Chapter 014: The National Treasure!

Though the old emperor of the Li Kingdom wore the crown, when Li Xiuling was imprisoned in the Nine Nether Prisons, he, like Nangong Quan of the Supreme Void Palace, felt utterly helpless and despaired. Even as the old emperor lay dying, Li Xiuling remained incarcerated, and so he never saw his daughter again, passing away with deep regret.

After Li Qianshi ascended the throne, he repeatedly declared in court his intention to personally visit the Azure Nether Sect and beg its master, Zhangsun Ni, to release Li Xiuling. Yet each time, he was met with fierce opposition from his ministers. All agreed: to offend Zhangsun Ni for the sake of the eldest princess’s freedom could spell the utter destruction of the Li Dynasty. The old emperor, understanding these stakes, chose to carry his sorrow to the grave rather than risk his nation’s fate and people’s safety for his own daughter.

Thus, Li Qianshi was also forced to abandon his hope. Now, unexpectedly, he found his elder sister Li Xiuling before him, his heart surging with emotions too great for words.

“Imperial Sister!” Li Qianshi gazed at Li Xiuling, his voice trembling with excitement. In that single exclamation, all the words he could not say were condensed.

Seven years had passed—Li Xiuling had languished in the Nine Nether Prisons for seven full years. Now, at last, she had returned; at last, she beheld her younger brother once more.

“Qianshi, I never imagined that when next we met, you would already be emperor,” Li Xiuling said with a wan smile, a trace of comfort in her eyes.

With the ministers present and the people of the Brahma Abyss Sect nearby, the siblings, separated for seven years, could not speak freely. Li Qianshi immediately cupped his hands and bowed to Qin Xuanxi. “Thank you, Lord of the Abyss, for rescuing my sister from the Nine Nether Prisons!”

Seeing their emperor bow in gratitude, all the ministers hastened to kneel before Qin Xuanxi as well.

“No need for thanks,” Qin Xuanxi replied. “As I have said, I did this merely to repay a favor owed your father.”

Three years prior, when the old emperor learned his end was near, he made one last desperate move for his daughter Li Xiuning: he secretly sent the nation’s treasured artifact, the Xuanyuan Cauldron, to the Brahma Abyss Sect as a gift for Qin Xuanxi. The old emperor knew that if anyone in the world could bring someone out alive from the Nine Nether Prisons, it would be Qin Xuanxi. Wise as he was, he made no demands when he presented the Xuanyuan Cauldron—for making demands would have turned it into a transaction, and to seek an overt bargain with Qin Xuanxi could only provoke her displeasure.

Moreover, there was no guarantee that the formidable sorceress would honor any agreement after receiving the cauldron. By giving her the treasure unconditionally, he ensured she would owe the royal house a favor, and at the right moment, she would naturally repay it.

When Qin Xuanxi received the Xuanyuan Cauldron, she realized it had been hidden within the Li royal family all along. Such a gift was indeed a great favor. Thus, when she heard that Yan’s armies were invading Li Kingdom, she decided it was time to settle that debt. She traveled to the Azure Nether Sect and brought Li Xiuling out from the Nine Nether Prisons.

The old emperor’s judgment was sound: in all of Xuan Ying Continent, Zhangsun Ni would yield to none but Qin Xuanxi. With Li Xiuling’s cultivation, she would be able to repel the invaders and preserve the kingdom’s lands.

“Now, let me remove your shackles,” Qin Xuanxi said.

As her words fell, a single thought dissolved the heavy irons on Li Xiuling’s wrists and ankles into black smoke, which vanished into the air. Only then was she truly free.

Li Xiuling bowed deeply to Qin Xuanxi. “My thanks to the Lord of the Abyss for saving my life!”

Though Li Xiuling was a disciple of the Supreme Void Palace—a member of the Immortal Sect, sworn enemies of demonic cultivators—it was a demonic cultivator who ultimately freed her from the Nine Nether Prisons. She saw clearly that gratitude for the gift of life must be shown, whatever their differences.

She was a daughter of the Immortal Sect, but above all, she was the Li Dynasty’s eldest princess. By rescuing her at this critical moment, Qin Xuanxi had, in effect, saved the entire kingdom; the royal house now owed her yet another immense debt.

“I have returned your sister to you. I shall take my leave,” Qin Xuanxi announced, withdrawing into her carriage. At that signal, her two enormous winged rhinoceros steeds turned and, with each ponderous step, seemed to make all Luojing City tremble.

After Qin Xuanxi departed, Li Xiuling suddenly knelt before Li Qianshi. “Your Majesty, I ask to be appointed Grand Marshal of the army, to lead our forces against the invading Yan troops!”

This sudden act took Li Qianshi by surprise. He hurried to raise her. “Sister, you are wounded. Defending the realm can wait until you’ve recovered!”

But Li Xiuling’s face was grave. “My injuries are nothing. With the enemy at our gates, I beg Your Majesty to issue the order without delay.”

“Sister, please… just rise first,” Li Qianshi pleaded, reaching out to help her, only to find her unmoving as a mountain. With her cultivation now at the peak of the Void-Breaking Realm, she could not be moved unless she willed it.

Li Xiuling understood fully: only if she personally took command could Yan’s great army be defeated. That was why Qin Xuanxi had rescued her at this moment.

When her father died, she could not return—a lifelong regret. Now, with her country in peril, she was determined to stand forth, to defend these lands for her departed father and her brother.

Li Qianshi knew well his sister’s stubbornness. Unless he issued an edict immediately, she would not rise. So, before all the assembled ministers, he proclaimed:

“I hereby appoint the Eldest Princess Li Xiuling as Grand Marshal of the Armies. She shall soon lead our forces to repel the invaders!”

Li Xiuling bowed to accept the mandate. “I accept the command!”

This campaign would pit her against the commander of Yan’s army: Liao Qing, imperial son-in-law of Yan and an immortal cultivator. Fatefully, he too was a disciple of the Supreme Void Palace, having entered a decade before Li Xiuling—her senior brother.

Now, the two siblings-in-faith would soon meet on the battlefield and determine who was superior.