Chapter 926: A Peaceful Morning
However, before the black divine stele could fall, it suddenly shattered with a loud bang.
At the same time, Kong Lanyou flew out from the center of the shattered stele, her entire body wreathed in multicolored sacred light, like a peerless peacock goddess. She strode toward Zhongying King.
With each step, she crossed dozens of miles, making heaven and earth seem insignificant beneath her feet.
"Impossible?" Zhongying King’s face showed disbelief.
All along, the Cosmic Divine Stele Palm had been his proudest ultimate technique, unstoppable and invincible in every battle.
How could he have imagined that someone would break it so easily?
Before Zhongying King could think further, Kong Lanyou had already reached him. She thrust a finger toward his brow.
Streams of multicolored radiance converged at her fingertip.
This single strike drained the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a thousand miles, even throwing the heavenly and earthly rules into chaos.
Behind him, the phantom images of a hundred saints simultaneously struck out with their palms, aiming at Kong Lanyou.
"Pfft."
Kong Lanyou’s finger pierced through Zhongying King’s palm.
Then, turning her finger into a palm, she unleashed three consecutive palm strikes, hitting Zhongying King’s palm, chest, and left temple.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
After three heavy blows, most of the bloodthirsty aura around Zhongying King dissipated. His body caved in, his neck bones snapped, and blood sprayed from his mouth as he flew to the right.
The peacock sacred flame carried by Kong Lanyou’s palm ignited Zhongying King’s body. No matter what technique he used, he couldn’t extinguish the flames.
His flesh, like red-hot iron, began to melt.
Realizing the vast gap between himself and Kong Lanyou, Zhongying King dared not continue fighting. He flew down to the bone altar, controlled it, and immediately sped toward the direction of the Nether King Sword Grave.
In an instant, he vanished beyond the horizon.
Only the Azure Heaven Blood Emperor could neutralize the peacock sacred flame on his body, so he had to hurry back.
Kong Lanyou stood in midair, calmly watching the fleeing Zhongying King without intercepting him.
She had deliberately let him go.
"Helping Zhongying King dispel the peacock sacred flame will cost the Azure Heaven Blood Emperor at least twenty percent of his cultivation."
Her gaze shifted downward, landing on Indra. "Master, shall we go to the Nether King Sword Grave together?"
Indra looked at the devastated land, flames burning everywhere, and sighed. "The heavy prisoners locked in the Nether Prison must not escape. For humanity, that would be a catastrophic disaster."
"Since the flames of war have already spread to Sikong Zen Monastery, this poor monk can no longer stand idly by."
"Let’s go. We must meet the Azure Heaven Blood Emperor and see just how powerful the Undying Blood Clan has become after eight hundred years."
Kong Lanyou glanced at Zhang Ruochen one last time before stepping forward, as if piercing a barrier between heaven and earth. When her foot landed, she had already arrived at the Nether King Sword Grave.
Indra also headed to the Nether King Sword Grave, leaving only Zhang Ruochen, Grand Minister of Works, Second Minister of Works, and Little Minister of Works at Sikong Zen Monastery.
"Since Lanyou and Master Indra have gone to the Nether King Sword Grave, and with the imperial army besieging it, the Nether Prison should be secure," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
No matter what, the Undying Blood Clan was the common enemy of humanity. No one wanted them to release the Nether King.
"Huh? Where’s the Undying Blood Clan’s second prince?"
Second Minister of Works scratched his head.
Zhang Ruochen scanned the area but indeed didn’t see the second prince.
Had he escaped in the chaos, or died in the aftermath of the sacred-level battle?
Pushing aside these thoughts, Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, swallowed a mouthful of Black Tortoise Sacred Blood, and gripped a sacred stone in each hand, beginning to fully recover the sacred qi within his body.
By dawn, Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation had recovered to seventy or eighty percent.
He stood up, stretched his wrists and ankles, and looked down the mountainside from the halfway point.
The once lush forests had turned into scorched earth, with flames still burning in some places, melting the soil into magma.
Just then, the aroma of food wafted from the monastery.
Zhang Ruochen followed the scent to the monastery’s dining hall.
Inside, Grand Minister of Works, Second Minister of Works, and Little Minister of Works, who was only three or four years old, sat around a yellow-brown wooden table from three directions, eating a vegetarian meal.
On the table were corn porridge, steamed buns, bamboo shoots, and some green fruits—simple yet quite abundant.
Outside the monastery, a life-and-death battle had just occurred, turning a thousand miles of land into barren earth. Yet they could eat and sleep as if nothing had happened—truly remarkable.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen enter, Grand Minister of Works immediately put down his bowl, banged the table with his fist, and scolded, "Second Junior Brother, look at how you’re eating! You’re like a starving beggar. Do you look like a Buddhist cultivator? Don’t you see that Benefactor Zhang has arrived? Hurry up and get him a bowl of vegetarian food!"
"Oh!"
Second Minister of Works immediately put down his bowl and headed to the kitchen.
Grand Minister of Works grinned at Zhang Ruochen with his big face. "Second Junior Brother is like that—still young and not very sensible. Don’t mind him, Benefactor Zhang. Sit, sit! Our monastery’s vegetarian meals are always filling."
Zhang Ruochen walked to a wooden table by the window and sat down, gazing at the pagoda outside and the red flowers entwined around the railing. For some reason, his mind became incredibly peaceful.
This monastery was a true place of tranquility, and his arrival had shattered that peace, filling him with a sense of guilt.
Involuntarily, Zhang Ruochen let out a sigh.
"What are you sighing about?"
Across from him, a crisp, melodious voice sounded, as pleasant as a spring flowing over stones or a gentle breeze brushing the moon.
Zhang Ruochen focused his gaze and saw that, at some point, a stunningly beautiful white-haired woman had sat down across from him.
He immediately looked to his right, noticing that beside the table of Grand Minister of Works and Little Minister of Works, an old monk had silently appeared, sitting on a chair as if he had always been there.
Clearly, Kong Lanyou and Master Indra had just returned to Sikong Zen Monastery.
Zhang Ruochen quickly asked, "Senior Kong... how did it go? Have the Undying Blood Clan retreated from the Nether King Sword Grave? What was the outcome of the battle?"
"Answer my question first."
Kong Lanyou’s ethereal, beautiful eyes, like two black gems, stared straight at Zhang Ruochen, as if trying to see through him.
Zhang Ruochen pursed his lips, calmed himself, and pointed to the red flowers entwined on the window lattice. "Look how beautiful life is, yet we are destroying it all. Shouldn’t I sigh?"
Kong Lanyou gently shook her head. "No, that’s not it."
"Not it?" Zhang Ruochen countered.
Kong Lanyou shook her head again, her gaze unwavering. "You shouldn’t be this calm. As a normal person, when I sit across from him, he should be terrified, immediately standing up and kneeling before me in worship. But you didn’t."
Zhang Ruochen remained composed, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "Is that what you want to see?"
"Of course not."
Kong Lanyou continued, "When you try to disguise yourself, even I can’t see any flaws. So, before returning to the monastery, I told Master Indra that I wanted to quietly observe you—what you’re like when you’re not pretending."
"And what did you see? Can you tell me what I was like then?" Zhang Ruochen’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
Since arriving eight hundred years later, he had been carefully disguising himself, striving to hide the secrets in his heart.
Sometimes, even he forgot what he was originally like.
Kong Lanyou’s eyes reddened slightly. "I see some sadness in you, some worry, and some loneliness and solitude. Without experiencing great ups and downs in life, one shouldn’t have such emotions."
Zhang Ruochen sat there silently, not speaking, but he dared not meet Kong Lanyou’s eyes.
He wanted to tell her the whole truth immediately, but negative emotions kept surfacing, influencing his decisions.
"The Bright Hall bears the surname Kong, not Zhang."
"Back then, the Kong family took over the court of the Holy Bright Central Empire, seizing power from the Zhang imperial clan."
"Can their words still be trusted?"
One by one, voices like curses, and bloody scenes, kept flashing through Zhang Ruochen’s mind.
"Benefactor Zhang, your vegetarian meal."
Second Minister of Works carried a wooden tray to the table, placing a bowl of clear porridge, a plate of bamboo shoots, three steamed buns, and four green fruits in front of Zhang Ruochen.
From another direction, Grand Minister of Works called out, "Don’t you see that Master and Senior Kong have returned? Hurry up and get two more bowls!"
"Right away."
Second Minister of Works took the wooden tray and headed back to the kitchen.
Zhang Ruochen slowly exhaled, forcing himself to calm down and avoid being influenced by inner demons.
Gradually, his expression returned to normal. He picked up the clear porridge and took a sip.
It was sweet and fragrant, surprisingly delicious.
Kong Lanyou seemed to notice the dangerous state Zhang Ruochen had been in and didn’t press him further.
She picked up a steamed bun, using her slender jade fingers to pinch off a small piece, placing it into her crystal-clear little mouth, chewing slowly and gracefully.
Neither Kong Lanyou nor Zhang Ruochen needed to consume grains anymore, but both were savoring this rare moment of peace at Sikong Zen Monastery.
Zhang Ruochen pretended to be casual, glancing at her.
Kong Lanyou’s way of eating was incredibly endearing and moving. Her lips were like lotus petals, flawless, gently parting to reveal snow-white teeth, each like a pearl.
At this moment, she didn’t seem like the Bright Hall’s Holy Ancestor at all, but rather the little girl from eight hundred years ago.
Everything seemed to return to its original state—eating together, attending morning lessons together, practicing swords together, studying together.
Zhang Ruochen cherished this moment deeply, because he didn’t know if he would ever have such a chance again.
How he wished that, at this time, things could be like they once were. Chi Yao would sit nearby, somewhat bossily snatch the steamed bun from Kong Lanyou’s hand, stuff a piece into her mouth, then put it into Zhang Ruochen’s bowl, laughing as she said, "Lanyou, if you eat so much, you’ll get fat! You should give it to your cousin—he needs to eat more."
But that would never happen again. (To be continued.)