Chapter 143: Shameless Chen Changsheng, Heaven’s Mandate is Set
Chapter 143 – Shameless Chen Changsheng, Heaven’s Mandate is Set
Facing Zhang Bairen’s invitation, Chen Changsheng sat down with profound composure.
The distant roars of slaughter served as a grisly backdrop, while the wind whistling through the ancient pines played a solitary melody for the three.
The scene at this moment held an indescribable, blood-stained elegance.
A clay stove was ignited, and spiritual spring water—pluming with immortal Qi—was poured within.
As the spring water in the earthen stove boiled, Zhang Bairen produced a tea caddy, retrieving three leaves shaped like miniature ‘flying swords’ and dropping them into the brew.
Gazing at the peculiar leaves swirling in his cup, Chen Changsheng spoke. “Brother Bairen’s tea is profoundly fascinating. This humble one has never seen its like.”
“This is a minor local specialty I brought from my domain, known as Dao-Enlightenment Tea.”
“A single leaf is born only once every millennium. Drinking it purifies the Dao heart, washing away earthly dust.”
“If one possesses the Fated Chance, they may even enter a sudden state of Epiphany.”
Hearing Zhang Bairen’s explanation, Chen Changsheng froze for a breath. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a jade bottle and unceremoniously poured the precious brew before him straight into it.
Furthermore, he did not merely claim his own share; he reached over and shamelessly funneled the tea resting before Zhang Bairen and Fu Yao into his bottle as well.
To seal the act, Chen Changsheng casually snatched the tea caddy itself, tucking it deep into his robes with fluid grace.
The entire sequence was executed with terrifying precision, as natural as drifting clouds and flowing water.
Zhang Bairen: “…”
Since I was willing to bring this treasure out, it naturally proves I am no miser.
But could your gluttony be a little less agonizingly hideous?!
Meeting Zhang Bairen’s profoundly twisted gaze, Chen Changsheng spoke with absolute, righteous indignation.
“Brother Bairen, I must severely criticize you for this transgression.”
“The three of us have finally found a moment to sit and converse, yet you recklessly bring out this Dao-Enlightenment Tea.”
“Both you and Brother Fu Yao are peerless paragons. What if you partook of this brew and suddenly plummeted into a deep Epiphany?”
“Would that not severely delay our vital negotiations?”
“Let us abandon the Dao-Enlightenment Tea. We shall drink the leaves I have provided instead.”
Observing Chen Changsheng’s deadpan, utterly serious justification, Zhang Bairen blinked in shock before bursting into laughter.
“Brother Chen makes a flawless point. I failed to weigh the fated paths thoroughly.”
“I presume the leaves Brother Chen offers must harbor some extraordinary profundity.”
In response to Zhang Bairen’s probe, Chen Changsheng proved highly Proficient as he brewed his own tea, speaking softly. “My tea is nothing extraordinary. If I must name a defining trait, it is uniquely, agonizingly bitter.”
“I sowed the seeds, harvested the leaves, and tempered them in the fire with my own two hands.”
With that, Chen Changsheng pushed two steaming cups across the jade table.
“Is that so?”
“Then this humble brew is truly worth tasting.”
Without hesitation, both Zhang Bairen and Fu Yao lifted their cups and took a measured sip.
Yet, the moment the liquid touched their tongues, the faces of both supreme sovereigns violently contorted.
In stark contrast, Chen Changsheng drank deeply, his face a portrait of pure serenity, as if they were savoring entirely different concoctions.
Enduring the astringent assault, Zhang Bairen asked, “Brother Chen, this tea is a vicious torment to swallow. How can you drink it without a single shift in your expression?”
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng gently rubbed the warm porcelain between his fingers, his voice a cold whisper. “No matter how bitter the tea in this cup may be, can it ever eclipse the bitterness of a mortal’s life?”
“Once one has chewed on true suffering, swallowing this bitter brew naturally feels as sweet as nectar.”
Zhang Bairen slowly nodded, genuine respect flashing in his eyes. “Brother Chen’s Dao heart far surpasses my own. I am in awe!”
“Enough of that,” Chen Changsheng stated, setting his teacup down with a sharp clink. “We have shared our tea. Now, let us cut to the flesh of the matter.”
“When I first trespassed into the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, you ancient monsters were well aware, were you not?”
“Indeed.”
“The Hundred Defeats Immortal Venerable shares deep karmic roots with the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land. By inheriting his stone coffin, you became half a disciple to him. Thus, you were spared.”
“So that is the truth of it!”
“I always wondered how I stumbled out of that death trap alive. It was all woven into this karmic web.”
“Following that logic, the treasures I plundered from the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land… they were deliberately offered to me?”
“More or less. While the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land places little value on the Taotie Root Bone and such petty trinkets, we do not allow simply anyone to walk away with them.”
Absorbing Zhang Bairen’s confession, Chen Changsheng nodded thoughtfully before his tone sharpened into a razor’s edge.
“My second question. Why did you refrain from slaughtering me, or severing the Heaven’s Mandate bearer standing behind me?”
“With the unfathomable might of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, crushing us should have been as effortless as turning your hand.”
Hearing this, Zhang Bairen remained placid. “Harvesting lives is indeed trivial for the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land. But annihilating a bearer of the Heaven’s Mandate is a wholly different tribulation—especially one who has already torn through the threshold of the Sixth Realm.”
“Once the bearer breaches the Sixth Realm, the Heaven’s Mandate upon their soul crystallizes into a true form. Under the laws of the Dao, wiping them from existence becomes agonizingly difficult.”
“Lacking absolute certainty, the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land has no desire to needlessly provoke a sovereign destined for invincibility under the heavens.”
Hearing this, the corners of Chen Changsheng’s lips curled into a predatory smirk.
“I finally understand why Fu Yao conceded that this lifetime was lost to him. If my deductions are correct, your divine intent perceived the Heaven’s Mandate bearer ascending to the Sixth Realm.”
“Back in the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, you chose to Invest in my survival, wagering I harbored the potential to bear the Heaven’s Mandate.”
“Had I truly seized the heavens, I would owe a profound karmic debt to the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land.”
“Concurrently, the forbidden land dispatched you to fiercely contest for the Heaven’s Mandate yourself.”
“Ultimately, regardless of whether you or I claimed the throne, the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land would emerge unmarred.”
“But despite all your shrewdly weighed fated paths, you never anticipated that the true sovereign of the Heaven’s Mandate was the one hidden deeply behind my shadow.”
“Hehehe!”
“Your deduction of the Dao is flawless,” Zhang Bairen laughed, clapping his hands. “Everything transpired exactly as Brother Chen described.”
“In the beginning, I firmly believed Brother Chen was the chosen son of the heavens.”
“At that time, you exhibited not a sliver of the Sixth Realm’s aura. Thus, I stayed my hand and refrained from a lethal strike.”
“After all, one only gets a single chance to crush a heavenly prodigy like you. Naturally, I wished to temper my essence and prepare thoroughly.”
“Yet, who could have foreseen that in a span of mere months, the true bearer of the Heaven’s Mandate would shatter the bottleneck of the Sixth Realm?”
“Now, the grand momentum of the era is locked. Even I am powerless to reverse the heavens. That is precisely why I have come today—to petition for Brother Chen’s aid.”
His words spoken, Zhang Bairen’s gaze bored directly into Chen Changsheng.
Meeting that ancient gaze, Chen Changsheng once again draped himself in absolute silence.
After a long, suffocating pause, Chen Changsheng turned his eyes to Fu Yao—who had remained an impassive observer throughout the exchange—raised a finger, and pointed it squarely at Zhang Bairen.
“You and I forged an oath once. You swore to help me eradicate all obstacles at the Heavenly Talent Assembly.”
“I slaughtered Fang Qiancheng with my own hands. I no longer require your aid to deal with him. So, how about you help me butcher this one instead?”
Glancing sideways at the brazenly thick-skinned Chen Changsheng, Fu Yao replied with cold indifference. “Did you ever fulfill your end of that oath?”
“Even if I were willing to unleash my spiritual essence and strike him down, how do you intend to survive the wrath of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land?”
“I do not possess the supreme might to help you trample the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land into dust.”