Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 160: Heavenly Tome, Blood God, Ancient Spirit Tribe

This time, Zhao Changhe’s premonition was correct.

Ever since the brief encounter he had with the blind woman when he had fallen asleep in the bathtub in the Cui Clan and exchanged a few words with her, where she had mentioned “the Heavenly Dao has perished” and the “Heavenly Tome,” she had not appeared before him again. But this time, just as he had drifted into sleep, she appeared in his dream.

It had been March with the gentle spring breeze still blowing during their last encounter, but now it was already the middle of May, the peak of summer. Two full months had passed, and how many things had happened during that time?

Zhao Changhe had thought that she would make another appearance on the day that he had acquired the golden foil, but she had not. This had been puzzling him the most as he really felt that she should have appeared back then.

Fortunately, his judgment was correct this time, and she had indeed come.

Zhao Changhe had a hunch that this time, it was mainly because of the Sword Emperor’s tomb... and Sisi.

Zhao Changhe felt that Sisi still had many secrets. The talk of her being a foreign princess was just that—talk. He believed that Sisi must have some connection to the previous era... especially with the Sword Emperor’s tomb that had emerged right before them. With such frequent exploration into the previous era, it was bound to attract the blind woman’s attention.

However, unlike previous encounters, this time the blind woman was far away, hovering high up in the sky.

It seemed that with each meeting, she became more distant. He remembered that in the past, he could even touch her hand. But the last time she appeared, she was suspended in the night sky. This time, she was even further away, like a dream within a dream, unclear and indistinct.

Zhao Changhe felt a bit annoyed and said coldly, “Since you’re here to talk, why are you so far away?”

The blind woman sighed and said, “Since I’ve only come here to talk, then all that matters is that you can hear me and I can hear you. Isn’t that enough? In fact, when you see me in your dreams, I don’t even need to reveal my body to converse with you. I merely reveal my form as you are more accustomed to it.”

Zhao Changhe sensed the meaning behind her words keenly, “So, you might directly converse with me through the void in the future?”

The blind woman fell silent. She had been very surprised by Zhao Changhe’s detailed analyses and keen insights during his trip to Jiangnan. These were qualities that he had not fully showcased in the past, and she had only had a vague idea of his intelligence. But now, it was abundantly clear.

Exploring the secrets of the eras requires more than just martial prowess. He seems truly well-suited for it. It looks like I should hold a deeper conversation with him.

Zhao Changhe said, “Fine, but it’s not like I can touch you no matter how close or far you are from me. Since you’ve come into my dream, you should know that I have a lot of questions. Can you answer them?”

The blind woman said directly, “The golden foil is indeed a page of the Heavenly Tome, but it’s sealed quite strongly.”

“If it’s sealed, then why did it begin to unseal itself? Did it just so happen to start unsealing itself when I obtained it? Isn’t that a bit too much of a coincidence?”

“Of course, it’s related to your actions.” The blind woman hesitated for a moment before continuing, “How did you even come up with the idea to use that thing to wipe the Heavenly Tome?”

“...Is it really related to that? This method of unsealing seems rather unique.”

“Who told you that it was the method to unseal it?” the blind woman retorted irritably. “The Heavenly Tome has a spirit, and that spirit felt deeply humiliated! Before, it had no reason to go all out to break the seal, but it certainly has a reason now. And when it’s completely unsealed itself, you might be the first one it kills!”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

Could it be that the reason why you’ve refrained from coming to meet me for so long, especially on that night, and why you’re staying so far away from me right now is...that?

Although the blind woman had previously denied any connection to the Heavenly Dao and claimed that she was not responsible for the judgments and rankings in the Tome of Troubled Times, Zhao Changhe still could not shake off his suspicions. He really had a strong feeling that there was some connection with her. If she was the spirit of the Tome of Troubled Times, then had he inadvertently insulted her?

The thought amused him, and he resolved himself to ponder on it further later on.

Of course, such speculation was best left unsaid. After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Changhe changed the subject, “What do you think about the Sword Emperor’s tomb?”

“He does indeed have the potential to revive...” the blind woman paused. Her tone then became unusually solemn as she said, “Whatever you do, you must not provoke him into a premature revival. The Lu Clan’s actions were truly no different from seeking death, and not just their own, but the entire divine land’s.”

Zhao Changhe said, “You care about the divine land too?”

“I don’t,” the blind woman’s solemnity disappeared. Her serious expression was replaced by a smile as she said, “I care about you.”

“Then if I’m about to die, will you intervene to save me?”

“If you’re going to die just like that, then you aren’t worth caring about.”

Zhao Changhe was not surprised by this answer. He did not react angrily as he had in the past, but instead calmly said, “So what are the key points regarding the Sword Emperor’s tomb? Can you give me any tips?”

The blind woman remained silent for a moment, seemingly impressed by his growth. After a while, she said, “Follow the woman from the Ancient Spirit Tribe who has been staying with you. She understands the burial styles and mechanisms of the previous era better than anyone in the entire divine land.”

Indeed, the blind woman would not cover anything up for Sisi. She didn’t care about secrets that were unrelated to herself.

“Ancient Spirit Tribe...” Zhao Changhe muttered. “What kind of name is that? They don’t sound like a normal foreign race.”

“You have already seen dimensional fragments, bubbles of space such as the cramped sword chamber at the bottom of the Ancient Sword Lake or the vast tomb under Tiger Hill. Does it not make sense that it is possible for some of these places to be able to sustain life? Fragments of space where people live and thrive for generations?”

Zhao Changh’s eyes narrowed.

In other words, there’s a possibility that there is more than one such tribe or race out there. There could even be organizations within those powerful forbidden areas... As for Sisi and the Ancient Spirit Tribe, it’s unclear what their origin is...

“They may be strong, but they may also be weak. They may have hidden treasures, or they may have nothing at all. You are going to have to explore those things yourself. I’m not here to be your tour guide,” the blind woman said slowly. “But I can tell you that if we’re talking about today’s divine land and the previous era, these are the links that connect the two.”

Zhao Changhe said calmly, “I could have figured out that last part without you saying it.”

The blind woman retorted, “Since you’re so clever, can you guess what the bloodthirsty bead is for?”

“I already know about the two things that I wanted to know about the most, namely the Heavenly Tome and Sisi. Must I also know about the Sword Emperor’s tomb and the bloodthirsty bead?”

The blind woman was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say for a good while.

Seeing her rare moment of embarrassment, Zhao Changhe could not help feeling a sense of satisfaction.

“If you want to say something, then say it. If not, forget it.”

The blind woman was silent for a moment, but she did not hold a grudge. Instead, she explained, “This bead is indeed useless for your cultivation of vicious blood qi, because it is formed from the accumulated bloodthirst of the deaths of tens of thousands of beings. Although it does contain vicious blood qi, it is filled with much more hatred, resentment, malice, unwillingness, and regret. Prolonged exposure to it will only affect your temperament.”

Zhao Changhe secretly thought that Sisi’s judgment was incredibly accurate. Not only does she have profound knowledge of the previous era, but she also seems to have a good grasp of concepts such as bloodthirst. What exactly was she studying in the Ancient Spirit Tribe?

The blind woman said, “You cultivate vicious blood qi to hone your killing intent, not for such negative emotions, which is why it is unsuited to you. This also goes for Maitreya’s purpose of killing to achieve enlightenment... However, if you have the means to block the other parts and solely extract the vicious qi, then it would become useful to you.”

That’s probably why Tang Wanzhuang thought that it might disappoint me, but it isn’t completely useless. Damn it, why does every woman I meet seem to be knowledgeable about everything, yet even after all my efforts, it feels like I know nothing at all?

Zhao Changhe asked irritably, “So are you here to teach me how to extract the vicious qi?”

“You don’t need to learn the method from me. Perhaps that woman surnamed Tang has some methods; she’s not weak,” said the blind woman. “The reason I’m telling you all these things is that the origin of this bead is related to you.”

Zhao Changhe was stunned for a moment. Despite his recent successes in solving cases, he could not immediately understand how this bead was related to him.

But the blind woman continued, “This is one of the array stones used by an ancient demon god to set up a ferocious formation. With his downfall, the array also fell apart, and some of its main components were obtained by the people of today. From them, they felt the former power of this demon god, worshiped him, pursued his thoughts and will, and compiled a set of extremely ferocious techniques.”

Zhao Changhe’s heart skipped a beat.

“That’s right, that ancient demon god is the Blood God worshiped by the Blood God Cult, and that bead belongs to him,” said the blind woman leisurely. “Although the Blood God Cult’s lineage is quite good, they have not produced any outstanding figures. It’s not just because the practitioners they have are inadequate, but also because they lack quite a few things.”

“I see...”

“This bead is just a piece of the puzzle. It has no meaning on its own. Even Maitreya did not know what to do with it after getting it. But if it were to be given to the Blood God Cult, its significance would be extraordinary... Unfortunately, they seem to lack quite a bit, and a single bead won’t make up for what they are lacking...” the blind woman gradually began to fade as she spoke. “We’ve talked for too long. This should be enough for now. The next time there are interesting things like this, I’ll come again.”

Her voice faded away, and so did her figure.

Zhao Changhe opened his eyes to find that the sky was already bright.