Chapter 1743 - 315: 20,000-Word Mega -

They... want to live.

From their expressions and tone, one can feel desolation, self-mockery, and helplessness.

Earlier in the room, the inscriptions under the scrolls all revolved around the theme of "I'd rather bear countless sins than to let the Zhao Family take a step further."

From being full of yearning and dedication, not hesitating to tarnish one's character, hiding in coffins alive, to living and living until one doesn't want to die, becomes afraid of dying, eventually forgetting the original intention, and thinking about continuing to live.

This series of changes easily evoke a certain sentiment:

They... have deteriorated.

They themselves also think so.

Zhao Yi just felt like laughing.

To talk about deterioration, there must be a premise, which is that you were good before.

If there's no such premise, how could it be called deterioration at all?

Deserve it?

The secret here, in theory, is passed down only among each generation of Great Elders.

If this secret were fixed, non-dynamic, it could indeed be understandable and feasible, equivalent to the family always possessing the secret of a certain treasure, the fewer people know, the safer it is.

But the problem is, this secret is not static.

The current Great Elder is already seated on the Taishi Chair in the room, the Second Elder dares not disturb him on the day of ancestral worship, fearing he'll be delayed in entering the coffin.

The Third Elder, Fourth Elder, and Fifth Elder just have a bit more remaining vitality than the Great Elder, not fully drained dry, so they can be brought out to bask in the sun.

But isn't their behavior already preparing?

They actually all know the process.

They have even prepared their own future coffins in advance, just waiting to "dry" themselves out and lie in it to join.

Thus, the secret only the Great Elder of each generation could know fundamentally doesn't hold.

Rules are dead, people are alive.

When the Great Elder lies in the coffin, wouldn't the Second Elder become the new Great Elder?

As long as the process is followed correctly, then everyone has the chance to become the Great Elder, which means everyone has the qualification to know this secret.

If one person knew per generation, then how could there be so many ancestors floating above?

The Jiujiang Zhao Family isn't the Fengdu Yin Family, their lineage isn't so ancient, there aren't that many generations!

Take a step back, having recently gone to the treasure house, seeing the old undying lying under the ancestral lamp.

Zhao Yi does not believe that the elders living in this ancestral house throughout generations would not be interested in the treasure house, or haven't gone in to see and admire, or would deliberately avoid the most valuable treasure upon entering, or couldn't see that "living example" of an old undying?

Knowing the theory, having seen the instance, yet still willfully closing their eyes, lying in the coffin.

Oh, yes, before going under, they would inscribe some words to give themselves a final embellishment.

Zhao Yi just thought these ancestors above were truly hypocritical to the extreme.

Look at the old lady of the Liu family, an outsider herself, entering the East Room to see the tablets and coming back to bow to it, she would even take care to give one some pointers, to open up one's disposition and aspirations.

Then look at his own family, tsk tsk...

When the upper beam is not straight, the lower beams are crooked, the final destination for every generation of elite figures of the Zhao family is actually drying themselves into fish jerky preserved.

Zhao Yi sincerely thought that if such were the case, if the Zhao family could still bring out a Dragon King, that would be the greatest injustice.

However, they are still pretending towards him, attempting to show sincerity by retreating half a step later.

This means they still have designs on him.

This, Zhao Yi is not surprised.

Today, he came to lay his cards on the table, to reveal his cards and see theirs.

The Great Elder, closest to the altar, and also closest to Zhao Yi, spoke:

"Yi'er, you are still young. Even though you have braved many trials of life and death while wandering the Jiang, you have not yet experienced the frailty and decline of old age, where your Qi and blood weaken. You don't understand the state of mind of us old folks at that time.

Youngness, such a beautiful word, so desirable yet an irretrievable stage.

Do you still remember when you were young, suffered a little injury, caught an illness, you would naturally think the wound would heal, the disease could be cured.

But once you step into old age, even a small injury, the marks it leaves won't fade, any disease will entangle you until death.

Yi'er, is there anything wrong with pursuing survival, with pursuing a self-aware and relatively clean existence?

Even if now you think our existence lacks some dignity, but when you come to my age, you would be eager for it too.

Ordinary people are limited by their capabilities, hence they regard birth, aging, sickness, and death as a natural cycle. They do not wish for it, but in fact cannot achieve it, thus they settle with self-consolation.

But we Xuanmen folks have this capability, so why can't we fight for it?"

Zhao Yi: "Great Elder, you can strive for it, all the elders, you can strive for it, as long as you control yourselves not to fall into Qigong Deviation and ultimately transform into monsters to wreck the mortal world, I think it's worth a try."

The Great Elder looked gratified: "Yi'er, you are wise, I know, you can surely understand."

Zhao Yi: "But on what grounds do you use the ancestors' skulls as vessels, to light the Heavenly Lamp with the ancestors?"

Upon learning his parents were harmed and skinned, Zhao Yi honestly felt nothing much inside.

But upon seeing this skull, Zhao Yi's emotions actually spiraled out of control.

Old Tian accompanied him through the roughest childhood, providing a kind of "motherly love";