Chapter 269: Should Hua Di Huang Kowtow to Lady Yuton?

The linen robe drifted slowly within the Ji Li Man Temple.

Digris only smelled the wind and incense, then these scents gently swept over his body.

He felt a low roar emit from his power armor, and his whole person tipped toward the ground.

The staff belonging to Malcador drew an arc on the ground, then fell beneath a marble pillar not far away.

Digris lifted his head in confusion and pain, wanting to see clearly how his attack had been deflected.

The night wind silently swept across the entire Ji Li Man Temple; the sound of the linen robe fluttering in the wind reminded Digris of the sound of waves battering the city-states on Macragge.

That was a figure Digris did not know how to describe.

It was a figure taller than Digris, draped in a linen robe like flowing water, as if a hermit returning from a mountain-top monastery; pure white snow melted from his robe, leaving only purity, tranquility, and holiness.

It seemed a faint light enveloped him; it was not light from the material universe, but light from the Warp, yet unsoiled by filth.

It was like a midnight meteor named Hope streaking across an eternal, dark universe of war alone.

"Who are you?"

Digris shouted at that figure draped in the linen robe:

"Who exactly are you?!"

That figure did not speak, only turned its head to look at Roboute Guilliman seated upon the Wang Zuo.

With his movement, the silver chains on his body chimed softly, clear as bells.

That figure gazed at Roboute Guilliman's body, its gaze seeming to fall upon the spot of fresh blood on his neck.

"Do you know? Rational and reasonable people are often better at recognizing the darkness and cruelty of reality."

"Hope is merely a fleeting illusion; happiness is merely the beginning of tragedy. Nothing beautiful is eternal, and no sorrow is brief."

"Therefore, the more rational, reasonable, and lucid a person is, the less they will believe that ideals, hope, dreams, and the future will be better."

The figure in the linen robe turned its head slightly, seeming to look at the existence hidden beside itself, and also seeming to look at Digris.

"But Roboute Guilliman is different. He knows with utter clarity how cruel reality is, and deep in his heart has long realized the bleak future the galaxy must walk toward."

"Yet he remains unreasonably stubborn; at his core, he is an idealist. The teachings of King Conner and Lady Yuton are truly astonishing."

Digris was stunned by these words.

The emotion revealed in the linen-robed figure's words made Digris's soul tremble; he seemed to hear a voice from ten thousand years ago.

However, this emotion was quickly dispelled.

Because the hidden existence suddenly spoke.

"I truly wish Lady Yuton were still alive; Hua Di Huang really should climb down from the Golden Wang Zuo and kowtow to her."

"Then properly learn from her the methods and ways of child-rearing—although for Hua Di Huang, this is a subject beyond the syllabus."

Speaking thus, the hidden existence chuckled lightly:

"Perhaps he should first learn from the she-wolf that raised Russ; that way, the lesson would be closer to his current level."

"Hmm, facts prove that even Russ's wolf mother understands child-rearing better than Hua Di Huang."

The words of the hidden existence made the figure in the linen robe emit a laugh as well.

Afterwards, a wooden door, pinkish-red in hue, suddenly appeared in mid-air.

Shylandri Veilwalker, hiding to one side, suddenly had light burst forth in her eyes; she took a step and leaped toward that wooden door without hesitation.

Digris quickly realized that wooden door was their escape route.

He suddenly mobilized his own psychic power, swiftly dragging the Malcador staff from beneath the marble pillar.

This staff, once belonging to the hero Malcador, merged with Digris's psychic power; primal psychic power surged from his flesh and blood body.

In an instant, Digris transformed into a silver-blue torrent composed of the supreme might of the Empyrean, surging toward that pinkish-red wooden door.

A broad, sharp longsword blocked before Digris.

It was a power sword of purple-copper color, inlaid with crimson gems and the Eye of Terra; it was as long as a mortal man, and its broad blade could match an Astartes's palm.

Digris sucked in a sharp breath.

That was the Emperor's Sword, the personal blade of the Master of Mankind in days gone by!

That longsword, once belonging to the Human Emperor, had rested upon Roboute Guilliman's lap for ten thousand years, never ignited.

Now, at some unknown time, it had been taken into the hands of that figure draped in the linen robe.

That figure looked at Digris impassively, then gently raised the Emperor's Sword in hand.

Hiss——————

The sound of a wildfire burning on a barren plain rose up.

Scorching flames leaped upon the longsword, spraying arcs of smoke, fire, and psychic energy, blinding as a solar disc.

After ten thousand years, the Emperor's Sword ignited once more.

Digris was deeply shaken; within that star-like burning longsword, the shadow of the Emperor seemed to manifest.

"Son of Guilliman, do you still wish to advance?"

A majestic voice rang from the linen-robed figure's mouth; Digris's figure was suddenly struck down from the Warp back into reality.

He involuntarily knelt on one knee upon the ground, gazing up in awe at that figure in the linen robe.

At the same time, that pinkish-red wooden door was gently pushed open.

The figure in the linen robe lowered the Emperor's Sword in hand and suddenly hurled it toward Roboute Guilliman.

Digris was startled and nearly cried out.

However, the Emperor's Sword extinguished in mid-air and fell squarely upon Guilliman's knee.

Then, he and that clown and the hidden existence vanished instantly into the door.

Digris watched this scene before him with confused thoughts; he had never felt so bewildered.

Just then, footsteps were faintly heard from outside the temple.

Dirgris fell silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.

He waved the staff of the hero Makdor in his hand, and everything around him returned to its original state; the psychic chains coiled at the entrance also unraveled.

Before long, seven members of the Honor Guard entered the Sanctuary of Ji Li Man. The leading sergeant bowed slightly to Dirgris.

"My Lord Chief Librarian, we are here to relieve the guard."

Dirgris nodded and returned the salute.

Then, that sergeant seemed to vaguely sense something. With some surprise, he looked around.

"My Lord Dirgris, did something just happen?" he asked.

Dirgris paused slightly.

He recalled the Emperor's Sword that had just blazed with searing heat.

"No, nothing happened," he replied softly.

After Sanguinius and Sylane the Veil-Walker retreated into their own fourth-dimensional pockets, Zhou Yun quickly returned to the Glory Blade Strike Cruiser, slipping silently back into the Expeditionary Fleet.

But Zhou Yun did not reveal himself; relying on the effect of the Blind Spot Star, he temporarily hid within everyone's blind spot.

For as soon as he returned, he noticed Yvraine was conversing with the Archmagos Belisarius Cawl.

Zhou Yun trusted Belisarius Cawl, but he did not trust Yvraine to the same extent.

Although Zhou Yun was quite willing to make jokes about a Regent's Wife, and he knew that Yvraine and Sylane the Veil-Walker, whom he had captured, were among the few normal ones in that bunch of Eldar bastards,

the Eldar God of Death, Ynnead, standing behind Yvraine, posed a major problem and held many secrets. Even Cypher, that Eldar God, had to pinch his nose and cooperate with Him.

Naturally, Zhou Yun could not place his full trust in Him, nor could he fully trust Yvraine, who was guided by Him.

Thinking thus, Zhou Yun stood silently beside Yvraine and Belisarius Cawl, listening to their conversation.

"Your technique is indeed outstanding, but that artifact can only cure the Primarch's flesh, and we all know the true damage lies in the soul."

Yvraine's voice was cold and gloomy, as if it came from a realm unreachable by the living:

"You cannot complete your task alone, regarding that sleeping Son of Revenge."

The muscles on the half of Belisarius Cawl's remaining face twitched slightly. He lowered his head and gazed at Yvraine.

"What is your insight, Xenos?"

Yvraine was somewhat surprised that Belisarius Cawl had so easily accepted her suggestion.

Nevertheless, she continued speaking in her gloomy voice:

"I serve the Eldar God of Death, the Divine Lord who holds the cycle of life and death. He has the authority to veil death and reverse life and death."

Points of data torrents flickered in Belisarius Cawl's gaze, as if he were judging whether Yvraine's words were correct.

Yvraine clearly did not mind helping Cawl make a judgment as quickly as possible.

"You may know that the Warp contains many realms; not every realm is occupied by the four unspeakable ones."

"One of those realms was born from the fear and hope of life towards death, born from the fate that all things will eventually march towards destruction. All deaths will return to that realm."

"And we, the God of Death Ynnead, occupy a portion of that realm. Those whose death is personally granted by Him will return to the part He controls. He can thereby veil death, allowing that one to walk once more among the living."

"Only I can accomplish this by channeling the power of Ynnead through the Sword of the Old Crone in my hand; otherwise, his soul will be irrepressibly eroded by the power of the God of Hunger."

More information flickered in Belisarius Cawl's eyes; he clearly knew that what Yvraine said was not a lie.

But...

But this meant that the Xenos witch before him must personally kill Luo Bote Ji Li Man, causing the Primarch's death to fall into the realm of the Xenos deity.

Belisarius Cawl could not make a judgment for the time being.

Yvraine seemed to believe that Belisarius Cawl would not refuse this proposal, so she said no more and silently retreated into a dark corner.

Watching this scene, Zhou Yun did not step forward to speak directly. Instead, he silently calmed his mind and tried to extend his consciousness toward Belisarius Cawl.

Theoretically, Belisarius Cawl, whose body was mostly mechanical, would also be affected by the power Zhou Yun had obtained from the Vile Arts domain.

The torrent of information surging in Belisarius Cawl's eyes suddenly stuttered slightly, and his entire body shuddered.

(End of Chapter)