Chapter 372 Kindness
When Murong Xiao sent Aquan to bring Gongsun Qi into the academy, he foresaw that they would flee Taiyi Academy in a sorry state, so he set up a teleportation array on the mechanical island in advance.
Because of the long distance, it takes time to start up.
After Gongsun Qi spoke, Aquan immediately sent the people away, and in the blink of an eye they were back on the mechanical island.
The location was within the Murong family's territory; beyond the small hill lay the boundless sea. Standing on the hillside, they saw vast swathes of sea fire rising from the ocean, engulfing the sea vapors, while the Mechanical Family's fleet surrounded these sea fires even further out.
Gongsun Qi stared at the flames in the sea and asked, "What is that?"
“Seafire is the closest thing to a different kind of fire,” A-Quan explained. “When Shui Zhou discovered it, he thought he could unlock the secret of the existence of different kinds of fire.”
"The current state of the Sea Fire is similar to that of the Strange Fire. It can incinerate everything, especially the five elements. The only difference is that it cannot erupt on a large scale, nor can it be controlled by humans. It can only be born in the sea, or more accurately, it is born from the sea eye."
After hearing A-Quan's explanation, Gongsun Qi's gaze towards Hai Huo deepened.
He recalled seeing a yin-yang fish in a pond at a mountain residence one year, and asked his sister what kind of martial arts she was practicing recently.
Gongsun Xi formed hand seals, guiding the yin-yang fish, while a burst of flames suddenly appeared in the clear pool water.
She replied jokingly, "I'm secretly practicing a different kind of fire."
So he replied jokingly, "Strange fire is black flame."
Gongsun Xi kept this in mind and later changed the form of his Nine Schools of Thought.
"And what about those ships?" Gongsun Xi turned his gaze away, his eyes falling on the several giant ships that were gradually sailing into the sea fire.
Although the ships displayed different flags representing different organizations, their hulls were uniformly black, occasionally gleaming with red crackled light.
“Oh, that’s a Fire-Absorbing Ice Stone. I have some here too.” A-Quan took out a small black stone from the mechanism box and handed it to Gongsun Qi. “It can block the sea fire and prevent it from being swallowed by the sea fire. So now, the ships that enter the sea fire have all been refined by the Fire-Absorbing Ice Stone.”
Gongsun Qi looked down and examined it for a while, but couldn't see anything unusual, before taking it from Aquan's hand.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary pebble, nothing special. But when it fell into Gongsun Qi's hand, the cold stone felt an unusual temperature and soon became warm.
Gongsun Qi held the pebble in his hand and played with it, showing no intention of returning it to Aquan. He even wanted to crush it to see what was inside, and he did just that.
With a crisp crack, the Fire-Absorbing Ice Stone shattered into dust in Gongsun Qi's palm.
It was completely unremarkable, and one couldn't even sense any unusual energy within the fire-absorbing ice stone.
A-Quan: "..."
He was terrified by Gongsun Qi's silent violence.
"Brother, do you want more?" A-Quan opened the mechanism box and said before Gongsun Qi could look over and speak, "I have a few more here."
Gongsun Qi didn't stand on ceremony: "Give them all to me."
With tears in her eyes, A-Quan gave all the fire-absorbing ice stones in her hand to Gongsun Qi, then turned to Situ Jin and said, "Give me two of your fire-absorbing ice stones."
Situ Jin glared back: "Go back and find your master."
“The patriarch doesn’t compensate for items not used in the mission,” A-Quan said. “Anyway, you won’t use them. Give them to me, and I can study them.”
Situ Jin secretly gave him two.
Gongsun Qi learned from Aquan and Situ Jin about Shui Zhou's research on strange fire and sea fire, as well as fire-absorbing ice stones, until Situ Jin received news that Mei Liangyu and Shui Zhou's saint had arrived at the mechanical island.
“They’re heading into the sea of fire.” Situ Jin pointed to the area where the sea of fire was erupting ahead. “I heard that Mei Liangyu used information related to the strange fire to threaten Elder Sun and the others.”
Gongsun Qi simply smiled after hearing this.
"Let's go take a look."
Hearing him say that, A-Quan and Situ Jin immediately became vigilant: "Brother, the saints of Shuizhou are all here. We can't act rashly when we get there."
Situ Jin nodded in agreement: "If all else fails, I'll try to get Mei Liangyu out for you."
He was truly afraid of Gongsun Qi's fearless attitude even when facing sages. Back in the Wujian Abyss, he was genuinely worried that Gongsun Qi would challenge three military sages to a duel. Fortunately, this man wasn't as ruthless as he had imagined.
Gongsun Qi noticed their worry and said calmly, "I don't need to kill so many saints in one go."
Situ Jin: "..."
A-Quan: "..."
You're pretty arrogant.
Now we're even more scared.
...
The sky over the island was gray and gloomy. People near the sea could see lightning and thunder in the clouds over the sea. The coastline was full of mechanical sorcerers dressed in various uniforms, a huge, swarming group.
Mei Liangyu followed Sun Heng step by step onto the giant ship. Grandmother Situ stood at the bow, and Situ Lingkui stood quietly behind her. Chen Daozhi, standing to the side, waved and shouted enthusiastically to Mei Liangyu, asking him how it felt to regain his memories, whether he was going to kill Saint Changgen, and whether he needed his help.
Gongsun Qi, who was mixed in with the crowd, heard these words clearly. He raised his head slightly and looked at the young man on the high place.
The young man was tall and thin, with his sleeves rolled up halfway, revealing his strong forearms. He no longer had the childishness and fragility of the child in our memories, but had grown into a person that no one had ever imagined.
Unlike his mother, who was stern and arrogant, or his father, who was gentle and calm.
As the young man boarded the giant ship and stood at the bow, looking back, he looked down upon all living beings, regarding them as ants, cruel and insane.
Their eyes met across the crowd, and they clearly saw each other's faces. Many years later, they recognized each other as their only remaining relatives in the world, but the young man did not show any excitement or surprise.
Those dark eyes merely swept lightly across Gongsun Qi before turning around and walking to Situ's grandmother and the others, turning their backs to the crowd once more.
Gongsun Qi's eyes trembled slightly.
Perhaps this child is suffering more in Taiyi than he imagined, but he will not let anyone know.
With his cunning mind, Mei Liangyu's inner thoughts are beyond anyone's comprehension.
Ah Quan was still carefully introducing the identity of the saint beside Mei Liangyu to Gongsun Qi, afraid that this guy would lose his temper and rush onto the ship to kidnap Mei Liangyu.
Situ Jin received news that his grandmother wanted him to board the ship. He lowered his voice and asked Gongsun Qi, "Should I take you up with me?"
Although Grandmother didn't say whether Gongsun Qi could be brought along.
Gongsun Qi said, "Let's go."
Situ Jin thought he was going to leave, but saw Gongsun Qi turn and leave.
...
Situ Jin went to the giant ship alone. His grandmother was discussing matters with the saint of the water boat inside the house, so he couldn't go in and could only wait outside.
It took him about an hour to wait for the person inside to come out.
Situ's grandmother said to him, "They will be setting sail early tomorrow morning. Have someone bring out the Phoenix and load it with the existing Fire-Absorbing Ice Stones."
"Where are we going?" Situ Jin asked in surprise. "Why do we need so many fire-absorbing ice stones?"
Grandmother Situ glanced at Mei Liangyu and Sun Heng, who were still inside the house, and simply raised her chin without answering.
Situ Jin gave an "oh" and followed her grandmother outside as if she didn't care.
Inside the room, Mei Liangyu stood in front of the table, looking down at the map of the Taiyi Sea. The map, presented by a famous calligrapher, was extremely realistic, practically a miniature version of Taiyi. The azure sea also featured markings of sea eyes and ships.
"What do you plan to do about the Nangong family?" Sun Heng asked.
Mei Liangyu didn't even look up: "This is your problem to worry about. Do you expect me to come up with a solution?"
Sun Heng said helplessly, "What level of achievement would satisfy you?"
Mei Liangyu glanced at a fire-absorbing ice stone on the table, and smiled slightly as she looked up, "What do you think?"
“Your junior sister, Nangong Sui, is Nangong Ming’s daughter,” Sun Heng asked. “I heard you cared a lot about Nangong Sui before. Will you consider Nangong Sui’s feelings when making plans against the Nangong family?”
Mei Liangyu said lazily, "Do you think I care more about my deceased parents or the daughter of my enemy?"
Sun Heng stared at the young man's lazy and indifferent face for a while, unable to see any pity for his beloved, nor any hatred for the entanglement of their identities.
But threatening him with Nangong Sui now is pointless.
Sun Heng said, "You should know that it was Nangong Ming who promoted the cooperation between the six kingdoms and Shuizhou to actively search for the whereabouts of the World Destroyer."
"Has his push made any progress?" Mei Liangyu asked, picking up the Fire-Absorbing Ice Stone. "Has he discovered how to distinguish the Destroyer from ordinary people?"
Sun Heng: "Perhaps soon."
Mei Liangyu: "How can you guarantee that this method is correct?"
“Within the range of the Fire Absorbing Ice Stone, we are not afraid of the Destroyer releasing its strange fire,” Sun Heng said. “The Fire Absorbing Ice Stone will give us enough time to deal with the Destroyer.”
Mei Liangyu, however, did not take it seriously: "Do you really think sea fire is the same as strange fire?"
“There might be differences, but the fact that the strange fire prioritizes absorbing the five elements gives us an opportunity.” Sun Heng also picked up a fire-absorbing ice stone and said, “Why do you think the vessel for the strange fire is a human, and not other birds and beasts?”
"Qi and fire coexist, so why is it that only human qi can provide a place for it to hide and parasitize?"
Mei Liangyu examined the fire-absorbing ice stone in his hand and smiled nonchalantly: "If I knew the answer, I might tell you because you're willing to deal with the Nangong family."
Sun Heng also laughed and said, "Perhaps the day you tell me the answer will be the day I present Nangong Ming's head to you."
“Alright, I’ll show you another way.” Mei Liangyu casually pointed to a sea area on the map. “My father threw the fragments of the Pagoda into the sea.”
Sun Heng frowned and asked, "Why?"
"You know Gao Tianhao, right? The destroyer who died in Taiyi." Mei Liangyu pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. "He came to Yan Kingdom to find my father, wanting to cooperate with him. He asked my father if he would be willing to help if the strange fire could be extracted from his body?"
Sun Heng's breathing quickened for a moment, and his brows furrowed.
They learned from Yu Xian that Gao Tianhao had mentioned Taiyi Academy, but they didn't know about the Floating Pagoda or the Heavenly Script.
“Your father never mentioned this,” Sun Heng said, his tone becoming more serious. “But separation is absolutely impossible; Shui Zhou has a history of this.”
“But my father said it was possible, and then gave the fragments of the Floating Pagoda to Gao Tianhao. Gao Tianhao used a strange fire on the Floating Pagoda, but he was unable to burn the fragments.”
Every word Mei Liangyu uttered next challenged Sun Heng's understanding and sent shivers down his spine.
"Have you ever considered that the six kingdoms, bound by the oath of non-aggression, cannot break through the barrier to attack each other, could that strange fire be unbound by the oath of non-aggression and burn down all six kingdoms?" The young man's cold and indifferent voice carried a strange allure. "Are the fragments of the Floating Pagoda really only used to break the oath of non-aggression?"
"The Strange Fire is a dream bestowed by heaven, a power prophesied to be born on this continent, while the Floating Pagoda is a power that exists based on the oath of no war."
"Old Master Sun, what is your opinion on the precognitive dreams of divination practitioners?"
Mei Liangyu's posture was relaxed yet aloof, his shoulders pressed against the back of the chair, and he slightly raised his head to look at the old man standing opposite the table: "Perhaps you have been looking at things from the wrong direction all along. If the strange fire is just a power born with the prophecy, then targeting the strange fire itself is meaningless. Instead, the prophecy must be destroyed for the strange fire to disappear as well."
All predestination refers to things that have not yet happened.
Even in the next instant, when you anticipate it, it is still a future that has not yet happened.
"If you only focus on killing the destroyers of the world, how can you possibly kill them all, given that the strange fire can be constantly transferred?"
"The prophecy states that only by finding these five World Destroyers who possess the Strange Flame can we prevent the Xuan Gu Continent from being devoured by the Strange Flame!" Sun Heng's aura deepened, and his kind face turned completely gloomy. "The World Destroyers are the source of destruction! They possess the Strange Flame and use it to commit endless evil!"
"For hundreds of years, which world destroyer hasn't used strange fire to incinerate everything? How many people have they burned to death?! How much have they destroyed?"
"They are a natural threat to all human lives! They use their strange fire to oppress all living and inanimate things in the world!"
"Eliminating all the destroyers is the key to saving the future of the Xuan Gu Continent!"
The old man's voice grew louder and louder, yet his breath became more and more steady, each word more majestic, solemn, and unwavering than the last.
Despite the terrifying intimidation, the young man remained indifferent. He looked directly into the old man's firm and dignified eyes and said, "This is why my father is unwilling to cooperate with you."
Dong Lanxun believes that the research should not focus on the destroyer of the world, nor on the strange fire, but on prophecy.
Sun Heng said coldly, "That's not the case. Your father only wanted to use the information about the Strange Fire to threaten Shui Zhou because we didn't help the Yan Kingdom."
"Have you ever seen a strange fire burn the boundary of a vow of non-aggression?" Mei Liangyu asked calmly. "Do you think a strange fire can do that?"
Sun Heng stared at the young man for a long time before slowly saying, "I will find all the fragments of the Floating Pagoda."
Only when he uttered these words did Mei Liangyu successfully drag Shui Zhou into the conflict between the six kingdoms.
...
Before Dong Lanxun died, he already knew how to find the destroyer of the world.
Before setting sail, Mei Liangyu gave Situ Jin a fire-absorbing ice stone.
He said nothing, but Situ Jin could read from his eyes that the fire-absorbing ice stone was for Gongsun Qi.
Watching Situ Jin's departing figure, Mei Liangyu gently stroked the black divine wood talisman with his fingers, thinking of Yu Sui, who was still at Taiyi Academy.
If she were to see the destroyed Ghost Path Sanctuary, my junior sister would probably be quite sad.
Mei Liangyu put away the divine wood talisman, suppressed the irritation in his heart, and looked again at the sea eye and sea fire in the distance.
When Gongsun Qi received the fire-absorbing ice stone from Mei Liangyu, the giant ship had already set sail.
He stood alone on the coastal hillside, gazing at the dark, imposing fleet of ships in the distance.
The fire-absorbing ice stone in Gongsun Qi's palm had absorbed sea fire and sea air; its surface was covered with red burning cracks and had become scorching hot.
Gongsun Qi could not feel its temperature, because the temperature of his skin and bones far exceeded that of this fire-absorbing ice stone.
Following Mei Liangyu's instructions, he infused a wisp of his energy into the fire-absorbing ice stone.
The air was expelled the moment it entered the flint.
After absorbing the sea fire, the Fire-Absorbing Ice Stone can devour all qi, except for the Five Elements qi of the World Destroyer, which serves as the carrier of the strange fire and cannot be devoured by the Fire-Absorbing Ice Stone.
The two fires repel each other.
Gongsun Qi watched this scene and suddenly burst into laughter.
He remembered it too.
Dong Lanxun once gave him a black stone.
The incantation left by Mei Liangyu in the fire-absorbing ice stone told Gongsun Qi that if the energy could be melted into the fire stone, there would be no problem; if not, he should inform the other world destroyers.
Shui Zhou already knew how to use the Fire-Absorbing Ice Stone, but no Destroyer had confirmed its authenticity for them.
Gongsun Qi sat alone on the hillside, pondering for a long time.
He no longer cares about the water boat, the six kingdoms, or the fragments of the Pagoda. The only thing that can make him take action now is Mei Liangyu, but judging from Mei Liangyu's intentions, he still wants revenge.
Gongsun Qi had lost everything and had no more attachment to the world.
But there was something the young man couldn't let go of.
Even though it's painful, I still refuse to let go.
Gongsun Qi took out the Wind Listening Ruler and remembered that Murong Xiao said Zhao Yuxiang was still alive and that the Sage Chang Gen had killed Gongsun Xi.
Revenge?
That would mean breaking my promise to my wife.
Gongsun Qi looked up at the distant sky and said to his wife, "You must still be waiting for me."
"Ah Xu, no one can live a kind life."
He said, in a seemingly joking tone, "At least I can't."
Forgive everything with kindness and generosity, and convince yourself that you deserve what happened.
On what grounds?
The greatest kindness I can show you is that I don't burn you all alive.
Gongsun Qi opened the Wind Listening Ruler and sent a message to the girl who was still at Taiyi Academy.
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