The sun blazed overhead, and the waters of Feiyan Lake shimmered like golden scales, scattering in every direction. Meng Qi stood by the lakeshore, watching the carriage recede, watching Gao Lan's imposing figure disappear. His heart was full of emotion and sighs.
The Mad Emperor of today was the true Mad Emperor: mad, yet emperor. In his youth, he had worn a thin blue robe; now, in his prime, he wore an emperor's robe with haughty pride.
After a long while, he silently grumbled to himself, Elder Brother, I'd planned to offer you the Open Heaven Seal and Four Symbols Seal, among other things, so you could study them as thanks... Since you want to keep up appearances, make your grand exit, and run off, we'll leave it for another day. You've got the Human Emperor Golden Book, after all. That should be more than enough...
With a smile and a shake of his head, he turned and walked into the woods by the lake. He sat back down inside the hollow tree, pressed the pale-golden Flowing Light in his left hand to his forehead, opened his Ancestral Aperture, and sent his spirit inside.
With a boom, countless scenes flashed before Meng Qi's eyes. An emperor with ordinary features but an innate air of majesty stood amid the rippling waters of the Illusory Long River. He held a sword and looked back over his shoulder.
Tributaries converged, and one figure after another emerged, with all kinds of faces and attire. Some were exact doubles of the emperor, existing in both past and future.
Sword light burst forth. Countless brilliant Star Lines appeared in the void, seeming black and white, endlessly flowing.
The emperor's sword light coiled around him, its transformations subtle. Heaven and earth changed with his will, becoming the