bullyxtreme Chapter 10: The Green Flame Burned Away Two Years of Absurdity!
Chapter 10: The Green Flame Burned Away Two Years of Absurdity!
Zhu Di's orders were absolute will.
When he uttered the words "burn down Xiyuan," no one dared to question him, and no one even dared to show the slightest reluctance.
The Jiajing Emperor was ashen-faced.
West Garden.
That was no ordinary palace.
That was the place where he had lived for more than 20 years, a "paradise on earth" that he had created with countless efforts and money.
Wanshou Palace, Yuxi Palace, Wuyi Hall... every brick, tile, and piece of furniture inside is priceless.
More importantly, it contained all his alchemical furnaces, all his alchemical scriptures, and all his dreams about immortality.
Now, the phrase "too dirty" is about to be burned to the ground.
His heart was bleeding.
But would he dare to say "no"?
He could only watch helplessly as Zhu Zaiyi, nominally his son but actually of a higher generation than himself, the "eldest grandson of the regent," nodded at him, then turned and walked towards the West Garden.
The officials automatically parted to make way, their gazes fixed on the boy's retreating figure with complex emotions.
Awe, curiosity, fear...
His fire was not just meant to burn down a palace complex.
It also encompasses all the absurdities and misery of the past twenty years during the Jiajing reign.
……
Outside the West Garden.
Zhu Zaiyi stood alone beneath the massive gate tower.
The cold wind of the night blew his wide gray Taoist robe, making him look somewhat thin, yet exuding a transcendent feeling of being one with heaven and earth.
He simply stood there quietly, raising his head to look at the magnificent royal garden before him.
This is a luxurious prison built by the Ming Dynasty's top craftsmen using the wealth plundered from all over the country.
In Zhu Zaiyi's eyes,
There was only peace.
He slowly raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and gently tapped it forward.
"go."
A tiny, blue flame, no bigger than a fingernail, flicked from his fingertip.
It floated lightly towards the direction of the Longevity Palace.
It moved very slowly, as if a gust of wind could blow it out.
However, the very first moment that tiny blue flame touched the eaves of the Longevity Palace—
boom!
A force erupted suddenly, centered on that flame!
The blue flames, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly engulfed the entire Longevity Palace!
A strange blue color.
The enormous palace, like a paper model, was rapidly twisting, deforming, collapsing, and finally turning to ashes in the blue flames at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It took no more than ten breaths.
The once magnificent Wanshou Palace, along with all of Jiajing's alchemy furnaces and alchemical texts, vanished completely from its original location.
There wasn't even a trace of scorch on the ground; it was so clean that it was as if no buildings had ever stood there.
The Samadhi Fire burns away all things, leaving no dust behind.
But this is just the beginning.
Zhu Zai Rui's fingers traced lightly in the air.
The blue flames swept across every corner of the West Garden.
Yu Xi Palace.
Wuyi Hall.
Yongchun Island.
All the palaces that Jiajing used for cultivation and enjoyment followed in the footsteps of the Longevity Palace the moment they came into contact with the blue flames.
One building after another vanished silently in the eerie blue light.
The fire burned silently, yet it was earth-shattering.
The entire city of Beijing was illuminated as if it were daytime by the towering blue flames.
Countless people, awakened from their sleep, came out of their homes, knelt on the ground, and bowed in awe and fear towards the palace.
They didn't know what had happened.
They simply believed it was a divine intervention by a god descending to earth to perform a miracle.
In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
All the civil and military officials, including Zhu Di and Jiajing, stared in disbelief at the blue flames shooting into the sky from the direction of the West Garden.
Although they were far away, they couldn't see the details clearly.
But that terrifying aura that could burn the entire world and purify all things was clearly transmitted to the depths of everyone's heart.
Is this... the flame of the immortals?
Is this the real "cultivation of immortality"?
Emperor Jiajing's body was trembling violently.
He watched as the "fairyland" that had once belonged to him disappeared bit by bit into the blue flames, and the last glimmer of hope in his heart was shattered.
He finally realized how ridiculous it was that he had pursued his whole life.
Zhu Di stood with his hands behind his back, watching quietly.
Do not break or stand.
That fire burned well.
It burned away Zhu Houcong's delusions and also burned away the gloomy atmosphere that had plagued the Ming Dynasty for twenty years.
From this day forward, this country needs to wake up.
About an incense stick later.
The blue flames gradually died out.
The sky returned to the darkness of night.
The vast complex of buildings in the Western Garden was completely erased from the map of the Forbidden City.
Only a vast, clean piece of land remained.
A figure slowly walked back under the moonlight.
It was Zhu Zaiyi.
He returned to the front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, still wearing that simple gray robe, spotless.
He walked up to Zhu Di and bowed slightly.
"Great Ancestor, it's clean now."
These four simple words carry immense power.
Zhu Di nodded, his gaze sweeping over the civil and military officials below who were still in shock.
"Have you seen everything clearly?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it sent a chill down everyone's spine.
"From this day forward, the Great Ming Dynasty will not believe in ghosts or gods, nor will it speak of strange phenomena or supernatural beings!"
"I only believe in one thing..."
He spoke each word clearly and forcefully, his voice as firm as iron.
"Man can conquer nature!"
"The emperor should share the hardships of the people and the joys of the nation! Officials should dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to the country and its people!"
"Anyone who dares to spread falsehoods, indulge in sorcery, or neglect state affairs..."
His gaze fell on Jiajing, whose face was ashen.
"West Garden, that's his fate!"
Having said that, he ignored the crowd and turned to Zhu Zaiyi, saying:
"Rui'er, it's almost dawn. You should go to court."
"I'm tired, I'm going to rest."
He yawned, as if he had just done something insignificant, and walked slowly toward the harem with his hands behind his back.
He wanted to go and see if his Changling Mausoleum was still intact.
He also wanted to see if his queen was still waiting for him there.
Before the Hall of Supreme Harmony, only the eldest grandson of the regent, Zhu Zaiyi, and a group of civil and military officials, each with their own thoughts but all thoroughly awed, remained.
A faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon.
A new day is about to begin.
For the Ming Dynasty, this was a completely new and unprecedented era.
Zhu Zaiyi stood on the steps, looking down at the sea of officials below. His gaze was calm, yet seemed to see through everything.
Burning down Xiyuan was just the beginning.
Next, he will face an empire that is rotten to the core.
They are both internal and external enemies, eyeing us with predatory intent.
It is also the fate of hundreds of millions of lives on this land.
His path to immortality may be very long.
But his cultivation in this world has only just begun.