Chapter 685: Observing Flowers and Understanding the Way

Furious Squid

“Just by resembling something, one can gain the favor of heaven and earth, and the wonder of creation…”

Li Fan suddenly recalled an anecdote from the former Great Xuan Dynasty.

The last emperor of the former dynasty, Emperor Zhenxu, was originally a rare monarch who brought about a renaissance. Since inheriting the throne at sixteen, he had executed corrupt officials, quelled rebellions, initiated water conservancy projects, and exempted taxes, sweeping away the decline of the dynasty and resembling an ancient sage. In just over two decades, the empire achieved peace and prosperity. The people lived without worries about food and clothing, praising the wise ruler’s reputation; the officials prostrated themselves in reverence, writing books to express their lord’s virtuousness.

If he had continued in this manner, perhaps there would have been no need for the founding emperor of Great Xuan to fundamentally change the world later on.

However, everything took a dramatic turn when Emperor Zhenxu was thirty-seven. The reason was the death of Empress Duanmu, Emperor Zhenxu’s lifelong beloved, who succumbed to illness.

Upon hearing the devastating news, Emperor Zhenxu almost fainted on the spot. Afterward, overwhelmed by grief, he neglected court affairs for several months. If that had been all, it might not have been so bad; with the many capable officials at court, even if the emperor secluded himself, the Great Zhen Dynasty would not have faced major turmoil. But perhaps due to the waning fortune of the Zhen Dynasty, when Emperor Zhenxu revisited the place where he and Empress Duanmu first met, he encountered a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Empress Duanmu.

Not only was her appearance eighty to ninety percent similar, but even her demeanor and tone of voice were identical to the woman of his dreams. And she was even younger.

Emperor Zhenxu was deeply shaken, believing it to be predestined. He immediately brought her back to the palace, conferred upon her the title of Imperial Consort, and indulged in her company day and night.

To please her, Emperor Zhenxu committed many extravagant acts. He undertook extensive palace renovations, built gardens within the palace grounds, and even had a small river dug to connect to the imperial city’s outskirts, for pleasure in the water whenever the mood struck; he ordered his subordinates to collect rare and exotic items from the common folk for the Imperial Consort’s amusement…

This caused great commotion and widespread public discontent throughout the court and country. Any official who dared to offer remonstrance was either dismissed from office or, in severe cases, executed.

Even so, thanks to the Emperor Zhenxu’s achievements in the first half of his reign, the Great Zhen Dynasty would not have collapsed so suddenly.

However, after the Imperial Consort gave birth to a son, Emperor Zhenxu, as if having taken a strange potion, decided to depose the Crown Prince, despite the unanimous opposition of all his key ministers. Seeing Emperor Zhenxu’s resolute stance, the Crown Prince naturally refused to wait for his demise. He gathered followers and rebelled, aiming to “execute the wicked consort and purge the emperor’s corrupt advisors.” This rebellion also garnered support from many prominent families in the capital, including the Duanmu family.

After several days of fighting, although the rebellion ultimately failed and the Crown Prince was defeated and committed suicide, the Great Zhen Dynasty was severely weakened.

From then on, Emperor Zhenxu further stopped seeing his officials, focusing only on pleasure.

The situation continued to deteriorate, and finally, in the year Emperor Zhenxu turned fifty-six, the Forbidden Palace was breached by rebel forces. Emperor Zhenxu and the Imperial Consort embraced each other and perished by self-immolation.

When later scholars studied this period of history, they were universally puzzled by Emperor Zhenxu’s ruin of the nation due to his obsession with women.

They could only attribute the cause to Emperor Zhenxu’s love for Empress Duanmu having reached an inconceivable level. Therefore, after Duanmu’s death, when Emperor Zhenxu encountered a woman who resembled her, he completely lost his reason, even becoming somewhat deranged, and squandered the prosperous empire in a single day.

There is nothing new under the sun. Similarly, if Xu Bai, as a clone, could gain such favor from heaven and earth merely because of his resemblance to Mr. Bai, then…

…then either Mr. Bai was an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, or he was of paramount importance to the Xuanhuang Realm.

So much so that heaven and earth constantly anticipated the appearance of the next “Mr. Bai.” It even reached a point where merely resembling him granted a special affinity bonus to the laws of heaven and earth.

“Mr. Bai…” All related matters Xu Bai had witnessed in the Fallen Immortal Realm flashed through his mind, and he remained silent by default.

After a long while, his thoughts temporarily calmed, and he took out the seventeen-petaled Heavenly Spirit Flower, which had been sealed using a special secret technique.

He narrowed his eyes. As he gazed at the numerous scenes on the petals, feelings distinctly different from his main body slowly emerged. It was as if he was sweeping rapidly across the entire Tianling Province from a bird’s-eye view of heaven and earth. In a trance, he could vaguely see mountains and rivers, diverse living beings, changing weather, periods of prosperity and decline, and other such images.

Facing the Heavenly Spirit Flower, it was as if he truly saw all the myriad things happening within Tianling Province.

A hint of understanding quietly passed through Xu Bai’s mind. But like snow falling into water, it vanished without a trace in an instant, leaving him with a sense of loss.

“This feeling is like when I, back then, used the Sea Pearl to view the transformations of the world from the vast perspective of heaven and earth, ultimately comprehending the Formless Killing Intent.”

“The divine abilities and spells of cultivators largely originate from heaven and earth themselves. Comprehending them from the perspective of heaven and earth naturally becomes much easier.”

“However, it is merely a flower that records the scenes of heaven and earth, not a true integration with them. Gaining insights from it is not so easy; it requires extremely keen comprehension. Just like the main body earlier, who personally crafted it and observed it meticulously many times, yet still found it to be merely a decorative item.”

“But this is not the flower’s problem; it’s the person’s problem.”

“Hmph.”

After making slight adjustments to the plan in his mind, and before Liu San returned, Xu Bai’s consciousness continued to immerse itself in contemplating the flower and comprehending the Dao.

Tianyu Province.

After spending considerable time, Li Fan and Dongfang Yao finally arrived in Tianyu City, but they did not go to the Cosmos Villa, where Li Fan had received formation training in his previous life.

Instead, they came to a private room in the Debate Tower within the city.

“Let’s wait. I’ve already informed Brother Huangfu, and he’ll be here shortly.” Dongfang Yao casually sat cross-legged on the floor, tapping his finger on it. Soon, a cup of spirit tea appeared.

“Damn, that’s stingy,” Dongfang Yao muttered under his breath, pouting as he gulped down the spirit tea.

Li Fan was practically a regular at the Debate Tower. He knew that Dongfang Yao was short on money and could only drink the complimentary spirit tea.

With a slight smile, Li Fan’s spiritual sense made contact with a control jade token in the room.

Soon after, a dark green teapot appeared.

“Please, Brother Dongfang!” Li Fan said with a smile, gesturing.

“You’re truly generous, brother!” Dongfang Yao immediately beamed, happily poured a cup, and drank it all in one gulp.

“This is the finest ‘Thousand Cultivators’ Debate’ tea! Brother Li, you’re truly magnificent! The last time I drank spirit tea of this caliber was when I returned from the Thousand Pages Scripture Forest and couldn’t help but celebrate!” Dongfang Yao praised profusely.

He shook his head slowly, eyes slightly closed, as if comprehending something.

“Well, well, Dongfang Yao, you’re enjoying such a good thing as ‘Thousand Cultivators’ Debate’ tea all by yourself, behind my back!” Just then, a voice Li Fan found quite familiar rang out.

A portly, seemingly very amiable-faced plump cultivator appeared in the room.

On his face, he feigned slight anger, but a trace of a smile played on his lips.

Huangfu Song’s gaze subtly swept over Li Fan, then he calmly looked at Dongfang Yao.

“Brother Huangfu, you’ve arrived at just the right time!” Dongfang Yao suddenly opened his eyes, poured a cup of spirit tea, and tossed it to him.