Chapter 66: The Scripture of Mysterious Asccent and Contemplation?

"Ahhh!!!"

A sleeping Xu Tianran woke up with a start, letting out a shrill scream while clutching his head and rolling on the ground in agony.

"Your Majesty!"

"Someone come! Guard the Emperor! Guard the Emperor!"

The scream, piercing through the entire imperial palace, instantly summoned a large number of soldiers who poured in, brandishing their weapons.

They looked on in terror as Xu Tianran's head was twisted at an unnatural angle, his eyes glowing crimson as he roared, "Get out! Get out!"

"Your Majesty... This..."

Soldiers and eunuchs looked at each other in dismay and apprehension. The next moment, however, an overwhelming and majestic pressure directly descended upon them.

Purple flames ignited on Xu Tianran's body, transforming into a giant dragon that instantly engulfed several soldiers. Before they could even utter a single scream, they were reduced to a pile of black ash!

Slowly standing up, Xu Tianran kept his head lowered, obscuring his expression from view, while a gloomy voice escaped his lips.

"Those who linger shall be executed without mercy!"

Terrifying murderous intent enveloped everyone present. Looking at the black ash on the ground, they trembled with fear, their legs shaking involuntarily. Daring not to utter another word, they fled the grand hall in a desperate panic.

"Ha—ha—huff—"

Seeing that no one else remained, Xu Tianran collapsed powerlessly to the ground. His pupils were dilated, and he gasped for breath, seemingly still shaken by lingering fear.

"A dream?"

Gradually recovering, Xu Tianran muttered to himself, only to suddenly shout out the next moment, "That was no dream!"

Though he could no longer remember what he had ultimately seen, and everything he experienced there had grown hazy, only a single thing was deeply and firmly branded into his brain.

Yet even this was slowly fading; in this brief span of time, Xu Tianran had already forgotten a portion of it.

Staggering to his feet, he murmured, "Write it down... Write it down..."

"Write it down!"

"Bang!"

A hand suddenly grabbed the corpse of the old emperor inside the coffin, dragging it out directly and throwing it heavily onto the ground!

Accompanied by the snap of a cervical vertebra, the previously closed eyelids snapped open, revealing dead, unblinking eyes that stared fixedly at his crazed crown prince. That pale face seemed to wear a bizarre smile.

Xu Tianran drew the sword at his waist and began carving the contents of his mind directly onto the surface of the coffin.

His mind constantly recalled the memories, and his mouth kept chanting them aloud, trying to slow the fading of that passage.

"Practicing archery... feather-weaving... the Dao of the heart... formless, hence... an independent... egoless... unspeakable, ineffable... crumbling, declining..."

(Part 1 of 3)

Headless and tailing sentences, jagged and uneven characters, enough to induce a splitting headache at a single glance. Yet the more Xu Tianran wrote, the more excited he became, his voice growing louder and louder until he shouted at the very end in fervent agitation.

——"The Syncretic Soul-Dream Illusion Divine Scripture!"

"I've written it down! This is it! Exactly this! 'The Syncretic Soul-Dream Illusion Divine Scripture'! I've remembered it! I've written it down!"

"Hahaha!"

He embraced the coffin, his eyes infatuated as if holding his most beloved.

He laughed foolishly, the excitement and greed in his eyes seeming capable of turning into a tangible fluid and overflowing.

As expected! He truly was the Son of Destiny!

No! What destiny!

I want this sky to no longer obscure my eyes, this earth to no longer bury my heart, all living beings to understand my will, and all the gods to vanish into thin air!

A fierce arrogance spread within his heart, and his laughter pierced the clouds, making the soldiers, eunuchs, and palace maids inside and outside the imperial palace tremble in unison.

They looked at one another, seeing the exact same thought reflected in each other's eyes.

Their new emperor seemed to have gone mad!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. After the old emperor was buried in the imperial mausoleum, the hurried grand ceremony for the new emperor's ascension commenced.

Due to the tight schedule, hundreds of artisans had to work continuously for three days and nights without rest. Many worked themselves to death before finally completing the magnificent venue.

Plant-type Soul Masters made flowers of all seasons bloom in unison, while beast-type Soul Masters released their martial souls to project the imagery of a hundred beasts symbolizing glory across the sky.

At last, a purple dragon pierced the clouds, its single claw pressing down and rendering the hundred beasts motionless!

At the ceremony, Xu Tianran, clad in a dragon robe, walked to the highest platform. Though young, dragon Qi already accompanied his form, compelling the multitude of subjects to lower their heads.

Behind him, Ju Zi, who had received special treatment, followed closely. Her beautiful eyes gazed at the back before her, yet a hint of bewilderment and distraction still lingered within them.

Even after three days, she found it difficult to snap out of this sudden series of drastic changes, feeling all the more absent-minded.

"Eh?"

On a certain rooftop, while observing the grand spectacle, Chun's gaze landed upon Xu Tianran, and he let out a sound of surprise as if discovering something.

He clicked his tongue in wonder, "Incredible! Truly incredible! Is he really this fortunate? Could it be that he is genuinely favored by heaven?"

"Duoya, it seems we won't need to specially prepare nutritious meals for him."

Duoya, who was quietly reading a book on the balcony below, also glanced at Xu Tianran upon hearing this, though he could discern nothing unusual.

Yet he asked no further questions, lowered his head, and continued reading.

Above, Chun continued watching the ceremony's program with undiminished zest, as if eagerly anticipating some exceptionally grand spectacle.

(Part 2 of 3)

At a certain moment, Xu Tianran finally ascended to the highest point, overlooking everyone at his feet, a warm and amiable smile blooming on his face.

He spoke, "At this very moment, people of the Sun and Moon Empire, your emperor has arrived!"

His words completely defied all established procedures and protocol, yet not a single person raised a question. The moment his voice fell, deafening cheers erupted across the entire venue!

They celebrated, they cheered, they were one with the emperor!

Silently and imperceptibly, invisible threads flew out from Xu Tianran's body, landing on every cheering person at the scene, intertwining to form a vast web!

Ju Zi stood lost and bewildered, unable to understand what had happened to these people. Even if a new emperor's ascension called for celebration and cheering, there was no need for this; it seemed far too intense.

Suddenly, she felt Xu Tianran cast a bizarre gaze toward her from the front.

Her body instantly tensed, a smiling expression snapped onto her face, and she joyfully said, "Congratulations to you, Your Majesty!"

Only then did that gaze withdraw, no longer paying attention to Ju Zi.

Ju Zi heaved a sigh of relief inwardly, keeping up a feigned joyful expression while her eyes darted around in panic.

Wherever she looked, the crowd was in a frenzy. Their joy seemed entirely genuine and heartfelt, as if she alone felt something was wrong.

Something was wrong! Absolutely something was wrong!

The bewildered Ju Zi suddenly steadied her mind, refusing to be infected by the bizarre atmosphere any longer, firmly believing that everyone present had a problem, and she alone was the normal one!

Wanting to find the source of this eeriness, her gaze instantly locked onto Xu Tianran, who was close at hand.

It was him! It was him!

He was the one causing all of this! As long as she dealt with him, everything would be resolved!

Her eyes darkened as she silently calculated the distance between them.

At such a close range, with the opponent completely off guard, as long as she struck by surprise—

"Heeheehee~ You'd better be careful~"

A bizarre burst of laughter suddenly echoed by Ju Zi's ear.

Her vision instantly cleared, and she opened her eyes to see Xu Tianran looking at her with a frown. Furthermore, she was not at the grand ascension ceremony, but had somehow returned to the imperial palace without realizing it.

Xu Tianran asked with concerned whispers, "Ju Zi, what is wrong with you? You've been absent-minded ever since the ascension ceremony ended."

"The ascension ceremony ended..."

Ju Zi froze, yet she still felt as though she were right there at the ceremony...

(Part 3 of 3)