Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 581: A Worthy Death

Zhao Changhe had explored many secret realms till now, but this one was very particular.

Unlike before—when he entered a fragment of space—it seemed that this time they were still within the main dimension, just that they had been transported to an incredibly distant location.

The location was an island, complete with mountains, water, and trees. Well... perhaps it would be better described as a peninsula. It was surrounded on three sides by the sea, and to the east, the sky seemed to stretch endlessly. Yet at the eastern end, there was nowhere left to go. There was an impassable boundary that could not be crossed.

Xia Chichi traced her hand along the invisible barrier in front of her. It was like touching the very edge of the sky itself, with the stars shining right before her eyes. They seemed close enough to touch yet remained unreachable beyond the invisible wall.

This was the end of the world—the easternmost extremity, the boundary between sea and sky.

This was the so-called edge of the sea and sky.

If an ordinary person were to set sail eastward indefinitely, they would never reach this place. It was not merely a matter of the limitations of navigation technology or supply issues. Even if all those challenges were someday overcome, this place would remain forever out of reach.

The distorted light earlier was a precursor of the twisted space itself. Just as no one could ever reach the “island” where the previous statue had stood, only finding themselves moving farther away, the same principle applied here. There was no way to arrive here by normal means—the only way was through the teleportation facilitated by that statue.

This feature had likely existed since the beginning of the previous era. Zhao Changhe had wondered why their seafaring adventure was linked to the Azure Dragon, and now it was clear. One of the core concepts of the four idols was the four cardinal extremes of heaven and earth—this was the easternmost extremity, the essence of the Azure Dragon.

This was not the inheritance of the ancient Azure Dragon; rather, it was where the ancient Azure Dragon had attained enlightenment. All the principles related to the Azure Dragon resided here.

Thus, the level of conflict was beyond extreme. This had nearly become a battle of the gods, and those on the Ranking of Heaven were only fit to ambush from the sidelines. Yet in the end, it was they who had arrived here...

At the core of it all was Xia Chichi’s cultivation. She had been the one to first determine where the key should be placed, using the markings on that spot to deduce that the key was the Azure Dragon Seal. The Sea Emperor had no such knowledge—he took the Azure Dragon Seal and simply inserted it into a square-shaped hole at the top of the statue’s head, and that had clearly failed to do anything.

Lady Three had not become the protagonist either. This was ultimately still Xia Chichi’s stage.

Xia Chichi had been drawn by an instinctive attraction to the principles and laws connected to the Azure Dragon, drawing her to focus on the easternmost extremity. Meanwhile, Zhao Changhe, Lady Three, and Hai Pinglan all had their eyes fixed on the golden scroll that floated not far away.

It was the Heavenly Tome, or at least a page of it.

It was highly likely that the very formation of this island they were currently on was due to the accumulation of energy from the Heavenly Tome over countless years. Otherwise, the boundary between the sea and sky would have needed nothing more than the sea—there was no necessity for an island to be here.

Perhaps neither Hai Pinglan nor Lady Three knew what the Heavenly Tome contained, nor could they determine what this page was about. But Zhao Changhe understood quite well. He believed there to be a high likelihood—about eighty to ninety percent—that this page was related to light and darkness, or perhaps to space. If he wished to transcend the realm of martial arts entirely and reach into the mystical and metaphysical, it all depended on the changes this page would bring.

Lady Three shifted silently, positioning herself to block Hai Pinglan’s view of the Heavenly Tome.

Hai Pinglan’s gaze landed on her, and father and daughter stood silently, eyes locked.

Hai Pinglan asked, “Do you want it?”

Lady Three did not respond, her expression stern.

Whether she wanted it or not was a separate matter. An artifact of this caliber had the potential to ignite infighting within any group, and Hai Pinglan was clearly the one most likely to stir up trouble.

Hai Pinglan simply looked at her quietly, then suddenly smiled.

Lady Three asked, “What are you smiling about?”

Hai Pinglan chuckled. “You’ve grown so calm, so dignified, so immovable... Even though I’ve heard countless stories of Black Tortoise, I never truly believed them until now. Seeing you now... You’ve truly grown up.”

Lady Three could not care less for his words and frowned slightly. “Your voice doesn’t sound right...”

Zhao Changhe sighed. “Uncle is at his limit.”

Lady Three was taken aback, her eyes widening in shock. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Hai Pinglan did not seem bothered at all. He casually sat down, a nonchalant expression on his face. “Old is old. After such an intense battle, I never expected to survive... All I wanted was to destroy the Sea Emperor’s body, to ruin everything that he’s built up over the years—that alone is enough.”

Lady Three bit her lower lip, recalling Hai Pinglan’s earlier conversation with the Sea Emperor. Now, in retrospect, it was clear—Hai Pinglan had never intended to slay the Sea Emperor.

That was impossible.

His plan from the very beginning was to at least take down the Sea God with him—well, at least, the body that the Sea Emperor possessed.

Seeing Lady Three remain silent, Hai Pinglan glanced at Zhao Changhe, his expression turning a bit peculiar. His gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them, and then he could not help but glance over at Xia Chichi. He held back a lot of thoughts, unsure if he should speak them.

Is my daughter... a mistress? Damn it, aren’t you supposed to be the Black Tortoise of the Four Idols Cult! How did you end up like this?!

The old man felt a lump stuck in his throat, and it seemed that his already fragile life had been shortened by yet another few minutes.

After a long moment of pressing her lips together, Lady Three finally spoke to Zhao Changhe in a low voice, “You... have the Rejuvenation Art, and medical skills... Can you save him?”

Hai Pinglan blinked, a glimmer of hope briefly lighting up his clouded eyes.

Zhao Changhe said quietly, “He’s beyond my saving. I suspect that Uncle breaking through to the Profound Control Realm was made at the cost of his lifespan, which is why he has aged so much. It’s a sacrifice of his body’s very foundation. Even if I could manage to keep him alive, his lifespan has reached its end. He wouldn’t last another month...”

Hai Pinglan burst out laughing. “Why bother prolonging my life?”

He turned to Lady Three, his voice softening. “It’s nice to know you still care.”

Lady Three snapped, “Mind your own business! If I saw an old beggar on the street, I’d want to help him too!”

“Hah... Right, right...” Hai Pinglan laughed until he began to cough. “I just thought of something.”

Lady Three responded coldly, “What?”

Hai Pinglan said, “Once this page of the Heavenly Tome is taken, the coverage blocking the Tome of Troubled Times from recording those at sea will disappear, and the rankings will change. I was wondering—after one of you takes that golden scroll, why don’t you kill me to secure a spot on the Ranking of Heaven?”

Zhao Changhe’s eyes widened.

Lady Three shouted angrily, “Are you insane?!”

Hai Pinglan smiled slightly and said, “How else can you vent your anger?”

Lady Three sneered. “I have no anger to vent”

Hai Pinglan said softly, “I once spoke to the saintess of your cult. The reason I suppressed you back then was a misunderstanding, but the nature of that misunderstanding was twofold—half because I feared you might have been taken over by the Sea Emperor, and the other half because, well, I feared you would take the opportunity to seize power. Perhaps that latter part weighed even more heavily, especially since you had gathered quite a following. Two suns cannot coexist, and at that time, I could not tolerate it. Ordering Changkong to hunt you down, promising him the position of crown prince—all of it was real, none of it was merely to deceive the Sea Emperor.”

Lady Three’s expression calmed, and she slowly said, “It doesn’t matter now.”

“I think it does.” Hai Pinglan’s voice grew weaker, but he continued smiling. “It shows that, at least back then, I saw you as an enemy... The saintess of your cult was right to curse me. I believed I could always have another daughter... Perhaps even a son, which might have been better.”

Lady Three fell silent.

“But later, as I got entangled with the Sea Emperor, I had no time to think about having more children, and even if I did, I wouldn’t have been able to protect them. When I eventually got in touch with Hai Qianfan and resolved the misunderstanding, I still didn’t send anyone to find you. When you met Hai Qianfan after setting out to sea, I also ordered him not to explain any of this to you... partly because killing intent couldn’t be easily washed away, and partly to convince the Sea Emperor that you and I were truly at odds, so his focus wouldn’t be on you.”

From that point onward, Hai Pinglan had prioritized protecting Lady Three. The lack of explanation was primarily for Lady Three’s protection. If he had been thinking like an emperor, he would have cleared the misunderstanding, roped the Four Idols Cult in, and collaborated against the Sea Emperor. But he chose not to, preferring that Lady Three stay comfortably in the Central Plains as a leading figure of her cult, away from the murky waters of the sea.

Zhao Changhe sighed inwardly, realizing how truly complex people were. Thoughts and motives shift across different stages of life, and a definitive label attached to a person would never be able to capture the whole truth. Hai Pinglan was like this, and Xia Longyuan was likely even more complicated.

Lady Three remained silent for a moment before she said softly, “I told you, it doesn’t matter now. I’m too lazy to hold grudges.”

“I’m saying all these things because I hope that you do hold a grudge. Regardless of my own wrongdoings, the root cause was always the Sea Emperor’s invasion of your mother’s soul. And even now, he hasn’t truly perished. I had originally hoped for Changkong to be the one to continue my will, but now that you’re here, it’s yours to take.”

“Of course. You don’t need to tell me to do that.”

“Then that’s enough.” Hai Pinglan removed the ring from his hand and tossed it to Zhao Changhe. “You’ve done great work, young man. I have nothing to repay you with, so take what’s in there as a gift.”

As he spoke, he cast a meaningful glance at Lady Three. Lady Three had remained expressionless, but now a faint blush crept onto her face. She glanced over at Xia Chichi, almost out of instinct.

The gesture and the exchange had a certain air about it... almost like a dowry.

Xia Chichi was lost in thought and did not notice.

With a smile lingering on his face, Hai Pinglan slowly closed his eyes. “In the Central Plains, I carved out territory in the south, reigning over half of it. In the Eastern Sea, I roamed freely, establishing the kingdom of Penglai. In the latter half of my life, I contended with the gods, shattered their faith, and destroyed one’s body. Having lived such a life, I have no regrets.

“My only regret is falling out with my daughter, perhaps never seeing her even at the end... But when you told Wang Daoning that he was attacking your father... that was the moment when I knew I had no more regrets left in this life. I can die now. I should go keep your mother company... She’s waited for me for so, so many years... She has a fiery temper, so she’s definitely still on Road of the Yellow Springs. She must be stubbornly waiting on the road, wanting to ask me if it hurt to kill her... Then she’ll swing her sword at me and say, ‘Hai Pinglan, you bastard...’”

His voice grew softer and softer until it could barely be heard.

Lady Three stared at his aged face, eyes closed in death, and she continued to look for a very long time. Suddenly, she spoke up in a low voice. “Take the Heavenly Tome. I want to see what the Tome of Troubled Times has to say.”

Zhao Changhe quietly took the golden scroll.

A golden light flashed across the sky, and whether on the sea or far away in the Central Plains, people looked up.

It all began in tragedy with the Sea Emperor harming Dragon King Hai Pinglan’s beloved in Penglai. For sixteen long years, Hai Pinglan endured, raising pirates for his cause, rousing the Xia Emperor to attack his enemy, burning his lifespan to break through to the next realm, and destroying the Sea Emperor’s temple to sever the other party’s roots.

In one sudden storm, the sea and sky howled in tandem, a tempestuous symphony of life and death.

The Sea Emperor’s flood dragon body exploded, leaving his remaining soul weak and damaged. Hai Pinglan, smiling in front of his daughter, peacefully passed away.

In one day, the raging waves of the furious sea surged, the ruthless sea burying a god beneath its depths.

There were many more details that followed, detailing how the inclusion of the figures of the sea had shifted the rankings and describing the roles of Black Tortoise, Zhao Changhe, and Xia Chichi in the battle.

But for the moment, no one paid attention to those parts. Instead, everyone simply looked up, staring at the reappearance of Dragon King Hai Pinglan who had disappeared from the rankings for thirty years, lost in silent reflection.

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