Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 730 - 361 Empress Dowager Has a Mental Breakdown

Chapter 730: Chapter 361 Empress Dowager Has a Mental Breakdown

The atmosphere was eerie and chilling.

The skeleton dangling from the crooked-necked tree seemed to have endured a century of storms, exuding an extremely ancient and decayed aura.

Jiang Shouzhong pushed open the broken courtyard gate, and the stench grew stronger.

The courtyard was desolate.

It was evident that no one had lived here for a very long time.

The houses on either side had collapsed, leaving only a small shrine still standing. The divine statue on the table was mostly destroyed, and a gray, tattered soul flag rested nearby.

"How do you think this person died?"

Xiao Lingqiu covered her nose and mouth, her beautiful eyes fixed curiously on the skeleton. "Suicide? Or was he hanged?"

Jiang Shouzhong shook his head and said, "I don’t know."

He searched the shrine thoroughly, eventually discovering a heavy, rusted iron plaque beneath the cushion.

Jiang Shouzhong wiped off the rust, revealing the text engraved on the plaque.

The characters were crooked and strange, entirely unrecognizable, resembling Sanskrit.

But Xiao Lingqiu suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "This is the script of Nanjin Country."

Nanjin Country?

Jiang Shouzhong was astonished.

How could something from Nanjin Country be here?

As Xiao Lingqiu studied the text on the iron plaque, a tumultuous wave surged in her heart. She gasped, "It’s the Reincarnation Heavenly Venerate!?"

"Reincarnation Heavenly Venerate? What the hell is that?"

Jiang Shouzhong frowned.

With a complex expression, Xiao Lingqiu explained, "During the early days of Nanjin Country’s founding, their first State Preceptor was the Reincarnation Heavenly Venerate, whose cultivation was exceedingly high. He later succeeded in ascension."

Ascension?

Jiang Shouzhong’s pupils contracted, and he abruptly turned to look at the skeleton hanging below the crooked-necked tree.

Approaching the skeleton, he found a necklace resembling agate hanging around its neck, with characters engraved on it that were also from Nanjin Country.

With Xiao Lingqiu’s interpretation, the characters read as "Reincarnation."

It was now clear that the hanged individual was none other than the Reincarnation Heavenly Venerate who had once ascended.

Jiang Shouzhong was perplexed.

If he ascended, he should have become an Immortal. So why did he end up dead here?

And in such a tragic manner.

Could this indirectly suggest that this place was the so-called Immortal Realm?

"What’s written on this iron plaque?"

Unable to find any other clues, Jiang Shouzhong focused on the rusted iron plaque and asked Xiao Lingqiu.

After examining it several times, Xiao Lingqiu said, "I’m not extremely proficient with Nanjin Country’s script, but from the general meaning, this appears to be a suicide note left by the Reincarnation Heavenly Venerate. The text explicitly states that he took his own life."

"Took his own life?"

Jiang Shouzhong widened his eyes.

After enduring countless hardships to ascend and become an Immortal, he chose to end himself? Was his mind broken?

Xiao Lingqiu pointed at two lines on the plaque:

"It says here that he refused to conspire with others and take the ’Bitter Soup,’ believing it to be against the Heavenly Dao. He resolved to end his life as a way of addressing the sins he had committed."

"What is Bitter Soup?"

Jiang Shouzhong asked.

Xiao Lingqiu shook her head. "It’s not mentioned here."

"Is there more?"

"The remaining text is vague—likely a prophecy. The final words are roughly about how good and evil carry consequences, and wrongdoing will inevitably bring punishment."

Listening to Xiao Lingqiu’s account, Jiang Shouzhong became even more bewildered.

What had the Reincarnation Heavenly Master experienced?

Repentance, followed by suicide.

Or perhaps there were hidden secrets lurking within this Immortal Realm?

"Buzz buzz buzz..."

At that moment, a shadowy black cloud appeared from afar, accompanied by a droning sound.

Looking closer, it turned out to be an enormous swarm of flies.

Compared to normal flies, these were noticeably larger, releasing a putrid smell of decay.

The flies seemed to have caught the scent of fresh delicacies, flying menacingly toward Jiang Shouzhong and Xiao Lingqiu.

Demonic flies?

Jiang Shouzhong’s expression shifted. He grabbed Xiao Lingqiu and bolted toward the boat.

On his way out, he tore the agate necklace from the skeleton’s neck and kept it.

But amidst the thickening mist, even the path they had taken earlier vanished, making it impossible to navigate. Jiang Shouzhong, like a headless fly, blindly plunged into the forest.

"There’s a hut over there!"

Xiao Lingqiu suddenly pointed ahead with her slender finger.

Through the fog, a thatched hut faintly came into view.

Jiang Shouzhong didn’t hesitate and rushed toward the hut. When reaching the door, he slammed it open.

With a resounding "bang," the door yielded, and years of accumulated dust enveloped them.

Jiang Shouzhong waved away the dust and quickly shut the door.

Fortunately, once they were inside, the swarm of flies seemed to have lost their target. After hovering for a while, they buzzed off into the distance.

The two’s hearts finally settled.

"This is the Immortal Realm? Feels more like Hell."

Jiang Shouzhong muttered sarcastically.

With all the bizarre demons emerging one after another, not even Hell could be this terrifying.

Xiao Lingqiu began examining the interior of the thatched hut.

To her astonishment, there were no beds, chairs, or other furniture—only a basin of water and a tombstone.

The basin was filled with clear water.

Water droplets continuously dripped from the rooftop, landing in the basin with soft "plop plop" sounds, and forming gentle ripples.

The tombstone, however, was completely blank.

Just as Xiao Lingqiu was about to speak, an intense burning sensation surged through her body.

This was not a normal sense of heat but an unbearable feeling as if being roasted by flames from the inside out. Her flesh, bones, and even skin felt scorched by the heat.

Her throat grew parched until it felt like it might crack, making even the slightest sound impossible.

Thump!

Before she could ask Jiang Shouzhong for help, the man suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Xiao Lingqiu, who was dragged down along with him, hit her head hard against the floor.