PFC Chapter 237 Tianjizi's Prophecy
Chapter 237 Tianjizi's Prophecy
"Holy crap! The path to immortality has been severed for a hundred thousand years, could it really be that this era is about to repeat itself?!"
The green-haired turtle was so excited that its shell was rustling. Its two little eyes were wide open, and it muttered, "Speaking of which, the way it relayed the message and its tone are a bit like those charlatans from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion..."
Li Wudao's heart stirred.
I couldn't help but recall that in the Sword Ruins Forbidden Zone, the mysterious fat monk had indeed vaguely mentioned that it was the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion who had guided him to search for the Buddhist treasure...
He couldn't help but ask, "Senior, do you know the name of that immortal?"
Li Wenshan's breath was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind. He thought for a moment and said intermittently, "He... seemed to... call himself... 'Tianjizi'..."
Tianjizi! It really was him!
The man and the tortoise exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.
Li Wudao's mind was in turmoil.
What exactly is Tianjizi plotting?
Why are they repeatedly leading me to this place when we've never met before?
He felt as if he were in an invisible giant net that had already been woven, with an unseen hand quietly pushing the gears of fate.
"Young friend...they...are now in your hands...to deal with..."
Li Wenshan turned his head with difficulty and glanced at Li Jing and Li Zheng, who were slumped on the ground. His eyes showed both heartache and deep disappointment.
Then, he turned his gaze to Shen Huaimin, who remained silent and had a complicated expression. A deep sense of guilt welled up in his cloudy old eyes.
"Huaimin..."
This old title, devoid of the aloofness of an emperor, carries more of the melancholy of an old friend.
His voice was hoarse, almost inaudible, “The deaths of Wu’er and Lie’er… were due to my secret orders back then… I have failed the Shen family.”
There were no further explanations, only a straightforward and somber admission.
Shen Huaimin's eyes shifted uncertainly, and his muscles tensed instantly.
A surge of intense hatred flashed across his eyes, but as he looked at the old emperor before him, who was nearing the end of his life, that hatred ultimately transformed into a heavy sigh of resentment.
His lips moved, but he said nothing in the end, and simply closed his eyes slowly and heavily.
Li Wenshan didn't seem to need his answer.
This confession, decades overdue, seemed to have exhausted his last bit of energy.
"Father!"
"Grandfather!"
He withdrew his gaze, ignoring Li Zheng and Li Jing's desperate cries choked with sobs. Leaning on his broken cane, he staggered around, took one step at a time, and resolutely walked out of the hall.
What was only a few dozen steps felt like crossing thousands of mountains and rivers to him at that moment.
With each step he took, his vitality dissipated, and his hunched body swayed more violently, as if it would fall apart completely at any moment.
"His Majesty Emperor Wen..."
"His Majesty……"
All the officials looked on with sorrow.
Many people choked up and spontaneously prostrated themselves on the ground, watching this once glorious ruler who led the Great Yu to the end of his life.
Even the members of the Liang Dynasty delegation suppressed all their unusual expressions at this moment, solemnly bowing their heads to pay their final respects to this worthy opponent.
Upon reaching the entrance of the palace, Li Wenshan stopped in his tracks and shakily stepped across the threshold that symbolized supreme power.
His fading yet lingering gaze swept blankly over the palaces and pavilions before him, down to every brick and tile...
After a long while, he slowly raised his head, looked up at the vast sky, his expression complex and shifting, and sighed deeply:
"I, Li Wenshan, joined the army at the age of sixteen, and at twenty, I was entrusted with the responsibility of governing this precarious Great Yu. For two hundred and sixty years, I have dared not slacken my efforts even for a single day."
"He once led an exhausted army north to attack the Di and Rong tribes in the wilderness, winning three battles in a row and expanding the territory by a thousand miles; he once saved the nation from collapse and pacified the barbarian tribes in the south..."
His words were filled with endless emotion and reminiscence, like a magnificent historical scroll unfolding before everyone's eyes.
"Even surrounded by powerful enemies and amidst unpredictable storms, I once believed that human determination can overcome fate. With a focused mind, nothing is impossible, and we can safeguard the eternal foundation of our Great Yu dynasty..."
His tone gradually turned low, revealing a deep sorrow and helplessness, as he said:
"However, in the end, human strength is limited, and destiny is hard to defy. I can protect this country for a time, but I cannot protect it forever. I can create a prosperous era, but I cannot raise a wise ruler who can maintain the status quo."
"Seeing the nation crumble day by day, its descendants unworthy, its sovereignty lost and the country disgraced... I am heartbroken, yet powerless to reverse the decline!"
"Now, my time has come, and my destiny has come to an end. Right and wrong, merit and demerit, all will vanish like smoke."
As his hoarse voice faded, Li Wenshan slowly closed his eyes and murmured, "Wu, Xuan, Zhao, Qian... all the late emperors... I have done my best!"
The last breath that had sustained him for so long finally dissipated completely.
His hunched body swayed slightly, then he fell silently forward, crashing heavily onto the cold stone steps in front of the hall.
A great ruler, with his civil and military achievements, whose 260-year reign was magnificent, has now come to a somber end.
"His Majesty Emperor Wen——!"
"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"
The sound of grief shook the palace, and the assembled officials wept bitterly, prostrating themselves on the ground, unable to rise.
Gazing at the fallen, aged figure, Li Wudao's eyes were filled with complex emotions as he softly murmured, "Farewell, Senior..."
Indeed, he deeply resented the persecution of his closest relatives by the Dayu royal family.
But he couldn't bring himself to hate the old emperor; instead, he couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for him.
Shen Huaimin stood silently to the side.
At the very moment when Li Wenshan's life force was completely cut off, his body, which had been taut like an iron tower, swayed almost imperceptibly.
He neither cried out nor knelt down.
He slowly opened his eyes, which he had just closed, and looked past everyone to the lifeless, aged body.
The surging waves in his eyes had subsided, leaving only emptiness and a sense of bewilderment as if the grudges had been settled.
.......
The brief grief on the faces of Li Jing and his son Li Zheng was quickly replaced by boundless fear.
The two instinctively fled towards the outside of the hall.
The immense shadow of death made them tremble uncontrollably, bringing them to the brink of collapse!
"Where are you two going in such a hurry?"
Li Wudao composed himself, flashed to the front of the hall, and stared at the two with cold eyes.
"If you retreat now, I...I can pardon all your past crimes! I will make you a king, no, I will share the throne with you!"
Li Jing was terrified, and screamed in a fierce but cowardly tone, "Otherwise...otherwise I will fight you to the death!"
"I need your pardon? I need to share the reins of this empire with you?"
Li Wudao sneered, his disdain evident in his voice, "Use whatever tricks you have up your sleeve. Don't say I didn't give you a chance."
"Fine! Fine! You forced me to this!"
Li Jing's face suddenly turned extremely ferocious, and a resolute madness flashed in his eyes.
He suddenly pulled out a jet-black jade pendant covered with strange runes from his pocket and crushed it violently!
"Crack!"
The moment the jade pendant shattered, an invisible wave rippled outwards.
Before long, a series of heavy, orderly footsteps, like muffled thunder, suddenly came from outside the hall!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A troop of soldiers clad in heavy black armor rushed into the hall like a torrent of ghosts emerging from hell, surrounding the entire Golden Palace.
These people, each with a refined and murderous aura, were all experts at the Martial Grandmaster level, numbering over a hundred!
What's chilling is that in front of this black army stood more than ten figures with even more imposing auras, all of whom were Martial King level experts!
Two of them, though their hair was white and their faces were withered, seemingly on the verge of death, exuded an aura as powerful as mountains, clearly reaching the mid-stage of the Martial King realm!
Their cloudy eyes flashed with a sharp light as they opened and closed, like two ferocious beasts that had been awakened from a long slumber!
"This...this is?!"
"Martial Sect... they're all Martial Sects! And so many Martial Kings?!"
"When did Your Majesty accumulate such terrifying power?!"
Everyone in the hall, including Li Zheng who had originally harbored ulterior motives, was horrified and dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events.
The Liang Dynasty delegation looked even more solemn. They never expected that the seemingly declining Yu royal family would secretly harbor such a chilling elite force!
Under the protection of several black-armored soldiers, Li Jing seemed to have regained some confidence. Although his face was still pale, his tone carried a hint of coldness and smugness:
"Hmph! Do you really think I've been mediocre and without any plans all these years?"
He swept his gaze across the astonished expressions of the crowd, especially Li Zheng's incredulous face, and sneered, "Weren't you all curious about why the national treasury has been empty for so long...? Now you should understand..."
Li Wudao raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
It was unexpected that the royal family of a mere lower-ranking dynasty could secretly accumulate such a wealth of resources; it was indeed somewhat beyond his expectations.
But that's all.
"Kill him! Tear him to pieces!"
Li Jing's eyes were filled with venomous resentment as he stared intently at Li Wudao, uttering a cold command through clenched teeth.
"kill!"
Hundreds of black-armored soldiers at the Martial Grandmaster level roared in unison, their voices shaking the palace.
More than ten Martial King level experts suddenly unleashed their auras and locked onto Li Wudao.
In particular, the two elderly men, both at the mid-stage of the Martial King realm, stepped forward simultaneously, raising their withered hands. A vast amount of spiritual energy gathered, and a chilling power was poised to be unleashed.
Li Wudao remained calm, a cold sneer playing on his lips. "Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, utterly overestimating your own strength!"
No matter how many shrimp there are, they are still shrimp, and their fate cannot be changed.
"stop!!!"
Just then, a furious shout suddenly came from outside the hall, as loud as thunder, instantly shattering the tense atmosphere!