A wooden table with cups and wine pots on it was not placed in the hall of the heavens, but on the edge of the sea of clouds. Xie Buchen waved his hand and invited her to sit down. Jianchou did not say much, and sat down on both sides of the wooden table with him, crossed her legs, and placed her hands on her knees, just watching Xie Buchen roll up his sleeves and pour wine.
Even pouring wine looks good.
His slender fingers, stained with the scent of ink, moved slowly and steadily, pressing down the lid of the pot to let the wine flow out, and pouring it into the white jade cup, filling it seven-tenths full.
Jianchou looked at him calmly for a moment, and then watched him pour wine for himself before saying, "I heard there is some progress?"
"I have the outline, but I don't understand the mystery."
Xie Buchen sat cross-legged like Jianchou, put down the wine pot, picked up the wine cup and took a sip, then turned around to look at the disciples who were peeking furtively in the Hall of All Heavens, but did not scold them. He just raised his hand and pressed a bluish-white jade slip on the wooden table.
"Daoyou Jianchou wants to investigate this. Do you think Hengxu is innocent?"
"innocent?"
Jianchou knew that what he wanted to know was in this jade slip. He took it between his fingers, looked at it for a while, and smiled.
"Even if all the monks in the world believed his explanation in the palace that day, I won't believe it, and you, Xie Buchen, are even less likely to believe it. He is so arrogant, how can he be associated with the word 'innocent'?"
"But over the years, there have been cultivators who think he is innocent. After all, it is true that Kunwu was ambushed during the Yin-Yang Realm War. If there hadn't been an ambush, Shen Jiuhan wouldn't have gone to Yashan to report the news."
There was really no emotion in Xie Buchen's tone.
It didn't seem like he was trying to defend Master Hengxu, but there wasn't a hint of sarcasm in his voice either.
It can be seen that Chou really knows him too well. When she extended her consciousness to touch this jade slip, she had already laughed coldly: "You said there was no ambush, so Shen Jiuhan would not have gone to Yashan to report the news. What Hengxu Zhenren wanted was the position of the head of Kunwu. He is a person who thinks carefully and never acts impulsively. How could such a plan not be planned? And if someone else really leaked the exact news to Jiyu, how could Jiyu not dispatch troops to put Kunwu to death, and how could Kunwu be ambushed and escape unscathed? It is obvious that Jiyu did not know whether the news he got was true or false, so he set an ambush for the time being. If you calculate it this way, in the end it is nothing more than Shen Jiuhan's mistake. He is in charge of Kunwu legitimately, and Yashan is only slightly weakened. But no matter how much you calculate, this good plan of killing two birds with one stone missed the internal strife of Buddhism and the rebellion of Tantric Buddhism. So because of this selfishness, thousands of cultivators in Yashan were harmed. You, Kunwu, and others may be innocent, but he deserves the punishment."
"Daoyou Jianchou's words sound as if he had seen it with his own eyes." Xie Buchen's eyes fell on the jade slip in her hand, and he remembered a "little thing" that had been forgotten by the cultivators of the Nineteen Continents. "I forgot that Daoyou Jianchou had obtained a 'Zhoumu' in the Fishbone Temple during the Zuo Sanqian meeting."
My past accomplishments may have been insufficient, but today, even if I cannot glimpse the future, everything that happened in the past should be clear to me.
In her eyes, anything that had happened in the past could be known if she wanted to know.
But this is also weird.
If she knew everything, why would she ask him to investigate this matter
Xie Buchen raised his eyes and looked at her.
At this moment, a trace of Jianchou's consciousness had already sunk into the jade slip. As soon as he read the transcribed records inside, his brows immediately frowned.
He was the one who investigated the matter, so he naturally knew what was involved.
It is the operation status of Kunwu Zhoutian Star Array during the eleven generations from the first Yin-Yang Realm War to tomorrow's catastrophe.
Back then, Master Hengxu used this to deduce the secrets of heaven and learned about the great catastrophe that would occur over a hundred years.
However, not long after he calculated the secrets of heaven, around the time when the great mayfly demon Fu Chaosheng from the Great Dream Reef in the West Sea appeared in the world, the great array of stars in the sky stopped rotating, and everyone in Kunwu, including Zhenren Hengxu, believed that he had reached the limit of his ability and could no longer calculate the secrets of heaven.
Only after Zhenren Hengxu committed suicide did the formation start to work again.
Now it stands on the Palace of Heavens.
But Xie Buchen was not the real person Hengxu after all, and he never believed in any heavenly secrets, so he just let the formation be set up and never used it.
A few years ago, he was still preaching to his disciples when Jianchou suddenly received a thunder letter asking him to check Kunwu's records of this formation. Only then did he vaguely sense something subtle and strange.
Originally, the fact that Zhenren Hengxu calculated the Kunwu catastrophe seemed very strange.
If this disaster had not happened, he would not have been accepted as a disciple, and indirectly, the current situation would not have happened, and naturally even his own fatal disaster would not have happened.
But all this happened.
What's even more bizarre is that when he checked the records of the operation of the Great Zhoutian Star Array contained in Kunwu over the years, he unexpectedly discovered that on the day when Zhenren Hengxu predicted the Kunwu catastrophe, the great array was not activated at all and operated as usual, without even the slightest abnormality!
Zhenren Hengxu only stood silently in front of the formation for half an incense stick of time.
"Originally, I thought that Hengxu was just calculating the secrets of heaven and brought himself to disaster. After all, no one can calculate the heavens. But after Daoist Jianchou asked me to check the records of the Zhoutian Star Array, I found that things didn't seem to be that simple. And Daoist Jianchou's knowledge seems to be far beyond that of ordinary people."
Xie Buchen sipped the wine in the glass, his voice was faint.
When he first saw that page of records, he could not hide the shock in his heart. At this moment, he looked up at Jianchou's expression, but found that although she frowned, her face was calm.
Only the fingers holding the jade slip revealed a hint of true emotion.
When he pressed the jade slip back onto the wooden table, it trembled slightly.
Seeing that Sorrow's emotions were rising and falling like the tide, he was speechless for a moment. After a long while, he said, "It is indeed as you said. I have the Cosmic Eyes, so I can know the past. But perhaps because it involves the secrets of heaven, I cannot see the past operation of your Kunwu Zhoutian Star Array, so I asked Saint Lord to check it out. I never expected that the result would be like this."
If the Zhoutian Star Array had not actually been activated, how could Zhenren Hengxu determine the secrets of heaven from the array
If the secret of heaven has not been discovered, how can we know about the so-called Kunwu's hundred-year catastrophe and Xie Buchen who can save Kunwu from danger
Is this all just a self-inflicted trap
Or does Master Hengxu have some secret method to erase past records
But he himself told others that it was a divine secret, so what’s the point of erasing the records
When a normal person gets this jade slip and sees all the relevant records on it, he will have all kinds of doubts and associations.
Originally, Xie Buchen thought that Jianchou should think the same way.
Even the expression on her face when she spoke at this moment did not seem to be unusual.
But perhaps it was some kind of strong intuition that made him feel that Jianchou's answer and words at this moment were so strange and did not seem to be true.
His eyes flickered slightly. Xie Buchen seemed calm, but he was not relaxed at all. He just said casually, "So, Daoist Jianchou also thinks that Hengxu might be trapped in his own trap? When the battle between Yin and Yang worlds was restarted, I saw all kinds of abnormalities in him, and I felt that he might not be without demons. After all, he had a close relationship with Fudaoshanren, and it was not fake. He also did not expect that he would cause the serious consequence of the death of thousands of cultivators in Yashan for his own selfishness. Even if he was calm on the surface, he would probably feel a little guilty when it was late at night. So he was uneasy on the one hand, and on the other hand, he could not help but suspect that Kunwu would follow in Yashan's footsteps one day. He thought about it day and night, and had demonic obstacles, so he imagined this so-called catastrophe. This is really a pity..."
This is a test.
Jianchou turned his head and looked at the Zhutian Palace standing at the end of the sea of clouds. He could vaguely see the silver light of the Zhoutian Star Array rotating high up.
But the feeling is completely different from when we met in the past.
When I first arrived at the Kunwu Hall of the Heavens, I felt that this formation was mysterious and unfathomable; now when I see it again, it feels eerie and unspeakably strange.
The elders in the hall, especially the disciples, were startled when she looked back at them, and they almost lost their souls with fright.
But just as she was about to dodge, she had already retracted her gaze.
The wine cup was still on the table. Jianchou finally reached out to take it, but he didn't drink it for the time being. Instead, he looked up at Xie Buchen, with undisguised mockery in his eyes: "When Master Hengxu committed suicide, you are the happiest person in Kunwu. If you keep pretending to be sad, I'm afraid that Master Hengxu would die with regrets. It's just that he was better than you, and died in your calculations, so it's not unfair for him."
Facing such sharp and even pungent words, Xie Buchen's expression remained almost unchanged, and he even laughed: "It's just taking advantage of the situation, it can't be called clever."
"As early as when we were exploring the Secret Sect in the Snow Region, you had already obtained the Nine Doubts Cauldron, but you concealed it from Master Hengxu. Later, when you asked about the Heart Dao Tribulation, Hengxu had to do his best to bear it for you, because you are the Taoist who can turn the tide and save Kunwu from collapse. When the Yin-Yang Realm War came, Master Hengxu and Fudao Shanren drew their swords and went to Bafang City first, and Qu Zhengfeng should have been behind. Others may not know when he left, but you could not have been unaware at the time. But firstly, you did not remind Master Hengxu, and secondly, you used the Nine Doubts Cauldron to block Hengxu from the punishment of the Yuanshi Tribulation when he was about to be punished. You deliberately wanted to save his life without letting him have enough strength. In this way, he would not have to fall in the Extreme Region, and he could return to Kunwu alive to confront Qu Zhengfeng..."
When you think about it carefully, every single thing is horrifying.
Everyone would think that Thank Buchen was a good disciple for helping his teacher at the critical moment, but when you think about what happened to Jianchou, you will find that he is really vicious!
"That day in the palace, the words 'I would like to hear the details' were just a pretense. Hengxu took three steps at a time, and you, Xie Buchen, will be even more so. Even if it was Hengxu who instigated you to kill me to prove your truth, you can't have any regrets in your heart. Before Hengxu committed suicide, he took all the blame on himself, because in his mind, Kunwu was the most important. For Kunwu, he had to protect you and your reputation. And you know this very well."
I really can’t imagine what kind of state of mind Hengxu was in when he drew his sword and committed suicide.
I'm afraid that after seeing him sacrifice the Nine Doubts Cauldron in the battle in the Eight Directions City in the Extreme Domain, I had already understood something, and then after hearing the words "I would like to hear the details" in the Hall of the Heavens, I knew it completely.
But at that time, what choice did we have
He had already fallen into disgrace, and although he could use words to expose Xie Buchen's various schemes, and even point out the fact that he had killed his wife to prove his faith, causing Xie Buchen to be reviled by all the monks in the world, how could he choose
Born as Kunwu, I will never regret dying.
So he simply took all the blame and used Qu Zhengfeng's safety as a bargaining chip in exchange for a vow from Jianchou for his ambitious disciple who was determined to revive Kunwu, thus paving a smooth path for Xie Buchen and Kunwu.
Almost four hundred years have passed, but when she recounts the details of the past one by one, they still seem vivid in people's minds.
It seems like it just happened yesterday.
The wind blew the sea of clouds, and the clouds on the edge drifted away like waves.
Xie Buchen seemed to recall something. He poured himself another glass of wine and said, "Fellow Daoist Jianchou's words are shocking. If there were outsiders here who heard what he said, they would probably be stunned and would not dare to believe it. So even if it is all true, what's the point of telling it?"
He really dares to do it and admit it.
The deep scheming behind this really makes one feel cold in the bones just thinking about it.
Jianchou took a sip of wine, as if he wanted to suppress some emotions in his heart with the strong taste of the wine. He put down the wine cup and smiled, "I'm afraid you even guessed Qu Zhengfeng's plan clearly. People say that my Yashan benefited from Kunwu's disaster, but you, Xie Buchen, are the real winner behind this. You made a brilliant plan and were so smart that you were almost a demon. But the world only knew that you were somewhat innocent, but didn't know how deep your plan was. I guess Xie Lang's brilliant plan was not appreciated by anyone, so you must have felt a little lonely, right?"
"Hahaha… "
Xie Buchen finally laughed out loud, and the coldness and caution that countless people were familiar with in the past faded from his brows, and was replaced by an unconcealable sharpness!
He poured wine for Jianchou again.
At this moment, he could only sigh from the bottom of his heart: "Jianchou is indeed Xie's confidant!"
After sighing, he remained silent for a moment and said, "But Qu Zhengfeng is a great man, what a pity."
Jianchou's expression became gloomy and he said nothing.
Xie Buchen poured himself a cup and played with it between his fingertips. His calm eyes followed the ripples in the cup and he continued, "He has long seen that Hengxu and I are just courting death, so he only asked me if I can quickly attack Bafang City. You must know that a slow attack will wear down the strength of Jiyuyu, which is more beneficial to the Nineteen Continents. His proposal is nothing more than wanting the Nineteen Continents to be evenly matched with Jiyuyu, and the Kunwu, as the main force, will also suffer more casualties, making it easier for him to slaughter Kunwu. But he is too upright, and it is really hard for him to tolerate it."
There are some things that others cannot see clearly, but they are too clear to them.
Qu Zhengfeng was just venting his anger. Although he knew that most people in Kunwu were innocent, he still insisted on having his own way.
Otherwise, does Qian Xiu of Yashan deserve to be unlucky
Although Master Hengxu only had one intention to harm others, he ended up causing great harm to others. Others could talk without any hesitation and said that Yashan could only seek revenge on Hengxu and Kunwu for one part, but how could they be content with the remaining nine parts
Jianchou only vaguely remembered that he had an unfinished duel with Qu Zhengfeng. He didn't expect that the duel would be delayed and he would never have the chance to test his strength again.
She was silent for a long time before she drank the wine.
Between his cold eyebrows, a red mark appeared at the center of his brows, revealing a hint of hostility.
When she came, Xie Buchen had not noticed it, and they had hardly met each other over the years. But when his eyes swept across her brows, he discovered something subtle and unusual.
The edges of her pupils actually showed a faint dark gold color.
But it didn't seem like some kind of magic, nor did it seem like some kind of mutation. Instead, it gave him a strong sense of restriction. Other people's thoughts could not penetrate the pupil, and certain things inside could not come out of it.
It's like...
He built a prison in his own pupils!
A hint of thought flashed across his eyes, but he didn't ask any more questions. He just held down the wine jug and stared at her.
But Jianchou didn't even look at him.
He put down the wine cup and said, "You and your master are birds of a feather. You schemed against him, and he schemed against you. Although he forced me to swear in public, he said the words 'this world' himself. Although he is willing to take the blame for you and save your life, he can only do so for the time being, not after you ascend to heaven. In his eyes, you are just a chess piece to save Kunwu from danger. He asked you to go with me several times in the past because he was afraid of you and wanted you to have a demon in your heart. It's a pity that he miscalculated badly. I don't think you have any demon in your heart, Brother Xie."
The fingers holding down the wine jug moved slightly.
Xie Buchen wasn't sure whether she was just sighing or trying to test something.
He just replied calmly: "It seems that Daoist Jianchou is disappointed."
"Sometimes I really envy the Saint Monarch's unfeeling nature. He has no worries when he kills, and he saves himself from the worries of love and trouble in the world."
The sunset has reached its brightest.
Every cloud in the sky was dyed crimson, reflecting the sinking golden light, floating on the mountains and rivers, and surging around them.
Jianchou looked at the ever-changing situation and only thought of Fu Chaosheng.
Ever since Kun died and turned into the sea, he left this world and never returned. I guess he went to Shangxu.
She had just spoken very calmly, but Xie Buchen knew her so well that at this moment he could clearly sense a certain kind of strangeness that was really uncomfortable.
His pupils shrank slightly and he slowly released the hand that was pressing on the wine jug.
Then he heard Sorrow say to him, "I once had a friend who fell in love with me but didn't know it, but I deceived him. When he understood the world's love, I hurt his heart. The Saint once said that I was indifferent to love, but I didn't know my own heart. I was the one who was involved. I don't know, what do you think of my heart from the perspective of the Saint?"
"… "
She actually came to ask him.
Xie Buchen felt that if he could still perceive these negative emotions at this moment, he would be able to clearly understand what "heart-wrenching pain" meant.
Fang Xiaoxie's face suddenly appeared in his mind, but in an instant it turned into Fu Chaosheng.
He slowly lowered his eyes, and after a long while, he replied coldly: "If you were ruthless to him, you wouldn't be worried today."
If you are heartless, you will have no worries.
Jianchou laughed after hearing this and even asked Xie Buchen, "Does the Saint have any worries today?"
Xie Buchen lowered his eyes and did not answer.
Jianchou pondered his responses and changes carefully and found them very interesting, but that was the end of it.
She raised her hand and placed a foot-long scroll on the table.
The quaint shape, old and weathered, looks ordinary, but when it leaves her fingers, a vast aura spreads to the surroundings.
Map of the Nine-Bend River!
Although Xie Buchen had never actually seen this thing, he had been to the hidden world of Qingfeng Temple and knew quite a bit about it. How could he not know about it
Now that I saw Jianchou put this thing down, a chill really went down my spine.
He really couldn't guess what she was thinking.
The body, which had been relatively relaxed just now, had now become tense and in a state of complete alert.
"After Qu Zhengfeng's death, everyone in the world was curious about the whereabouts of the 'Nine-bend River Map'. For hundreds of years, countless people have been in and out of Jiexing Villa, trying to find it. No one expected that it was already in the hands of Daoist Fellow Jianchou."
It is easy to imagine what she has been comprehending since she has hardly appeared in the Nineteen Continents in the past four hundred years.
Xie Buchen felt a deep fear in his heart.
But Jianchou had no intention of taking action. He just looked at the setting sun from afar, thinking about every day and night he had spent on these 19 continents. His expression was quite sentimental: "The universe is vast and boundless. Compared with the universe, this world of origin may be just a well. But you and I are like frogs, sitting in the well, we may be able to see the sky."
A frog sitting in a well may still be able to see the sky!
It seems calm, but it is actually thrilling.
Jianchou's simple words had already stirred up some waves in Xie Buchen's heart, making him look at the other person in silence.
Jianchou said, "I have already comprehended this River Map. Thank you Taoist friend for telling me that it is Kunwu's property. Today I will return it to you intact."
Return the jade intact
Xie Buchen did say in the old days in the hidden world of Qingfeng Temple that this item had been in the hands of Kunwu Baji Daozun, but he did not say that this item was Kunwu's. Now Jianchou found such a common reason and actually wanted to send this "Nine-bend River Map" to him!
A palpable sense of calculation.
But what made him feel very difficult was that he knew she was scheming, but he didn't know what she was scheming.
His gaze shifted from the scroll placed between the two of them to Jianchou's face. Xie Buchen's voice became slightly colder: "Why?"
Jianchou smiled and said, "I will go to Shangxu. This river map is useless to me. If I pass it on to Yashan, it will be a crime to possess a treasure. Looking at the 19 continents now, only the Holy Lord has the power to keep this thing. After all, if you want it, it will eventually fall into your hands. Instead of waiting for you to snatch it and stir up trouble, why don't I give it to you personally to avoid trouble in the future?"
Xie Buchen seemed to have not heard this explanation at all, and just continued to ask, "Why?"
Seeing that his eyebrows slightly raised, his smile disappeared, and he said: "After I arrive in Shangxu, I will probably encounter a difficult matter. Now I am offering the River Map as a favor, but I hope that when the Saint Lord ascends to Shangxu in the future, he can remember this day, grant me a request, and return this favor to me."
Nonsense!
In the old days, the Qingfeng Temple Hidden Realm and the Snow Region Tantric Sect fought each other to the death. The peace over the past few hundred years was only because she made a vow and could not seek revenge.
In other words, as a disciple of Yashan, she disdains to break her oath.
But to say that she had no intention of killing him was a fantasy.
Xie Buchen sat opposite her. The sky was getting dark. The setting sun was like blood, falling into his eyes. He calmly exposed Jianchou: "I thought that after I ascended to Shangxu, you would just kill me immediately."
Jianchou lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment.
She picked up the wine jug that Xie Buchen had put down, and actually filled the empty cup in front of him halfway, then slowly raised her head to look at him.
At this moment, Xie Buchen really couldn't understand this look.
He only heard her whisper, "But it's not me who killed you."
After saying this, her eyes dropped again.
Xie Buchen really didn't know how to describe the feeling in his heart, which was a little absurd: he didn't believe in fate. The future was unpredictable and could change in an instant. How could she dare to predict the ending for him
But her eyes were strange and complicated, even hiding a hint of sadness.
He lowered his head to look at the cup in front of him, but did not pick it up. He just raised his eyes again, stared at her, and asked again: "Why?"
Jianchou knew that at this moment, he was not asking about the "Nine-bend River Map", but the glass of wine in front of him.
How to describe it
Even she herself could not capture her emotions at that moment. She only felt that the big clouds in the sky flew by without leaving any trace. They were too light and floating, and slipped through her fingers easily.
She picked up the wine cup and after a long while, she said softly, "You're worth it."
Three words, born from the heart.
After saying this, he just raised his head and drank the wine in the glass!
He put the wine cup back on the wooden table, then Jianchou stood up and leaned towards the edge of the blood-stained sea of clouds. His mountain and river robe fluttered in the evening breeze. The aroma of wine was still there, but he had already disappeared into the void.
The black gold falls in the west, and the sunset glows brightly.
The stars in the sky were about to appear, but she sank into the galaxy and became one of them.
Between heaven and earth, a sigh resounded in all directions: "In the Shangxu Immortal Realm, Jianchou left first, waiting for the Saint Lord to arrive!"
In the Great Hall of the Heavens, everyone was fascinated.
Xie Buchen was left alone sitting by the sea of clouds. The wind was cold and quiet. In front of him were only a wooden table, a scroll of the River Map, an empty cup, and half a glass of leftover wine.