Chapter 573: Heart Coil

Chapter 573: Heart Coil

Upon hearing those words from the Grand Master, the fire that Li Huowang had long suppressed within his heart suddenly erupted like a flame leaping from embers.

“You say I am suspicious! Then I say you are the one who is off-kilter! You failed to detect anything wrong with Ji Lin before, and now you didn’t catch anything amiss with Gao Zhijian either! Are you nothing more than a clay statue on display? Or perhaps… the words about the dice were true after all! He was actually a hidden agent planted inside the palace!”

Zhuge Yuan’s plan had been sound! As the Emperor of Great Qi, Gao Zhijian could have ensured the continuation of everything in Great Liang.

If it weren’t for the repeated missteps from the Grand Master—just like how the dice had caused trouble—it wouldn’t have come to this!

Hearing Li Huowang speak thusly, Huangfu Tiangang rose in fury, his face contorted with rage. He reached into his sleeve as if to draw something, but just then, the Astronomer General swiftly struck him across the chest, and the wound that had pierced through his body reappeared once more upon his flesh.

Huangfu Tiangang, who had just prepared to deal with Li Huowang, suddenly felt as though his soul had been torn away, clutching his wound in agony and collapsing heavily into the high-backed chair.

"Enough. Let this matter rest here. I’ll vouch for both of you—you haven’t conspired with the Sect of Forgetfulness. This isn’t merely the work of one dice; the dice of Great Qi and Great Liang are playing the same game. It's normal that the Grand Master couldn't see through it. We judge by traces, not hearts."

Feeling the tension in the air ease slightly, Li Huowang wisely said no more.

This was not the time to argue with the Grand Master. The fleeing dice was the real danger. The dragon vein concerned the entire world of Great Liang. If the dice intended to use it for some purpose, the whole realm might be plunged into bloodshed and ruin.

"Tell me," the Astronomer General’s overlapping voice slowly spoke out, "what exactly happened while I was gone?"

Li Huowang glanced at the Great Liang Grand Master, whose face was pale and silent, and calmly recounted the events to the Astronomer General.

As he narrated, more people entered the hall. Bai Lingmiao and Zu Yi came in, followed by a thin, tall Daoist priest with a gloomy expression and a broom in hand.

Once Li Huowang had finished recounting everything, silence fell over the hall. No one spoke.

Li Huowang looked toward the Astronomer General, gazing at the vague black shadow beneath his wide robes. At that moment, he felt as though there was nothing at all inside.

Just then, the Astronomer General stood up abruptly. “Now that the dice has seized the dragon vein of Great Liang, I shall cut to the chase. All of you understand the significance of the dragon vein—we must reclaim it.”

“Therefore, all of you will follow my orders from now on. Agreed?” Though phrased as a question, it sounded more like a command.

Any endeavor requires leadership, and the Astronomer General, both in rank and strength, had every right to issue such a directive.

"Master of the Astronomer Bureau, I have no objections to following your lead. But before we set out, may I ask—what exactly does this dice intend to do by possessing the dragon vein? We can’t go blindly without knowing our goal!"

The words the dice had shouted to heaven earlier had left Li Huowang feeling they held much meaning, yet he couldn’t quite grasp what it was.

The Astronomer General remained silent, staring intently at Li Huowang. Then his gaze shifted to Bai Lingmiao, standing silently behind Li Huowang, and to the silent followers of the Aojing Sect.

“He seeks to free himself from being the heart coil of Doumu, and so uses the fortune of Great Liang to sever his connection with Yin-Yang Doumu,” came the overlapping voice from within the red robe.

“What exactly is a heart coil?”

Li Huowang couldn’t help but ask. He had long wanted to know, for everything in this world had always seemed foggy and incomprehensible, making him feel uneasy.

“A heart coil is the karmic bond of the Keeper of Fate,” said a tall, thin Daoist who had been quietly listening until now.

“Karmic bond?”

“Yes. For the Keeper of Fate to exist, there must be karmic bonds. Without them, there would be no cause or effect. If the Keeper of Fate lacks karmic bonds, then they cease to exist.”

“What exactly is a karmic bond? Stop speaking in riddles and tell me plainly!”

“Everything that has a cause will have an effect. The Keeper of Fate is no different. A karmic bond is the past, and a heart coil is the past of the Keeper of Fate. If the Keepers of Fate who govern Heaven’s will are like a great tree, then the heart coil is its seed.”

“I am the heart coil. The character 'pan' means that I am destined to be bound to the Three Bodies Old One for life, whether living or dead.” The words Li Huowang had exchanged with Zhuge Yuan on Xing Island suddenly flashed through his mind.

“So a heart coil is the seed of the Keeper of Fate? That means the seed exists alongside the grown tree? So the Three Bodies Old One is Zhuge Yuan?!” Li Huowang trembled violently.

“No! If Zhuge Yuan is the heart coil of the Three Bodies Old One, and you say the heart coil is the past of the Keeper of Fate, then Zhuge Yuan is already dead! Doesn’t that mean the Three Bodies Old One no longer exists either?” Li Huowang, agitated, pointed at the ceiling.

“Heh heh heh,” the Astronomer General laughed mockingly. “The world is vast. Who told you there’s only one heart coil? To prevent risks, they’ve carefully chosen many heart coils. And sometimes these heart coils are even used by the Keepers of Fate.”

“A heart coil is the past of the Keeper of Fate, and is also influenced by them. That’s why the dice wants to break free from their identity as a heart coil. So I suspect that Zhuge Yuan, by accident, helped the dice. Not because he was deceived, nor because he is a virtuous man, but because the Three Pure Ones above wanted to help…”

“Cough cough…” A light cough from the Astronomer General interrupted the Daoist. “This is Zheng Boqiao, the Fourth Celestial Bureau of the Astronomer General.”

Seeing everyone turn toward him, Zheng Boqiao nodded lightly and waved his broom. “I studied under the School of Immortals. May all beings be compassionate.”

Hearing Zheng Boqiao’s explanation, Li Huowang’s mind grew even more confused. He hadn’t expected the so-called heart coil to be like this.

This world truly had gone mad—the Keepers of Fate had no pasts! They had to find one now!

"Nonsense! How could a heart coil possibly be the karmic bond of the Keeper of Fate? These are just lies made up by your Bureau of Observing Heaven to fool the common folk!" A follower of the Aojing Sect spoke, his robe soaked with blood, showing a bloody skull mark on the front. “The Keepers of Fate are simply the ones born at the beginning of Heaven and Earth, tasked with governing the heavens!”

"Heh heh..." Zheng Boqiao’s laugh was hoarse and unpleasant. “Of course, each Keeper of Fate finds their heart coil differently, and the names vary. Take your own Ba Hui—they select their heart coil using the Aojing Ascension Technique. In your eyes, that chosen one becomes the Great Elder.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang was startled. That meant that since he had ascended three times, he had already become the heart coil of Ba Hui?

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Next chapter updates at 00:02

(End of Chapter)