Chapter 1638: Fanning the Flames
Editor: Atlas Studios
Time flowed by.
Six days pa.s.sed. There were only four days left until the day of the wedding!
As time pa.s.sed, the changes in the heavenly secrets became even greater.
The rotation of the sun and moon became increasingly chaotic as the day of the handover drew closer.
Within a single day, dozens of night and day cycles could alternate, causing waves of disruption throughout the world.
Gradually, the night no longer revealed the moon, and the day no longer showed the sun.
Occasionally, the two would be mixed, leading to scenes where a pale moon appeared in broad daylight, and a dark sun rose in the middle of the night!
It was hard to understand.
Just like Zhou Zhengli’s emotions.
Inside the True Monarch Palace, within the highest sky pavilion, Zhou Zhengli stood with his head lowered, respectfully addressing the Fourth True Monarch, who stood with hands clasped behind his back, gazing out at the sky as the black-and-white rotation unfolded.
“Previously, in the east, because you stood too high up and were aloof from worldly affairs, you focused on the Dao. As for Xie Lingzi, he was like an ant, so his despicable and vile actions escaped your attention.”
“However, I had many fights with him, so I naturally know more about this person.”
“Since you asked about this person, I’ll tell you about my understanding of him.”
“He didn’t comprehend his own Ordinance. His Ordinance comes from an evil broken sword in his body.”
“This sword is called Betrayal!”
“So, all his actions revolved around the word ‘betrayal’.”
Betraying sects, betraying doctrines, betraying everything…” Zhou Zhengli seemed to hint at something deeper, his gaze falling upon the Fourth True Monarch. His voice paused, as if giving the monarch time to contemplate the significance of his words.
The Fourth True Monarch turned his head and looked down at Zhou Zhengli who was bowing.
“In other words, his betrayal also includes allies! This is because his Dao is betrayal, so for him, betraying anyone is the same!”
Hearing the Fourth True Monarch’s words, Zhou Zhengli’s expression was filled with emotions as he praised.
“Lord is indeed worthy of being the number one star. With just a sentence from me, Lord immediately understood. I only figured this out after fighting with him for many years.”
When the Fourth True Monarch heard this, he looked into Zhou Zhengli’s eyes.
Zhou Zhengli maintained a respectful expression and didn’t meet the other party’s gaze. He lowered his head and bowed.
The sky pavilion fell silent.
A long time later, the Fourth True Monarch calmly spoke.
“Zhou Zhengli, I know that you’re talented and cunning. How can you, who has fought with Xie Lingzi for many years and is regarded as his natural enemy, be mediocre?”
“Your concealment might be your Dao or you are deliberately doing it.”
“But… if you continue in this manner, I won’t hesitate to expel you first. From what has transpired so far, it seems that your presence, or absence, doesn’t make much of a difference.”
“Therefore, it’s just information about Xie Lingzi. It’s not enough. You still have to give me a reason not to expel you immediately.”
The Fourth True Monarch lifted his head and looked at the sky. His voice was calm.
This was what it meant by one strength defeating ten schemes.
No matter how much cunning or calculation Zhou Zhengli employed, if no reason was given today, as his words implied, he truly would not hesitate to send the other away.
This way, all your plans would fail.
Zhou Zhengli smiled bitterly and sighed.
“My lord, you have misunderstood me. It’s not that I lack effort; rather, your brilliance is so overwhelming that I fear being scorched by it…”
“Since you inquired today, I would like to share my humble thoughts. If there are any misjudgments, please feel free to criticize and correct me.”
“In this battle between us and the other party, they should have been the ones in a pa.s.sive position. However, now, it has become us in a pa.s.sive position. I feel that the main point of this matter should be that we aren’t standing in the supreme position.”
“We were originally standing there, but through the scheming of the petty, we have unknowingly ended up on the same level as them.”
“This ill.u.s.trates the treachery of the thieves, who are difficult to guard against. After all, we walk the righteous path, while they tread the wicked one. I only realized this recently, and it was through our conversation today that it became clear to me.”
“While it seems we have fewer people, I believe we should actually be the side with the greatest numbers.”
“Other than outsiders, isn’t everyone in this Immortal Palace… law-abiding?”
“They are people from history. They don’t know the fate of the future and they will follow the trajectory of this s.p.a.ce-time… Isn’t this lawful?”
“My lord, I know you understand all of this. However, you require me to articulate it… as if you want to bind the karma, implying that I am unwilling to follow you.”
“You have misunderstood me. Following you has always been my greatest desire. It’s just that my thoughts are limited, and I fear that my incorrect judgments might influence your reasoning.”
At this point, Zhou Zhengli lowered his head and fell silent.
The Fourth True Monarch closed his eyes. A long time later, when he opened them again, his eyes gleamed as he cast a meaningful glance at Zhou Zhengli.
“After this matter is over, when you return to the east, you can come to the Star Ring Tower to look for me.”
With that, he left.
“Thank you, Lord!”
Zhou Zhengli bowed deeply and looked at the void where the Fourth True Monarch had left. He narrowed his eyes and muttered inwardly.
“Star Ring’s advantage lies in his strength, but his weakness is that he’s a little headstrong. Under my influence, what should have been a gradual escalation to the decisive battle has instead unfolded prematurely. Do not let me down.”
…
Thunder rumbled in the sky.
One moment, the sky was clear for thousands of miles. At the next moment, as thunder rumbled, heavy rain poured down.
However, no matter how the rain fell on this part of the s.p.a.ce-time lake, it couldn’t cause any waves.
As the heavenly secrets were in chaos and the day of the handover was approaching, this s.p.a.ce-time had almost completely frozen.
Xu Qing could clearly sense this with his s.p.a.ce-Time Ordinance.
He understood that it would be even more difficult than usual to cause waves.
This wasn’t a sudden accident. This was a natural development of history.
“This is likely the opportunity the Fourth True Monarch has been waiting for.”
In the Junior Aurora Hall, Xu Qing looked at the pitch-black sky that instantly turned into daytime. The falling rain quickly turned into hail.
It smashed down with crackling sounds.
The chill spread, becoming oppressive, and soon transformed into a fierce wind that howled past, lifting Xu Qing’s long hair.
In the wind, Xu Qing felt the unstoppable force of the torrent of history cascading down.
…
The torrent had arrived.
Accompanying this was a small matter that caused a stir throughout the Immortal Palace!
It was considered a small matter because it could easily be dismissed with a single sentence, reduced to a misunderstanding and therefore negligible.
However, the reason this small matter was able to create such a commotion in the Immortal Palace was that it originated from the mouth of the Fourth True Monarch.
He personally presented the doubts and his own judgments regarding Gongsun Qingmu, heaven’s chosen Li, the fox beauty, and Zhong Chi to the Law Enforcement palace.
He judged that the deacon of the Thunder Punishment Palace, Gongsun Qingmu, wanted to betray the Immortal Palace and had ulterior motives.
The evidence was his disciple’s jade token, origins, and details. All the directions pointed to his master.
Hence, the Fourth True Monarch suspected that this person was behind the betrayal of the disciple!
As for the fox beauty, the Fourth True Monarch made her experiences before she joined the Immortal Palace public. Coupled with the fact that she had become Gongsun Qingmu’s disciple, although her intentions remained unclear, the Fourth True Monarch a.s.serted that this demonic woman’s goal was the Young Lord!
To get close to the Young Lord and avoid being expelled, she sought to secure her ident.i.ty. However, according to her trajectory, she had no prior acquaintance with Gongsun Qingmu and was far from being at a level where she could be accepted as a disciple.
All of this pointed to the fact that she harbored malicious intentions toward the Young Lord!
As for heaven’s chosen Li, he deliberately introduced the fox beauty to the Young Lord. He knew that he would definitely lose but he still made a bet. His goal was naturally to send the fox beauty to the Young Lord’s side.
He was an accomplice!
As for Zhong Chi, although he had followed the Young Lord for many years and had always appeared loyal, he had inexplicably developed sinister intentions.
The evidence lay in the poison within him, which he had injected into himself!
No one would attempt to poison themselves without a purpose, leading the Fourth True Monarch to conclude that he intended to use this poison through secret methods to harm the Young Lord.
The Fourth True Monarch’s announcement naturally caused a commotion in the entire Immortal Palace.
In an instant, it attracted the attention of countless people.
This was an open scheme.
He revealed everything, causing the gazes of the entire Immortal Palace to be used for enforcing order.
Their gazes exposed everything to the light.
This way, if what the Fourth True Monarch said really happened, the people in the list would be immediately suppressed, completing the order.
If nothing ultimately transpired, the Fourth True Monarch would only need to offer an apology, attributing it to a misunderstanding, thus diffusing the situation. The resulting ripples in history would be minimal at best.
After all, this didn’t affect the direction of history.
However, for Xie Lingzi and the others, this matter could be said to be a direct and ruthless stab. It was difficult to resist and impossible to stop.
In particular, the daughter of the Nine Sh.o.r.es, Fairy Spirit Phoenix, immediately took an interest in this matter. She positioned herself in the Junior Aurora Hall with indisputable reasons, a.s.serting her authority.
Like a vigilant guardian, she expelled the fox beauty from the palace, and forced Zhong Chi to retreat to clear his name.
Before leaving, he offered a final bow to the still-silent Xu Qing.
Recalling his experiences during this time, Zhong Chi’s heart stirred. Looking at the Young Lord in front of him, he felt a little reluctant.
He couldn’t forget this experience.
After bowing, he decided to do something.
“Young lord, I had a strange dream yesterday…”
“I dreamed of your wedding with Young Madam in a few days.”
“That wedding was very lively and the entire Immortal Palace was filled with joy. It’s just that… the moment you and Young Madam were about to bow to the heaven and earth, a calamity occurred.”
“Before your bow finished… the world became blood-colored.”
Zhong Chi spoke softly. After he finished speaking, he bowed again and left the Junior Aurora Hall.
In the main hall, Xu Qing looked in the direction Zhong Chi had left in and a dark glint appeared in his eyes.
He was naturally not surprised by the Fourth True Monarch’s counterattack.
This was because this dispute between order and change determined their respective paths. Hence, Xu Qing was clear that the reason why he won the first few matches was because he had completely hidden himself.
Only then was he able to win ingeniously.
This caused the other party’s attention to be on Xie Lingzi and the fox beauty.
However, this kind of victory obtained in the dark was ultimately only a partial victory. It couldn’t truly determine the world’s trajectory.
The development of history didn’t change much. It was just a side event.
The advantage had always been in the other party’s hands. It was just that his series of actions earlier had blurred the other side’s thoughts causing them to momentarily forget this fact.
However, ultimately, they would remember.
“I was waiting for this moment when you guys remembered and took the initiative.”
Xu Qing mumbled.
He was playing a very big game of chess, a game of chess about how to stir up a storm.
However, his own strength wasn’t enough for this chess game. Even if he added allies, it wouldn’t be enough. He still needed the order-abiding side to partic.i.p.ate.
Only then could the momentum be formed!
For every action taken by the lawful side, no matter how small, was still a ripple in the grand scheme. Though seemingly insignificant…
It was still the wind!
“The wind is blowing.”
At that moment, the sky in the outside world rumbled and the wind turned into a storm, stirring up dust that howled in all directions.
A cold glint appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes.
He wanted to borrow the wind to ascend to the heavens!