Chapter 126 Duan Chenzhang and Yan Lingxi
The old ancestor was determined to die.
Duan Jiuyou gritted his teeth and laughed: "If you can't speak human language, why go to all this trouble? Did you deliberately leave clues for me to see? So that I would know that he petrified them by himself? Han Ling, you'd better think before you speak, otherwise you won't be able to cover up your lies."
"Just because he couldn't speak before doesn't mean he'll still be mute after tens of millions of years. If all else fails, we can extract his memories. The Lord of the Great Wilderness beside you is no ordinary person; he's the number one cultivator in the Heavenly Realm. What others can't do, he might be able to do as well. Although this method consumes a lot of spiritual energy, how could he be stingy in order to let you hear the truth?"
Duan Jiuyou sized up Han Ling: "Say something useful. You must have more compelling evidence to come here."
"Of course." Han Ling smiled sincerely, his three-lobed mouth splitting open to reveal two adorable rabbit teeth: "The trip to Di'ao Mountain wasn't entirely fruitless. Take a look at this thing, do you recognize it?"
Han Ling took out a bronze mirror, and with a burst of energy, the mirror floated in mid-air. Duan Jiuyou's expression darkened.
"Is it the Emperor's Heavenly Breath Mirror?"
Han Ling said smugly, "This object can reflect the past. It is a divine artifact left to future generations by the God of Creation. It is an unalterable, unembellished, and completely true history book of the Heavenly Realm. Originally, it was entrusted to the Emperor Zong for safekeeping, but after the battle at the Cliff Sea, this mirror mysteriously disappeared. Jiang Zhan pretended to punish the Emperor Zong with a three-thousand-year confinement, but in reality, he was just sealing away the evidence. The Emperor Zong has always kept this mirror with him. You are most familiar with its aura and can tell the difference between the real and fake at a glance."
Duan Jiuyou said, "So you went to Di'ao Mountain yesterday not to bring Old Ao to see me, but to lure the Emperor out and take the mirror away?"
"What value could a few old turtles have?" Han Ling put his hands behind his head and changed his sitting posture. "Those people in the sky got anxious and saw enemies everywhere, which gave me an opening."
"You are truly a prophet; you just happened to guess that he would carry the Heavenly Breath Mirror with him."
Han Ling was dissatisfied with Duan Jiuyou's reaction.
"It's a bit of a coincidence, but things can't be faked. I just got lucky." After saying that, he couldn't help but click his tongue: "I've noticed that you're always full of hostility and skepticism when you're with me, but when Dijiang speaks up for the Emperor, you're clearly more willing to believe me."
“I never wanted to believe you,” Duan Jiuyou said coldly.
She was extremely unwilling to believe it, which is why she hesitated and wanted to seek confirmation from the gods. However, the gods deliberately avoided her, which led to her losing control of her emotions and arguing with Emperor Jiang.
He advised her to calm down, and she also wanted to make the right judgment. But now that the mirror of the sky was right in front of her, she became timid.
On the day at the Cliff Sea, Han Ling asked her to verify whether Tianzhu was her father's remains, and she did.
This time, he took out the Heavenly Breath Mirror as evidence again. If what is recorded in the mirror is still the same as that day, what choice should she make?
Han Ling coaxed at the opportune moment: "Why think so much? You should follow your heart in everything you do, think more about yourself and less about others. They are not related to you, what does their life or death have to do with you? Don't always use the way the Emperor taught you to think about problems. You haven't seen what your parents look like yet, have you? I'll show you them—"
The Heavenly Mirror glowed in Han Ling's hand, quickly displaying a scene. Unlike the tragic battle at the bottom of the sea last time, it began to "tell" the story of Duan Chenzhang and Yan Lingxi.
At that time, the Heavenly Realm Dynasty had just been established. Duan Chenzhang and Yan Lingxi both served as celestial officials and often fought side by side. In the ever-changing sky, the two had just repelled a group of six-horned water beasts. The turtle's body shrank from large to small, and when it landed, it transformed into a pair of bishops walking side by side.
That was the first time Duan Jiuyou saw what her parents looked like.
Unlike the original owner's burly build, Duan Chenzhang was rather thin, dressed in a moon-colored Taoist robe, and had the appearance of a pure and detached immortal, exuding the air of a civil official.
Yan Lingxi, dressed in bright red, was lively and charming. She was biting a red headband and tying her black hair with both hands as she walked.
Her fingers moved nimbly, casually tying a love knot. Seeing that she quickened her pace, as if she was going somewhere else, Duan Chenzhang slowed down and asked, "Going to Pei Yunzhao's place again?"
Pei Yunzhao was Yan Lingxi's childhood sweetheart. The two grew up on the same sacred mountain, and Yan Lingxi loved to visit him whenever she had free time.
Yan Lingxi turned to look at Duan Chenzhang and said, "He just had a sandalwood chessboard made yesterday and invited me over to play chess. Are you going?"
Duan Chenzhang's eyes were filled with sarcasm, and he never hid his arrogant nature in front of her.
"You think a lousy chess player is good enough to play chess with me?" he said. "You shouldn't go either. I'm a better chess player than him. If you want to play chess, play with me. Why do you always go to him?"
Yan Lingxi curled her lips, thinking to herself that he had a wasted appearance and was actually a "poisonous immortal," especially when it came to Pei Yunzhao, he didn't say a single good word about him.
She admitted that Duan Chenzhang was an excellent chess player, but she herself was not good at chess. Like Pei Yunzhao, she was also a terrible chess player. She had a chance to win against Pei Yunzhao, and often did, but it was not the case with Duan Chenzhang. She had never beaten him.
So he frankly said, "Playing chess with you is too boring. It's much more fun to be with Pei Yunzhao."
Duan Chenzhang said, "This time I'll give you thirty-six points."
Yan Lingxi shook her head: "Didn't we let him pass before? We can't win."
"I'm not using my brain when I play against you."
Are you insulting me?
Yan Lingxi stared in disbelief, strongly suspecting that Duan Chenzhang was insulting her intelligence.
Duan Chenzhang couldn't help but laugh, not because he was mocking Yan Lingxi's chess skills, but because her expression at that moment was so adorable. He liked to tease her when he had nothing else to do.
Yan Lingxi couldn't stand Duan Chenzhang's smugness, so she put her hands on her hips and said, "Pei Yunzhao is more than just a chess player."
"What else can he do?" Duan Chenzhang rolled up his sleeves and said casually, "I can do everything he can. In what way am I not better than him?"
Yan Lingxi said, "He knows how to sweet-talk and coax me, unlike you who are so indifferent. To be honest, I'm not young anymore, it's time for me to find a partner. I plan to marry him..."
"Why bother with him?" Duan Chenzhang looked up, bewildered, not expecting Yan Lingxi to be so confused: "How long can a broken straw like him live?"
The Ao clan lives as long as the heavens, and few can easily outlive them. Pei Yunzhao's true form is the Green Vine Immortal Cliff Grass, and he can only live for a maximum of 100,000 years, assuming he is free from illness and disaster.
Pei Yunzhao was in poor health and had to take medicine every few days. Not only was he frail, but he was also very vulnerable to illness.
Duan Chenzhang said, "Have you forgotten how he almost got swept away last time when the Water River Beast invaded the Heavenly Realm and caused a great flood? And last time when the Crimson Flame Beast attacked, he rolled around on the ground as soon as he got a spark on his body. He's afraid of water, afraid of fire, and he's also afraid of thunder. He's as timid as a hair. What do you see in him?"
"Then who should I choose?" Yan Lingxi tilted her head and looked Duan Chenzhang up and down. "You? You either don't speak at all, or when you do, it's like your lips are coated with poison. Pei Yunzhao has a much better personality than you. I want to find someone with a good temper to settle down with."
When he entered the court and became a celestial official, she was assigned to be his deputy. The two had been together for a thousand years, and she had considered Duan Chenzhang.
In terms of appearance, this man was exceptionally handsome, but in terms of temperament, he was utterly unappealing.
How to describe his personality? He treats her well, in fact, extremely well. But he's too arrogant, looking down on everyone else as if no one else is as intelligent as him.
He was indeed intelligent, excelling in both martial arts and magic, which was quite remarkable for the Ao Clan, who were naturally lacking in talent for magic. The Emperor valued him highly, and at over ten thousand years old, he had already been promoted to a fourth-rank celestial official.
However, his shortcomings are also obvious. He is petty and will take revenge on the spot if he has a grudge. If anyone impeaches him in court, he will ambush them on the way home.
Yan Lingxi said, "Pei Yunzhao said you lack the demeanor of a gentleman."
Duan Chenzhang raised an eyelid: "Pei Yunzhao is your father? Does he think he can just say whatever he wants? He's swallowing his anger because he's not in good health and doesn't dare to cause trouble. Why should I suffer such humiliation as long as I'm not dead or injured? Besides, weren't you there when we blocked the Immortal Lord of Xingyun Palace last time? He said we went too far in the battle, causing the rebellious Emperor God Monster to die without a complete corpse. What's the point of a complete corpse when you're already dead? Has he forgotten when he was being chased and bitten?"
Duan Jiuyou silently admired her sharp-tongued father's eloquence from outside the mirror, almost feeling like she had solved a case. It turned out that her arrogant and domineering nature came from her father.
"This really isn't our fault." Yan Lingxi now felt that Xingyun Immortal Lord deserved to be scolded. They had joined forces to destroy the Emperor God Monster in order to save him, and after killing it, he accused them of being cruel: "He got to do all the good deeds!"
Yan Lingxi was indignant. Duan Chenzhang praised her for speaking reasonably. Yan Lingxi glared at him, realizing there was still one thing she hadn't settled accounts with him about.
"You just said Pei Yunzhao is my father?"
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