fifth form

Chapter 3832 The Meeting of Those Who Marked the Boat to Find Their Sword

Chang'an is more prosperous than it was decades ago.

Zheng Wukong and his companions were no longer in Laoshu Hutong. Only a middle-aged neighbor mentioned that Zheng Wukong lived to be 120 years old. On the day of his funeral, doctors from all over Chang'an came to see him off, and even court physicians participated.

Chunyu Tiying left Chang'an in search of the elixir of immortality and the elixir of eternal life, and her whereabouts are currently unknown.

In Zhangjiazhuang of Maoling, all the elderly people had died. Even Zhang Zhong and You Rongshi, who had taken the longevity elixir, could not escape the ravages of time.

The once large village has few descendants, but many people come to the village seeking physiognomy skills to make a living. Many people pin their hopes on practicing physiognomy in Zhangjiazhuang to make a living. These descendants opened schools and taught, and their lives were not bad.

Zhang Xuezhou wandered around many places. He even saw Huo Qubing's cenotaph in Maoling, as well as the tomb chamber of the imperial mausoleum where Wei Qing and others were buried together.

"Your Majesty, it's been a long time!"

Zhang Xuezhou originally thought the new emperor was in the palace, but while wandering around Maoling to identify the tombs of people he knew from the past, he saw a familiar figure from behind.

Without the other party needing to turn around, Zhang Xuezhou knew very well that the old man in the black robe was the new emperor.

Upon hearing his voice, an old face turned around, and Zhang Xuezhou felt that the face was both unfamiliar and familiar.

"I'm already sixty-nine years old, and you still look so young!"

The new emperor let out a long sigh.

He enjoyed traveling incognito in his youth, and he didn't change this habit even in his old age.

Moreover, the new emperor's sword has not aged; as long as he has the sword in his hand, the new emperor is not afraid of demons or evildoers.

There are very few cultivators in this world who can approach him without being noticed. The new emperor looked at Zhang Xuezhou, and he knew very well that the Zhang Xuezhou who used to associate with him had returned.

But the other party returned too late.

For Zhang Xuezhou, yesterday is now more than thirty years in the past. The new emperor has gone from being ambitious and shrewd to a cunning and calculating man, no longer the passionate young man he once was.

"The calamity caused by demons is severe," the new emperor said. "We have combined the smelting technology of the Celestial Court with iron armor and iron swords, and we have tamed demon horses. We have also developed the art of legion warfare. However, the casualty ratio of the Han Dynasty's legions during battles is one to one, and there are even cases of total annihilation. Even when I personally lead the army, the casualties are still the same!"

"The demonic scourge has lasted longer than I imagined!"

"You know the timing of my Qi Luck Sacrifice. In the earlier times, the sacrifices were frequent, and I continuously destroyed enemy countries. However, in the past ten years, I have not destroyed a single country. Instead, it has caused domestic turmoil and widespread resentment," the new emperor said. "I have been on the throne for fifty-two years, and the war has lasted for fifty-two years. I am old now and can no longer fight!"

"This is not a problem that can be solved in one generation!"

"I really want to solve this problem in this generation!"

The new emperor sighed deeply.

He and Zhang Xuezhou seemed to be having a simple chat, but the new emperor wanted to retain and pull Zhang Xuezhou in order to help the Han Dynasty destroy the evil scourge.

Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly mentioned that the demonic threat has a long-term impact and is difficult to resolve in one generation; it may even be a long-term issue.

This demonic scourge does not stem from the presence of a top-tier demon in a particular place, or from a powerful force that is difficult to eradicate. Rather, it arises from the continuous emergence of demons and the fact that humans take shortcuts by choosing demonic power, thus falling into its clutches.

As long as opportunities exist and people are greedy, this calamity will never stop. At most, it will reach a certain balance until the blessings under the control of the Earth Goddess are gradually exhausted, and then things will return to normal.

After exchanging a few words, the new emperor fully understood this endless war.

“You should pray for longevity and immortality. If you live longer, you can solve more problems and perhaps see that day come,” Zhang Xuezhou advised.

"It's not a good thing for an emperor to live too long," the new emperor said, pointing to his head. "I've become confused and can't keep up with the times. Now I'm like the Empress Dowager who used to rule Anle Palace; I've become the very thing I hated most. I should abdicate!"

“The Heart Sutra can clear your mind and prevent you from wasting your life like this,” Zhang Xuezhou said. “Besides, you’re not that old!”

"Only you can say that about me," the new emperor laughed. "Everyone else is calling me an old codger and hoping I'll die soon!"

"What does my life or death have to do with others?" Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and said, "It's just some noise that will inevitably fade into silence in a few decades!" "If that's what you mean, then I really want to live a long life," the new emperor said, "Do you think I can seek immortality through the Yang Soul?"

After being persuaded by Zhang Xuezhou for a while, the new emperor seemed to have let go of some of his past obsessions, and then asked Zhang Xuezhou about the feasibility of the matter.

There are no more elixirs of immortality in the world, and there has never been an elixir of eternal life. The path to physical longevity has been cut off, at least in the era of the new emperor.

If one wishes to live a long life, then the only way is through the Yang Soul Longevity Method.

This was the result of Emperor Jing and the Empress Dowager's decades of work in the secret land of Fengdu. Although it cannot be said to extend life by hundreds or thousands of years like an elixir of immortality, it does have a very long lifespan.

With the Heart Sutra and the Spirit Enhancement Manual, the new emperor felt that he might live longer.

But the new emperor did not want to live that kind of agonizing struggle for immortality; he wanted to ask Zhang Xuezhou if there was a future for this kind of Yang Soul immortality.

“The Reincarnation Stone was left behind by Houtu. As long as you can draw upon Houtu’s opportunities, achieving longevity will not be a problem for you,” Zhang Xuezhou said. “If there is an opportunity, you may even have a chance to enter her demon kingdom and become one of her members!”

"I killed her demon, and now I have to go and rely on her? Just thinking about that future is despairing!"

"If you have the ability to listen to the possible arrangements of the Goddess Houtu, you might be able to benefit the future Han Dynasty," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile. "This can be considered a roundabout way of helping the country!"

"Sounds good!"

The new emperor nodded, indicating that he didn't have much resistance at the moment and was willing to try going deep behind enemy lines.

“Perhaps I will have the chance to go up there someday,” Zhang Xuezhou said. “I will go to the Earth Goddess’s place to pick you up then!”

"Oh?"

When Zhang Xuezhou gave his assurance, the new emperor's eyes brightened.

Zhang Xuezhou rarely agrees to anything, so this was a rare occurrence, and the new emperor could even sense the high probability of success.

This made him feel more energetic and even made him feel relaxed all over.

"Could we take a few more with us?" the new emperor asked.

"Take as much as you can!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, and the wrinkles on the new emperor's old face immediately smoothed out.

With the power of origin given to him by Zhang Xuezhou, he has indeed obtained special opportunities through his repeated searches over the years. However, this opportunity comes from the side of Houtu Niangniang, which is the main force he has been in charge of suppressing the demon race.

The new emperor did not make full use of this opportunity until he got the answer from Zhang Xuezhou, at which point he decided to give it a try.

Some people will walk with him, and the new emperor also longs to lead everyone to success.

"When I was a child, I heard a story called 'Marking the Boat to Find the Sword.' I always thought the swordsman was foolish. How could a sword in the middle of a lake be found on the shore? I laughed at him for never finding his sword in his entire life. Only in my old age did I realize how many people travel back and forth in the long river of time, trying to find what they have lost, but each time they can only linger by the boat. What is lost can never be regained, and I am no longer the person I once was..."

The new emperor relaxed and sat beside Wei Qing's tomb, telling stories from his childhood.

The new emperor felt that the swordsman who lost his sword was constantly wandering around the tombs of many old ministers, just like the swordsman searching for his own sword on the shore again and again. He also always believed that he could not find the sword.

But he eventually realized that if he lived long enough, the sword that had fallen into the middle of the lake might be washed ashore by the waves.

He repeatedly tried to find the sword by marking the boat, and eventually the sword returned.

Their future together did not end, but simply began in another way.

At some point in time, they will inevitably reach the summit again and reunite.

The original idea for this story, "Marking the Boat to Find the Sword," was to depict the past of Emperor Wu's era, where the boatman could only return to Maoling to pay his respects, unable to intervene in the face of a completely changed order. It would involve the witchcraft calamity led by demons like Zhu Shiyin, who impersonated Jiang Chong. However, this ending wasn't very good, so I rewrote it, transforming it into a continuation of the future in the Fengdu Secret Realm's Earthly Court model.