Chapter 6719 Spring Revives a Withered Tree
When Long Chen vanished, Qu Liushang reappeared in the palace. He bowed to Li Canghao.
“Greetings, Master!”
Seeing Qu Liushang with his head lowered like this, Li Canghao sighed. “Liushang, after so many years, you still haven’t made the slightest progress.”
“This disciple’s talent is limited. I have disappointed Master,” Qu Liushang replied.
“I do not speak of cultivation, but of your position as vice palace master, and how you control the Starry River Palace.”
Qu Liushang slowly raised his head. “Master...”
Li Canghao no longer carried the sharp, suffocating presence he had shown before. Instead, he looked at his disciple with rare warmth.
He said, “Liushang, you have always been kind. You strive to be a gentleman among men. But when it comes to ruling the Starry River Palace, you lack ambition and resolve. You don’t have the courage for innovation and change. When you emerged from seclusion and saw the corruption, the rot, and the tangled web of interests within the palace, you had no solution. Did you truly believe that feeding medicine little by little could cure a disease where tumors have already grown into the bone? Can such methods pull someone back from the brink of death?”
Qu Liushang was startled. Only now did he realize that his master had not acted out of rage or madness.
Li Canghao continued, “When a tumor has reached the bone, the only cure is to carve it out. You must be willing to cut into the bone to save the body. Li Zimo and the others were that tumor. If they were not eradicated completely, they would recover sooner or later, and the Starry River Palace would never truly heal.”
“But...”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Li Canghao interrupted gently. “The same as Long Chen. If I understood this, why didn’t I stop it earlier? I will explain.
“All of this was set in place by Heavenly Sovereign Yaochen. In any faction—any sect, clan, or kingdom—there arew rise and fall, eras of prosperity and decline.
“Before Sovereign Yaochen fell, he used a supreme divine ability to divine the future. He said only one thing from his divination: spring revives a withered tree. Afterward, the Starry River Sovereign Palace silently disappeared, never to show itself again.
“Generation after generation of palace masters concluded that this meant when the Starry River Palace reached the brink of collapse, an opportunity for rebirth would arrive.
“However, no one dared to say that this interpretation was absolute. Thus, the truth was passed down only among palace masters.
“You also know how many turmoils and troubles the Starry River Palace has endured over the years. Every time we reach a critical moment, a powerful expert will rise and bring us back from the brink of annihilation.
“I was the same back then. Because of my display on the Devil Slaying Battlefield, I was entrusted with the position of palace master.
“The previous palace master was overjoyed. At the time, I didn’t understand why. Later, that joy faded, and before his death, he finally told me this secret.
“He thought he had finally found the person who would allow the Starry River Palace to revive in the spring.
“However, I could not open the Starry River Sovereign Palace, nor did I bring about any great changes in the Starry River Palace. He was disappointed to say the least.
“As for me, when I took over, I followed the instructions of the previous palace master and waited for that person to appear.
“I felt hope several times—Li Zimo, Li Mingkang, you. Even that girl’s birth once filled me with anticipation.
“However, I was always disappointed. None of you was the one I was waiting for.
“There were moments when I wondered if I would also die waiting, just like all the palace masters before me. Would I die without seeing the fated person?
“And so, when the rot of the Starry River Palace finally reached the bone, I obeyed my instructions and watched without intervening.”
Unable to hold back, Qu Liushang asked, “Does that mean that even if the Starry River Palace was destroyed, you would have simply watched?”
“Correct.”
Li Canghao’s response made Qu Liushang sweat. Was that not crazy?
Seeing his reaction, Li Canghao said, “When things become desperate, that is precisely when the pendulum can reverse. From my understanding, only when the Starry River Palace stands at the edge of destruction will its survival instinct be triggered. Either a great heavenly genius will rise, or karma itself will intervene to save us. Long Chen is the latter.
“As for me, I am merely a tool to help him receive his legacy. My role is to do everything possible to keep him here. Let me ask you: if you had dealt with Li Zimo, what would the consequences be?”
Qu Liushang suddenly shivered. He definitely wouldn’t have been able to kill all those people so decisively. He lacked the guts.
Qu Liushang’s method of dealing with Li Zimo definitely wouldn’t satisfy Long Chen. Even if he did execute her, that would not quell the flames of fury in Long Chen’s heart. Long Chen would definitely leave with his people.
If Long Chen really were that destined person, then Qu Liushang would have personally severed the Starry River Palace’s final hope.
Qu Liushang knelt on the ground once he reached this point in his thoughts.
“Master, disciple is foolish. Please punish me!”
Shame and guilt flooded his heart. His earlier actions had surely hurt his master. He even felt the urge to slash himself to make up for it.
Li Canghao reached out and lifted him up, sighing. “You are a good child. But you lack boldness. You cannot act freely.”
Qu Liushang choked back a sob. “This disciple has disappointed Master. I will resign my position at once and reflect. In the future—”
“In the future, my ass!” Li Canghao snapped. “If you run off now, who is going to deal with that idiot Long Chen?!”
“Master...?” Qu Liushang was startled.
“It’s basically confirmed that he is the one we’ve been waiting for—the one tied to ‘spring revives a withered tree,’” Li Canghao said darkly. “But I... I truly loathe him. The look in his eyes makes me want to slap him.”
Perhaps Li Canghao was too used to being in power.
From his youth to now, he had always been a genius amongst genius, mighty and domineering.
He had become palace master at an exceptionally young age, the youngest in the history of the Starry River Palace. Perhaps someone new would come eventually, but he had definitely been the youngest palace master of the Starry River Palace.
Like Long Chen, he had swept through his era’s geniuses. Yet today, Long Chen had trampled his dignity in front of everyone, giving him no face at all. If not for the tempering of his mental realm through three cycles of creation through destruction, he could truly have attacked Long Chen.
As Li Canghao lectured Qu Liushang, he was actually feeling apprehensive. He was afraid that he would be the one to make Long Chen run away. In that case, he really would be a sinner—just as Li Zimo had accused—and be unable to face his ancestors.
“You mean I’m going to be the one communicating with Long Chen?” asked Qu Liushang apprehensively.
“Are you telling me to do it?” demanded Li Canghao.
“I’m just worried. I don’t think Long Chen likes what I’ve done...”
“At least, you are better than me. That idiot never cursed you!” said Li Canghao. “I leave this matter to you!”
After saying that, Li Canghao gave Qu Liushang no chance to refuse. He waved his hand, and Qu Liushang vanished from the palace.
At this moment, Long Chen appeared in front of a giant astral gate. The astral gate slowly opened, and an ancient, desolate aura hit him in the face.