Longzang

Chapter 1147 My World Is Always Raining
The Jin capital palace was shrouded in a somber atmosphere; all the plum blossoms had withered, carpeting the ground in crimson.

Outside Chunhua Palace, imperial guards, palace guards, and eunuchs with cultivation stood silently, their ranks densely packed, and no one dared to utter a sound.

Prince Jin arrived in haste, but hesitated for a moment as he entered the courtyard of Chunhua Palace. He hadn't been here in far too long. His fondest memories were still of Prince Fu's birth; since then, his mind was filled with gloom and snow.

After a brief pause, Prince Jin stepped into the courtyard of Chunhua Palace. His footsteps stirred up a circle of dust, barely visible to the naked eye.

The courtyard was desolate; the snow was thick, even covering the roads, and no one had swept it. Scattered across the snow in the courtyard were spots of scarlet red, a glaring red that resembled freshly fallen blood rather than fallen plum blossoms.

The Prince of Jin took a deep breath and was about to continue forward when he suddenly saw a figure slowly appear beside him.

Wei Yuan and the Prince of Jin exchanged silent glances and walked together into the palace. Halfway there, Wei Yuan suddenly stopped, bent down, and picked up a plum blossom petal from the side of the path. All the withered petals were scarlet, except for this one, which was half-withered. A faint trace of blood clung to the edge of the withered petal, yet it gleamed with a faint golden light.

The Prince of Jin, standing nearby, also narrowed his eyes slightly. Having spent many years cultivating with the woman with blue eyes in his later years, he was naturally familiar with this kind of blood. This was Buddha's blood, and moreover, the blood of a Buddha who had attained a certain level of enlightenment.

Wei Yuan carefully put the petal away and then stepped into the Chunhua Palace.

Consort Yuan lay on her back on the floor by the window, her profile as if asleep, radiating a peaceful relief. Wei Yuan walked to her side without changing his pace and slowly knelt down.

Prince Jin stopped at the entrance of Chunhua Palace but did not enter the palace.

Wei Yuan reached out and gently touched Yuan Fei's face. A faint warmth lingered where his hand touched, as if she had simply fallen asleep. But Wei Yuan knew that Yuan Fei's body was undergoing a transformation, a transformation that even he found difficult to comprehend. The current Yuan Fei had long since become a lifeless object, severed from all past causes and effects, no longer tainted by the dust of the world.

At this moment, she is like a newborn.

Wei Yuan slightly pulled his hand back, a small azure dragon emerging from the depths of his pupils, and a point of time power lit up at his fingertips, which he then placed on Yuan Fei's brow.

In an instant, the light and shadow shifted, and the world within three inches had been transformed.

It was still a sunny afternoon, but there was already a noticeable haze on the distant horizon, and the brilliant warm sun only lasted for a brief moment.

Consort Yuan stood by the window, the sunlight gently caressing every line of her face. Time had left no trace on her face; she remained as perfect as ever.

Consort Yuan turned around and looked at Wei Yuan, saying, "I knew you would come, so I have been waiting."

"I'm here."

Yuanfei smiled, a hint of relief and understanding in her eyes, and said, "Then I'll tell you what I've always wanted to say. I've always felt sorry for how unpleasant our first meeting was. I was a terrible person back then. I've never dared to tell you these things, but now that I'm gone, I can finally say them."

Later, when the child was born, I told you he was a reincarnation of an Arhat, but that's not actually the case. He only carried a small amount of Arhat karma, used to deceive enemies from beyond the heavens. The true Arhat karma... resides within me.

Those nights, I desperately fought off assassins who could appear from anywhere, not just for our child, but also for myself. You were indifferent to him because of his status as an incarnation of an Arhat. I, on the other hand, deliberately kept him away from Buddhism to avoid the enemy's sight, and I did so very obviously. He secretly resented us for this, which allowed the Buddhist disciple to take advantage of the situation.

But in truth, I know that his so-called innate wisdom is only superficial. If he truly masters Buddhist practice to a profound level, he will encounter obstacles, and by then it will be too late. And you…”

At this point, Consort Yuan paused and looked back out the window. The sun had been shining brightly outside, but now it was shrouded in gloom, and the Buddhist disciple was slowly walking through the walls.

As the young monk approached, Consort Yuan's eyes filled with sorrow. She said, "I originally thought you disliked this child because of a misunderstanding, but you don't know that I also possess foresight. Seeing the Buddhist disciple arrive, I knew that you intentionally pushed this child away. You thought that by pushing him away you were only exchanging him for an Arhat reincarnation, but in reality, you were pushing away our child!"

I know you're acting for the greater good, but at the heart of that greater good is yourself. I don't want to blame you; after all, this incident itself is the greatest punishment for you. As for me, I don't want to hide anymore. I'll wait here. Let Luohan's karma end on its own; I'm tired…”

Outside the window, a hand that looked like a woman reached in and gently touched Consort Yuan's brow, then withdrew it immediately.

Consort Yuan slowly fell backward, her robes fluttering, scattering the last rays of sunlight that fell upon her, leaving tiny, shimmering fragments, like butterflies in a storm.

Her body landed and merged with the present world; the fragments hidden in the cracks of time disappeared forever.

Wei Yuan remained motionless, but his heart was in turmoil. He knew that Consort Yuan could have avoided death; the great karma of being a reincarnated Arhat would have been enough for her to escape this calamity unscathed. It was she who chose to give up.

When she learned that it was Wei Yuan who pushed the King of Chu out, she gave up.

In Wei Yuan's eyes, Yuan Fei's face was calm and serene, carrying a sense of relief after liberation. She had never experienced happiness since growing up. Even her encounter with Wei Yuan in the Arhat's Secret Realm, this twisted and manipulated life brought her more guilt and self-reproach.

Only after she told him her name did a few rays of sunlight appear in that world that had been raining the whole time.

But Wei Yuan was always busy, fighting battles everywhere, and rarely had time to visit her. During this time, Wei Yuan faced life-or-death crises several times, and Li Ruyi, due to her status, not only couldn't share his burdens, but couldn't even appear in person. She could only obtain some information from afar on the other side of the world through others, and then, as an unrelated party, appropriately show a little surprise, not daring to overstep her bounds. Originally, she had accepted this kind of life, but she never expected that the source of the sunshine would be thunder.

And so, the world collapsed.

A faint mist of light rose from Li Ruyi's body, which began to dissipate and vanish into nothingness, leaving only a few relics of varying sizes in the original spot. However, these relics had lost their luster and shattered into ashes after a short while, disappearing with the wind.

At this point, Wei Yuan understood everything.

Exposing the King of Chu was Wei Yuan's final decision after more than ten days and nights of deliberation. By having the King of Chu, a reincarnation of an Arhat, tie down the main force of the Buddhist sect, he secured a sliver of hope for Zhu Yan's ascension to immortality. But Wei Yuan knew that the real threat lay with him. Given the chance, his opponent would surely abandon Zhu Yan to eliminate him.

This isn't hard to guess. The opponent used extraordinary means to activate Zhu Yan's ascension to immortality, but their intention wasn't Zhu Yan herself, but rather Yan Shi, the Tai Chu Palace, and even more so, Wei Yuan. The fact that the final Venerable Lord chose Wei Yuan instead of Zhu Yan in his attack is enough to prove this point.

Therefore, the core of the overall situation revolves around Wei Yuan himself. The so-called "for the greater good" is actually for Wei Yuan's own benefit. This is precisely why Wei Yuan deserves the greatest punishment.

Wei Yuan had no other choice. If he lost this battle, he would not only lose himself, but also the future of the Tai Chu Palace, and even the entire Tai Chu Palace. The two generations of Immortal Lords were willing to sacrifice themselves to protect Wei Yuan's growth. How could Wei Yuan allow the situation built by the previous generations of Palace Masters who had fought so hard for the path to immortality to be destroyed in his hands?

Moreover, Wei Yuan could not accept handing over control of this world to the Venerable Lord and his ilk.

This means that hundreds of millions of ordinary people are still like ants, like weeds; this world is still a world that only cultivates oneself, and even helping others is considered heresy; although the world is vast and time is long, there is no place for ordinary people to settle down.

Therefore, even if it happened again, Wei Yuan would still push the King of Chu out.

Li Ruyi knew Wei Yuan was right, but she didn't accept it.

Wei Yuan's fingertips brushed over the remaining ashes of the calamity, but ashes are ultimately nothingness; they would not remain on his fingertips, nor would they linger in the world. So, bit by bit, they fell from Wei Yuan's fingertips and turned into faint light.

There will never be another Li Ruyi in this world.

Wei Yuan remained calm as he rose to leave. He paused as he brushed past Prince Jin and said, "Pure Land."

A murderous glint flashed in the Prince of Jin's eyes, which he then concealed, just as he had back when he was still known as the Wise Prince.

Wei Yuan paused in the courtyard for a moment, looking at the Chunhua Palace, which had remained almost unchanged over the past decade. The only new additions were two flowering trees that Wei Yuan had personally planted. One was to oversee the King of Chu, and the other to remain steadfast in its protection.

Without that flowering tree that watched over the Chu Prince's residence, the little monk wouldn't have found the Chu Prince so easily. But the tree that remained steadfast in its protection was suppressed by her own actions.

Wei Yuan sighed softly and walked out of the courtyard gate of Chunhua Palace. This was a place he might never return to.

The wind felt harsh on my face.

Throughout the entire process, Wei Yuan felt he had done nothing wrong, neither had Ru Yi, and certainly not the King of Chu. The ones at fault were the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land, the Venerable One, and the other behind-the-scenes manipulators who stood against him. Everyone who wanted to accuse him was just a bunch of useless cowards who dared not provoke the other side.

The current situation is actually much better than Wei Yuan had anticipated. Wei Yuan's sudden killing of Lü Changhe disrupted all of the opponent's plans, forcing them to launch their counterattack prematurely. Then, Wei Yuan overpowered Xu Shuhe, who was sent by the opponent to commit suicide, while Zhu Yan took advantage of the situation to ascend to immortality.

Meanwhile, the main force of the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land was to capture the King of Chu. The Four Saints Academy only sent one Master Gu, while the Duke Yansheng did not appear. His whereabouts were a mystery, and it was unknown what had tied him up with.

Therefore, in the end, it was equivalent to the reincarnation of an Arhat exchanging Zhu Yan's ascension to immortality for Xu Shuhe's demise, and Lü Changhe was not originally part of the scheme. As for the King of Chu, he was merely a decoy, and his reincarnation as an Arhat was just a facade.

Who knows how long it will be before Guangzhi Luohan is reborn and finds another incarnation? That's another story.

"Don't stop me! I need to see my father!"

As Wei Yuan was deep in thought, a commotion suddenly broke out not far away. A middle-aged man pushed aside the imperial guards, rushed over, and knelt down in front of Wei Yuan with a thud, crying, "My mother is gone, my brother is missing, and my only remaining family in the world is you, Father!"

Wei Yuan looked closely and saw that the person lying on the ground was a middle-aged man with a pale and swollen face, droopy eye bags, and sagging cheeks. He looked to be about forty or fifty years old, and judging from his appearance alone, he could probably be Wei Yuan's father.

This person's cultivation level is currently only at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, and his foundation is extremely unstable, even weaker than a template Foundation Establishment cultivator. Wei Yuan didn't recognize this person at all. He scanned the other person's sea of ​​consciousness and soul with his divine sense and compared it with his memories before he realized the person's identity: Prince Fu.

By this time, Lü Changhe was dead, all his backup plans had failed, and the secret of Prince Fu's origins had lost its meaning.

Wei Yuan remained calm and composed, and suddenly Prince Fu was teleported a hundred feet away. Then Wei Yuan walked out of the palace and flew away into the sky.

(End of this chapter)