Chapter 857: Conversion

The Dazai.

Back in the day at Wangliang Mountain, this old thing actually contended with the two Sword Immortals, Destruction and Wangliang, and did not even fall into a disadvantage. Although he retreated in a panic under the complete Jinwu Sword and even lost a supreme treasure like the Mountain and River Stele, he did, after all, escape with his life, which was much luckier than most of the turtle-bandits who plotted against Wangliang.

Moreover, Tang Zhao had a feeling that although the Dazai appeared aged, his strength had not declined; on the contrary, it was even better than before. Back then, this Dazai had thousands of faces flowing over his body—sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes ugly, sometimes handsome—looking just like a monster. He could only forcibly maintain one face while inside the Sword Hut, and once he fought, he would uncontrollably change faces. Now, however, he easily maintained his original appearance; this was proof that he had made progress.

He remembered that when this old fellow left, he was heavily injured; even if he spent several years healing, he might not have recovered. How could he have improved instead? Could it be that this person also broke and then stood after a battle, actually breaking through to that realm?

Under the very noses of the Imperial Court and Yunzhou, a Sword Immortal had actually appeared?

Added to this great hall—although Tang Zhao guessed it might have Sword Immortal-level power like the original Imperial Preceptor, even if there were various restrictions on using it—it could at least be treated as an absolutely stable rear base.

If that were truly the case, then the turtle-bandits could advance to attack and retreat to defend, having Sword Immortal-level power by their side in both advance and retreat. Even the Emperor in Jingcheng, who had just mastered the Imperial Preceptor's power and received the protection of his ancestors, would have no way to contend with them. At this moment, the Emperor had just taken back his power and had not yet been able to launch a large-scale attack, while the previous commotion in Jingcheng had caused the local areas to happen to lose quite a few feudal lords, falling into a power vacuum. Furthermore, the crisis of world destruction had just passed, and the Sword Court's prohibitions had slightly relaxed; it was truly a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity.

Thinking this way, perhaps their appearance in Yunzhou was just a prologue; what they truly wanted to do could only be to use this as a springboard to sweep across the world!

Tang Zhao was even wondering if this appearance in Yunzhou was all a smokescreen, and if the place they were truly going to take action against was a more core and vital location, such as Jingcheng?

But then he thought again: smokescreens are for others to see. Now that no one knew he, this spectator, had come, what was the point of putting on a smokescreen? The Dazai appearing here naturally meant he should appear here, and the target should also be the nearby Yunzhou.

Tang Zhao could not see through the turtle-bandits' strategy for the time being, but since the power had been released, at least the attack launching tomorrow to take Yunzhou with the might of thunder was not fake. As for what strategy they had afterward—whether it was to march into the capital with a grand army to retake the world, or to occupy a corner and plan slowly, or perhaps some other brilliant scheme—Tang Zhao could not guess...

And it was meaningless!

Tang Zhao did not know what kind of chain of schemes the clever people among the turtle-bandits had arranged for one step, two steps, or a hundred steps later; he only knew that the first step of the turtle-bandits' strategy had to be jammed, right here today, and no one could save them!

Because Yunzhou was his hometown, his home; how could any turtles, tortoises, or the like be allowed to make trouble?

Isn't it just two Sword Immortals?

It's nothing remarkable either.

The Dazai's expression was kind, and he bowed like a loyal and respectful old minister, saying: "Your Majesty, everyone is ready, and the Crown Prince is also outside. Will you go to see them off?"

That Emperor opened his eyes, yet only opened them halfway; his eyelids remained drooping, unable to hide his look of weariness, and he said: "I will not see the others. If I see the soldiers in this state, it will only make them dejected; how could I truly boost morale? You call the Crown Prince in; I have a few words to instruct him."

The Dazai agreed, yet still comforted him: "Your Majesty has reigned for ten years, working diligently and rising early and sleeping late, supporting the firmament of Great Wei. Even if you are tired, that is caused by your toil; the soldiers, witnessing Your Majesty's imperial countenance, will only be moved to tears and strive to die for Your Majesty, so how could they feel dejected?"

That Emperor's mouth twitched slightly, and he said: "What early rising and late sleeping do I have? I am clearly sleeping early and sleeping late, wasting away in this hall day and night. Sigh, if I had known it would be like this, I might as well have let my third brother have it."

The Dazai raised his voice slightly and said: "Your Majesty, how can you say such things at a time like this?" His tone revealed a trace of hardness, as if it were a reprimand from a superior, which finally gave him a bit of the "Dazai" momentum.

The Emperor stopped speaking and did not show any resentment; he seemed accustomed to this. The Dazai continued: "Your Majesty sitting securely in the hall, maintaining the operation of Taiji Dian for many years—this is actually the greatest merit in the world, the merit of preserving the state; no one can compare to it. I know Your Majesty wants to do more for your ancestors and for the world; starting tomorrow, you can do it. To uprightly rule the world—isn't that what Your Majesty has always hoped for?"

The Emperor hummed, his tone seeming to hold anticipation, but not much.

The Dazai sensed it and said: "This old minister will go invite the Crown Prince and the other princes into the hall; Your Majesty can switch to Fengying Dian. If you can receive the departing generals in Fengying Dian, it will surely make the army's morale soar."

The Emperor's eyes brightened slightly, as if he had really perked up a bit, and he said: "Now?"

The Dazai nodded, then bowed and said: "This old minister takes his leave."

He left, and the Emperor sat up straight, his brows relaxing; it seemed he was more excited than imagined, only it was inconvenient to show it in front of the Dazai before.

He closed his eyes and pointed his hand toward the sky, seemingly pointing at some star, or simply pointing toward the heavens.

"Switch..." Tang Zhao had already captured this keyword by instinct and was thinking about what it meant. Seeing him point to the sky, he also looked up.

What he could see was the caisson ceiling of the great hall, so magnificent and luxurious, so exquisite and complex; layer upon layer were sculptures and engravings inlaid with gold powder, precious pigments, and gemstones. Looking at them, one might not be able to calmly appreciate these masterpieces, but one could directly feel the astonishing human, material, and power resources condensed within them.

This was the foundation of a declining imperial power; just looking at one great hall would make outsiders unable to underestimate this "Imperial Court."

However, he looked for two seconds and suddenly discovered that the scene had changed, as if several huge wallpapers were unfolding from the top of his head downward. All the sculptures, paintings, and even the beams were slowly changing, completely turning into another appearance, yet still prosperous to the extreme.

He lowered his head and discovered that in the moment of looking up and down, the great hall had completely changed! It was not just the details of the decorations, but it was entirely another palace.

First, the spatial shape of the palace had changed. Originally, the great hall was square, extending in the four directions of east, west, south, and north; in the middle of the hall, pillars were arranged in an orderly fashion, supporting the towering beams. But now, the great hall had actually turned into a circular hall, like an altar, and there was not even a single pillar inside the hall.

Because it was a circular hall, the area seemed to have shrunk quite a bit; it was no longer bottomless, but one could see the circular walls. From the dome to the ground, the walls were all divided into small grids, and inside the small grids were placed lamps. Some lamps were lit, some were extinguished; there seemed to be no pattern. In short, there were more lit ones, about a ratio of six to four. Each lamp's flame was at most the size of a soybean, but from the sky to the ground, densely packed with countless lights flickering, it still had the spectacular feeling of ten thousand lights and a vast starry sky.

The place where the Emperor sat was still the dragon throne and the imperial dais, but behind him was not just a screen carved with dragons, but a high platform. On the platform, bright candles shone, and in the middle was a huge incense burner. Placed on it were high tables, and on them were... spirit tablets. The tablets were very ornate; it was not hard to guess that they were the ancestral spirits left behind by people of extremely high status.

As long as one was not blind, one could see that this was completely another great hall; however, the space had not changed, and what changed was only the palace itself.

Is this Fengying Dian? A one-click scene switch?

This ability was indeed interesting. Naturally, Tang Zhao understood that switching locations definitely did not mean just changing to another place to continue sitting; these halls likely each had their own uses. Just now, hearing the Dazai's meaning, the role of Taiji Dian was to "preserve the state," so what was the use of this "Fengying Dian" that was temporarily switched in?

Tang Zhao looked at the countless lights, thinking that the key probably lay here.

At this time, the Dazai led three people into the great hall. These three people were all dressed very luxuriously and had obvious "imperial" characteristics. Among them, the person in the middle had the most valuable attire; it was likely the Crown Prince of the turtle-bandits. The others included one who was obviously older, seemingly of the same generation as the Emperor, looking much more spirited than the Emperor. And the other was the youngest, looking very much like the Crown Prince; he was probably his brother.

The three hurried in and paid their respects together. The Emperor stretched out his hand and said: "My son, come here..."

The Crown Prince walked over; the young man behind him slightly raised his head, but still did not catch up.

The Emperor of Wei held the Crown Prince's hand and said: "My son, for tomorrow's operation, do you have confidence? This is the first step for us to reappear under the sunlight, and it is also your first time appearing before the world. You must hold the might of thunder and achieve the momentum of splitting bamboo; can you do it well?"

The Crown Prince was a young man of weak crown age, and he looked up and said: "Of course, please trust your son, Father."

The Dazai frowned inwardly, thinking there was absolutely no need to ask this question; asking this question instead made the Emperor himself seem to lack confidence.

The Emperor of Wei did not feel at all that he had said anything superfluous, and he held the Crown Prince and said: "My son must be victorious. If you don't succeed, you will then have to sit in my position; that would be truly sad..."

"Cough!" The Dazai coughed.

The Crown Prince also felt that the Emperor of Wei was somewhat improper. He was at an age of high spirits; even if he heard that the Emperor of Wei was working hard, he had not experienced it personally anyway, so he could not empathize. He said proudly: "Father, rest assured. With your son and the soldiers here, and the Dazai escorting us, this trip will surely succeed. By then, our Taiji Dian will definitely be able to stand on the land of Shenzhou again!"

The Emperor of Wei said: "Good, my son has ambition, but you must also pay attention to casualties. Although Fengying Dian is here, it is better to use it fewer times..."

At this moment, a person hurried in and said urgently: "Your Majesty, the contact person from Yunzhou has come, saying there is a change to report."

Tang Zhao's expression changed slightly, thinking: Good, this is another old acquaintance!