Chapter 89: Entering the Thunder Emperor’s Abode, Zhao Qingmeng’s Hatred Reduced to Zero
Suddenly, Lin Qi’an heard a cry for help from above.
“Save me!” The little princess in a frosty dress was falling from the cliff.
Lin Qi’an had no choice but to catch her.
“Oh my, I was watching the excitement up there and accidentally slipped. It scared me to death!” Being held in Lin Qi’an’s arms, Zhao Qingmeng clutched her chest, her heart still racing.
【If I hadn’t come down, you might have ended up with that Saintess again.】
So it was on purpose…
“Greetings, Your Highness the Princess.”
“No need for formalities.”
Mo Shuiqiu knew it was time for her to leave; it was no longer appropriate for her to stay.
“In a few days, my Yunmo Dao Palace will host a literary gathering. Many enthusiasts will attend. Would Your Highness the Heir be interested?”
“A literary gathering?” Lin Qi’an pondered briefly.
Isn’t that just a meeting where scholars and poets recite verses?
【He’s just a vulgar man; what would he understand about the elegance of literature? He’s acting like he is thinking a lot about it.】
Zhao Qingmeng mentally scoffed. It seemed that these events didn’t exist in her memories from the previous life.
Lin Qi’an felt a bit displeased, as a time traveler armed with three hundred Tang poems, does she actually think he can’t attend a literary gathering? He could easily outshine those people as a literary plagiarist.
“Sure, I’ll come and take a look.” Mo Shuiqiu was delighted. “Then I’ll take my leave now. See you at the literary gathering.”
With that, she leaped into the air and left the Grand Hunt stage.
“You, a vulgar person, attending a literary gathering? You’re likely to embarrass Beiyang,” Zhao Qingmeng said with a snort.
“Oh? And you’re not vulgar?”
“Of course not! This princess can’t cultivate, so I’ve been well-versed in poetry and literature since childhood. To prevent you from embarrassing yourself too much, I’ll go with you.”
“Ok you’re right about everything, but… how much longer do you plan to stay in my arms?”
“Hmph.”
…
The people of Yunmo Dao Palace were nearly overjoyed to the point of madness!
The Saintess had successfully invited the Heir to attend the literary gathering! This was fantastic news. If they could use this opportunity to strengthen their relationship with the Heir, Yunmo Dao Palace would have a powerful backer.
“The Saintess has invited the prince. Once the Grand Hunt is over, we must quickly return and prepare to welcome the prince!”
…
Night fell.
The second day of the Grand Hunt had also basically concluded. At night, everyone chose to rest and recover.
Out of a thousand teams, seventy percent had already been eliminated, but the scores on the second day were truly eye-opening.
The Prince had been furiously chasing points throughout the day. Team 1001 firmly held the first place with a total score of 240!
After defeating a Celestial Realm beast and seizing tokens from dozens of teams, he stood at the top. In second place was the team of Xiao Chen and Ye Yun, with a total score of 196.
In third place was Team 1002, made up of two female fairy’s, with a total score of 173.
The consensus on the second day was: His Highness the Prince outshines everyone!
Facing two opponents at once, he showed no signs of pressure! This year’s champion is surely going to be His Highness the Prince!
The audience in Tianjian City also felt proud. As the host, face was important. If an outsider took the championship, it would be a huge embarrassment.
…
The third day of the Grand Hunt and the number of teams had drastically decreased.
Everyone thought that the Prince’s score would increase more slowly, but to their surprise, he continued to be unstoppable!
Wherever he went, he fought and anyone who lost to him had to kneel and offer their tokens. But it wasn’t shameful as they simply weren’t as skilled.
Moreover, the Prince usually didn’t go too hard on those who begged for mercy, earning everyone’s respect.
“Please, Your Highness, accept our token!”
Crunch.
Lin Qi’an casually crushed the token and his total score had already exceeded three hundred.
【Ding! Task completed.】
【Villain Points +30,000. The location of the Thunder Emperor’s Abode has been marked.】
At this moment, the radar map in Lin Qi’an’s mind disappeared. In its place was a prominent golden marker. The Thunder Emperor’s Abode was actually within the grounds of the Grand Hunt!
He then led Zhao Qingmeng toward the target.
This mountain range seemed ordinary, but there was something unusual—the mountain tops were covered in lightning-struck trees. These special trees tended to attract lightning, often retaining residual electric power. Generally, they were of little use.
Yet, the Thunder Emperor’s inheritance was right in the center of this mountain! The only way in was through a cave.
“Why are we going to such a remote place…?” Zhao Qingmeng asked, puzzled.
Due to the obstructed view, the patrolling disciples in the air could no longer record their movements.
“We’re going to a good place.”
After walking through the dark and damp passageway for a while, they finally reached the end.
Lin Qi’an ignited the Nine Yang Divine Fire with his fingertips. The firelight illuminated the cave and saw that they had reached a dead end.
However, Lin Qi’an knew that the Thunder Emperor’s Abode was right behind this unremarkable rock wall!
No wonder no one had ever discovered it…
With a single palm strike, the rock wall crumbled. Revealed behind it was a neatly constructed stone door, with a disc carved above it, filled with crooked characters.
“What is this?!” Zhao Qingmeng’s eyes widened in shock.
“The Thunder Emperor’s Abode.”
“Thunder Emperor!” Hearing those words, Zhao Qingmeng couldn’t help but feel her eyelids twitch.
The Thunder Emperor was a renowned Great Emperor of ancient times, one of the strongest among all the Great Emperors! But for tens of thousands of years, no one had ever found the Thunder Emperor’s inheritance.
How did Lin Qi’an accurately located it? And he had come here with such purpose.
“How did you know this place?”
“I got hold of an ancient map that recorded its location,” Lin Qi’an lied casually as his excitement grew, focusing his attention on the stone door. Without any visible mechanisms, could it require the infusion of spiritual energy?
“Wait!”
Before Zhao Qingmeng could finish her warning, a terrifying backlash ten times stronger struck them. In the nick of time, a bell chimed, and golden light flashed—it was Zhao Qingmeng’s protective Sacred Artifact, the Holy Origin Golden Bell.
Bang!
Both of them were sent flying.
“Ouch… that hurts so much!”
“Are you okay?” Lin Qi’an knew that if it weren’t for Zhao Qingmeng blocking the backlash, he might have been slightly injured.
“Of course not, I twisted my ankle… You brute!” Zhao Qingmeng pouted, feeling wronged. “That’s a Eight Trigrams Spirit Locking Formation! You have to align the Eight Trigrams, not forcefully open the door!”
“My apologies…”
The knowledge of the reborn Great Emperess finally came in handy. Lin Qi’an quickly lifted Zhao Qingmeng onto his back.
“You said this is the Thunder Emperor’s Abode, so you need to find the Zhen trigram, representing thunder. Two yin lines above and one yang line below—thunder shakes and all things move.”
Rumble!
Dust rolled as the stone door slowly opened!
“It’s open!” Lin Qi’an was overjoyed and hurriedly entered the abode, and the stone door immediately closed behind them.
“Cough, cough.” Zhao Qingmeng coughed twice, and her inner thoughts slipped out.
【Quick, praise me! Why aren’t you praising me yet!】
“Sister Qingmeng, you’re amazing! If it weren’t for your intelligence and wisdom, I’d never have made it in here!” Lin Qi’an satisfied her small vanity…
“Good that you know,” she huffed.
“By the way, didn’t you say you twisted your ankle? Let me massage it for you.”
This time, Lin Qi’an was genuinely concerned. After all, she got injured because of him. Zhao Qingmeng found a stone bench inside and sat down, revealing her adorable, jade-like feet.
As Lin Qi’an earnestly massaged her ankle, Zhao Qingmeng felt moved.
【Is this really the same man who just killed a Celestial Realm beast with one strike? He’s so considerate, massaging my foot.】
【The Thunder Emperor’s Abode is right in front of him, yet he’s not in a hurry to explore. He really is sincere.】
“Alright, it’s not that painful anymore. I’ll sit and rest for a while; you can go ahead,” Zhao Qingmeng said kindly.
“That’s a shame. Your feet are so beautiful, I wanted to play with them a bit longer.”
“Scoundrel!”
Blushing, Zhao Qingmeng glared at him playfully, but Lin Qi’an had already started exploring the abode. A place like this should have been a treasure trove for the Child of Destiny, yet it had been preemptively seized by a villain like him.
The abode wasn’t very large. As he walked deeper inside, he noticed two ever-burning candles hanging on the stone walls. Beneath them was an ancient stone table, weathered by time, upon which lay some scrolls.
Lin Qi’an picked up the scrolls and returned to Zhao Qingmeng’s side. “Shall we take a look together?”
Her knowledge might prove useful. Zhao Qingmeng couldn’t help but laugh—who knew this Heir would rely on others?
After some time, after reading the scrolls, Zhao Qingmeng said, “The scrolls contain the story of the Thunder Emperor. Once, he fell in love with a woman from the Tianhai Dao Domain.”
“The two were deeply in love. But at that time, the Canglan Dao Domain was overrun by demons and fiends, with demonic sects flourishing. The Thunder Emperor couldn’t focus on love while the world was in chaos.”
“So, they made a ten-year promise, that in ten years, the Thunder Emperor would go to the Tianhai Dao Domain to find her.”
“To bring peace to the world, the Thunder Emperor suffered severe Dao injuries in battle. Knowing his lifespan was short, he didn’t dare go to the Tianhai Dao Domain to meet his beloved.”
“In the end, he died here in sorrow. He had no descendants, was all alone, and chose to bury himself at the place where he had once gained enlightenment.”
“If anyone were to inherit his legacy, he hoped they could deliver a letter to the Tianhai Holy Land.” After finishing the story, Zhao Qingmeng’s expression darkened.
‘Why does the Thunder Emperor’s story feel so similar to my own?’
She knew all too well what it was like to wait for someone.
“Lin Qi’an, if you were the Thunder Emperor, what would you do?” Zhao Qingmeng suddenly asked.
“Me?”
“Would you, with your broken body, go to meet her, or would you rather not?”
“If I’ve made a promise to you, I would keep it for a lifetime,” Lin Qi’an smiled and said. “As long as I’m not dead, even if I have only one breath left, I would go to see her.”
【If I’ve made a promise to you, I would keep it for a lifetime…】
【Alright, I believe you! Maybe when you didn’t come to save me, it was because you were facing a great calamity. I won’t hold grudges over the past anymore.】
Zhao Qingmeng’s hatred points officially dropped to zero.