Chapter 582 – When He Resolved to Break Through, Old Friends Arrived (1/2)
Chapter 582 - When He Resolved to Break Through, Old Friends Arrived
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
When she had been heavily wounded in the Garden of Zhou, Xu Yourong had once leaned on Chen Changsheng's shoulder. Later on, she no longer acted so intimately with him, even on those snowy nights in the capital.
She was truly leaning on him now, placing all the weight of her body on his shoulder.
What was passed to him, besides the air and warmth of a young woman, was comfort and kindness.
Chen Changsheng accepted it and was no longer as downcast, saying, ”Relax, I'm okay.”
Xu Yourong softly replied, ”But as Heavenly Secrets thinks this way, the Empress will definitely also be thinking in this direction.”
Chen Changsheng said nothing for a few moments, then answered, ”I can't prevent other people from thinking what they want.”
Xu Yourong knew that nothing could be done about it. She was also powerless to prevent the Empress from thinking whatever she wanted.
Just as Chen Changsheng had said on that night, the Empress had never been a good person in the common sense of the word, and it was also very difficult to examine her in light of ordinary ethics and virtue.
”The rumors all say that when Emperor Taizong relegated the Empress to the Hundred Herb Garden, she became acquainted with my master and His Holiness, only then grasping the method to defy the heavens and change fate… If this is the case, they should have been kindred spirits who would trust each other through thick and thin, why…did the two sides later on become enemies that can't live under the same sky?”
”What happened before that bloody incident of the Orthodox Academy, nobody knows, but I've heard vague rumors that the Empress had made an agreement with Principal Shang. Later on, however, the Empress did not act according to her promise, so the two became enemies.”
”That agreement…was probably about the position of emperor.”
”That should be the case.”
”Why isn't the Empress willing to return the position of the emperor to the Imperial clan?”
”I asked her this question many years ago. The Empress said it was because there was no offspring of the Chen Imperial clan that could shoulder the responsibility of emperor.”
”Hundreds of descendants of the Imperial clan are scattered about the counties and provinces. Is there not one that can shoulder the heavy responsibility of the country?”
Chen Changsheng did not completely speak this question.
Xu Yourong understood his meaning. ”There isn't.”
Chen Changsheng said, ”I hear that His Highness the Prince of Xiang, of the same blood as Prince Chen Liu, has a rather excellent reputation.”
””That's only exterior reputation.” Upon discussing the Prince of Xiang, a hint of scorn appeared on Xu Yourong's brow. ”In reality, this prince has been licentious and shameless since he was a child. He was originally born with excellent gifts in cultivation, reaching great achievement of his sun wheel at the age of ten, yet because of his own moral character, he doesn't have a hope of entering the Divine Domain in this life.”
”Is entering the Divine Domain very important for succeeding the position of emperor?”
”Yes, it's extremely important.”
”Why?”
”If one wants to become sovereign of humankind, what one first needs is not virtue, but strength.”
……
……
In order to become sovereign of humankind, great strength was required.
This was not difficult to understand. The demons were in the north, their evil intentions never dying. At any moment, this world could be deluged by a flood that could overflow the heavens, and engulfed in the endless flames of war.
For a similar reason, if one wished to live a better life, to avoid unease and fear, one also needed greater strength.
Any sort of external things could only improve one's mood, reinforce one's confidence, enrich one's days, yet they could not address the fundamental problem.
Friendship and romance were beautiful, and on certain occasions, they could rescue one's life or soul, but one's own strength was still more reliable.
Entering Mount Han, encountering the Demon Lord, and learning many secrets from the Elder of Heavenly Secrets, Chen Changsheng was being confronted by an almost unimaginable pressure that was simultaneously an impetus.
He had to advance in power as quickly as possible. At the very least, he could not be like he was when encountering the Demon Lord on the mountain path, not even able to have a chance of countering. Despite how many magical artifacts and treasures he might have possessed, he could not use their full power, and so could only wait for death.
He decided that during the Boiling Stone Summit, he would seek an opportunity to break into Star Condensation.
Back when he received the Yellow Paper Umbrella from the Tang Old Master in Wenshui, he was only at the upper level of Ethereal Opening, yet he was able to take on the full-force blow of a peak Star Condensation cultivator. If he really could successfully break into Star Condensation, in front of the Demon Lord…and the Divine Empress, the Yellow Paper Umbrella might let him live for a period of time.
This period of time might not be too long—it might only be enough time for a few breaths—but to him, this time was extremely important.
Because besides the Yellow Paper Umbrella, he still had the ten thousand swords in his sheath, the Heavenly Tome Monoliths transformed into stone pearls, and importantly, he still had the Garden of Zhou.
After his breaking into Star Condensation, even powerful figures like the Demon Lord or Divine Empress would presumably find it difficult to directly snap his connection with that space.
Then if he could just fight for a very brief moment of time, he could escape into the Garden of Zhou.
These were external pressures and needs.
His decision to break into Star Condensation had even more to do with his mental needs within.