Chapter 4034: Qingming Festival
“Using the Desolate Moon to provoke this war?”
Hao Tian looked at the Desolate Moon, no larger than a walnut in Zhang Ruochen’s hand, adopting a contemplative expression, his eyes filled with the radiance of wisdom.
The few present all knew something of the secrets surrounding the Desolate Moon.
Thus, they understood Zhang Ruochen’s intent.
Yunshen Daozhu, with his white hair and beard, said, “Ruochen, to which side do you plan to give the Desolate Moon?”
Zhang Ruochen replied, “Since the Heavenly Realm dares to establish the Eternal Heaven in the Formless Realm of Lihentian, they must be supremely confident, suggesting they are currently the strongest faction. So, let us gift it to them and quietly await the reactions of the Nether Ancestor Faction and the Primordial Black Dragon.”
The Nether Ancestor Faction could not idly watch the Eternal Heaven grow stronger.
The Primordial Black Dragon would never allow anyone else to refine the Desolate Moon.
And since the Nether Ancestor Faction and the Primordial Black Dragon could absolutely never cooperate, only by having all three sides fight could they survive the crisis triggered by the opening of the Jade Desolate Realm.
Perhaps there might even be unexpected gains.
Yunshen Daozhu said, “As long as we can tie down the top experts of both the Heavenly Realm and the Nether Ancestor Faction, making them check each other, our goal will be achieved.”
Hao Tian asked, “Imperial Dust, who do you think is best suited for this task?”
Zhang Ruochen looked past the wicker fence toward the courtyard outside, his gaze settling on Gai Mie’s burly figure. “Supreme Pillar can carry the Desolate Moon, betray the Sword Realm, and defect to the Eternal Heaven. No one is more suitable than him.”
Gai Mie was leaning against a bamboo grove, pondering how to persuade Zhang Ruochen to fully support his breakthrough to the Half-Ancestor realm. He never expected such a perilous task to fall on him.
“I think this is unwise.”
Gai Mie quickly continued, “How could this open scheme possibly fool the Eternal True Ruler? Imperial Dust is sending me to my death.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled and asked, “Has Supreme Pillar truly never thought of betraying the Sword Realm? For someone like you, remaining utterly loyal and unwavering to the Sword Realm would be the abnormal thing.”
Gai Mie dared not admit to that and quickly said, “Imperial Dust has misjudged Gai Mie.”
“Just a joke with Supreme Pillar! But at least ninety percent of the world would think the same, wouldn’t they? So, Supreme Pillar is the best choice.” Zhang Ruochen said.
This time, Gai Mie said nothing more. “Fine. If you say I can do it, then I must do it. But Imperial Dust has also broken through to the Heavenly Venerable rank. What about the promise you made me?”
“As long as we survive this crisis of the Jade Desolate Realm, whether Supreme Pillar chooses to leave the Sword Realm or not, I will fulfill my promise.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Gai Mie said, “Good! I trust your word, Zhang Ruochen.”
Gai Mie was actually happy to go to the Eternal Heaven.
For now, the Eternal Heaven was certainly safer than the Sword Realm.
Secondly, nothing was more important to him than breaking through to the Half-Ancestor realm. Perhaps the Eternal Heaven might hold the opportunity for that breakthrough. After all, Zhang Ruochen was the one sending him to defect, so it wasn’t betrayal.
In chaotic times, being a spy was dangerous, but it could also bring unexpected benefits.
Risk and reward coexisted.
Using only this one move was clearly not enough. Next, Zhang Ruochen, Hao Tian, Yunshen Daozhu, and Wen Tianjun discussed the feasibility of several other auxiliary strategies.
For instance, releasing the two black hands suppressed within the Celestial World.
Or, breaking into the Heavenly Realm to investigate. If the Eternal Heaven couldn’t ignite the war, they would use the Heavenly Realm to do so.
...
After finalizing a comprehensive set of details, Hao Tian and Xuan Yuan Lian returned to the Heavenly Court.
In short, at this critical juncture of the Jade Desolate Realm’s opening, the Heavenly Court and the Sword Realm had reached the highest level of mutual advance-and-retreat alliance.
From start to finish, Zhang Ruochen never asked about the Seventy-Two Pin Lotus.
Because he knew very well that even if he asked, he wouldn’t get any answer.
Just as Hao Tian wouldn’t ask Zhang Ruochen about the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable and Ling Yanzi, because he also knew there would be no result.
Zhang Ruochen very much wanted to bring up the North Marsh Great Wall, intending to move the battlefield there, but ultimately refrained.
He didn’t want to make wrong decisions driven by personal emotions.
“To tie down all the experts of the Eternal Heaven and the Nether Ancestor Faction, relying solely on the Sword Realm and the Heavenly Court is still insufficient. We must also unite the Hell Realm.” Wen Tianjun said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “I will personally visit Heavenly Mother and the Yama Clan Leader to finalize this, but there’s no rush. There’s still time before the Jade Desolate Realm opens. Wen Tianjun and Grandmaster have both been to the Jade Desolate Realm. Have you seen the Ancestor battlefield from eleven eons ago?”
Both shook their heads.
Wen Tianjun said, “The Jade Desolate Realm is extremely vast, its boundaries hard to see. But that’s secondary. The most important thing is the intricate time and space within. Even an Indestructible Infinite would find it very troublesome. Even Tai Shang hasn’t traveled every corner of the Jade Desolate Realm, has he?”
Yunshen Daozhu said, “Not in the past, but I think no matter how extraordinary the Jade Desolate Realm is, it’s just one realm. It shouldn’t have the power to stop a Half-Ancestor.”
Before Yunshen Daozhu, Zhang Ruochen raised a differing opinion for the first time. “But Grandmaster, if that earth-shattering Ancestor battle eleven eons ago erupted in the Jade Desolate Realm and failed to destroy it, doesn’t that suggest the Jade Desolate Realm is more extraordinary than we imagine?”
Yunshen Daozhu was slightly taken aback, then showed an admiring smile. “Ruochen, your thinking is now more thorough than your Grandmaster’s. You are fully capable of taking on the burdens we carry. This way, Wen Tianjun and I can travel light, without any more worries.”
Zhang Ruochen focused his gaze. “Grandmaster, what are you and Wen Tianjun planning to do?”
“Relying solely on the Desolate Moon to provoke the Nether Ancestor Faction is too passive. We must take the initiative.”
Wen Tianjun continued, “The Nether Ancestor Faction is likely hiding in the Void Exhaust Sea or the North Marsh Great Wall. Tai Shang and I plan to investigate these two places separately. If the enemy remains hidden while we are exposed, everything will be beyond our control. Too passive.”
Zhang Ruochen understood this reasoning and knew the dangers involved. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “When do you leave?”
“In a few days, once everything is arranged.” Wen Tianjun said.
...
During the Qingming Festival, rain falls endlessly, and travelers on the road feel their spirits break.
It was still morning, with a fine mist of rain.
Zhang Ruochen arrived at the graves of Lin Fei and the Yunwu Commandery King to offer incense.
Before the graves were various sacrificial offerings, strings of paper coins hung everywhere, and paper money mixed with mud was scattered on the ground.
Over a hundred thousand years had passed. The two graves were renovated every year, but the bones within had long since turned to dust and dissolved into the earth.
Nothing remained.
As a god, Zhang Ruochen was not worshipping the bones in the tomb, but the emotions of the past, a remembrance and mourning for the departed.
Chi Yao, Wu Yue, Mu Lingxi, Ling Feiyu, Yu Chenjing, Bai Qinger, Ao Linglong, Yan Zhexian, Chi Kongle, Zhang Yuyan, Zhang Hongchen, Zhang Chuanzong, Zhang Gushen, Zhang Xingchen, Zhang Nicai... hundreds of core descendants of the Zhang Clan stood before the graves, paying their respects one by one.
After paying respects to Lin Fei and the Yunwu Commandery King, Zhang Ruochen walked to the graves of his fourth brother, Zhang Shaochu, and his ninth sister, Zhang Yuxi. Not far away were even the graves of Lin Lengshan and other members of the Lin Clan. He did all this entirely for his mother, Lin Fei. Otherwise, the Lin Clan graves would not be here.
This year, a new grave had been added, that of the twelfth imperial uncle, Mingjiang Wang.
Mingjiang Wang had refined a Divine Source, becoming a false god and living for one eon. Even hiding in the ancestral land to avoid the Eon Calamity, he had finally passed away this year.
And he was not the only one who had passed.
Only a very small number of cultivators could break through the limit of one eon.
Over the years, Zhang Ruochen had seen off many old acquaintances, some dying of old age, some perishing under the Eon Calamity.
This was also why Zhang Ruochen had to come to pay respects this year.
Perhaps moved by the emotion, or perhaps thinking of past events, Mu Lingxi couldn’t help wiping away tears.
Zhang Xingchen was no longer the mischievous little brat he once was, but even after sixty thousand years, he still looked like a young man in his twenties, with a lively aura that showed no trace of time’s passage.
He said, “Mother, how can someone of your cultivation level still cry?”
What Mu Lingxi thought of was the Mu Clan, which no longer existed. The Mu Clan, which had moved to Phoenix Lake, had been annihilated in a calamity many years ago, with all its members gone.
Even if some peripheral members remained, after over a hundred thousand years, they could no longer be found.
Of course, it wasn’t just the Mu Clan. There was also the “Sister Chen” of those days, Huang Yanchen.
Bore was Mu Lingxi’s only emotional anchor for Huang Yanchen, but the two were ultimately different. In Mu Lingxi’s heart, that Sister Chen had died over a hundred thousand years ago, buried by time along with the Thousand Water Commandery.
After Zhang Ruochen finished offering incense to Mingjiang Wang, he noticed Mu Lingxi’s mood. He walked over, took out the Fate Heavenly Disk, and handed it to Zhang Xingchen.
“What’s wrong? Feeling more and more lonely?” Zhang Ruochen embraced Mu Lingxi.
Mu Lingxi nodded vigorously.
“There’s no help for it. More than one eon has passed. Even if we gave them Divine Sources and helped them become false gods, their lifespans have ended. In the end, we will see off everyone, including ourselves.”
Zhang Ruochen thought this sounded a bit inappropriate and said, “Why don’t you go stay at the Destiny Temple for a while? Feng Tian has become the Hall Master. As her disciple, you should go back and spend more time with Bore. She’s also very lonely.”
Mu Lingxi suddenly thought of something and said, “Chen Ge, do you know why Feng Tian, knowing she doesn’t have long to live, still chose to be crowned as Hall Master? What’s the point?”
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes. “What did you say?”
Mu Lingxi looked at him with confusion. “Didn’t Feng Tian tell you? Actually, cultivators of the Path of Death have limited lifespans to begin with. Plus, Feng Tian loves to fight and often burns her lifespan in battles, so her lifespan is naturally even shorter.”
“Back then, she was injured by the self-destruction of the Divine Source of the Heavenly Beginning Old Heavenly Master. Although she was reborn through nirvana, she told me she only had one eon left.”
“If she couldn’t break through to the Half-Ancestor realm within that eon, everything would be over. Only by reaching the Half-Ancestor realm could she extend her life.”
“She knew the chance was very slim, almost impossible, but she had to fight against fate.”
“Counting the time, it’s been almost one eon. Even if she can find some divine medicine to extend her life, she can’t live much longer.”
Zhang Ruochen’s brows furrowed tightly. Recalling Feng Tian’s stubborn and unreasonable demeanor at Nutian Shenzun’s palace, he finally understood the reason.
“Why have you never told me something so important?” Zhang Ruochen’s tone unconsciously became heavier.
Mu Lingxi said, “Haven’t you been helping Feng Tian refine pills and assisting her cultivation? I thought you knew.”
Zhang Ruochen quickly steadied his emotions and said apologetically, “I was too harsh just now. It’s not your fault. I... why didn’t she tell me? Perhaps Chan Bing could help, or the North Marsh Great Wall... this completely disrupts the plans of the Sword Realm and the Heavenly Court...”