Chapter 2850: Azure-Clad Desolate Heaven
Jade Fate Pavilion, living up to its name, as one stepped inside, the courtyard was spacious, adorned with jade stones of various colors. Or rather, Sacred Jade and Divine Jade.
These jade stones had not been carved by skilled artisans, but precisely because of this, they enhanced the natural beauty and ornamental value. Great skill appears unadorned—nothing surpasses this.
Walking through this courtyard, Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but sigh. No wonder the two guarding Saint Kings had said this manor only received deities. It indeed had the confidence to host gods.
Just within Jade Fate Pavilion, Divine Patterns and Dao Locks were everywhere. If one did not know the correct path, a Saint-realm cultivator entering here would undoubtedly step into a deadly death ground.
The water in the artificial lake rippled with emerald waves, shrouded in mist. Strange flowers and exotic plants floated on the surface. At the lake's center stood a hundred-meter-tall immortal mountain spirit island. The lakeshore was lined with a purple bamboo forest emitting Sacred Light, swaying in the wind, scattering purple light rain.
Zhang Ruochen stepped onto the stone bridge over the artificial lake. The bridge was arched, its highest point a full twenty meters above the water. Just as he reached the top of the bridge, a voice sounded from the opposite shore of the lake: "You can stop there!"
Zhang Ruochen halted and looked toward an ancient pavilion by the distant lakeshore. Inside the pavilion, curtains fluttered, and a broad-shouldered, broad-backed figure in azure robes was faintly visible, drinking alone.
"How did you find this place?" the figure in the pavilion asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "At that time, five deities—Shi Ying, Qing Xuan, Ai Lianjun, Liu Qingcheng, and Wu Ma Jiuxing—were in that star domain. To deceive them, kill Meng Sheng, and seize the Skull Head Ring, only a Stone Clan Great God could have done it. And it had to be a very powerful Great God."
"Such powerful Stone Clan Great Gods are few and numbered. Besides you, sir, I couldn't think of anyone else who would appear in this starry sky where the Goddess Twelve Pavilions is located."
"Am I right, Desolate Heaven Great God?"
"Rustle!"
Wind rose over the lake, completely blowing open the curtains in the pavilion.
The azure figure continued drinking alone, saying, "You still haven't answered my question. You must understand that among all under heaven, there are not many cultivators who can find my exact location based on a single strand of Stone Qi. And you are clearly not one of them."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Why are you so certain?"
The azure figure finally couldn't help but turn his head and glance at him.
He could see Zhang Ruochen.
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen couldn't see his face clearly, only a blurred outline.
He seemed to have drunk quite a bit, a hint of drunkenness in his words. Shaking his head, he said, "No wonder you dare to come here. It turns out your lifespan is nearly exhausted—you are already a dying man."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Actually, even if I were still young with plenty of lifespan left, I would still come. I wouldn't be intimidated by the name 'Desolate Heaven.'"
"Oh? Is that so?"
The azure figure finally seemed to take some interest in him and set down the wine vessel.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Because I am truly curious. The great Desolate Heaven God dares to admit he severed the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree of Kunlun Realm, dares to admit he killed his own master, Yuanxu Ancient Buddha. Yet why, when killing a Meng Sheng and seizing a ring, does he not dare to let anyone know?"
The azure figure in the pavilion had gone completely still.
But this stillness seemed to contain a thunderous momentum, causing the manor's owner, Yu Yao, who had arrived upon hearing the news, to stop at the entrance, not daring to barge in at this moment.
Yu Yao's beautiful eyes fixed on the aged figure standing atop the stone bridge. She simply couldn't understand why anyone under heaven would dare speak to Desolate Heaven in such a tone.
Zhang Ruochen truly had no fear. After all, only a wisp of life flame remained, which could be extinguished like a candle in the wind at any moment.
After a long silence, the azure figure said, "You don't seem like a decrepit old man."
"What old man exists under heaven? Is a hundred years old? A thousand years old? Or ten thousand years old? Actually, I never wanted to be an old man, but people inevitably grow old. There comes a day when you can't fight anymore, when your blood runs cold, when your strength fails you." Zhang Ruochen's tone dropped as he spoke, taking on more of an aged air.
The azure figure said, "So, you came here just to ask me this question?"
"Although I am desperately curious about this question, I am even more curious about you as a person. So, I thought I must come and see you," Zhang Ruochen said.
The azure figure said, "Now that you've seen me, what do you think?"
"I can't see clearly enough," Zhang Ruochen said.
The azure figure said, "Then do you want to enter this pavilion, get closer, and see more clearly?"
"In your heart, you are refusing to let me enter the pavilion, not wanting me to see you as you are now. So why ask such a superfluous question?" Zhang Ruochen said.
The azure figure said, "It's not superfluous. I am sincerely inviting you. Because you could guess my identity and find this place—that alone qualifies you to sit across from me. However... after you see my current appearance, I will kill you. That's all."
"For you, isn't that also a kind of release? Living half-dead like this is actually more painful, isn't it?"
"Now, I ask again: do you want to enter the pavilion?"
This was a death sentence!
Whether Zhang Ruochen went or not, he would die.
If he didn't go, it meant he feared death. The more he feared death, the more Desolate Heaven would kill him.
Because the question Zhang Ruochen had asked earlier had clearly struck a secret Desolate Heaven least wanted to share with anyone.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do you think what a person looks like is that important? Of course, if White Empress were sitting in the pavilion, even though my lifespan is exhausted, I still couldn't help but take a look before dying, to see just how beautiful she is. But as for your appearance, Desolate Heaven Great God, I truly have no interest."
"What I can't see clearly is not your face, but you as a person."
"In my imagination, you, Desolate Heaven, should be a decisive and ruthless figure. But what I see now is just a drunkard drinking alone. You say I don't seem like an old man. I see you as an old man."
Zhang Ruochen had already prepared to be killed by Desolate Heaven at any moment, so he spoke without any restraint. He said whatever was on his mind.
But the azure figure remained unusually calm, saying, "Do you drink?"
"I do," Zhang Ruochen said.
The azure figure said, "Drinking can kill people."
"That depends on what kind of wine it is," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Bang!"
The azure figure swung his arm, and a bronze wine vessel in the pavilion flew up, hurtling toward Zhang Ruochen on the stone bridge.
Zhang Ruochen caught the wine vessel but sensed no Great God Divine Power erupting from it.
The vessel was about a foot tall, but its weight was not light. It felt less like it held wine and more like it held a mountain.
Over the years, Zhang Ruochen had drunk plenty of mundane wines with drunkards, but one sniff of the bronze vessel told him this was true divine spirit strong liquor. His old, numb body seemed to ignite from the mere aroma.
"What strong liquor," Zhang Ruochen said.
The azure figure said, "Strong liquor is like poison. This wine is called 'Between Life and Death.' Do you think it can drink you to death?"
"Perhaps it can."
Zhang Ruochen lay back on the stone bridge, lifted the wine vessel, and poured it straight into his mouth, caring not whether it would kill him.
He didn't know how much he had drunk. He only felt a fire burning inside him, with no comfort at all—only excruciating pain, penetrating to the marrow.
Yet this very sensation brought him a kind of release, making him truly feel that he was a cultivator, a deity, not the old man Zhang of the Traveler's Inn.
Zhang Ruochen hugged the wine vessel, looking up at the sky. He was already somewhat drunk. The sky seemed to bear the silhouette of Chi Yao, within arm's reach.
Throughout his life, there had been countless moments when making choices and decisions was extremely difficult.
Passing on his power to Chi Yao and giving up everything was the hardest decision Zhang Ruochen had ever made, but he had no regrets whatsoever. Because he knew that Chi Yao would surely carry his hopes and fulfill what he wanted to do. That was enough.
The azure figure said, "You're crying."
"It's the wine—too strong," Zhang Ruochen said.
The azure figure said, "Since you've drunk this wine, I will answer your question. You're curious why I'm here, drinking alone like an old man?"
"Because I am not a stone. I have blood, and I have life. When I decided to stop being a stone, I already knew that from then on, I would have the seven emotions and six desires—I would feel melancholy, sadness, and confusion."
"Drinking alone is not about numbing myself. It's that only when alone can I quiet my mind to think, to find my way out of confusion. Wine can intoxicate, can kill, but to me, it constantly reminds me that I am not a stone—I have life."
"You should understand that people are always swayed by emotions, becoming confused and troubled. Then, through reason, they emerge from confusion and see clearly. Every confusion is a form of sedimentation. Every time you emerge from confusion, it makes you stronger. I hope you still have the chance to become stronger."
Yu Yao walked into Jade Fate Pavilion, her white robes like a painting, ethereal as the moon. Step by step, she ascended the stone bridge, saying, "I've never heard you speak so much, nor have I ever seen you pour out your heart to anyone. Today, you are truly drunk! You say drinking alone isn't about numbing yourself, but isn't that very statement a way of numbing yourself?"
In the distant pavilion, the azure figure stood up, saying, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't need to say so much."
Yu Yao looked down at the white-haired old man who had already passed out from drink, asking, "Do you know him? Who is he?"
"He could guess who I am, and after a few exchanges, I also guessed who he is, even though I've never seen him before."
The azure figure stepped onto the stone bridge, walking past Yu Yao without even a moment's pause, his back already facing her as he said, "For the time being, he will definitely stay in Xinghuantian. Let him live here in Jade Fate Pavilion."
"But here, didn't you once say no cultivator was allowed to stay?" Yu Yao said.
"He can. At least for now."
The azure figure had already walked out of Jade Fate Pavilion, and his final voice drifted back from who knew how far away: "If he wants the Skull Head Ring, tell him to think it through and come find me at Mi Mountain Heavenly Venerate Lake. You must not tell anyone else about that place, including her."