Super Righteous Player
Chapter 1116 - 169 "Odes to the Celestial Chariot

Chapter 1116: Chapter 169 "Odes to the Celestial Chariot

Selicia was undoubtedly a promiscuous person—she could just finish bathing with Arthur and then, wrapping herself in a gown, go to find Ofelia, or perhaps Yufimia.

For Selicia, she was merely pursuing pure pleasure... but she would only ever flirt with words with those passengers who boarded the silver ship and never engage in affairs with them.

Because Selicia knew, those people all had lives of their own.

—They were not "her possessions."

Thus, Selicia would not lay her hands on them.

Otherwise, with Selicia’s charm that captivated both men and women, her extensive XP system, and her vigorous desires, the number of people she would have harmed would have started in the triple digits...

But.

Everyone possesses jealousy.

All those aboard the ship knew of Selicia’s relationships with others. However, they have never been involved with her at the same time.

She once told what was then ’penitent Elle’: "Not just Arthur and Ofelia—but Lily and Lucia, they too love me. They ought to love me, just as I also love them.

"This is both a field of romance and a battlefield. If anyone is dissatisfied with this or falls out of love with me, they are free to leave my ship at any time, and I will not hold them back— but if you remain here, then try your best to win my favor."

Right.

Annan closed his eyes slightly.

This farcical scene, on the contrary, affirmed something to him.

What maintained the incredibly delicate relationships between them...

Was indeed—love.

Exclusive love. Tolerant love. Romantic love.

Greedy love. Devotional love. Sacrificial love.

Therefore, even if Selicia herself did not admit it or was completely unaware—

She was actually unconsciously performing the sublimation ritual of "Ingrid"!

Annan, in a trance, recalled the contents of the "Book of the Praise of the Chariot of the Heavens."

—That is the legend of the Madman.

Once upon a time, a Madman had heard of the mysteries of the Celestial Chariot and thus decided to seek the legendary Chariot.

He excitedly proclaimed to his fellow townspeople:

"Fate is but the ruts of the Celestial Chariot, and I am the charioteer of fate! I will not simply be controlled, for I am also the controller, the praiser, the praised, the Immortal, the Eternal—"

But the Madman’s parents had him in their old age and couldn’t bear the thought of their son leaving them.

So, they deceived him, even resorted to threats, telling him that "seeking the Celestial Chariot is akin to stepping into the grave."

The Madman replied thus:

"Let me peacefully walk into the grave— you need only pray."

"The unfortunate shall be dedicated to the furnace of misfortune. My hands shall be scorched and thereby become strong; my feet shall be scorched and thereby become nimble. My pupils shall be scorched like crystal glass, and thereby I shall gaze upon the Celestial Chariot."

Thus, the Madman bade farewell to his parents, ready to set off on a journey filled with pain.

The Madman endured countless hardships, having heard that only the "Heart of Benevolence" and the "Key of Truth" can board the Celestial Chariot.

So, he went to seek the Saint.

The Saint who possessed the "Heart of Benevolence."

But he found that the Saint’s eyes could see nothing—they had been blinded by weeping for the world, and even with the "Heart of Benevolence," he could not gaze directly into the Celestial Chariot and so could not enter the realm of light.

Thus, the Madman had to abandon this path.

He knew that he could not commit to such pure devotion.

The Madman then sought out the Sage.

His intense desire greatly pleased the Sage, who held the "Key of Truth."

After putting the Madman through tests, the Sage finally instructed him in the sacred rites not disclosed to outsiders.

To board the Celestial Chariot, one must first gaze at the sun.

One must gaze into the sun first, to seal the light within the pupils—then at nighttime release that light beneath the moon. Only by harnessing the light of day can one see the Celestial Chariot at night.

Afterward, one needs to awaken the "Great Self" from within the soul and send it onboard the Celestial Chariot. For a material body entering the furnace of the realm of light will surely be burnt to nothingness, it can only be one’s awakened "other self" that arrives in the realm of light.

And the "Key of Truth" held by the Sage could awaken this "Great Self" by inserting it deep into the soul. As long as the Madman could seal the light within his pupils, the Sage was willing to lend the "Key of Truth" for his use.

So, the Madman began his experiment with great enthusiasm.

Below this passage is the most famous section from the "Odes to the Celestial Chariot."

Whenever someone wants to express their own worthlessness, they would quote or rewrite from this passage, hence it became well known:

"I gaze at the sun, seeking to capture its light within my pupils."

"But when I gaze at the sun, all I shed are tears... I know in my heart I am but a mortal:

"In the crucible of the light, my body is ultimately burnt to ashes, my teeth rot, my flesh dissolves—

"I weep for this—I am but a mortal!"

He possesses none of the Sage’s wisdom.

Lacking the Sage’s brilliant, gem-like soul, he simply cannot capture the light within his pupils.

He ran away from the Sage.

Thus, the Madman, after enduring numerous hardships, realized he was still an ordinary person who could not ascend the Celestial Chariot... He acknowledged that he had wasted too much time, and was utterly disheartened.

He could only return to his hometown, where his parents had long passed, leaving only two barren graves.

The one who was still tending to his parents’ graves was his childhood sweetheart whom he had abandoned at home when he ran away.

By then, seven years had passed since he left his hometown.

Compared to the enchanting Elves, witches, princesses, and goddesses he met outside... His childhood sweetheart was so ordinary.

But her fervent and unchanging love made him think of eternity. Thus, he fell deeply in love with her, married her, and had children. From then on, he never left his hometown.

His childhood sweetheart, from the young girl of past days, to today’s young woman, to the future mother, grandmother... until she became withered remains in the grave.

The Madman, with his passionate and unchanging love, accompanied her throughout her life.

"When I look at her, it’s as if I’m looking at the sun. My eyes fill with tears, my pupils capture the light."

"I am the moth drawn to light, falling in love with her like a dive into flame."

"Her starlike pupils reflect into mine, they are two opposing mirrors."

"And in that mirror, there’s not light, but love."

The Madman, having consumed water from the Fountain of Immortality of the Elves on his journey, possessed the blood of the Elves, the pure soul.

The Madman lived far longer than his wife—because of his Elven blood, he could not have children with his wife. This led to him still being in the prime of life when she aged and died, having lost all his kin.

But the Madman still did not leave his hometown.

Just as his wife had waited for him, he too stood guard over his wife’s grave for seven years.

Until the seventh anniversary of his wife’s death, the Madman gazing at her grave suddenly became enlightened:

"——I look upon the remains of my beloved, not in search of anything."

"Her features have already withered, her eyes that once held stars, tightly shut."

"The love in my heart does not stop with death; just as it did not start by itself."

"...But when I gaze at the grave, tears flow from my eyes. Just like the tears I shed looking at the sun."

"Ah, I see! I am indeed mortal; I am my lover’s mortal!"

"My soul is kindling, and this love is the flame; my soul is scorched by the fire, rising like smoke; embracing the sun, like a moth drawn to light."

"That is my light! She is my light!"

"It’s a love that burns eternally, a third echo resounding from the depths of the sun."

"I have already obtained my light, yet I was completely oblivious!"

"No need for the Heart of Benevolence, nor the Key of Truth."

"Love, too, can lead a mortal upwards."

"I will age, I will decline, I will also fly towards the fire like a moth and be scorched.

"But before then, I shall walk alongside the light.

"I shall walk with her! I shall follow the light!

"——Until I ascend higher than this light.

"Until I become solitary once more. My lover shall be my shadow, the light cast within my shadow.

"No need for the Celestial Chariot—because my lover is my very own Celestial Chariot.

"She is the Eternal Maiden, the immortal light. The shadow within my light, the light within my shadow."

"And so I praise wholeheartedly—"

Annan spoke softly, following his memory, murmured softly:

"——Only the Eternal Maiden leads us to ascend."