Chapter 71 - 62: The Black Abyss Has an Immortal (Part 2)
Chapter 71: Chapter 62: The Black Abyss Has an Immortal (Part 2)
Yum Zhong spoke with conviction, displeased with Xu Ge’s prejudice against the Eight Tigers.
"Perhaps."
"That wasn’t an assassination."
"It was merely a way to use the assassination to solidify my identity as Xu Ge, to let every Eunuch in the Imperial Palace know that Xu Ge has returned..."
Su Chen said, his tone faint.
Yum Zhong was perplexed.
However, in the next moment, the young, gray-haired Eunuch in a red robe, one of the Eight Tigers, had already arrived on the wooden bridge, his gaze fixed on Su Chen.
"Chief Steward Ye."
Yum Zhong grew nervous and stepped between them.
After all, everyone in the Western Depot knew.
This Killing Sin Tiger cultivated the Heaven-Devouring Demon Technique, a direct inheritance from Lord Xu. He was bloodthirsty and cruel, and was on the verge of becoming the head of the Eight Tigers, the one to take the helm of the Western Depot.
More than half of the Eight Tigers were already under his command.
It was also he who single-handedly founded the Military Supervision Bureau, swallowing up the red robes, nobles, and gangs from the days of Old Liang. He swept away the Western Depot’s decline—a state of near-collapse from internal strife with the Great Zhou Seal Supervisor and external conflict with the Eastern Depot, attacked on all fronts—and transformed it into a behemoth.
Even with Zhu Xiao, the Captain of the Eastern Depot, having reached the Peak, the Western Depot still had the confidence to fight.
This man was Xu Ge’s greatest rival for the position.
’Could it be...’
’He can’t hold back any longer and wants to make a move.’
’Was he really the one who arranged that assassination? Is he trying to seize power?’
’In the past, when Lord Xu was still alive... he didn’t seem to have any deep affection for Lord Xu.’
’I don’t even know why Lord Xu promoted him all this time.’
Yum Zhong became tense.
Xu Ge was Lord Xu’s designated successor; nothing could be allowed to happen to him.
"Chief Steward Ye..."
Just as Yum Zhong was about to say something, amidst the silent atmosphere, Su Chen spoke.
"How are you not dead yet?"
The words were earth-shattering.
Yum Zhong’s face went pale with shock.
’This is a First Grade master, the head of the Western Depot’s Eight Tigers, the bloodthirsty Killing Sin Tiger! How could Xu Ge, a Pharmacy Eunuch with no cultivation whatsoever, dare to provoke him?!’
Just as Yum Zhong thought Xu Ge was about to get his teeth knocked out...
THUD!
The young, gray-haired Chief Steward before him knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Su Chen, tears and mucus streaming down his face.
"Master Xu."
"It’s so good that you’re still alive."
"Xuan pays his respects to Master Xu! The Killing Sin Tiger pays his respects to the Captain of the Western Depot!"
In the distance, the nobles in the palace watched this scene in silence.
Among them were red robes from the Great Zhou Seal Supervisor.
And red robes from the Military Supervision Bureau.
Even some Princes had come, drawn by the reputation, wanting to see the lucky man who had been named by Xu Han, one of the Three Dukes of Great Liang, to inherit the Western Depot.
"I thought this would be a bloody battle, some internal strife in the Western Depot. How boring, so utterly boring! Heh, a man with poor aptitude and no cultivation is taking the helm of the Western Depot. Tsk, tsk, the Western Depot will be finished sooner or later."
A red robe from the Great Zhou Seal Supervisor sneered and walked away.
They were utterly dismissive of Su Chen.
"He doesn’t look like anything special."
"However."
"Since even the Killing Sin Tiger has submitted, he will undoubtedly have full control of the Western Depot."
"Perhaps we should pay him a visit."
A fire called ambition burned in the Prince’s eyes.
The Flame Emperor had ascended the throne.
The position of Crown Prince was vacant.
Any of them could be chosen.
They had long been eyeing a powerful ally like the Western Depot.
"Sigh."
"The head of the Eastern Depot’s old guard is a Peak master, but our head is just an ordinary person. Looking at it this way, it would have been better to let the Killing Sin Tiger take over..."
"Watch your mouth!"
"Shut up!"
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? Hurry up and come with me to pay our respects."
The other seven of the Eight Tigers arrived. Some prostrated themselves, some kowtowed, some bowed deeply, and some gave a perfunctory cupped-fist salute, each with their own thoughts.
Xu Han had long paved the way for Su Chen to take control of the Western Depot.
In a daze, Su Chen seemed to see a scene from many years ago in the Library Pavilion: that naive boy, for once letting loose in front of him, his cheeks stuffed full of pastries, even drinking his White Confucian Wine.
"Master Su."
"I, Xu Xiaohan, may not dare to promise you the second red robe under the Purple Robe like my godfather did, but everything I, Xu Xiaohan, own—as long as it’s good—it’s all yours, Master Su."
A joke from years ago.
Now, it had become reality.
But did Su Chen care about this Western Depot, the pinnacle of power that Xu Han had pursued? He didn’t care in the slightest.
’Is this the path you paved for me?’
’Han.’
With the Eight Tigers submitting and the Western Depot in his hands, Su Chen felt no excitement. He stared at Ye Xuan’s Longevity Fire, flickering like a dying candle, and fell silent.
The Heaven-Devouring Demon Technique was like a curse, having claimed one old friend after another—Zhang Gui, Xu Han, and now it was Xuan’s turn.
After a long time, as the remaining seven of the Eight Tigers grew impatient, Su Chen stared at the changed, almost unrecognizable Ye Xuan, and he finally spoke.
"I remember."
"In the Tenth Year of Jianwu,"
"you held an unquenchable fighting spirit and vowed to roam the world, to rid it of all injustice. Did you accomplish that?"
Ye Xuan lowered his head even further.
"Seven years have passed."
"That was just the fighting spirit of my youth."
"Master Xu."
"When you’re young, you always think you’re the protagonist of the world. But after one setback after another, I woke up."
"I, Ye Xuan, am different from you, from Lord Xu, from Lord Zhang. I... I’m just an ordinary Little Eunuch."
"Being the Killing Sin Tiger and assisting you in taking charge of the Western Depot is already my heart’s desire. There’s no need to bring up the idle talk of the past..."
Su Chen lost all interest.
’It’s been seven years. Everything seemed unchanged, yet it was all completely different.’
’Xuan no longer told him everything.’
’A person with no obsessions, no fighting spirit, cannot cultivate the Heaven-Devouring Demon Technique.’
’He’s lying!’
Su Chen left.
The pharmacy was gone.
The people he once knew had also changed.
He returned to the Library Pavilion.
The Library Pavilion, with its red bricks and green tiles, stood nine stories tall. In the nearly twenty years from the Great Liang Tianwu Era to the Great Zhou Xuanlong Dynasty, it had been damaged and rebuilt several times.
But no matter who repaired it, they always maintained its original appearance.
"I’m home."
Su Chen tossed the Ink Jade Little Turtle into the water tank, letting it swim around freely, and then released Cyan Sparrow from her wooden box.
He then went to the medicinal field and began to till the soil.
’It’s been years since I’ve done this. I’m a bit out of practice.’
"It seemed very noisy just now. What happened? Where are we?"
Along the way, Cyan Sparrow hadn’t dared to make a sound.
She was afraid of exposing her identity and attracting the Marquis of Jiangling’s pursuit. What happened to her was a small matter, but she was terrified of implicating Master Xu.
Master Xu was just an ordinary Eunuch.
And she was just an ordinary singer.
What could they possibly use to fight against the adopted son of Long Xuanjun, a man who wielded power in the Great Zhou, a Marquis?
"The Great Liang... no, the Great Zhou Library Pavilion."
Cyan Sparrow’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"The Li... Library Pavilion?"
"The legendary... legendary residence of the number one Eunuch of Great Liang, the head of the Three Dukes of Great Liang, Su Chen?"
"How could ordinary people like us be here? This is a place of legends, the residence of the greatest man in the Great Liang!"
Cyan Sparrow’s voice was trembling.
"I’m a Eunuch."
"Entering the palace is perfectly normal."
"The Library Pavilion is my home."
Su Chen said.
"Wait."
"This is the Great Zhou Imperial Palace. Will there be trouble?"
"That’s right. The most dangerous place is the safest. As long as I don’t reveal my identity, perhaps the Marquis of Jiangling would never think to look for me here..."
At this point, Cyan Sparrow still didn’t know that the Marquis of Jiangling was already dead.
Her panic subsided, and Cyan Sparrow grew excited. She chattered away, pulling Su Chen along, wanting to see the collection of books in the Library Pavilion.
She went by herself.
In the medicinal field, Su Chen finally dug up a bone fragment.
’Black Lotus Saint.’
’Let’s see what secret the pearl I obtained back in the Tianwu Year holds! To think it made Black Abyss pursue it relentlessly for twenty years, maybe even longer...’
At that moment, Su Chen’s face reverted to its original appearance. Tree Whiskers surged from his body as he activated Third Grade of Longevity, Soul Fusion Remembrance.
Tiny Tree Whiskers enveloped the bone fragment.
A sea of memories flooded in.
...
"Mother!"
"Don’t sell me!"
On the street, a young boy looked at the sinister man in the black robe, crying and pulling at a woman’s hand. The woman coldly pried his fingers off, breaking them.
The boy was in despair.
The pain in his body was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.
...
"Receive my teachings."
"You can reach the First Grade of the Mortal Martial Path."
"Go!"
"Rescue me!"
He awoke on a high platform, climbing out from among the corpses of a thousand boys. Clad in a Black Lotus Robe, he became the Saint Heir.
Below the platform, a hundred thousand Believers bowed in worship.
...
"Three Keys."
"We’re just missing the one from Great Liang."
"We must succeed. There is no room for failure. Once we rescue the old ancestor, we can all achieve Longevity! We will obtain the secrets of Immortal Skills, glimpse the path to Grandmaster, and achieve Transcendence from the Human World."
In the darkness, he faced numerous figures, his eyes filled with fanaticism.
...
BOOM!
A tremor ran through Su Chen’s body and mind.
The memories of half a lifetime of the Black Abyss Saint, even if they were just the most important fragments, were almost too much for him to bear.
After a long daze, Su Chen finally came back to his senses.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
’Teaching through dreams... another Immortal Footprint?’
’The Treasure Pearl is a Seal Key.’
’There is an Immortal in Black Abyss.’
’A sealed Immortal...’