Chapter 95

The Golden Trunk Jade Policy?!

"'The Golden Trunk Jade Policy'? What is that?" Fan Wu She's mind was filled with the words, "Recording the three lifetimes of celestial beings."

Xie Bi An had told him that neither the Book of Life and Death nor the Three Life Stones could not restrict celestial beings who had long since transcended the Six Paths of Reincarnation. If there was really one thing on earth that could see the three lifetimes of Zong Zi Heng, he must see it. He wanted to know if his big brother had ever had a trace of sincerity for him.

Xie Bi An's expression was grave: "I have heard from Official Lord Cui that the fate of the celestial beings is codified separately and is controlled by Emperor Dongyue. When the connection between heaven and earth was destroyed, Emperor Dongyue deliberately left it on earth in order to keep the celestial beings from ever controlling their own fate of life and death. Later, due to the passage of time, the Golden Trunk Jade Policy was gradually forgotten, but the folk emperors, in order to consolidate their power, prided themselves on being the sons of heaven who had the power of the king, and so the tradition of sealing* Mount Tai was passed down."

"So there really is such a thing?"

"There should be, but where it is and how to unseal it, I don't know." Xie Bi An frowned, "I'm afraid even Master doesn't know too. How did Qi Meng Sheng know? She wants to use it to find the reincarnation of the Human Emperor, but why?"

Fan Wu She also wanted to know why Qi Meng Sheng wanted to find Zong Zi Heng's reincarnation. She couldn't be doing it for the Absolute Human Emperor, could she?! His breath became stifled at the thought of the Absolute Human Emperor. Tragic memories rushed into his mind and his hand trembled slightly as he gripped his sword.

"Zhong Kui, leave the Qingfeng Sword behind, or you, both master and disciples, don’t even think about leaving Kunlun."

Zhong Kui said sternly, "No one can snatch Zhong Kui’s sword from my hands.”

"What about the magical weapons of your two disciples?" The Ice and Snow Jade in Qi Meng Sheng's hand shone with glittering blue light, and the ruthless cold accompanying the spiritual pressure was unceasingly released from her center, "Disciples of the Cangyu Sect, listen to this order and take down the Black and White Impermanence."

The cultivators of the Cangyu Sect looked at each other, all slightly confused for a moment.

"Immortal Lord Qi!" Lan Chui Han roared, "Do you want to be an enemy of all Immortal sects!?"

Qi Meng Sheng turned a deaf ear to this, and a blue light burst out from the ice jade, transforming into a racing beast and rushed towards Xie Bi An and Fan Wu She. A cold spell came upon them and some of the cultivators who happened to be among them were actually frozen into ice!

Qi Meng Sheng was indeed crazy, not even sparing her own disciples.

Xie Bi An summoned his Wuqiongbi and opened a boundary in front of the two of them. The ice hit the boundary with a loud bang.

Xie Bi An was pushed backwards several feet, leaving two deep tracks in the snow.

Fan Wu She pulled Xie Bi An, "Go in first, the Ice Palace has a boundary." He glanced back at Wuya. The demon-binding formation that had imprisoned it had been broken through by Qi Meng Sheng's spiritual pressure, but Wuya had also been frozen into ice in that instant.

The two of them had just retreated into the Ice Palace when the cold ice wrapped around them. Separated by the boundary, everyone could hear the ghastly sound of crunching and creaking.

The two people at the peak of the immortal cultivation world were already at war on the Fengming Lake. The immense spiritual pressure wrapped in the ruthless cold swept through heaven and earth. Those Cangyu Sect cultivators who couldn't escape in time were turned into hastily fleeing ice sculptures on the snowy shoals. Their faces were forever frozen with the fear of a near-death moment.

Xie Bi An and Fan Wu She stood in front of the door, looking at the countless Cangyu Sect disciples who had gathered around them, and the scene was silent.

"What are you still standing there for?" A middle-aged woman with an extraordinary presence stepped out from the crowd, "The Sect Leader gave orders to take down the two Impermanence Immortals."

"Elder Chen, but ..." The female cultivator, who was on duty last night was clearly not of low status among the juniors, was hesitant.

"But what?"

"Both Flying Plume Ambassador and Senior Brother are in the Spirit Palace. Fengming Lake is frozen, their lives and deaths are uncertain and Sect Leader Master became..."

"Sect Leader has her own plans. You take a few people to go to the Spirit Palace to find the Flying Plume Ambassadors."

"... Yes."

Elder Chen looked at the two: "Two Impermanence Immortals, please excuse me."

Xie Bi An said sternly, "Qi Meng Sheng has Qi deviated and even killed her own disciples. Do you still want to take the side of the evildoer and be an enemy of the entire immortal cultivation world?"

"If Sect Leader's Ice Crystal Body is accomplished, what does a mere immortal cultivation world count for?" The elder sneered, "You people from the Central Plains have always looked down on the people beyond the Pass. Calling us barbarians and demonic cultivators, but we are the descendants of the Heavenly Ones, the guardians of Shen Nong Ding and the forebears of Jiuzhou Continent. Now we shall return to our origin!" With an ice-crystal longbow in her hand, she ordered, "Take them down!"

Without hesitation, Fan Wu She waved a harsh sword qi, temporarily forcing the crowd back, and ran towards the ice palace with Xie Bi An.

There were countless arrows and ice spells chasing after them. The ice palace was so large that they got lost very quickly when fighting, retreating and hiding. They had no choice but to hide under the bed in one room.

From time to time, footsteps rushed past outside the door.

"Wu She, I'm so worried about Master and Brother Lan." Xie Bi An said quietly.

"Aren't you worried about us?" Fan Wu She leaned next to Xie Bi An's shoulder, his gaze somewhat vacant. He remembered how he and his siblings had played hide-and-seek when they were little. He knew that his big brother knew that he liked to hide under the bed. He just hoped that his big brother would find him sooner and hide there with him and whisper.

A small world, only with each other. Fan Wu She knew it wasn't the right time, but he still indulged in fantasy.

"I’m also worried." Xie Bi An sighed, "If the Qingfeng Sword can open the Mount Tai boundary, then Wuqiongbi and Bieyanghong should also be able to."

Fan Wu She paused, "You said you might have been an emperor in one life, perhaps your three lives are recorded on the Golden Trunk Jade Policy."

Xie Bi An froze, "I had forgotten that it might be possible."

"Do you want to see it then?"

"..."

"Don't want to see it? Scared?"

"And where does 'scared' begin? I just ... like I said before, I don't think one should dwell on the past." Xie Bi An thought of the visions on the Eight Trigrams Platform, and of the many dreams of his past life. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he did in fact have some fear. He was afraid of seeing a story on the Golden Trunk Jade Policy that he couldn't let go of. He was afraid of seeing his love-hate relationship with a man. He was afraid that if he looked, he would be bound to this life with the shackles of his past life. He is curious, but he wants to suppress this curiosity, because he doesn’t want to add to his troubles.

But he was also worried that he would keep dreaming of his past life. He feared that it was an obsession that could not be dispelled even by reincarnation that was forcing him to confront something.

Fan Wu She pondered for a moment, "If you don't want to know, then don't think about it."

"Hmm. But why does Qi Meng Sheng want to find the reincarnation of the Human Emperor? There are plenty of people who have been emperors. Who she is referring to is Zong Zi Heng, right?"

"It must be."

"Even if they have a grudge against each other, Zong Zi Heng has been dead for a hundred years. What kind of grudge could not even be let go of a person who had reincarnated and reborn?" Xie Bi An shook his head, "An obsession too deep will harm others and oneself ah."

Fan Wu She thought to himself that Qi Meng Sheng was looking for Zong Zi Heng, most likely because of his imperial destiny. Throughout the ages, many emperors have been reincarnated, but very few celestial beings, who have been reincarnated to experience calamity, have an imperial destiny. Some have died young and were demised, some have been usurped. Most of them have imperial luck but not imperial destiny. In turn, many of those with imperial destinies are mortals who will never form a core in their lifetime. A golden core like Zong Zi Heng, who combines both imperial destiny and supreme talent, can practice the world's most powerful immortal elixir --- the Absolute Human Emperor. If Qi Meng Sheng wants to completely shed her sickly and aged body and reshape her flesh with ice crystals, only the Absolute Human Emperor can help her. If she really has her way, she would be no less of a threat than she was a century ago.

The image of Zong Zi Heng falling in a pool of blood appeared before Fan Wu She's eyes. It was the Absolute Human Emperor who had driven him to the end of the road.

The body of the man in his arms was gradually losing warmth. The lax pupils, and the blood that painted the entire earth scarlet were still vivid in his mind after a hundred years.

Neither his overflowing hatred nor his infinite strength could clench the life that was flowing away in his arms, nor could they stop the one he loved most from leaving him without hesitation.

He saw a long-lost gentle smile on his big brother's face, yet said the cruellest last words, "Xiao Jiu, in the next life and afterlife, forever and eternally, let’s not meet again.”

Love or hate, there would be no more Zong Zi Heng in the world.

How can there be no more Zong Zi Heng in the world?!

So he tore apart the Fengdu barrier in a vain attempt to change his fate against the heavens. He wanted to tell his big brother himself, "I don't want your core, I just want you."

In the end, he was defeated and was sent to the Infernal Hell.

A hundred years in hell was not as bitter as longing for him.

Fan Wu She was so caught up in his sorrow that he almost neglected the outside world.

"Junior brother, what's wrong with you? Junior brother?" Xie Bi An called out softly in an anxious voice.

As if woken up from a dream, Fan Wu She looked at the concerned face in front of him and could not restrain himself from embracing the person into his arms.

Xie Bi An was stunned, remembering that not long ago, Fan Wu She had just confessed his love to him. This sudden embrace made him feel helpless: "You, you ..."

"It's so cold." Fan Wu She gently sniffled, "It's really cold." Without you, it's so cold in the human realm and hell.

Xie Bi An said hesitantly, "It is cold, but you'll make a commotion like this."

"Then let's do it quietly." Fan Wu She whispered, "I'll quietly hug senior brother."

Xie Bi An felt fooled for a moment: "Let go of me."

But Fan Wu She refused to let go, "But it's too cold, my hands and feet are freezing until they're numb."

"Can't you use your spiritual power to keep warm!"

"We don't know when we'll get out of danger yet, so how can we waste our spiritual energy?" Fan Wu She got insatiable and buried his face into Xie Bi An's neck, "I feel warm just hugging senior brother. Doesn't senior brother feel warm?"

"Yes ... it's a bit warmer."

"Then let's hug like this, okay?"

Xie Bi An breathed out helplessly, "Do you know where this place is and what the situation is now? We are being chased, and we don't know if master and big brother Lan can stop Qi Meng Sheng or not."

"I know, that doesn't stop me from wanting to hug you."

"You let go of me!"

"Shh, lower your voice, someone's coming."

Xie Bi An was still trying to push him when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. There really was a pursuer coming. Next, the door to the room where they were hiding was pushed open.

The two men crawled out from under the bed, forced back their pursuers with a few sword moves, and ran out.

"They're here! Someone come quickly!"

The two men were once again fleeing in disarray around the large ice palace like headless flies when they suddenly spotted an underground entrance. Without giving it much thought, they ran down.

Only to hear someone from the Cangyu Sect shouting behind them, "No good, they're going to the Spirit Palace."

This was indeed the way to the Spirit Palace.

Fan Wu She suddenly took out his Bieyanghong and threw his chain scythe overhead, cutting down all the beams and other objects, temporarily blocking the underground entrance.

The two followed this pathway and kept running forward. Apparently, the deeper they went, the colder it became. That type of cold was as if it could get into their bones. Suddenly, a hole in the ice appeared in front of them. There should have been a door at the entrance of the hole. After it was frozen into ice and destroyed by an external force, it was shattered to the ground. It must be that female cultivator who led the people in search of Flying Plume Ambassador and Yun Zhong Jun. Legend has it that the path that leads to the Spirit Palace from the Ice Palace can only be entered by those who have the permission from the Sect Leader. After all, this is the cave of the Cangyu Sect. If the door had not been destroyed, they might not have been able to enter.

The ice cave stretched inwards in long and endless tunnels. They don't know what it was like here when the Fengming Lake was not frozen over, but at this point, it seemed like they were about to walk into the innards of an iceberg.

Xie Bi An looked behind him: "The people from the Cangyu Sect will soon catch up. Since it's dangerous to go forward and backwards, we might as well go forward."

Fan Wu She nodded, "I also want to go in and take a look. I always felt that the man I saw at the bottom of Fengming Lake that night was a big deal. Now Qi Meng Sheng wants to use the ice crystal to reshape her flesh. Where the man and Seven Star Lamp have gone, we should go in and find out."

The two of them walked into the tunnel and cautiously explored ahead.

According to what Fan Wu She saw, and the rumors about the Spirit Palace from the outside world, the Spirit Palace was not very big. It’s just a small palace built with ice crystals dedicated for the high-ranking cultivators of the Cangyu Sect to cultivate and seclude. At this moment, the Spirit Palace was dark, and occasionally trembled from the spiritual pressure released by the battle on the lake.

The fire torch could only shine to a limited range. Xie Bi An scouted the way while voicing the question in his mind, "Master and Brother Lan came to see Qi Meng Sheng, there were more than 4 hours in between, what exactly happened? The two of them were able to escape from the bottom of the lake, then why didn't Yun Zhong Jun escape?"

"I don't believe Yun Zhong Jun would be trapped at the bottom of the lake either."

"Could it be ..." the light of the fire flashed, and a frightened human face suddenly appeared in front of him in total darkness as if suspended in mid-air. It was so frightening that Xie Bi An almost screamed out. He took two steps back and slipped, almost falling backwards.

Fan Wu She hugged him, but his foot still hit something hard. There was a bang, followed by a loud cracking sound.

The two of them took a closer look by borrowing the light of the fire and saw that it was actually a frozen ice sculpture of a living person. Just like the Cangyu Sect’s disciples on Fengming Lake at that moment, which had fallen to pieces with just a light touch.

Fan Wu She carefully identified the face, "This is one of the female cultivators who was just sent down by that elder to find someone."

Xie Bi An's expression was extremely unsightly as he gritted his teeth and said, "Qi Meng Sheng is now killing her own disciples. Can she still be supported even if she really gets the Ice crystal body by doing this?"

Fan Wu She said in a deep voice, "Fear can be exchanged for support."

Xie Bi An said silently, "Lady, if I can escape alive, I will personally guide your human soul to the underworld and help you find a good family in the next life."

"Then you have a lot to guide." Fan Wu She burned a fire talisman, illuminating the whole place.

The seven to eight people who had just been sent to find the Flying Plume Ambassador and Yun Zhong Jun had all died here.

"Their cultivation level should not be low. There is no sign of a fight at the scene. They were actually all frozen ..."

Xie Bi An held Wuqiongbi up to his chest, "Wu She, stand behind senior brother."

Fan Wu She moved over and almost pressed his chest against Xie Bi An's back: "Senior brother is really nice."

Xie Bi An's scalp tingled for a moment: "Let's go." He hurriedly took two quick steps to shake off Fan Wu She.

When they reached the depths of the Spirit Palace, they finally saw that there were large traces of destruction here, obviously a violent fight had taken place, and there was oddly shaped ice everywhere. It was imaginable that this place might have once been the interior of the Spirit Palace, but it had been damaged and the lake water had backed up and froze into ice.

"Brother, there seems to be light ahead."

Alerted, the two men followed the bit of light forward. The closer they got, the more they realized that it was not a mass of light, but seven points of light of equal brightness.

The Seven Star Life-Sustaining Lamp!

A huge block of ice appeared in front of them. Judging by the neat shape of the ice block, it would be quite appropriate to call it an ice coffin, because a man was sealed inside this ice coffin.

A young and handsome man. His eyes closed peacefully as if he was asleep, and together with him, sealed in the ice, was the Seven Star Life-Sustaining Lamp, which was burning slowly.

"Is he the man you saw?" Xie Bi An was so shocked by the scene before him that he couldn't close his mouth.

Fan Wu She's heart was filled with doubts, "I couldn't see his face that night because of the distance, but it should be him." He had a vague feeling that this man looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was. He actually had a very good memory, so if he couldn't remember, it was most likely not someone he had met recently, but ...

"Why would Qi Meng Sheng seal a young man in ice?" Xie Bi An gently touched the ice coffin, "No, it's not just ice. There are ice crystals inside. He's only sleeping temporarily."

"Of course he's not dead, otherwise why would this Seven Star Lamp be set up?" Fan Wu She murmured, "Who is he really?" Have I seen him before a hundred years ago, or else why would he look familiar?

As the two of them were at a loss, a wave of extreme cold came like a flying arrow. The killing intent arrived before the sharp edge arrived.

"Wu She!" Xie Bi An shielded Fan Wu She, Wuqiongbi flashed with a green glow, shielding the two of them behind the boundary.

The cold air mixed with the spiritual pressure poured in. In the blink of an eye, the entire space was coated with another layer of thick frost. The Cangyu Sect cultivators outside who were frozen quickly must have been hit by this move.

That cold air swirled around the room repeatedly, forcing the two of them into a corner with one breath. The boundary formed by Wuqiongbi repeatedly withstood the attack, but temporarily couldn't cope with Xie Bi An.

When the cold air dissipated, Xie Bi An heaved a sigh of relief and realized that Fan Wu She had his arms around his waist and his chest was glued to his back in an intimate position.

Xie Bi An immediately struggled, "Why are you holding me?"

"You’re warm." Fan Wu She added, "I want to hug."

"What are you doing in this life-and-death situation!?" Xie Bi An was so angry and anxious that his face turned red.

Fan Wu She reluctantly let go of his hand and said innocently, "I'm really cold. Senior brother is the only one who is hot. I just wanted to get warm. In a life and death situation, senior brother is still so calculating."

"You!"

"Senior brother won't be angry right?"

"I'm not angry." Xie Bi An was about to die of anger at Fan Wu She.

"That's good." Fan Wu She immediately changed to a serious face, "Senior brother, Qi Meng Sheng must be unable to attend to other things at the same time. The one who attacked us just now was either the Flying Plume Ambassador or Yun Zhong Jun. I have a way to lure him out."

"What way?"

"Smash that ice coffin."

 

 ----

sealing* [封禅]---I dunno the proper translation for this. The meaning: ancient emperor went to Mount Tai to worship the heaven or to pay homage to Heaven at Mount Tai

 

Edited on 12 Apr. 21 (Emzie)

 

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