When faced with the inescapable doom, Shen Lian did not even care about his life and death, or whether Taixu mana could be successfully cultivated.
He did not care about what he saw or heard and had entered into the abstruse state of mysterious silence.
The key incantation of Taixu Strategy flew into his heart like a stream, and he reached an epiphany. It was not purposeful at all, just as how the moon surfaced amidst the scattered clouds, and the pearl appeared when the water ran dry.
“Tian and Di posited themselves, Shan and Ze ventilated their Qi, Feng and Lei got lighter, Shui and Huo did not conflict, Bagua was tangled up, knowing the past was orderly, knowing the future was not; I Ching stated the latter.”
The red mana and the black mana intertwined; same went to the orange and the purple, the yellow and the blue, and the green and the white. They corresponded to each other according to the number of Yin and Yang. Having fluctuated back and forth, they formed a spiral with eight colors; stemming from the cinnabar fields, they coursed through the meridians and acupoints of the body at a high speed. All the mana within Shen Lian was consumed.
At a spiral state, the eight mana swirled and there was no longer any difference in strength between them.
All of a sudden, the eight rays shone and swirled, giving the impression that Shen Lian was a deity. The look of Taixu was evident on Shen Lian, and he was giving off a whole new aura.
Feng, Sheng, Shui, Huo, Tian, Di, Shan, Ze, all the eight peculiar phenomena appeared without any sign and generated strong power. The mud-like space was vibrated off, and a hole was created. The many layers of the Boundless Universe were unveiled, and the sky was dotted with stars while the moonlight as smooth as water fell. Amongst them, the Big Dipper was the brightest.
The Empress would never miss such a great opportunity. Her Divine Light peaked, and she drew a mystical arc with her hands. The glitter of the Big Dipper was drawn into the arc drawn by the Empress. The stars were akin to waterfall, to silk cloth, to rainbow; they rushed out and shattered the white lotus and space.
Zhao Xiaoyu did not expect that Shen Lian could master the scary power within him at this moment, what more to take the risk to transform the mana within him. Shen Lian did not pose as great a threat as the Empress, and the space barrier at his spot was not as strong. This is so as most of the power was used against the Empress.
When Shen Lian broke through space, the power of the stars above filtered in. The Empress took advantage of this and used the occult technique of the “Big Dipper Deity-Sealing Technique”. With this, she relayed the power of the Big Dipper and shattered the space created by the divine soil with the power of the stars.
All of the stars in the sky were created by the Way, and they were all ancient. Even if a real Heavenly Nation was involved, most of the time the stars, the moon, and the sun would still triumph over it.
The sky was clear, and the water was in the lake while the moon in the sky.
The Empress who looked around thirty years old aged suddenly, and she looked frail and worn out. Zhao Xiaoyu did not have it easy too; she had blood at the corner of her mouth, and there were a few gashes on her white dress. Her fair skin was exposed, and it was a frightening sight.
Shen Lian stood casually on top of the lake. The moon and stars were clear, but the water was not still. Though, Shen Lian looked very stable.
It was similar to the rocks that did not turn into the flowing river. For him to stand on the water surface and to undo the current effortlessly, it showed how skilled he was.
Even though she had failed at the final moment, Zhao Xiaoyu did not seem to be too frustrated, as frustration would not change the reality. “I didn’t expect things to turn out in favor of you,” she sighed and spoke to Shen Lian in a melodic voice akin to that of a nightingale.
She was an extraordinary person, and there was nothing more that she could do tonight. Even if she still had Divine Soil with her, she would not get the chance to trap both of them into space again. The technique cultivated by Shen Lian seemed to be the top of the world, and if she were to continue with the fight, she would have no chance of winning.
She did not expect Shen Lian to successfully cultivate his Dao technique in the space created by the Divine Soil. Everything in the world was full of variables, and even if she failed today, so long as she managed to retreat successfully, there would always be a time for success.
Moreover, when she worshipped the Divine Soil to gain control of the space it created, she had to instill some of her spirits into it. Otherwise, she would not have the sort of deity-like power exhibited earlier.
As she was injured, she did not feel like staying put anymore.
A lotus leaf emerged underneath Zhao Xiaoyu’s foot, and she disappeared atop of a lake full of lotus leaf along with the wind. The lotus leaf was a rare instrument, and it came as it went; there was no way Shen Lian could have caught up with it.
Shen Lian saw the Dragon Qi that shot through the air back in the Imperial City, and it rushed into the Empress body with a speed that could not be followed by the naked eye. Her worn-out complexion was nourished immediately, and her breath got a lot stronger.
However, the wishes of the masses that congregated at the Imperial City had backed away and were headed towards the direction of the East Palace after the Dragon Qi had dispersed. The hearts of the people were like water, and once they have changed direction, there was no way of turning them back.
The Empress looked at Shen Lian deeply. “I did not expect for you to be the one who lends me a hand at this crucial moment. What do you want?” She spoke with a much calmer tone.
She no longer referred to herself with honorifics, and it showed that she finally saw Shen Lian as her equal.
“Your Majesty, I have gotten what I want, and there’s nothing else now. Goodbye,” Shen Lian replied with a smile.
He waved and rode on the wave as he sung, within moments he was out of sight.
The Empress looked at him meaningfully, and she returned to the Imperial City.
On Long Street, Shen Lian was staring at the door to the bedroom in the Walking Dead clinic. The Dao technique that he laid down beforehand was destroyed. The room door was wide open, and Ruoxi was gone.
He had a serious look on his face. Immediately, he moved and appeared on the rooftop as a strong gust of wind. The night was cool and chilling, and the heavenly river hung up ahead.
Shen Lian stared at the west. With a wave of his sleeve, he shot into the air. He looked like a pale green lighting in the sky.
He flew at a frightening speed.
He was no longer burdened now that his Taixu mana was completed. The accumulation over the tens of years was manifested and instilled into the Daoist vestment gifted by Gu Caiwei. His sleeves were like wings, and the wind and thunder were agitated.
Even though he was nothing compared to the large mythic bird, Roc, that could travel ninety thousand miles with just a wave of its wings, he was better than a lot of those from the demon clan who used to be birds.
After passing through countless mountains and body of water, where it was getting brighter in the eastern sky, he finally saw a flying ark traveling on the path of clouds up ahead.
He raised his mana, and his incredibly fast flying speed got faster, and the heavenly wind was in a state of unrest.
The flying ark in front stopped after sensing the commotion.
Shen Lian opened up his arms and let his sleeves flew. The intangible wind carried him and the green mana coursed through his body. His sleeves were puffed up, and there were hints of thunder. It was an awe-inspiring sight.
The floating flying ark had complicated patterns engraved on it. Three beautiful women stood up to face Shen Lian, and they were in plain purple, plain yellow, and plain white Daoist robe respectively. All of them looked cool and detached.
Shen Lian saw the child who was sound asleep on the ark; that would be Young Ruoxi.
He delivered his thoughts through his spiritual consciousness, and it passed through the heavenly wind and the windshield on the flying ark. “Three fellow Daoist, may I know why are you kidnapping my niece?” Said Shen Lian coolly.
“So you are the family of the reincarnated Yuan Jun at trial, thank you for taking care of her previously,” said the female Daoist in plain yellow. Despite her words of gratitude, she was cold and distant.
A plain yellow little flag appeared in her hand, and it would seem that she noticed that Shen Lian was not just anyone.
Shen Lian seemed to be oblivious to her coldness, and said, “Leave this child, and you all may go home safely today.”