Chapter 183: To Survive or to Perish, at the Bottom of the Well or at Its Mouth?
Bie Yanghong was dead, and Wuqiong Bi was dead, having perished in White Emperor City, eighty thousand li from their homeland.
Their souls would return to the Star Sea, not to the Ten Thousand Longevity Pavilion in Xiling, so where they were buried was not particularly important.
There was an extremely deep crack in the small courtyard, likely split open when Chu Su emerged from underground. As the underground river's yin wind repaired itself, the space below had been refilled with rock, leaving only a pit about two feet deep.
Chen Changsheng placed the remains of Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi into the pit. Before he could push the earth to fill it, a clear breeze fell from the trees of the Heavenly Tree Temple, and only two grains of golden sand remained in the pit.
When Zhu Luo died back then, he had witnessed a similar scene and knew this was a unique sign of Divine Domain experts, so he was not surprised.
But seeing those golden grains of sand in the soil reminded him of something else.
Until now, many people believed that the Heavenly Sea Saint Empress was buried by him in the deepest part of the National Academy, but in truth, she was in the Hundred Herbs Garden.
He did not understand why, after the Heavenly Sea Saint Empress's death, her remains had not transformed into the purest golden sand like those of other Divine Domain experts, but instead had kept their original form.
Could this be the difference between the Divine Concealment realm and the Saint realm?
He did not dwell on it further. Flicking his sleeve, he shook the white stones in the courtyard into the pit.
Watching the golden sand gradually buried, he silently thought of a few names in his heart.
Chu Su, Madam Mu, Black Robe, Saint Light Continent.
The entire continent sensed the deaths of the two Divine Domain experts. The principles of heaven and earth resonated, and the omens gradually appeared.
In the distant Eastern Cloud Tomb, many whirlpools formed, and the stream between the solitary peaks suddenly surged.
A one-horned beast drinking by the stream raised its head to look into the distance, a trace of loneliness appearing in its holy eyes.
The Red River was without waves, calm as a mirror, appearing extremely eerie. From the depths of the river came a low hum from Yu Jing, as if mourning something.
The Western Wasteland Archdiocese Archbishop, who knew the secret of this matter, looked at the gloomy rain cloud above the small courtyard, his face showing sorrow.
Behind the rain cloud, two parallel rainbows appeared, stretching out from White Emperor City, crossing the wide river, reaching deep into the distant mountains, and even farther places.
Only then did the Yao Prime Minister, the Bear Tribe Chief, the Scholar Tribe Chief, and others understand what had happened. They were utterly shocked and did not know what to say.
The priests, cultivators, and even more numerous Yao warriors outside the alley, sensing the meaning within those two rainbows, all knelt to the ground.
The followers of the National Religion in the crowd began to recite the Dao Canon under the Archbishop's lead, devout and reverent.
……
……
Chen Changsheng did not return to the Western Wasteland Grand Dao Hall. He stayed in the small courtyard because Xuan Yuan Po had not yet woken up, and there were some things he needed to think about.
The Yao Prime Minister, the Scholar Tribe Chief, and other important figures came one after another, wanting to know the details of the matter, and more importantly, to know his stance. But he did not see them.
The small courtyard became incredibly quiet again. He sat by the wooden platform outside the house, his gaze shifting from the listless short pine to the white stones, then to the gray wall, unable to settle.
He suddenly felt very tired, losing interest in many things. Even now, knowing that the entire Yao race was anxiously waiting for his reaction, he did not want to bother.
Like many people, he liked and respected Bie Yanghong very much, but he was not truly close to him. Logically, he should not have been so greatly affected, but in fact, his spirit had taken a heavy blow.
Good people do not necessarily get good rewards, and even in life, they are not necessarily at ease. So why must one be good? How should we live? Why do we live?
He looked up at the night sky, pondering this question that was often mocked but that everyone should seriously consider.
Tonight, White Emperor City had no clouds or fog. The view was very clear, allowing him to see faraway places and many stars.
Chen Changsheng's divine sense left his body, drifting toward that Star Sea. It passed the star that scattered radiant starlight, crossed the star with countless spiral arms, avoided the star that gave birth to bright twin wings, and continued forward until it crossed that intangible crystalline barrier and entered the outer Star Sea.
A cultivator's divine sense could only travel this far when fixing their destiny star. During ordinary cultivation, one could only sense the existence of their destiny star but could hardly reach it again.
But this rule had no effect on Chen Changsheng, just as that intangible crystalline barrier could not block his divine sense.
Or perhaps it was because his divine sense was meant to fall there?
A red star quietly floated in the night sky, containing passionate energy, yet its surface was so calm, as if it would not change for billions of years.
This was his destiny star.
Chen Changsheng's divine sense did not land on his own destiny star.
This star was real, the closest to him, yet it was a place he could never reach. So this was the most false reality, easily bringing sorrow.
He did not want to be sad, so his divine sense continued to drift forward, appearing somewhat indifferent.
Eventually, his divine sense reached the outside of the Star Sea.
In the distant opposite, there were faintly many stars, like the lights of ten thousand homes.
Was Saint Light Continent over there?
He wanted to go and see.
At ten years old, he learned he was ill. From that moment on, the only thing he thought about was surviving.
That rainy night, the Heavenly Sea Saint Empress rebuilt his meridians and broke the calamity in his fate. He could live past twenty, and could live for many more years.
From that moment on, he naturally began to think about some questions. Only by erasing the shadow of death could he truly and calmly observe his own life.
Of course, he wanted to find the source of his life, to find the reason for his existence. But in recent years, he had still lived in tension, without much time.
It was not until this night when Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi died that he truly began his search.
Between the faint Star Sea in his divine sense lay an immensely vast and cold black void, the deepest night, also a bottomless abyss.
That black void was more intangible than the spatial barrier, so it could not be crossed. It seemed not to exist at all. So how could it be overcome?
Chen Changsheng looked toward the center of that black void and suddenly felt a very strange sensation.
He felt as if he were leaning over the mouth of a well, looking down into its deepest depths.
He also felt as if he were standing at the bottom of a well, looking up at the night sky outside.
Which feeling was correct? Or... which was real?
No one knew how much time passed.
Chen Changsheng withdrew his divine sense.
He still sat in his original place. His gaze no longer wandered as before, but just quietly stared at that gray wall, yet it seemed to look at many places at once.
The Star Sea brought calm, and that black void made all cultivators feel their own insignificance, helping to erase the distracting thoughts from their Dao heart.
A footstep sounded behind him.
Xuan Yuan Po walked over and sat down beside him.