Chapter 1763: Father
The memories were beautiful, but reality was cruel.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen snapped back from reminiscing and slowly let go of the Jade Swallow Pendant.
“Chi Yao, Chi Yao, it has been eight hundred years. Why would a cold-blooded and cruel woman like you still keep this by your side?” Zhang Ruochen clenched both of his hands tightly.
Within the pendant, Zhang Ruochen could perceive a large amount of Supreme Saint power, and on its surface, a touch of divine power.
It was Chi Yao’s power.
That meant, Chi Yao had the Jade Swallow Pendant on her for the past eight hundred years.
It was exactly due to her Supreme Saint power and divine power that the jade pendant could undergo such a change.
Chi Kongyue noticed that Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were cloudy and uncertain. They were at times gentle, at times cold, and at times furious… Right then, Zhang Ruochen did not have the calmness he had when he faced the Heavenly Realm’s Saint Kings, and his emotional fluctuations were huge.
She stretched out her petite, fair hand and waved it in front of Zhang Ruochen as she softly asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Gradually, Zhang Ruochen’s eyes sharpened again. “Did Chi Yao give you this jade pendant?”
“The Empress is a god; how can you just call her by name?”
Chi Kongyue seemed to have a lot of respect for Empress Chi Yao and was a little dissatisfied with Zhang Ruochen’s attitude.
Zhang Ruochen snorted and turned around to sit back on the thin mattress. “If you want to kill me, better do it now. Once half of my Saint Qi is restored, you will never have another shot again,” he said.
Zhang Ruochen started to fiddle with his Ring of Dimensions and pulled out a small bottle that was carved out of sacred jade. He sniffed its contents as he opened it and drank the liquid in one go.
It was marrow that had been refined out of an Eight-order beast’s bone marrow, and it could quickly replenish a cultivator’s spiritual power.
It was one of the spoils he had found in an Elven Spirit Saint’s satchel.
Chi Kongyue did not pull out her sword as she carefully looked at Zhang Ruochen’s handsome with her pearl-like eyes. “Is this your true appearance, where you are not using the Thirty-six Formless Transmogrification?” She grinned.
“That’s right,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Why…”
Chi Kongyue blurted something out but immediately stopped.
Zhang Ruochen could hear her heartbeat speed up by a lot, so he asked, “You want to ask me why we look so alike?”
“Yes.” Chi Kongyue nodded.
“You would be better off asking the Empress that question, not me,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Kongyue took a few steps forward and approached Zhang Ruochen as she said, “In that case, why have you saved me and my brother so many times? If I am not mistaken, when you first activated the power of the lotus to kill the Heavenly Realm’s Saint Kings, you had already seriously depleted your spiritual power. Why did you save two enemies even under such circumstances?”
Zhang Ruochen did not expect Chi Kongyue to be such an observant person at such a young age.
“You really want to know the answer?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Chi Kongyue hesitated, as though she was worried and afraid of something. A moment later, her gaze became firm. “Please tell me.”
“Come over.”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes gradually softened a lot.
For some reason, Chi Kongyue actually approached him slowly, but she still held her Saint sword and stopped when she was three steps away from Zhang Ruochen.
“Sit.”
Zhang Ruochen took a seat cushion and handed it to her.
Chi Kongyue sat across from Zhang Ruochen. Her face appeared respectful, her figure was petite, and her eyes were brilliant, but the sword in her hand was stained with blood.
She was just an eleven- or twelve-year-old girl, yet she had already taken up a sword to kill long ago.
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh as he said, “Chi Yao gave you the Jade Swallow Pendant, yes?”
“Yes.”
“There is another one with Brother as well,” Chi Kongyue responded softly.
“Do you know how to use the power of the Jade Swallow Pendant?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Chi Kongyue nodded before she shook her head. “I only know that as long as I wear it, the Saint Qi from both the heavens and the earth will converge in my body. It can then help me to concentrate and calm my mind when I practice my cultivation. On top of that, it can nourish me and strengthen my Saint Soul. In short, its wondrous uses are endless.”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, “It looks like Chi Yao has not told you how to use the Jade Swallow Pendant’s true power.”
Whoosh!!
With a flick of his finger, a complex inscription landed on the Jade Swallow Pendant.
The inscription was like a key, and it opened an invisible door.
Suddenly, dazzling light burst out from the Jade Swallow Pendant, and the ancient, as well as powerful aura, enveloped Chi Kongyue.
“This power is sublime… Is this the power of a god?” Chi Kongyue was quite surprised.
The Jade Swallow Pendant was a treasure that had been handed down from the Zhang Clan’s ancestors. In the past, Zhang Ruochen only knew that the jade pendant contained great power, but he did not understand what kind of power it was.
Now that Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation level had reached the realm of a Saint King, and he had drawn out that power, he finally understood what it was.
The mysterious power within the jade pendant was indeed the power of a god.
Could… the Jade Swallow Pendant be something left behind by the Zhang Clan’s ancestor, “The Immovable Wisdom King”?
“Your spiritual powers are already imprinted on the Jade Swallow Pendant, right?” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Yes, how did you know?” Chi Kongyue asked.
Zhang Ruochen did not answer her and continued instead, “By drawing out the power of the jade pendant, you can form a very potent defensive power, and that is the orb of light around you. The more power you draw out, the stronger your defenses. Of course, if you use your spiritual powers to control it, you can borrow the Jade Swallow Pendant’s power to create a burst of speed.”
“Really?”
Chi Kongyue closed her eyes and released her spiritual power.
Whoosh.
Her body then disappeared from the ancient temple in a white flash.
Such speed was beyond reach even for the average Saint King.
Chi Kongyue tried it out for a good half an hour before she returned to the temple. Yet, she was still doubtful and somewhat in disbelief.
Bear in mind that she was only a Saint from the Xuanhuang Realm, and with that burst of speed earlier, even a One-step Saint King might not be able to catch up to her.
Zhang Ruochen threw out a sacred jade vial and said, “Catch.”
Chi Kongyue took the vial and curiously asked, “What… is this?”
Out of nowhere, everything before her spun as she felt dizzy. Her chest pounded, and she appeared very shaky.
“Using the power of the Jade Swallow Pendant consumes a lot of spiritual power. Within the vial is the marrow of the Eight-order beast. It can quickly restore your spiritual power,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Kongyue drank a drop and quickly sat on the ground to readjust her breathing.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. Although Chi Kongyue was still young, she did not panic at all when she ran into trouble. With her current mental strength, she could indeed just bear the power that was contained in a single drop of Eight-order beast marrow.
Her judgment was extremely on point.
When Chi Kongyue opened her eyes again, Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual powers had recovered somewhat, and he looked much better now.
“Do you want to learn the inscription that unlocks the power of the Jade Swallow Pendant?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Chi Kongyue looked at Zhang Ruochen’s eyes and noticed that they were somewhat different. She then curled her lips up and asked, “Will you teach me?”
“As long as you want to learn…”
“I want to learn.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at her deeply and took out two inscription pens, handing one of them to her.
Chi Kongyue put her sacred sword away and grabbed the pen as she squatted down next to Zhang Ruochen like a docile kitten.
Under the light, whenever Zhang Ruochen drew a stroke, she followed.
The scene was extremely heartwarming. It was like a little girl learning how to write from her father. She was very attentive, and from time to time, she would look up and secretly stare at Zhang Ruochen’s serious eyes.
It was a very complicated inscription pattern, and an average cultivator might not even be able to comprehend it even after three months of learning.
However, Chi Kongyue’s learning ability was amazing, and she only took half an hour to fully grasp it.
Looking at the inscription that Chi Kongyue drew on the Jade Swallow Pendant, Zhang Ruochen broke into a satisfied smile. He could not help but stretch his hand out and pat her on the head. “Very good.”
Chi Kongyue did not avoid it, and after she hesitated for a long time, she finally said, “The Empress said that the Jade Swallow Pendant is a relic my father left behind.”
Zhang Ruochen’s hand abruptly froze as he said, “She is not wrong in saying that.”
“Are you… my father?”
Chi Kongyue’s lips trembled as she waited for Zhang Ruochen’s answer.
She was both in anticipation and somewhat fearful.
Actually, Zhang Ruochen would rather have Chi Kongyue treat him as an enemy than let her know the truth.
It was because the truth was far crueler and would only make her suffer even more.
Such suffering should only be borne by him alone.
However, since Chi Kongyue was so clever and had guessed the truth, Zhang Ruochen did not intend to hide the matter from her anymore. “Kongyue is the name of a mountain outside Shengming City. Just by standing on top of the mountain, you can see all of the lights in the city. The view is endless, and you can see every mountain and river.” He smiled bitterly.
Zhang Ruochen did not deny it, so Chi Kongyue knew the answer.
After all, she was still a little girl. How could she control her emotions the same way as Zhang Ruochen? A layer of mist covered her big, bright eyes as teardrops fell to the ground nonstop, and her slender, petite body twitched gently.
She spread her arms open and hugged Zhang Ruochen’s waist tightly, crying, “I… I want to go… Sniff… I want to go to Mount Kongyue. Bring… Bring me…there, please… I want to see the lights on the many houses… I want to see the mountains and rivers…”
Zhang Ruochen strained to keep his emotions in check as a tinge of red appeared in his eyes. He reached out and gently stroked Chi Kongyue’s head.
“I will take you there. Once we are back in the Kunlun Realm, I will take you there,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Do not… lie, okay?”
Chi Kongyue raised her head and sobbed as she asked, “Why did the Empress lie to me? Why did she say that you were my enemy? Why did she say that you killed my parents? Why… Why?”
“Because she dared not tell you the truth,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“What truth? Who is my mother?” Chi Kongyue asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “Now is not the time for you to learn such things. Of course, you can go and ask Chi Yao. Since she has the heart to lie to you, she would probably go even further.”
“I do not want to ask anyone else but you. You wouldn’t have the heart to lie to me… right, Father?!” The look in Chi Kongyue’s eyes was rather pitiful. It was as if she had suffered a huge grievance.
Seeing such a pitiful gaze and hearing her call him “father”, Zhang Ruochen’s emotions, which he had been holding back, completely gave way. “All right, I will tell you. But, not now. Just wait a little while longer… a little while longer…” he said as he smiled with teary eyes.