Chapter 924

"Hahaha... you, you, slippery!"

Very unexpectedly, Emperor Jian Shi was not angry at Pure Yang Zhenren's perfunctory behavior, but instead appeared very happy.

The princes were very disappointed.

The concubines had other thoughts.

"Can this rich and noble Qi be divided into more or less?" a concubine asked jokingly, appearing like a curious little girl. Clearly, her son was not young, but her face was still tender enough to pinch water.

"It cannot be distinguished!" Pure Yang Zhenren looked at his nose and heart, appearing like an unfathomable expert.

"How can it not be distinguished? Could it be that your cultivation is not up to par?"

"The concubine is absolutely right. After this poor Daoist returns, I will go into seclusion to cultivate and not ask about the mundane world."

"Hmph!"

"Zhenren, don't take it to heart with Concubine Xu. She is young and curious about everything."

"The concubine is joking, how could this poor Daoist dare!"

Pure Yang Zhenren brought out his housekeeping skills to deal with this group of concubines who had 108 hearts. Emperor Jian Shi watched the fun from beginning to end, just not making a sound.

This made Pure Yang Zhenren anxious.

What should be done?

What exactly does His Majesty mean?

How long is this going to last?

It wasn't until an attendant rushed in, saying that Minister Xie Changling had urgent matters to report, that this torment finally ended.

After leaving the palace, Pure Yang Zhenren rushed to return to Yuquan Palace; he really intended to go into seclusion to avoid this disaster.

Walking halfway, he suddenly turned around and headed toward the Heavenly Prison.

He had to find someone to talk to; holding things in his heart was not good for cultivation.

Chen Guanlou received Pure Yang Zhenren very unexpectedly, "Zhenren, did the sun rise from the west today? You would actually stay in the Heavenly Prison? Could it be that you want to go in for a second time?"

Pure Yang Zhenren couldn't laugh or cry, but the heavy, stifling air in his heart after leaving the palace was swept away. He had come to the right place.

"This poor Daoist just came out of the palace and stopped by to see you."

"Don't joke. What's good to see in the Heavenly Prison? Others hide in time, but you ran here voluntarily. Could it be that you encountered difficulties in the palace, and His Majesty made things difficult for you? Did I guess right?"

Chen Guanlou looked at the other party's expression and knew he had guessed right.

He pursued: "Is it a matter of life?"

"More than life! One wrong step, and I'm afraid it will harm my descendants! This poor Daoist is unsure and a bit panicked, so I came here to walk around, take a look, and steady my mind."

Pure Yang Zhenren admitted it generously.

Chen Guanlou poured tea for him personally, "If you want to steady your mind, coming to the Heavenly Prison is the right place. This place has no other advantages, but it can make people face a tragic life, thereby recognizing their own shortcomings, stabilizing their minds, and striding forward."

"You can make sense of everything." Pure Yang Zhenren teased, "If it were you, encountering what this poor Daoist encountered today, how would you deal with it?"

Thus, he roughly recounted what happened in the palace.

"This poor Daoist was panicked and at a loss at the time, fearing that saying one wrong word would bring endless future troubles."

Chen Guanlou was silent for a moment, tut-tutting twice, "Actually, even if you kept your mouth shut and said nothing, the future trouble is already on you; you can't shake it off. Your decision to go into seclusion is right. But before going into seclusion, you still need to do one thing."

"What thing?" Pure Yang Zhenren asked.

Chen Guanlou sincerely offered an idea for the other party, "Go and debate scriptures with Monk Jueneng of Baoguo Temple, and then, lose to the other party in public."

"You..." Pure Yang Zhenren was about to be furious, but after coming to his senses, his expression changed sharply, "You want this poor Daoist to take the opportunity to self-defile? Self-destruct my reputation to dodge this disaster!"

Chen Guanlou nodded heavily, "Zhenren can understand my intention, excellent! That's exactly it! This time in the palace, whether you spoke or not, you are already involved in the establishment of the Crown Prince. His Majesty will definitely use you as a shield. You cannot prove your innocence, and you cannot clear your suspicion. Only self-defilement!

A great opportunity for self-defilement is right in front of you: public debate, publicly losing to Monk Jueneng. From now on, your reputation as Pure Yang Zhenren will plummet; who in the world will still believe you can read faces and tell fortunes, or determine the heir? At that time, His Majesty will be too embarrassed to use you as a shield."

"But in this way, it doesn't matter if this poor Daoist's reputation is ruined, I'm just afraid of implicating the sect and my fellow disciples."

"Of two evils, choose the lesser! Implicating the sect is ten times better than the sect being exterminated. After passing this hurdle, ten years later, you can just make a comeback. You can publicly debate to self-defile, and you can also publicly debate to seize reputation and benefits! Monk Jueneng, I see, is a transparent person, not a pedantic one. Talk to him well, and he will definitely be willing to cooperate. It just so happens he also wants to take the opportunity to become famous. In this way, he will owe you a favor in return."

Chen Guanlou carefully analyzed the pros and cons, advising Pure Yang Zhenren to make a decisive decision and not hesitate.

Emperor Jian Shi's crazy operations will come out soon.

If it's too late, it will really implicate the sect and the disciples and grand-disciples.

Being a shield for the Emperor never has a good ending, without exception!

In the world, there are many ungrateful people, and the Emperor ranks first! It has been like this since ancient times, without exception.

The Emperor is ungrateful; not only does he not repay kindness, but he also returns kindness with enmity, killing your whole family, killing your relatives...

Tragic!

You can show kindness to anyone, but you cannot show kindness to the Emperor; this is a lesson cast in blood and tears by countless predecessors.

Once you are seen by the Emperor, it means your head is tied to your waistband.

If the Emperor is happy, you live!

If the Emperor is angry, you die!

Sometimes one person dying is not enough; you must also die with your whole family, and the nine-clan extermination package is always welcome!

Chen Guanlou speculated about Emperor Jian Shi with the greatest malice, and Pure Yang Zhenren did the same.

He had dealt with two generations of emperors, and no one knew better than him how capricious the Emperor was. Regardless of upbringing, knowledge, or temperament, as long as one put on the skin of an Emperor, anyone would become capricious, and the heart of slaughter would be restless at all times.

He didn't dare to take the risk.

So he decided to accept Chen Guanlou's suggestion, "A few days ago, Baoguo Temple sent this poor Daoist an invitation. This poor Daoist ignored it. Today, when I go back, I will have someone reply to Baoguo Temple, accepting the invitation to lecture together."

"Remember to reach a tacit understanding with Monk Jueneng first, and let him owe you a favor." Chen Guanlou didn't forget to remind him.

Pure Yang Zhenren nodded, then teased: "You are quite calculating. It was this poor Daoist who was anxious to get rid of the current crisis, but instead, you made Monk Jueneng owe me a favor. If he knew the truth, what would he do?"

"Even if he knew the truth, he would choose to cooperate with you. He needs to become famous; as long as the result is what he wants, he can accept a little accident in the process."

That's good!

Pure Yang Zhenren was anxious, and after talking about the matter, he left in a hurry.

Chen Guanlou sighed, cursing Emperor Jian Shi for not acting like a human, treating people like monkeys.

Pure Yang Zhenren returned to Yuquan Palace and, sure enough, replied to Baoguo Temple for the first time, agreeing to the invitation for a public debate. And he set the time for ten days later.

The location was set at...

The Jixia Academy next door had been silent for several years and decided to reopen its gates, looking for a suitable opportunity.

Learning that Buddhism and Daoism were going to have a public debate, they also got involved. They invited both sides to debate at Jixia Academy to build momentum for the reopening of the gates!