Chapter 99: You Are the Most Moving Fruit
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"Do you know what you're doing?"
The voice seeped out from between the Pope's lips, no longer like the sound of water from before, but bitingly cold.
Chen Changsheng looked into his eyes and said seriously, "I am very clear about what I am doing."
He appeared very calm, but was actually extremely nervous. The hand gripping the wheelchair armrest trembled slightly, and even the color in his face had faded somewhat due to his emotions.
He did not use the method of burning his sword, controlling the circulation of his true essence to a certain degree to ensure that the seepage of his true blood outward was not too fast.
But for someone as powerful as His Holiness the Pope, the strongest in this world, at such close range, he could naturally smell the scent of his blood.
The sea of stars in the Pope's eyes had already turned into a violent galaxy.
Chen Changsheng was taking a risk, risking his life, even a danger beyond that.
He did it on purpose.
He could not be certain of his master's intentions. The Pope, his senior uncle in the sect, was the most important elder in this world to him, yet also the person he could least trust.
The Pope had said earlier that Archbishop Meri had no ill intentions toward him. But what about the Pope himself?
He had to clearly know what the Pope's attitude toward him truly was, whether he harbored goodwill or malice.
If the Pope harbored malice toward him, the greatest benefit he could gain from Chen Changsheng would be nothing more than eating him.
That temptation and craving was far more important than the throne, far more important than power.
What would the Pope ultimately do?
He quietly watched the violent galaxy in the Pope's eyes, his nervousness gradually dissipating, leaving only calm—true calm.
The Pope looked at him, the violent galaxy in his eyes growing even more terrifying, as if it might devour the entire world at any moment.
……
……
Xu Yourong stood in the light, quietly gazing at the mural on the wall, her head raised but not in reverence.
That mural depicted the Twelve Sages. These twelve sages were not all saints, but they had played extremely important roles in the history of the state religion, their status even higher than that of saints.
It was said that the dozens-of-zhang-high stone wall and the materials used for the painting were mixed with fragments of celestial stone, so that as long as there was a single external light source, they would radiate infinite brightness.
Thus, whether day or night, this place was always so bright and solemn.
Suddenly, the light within the hall grew even brighter, even somewhat blinding.
Xu Yourong squinted slightly, her beautiful eyes like willow leaves, or like the edge of a sword.
Sensing the violent energy within the light, she spread her arms.
With two soft snaps, the Tong Bow was grasped in her left hand, and the Zhai Sword in her right.
With a whoosh!
Pure white wings unfurled behind her, slowly drifting.
Besides the Twelve Sages, the mural also depicted many saints and divine envoys.
At the highest point, a divine envoy wore an indifferent expression, but his eyes were extremely savage, as if he wished to devour every living thing in sight.
This divine envoy presided over destruction.
Looking at this divine envoy in the mural, Xu Yourong's expression was calm.
Having stood in the Hall of Light for this time, she had not fully healed her internal injuries or restored her true essence and holy light, but she was ready for battle.
She had forcibly raised her cultivation to its peak, the Tong Bow in her left hand, the Zhai Sword in her right, her wings spread wide.
If battle truly began, she would burn her Heavenly Phoenix True Blood at any cost.
Although she had not yet reached Star Gathering, in this state, even if Guan Bai unleashed his strongest Heavenly Dao Sword, he might not be her match.
Yet in this battle, her opponent was not Guan Bai, nor the divine envoy of destruction in the mural, but the old man behind the stone wall of the mural.
That old man was the strongest in this world.
……
……
Separated by a single wall from the Hall of Light.
The Pope stood before the wheelchair, looking at Chen Changsheng. The galaxy in his eyes surged violently, his expression exceptionally indifferent, like a heartless, unknowing deity.
Chen Changsheng knew this was the most critical moment, yet his heart instead relaxed.
The truth was hidden behind the veil of night, and with his wisdom, he could not see through it. So he chose to use this most brutal method to tear open the night, even if only a corner.
Suddenly, the sound of water stopped.
Earlier, clear water had been falling from the wooden ladle suspended in the air into the basin of green leaves.
Chen Changsheng had seen the Pope water the green leaves several times before and knew that the water in that wooden ladle seemed endless.
Yet today, the water in the ladle seemed to have run out.
At the moment the water sound stopped, the Pope's body trembled slightly. The starlight marks on his hemp robe, as hard to decipher as runes, warped and blurred as a result.
The violent galaxy deep in the Pope's eyes also froze for an instant at that moment.
The night breeze gently brushed the green leaves, starlight illuminated the night sky. The deep wrinkles of age hid who knows how many truths of history, growing deeper…
The Pope closed his eyes.
……
……
Daoist Priest Siyuan, several Red Archbishops, and more cathedral priests were all outside the Hall of Light at this moment.
They had already sensed the strangeness within the hall, especially the violent energy in the light spilling out, which made their hearts tremble with fear.
In the holy radiance, they vaguely saw a pair of pure white wings unfurling behind Xu Yourong. To witness the legendary awakening of the Heavenly Phoenix bloodline with their own eyes was an extremely shocking thing, but at this moment, they could not dwell on that feeling, because they knew something major was happening.
Daoist Priest Siyuan could no longer stay where he was. With a cold expression, he charged into the thousands of rays of light within the hall.
As a giant of the state religion, he possessed peak Star Gathering strength, only half a step away from the sacred domain. The rays of light containing violent energy could not stop his advance.
But when he reached the depths of the hall, he did not know what he should do.
He vaguely knew that something major was happening, but not what it was.
The pure white wings swayed slowly. Xu Yourong held the bow in her left hand and the sword in her right. Her calm expression hid a solemnity as if facing a great enemy, but in the end, she did nothing.
Daoist Priest Siyuan could not possibly make the first move under these circumstances. Xu Yourong was the Southern Holy Maiden, holding the same status as the Pope in the state religion. If he attacked first without asking the reason, it would be an extreme disrespect, even a grave sin.
Xu Yourong indeed did nothing, only quietly watching the mural on the stone wall.
She sensed it very clearly. The light spilling from the mural was still blazing, but the feeling of violence was gradually subsiding into stillness.
She quietly watched the mural, and the people in the mural quietly watched her.
There, besides the Divine Envoy of Destruction and the saints in the clouds, stood the Twelve Sages on the ground, pitying the suffering of the mortal world.
The eyes of those sages were so clear and bright, their expressions so gentle and compassionate.
……
……
The Pope opened his eyes. The violent galaxy deep within them had vanished, and the vast sea of stars was no longer visible—only a clear brightness.
His eyes were so clear and bright, his expression so gentle and compassionate.
He turned and walked toward the basin of green leaves, took down the wooden ladle from the air, scooped a ladle of water from the pool, and poured it into the basin.
The green leaves, which had turned somewhat yellow from the violent aura moments before, instantly became lush and vibrant again.
The Pope scooped another ladle of water from the pool and poured it over himself, soaking himself from head to toe.
He scooped yet another ladle of water and walked to the wheelchair.
Water droplets dripped down from his white hair. The soaked hemp robe clung to his body, revealing his aged, withered frame.
With a splash, the Pope poured all the water from the wooden ladle over Chen Changsheng's head.
The night hall was dim, rarely seeing sunlight. The water in the pool was chillingly cold. Chen Changsheng shivered, drenched through.
A faint, hot mist rose from the surface of his body, but before it could drift far, the Pope gently flicked his sleeve, dispersing it into nothing.
His scorching body immediately returned to a normal temperature, and the blood seeping out of his body was suppressed back.
The Pope put the wooden ladle back in its place, took two dry towels, and handed one to Chen Changsheng.
"Now I know why your master named you Changsheng," the Pope said, wiping the water from his face as he spoke to Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng wiped his face and said nothing.
"Indeed, eating you might grant one immortality," the Pope said calmly.
Chen Changsheng looked at the slightly damp towel in his hand and said, "My master said it's because the soul enters the essence blood, but I don't really believe that."
"Everyone has a soul, but who can be so moving? Your uniqueness lies in the countless holy lights within your body."
The Pope looked at him, his gaze extremely distant, as if looking at another world.