Chapter 1830: Flourishing Way

Flourishing Way

Red Dust Bastion.

In a certain serene courtyard.

Branches with a few fiery red maple leaves remaining poked into the courtyard from above the white walls, swaying silently in the gentle breeze. The melodious sound of an Ancient Zither echoed in the courtyard.

Suddenly, with a light flick of a fair hand's finger, the zither sound became even clearer. A fiery red maple leaf drifted down gently from the branch, ultimately landing on the ground of the courtyard.

The gentle breeze brushed past the courtyard.

Amidst the fluttering fallen leaves, a red-clothed Young Girl was playing the zither with both hands, her clothes and hair dancing with the zither sound.

At the same time, the main gate of the courtyard was pushed open directly by a pair of heavy and powerful hands.

Creak——

His burly figure was like a small mountain, casting the Young Girl's figure into shadow, his eyes looking down coldly at the other party.

"That diagram of the Path of the Arts, how much longer until it's finished embroidering?"

The Young Girl didn't even raise her head, still focused on playing the zither.

As another crisp zither note sounded, a maple leaf on that branch fell again... Only six maple leaves remained, hanging solitarily upon it.

Seeing the Young Girl not respond, Wang Jian's expression grew increasingly gloomy, and the temperature of the courtyard dropped rapidly:

"When this General speaks, can you... not hear?"

"The Duke of Feathers's voice is like a great bell, his imposing manner aggressive, Slave naturally hears it." The Young Girl's vermilion lips parted slightly, her voice soft and light. Only that head lowered in focus on playing the zither still didn't raise.

"It's just that the Duke's momentum is so great. I presume it's because inside and outside the palace, your fellow Dukes in the same hall are mostly unwilling to follow your wishes, so you have to be so aggressive everywhere, right?"

Wang Jian's fists suddenly clenched tightly.

The aura of a Path of the Soldier Demigod swept across the courtyard, blowing the fallen leaves all over the ground into the air. He looked coldly at the zither-playing Young Girl, killing intent climbing from the depths of his eyes:

"A prostitute... also dares to speak to this General like this??"

"The Duke of Feathers's understanding of the Prostitution Path is truly shallow." The Young Girl's voice was unhurried, every sentence like falling on the water's surface, rippling out a circle of gentleness.

"The Prostitution Path connects to the 'Flourishing Way' (Chang). Whether men or women in this world, whether male prostitutes or female prostitutes... the vast majority of people, in the final analysis, are merely trapped by the desires and greed in their hearts, seeking a 'Flourishing' character."

"The eighteen Divine Pathways in the world are all formed by the convergence of the pure and grand will of all living beings. The so-called Path of the Courtesan is not the will of self-degrading people pursuing desires and greed. The worldly people seeking 'Flourishing' are like a torrent of heaven and earth, all living beings are like this. Men bow and scrape, willing to give up dignity, give up Morality, and even give up their wives and daughters for it; women seek glory and are prone to jealousy, willing to flatter for it, to offer their beauty for it... But the Path of the Courtesan is exactly the opposite; it is the will of people going against the current, going against 'Flourishing'."

"How to go against 'Flourishing'?"

"To have something to hold onto in one's heart, to have something to believe in one's heart, willing to pay everything for what one holds and believes, that is the way to go against 'Flourishing'... Therefore, the extremes of the Flourishing Way throughout history are mostly monks pursuing the Great Dao in their hearts, assassins acting as agents of heaven to kill emperors for the people, greenwood heroes robbing the rich to help the poor, ordinary people hidden in the bustle of the marketplace..."

"The Duke of Feathers has achieved great success on the Path of the Soldier. But if placed on the Flourishing Way, you are merely a mediocre person burdened by military power, fame, and wealth, and surrounded by the masses."

"Why does this General need to compare with your Flourishing Way?" Wang Jian snorted coldly. "This General only cares about when that Path of the Arts will finish embroidering the diagram, and when to act to suppress it. If you put on an act again, this General will chop this broken zither of yours with one saber."

Ding——

The zither sound rang out again.

Upon the branch, another maple leaf fell.

Only five maple leaves remained tottering, seemingly unable to hold on for much longer either.

"After five cups of tea, the Path of the Arts will reach grand completion." The Young Girl responded airily. "If the Duke of Feathers wants to use Slave's zither to test his saber, you must hurry... If you can't even sever a single string after five cups of tea, I'm afraid you will Become A Laughingstock."

Wang Jian's hand was already resting on the hilt of his saber. Looking at this Prostitute Girl before him who was so disrespectful to him, his killing intent almost condensed into substance... but thinking of His Majesty's Imperial Decree, he still forcefully suppressed his anger.

He glared fiercely at the Young Girl, turned around, and walked toward the outside of the courtyard.

The zither sound was still melodious.

The Young Girl looked up at the branch with only four maple leaves remaining, a faint light flowing in her beautiful eyes, regretful as if about to weep:

"A pair of gifted scholar and beautiful lady... truly a pity..."

...

In the village of the Red Dust Domain.

Densely packed silk threads trembled lightly in the courtyard.

A woman wearing white training clothes was lying quietly in the center of the cobweb-like Embroidery Threads. One by one, Embroidery Threads quietly drilled into her from the surface of her skin, sinking into her flesh and blood, tracing a complex picture within her body...

And now, that extremely tedious Embroidery Diagram was already approaching completion.

Deep in the courtyard.

A pair of aged eyes was intently gazing at the final stroke of that Embroidery Diagram... then lightly raised a hand. An Embroidery Thread floated out from his body, completing the connection of the final missing corner of the Embroidery Diagram on Su Zhiwei's body.

Buzz——

The aura of the Path of the Arts flowed in the void.

This Human Body Embroidery diagram that had been embroidered for over three hundred years was finally completely perfected.

"Phew..."

Yao Qing looked at that Embroidery Diagram sinking bit by bit into Su Zhiwei's body and completely disappearing. A smile surfaced in those eyes full of exhaustion.

He supported the ground with both hands, his withered body just about to slowly stand up...

In the next second.

A saber wrapped in the extreme Killing Intent of the Path of the Soldier was like a startling swan, instantly smashing the courtyard gate to pieces!!

Boom——!!!

Yao Qing's pupils contracted sharply.

The icy Killing Intent surged in the air. Amidst the splashing fragments of the gate, that aged figure was directly hit by this sword, smashing through the old dilapidated hut behind him, flying backwards like a shooting star.

This earth-shattering boom instantly attracted Jing Si's attention on the other side of the village.

He fiercely looked up toward the direction the sound came from, asking in astonishment:

"What happened??"

"It's that idiot, the Duke of Feathers." The Duke of Stars also looked there coldly, a flash of displeasure in his eyes. "His Majesty's decree told us to wait until Yao Qing completes the Human Body Embroidery Diagram, then suppress him and make Su Zhiwei continue to slumber... He on the other hand, wants to kill the moment he acts."

"Even if he wants to snatch merit, it shouldn't be snatched like this."

"Then... then should we intervene?" Looking at a certain part of the village where dust was flying, Jing Si couldn't help but ask.

"...Forget it." The Duke of Stars hesitated for a moment, but still shook his head. "We don't need to worry about other people's affairs. Just doing what we should do is enough... Furthermore, he is indeed carrying out His Majesty's decree. If we intervene, it will be a bad thing instead."

"...Alright."

Although Jing Si nodded, he still kept his gaze fixed on the direction where dust was flying, his fingers pinching lightly, as if using the Path of Divination to calculate something.

"Not right..." Jing Si was startled, surprise surfacing in his eyes. "Could it be that that Path of the Arts intends to..."

Boom——!!!

A loud bang rang out from that direction, sweeping across the entire Red Dust Domain.

An Embroidery Thread path leading to the firmament extended out from the earth...