Saint Chu and Sage Qi

"Another one has been born..." The masked man in black outside the courtyard couldn't help but sigh when he heard the joyful sounds from inside. He got up and hurriedly prepared to move on to another location.

"Jiu'er."

The sudden sound made the masked man in black stop in his tracks. He shrugged as if deflated and turned to look at the middle-aged woman in black who had appeared in the alley at some unknown time.

"Mother!" the masked man in black called out weakly.

"How many times have I told you? The outside world is dangerous. Don't run away. Why don't you ever listen?" The middle-aged woman in black spoke sternly, her face as cold as ice.

The masked man in black lowered his head and remained silent when the middle-aged woman reprimanded him.

"Go back with Mother."

"Yes..." the masked man in black replied softly.

The middle-aged woman's expression softened, and she turned to walk out of the alley. The masked man in black hesitated for a moment, then followed her.

As the two departed, the dark sky gradually dissipated, and the enormous sun shone its blinding rays upon Dubian Town, causing the temperature to rise sharply.

After subduing the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey, Ma Feifei planned to have the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey read "Journey to the West" first, so that it would understand what he was about to do.

Having already submitted to Ma Feifei and obtained the equipment it wanted, the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey naturally agreed to whatever Ma Feifei said, regardless of whether it could actually do it; it just nodded and that was it.

Ma Feifei was quite satisfied with this, at least the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey didn't have that rebellious personality compared to the Great Sage, saving Ma Feifei a lot of trouble. However, when Ma Feifei took out "Journey to the West" and had it read the contents of the book, Ma Feifei was dumbfounded.

Because the mother of the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey is completely illiterate!

The Sky-reaching Ape Monkey could not even read "Journey to the West," let alone understand it; he could barely even recognize the three characters "Journey to the West."

Therefore, if we want the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey to understand Journey to the West, we must first teach it to recognize characters!

"Qingyang, this arduous task is entrusted to you." Ma Feifei led the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey to Yun Qingyang, explained the situation to Yun Qingyang, and then handed her the "Journey to the West." He then ran back to the Bookstore to study the gains he had made from the lecture on the "Tao Te Ching."

Yun Qingyang stared blankly at Ma Feifei 'Ma Feifei back until it disappeared. Only then did Yun Qingyang look away, glance Detect the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey dressed in the Great Sage Set, and then look down at the "Journey to the West" in his hand. An excited expression gradually appeared on his face.

The mansion at No. 42 Dubian Town.

Saint Chu and Sage Qi sat on stone benches in the courtyard, with the aroma of tea wafting from the stone table.

Seemingly due to his comprehension of the * Tao Te Ching * yesterday, Saint Chu, though not having broken through to the Immortal Realm, was in much better shape, lacking the air of old age. Sage Qi, watching from the opposite side, was amazed and exclaimed, "It seems Brother Feng Harvest a bit this time!"

"It's just a slight increase in cultivation. If I can't take that step, I'll eventually return to dust." Saint Chu's face was full of worry. Increasing his cultivation didn't seem to be that important to him; instead, it made him even more anxious.

"As long as you're alive, there's a chance," Sage Qi said with a smile.

"My days are numbered." A hint of sorrow appeared in Saint Chu's eyes.

Sage Qi smiled without saying a word, but his expression suggested that he didn't care about Saint Chu's words.

In fact, Sage Qi did not believe what Saint Chu said, because Saint Chu had said the same thing five hundred years ago, but five hundred years later, Saint Chu was still alive and well. So Sage Qi felt that he should just listen to what Chu Sheng said.

"This time, my days are truly numbered." Saint Chu seemed to see through the deeper meaning hidden beneath Sage Qi's smile, and repeated the same words once more.

Sage Qi's smile gradually faded, and he stared at Saint Chu.

Saint Chu picked up the teacup on the stone table, took a sip, and then sighed deeply, saying, "The Empress ascended the throne some time ago, Benevolent Sword was born to bestow blessings upon all things, but it had no effect on me."

Upon hearing this, Sage Qi frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Ancient Secrets record that the Benevolent Sword bestows grace upon all things, but after three times it yields no results. Could it be...?"

Saint Chu nodded and said, "That's right, this is the fourth time I've received the blessing of the Benevolent Sword."

The saying goes that the Benevolent Sword grace upon all things, but its effect diminishes after being used on the same person more than three times.

This is the fourth time Saint Chu has received the blessing, so even if the Benevolent Sword appears and he accepts the blessing, it will have no effect.

For Saint Chu, who Peak of the Ninth Stage of Spirit Saint, he was very clear about his lifespan. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he only had less than half a year left to live.

Sage Qi was clearly taken aback by Saint Chu's words and didn't know what to say.

For a moment, the courtyard fell into a brief silence.

"Brother Feng, what do you plan to do?" Sage Qi finally couldn't help but ask, because Saint Chu's life and death were related to far too many things, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it would affect the future of the entire Azure Dragon Continent.

"King Chu Qiong is a wise ruler. With her around, Chu Kingdom only needs some time to recover and stand at the top of the five kingdoms." Saint Chu spoke slowly, his words seemingly unrelated to Sage Qi's question.

Sage Qi nodded, not finding anything wrong with what Saint Chu said, but a worried look appeared on his face as he said, "I'm afraid Qin Shi Huang won't give us the chance. Qin Sage mentioned last time that when Qin State wanted to attack Chu Kingdom, Sage Yan went to great lengths to persuade the then King Yan to turn against them, and Qin Sage also did his best to persuade Qin Shi Huang to cancel the attack on the Chu Kingdom, which led to Qin Shi Huang withdrawing his troops. But this year, Qin State, in alliance with the Northern Liang Great Grassland and Qi State, now has the ability to directly confront Chu, Yan, and Zhao. If Chu Kingdom makes any changes at this time, Qin Shi Huang will definitely launch a war."

The so-called change naturally refers to the end of Saint Chu Sheng's lifespan, and the death of the Chu Kingdom's guardian deity, which is absolutely a Sunny Day for the current Chu Kingdom.

"Is King Qi Wen still determined to be Qin Shi Huang's pawn?" Saint Chu frowned slightly and asked.

"Their attitude is very firm, and it has never wavered in the past few hundred years." Sage Qi shook his head, his tone also carrying a hint of helplessness.

"Kill him," Saint Chu said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Sage Qi remained silent.

Saint Chu didn't mind Sage Qi's sudden silence and continued, "If I die, Qin Shi Huang will surely attack Chu Kingdom immediately. If Qi State helps Qin State, Chu, Yan, and Zhao will be powerless to fight back. In order to stop Qin Shi Huang from unifying the Azure Dragon Continent, King Qi Wen must die."

"Is there no other way?" Sage Qi asked, his tone questioning.

"Other methods? Of course there are. Qin Shi Huang had two great dreams in his life: to unify the Azure Dragon Continent and to Longevity and Immortality. If you could find a way to Longevity and Immortality, perhaps you could make Qin Shi Huang temporarily put aside his idea of unifying the Azure Dragon Continent."

The so-called Longevity and Immortality is no different from entering the Immortal Realm, and it is currently impossible to achieve.

"Alas!" Sage Qi knew this was almost impossible, and could only let out a long sigh.

"Qin Shi Huang possesses the Emperor's Aura and can completely control the national treasure, which puts Qin Sage in a very awkward position in Qin State. The organization has no way to assassinate Qin Shi Huang, so the only solution at present is to kill King Qi Wen, support an ambitious prince to ascend the throne, and sow discord between Qi State and Qin State. I hope you will not act on emotion in this matter." Although Saint Chu's voice was still not loud, his tone was much more serious.

"I understand," Sage Qi replied in a deep voice.

Saint Chu nodded and continued, "Also, Shadow Saint failed in his assassination attempt on the Mysterious Shopkeeper and was captured. He's currently imprisoned in the palace. Now that you're in the Chu Kingdom, why not go and rescue him?"

Sage Qi was somewhat puzzled. Did he really need to take action for something like this? As the Saint Chu of the Chu Kingdom, rescuing Shadow Saint would be extremely easy for him.

"Tomorrow I will return to the capital and request the Empress to strip me of my Conferred Saint." Saint Chu spoke as if it were a trivial matter.

However, Sage Qi was extremely shocked upon hearing this. What is Conferred Saint? Conferred Saint is a guardian deity of a country. Only one person in each country can obtain the title of Conferred Saint. The person with the title of Conferred Saint represents the most powerful cultivator in the country. His status will be above all other cultivators in the country, and he will be worshipped and revered by everyone in the country.

To receive the Conferred Saint from a nation is currently the highest honor bestowed upon any cultivator on the Azure Dragon Continent.

The Five Nations of Canglong, the Five Conferred Saint!

The old saints will not die, and the new saints will not be enshrined!

Such a high honor, yet Saint Chu gave it up so easily—how could Sage Qi not be astonished?

"Why do this?" Sage Qi asked, puzzled. Even if Saint Chu was nearing the end of his life, there was no need to ask the king to strip him of his title of Conferred Saint. Even if Conferred Saint died, he would still be Conferred Saint. But if Conferred Saint title was stripped, the meaning would be completely different.

Saint Chu didn't explain this point, but continued, "From now on, the organization will cancel the assassination order against Ma Feifei, the owner of Mysterious Bookstore, and I will personally take the employer to Mysterious Bookstore to apologize to the owner and ask for his forgiveness."

If Sage Qi didn't understand why Saint Chu requested the Empress to strip him of his Conferred Saint title just now, then everything is clear now.

All of Saint Chu's actions were preparation for a desperate gamble!