Aoyama

Chapter 382 The Hidden Sword Land
late at night.

Chen Ji sat on the roof of the Ginkgo Garden, gazing at the silent Forbidden City in the distance. The misunderstanding between him and Bai Li should be over, but he still didn't know how it had disappeared.

Chen Ji silently pondered how to rescue Bai Li, what part of his plan was missing, and whether the struggle for succession in the Chen family had come to an end.

Today, Bai Li broke Consort Xue's plan. Will Consort Xue hold a grudge against him?
During those sweltering summer nights before his transmigration, he lay on his rooftop, just like now, constantly refining his plans.

At this moment, the night in the distance was illuminated by firelight, and Chen Ji sat up to look.

The Forbidden City and Fuyou Street are less than two miles apart, and the raging fire seemed to be burning right in front of them.

Chen Ji was filled with doubt and uncertainty. Where did the fire start? Could it be Jingyang Palace? Was it because of palace intrigue?

Throughout history, the imperial palace has always been the most dangerous place, where the wickedness of people's hearts is comparable to a mountain torrent or a tsunami.

A bad feeling rose in his heart, but he had no reason to go and check.

Fortunately, the fire was quickly extinguished.

Chen Ji lay back down on the roof ridge, letting the icy water wash over his entire body.

The black sea of ​​clouds surged, and the traces drifted within it for an unknown amount of time before finally plummeting downwards.

Black clouds enveloped his body as he plummeted, leaving a long black trail in the air, like a shooting star with a long tail, before crashing onto the mountaintop.

Nothing has changed here.

The three-legged golden crow remained frozen in the sky, its tail not even trembling; the giant continued to rush towards the battlefield like Kuafu chasing the sun, but stopped at the position of taking one step.

This world is like a vast and lonely amber, imprisoning everything for tens of thousands of years.

Chen Ji turned his gaze to Xuan Yuan, who was sitting on the edge of the cliff, leaning on the royal flag. Without turning his head, he said, "I thought you wouldn't come again after such a long time."

Chen Ji found a large rock and sat down: "I remembered some things. I remembered the familiar weapons, and I also remembered that you killed me."

He turned to look at the battlefield.

Xuanyuan silently waved his sleeve, and the battlefield suddenly moved.

Countless ancient birds soared through the sky, trailing long and magnificent tails.

On the ground, the human battle formations advanced relentlessly, human cavalrymen seated atop towering warhorses. On the other side of the battle lines, countless colossal beasts seemed to be circling something, constantly howling in agony.

The giant, who had been frozen in time, finally ran closer, his footsteps like drums.

The giant arrived outside the encirclement of giant beasts and hurriedly pulled them apart one by one, revealing a quiet figure inside. The seven hundred and twenty furnaces on that figure were slowly dying out, and a palm-sized sword was stuck in its head.

Its sword was like jade, shimmering with light and color.

The giant carefully cradled the corpse in his hands, raised it above his head in grief and rage, and let out a deafening roar. He then placed the body back on the ground and led his beasts and birds in a charge against the human cavalry, only to be overwhelmed by the human battle lines.

The world froze once again.

Chen Ji had been here many times and had seen these giant beasts gather and wail many times. But for the first time, he realized that among those wailing beasts, there was "himself" gathered.

He turned to look at Xuanyuan: "And why are you trapped in this day?"

This time, it was Xuanyuan's turn to be silent. It wasn't until much later that he changed the subject: "You remembered everything?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "I don't remember everything, only some scattered fragments. I saw your sword seed shine brightly, piercing my head, and then the world went dark. What happened after that battle?"

Xuanyuan refused to tell.

Chen Ji smiled and said, "I'm not here to collect a debt from you. Let bygones be bygones, and there's no need to bring the grudges of the past into this life. I've said before, we can get to know each other again."

Xuanyuan planted the royal flag in a crevice in the rock, letting it flutter in the strong wind.

He walked to the boulder opposite the ruins, sat down cross-legged: "Aren't you curious why I killed you, and why we went from friends to enemies?"

Chen Ji looked at the dark clouds above his head: "I was curious about this before. I could feel hatred, regret, the peach blossoms at the bottom of the Guixu Sea, and the snow on the East Kunlun Mountains before I died. But I couldn't remember what I experienced there. It's as if something cut them all away."

“Perhaps I did something wrong, or perhaps you did something wrong, but fifteen thousand years have passed, none of that matters anymore,” Chen Ji said to Xuan Yuan. “Xuan Yuan, the previous life is the previous life, and I still have many things to do in this life.”

Xuanyuan sighed, "Even you, who hold the grudge the most, can let go of a life-or-death feud. This world has truly changed."

Chen Ji said solemnly, "I have come here with many questions."

Xuanyuan chuckled and said, "Ask away."

Chen Ji asked earnestly, "Does the Supreme Ruthless Jade Token exist in Eastern Kunlun?"

Xuanyuan shook his head: "No. In the East Kunlun Mountains, there is only endless snow and green mountains, and there is no Supreme Forgetfulness Jade Token."

Chen Ji then asked, "Have you ever seen the Three Pure Ones?"

Xuanyuan arrogantly said, "Who dares to call themselves my ancestor?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

According to what Xuanyuan said earlier, the other party was sealed here 15,000 years ago. The Three Pure Ones and the Forty-Nine Heavens should be people and events that appeared and happened later.

So how did the forty-nine heavens come about?
How did the Taoist and Buddhist temples come about?

These are all things that happened after Xuanyuan's death, and even Xuanyuan himself didn't know them, so asking him wouldn't help.

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "What is my relationship with the Bluebird?"

He had asked this question before. He asked Xuanyuan if he knew Li Qingniao, and Xuanyuan replied that he only knew Qingniao, not Li Qingniao. Chen Ji often wondered if they might actually be the same "person"?
So, who exactly is the Bluebird? This is the answer to why he left the Forty-Nine Heavens.

Xuanyuan looked deeply at Chen Ji: "After me, Qingniao is your best friend."

Chen Ji was stunned.

friend.

best friend?

So, if Li Qingniao is the Qingniao that Xuanyuan mentioned, then the other party's help in leaving the Forty-Nine Heavens must be well-intentioned.

Chen Ji stood up and pressed, "Li Qingniao once said to me, 'Life is like a fleeting moment, a spark in a stone, a dream within a dream. The Forty-Nine Heavens cannot hold you back. Go, go where you belong...' What did he mean by those words?"

Xuanyuan asked in a low voice, "That's what he said? So that's how it is. So that's how you got the forty-nine heavens... Strange, if that's really the case, shouldn't there be fifty heavens? How come there are only forty-nine?"

Chen Ji was startled.

Fifty heavens?

He had previously discovered a problem: the world he lived in was not the same as the forty-nine heavens his master had described. Both his master and Prince Jing believed he came from the forty-nine heavens, but he had never seen any of the gods and immortals known to the world. And those he had seen, no one else knew about.

At times, Chen Ji would secretly wonder if Prince Jing and his master had made a mistake, and that he was not from the Forty-Nine Heavens.

The other forty-nine heavens are called things like East Kunlun, West Kunlun, Biyou Palace, Yujing Mountain, and Mount Sumeru, which sound quite magical. But the one he lives in is called Earth, which seems out of place just by hearing the name.

Now, according to what Xuanyuan said, he did not come from the forty-ninth heaven, but from the fiftieth heaven.

Chen Ji looked up at Xuan Yuan: "Where did the fifty layers of heaven come from?"

Xuanyuan shook his head: "There are great secrets here, I cannot tell you."

Chen Ji then asked, "Will I remember this on my own someday?"

“No,” Xuanyuan paused for a moment, “If one day you meet someone who has had the same experience as you, you might understand. If you still don’t understand then, you can come and ask me again.”

Therefore, the Fifty Heavens only appeared after my death.

Chen Ji, ever nonchalant, sat down again: "We'll figure it out someday, but I don't care about what happened in the past right now. I only care about what's in front of me. I have some questions for you about the sword seed."

Now that Wuyun is trapped in the Forbidden City, even if the Gelaohui (a secret society) helps him collect enough ginseng, Wuyun cannot leave the palace to eat ginseng, and it is useless for him to eat it himself.

Since the mountain spirit could not be repaired for the time being, Chen Ji could only focus his energy on the sword seed.

Xuanyuan shook his head: "I've taught you everything I need to. There are only two paths to mastering the sword: one is to slowly nurture the sword with the stars, and the other is to forge the sword with the sword intent of others. There are no shortcuts. As for how to master the sword, there is no other way but to practice until you are proficient."

Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought.

He summoned his two sword seeds from the markings and hesitated, "Excuse me, is it normal for me to have cultivated two sword seeds?"

Xuanyuan suddenly stood up from the boulder.

He strode up to Chen Ji, circled the two suspended sword seeds three times, examined the sword seeds first, then looked at Chen Ji: "What kind of heretical path have you cultivated?"

Chen Ji innocently explained, "I did use the stars to nourish my sword as you said. However, after I grew the markings, I killed another person. This person's sword intent was not infused into the first sword seed, but instead forged the second sword seed."

Xuanyuan frowned and remained silent.

Chen Ji asked curiously, "You've never seen anything like this before?"

Xuanyuan snapped out of his daze, glanced at Chen Ji, and said disdainfully in a casual tone, "It's not surprising. Your sword technique is like a piece of scrap iron, far from the divine way."

As he spoke, he lifted Chen Ji's clothes.

Chen Ji took a step back: "What are you doing?"

Xuanyuan said in a deep voice, "What else can I do? Let me see your markings!"

Chen Ji unbuttoned his clothes, revealing his upper body. Three tiger-like stripes were visible on his body, one light brown and two black.

Xuanyuan was taken aback: "You've already used it once?"

Chen Ji closed his clothes: "Do you know the purpose of these markings?"

Xuanyuan chuckled and leaned against the boulder: "I've dealt with you for ten thousand years and suffered twice because of this mark. How could I not know? However, this mark is one less to use each time it's used. You're only at the level of an ant and you've already used it once. What will you do in the future?"

There was a hint of schadenfreude in Xuanyuan's words.

Chen Ji said irritably, "You should worry about yourself."

Xuanyuan lowered his head and pondered, "If you can grow eight stripes, then wouldn't you be able to cultivate eight sword seeds? That's absurd."

Chen Ji asked earnestly, "Was it repaired incorrectly?"

Xuanyuan glanced at him and said, "Shut up."

Chen Ji burst into laughter: "Envious?"

Xuanyuan took a deep breath: "You have the face of a petty person. You don't know how difficult it is to raise a sword. It took me tens of thousands of years to raise just one sword. You want to raise eight sword seeds? Do you think it will take you eighty thousand years? Can you afford to wait?"

Chen Ji slowly suppressed his smile: "I really can't wait. The reason I came here this time is that I hope you can draw up the location where you hide your sword for me."

(End of this chapter)