155: Chapter 154: Liu Bang's Final Chapter and the [Jade Bottle]!

Chapter 154: Liu Bang's Final Chapter and [yangzhi jade pure bottle]!!

Liu Bang's gaze was solemn as he stared at that familiar face wearing a black cloak over dark armor, silent for a long moment.

Sun Po turned around, only to see that [Overlord Xiang Yu]'s figure was faint and illusory, yet his eyes shone brightly as he looked at the old farmer-like man sitting on the threshold.

[Overlord Xiang Yu] spoke, "I hope My Lord will not blame this general for arriving unsummoned."

Sun Po said, "General, what are you saying? I am only surprised that you could awaken despite suffering such great damage."

He could naturally tell that [Overlord Xiang Yu] had not recovered at all, barely able to condense a form.

[Overlord Xiang Yu] replied, "An old friend is here, I must see him."

Liu Bang also stared fixedly at this man who had been his greatest enemy during his lifetime.

In their eyes, there was no fear, no hatred, no sorrow—only undisguised joy.

Perhaps some might wonder what a meeting between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang in the underworld after death would be like; now, there was an answer.

Countless years had passed in the river of destiny since their deaths. Only upon seeing an old friend again could they remember how it felt to be alive and freely recall those glorious, dazzling years.

Liu Bang said, "Young friend Sun, my dissipation is imminent. I wonder if you could allow me to speak with my old friend alone?"

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Sun Po naturally had no objections. Taking the small snake from Liu Bang's hands, he walked toward the haystack in the sunlight. Without any aversion, [Overlord Xiang Yu] sat down on the somewhat dirty threshold of Liu Bang's house, sitting side-by-side with the arch-nemesis of his life, looking at the courtyard manifested from his rival's inner domain.

He asked, "When you and I fought for supremacy, you cared for neither your own children nor your old father. Is it worth going to such lengths for a descendant of who-knows-how-many generations?"

The wrinkles on Liu Bang's face smoothed out as he smiled, "Ending the destiny of my Liu family's [Son of the Red Emperor] and untying that snare is more worth it than anything else."

[Overlord Xiang Yu] recalled how, surrounded by stars and deities in the sky with sword in hand before his own death, he had once mocked the [Son of the Red Emperor] for winning a single lifetime only to lose for tens of thousands of generations. Liu Bang was ultimately nothing more than a blade in the hands of the gods in heaven; even if he obtained great assistance and won the war, he was merely changing masters. The [Red Emperor] was hardly easier to deal with than the [Ancestral Dragon].

Unexpectedly, his old rival had such an enduring and resolute side. After suffering tens of thousands of years of erosion in the river of destiny and humbling himself within the divine forces of the [Red Emperor], just as he was about to refine a complete True Name and become an independent entity surpassing cards, he could actually resist such temptation. Even if his True Name might never exist again, he resolutely acted.

For a mere [True Name Fragment] remaining after death to accomplish such a grand feat was truly astonishing.

With a hint of boasting, Liu Bang said, "When I was alive, I thought defeating you, taking the world, and surviving were the most important things. But when I achieved all that in my later years, I felt life was impermanent, nothing more than this. People say the older you get, the more cowardly you become, but in my late years, my courage only grew bigger and bigger!"

[Overlord Xiang Yu] was not a man of many words. He knew this would likely be the last time he saw the name Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang.

Just as he was about to answer, he turned his head, only to find that no one was left beside him, and that small courtyard seemed as though it had never existed.

From then on, there would be no True Name of Liu Bang in the [river of destiny]. When future generations read history, they would only see the founder of the Han Dynasty as XX, and even this memory would gradually fade until all traces of his existence completely disappeared.

Any existence that has ever been in the world leaves a True Name in the river of destiny. However, most people or things have such a low destiny weight that even with a complete True Name in the long river, they are merely meaningless specks of dust.

But figures like Xiang Yu, Liu Bang, and Han Xin who left their names in history, even as mere True Name Fragments, possessed a destiny weight higher than the complete True Names of many famous people. Refining a complete True Name was equivalent to living a second life, with even the possibility of attaining godhood and immortality.

Using all of his power to help the entire Liu family break free from the destiny of the [Son of the Red Emperor] was truly unprecedented.

Sun Po also watched helplessly as this Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, gradually dissolved into points of red light and vanished, but the people dancing war dances and the scholars reading in the courtyard did not disappear.

Like streaks of light, they shot into the tiny red snake in Sun Po's hand, while the small red snake still appeared ignorant and completely oblivious.

In the next second, Sun Po's vision gradually blurred, and the tiny red snake turned into a crimson crystal with snake patterns inside.

Blessings cannot be avoided, and misfortunes cannot be escaped; since it has already found its way to him, he would just wait and see what destiny brings.

After all, the dragon-patterned crystal contained Liu Jianren's previous [Mandate Dragon and Snake] ability, a strong fortune ability he desperately needed. From Liu Bang's words, it seemed he could use this crystal himself, making it truly difficult to give up.

The snake-patterned crystal was essentially Liu Jianren's new body, so no mistakes could be tolerated.

Sun Po pondered for a moment before putting both crystals into his material satchel.

By this time, the entire [Jinshan Temple] secret realm had completely disappeared. Sun Po was enveloped in a bubble made of [Wuzhiqi]'s [Ren Water Divine Power],

and the red and golden-white lights above had also completely dissipated.

Ranger Xuanyuan, Huo Wuji, and the others descended from the void above, standing to Sun Po's left and right, still looking vigilantly ahead. Following their gazes, [Zhuang Zhou], [Xu Shilin], and [Lord Wenchang] stood opposite Sun Po.

Pale red starlight radiated from [Xu Shilin]'s hand, wrapping around a nearly transparent white snake phantom; his expression remained somewhat dazed, yet also tinged with joy.

[Zhuang Zhou] still looked like a sleepy old man. Laughing heartily, he tossed an object toward Sun Po, but before it could reach Sun Po, Huo Wuji firmly caught it mid-air.

With a look of disdain, [Zhuang Zhou] said, "What? I'm giving a meeting gift to my new disciple, and you, as his senior brother, are going to snatch it? Truly shameless."

Unmoved, Huo Wuji opened his palm, revealing a small white jade bottle.

The bottle was no longer than a palm, with a slender neck and a smooth, elegant S-shaped body, appearing as unremarkable as an ordinary small craft item from a market.

However, after observing it for a moment, Huo Wuji's expression changed slightly as he looked at [Zhuang Zhou] and asked, "To think it's a material with such an origin?"

[Zhuang Zhou] curled his lip in disdain and said, "What's so strange about that? That white snake was originally enlightened by Guanyin. If that kid [Xu Shilin] wants to accomplish such a thing, even if the Western Heaven intends to facilitate it, wouldn't it have to be through an object with destiny ties? The choices for high-spirituality materials are basically just those few predictable ones. How about it? Can this be considered secretly harming my new disciple?"

Huo Wuji's face softened slightly. Looking at [Zhuang Zhou] in front of him, he then said to Sun Po, "My teacher possesses heavenly means and has now taken a new path, so we must be cautious. We will take this material back for inspection first. If there are no hidden tricks in it, we will give it to you in a week; if there are, we will inform you as well."

Sun Po was helpless; his harvest had been intercepted just like that. But given that circumstances were stronger than he was, he could hardly wrestle with an official Titled Card Maker right now.

Furthermore, he had been saved by [Coachman] Ranger Xuanyuan before, and his impression of the official authorities was currently quite decent. An inspection was fine; otherwise, it would indeed pose a hidden risk.

However, Sun Po was still extremely curious about the high-spirituality material upon which [Fahai]'s grand vow was anchored. Strictly speaking, the series of events including the higher-dimensional Jinshan Temple stemmed from this tiny jade bottle; without this material serving as the foundation of the grand vow, Jinshan Temple would not even exist.

Sun Po asked, "I have no problem with that, but I would like to ask, what exactly is this thing?"

Huo Wuji said, "Has Young Friend Sun ever heard of the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate, Savior from Suffering and Hardship, Vast and Inspiring Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva? Official records generally refer to this deity as Guanyin Dashi or Guanyin Bodhisattva, a Buddhist deity. However, this jade bottle subtly carries the charm of the Daoist School, raising doubts. We wish to take it back for inspection to see if my teacher left behind any traps."

Sun Po was surprised. Guanyin Bodhisattva was certainly no stranger to him. Legend had it that she was merciful and saved the world; as long as suffering living beings recited her name, the Bodhisattva would perceive their voices in time and go to rescue them, hence the name Guanshiyin. Later, due to naming taboos during the Tang Dynasty avoiding Emperor Taizong Li Shimin's name, the character "Shi" was dropped, abbreviating it to "Guanyin."

As for the magic treasure in Guanyin Bodhisattva's hand, the one matching the image of this jade bottle was likely the legendary [yangzhi jade pure bottle].

Legend said that this [yangzhi jade pure bottle] contained sweet dew capable of reviving the dead, bringing back life and restoring flesh to bones with ease.

Moreover, it was a supreme treasure in itself, capable of holding the waters of the five lakes and four seas, truly extraordinarily miraculous.

It was rumored that Taishang Laojun also possessed a similar treasure, though whether its functions differed remained unknown.

Guanyin Bodhisattva was widely worshipped in Chinese folk belief, with countless believers.

But in this world where history and mythology suffered a generational disconnect, the number of gods and Buddhas known to the public was not large, so Guanyin's reputation among the populace was obscure.

Sun Po had originally thought that the official authorities and major families would know more about this Bodhisattva, but judging by Huo Wuji's demeanor, they only knew a tiny bit more; their understanding was likely not as deep as Sun Po's.

As for the Daoist charm, Sun Po had some conjectures of his own. In Huaxia mythology, Guanyin Bodhisattva had another title—Daoist Cihang.

Legend said this Bodhisattva originally hailed from the Daoist School and was the ninth disciple under Yuanshi Tianzun, inherently a Daoist immortal deity with vast magic power.

After the War of Investiture of the Gods, she joined the West and became Guanyin Bodhisattva, who had numerous believers.

However, in the Huaxia mythology of his previous life, there were also sayings that the two had no relation whatsoever.

Huaxia mythology had a long history, but through thousands of years of evolution, there were naturally many doubts, losses, or contradictions, so having multiple interpretations was not an isolated case.

Looking at the situation in this world, since the small jade bottle carried a Daoist charm, it likely had an inseparable relation to the legendary identity of Daoist Cihang.

And in legend, the white snake Bai Suzhen was enlightened by Guanyin, leading to her later encounter with Xu Xian by the West Lake, and eventually leading to [Xu Shilin].

With [Fahai] and the White Snake being two bodies sharing one twin nature, representing the light and dark sides, it was not surprising that the high-spirituality material anchoring his grand vow was Guanyin's [yangzhi jade pure bottle].

"In that case, I should pay attention to some female cards. The card [Guanyin Bodhisattva] can be said to inherently be a top-tier support card; her trait of saving from suffering and hardship is simply too suited for a healer card.

Moreover, there are numerous legends regarding Guanyin's forms, such as [Willow Guanyin], [Dragonhead Guanyin], [Fish-basket Guanyin], [Medicine-giving Guanyin], and so on, totaling thirty-three manifestations with immense growth potential. Coincidentally, Sun Po has the [MOD

Loading System], allowing him to continuously load various magic treasures for her in the future to unlock more avatar forms.

Furthermore, her identity as [Daoist Cihang] also holds great value to be tapped into."

The more Sun Po thought about it, the more he felt that getting this [yangzhi jade pure bottle] was truly marvelous. Currently, in his card team, the mage position had [Wuzhiqi], the tank position had [Huang Chao], the warrior position had [Overlord Xiang Yu], and although [Eding] could serve as a support card, his skills were better suited for logistics rather than real-time combat.

Because his cards were of exceedingly high quality, Sun Po had never encountered any grueling battles; the fights he had were basically sweeps, or against overpowered things like Titled Card Makers or the high-dimensional Jinshan Temple, so he rarely got dragged into battles of attrition.

But if he encountered an opponent of equal strength in the future, the crucial importance of such a real-time support card would become evident.

For now, however, this [yangzhi jade pure bottle] still had to be taken by Huo Wuji for inspection. Surely a grand figure like [Champion Marquis], one of the five official Titled Card Makers, wouldn't embezzle a material belonging to a high school student like him.

Sun Po finally breathed a sigh of relief as the [Jinshan Temple] secret realm trip had come to a complete end. This journey was far more thrilling and complex than he had anticipated, allowing him to learn more secrets while obtaining immense gains.

First, the strategic goal of destroying the secret realm was accomplished perfectly. Despite some twists and turns, Sun Po's initial target—the core of the [Jinshan Temple] secret realm—was smoothly acquired.

Furthermore, not a single monster material in the secret realm was left behind; one could say the sweeping efficiency of the [Jinshan Temple] secret realm reached a full one hundred percent.

The only regretful point was that because Liu Jianren had been drawn into the higher-dimensional Jinshan Temple when going out to fetch the material satchel, Sun Po lacked sufficient space to store the materials.

In the end, Sun Po could only select and gather a portion of the high-quality materials, while the white and green low-quality materials were basically swept away to parts unknown by spatial turbulence.

Yet even so, these high-quality materials far exceeded what an ordinary team of material hunters could obtain during a first clear; after all, with drop rates multiplied by about twenty times, this harvest was abundantly generous even if it was only a portion.

More importantly, Sun Po had also obtained the dragon-patterned crystal sealing Liu Jianren's [Mandate Dragon and Snake] talent, which could be said to be his greatest harvest from this journey.

Although he currently did not know how to use this object, he believed that as his realm rose and his knowledge broadened, he would eventually find a way to use it in the future.

Yet Sun Po could not truly feel happy inside. Looking at the snake-patterned crystal in his hand and remembering Liu Bang's words and actions,

he felt that the boundless starry sky and the legendary outer realm were like a looming dark mountain pressing down on his head, weighing heavily on him.