The rain in Jiangzhou City fell ceaselessly, while inside the great hall, the coarse cloth that had been covering the Taoist Ancestor’s statue finally fluttered down, revealing the white-haired, elder Taoist sitting quietly there, devoid of any signs of life. In front of him, there was a chessboard, and at the other end of the board, the Taoist Sect remained silent for a long time.
He laid down the chess piece he was holding.
The wind blew over, and the young Taoist Zhui Yue sat there, with strands of white, cloud-like qi emanating from his body. Then, the young Taoist fell backwards, beginning to snore soundly in sleep. A man with his left hand behind his back and holding an umbrella, stood up fluidly, ethereal and otherworldly, gazing upon Zu Wenyuan’s body.
The voice of the Taoist Sect was still cold but sighed:
"That game, you have solved."
"That day, I invited you into the Mathematics Tao, and today you invite me back into the Martial World and the whole world with your death? Zu Wenyuan, this move of yours is truly cunning."
He turned around, with the misty white qi swirling around his body, holding the umbrella and walking out, his face unclear, and everyone in the Taoist Temple seemed to be busy with their own affairs, oblivious to the existence of this Taoist.
The hair at his temples flew in the wind, yet it was a strand of silver, not the usual gray of the elderly.
The detached aura around the Taoist Sect seemed to undergo a change.
He walked into the human world with his umbrella, took half a step, and then the falling rain from the whole sky halted, each drop suspended in the air, ethereal and boundless. The Taoist Sect extended his finger, parting the rain, leaving a streak of brilliant sunshine for Zu Wenyuan.
The sunshine broke through the layers of clouds, shining solely upon the elder.
With his long hair gracefully falling behind him, hair bundled with a jade hairpin, he said: "The world will miss you, Zu Wenyuan. It just lost a bit of its interest."
"You have passed my ’Imperial Pole Worldly Scripture’ on to outsiders, as you wished."
"I will personally go see those candles you have chosen."
The Taoist Sect, holding his umbrella, walked far away, taking only three steps before dissolving into a wisp of breath and dispersing, with the final sound of a crane’s cry, as if a white crane soared to the heavens, yet it seemed as if nothing was there. At this moment, the young Taoist Zhui Yue slowly awakened from his daze.
He opened his eyes and got up with a start, seeing the elder sitting quietly in front of him.
It was still raining everywhere else, but there was a bundle of sunshine, especially warm and dazzling after the rain, which had broken through the clouds and shone upon the elder, making even the dust around him seem coated in a layer of radiance, shining as if it were gold.
The young Taoist was stunned, and then he noticed the tranquility of the elderly man.
He reached out tremblingly to check the elder’s breath.
Then his face turned pale, and he fell backward, shaking for a long time before he turned and ran out, shouting, "Elder Zu, Elder Zu has ascended to immortality!!!"
"Elder Zu has ascended to immortality!"
During the grand sacrifice in the Imperial Palace of Chen Country.
The living Buddha suddenly paused, his Buddha Beads suddenly breaking apart.
The beads fell to the ground, scattering one by one, with some disappearing into cracks, to be seen no more. The dark-skinned monk stiffened, his lips quivering as he looked up to see a swathe of clouds in the east change, revealing a golden radiance spreading far and wide.
The living Buddha closed his eyes, pressed his hands together, and after much restraint, tears finally fell.
’My name is Zu Wenyuan, ’Wen’ as in ’Wen Zheng,’ and ’Yuan’ as in ’far-sighted.’
In the midst of the grand sacrifice, the power struggle among the various factions continued, with no one paying attention to the pain of the monk from the Western Regions, as everyone was shocked by the death of Tantai Xianming. Whatever others might say—accusing him of being a treacherous minister or calling him a power broker—no one could deny his status and strength.
His disciples and friends were spread all over the world, all out of the ordinary.
This man had an immense reputation.
His wife’s family was a major aristocratic family; with his death, there would undoubtedly be countless people seeking revenge for him.
And as Tantai Xianming had previously advised the imprisonment of Yue Pengwu, this propelled his personal renown and evaluation to a precarious level. Soon came another report, the voice trembling, "Additionally, Yue Pengwu has successfully escaped from prison!"
With this, everyone was in an uproar. Tantai Xianming’s death and Yue Pengwu’s departure,
coupled with the huge change in the Imperial Palace last night—although it was hidden by Xiao Wuliang, many had still caught glimpses of it—eventually fell upon the line of text left by Tantai Xianming, leading nearly everyone to subconsciously link these pieces of information together.
It was Li Guanyi, who had sneaked his way here under the Assassin’s guise,
enduring humiliation to ultimately kill Tantai Xianming and rescue Yue Pengwu.
Thus, the reputations of Tantai Xianming and Yue Pengwu both came to rest on this one individual. That day, countless people throughout the land remembered this name. Li Zhaowen’s smile faded, leaving only a sense of lamentation at the numerous heroes in this world.
Prince Jiang Yuan of Ying Country felt a chill on his neck.
"To think he was an assassin..."
Looking at the body of the powerful minister, he subconsciously raised his hand, touched his own neck, and squinted his eyes: "Li Guanyi, this person truly disgusts me."
The Turkic Seventh Prince sighed: "To thread alone into the Imperial Palace, draw a sword to slay the power broker, then rescue the loyal and brave general, and leave with a flick of his sleeve. Such a person, even if he is an assassin and a killer, must surely bear the will of a scorching sun in his heart. What a pity that we did not drink more together that day."
Breaking Army patted the Turkic Seventh Prince on the shoulder.