Firefly Journey

Chapter 321 After the Storm, All Grasses Turn Green (13)

Because the supply lines were cut off, Henry I issued an ultimatum, ordering his troops to launch a fierce attack on the capital of Chu.

What appeared to be an ordinary siege was in fact a decisive battle. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the success or failure of this defense of the capital would directly determine the final outcome of the empire's eastern expedition.

If the allied forces win, the State of Chu will be utterly defeated and have no chance of recovery.

If the State of Chu wins, the allied forces will disband, and the Debasa Empire will be mired in war, surrounded by enemies on all sides, and will decline steadily after the war.

The fate of the nation rests on this battle.

The siege was raging fiercely, but no matter how intense it was, no superhumans were involved on either side.

The battlefield for the extraordinary is on the other side.

On the second day of the siege, a group of reinforcements arrived at the floating city's garrison.

The followers of these floating cities were all imposing and majestic, riding on winged magical beasts and strolling among the clouds, looking incredibly impressive.

Among the many winged beasts, the giant dragon at the very front of the procession was the most eye-catching.

The dragon's wingspan was tens of meters long. When viewed from the ground, it seemed to blot out the sky and was an enormous creature.

On the dragon's body stood two young men dressed in the standard robes of the Floating City.

Xia Zuo said, "The city lord is really a strange character. He actually sent us to take the person back. Back then, he patted his chest and guaranteed that he would be of one mind with the Fierce Fighting Hall and work together for a great cause."

Favier Marley laughed, "Those who understand the times are wise. Ideas change with the situation. The Holy See and the Dark Temple have turned against the Chu Kingdom. It's normal for the city lord to feel that the situation is not right and think about slacking off."

As a citizen of the Duchy, I'm actually quite happy, because the Floating City will no longer be an enemy of the Papacy.

“That’s right. Actually, I don’t want war to break out either. Putting aside everything else, if a war really breaks out, I’m afraid I’ll never see many familiar faces again when I go to church to pray next time,” Xia Zuo said.

"Yes, it would be so boring if I couldn't see you."

Xia Zuo elbowed him: "If you can't speak properly, then shut up!"

"Haha."

While the two were chatting and laughing, the Sky City Squad had already arrived at their destination.

Numerous winged demonic beasts slowly descended until they were level with the horizon.

When they were about ten meters off the ground, Xia Zuo and Fei Wei leaped down and landed gracefully. At the same time, the majestic dragon flapped its wings, and its entire body shrank at a visible speed, transforming into a girl.

Paninger asked, "What's the next step?"

She looked at Xia Zuo.

The leader of this expedition is Xia Zuo, and the two are currently affiliated with the Floating City, following his lead.

Xia Zuo said, "I heard that the Dark Temple is currently confronting our Floating City."

“Oh? That makes things easier,” Fei Wei interjected.

Xia Zuo smiled slightly.

Who says superhumans have to fight each other?

The Dark Temple certainly doesn't want any losses among its followers either. Since the two sides are now facing off, it's better to keep it a secret...

……

……

Even without reading all the books in this secret room, finding clues from those books that seem to contain mystical techniques would be extremely difficult.

After a few days of effort, the two finally narrowed their focus down to a single book.

That's right, the Tao Te Ching.

In his original world, Lin Yuanran had only heard of the book but knew nothing about it; he had no idea whether its contents were accurate.

The reason we focused on it was because there was a line of handwritten text on its last page.

It's a mess.

The handwriting was exactly the same as that in the diary, indicating that it was done by the same person.

The Tao Te Ching, written by Lao Tzu during the Spring and Autumn Period, discusses methods of self-cultivation and governance, seemingly having nothing to do with fantasy. However, the diary's author described it as "a complete mess," suggesting a lack of respect for the Tao Te Ching.

"What are you thinking about?" Wind Chime asked softly.

Lin Yuanran was pulled back from his thoughts by this gentle concern, and then he was somewhat surprised.

The source of the surprise was the wind chime's tone.

She wasn't like this before. Her tone was arrogant, as if she looked down on everyone, but that was her normal tone.

Lin Yuanran suddenly realized that since their reunion, she had been speaking very softly most of the time.

As for why, Fengling herself didn't know, because she hadn't noticed any changes in herself.

Perhaps she knew that after the war in Chu ended, she would return to her hometown and have nothing more to do with the boy before her. So, while they still had time together, she should try to be as polite to him as possible and leave a good impression?

"Give me the diary," Lin Yuanran said.

The wind chime obediently handed it over, then looked at Lin Yuanran with anticipation.

Lin Yuanran held the Tao Te Ching in one hand and his diary in the other. Then, two streams of the same magical power flowed from his body and continuously merged into his two hands.

It started again.

The two books in his hands began to glow again.

Immediately afterwards, a dazzling light appeared in the small room, engulfing him completely.

The blinding light made Lin Yuanran momentarily disoriented. After the disorientation subsided, Lin Yuanran was stunned by the scene before him.

A peaceful scene unfolded before his eyes, with endless white clouds stretching out beneath his feet. Occasionally, towering mountains would emerge from the clouds, appearing as tiny as stone pillars.

Amidst the sea of ​​clouds, a blue ox hangs its head, seemingly hunching over something in the clouds.

On the back of the ox sat an old man. The old man had an air of otherworldly wisdom, and his Taoist robe was pure white, as flawless as the surrounding clouds.

The old man also looked down at a tattered old book in his hand.

As if sensing Lin Yuanran's arrival, the old man suddenly raised his head and met Lin Yuanran's eyes.

"you are late."

Lin Yuanran was taken aback, confused, and quickly asked, "What do you mean? No, who are you? How did I get here?"

Lin Yuanran was very anxious and eager to know everything.

The old man remained calm, put away the ancient book in his hand, stroked his beard, and said, "May I answer slowly?"

"Y-yes," Lin Yuanran said blankly.

The old man nodded in satisfaction, then with a wave of his Taoist robe, the green ox and the white cloud disappeared. The two suddenly appeared in a bamboo pavilion nestled against the mountain, sitting face to face, with freshly brewed tea on the table.

Lin Yuanran seemed to understand something about this sudden change in the scene, but he didn't quite understand it.

The old man, with an air of otherworldly wisdom, said, "My surname is Li, and this place is merely the manifestation of a remnant soul."

Lin Yuanran was surprised, but also felt it made sense. When he was reading about the local myths of the Chu Kingdom, he found that their myths had many similarities with those of the countries in his original world. Now it seemed that this was inextricably linked to the remnant soul of the old man in front of him.

In Eastern mythology, who else could be the old Taoist priest surnamed Li who rides a green ox backwards?

"Greetings, Celestial Venerable." Lin Yuanran stood up, bowed respectfully, and cupped his hands.

"You recognize me?" The old immortal asked with a half-smile, seemingly unsurprised by Lin Yuanran's visit.

"Hmm, you must be the legendary Taiqing Daode Tianzun, right?"

"Yes, it is me."

Even though he had already guessed the answer, Lin Yuanran was still extremely excited when the old man admitted it to him.

Laozi, one of the Three Pure Ones of Taoism, how could I not be excited!

Lin Yuanran's voice trembled slightly: "May I ask, Heavenly Venerable, why do you have a remnant soul in this world?"

Lao Tzu took a sip of his tea and said kindly, "It's a long story."