Chapter 3 The Heavenly Emperor Fishing! When he opened his eyes, all paths were revived
It's the Heavenly Emperor...it must be the Heavenly Emperor who is about to awaken!
Thirty years... We've finally waited for this day!
Hahaha! You foreign scum, your doomsday has come!
Countless people roared and shouted in their hearts.
They were so excited they were trembling, but dared not actually make a sound.
The entire Imperial Pass was shrouded in an atmosphere of extreme solemnity and fervent anticipation.
However, the scene inside the Time and Space Temple, the core of Time and Space City, which they were looking up at, was completely different from the magnificent and solemn scene that outsiders had imagined.
The interior of the temple is a self-contained world, vast and boundless.
The center is not a throne, but a crystal-clear pond.
A figure sat casually by the pond.
He was a boy who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old.
He wore a simple blue cloth dress, his black hair was loose, and his face was delicate, even with a hint of childishness.
He held a bright green bamboo fishing rod in his hand, the fishing line dangling into the pond, motionless.
His posture was as leisurely as that of an ordinary fisherman in the fields.
It was Su Ling.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The instant he opened his eyes—
In the depths of his eyes, a fleeting image seemed to flash by: the beginning of the universe, the reversal of galaxies, and the birth and death of all things.
Countless Dao runes, like stars, rose and fell in his pupils.
Faint phantoms of gods and demons chanting scriptures and myriad paths resonating around him appeared.
Finally, everything slowly faded away, transforming into a slowly rotating Yin-Yang symbol, etched deep in his eyes, as if encompassing all the oppositions and unity in the world.
But all these strange phenomena lasted for less than a thousandth of a second.
The next moment, all the astonishing aura receded like a tide.
Su Ling blinked, her eyes returning to a clear, calm state, even carrying a hint of languor as if she had just woken up.
He casually shook the fishing rod in his hand.
The fishing line created shallow ripples on the surface of the pond.
It was as if the terrifying commotion that had just triggered the Imperial Pass and suppressed the Heavenly Abyss was merely a byproduct of his stretching.
"System, check in."
He silently recited it in his heart.
[Ding! Today's fishing check-in successful! Reward: Three pieces of Enlightenment Tea (can aid in enlightenment, has a slightly bitter taste).]
"Tea leaves again..."
Su Ling pursed her lips, showing little interest.
After a century of fishing, he's gotten used to it.
System rewards are random, and most of the time they are just "trinkets".
He casually tossed three tea leaves, their leaves shimmering with Taoist charm and emerald green as jade, into an inconspicuous earthenware jar beside him.
The jar was already half full of similar "trinkets," and each one, if it fell into the outside world, would be enough to cause a bloodbath.
Su Ling adjusted his posture, preparing to continue his daily "fishing career".
A fisherman never goes home empty-handed!
This was a belief he had held deeply before he traveled through time.
Upon arriving in this world, with the "All-World Fishing System," this belief has been further amplified.
For a hundred years, he has spent almost all his time sitting by this pond, except for necessary cultivation and fighting.
The ethereal Tai Chi diagram of gods and demons behind him, which seemed to be imprinted in the void, rippled slightly at that moment.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The glow flowing within the temple dimmed slightly.
The Taoist aura permeating the air also lingered for a moment.
A figure stepped silently out of the Tai Chi diagram.
It was a man in white.
He was handsome, with an extraordinary and refined demeanor, and a gentle smile on his lips.
But upon closer inspection, one can see that his figure is somewhat illusory and not a complete physical entity.
Especially the skull, which is not flesh and blood, but a kind of crystal-clear, jade-like bone luster, carrying an undying obsession.
He is the master of the restricted area.
A supreme immortal king at the end of the Immortal Ancient Era!
In order to quell the terrifying chaos of darkness, he resolutely stepped into the depths of the Boundary Sea, following the faint trail of footprints.
However, he encountered unimaginable terror and ultimately died from severe injuries.
Only this half of the snow-white skull, containing the fruits of a lifetime and all the obsessions, remains, forming a forbidden zone for life in the eight regions of the lower realm.
Later, Su Ling fished up the "Divine Demon Taiji Diagram" while in the Inscription Realm.
This half of the Immortal King's skull, along with the lingering resentments of countless fallen powerful beings, was attracted and took up residence in the Taiji Diagram.
At the same time, it also became one of the oldest and most powerful "tenants" in Su Ling's body.
The Lord of the Forbidden Zone seemed to have sensed Su Ling's appearance beforehand, regarding him as the "destined one" to save the world.
Over the years, he has given him a lot of guidance in his cultivation.
Although Su Ling felt that he mainly relied on the system and fishing.
The master of the penalty area showed up and didn't hold back at all.
He walked over to a stone table by the pond and sat down.
With a flick of his sleeve, a set of antique tea utensils appeared on the table.
Then, he calmly began to fetch water and brew tea.
Soon, an indescribable aroma of tea filled the air.
The fragrance wasn't strong, but it seemed to penetrate the soul, bringing peace of mind and dispelling all worries.
Just smelling it is like gaining a new understanding of the Great Dao.
"I grew these myself, young friend, please have a taste."
The Lord of the Forbidden Zone smiled slightly and pushed a cup of tea he had just brewed onto the empty seat next to Su Ling.
Su Ling glanced at it.
He put down his fishing rod for a moment, picked up his teacup, brought it to his lips, and took a small sip.
immediately--
"puff!"
He turned his head and spat the small mouthful of tea onto the ground.
As if that wasn't enough, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his brows furrowed, looking utterly disgusted.
"bitter!"
After saying that, he stopped looking at the cup of tea, picked up his fishing rod again, and focused intently on the water.
It was as if some priceless treasure was about to be caught in the pool, ten thousand times more important than the Enlightenment Tea personally brewed by the Immortal King before him.
The Lord of the Forbidden Zone stared blankly for a moment at the jade teacup that had been pushed back, its rim still slightly damp.
He then shook his head and chuckled.
His smile held a hint of helplessness, and an indescribable complexity.
Who would have thought that this seemingly harmless boy, who dislikes the bitterness of tea, spends all his time fishing, and is otherwise innocent?
Could it be the current Immortal King who fought desperately to defeat the Immortal King An Lan thirty years ago, and was regarded as the last hope by the entire Imperial Pass and even the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?
Thinking of this, the Lord of the Forbidden Zone felt a pang of bitterness.
This tea is so bitter that only those who have experienced many hardships and have accumulated unsettled feelings can truly appreciate its taste, as if drinking bitter herbs.
Those who are always joyful and whose lives are smooth and happy will find it sweet and fragrant, like drinking fine wine.
The boy before them had only been in the cultivation world for a few hundred years. In the realm of immortals, where time is often measured in epochs, he was nothing more than a novice.
But he had already tasted all the bitterness in the world.
Today, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths are fraught with danger, foreign lands are eyeing us covetously, and the source of darkness is emerging.
As the sole Celestial King, he carries the hopes of countless living beings.
He could only continue to silently shoulder this heavy burden by this small pond.
The Lord of the Forbidden Zone sighed softly, downed the remaining tea in his cup, and let the extreme bitterness dissipate in his mouth.
[end of the chapter]