Chapter 2329: The Palace

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“Today’s rain, what does it look like?” From behind the Qing Shi Palace, a gentle voice came.

Lonely years had not worn away the warmth in the voice. Difficult dangers and whipping had not made it grieve.

Unlike the rain outside, it was like the warm furnace inside the house, like curling hot air, a cup of warm tea. Of all the things in the world that made people feel close, it was always one of them.

Jiang Wu You once cherished this voice very much, a voice that represented warm memories of childhood.

Now she said faintly, “Probably not much different from the rain big brother has seen before.”

The deposed crown prince of Da Qi, Jiang Wu Liang, had been imprisoned in Qing Shi Palace for thirty full years.

In thirty years, how many heroes had risen, how many had fallen, how many grand stories had occurred.

From Dao Calendar 3899 to Dao Calendar 3929. Some people changed history, countless people were buried in history. Qing Shi Palace was always the Qing Shi Palace with spiderwebs and dust, it was a spectator of the human world, displayed in a corner lonelier than stone steps.

But from this lonely cold prison palace, the voice that came out never held resentment.

“Human eyes understand the world’s most skillful lies. They will deceive this world, and even more so, deceive yourself.” The voice in Qing Shi Palace said, “All the light and shadow you see are limited by your vision. All the order you observe is cut by your line of sight. Your eyes are themselves a colored window—before you see any of it, everything has already been defined by you.”

“And your so-called definition of all that is often the understanding given to you by this world. We come naked to the human world; the first form is the first piece of clothing people give you. You may not know what it looks like, may not like it, may not agree with it, but you have already accepted it.”

“Later, I could only see the essence of things. Hehe…”

That voice wavered, like a wounded bird that could never fly to the sky: “Sometimes I miss being deceived by myself.”

“The rain is very heavy, falling to the point of heartbreak.” Jiang Wu You said.

She was describing the appearance of the rain.

“You’ve really had a difficult time these years.” The voice in Qing Shi Palace offered consolation.

“Big brother.” Jiang Wu You asked without any emotion, “Actually, I’ve been thinking, thinking for many years—has the world I see also passed through your window?”

The voice in Qing Shi Palace held not a hint of anger from being doubted, and still had a warm laugh: “Wu You, I have taught you. When you truly have such a doubt, you should not ask me again.”

“You never explain yourself.” In Jiang Wu You’s tone, there was an indescribable complexity.

That year, the Imperial Censor accused the deposed crown prince of having resentful words—everyone knew Jiang Wu Liang would not say such words, but he didn’t offer a single defense. When pressed before the Emperor, he only said, “I know my sin.”

Jiang Wu Liang, what sin do you know?

This summer rain was really urgent, hitting the wall eaves with continuous crisp sounds. Sound after sound knocked the heart.

At such a moment, the voice in Qing Shi Palace only said, “Those who love me will explain for me. Those who hate me will find new hate in my explanation.”

Jiang Wu You, are you someone who hates him, or loves him?

Jiang Wu You was silent for a while, then said, “I have a cultivation matter I want to ask big brother about.”

The voice in Qing Shi Palace said, “You haven’t asked me about cultivation for a long time. You have already walked your own path.”

Jiang Wu You said, “Does big brother know about heavenly people?”

“Heavenly people?” The voice in Qing Shi Palace seemed to understand: “His dao is in conflict with heavenly people… is he resisting the heavenly dao?”

Clearly, she hadn’t mentioned a person, but Jiang Wu Liang already understood everything.

Imprisoned in Qing Shi Palace all these years, the cold palace had no external guests, and divine thoughts were of course sealed. Jiang Wu You was almost his only window to observe the world. But his vision seemed never limited.

Jiang Wu You had long been accustomed to big brother’s awareness.

Big brother had told her early on that any sentence you said casually, every word in it, connected to many truths of the world. “Wise awareness” could fully understand.

She understood that every time she visited, it was to let big brother grasp the changes of the era, to supplement his understanding of this world.

But the wind blowing over Qing Shi Palace, the sparrows flying over Qing Shi Palace, even the sunlight falling on Qing Shi Palace, were also “windows” to this world. She was not more.

She asked this nearly omniscient ‘Wise Awareness’ in her heart: “Is there any method?”

“If he has reached the point of needing to resist the heavenly dao, it means he is already deep within the heavenly dao. Aid from the shore is like scratching an itch through a boot. Aid that cannot reach the shore is even worse than nothing.” The voice in Qing Shi Palace said, “The best method is for someone deep in the heavenly dao to forcibly cut his connection with the heavenly dao and push him out. That, of course, can only be another heavenly person.”

Jiang Wu You frowned: “That one in the evil sea?”

“It can be communicated with.” The voice in Qing Shi Palace said.

“It’s more likely to eat the new heavenly person, right?” Jiang Wu You said.

The voice in Qing Shi Palace just smiled: “The secondary method is for someone to sail to the center of the heavenly dao deep sea, pull him onto the ship, and take him away—but this method probably won’t work. He doesn’t lack people willing to sail and carry him. He’s even likely been on a ship once already.”

Jiang Wu You said, “He seems… to have proven himself as a heavenly person twice. In the situation where his first heavenly person state was sealed, he proved himself as a heavenly person again.”

“Indeed, he is deeply favored by the heavenly dao and has the possibility of becoming the protagonist of the era.” The voice in Qing Shi Palace evaluated.

“How to shake it off?” Jiang Wu You asked.

“Someone at that peak should be unable and powerless. But even if a transcendent makes a move, it’s still a risky choice. A transcendent strong one has clearly jumped out of everything and exists, yet wanting to re-enter the heavenly dao deep sea is forcibly opposing the heavenly dao, staining oneself with dust… even if he is more of a genius, it is not worth a transcendent risking for him. Especially in such a time as now, this is even more impossible.” The voice in Qing Shi Palace said, “He can only depend on himself. See if he can swim the heavenly dao deep sea alone with shackles.”

“What if he can’t?” Jiang Wu You asked.

“That is not necessarily a bad outcome either.” The voice in Qing Shi Palace said.

Jiang Wu You was still looking at the rain.

Summer rain comes fast and goes fast. Just now it was still crackling, now it was already drizzling. Weakly knocking on the mossy stone steps, it couldn’t wash away the stubborn old dust traces.

“Why was big brother initially optimistic about him?” Jiang Wu You stretched out a finger to catch raindrops, focused on observing the appearance of the raindrops splashing, yet asked something unrelated.

“Many things are difficult to explain, many times there is no need for reasons. If you must seek one—” The voice in Qing Shi Palace laughed: “Perhaps it was eye affinity!”

“You have not truly seen him.” Jiang Wu You said, “I mean, with your eyes.”

The voice in Qing Shi Palace said, “So I have not been deceived. I see more clearly.”

Jiang Wu You’s finger withdrew from the drizzling rain curtain, as if bidding farewell to this absurd world, and embodied a clear sense of power.

This was definitely not the slender jade finger that planted flowers and grasses, but a finger shape with abnormally clear texture, full and solid, capable of crushing the world. “Dao” and “Martial” seemed to submit to the wind and rain of her finger.

Standing here now was the creator of Dao Martial, the palace master of Da Qi Empire’s Hua Ying Palace.

“Big brother, I won’t come to see you next year.” The Hua Ying Palace master said.

The voice in Qing Shi Palace still laughed warmly: “Make the choice you think is right. Big brother will forever support you.”

The Hua Ying Palace master did not turn back from beginning to end, and now there was no hesitation either.

She took a step out, stepped into the rain curtain, stepped on the residual rain.

“What happened?” On the vast sea, the small boat rowed through the waves, and Chu Jiang King spoke.

“Nothing. There was an annoying stalker who almost wanted to come to the sea, luckily blocked by our ally.” Qin Guang King put down the messaging conch from his ear, his slightly furrowed brows already smoothed, and he smiled faintly: “We need to seize a little time.”

Chu Jiang King did not ask why, only said, “Wu Guan, Yan Luo, Du Shi, Ping Deng, have all arrived at the specified positions and can act at any time.”

“Do they have any movements?” Qin Guang King asked.

Chu Jiang King said, “They are all smart people, and they have been together for so long, clear about your methods—even if they have ideas in their hearts, they dare not act lightly. Even if they act, they won’t let me discover it.”

“Du Shi King is newly arrived.” Qin Guang King said, “So quickly infected with bad habits?”

Chu Jiang King said indifferently, “He is as dirty as if he walked out of Hell No Door.”

“Why does that sound so awkward?” Qin Guang King was not too satisfied: “Hell No Door is clean and white, I run a legitimate organization!”

“Legitimate organizations all have casualty pensions.” Chu Jiang King said.

Qin Guang King let out an ‘ah’: “But they all have no family.”

Chu Jiang King paused: “Is this the standard for recruiting later?”

Qin Guang King glanced at her: “I discovered that after returning this time, you are quite different.”

“More honest?” Chu Jiang King asked.

“Ah!” Qin Guang King sighed deeply: “Could it be that I have also reached the point where truth is ear-piercing, surrounded by people like Lin Xian Zhi?”

Chu Jiang King did not know how to evaluate.

“You previously didn’t speak much.” Qin Guang King said again.

Chu Jiang King was silent for a moment, and finally said, “Perhaps because you also died once.”

“It was ‘almost’ died.” Qin Guang King corrected.

“If we talk about almost, then it wasn’t just once.” Chu Jiang King said.

“I am a person with a hard life.” Qin Guang King’s tone was casual: “I think the point of almost is the natural moat.”

Qin Guang King said faintly, “That requires many corpses.”

“Then I…” Chu Jiang King’s voice became very weak: “Will kill a little less people.”

“What?” Qin Guang King was just focusing on analyzing the light. He didn’t hear clearly.

“Nothing.” Chu Jiang King said.

Each Yama had their own reason for joining Hell No Door. But few were the same as Chu Jiang King.

Some for money, some for resources, some for honing cultivation… only she had a syndrome of needing to kill people.

She was innately destined with Yuan Tu, her killing intent dominant in her palace, with no way to save herself, needing to slay living beings to alleviate it. As a child, killing a rabbit or a chicken was enough, but the more she grew, the harder it was to satisfy her killing intent.

Now killing demons and devils was no longer enough, she had to kill people, kill the living beings ruled by the current world ruler.

There was no more suitable profession than an assassin, no more justifiable reason than an assassin killing people.

She rarely went on missions personally; it wasn’t that she was used to being behind the scenes, but rather to restrain herself. People said Bian Cheng King was fierce, Qin Guang King was evil, but in the onset, she was the Yama in Hell No Door with the strongest killing desire.

“Then let’s begin…” Qin Guang King said: “Since everything is prepared.”

“You already know where it is?” Chu Jiang King asked.

“I think I have found the answer.” Qin Guang King stood alone at the bow of the boat, spreading open both hands as if embracing the vast sea in front of him: “Let me listen to another Yeluo song.”

Chu Jiang King stepped back, her boots began to freeze, and frost intent spread across the small boat. Beneath the sinister Yama mask, her singing voice rang out: “Spring mountains once full of March dew, spring tide with rain boat head song…”

Her singing voice was so cold, traveling in the empty fog, like a cold tide folding eastward.

The small boat they rode was also frozen on the ice surface, and the cold ice spread even further.

Sky light passed through the ice shards, divided on the sea surface, showing a five-colored, ten-hued illusion.

Qin Guang King’s eyes, at this time, gradually became dyed with green light.

The world all knew that Jiang Zhenren’s seeing and hearing dao was unique in the world.

But few knew that Hell No Door’s Qin Guang King was also a master of playing with the five senses. People only knew his madness, his strength, his evil state, and his bloody record.

No one knew that the “Eye See Immortal Canon” that Jiang Zhenren relied on to cultivate “Eye Immortal” all came from him.

Initially, when the ruins of the Wan Xian Palace overseas opened, surrounded on all sides, he plundered the most precious pearls and jades. And he took away the key to opening the core secret.

He was the most core inheritor of the “Wan Xian Technique”!

At this time, with a lift of his green eyes, he saw that fragmented sky light had hung up a rainbow bridge. The rainbow bridge connected to the misty distance, as if hooking some vague legend.

He spread open both arms, swaying naturally with the singing voice, like birds flapping their wings and dancing lightly.

“Eye See” and “Voice Hear”, like a still sea, allowed him to wander. Light and shadow and sound were so tame before him.

In front of him, in the shaking light, a flower slowly bloomed.

This flower was semi-transparent in color, with shallow fluff like jade whiskers, its six petals opening, and in the center, an eye—a round eye, like a sunflower always facing the direction of the sun.

From his ear, a small insect then crawled out. This insect was like a hollow paper object, slender and light, “floating” rather than “flying” in the sky. Its body had tens of thousands of green fleshy whiskers, slender like threads, moving in the air.

The world only knew that Jiang Zhenren carried powerful seeing and hearing immortal techniques, creating “Knowledge Seeing Bird” and “Obtain Hearing Fish”. Yet they did not know that Hell No Door’s Qin Guang King also had “One Eye Flower” and “Ten Thousand Ear Insect”.

One eye exhausts the heavenly light, ten thousand ears listen to the sounds of the world.

Under the blessing of these two seeing and hearing immortal techniques, Qin Guang King’s control over light and sound became more concrete.

And the rainbow bridge at the horizon connected the misty distance, faintly revealing a stretch of “mirage”.

That was a gathering of light and shadow, where one could see immortal cranes gathering, hazy immortal shadows, illusory moon flowing with light. One could see pavilions and towers, all dyed with splendor… in a flash, they collapsed.

But one also saw broken walls and ruins, torn robes and cracked crowns, all splendor dimmed, crane feathers flying with blood.

This continuous building, in the process from prosperity to decline, yet from nothingness, moved towards reality.

It gradually birthed a real aura, and then responded to this sky and sea.

From a remotely unattainable distance, it brushed away layer after layer of mist, reappearing in the human world after many years.

It was ruins, but also the truly collapsed… Wan Xian Palace!