Chapter 348: The Second Prince's Schemes

At the same time, deep within the palace of the Great Yin Divine Dynasty,

Inside a secret chamber entirely forged from ten-thousand-year-old profound ice, the cold pierced to the bone.

The Great Yin Emperor was not, as outsiders saw, reviewing memorials in the imperial study; instead, he sat cross-legged atop an altar entirely piled with purple-gold fortune crystals.

Nine visible strands of purple imperial dragon aura coiled around him, and his whole body exuded a terrifying might far beyond that of ordinary emperors.

Above his head, the illusory golden dragon of fortune that coiled over the Forbidden City slowly lowered its head, and strands of purest national fortune poured into his body like a waterfall.

He was stealing the nation's fortune!

The official system of the Great Yin Divine Dynasty was essentially a model where imperial authority harvested the people's mental power and then distributed it to officials via imperial seals.

But every emperor throughout history had merely been the manager and biggest beneficiary of this system, never daring to directly devour the origin of national fortune.

Because national fortune is the people's thoughts, containing distracting thoughts and karma sufficient to drive any cultivator into deviation.

But this generation's Great Yin Emperor somehow obtained a secret art called the "Dragon Qi Return to Origin Secret Technique," which allowed him to bypass heavenly oversight, directly draw in the origin of national fortune, and refine it into his own cultivation and lifespan.

"Gu Ziyuan... truly is my lucky star."

The emperor felt his strength rising steadily within, and the incredibly pure fortune flowing from the direction of Dark Prefecture, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

The more ruthlessly Gu Ziyuan killed in Dark Prefecture, the purer the faith-driven mental power erupted from the commoners who had been oppressed by aristocratic families for centuries.

These mental powers flowed into the fortune golden dragon, and after being transformed by his secret art, they became the supreme resources for him to break through to a higher realm.

"Aristocratic clans, hum, are merely a bunch of fat pigs I raise; once I use Gu Ziyuan as this blade to slaughter them clean, then devour the fortune of the whole world, I can in one fell swoop break through to the Sage Realm, pacify the Yao tribe, and establish immortal merit!"

The emperor's ambition was far greater than anyone could imagine.

However, just as he was immersed in his beautiful fantasies of the future, a sudden anomaly arose.

One strand of extremely strange and domineering.

A dark-gold energy that belonged nowhere to this heavenly law, following the fortune torrent flowing from Dark Prefecture, silently invaded his body!

This energy was precisely the fortune contaminated by Gu Yuan using the World Tree's law!

"Huh?"

The emperor frowned, instinctively sensing that something was off.

This fortune coming from Dark Prefecture seemed…… too pure, pure to the point of lacking even a trace of the people's distracting thoughts.

Before he could think further, that dark-gold energy already rushed along his meridians, straight toward his dantian where he was circulating the Dragon Qi Return to Origin Secret Technique!

"Pfft—!"

The Great Yin Emperor, as if struck by lightning, violently spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood mixed with purple-gold specks.

He staggered and fell from the altar, clutching his painfully aching chest.

At that very instant, he felt a law and power unlike any other!

"Now I understand, I have comprehended."

The emperor muttered to himself, the pain and shock on his face miraculously fading, suddenly revealing an extremely strange and fervent smile.

Then his eyes rolled back, he completely lost consciousness, and heavily collapsed onto the icy profound ice floor.

The secret chamber fell into a deathly silence.

Half an hour later, the Imperial Guardian Formation inscribed beneath the altar sensed the emperor's faint breath and suddenly flared with white light.

A flash of light, and the formation instantly transmitted his unconscious body, placing it steadily upon the bed in the sleeping palace.

Another half hour passed.

When it was time to serve tea, the close attendant eunuch guarding outside the hall gently pushed open the door and, to his horror, saw the emperor on the bed, his breath like a thread and his dragon robe stained with blood, his soul fleeing in terror.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty——! Someone come! Quickly summon the imperial physician!"

The eunuch's sharp, shrill voice instantly shattered the palace's tranquility.

Paper cannot contain fire. The news of the Great Yin Emperor suddenly vomiting blood and collapsing unconscious, his life or death unknown, could not be blocked; like wings, it instantly spread throughout the capital.

The various forces that had already been surging with undercurrents due to the Dark Prefecture incident now boiled over completely at this moment.

The capital, it's going to fall into chaos!

……

……

Dark Prefecture, the Governor's Office.

Gu Yuan neither knew of all this happening in the capital, nor did he care at all.

At this moment, he stood silently in the study, gazing at the three figures kneeling before him.

Kong Qianqiu, Meng Changhe, Yan Daolin.

These three, once renowned second-rank great scholars who had commanded the winds and clouds, now trembled all over as they crawled on the ground.

"My lord."

Kong Qianqiu lifted his head, his aged face full of devotion, "Old servant and the two others, we are willing to go through fire and water for our lord, to die ten thousand times without regret!"

Gu Yuan nodded.

He did not kill these three, for killing them would be far less valuable than controlling them.

Gu Yuan said in a flat tone: "After you return, just say that I have been won over by you, that you have obtained the secret treasure I voluntarily offered, and go further. Then, use all your influence in the Literary Abyss Pavilion and among the aristocratic families to do a few things for me."

"First, stabilize the aristocratic families in the capital, make them believe the greatest threat has been eliminated, that we are no longer enemies but one entity, even that they should take me as their lord."

"Second, secretly contact all aristocratic families dissatisfied with imperial rule and harboring ambitions for the Second Prince Yin Zhen, twisting them into a single rope."

"Third, and most importantly, use your status as grand councilors to, among the Confucian scholars, build momentum for the Second Prince Yin Zhen. Shape him into a lord who harbors the world, sets things right, and can lead the aristocratic families to glory."

Upon hearing this, Kong Qianqiu and the two others had not a shred of doubt or hesitation, immediately kowtowing heavily: "We will obediently follow the lord's orders!"

Just then, Zhao Rui strode in from outside, knelt on one knee, and presented with both hands a bright yellow scroll sealed with the Ministry of War's vermilion insignia.

"My lord, an eight-hundred-li urgent imperial edict has arrived for the capital."

Gu Yuan took the imperial edict, unfolded it, and the corner of his mouth curled into a playful arc.

Appointed Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, to enter the cabinet and await orders, he immediately set out for the capital.

"Looks like that Second Prince His Highness can't wait to get his hands on my sword."