Chapter 301: Ghost Gate Pass

"……"

Zhao Si no longer wanted to complain:

Xianzhong ah, Quan zhong ah these memes are fine, but I never imagined that they could even stitch together the conflict between Guangxu and Cixi……

"However, speaking of which, this ancestral decree itself is actually not problematic; if a transcendent being obtains a legal identity, it will inevitably endanger the court, which is determined by absolute power."

"So if the emperor insists on new policies, it's tantamount to seeking death…… In order to preserve power, the Empress Dowager opposes the new policies, which is actually beneficial for the court's continuation."

As for right and wrong in this matter, it's really hard to say; each side has its own reasoning.

But Lin Liu is not on either side; from the start he didn't want to get involved in the mother‑son struggle—he wants to ultimately replace the court! So the emperor sending him to kill the Empress Dowager is exactly what he wanted:

If we're going to kill, then kill!

At worst it's just one death; both success and failure count as a great gain.

If he succeeds, with such a self‑doomed emperor in office, Lin Liu's ambition to achieve greatness becomes effortlessly easy—he might not even need to fight, just seize the throne outright! If he fails, that's also normal; a mortal dynasty lasting three hundred years under the collective service of a host of Divine Way cultivators must have something going for it.

If they really discover something, it would perfectly reinforce Lin Liu's survivability‑focused tactics, letting him slowly wear them down……

Besides, this is also strange: the ancestral decree doesn't forbid the imperial clan from cultivating, yet after three hundred years not a single member of the clan has managed to cultivate…… the odds are really low.

Zhao Si thought it over and felt that in this chapter transcendent beings are indeed rare—most people can't manifest a Dharma Aspect, and even Lin Liu couldn't at first; without the effect of the Blood God Son, he'd have remained a mortal all his life.

"What kind of worldview is this? Cultivation depends entirely on talent—if you can manifest a Dharma Aspect you qualify to become a god; if you can't, you're destined to be a mortal forever……"

The more Zhao Si thought about it, the more off it felt, because this world is completely different from the primordial wilderness, and its settings aren't like that of the primordial wilderness……

"Besides, given Xue Xuan's character, if the world is this cruel, how could he possibly do nothing? What about Jin Bing? What about the sage?"

"The worldview is completely inconsistent, as if it were…… just made up……"

The more Zhao Si tried to make sense of it and failed, the more he had to continue reading with doubt, hoping to find a clue……

……

【You, with the mindset of risking your life to test things, first silently returned to the residence assigned to you by the court, and then held your breath and focused.】

【In a silent moment, a killing‑aura‑filled Dharma Aspect stepped out of your flesh!】

【A cold smile appeared on your face: since the emperor said that, you can't blame yourself……】

【You instinctively clenched your hands, and rolling scarlet incense divine power gathered in your palms, gradually forming two semi‑real, semi‑illusory treasure swords, exuding a fierce aura!】

【"Strange…… why would I want to use twin swords?"】

【You were somewhat confused about this, but you still grasped the two treasure swords, and then, under the veil of your spell, you slowly slipped into the night……】

【……】

【The Empress Dowager's Resplendent Elegance Palace wasn't hard to find; under the emperor's prior guidance, you gradually made your way to the destination.】

【Silently you passed through the splendid palace, going past one eunuch and palace maid after another…… finally, you found the Empress Dowager!】

【But unexpectedly, she wasn't asleep as you imagined; instead, she sat openly by the window, likewise illuminated by a lone lamp, as if waiting for someone……】

【Upon seeing this scene, your heart gave a sudden jolt: something's off!】

【But before you could react, she spoke first: "Has my son's assassin arrived?"】

【You fell silent for a moment, then voluntarily revealed your form; the killing‑aura‑filled Dharma Aspect stood before the Empress Dowager, and even though she was prepared, she couldn't help but show surprise!】

【After a long while, she sighed: "Appearance reflects the heart…… Your appearance suggests you're no good person; my son being able to find you as an assassin shows he's a blockhead……"】

【"Lin Liu, or Lin Quan Zhong?"】

【You didn't respond, just asking: "Does the Empress Dowager know I'm coming?"】

【"Of course she knows."】

【The Empress Dowager gave a wry laugh: "I rule from behind the curtain; all major court affairs are decided by me; my son is merely a puppet—what could he hide from me?"】

【"Don't worry about you knowing—I already knew this before you were even summoned to the palace, and even the little eunuch who summoned you is my person."】

【You: ……】

【No way! What a pig‑like teammate?!】

【You were stunned—not because the Empress Dowager's information network is incredibly sharp, but because that little emperor is such an idiot…… even though everyone around him is on the Empress Dowager's side and doesn't know anything, he still dares to ask me to be his assassin?】

【"If the ruler is not discreet, he loses his ministers; if the minister is not discreet, he loses his life…… such a simple principle, and he doesn't get it?!"】

【In an instant you slapped a label on that seemingly sage young emperor: high eyes, low hands!】

【If you were truly a loyal minister today, you'd surely be screwed and die with unresolved resentment……】

【You remained silent for a long while, then said: "If the Empress Dowager knows I'm coming, why does she still dare to wait for me?"】

【The Empress Dowager smiled: "I said I want to die under an assassin's sword, then help my son's new policies—do you believe that?"】

【"I don't believe it."】

【"I don't believe it either."】

【You: ……】

【The Empress Dowager, annoyed, said: "What nonsense is my stupid son's new policy? How could I not know?"】

【If there were no new policies, at least the dynasty could last a few more years; but if they really implement new policies, the dynasty would surely perish!】

【"Doesn't Taizu know that heroes abound among the people? Doesn't Taizu know that with the aid of the Divine Way the court could enjoy lasting peace and stability?"】

【The Empress Dowager sighed: "Taizu knows all that, but does the Divine Way truly aid the court?"】

【Obviously not—each Divine Way cultivator, after becoming strong, seeks to become even stronger; and since the Divine Way is founded on the people's incense faith, once it grows powerful it will inevitably shake the foundations of the court in order to garner more incense.】

【"If left unchecked, eventually a new Taizu will be raised—either abdicate gracefully or be attacked and driven into the capital, the whole clan exterminated……"】【The Empress Dowager, in just a few words, laid out the pros and cons clearly; this kind of thinking makes you glance askance: her political vision and ability far surpass the emperor's, and if they truly clashed, the emperor would surely lose……】

【"So, since the Empress Dowager doesn't want to die under my sword, she must have some reliance, right?"】

【You asked knowingly, carefully observing the Empress Dowager: she isn't any Divine Way powerhouse, nor does she possess any divine weapons—she's entirely an ordinary middle‑aged woman…… How could such a frail mortal dare to face you head‑on?】

【You're a bit puzzled—what exactly does she rely on?】

【She nodded, not hiding it: "Yes, I have a reliance."】

【"I…… or rather, if the imperial house throughout history lacked sufficient reliance, wouldn't it have long been wiped out by all sorts of rebels and wild gods?"】

Her natural composure leaves you ever more bewildered: at such a short distance, you need not use any spell—her Dharma Aspect alone becomes a single sword strike, and even ten lives of the Empress Dowager would not suffice… Where does her confidence come from?

Bewildered, you decide to give it another go, and you bring your twin swords down hard upon the Empress Dowager!

Yet the Empress Dowager neither dodges nor flinches; as you swing your sword, she doesn't even lift an eyelid…

Swish!

You struck at empty air…

A wondrous sight appears before your eyes: in the lamplight, the Empress Dowager seems like a phantom, and your twin swords pass through her without encountering any resistance.

You try again, disbelieving, but neither sword swings nor spells have any effect—though she is clearly seated there, she seems to exist in another world…

She watches you busily at work, smiling.

After a long while, you finally cease your attacks.

"Are you done?"

The Empress Dowager asks with a smile.

You do not answer, merely letting out a long sigh: "The emperor is truly a pit!"

Leaking secrets before the assassination is bad enough, but not even clarifying beforehand that the Empress Dowager has countermeasures… It's astonishing this could succeed!

"Indeed."

The Empress Dowager heartily agrees, then slowly picks up that oil lamp and says to you earnestly: "Next time you reincarnate, remember to draw a good lot—don't end up with this kind of emperor again."

"... I understand."

You give up resistance and flight, simply watching her calmly as she acts.

The oil lamp?

You gaze at this oil lamp, identical to the emperor's, and a thought dawns: it seems this lamp is one of the foundations left by the founding emperor…

Indeed, as you thought, the Empress Dowager lifts the oil lamp and gently blows at you.

The lamp goes out.

You die as well…

As a person dies, so does the lamp go out; as the lamp goes out, so does a person die… You have probed the court's foundations at the cost of your life!

At the moment the lamp extinguishes, your Dharma Aspect instantly turns to ash, and your physical body expires at once…

At thirty‑five years of age, under the direction of the pitiful young emperor, you launched a night‑time assassination attempt on the Empress Dowager.

Yet you did not expect that the young emperor's intelligence network had already been infiltrated to the point of being a sieve—before you even entered the palace, the Empress Dowager's side knew everything!

As expected, the assassination failed, and you, who had just received amnesty and a title, also paid with your life.

That same night, the Empress Dowager staged a coup, placing the emperor—still in the palace awaiting news—under house arrest, and announced that he had fallen gravely ill, unable to handle state affairs, effective immediately she would "oversee governance"!

The officials naturally understood, yet said nothing more, merely respectfully welcoming the Empress Dowager's assumption of regency…

The next day, the Empress Dowager issued an edict in the emperor's name, labeling you a conspirator plotting chaos and aiming to overthrow the dynasty, and thus had your body brought to the execution ground, where you were sentenced to death by three thousand six hundred cuts!

Afterward, the Empress Dowager issued another decree, designating your base in the six coastal counties as a "rebel nest," and dispatched hundreds of thousands of government troops to encircle and annihilate it!

The monkey left behind was shocked and terrified; hearing of your death, in grief it chose to resist fiercely.

But while it need not fear ordinary government troops, others could not… In the end, after three years, the six counties were all overrun by the officials, and every follower of the Western King's teaching was slaughtered!

The number of men and women slain ran into the hundreds of thousands, causing the rivers to cease flowing and the sea to be covered with corpses…

Your painstakingly built stronghold of over thirty years ultimately could not withstand the three‑century‑old court.

In the final moments, though the monkey was grief‑stricken, it still managed to rescue your family, taking them by ship to Mount Huaguo, thereby preserving your bloodline…

It itself then rallied a force anew on Xiniu Hezhou and Dongshen Shenzhou, repeatedly launching counter‑attacks on Nanbu Prefecture, seeking to avenge you!

The flames of hatred burn within the stone monkey's heart; it no longer thinks of immortality, only wanting to utterly smash this harmful old dynasty, using that old hag's head to offer sacrifice to its master!

……

It believes you are dead, your family believes you are dead, and even you yourself feel you have died…

Death is no stranger to you; you died twice in your previous life, so you feel no fear. As the protagonist, death does not mean an end—it is merely the opening of the next life.

So you have already steeled yourself psychologically to return to that previous node, and even begun to plan: this time you will surely learn the lesson—you must not enter the capital, nor personally seek amnesty; just send someone to go through the motions, for you have no wish to meddle in the mother‑son power struggle, and obtaining an official post would be enough.

But unexpectedly, this is your first death since attaining the Dharma Aspect in this life, and it seems somewhat different from before…

You lift your dazed head and gaze ahead at that pass; the gate bears three characters.

"Ghost… Gate… Pass?"

……

(End of chapter)