulhu Spell creation), you would die.

Furthermore, if you mounted a Byakhee, there was a certain probability that this lunatic would fly directly to the Chaos Throne of Azathoth.

That's right, the real Azathoth, not a projection.

Xie Feng had always been very unlucky, so he didn't dare to gamble.

Watching the Byakhee's hide continuously move closer to the yellow sign on his body, Xie Feng silently kicked the flying boat twice.

As the scenery changed, the flying boat landed in the imperial city.

Standing on the bluestone ground of the post harbor in the western suburb of the imperial city, Xie Feng had just steadied his cold crystal blind staff when he saw Third Princess Zhou Tanghua walking over from the other end of the corridor.

Today, she had changed into a dark black formal court attire, the cuffs inlaid with dark golden Phoenix insignia, followed by a Centurion and several Imperial Guards. Her pace remained as fast and short as ever, and her skirt hem swayed back and forth at her ankles.

Walking beside her was a young man with a tall and slender figure. His facial features bore some resemblance to the Third Princess, but his brows and eyes were broader. He was dressed in a bright yellow long gown tied with a dark waistbelt at his waist, holding no weapon in his hand, only a folding fan.

This was her brother Zhou Jinglan?

Wait a minute!?

Why is this kid wearing a yellow robe?!

Xie Feng's gaze landed on that bright yellow long gown, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Before he could speak, that person had already walked up close, cupped his hands in an extremely standard court salute, and spoke in a clear voice: "Young Master Xie, long time no see. I am Zhou Jinglan. His Majesty has already prepared tea at the Mid-Lake Pavilion and specifically ordered me to welcome you."

He made a polite gesture of invitation, and as he turned around to lead the way, he tilted his head and lowered his voice to say: "Young Master Xie, the look you gave my clothes just now was like you were looking at a dead man. Once we reach the Mid-Lake Pavilion later, you will naturally understand."

After saying this, he smiled slightly, said no more, and walked ahead into the depths of the corridor.

I knew it! You damn imperial family are wildly worshipping deities right inside the imperial palace!

Xie Feng followed Zhou Jinglan through the gravel path on the west side of the imperial garden, and turned into a narrow alleyway he had never walked through before.

At the end of the alleyway, the view suddenly opened up.

An extremely large lake.

The lake water was black, extremely heavy and still, without a trace of ripples, as if the entire night sky had been peeled off from the heavens and spread out upon the ground.

Standing in the center of the lake was a pavilion with a wooden structure, flying eaves, and bracket sets; every beam and pillar was engraved with extremely dense rune circuits.

Hanging around the pavilion were extremely thin dark golden curtains, sitting completely motionless on the windless lake surface.

Who would have thought the place of worship was right in the dead center of the imperial palace?

Emperor Zhou Weixi stood by the lake, wearing a plain indigo-blue robe, and turned around upon hearing the footsteps.

"You've arrived? Was the journey hard?"

He stepped half a step to the side, revealing the lake and pavilion behind him, and pointed at the yellow sign inside Xie Feng's bosom.

"Take out the yellow sign I gave you. This item can help you resist a direct erosion from the Old Gods on the Northern Continent. If you encounter the Great Old Ones or an even more ancient existence, it will shatter. Once it shatters, return immediately; no matter where you are, I will send someone to fetch you. As for that being—"

Emperor Zhou Weixi stopped acting.

Even the yellow sign had been called out, and the Great Old Ones had been spoken of; this Mortal knew far more than a grand Cultivator.

Emperor Zhou Weixi glanced toward the mid-lake pavilion.

"He just wants to take a look at you today; there is no need to pay respects."

"Who? You've got to be kidding me? You guys are actually worshipping a physical entity?"

Xie Feng quickly refused.

Stop joking around, I am a double agent here! I still have Lord Cthulhu's blessing hanging on me; can I possibly end up well if I see The King in Yellow?

Before Xie Feng could refuse, the black lake water slowly rippled.

A human figure dressed in yellow robes and wearing a soft mask manifested.