With the clothes already on, there was no way they could be burned. They might even burn Xie Lian along with them. Xie Lian suggested, "Why not just wear them for now? They can't suck my blood, and the spirit text shouldn't be able to issue commands."
A puff of blue smoke drifted past, and where Lingwen had stood, only a blue tumbler remained. Its expression was serious, and it seemed to be holding a stack of files. Xie Lian collected them and tucked them into his arms. The two of them left the side hall and sneaked into the main hall.
It wasn't an illusion. The main hall of the Lingwen Temple looked far more eerie than before. The mountains of books and scrolls piled from floor to ceiling seemed fraught with danger, ready to topple over and crush anyone at any moment. The two encountered no guards and headed straight for a red door in the depths.
Before he even got close, Xie Lian heard a shocked, trembling voice from behind the door: "...How is this possible? How could this happen?"
It's the Imperial Master! Could someone have gotten there first? Xie Lian immediately kicked the door open and shouted, "Let go!"
As expected, the Imperial Master wasn't alone in the room. After the door was kicked open, they all turned to look at him. The shock on the Imperial Master's face hadn't faded yet: "...Your Highness?"
“…”
“…”
The Imperial Master raised his head for a moment before immediately lowering it again, saying, "Wait a minute—how could this happen? What kind of luck is this!"
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were both speechless.
Inside, the Imperial Preceptor and three others sat at a table, enthusiastically and raptly playing cards. These "other three" weren't actually living people, but rather crudely crafted paper figures. It was unknown what kind of trickery had enabled them to move and play cards. And the Imperial Preceptor's words were an uncontrollable sigh after receiving the cards.
Xie Lian had originally thought that the Imperial Preceptor might be being tortured in there, looking haggard, but he hadn't expected him to still be playing cards at that moment. He felt both amused and at the same time incredibly kind.
Isn't it familiar? Back when he and Feng Xin lived at Huangji Temple, when they went to see the Imperial Master, he'd spent most of his time playing cards, playing cards, playing cards! Eight hundred years later, seeing him playing cards again felt like yesterday. Even the enthusiasm on the Imperial Master's face was the same. He stared intently at the cards in his hand and said without turning his head, "Your Highness, you're finally here, but let me finish this round first..."
Xie Lian knew his old habit of turning his back on his family had returned once he sat down at the table. He looked so different from the way he had been at the Divine Martial Hall. He couldn't bear to look at him. He rushed over and tried to drag him down from the table, "Master, it's time to stop!"
The Imperial Master's eyes were red as he yelled, "No, no, let me finish! It will be over soon! Just this one round! Wait until I finish this round! It will be over soon, I might even win soon!!!"
Xie Lian: "I won't win, I really won't win!"
…
Fortunately, the round was over quickly. Although the Imperial Master had vowed he was about to win, he still didn't. Waving off the three paper figures, the Imperial Master finally regained his composure and composure.
He sat upright, frowning and said, "Your Highness, I knew you would come, and I have been waiting for you."
“…”
Xie Lian thought to himself, “I really didn’t realize you’d been waiting for me…”
But of course he didn't say it out loud. Respect for elders is still a must. The Imperial Master said again: "I know you must have many questions in your mind."
Hua Cheng stood aside, leaning against the door, seemingly casual, probably keeping watch. Xie Lian also sat upright before the Imperial Master and said, "Yes."
After a pause, he said, "First, I want to confirm, is Jun Wu...really Bai Wuxiang, also known as Prince Wuyong?"
The Imperial Master said, "Don't doubt it. He is it."
Xie Lian said, "I have nothing to do with Prince Wuyong, do I? We are two completely different people."
The Imperial Preceptor said, "The only connection between you and Prince Wuyong is that he destroyed your country, Xianle."
“…”
Xie Lian whispered, “But, Imperial Master, you once told me that you didn’t know what Bai Wuxiang was, but you were certain he was born because of me.”
The Imperial Master said, "Your Highness, at the time, I really didn't know what it was. By the time I found out, it was too late. Furthermore, it's not wrong to say that he was born because of you."
Xie Lian asked, “What does that even mean? And, again, the same question—why did he want to destroy Xianle Kingdom?”
The Imperial Master stared at him and said, "Because of what you said."
Xie Lian was stunned. “My words? What words?”
The Imperial Master said, "'The body is in the depths of hell, but the mind is in paradise.'"
“…”
After a long pause, there was silence. Xie Lian asked in disbelief, “…Gone?”
The Imperial Master said, “No more.”
Xie Lian asked, “…Just this sentence? Is there anything wrong with this sentence?”
The Imperial Master said in a deep voice, "This is a huge problem. Everything started with this sentence of yours!"
Xie Lian had a vague feeling that what the Imperial Master was going to say next would be very hard for him to accept, and he wanted to call out to Hua Cheng, but before he could do so, Hua Cheng had already come over and sat down next to him.
The Imperial Master said, "You have seen the murals on Tonglu Mountain, right?"
Xie Lian said, “I see. Were those murals left by you?”
The Imperial Master said, "It's me. Every time the Tonglu Mountain is opened, I sneak in. On the one hand, I want to prevent the Ghost King from being born. On the other hand, I want to find some way to leave some clues and tell others about the Wuyong Kingdom and the Wuyong Crown Prince."
Xie Lian concentrated and asked, “Then why not just tell others directly? Why use such an obscure method?”
The Imperial Preceptor asked, "Your Highness, why do you think so few people in the world know about the Wuyong Kingdom anymore?"
Before Xie Lian could reply, Hua Cheng said, "He's cleared out everyone who knew, hasn't he?"
The Imperial Master said, "Yes. If the clues were too obvious, or spread directly, not only would I be exposed, but anyone who saw it would likely disappear from this world. It would be the same for many people. Even a city could be razed to the ground in three days. You should know I'm not kidding."
Xie Lian naturally knew. Ironically, he had once lamented that it was fortunate that Jun Wu was a god and not a fallen ghost, otherwise the world would be in chaos. The Imperial Master said, "That's why I can't let him know that there are still people in the world who know these things. But I'm also unwilling to let no one else know except me. I think that anyone who is sufficiently observant and courageous would naturally discover it. Since I can't resist, I'll just let it go."
"For all these years, I've been hiding here and there, hiding very well. Except for that time eight hundred years ago when I almost couldn't escape, he's never been able to catch me. He was able to catch me this time because he found the murals I left behind in the temple in the Copper Furnace Red Forest. And then you guessed his identity in the Copper Furnace, so he realized that I might not be dead, and that I left behind many things he didn't want others to know."
Xie Lian recalled that when they passed the last temple in the Copper Hearth Red Forest, someone had destroyed the last few murals, arguably the most crucial ones. At the time, he and Hua Cheng suspected someone was hiding there, but they couldn't find him. Thinking about it now, it was very likely that Bai Wuxiang was hiding somewhere in that temple.
Xie Lian asked, “But, Imperial Master, why are you hiding so much?”
The Imperial Master said, "That's of course because..."
Hua Cheng said: "Betrayal."
The words stung, and the Imperial Master glanced at him. Hua Cheng's expression remained unchanged as he said, "You betrayed him, didn't you?"
The Imperial Master said, "That's about right. That's it."
He turned to Xie Lian and said, "How should I put it, Your Highness...
"Everything depicted on the mural is true. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Wuyong is like the unrivaled sun of Wuyong. When you were the Crown Prince of Xianle, you were so glorious. He is many times more glorious than you.
"My three fellow disciples and I, four of us in total, were once his attendants. After the Crown Prince ascended, he selected us all to ascend. We've met many celestial beings of all stripes. It's no exaggeration to say that even in the heavens, where so many gods gather, he's like the sun, so dazzling that it eclipses all others."
As the Imperial Master spoke, a fleeting smile slipped across his face. Xie Lian had a feeling that when he addressed him as "Your Highness the Crown Prince," he wasn't referring to "Jun Wu" or "Bai Wuxiang," but simply the young Crown Prince from two thousand years ago.
He said, "I think you said something similar to me before."
"Really? People don't remember things as they get older."
"Yes. But you said he didn't ascend. He died."
The Imperial Master said, "That's probably because I would rather he didn't ascend."
Xie Lian asked, “Is it because of the eruption of the Tonglu volcano?”
The Imperial Master did not give a direct answer, but simply said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince's magical powers are too strong.
"In his dream, he foresaw that Wuyong's future would be a sea of fire, and he began to think of ways to save his people. If I were in his shoes now, I would definitely not let him do that. However, at the time, none of us had any idea of what would happen. We all thought, people are dying now, what's wrong with saving them?
“But it’s not that simple at all.
"The volcanic eruption cannot be stopped. To avoid casualties, the only option is to relocate. However, the volcanic impact is too large to affect just one or two cities. For the nobles and the common people, the best solution is to conquer other countries and occupy new territory. Otherwise, other countries would not so easily allow so many Wuyong people to relocate there.
"But for His Royal Highness, this is not a solution at all. War is bound to result in bloodshed, and once blood is shed, people will become jealous and cruel, no longer human.
"The Wuyong Kingdom was the first to send its troops out. Wherever the soldiers went, not a single piece of armor remained, not a blade of grass grew. Moreover, in order to 'make room' for the Wuyong people who would migrate there in the future, the generals ordered the massacre of civilians from other countries. The more the better, the more blood flowed like rivers and the corpses piled up like mountains.
"When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince learned of this, he was furious. As you can see, he descended upon the battlefield and punished the Wuyong soldiers."
Xie Lian felt a strange feeling when he thought about how this could be a young Jun Wu or a young Bai Wuxiang. The Imperial Preceptor continued, "However, he wasn't the only one angry. This incident also angered the princes and nobles of Wuyong, as well as some of the people. Many went to the temple to question His Royal Highness: 'We only invade others because we need more land to survive. Is there anything wrong with that?'"
"The impact of this incident has exceeded all of our expectations and has intensified. Some people have started clamoring to tear down his statue and burn down his temple, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has resisted.
"He said that if Wuyong was the invaded nation, he would defend it to the death and not let the enemy take a single step, but they themselves must never invade others. He begged everyone to give up the war and wait for him to build something - his bridge to heaven."
The Imperial Preceptor spoke slowly, "There's no more land on Earth, so let's send the people to heaven for shelter. While this method may seem unbelievable, the four of us have complete faith in His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and firmly believe he can accomplish it. We will fully support him in whatever he chooses to do." Of course, the other priests disagreed, and the entire celestial realm opposed the idea, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince persisted.
"He simultaneously withstood three things: the confusion and complaints of the people of Wuyong and the nobles, the furious roars of the gods and immortals, and the giant bridge that reached the sky."
Hua Cheng scoffed and said, "Oppose? I'm afraid it's more than just opposition."
The Imperial Master nodded slowly and said, "If it's just opposition, that's fine. But..."
Xie Lian vaguely guessed what was going on, but still asked, "But?"
The Imperial Preceptor said, "That bridge would require a tremendous amount of time and immense magical power to build completely. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince couldn't be distracted at all. He almost never went anywhere else, did anything else, or listened to the prayers of other believers. He could only do this one thing."
"But a god who can only do one thing is bound to be unable to retain believers. On the first day he held up the bridge, people thanked him and remembered him. The same thing happened on the second, third, and fourth days. One month, two months, people still thanked him and remembered him. But after a while, that stopped happening.
"The volcano hasn't erupted yet, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been quietly accumulating magical power without doing anything else. People can't help but feel that he's not as powerful as before, or even as dedicated as before. At this time, it's inevitable that new gods need to be enshrined.
"The Wuyong Kingdom has a large population and abundant financial resources, and the faith of its believers is also very strong. Just look at the prosperity of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Many priests have long coveted this land and its believers, so..."
Xie Lian understood.
He said, "So... the priests chose this opportunity, taking advantage of the resentment of the people of Wuyong over the Crown Prince's battlefield summons and withdrawing troops, and lured them to divide up his followers and the source of his magic power... Is that right?"
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