Nightfall

Cheng Lixue answered, “The Abbey Dean has been living in Peach Mountain.”

Ning Que knew what he meant. Looking at the rain which was getting heavier, he said, “Zhao Nanhai wants to be the Great Divine Priest of Revelation, but you are still alive. This indicates something.”

Cheng Lixue kept silent.

Ning Que turned around and continued to say, “You still have influence over the Divine Hall of Revelation, otherwise you would have been dead already and those people on Peach Mountain wouldn’t have bothered to send you here to be killed by me. The reason that I want to talk with you is not that I still remember our old friendship, but that you are still alive. You have proved your power. If you think that you don’t have sufficient power, I can help you. You should know that I still have my contact with the Divine Halls of West-Hill.”

Cheng Lixue was stunned. He knew who Ning Que meant, but felt that the way he said it was too ridiculous. He wanted to laugh but his mind was weighed down with anxiety.

Ning Que asked, “Why are you so silent?”

Cheng Lixue thought for a while and then explained, “Silence represents will, valuable will, such as piety, firmness, and faith.”

Ning Que shook his head, pointed at the gloomy sky above the rain and said, “If your belief in Haotian is that pious, she should choose you as the successor.”

The successions of the three Great Divine Priests in the Divine Halls of West-Hill differed from one another. The Great Divine Priest of Judgement was chosen according to candidates’ power, the Great Divine Priest of Light was designated by the current Great Divine Priest, and the Great Divine Priest of Revelation was appointed directly by Haotian.

“When I first met you in the Wilderness, General Shu Cheng said that you have already entered See-through Zenith and was only one step away from the Knowing Destiny State like Long Qing. Over the years, Long Qing entered the Knowing Destiny State and probably has reached the Knowing Destiny Zenith. But what about you? You are still in the See-through Zenith, and the rain in this spring has not helped you go a step further.” Ning Que said with pity, “Haotian has long lost her faith in you.”

Cheng Lixue replied calmly, “The threshold of Knowing Destiny State is extremely high, and it’s normal that I can’t reach it. There are only a few people in the cultivation world, not to mention that I am still young.” Cheng Lixue was in his thirties. He was indeed very remarkable to reach See-through Zenith at such a young age. But the situation in the cultivation world was quite different now.

“Open your eyes and look at the world.” Ning Que looked at his eyes and taunted, “The world has changed a lot over the years. Rain fell upon the human world when the Headmaster went to Heaven and another rain fell when she was back to the Divine Kingdom this spring. After these two rains, many cultivators reached the See-through State and even the Knowing Destiny State. As the Divine Priest of Revelation, do you feel ashamed about your current state?”

Cheng Lixue laughed genuinely. He did not agonize over what Ning Que said, for he had already passed the phase in spring.

“Maybe you could have convinced me if it was before the spring rain. But that rain has proven too many things. I must regain my faith in Haotian, so I dare not to be convinced.” He left the chair and walked up to the steps. Then he turned around and said to Ning Que, “As for whom Haotian will choose to be Great Divine Priest of Revelation, you have guessed wrong. She chose Long Qing. As long as Long Qing could complete the mission of wiping out the New Stream, he will become the next Great Divine Priest of Revelation. Of course Zhao Nanhai has his eyes on the position, but he won’t succeed.”

“Long Qing…” Ning Que’s voice sounded a little ethereal in the heavy rain. “Is this why he is ordered to kill Ye Su? Will Ye Hongyu just let him do it?”

Cheng Lixue said, “What can the Great Divine Priest of Judgement do about this? Or do you expect her to do something? You said that you have contact with someone from Peach Mountain who can help me, and I guess you meant Ye Hongyu. But do you really believe you can turn the Divine Halls upside down in this way? How could you have such a naive idea?”

Ning Que replied, “A naive idea is still an idea, which is better than no idea. Besides, she definitely planned to do something from the moment Taoism decided to destroy the New Stream.”

Cheng Lixue said, “You are not a religious man, so you can’t understand these things.”

“You are not wrong. I always wondered what she really wants to do.” Ning Que stood up and stared at the blood which was diluted by the rain. Remembering that Ye Hongyu had come to the Yanming Lake in the strong wind and rain, he requested, “If you don’t want to go back to Peach Mountain, then please pass on a message to her.”

Cheng Lixue asked, “What message?”

“Tell her to run.” Ning Que said, “It doesn’t matter whether she wants to stay in Peach Mountain or help Ye Su or do something else. Tell her to not try anything, do not arrange anything and even do not think about anything, just run as fast and far as possible.”

Cheng Lixue went silent for quite a while and then said, “Maybe you underestimate the Great Divine Priest of Judgement.”

Ning Que replied, “From the first day I knew her, I never underestimated her. I know that she definitely has a plan and her silence means something is going to happen. I know she won’t overestimate herself, but I am worried that she might underestimate one person.”

“Who?”

“The Abbey Dean, even though he has lost his power.” Ning Que answered, “With her current state, she doesn’t stand a chance in defeating the Abbey Dean. Her plan means nothing to the Abbey Dean, so she must run as fast as she can.”

Cheng Lixue disagreed with him and argued, “Do you really think that people like the Great Divine Priest of Judgement would underestimate their opponent, especially an opponent like the Abbey Dean?”

“I know she won’t underestimate her opponent, but she doesn’t have the experience of fighting against the Abbey Dean. She doesn’t know that the Abbey Dean is an opponent that can never be overestimated.” Ning Que said, “What worries me the most is that she is scheming against the Abbey Dean. But the Abbey Dean would never fall into any scheme.”

Cheng Lixue said, “But the Abbey Dean fell into the scheme of the Academy back in the Battle of Chang’an.”

Ning Que replied, “That’s different. My scheme was the God’s Plan back then.”

In fact, what he meant was that his soul didn’t belong to this world, so the Abbey Dean couldn’t calculate what he was thinking. But for Cheng Lixue, what Ning Que said sounded a little disrespectful to Haotian.

After a moment of silence, Cheng Lixue asked, “The Academy is no match for Taoism, and the Great Tang will inevitably be destroyed. So what’s the point of making the Great Divine Priest of Judgement leave Peach Mountain and join hands with you?”

“So the reason why you and the old friends from the Divine Hall of Revelation won’t join the fight is that you think it is a death struggle?” Ning Que said, “But I don’t understand why you all think Taoism will win the final battle.”

“The world has changed from the moment when Liu Yiqing killed the emperor of the South Jin Kingdom. The outcome has become a thing that can be determined by a few people.”

Cheng Lixue said, “Sizing up the situation has become a simple sum. So it would be difficult if you want to subvert me and the Divine Hall of Revelation.”

Ning Que went silent for a while and then said, “I really want to know what’s your answer to that simple sum.”