Chapter 649: Life and Death

Chapter 649: Life and Death

In truth, the grand ceremony of the Four Symbols Cult still entailed a great deal of business; how could it possibly conclude right after the installation of the Cult Master?

The three women had spent the entire afternoon discussing matters while Zhao Changhe was copying the texts, deliberating over numerous details regarding the revision of the doctrines and the behavioral codes required to adapt to their status as the state religion, all of which were to be publicly proclaimed by the newly appointed Cult Master.

This was the truly significant, practical task of the grand ceremony.

The so-called retirement could not simply mean the end of the gathering; rather, the dozens of people below ground were to relocate to the surface, where everyone would continue the ritual outside. Xia Chichi had assumed Zhuque's role as the host, presiding over the great assembly.

The gates to the Secret Realm of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which had remained unclosed after so much comings and goings, suddenly shut, concealing whatever was transpiring beneath.

While presiding over the meeting, Xia Chichi exchanged brief glances with Sanniang from time to time, their expressions exceedingly peculiar. It mattered not that they could not see; every person present could guess what was unfolding below.

Zhao Changhe had not driven everyone away out of an eager impatience to engage in such affairs; it was simply that the flame he had just summoned had to be absorbed and utilized without delay.

Yet, from an objective standpoint, it produced the distinct impression that he had publicly commanded the Venerable One to remain behind for his bedchamber, appearing as though he were retaliating against her for making him copy texts... and the Venerable One had actually raised no objection.

That she raised no objection was the most significant part.

At this moment, the minds of the cult members must have been filled with a profound tumult of emotions...

"Are you retaliating against me?" Below ground, Zhuque pouted, lifting her eyes to question him.

Zhao Changhe pulled her up and gathered her into his embrace: "I intended to discuss with you how we should proceed, yet you refused to deliberate with me properly, caring only to punish me with copying texts. Thus, I could only summon the source of fire before the assembly... and since it has been summoned, it cannot be halted..."

"I care not; you are simply retaliating because I made you copy those texts!"

"Very well, very well. He who punishes with copying shall himself be copied upon."

Amused and vexed all at once, Zhuque turned her head away, offering no reply.

Zhao Changhe’s hand drifted over her: "So... will you permit me to copy?"

Zhuque bit her lower lip: "First, tell me how you achieved this? Aside from the comprehension of the Nanming Li Fire that you inexplicably granted me, I now realize it must involve the Heavenly Book... but this true source of fire descending from the heavens, where did it originate?"

"This secret realm was forged by Old Xia using his characteristic of ruling over all under heaven, where heaven and earth are unified, resembling a world reduced to scale. So long as one controls this artificial canopy, one's body can reach any destination, and one can invoke the characteristics of any place for one's own use. Therefore, though the source of this subterranean fire lies far to the south, it can still be invoked here for forging."

"And so?"

"In the process of forging the sword, I had already gained general control over the ley lines of this place, and my breakthrough into the Triple Secret Treasure was chiefly achieved by borrowing this power." Zhao Changhe continued, "Throughout the entire afternoon, while I was copying the texts, I was sensing the location of the fire source within the firmament. It was with great difficulty that I found it... otherwise, why would I squat here copying texts..."

Hearing this, Zhuque felt a faint urge to laugh.

"Of course, merely drawing this fire source out might not necessarily be useful to you. You also mentioned that your path does not rely on absorbing flames... in all likelihood, you need to journey to the place in person, to sense the birth of the fire source at close proximity." Zhao Changhe remarked, "Its location is ten thousand miles away; perhaps you cannot leave, and even if you went, you might not find the exact position. We can bridge the distance across the void, with me acting as the medium, allowing you to perceive what I perceive..."

Zhuque’s cheeks began to burn: "How are we to use you as a medium?"

"That would naturally be... a certain matter that Qing'er has always refused and withheld." Zhao Changhe tilted her chin upward: "So, as I asked, will you permit it?"

Confronted with a similar inquiry, Tang Wanzhuang, despite her profound bashfulness, would still consent with a shy, tentative "yes."

Yet looking upon the far more unrestrained and passionate Zhuque, though they had shared every manner of intimacy, forcing her to utter a single word of consent was more difficult than ascending to the heavens; she simply gritted her teeth and remained silent.

Perhaps she would speak it when she was not acting as Zhuque, but the moment she donned the mantle of Zhuque, the words became impossible to voice.

Zhao Changhe, conversely, found this aspect of Zhuque exceptionally delightful. He slowly leaned down and kissed her: "If you will not permit it, I shall take it by force..."

Zhuque said in indignation: "You are simply using malice to take liberties with your subordinate!"

"Indeed, precisely like the Venerable Zhuque trifling with the Room Fire Pig..."

"When did I ever trifle with you! You speak utter... mmm... mmm..."

Beneath the starry canopy, atop the high platform, before the low desk.

The Venerable Zhuque was pressed against the low desk, her back resting against a vast pile of soft paper, dense with the copied text of the Four Symbols doctrines.

Above the secret realm, the newly appointed Cult Master of the Four Symbols Cult was proclaiming the new doctrines and the new regulations. Countless cultists bowed their heads to listen reverently, offering whispered prayers.

At the absolute depths of the secret realm, the Venerable Zhuque, whom the cult members respected and feared above all others, was pinned upon the doctrines, wearing her sacred mask, yet with her solemn vestments undone.

Her mouth refused to utter words of consent, but when they fused into one, Zhuque still consciously began to circulate the cultivation methods of the dual union.

—She had studied it in secret, knowing from the beginning that a day would come when she must employ it alongside her little pig.

Regrettably, her primal yin was already lost, which was somewhat wasteful... Zhuque breathed in low gasps, an inexplicable trace of guilt arising within her heart. Had she not been so desperate to preserve her pride and conceal the truth, she could originally have granted him far more. Yet now, not only had she nothing left to bestow upon him, she was instead receiving his dispensation.

"Do not let your thoughts wander... align your spirit, and sense the firmament." Zhao Changhe’s voice drifted beside her ear, accompanied by a soft kiss upon her earlobe.

Zhuque’s entire frame shuddered, tensing completely.

As her spirit drifted and soared, it seemed to fly into the starry sky, wandering far, until the entirety of the earth was fully visible within her sight.

Her perspective expanded, shifting, traveling all the way to the south.

She then discovered that the south was also a vast, boundless ocean, dotted with countless islands, where the climate grew increasingly hot. Though it was the depths of winter, the closer one drew to the south, the more the weather turned warm as spring, until at last it became virtually like summer.

It was said that this world was a small realm of round heaven and square earth; though it appeared small on the surface, it was in truth not small at all. Just like the land of the extreme east, if one flew in a straight line, one could never reach the Isle of Heaven's Edge; that relied on the transposition of the Azure Dragon's intent. It could be said that the ends of heaven were infinite and inexhaustible, and it was fundamentally impossible for mortal strength to reach the final boundary.

The south was no different; no matter how one transposed, it remained forever an endless sea, a vast expanse of islands.

Yet this journey differed from her physical voyage to the eastern sea; that time she had traveled in the flesh, whereas this time it was through consciousness.

Consciousness was boundless and unimpeded by any obstacle; so long as there was awareness, there was sight.

So long as a place had once been explored and recorded upon this celestial canopy, you could perceive it.

Thus, Zhuque beheld an exceedingly bizarre sight: it was neither a volcano nor molten lava, but a sphere of flame burning upon the sea, never to be extinguished.

This was a scene that ordinary mortals could scarcely comprehend; how could fire burn upon water, and how could it burn continuously without ever dying out?

The trace of the fire source that had previously entered her body began to resonate the moment she beheld this mass of blazing fire, roaring to life within her frame. Even with Zhuque’s understanding and mastery over flames, she found herself unable to suppress it.

The dual union method conveyed his assistance; the blistering power was channeled into his frame, partially neutralized within him, and then circulated back. Consequently, it softened to a minor degree, becoming a force that Zhuque could contend with.

She took a deep breath, and her entire consciousness plunged completely into that mass of blazing fire.

Their cultivation did not rely on absorbing flames; it depended on comprehension and application. When you mastered it, the fire became yours, requiring no absorption. As the master who guided Xia Chichi’s cultivation, the fact that Xia Chichi had failed to learn even a fraction of the Vermilion Bird’s intent was precisely because Xia Chichi was utterly dense regarding fire, unable to comprehend the slightest part of it.

Every individual possessed their own domain of expertise.

And Zhuque’s talent for fire was peerless under heaven; supplemented by the analytical assistance of the Heavenly Book, it ceased to be an obstacle.

Long ago, when the burning of Maitreya yielded poor results, Zhuque had pondered whether something was amiss with her own flames. In theory, so long as the temperature of a flame was sufficiently high, it could incinerate all things; if it failed to burn, it was merely because it was not fierce enough. However, given Maitreya’s half-corpse-demon physique at the time, he fundamentally should not have been able to withstand the temperature of her flames, which challenged her understanding for the first time.

Reflecting upon it afterward, that was not a reflection of Maitreya’s capability, but rather the deathly qi of the corpse demon clashing with the death of the flames—this was an exceedingly profound comprehension that