Chapter 1011: Chapter 578: Patching Things Up (2-in-1)_2

The Hidden Crown Prince met his gaze, looked around this He Shen Kingdom, and said calmly, "What a beautiful scenery."

"You know it’s beautiful too."

"How could I not know it’s beautiful? You’ve suppressed me in this tower for nearly two thousand years, yet in two thousand years there’s only this bit of beauty. Isn’t that too much effort for too little gain?" The Hidden Crown Prince said with a mocking tone.

"Do good deeds, don’t ask about the future."

As the words fell on the ears, the Hidden Crown Prince’s face suddenly turned angry, and he shouted, "You keep preaching about educating the residual spirits, stopping evil with oneself, and passing good to the descendants. Now two thousand years have passed, how many of the ancient residual spirits still hold ten generations of vengeance that could be avenged?

Your words are always pleasing, but your actions are always unending; you avoid doing straightforward things and insist on leaving many troublesome messes, like ants moving house, completing it bit by bit! Others do not turn back until they hit the south wall, but you insist on digging through the south wall! Your millennium cultivation has gone into a dog’s stomach! Instead of guiding everyone on the path of immortality, you just waste it here for nothing!"

He trembled all over and continued without pause:

"I was truly blind back then, deceived by your supposed morality, not knowing you were just a living wooden fish and a stubborn mind, confined to this self-imposed prison for two thousand years, dragging me down with you."

Faced with the Hidden Crown Prince’s resentment, the Holy Emperor remained calm, merely nodded slightly, unwilling to argue further: "If you want to leave, you can leave now."

The Hidden Crown Prince withdrew his anger, lowered his eyes, and said, "It seems you do not intend to leave?"

"To pluck a hair for the benefit of the world, I would not." The Holy Emperor smiled and said, "I don’t want to meddle in the affairs of the Three Pure Ones, to perfect myself is the best I can do."

The Hidden Crown Prince’s expression became instantly complex; no one knows the person before him better. From the time the First Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling was buried in the belly of a snake, as the son of the Heavenly Master, he was commanded by the Three Pure Ones to inherit the Seal Sword and establish a sect, sweeping away the old ways of the Six Heavens and finally establishing himself as the progenitor, with Dragon and Tiger Mountain, Qingcheng Mountain, He Ming Mountain, and the Zhengyi Dao’s three great mountains all originating from the First Heavenly Master, although truly founded by him, just as the world of Tang Gaozu was actually acquired by Taizong.

Yet this very person who established a sect seems to withdraw into reclusion like those ordinary people who casually claim the Way of the immortals... The Hidden Crown Prince was only deeply puzzled before, but today, bafflement has become scorn and disdain.

Why not take action directly?

At this thought, the Hidden Crown Prince turned his eyes and signaled the White Lotus Sect and the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Daoists to take action.

Qing Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and retreated a few steps without a sound.

Violet Compassion Sage of the White Lotus Sect stepped forward, their eyes filled with unspeakable awe as they came here for the first time, appreciating the beautiful flowers and lush grass, truly a fair day and lovely scenery, the true Vacuum Home of their scriptures was precisely here.

And although the Hidden Crown Prince had not explicitly mentioned it, he should be Bai Yangzi, the one spoken of in their scriptures as the leader of the various sons—whom they ventured into the Demon Refining Abyss, going through much trouble to seek out the Vacuum Home, for this very person.

If that’s the case, what is there to hesitate about?

Violet Compassion Sage took a deep breath; this time he didn’t use a weapon. Dense patterns appeared on his skin, and all the Saint Heirs glanced at each other, gathering around him, their eight arms intertwined, resembling a lotus platform.

The eight arms suddenly exploded, the lotus platform burst into countless pieces of flesh, countless blood and flesh lotuses wrapped in fresh blood surged toward the Holy Emperor.

The Holy Emperor extended two fingers and tapped in the void.

All the blood and flesh lotuses instantly froze, like mayflies pinned down, and the lotus platform was also momentarily fixed, then slowly sank, and the seven orifices of the Saint Heirs oozed blood, forced to kneel by an invisible finger.

The Dragon and Tiger Mountain’s Zhao Tong quickly formed the Sword technique, instantly linking with surrounding Daoists to create a Sword Array, the sword momentum transforming into azure and crimson Jiao Dragons strangling towards them.

The Holy Emperor did not even lift his eyelids, only gently moved his fingertips to draw a circle.

Zhao Tong suddenly found the Sword technique in his hand backfired into his Dantian, the sword momentum they painstakingly constructed was now surging through their own meridians.

The Holy Emperor stepped forward half a step.

The ground within ten feet of the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Daoists collapsed with a loud rumble.

Zhao Tong’s knees hit the ground, and more than a dozen Dragon and Tiger Mountain cultivators seemed nailed to an invisible board, their bones making teeth-grinding creaking sounds.

He gritted his teeth, trying to reorganize the Sword Array.

"Go."

The Holy Emperor tapped again, and the magic swords in everyone’s hands, as if receiving an edict, refused to obey, turning their tips to pierce their own throats; if not for the Holy Emperor’s final flick that dissipated the Sword Qi, corpses would have been strewn on the ground.

Qing Yuan watched from afar, reassessing this Second Generation Heavenly Master who became immortal yet chose seclusion.

"Had enough fun?" The Hidden Crown Prince stepped forward with a cold smile, "Taking your anger out on them, what’s the point? The Sword Array of the Heavenly Master Mansion is still on the mountain protecting, you might as well go..."

The words abruptly stopped.

The Holy Emperor’s fingertip somehow ended up against the Hidden Crown Prince’s throat,

"Go on, follow your own path, but I will not pluck a hair."

The Hidden Crown Prince’s gaze flickered uncertainly but eventually slapped away the Holy Emperor’s hand with a "snap," turned around, and ordered, "Go."

The Dragon and Tiger Mountain Daoists were still in shock, while Zhao Tong propped himself up, hesitating to speak.

The Hidden Crown Prince called back, "The Evil-Slaying Sword, that’s me; when called, I will return."

As the words fell, a dark crimson glow shot up from the White Tower, settling steadily into his hand.

Zhao Tong nodded slightly when he saw this, a lingering fear in his heart as he glanced at the Holy Emperor, even though they had gone through extreme hardships, finally achieving their purpose, but in the end, success or failure seemed to depend on this person’s whim, unrelated to their thousands of years of effort from Dragon and Tiger Mountain.

Before leaving, the people of the White Lotus Sect gazed at this pure land with reluctance, almost in unison they knelt down, chanting scriptures and kissing the ground.

The Hidden Crown Prince made a slash with his sword, and the two groups saw flames rise without wind, tearing apart the scene before their eyes. When they looked up again, the entire Divine Country was fading, the ground turning to scorched earth, the palace flying eaves becoming ruins.

Only the Evil-Slaying Sword remained in the Hidden Crown Prince’s hand.

This group of uninvited guests came hurriedly, and left just as quickly, disappearing without a trace before long. Fairy Cai Xia, relieved of her anxious heart, saw the Holy Emperor still standing in place, not only had he not left, he even bowed forward.

"It’s been many years, how have you been?"

"Not quite many years."

A gentle breeze swept, fallen leaves gathering into a spiral, revealing the silhouette of a woman. Fairy Cai Xia had only a slight impression of her, seemingly standing at the edge of the Daoists just now, without involvement.

Qing Yuan greeted with one hand, as she was not accustomed to cupping her hands with both.

The Holy Emperor did not put on any airs, returning the greeting solemnly, then recalling slightly, said, "At that time you were seeking Shoushan Copper to forge a sword, it’s been seven or eight years by now, is the sword forged?"

"It’s been forged." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"May I ask its name?"

"Hou Kang."

The Holy Emperor nodded absentmindedly, as if placing it casually in the corner of his memory, said, "It should be quite extraordinary. In the future, after being tempered through thousands of years, it may surpass the Evil-Slaying Sword, though... there might not be time for that."

The implication was unclear to ordinary people, but to her who had witnessed Chen Yi’s death, how could it not be understood?

What was once a millennium, a myriad of years merely a snap of fingers, now even five or ten years are precious.

The Holy Emperor sensed her gaze and, before she could speak, smiled and declined, "To guard a small plot of land is already my utmost effort; if the sky falls, and needs me to hold it up, I’m afraid it will disappoint the Sword Armor."

"No need to trouble you, nor anyone else."

The Holy Emperor slightly nodded, seemingly expected, but the Sword Armor’s next words exceeded his expectations,

"I merely wish... to patch up the Heavenly Dao a bit."

The Holy Emperor, always unruffled, now gradually collected the surprise from his face, his gaze turning serious as he carefully assessed the woman in front of him, then calculated lightly with his fingers.

After a long while, he shook his head, saying, "The matter of Heavenly Repair is predetermined; it is beyond your capability."

Hearing this, Qing Yuan’s eyes slightly drooped, a long-lost heaviness filling her heart, prompting her to ask a slightly presumptuous question: "Is it that my sword is not high enough?"

The Holy Emperor neither nodded nor shook his head, only said, "It’s due to fate, not something human power can change. When the time comes, even a piece of stinking stone in a latrine can mend the heavens; when the time is not right, no matter how capable a person is, they can’t plug a hole the size of a soybean."

"If someone can stand tall and firm, they can also plug the hole; I do not seek perfection," Qing Yuan said calmly, "as long as I can patch it up, it’ll do."