Chapter 126: 165, 166

In the deep winter, the Holy Brightness Temple remained bustling with incense, and one could smell a wave of mixed incense just by getting close, which then drifted away intermittently with the wind.

A golden giant Buddha, several dozen zhang tall, sat cross-legged in the center of the incense smoke; one hand hung down on its knee with the palm facing upward, while the other hand formed a seal across its chest. Its face was partially hidden and partially visible within the incense, somewhat blurred, and with the great sun rising just behind it, it appeared dignified, majestic, and towering.

The University Scholar led several young nephews and nieces here to offer incense and worship the Buddha.

Monks welcomed them with smiling faces, pilgrims prayed devoutly, and along the streets, there were the shouts and hawking of vendors; everything appeared so peaceful.

The Holy Brightness Temple was the state religion, believed in by all under heaven; the Imperial Court believed in it before, and later King Zhao believed in it, which could be called "though the world changes in a thousand ways, only this Buddha temple stands firm."

Song Cheng possessed the body of the youth named He Zheng, coming here under the guise of praying for blessings. Among the accompanying youths, only Qin Rong vaguely knew He Zheng's true identity at this moment, and as the girl was intelligent, she covered for Song Cheng from time to time, even taking the initiative to explain the situation for him, to the point where others teased her, asking "if she had developed feelings while studying together at the University Scholar's house."

Since entering the Holy Brightness Temple, Song Cheng had begun to observe secretly.

His gaze swept rapidly across the surroundings, looking at one set of data after another.

He skipped over everyone whose "lower limit of strength was below five hundred."

On the other side, the University Scholar happened to run into an acquaintance; the two exchanged greetings and chatted briefly. The words were few, but it was clear that both were lamenting the current chaos in the Huangcheng.

On the stone steps, an old monk was sweeping dust with a broom; in the incense hall, a novice monk was dusting with a duster. Besides that, there were monks selling Buddha plaques and various peace talismans. Among the people coming and going, there were old and young, a couple visiting together, gang disciples, and academy students, all bustling and noisy.

Song Cheng's gaze suddenly landed on a family of three; it was a father and a mother holding the hand of a little girl.

The little girl was wearing fluffy clothes, her cute boots skipping along; she held her father's hand with her left hand and her mother's hand with her right, occasionally mischievously pulling her body up to hang in the air, occasionally swinging back and forth like a swing, with a smile on her face. And that pair of parents also had looks of deep doting on their faces.

In Song Cheng's mind, Young Miss suddenly appeared, busy and hidden in that isolated village surrounded by the Ghost Tide in the North Land; he saw the little girl sitting lonely on a high stool drawing a distorted snow scene, her expression very well-behaved, yet hiding gloom. An unspeakable emotion rose from the bottom of his heart.

Had he properly accompanied A Ting and Xiao An?

Had he taken Young Miss, Tong Niangzi, or even Xiao Yu'er, Ying'er, and Ling'er to visit and tour these places?

For a moment, he felt a sense of weariness, a desire for it to "end quickly."

The Holy Heaven Buddha that Yin Mingzong previously claimed to be was actually either fake or deceiving the Arhat, because its strength was not much greater than that of the Arhat.

And if the strength of the real Holy Heaven Buddha and that North Land Arhat were still about the same, he would have to end all of this quickly.

This possibility was actually quite high.

One piece of evidence was the "pseudo-Xuan Realm" Medicine Men in the Imperial Capital.

The limit of Mysterious Grade Ding Quality was to create "Form Realm Medicine Man."

Mysterious Grade C Quality was "Qi Realm Medicine Man."

Ghosts were one level higher.

And whether it was the Arhat's data or the Xiao family head's data, they were actually only in the Mysterious Grade C Quality category. Assuming the Holy Heaven Buddha was stronger than all of them, then... whether it was the Grand Tutor or the University Scholar, they should have been controlled by them long ago; how would it ever be his turn? Therefore, regardless of what realm the Holy Heaven Buddha was in before, and whether he was a soul-transferred reincarnation or severely injured, he had not been able to control Qi Realm existences, nor had he been able to create pseudo-Xuan Realm Medicine Men, which meant that the Holy Heaven Buddha's current strength definitely had not reached "Mysterious Grade B Quality."

But he himself, at this moment, was a Mysterious Grade B Quality at the Double Ghost level. Compared to the Holy Heaven Buddha, what Song Cheng actually cared about more was the secret connected behind the Holy Heaven Buddha.

Why did this Buddha, while enjoying incense, stir up disputes in the world, and at the same time keep saying that "the great trend of the world is that it must divide after a long union, and must unite after a long division"?

Song Cheng walked around once, and as a result... he didn't even find a "small cat that had entered the Xuan Realm" in the Holy Brightness Temple.

There were quite a few Qi Realm here, but to him, the Qi Realm was already about the same as ants.

He could crush as many as he wanted.

After burning incense and worshipping the Buddha, the group returned to the University Scholar's mansion.

As the crowd dispersed, "University Scholar" He Tu stood with his hands at his sides beside Song Cheng, his expression respectful, looking like he was waiting for orders.

He knew that inside his nephew's body now hid a true god, the god named "True Martial Emperor."

Song Cheng glanced at He Tu, looking at his "100" favorability, and sighed in his heart at the effectiveness of the "Medicine Man." "The Holy Heaven Buddha is not in the temple."

Song Cheng thought for a moment and said, "He Tu, go and find out when King Zhao will return. If the time is short, I might have to stay in your residence for a period of time."

"Yes, Master."

The University Scholar responded respectfully, then immediately asked, "Do you need me to contact the others to arrange for some Martial Artists to be at your disposal, Master? Besides Martial Artists, there are three units of the Huangcheng garrison that we can mobilize quickly, totaling twelve thousand men."

Song Cheng said: "Be prepared, but not for now."

"Yes."

The University Scholar retreated respectfully, and later that day came to report that King Zhao had successfully reorganized the Six Towns' armies and was now preparing to return to the capital in triumph.

And the Heavenly Son Ji Qin was nearly going crazy on his side, because he knew that after "King Zhao reorganized the Six Towns' armies," it was like adding wings to a tiger; perhaps he, the Emperor, needed to consciously abdicate and yield the position.

But how could the Heavenly Son be willing?

He was now seeking Grand Tutor Qin to secretly mobilize dead soldiers, hoping to carry out an assassination after summoning King Zhao into the palace.

"The Grand Tutor asks, Master, how should this be handled?"

After finishing the report, the University Scholar began to wait quietly for orders.

Song Cheng looked at the bare Hua Zhi outside the window and said: "Let the Grand Tutor judge and arrange it himself; there is no need to worry about me being in the Imperial Capital."

"Yes."

The University Scholar was about to take his leave when Song Cheng said: "I will stay here for a few days until King Zhao returns. Also, I am going out for a walk..."

The University Scholar hurriedly said: "I will have Qin Rong accompany you."

"Good."

Song Cheng responded.

For the next ten-plus days, he rode in a carriage with the niece of Grand Tutor Qin and toured the entire Imperial Capital.

The purpose was still the normal "map uncovering."

And after ten-plus days, he had a general understanding of the entire situation in the Imperial Capital.

The Imperial Capital was indeed a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers resided; inside were many scions of noble families, and most of those scions were here to support their families or give birth to descendants.

But, the strength of the vast majority of these noble scions was at about the same level as Xiao Yu'er.

As for "Mysterious Grade C Quality," there was not a single one.

Song Cheng strolled by a stream at the Holy Brightness Temple, walking with Qin Rong, and he asked casually: "The Ji Family, the Feng Clan, the Yan Family—do you know of these noble families?"

Qin Rong hurriedly accompanied him with a smile and recounted all the information she knew about the three families, yet she did not mention the three noble families.

Clearly, she did not know.

She was merely trying her best to answer the big shot's questions.

Her level had absolutely not extended to the tier of the noble clans.

Returning to the University Scholar's manor, Song Cheng inquired of the University Scholar once more.

He needed to clarify the noble clans behind the Imperial Court.

Regarding these, he knew nothing at all.

However, the University Scholar merely shook his head and said, "I have never heard of the Feng Clan, but the noble clans behind the Imperial Court have not appeared for a very long time. Or perhaps they have appeared, but we are no longer able to perceive them."

Upon hearing this, Song Cheng generally understood that he would not be able to obtain any answers from these ordinary Martial Artist officials.

Thus, he began to quietly wait for the return of Prince Zhao, and the return of the Saintly Heavenly Buddha.

If the Saintly Heavenly Buddha truly appeared, and was truly not that powerful, perhaps he would put a period to all of this.

He wanted to properly give A Ting and Xiao An a childhood.

Perhaps, it is not yet too late.

Song Cheng had always been very patient; his patience allowed him to not be directly drawn into those many disputes, and also allowed him to avoid facing many enemies directly.

But the purpose of his patience was to bypass many potential enemies and make many originally possible crises disappear.

He was not patient for the sake of being patient; he was for safety, and also for his family.

In the blink of an eye, another half a month passed. At the east gate of the Imperial Capital, armored soldiers holding shields and heavy cavalry entered the city, like a forest moving slowly as the army returned in triumph.

Prince Zhao rode a tall horse, leading the way; his refined face was already stained with the wear of the journey, and his gaze was filled with an indescribable murderous intent and majesty, making people dare not look directly at him.

Song Cheng watched Zhao Hua pass by, yet he still did not find the Saintly Heavenly Buddha.

Clearly, the old thing just loved to hide.

The older he got, the more elusive he became.

And just at this moment, he saw a monk wearing a purple-gold cassock beside Zhao Hua turn his head and whisper a few words to Zhao Hua.

Song Cheng heard it clearly.

That monk was urging the Prince to bring force into the palace and ask the Heavenly Son to abdicate.

Zhao Hua was very respectful toward this monk, but the prospect of entering the palace immediately to "ask the Heavenly Son to abdicate" still made him somewhat hesitant.

Yet he only hesitated for a moment before nodding.

And the way he addressed that monk was "My Buddha."

Song Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly.

Zhao Hua could not see it, but he saw it clearly: that monk was only at the level of an ordinary "Mysterious Grade Ding Quality," much like the monk he had previously killed who was pursuing the Yan father and son.

With such strength, it was absolutely impossible for him to be "My Buddha."

And for Zhao Hua to call him "My Buddha," he must have mistaken him for the "Saintly Heavenly Buddha."

Come to think of it, this might already be the second person to impersonate the "Saintly Heavenly Buddha" besides Yin Mingzong.

Song Cheng watched with interest, feeling that this was filled with tricks.

He felt increasingly impatient.

He already knew that no matter how confusing things were now, when Zhao Hua went to demand that "the current Heavenly Son abdicate and yield the throne, there would definitely be an accident." He decided to go and see.

"Ah!!"

Clatter. "Ah!!!"

Boom! Bang bang!

The young Heavenly Son furiously swept all the exquisite porcelain on the table away, until not a single thing remained.

Behind the screen inside the room, however, were hidden the death soldiers brought by Grand Tutor Qin.

These death soldiers were elite; even if they could not compare to the Four Symbols Guard of the former Imperial Court, they were all skilled in assassination and fearless of death. If they were to strike, even if Prince Zhao led experts into the palace, he would surely die.

However, what made Ji Qin angry was the betrayal of the "Saintly Heavenly Buddha."

"Why? Why!!" He questioned, yet he dared not mention the name of the Buddha, or the name of the Prince. After a bout of venting, Ji Qin finally calmed down; he lay prone on the golden armrest of the dragon throne, squinting coldly at the distance, his gaze becoming calm once more.

He clenched his fists and thought to himself: 'No matter what happened before, after today, I will no longer have anything I dare not do.'

'Traitor Zhao! Traitor Zhao! I want you to die! I want you to be hacked into ten thousand pieces!'

"Grand Tutor Qin."

Even though the Heavenly Son was ruthless in his heart, he was actually feeling anxious and unsettled, so he stood up again, turned his head, and called the name of the old minister he relied upon.

Qin Wanquan was an old minister of the Great Shang, and also a trusted pillar of the state.

Grand Tutor Qin nodded, his silver hair trembling slightly, his eyes filled with heroic and ruthless intent.

"Your Majesty, rest assured."

As soon as the words fell, the entire palace suddenly went quiet; the insects that had been chirping and the sound of the wind all seemed to stop. The palace gate suddenly swung wide open. Before Qin Wanquan could react, he saw a strange person wearing a broken Elephant Mask walk in from outside. A powerful aura instantly descended, pressing down on everyone so they could not even breathe.

That strange person in the Elephant Mask stepped as if "shrinking the earth"; one moment he was at the horizon, the next he was right before them... yet the strange person's speed was not fast; he had just taken a step casually and plainly.

His feet seemed divine, covering over ten miles in a single step, as if his Soul were flying through the heavens.

The strange person in the broken Elephant Mask sat down on the dragon throne at will, resting his chin on his hand, overlooking the group of people before him, and then looked at the Heavenly Son who was turning his head to stare at him in both surprise and shock.

The strange person's eyes were calm and waveless, deep as an abyss, as if a chess player laying out the world had finally stepped out from behind the scenes to perform.

Just as this strange person was about to say something, he suddenly stared fixedly at Qin Wanquan and sniffed his nose.

Suddenly, his figure stiffened.

However, no one could see the expression behind that broken Elephant Mask.

He asked fixedly: "Who is your master?"

As an old minister, Qin Wanquan was a master of playing dumb; he subconsciously turned his head to look behind him, pretending that the strange person was not addressing him.

The Heavenly Son also followed Qin Wanquan to look behind, yet there was nothing there except the open door.

The Heavenly Son's gaze slowly fixed on Qin Wanquan, then he suddenly turned his head to look at the strange person and asked: "Who are you? You... how can you sit on the dragon throne?"

The aggrieved Heavenly Son did not dare to utter the words, "How dare you sit on the dragon throne."

And that strange person did not take the Heavenly Son seriously at all, merely saying in a hoarse voice: "Grand Tutor Qin, no matter who your master is, at noon tonight, ten miles west of the city, at Spring Breeze Pavilion, we shall meet."

Having said this, he seemed to have terminated what he had originally intended to do, departing like a whirlwind.

He had seen through Qin Wanquan's identity, and seen through Qin Wanquan's "pseudo-Xuan Realm."

Therefore, his original plan was no longer viable.

In the mysterious Yin She, the dialogue began once more.

"The Imperial Capital has been infiltrated; a hundred-year-old official at the Qi Realm has actually turned into a medicine-man!"

"A person of the Dharma Image Realm has appeared, but how is that possible? Currently, the Four Fierce Lands have not yet formed; this realm simply lacks the environment for a breakthrough."

"But I saw it with my own eyes; there is a medicinal scent on Qin Wanquan. Today, I had intended to regain control of the situation in the capacity of an ancestor of the Great Shang Dynasty, and then, after helping the little Emperor kill Zhao Hua, trigger even greater turmoil. But when I saw Qin Wanquan, I knew the Gugong was already very dangerous."

A silence fell within the Yin She.

After a long while, someone responded: "Feng Tianshi, you have arranged to meet that person at Spring Breeze Pavilion tonight. Then we shall await your news."

"After all, even if that person has stepped into the Dharma Image Realm, who among us sitting here has not reached that realm? The dangers we face now... are actually Ghosts, not humans."

"I understand."

Outside the Imperial Capital, in a small hut filled with darkness, the mysterious person wearing a broken Elephant Mask withdrew from the Yin She, coldly gazing into the distance, his eyes flickering with uncertain coldness; his name was Feng Tianshi.

He was an ancestor of the Ji Family Imperial Court, also an ancestor of the Feng Clan, and also... a pathetic person.

He still remembered that his hometown was called Qingque Continent, but that was over a thousand years ago.

He was a heaven-gifted talent, and his growth speed was extremely fast.

But the environment outside was deteriorating rapidly.

Ghost Pit, Ghost Spring, Ghost River—as everything gradually escalated, as everything became impossible to resist, his body was completely trapped in a treacherous place, unable to escape; fortunately, he still had the Ice Coffin.

He lay in the Ice Coffin, waiting for who knows how long.

His Soul did not even have the courage to step out of the Ice Coffin, because the world outside the Ice Coffin was already a world of evil ghosts; even someone like him, having entered the world of evil ghosts, would only be imprisoned and bound, unable to leave, and then slowly twisted... He was a person who had entered the Dharma Image Realm, and he possessed one opportunity for soul-seizure.

Yet even so, he could no longer find a single life that he could seize.

Fortunately, when he was about to die of old age, he felt a visualization from far away.

This visualization was extremely, extremely faint, but to him, it was a point of light in the boundless darkness.

He traveled across regardless of everything, and then cast himself into the womb of a pregnant woman wearing fine clothes, seizing the infant who was still in the prenatal stage.

Becoming an infant again meant he could grow again; even if everything had to start over, he was willing. But he remained very curious: how did these people visualize him? As he grew up, many things gradually found their answers.

At the beginning of the Ghost Tide, almost all experts used Sun Nine Pattern Golden Sculpture to carve their own images, engraved simple deeds at the bottom, and then packaged them in sturdy, indestructible "driftwood" boxes, casting them into the sea. However, the world outside the continent was a completely chaotic world.

Whether it was the sea or the land, it was simply a fog, a terrifying territory stitched together by chaos.

There was no direction here, nothing at all; where you could walk to depended entirely on fate.

If you were lucky, perhaps a fisherman of ordinary strength would arrive at another continent in just two or three days.

If you were unlucky, even experts like them, walking for hundreds of years, still could not find even a single foothold.

Therefore, making one's own visualization statue was a matter of entrusting one's fate to luck.

But then again, if one truly reached the end of their rope, wasn't it just a matter of luck?

There were many who made visualization statues, but after the destruction, those who could truly seize a body and arrive at this other shore... totaled only five people.

He, Feng Tianshi.

The Yan Family ancestor, who was also Yan Muyi, the one manipulating the Six Towns from behind the scenes.

Yan Li, who was searching for evil ghosts in the North Land.

The Subduing Demon Arhat, who secretly controlled the situation in the south while impersonating the Holy Heaven Buddha.

And, the Holy Heaven Buddha.

The five of them had known each other on the Qingque Continent, or at least had heard of one another.

Among them, the strongest was undoubtedly the Holy Heaven Buddha.

He, Feng Tianshi, had originally cooperated with Yan Muyi, but gradually turned toward the Holy Heaven Buddha.

That day, the Holy Heaven Buddha found him and asked him a question: "Do you still wish to experience destruction once more?"

He shook his head.

The Holy Heaven Buddha said: "The great trend of the world is the trend of yin and yang. When united, yin and yang are in great harmony; when divided, yin and yang are dispersed. Therefore, only through constant division and union can yin and yang be dispersed."

The Holy Heaven Buddha said again: "Then use the river to gather the Ghosts, lead the Ghosts into the sea, and let them pour out for ten thousand miles."

The Holy Heaven Buddha was the most capable existence among them, so they naturally began to execute this plan.

Secretly controlling the major factions, and then creating a chaotic world after peace, was to prevent the great harmony of yin and yang.

Originally, everything would have proceeded like this... but the Holy Heaven Buddha sought him out alone again and asked him: "Do you think leading the Ghosts into the sea can really succeed?"

He was bewildered.

The Holy Heaven Buddha said: "This land has a constant source of yin energy; even pouring it into the sea is merely a delaying tactic. If one truly wishes to escape and ascend to heaven, one must see through the current situation and transcend this Yinrang filled with evil ghosts."

He asked: "How to transcend?"

The Holy Heaven Buddha said: "The method of transcendence lies in the ultimate Four Fierce Lands, but how to use these Four Fierce Lands to escape and survive requires the guidance of a person."

Subsequently, he underwent various trials set by the Holy Heaven Buddha and finally saw that person... That was a very strange person.

A person who did not exist in the real world.

But given his level, he naturally knew... the so-called "real world" was merely a "world where body and Soul reside."

The "Reappearance World" reached through Dreams was the greater reality.

That person was in the Reappearance World.

That was a doctor, a doctor whose appearance he could never recall.

That doctor, in order to test his aptitude, made him undergo some small training and tests.

During the training, he once thought he had become an elephant.

Yet the final test result was still a failure.

The doctor said that although he failed this time, there would be another chance next time, so he gifted him an Elephant Mask, but this mask was broken.

Yet even though it was broken, once he put on this mask, he still possessed power far exceeding what he had before.

He grew increasingly eager to meet that doctor again.

And the doctor's requirement was that he would only take away two people from each continent: Shengtian Fo met his requirements, and whether the remaining one could be him depended on his own ability.

The person who appeared today was able to create "pseudo-Xuan Realm" medicine men, so their strength must have already reached the Dharma Image Realm.

Therefore, no matter who this person is, they must absolutely not be left alive!

Feng Tianshi thought of this and entered that mysterious Yin She once again.

He decided to tell a lie, then lure these "old friends" to come out in full force to kill that existence with the momentum of a thunderbolt.

At the same time, he also planned to go and invite Shengtian Fo.

Shengtian Fo was the only one among their group closest to the Dharma Image Realm, but he wore a complete animal mask.

With him assisting in the battle, plus the advantage of a prepared strike against an unprepared one, this anomaly that had abruptly appeared in the Imperial Capital would surely die without a doubt.

(End of this chapter)