Chapter 449: Emperor Gaozu’s last words: Long peace with water!
Staring at the chessboard destroyed by sword energy, Moro's expression remained calm, with only his long black hair fluttering slightly.
"The most poisonous thing in this world is human desires, which are like a leaf blocking your eyes and making you unable to see the whole world. It's a pity that you are so talented, but you still can't escape this cage."
After a pause, he said, "Those who shout about overturning the chessboard just want to be the next chess player."
Li Daoxuan didn't want to argue with him anymore. This was a difference in their philosophies. Neither of them would be convinced. Words were meaningless. Only victory or defeat could prove who was right.
"Where did you tie Yan'er?"
Li Daoxuan felt very sympathetic towards the little girl who sacrificed herself to save Changle. If there was still a chance, he wanted to try to save Yan'er.
Such a kind-hearted little girl should not have ended up like this. At least Li Daoxuan wanted to send her to reincarnation so that she could enjoy the love of her parents in the next life.
Moro said calmly: "That little girl is a rotten wood that is hard to carve. I sent her to the palace to let her get close to Changle and observe Changle's every move. I want her to replace Changle in the future and possess him."
"In this way, she can go from being a commoner to the eldest princess of the Tang Dynasty. Although she is still a mortal, she can enjoy the wealth that ordinary people only dream of. It can be considered a step to heaven."
After a pause, he shook his head and said, "It's a pity that she actually felt compassion for Changle and betrayed me in the end. But it doesn't matter. Her purpose was to lead you out of Chang'an City so that Heishan could take away the Queen's soul. As long as this goal is achieved, what difference does it make whether she is a pawn or a discarded piece?"
Hearing the cold words coming out of his mouth, it seemed as if that was not a living being, but just a weed on the roadside, the dust on his sleeve, weightless at all.
The anger in Li Daoxuan's heart was burning little by little.
He couldn't help but think of the candy covered with mold. The reason why it was surrounded by a strong yin energy was because Yan'er often played with it in her hands.
A little girl of thirteen or fourteen years old turned into a lonely soul wandering between heaven and earth, and was gradually forgotten by her parents.
When she quietly looked out the window at the happy family inside, what she desired most in her heart was not to become a prominent Tang princess, but to walk into that simple but warm hut.
Moro said calmly: "There are so many people like Yan'er, who are as small and lowly as ants. They have one thing in common, which is that they will never be satisfied."
Moro looked up at Li Daoxuan, with a hint of sarcasm in his smile, and said, "Li Daoxuan, you once gave hope to the people of Chang'an, but when you are in danger, will those cowardly ants come to help you?"
"They won't. In fact, if they are in danger, they will blame you first, blaming you for not protecting them in time."
Li Daoxuan remained silent.
Moro smiled and continued, "Very good. It seems that you are not a stubborn person. We have reached a consensus on this point."
"You are wrong."
Li Daoxuan raised his eyes and spoke in a sonorous and powerful voice.
"Not everyone in this world is as selfish as you think. Otherwise, you wouldn't have failed in the old master's dream."
Moro paused slightly.
He once successfully grasped Zhang Zhiyan's weaknesses and soft spots and trapped him in a dream. Even with Zhang Zhiyan's magical powers and cultivation, he could only sink helplessly and be willing to die.
But I never thought that the perfect plan would be ruined by an ordinary woman.
Zhang Zhiyan's wife, a mere mortal, calmly rejected the temptation of immortality and exchanged her own soul for Zhang Zhiyan's freedom and liberation.
This made Moro feel very ironic for a while. He had set up the plan for sixteen years, which stumped the number one Taoist of the time, but it was broken by an ordinary person.
Li Daoxuan's eyes were bright. He remembered the old manager of Chang'an Restaurant when Wang Bo was captured by Maha.
The old man took out his store's treasure, a fine wine that he had treasured for a hundred years, and asked the stranger to help rescue Wang Bo.
It is true that some people in Chang'an hate the bad guys, thinking that they are in league with demons all day and are ominous, but there are also many people, like the old shopkeeper of Chang'an Restaurant, who are grateful and repay the kindness.
Wang Bo once told Li Daoxuan that several of the children his master had saved would go to the Yingling Mausoleum with their parents every Qingming Festival to sweep the tombs and offer a bouquet of white chrysanthemums.
Li Daoxuan believed that the Tang Dynasty would eventually be a country where all nations would come to pay tribute and a country that embraced the world.
If the people of the Tang Dynasty could tolerate foreigners, how could they not tolerate these bad guys who risked their lives to protect them?
"Moruo, I don't know what happened in the Eternal Night, nor do I know why the gods and Buddhas disappeared, but no matter what your reasons are, you can't hide your ambitions."
After a pause, Li Daoxuan said word by word: "Perhaps, the world does not need gods and Buddhas."
Moro quietly savored Li Daoxuan's words and said seriously: "Maybe what you said makes some sense, but... it's still too naive."
"Li Daoxuan, if you can survive, you might as well see with your own eyes how the people of Chang'an respect me after this heavy rain."
"Then you will find out..."
“People will not remember God’s gifts, but will remember God’s punishments.”
…
Hongyi Palace.
Li Shimin paced back and forth, waiting for news from Li Daoxuan.
After learning that Li Yuan was very likely involved in Moro's conspiracy, he became more and more uneasy. Even when he looked at Li Yuan sleeping soundly on the bed, a trace of murderous intent flashed through his mind.
But he quickly rejected it.
First of all, Li Yuan was his father after all. Since ancient times, it has been common for brothers to fight for the throne, but it is very rare for someone to kill his own father.
The word "filial piety" is of great weight.
Secondly, Taichong was still in a dream. If he killed Li Yuan, wouldn’t Taichong be in danger?
Just as he was wandering around, noisy footsteps suddenly sounded outside.
"Your Majesty, this is bad!"
Gao Quan ran over in the heavy rain and shouted, "The heavy rain has washed away the river. The rivers near Chang'an City... have all burst their banks!"
Li Shimin was suddenly shocked. Chang'an City is surrounded by eight rivers, namely Wei, Jing, Feng, Lao, Fu, He, Chan and Ba. The eight rivers flow separately, and floods rarely occur.
But once it happens, it will be earth-shattering and will last forever!
At this moment, Li Shimin was extremely anxious. He seemed to have seen the miserable situation of the people. He immediately ordered: "Quick, mobilize the imperial guards and follow me to rescue people!"
After saying that, he didn't care about Li Yuan and Tai Chong, and rushed out of the palace first. He found that even in the palace, the water had already reached his ankles.
…
In a dream.
Moro's appearance began to change slowly. His black hair turned white, his beard turned gray, his skin became wrinkled, and he gradually became like Li Yuan.
Only his deep eyes still retained the temperament of Morro.
"Li Daoxuan, even though you overturned the chessboard, the real game has just begun. Go and try to... survive first."
Li Daoxuan suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.
He immediately put his fingers together to form a sword and slashed at Moro's forehead.
But the sword finally stopped in front of Li Yuan's forehead, because Moro had disappeared without even a trace of breath left. He actually abandoned this body that he had obtained with so much effort!
Li Daoxuan frowned and prepared to leave the dream.
Suddenly, an old hand grabbed his wrist, and it was still shaking due to exhaustion.
"Save...save Chang'an..."
The old man's voice was like a rotten bellows, hoarse and low, as if just these few words had exhausted all his strength.
Li Daoxuan raised his eyes and looked at the old man in front of him.
Li Yuan actually still had a trace of regret. After Moro's soul left, he finally regained control of his body.
However, Li Daoxuan had already seen that his spirit was like a leaf falling in the wind, supported only by his last breath.
"Save Chang'an...save...the Tang Dynasty..."
On his deathbed, Li Yuan's old and turbid eyes were filled with guilt and self-blame. He was possessed and controlled by Moro, and had done many bad things. Now he was about to destroy the foundation of the Li Tang Dynasty.
So he held on to his last breath and begged Li Daoxuan to save the Tang Dynasty.
Li Daoxuan sighed softly and said, "In compliance with the order of the Supreme Emperor, I will do my best."
Hearing this answer, Li Yuan seemed to have finally let out his last breath. He felt relieved, and his spirit gradually faded away.
He loosened his grip on Li Daoxuan's hand and tried his best to bow, but before he bowed, his body became increasingly dim , almost transparent.
Li Daoxuan's heart moved, and he asked, "Grand Emperor, do you have anything else to say to His Majesty?"
Hearing this question, Li Yuan's eyes became slightly dazed and his cracked lips kept trembling, but he finally calmed down and shook his head at Li Daoxuan.
Not saying anything actually says a lot.
In the end, he still did not forgive Li Shimin, the son he was once most proud of and loved.
In this absurd dream, Li Yuan's spirit completely dissipated.
The last words left by this once ambitious and famous founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty to this world were, "Save Chang'an, save the Tang Dynasty."
Until his death, he never forgave Li Shimin.
…
With Li Yuan's death, the dream also collapsed, as if a mirror was broken into pieces and the whole world became fragmented.
Li Daoxuan suddenly realized that this should be a trap set by Moro for him.
If he cannot leave the dream in time, he will be lost here forever, and will be shattered along with this empty world, and there will be no Li Daoxuan in the world anymore.
And that trace of regret in Li Yuan's heart should have been left intentionally by Moro.
He guessed that Li Yuan would talk to Li Daoxuan, thus preventing Li Daoxuan from leaving here immediately. By the time he reacted, the dream world had already collapsed.
Poor Li Yuan, he was also an emperor, but even his last bit of regret was taken into account by Moro .
"Don't be afraid, benefactor!"
After Moro left, Yan Tong finally stopped hiding behind Li Daoxuan. He jumped out, and the jade seal in his hand shone again. The divine power from incense that he had worked so hard to accumulate was quickly consumed, and the dream world that was on the verge of collapse gradually stabilized.
There was a trace of pain in Yan Tong's eyes. These incense and divine powers were extremely precious. After he obtained the status of a god, he worked diligently and fulfilled his duties conscientiously, but he only accumulated this little.
This time, more than half of it was used up.
He held Li Daoxuan's hand and led him out of the dream world. Like a fish swimming in the water or a bird flying in the forest, he soon disappeared.
…
Hongyi Palace.
Li Daoxuan and Yan Tong appeared again. He touched Yan Tong's little head and praised him generously.
"Thanks to you this time, I will commend your contribution to the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother will reward you with all the incense and divine power consumed this time."
Li Daoxuan smiled slightly. He still had some face in front of the empress.
Upon hearing this, Yan Tong's brows immediately beamed with joy, his smile almost cracking.
"My benefactor, how can I be so embarrassed..."
Having said that, the excitement in his eyes was evident. The little fellow, who was only about a foot tall, didn't yet understand what it meant to hide one's emotions.
Yan Tong was naturally happy. During his time in the Qingming Realm, he became familiar with many people with his cute looks and also understood the rules of the Qingming Realm.
In the Qingming world, the Green-robed Lady is the absolute ruler, and a single word can decide the life and death of ghosts and gods.
As everyone knows, the Green-Robed Lady is very cold and holy. Except for Xiao Que'er and her mother-in-law, it is difficult for other ghosts and gods to see her. Even if they see her, they are terrified and dare not look directly at her face.
But someone spread the rumor that although the Queen was selfless, she valued the Qingming Envoy Li Daoxuan the most. Whenever Li Daoxuan sent a soul to the afterlife, the Green-robed Queen would personally handle it and give appropriate care.
If the Qingming Envoy were willing to say a nice word, it would be better than an ordinary person praising Her Majesty ten thousand times!
Yan Tong had a vague understanding of this. He was introduced by Li Daoxuan, so naturally he was regarded as Li Daoxuan's man by the ghosts and gods in the Qingming Realm. No ghost or god dared to make things difficult for him deliberately.
Li Daoxuan pinched his chubby face and said, "If I help you, I won't let you suffer any loss. Well, the next thing will be dangerous, so you should go back first."
The boy shook his head and said, "My benefactor, please let me go with you. I am so powerful now!"
Li Daoxuan shook his head and smiled, saying: "You have helped me a lot. Besides, I promised your father that I would take good care of you. Be obedient and go back quickly."
Although Nightmare Boy is no longer the same as before, the areas of his priesthood are all related to dreams. Outside of dreams, his actual combat power is not strong.
At Li Daoxuan's request, the nightmare boy could only look back every few steps and return to the statue.
Before leaving, he reluctantly said, "My benefactor, please ask me to come out more often in the future!"
He muttered, "If you call me out, I can go out and play openly, and the queen won't blame me..."
Li Daoxuan shook his head and laughed. This little guy has only been at work for a short while and he's already thinking about slacking off?
After the nightmare boy left, Li Daoxuan looked back at Li Yuan's body, then opened the door and looked at the still fierce rainstorm.
At the same time, he also heard the wailing of countless Chang'an citizens through his sharp ears.
"Help! I can't swim!"
"Ma'am, be careful, there are monsters underwater!"
"Run away! The monster is eating people!"
"It's water monkeys, lots of water monkeys!"
Li Daoxuan opened his third eye and was shocked to see that the entire Chang'an city was like a funnel without a hole, being backflowed by the raging flood, and the surging water vapor almost covered the sky and the earth.
Only buildings located on higher ground, such as the Imperial Palace and Zhaoling Mausoleum, were spared.
The "eight rivers surrounding Chang'an" praised so highly in "Shanglin Fu" have now become eight deadly hooks.
What’s even more terrifying is that under the flood, there are strange figures wandering around. They look like monkeys, have hair, and their claws are like sharp blades.
They are densely packed in groups, like ants leaving their nest or bees flying by, and there is no end as far as the eye can see.
In an instant, Li Daoxuan recalled what the madman in Xuzhou City had said.
"There are tens of thousands of water corpses in the Sishui River, more than the heavenly soldiers and generals!"
