Chapter 54: The Fall of the Dynasty, the Ascension of the Immortal Sects

Two full centuries had passed since the demise of Xia Qiyuan.

The Great Xia Dynasty, a mortal empire once in its absolute prime and glorious splendor, was now on the verge of collapse, terminally ill and riddled with decay.

The last emperor, Xia Yun, was a mere seventeen-year-old youth. Ever since he was old enough to remember, all he had ever known was a crumbling, hollowed-out empire. Rats scurried freely through the empty imperial treasury, the army suffered from a severe lack of clothing and food, and within the imperial court, consort kin and powerful ministers bickered endlessly, long having ceased to regard him, the emperor, with even an ounce of respect.

Among the common people, the situation was truly too agonizing to behold. Year after year of natural and man-made disasters had turned thousands of miles of fertile land into barren wastes. Countless displaced refugees had fled their hometowns, and the tragic horror of exchanging children to eat was no longer a rare sight even in what used to be the land of fish and rice.

The lingering legacy of the "Reign of Qiyuan" had been completely squandered by his worthless descendants.

Jiang Xiuyuan’s small medical clinic had long since been relocated to a remote, barren mountain. The village at the foot of the mountain had already seen nine out of ten homes deserted. They no longer treated sick villagers; instead, their patients were occasional, dying refugees passing by.

On this particular day, Jiang Xiuyuan was using a few wild weeds to brew a thin gruel for a woman who had fainted from hunger. Jiang Xiaobai came running at full speed down the mountain, her little face filled with panic.

"Father! Father! Something terrible has happened!" she cried out as she burst into the dilapidated thatched cottage, breathless. "A whole bunch of immortal cultivators have come down the mountain! They... they've occupied the imperial highway and are heading toward Tianqi City!"

Jiang Xiuyuan and Jiang Yiyi exchanged glances, their expressions turning solemn.

They walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked out into the distance. On that grand highway that used to bustle with endless carriages and horses, a massive procession was now steadily marching northward.

This was not a mortal army. Every single person in the formation wore a uniform cyan Taoist robe, with long swords strapped to their backs, exuding a sharp, fierce aura. The figures leading the vanguard were even piloting magical artifacts, hovering mid-air—without a doubt, they were Core Formation stage cultivators.

An aura of murderous intent remained distinctly palpable even from dozens of miles away.

"They are people from the Azure Sun Sect," Jiang Yiyi said in a low voice.

The Azure Sun Sect was an up-and-coming sect that had risen in the southern Eastern Territory over the past century. Their style of conduct was utterly overbearing, operating under the motto "Those who submit prosper, those who resist perish." They had swallowed up numerous minor sects, expanding their influence at an astonishing speed.

During the reign of Emperor Xia Yan, Great Xia had engaged in fierce conflicts with the Azure Sun Sect over the ownership of border spirit-stone mines. That battle ended in a bitter victory for Great Xia, but it also forged a blood feud with the Azure Sun Sect.

For a hundred years, the Azure Sun Sect had endured hardship and worked with relentless determination to make the state prosperous, and their sect master had even broken through to the Nascent Soul stage. Meanwhile, the Great Xia Dynasty had step by step marched toward decline amid internal strife.

With one side rising and the other falling, the Azure Sun Sect of today had already become a colossal behemoth.

"For them to march north in such great numbers at a time like this, their intent goes without saying," Jiang Xiuyuan’s voice remained calm and unruffled.

"Are they going to... overthrow Great Xia?" Jiang Xiaobai found it hard to believe. "Aren't they afraid of the karmic retribution of the Heavenly Dao? Didn't Emperor Xia Qiyuan say back then that overthrowing a prosperous dynasty would incur immense karma?"

"Silly girl," Jiang Xiuyuan shook his head, a trace of sorrow in his eyes. "Do you think the Great Xia of today can still be called 'prosperous'? It has long since lost the hearts of the people and its national fortune has withered. In the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, it is already a corpse waiting to be buried. Not only does the Azure Sun Sect incur no karma for this, but their action can rather be considered acting in accordance with Heaven, known as 'sweeping away the decay'."

Jiang Yiyi fell silent. She understood. When a dynasty rotted to its very core, it ceased to receive the protection of the Heavenly Dao. It became mere rotting meat in the eyes of vultures, and anyone could step up to take a bite.

"Should we... go take a look?" Jiang Yiyi asked. She wanted to witness this final conclusion with her own eyes.

Jiang Xiuyuan nodded. "Let's go. We witnessed its birth, so we ought to give it a final send-off."

The three of them concealed their presences, transforming into a wisp of clear breeze as they followed the Azure Sun Sect's procession all the way north.

They saw that along the way, the gates of commanderies and counties stood wide open. Those Great Xia officials who should have been defending the cities took the initiative to walk out, kneeling on the ground to welcome the "immortal masters" of the Azure Sun Sect, offering up city seals and tax registries, hoping only to preserve their own glory and wealth.

The "Demon Suppression Division," which had once made countless cultivators wary, now existed in name only. The experts within it had either been purged in successive political struggles or had long since grown disheartened and resigned with their seals. The remaining old, weak, sick, and wounded lacked even the courage to resist when faced with the Azure Sun Sect's army, scattering like birds and beasts.

The Azure Sun Sect's forces encountered almost no decent resistance. Like a heated blade, they effortlessly sliced through the rotting cheese of Great Xia.

Seven days later, they arrived beneath the walls of Tianqi City.

This imperial capital, which had witnessed three hundred years of glory and honor, now possessed mottled walls and lax defenses. The royal banner bearing the character "Xia" hung limply in the autumn wind, as if uttering a final, helpless lament.

The Sect Master of the Azure Sun Sect, a middle-aged Nascent Soul cultivator with a gloomy visage, hovered high above Tianqi City, his voice rolling like thunder across the entire capital:

"The House of Xia is devoid of Dao, plunging all living beings into misery and arousing the wrath of both Heaven and men! Today, my Azure Sun Sect obeys the mandate of Heaven to cleanse the universe! Those within the city who surrender shall be spared!"

As his voice faded, chaos erupted within the imperial palace.

Powerful ministers dragged their families along, rolling up gold, silver, and valuables as they fled in panic through the back gates. Palace maids and eunuchs scattered in all directions, their cries and wails shaking the heavens.

Only the seventeen-year-old last emperor, Xia Yun, wearing an ill-fitting, unbearably heavy imperial dragon robe and gripping a rusted ancestral sword, stumbled his way up to the city tower.

He looked at the overwhelming army of cultivators outside the city, at the god-and-demon-like figures in the sky, his young face deathly pale, trembling all over like a withered leaf in the wind.

Yet, he did not run.

Gathering every ounce of strength in his body, he raised the sword in his hand and pointed it toward the sky, shouting in a shrill, tear-choked voice: "I... I am the Son of Heaven! You rebellious scoundrels, how dare you commit treason and rebellion! My ancestor is the founding holy monarch Xia Qiyuan! My Demon Suppression Division army... My million-strong elite forces... will never let you go!"

His voice appeared so laughable and insignificant under the thunderous pressure exerted by the Azure Sun Sect Master.

The Azure Sun Sect Master could not even be bothered to make a move himself. A Core Formation elder beside him merely sneered with contempt and flicked a finger.

A cyan beam of light, swift as lightning, instantly tore through the sky and struck Xia Yun.

Before the young emperor could even emit a cry of agony, his body plunged down from the hundred-foot-high city wall like a shattered doll.

The crown, which symbolized supreme imperial authority, rolled into the dust.

With the death of the emperor, Tianqi City fell without a fight.

The cultivators of the Azure Sun Sect poured into the city. They did not massacre the population because, in their eyes, mortals were resources far more valuable than gold and silver. They were the future source of disciples, servants to wait upon them, and sheep to sustain the sect.

They charged straight into the imperial palace, the national treasury, and the estates of the nobility. The once-glorious palaces turned into a Shura field in the blink of an eye. Precious classics were put to the torch, exquisite art pieces were casually crushed underfoot, and resisting imperial guards and eunuchs were executed without mercy.

Jiang Xiuyuan, Jiang Yiyi, and Jiang Xiaobai stood quietly on the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the highest point of the imperial palace.

They watched everything unfolding beneath their feet.

Jiang Xiaobai covered her mouth to keep herself from crying out. She still remembered that over a hundred years ago, she and Sister Yiyi had been conferred titles as princesses by Xia Qiyuan right here in this palace. How solemn and magnificent this place had been back then.

Jiang Yiyi’s face was deathly pale as she clenched her fists tightly. She looked toward the direction of the Jixia Academy, where towering flames were also rising. The classics that she and her father had personally compiled to enlighten the common people were turning to ash at this very moment. The thought and wisdom of an era were thus barbarously consigned to the flames.

Jiang Xiuyuan’s countenance was hidden in shadow, making his expression unreadable. He simply watched quietly, like the most loyal spectator, observing the curtain call of this drama.

He saw the cultivators of the Azure Sun Sect drag the spirit tablets of the Xia imperial clan out of the Ancestral Temple and toss them casually onto the plaza.

He saw the Nascent Soul sect master laugh heartily as he sat upon the cold dragon throne, proclaiming that from this day forth, the lands of Great Xia belonged to Azure Sun.

He saw how utterly vulnerable mortal royal power was in the face of the absolute might of the immortal path.

The turmoil lasted for three days and three nights.

Three days later, everything settled into dust.

The Azure Sun Sect gained absolute control over the city and the nation. They began conferring titles upon new "administrators"—those officials and aristocrats who had surrendered first were instantly transformed into agents of the Azure Sun Sect, continuing to squeeze the people of this land.

The Great Xia Dynasty, a mortal empire that had endured for three hundred years, was officially declared fallen.

Jiang Xiuyuan led Jiang Yiyi and Jiang Xiaobai through the palace complex, which had now been reduced to ruins. Broken walls and charred embers. The afterglow of the setting sun stretched their shadows long and distant.

They walked past the imperial garden that had once bloomed with flowers; Xia Qiyuan had once pleaded with him here for longevity.

They walked past the solemn and dignified imperial study; Xia Jing had once tried desperately to make him stay right here.

They walked past the towering city wall; Xia Yun had once uttered his final, unresigned cry of defiance to life right here.

Everything had changed, and the people of the past were gone.

Jiang Xiuyuan halted among a pile of rubble. He bent down and picked up a broken, blood-stained white-deer jade pendant from the dust.

That was the token of the Imperial Preceptor he had left for Xia Jing back then.

He gently brushed the dust from its surface, staring at the jade pendant in silence for a long time.

The entire process of a powerful dynasty's rise, prosperity, and fall had thus completed its full curtain call right before his eyes.