Chapter 948: Once My Flower Blooms, a Hundred Flowers Perish
Those very same words... had been spoken by the emperor on multiple occasions this day. Every single time, it caused Eleventh Prince’s heart to sink. By now, it had reached the point where he couldn’t control his emotions. His face was as pale as death as he staggered backward several paces, shaking from head to toe, his eyes shining with disbelief.
The emperor looked as calm and collected as ever. That hadn’t changed this entire time. No matter what Eleventh Prince did, regardless of what secret weapons he pulled out or trump cards he used, the emperor still seemed to be thinking of this entire event as a tantrum.
That was why the emperor hadn’t called for anyone to deal with Eleventh Prince. He just let the tantrum happen.
It seemed as if, in his mind, it was all nothing more than a child acting out in front of a parent. If the parent didn’t care, then the tantrum could happen. The child could cry and get angry, but then just go back to being obedient.
But if the parent wasn’t pleased, then the child could be in for a world of hurt. Once the lesson was taught, and the child learned how to be afraid, they would go back to being obedient. Maybe the child could call for help. But that wouldn’t matter either. In fact, it could be considered fishing. And whoever got fished up would be dealt with by means of a slap of the hand.
The emperor’s attitude, and his eyes, caused Eleventh Prince to feel choking despair. He felt like he couldn’t breathe easily, and his chest felt tight. All of his previous confidence was crumbling. A sense of powerlessness swept over him, filling his broken heart until all he could do was cough up a huge mouthful of blood.
How can this be happening...? How could you be a peak Imperial Sovereign...? Why did the curse fail like that...?
Eleventh Prince looked completely down and out, with his eyes bloodshot as he stood there trembling. All of his preparations were apparently useless. Even the nonhumans he had allied himself with were defeated with hardly any effort. Everything he had prepared, from the Painting of Grievances to the cursed blood, were like nothing more than children’s toys.
The emperor was still standing there. And he was like a mountain that could prop up heaven and earth! As long as he never fell, then humankind would stand!
Eleventh Prince wasn’t the only one experiencing intense emotions. The surrounding officials as well as all the commoners in the capital were feeling similar things.
And yet, Eleventh Prince was still not willing to give up! His eyes were crimson as he stared at the emperor. The emperor’s calm gaze made Eleventh Prince feel like he was on fire inside.
The emperor lifted his right hand and waved it through the air. An ancient scroll painting unfurled in front of him.
The painting depicted a woman. She wore a simple yet elegant blue gown. Her hair was not bound, and her smile seemed shrewd and even crafty. She wasn’t stunningly beautiful, and in fact, there were many people in the world more attractive than her. But there was no doubt that she had a strong personality. The light in her eyes shone through even in the painting, making it clear how vivacious she was.
It was the very same painting from Ningyan’s mansion that depicted his and Eleventh Prince’s mother! It was impossible to determine who had painted it, but it was very lifelike, to the point where reflections were visible in her pupils. The reflections weren’t perfectly clear, but there was enough of a shape to determine that they were reflecting some sort of altar....
When Xu Qing saw the painting, he sighed in his heart as he thought back to Ningyan weeping in front of it. Then he took a second look, and was suddenly shaken to the core as he realized that the vague shape of that altar was actually familiar. His pupils constricted. The altar was pentagonal, and looked... almost exactly like the altar he had just destroyed moments before.[1]
Xu Qing was completely taken aback.
“Dark War!” Eleventh Prince shouted, his face twisted with fury. At this point, he was ready to throw caution to the wind.
The emperor said nothing as he looked from Eleventh Prince to the painting. The sight of that woman caused his expression to flicker. His eyes filled with reminiscence.
“This is the last gift I prepared for you, Dark War!” Eleventh Prince said, his voice as sharp as a blade. “Everything I did today, from colluding with nonhumans to paying the immense price I paid, was all for the sake of avenging my mother’s death! I don’t care what species are involved. I don’t care about righteousness. I don’t need to be an imperial prince. I know that my actions will cause countless humans to disdain and hate me. But I... don’t care about that!
“Heaven and earth can all crumble for all I care. Every species in the world can die! What’s that got to do with me? The only thing I’ve cared about this entire time is making sure that I see you dead!”
As Eleventh Prince shouted, a sensation of bloodlust began to build in his words. “Today, right here, I, Ningchang, want to ask a question of the government officials!
“The Dawning Suns were first suggested by Emperor Mirrorcloud. In the tens of thousands of years since then, none were ever made! The development couldn’t have gone more slowly. It was my mother who, thanks to her spectacular innate talent, restructured her mortal body to create the framework!
“It was my mother who didn’t hesitate to waste her own life force and longevity to, for the sake of humankind, and the emperor, and all of you... advance the development of the Dawning Suns by at least 30,000 years! It was my mother who took all the Creation Mansion’s research into gods and pushed it to a level commensurate with a top species!
“It was my mother who repaired the grand spell formation, pushing it to the absolute peak, all to protect you people! But... how did things end for her? She became nothing but nutrients for the emperor!! She turned into mere nourishment for the revered emperor of all humans to achieve his dao!!
“Dark War, you have such ordinary talent that you had to sacrifice entire foreign regions to become an Imperial Sovereign. After that, you became completely demented. You lusted after my mother’s talent so badly that you completely ignored your love for your daoist partner... and devoured her!! You don’t deserve to be an emperor. You don’t deserve to be a husband. And you don’t deserve to be a father!”
Eleventh Prince then devolved into bitter laughter that rang out everywhere. The officials maintained silence.
The emperor closed his eyes.
Although Xu Qing had never actually seen Ningyan’s mother, he had heard Ningyan talk about her after they came to the Imperial Region. Ningyan hadn’t gone into a lot of detail, but what little he had said left Xu Qing with the distinct impression that this woman was extraordinary. Unfortunately... after she died, both her name and her story had been made taboo by the emperor. As a result, few people were willing to even mention her. What actually happened all those years ago became something of a mystery.
As the officials looked on silently, Eleventh Prince dropped to his knees in front of the scroll painting and began forcefully kowtowing. Tears poured out of his eyes. It was as if he were saying farewell. Then he reached up, cut open his fingertip, and sent a drop of blood flying toward the painting.
The emperor did nothing to stop him.
When the blood fused into the painting, Eleventh Prince’s mother’s eyes slowly seemed to fill with grace and charm. They even started shimmering with light. The light emerged from the painting, swirled to a stop in front of Eleventh Prince, and turned into... a firefly flower! Unfortunately, it was in a very withered state.
When Eleventh Prince looked at the flower, his heart filled with bitterness and other deep thoughts. All of sudden, he found himself thinking about his mother’s smile.
“This is my mother’s life essence flower. My mother might have been a mortal who, for various reasons, could never practice cultivation. But in terms of talent, she was the best among all humans! Back when she was researching the Dawning Suns, she gained enlightenment of a special technique that allowed her to create a life essence flower even though she had no cultivation base.
“With her bloodline and the flower, she created the life essence flower to give to me and Ningyan. Back then, I didn’t understand. But thinking back, I realize that mother must have known how things would end for her, so she created the flower to give to me and my brother. To protect us.
“To a certain extent, you can say that this flower is the earliest version of a Dawning Sun. The essence of the Dawning Sun! Whenever a Dawning Sun shines on someone, their karma becomes inextricably linked to it. When the Dawning Sun withers, they flourish. When they flourish, the Dawning Sun withers.
“That, Dark War, is why I stole that Dawning Sun! You might have prevented it from detonating, but the moment you took hold of it, you were exposed to its light! And now... let’s see how you escape this deadly trap I prepared for you!”
Even as Eleventh Prince’s words echoed out, the withered firefly flower in front of him stirred, and the petals began to move. Despite being withered up, the flower... was opening! It was almost like life force blossoming!
All of a sudden, the light of dawn appeared in the dome of heaven. Intense heat began to rise up everywhere, burning everything. The wind went still.
Everyone, whether they were in the imperial capital, on the bridge, or on Planet Ancient Emperor, suddenly began to glow. The glowing light was like karma from the Dawning Sun, pulsing through their blood.
The light rose up slowly, to the shock of everyone, until it formed a blooming flower! It illuminated the world and stirred the hearts of the people. Its light entered the world of mortals like the light of a true heavenly body, bringing life force and strength to all. It was incomparably majestic. It was just like the line of poetry: Waiting for autumn to come, on the eighth of the ninth month; once my flower blooms, a hundred flowers perish .[2]
All of a sudden, a sensation of withering rose up within all people, all living things, and within the dome of heaven! Ultimately... it converged on the emperor!
The emperor opened his eyes. His gaze was one of reminiscence, fond recollection, and mixed emotions. And it all came together in the first sigh that had escaped his lips in many years.
As he sighed, he lifted his hand. He made a beckoning gesture at the flower.
That gesture was absolutely shocking to everyone present. Eleventh Prince felt like he was being struck to the core.
The blooming flower floated over to the emperor, landed in his hand, and then... merged into his palm! It didn’t fight against him. It didn’t slow down. It was almost as if the flower was returning to its source. It was almost as if the flower and the emperor were one.
Heaven and earth went deathly silent. Countless gazes were filled with confusion and speculation as they focused on the emperor. If those gazes could have been made corporeal, they would have been raging waves that could overwhelm an entire region.
But the most intense of them all came from Eleventh Prince. He felt like he was being struck by 1,000,000 lightning bolts. He trembled, gasping for breath, his face first pale then flushed.
“Impossible. This... this isn’t possible! That’s my mother’s life essence flower. It couldn’t possibly merge into another person. Th-this... this... you....”
Xu Qing was just as shaken as everyone else. At the same time, a new thought occurred to him, something completely different from any of his previous speculations.
As everyone struggled to control their breathing, and as silence reigned, fire burned on Planet Ancient Emperor, and pressure weighed down everywhere....
The emperor’s gaze left his palm and shifted to Eleventh Prince. Then he reached up and touched his own forehead. An instant later... his facial features blurred, and his skin fell away, revealing the true features underneath!
It was a woman.
She was refined and beautiful, with an elegant disposition. She seemed inherently noble, with eyes as bright as stars. In fact, they glittered with wisdom and seemed capable of penetrating the hearts of people. Her eyebrows seemed gentle but firm, making her seem like a distant, mist-covered mountain that imparted a sense of calm and determination.
She stood as tall and straight as a cypress in a winter wind, as if she could maintain her dignity no matter what was happening. Her graceful bearing made it seem like she was constantly in the process of writing her own legend. The facial features were exactly the same as those on Ningyan’s painting, except that this woman seemed a bit older and a bit more dignified.
Everyone was absolutely shaken to the core.
Eleventh Prince’s mind spun until it was blank.
“Mother...?”[3]
1. The painting was originally described inchapter 753 , including the part about the reflection in the pupils. ☜
2. This poem is by Tang-era rebelHuang Chao . I found different versions and explanations of this poem. The explanation that made the most sense to me claimed that the poem uses the chrysanthemum flower as a symbol of the oppressed commoners, while referring to the reactionary and decadent feudal ruling group as the hundred flowers. Maybe the author is intentionally tapping into some of that meaning, or maybe he just wanted to have a cool flower-related poem. What do you think? ☜
3. Specifically, Eleventh Prince uses a form of address that princes (either of an empire or monarchy), would use when addressing their mother, who is the wife of the leader but not the actual leader, something like a Queen Mother or Empress Dowager depending on the circumstances. ☜