Chapter 129 - 88: The Truth of the Immortal Arrival
Chapter 129: Chapter 88: The Truth of the Immortal Arrival
On Cyan Mountain Peak, Su Chen was pulling weeds from before the graves of two old friends. It had been a long time since he last came.
Nine years, perhaps.
He couldn’t quite recall.
In the distance, a black-canopied boat swayed as it approached the shore. A stooped, elderly figure disembarked onto the small island.
He walked and walked until he reached the peak of Cyan Mountain, standing before Jie’s new grave.
He had long anticipated Jie’s death, yet it still felt sudden.
"Jie was a good kid."
The old voice spoke.
"Yes."
"He was a good kid."
"He really did... He almost fooled even me."
Su Chen pulled a dry weed from the grave and glanced at Jie’s tomb, but quickly looked away.
Within the coffin, Jie’s body wore a smile. A jet-black Nine-leaf Lotus grew from it.
"That’s why I only ended this one life of his."
"One life is gone, and all debts are cleared."
"Perhaps we’ll meet again in the next life. Or perhaps there won’t be a next life."
Su Chen rose to his feet.
Behind him, the elderly figure remained silent.
"You... knew?"
"The Ten Extremes Immortal Techniques are Odd Skills passed down from the Heavenly Fall. They are unrivaled in the world, rarely seen, and unique within the Human World."
"Only the successive Royal Races of Zhou and Liang, powerful Ancient Immortals, and Ancient Grandmasters know the details of the Ten Extremes Skill. How could you possibly know?"
In the Human World, reaching the Peak of Perfection is only possible through the Ten Extremes Immortal Techniques.
Each of the Ten Extremes Immortal Techniques is unique to its generation. In any given era, only one person can bring its cultivation to Perfection and Master it.
Jie possessed not only Armors Like Mountains but another Immortal Skill as well: the Ten Lives Body.
The Three Corpses Technique, the Ten Lives Body, and the Spiritual Embryo Skill.
They are hailed as the three greatest techniques for survival.
Su Chen had seen the memories of the Grand Ancestor of Liang, so he was naturally aware of the Ten Extremes Skill.
Jie was dead.
And yet, he was not.
Through ten lives of Reincarnation, if he could break through the Fetal Confusion, he would still be Jie. If not, then he would be no more.
With the Ten Lives Body, the flesh does not decay. When the Nine-leaf Lotus blooms, for every lifetime he fails to awaken, one leaf will wither. Once all nine leaves have withered, his Divine Soul will be extinguished.
If any one of the ten selves breaks through the Fetal Confusion, that one will instantly ascend to the peak, and all the others will perish.
"Why have you come seeking me?"
Su Chen asked.
"For the sake of all people under heaven, I ask you to make me Emperor."
The old voice replied slowly.
He clasped his hands and bowed deeply to Su Chen.
Su Chen continued pulling weeds as if he hadn’t heard a word. The old man wasn’t angered by this. He held his deep bow, unmoving, awaiting Su Chen’s reply.
Since the man’s arrival, Su Chen hadn’t spared him a single glance.
「In the Third Year of Xuanlong.」
Su Chen had sought him out, holding the former Emperor’s Imperial Decree, wanting to make him the new Emperor. He had scoffed, showing no regard for the Wind Snow Sword Immortal.
Now, he had come, pleading to be made Emperor.
Yes.
He was Long Xuanjun.
After his defeat by a single sword, he had grown old and dejected. He lived a solitary life on a simple black-canopied boat on the river by the Imperial Mausoleum, never again setting foot in the Imperial City.
Back then, he had been full of vigor.
He was the first Grandmaster to emerge in the world, having absorbed the very first strand of Mountain River Dragon Qi to erupt from the land. He even had hopes of reaching the Innate realm in the future.
Unfortunately, he encountered the Wind Snow Sword Immortal.
A single sword strike broke his bones.
His spirit was shattered.
He was stalled as an Acquired Grandmaster, never advancing another step.
"Why?"
「After a long moment.」
Su Chen asked.
"For the Great Zhou!"
Long Xuanjun’s words were met only with a scoff from Su Chen.
Perhaps he was scoffing at Long Xuanjun’s choice all those years ago.
Perhaps he was scoffing at Long Xuanjun’s delusion now.
"Why?"
Su Chen asked again.
"For the common people!"
Su Chen didn’t scoff this time, but he still didn’t look at him. He simply continued his questioning.
"There are countless ambitious leaders in the world, ready to transform into dragons at the first gust of wind. Why should I choose to support you?"
"..."
Long Xuanjun fell silent.
But the world was falling apart.
As a member of the Great Zhou Royal Family, he ultimately could not sit idly by.
Having not received the answer he wanted, he turned to leave.
Su Chen called out to stop him.
"You know that times have changed."
"Even though you absorbed the first breath of Mountain River Dragon Qi and reached the Third Realm, Self as Dragon, it may not be enough to hold back these turbulent, chaotic times..."
Long Xuanjun stopped, revealing his aged face, his broken spine, and his spiritless eyes.
He didn’t turn around.
His figure was stooped.
He merely asked.
"Lord Su, that will you once had to protect the common people... is it still there?"
"Mine is."
"But it is a will to protect the Great Zhou Royal Family."
"Everyone says the Celestial Family is heartless, but that is my home..."
"I never wanted to be Emperor. I chose wrong twice. The first time led to the death of Uncle Xuanlong and Crown Prince Flame’s patricide. The second time led to the death of Jie and the current turmoil shaking the Great Zhou."
"If I had accepted your offer in the Third Year of Xuanlong, Lord Su, perhaps the outcome would have been different."
"Lord Su, perhaps in your eyes, Long Xuan has always been that cowardly boy from the Liang Imperial City, kowtowing endlessly out of fear of death..."
"But now..."
Long Xuanjun turned his head. A spark of life flared in his eyes, which had been dormant for so many years. His broken spine seemed to straighten.
"What is there to fear in death!"
"Hahaha!"
He left.
Laughing heartily.
No longer the figure of a decrepit old man.
Like a dragon, he strode upon the river’s waves, hands clasped behind his back, heading straight for the Chaos Imperial City.
This journey would take him across the world, and he might never return.
So be it.
He would not return.
Just as he’d said: it was only death. What was there to fear?
’The Great Zhou Royal Family has no shortage of heroes.’
’Just one problem.’
’I am one of the Liang People!’
Su Chen lamented to himself.
His gaze wasn’t on Long Xuanjun. All this time, he had been looking at the black-canopied boat.
There.
A woman with a graceful figure stood there, her eyes also fixed on Su Chen.
The two of them locked gazes for a long time.
She was Princess Le of Qii.
And yet, she was not Princess Le of Qii.
Su Chen met her gaze.
「After a long moment.」
She spoke.
"Do you know what this world is really like? This world is actually..."