Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Under a glowing moon and numerous shining stars that dotted the night skies like brightly-lit lanterns, the moon seemed to become even colder and dreamier.
Zhao Heng stood in the pavilion, staring at the beauty of the night. Hu Dou had fallen asleep at his feet and the surroundings were dead quiet.
“What’s the difference between being your puppet and being King Jin of the Great Zhou Dynasty? They are both essentially the same!”
“Hey, these days, what forces don’t have influential figures supporting them? Even Gao Lan who stands at the top of the food chain with all the power of the whole world is the same. Even if I hadn’t spoiled the Grand Banquet then, Shen Du’s Zhao family would still have had to follow heaven’s mandate and depend on some influential figure. Although I am now humble, this heart of mine hasn’t changed and neither has the path I’m on changed. My ambition lies upon the Nirvana Realm to become the influential figure who manipulates heaven’s mandate. Since when have I ever cared about ordinary powers and status? So when the time comes, wouldn’t it have coincided with the most ideal situation that Shen Du’s Zhao family craved?”
…
The earlier conversation flowed through Zhao Heng’s mind, beating upon his soul and making him fall into a long silence.
Unknowingly, the cold moon had sunk in the west and the sun had risen up in the east to paint brightness across the horizon, dispersing the cold silence of the night and suppressing the accumulated eeriness that had clouded the palace for thousands of years.
Zhao Heng exhaled softly as he withdrew his gaze to awaken Hu Dou who was sleeping at his feet.
“My Lord, my Lord, how did I fall asleep? Did something happen just now?” Hu Dou rubbed his eyes in confusion and astonishment.
His last memories had stopped at them opening the door of the palace. All he felt was darkness surrounding the depths of the palace as if there was something bad hidden inside and that something scary might happen.
Could… could this be the dismal obsession that was left by the King of Qin?
In any event, it was impossible for him to fall into such a deep sleep in conditions like this, what more a long one that lasted till the break of dawn!
Zhao Heng said calmly, “Some obsessions are not supposed to be seen by you, so I let you sleep.”
Exactly as I thought! Hu Dou let go of his worries and looked around at the pavilion. He shivered as he found that even under the light of dawn, it was still cold and eerie in the palace.
On the surface, it had seemed as if it was solemn and dignified when the King of Qin suppressed the royal family of the Dajin Dynasty, but he had been slowly losing his grip of power over the world. His heart had probably been filled with heavy burdens and lingering regrets until the end where everything he protected and stood for could only fade away in his death, thus leaving a deep obsession.
“Shall we go to the Imperial Mausoleum now, Your Highness?” Hu Dou had been with Zhao Heng for decades and had always been good at gauging his mood. He quickly changed the topic as he knew that it was not the right time to mention the King of Qin.
Zhao Heng nodded his head and walked out of the palace with his hands behind his back.
“Yes, let’s go to the Imperial Mausoleum.”
“And tell Qian Qian that we’re leaving so he informs the emperor that I am trapped in the Dharmakaya bottleneck, so I want to travel around Jianghu and see the people’s livelihood in my search for a breakthrough opportunity.”
Hu Dou was left dumbfounded and confused.
Why did my Lord suddenly want to travel around?
Did not he say that he left the city just to pay a visit to his ancestors?
He followed Zhao Heng in confusion as a thousand thoughts passed through his mind. Finally, he decided that it was normal since his Highness had been stuck in the Dharmakaya of Half-Step for many years and had experienced all sorts of struggles and pains that were unknown to outsiders. Poverty gave rise to the desire for change, so it was definitely normal for a change in environment to experience the people’s livelihood!
In the hall of the Garrison Residence, Qian Qian looked at Zhao Heng as if he was in an awkward position to speak, “Your Highness King Jin, you are someone with royal status and every move you make will affect the imperial court, is it really a good idea to travel around without careful consideration?”
Zhao Heng smiled slightly, “I understand your concern. Why don’t you ask what His Majesty thinks and let him make a decision.”
“That’ll be the best option,” Qian Qian smiled and took out a golden-colored Myriad World Talisman in front of Zhao Heng.
This tailored Talisman could connect directly to the Changle Palace and reach the desk of the current emperor. It was authority that was given only to Frontier Officials and although he was not a state governor or provincial governor, the town was an exception as it was the capital city of the previous dynasty.
The golden-colored Myriad World Talisman shone in misty brilliance, flickering with changing electrical flashes as it connected to Changle far away in the distance.
After a moment, an elegant voice sounded from the Talisman,
“Garrison soldier Qian Qian, you have an important matter to report?”
Each tailored Myriad World Talisman had a one-to-one correspondence, hence the people in Changle Palace would know who was on the other side without even being connected.
Qian Qian respectfully said, “General Manager Li, King Jin is going to worship his ancestors. At the same time, he wants to travel around Jianghu in search of ways to break through the Dharmakaya bottleneck. Please report back to His Majesty.”
After a short silence, General Manager Li replied, “Wait.”
In a short while, his voice sounded again, “Qian Qian, tell King Jin to pay more attention to the people’s livelihood and look for any malpractice which the Great Zhou Dynasty might have now.”
“Your humble servant obeys His Highness’ orders!” Qian Qian hung up the Myriad World Talisman and looked up at Zhao Heng with a smile, “His Majesty has agreed.”
Zhao Heng was dazed for a moment but quickly smiled, “His Majesty never forgets the difficulties of his people, he truly is worthy of being the current emperor.”
Then, two beams of light flew out of the Garrison Residence, heading straight for the Imperial Mausoleum.
The Imperial Mausoleum of the Dajin Dynasty had not been destroyed after the fall of the dynasty. After all, Shen Du’s Zhao family was still alive and they were still of an aristocratic family background. Hence, there were naturally family members who would take turns to guard it. Currently, the Mausoleum was placed by the mountains and rivers, occupying the best location possible in feng shui. While walking through the Mausoleum, there was obviously a kind of solemn atmosphere that could be felt, as if generations of imperial majesty were observing them.
Zhao Heng did not inform the guard here as he passed through the guarded area to slowly ascend upwards. As he passed by each tomb, he would stop and gaze upon them before worshipping and kowtowing to them solemnly.
Until finally, he saw the tomb of the founder of the Dajin dynasty. He whispered in a low voice,
“The unworthy son, Zhao Heng has come today to confess his sins.”
In another ritual of worship, Hu Dou followed him closely by his side but gave an internal sigh,
“The Dajin Dynasty finally fell eventually…”
The most flourishing stage of his life had also been buried alongside the Dajin Dynasty.
Zhao Heng slowly got up and looked down at the peaks around and said in a low voice,
“Come one, let’s go look around.”
…
The skies in the Southern Wasteland were blue and clear, and with the addition of rolling peaks, the view from above gave the impression of entering a sea of mountains.
On one of the isolated peaks, Hu Dou trembled with closed eyes that he did not dare to open because the person standing beside His Highness was the world-famous Demon Emperor of the Southern Wasteland!
No matter how many people praised him, just the mention of the Devil’s Claws would make him keep his head down in fear.
Standing on the edge of the cliff where the harsh winds brushed his face and caused his hair to dance with the wind, Zhao Heng suddenly sighed and said, “When we first got to know each other, who would have thought that our humble reputation would meet such fortune, leading us to our current situation.”
Within the original group, one of them was a teacher of the Jade Palace that was a current Legendary being, the only one in the many worlds that could stir up ripples with his control of the Tyrant’s Invincible Blade. Another one of them was someone that had his demonic name spread to the universe, occupying the Southern Wasteland, breaking precedent in his actions and feared by mighty people and Great Mediums with his Devil’s Claws. One of them was listed in the celestial group and was expected to become a Legendary figure in accordance to his famous name as the God of Sword. Another one resided in Jiangdong with unmatched zither skills and was soon to be an immortal. Even the weakest person of the group who was himself was at the very least King Jin of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a successor to the throne and a Great Guru that was on top of the Ground List.
Qi Zhengyan looked at the movements of the clouds and uttered expressionlessly, “Although I believe in the ceaseless improvements of oneself and that only effort can be relied on in life, but I also have to say, fortune is very important as well. Perhaps the heavens would help those who help themselves.”
Zhao Heng looked back at him and said with a bitter smile, “In the same way, I didn’t expect you to choose such a path. Leaving aside the fact that the whole world is your enemy, you’re hated by man and nature which puts you in great danger.”
Qi Zhengyan continued without a change in his expression, “What’s the point of living for hundreds of thousands of years mindlessly? I’ve chosen this path and I won’t regret it even if I had to die a thousand times.”
“Sometimes, I really envy you,” Zhao Heng sighed.
Upon finishing this sentence, both of them fell into a long silence. After a while, Zhao Heng turned to step off the cliff and left on a cloud.
Behind Qi Zhengyan, Hei Jia Demon asked curiously, “Did he come to the Southern Wasteland just to talk about these things?”
Qi Zhengyan said nothing as he fixed his eyes on the sea of clouds.
…
In Langya City, outside the ancestral home of the Ruan family.
Zhao Heng brought along Hu Dou and continued their journey slowly. Suddenly, as a melodious zither tune reached their ears, their bodies started to tremble while their surroundings seemed to show signs of an oncoming disaster.
As the melody went allegro with notes as crisp and clear as pearls dropping onto a jade plate, the sky turned gloomy rapidly whereas the flowers, plants and trees nearby withered instantly, causing them to lose vitality.
At this moment, the melody became melodious and graceful as if it had been music from the heavens, full of vigor and vitality that immersed others in its wonder. The withered trees revived and turned green once again as unique flowers blossomed and budded, returning to the previous landscape of vitality it once was.
Two pieces of music had merged into a state that was divided between life and death, as though it had melded the black and white in mid-air just like it was a point of origin.
A few moments later, the sound of the zither faded.
Zhao Heng was stunned for a moment but turned around with a smile, and said to Hu Dou,
“Let’s go, there’s no need to enter anymore.”
“Why?” Hu Dou was surprised.
Zhao Heng said as he went along, “She has mastered the two scores of music in the overlapping of life and death. Plus, she has excellent control in it where she only affected the flora, meaning that after a period of stabilization, she’ll be able to break through the Dharmakaya bottleneck.”
“But what does that have to do with us entering or not?” Hu Dou was still ignorant.
Ignoring his question, Zhao Heng crooned,
“Life is a risky gamble and tomorrow is not guaranteed…”
There was no need to go to the Xi Jian Pavilion and then to Kunlun Mountain anymore…
As beams of light streaked across the sky, him and Hu Dou arrived at Changle and stepped into their own mansion.
Subsequently, Zhao Heng sat on the Cloud Bed and waved to close the door of the silent room. With his eyes half-closed and a sigh passing through his lips, he then worked on the Interior Realm and began to try to combine his Form, Primordial Spirit, and body into one!
Boom!
The sky suddenly turned dark as dark clouds hung overhead and a bolt of thunder struck down.
…
After Han Guang left Shen Du, his figure became blurry, hazy, and unpredictable as if he was time itself. In a split second, the distortion had disappeared and escaped into a secret dimension.
Here stood a man, short and small-sized with an ancient appearance and clad in a red robe and a fish-tail crown.
In front of him was a stage where a scarecrow lay with a lamp on its head and another lamp at its feet.
