Chaotic World Book

Zhao Changhe had explored many secret realms, but this time was particularly different.

It wasn't like before where he entered into a plane fragment; he was still in this plane, just transported to an extremely distant place.

This place is an island with mountains, water, and trees... or perhaps it can only be called a peninsula. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, the easternmost side is the sky.

To the far east, there is no more path to follow, no way to walk any further.

Xia Chichi touched the invisible barrier up ahead, touching the Heavenly Vault itself, the stars twinkling right before her eyes, seemingly within reach yet separated by an invisible wall that she couldn't touch no matter what.

This is the end of the world, the Eastern Extreme, the boundary between sea and sky.

The so-called edge of the world.

If ordinary people were to sail eastward, they would never reach this place, not just because of problems like sailing techniques and food supplies that cannot be sustained, but even if those problems were solved one day, they could never reach here.

The distortion of light itself suggests the predication of spatial distortion. Just as ordinary people could never reach the "island" where the statue stood, only drifting farther away, the same applies here, one could never arrive in a normal manner. The only way is through the teleportation of the statue.

This must have been a characteristic of the world since the beginning of the last epoch... Earlier, it was puzzling why this sea voyage was related to the Azure Dragon, but now it's clear because one of the concepts of the Four Symbols is the four extremes of heaven and the four corners of the earth, and this place is the Eastern Extreme, the very concept of the Azure Dragon.

This isn't the inheritance from the Ancient Azure Dragon but that the Ancient Azure Dragon itself reached enlightenment here, and all laws related to the Azure Dragon are found here.

Therefore, the level of their conflict was absurdly high, this time almost could be called a war of the gods. The Heavenly List only fits for laying ambushes here, but in the end, they arrived here...

The core is still the cultivation involved by Xia Chichi, she is the one who found out where the key should be inserted, and deduced from the marks at that location that the key was the Azure Dragon Seal. The Sea Emperor, unaware, took the Azure Dragon Seal and inserted it into the position on the top of the statue's head that seemed like a square hole. What use could that have...

So it's not that San Niang became the main character, in the end, this is still Xia Chichi's main stage.

Drawn by her innate attraction to the cultivation laws, she was the first to pay attention to the Eastern Extreme, whereas the glances of Zhao Changhe, San Niang, and Hai Pinglan first landed on the golden Book Silk suspended not too far away.

The Heavenly Book.

It's very likely that the island was formed due to the energy of the Heavenly Book gathering over the years; otherwise, the boundary of sea and sky would just need the sea, there was no necessity for an island.

Hai Pinglan and his daughter San Niang might not know what's written inside the Heavenly Book, having no way to judge what this page is. However, Zhao Changhe is very clear, it's very likely that this page is related to light and darkness or space. To truly transcend the realm of Martial Arts and achieve the mysteries, it depends on the changes brought by this page.

San Niang silently shifted her position, blocking Hai Pinglan's gaze that was focused on the Heavenly Book.

Hai Pinglan's gaze fell upon her, father and daughter staring silently at each other.

"Do you want this?" Hai Pinglan asked.

San Niang didn't answer, her expression serious.

Aside from whether she wanted it or not, such a thing could cause strife within the group, and Hai Pinglan was clearly the most likely one to stir up trouble.

Hai Pinglan simply looked at her calmly, then suddenly smiled.

San Niang asked, "What are you laughing about?"

Hai Pinglan smiled and said, "So solemn, majestic, and immovable like a mountain... Even though I've heard countless rumors about the Xuanwu before, having never met you, it was hard to believe. Now that I see you... truly... you've grown up."

But San Niang couldn't be bothered with these words, frowning slightly, "There's something wrong with your voice..."

Zhao Changhe sighed, "Uncle is running out of oil and the lamp is burning out."

San Niang was suddenly startled.

Hai Pinglan, however, didn't seem to care, and sat down quite relaxedly, casually saying, "To be old is to be old. After such intense combat, I never intended to live... What I ultimately wanted was to blow up this body, to make its decades of accumulation and planning all come to nothing. That would be enough."

San Niang bit her lower lip, memories of Hai Pinglan's previous conversation with the Sea Emperor flashing through her mind. Now, in hindsight, she realized that Hai Pinglan never intended to kill the Sea Emperor.

That was unachievable.

His plan from the beginning was to take the Sea Emperor down with him.

Seeing that San Niang remained silent, Hai Pinglan looked at Zhao Changhe, his expression turning somewhat strange. His gaze circled the faces of the two, and he couldn't help but glance at Xia Chichi over there, resulting in a bellyful of words he wasn't sure he should say.

Gathering information from all sides, did his daughter become the other woman?

You're the fucking Xuanwu Venerable, the uncle-master to this young lady, and you go and become the other woman!

The old man felt his breath caught in his throat, his already flickering life felt shortened by a cup of tea.

Yet San Niang pursed her lips for a long time, finally speaking softly, "You... have the Rejuvenation Technique and medical skills... can you treat him?"

Hai Pinglan paused, his old, murky eyes shining faintly.

Zhao Changhe spoke softly, "It's no use, I reckon that your uncle's breakthrough to Imperial Realm came at the expense of his lifespan. That's why he looks so aged... it was a trade using his body's foundation. Even if his life could still hang by a thread this time, his days are numbered, not lasting over a month..."

Hai Pinglan laughed heartily, "What's the use of clinging to life?"

He looked at San Niang, his voice gentle, "You... still have such thoughts... that's good."

San Niang snapped, "None of your damn business, I would want to save an old beggar I saw on the road too!"

"Ha... alright, alright..." Hai Pinglan laughed, coughing, "I just thought of something."

San Niang said coldly, "What?"

Hai Pinglan continued, "Once the Heavenly Book is taken away, the sea's concealment of the Chaotic World Book will no longer exist. The Chaotic World List will change. I was thinking, you take the Heavenly Book and then kill me to ascend to the Heavenly List. How about that?"

Zhao Changhe's eyes widened.

San Niang furiously said, "Are you out of your mind?!"

Hai Pinglan chuckled, "Otherwise, how could I dispel your hatred?"

San Niang sneered, "What hatred would that be?"

Hai Pinglan murmured softly, "I told the Holy Daughter of your sect... that I acted against you back then out of a misunderstanding, but the essence of that misunderstanding was half because I feared you would be invaded by the Sea Emperor, and the other half, well, I feared you would seize the opportunity to claim the throne. That latter half may have been even more significant, especially as you had gathered so many followers. It would be as if there were two suns in the sky, and at that time, I couldn't tolerate it. Ordering Changkong to hunt you down, promising him the title of Crown Prince, all of that was indeed my true intention, with no performance for the Sea Emperor."

San Niang calmed down and slowly said, "It doesn't matter."

"I think it matters a lot," Hai Pinglan's voice grew weaker but he was still smiling, "It shows that in my heart at that time, I saw you as an enemy... The Holy Daughter of your sect cursed correctly, if you want a daughter, you could have another one... Maybe having a son would be even better."

San Niang: "..."

Hai Pinglan smiled, "Of course, later on, entangled in a struggle with the Sea Emperor, I had no desire to sire any son; born, he couldn't be kept safe either. By then, I had made contact with Hai Qianfan, cleared up the past misunderstanding, but I didn't send anyone to find you. When you later went to sea and met Hai Qianfan, I also ordered him not to explain these things to you... Firstly because my murderous intent couldn't be washed clean, and secondly, it would ensure that the Sea Emperor was convinced we were at odds, not focusing on you."

So from that moment on, the bond between father and daughter had taken precedence; not explaining was mainly to protect San Niang. If it had been the typical imperial mindset of previous eras, he would have cleared up the misunderstanding by now and drawn the Four Symbols Sect into the fray against the Sea Emperor, but he gave that up, preferring San Niang to comfortably be a Venerable in the Central Plains, not to muddy the waters.

Zhao Changhe sighed inwardly, musing that people truly are complex, with thoughts at each stage so different, and if you try to label them, you'll never see the whole picture. Hai Pinglan was so, Xia Longyuan might be even more intricate.

San Niang fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "As I said, it doesn't matter. I'm lazy, and holding grudges is too exhausting."

Hai Pinglan said, "I tell you this, precisely because I hope you do hold a grudge. No matter my many faults, the root cause was the Sea Emperor's invasion of your mother's Divine Soul, and it has not been completely wiped out. I had originally hoped for Changkong... but I think, since you are here, it should be yours."

San Niang said, "Indeed. No need for you to say it."

"That's enough then," Hai Pinglan removed the ring from his hand and threw it to Zhao Changhe, "Young man, your contribution this time is immense, and I have no way to repay you. Take the things here."

He glanced at San Niang meaningfully; she had been expressionless all along, but now her face couldn't help but flush red, subconsciously stealing a glance at Xia Chichi.

It really felt like a dowry...

Xia Chichi was zoning out and didn't notice.

With a smile on his face, Hai Pinglan slowly closed his eyes, "In Divine Continent, I carved out Jiangnan, dominated half the land. Entering the East Sea, I traversed tens of thousands of miles, establishing a nation in Penglai. My latter years were spent playing the game of gods, breaking their faith, destroying their divine bodies. A life spent so fiercely is not a wasted trip to this world."

"The only regret is the estrangement between father and daughter, perhaps not to be reconciled even at death... When you told Wang Daoning that he was fighting your father... With that, my life has no regrets left, and I can die."

"I should join your mother... She's waited for me for many, many years... She's hot-tempered, certainly won't reincarnate, definitely stubbornly waiting on the path to the underworld, ready to ask if killing her hurt my heart... then she'd swing a sword at me, cursing, 'Hai Pinglan, you bastard...'"

His voice trailed off, becoming almost inaudible.

San Niang gazed steadily at his aged face as he passed away, watching for a long time, and finally said softly, "Take the Heavenly Book. I want to see how the Chaotic World Book rates this."

Zhao Changhe silently took the Heavenly Book.

Gold light flashed in the sky, and whether at sea or far away in Divine Continent, people looked up.

"In the beginning, the Sea Emperor harmed Dragon King Hai Pinglan's wife in Penglai. Hai Pinglan bided his time for sixteen years, nurturing pirates to build strength, luring Xia Emperor to devour the wolf, burning his lifespan for a breakthrough, destroying the Divine Temple to sever roots. In a single uprising, a crazed roar shook the heavens and earth, with life and death converging."

"The Sea Emperor Dragon's body exploded, its Residual Soul barely hanging on. In front of his daughter, Hai Pinglan smiled as his life ended."

"When the sea raged into a frenzied storm, thousands of miles of waves buried the divine."

There were actually many more words to follow, about the changes triggered by maritime figures entering the list and about Xuanwu Zhao Changhe and Xia Chichi's performance in this battle.

But for the moment, people were not inclined to read further, all gazing up at the simply phrased account of Dragon King Hai Pinglan reappearing on the list after disappearing for thirty years, and no one spoke for a long while.