Kays Translations

Chapter 220: Ge Zhengfeng

When the Great Xia Kingdom was engulfed in flames of war and various armies began surging toward the imperial capital, Anyang was also bustling with activity.

However, Anyang’s busyness was different from others; while others were focused on military affairs and warfare, Anyang was beginning to construct its own true “Brilliant Stars.”

Yan Ze’an, Xu Ren, and others were sent out for negotiations, while Li Xian himself was not idle either. He boarded the latest aircraft, equipped with formation runes, flying directly from Anyang to Yunding Mountain, where the imperial mausoleum was located. Four other aircraft escorted him.

One advantage of rune-enhanced aircraft was their ability to take off vertically.

For now, the most mature aircraft model was twin-engine, as the four-engine version had yet to be fully adjusted. But even the twin-engine aircraft was already formidable. It roared across the sky at an altitude of 3,000 meters over the imperial capital, causing countless people below to gaze up in awe. Everyone knew that such an extraordinary creation could only come from Anyang.

In the imperial capital, Wang Chuan, who had finally been promoted to Grand Chancellor, looked up at the sky. He only lowered his head after the aircraft disappeared from view, his expression solemn as he turned to the people beside him. “Anyang’s industrial development is too fast. They announced the internal combustion engine at the end of last year, and now, at the start of this year, they already have aircraft. How is our internal combustion engine research coming along?”

“My lord, we are facing many difficulties. Although we have the blueprints, we discovered during our research that many key technologies were not disclosed by Anyang. When we compared our version with the internal combustion engines purchased from Anyang, we found many intricate details we still can’t replicate.”

Wang Chuan nodded. “That’s to be expected. I never believed that brat Li Xian would truly disclose all his technology. But even making all the blueprints public is already quite generous. Take your time; there’s no need to rush. Anyang took two years to develop from its initial decorative lanterns to its current state—there’s so much we can learn from them.

But we should be able to develop an internal combustion engine within six months and an aircraft within a year, right?”

“No problem!”

Two people who knew nothing about technology confidently discussed their ambitions. If Li Xian had heard their conversation, he would have laughed his head off. It was true that Anyang had spent two years developing, but who truly understood what had been done in those two years?

They had overturned many existing knowledge systems in the Immortal Realm, rebuilt mathematics and geometry, and established a new physics system—essentially reconstructing an entirely new body of knowledge. Only with these foundations could technology emerge, and only with technology could industry flourish. Wang Chuan’s attempt to catch up with industrial development so easily was nothing short of a pipe dream.

The reason technology is technology is because many advanced industrial products cannot be simply copied; they must be manufactured from scratch. And this requires a solid scientific foundation to support it.

Wang Chuan was not alone in his thinking. Many others also looked up at the planes soaring over the capital, believing they could quickly replicate such achievements.

Some even tried to chase after the aircraft, including several cultivators at the Golden Core stage, but how could they possibly catch up with a plane now reaching speeds of 600 kilometers per hour? Moreover, Li Xian’s aircraft was specially designed—lighter, more durable, and even faster. It quickly disappeared from the capital’s sight, leaving only the rumbling echoes in the sky.

Tang Junfeng, the pilot flying Li Xian’s aircraft, kept chuckling. He had been using his binoculars to observe the surroundings, naturally including the imperial capital. He had clearly seen the entire city looking up in unison—a rather amusing sight.

Seeing this, Li Xian couldn’t help but say, “You’re satisfied with just this?”

Tang Junfeng quickly responded, “Young master, I’m feeling proud! We flew right over their heads, and all they could do was look up. If we dropped a few bombs now, that would be truly exhilarating!”

“Exhilarating, my foot! Don’t worry, there will be plenty of chances for battle in the future. But for now, just focus on flying the plane. If you crash it, I’m sure General Cheng Jiming will have a very ‘friendly’ chat with you.”

“Uh…” Tang Junfeng immediately sobered up. Cheng Jiming had become increasingly strict lately. Ever since aircraft were introduced and he witnessed the dangers during their research and development, he had become even more serious. It was precisely because he understood the challenges that he appreciated the progress. And it was because he knew how difficult the research was that he fully grasped the dangers involved.

Although aircrafts are good, things that fly in the sky are also dangerous. If a vehicle breaks down on the ground, it can simply stop; but if a plane malfunctions in the sky, it will crash to the ground. Although everyone here is a cultivator, it’s still best to avoid such risks whenever possible.

The plane quickly crossed more than 200 kilometers. From the imperial capital, it took less than twenty minutes to reach the imperial tomb at Yunding Mountain. It then landed about two li away from the tomb. Li Xian brought only his shadow along as he headed toward the tomb.

The imperial tomb was completely sealed off, but the forty-nine-day mourning ritual had not yet ended; in fact, it was only the seventh day.

From a distance, he could already see the towering entrance of the imperial tomb. The steel-reinforced concrete gate was being covered with countless curses, spells, and witchcraft. Once the forty-nine-day ritual was completed, all the formations would be activated simultaneously, completely hiding the entrance to the tomb, making it indistinguishable from the surrounding mountains and landscapes.

Nearby, there was only a small thatched hut where an ordinary woman lived. This was the empress. According to tradition and past imperial funerals, when an emperor passed away, everything had to accompany him, including the empress. This time, it was thanks to the persuasion of Li Yulong and others that the empress was spared.

As the price for her survival, the empress had to serve as the “eyes of the emperor in the mortal world,” guarding the imperial tomb and witnessing the future changes of the Great Xia Kingdom with her own eyes.

Stripped of all splendor, the empress now wore only coarse linen clothing, looking extremely plain. She even seemed to have deliberately applied some makeup to make herself appear more ordinary. She had no attendants, only living alone in this small hut.

When Li Xian came to visit, the empress seemed quite content. Being spared from burial was already a great fortune. However, upon seeing Li Xian, she smiled faintly and asked, “Xiao Xian, has your illness healed?”

Li Xian fled in embarrassment. To this day, his official explanation to the outside world was still that he had “succumbed to serious injuries.”

Afterward, Li Xian went to find Ge Zhengfeng. Now that the emperor had been buried, there was nothing left for Ge Zhengfeng to do except wait for the completion of the forty-nine-day ritual and the activation of the formations to hide the imperial tomb. When Li Xian arrived, Ge Zhengfeng was leisurely drinking tea in his former wooden house.

Despite the emperor’s passing, Ge Zhengfeng remained unchanged. At the very least, Li Xian had the decency to wear a strip of black cloth as a sign of mourning—after all, he was the emperor’s son-in-law.

Yet Ge Zhengfeng was still dressed in his usual blue robe, showing no signs of mourning. Not only that, but when he saw Li Xian, he immediately removed the black cloth from Li Xian’s left arm. “Stop pretending. It’s an eyesore.”

Seeing this, Li Xian simply took a seat without hesitation and casually poured himself a cup of tea. “Master Ge, I came this time to invite you to Anyang.”

“I’ve already told you, I’m not interested!”

Li Xian was in no hurry. He leisurely finished his tea before saying, “Master Ge, don’t you want to bring the stars from the sky down to the ground?”

“Oh… That sounds interesting. What do you mean?”

“I plan to create a star map on the ground and would like to invite you to help design it. Here’s the situation…”

Li Xian began explaining his plan.

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