The man outside the window turned around, prepared to leave.
“Your Majesty, wait a moment,” Meng Tingyu called out.
“What is it?” the old man asked.
“There’s something I must tell you.”
“Speak.”
Sucking in a deep breath, Meng Tingyu said, “The Tomb of the Ancients opened a few months back. The crown prince entered. I just received news that the tomb suddenly vanished and left a gaping hole. The Second Divine Capital nearly fell down.”
The door creaked open and an old man walked in. He removed his hat and shook off the rainwater on his body. He asked, “Is this information accurate?”
“Yes, Zhao Shenhong brought back the entire garrison from the city. There’s tens of thousands of witnesses, so it can’t be false.”
“That’s strange. The tomb has existed for ten thousand years. Suddenly vanishing means something huge must’ve happened inside. I’ll take a look,” the old man said.
“Yes.” Meng Tingyu didn’t dare to lift her head.
“What about Fengchen?” the old man asked.
“According to Zhao Shenhong, the Theocracy’s team was twenty-five in number, but the only one they could find was Jiang Yanwu. According to Jiang Yanwu, Fengchen was likely killed by Li Tianming of the Li Saint Clan.” Meng Tingyu’s voice was slightly hoarse. She clearly didn’t believe the news.
“Li Tianming? Tianming….” The old man shook his head. “Quite the fast improvement. Wasn’t he comparable to a peak earth saint before? He couldn’t kill Fengchen. Go and investigate. Perhaps Fengchen still lives.”
“Yes!”
“Rise.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Meng Tingyu finally stood up.
“Brew some tea for me to quench my thirst.”
“Yes.” With deft movements, the aroma of tea quickly filled the air.
The old man took a sip, then put the tea down. “You seem to have something you wish to ask.”
“Your Majesty, I’m not sure if I should.”
“Ask.”
“The two princes are fighting like this because they aren’t aware you’re still alive. The Theocrats have taken so many casualties and are weakened so much. Is it worth it?” Meng Tingyu asked.
“Of course. We’ve almost hooked the big fish, doing what our ancestors failed to do. After this, the Theocracy will last the ages, and forever belong to the Theocrats. No one shall ever shake it.”
“Almost?”
“What do you think?”
“I feel the losses have been quite severe.”
“Sometimes a price must be paid. My sons are basically trash. If we don’t deal with this big fish, they’ll surely end the Theocrats one day.” The old man smiled slightly.
“Yes.”
“Try your best to find Fengchen. After everything is over, I’ll guide him in succeeding me.”
“I’ll make the arrangements.”
“You don’t need kindness when it comes to unifying the world. In this, Fengchen is much better than his father and my ninth son.” The old man smiled again.
Meng Tingyu felt emboldened when she saw the old man’s mood. “Your Majesty, supposedly the Cyclic Mirror was found, and Li Muyang has appeared. Don’t you find it strange?”
“It’s not strange. Saying the Cyclic Map could track the Cyclic Mirror was the ancestors’ joke. If it weren’t, why would I give it to the Ancient Qilin Clan? It was all to fool people. Li Muyang really helped me there.”
“That means those fellows in the Ancient Qilin Clan thinking the Cyclic Mirror has appeared is actually just problems with the Cyclic Map?”
“Yes. That map was always strange. Sometimes it would randomly track a position in the sky.”
“True. We all know where the real Cyclic Mirror is, after all.” Meng Tingyu smiled, pouring the old man another cup.
“Go and ascertain this Li Tianming’s origins. He can’t possibly be Li Muyang’s son. They just coincidentally share the same arm. Find out who the hell dared to give him the name Li Tianming!”
“Understood!”
“The man’s been dead and buried for over forty years, his corpse under Moonseeker Pavilion. But he can still go have a child somewhere? Ridiculous.” The old man snorted.
“True. If Li Muyang hadn’t courted death back then, Your Majesty wouldn’t have been able to leisurely fish these past forty years. Everyone believes the Theocrats lost the Cyclic Mirror. Who knows that he died to the mirror long ago and it’s still with Your Majesty? Your Majesty punished the Ancient Qilin Clan and gave them a useless Cyclic Map. Now, we no longer have as many fingers pointing at us as Your Highness fishes. Even the Decimo Dao Palace believes Li Muyang succeeded,” Meng Tingyu said with some admiration.
“Correct. Only the two of us know. Now, Little Yu, do you see how much I value you?”
“Little Yu will definitely serve Your Majesty to the fullest until her dying breath.” Meng Tingyu said emotionally.
“No need. I’m almost gone. I haven’t been happy since Jing’er passed. You’re the same age as her, and just as smart.” The old man’s eyes turned warm as he reminisced.
“The Skyfate Princess was indeed quite smart….”
“And in the end, she overthought things too much. How could my daughter I raised for forty years come for my life for someone else’s sake?” The old man teared up, suddenly seeming extremely lonely.
“Your Majesty, I can become your goddaughter and be filial to you forever.” Meng Tingyu mustered up all her courage.
“You? Forget it, I didn’t raise you since you were young. We don’t have that kind of emotional bond. You just need to chat with me.” The old man shook his head and sighed.
“Yes….” Meng Tingyu was slightly disappointed, but she didn’t dare to show it.
“Let’s go see Jing’er. I haven’t seen her for years.” The old man stood up. They walked down the stairs and entered into a dark cavern underground.
The old man entered with unsteady steps. Tears flowing, he looked around. “Jing’er, Jing’er, father is here to see you.”
“Your Majesty, she’s here,” Meng Tingyu said.
“My memory isn’t as good as it used to be. I haven’t been here for so long.” He walked forward, to a chunk of ice. It was transparent, and inside lay a woman, who looked very alive.
“Jing’er!” The old man caressed the surface of the ice.
“It’d be great if you understood me. Do you know how painful it’s been since I had to kill you?”
Meng Tingyu retreated to the door and shut her eyes.
The old man cried for a long time. Meng Tingyu could tell they were true tears.
After a while, she looked in and saw that the old man had already stood up. He walked to another chunk of ice; inside lay a man with a completely black left arm.
“Li Muyang.” The old man grinned. His transition was completely natural.
“Ah, sorry you’ve been left here for forty years. Why did you have to act as some kind of saint? Still, even now, I let you stay here without being disturbed, together with Jing’er. Ahhh, you really made me mad then. And I used to look at you with such favor. Yet you nearly ended my Theocrats. You let me down. So, goodbye.”
His hand pressed against the ice. The ice crumbled apart and the man inside completely disintegrated, including his black arm.
“Little Yu.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Come and accompany Jing’er often. She’ll be lonely from now on.”
“Yes.”
……
At the Dark Hall in Decimo Dao Palace, Weisheng Yunxi and Jiang Feiling walked out from a building.
“This is a god physique. She can still live a long time even without cultivating. It’d be amazing if she had a cultivation method without needing a lifebound beast,” Weisheng Yunxi said emotionally.
“I never expected the tomb would belong to the legendary tenth god of the continent. You all surviving was a true miracle.”
“Anyway, only those present here know about that. As for Chen Jinghong and the other two, I’ll handle it,” Bai Mo said.
Chen Jinghong and the other two had seen Demon City enter Feiling, so it couldn’t be hidden. Fortunately, Weisheng Yunxi and the other seniors here, Bai Mo and Ye Yi, were trustworthy.
“Tianming, the Archaion Divine Realm is the place where descendants of the first god gather. It’s very far from us. However, they probably still have legends of the tenth god there, so don’t let anything about Miss Ling’er leak out. It’ll be like you killed the tenth god, and they may find trouble with you,” Weisheng Yunxi warned.
“Understood!” Tianming nodded. Those present didn’t have any connections to the Archaion Divine Realm, so they wouldn’t harm Tianming.
As for Chen Jinghong, he didn’t know the exact details.
“Also, you killed Dongyang Fengchen?” Weisheng Yunxi became slightly emotional.
“Yes.”
“Well done.” Weisheng Yunxi gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Ending the Theocrats’ future is a good thing.”
“Are we going to act?”
“Yes, we just need an opportunity.”
Tianming’s eyes shone.