Chapter 214: The Mystery of Chongguang's Reincarnation

One day later.

Lu Yang, refreshed and clear-minded, walked out of the secret chamber, glanced at Chen Xinan, whose face was ashen and who looked ready to vomit, flicked the Banner of Ten Thousand Spirits, and immediately retracted him.

Outside the secret chamber, Yinshan True Person had already been waiting for a long time.

"Senior Brother, I have kept you waiting long."

"No."

Yinshan True Person looked at Lu Yang with a strange expression and said sincerely, "Indeed, Junior Uncle did not misjudge you, Junior Brother; you are truly a pillar of talent."

He has the bearing of an Ancestor!

"You flatter me, you flatter me." Lu Yang modestly waved his hand and quickly got to the point: "I have already investigated the details of the Qing Kingdom; there are both good and bad aspects."

"The good aspect is that the Qing Kingdom is a speck of land, with a population under one million under its rule; therefore, the cultivation boost provided by its official positions is extremely limited. Even mobilizing the entire nation can only sustain one Great True Person at the late Foundation Establishment stage, at the cost of all other officials losing their corresponding supernatural powers."

"The bad aspect is that they already know about Junior Uncle Chongguang."

Upon hearing this, Yinshan True Person shook his head: "Senior Brother's quest for Gold was not hidden; reversing the Fruit Position rules is a major matter and could not possibly remain concealed for long."

"Fortunately, Senior Brother's reincarnated body has not been exposed."

"With Senior Brother's cultivation, there will be no mystery within the womb this time; upon reincarnation, he will immediately awaken the Consciousness Memory Divine Art, then hide in the shadows and cooperate with us from within and without."

"Speaking of which..."

Hearing this, Lu Yang suddenly lowered his voice: "Junior Uncle seeks Gold and intends to reverse the Fruit Position rules of the Qing Kingdom; specifically, how should this be done?"

On this point, True Person Chongguang had not spoken clearly that day, and Lu Yang had not dared to ask further.

Only now did he dare to ask cautiously, after all, he had just fought the enemy without holding back, and his loyalty could be witnessed by the sun and moon.

Therefore, seeing this, Yinshan True Person also smiled: "To put it plainly, there is nothing much to it."

"I was going to tell you, Duanmu Yuan Tu, anyway."

"You have seen the Qing Kingdom; under the rule of the Dao Court, the dynasty lasts for ten thousand generations. To reverse its rules naturally means to overthrow the existing rule of the Qing Kingdom."

"... Just that?"

Lu Yang was stunned: "If so, why did Junior Uncle need to reincarnate? Would it not be better to attack directly? Destroying the Qing Kingdom would achieve the same success, no?"

Yinshan True Person shook his head.

"Violent overthrow is useless; only by letting its system collapse and disintegrate on its own can it be considered a true reversal."

"You mean..." Lu Yang seemed to understand: "Junior Uncle must act as the leader, causing the people of Qing to overthrow the Qing imperial court themselves, for the reversal to be considered successful?"

In other words, it is an Uprising!

"You are correct."

Yinshan True Person nodded and said: "To overthrow the system of the Dao Court, one must either go from bottom to top or from top to bottom; there is no third method."

"What we must do is apply as much external pressure as possible to intensify the internal contradictions within the Qing Kingdom, while pinning down those who pose a threat to Senior Brother on the battlefield, preventing them from leaving, thereby facilitating Senior Brother's reincarnated body to hide in the shadows and incite the masses."

"So this great war will likely continue for a very long time."

"... I understand."

After this, Lu Yang compared the information he had obtained regarding the Foundation Establishment combat power within the Qing Kingdom with Yinshan True Person, and only then saw him off.

However, he did not fully believe Yinshan True Person's words.

After all, these were certainly told to him by True Person Chongguang, but as a True Person of the Holy Sect, would True Person Chongguang reveal the entire plan for seeking Gold?

Would he leave no backup plan and simply reincarnate like this?

Lu Yang narrowed his eyes, gazing far into the distance toward the direction of the Qing Kingdom; his intuition told him that there must be something wrong with Chongguang's reincarnation!

Qing Kingdom, Zhalong Pass.

Zhong Xin, the Zhuangyong Duke of the current examination cycle in the Qing Kingdom, was reviewing official documents in a study; as officials under the Dao Court system, they did not need to cultivate.

All divine arts are granted by the Son of Heaven.

Breathing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth? There is no need for that; once the official rank is reached, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth will willingly enter your body and be refined by you.

Practicing divine arts?

Similarly unnecessary, because all divine arts come with the official rank; practice is merely a waste of time; once the rank is reached, mastery comes naturally.

"... Hmm?"

Just then, Zhong Xin suddenly raised his head, then swept his sleeve and walked out of the study, only to see a stream of fire falling from the sky, quickly outlining a form.

The next second, fire generated earth, earth generated metal, metal generated water, water generated wood, wood generated fire... under the cycle of the Five Elements, a figure stumbled out, still holding a large umbrella riddled with holes, clearly a Five Elements True Person with severe injuries, his Dharma body on the verge of shattering!

"Senior Hua!?"

Zhong Xin hurriedly stepped forward to support the Five Elements True Person, only to see the Five Elements True Person smile bitterly: "I regret not listening to the Zhuangyong Duke's words; this time I have returned in a great defeat."

"Senior, please sit first."

Zhong Xin did not blame him but immediately helped the Five Elements True Person sit down, then quickly took out a pill to feed him, helping to stabilize the injuries to his Dharma body.

Moments later, two beams of brilliant light fell from the sky.

They were Duobao Tongzi, looking terrified, and the Master of the Profound Gold Sword, his face pale; both had barely escaped death and almost could not return.

"Only you all remain?" Seeing this, Zhong Xin could not help but fall silent; after a long while, he spoke: "What exactly happened? Although I did not agree with you all going, I did not anticipate such losses; did a Great True Person from the Mo Sect act regardless of shame?"

"Not a Great True Person."

Upon hearing this, the Five Elements True Person's face grew even uglier; he did not explain but simply split off a strand of divine sense and handed it to Zhong Xin, imprinting the various experiences of the past within it.

Zhong Xin took the divine sense and glanced at it roughly.

After a long while, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and said in a heavy voice: "... What a fierce sword! What a poisonous person! Which direct disciple of a True Lord from a Holy Sect is this?"

"I do not know."

The Five Elements True Person sighed: "This time, causing three Daoist friends to be trapped is my fault..."

"That is not correct."

Zhong Xin shook his head: "Although the losses are great, Senior has also brought back an external ally at the mid Foundation Establishment stage; actually, it is not a loss."

"Besides, after this battle we have more or less gotten a clear picture of the Mo Sect's true strength. Better to have known about such a person's existence early than late. Thus, Senior, not only can you not be said to have erred, you have actually rendered merit! I will report this matter to His Majesty on your behalf, Senior. Please do not belittle yourself!"

"Isn't that a bit improper?"

Upon hearing this, True Person of Five Phases outwardly wore an embarrassed look, yet his complexion improved considerably at once — clearly he had no intention of denying it.

Immediately after, Zhong Xin soothed the crowd for a while.

Only after everyone's injuries had eased and their expressions had softened considerably did he have someone escort them away, then turned and walked into the study, quietly closing his eyes.

". Trash!"

Zhong Xin cursed coldly, then took out from his bosom a golden, resplendent imperial edict. With a flash of splendid light, he vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, Zhong Xin had already landed inside a grand, magnificent palace hall.

The vast great hall had layer upon layer of curtains hanging high, and at every step stood an armored warrior, looking cold and murderous. Zhong Xin, head lowered, swiftly walked into the hall.

Soon, a tall, dashing, heroic figure came into view.

That person wore royal robes, a crown with hanging beads upon his head, his back to Zhong Xin, and suddenly sighed faintly: "Dear Minister Zhong, what has happened on the front lines that has you in such haste?"

"Your humble servant kowtows to His Majesty."

Zhong Xin did not hesitate, dropping straight to one knee, and said in a deep voice: "Your servant has failed in defending the border, losing two True Persons of Foundation Establishment. I beg His Majesty to punish me."

". Is that so."

The atmosphere within the great hall instantly grew oppressive. After a long while, a voice drifted down: "Dear Minister Zhong, you are the Top Graduate I personally chose, and your learning is acknowledged by the entire court. I would ask you — how do you think I, all these years, sitting in this position, have done?"

"His Majesty is gifted with brilliant judgment and insight surpassing all men."

Zhong Xin did not hesitate: "In the first years of your reign, Your Majesty swept away accumulated ills, renewing all under heaven with a fresh beginning, and the Son of Heaven of Jiangdong likewise praised Your Majesty highly for it."

"Since that is so."

The young man in royal robes standing at the head of the hall descended the steps, came before Zhong Xin, and his voice was chilling to the extreme: ". Why then is my Great Qing about to perish?"

(End of this chapter)