Embers of Sword

Chapter 635 The Hidden Moon of Yesteryear (Part 1)

The sunlight was like torches, the long leaves like shuttles, and the towering trees were reflected in the moonlit tides.

After swallowing the fetal light.

Xie Xuanyi gazed at the "immortal tree" before him, looking at the flying sword embedded in its trunk. His expression was dazed, his thoughts drifting back to the fragmented past of ten years ago.

……

……

"My sworn brother in black."

Long leaves like flowing fire, a blazing wind brushes against the cheeks.

Xie Xuanyi came to his senses.

Before me was no longer the withered, broken phoenix flame, but the magnificent river of sword source.

It was the Moon Hidden Cave from ten years ago.

The Holy Empress and Master were no longer by her side.

Xie Xuanyi gazed at the young emperor, now facing death, with a complex expression.

For some reason, even after retrieving the radiance, the person's face remained blurry, now obscured by the shade of the trees, becoming a swaying shadow... but he could still vaguely discern it.

The young emperor smiled and asked, "...My sworn brother in black robes, how is it?"

"how……"

Xie Xuanyi was stunned for a moment.

"The hope of the Great Chu in restoring its lost territories lies entirely in this."

The young emperor stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the giant tree at the end of the tide. His voice was soft, yet it exuded a powerful ambition: "The war of drinking poison is over, and although the demon kingdom has retreated, its desire to move south has never been extinguished... Master Yan Xin sacrificed his life to offer a divination, predicting that there will be another great calamity in the next sixty years. To avoid repeating the same mistakes, we must take a gamble."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi did not speak.

He just stared blankly at the scene before him.

I remembered.

Finally... I remembered.

Ten years ago, Emperor Chu, under the guise of "enjoying the scenery," invited Xie Xuanyi to enter the Moonlit Cave, a feng shui forbidden area kept secret by the Great Chu royal family. It was on that day that Xie Xuanyi first saw the "Immortal Tree," and the young Emperor Chu, full of youthful vigor, revealed his grand plan to revitalize the nation…

The Emperor left behind this immortal tree sapling. Although the sapling gradually grew in the Moon Concealment Realm, it was never able to produce any fortune and could wither and die at any time.

Emperor Chu originally intended to use the four dragon veins for irrigation, but this gamble involved too many risks... The proposal was ultimately abandoned due to Qin Zu's opposition.

then.

Emperor Chu came up with a second solution.

"Well……"

Xie Xuanyi covered his face with his hand and let out a deep, painful growl.

Perhaps it was because of swallowing the fetal light.

My body became extremely hot.

Xie Xuanyi staggered and took two steps back.

Looking up again, the scene before me had changed; it was no longer the Moon Concealment Realm of ten years ago.

Beside him were lotus flowers formed from the sword's energy.

Before me stood the tall woman nailed to the tree.

The Empress Dowager, her face downcast and her eyes filled with mockery, stared at him.

Fragmented memories pieced back together—

"My sworn brother in black."

In a daze, the gentle voice rang out again.

The young Emperor Chu turned his head slightly, looked at the young man in black beside him, and asked in confusion, "...What's wrong with you?"

The intense heat subsided slightly.

Xie Xuanyi barely managed to stand, his face pale as he stared at the immortal tree in the distance, his voice hoarse as he asked, "Has His Majesty made a decision?"

The memories from ten years ago have become more complete again.

He could feel the temperature of the blazing wind, and even more so, he could sense its source.

The tides were rising and falling throughout the entire Moon Concealment Realm.

On that immortal tree, a dying phoenix was nailed, its long, narrow tail feathers scattering like divine light, dyeing the tides crimson.

The phoenix lowers its head.

But within the crimson glow, a chilling light emanated from his eyes. "...Hmm."

A heavy sigh.

"Some choices have to be made."

The young Emperor Chu raised his head and said softly, "After the Battle of Poisoning, the Great Chu Dynasty saw a glimmer of hope. But it was still in danger of falling apart. Everything... was because of this woman."

"no need to worry."

He looked at the young swordsman beside him and smiled, "...She can't hear."

The phoenix, though nailed to the immortal tree, was within arm's reach.

However, the two are separated by layers of restrictions and countless array patterns, which are neither visible nor audible.

"Although my father left a seal to suppress her soul in this world, he ultimately left behind a calamity because of his kindness and compassion."

Speaking of which.

Emperor Chu fell into a long silence.

Two hundred years ago.

The Emperor brought back this seedling.

Because of consideration for the future development of the Great Chu Dynasty... the Emperor Tai did not sever the dragon vein, but directly infused the Immortal Tree with fortune.

After all, the Immortal Tree was too weak back then.

But... this is ultimately the hope for the future of the dynasty.

There are two ways to make the immortal tree grow.

Either grant them a great deal of good fortune, or... offer them the blood of the strong.

The Emperor Taihuang launched several northward campaigns against the demon kingdom, each ending in a great victory. After each "northern hunt," he would sacrifice the blood of great demons under the Immortal Tree to nourish the sapling's growth. Later, the Emperor Taihuang fell seriously ill, and Da Chu fell into a period of recuperation. The northern hunt was temporarily shelved, but the growth of this sapling did not stop.

Only a very few people know about it.

The Immortal Tree is nourished by the blood of the Phoenix.

The pure-blooded phoenix that Zhao Chunyang brought back from the Great Chu Dynasty was kept in the palace by the Grand Emperor. The Grand Emperor set up layers of formations and countless restrictions to separate the soul and body of this pure-blooded phoenix. He imprisoned the phoenix's soul in the Moon Concealment Realm to achieve a balance.

Every so often, Yuanhuang would offer her blood to feed the Immortal Tree.

This is the great formation of the hidden realm.

Only the "Emperor Chu" can master it.

As for Yuanhuang, the pure-blooded phoenix is ​​born with the blood of Nirvana. The phoenix, which has been raised by the Emperor for many years, has already advanced to the Yang God realm. Even if it continues to have its blood drained by the Immortal Tree, it will not die.

This move wasn't bad in itself.

Unfortunately... the Emperor Tai died too young, and Emperor Chu was too young when he ascended the throne.

these years.

He had always lived in the shadow of Yuan Huang's manipulation. Perhaps this was a test left to him by his father, or perhaps this was an insurmountable obstacle that the restoration of the dynasty had to overcome. Emperor Chu never thought of giving up. He knew that the "Moon Concealment Array Core" in his hands was the most important hope for turning the tide!
Since the end of the war between the demon kingdoms, Emperor Chu has been working hard to revitalize the government in recent years, but he has encountered one obstacle after another... In the end, he made up his mind to use "Moon Concealment".

Very few people know the inside story of this matter.

With the assistance of Shu Lou Yan Xin, the young Emperor Chu selected Xie Xuan Yi through the [Hun Yuan Yi].

"In recent years, the Great Chu has caused chaos, and treacherous officials have been in power."

"Outsiders don't know she's a demon; they only think of her as the Imperial Noble Consort... She is revered by all, and enjoys peace and happiness..."

Emperor Chu lowered his voice and said decisively, "...What is taken from Great Chu shall be used for Great Chu. I will use the 'blood of the phoenix' to make this [Immortal Tree] bloom completely!"

"..."

Xie Xuanyi silently watched Phoenix.

Despite the layers of array patterns blocking his way, he had a vague sense of foreboding.

The moonlit realm is shrouded in crimson clouds.

The phoenix, imprisoned in the tree for hundreds of years, opened its eyes and, through the divine light and countless restrictions, calmly and coldly gazed at the two young people before it.

Subsequently.

It is the surging tides that cause the heavens and earth to collapse.

A towering cloud collapses and a waterfall cascades down.

The moonlit realm has returned to tranquility.

……

……

(PS: This chapter has been revised. The revision removed Yuan Huang's inner monologues and the development of the dynasty. Readers who haven't read the old version can ignore this.)
(End of this chapter)