Deep within the imperial mausoleum, a massive steel gate weighing more than one hundred thousand jin slammed down, thus bringing an end to an era!
Several days later, the white-haired and elderly Eunuch Gao paid a visit to Wang Chong’s estate.
Gao Lishi looked at Wang Chong and said, “These are things His Majesty left for you.”
As he spoke, he placed a golden copper box, about a foot long, on Wang Chong’s desk.
The box was locked and had clearly not been opened before.
“This is the key. His Majesty advised that you should personally open this box once everything was over. No one, not even me, has ever touched the item in this box.”
Gao Lishi placed a brass key next to the box.
After doing all this, Gao Lishi turned around to leave.
“Eunuch Gao!”
Seeing Gao Lishi’s melancholy and sorrowful back, Wang Chong couldn’t help but call out to him.
After some hesitation, he asked, “Where does Sir Eunuch plan on going?”
The Sage Emperor was dead, the Prince that Gao Lishi had watched grow up. That era was now over. Everything was over.
Wang Chong had heard that Gao Lishi had already submitted his resignation and was ready to retire to his hometown.
But everyone knew that Gao Lishi had grown up in the palace. Retiring to his hometown was just an excuse.
“I am old now, and His Majesty is no longer here. I have already arranged a place for myself. But be at ease. This world still has things that will keep me around, and I will be silently watching to see this world turn into what His Majesty hoped it would be.”
Gao Lishi quickly departed.
Wang Chong stood in a daze.
After a long while, Wang Chong finally turned around and looked at the box of golden copper that Gao Lishi had placed on the table.
Wang Chong walked over, but he was hesitant to open the box.
He reached out with a hand and gently stroked the box. The icy sensation once more filled his heart with deep sorrow.
Scenes from the past flitted through his mind as if they had all happened yesterday, stirring up memories of the Sage Emperor’s guidance, trust, and support for him.
This man showered him with favor and had been the man he had most respected and admired. But in the final moment, he could only watch as this supreme sovereign slowly faded away.
Helplessness and grief pierced into his heart like a thousand arrows.
“Your Majesty!”
Wang Chong muttered as he slowly closed his eyes. His fingers had unconsciously clenched, the nails digging so deeply into his flesh that they drew blood, which dripped onto the ground.
If only he had been strong enough!
If only he had been able to save the Sage Emperor!
Alas, he was powerless. Just like in his last life, he could watch, but not interfere.
This helpless sensation left his heart wracked with pain!
Buzz!
Wang Chong silently closed his eyes, biting down on his lip so hard that he drew blood. Suddenly!
“Detecting intense emotional ripples! User is experiencing strong obsession and desire!
“Special Event! Power of Destiny resonating!
“Stand by…
“…Ability ‘Vitalizing Ember’ has been discovered. If evolved with the power of the Stone of Destiny, user has a chance of producing a method of preserving Destiny Body 9. Does user wish to attempt?”
Wang Chong was stunned by these words. The Stone of Destiny had responded to his thoughts—something that Wang Chong had never imagined.
But what left him most shocked and agitated was what the Stone of Destiny had revealed.
There was a chance of saving the Sage Emperor!
“Agree!” Wang Chong replied almost immediately.
“Analyzing Vitalizing Ember.”
Upon receiving confirmation, the Stone of Destiny spoke once more.
“Analysis complete. User has a 0.03% chance of evolving ‘Vitalizing Ember’ into ‘Soul Fire’! This process requires 100,000 points of Destiny Energy. Given the extremely high chance of failure, does user still wish to attempt?”
One hundred thousand points of Destiny Energy!
An extremely high chance of failure!
This meant that if Wang Chong tried ten thousand times, consuming one billion points of Destiny Energy, he might only succeed three times.
This low rate of success told Wang Chong that this sort of thing would normally be impossible. But at this point, Wang Chong didn’t care.
“Agree! Evolve to ‘Soul Fire’!” Wang Chong immediately said.
The Stone of Destiny’s emotionless voice swiftly rang out in Wang Chong’s mind. “Exchange successful! User has consumed 100,000 points of Destiny Energy. Stone of Destiny analyzing, evolving ‘Vitalizing Ember’…”
Wang Chong said nothing, only silently waited and hoped.
As expected, the first attempt failed.
“Notice: analysis failed!
“Warning! Evolution of Vitalizing Ember has an extremely high chance of failure. It is advised that user ceases attempts!” the Stone of Destiny called out.
But Wang Chong had no hesitation.
“Continue!”
Just a few seconds later, the Stone of Destiny called out, “Evolution failed! Warning! User is advised to give up!”
But Wang Chong seemed to not hear.
“Continue!”
“Continue!”
“Continue!”
His expression cold and aloof, Wang Chong repeated himself again and again.
His Destiny Energy dwindled with astonishing speed. In just a few moments, Wang Chong attempted twenty-some times, consuming two million points of Destiny Energy.
And this senseless expenditure continued.
“Warning! User has expended 3,000,000 points of Destiny Energy. Does user wish to continue?
“Warning! Chance of failure is too high! User is advised to give up!” the Stone of Destiny said.
“Continue!” Wang Chong unflinchingly declared.
“Warning! Evolution failed!”
“Warning! Evolution failed!”
“Warning! Evolution failed!”
……
The failures continued, and as he attempted and failed again and again, Wang Chong forgot about the passage of time.
In the silence of the hall, the seconds seemed to drag on for eternity.
Just when Wang Chong thought that this failure would continue until the very end…
Buzz!
A different notification rang out in Wang Chong’s mind—one that he felt like he had been awaiting for an eternity.
“Congratulations to user! Successful evolution into ‘Soul Fire’!”
This voice was like heavenly music to Wang Chong’s ears.
Wang Chong came back to his senses, color returning to his world.
“Soul Fire!
“This special skill can only be successfully used on targets that have died within seven days!
“Notice! The laws of life and death are not within the bounds of destiny. With user’s current abilities, user cannot bring back the dead, only preserve and nourish the soul until the time is right and it can be reborn!”
The information regarding the Soul Fire ability appeared in Wang Chong’s mind.
Seven days!
Wang Chong was stunned by this news.
He didn’t have much time left!
“Activate Soul Fire! Collect the target soul!” Wang Chong immediately said.
The Stone of Destiny’s voice spoke once more. “Notice! The souls of ordinary people will completely disperse within two days. The souls of strong-willed martial artists can at most persist for seven days. Past seven days, the soul will have completely dispersed, and not even Soul Fire can change this.
“A prerequisite of Soul Fire is that there must still be some remnants of the target soul.
“In addition, using Soul Fire will re
quire 800,000 points of Destiny Energy. Does user wish to continue?”
Chapter 2050 - The Last Hope! Soul Fire!
Chapter 2050: The Last Hope! Soul Fire!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Yes!”
Wang Chong no longer cared about the expenditure of Destiny Energy by this point.
“Exchange confirmed! 800,000 Destiny Energy consumed! ‘Soul Fire’ activating!”
As the Stone of Destiny spoke, ghostly flames began to seep out of Wang Chong’s body and float in the air.
These ghostly flames were connected by web-like rays of light, and they formed into an eight-sided formation that encircled Wang Chong.
The formation trembled, upon which it suddenly exploded into a giant net, expanding with inconceivable speed from the King of Foreign Lands Residence to swiftly encompass the entire capital.
Wang Chong immediately felt a strange sensation.
While he was standing in his estate, through the net, Wang Chong could see the souls of every person in the capital.
The ability of Soul Fire was that of a giant spider web, and also a giant radar. The flames of all the souls of the people in the capital appeared in Wang Chong’s senses like stars in the sky.
Some of these souls were incredibly weak, others like firefly lights, and others as bright as bonfires. There were even some that were as pure and bright as the moon!
Soul flames like this were few in number within the capital, and Wang Chong was certain that these were the souls of Great Generals.
But at this moment, Wang Chong had no time for such things.
Although the Stone of Destiny had said that Soul Fire could preserve a target soul, Wang Chong did not know how to use this ability.
Wang Chong felt extremely uneasy, even more uneasy than if a war were imminent.
The Sage Emperor’s burial was over, and in normal circumstances, his soul would have already dispersed. Wang Chong had no idea of whether ‘Soul Fire’ would have any effect on the deceased Sage Emperor.
Time seemed to stretch on endlessly as Wang Chong nervously waited.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles…
Wang Chong used ‘Soul Fire’ multiple times, sweeping across the entire capital, but he did not trigger any of the reaction that he desired. He was growing increasingly anxious and nervous, but there was no other choice than to wait for a reply from the Stone of Destiny.
After what seemed like an eternity, an almost heavenly voice resounded in Wang Chong’s mind.
“Scan successful! Target soul shard discovered!”
With rumble, an empty point tens of thousands of feet in the air suddenly flashed, and a tiny mote of light appeared.
Although it was just a tiny grain of light, the quality of this light far surpassed that of any Great General, and its strength could leave all the supreme experts of the world choking in its dust.
But at this moment, this tiny soul shard was constantly shrinking and fading. Wang Chong could already see cracks upon its surface, an omen that it could completely break apart at any moment.
“This is the Sage Emperor’s soul!”
Sensing the familiar energy on this soul, Wang Chong trembled.
“Wonderful!”
His mind was overcome with excitement.
“Collect it at once!” Wang Chong immediately said.
Buzz!
A moment later, that granular and weak soul shard began to be dragged toward Wang Chong along an invisible line.
This was only the beginning, and the Stone of Destiny soon began to discover more and more of the Sage Emperor’s scattered soul shards.
“Scan successful! Target soul shard discovered!”
“Scan successful! Target soul shard discovered!”
“Scan successful! Target soul shard discovered!”
Messages from the Stone of Destiny rang out constantly in Wang Chong’s mind.
Across the capital, granules of golden light appeared in Wang Chong’s senses and streaked toward him like shooting stars, drawn by the power of Soul Fire.
Coo!
A pigeon flew through the air, passing through one of the Sage Emperor’s soul shards to no effect.
Houses and pavilions… to the incorporeal soul shards, these physical objects were no obstacle.
One by one, thousands of tiny granules began to gather from all directions, creating a grandiose sight.
But no one except Wang Chong could see it.
As Wang Chong saw all these little particles of light slowly converge around him, each one about the size of his thumb, he felt as if he had been relieved of a great burden and let out a long sigh.
Time slowly passed, and Wang Chong silently stood in the hall and watched as the soul flames were gathered.
After some time, the last soul shard was finally collected, and the entire process came to an end.
The flames of the various soul shards had congregated into a ball of flame the size of a walnut.
An invisible energy flowed through these thousands of tiny soul shards, enclosing them and adhering them together.
Wang Chong knew that this was the power of Soul Fire.
The Stone of Destiny began to speak once more. “Collection of target soul complete! Soul Integrity at 35%!
“User’s Foundation Dimension discovered! ‘Soul Fire’ can work with the Foundation Dimension to hasten the soul’s repair and recovery. Would user like to do this?”
“Yes!”
Wang Chong was about to reply when the Stone of Destiny called out once more.
“Notice! A Yin Yang Destiny Board has been found on user’s body. Target’s energy has been found. In addition, the destiny board appears to have some faint connection with target and can increase target’s recovery rate by 0.01%. Would user like to use it?”
“Yin Yang Destiny Board?”
Wang Chong was taken aback for a moment, but then he had a thought and quickly took out the ‘double fish jade pendant’ the Sage Emperor had given him. In the lights of the hall, the Yin Yang fish were particularly striking.
“Is it referring to this?”
Wang Chong had not expected this pendant to play a role at a time like this.
Even if it would only increase the recovery rate of the Sage Emperor’s soul by 0.01%, it was still a pleasant surprise for Wang Chong.
“Yes!”
Wang Chong agreed without hesitation.
A moment later, the double fish jade pendant transformed into a ball of Yin Yang energy. It joined the remnants of the Sage Emperor’s soul in being drawn into the Stone of Destiny, vanishing into Wang Chong’s mind without a trace.
A powerful soul appeared in Wang Chong’s Foundation Dimension.
Everything returned to normal. As Wang Chong ‘looked’ at that fragmented soul, his eyes glazed over, a hint of sorrow within them.
“Stone of Destiny, how long will it take for the Sage Emperor’s soul to recover?” Wang Chong suddenly said as he sensed the familiar energy within his Foundation Dimension.
“Given the level of fragmentation in the soul of Destiny Body 9, full recovery will require one thousand years at minimum. But as user’s Foundation Dimension has special abilities and Destiny Body 9’s soul is extremely tenacious, there is a certain, but extremely low, chance that this process will be completed far ahead of time,” the Stone of Destiny said.
Wang Chong’s lips trembled in unwillingness, but despite everything he wanted to say, in the end, all he could do was sigh.
Your Majesty, this is all your lowly subject can do, Wang Chong said inwardly.
Wang Chong had not achieved his hopes, and it seemed like the Sage Emperor’s soul would require a very, very long time to recover.
Several thousand years, ten thousand years…
Wang Chong didn’t know how long, but this was no longer important.
As long as there was some hope of the Sage Emperor coming back to life, it was enough
!
Wang Chong took in a deep breath and calmed back down.
His gaze fell back onto the box on his desk. Walking over, he took the brass key that Gao Lishi had left behind.
Wang Chong had no idea that when the Sage Emperor’s soul was collected and placed in his Foundation Dimension to slumber, the skies above the Great Tang underwent a massive transformation.
Buzz!
Invisible ripples spread across the heavens, and deep in the night sky, a star suddenly flashed into existence.
“Impossible!”
“This can’t be!”
“How is this possible?!”
“Never has a Ziwei gone out and then reemerged!”
On a mountain, an astrologer looking up at the night sky trembled in shock, his mouth constantly muttering, “How?”
None of his knowledge could explain what he was seeing!
The death of a human was a light going out!
This was particularly true for existences like the Ziwei Emperor Star. It would not easily be extinguished, but when it did, it was for eternity.
Yet now, that star had reappeared, and although it was much weaker, it was truly the Emperor Star.
It was not merely the astrologers and diviners who were flabbergasted by this development.
A most terrifying existence was left stunned and reeling by the revival of the Sage Emperor’s aura.
“Impossible! Li Taiyi, what trick are you playing? Could it be that you aren’t dead and are still plotting something?”
Crash! Clink! In a mysterious dimension, chains clattered as ‘Heaven’ raised his head, his eyes flying open as two golden and vertical eyes stared at the sky in disbelief.
He had fought countless rounds with Li Taiyi, the two of them constantly scheming against each other.
When the Ziwei fell, he believed that he had succeeded, but now with this abrupt shift in the heavens, he was forced to wonder whether this death was another one of Li Taiyi’s traps. He might have faked his death and hidden himself in the shadows, ready to strike at him once more.
‘Heaven’ found himself deeply shaken and disturbed.
Chapter 2051 - Li Heng Ascends to the Throne!
Chapter 2051: Li Heng Ascends to the Throne!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
When Wang Chong used the Soul Fire ability to collect the Sage Emperor’s soul, allowing that star to weakly reemerge in the night sky, ‘Heaven’ and many of the men in black became somewhat wary and frightened.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1240
