AZI Volume 6 Chapter 59.5 Intermission – Nine Steps to Cross a Sea of Stars

Just as the palace official had said, a few palace maids had come by later in the day to escort Bujian Yue to his new residence.

And for the first time in god only knows how long, Bujian Yue was able to take a bath, and be dressed in a clean set of clothes.

Following the completion of their task, the palace maids left—leaving Bujian Yue to sit at the central table of his new room.

"…"

Spreading his divine senses, Bujian Yue sees a luxurious carpet beneath his feet, and to his left is a large bed.

The table that he is currently resting his arm on, the patterns on it are quite memorizing; no doubt the work of a great artisan.

A normal person, who had been no different from a streetside beggar all their life, should feel a sense of joy—at receiving such drastic changes to their living environment. However, no ripples appeared in Bujian Yue's heart.

"…"

Just as Bujian Yue thought to walk over to the bed, the sound of footsteps is detected, and momentarily—

"My son, it's been quite some time."

"…Hm?"

Tilting his head, Bujian Yue—via his divine senses, sees a young woman dressed in a set of pale green robes.

Clearing her throat, the woman says—

"I'm your mother."

"Oh."

Paying no heed to Bujian Yue's light reactions, the 114th concubine of the Hong Xiao Emperor seats herself on the opposite side of the table, and says—

"I brought you a gift."

Gesturing at one of the palace maids, who had accompanied her here, the individual carries a tray—holding a white piece of cloth on it, over to Bujian Yue.

"Some people may find it… Discomforting to look at your eyes, so I prepared an eye band for you. Help him put it on."

"Un."

Nodding her head at the 114th concubine, the palace maid sets the tray down, and lifts the white eye band to tie it around Bujian Yue's head.

Getting a feel for the white cloth with his hands, Bujian Yue remarks—

"Quite comfortable. Thank you, mother."

"Naturally."

Narrowing his eyes beneath the eye band, Bujian Yue asks—

"Is there something that I can do to repay you for this gift?"

Considering how this woman had basically abandoned him to drown herself in luxury, she can't possibly be gifting him something with no expectations of receiving something else in return.

Laughing awkwardly, the 114th concubine remarks—

"I heard that the Lingchen Star Realm's royalty is as rich as our Hong Xiao Star Realm's royalty? …I kind of want to visit their star region in the future."

Raising a subtle smile, Bujian Yue asks—

"So, my engagement with the ninth princess is genuine?"

"The news has already been spread to the entirety of the two star regions. Everyone knows about it now. If the Lingchen Star Realm were to disagree with the engagement at this point, their faces would suffer."

"I see. Then… Well, whenever I head there, mother can tag along."

"It's a promise then."

Having obtained what it was that she wanted, the 114th concubine exchanged a few more casual banters with Bujian Yue, prior to leaving.

"…"

As soon as the 114th concubine leaves his residence, Bujian Yue's smile vanishes, as he thought—

(Wealth and status are all that is on this woman's mind, she wouldn't know much about the more complicated undercurrents of this marriage. …If this were to be a true marriage, I should be given a bit more cultivation resources—to make it so that I would become a bit more fit to stand with that princess. However, she made no mentioning of this when I subtly probed her about it… Seems like I was right to keep my guard up.)

Tapping his index finger against the table, Bujian Yue's smile turns venomous.

(If this ninth princess is truly as beloved as everyone says she is, her appearance shouldn't be bad. Maybe one of my good siblings will come over to me in the future, and demand that I give her to them?)

Thinking of this, Bujian Yue wets his lips.

With the addition of the white eye band over his eyes, this gesture—other than bewitching, it also appears insidious.

(Hmm. Nine steps to cross a sea of stars-)

*…!!!* following Bujian Yue's chant, a terrifying Dao will, along with spirit Qi and immortal Qi descend from above.

For a brief instance, all the stars within the heavens seem to have lost their radiance.

"Oh?"

Widening his eyes beneath the eye band, Bujian Yue is surprised to feel two essences related to the sun and moon being so close by.

"I wonder which dumbass within the imperial palace absorbed my 768th's essences?"

...…

Within the imperial palace's audience hall—

"Uh?"

Feeling a stinging sense of pain in his eyes, the Hong Xiao Emperor—who is dressed in a set of imperial robes, and is currently seated on his throne, shuts his eyes, and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"What's going on?"

Many assume the legends of this star region—regarding how it was born from the death of an Imprisoning Heaven, to be nothing more than a fabricated tale.

However, the Hong Xiao Emperor, who had absorbed the solar and lunar essences of this star region—he knew that it was not a myth, but the actual truth.

At the same time, it was also due to his absorption of these two essences, that the Hong Xiao Emperor had been unhindered throughout the course of his cultivation.

"…"

As a feeling of bad premonition wells up in his heart, the Hong Xiao Emperor attempts to perform a divination on himself. However, regardless of his efforts, nothing came of it.

"…Maybe I'm just tired?"

Accepting this self-suggestion, the Hong Xiao Emperor draws in a deep breath of air, and exhales.

(12 years, it's just a waiting game at this point. The moment that blind son of mine marries into the Lingchen Star Realm, karma will be sown. Using this karma, I'll plunder the destiny of the Lingchen Star Realm. Once that happens, I will definitely be able to become a Half-Monarch.)

As a result of absorbing the solar and lunar essences—formed from the eyes of an Imprisoning Heaven, the Hong Xiao Emperor could be described as the destiny child of the Hong Xiao Star Realm.

And having tasted the benefits that came with being a child of destiny, the Hong Xiao Emperor believed that if he becomes the destiny child of another star region, he would have a greater chance at becoming a Half-Monarch, the realm of cultivation that is just one level below the Ten Original Monarchs, who are the creators of this vast universe.

However, absorbing the destiny of another star region is difficult without sufficient karma to the star region.

As an outsider of the Lingchen Star Realm, the Hong Xiao Emperor wouldn't have any chances of taking its destiny for himself under normal circumstances.

And that was why, the Hong Xiao Emperor had accepted the Lingchen Emperor's proposal of marrying the latter's ninth daughter to one of the former's sons.

With this tie established, the seed of karma would be sown.

And all that's left on the Hong Xiao Emperor's part is to wait, and to nurture a relationship with his blind son.

Once that relationship had been established, the Hong Xiao Emperor would kill Bujian Yue off.

A karma between two star regions—established through marriage, betrayal, and hatred, this sort of karma would be enough to ease the destiny absorption process in the future.

(Ai, all things considered, this blind son of mine is quite pitiful. But still, even a blind tool can be a good tool, so long as they're in the right hands.)

Just as the Hong Xiao Emperor had thought of this, pain emanated from his eyes once more.

"Ugh… Did someone use a curse art on me? This son of a bitch, if I catch them, I'll be sure to skin them alive!"

...…

"…"

Rotating the Sacrificial Blood Refines Myriad Souls technique—to absorb the spirit Qi and immortal Qi near him, Bujian Yue can feel his cultivation base rising at a rapid rate.

(A person who dares to steal what is mine… Killing them off too quickly would be a waste. I need to slowly chew them up.)