Chapter 474: Chapter 40: Holy Domain Inheritance
The night was like spilled ink, the twilight clouds had dispersed, leaving a few solitary stars twinkling, much like Yue Chen’s mood at the moment.
"Young man, accept my heritage, become the true king of the Chi Mei Clan, and reclaim your domain," Su Xi’s aged yet wise voice echoed endlessly around his ears.
He did not wish to be any king, reminded of the moment they were separated, so close yet so suffocating for Yue Chen.
He simply wanted to be an ordinary person, holding onto his own slice of happiness.
Looking at his own frail hands, he was reminded of her, bleeding profusely when they were on the Spring Path.
The wound was excruciatingly painful, yet she insisted on smiling through the pain.
He thought, to protect her, even if just once.
Being an ordinary person and the young master of the Blood Cherry Duke Mansion, he would never be able to stand tall and protect her all his life.
Returning to the Senhai Realm to be the king of the Chi Mei Clan and quell the rebellion, he could become a strong figure.
Yet, he must leave her.
Choices are often difficult, but as Su Xi’s aged voice rang out again, "The woman with you, born remarkable, standing by her side must be a top practitioner from another plane."
Cultivation is like rowing upstream, not advancing is retreating, perhaps these years, he’s been too well protected by the Duke Mansion, that even his sharpness has been blunted.
Separation is short-lived.
Yue Chen closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Wood Puppet Peak, possessing forests very similar to the Senhai Realm.
This reminded him of his homeland, the layered and beautiful Senhai Realm, once filled with tranquility and beauty.
Behind him, footsteps sounded. Yue Jinghua and Ye Zi had used the Reincarnation Divine Wood Transmission Array to enter Wood Puppet Peak.
Yue Jinghua had been extremely cautious along the way.
Just as Ye Zi said, Wood Puppet Peak was inhabited by many Grass Blade Soldiers and Wood Puppet Warriors.
Due to the Dark Practitioners of the continent, who have been cutting trees and killing Dark Beasts year after year, all the warriors of Wood Puppet Peak held immense hostility towards Dark Practitioners.
These Grass Blade Soldiers, each holding sharp Grass Tooth Arrows, and the tall Wood Puppet Warriors, each resembling a small hill.
A dark mass, even with Yue Jinghua’s good mental strength, couldn’t help but feel like a lamb entering a tiger’s den.
After crossing a whole row of Grass Soldiers and Wood Guards, Yue Jinghua entered the deepest part of Wood Puppet Peak.
Before her eyes was an ancient tree as tall as a small hill, its trunk covered with ancient gnarled roots, and the place for Yue Chen to receive his inheritance was on the Reincarnation Altar atop this ancient tree.
Yue Jinghua climbed the vines on the ancient tree, and surrounding the vines floated the life-filled essence of the spirit wood, akin to fireflies.
Upon learning the news of Yue Chen’s departure, Yue Jinghua’s heart sank.
Having known about Yue Chen’s background, she had vaguely guessed that someday he would leave the Yue Family.
But she never expected that day to come so soon.
Ye Zi’s words, to her ears, were but child’s play, and she did not take them to heart.
To her, Yue Chen was like a younger brother, and his attachment and affection for her were the same.
She must stop him.
"Yue Chen, you reckless boy, it was before our departure that our mother instructed you, saying you must listen and follow me. I say one, it should be just that, one. And yet, the moment I let my guard down, you got abducted," Yue Jinghua spotted Yue Chen standing alone, waiting at the center of the Reincarnation Altar.
With frustration, Yue Jinghua walked up to him, intending to grab him and head back.
An icy sharp sound attacked, and Yue Jinghua held the Lianyun Great Sword in her hand, drawing a streak of sword light, and with a ’clang,’ this time, she blocked the stealth attacker beneath her sword.
Under the moonlight, several vine tendrils like spiritual snakes climbed around the Reincarnation Altar.
A white-bearded old man in a green cloak slowly walked forward.
His face, ravaged by the years, was deeply furrowed, yet his eyes contained boundless wisdom.
Su Xi, the ruler of Wood Puppet Peak.
He was also the only one in the Five Saints Mountain who had comprehended the deep secrets of the ’Domain’ among the Dan Realm powerhouses.
Since he had not condensed a Holy Pill, Su Xi, over 1300 years old, would perish today.
Fortunately, fate still favored him, and before his demise, he encountered Yue Chen.
"It was you who ambushed me on the Spring Path," Yue Jinghua recognized that the tendrils crawling at Su Xi’s feet were the ones that ambushed her.
"If I truly wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t be standing here, and your friends wouldn’t have entered the Dragon Court smoothly," Su Xi’s eyes revealed a touch of mockery.
"Old fellow, don’t pretend to be innocent after taking advantage. Your mercy was just to gain more bargaining chips in negotiating with Yue Chen. You’ve annoyed me now, and I could burn down Mu Gui Mountain with a single Fire," Yue Jinghua’s body was encased in the bright, snow-white Yaksha Killing Flames, with the Chaos Green Lotus Fire slowly rising in her hands.
In terms of Cultivation, she indeed wasn’t Su Xi’s equal, but when it came to unconventional methods, she had a Dark Beast by contract to aid her, along with the Sky-splitting Strike to save her life.
She would never allow Yue Chen under threat from Su Xi to do anything against his will.
"The path he chooses, right or wrong, should not be meddled by others," Su Xi gazed at the Chaos Green Lotus Fire and spoke indifferently, for to him who was at the end of his life, death was merely an earlier release, "Young lady, you’re exceptionally talented and carry precious treasures; you must comprehend the principle ’A tree that stands out in the forest is easily broken by the wind.’"
In Su Xi’s eyes, it seemed infinite wisdom was concealed. Yue Jinghua felt that under his gaze, everything occurring in the Sky Dragon Palace, including everything on the Fiery Fire Path, was seen by Su Xi.
Faced with Yue Chen’s own choices, Yue Jinghua fell silent.
Su Xi was right; Yue Chen’s mind was made up, and that child was also stubborn.
"It was me who promised him this meeting, not to change my mind, but to see you once more before departing," Yue Chen’s eyes reflected Yue Jinghua’s figure.
The figure of the woman before him was vivid yet blurry.
Yue Chen thought that he had never truly understood Yue Jinghua.
They had lived together for over ten years. In the first eight or nine years, he was somewhat reclusive, while she was the cherished daughter of heaven.
Like a wild herb in the corner, he never truly entered the eyes of the Yue Family.
What really made him notice her was that time on the street when she casually threw her long hair back and crouched down, with a blend of command and disgust in her voice: "Come on, I’ll carry you back."
And then, as she pinched and kneaded his face, crying out "Baozi face."
Scene after scene overlapped.
Yue Chen felt a profound ache in his heart.
"It’s almost time, with the moon at its zenith, the inheritance of Reincarnation will commence," Su Xi looked up, across the sky, the bright moon gradually moved westward.