Chapter 115: The Gossipy Song Yuanshan; Chen Changsheng
Chapter 115 – The Gossipy Song Yuanshan; Chen Changsheng
After studying them for a moment, Chen Changsheng stowed the two rubbings away.
“It seems this ‘Heaven’s Mandate’ has indeed lured out many formidable existences from the ancient shadows.”
“It appears I must accelerate my plans. At the very least, I need to uncover the true nature of this ‘Heaven’s Mandate’.”
“And I must divine exactly how to verify the identity of the one chosen to bear it.”
With those words spoken, Chen Changsheng prepared to step out of the room and probe the winds for information.
“Big Brother Changsheng, at least explain things clearly before you depart.”
Song Yuanshan blocked Chen Changsheng’s path, the fire of gossip burning so brightly in his eyes it threatened to ignite the very rafters.
As the State Preceptor of the Night Moon Country, he understood Wan Yan Yue quite intimately.
He was naturally perfectly aware of exactly who this Silver Moon Wolf Emperor held deep within her Dao Heart.
Yet now, the sudden emergence of this mysterious woodcarving’s owner made the situation exceedingly intriguing.
Faced with Song Yuanshan’s prying demeanor, Chen Changsheng shot him a look of pure, ancient disdain.
“If you spent more time reading the ancient scrolls, you would not be blindly questioning the identity of the woodcarving’s owner right now.”
“Big Brother Changsheng, that reasoning is flawed.”
“You said it yourself—this woodcarving was crafted by your own hands, and no soul under the heavens possesses the Dao-charm to replicate it.”
“If neither you nor the owner reveals the truth, where would we possibly seek it out?”
Hearing this, the disdain in Chen Changsheng’s eyes only deepened.
“Why wouldn’t you know? You all should have heard of the woodcarving’s owner; perhaps you have even crossed paths with her.”
“Back when the Daqian Dynasty still stood, the Linglong Sect nearly formed a Dao-companion alliance with the Heavenly Buddha Temple. Surely you retain some impression of this monumental event.”
“After all, rumors of this affair echoed throughout the Daqian Dynasty for nearly a century.”
At this, Song Yuanshan frowned in dissatisfaction.
“Big Brother Changsheng, I know your knowledge spans antiquity, but you cannot spin idle cultivation world anecdotes to weave a lie and deceive me!”
“From what I have gleaned, that entire incident was inadvertently stirred up by Zen Master Yi Xiu during his youth.”
“I once asked him about it out of curiosity, and Zen Master Yi Xiu personally admitted it was merely a profound misunderstanding.”
“That fairy from the Linglong Sect was an elder to Zen Master Yi Xiu; she had simply taken a liking to his latent talent at the time.”
“I call you slow-witted, yet you still refuse to accept it.”
“Since you know of this matter, you should be perfectly aware that the karmic tie between Yi Xiu and the Linglong Sect’s fairy was forged entirely by a woodcarving.”
“If your intuition were even slightly sharper, you would have investigated exactly what kind of woodcarving Yi Xiu presented to her back then.”
“And had you done so, you would have discovered that the carving Yi Xiu offered shares the exact same spiritual resonance as the one I just held.”
Hearing this, Song Yuanshan stared at Chen Changsheng in absolute, soul-shaking horror.
“Big Brother Changsheng, when Zen Master Yi Xiu gifted that woodcarving, you had not yet joined the Shangqing Temple, correct?”
“Correct. Is there a flaw in that?”
“Who decreed that I could only forge karmic bonds after stepping through the gates of the Shangqing Temple?”
“I was the one who instructed Yi Xiu to deliver that woodcarving. Thus, its true owner is none other than the peerless prodigy of the Linglong Sect, Fairy Changsheng.”
“Furthermore, all of you know that Yi Xiu and I were acquainted, but he likely never revealed exactly how our paths crossed.”
“After all these fleeting years, did a single shred of doubt never breach your minds?”
Song Yuanshan: “…”
Your words ring with absolute truth; we really should have questioned it back then!
Yi Xiu was nearly a century older than us, and when you entered the Shangqing Temple, you possessed the mortal semblance of a twenty-year-old.
By any logical deduction of the Dao, you two should never have met!
Is this what the ancient proverb means by ‘those entangled in the web are blind to its threads’?
Straightening out his chaotic sea of consciousness, Song Yuanshan eagerly resumed digging for the juicy details.
“That still doesn’t align with the truth of the era!”
“The Fairy Changsheng of those days was a transcendent genius the Linglong Sect had not seen in a millennium.”
“Because she devoted herself entirely to cultivation, frequently using the excuse of ‘pursuing changsheng—eternal life’ to reject various young sovereign heirs, she earned the title ‘Fairy Changsheng’.”
“How could a supreme entity like her accept a mortal woodcarving from you, Big Brother Changsheng?”
“Even if you two were acquainted, it remains highly improbable. After all, passing such a token is far too easily imbued with… deeper intentions.”
Having voiced his doubts, Song Yuanshan gazed at Chen Changsheng with gleaming eyes, practically salivating for an answer.
“What is my full name?”
“Chen Changsheng.”
“Good that you remember.”
Dropping this seemingly inexplicable question, Chen Changsheng turned and swept out of the room.
A single breath later, enlightenment struck Song Yuanshan’s mind like a bolt of heavenly tribulation.
So the ‘Changsheng’ spoken from the Fairy’s lips always bore a dual meaning: one was a man, the other her eternal pursuit.
Fairy Changsheng must have divined long ago that Chen Changsheng was immortal. Her obsessive pursuit of eternal life was merely a desperate bid to ensure she could forever remain by a certain someone’s side.
Thinking of this, Song Yuanshan let out a soft sigh, painfully aware that a certain love-stricken “she-wolf” was still standing paralyzed within the room.
Chen Changsheng’s silhouette vanished rapidly, but Wan Yan Yue’s sovereign gaze lingered upon his path of departure for a long, heavy silence.
Back when Yi Xiu still walked the mortal coil, he had offered her veiled, agonizing advice.
He had warned her to cease her endless waiting. Chen Changsheng would never halt his steps for anyone, and living solely for an obsession would only breed rivers of torment.
There was once someone far more devoted, yet even she failed to anchor Chen Changsheng’s drifting soul.
At the time, she hadn’t comprehended what he meant by ‘far more devoted,’ but now, she understood with devastating clarity.
What terrifying depths of obsession would drive a woman to discard the world and chase the ephemeral, illusory dream of eternal life?
Merely to secure a few more fleeting centuries by one man’s side.
…
A secluded courtyard.
Chen Changsheng softly knocked against a wooden door.
“Female Benefactor, I have come to deliver your tea.”
As he spoke, an utterly shameless, lecherous grin blossomed across Chen Changsheng’s face.
He couldn’t help it; this magnificent misunderstanding was simply far too entertaining to ignore.
If he were to step inside and genuinely propose they forge a Dao-companion covenant right now…
How exactly would this venerable female cultivator, a spinster who had remained unattached for over seven centuries, react to the sheer audacity?
Just as the thought danced through his mind, the door swung open.
An icy, sovereign glare collided head-on with Chen Changsheng’s lecherous smirk.
Witnessing this, Chen Changsheng’s smug expression instantly deflated into the dirt.
Because the person opening the door was none other than Zi Ning, the Purple Mansion Holy Maiden. With this little girl present, playfully harassing an ancient female cultivator suddenly lost all its appeal.
Younglings possessed impulsive tempers; a single misplaced word could provoke a barrage of flying swords. Their Dao Hearts simply lacked the refined restraint of mature cultivators.
After all, the true joy in such encounters lay in watching an older cultivator feign reluctance while enduring the ‘humiliation’ for the sake of the grander scheme.
“Why are you here?”
“Why shouldn’t I be here?”
“Enter. My master is awaiting you.”
The two exchanged these frigid words before Zi Ning turned and led Chen Changsheng into the chamber.
Crossing the threshold, Chen Changsheng spotted the Purple Mansion Holy Master seated upright at the wooden table, a thin veil concealing her heavenly features.
Chen Changsheng: (͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧
Hehe!
Zi Ning: “…”
So revolting. How can such a profoundly disgusting creature exist beneath the heavens?
I truly wish to strike him dead.
Master, you have been deeply wronged.
…