Xie Lian clenched his fists, his breathing becoming slightly disordered.
In one sentence, it sounded so incredible, even ridiculous, but he couldn't laugh at all.
The Imperial Preceptor said, "Besides these monsters, there's also... Your Highness, do you remember how I got so scared when you brought the child you rescued from the city wall to the Imperial Temple?"
“…”
Xie Lian immediately regained his composure, quickly glanced at Hua Cheng, and said, "I remember. What happened to that kid? You said he was..."
The Imperial Master said, "Heaven's unlucky star!"
He said gravely, "At the time, I simply thought the child was brimming with evil energy, something truly extraordinary. Later, after confronting the other three at the Copper Furnace, I learned that it not only spawned monsters but also cursed them. Just as you can disperse your own luck, the Copper Furnace can also disperse the bad luck it holds, sending it scattering everywhere."
"That boy's birth date was inherently sinister. Good luck could break the heavens, bad luck could pierce the earth. I'm afraid he absorbed all that scattered bad luck the day he was born, which is why he became so terrifying. The moment he went up there, he nearly burned down the entire Taicang Mountain!"
Xie Lian became increasingly shocked as he listened. He slowly turned his head and looked at Hua Cheng. He was clearly discussing his own affairs, but Hua Cheng's expression remained unchanged. Instead, he smiled back at him.
The Imperial Master continued, "Under normal circumstances, that child would have lost both his parents at an early age. If he hadn't, he would have been abandoned by his father and abused, worse off than if both were dead. Furthermore, he wouldn't have lived past the age of eighteen, and would have caused the deaths, separations, and misfortunes of those around him, like a jinx descending upon the world. That's why I told you to quickly chase him away and never get close to him again..."
Xie Lian couldn’t bear to listen any longer and said, “Master!… Stop it.”
The Imperial Master nodded and said, "I won't say more. I'm just giving you an example to show you how terrifying the copper furnace is."
Xie Lian didn't know what to say, but Hua Cheng smiled and said, "It's not necessarily that scary, but the Imperial Master's calculations are quite accurate."
“…”
Xie Lian's hands trembled slightly at the thought that Huacheng might not live past the age of eighteen. At this moment, a hand reached out from below and gently covered the back of his cold hand.
Both of their hands were equally cold, but when combined, they felt warm.
The Imperial Master said, "He's been testing you with questions. The Human Face Plague of Xianle Country was the first question. According to his answer, if you had chosen to launch the Human Face Plague against Yong'an, you would have passed the test. Not only would he not demote you, he would have helped cover up for you, allowing you to truly become his trusted successor, ascending to heaven in one step and defying the odds in two." But you answered incorrectly.
"During your first demotion, he must have given you another challenge, and you still didn't give him a satisfactory answer. That's why you ascended, but he immediately knocked you down again."
A pale smiling face appeared in Xie Lian’s mind. He paused and whispered, “Actually, it was my own request.”
Hua Cheng said, "Brother, trust me. Even if you don't ask for it yourself, he will find a thousand ways to get you out."
Xie Lian said, “But he was also the one who defeated Bai Wuxiang.”
Hua Cheng said: "But he didn't kill me."
Xie Lian asked, “But why is this necessary?”
The Imperial Master said, "Of course Bai Wuxiang can kill you, but that's not what he wants. In fact, as I said, he loves you very much. He doesn't want you to die at all. He just wants you to become what he wants you to be."
Hua Cheng also said, "Killing you won't achieve that goal. If you die in that state, you'll never change, and he can't tolerate that. But Bai Wuxiang has no reason to let you go so easily. What better way is there than for the Divine Martial Emperor to descend to the mortal world, drive away the demons, and save you from danger? That way, you'll trust and appreciate him even more. He must be extremely upset that he failed twice."
The Imperial Master said, "When you were banished for the second time and exiled to the mortal realm, he had countless opportunities to slowly 'teach' you, slowly waiting for you to change your mind. From what I observed, he had originally calmed down. But this peace has recently been broken."
"The turning point is your third ascension.
"If you were a pile of mud, it would be fine, but you've become like that and you completely disobeyed his instructions. You even ascended again, and you're still the same as before, not changed at all... I don't know what he would think when he sees you, but I have a feeling he will definitely test you again."
Hua Cheng said, "Just look at what he did afterwards. Brother, think carefully about what has happened since your third ascension."
Xie Lian quickly settled into his state of mind, contemplating for a moment before speaking, "First, we went to Yujun Mountain. We captured the female ghost Xuan Ji. Initially, I couldn't find the ghost bridegroom, but the fetal spirit guided me with a nursery rhyme. I think it was his instruction. But I thought it was helping me in that matter."
Hua Chengdao: "I just helped you complete the mission. The direct consequence was capturing the female ghost Xuan Ji. What are the indirect consequences?"
Xie Lian asked tentatively, “…did I stir up a hornet’s nest with General Pei’s ex-lover and cause him some trouble?”
The Imperial Master said, "This could be considered a small question. If you knew you would offend Pei Ming, would you have handled the Ghost Bridegroom mission differently? For example, you could have secretly informed Pei Ming to suppress it, allowing Xuan Ji to continue causing trouble in this small area without causing a big fuss."
Xie Lian blushed and said, "Well... to be honest, I only realized it was related to General Pei much later. At the time, the female ghost was demanding my life, and with so many people present, the arrow was on the string and had to be released. I didn't have time to worry about whether I might offend anyone."
Hua Cheng smiled slightly and said, "Brother, you have already made your choice."
He continued, "The second thing is, a Taoist priest with a hollow shell came to Puqi Monastery and led you to Banyue Pass. Let's not talk about who sent that shell, and what the consequences of this incident are."
Xie Lian said, “I kicked Little General Pei away and broke General Pei’s arm.”
Hua Cheng said, "Brother, look, after these two incidents, you helped him greatly weaken Pei Ming's strength and completely offended Pei Ming. He didn't show up at all, and the hatred was all yours, yet you are still grateful to him."
“…”
Hua Cheng continued, "If I'm not mistaken, he's been keeping an eye on you for the past eight hundred years. Brother, you were the Imperial Preceptor in Yong'an and taught Lang Qianqiu, so he probably knew that. But he still sent Lang Qianqiu to travel with you. In my opinion, this is purely out of ill intention."
The Imperial Preceptor was startled. "Wait a minute? Your Highness, you were the Imperial Preceptor in Yong'an? Did you teach Lang Qianqiu?"
Xie Lian said, “Hmm…”
The Imperial Master said, "You are the Imperial Master Fangxin???"
Xie Lian: “Hmm…what happened?” He briefly explained. The Imperial Master said, “If he knew about this, he’d definitely be furious with you.”
Hua Cheng continued, "Brother, you originally intended not to get involved in the Baihua Zhenxian incident, but you were ultimately dragged into it, though fortunately not too deeply. The hundreds of fishermen in the South China Sea who were swept into the Tribulation Domain weren't caused by Black Water or Shi Wudu. Besides them, who else could have been the most capable and effective?"
After reviewing everything, Xie Lian realized that every step he took after returning was probably under Jun Wu's close observation and encouragement.
Hua Cheng crossed his arms and said, "I guess he did this, on the one hand, out of that weird mentality, constantly throwing questions to you, testing your choices and paths, hoping that you can follow the path he laid out for you; on the other hand, I'm afraid it's also because he wants to use you as a sword to weaken the power of these priests.
"The priests of the previous generation of heaven must have left a deep shadow on him. He is extremely vigilant and demands absolute control over everything. He will not allow anyone to threaten his power and status, and he cannot let other priests catch up with him. Moreover, I think..."
Xie Lian happened to be thinking about this as well, so he asked, “What?”
Hua Cheng said, "Shi Wudu exchanged his life for Shi Qingxuan's, and Heishui sneaked into the Heavenly Court to investigate. Could it be that he really doesn't know anything?"
This is also what Xie Lian was thinking.
Could it be that Jun Wu, who was sitting at the highest point, really knew nothing about this? It was unlikely.
He can directly check all the files handled by Lingwen Hall. If there is any falsification, is it really possible that he will not be able to detect it?
The water master committed such a serious crime, yet he almost hid it from the world, safe and sound for many years. It was only after he started to act arrogantly in the Heavenly Court that his true identity was exposed. Hua Cheng said, "Perhaps he was aware of it from the beginning, but the water master's position at the time didn't threaten him, so the matter was kept secret. If it had been exposed earlier, it wouldn't necessarily be a good thing. If Shi Wudu was demoted, a new water master would still come up, and the new water master might not have such a big handle or disaster for him to seize."
He continued, "If I were Jun Wu, I would be very unhappy to see Shi Wudu. But if I wanted to get rid of Shui Shi, I wouldn't have to do it myself. I could just watch him stir up trouble and become more and more unscrupulous. When I couldn't tolerate him anymore, I would directly reveal the information about the life exchange to Heishui."
Heishui will naturally avenge himself and his dead relatives.
Hua Chengdao: "As for him gathering all the ghosts in the copper furnace and trying to refine them to be released into the world, it might be because..."
Xie Lian said, “Checks and balances.”
Hua Cheng said, "Hmm. On the one hand, he would probably be happy to see E Jue appear and wreak havoc on the world; on the other hand, as long as something brings disaster to the world, there will be people praying for it."
And as long as believers pray, God's power will become stronger!
The Imperial Master sighed and said, "Every time the Copper Furnace opens, the four of us go to stop it, but we don't always succeed. This time... it's too big.
"He killed a small number of the Wuyong spirits that spewed out of the Copper Furnace, used the Earth-Shrinking Technique to send the majority away, and then dispatched the rest. He stayed behind to inspect and destroy some items. He guessed I'd come looking for you, so after dealing with Copper Furnace Mountain, he rushed over and, as expected, captured me.
"I think we can't go on like this. The Wuyong Kingdom has surfaced. Given its vigilance, it's likely to replace the Celestial Realm once again. If you continue to act without suspicion or awareness, you will sooner or later be buried under the foundation of Xianjing. Feng Xin happened to have the red mirror with him, so we gave it a try. Originally, his magic power was growing stronger, and the red mirror could no longer reflect what was on his face. However, because he had just fought the three mountain monsters not long ago, the human face was activated again.
"I'm almost done. Do you have any questions, Your Highness?"
While Xie Lian was lost in thought, Hua Cheng said, "I have. Imperial Master, do you still remember your Wu Yong language?"
The Imperial Master said, "The Wuyong Kingdom has disappeared, and no one uses its writing system or language anymore, so we learned new ones a long time ago. But we still remember the old ones, we just rarely use them." He admitted, "And I don't really want to use them."
Xie Lian recalled that when the Imperial Master had said to the mountain monster, “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is beyond saving” and “He’ll soon awaken,” he hadn’t really been referring to him. Instead, he was referring to Bai Wuxiang, who was possessing Lang Ying, killing people as he went, drawing strength from them to recover.
Then there were those corpse-eating rats that spoke human language. At the time, because Xie Lian understood their Wuyong language, Hua Cheng assumed someone had implanted relevant memories in him. Of the several possible candidates listed, two were indeed right: Jun Wu and Bai Wuxiang.
It was naturally not difficult for Bai Wuxiang to create fake skins of Feng Xin and Mu Qing in the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods. Because, of course, Jun Wu knew them very well!
Xie Lian said, “He…seems to be trying to lead me to believe that I am Prince Wuyong himself, or a part of his spirit.”
The Imperial Preceptor said, "Of course he wants to. Now that the existence of the Wuyong Kingdom can no longer be concealed, anyone who sees Prince Xianle and Prince Wuyong will find a resemblance, making it perfectly natural to draw the line back to you. Furthermore, as soon as you begin to doubt yourself, question your own heart, actions, and intentions, and entertain the thought, 'I am Prince Wuyong,' you are more likely to repeat his fate."
"He's the one who's actively guiding you, wanting you to follow his path, not that your paths are somehow similar. He... couldn't possibly tolerate you being so similar yet walking different paths."
After a long moment, Hua Cheng said, "I've already said it, it doesn't look like them at all."
The Imperial Master seemed to have finally lost patience and turned to him and asked, "Young man, what's wrong with you?"
Huacheng: “?”
Xie Lian was startled, thinking, “What’s going on?”
The Imperial Master rolled up his sleeves and spoke earnestly to Hua Cheng, "I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time now. Young man, why is your smile so insincere? Don't think you can be rude to me just because you're the Desperate Ghost King. Desperate Ghost Kings are rare, but do you know how old I am? Of course, elders of my age are even rarer!"
“…”
Huacheng raised an eyebrow.
Xie Lian rubbed his brow and said, "Master, Sanlang isn't being rude, he's just..." He was just used to putting on a fake smile. The Imperial Master gestured to Hua Cheng to stay away, then pulled Xie Lian aside and said sternly, "Your Highness, I saw it."
Xie Lian asked, “Ah? What did you see?”
The Imperial Master said, "On top of that giant statue."
That giant statue? What was going on up there? Xie Lian pondered for a moment, then suddenly, his head buzzed.
Borrowing magic power!
Xie Lian coughed non-stop, saying, “No… that’s just borrowing mana… No, actually, it’s more than just borrowing mana. In short…”
The Imperial Master spoke even more earnestly, "Your Highness, what's wrong with you? Could it be that because I'm too strict and you've been practicing Taoism for too long and haven't been close to women, you've changed...???"
“…”
Xie Lian waved his hands frantically, “That’s not the reason!”
The Imperial Master asked suspiciously, "Then... is it... innate? I've never noticed this. Well... well, then you are indeed unlike him in this respect..."
Xie Lian: “??? Wait? Not really!”
The Imperial Master sighed and said, "Don't be afraid, Your Highness. I'm not going to say anything to you. I won't teach you anything I'm not good at. Besides, you've been through everything, so why would you still care about this? It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman, as long as you're happy."
Xie Lian rubbed his brow until it turned red, and whispered, "Well... I'm very happy."
The Imperial Master said in frustration, "...But you've been searching for eight hundred years, and you only found a desperate Ghost King?"
Xie Lian was stunned. The Imperial Master said, "I'm not saying you have bad taste. It's quite good. Young ladies and young ladies will definitely like this style. But the Desperate Ghost Kings are very fierce. Your Highness, you should think carefully. Once you get hold of such a person, you will never be able to shake them off."
"Uh, Master, please wait a moment..."
"Absolutely. I'm telling you, the moment I laid eyes on this Blood Rain Scholar, I knew his fate was going to be incredibly horrific. There's always a higher mountain than the other, and the evil aura is overwhelming and suffocating. It's simply..."
Hua Cheng was behind them, and he said slowly, "It's simply, a star of misfortune, right?"
Xie Lian had tried hard to stop the Imperial Master from continuing, but failed. He covered his face and silently slid back behind Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng smiled, hugged him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "My smile is indeed very insincere. However, telling him to his face that he is doomed, a calamity-stricken, unlucky, with both parents dead and unable to live past the age of eighteen—it's not quite right, is it?"
"?"
The Imperial Master's eyes gradually widened: "...You, are you?"
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