Chapter 208

Two days later, Song Chun Gui brought them up the mountain. Not knowing if it was a deliberate arrangement by him or authorization from Li Bu Yu, they didn't encounter any disciples from Wuliang Sect on the way. It is known that there were nearly thousands of people living in Yunding.

When they arrived at the quiet courtyard, there were two disciples standing at the main entrance. Song Chun Gui nodded at each of them. Those who could make Song Chun Gui be polite were bound to be Li Bu Yu's personal disciples.

"Both of you, master welcomes you." Song Chun Gui made a "please" gesture.

Xie Bi An said, "I'll go in alone."

Song Chun Gui was slightly stunned, and his gaze drifted to Lan Chui Han, who nodded slightly.

Xie Bi An lifted his feet and walked in, his expression becoming more and more condensed with every step he took. When he reached the door, he stopped in his tracks, raised his hand to hold the hilt of his sword, pushed the door open and walked in.

The house is filled with a dense smell of medicine. Relying on years of experience in raising flowers, Xie Bi An is more sensitive to smells than normal people. He also can distinguish a hundred kinds of flowers just by closing his eyes and depend fully on his sense of smell. This type of bitter and dry herbal smell was so directly perceived that it almost hurt his eyes.

His impression of Li Bu Yu was complicated. In his previous life's memory, he and Li Bu Yu met as a teenager and broke up as a youth, while in this life's memory, the vast majority of the time, Li Bu Yu is a white-haired elder with immortal bones, a virtuous and respected sect leader and leader of the Immortal Alliance. In the middle of a hundred years, what was missing was the process of Li Bu Yu becoming the character he is today. This feeling is like an originally familiar person changed overnight.

Xie Bi An slowly approached. Looking at the old man sitting on the couch, who was thin and bony with gray hair at the temples, he had mixed feelings in his heart. In front of him, the dying Li Bu Yu made him develop a very strong sense of displacement. The man he hated was obviously strong, cunning, cold, insidious, and clever, and he was able to harm countless people in order to achieve his own goals, yet he was able to use the appearance of morality to deceive everyone and rule the immortal cultivation world for a hundred years. The person in front of him is so old, and obviously has not a lot of time to live. Such decaying bones let people feel revenge is meaningless.

Xie Bi An immediately felt that his body had been relieved of its strength, and he could not say what he felt in his heart.

Li Bu Yu did not open his eyes. He slowly called out: "Emperor."

Xie Bi An stood in front of him with a numbed face. This honorific was familiar and unfamiliar, and was full of vicissitudes that spanned a hundred years.

"Emperor is finally willing to see me." Li Bu Yu's voice was a little hoarse, "Yet I didn't expect that I would get to see the emperor again in my lifetime."

"It's a pity that my eyes are not useful anymore and I wasn't able to recognize the emperor at the very beginning."

"When you and I first met, I was only twelve years old, but now I have half a foot in the coffin and am old beyond my years. And Emperor..." Li Bu Yu's dry lips trembled lightly and slowly opened his eyes. His cataract was worse than before. The entire pupil was covered by a thick white film. Those two battles with Qi Meng Sheng had greatly depleted his vital energy and intensified the deterioration of his physical body.

Li Bu Yu tried hard to see Xie Bi An's face clearly, but no matter how much spiritual energy he injected into his pupils, it was difficult to do so. He felt desolated. A sense of sorrow arose, and his eyes were sore and hard to bear: "And the emperor still looks youthful in appearance."

Xie Bi An said calmly: "You only remember my youthful appearance. I died young, all thanks to your 'credit'."

Li Bu Yu's expression was even more bitter than the smell of herbs in this room: "For a hundred years, there is not a single day that I do not spend in regret."

"Li Bu Yu, stop pretending. I don't believe any of your words." Xie Bi An said lightly, "I know you are afraid. The threats that were dead for a hundred years are 'alive' again. You are worried about our revenge, worried about what you have done was made public, worried that behind you, you cannot preserve your Li family's business and Wuliang Sect."

Li Bu Yu sighed, "The emperor is right, I am indeed a villain, but my remorse is also real. Back then ... now at this age, there are some things I can't say, but when I was young, I was extremely infatuated with Emperor. I looked up to you and hated my own mediocrity, so I got obsessed and committed many wrongdoings."

"It's pointless to talk about this now." Xie Bi An turned his head to look out the window at the crescent moon.

"Yeah, it’s meaningless. My sins are beyond forgiveness. I dared not to ask Emperor for forgiveness since long ago, but fortunately the emperor was born again in the world, giving me, a sinner, a chance to slightly redeem myself."

"I recovered the memory of my previous life not to let you have a hypocritical attitude before death and delude yourself into thinking that you will be sentenced to a few years less after going down to the underworld." Xie Bi An looked at Li Bu Yu coldly, "If you were really remorseful, you should have died in front of my mother's grave to apologize for your crimes, instead of swindling with a fake death!"

Li Bu Yu let out a bitter smile: "What the emperor said is right. I really can't refute. With one word from the emperor, my life is at the mercy of the emperor. Although it is a hundred years late, this time it is true."

"You know very well that I won't kill you now." Xie Bi An looked at Li Bu Yu obliquely, "The way you look right now, I will be fighting a one-sided battle."

"There is no need for the emperor to do it."

"Now is the most critical time in the immortal cultivation world in a hundred years. If you die, the Immortal Alliance will most likely fall apart. I believe that the ears of Wuliang Sect have already received news that the Red King and Qi Meng Sheng have joined forces, and with the ... Supreme Demon who has disappeared for three years, a life or death calamity is inevitable in the human and ghost realms. If you really want to slightly redeem your karmic debt, do what you have to do while you still have breath."

"I understand what the emperor means. As the head of Immortal Alliance, I will take responsibility. Just that, nowadays, I don't dare to say whether the immortal families still listen to me or not."

"Let them understand the advantages and disadvantages. It's not about who you're fighting for, but for yourself, for the people and for future generations. Also, let those sects who deludedly want to side with Cangyu Sect for self-preservation know clearly that once Cangyu Sect enters the main Central Plains, it will be the next Wuyun Sect. Their sect leader will be transformed with human cores. Since the subordinates will follow the example of their superior, the immortal cultivation world will be reduced to a hunting ground for all of Cangyu Sect."

Li Bu Yu was silent for a moment: "Emperor, three years ago, gathering the power of the entire immortal cultivation world, even without the Red Ghost King releasing the fire dragon at the end, we may not be able to defeat Qi Meng Sheng. And now, Heaven Master has passed away, and I also have not much time, and I am less capable of using the Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant than desirable. Many people are not afraid to fight, but afraid to fight knowing that they cannot win the battle."

"If you don't fight, you will definitely lose. Do you just want to wait for your demise?!"

"I want to fight, but not fight hard." Li Bu Yu stared at Xie Bi An with those foggy white pupils, and there seems to be a trace of light buried in the depths of those eyes, "Emperor, the only one who can defeat them now is the Supreme Demon."

Xie Bi An's body instantly tensed up, and he glared at Li Bu Yu coldly.

"Making them kill each other is the only possibility for us to win."

"You’re probably really confused due to old age." Xie Bi An said in a cold voice, "Relying on a Shanhe Sheji Map alone, it is impossible to fight against Jiang Qu Lian and Qi Meng Sheng. Do we have to give the Xuanyuan Heavenly Secret Talisman to the Supreme Demon in order to eliminate them? What's the difference between leaving the wolf's den and entering the tiger's den!?"

"The emperor should not underestimate the Shanhe Sheji Map. If the Supreme Demon can recover the cultivation of his previous life, it may not be impossible to fight. If not, we can also fight with them until neither side wins, then we will strike again and have the confidence to win.”

"..." In these three years, Xie Bi An realized that no matter how long it took, as long as he thought of that person, he could not calm his mind, but he did not expose one bit on his face. The older he became, the more the temperament of his previous life became apparent. He said. "This is your wishful thinking. No one knows where the Supreme Demon is now. Moreover, he is also hostile to the Underworld. He must be cultivating in seclusion, preparing to take away the Xuanyuan Heavenly Secret Talisman."

Li Bu Yu gave a bitter laugh: "When I was young, I had a lot of disagreements with him, especially when he embarrassed me at the Jiaolong Assembly, so I have been keeping it inside my heart for many years, but towards you, he ... I really cannot compare to him. In two lifetimes, he did not hesitate to tear open the Fengdu boundary and did not hesitate to return to earth from hell. So, if it is for you, he will definitely show up."

Xie Bi An clenched the hand in his sleeve robe. His eyes were obscure and difficult to understand.

"I know the emperor does not want to mention him, but the emperor should also understand in your heart, this is the only way. Until they fight to the death, the emperor will be able to capture all of them. I will also fight to my last breath and order the Immortal Alliance to fight with the emperor."

"... Li Bu Yu, whenever you speak righteously, seemingly for me and for the world, you’re actually doing it for your own sake." Xie Bi An stared at Li Bu Yu, "This time, what is your purpose?"

"I am a dying man, and the last thing on my mind is just Wuliang Sect. If the skin does not survive, how will the hair attach itself*? If Jiuzhou falls, Wuliang Sect will not be protected. So this time, the emperor can be rest assured."

Xie Bi An was silent for a moment: "I will discuss it with Official Lord Cui and young pavilion master Lan."

"I will wait for you."

Xie Bi An prepared to leave, but thought of something and whirled around: "You let Wu Si Hai and Song Chun Gui compete for the position of Sect Leader, is it to make room for your son?"

Li Bu Yu did not answer.

"This is your sect's internal affairs, so I won’t look into it. But I warn you, if the internal strife makes Wuliang Sect hurt its vitality, you will lose a great deal by saving a little. You fend for yourself.”

After returning to the courtyard, Xie Bi An briefly explained his conversation with Li Bu Yu to Lan Chui Han. In fact, there are only a few sentences that really were about the business. Both of them can't walk away from the past grudge. They have no choice but to put it aside just for the sake of the common enemy in front of them.

After listening to the story, Lan Chui Han looked at Xie Bi An's pale face and said hesitantly, "What he said is not unreasonable."

"You also think that I should use myself to lure Fan Wu She out?"

"If he comes out, it must be for you." Lan Chui Han muttered, "However, things won't go as smoothly as Li Bu Yu imagined. These three people each have their own agenda, and are also restraining each other, but each of them has been planning for a long time, and probably won’t take action recklessly until they are confident."

For me ...

For me, or for my golden core?

In these two lifetimes, the same muddled account is on the table. In fact, he also understands that that person has a love for him, but this love is repeatedly torn and pulled by hatred and cupidity, and has already been riddled with holes, no longer in its original state. He could not accept that he was tortured, humiliated, hurt and deceived, all because of this "love".

Xie Bi An set aside these chaotic thoughts and said: "I have to go back to discuss this matter with Official Lord Cui. I have never intervened in earthly matters of the underworld. I had no choice but to step in because of Jiang Qu Lian. With the help of the underworld, the situation will be different from three years ago, and there is no need to pin the chances of victory on others."

Lan Chui Han nodded. He saw that Bi An's expression still doesn’t look good and knew that it must be because of "that person". He changed the subject: "Bi An, what do you think of Song Zhen Ren?"

"His character, cultivation, and swordsmanship are all excellent."

"I also think so." Lan Chui Han said, "Before leaving this time, I had a long talk with my father. The Lan family wants to support Song Chun Gui in getting the sect leader position.”

Xie Bi An is not surprised. This change of power between the great sects, in many cases, is not the sect's internal decision. The interests of all parties involved are too many. If there are no restrictions, everyone wants to inherit from their father, but in the interests of all parties, the final election of the person not only has to consider the interests of the sect, but also has to balance the power of various immortal families.

For example, back then he was under the infamous name of killing his father the emperor, yet was still able to sit on the throne of Emperor Zong, was also because of the support of several major sects.

"Was it Song Chun Gui who took the initiative to mention it to you?"

"When we’re drinking wine, it was mentioned obscurely." Lan Chui Han sighed, "He came from a bad background, had no one to rely on, and had a straightforward personality. In fact, he originally did not intend to fight for power and profit. But Wu Si Hai has been secretly ostracizing fellow disciples. If he can't be the sect leader, he and his disciples who are close to him will have a hard time in Wuliang Sect in the future. His cultivation and sword skills are the best of the young generation of Wuliang Sect. Wu Si Hai will certainly not tolerate him, and he may get himself killed."

"Hasn't it occurred to him that at this most turbulent time, Li Bu Yu still deliberately provoked them to fight each other just to let them have internecine strife, so he could support his own son in the end?"

"I said it, but refused to believe it and almost flipped out on me." Lan Chui Han shook his head, "It’s impossible for him not to hear these rumors, and it’s impossible not to have thought about it, but Li Bu Yu did save his life. Recognizing his kindness, he’s subservient to Li Bu Yu. He also wants to assist Li Bu Yu's son, but that is a weak and inept person who is unable to be supported.”

"If Song Chun Gui can inherit the Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant, he will be expected to lead the Immortal Alliance to reorganize Wuliang Sect." Xie Bi An nodded, "The immortal cultivation world needs the Immortal Alliance, but it doesn't need Li Bu Yu anymore. How do you plan to help him?"

Lan Chui Han smiled and did not say anything.

 

----

If the skin does not survive, how will the hair attach itself*[皮之不存毛将焉附]--- Metaphorically speaking, if something loses the foundation on which it exists, it cannot exist itself.

 

Edited on 26 May 21 (Emzie)

 

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