Chapter 152: 216. All Worldly Attachments Are Fulfilled, Plotting Divine Matters in a Mortal Body (6.3K - Seeking Subscriptions)

Returning to the courtyard, Lian Chanxi looked at Song Cheng with a mix of confusion and contemplation. After all, she was someone who had lived a long time; once she discovered something unusual, she would naturally ponder it. At this moment, her beautiful eyes shifted, and she asked, "You changed your words on the spot and hurried me away—what did you discover?"

Song Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Is it possible that the conflict over the Lost Spirits could trigger even greater contradictions?"

Lian Chanxi said, "That shouldn't be the case. The Senior Brother was raised under the watch of my aunt and that Senior Shi from before. His feelings for my aunt should be no less than mine."

"Huang Taixuan."

Song Cheng narrowed his eyes, recalling the appearance of that old man.

The child had already turned white-haired, yet the elder who taught him remained young.

This was the cruelty of having different lifespans.

Thinking back to when they were in Jing Shifei's courtyard, Huang Taixuan's favorability was only 50, and just now it was only 30. Song Cheng was almost certain that Huang Taixuan was definitely a supporter of the "Lost Spirits."

After all, he was already very old.

If he did not support the "Lost Spirits," he would have to dissipate his power, face the death of his body and the extinction of his Dao, and enter reincarnation, from which there would never be another chance.

Besides that, Xuanqing Palace seemed to have a high number of elderly people.

This was related to the general environment.

In the current environment, it seemed extremely, extremely difficult for a new Mountain and River Lord to be born.

This point could also be indirectly illustrated by the fact that Lian Chanxi could not find a Dao companion.

I fear that no new people have joined Xuanqing Palace for over a thousand years.

"Are you afraid they might be detrimental to you?" Lian Chanxi sensed his thoughts and shook her head with a smile. "Even if our viewpoints differ greatly, everyone is just debating; there is no life-or-death conflict.

Whether it is the Lost Spirits or the True Spirits, both are merely for the sake of continuing cultivation. Even those who want to become Lost Spirits definitely do not want to become the Great Sang Spirits who stir up trouble in the Taiyin Illusion Sea.

They want to maintain their consciousness, and we just feel that this is impossible."

Song Cheng reviewed everything again. The information he possessed was truly insufficient to make further inferences, let alone the fact that he had only known those people for a very short time, while Lian Chanxi had known them for thousands of years. Thus, he nodded and said, "Perhaps they just find me unpleasant to look at."

Lian Chanxi smiled and said, "Who told you to be so young."

Song Cheng smiled, then inquired about the method for "entering and exiting Xuanqing Palace," and planned to leave. To leave, one had to go to the main gate of Xuanqing Palace, then pass through the three layers of "Domain, Dream, and Soul" from the gate, and finally return to the correct human world where one originally resided; this was exactly the opposite of entering.

Entering meant coming directly to the Reappearance World, and then using the token to enter Xuanqing Palace.

As for the "Ink Plum" token, it also had a usage time limit, generally only being usable once a month.

Now, Lian Chanxi brought Song Cheng to the main gate.

Before the main gate, an old man was sitting on a pitch-black stone. His skin was as wrinkled as an ancient tree, and his eyes were as stiff as those of a dead white-eyed fish. Hearing the movement, he suddenly turned his head, his skull passing over his shoulder to look at the two people walking behind him.

He said, "Junior Sister, going out?"

Lian Chanxi said, "Mo Lao, our Junior Brother has some worldly affairs to attend to in the human world, so I have come to see him off."

"Worldly affairs in the human world..." the old man called Mo Lao muttered, then said, "That is truly a very distant memory. One is young after all."

The two smiled.

Song Cheng glanced at Mo Lao, whose "strength is that of a Mountain and River Lord and favorability is 20," and then looked at Lian Chanxi, whose favorability was "99."

Lian Chanxi stood motionless beside Mo Lao.

Although she did not feel that anyone in Xuanqing Palace wanted to be detrimental to Song Cheng, she was still taking precautions as much as possible.

And as her thoughts turned, she asked again, "Mo Lao, has anyone left just now?"

Mo Lao said, "The fellow disciples do not have worldly affairs like little Song, so they will all remain in the palace during this period."

Lian Chanxi said, "Little Song, then you go; return quickly."

Song Cheng nodded and said, "Sister Lian, take care. I will walk around over here."

Having said that, his figure moved, but he did not go directly toward the "Domain layer," instead walking straight outward.

Mo Lao was slightly stunned, a pair of turbid old eyes quietly staring at Song Cheng's back, a look of uncertainty flickering obscurely, not knowing what he was thinking.

Song Cheng walked for a long time in the Reappearance World.

The reason he did not leave directly was that he was worried about an ambush halfway.

And as long as he did not leave from the main gate of Xuanqing Palace, then... the path of return would be different, and it would be harder to calculate, at least making it impossible to ambush him in advance.

He did not know if there was an ambush, but as long as he was in a place with low favorability, he would be sufficiently cautious.

After quickly returning to the ground, a divine soul once again emerged at Funiu Mountain.

This divine soul drifted away and returned to the main body far away in the north, then, familiar with the road, quickly headed toward the "Ice Volcano" that A Ting was currently merging with.

Ice Fire Wasteland.

Outside it was cold snow, but inside it was like spring all year round.

The tall grass was vast, reaching above the knees... The old house built decades ago had already become worn, and Ling'er, who remained young because of her status as a contemplator, was actually already incomparably old.

She sat in front of the wooden house, with wind chimes hanging under the eaves.

The wind chimes were dreamlike, ringing *ding-dang, ding-dang*, which allowed her to close her eyes and feel as if she had returned to the An Mansion, as if she had arrived at the Imperial Capital; all the laughter from her youth would rush toward her—once old, one likes to reminisce.

Ying'er no longer practiced the blade now.

She had already reached the limit of the Pseudo-Xuan, but compared to Ling'er, she had a long lifespan.

But no matter how long it was, she might not be able to wait for Xiao Mo'er to successfully merge with the Ice Fire Wasteland.

Perhaps by the day Xiao Mo'er succeeded, she would have long since become a pile of withered bones on this wasteland.

At this time, Ying'er was making fish porridge on the wooden cutting board in the small house.

The blade that killed people sliced delicate, thin, smooth, and somewhat transparent fish meat from the fish, then placed it into the porridge that was "gurgling" and bubbling with heat.

Ling'er was old and could not eat much; porridge was barely acceptable.

As she sliced, Ying'er's expression suddenly became somewhat dejected.

She was a Pseudo-Xuan martial artist and understood the physical condition of ordinary people very well... therefore, she knew that Ling'er did not have much longer to live. Everything in her body had begun to wither, her Qi and blood had also decayed, and now she slept more and woke less during the daytime; at this moment, being able to go outside to bask in the sun was not easy.

And after Ling'er died, she would also live alone, waiting, until she died.

This kind of divine fusion was not easy at all. She knew that her brother-in-law was well-intentioned, but... even if her brother-in-law's fusion speed was fast, it could not be faster than their deaths, right?

The sunlight fell dimly, and the hot wind from the vast volcanoes stirred the surrounding forest waves like a sea.

Amidst the gale, Ying'er sighed softly, and Ling'er, sensing something, opened her eyes slightly, only to see the rising dust suddenly gather and collapse, forming a human silhouette.

That silhouette. She was so familiar with it.

The aged, beautiful maid opened her eyes wide, looking on in disbelief, then tremblingly called out the name that haunted her dreams: "Master."

"It is me."

The gale formed a voice, as if the heavens themselves were speaking.

Song Cheng took a step, moving from afar to near.

To ordinary people, he was already a god.

Ying'er also turned her head abruptly, saying in disbelief: "Master!! You... you succeeded?"

Song Cheng nodded, then said: "Don't speak yet, I am taking you all to a place."

Immediately, he cast the 【Spirit Servant Technique】, reached out into the void, and grabbed the souls of Ling'er and Ying'er into the Ghost Tower (within the Ghost Tower, the original nine ghosts had already merged, so it was now extremely empty), then brought Song An and Zhao Lingxue, who had been staying in the Yin She, into the Ghost Tower.

He skillfully cast the secret technique, transforming the four divine souls one by one into ghost souls.

Such a secret technique originally damaged the caster's lifespan, so no one practiced or used it, but for Song Cheng, it was an extremely useful method.

Three mortal souls and one pseudo-Mysterious soul instantly stepped into the entry-level tier of Mysterious Grade Ding Quality.

Ying'er, Ling'er, Song An, and Zhao Lingxue were all overjoyed.

And after Song Cheng's explanation, the four of them knew even more that they had gained a new life... from now on, their lives would change because of this.

Subsequently, Song Cheng took out Mysterious Grade cultivation arts and let the four of them choose.

Although Song An and Zhao Lingxue no longer had bodies, they could possess others if they cultivated normally, and because of his secret technique, they could even use the trees and strange rocks in his mountains and rivers as bodies, becoming existences like "Mountain and River Spirits."

The larger his world, the greater the power of these "Mountain and River Spirits" should be.

After doing this, Song Cheng checked Xiao Mo'er's fusion progress slightly, only to find that while the fusion was quite normal, the progress had only advanced a very small portion; if it were to be completed entirely, it would likely take several hundred years.

Song Cheng left the Ice Fire Wasteland and went to the Ice Volcano, enlightened Xiao Yuan, transformed her into a ghost soul, and allowed her cultivation limit to be raised.

In this way, even if she continued to wait for A Ting at the Ice Volcano, it would not be dull, but rather like secluded cultivation, having direction and hope.

After finishing this, Song Cheng went to the current GreatRongDynasty without stopping.

He designated Tong Niangzi, An Chenyu, Xiao Yu'er, Su Mengzhen, Zhao Hua, Ouyang Chuchu, and some other relatives and friends as spirit servants... from now on, even if these spirit servants died, their souls could fly back to the Ghost Tower at any time.

And they could also briefly obtain terrifying aptitude improvements by visualizing him.

As for lifespan, they could possess twice that of ordinary Mysterious Grade beings.

A newly entered Mysterious Grade ghost soul could live for nine sixty-year cycles, and they could live for eighteen sixty-year cycles.

All tragedies of birth, aging, sickness, and death were prevented.

After designating An Chenyu's foster daughter An Linyuan as a spirit servant, Song Cheng let out a long sigh; he no longer cared as much about how the GreatRongDynasty would fare from now on.

After doing this, he and his relatives and friends spent another half a year together... winter soon arrived.

The agreed-upon initiation ceremony was also imminent.

In the GreatRongDynasty, snow fell in flurries, covering thousands of houses and halls, piling up on the long streets.

At this time, it had actually only been a little over half a year since Song Cheng returned.

The scene of the Molten Fire Divine Blade dominating this place and the GreatRongDynasty Emperor acting tyrannically was still fresh in his memory; that was still at the beginning of this year... mortals were still shocked that such a powerful god could be casually slaughtered by Song Cheng.

Many forces, including the Barbarian, came to the Imperial Capital from afar, with different moods, wanting to pay respects to Song Cheng, because in their view, the existence that this land would worship and revere from now on would inevitably still be Song Cheng.

But... they could not find him at all.

Song Cheng also did not intend to appear again.

To put it in common terms, this is called "the god does not care."

However, in fact, a long time ago, Song Cheng had very much wanted to mingle in the mortal world as an ordinary person, silently playing many roles and experiencing many roles.

But in order to survive, he had to become stronger, yet after becoming stronger, he discovered that the mortal world could no longer cause the slightest ripple in his heart.

Now, what could cause ripples in his heart was no longer the beauties of the mortal world, but existences like the "Kunlun Goddess" Lian Chanxi; even the purpose of "desire" had changed.

The mating he now craved was not for "procreation," but for "wholeness," for truly forming a single entity with the other half.

Perhaps, in the future, he would become a mortal again.

After all, with a high enough realm, reincarnation is not impossible.

But that would be after everything had settled into peace.

The heavy snow did not fall only on the Imperial Capital; every part of the world was silent, including the place where the Song-surnamed Imperial Court lived in seclusion. At this time, Tong Niangzi was wrapping dumplings with several daughters-in-law and children who had also been designated as spirit servants by Song Cheng.

The smoke and fire rose, and the flavor of the mortal world was thick.

In the air, besides the coldness of the flying snow, there was the vibrant scent of firewood.

A thousand mountains, the birds have flown away; ten thousand paths, the human tracks have vanished.

Among Song Cheng's descendants, there were some outstanding ones; at this time, there were those who were shirtless in the freezing weather catching fish in the icy river, and those who were connecting with the high-level members of the Yin Gui Society on the outskirts to understand the situation outside. As for Song Cheng, he was sitting under the eaves with An Chenyu, watching the snow.

Zhao Hua was decorating the secluded house with Ouyang Chuchu. Song Cheng reached out to catch the snow, watching it melt in his palm.

Then he suddenly said: "An Jie, actually, you could return to my main body's ocean with me; if you cultivate there, the speed should be faster."

An Chenyu smiled and shook her head gently.

Ever since she saw the whole family become ghost souls and saw how powerful Song Cheng was, all her worries had disappeared, and her face often wore a smile.

"Why?"

"Besides cultivation, I want to continue controlling this dynasty. I want all future dynasties to be decided by me."

"This..."

"Does Husband know why?"

"I do not."

An Chenyu said slowly: "The fist must not leave the hand, the song must not leave the mouth."

Song Cheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what An Chenyu meant.

The superhuman wisdom possessed by a superhuman is simply the act of wielding one's own superhuman power. How ironic is it to say such things?

But why?

Because there are very few existences capable of becoming a superhuman's enemy; a superhuman only needs to use power to solve problems.

But, if you are in a place where anyone can cause your death, then you must learn to rely on strategy, rather than power.

Regarding "strategy," Song Cheng had to admit that he had indeed regressed, or perhaps he had never been able to compare to An Jie or Huazi.

And the reason An Jie wanted to become the power behind the scenes of a land, manipulating the succession of dynasties, was merely to maintain her own strategic wisdom.

"You are already too strong now."

An Chenyu gently grasped Song Cheng's hand, which was composed of leaf outlines, and said softly, "So strong that there are some things you might truly overlook."

Gods do not care about the thoughts of ants.

But if a god were turned into an ant, he might not even be able to survive for a single day.

In our house, there must always be someone dancing amidst the winds and clouds in this place of treacherous human hearts, never forgetting for a moment."

As she spoke, An Chenyu suddenly beamed with a smile, revealing a rare touch of playfulness.

"Besides, compared to boring and dull cultivation, I also like this kind of life."

"If you hadn't forced me to cultivate before, I definitely wouldn't have practiced."

Song Cheng looked at her and nodded gently.

He knew that as his strength increased, there were indeed many things he might overlook.

Then, he began to recount everything he had encountered during this time to An Chenyu.

An Chenyu asked for details one by one, and after speaking for a long time, An Chenyu pondered for a moment and said softly: "Husband, although I can no longer understand your world, as long as it is about seeking advantages and avoiding harm, then I can say a few words."

Song Cheng said: "It should be nothing more than the struggle between True Spirit and Lost Spirit."

An Chenyu said: "Husband, have you ever thought that perhaps a third party exists?"

Song Cheng shook his head; it wasn't that he had forgotten, but where would a third party come from? An Chenyu said: "According to Husband's account, even if there are differences between True Spirit and Lost Spirit, they are still united against outsiders and would never break out into major conflicts."

Since that is the case, why would Husband feel hostility from those people?

Why did that Senior Shi from Xuanqing Palace four thousand years ago disappear on this land with the disciples of Jianmu Palace?"

"Jianmu Palace disciples?"

"If there were no Jianmu Palace disciples, then where did the 'Wood Spirit Evergreen Scripture' come from?" An Chenyu spoke eloquently, "Then, why did they come here? And why did they have conflicts and kill each other?"

Seeing Song Cheng stunned, An Chenyu said: "Husband, you can call Huazi over to brainstorm. Huazi is different from me; he not only plays with conspiracies but has also led troops, so his ideas might be different."

Song Cheng nodded and called Zhao Hua over.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hua said: "Big Brother, this is definitely someone setting a trap; no, not a person, but a god."

"The points of conflict you see now are the cultivation differences between Lost Spirit and True Spirit, and the conflict between the old and young of the Mountain and River Lord."

"But in fact, just from the corner you can see, you have already sensed that the intensity of this conflict is... a bit excessive."

"In my opinion..."

His refined face revealed a hint of coldness, and his eyes narrowed into blades, "That Senior Shi who is already dead... has a problem."

Song Cheng:??? Zhao Hua immediately smiled, the coldness dissipated, and he waved his hands repeatedly, saying: "Big Brother, you asked me to brainstorm, so I analyzed it from my perspective. I feel that Senior Shi is the most likely to cause trouble in the current situation."

"He faked his death to escape, yet he can still maintain his relationship with Xuanqing Palace."

"After all, you also said that even the senior brother of Senior Jing's lineage in Xuanqing Palace was raised by him, which shows what kind of status he had in Xuanqing Palace."

"And an invisible person is always more terrifying than someone who is still in the open."

"If you go back, you can ask clearly how old that Senior Shi was four thousand years ago and what his cultivation potential was."

"If he was slightly older and his potential was average, then Big Brother might as well assume he isn't dead."

Song Cheng asked: "Then what is his purpose in causing trouble?"

An Chenyu took over the conversation and said: "Husband, there are only two possibilities for a person to betray their original stance."

"One, they had to do it for their loved ones; two, they were attracted by greater benefits."

"That Senior Shi is clearly not the former; if he is still alive, then it can only be the latter."

"So who could provide him with greater benefits?"

"How much does the Xuanqing Palace that Husband speaks of know about Lost Spirit?"

"This time, Xuanqing Palace has caused such a huge conflict; someone must be fanning the flames."

"Even if it isn't this Senior Shi, it is someone else."

Zhao Hua continued: "Since they are in the dark and we are in the light, then the current plan is very likely proceeding according to the other party's design. Big Brother, your initiation ceremony at the end of the year should already be in their plan. If Senior Jing wants to gather fellow practitioners, it is very likely that something will go wrong there too."

"Whenever there is an anomaly in anything, there must be a problem, and problems never escape the bounds of interest. If you sort out the needs clearly, you can guess a few parts of the truth."

As his own woman and brother spoke one after another, the more they talked, the more Song Cheng felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

He patted his head.

Damn it.

'I might have really become stupid.'

"Then, what do you think I should do now?" Song Cheng couldn't help but ask. Now that it was winter and nearing the end of the year, he was about to return to Xuanqing Palace.

He knew that Xuanqing Palace had undercurrents surging, but he hadn't thought of all this like his two "conspiracy experts."

An Chenyu said: "Run."

Zhao Hua said: "Change places."

An Chenyu said: "The current Xuanqing Palace is very likely already a trap designed by someone else, just waiting for everyone to take their places one by one, and then pull back the curtain."

Zhao Hua said: "Therefore, Big Brother, you must not hold the initiation ceremony at Xuanqing Palace. You have to change places. Only by changing places will the other party's plan be completely disrupted."

An Chenyu said: "But Senior Jing wants to take this opportunity to question Jianmu Palace about the matter of Senior Shi. In her view, the disappearance of Senior Shi is very likely related to Jianmu Palace. Therefore, she will not change places. Moreover, even if you, Husband, do not go, she will still continue her original plan. But this plan is very likely to have fallen into the other party's trap. Therefore, you cannot run."

Zhao Hua said: "It is sowing discord!"

Suspicion has always been the best method for creating discord.

If the seven great powers fall into internal strife, then the opponent can take advantage of the chaos to loot.

Therefore, Big Brother, your current enemies should not be many; at least on the surface, they definitely do not have the advantage, otherwise, they would not be using this approach. Combining this with the distinction between Lost Spirit and True Spirit, these people should also have been deceived, and for the sake of their own Dao cultivation, they have no choice but to take risks."

An Chenyu said: "Therefore, husband, since we cannot run, then you either do not go, or if you go, you must persuade that Senior Jing to let her face the distinction between True Spirit and Lost Spirit squarely.

Admit that as long as a Lost Spirit still maintains consciousness, it is acceptable, or at least abolish the old practice of casting them into reincarnation.

In this way, many people who would have originally become enemies will be pulled back, and even..."

Zhao Hua smiled sinisterly: "Sufficient profit will bring about betrayal."

An Chenyu said: "The full support of Senior Jing is sufficient profit. In an instant, it is enough to reverse the momentum of offense and defense."

Zhao Hua said: "If the profit is still not enough, then question them directly to their faces. Huang Taixuan is a breakthrough point, isn't he? In this way, the whole truth will naturally be known."

Song Cheng looked at his woman and brother, and he slowly said: "I have been taught."

At this moment, the voice of Tong Niangzi came from the back room: "Time to eat dumplings."

Song Cheng was no longer in a mortal body at this time, so he could not eat dumplings, and dumplings, a food he had quite loved in the past, could no longer stir his appetite.

He merely sniffed the aroma and then happily watched his family eat.

After the meal, he gave his woman and brother some pointers on their cultivation techniques, and after thinking it over a few times, he made up his mind to head to Xuanqing Palace ahead of schedule.

He felt that An Jie and Huazi's analysis was not bad.

Since the source of the chaos was the "dispute between Lost Spirit and True Spirit," and since someone intended to make an issue of this, then... drawing the firewood from under the cauldron should be effective.

But the problem now is how to persuade Jing Shifei.

He had an advantage.

Because Jing Shifei had seen his cultivation progress, she would inevitably listen to him seriously.

Song Cheng's Soul broke through the layers with a single thought, arrived at the Reappearance World, took out the "Ink Plum" temporary token, crossed that winding path, and arrived once again before the ink-wash-like, towering palace.

Compared to when he first arrived, Xuanqing Palace had a bit more eerie liveliness; he could even hear arguments from afar after taking only a few steps inside.

The relatively young Mountain and River Lord was arguing with the elders, and everything seemed to have reached a white-hot stage.

Song Cheng went straight into the first courtyard on the right.

That short-haired, beautiful woman was coming out of the room with a cold expression, as if she were about to go out; seeing Song Cheng, her gait paused slightly, and she said: "When did you return? Why didn't you seek out Chanxi before coming to see me?"

Song Cheng said: "Aunt, I have urgent matters."

The two stared at each other for a while.

Jing Shifei's beautiful eyes drooped slightly, she turned her graceful body, and said: "Follow me into the room to talk."

(End of this chapter)