Chapter 3389: Causing Trouble Again
Chi Xingtian would never have dreamed that the so-called Heavenly Venerable's son was actually the Heavenly Venerable's daughter.
Even less could he imagine that this celestial noble, who had been extraordinary since birth, would spend decades selling plain congee in a humble congee shop amidst the mundane world.
The Heavenly Maiden had aged into an old woman.
The common folk around her, dressed simply, all knew her and chatted with her familiarly.
All of this stemmed from the fact that Xuanyuan Lian had lost a bet to Zhang Ruochen back then. To fulfill the wager, a doppelganger was supposed to sell congee here for a hundred years.
But Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected that the one selling congee here wasn't Xuanyuan Lian's doppelganger, but her true body.
The entire congee shop was an extension of a corner of the golden chariot.
Zhang Ruochen felt a surge of emotion. "Back then, the bet was only for one of your doppelgangers to enter the mortal world. Why did your true body come as well?"
The old woman was serene and peaceful. "With the Infinite returning, there's no need for me to handle matters in the Heavenly Court anymore. After years of busyness and rushing around, doing what I thought were great deeds to uphold the world, it's rare to have time to settle down and do simple things—grinding rice, chopping firewood, carrying water, lighting fires, helping neighbors with childbirth, matchmaking for unmarried girls, attending funerals for friends' fathers... None of these are world-shaking events, but they are major events for one person, for one family."
"Having witnessed conflicts between realms and chaos among clans, now looking at human disputes, mortal grudges, and petty brawls, I feel a sense of great enlightenment."
"A thousand-zhang dike can collapse from an ant's hole; a hundred-foot room can burn from a crack in a chimney."
"Before, sitting in the sky and observing the earth, I could see a hundred thousand mountains and rivers in one glance, and my heart would swell with compassion and heroic ambition, vowing to bring peace to ten thousand generations."
"Now, after decades in the mortal world, I realize that sitting in the sky to observe is no different from sitting in a well to observe. Bringing peace to ten thousand generations is harder than emptying hell."
Zhang Ruochen said, "What, have you lost your ambition?"
"My ambition is not lost, nor my vision extinguished. But I believe there is still much I need to learn. If I myself am not perfected, how can I contemplate the world?"
The old woman laughed self-deprecatingly, her gaze briefly flickering to the middle-aged Confucian scholar sitting with his back to them. "Enough about me. What about you?"
"Can you truly embrace all rivers and contain all things?"
"The Sword Realm is a transcendent power in the world, gathering all races and civilizations. In the future, there will inevitably be many internal conflicts and struggles. What do you plan to do? With the conflict between the Heavenly Court and Hell, can the Sword Realm truly remain neutral forever?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Aren't you trying to settle down and be a mortal? Why ask about world-shaking matters again?"
The old woman said, "Great matters are made up of small ones; small matters are microcosms of great ones. The two are inseparable."
"Your realm truly is getting higher and higher!"
Zhang Ruochen didn't answer immediately. After thinking carefully, he said, "Wherever there are three people, there will inevitably be conflicts and struggles. Embracing all rivers and containing all things is currently just a highest pursuit. Without strong cultivation, it's completely a fantasy."
"But this fantasy must never be abandoned, or one will surely lose their way on the path to pursuing great power."
"As for your questions about the Sword Realm's internal conflicts and external strategies, I can honestly tell you that I haven't thought deeply about them yet. Because survival is the foundation of any civilization. If the Sword Realm can't even survive, how can it think about these things? For a long time to come, the Sword Realm's purpose will be to strive to survive."
"The Calamity of Quantities is approaching. Surviving oneself and helping more people survive—that's the most pressing issue to think about now."
The old woman fell silent.
After a moment, she said, "Have you never thought about ruling from an absolute superior's perspective? Like through faith, or laws."
"If I become an Ancestor, I myself will be the faith, my thoughts will be the laws, and my words will be the decrees." Zhang Ruochen laughed.
Logically, a God Venerable saying this should have been thunderous and resounding.
But the old woman could tell Zhang Ruochen wasn't being entirely serious and was teasing her again. She warned, "Some words shouldn't be said casually. Mind your influence."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Qingqing, do you not believe me? Do you think I lack the heart of an Ancestor? How about another big bet? If I one day attain the Ancestor Dao, will you cook congee for me for ten thousand years?"
Back when they bet in the Witch God Civilization, Xuanyuan Lian had said that if Zhang Ruochen lost, he would drive her chariot for a hundred years. Zhang Ruochen still remembered that, and today he had returned the favor.
For some reason, whether facing Xuanyuan Qing or Xuanyuan Lian, Zhang Ruochen never liked serious, rigid negotiations. Instead, he treated them as female friends, not wanting to be too restrained.
Too formal, and the distance would grow, making many things harder to discuss.
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll have to kick you out!"
The old woman stood up to leave.
Zhang Ruochen took out two sealed divine wood boxes and placed them on the table. "I'm not here to talk nonsense. I came to express my gratitude. The Heavenly Venerable's scroll saved my life in a crisis."
The old woman snorted. "Now you're returning it? Are you afraid the Heavenly Venerable will sense your location through it? If so, you'd better be careful. The Heavenly Venerable is at the Starry Sky Defense Line. He might already know you're here."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I believe in the Heavenly Venerable's magnanimity. He wouldn't go after a junior like me. Besides, with you here, Qingqing, you wouldn't let him kill me, would you?"
The middle-aged Confucian scholar frowned slightly and urged, "Why hasn't my congee arrived? Shopkeeper, are you doing business or not?"
The old woman glared fiercely at Zhang Ruochen, took one of the divine wood boxes, and said, "The Heavenly Venerable's divine power in the scroll has been exhausted. With your current cultivation, you can hide from his perception at a certain distance. I never take back what I give! Leave now, and it's best if you don't come again. Don't disturb my cultivation state."
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment, put the Heavenly Venerable's scroll away, and didn't take Xuanyuan Lian's words to heart. He smiled. "I actually had a favor to ask..."
"Get lost!"
The old woman picked up the congee and walked toward the middle-aged Confucian scholar.
Zhang Ruochen took the hint and walked out of the shop, his voice drifting in from outside. "When you break through to the Infinite, we'll pick up where we left off."
Standing beside the middle-aged Confucian scholar, the old woman looked worried and said softly, "That's just his nature. Sometimes, he's like a child who never grows up, prone to nonsense. But when it comes to big matters, he has great boldness. Most of the Quantity Organization was exposed by him at the risk of his life. In short, he's not as vicious as the rumors say."
After a pause, she added, "After all, he's the heir of the Saint Monk. The Saint Monk couldn't have been wrong about him!"
The middle-aged Confucian scholar took a spoonful and tasted it. "Not bad."
It was unclear whether he was praising the congee or something else.
...
What Zhang Ruochen had given Xuanyuan Lian was naturally the Divine Communication Pill.
He always repaid kindness.
At the same time, he truly regarded Xuanyuan Lian as a female friend, not just an ally of convenience.
Chi Xingtian sighed. "Who would have thought the Heavenly Venerable's daughter would be tricked into selling congee here by you? If the Heavenly Venerable finds out, he'll definitely make you pay."
"Tricked? Xuanyuan Lian is a prodigy. With this mortal experience and the Divine Communication Pill, she will surely undergo a remarkable transformation."
Zhang Ruochen suddenly said, "Did you notice that middle-aged Confucian scholar?"
"Which middle-aged Confucian scholar?" Chi Xingtian asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The one at the table next to us..."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen suddenly fall silent and turn pale, Chi Xingtian asked, "What's wrong?"
"I realize I can't remember what he looked like at all!" Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Xingtian said, "Stop joking. What middle-aged Confucian scholar? We have business tonight. Come with me."
Zhang Ruochen looked closely at Chi Xingtian's eyes and saw that he really hadn't seen the middle-aged Confucian scholar earlier. His heart skipped a beat. He immediately grabbed Chi Xingtian and quickly walked out of the city, lowering his voice. "Did I say anything wrong earlier?"
"Not really. You just teased the Heavenly Venerable's daughter, and it didn't seem like the first time. No big deal. She didn't seem truly angry." Chi Xingtian said.
Zhang Ruochen felt a chill down his spine, realizing he had caused trouble again. After leaving the city, he and Chi Xingtian immediately departed from the Witch God Civilization Great World.
Chi Xingtian said, "Don't go back to the Kunlun Realm yet. There really is business tonight."
"You go ahead. I need to leave quickly." Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Xingtian grabbed Zhang Ruochen. "Luo Xu has passed the Divine Tribulation. Tonight, there's a Divine Ascension Banquet in the Thousand Star Civilization Great World. Many Saint realm cultivators from the Kunlun Realm are going to congratulate him. The Dragon Lord is worried something might happen and asked me to secretly go and keep watch, just in case."
Zhang Ruochen gradually calmed down, thinking about the terrifying possibility and its potential consequences.
"It must be. Xuanyuan Lian was hinting at me from the start. Fortunately, my answers on the big matters were fine. As for the teasing... that shouldn't count, right?"
Zhang Ruochen slowly steadied himself. The fact that he could leave the congee shop and the Witch God Civilization meant he was at least safe for now.
"Did you just say Luo Xu passed the Divine Tribulation?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Xingtian said, "That's it! The Dragon Lord is worried someone might take the chance to retaliate against the Kunlun Realm, wiping out all its young talents. So he asked me to go keep watch. It's also a way to lure out the snakes."
Zhang Ruochen was nostalgic about old acquaintances from the Kunlun Realm and missed them. So he suppressed his urge to flee and followed Chi Xingtian to the Thousand Star Civilization Great World.
Unexpectedly, they ran into an old friend on the way!
A sacred ship flew across the sky, its war banners fluttering. Qingxiao Great Saint, clad in white armor, still looked heroic and extraordinary. But this senior brother, who had once taken good care of Zhang Ruochen, had clearly aged. His beard was thick, his temples had some white hair, and he appeared to be in his fifties.
Beside him stood two women.
One was a woman in her thirties, dressed in palace attire, with a bright red flower stamen on her forehead. Her cultivation was close to the Great Saint level, clearly his wife.
The other was younger, around seventeen or eighteen, wearing a goose-yellow dress with a ponytail. Her eyes were incredibly clear and lively. She had inherited her parents' looks and was a rare pure beauty, sure to have countless suitors among the younger generation.