Chapter 749: Prophecy (A Belated New Year Greeting)

That gray flower suddenly bloomed in the air, with the blue-white waterfall of lightning serving as its foil.

Gray is naturally a dull color, while lightning is the most dazzlingly bright; the extreme brightness instead set off the extreme dullness, causing everyone's attention to unconsciously ignore the lightning and focus intently on admiring that giant gray flower.

Tang Zhao saw it clearly: that giant flower appeared real, yet it was not a physical entity, but rather something condensed from a certain substance.

It seemed to be...

"Yin Qi!"

Gaoyuan Marquis raised her head again, her eyes narrowing as a divine light flashed and vanished. She said, "Such dense Yin Qi, a hundred times stronger than the Demon Cave that descended, yet it is concentrated and does not disperse; it is Yin Qi controlled by someone."

Ordinary Demon Caves and Yin Calamities have Yin Qi when they descend, and that Yin Qi is almost impossible to observe with the eyes, though those with high Inspiration can sense it. Tang Zhao's level of Inspiration could detect it from a hundred miles away. However, the Yin Qi before him had condensed into substance and could even distort objects; even from several hundred paces away, Tang Zhao could only vaguely sense a little of it. This must be because there is a "person" gathering and binding it.

Just as sound is also dispersive and can be heard by anyone, a martial arts expert can perform Sound Transmission, sending it only to the ears of a specific person.

It is just that this Yin Qi is not something an ordinary person can manipulate, because Sword Guests cultivate Vital Qi, which repels Yin Qi. Although some people have begun to cultivate Yin Qi now, they are latecomers and beginners, far from being able to compare to Sword Heroes and Sword Immortals who manipulate native Vital Qi.

With the Yin Qi flower blooming, it is clear that the person manipulating it is extremely skilled. Could it be that a powerful Great Heavenly Demon is here?

At the moment the flower bloomed, countless Heavenly Thunders immediately became active. The part of the waterfall that had been flowing from top to bottom partially changed direction; some flowed from bottom to top, crossing and intersecting, making the lightning extremely violent. Besides the Thunder Light, there was also the firelight produced by their collisions!

From direct current... to alternating current?

Seeing that the alternating state lasted only for a moment, the next instant it had turned into a spiral shape, forming a vortex of electric arcs. Those electric arcs were not rotating in one direction either, changing direction at any time. Each change triggered explosions and flames; in an instant, the sky was filled with thunder and fire, with strange noises ringing incessantly—nothing but the sound of explosions!

Especially as the lightning spun and collided frantically, it even changed colors. At first, it was blue-white, then it turned pure white. Now, it was alternately golden-yellow, orange-red, and blue-purple, and later several colors appeared together, intersecting and changing. The sky seemed to be setting off tens of thousands of fireworks, colorful and vibrant.

If not for these colors carrying too much violent energy and an aura of destruction, this strange sight could be called "magnificent and spectacular."

While this side changed in myriad ways, appearing to have the momentum to destroy everything, the Yin Qi flower remained unaffected, blooming bit by bit. Although it was merely an object simulated by Yin Qi and whether it bloomed or not did not concern power, this was a posture. It kept blooming, and the speed of its blooming was extremely stable, which showed that in the confrontation of power, the Yin Qi was by no means at a disadvantage. Even with its opponent being so violent, it remained calm, faintly holding the upper hand.

When the flower was half-bloomed, one could see a figure at the heart of the flower. At first glance, this shadow was humanoid, having four limbs and a torso, but its head was an inverted triangle, disproportionate to its body, looking truly strange. Tang Zhao was confused for a moment, then immediately thought: That is not a human! If it is a Heavenly Demon, then it is not strange.

A Heavenly Demon is not a human, but a Heavenly Demon is also like a human; they can be called humanoid intelligent beings, or perhaps not so humanoid, or perhaps not so intelligent. In short, those invaders from beyond the sky can be called Heavenly Demons. And going a step further, those comparable to Sword Heroes are called Great Heavenly Demons. Great Heavenly Demons are already very rare in the Human World. Because Heavenly Demons are suppressed by the power of the world, the powerful ones cannot cross the border, and there is the barrier of the Solar Court at the Qianxian; any power that is too strong will attract the specialized pursuit of Solar Court Sword Heroes and even Sword Immortals. Yet this Heavenly Demon before him could actually contend with a Sword Immortal; this is an unprecedented power.

One above and one below, two layers of insurance; originally, the net of heaven should have been vast and sparse but let nothing through, yet now it has leaked. This is a sign of great misfortune!

Seeing the situation before him, Tang Zhao had to conclude that the Heavenly Demon had used some method to bypass the two layers of blockade—the Qianxian and the world—allowing such a powerhouse to appear directly in Jingcheng, the center of the Human World!

If this news reaches the Qianxian, it will cause a huge uproar, and even the Solar Court will not be at peace!

If the Imperial Preceptor wins, this time he will launch a purge of the forces in the Human World, and Tang Zhao, as half a member of the Solar Court, would support doing so. If the Imperial Preceptor fails, the Heavenly Demon before them might temporarily achieve its goal, but the Solar Court will not stand idly by. This wave will definitely turn the world upside down, and even if it affects the political situation of the Human World, they will not care!

Tang Zhao had previously pushed the blame for the mastermind onto the detestable Turtle Bandits, but seeing this situation now, he thought of another group of equally detestable villains—the Demon Sect!

The possibility of the Demon Sect's involvement is gradually rising.

He remembered the news sent by Che Lin: Youzhou has already been infiltrated by the Demon Sect, and they are plotting something big. It is evident that Youzhou has been corrupted. Since the Heavenly Demon wants to stir up a major event, what could be bigger than the events in Jingcheng? Is it possible that this Heavenly Demon was brought in by Prince Shun, and for the sake of his family's private affairs, he was willing to trade the interests of the Human World?

However, when he interrogated An Xiansheng, he did not obtain any similar intelligence. He had even specifically asked, using Prince Shun's life as a threat, and combined with side-probing based on information gaps, he still did not get any clues about the Heavenly Demon. Thus, he could only temporarily assume that An Xiansheng was not involved. In Prince Shun's state, regardless of whether he had been corrupted, he was now unable to cooperate with the plan, yet the plan was currently proceeding smoothly, so his suspicion had lessened a bit. Then, the only one left is...

"Marquis, it is said that when you were besieged, someone saved you and was later taken away with you. Who is this person?"

Gaoyuan Marquis pondered for a moment and said, "It was Cheng Jianxia from Prince Shun's side. He was taken away with me, but I was brought out separately by Chong Meng. As for his whereabouts, I do not know. Why... do you suspect him?"

Tang Zhao suddenly brought up this person, and his tone was clearly not to praise the person's act of saving his life. Gaoyuan Marquis could hear it too and asked casually, but she did not know why Tang Zhao suspected the other party. That person was merely a passing traveler to Gaoyuan Marquis, having come under orders, and there was no need for her to observe him with her wise eyes; she had no impression of him at all.

"As I thought." Tang Zhao harbored suspicion in his heart; no matter how he looked at it, this person was suspicious. He pondered, "According to An Xiansheng, he told Cheng Jianxia to go find you the day Prince Shun was dealt with by the Imperial Preceptor. That was only six days ago, and you followed the road; although you were delayed for some time, you did not take any wrong turns. Yet that Cheng Jianxia, a Sword Hero, actually took at least four days to find you—is that not suspicious? Moreover, he appeared exactly at the moment you encountered danger; he waited until you were exhausted before stepping in to save you, and in the blink of an eye, he was captured with you again. Although it could be a coincidence, I think the possibility that it is not a coincidence is greater."

Gaoyuan Marquis frowned slightly. What Tang Zhao said made sense; these were indeed suspicious points. Creating a crisis and then solving it oneself is a common method to win people's hearts. However, one cannot be so arbitrary in making a judgment based on mere hearsay. One can only say that once there is suspicion about certain things, one must treat them as real to guard against them, at least to ensure one does not suffer a loss.

Tang Zhao continued to ask, "Do you know what happened regarding Prince Shun knowing in advance about the Empress Dowager accidentally killing the Emperor?"

Gaoyuan Marquis shook her head and said, "I was originally going to tell you..." At this point, she paused slightly, feeling a bit puzzled: She seemed to have wanted to tell Tang Zhao about this, but later did not, nor did she send anyone to deliver a letter. Why was that?

And also... where did I learn the news that Prince Shun could foresee the Empress Dowager accidentally killing the Emperor?

This feeling of having a logical break made Gaoyuan Marquis feel slightly uncomfortable, but she had no time to consider so much now and said directly, "I was originally going to tell you. At the time, I had written a letter to tell you, but in the end, the letter was not sent. Now I will tell you: as far as I know, the Imperial Court originally had a mysterious powerhouse who understood prophecy, called Hushanzi, who was a palace consultant. Although he did not have as high a status as the Imperial Preceptor, he held a transcendent position and was treated with great courtesy without interfering in state affairs. Several previous emperors often asked him about good and bad fortune. It is said that he was extremely accurate. As for whether he could actually cast lots or truly had the ability to manipulate time and see through the future, there is still debate. Some say he only cast lots because he occasionally had errors and omissions. Furthermore, the things he could prophesy were greatly limited, and it required a very long interval of time; later on, his body became weak, which seemed to be the backlash from stealing heavenly secrets through divination. But I know that even directly seeing through time will suffer backlash and pay a great price."

Tang Zhao was thoughtful in his heart: Hushanzi, this name...

Could it be another one?

Where did the Great Jin Dynasty find so many extraordinary people? Does this founding ancestor have some special ability?

"But the news I received was that this person left during the late reign of the previous emperor. It is said that he felt the palace was too restrictive and wanted to escape to the Jianghu to live the life of a carefree hermit. But some say that when the previous emperor asked him about the National Fortune, he could not answer, so he left in shame. There are even rumors that he was secretly executed by the previous emperor. After he left, I did not know of any such prophetic talents. That is why I asked you to keep an eye out at the time to see if this person had returned, or even been secretly rehired by Prince Shun as an advisor."

Tang Zhao pondered, "That doesn't seem likely, does it? Prince Shun was dealt with by the Imperial Preceptor as soon as he entered Jingcheng. Could it be that he could calculate such a major event as the Empress Dowager accidentally killing the Emperor, but could not calculate that Prince Shun would suffer a calamity? If Prince Shun himself was taken down, what is the point of knowing the political situation in advance? It is evident that Prince Shun's news was also second-hand; perhaps someone deliberately revealed it to him."

Gaoyuan Marquis nodded and said, "True, those were all previous thoughts. I now know that at least in this conspiracy involving Chong Meng, there is likely no other person who can travel through time. Because the news of my delayed journey and having no one by my side was something I transmitted back myself."

The traveler has returned. I've been on leave for quite a while this time. Thank you all for your support, and I wish you all a belated Happy New Year! May you have a happy later life!

Thank you to the book friend Liu Yue Zhenren for becoming a League Leader. To have a League Leader during my leave, I, the traveler, am ashamed.

I bow and thank you all. The readers of this book are the best readers in the world!