IS Chapter 164

Chapter 164

Yong Jing’s center, the nine layers of palace gates opened one after another.

No one guarded the entrance of the main hall. Walking inside, everything was simple, ancient, and majestic. Facing him was a statue of a black bird with outstretched wings, its feathers unfurled, mysterious and dignified.

Ye Zhuo entered the hall straight with his sword.

It was silent until a faint, deep voice came from above.

“Who are you, a madman?” the voice said, “How dare you enter the hall with a sword?”

“And who are you, a monarch of what dynasty?” Ye Zhuo said lightly, “Why hide people on the beam?”

A soft laugh came from the beam. A black figure fluttered down. Someone who works as an assassin appeared in the hall in a grand manner.

Ling Ming sheathed his blade, looking at them with a smile: “You can even find this out? Human affairs are many, I’m here to protect Ah Xuan.”

Ah Xuan? Li Yuan pondered, looking at the human monarch leaning leisurely on the throne above, wearing a black bird court dress.

Under the coronet, it was a deep face with long, narrow eyes and contained majesty, appearing to be in his thirties. He carried the aura of war. The hall was empty and solemn. The monarch remained unmoved, appraising Li Yuan, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

Li Yuan was equally as steady as a mountain. His peripheral vision glanced at Ye Zhuo without a trace.

Ye Zhuo: “Yong Xuan.”

Interesting, Yong Xuan. Li Yuan thought. Likes to draw, Micro-Snow Palace is truly full of hidden talents.

It’s just that the Third Palace Master doesn’t seem to be sleeping well, no wonder.

“I’ve heard of you for a long time.” Li Yuan said, “Li Yuan.”

“Oh? So it really is Brother Li Yuan.” Yong Xuan raised an eyebrow, “Dish Xia Restaurant?”

Li Yuan smiled slightly.

Yong Xuan’s gaze lingered on Li Yuan for a long time, then turned back to Ye Zhuo.

The monarch on the high seat suddenly raised his hand, removing the emperor’s coronet. His long hair fell down, and the monarch quietly looked into Ye Zhuo’s eyes.

At this moment, Ye Zhuo saw that Yong Xuan’s face was sharper and more haggard than he remembered.

“It’s been many years since we last met, Immortal Ruler is even more graceful.” Yong Xuan said, “This morning, however, a palace servant told me that white hairs have grown. If Second Palace Master comes to see me any later, wouldn’t it be like a lifetime has passed?”

Ye Zhuo looked at the gloomy and weary expression on Yong Xuan’s face, not quite able to understand what this person was feeling sentimental about. As a mortal monarch, he was destined not to gain longevity. He said: “You brought it upon yourself.”

Yong Xuan wordlessly threw the things he had taken off in his direction. Li Yuan deeply glanced at the items, raised his hand to let Ye Zhuo take half a step back. The emperor’s coronet fell onto the long steps below, clanging and rolling down a few steps before stopping.

“Who instigated you?” Yong Xuan stood up and walked down the long steps in annoyance, “You don’t visit unless there’s a reason, what are you doing here? Do you want to observe the human aura for cultivation?”

Actually, Ye Zhuo had no such intention, but since Yong Xuan said so, it wouldn’t be bad for him to stay and cultivate for a few days.

“Let’s get this straight first, this broken country has long been unable to make ends meet, there’s no food for you to eat.” Yong Xuan led them towards the rear palace. There were residences in the imperial palace reserved for a few people from Micro-Snow Palace. As for the others, Ye Zhuo would find a place to cultivate himself.

The empty palace garden didn’t even have any decorations. Yong Xuan leaned against the door frame, looking at Ye Zhuo inside, feeling embarrassed. But he heard that Green Mountains was exactly the same.

What was that Black Dragon doing? Hurrying back and forth, as if the palace was lacking servants. Although it was true that they were short of people. No wonder Wei Sheng Xian often wrote letters to speak ill of him, he deserved it.

“Actually, I really want to go to Green Mountains.” Yong Xuan looked at Ye Zhuo, “Wei Sheng Xian said that there’s a peak left for me there.”

Ye Zhuo wasn’t very familiar with Green Mountains either. After thinking about it, he said: “It seems so.”

“Is it very beautiful? Sometimes when I’m tired of reviewing memorials, I think you few are very leisurely and should all be arrested and executed.” As Yong Xuan spoke, he nodded to himself, “It should be very beautiful, returning to the Green Mountains, accompanied by clouds and mist.”

Unfortunately, he had never been to Green Mountains in his life. Only a red carp jade pendant, with the number three engraved on it.

He couldn’t even accompany the people who came from Green Mountains for a full day. In just this short time, several waves of people came looking for him one after another. Would this country fall apart if there was no emperor for a day? Yes, it would.

Once he picked up the Emperor’s sword, he could no longer return to the Green Mountains.

When they were about to return to the front hall, Yong Xuan saw Ye Zhuo raise his eyes, his calm eyes seeming to pierce through the years. They had known each other for so many years.

What was he looking at? Oh, the hair.

A handful of earth in the emperor’s coffin after a hundred years, Green Mountains was still Green Mountains.

Yong Xuan grabbed a handful of hair that had fallen down, squinting his eyes and carefully searching through it. There were quite a few white hairs. He quickly pulled out a snow-white one and looked at Ye Zhuo triumphantly, saying, “Here.”

Ye Zhuo withdrew his gaze.

“Take care.” He said.

“You too.” Yong Xuan turned around and stepped out of the Immortal’s palace garden.

What was the fun in cultivating immortality? In some people’s eyes, lasting achievements are immortality. Truly self-inflicted.

Li Yuan stood at the highest point of the imperial city. Using Qi observation technique to look around, the human aura crisscrossed in all directions, intertwined in countless ways, affecting the whole with the slightest movement. In the center of the sky, the huge black bird, severely injured and dying, lowered its wings. Its eyes were still watching the human world ahead, its breath intermittent like a dried stream. Such a mysterious picture, if a Dao cultivator were to interpret it, they would say that this dynasty had risen from war and would perish due to the timing of heaven.

All day long, messages were constantly spread in the imperial capital. All directions were moving. These were all different scenes from the Immortal Path.

These things could all be comprehended.

Li Yuan guarded Ye Zhuo, watching him stand in the very center of the human aura’s convergence, sensing the harmony between heaven and man.

Ye Zhuo’s cultivation was constantly improving. That kind of speed made even Li Yuan feel shocked. Sometimes this person didn’t cultivate at all, just leaned on his shoulder, quietly watching the myriad of lights in the imperial capital. Yet Li Yuan could still feel the aura on his body surging like rivers, shifting stars and changing constellations in an instant, turning the world upside down in an instant.

Li Yuan raised his eyes. The black bird lowered its gaze, looking sadly at him, drops of invisible blood flowing down. He also felt that it was looking at Ye Zhuo.

“Ye Zhuo.” Li Yuan said.

Ye Zhuo looked at him.

Distant lights twinkled, and nearby torches on the city walls were lit. Reflecting Li Yuan’s silhouette, quiet and still.

“Let’s go, Ye Zhuo.” Li Yuan said, “Your friend is good at drawing, but I don’t really like this place.”

Ye Zhuo found it quite amusing, reached out his hand, and traced the dragon’s outline. There was actually a dragon worrying about the country and its people.

“Yong Xuan can’t sleep, and you can’t sleep either?”

Li Yuan gently shook his head, grasping Ye Zhuo’s wrist.

The timing of heaven was lacking, the Dao traditions were collapsing, the mountains and rivers were falling. All these things left no trace on this person, but this was the human world where Ye Zhuo grew up. If Ye Zhuo was a person in a painting, then the scenery of this human world was the backdrop in the painting. Heaven willed this painting, so how could there be no connection? That’s why he didn’t like this capital city.

“Then do you like it? Ye Zhuo.”

Ye Zhuo looked at this vast imperial capital that was struggling to operate, teetering on the brink of collapse.

“Then let’s go.” Ye Zhuo said.

As the sky turned white, in the Minghua tent, the human monarch got up and lifted the curtain.

He always felt that the friend from Green Mountains had already left like the morning clouds, returning to the world outside.

Sure enough, on the desk was a piece of Xuan paper, with a few perfunctorily drawn mountains. The handwriting was good, cold light gleamed from Three Feet Green Edge, with three words written: “Crooked is Complete.”

Yong Xuan pressed his forehead. The reason was none other than that it gave him a headache to look at.

With that little national foundation, constantly being moved around, he really wanted to know how much more it could be bent. When instigating people to fight for the world, they said to take from the straight, but now that they couldn’t make ends meet, they said crooked is complete. He might as well just die now.