Chapter 2647: Have You Changed?
At the Rosy Cloud Villa.
The old man from the Thousand Star Civilization had returned, sitting back down in his chair. He picked up another chess piece from the container, stared at the board, and sank into deep thought, yet he still did not place the piece down.
Suddenly, he lifted his head and said, "That kid, I think he's just average. Xumi placed too much importance on him!"
Yunshen Daozhu sat across from him, nodding with a smile, and replied, "That means you didn't look closely enough."
The old man snorted lightly, "His Sword Dao Sacred Intent is indeed very strong. He must have obtained the inheritance of Jian Zu at the Origin Divine Temple. As for the other type of Sacred Intent, I didn't get a clear look. Did you conceal it?"
Yunshen Daozhu smiled but said nothing.
The old man tightened his grip on the chess piece, looking at the board again, and said, "Having strong Sacred Intent doesn't mean he can definitely hold up a piece of the sky in the future. How many cultivators have we seen in our long lives who started strong but faded into obscurity? For the future of the Kunlun Realm, I have more faith in Qingchan."
"Qingchan is indeed decent, but she can only represent the future of the Kunlun Realm," Yunshen Daozhu said.
The old man said, "Using the word 'decent' to evaluate a god-level Eon genius, yet using the word 'hope' to describe that kid who is still in the Saint Realm—aren't you belittling your own granddaughter too much? Are you truly being humble, or are you showing off in front of me?"
Yunshen Daozhu shook his head with a smile, neither confirming nor denying.
The old man's expression turned serious, and he said sternly, "Since you value him so much, why not bring him directly to the Heavenly Court? Letting him return to the Hell Realm might create a great disaster in the future. You must understand that no matter how firm one's Dao heart is, it can change. Yuanxu (the master of Desolate Heaven) died at the hands of his own disciple."
"If his Dao heart truly changes, then he is not the hope I speak of."
Yunshen Daozhu urged, "Are you going to make your move or not? You're about to crush that chess piece!"
The old man stared at the board again for a long time, still not placing the piece, then lifted his head and said, "Let's talk business first. This time I came to the Heavenly Court, not to participate in some Mortal World Assembly, nor to play chess with you. Over at the Heavenly Palace, they keep delaying decisions. Could it be that they want to abandon the Ancient Civilization Faction?"
"Absolutely impossible," Yunshen Daozhu shook his head.
The old man's gaze turned cold, and he said, "Hao Tian's power is too great. Not everything can be decided by him alone. I think it's necessary to re-establish the Twenty Heavens. The Heavenly Throne cannot belong to just one person."
Yunshen Daozhu looked up at the sky, tapped his fingers lightly on the chessboard, and said, "Now is not the time to discuss re-establishing the Twenty Heavens."
"Do you think I'm the only one with objections? Hmph, in recent years, the Four Dominant Worlds have all proposed re-establishing the Twenty Heavens. Some old fellows are already eager to ascend to the Heavenly Throne," the old man said.
Yunshen Daozhu avoided the issue, saying, "With war imminent, why care about the name of a Heavenly Throne?"
"How is this just a name? It represents power and decision-making! Without decision-making power, we won't even know how we die. I don't want the Thousand Star Civilization, which has been passed down for ten thousand ages, to be destroyed in this era." A cold gleam flashed in the old man's eyes, and the chess piece in his hand unconsciously turned to dust.
This Divine Ancestor of the Thousand Star Civilization had secretly appeared at the Red Dust Archipelago, naturally not because he was interested in the Mortal World Assembly, but to take this opportunity to quietly come to the Heavenly Court and meet with allies.
With war imminent, even the gods were interacting frequently.
Many decision-making powers were in their hands. However, such interactions were not something Saint Realm cultivators could know about.
Outside, footsteps sounded.
Yu Chenjing walked in. She could not see Yunshen Daozhu, only her ancestor sitting alone by the chess table. The usually calm and composed Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden was now quite uneasy. She clasped her hands and bowed, saying, "Jinger knows she was wrong!"
"Wrong about what?" the old man said.
Yu Chenjing said, "I should not have easily developed feelings for a man."
"Since you haven't figured out where you went wrong, come back to see me after you have," the old man said with a displeased expression, waving his hand to dismiss her.
Yu Chenjing felt even more uneasy and withdrew.
"She's a quite clever little girl. Why be so harsh?" Yunshen Daozhu said with a smile.
The old man's eyes widened, and he said, "Clever? I think she's foolish. The other party wanted to erase her memories, yet she actively made excuses for him. It's infuriating! With such behavior, how can she ever support a civilization in the future?"
...
The cultivators of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization were also staying on the Transformation God Island.
Because war was imminent, the number of Heavenly Beginning Civilization cultivators attending the Mortal World Assembly was very small. The villa they lived in was smaller than the Rosy Cloud Villa, but the environment was elegantly ancient.
The Heavenly Beginning Heavenly Maiden, Luo Ji, stood on a wooden building by the sea, facing the wind, gazing at the stars in the sky and the Red Dust Peerless Tower floating in the clouds and mist. Her eyes were somewhat dazed.
In the distance, waves rose and fell, making a "splash, splash" sound.
Li Miaohan walked over, standing below the wooden building, and said, "Master, I originally went to invite the Seventh Prince of the Imperial Ancestor Divine Dynasty and the Tianyu Lord of the True Martial World, but they were taken away halfway by cultivators from the Judgment Hall of the Radiant Divine Temple."
Luo Ji said calmly, "Actually, given the current situation of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, any attempt to form alliances is meaningless. You don't need to run around anymore, lest you invite ridicule from those in the Heavenly Realm Faction."
Li Miaohan's eyes reddened slightly, her emotions complex—grievance, unwillingness, anger, and despair—and she said, "We have been isolated."
"Isn't this what we expected before we came? Being isolated means we should strive harder to strengthen ourselves. This is not yet the most difficult time," Luo Ji said.
Li Miaohan gathered her emotions and said, "Shang Zihong has come again. He said that if Master agrees to marry him, he can swear by the honor of the Yan God to do everything in his power to help the Heavenly Beginning Civilization."
Luo Ji said, "Shang Zihong's current cultivation is indeed unfathomable, but unfortunately, his heart harbors a demon. He wants to marry me only to resolve that demon. A thousand years ago, I might have thought highly of him. But now, outwardly he appears dignified, yet his mind is twisted, hiding a demon within—terrifying and ferocious. The farther away from such a person, the better."
"I will have him leave immediately," Li Miaohan said, stepping back.
Luo Ji walked down from the wooden building, stepping onto the sandy beach, leaving a row of footprints. Her thoughts drifted away again.
Every time Shang Zihong came, it stirred her memories of Zhang Ruochen.
In those memories, there were both good and bad.
Some were profound, while others had faded.
Suddenly, Luo Ji sensed something and turned her head sharply. She saw a figure sitting in the wooden building. That figure seemed familiar, unconsciously overlapping with the image in her mind.
"Shua!"
A Saint Sword as thin as a strand of hair stretched to dozens of feet long, like a streak of light, flew into the wooden building.
The figure sitting in the wooden building remained motionless, merely extending two fingers to catch the sword.
Luo Ji, wearing a veil, revealed a hint of surprise in her eyes. With her current cultivation, below the God Realm, there should be no one who could catch her sword so effortlessly.
Zhang Ruochen released his two fingers and turned his head.
Zhang Ruochen's current appearance was his original one, unchanged, without wearing the face painted by the Second Confucian Ancestor.
Yet, compared to a thousand years ago, there were still some changes.
The familiar feeling in Luo Ji's heart grew stronger, and her calm emotions stirred. But the person in the wooden building had a completely different aura from the one a thousand years ago.
"Who exactly are you?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "A thousand years have passed, and I have died twice. Yet I still cannot forget the nameless valley in the Truth Heaven Domain, and all the events of Luo Water Nine Bends Heavenly Star."
Luo Ji turned into a white mist and appeared in the wooden building. Under the candlelight, she carefully gazed at the man opposite her.
Zhang Ruochen also stared at her.
Just like that, they looked at each other. Her eyes gradually changed—from doubt to understanding, to bitterness, to emotions withdrawn, leaving no trace.
"I know it's hard for you to believe..."
"No, I believe you," Luo Ji said.
Zhang Ruochen breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had prepared countless words of explanation, but it seemed they were unnecessary now.
"I should have come to see you sooner. I know the Heavenly Beginning Civilization is in a difficult situation now," Zhang Ruochen said.
Luo Ji said, "You are a cultivator from the Hell Realm. What is your purpose in appearing in the Heavenly Court?"
Zhang Ruochen could hear the sharpness in her words. He knew that the Heavenly Beginning Civilization and the Hell Realm had been at war for years, with deep enmity. Perhaps that was why she harbored resentment toward him.
Moreover, the Heavenly Beginning Civilization was about to face a war of life and death.
Luo Ji no longer looked at Zhang Ruochen, instead gazing at the sea outside, and said, "Zhang Ruochen, have you changed?"
"Yes, I have changed. A thousand years—even a stone will change, let alone the human heart. But I haven't changed either. I still have good and evil in my heart, I yearn for life, detest death, and I still deeply remember your kindness. Actually, I thought your first question would be to ask where I have been for the past thousand years," Zhang Ruochen said.
Luo Ji's eyes were veiled with a layer of starlight mist, and she said, "I want to know more about where you just went."
"Just now?"
Zhang Ruochen was taken aback, frowning.
Luo Ji said, "You carry the fragrance of another woman on you. I recognize it. I know this woman. I don't know where you've been for the past thousand years or what you've experienced. I only know that after a thousand years, you didn't come to find me first. Even when you arrived at the Red Dust Archipelago, the first person you saw was not me. Zhang Ruochen, how can you make me believe you haven't changed?"
Zhang Ruochen felt a headache coming on, inwardly regretting. He should have known—what a woman cares about most is always how much you value her. If she finds out that you went to see another woman before her and left behind a fragrance, then nothing you say will be believed.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen silent for a long time, Luo Ji finally spoke again, "I'm not deliberately making things difficult for you. It's just that after a thousand years, at this joyless time, meeting in such a joyless way—how can you expect me to be happy?"
She finally turned around, fixed her gaze on him, and slowly removed her veil, revealing her clear and ethereally beautiful face.
Zhang Ruochen felt a sense of relief and smiled, "So you're saying you're actually happy inside?"
"A thousand years—no matter how despicable you are, no matter how you disappeared without a trace, no matter how fickle and amorous you are—at least you're still alive, at least you still come with insincere concern. Indeed, that is already very gratifying."
Luo Ji spoke calmly, but Zhang Ruochen could hear a hint of petulance in her tone.