Fishing (II)

It is stillness, but even in extreme stillness, the desire for movement arises.

"Your Majesty..." Ye Jinyu said, forcing herself to speak.

"No rush."

Divine Lord Mingyang raised his hand and pointed to the other side of the long table.

"Sit."

Ye Jinyu sat down as instructed.

Divine Lord Mingyang personally poured him a cup of wine, the liquid clear and shimmering with a faint golden light.

"This wine is named Jian'an. It is brewed from the essence of the golden crow and the dew of the Fusang, and only one pot can be made every ten thousand years. Young friend, please have a taste."

Ye Jinyu picked up her wine glass and took a small sip.

The moment the wine went down his throat, he felt a warm current flow through his limbs and bones, an indescribable feeling of comfort.

Even more miraculously, the [Bifeng Yin Fire] Dao foundation in his Dantian trembled slightly, as if it were cheering and jumping for joy.

[Ding--Congratulations, host! You have received a gift from Divine Lord Mingyang, your cultivation has improved, and your Dao foundation has solidified by three-tenths.]

[Ding--System Destiny Deduction activated. A trace of Divine Lord Mingyang's true spirit has been detected. Would you like to attempt to subdue him? First attempt is free!]

Ye Jinyu was startled.

Subduing the true spirit of Divine Lord Mingyang?

My system finally stopped freezing! It opened up and gave me a huge boost!

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, his face remaining calm. He simply put down his wine cup and looked up at Divine Lord Mingyang.

"Your Majesty has summoned us here; what instructions do you have for us?"

Divine Lord Mingyang smiled but did not answer; he simply raised his hand and gently waved it.

The scene inside the hall changed abruptly.

They seemed to be on a high platform, looking down below.

Below was a magnificent palace complex, its gates wide open, and officials filed in.

Those ministers, each one of them possessed an unfathomable aura.

There were civil officials in court robes, military generals in armor and wielding halberds, and cultivators with an air of otherworldly grace.

They knelt on the ground, their posture humble, as if waiting for something.

Ye Jinyu's gaze swept across their faces one by one, then suddenly froze.

Former officials, now the progenitors of the various immortal clans of Cangxuan.

Sima Clan of the Great Peace Temple, knelt respectfully on the ground.

The Chen Clan, surnamed Chen, had an honest face, but at first glance, he looked like a scholar.

Xie Clan was a woman kneeling in the crowd, whose features bore a resemblance to Xie Qingying.

There was the Wang Clan, the Xiao Clan, and countless other prominent Aristocratic Clan he couldn't recognize...

They were all kneeling in worship.

The direction in which they knelt was towards the throne in the center of the palace.

A young man sat on the throne.

The man was dressed in a dark gold imperial robe, and his face bore a resemblance to Divine Lord Mingyang, but he lacked some of the majesty and had more of a gloomy air.

He looked down at the kneeling officials below, a smile playing on his lips—a smile that contained both smugness and wariness.

"Huangchu," Divine Lord Mingyang's voice rang in Ye Jinyu's ears, "My son."

Ye Jinyu's heart stirred.

Divine Lord Huangchu – son of Divine Lord Mingyang, the second emperor of the Wei Imperial House, also known as Wei Wen Huangchu.

It is said that after he ascended the throne, he forced Flame Han to abdicate and formally established the Wei Imperial House, but he died suddenly in his prime, and the cause of his death remains a mystery.

"What is he looking at?" Ye Jinyu asked.

Divine Lord Mingyang raised his hand and pointed.

In the hall, among the kneeling officials, one person stood out.

The person was kneeling at the very front, head bowed low, so their face was not visible.

But Ye Jinyu noticed that his shoulders and back were trembling slightly, as if he was trying his best to suppress something.

Who is that?

"Sima Zhongda," Divine Lord Mingyang said calmly.

Ye Jinyu's pupils contracted slightly.

The progenitor of the Sima Clan, and the true founder of the Great Jin.

In the scene, Divine Lord Huangchu speaks.

"Minister Sima," his voice held a hint of amusement, "Why are you trembling?"

Sima Zhongda prostrated himself on the ground, his voice filled with fear. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty's kindness has overwhelmed me with emotion."

"Excited?" Divine Lord Huangchu laughed. "Are you excited, or afraid?"

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly froze.

The courtiers fell silent, even their breathing became slightly softer.

Sima Zhongda remained prostrate on the ground, his voice growing increasingly fearful. "Your Majesty, I am foolish and do not understand Your Majesty's meaning."

"Don't understand?" Emperor Wen Huangchu stood up, slowly walked down from his throne, and stepped towards Sima Zhongda. "Then I will tell you."

He stopped in front of Sima Zhongda, leaned down, and whispered in his ear:

"I know what you're thinking. I also know that your Sima Clan will one day replace the Wei Imperial House."

Sima Zhongda was startled, but did not look up.

"But I will not kill you." Emperor Wen Huangchu straightened up, his voice becoming ethereal.

"Father said you can use him, but you must also be wary of him! But I have the world in my heart, so I want you to watch, to watch how Cao Wei will last for thousands of years, and to watch how your Sima Clan's ambition will forever be nothing but emptiness."

He turned and returned to his throne.

"All of you, step back."

The officials, as if granted a general amnesty, filed out.

Only Sima Zhongda remained kneeling in place.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head.

There was no fear or apprehension on that face, only a pair of eyes, deep and unfathomable.

"Endure," he murmured to himself, "You must endure."

The image disappeared.

Ye Jinyu stared blankly at Divine Lord Mingyang.

"Your Majesty..."

"It's a pity that Heaven didn't grant them long lives; three generations of rulers in my clan all met the same fate!"

Mingyang said calmly, his tone devoid of emotion.

"Sima Zhongda endured it, his son endured it, and his grandson endured it. In the end, the Sima Jin Imperial House finally replaced the Wei Imperial House."

He paused.

"And my son, in the end, did not live to be remembered for eternity."

Ye Jinyu remained silent.

He suddenly understood something.

The Sima Clan eradicated the Wei Imperial House, frantically pursued the Mingyang dynasty's legacy, and relentlessly hunted down anyone who might be connected to the Wei Imperial House.

That wasn't hatred, that was fear.

It's a fear etched into your very bones.

I fear that person will return, I fear that Lineage will return, I fear the Mingyang will rise again.

"Did the Emperor summon his descendants here just to see these things?" Ye Jinyu asked.

Divine Lord Mingyang looked at him and suddenly smiled.

That smile contained admiration, regret, and a hint of something else that was hard to define.

"You are very interesting," he said. "You possess an aura I have never seen before, something I desire, yet you yourself do not know what it is."

"But I am somewhat unwilling..."

Mingyang got up.

In that instant, Ye Jinyu felt as if the world had frozen.

In the distance, the palaces ceased to function; nearby, the wine in the goblets remained still, and even his own heartbeat seemed to have been paused.

Everything was still.

Time seemed to slow down incredibly, and every tiny, insignificant part of space was magnified bit by bit.

Divine Lord Mingyang stood before him, seemingly within arm's reach, yet appearing as if he had stepped out of another world.

He reached out and touched Ye Jinyu's brow.

Ye Jinyu tried to back away, but found that her body was completely out of her control. It felt as if there was a hot thread inside her body, throbbing violently, almost bursting out.

"Young friend," Divine Lord Mingyang's voice rang out, still gentle and warm, "Do you have any further questions or unresolved matters?"

As Ye Jinyu watched the hand draw ever closer, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind: Could it be possession?!

Damn, I knew it! You can't drink alcohol offered to you by someone else!

Even though Mingyang has been gone for ten thousand years, the last trace of his true spirit is still so powerful.

"Your Majesty..." Ye Jinyu's voice was hoarse, but in her heart she frantically connected with the system, thinking, "I will agree to any conditions!"

"The Ye Clan is innocent, and so am I! How can the Emperor execute them without prior instruction!"

Divine Lord Mingyang smiled.

"Is your confidence based on those two Golden Core Ye Clan? Or something I'm completely unfamiliar with?"

He said softly.

"Young friend, don't think you have any foolproof plans; they've underestimated me."

"I have indeed fallen."

"But the Greater Yang's light will not disappear just because the Greater Yang sets. This wisp of my true spirit is also a game I have devised to deduce the secrets of heaven."

He paused, then his gaze fell on Ye Jinyu.

"Too late."

"However, one person is still missing."

Mingyang stood up and stepped down from the main seat.

With each step he took, a ray of time flowed through the hall. When he reached the center of the hall, the entire building suddenly transformed into a great river.

The river flows swiftly and ceaselessly. On the riverbank stands a fishing rod.

The fishing rod was lowered, and the fishing line disappeared into the water.

"I enjoy fishing for dragons," Divine Lord Mingyang said softly, as if telling a story.

[The system needs 45 minutes to prepare!]

As Ye Jinyu watched the system brew, she pretended to accept her fate and listened to the Emperor's story.

"Long Yi was cunning; he hid under my hook for a very long time, but in the end, I still managed to catch him."

As he spoke, the fishing rod trembled, and the fishing line suddenly tightened.

The river surged, and a gigantic dragon burst forth from the water.

The dragon was entirely dark blue, with gleaming scales, and its eyes were filled with terror and resentment.

It struggled desperately on the hook, but no matter what it did, it couldn't break free from the thin fishing line.

"This dragon is the destiny of the Sima Clan," Divine Lord Mingyang said calmly. "When I caught it, it was just a small fish. I considered releasing it, but it clung to my bait and refused to leave."

"After I died, it slipped away and stirred up trouble in my realm."

He looked at the struggling dragon, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"Now, even a wisp of my true spirit wishes to fish once more."

As soon as he finished speaking, the dragon suddenly transformed into human form.

Sima Ruiming!

Ye Jinyu exclaimed inwardly! She was also secretly delighted! Brilliant!

Sima Ruiming, like Ye Jinyu, was sitting cross-legged in his tent, feeling restless.

Then came a wave of heart palpitations.

The palpitations came without warning and were incredibly intense; even the Luo River Firmament Mirror left by his father didn't react!

Sima Ruiming suddenly opened his eyes, only to find that he was no longer in the camp.

It was surrounded by water, stretching to the horizon.

A line hangs from the water, with the light of dawn shining above it.

Then he was pulled up.

At this moment, Sima Ruiming was soaked to the bone, his face was deathly pale, and he was no longer the calm and collected man he had been before. He dared not move, like a frightened little animal.

"This is... this is... the remnants of the Wei Imperial House... no! Divine Lord Mingyang..."

Sima Ruiming's voice trembled.

"Younger generation..."

No need to say more.

Mingyang interrupted without hesitation.

"It's been so many years since we've seen the bloodline of the Sima Clan."

Sima Ruiming smiled bitterly, looking at Ye Jinyu, who had also been brought here, with a sense of shared misfortune.

However, Sima Ruiming also knew that the master's target was definitely not him.

It must be his own father, only Golden Core True Lord! Only he could attract Mingyang's attention; he couldn't tarnish the Sima Clan's reputation.

"Kill me if you want! My family usurped the Wei throne, this world now belongs to us!"

Divine Lord Mingyang chuckled as he watched this scene.

The Cangxuan Ancient Realm, the Firmament Heaven.

Sima Huanyu sat upright on the throne, then suddenly opened his eyes.

He looked down at his waist, where the jade pendant connected to Sima Ruiming's Luoshui Universe Mirror was faintly glowing.

A few words were faintly visible in the light.

"Father above! A suspected tomb has appeared, the Mingyang shines forth, the Wei Wu, please come quickly."

Sima Huanyu frowned slightly.

This message came too suddenly, and too... coincidentally.

He did some quick calculations with his fingers, and his brows furrowed even more deeply.

The secrets of heaven are shrouded in mystery, obscure and difficult to understand. Everything seems to be shrouded in a fog, making it impossible to see clearly.

"Ruiming..." he murmured, "What exactly happened to you?"

After a moment of silence, he stood up.

"Someone come here."

"Exist."

"Prepare the carriage; let's go check out the Wind Abyss Ruin Realm."

He paused, then added.

"Send a message to Luoyang, please pay attention, Ancestor."

"Yes."

Sima Huanyu stepped into the void and disappeared into the vast Great Void.

The jade pendant at his waist shimmered with light, subtly revealing a hint of eeriness.

Zhang Chen watched Sima Huanyu's disappearing light silently and sighed softly.

"Sima Huanyu... is finally gone."

He turned and looked into another void.

There, a figure in moon-white could be vaguely seen, standing quietly.

"I have heard of the Greater Yin [Lord of Broad Cold], who enters dreams like illusions, where time stands still, allowing even a sliver of true spirit to remain. She extends the realm of the Greater Yin, locking away the cold, desolate moonlight, freezing and slowing the flow of time for all living beings in heaven and earth."

Zhang Chen changed the subject and spoke.

"The Greater Yin has been scheming for ten thousand years, all for this day?"

The figure didn't turn around, but simply smiled gently.

"Ten thousand years..." the voice drifted like moonlight, "It's time for an end to this."

Zhang Chen remained silent.

After a long silence, he asked softly, "Is it worth it?"

"That young man from the Ye Clan... will he be alright?"

The figure finally turned around.

The moonlight shone on her face, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face, yet her brows held an inescapable sorrow.

"Fate is unpredictable, but it's all worth it," she said. "How dare we, the descendants, disobey the wishes of our ancestors! To see Mingyang return makes it all worthwhile."

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure gradually disappeared.

Only a cold moon remained, hanging deep in the Great Void, silently illuminating the path leading to the Wind Abyss.

"Greater Yin is indeed restless." Zhang Chen sighed softly, then calculated with his fingers, his brows furrowing slightly. "The Ye Clan... what exactly is that kid hiding?"

He gazed into the deeper Great Void, where he could vaguely sense gazes directed his way.

"That's enough." He withdrew his gaze. "Everyone has their own destiny, their own tribulations."

"This game is getting more and more interesting."