Longevity Candle

Chapter 96 The Candlelight Will Record It for You

"Didn't you tell me to just declare myself emperor? Why is it now about attacking this 'Shuntiandao'?"

Xu Wenhe glared at the Dragon Blood Serpent: "I haven't even become emperor yet, and you've already figured out how to use the dragon's energy?"

"Can you stop being so stupid?" The Dragon Blood Serpent glanced at him. "Do you even know who that groveling ghost is?"

“Him? He seems familiar, but I can’t quite place him.” Xu Wenhe frowned and pondered, but he couldn’t remember him no matter what he did.

"He was the Yunmeng Emperor back then, who died while conquering Shuntiandao."

The Dragon Blood Serpent said coldly, "He has entered the path of immortality. Although he does not interfere in mortal affairs, he has always been paying attention to the Yunmeng Jiangshan."

"If you don't interfere in worldly affairs, what help can you offer?" Xu Wenhe frowned.

"Over the years, he has wandered all over Yunmeng, and he knows best who the strong are."

Even if the wandering souls he sent away lacked ability, weren't their relatives and friends scattered throughout Yunmeng, few of whom possessed any real skill?

"Dragon Blood Serpent said coldly."

Xu Wenhe slapped his forehead and quickly lowered his tone: "You are right. I was confused and lost my mind. I didn't recognize him for a moment."

Inside the peach grove.

Jiang Zhu looked at Li Zhu and his wife: "You two are getting old, do you want a new life?"

The couple bowed and said, "Please look away, we do not wish for a new life."

"Don't want to?" Jiang Zhu was taken aback. Everyone in the world seeks immortality and a next life, yet they have given up on it.

“If we are reborn, we will forget everything. We do not want to forget. Moreover, even as wandering souls, we can enter the path of peaceful rebirth.”

The two said.

Jiang Zhu nodded. Since the choice had been made, he would not interfere.

He glanced at Li Qingxuan, sighed slightly, and knew there was no way to save her.

"Uncle Jiang Zhu, can we take a walk alone?" Li Qingxuan asked.

“Okay.” Jiang Zhu led her into the depths of the peach grove.

The two walked through the peach grove. Li Qingxuan had aged, and her years of studying immortal techniques had left her with irreversible injuries that were ineffective with medicine.

Even with his magical powers, he could not cure it.

Her life was slipping away.

"Uncle Jiang Zhu, you once said that you also have aspirations. Can you tell me now?" Li Qingxuan looked at him with curiosity in her eyes.

Jiang Zhu remained silent for a moment, then caught a petal. The wind blew, and the petal flew away, but it lost momentum after a short while and fell to the ground.

Jiang Zhu sighed, "The Jingwei bird."

Li Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, then felt a little heavy-hearted: "I understand."

The Jingwei bird, roaming freely and eating the fruit of the peasant, is truly carefree and without worries.

Jiang Zhu wanted to be as free and unrestrained as the Jingwei bird.

But he was destined to be like this petal, able to ride the wind for a moment when there is wind, and to sleep peacefully when there is no wind.

He slept for too long, his awakening was too brief, and he could not stray too far from the lamplight.

Upon closer reflection, this seems more like a constraint.

"Have you ever experienced Nirvana?" she asked.

“This is not a question you should be asking,” Jiang Zhu said. “You want to pass on my story, so that the Way of Peace will work for me for generations to come.”

Li Qingxuan fell silent, and Jiang Zhu saw through her thoughts.

“You’re mistaken.” Jiang Zhu raised his hand, and the petal that had fallen earlier returned to his palm. “This petal is intact, but the whole flower has rotted away. How do you know what the previous generation of the Green Lantern Spirit looked like?”

Li Qingxuan opened her mouth, but couldn't refute it.

What if the previous generation of elves also killed other elves to prolong their lives?
The Nirvana Fire was originally the flame of the phoenix, but it was stolen by the Green Lamp.

“I have granted you and Gu Yun Shen a new life. The Gu Yun Shen of today is no longer Gu Yun Shen, but Gu Xinsheng of Taiping Dao.” Jiang Zhu said, “He knows everything about his past life, but can he truly empathize? He is merely observing from the sidelines.”

“I understand,” Li Qingxuan said. “You are just you, and I, Li Qingxuan, am the Li Qingxuan of today. The past is over.”

“That’s how it should be. Clinging to the past will not necessarily lead to what you see,” Jiang Zhu said.

For example, Li Qingping back then, even though he found the ancient candle, he was unwilling to leave any information behind.

“Since you’ve chosen this path, then walk it to the end. The brilliance you radiate throughout your life will be recorded by candlelight, and that’s the only thing I can do for you,” Jiang Zhu said.

"That's fine too." Li Qingxuan said with relief, "Then I'll go on my final journey."

"Go ahead." Jiang Zhu watched her go back.

"My life, though not glorious or brilliant, has been wonderful and fulfilling. I do not seek to be known by the world, but only to live up to the aspirations of a peaceful world."

She returned to the wooden house and looked at the dim lamp.

An overwhelming panic welled up inside her; it was the fear of death.

There is no rebirth after Nirvana; her foundation has been damaged, and she cannot even walk the path of peaceful rebirth.

She often had thoughts of prolonging her life, but she could not do so unless she joined the Longevity Path or the Heavenly Path and, like them, killed spirits to prolong her life.

But she didn't have that much ability, nor did she dare to do so.

"The desires of the human heart are an insatiable chasm."

Li Qingxuan was filled with mixed emotions. At this moment, she understood somewhat why her ancestor, Li Qingping, had given up the path of immortality.

When you know you are about to die, you will feel real fear, and the will to live will constantly assault your mind.

A day passed, and Jiang Zhu returned to the green lamp. His slumber time was shortened, but his lifespan remained six hours.

“I’m going on a long journey and will be back in a year at the latest,” Li Qingxuan said.

"Why are you leaving at this time?" Hu Ling asked.

“It’s us who want to go back to Peach Blossom Village,” said Li Zhu and his wife. “People, once they get old, think about returning to their roots.”

"I'll see you off," Hu Ling said.

"No need, you can have peace and tranquility."

Li Qingxuan left behind the page of peace and prosperity, and then rode away on a cloud with her parents.

He left in a hurry without informing Gu Pingsheng and his sister.

She glanced back at Qiuyue City and saw Gu Pingsheng beside Xu Wenhe. In the end, he still chose to help this person he looked down upon.

She took her parents back to the former Peach Blossom Village, where there was only a huge cemetery.

Taoyuan Tomb.

The peach grove is still there, but it is overgrown with weeds. The flowers bloom and wither, and the fruit ripens several times, but no one comes to pick them.

They poured a jar of peach blossom wine and the family of three began to deal with the weeds.

They cleaned up the house and started living there again.

"Go and do your own thing," Li Zhu said. "Your mother and I aren't at the point where we can't walk."

"Okay." Li Qingxuan nodded slightly, got up and left.

She left the mountain and came to Yigu City, the place where the destiny began, the ancestral home of the first person destined to be with the green lamp, and Ayan.

Baiyun Town had already been destroyed, so she chose this place.

Li Qingxuan spent three days wandering around Yigu City. Everything was peaceful there, and the vendors were enjoying a prosperous and peaceful life.

Ningguo is now winning one great victory after another on the grasslands, and the good news has spread throughout Ningguo.

Ayan's ancestral home has long been occupied by new people, no longer the Gu family. The former Gu family ancestral hall has been replaced by a new one, where other people's memorial tablets are now enshrined.

She inquired and found out he was a wealthy businessman with some kindness, but not much.

I wrote down a scroll of the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace) and placed it underground. Perhaps someone will find it, or perhaps they never will. It's up to fate.

This is a tribute to Ayan.

“No one remembers anymore.” Li Qingxuan sighed deeply.

Martial arts immortals, the pinnacle of the martial world, who will remember them after the long years?

Time can erase everything.

She left Yigu City and found a Taoist priest named Taiping. Now, Taiping Dao has spread throughout Ningguo, but it still practices martial arts.

An ordinary-looking young martial artist with average talent, not particularly skilled.

"Old man, what can I do for you?" the young martial artist asked politely.

"Old man?" Li Qingxuan smiled and said, "Peach Blossom Village, Li Qingxuan, is waiting for your Dao Master at the top of White Cloud Mountain. It's no longer called White Cloud Mountain, it's called Heavenly Cloud Mountain."

Having said that, silver light rose from beneath her feet, transforming into clouds that soared straight into the sky.

"A celestial being, a celestial being!"

The young martial artist watched Li Qingxuan leave with excitement, and without the slightest delay, reported the matter.

At the summit of Baiyun Mountain, all traces of the past have vanished, leaving only desolate rubble.

Three months later.

An old man climbs the mountain alone.

He was quite old, and he was already panting heavily after only climbing halfway up the mountain. A silvery light enveloped him and carried him to the top of the mountain.

“I thought you would bring a group of people, or even a large army,” Li Qingxuan said, looking at the old man.

“You have already entered the path of immortality. Without the blessing of the nation, you cannot be kept.” The old man bowed and said, “Junior Zhang Youwei greets the Immortal of Peach Blossom Spring.”

“You’re not a junior; I’m younger than you,” Li Qingxuan said.

"How could that be?" Zhang Youwei was shocked: "You have already entered the path of immortality, and you are so old, how could you not be as old as I am?"

Li Qingxuan took out three booklets: "I have traversed the path of immortality, but it is not yet complete. One is the cultivation of living beings, and the other is the cultivation of wandering souls. What I have not yet perfected is the combination of these two methods."

Zhang Youwei's hands trembled with excitement: "Immortal magic?"

“The most basic immortal techniques can be practiced by any mortal. In creating this technique, I damaged my foundation, and it can never be cured,” Li Qingxuan said.

"You have already created the mortal path to immortality, why do you still want to continue to study it?" Zhang Youwei asked.

"When I was young, I was born in Yunmeng and was corrupted by the power of Taiyin, which gave me a pair of moon eyes that can see wandering souls..."

Looking back, Li Qingxuan smiled and said, "He looked down at me and granted me the ability to send souls away. I want to give this ability to all the wandering souls in the world."

"I've heard about what happened in Yunmeng. Emperor Yunmeng was a good emperor, but the times were different, and our positions were different, so I can only feel sorry for him." Zhang Youwei's words contained both admiration and apology.

It was Ningguo who shattered the tranquility of Yunmeng, prematurely destroyed the kingdom, and plunged the world into chaos once more.

"Take these three books. I hope you can enter the path of immortality, rely on the nation's fortune, resist the spirits of mountains and seas and the immortal masters and Taoists, and never forget your ambition for peace."

Li Qingxuan said, "I am the first Qi Refiner in the world, and I hope you can become the third."

"The third one?" Zhang Youwei asked curiously, "Who was the second one?"

"Among the people of Yunmeng, there is also a wandering soul cultivator, but he is not considered a Qi Refiner. He belongs to the Taiping Rebirth Path, and his main job is to send away wandering souls," Li Qingxuan said.

Zhang Youwei accepted the three books and hid them in his bosom: "I will pass them on. In the future, when people from Peach Blossom Village enter the world, they should not mention Peach Blossom Village again."

"Wasn't the destruction of Ningguo back then enough? Why continue the pursuit?" Li Qingxuan frowned.

"It was Li Wanyun. He poisoned the late emperor. I found some clues. It was the late emperor who contacted the Longevity Path. He wanted to achieve immortality."

Zhang Youwei said bitterly, "The new emperor was actually chosen by Li Wanyun. He is very capable and follows the national policy. Therefore, I did not leak your information and kept everything a secret."

“Li Wanyun…” Li Qingxuan’s heart skipped a beat.

Unexpectedly, instead of seeking immortality, he infiltrated the Ning Kingdom's palace and poisoned the late emperor.

"This is his suicide note. I made a copy and brought it to you." Zhang Youwei took out a piece of paper from his pocket, which was the very one left by Li Wanyun back then.

Looking at the content above, Li Qingxuan remained surprisingly calm.
She felt no sadness; she simply folded it up and put it in her bosom.

Li Qingxuan stood up, silver light rising from beneath her feet: "I should go now. I hope you can spread the will to peace."

Zhang Youwei hurriedly asked, "Will he still lower his eyes?"

Li Qingxuan glanced back at him and said, "He should enjoy the peace and tranquility of the world."

They rode the clouds away and disappeared into the clouds in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Youwei lingered for a long time before finally descending the mountain with the three books.

Li Qingxuan returned to Peach Blossom Spring and stayed there, focusing on accompanying her parents and tending to the peach orchard.

She looked for the Peaceful Tree from before, but unfortunately, it had rotted away and no longer possessed any of its mystique.

Cultivating a few acres of barren land and planting peach orchards is a leisurely way to live.

After staying for nearly a year, she returned to Yunmeng alone.

In Yunmeng today, war has broken out again. Xu Wenhe did not participate. Instead, he followed Gu Pingsheng's advice to recruit talents, stockpile grain, and build high walls.

When forced to participate, he tries his best to remain passive, avoid causing bloodshed, and save as many people as he can.

He lacked backbone and was not as brave as the other soldiers. When he encountered Yue Wu's army, he fled immediately without hesitation.

When he heard that the three kings' allied forces had been defeated by Yue Wu in one fell swoop, he was terrified.

Fortunately, Yue Wu only glanced at him, and he ran fast, so he didn't chase after him.

Because of this, he preserved his strength very well, and almost all the people he saved joined his ranks.

He encountered a military genius who, apart from being unable to defeat Yue Wu, was virtually undefeated.

It's not shameful to lose to someone like Yue Wu, who is not human.

Some of the defeated kings were won over by him, while others joined forces to resist Yue Wu.

Time flies, and four years have passed in the blink of an eye. In Yunmeng, only Yue Wu and Xu Wenhe's forces remain.

Years of warfare have alienated the people of Yue Wu. Although he is brave, his men are dwindling. Of his former confidants, only about ten remain by his side.

His army was reduced to just over 20,000 men.

In contrast, Xu Wenhe gathered the remaining forces from various regions and recruited the people he had rescued, amassing an army of up to 600,000, which, including support personnel, was known as a million-strong army.

Yue Wu was not afraid at all and challenged Xu Wenhe to a decisive battle. Xu Wenhe naturally agreed. With an army of 600,000, he felt that he had no reason to lose.

However, the result was that Yue Wu, with more than 20,000 men, managed to break through an army of 600,000.

Yue Wu originally thought that he could defeat Xu Wenhe in one fell swoop, but he did not expect that the fellow was not in the army at all and had already escaped.

So what if you break through the army?

We can't find the head coach!

Xu Wenhe was terrified and only felt at ease after fleeing back to the Peach Forest base camp.

To Xu Wenhe's surprise, the generals behind him passed on false information about him to Yue Wu, constantly luring Yue Wu into a trap to ambush and kill him.

They fought on despite repeated defeats, and suffered more than ten consecutive battles, resulting in the deaths of nearly 100,000 people.

When Yue Wu turned around, he was shocked to find that he was all alone, except for that unfamiliar face. The trusted confidant he had brought with him had already died on the battlefield.

The remaining people numbered no more than eight thousand, and they were already exhausted and covered in the frost of the elements.

Just as he was feeling disheartened, the figure he hated to the core appeared.

Xu Wenhe sat high on the carriage, gazing at Yue Wu: "General Yue Wu, do you still remember Magistrate Xu Wenhe of Qiuyue County?"

"You despicable man, don't try to run away if you dare!" Yue Wu was furious to the extreme, his right hand gripping the halberd tightly, wishing he could rush up and kill him immediately.

If it weren't for him back then, Xu Wenhe wouldn't even have become a county magistrate!
"When I first entered this world, I admired the great hero General. But what has General done all these years? You killed the Ning people, which can be called hatred, but what about the people of Yunmeng?"

Xu Wenhe shouted, "I am a despicable man, but I give them a way to live and I can bring them peace. And what about you? The world has just been settled and everything needs to be rebuilt, yet you are thinking of raising an army to attack Ningguo!"

"General, after all these years, have you ever counted how many people are left in Yunmeng?"

Yue Wu's face was cold: "Could it be that you know?"

"I told the general that since the Yunmeng Emperor attacked the mountain and sea spirits and the immortal masters and Taoists, the population of Yunmeng was more than 48 million."

The Ningguo invasion caused widespread suffering, with over seven million people killed or wounded; and General, since you raised your army, do you know how many have died?

"How much?" Yue Wu asked coldly, he really hadn't cared.

"A total of 11.6 million people died or were injured. General, you keep saying you are doing this for the people of the world and for Yunmeng, but don't you know that you are the biggest sinner of Yunmeng!"

Liu Wenhe stood up, pointed at him, and cursed, "You vented your hatred and evil on Yunmeng. Your sins are greater than those of the people of Ningguo!"

"No, it's impossible..."

Yue Wu's body trembled, and he almost fell off his horse.

"Have you forgotten why you raised an army back then? Have you forgotten the late emperor's ambition? The late emperor sacrificed the country for the sake of the people. You received the late emperor's favor and were granted the right to compete for the throne. Is this how you repay the late emperor?!"

Xu Wenhe's voice boomed like thunder, exploding in Yue Wu's ears.

He felt a ringing in his ears, and in a daze, he saw Gu Pingsheng, the former emperor of Yunmeng.

He wasn't mistaken; Gu Pingsheng appeared behind Xu Wenhe, looking at him with deep disappointment.

"Was I wrong?" He looked at Gu Pingsheng, his lips trembling.

"you are wrong!"

A furious shout rang out, and three burly men rode up on horseback, staring directly at Yue Wu: "We have advised you more than once not to massacre the city, but have you listened? Your former brothers were killed just because they tried to stop you from marching on Ningguo!"

"You...you're not dead?" Yue Wu was shocked.

These are his three trusted confidants. He had witnessed them being pierced by spears in the previous war, but they have survived.

"We thought we were going to die, but our lord saved us." The three men clasped their hands and bowed to Xu Wenhe from afar.

Xu Wenhe spoke again: "In terms of bravery, throughout history, no one can compare to you, but you don't let them live. Even if a common man's courage reaches the heavens, how can he subdue the people of the world?"

"You may kill me, Xu Wenhe, today, but there will be a second, a third, and countless more Xu Wenhes in the world!"

Yue Wu gripped his halberd tightly and said coldly, "I only ask you, will you send troops to Ningguo?"

"I, Xu Wenhe, also have blood in my veins!" Xu Wenhe gritted his teeth and raised his head, saying, "Now that the world is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt, it is impossible. I will recuperate and strengthen the country. I will pass on the blood feud of Yunmeng to future generations."

One day, my warhorses from Yunmeng will tread upon the land of Ningguo!

"Fine!" Yue Wu roared, planting his halberd in the ground. "If you can't do it, even if I become a wandering ghost, I will make sure you never have a moment's peace!"

Crimson blood splattered everywhere. A powerful figure, a hero of yesteryear, and a tyrant of later years, came to an end before the eyes of countless soldiers.

The dragon energy of Yunmeng gathered and surged into Xu Wenhe's body.

A new emperor has been born, and a new conquest has begun...

(End of this chapter)