Chapter 472
Earth-Guiding Ancestor
Chapter 472 Earth-Guiding Ancestor
As she spoke, Fairy Baiyun's laughter gradually ceased. Then, looking at the Earthly Guide Ancestor before her, she suddenly asked:
Are you interested in the Tomb of Baidi?
Upon hearing this, the Earthly Ancestor frowned noticeably. The legend of the White Emperor's Tomb was known to almost everyone in the Western Desert Jianghu, so he was naturally aware of it.
"What do you mean by that?" asked the Earthly Ancestor.
"Of course, it means exactly what it says. If you are interested in the Tomb of the White Emperor, I can take you inside."
The fairy's beautiful face remained calm, as if she were talking about something insignificant.
But when these words reached the ears of the Earthly Guide Ancestor, a look of surprise and doubt appeared in his eyes, and he asked in a deep voice:
"Do you perhaps know where the White Emperor's Tomb is? And do you have the key to enter it?"
However, the fairy Baiyun before them gently shook her head and said:
"I don't know that, but although I don't know how to enter the Tomb of the White Emperor, there are naturally other people who do."
As she spoke, Fairy Baiyun slowly stood up, accompanied by a series of clear and melodious tinkling sounds, and said:
"Actually, the reason I came all the way to Baidi City this time was not just for that genius young man from the Jiang family, but because I was invited to help someone."
Upon hearing this, the Earthly Ancestor's expression shifted uncertainly before he looked at Fairy White Cloud and asked:
"Who is that person? How does he know the location of the White Emperor's tomb?"
However, Fairy Baiyun clearly had no intention of answering his question, and simply said:
"Who is he? You'll see for yourself then. The question now is whether you agree to the conditions I just proposed?"
The Earthly Ancestor was clearly silent for a moment, then looked deeply at the White Cloud Fairy before him and asked:
"Are you sure that person can lead us into the Tomb of the White Emperor?"
Upon hearing this, Fairy Baiyun burst into laughter, saying:
"Do you really think I'm a naive, innocent young girl who's easily fooled?"
As she spoke, Fairy Baiyun gradually suppressed her smile and said:
"Since I've come to Baidi City, I can be sure that the other party can find the tomb of Baidi. However, this matter is of great importance, and it's always better to be safe than sorry. Having more helpers means having more assistance, which is why I'm planning to cooperate with you, you old man."
"Of course, I won't force you if you don't want to."
Upon hearing this, the Earthly Ancestor stared at the White Cloud Fairy before him for a while, pondered for a moment, and then narrowed his eyes and said:
"Admittedly, the Tomb of the White Emperor is indeed extremely famous, but you and I are both among the top martial arts masters in the Western Desert Jianghu, and we are both people with one foot in the grave. I am very curious, with your current status and strength, why do you want to enter it?"
Fairy Baiyun raised her eyes, her phoenix eyes curving slightly, and smiled:
"The Tomb of the White Emperor is the burial place of the ancient ferocious beast, the White Tiger. The younger brother of the once mighty Emperor Tianqi is also buried there. It's hard to guarantee that there won't be some good things left in the tomb. It's only natural that I want to go and take a look."
The Earthly Ancestor remained silent. Fairy Baiyun's answer was ambiguous, but he knew very well that no one would act without a reason. If this woman didn't have her own purpose in visiting the Tomb of the White Emperor, she would never have come all the way from Baiyun City.
"Can it be done? Give me a straight answer."
At this moment, seeing that the Earthly Ancestor remained silent, Fairy Baiyun tapped the table with her slender hand and asked.
The Earthly Ancestor pondered for a while, then finally asked:
"How do you want me to help you?"
For the Earthly Ancestor, a unique figure in Qiu City, one of the six major powers in the Western Desert, there are very few things that can interest him, but the Tomb of the White Emperor clearly does hold considerable appeal for him.
"No rush. Let me go and meet that young demon on my own first. Perhaps I won't even need you. I can easily take him down."
Fairy Baiyun narrowed her eyes slightly, took out a bronze mirror from her bosom, and examined her stunningly beautiful face in the mirror, a smile curving her lips.
Upon hearing this, the Earthly Ancestor nodded slightly. If Fairy Baiyun did not need his help, that would be the best thing. After all, the new Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion was currently too popular, and he was unwilling to easily confront him.
When do you plan to enter the Tomb of the White Emperor?
At this moment, the Earthly Ancestor looked at the White Cloud Fairy and asked.
"Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. Don't leave Baidi City these next few days. I'll come and let you know before you enter Baidi's Tomb."
Fairy Baiyun put away the bronze mirror in her hand, then gave Old Ancestor Diyin a deep look and said:
"From now on, we're in this together. Whether in Baidi City or inside the Tomb of Baidi, I hope you old man will keep your word and stand by me through thick and thin."
Upon hearing this, the Earthly Ancestor also glanced at Fairy White Cloud, then nodded and said:
"I always keep my promises. Since I have agreed to cooperate with you, I will not break my word. In addition, I will be staying in this restaurant these days. You can come here to find me if you need anything."
Fairy Baiyun smiled gently, then waved her hand and said:
"It wouldn't be difficult for me to find you."
"However, if I don't need your help to deal with that Hidden Killing Pavilion Master this time, once you take that Jiang family youth as your disciple, you must lend him to me for one night."
After saying this, Fairy Baiyun chuckled, then, without lingering in the room, transformed into a cloud of mist and drifted out of the window, disappearing from sight.
……
The Earthly Ancestor gazed in the direction where Fairy White Clouds had departed, a meaningful look appearing in his eyes. However, he quickly spoke up:
"Come out."
After these words, the room fell silent for a moment. Not long after, a hidden door in the middle of the restaurant room was pushed open, and a blind man holding a bamboo cane slowly walked out from inside the hidden door.
When did you find me?
The blind man's pale eyes slowly turned towards the direction where the Earthly Guide Ancestor was sitting, while the Earthly Guide Ancestor turned his head to look at the blind man who appeared in front of him. The next moment, he seemed to recognize something, and a complicated expression appeared on his face.
He stared at the blind man for a long time before sighing and saying:
"Your Highness, it's been a long time."
Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent once again.
The blind man's body trembled slightly as he gripped the broken bamboo pole tightly in his hand, remaining silent for a long time.
"That's such an old name, I've almost forgotten it..."
The blind man slowly shook his head. His injuries from the previous pursuit by the Rakshasa Saint King had not yet fully healed. He coughed lightly and said:
"I just heard General Shence's voice outside the restaurant, so I decided to come and see an old friend."
As he spoke, the blind man slowly walked to the table and sat down. The Earthly Guide Ancestor, upon hearing the blind man's address, seemed momentarily stunned. Then, the Earthly Guide Ancestor picked up the wine jug before him and personally poured a cup of wine for the blind man, saying:
"Back then, after the defeat, I barely managed to escape with my life by leading a group of personal guards through numerous encirclements."
"For more than ten years afterward, I searched for His Highness's whereabouts, but I never found any clues. I thought His Highness was gone, but I never expected that we would have the opportunity to meet here today."
The Earthly Ancestor spoke calmly, his face showing no emotion whatsoever.
The blind man shook his head and said:
"So many years have passed since then, there's no need to bring it up again. It was an accident that I met the general here."
The Earthly Ancestor remained silent, placing the wine jug on the table. His gaze fixed on the blind man's empty eyes, his expression unreadable, he said:
"It seems that His Highness Prince Xun has finally let go of the past over the years."
Upon hearing this, the blind man's hand, which was about to reach for his wine glass, paused slightly, but he quickly recovered and said:
"I guess so. Some things are not meant to be mine, but if I take them into my hands, it will be a disaster. I didn't understand it back then, but now I see it very clearly."
Upon hearing this, a hint of indifference flashed across the pale and aged face of the Earthly Ancestor, who said:
“But the throne of Great Chu originally belonged to His Highness Prince Xun. I personally witnessed the imperial edict written by the late emperor. The person sitting on that throne now is the traitor who has committed a heinous crime that deserves to be punished.”
As he spoke, the Earthly Ancestor fixed his gaze on the face of the blind man before him and said:
"I have only one question to ask: Is Your Highness, Prince Xun, truly resigned to this?"
Upon hearing this, the entire room suddenly fell silent, and the blind man's hand, which had just raised his wine glass, froze in mid-air.
After a while, he slowly put down the wine cup in his hand, then looked at the Earthly Guide Ancestor with his lifeless eyes and said:
"I have come today only to see the general, nothing more..."
However, before the blind man could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the Earthly Ancestor, who said:
"Since so many years have passed, it must be the will of Heaven for me to meet His Highness Prince Xun again."
As he spoke, the Earthly Ancestor glanced at the blind man and said in a completely flat voice:
"I know that Your Highness has suffered terribly over the years, but Your Highness should always remember that all of this was done by your elder brother, who now sits firmly on the throne."
"Back then, I led three thousand imperial guards to protect Your Highness to the death. Facing the siege of the palace by the Prince of Ling's 100,000 elite troops, we never retreated a single step. In the end, only a dozen or so people remained."
"Almost all of my subordinates who followed me died in battle. Afterwards, the Prince of Ling purged my entire clan, including my wife, children, and relatives."
At this moment, the Earthly Guide Ancestor's face remained completely expressionless; he simply continued:
“Your Highness can be at peace with this, and Your Highness can also be content to watch that elder brother sit on the dragon throne and possess everything that Your Highness should have.”
"But... not everyone can let it go."
Having said that, the Earthly Ancestor stopped speaking, while the blind man sat in the chair, motionless like a clay or wooden sculpture, remaining silent for a long time.
The two sat facing each other in silence for a long while, until finally the blind man sighed and spoke:
"I have failed the general and all the soldiers. I have been wandering the world all these years and have never set foot in the territory of the Great Chu."
"I am unwilling to face anything about the Great Chu, afraid to face my old friends, and even more ashamed to face my deceased father."
"But all of this is already set in stone, and I am powerless to change it. If there is an afterlife..."
However, before the blind man could finish speaking, he was interrupted again by the Earthly Ancestor, who stood up and said:
"I am not blaming Your Highness, but this hatred runs too deep for me to let go of."
As he spoke, the Earth Ancestor, with his hunched body that had long lived in the abyss and never seen the sun, came to the window of the restaurant room and stood there.
His pale and aged face faced the afterglow of the setting sun, gazing towards the direction of Great Chu, and he said:
"Actually, I understand Your Highness's feelings. I once thought about revenge, but in the end, I lost the last dozen or so of my close followers. I barely survived and escaped to this Western Desert."
"Over the years, I have been hiding in the dark and sunless Wanku Sand Abyss of Qiu City. At first, I was single-mindedly thinking about revenge and spent all my time on cultivation."
"But as the years went by, without realizing it, I never set foot in the territory of the Great Chu again. Even my desire for revenge has faded, and the faces of those who died before my eyes have become increasingly blurry."
At this point, the Earthly Ancestor turned to look at the blind man, then turned back and said:
"It wasn't until later that I realized it wasn't that I had forgotten my hatred, nor that my memory was failing due to old age, but that I was running away."
"Now that I have one foot in the grave, I no longer care about life and death. The real reason I'm running away is because I'm afraid of failure."
"I have spent most of my life hiding and cultivating diligently. I only have one chance for revenge. If I fail once, I will never have another chance to take revenge. The reason why I have never gone to the capital of the Great Chu Dynasty is because I am afraid that I will never be able to fulfill my wish in this lifetime!"
Upon hearing this, the blind man looked up and faced the direction where the Earth God Ancestor was.
Although he couldn't see the appearance of the Earthly Ancestor at this moment, he could imagine that it must be the Divine Strategy General whom he had never seen before, an old man full of hatred but who dared not move forward.
The blind man remained silent for a long while, but he still picked up the cup of wine that the Old Ancestor had poured for him and drank it down in one gulp, saying:
"If the general ever wishes to make a trip to the Great Chu, he may invite me to come along."
Upon hearing this, the Earthly Ancestor, who was standing by the window, turned his head. His pale face was backlit by the afterglow of the setting sun, and a complex look appeared in his eyes.
Immediately, the Earthly Guide Ancestor shook his head and said:
"It is enough that Your Highness has this intention. When His Majesty entrusted Your Highness to me, I swore an oath to His Majesty that I would be loyal to Your Highness for the rest of my life and protect Your Highness."
As he spoke, the Earthly Ancestor turned around and said:
"Now that Your Highness is still alive, I can rest assured. Please leave the rest to me."
"Now I don't have much time left to live. Regardless of success or failure, I must make a trip to the capital of the Great Chu. I can't let those people die in vain."
"Moreover, even before meeting Your Highness, I had already made some plans. When the time is right, I will test the edge of the Great Chu royal family again!"
(End of this chapter)