Chapter 128: 169, 170

Song Cheng swallowed and killed the strongest giant monk in one gulp; the remaining three Manifestation-stage Souls, though it is unknown what psychological process they underwent, each made the same reaction at the first moment—escape!

The mud and stone on the surface of the Manifestations fell away one after another.

As for the giant monk, the flood dragon, and the fairy, they vanished in an instant, as if they had never appeared at all.

Souls can travel ten thousand miles in an instant through visualization, making them extremely slippery.

As long as you cannot kill them in seconds or trap them, they can run away.

Therefore, the scene before him did not exceed Song Cheng's expectations.

But at the same time, he also recorded the data of these three people.

Data does not change in a short period of time; the next time he encounters them, he will be able to lock onto them quickly.

Song Cheng withdrew the form of the Black Tortoise, glanced at Prince Zhao in the distance, and without saying anything more, he left directly and returned to the body of He Zheng.

Since there has already been a great upheaval in the Imperial Capital, he might as well stay and take a look, and conduct a search; after all, his view of this world is still too blurry.

Amidst the ruins of the Gugong, others were merely shocked by the terrifying Black Tortoise that was dozens of zhang tall, but in the eyes of Zhao Hua, a look of intense excitement had already appeared; others did not know, but whether it was him, Tie Zhenyi, or Ouyang Sha, they had actually all vaguely guessed the identity of that Black Tortoise.

All three remembered that the elusive Song Cheng of the North Land had once practiced a cultivation technique called "Black Tortoise Body".

The Black Tortoise is primarily composed of a tortoise and a snake.

That giant Black Tortoise, no matter how one looked at it, could not be unrelated to Song Cheng.

However, Zhao Hua said directly in front of Tie Zhenyi and Ouyang Sha: "It is not him."

Immediately after, he added indifferently: "Souls are never the same; this is an iron law. Eldest Brother is Xuanhu, not the Black Tortoise."

With this hint, Tie Zhenyi and the other immediately overturned their original guesses, only beginning to think that perhaps this Black Tortoise only had some connection to Song Cheng, or perhaps... it was just a coincidence.

After Zhao Hua diverted the topic, he immediately roared: "Save the Heavenly Son!!"

After roaring this sentence, he turned his head and looked at Grand Tutor Qin.

Grand Tutor Qin seemed to have already received some instructions, and he nodded at him with a smile.

After a night of effort, the next day, in broad daylight, the commoners and nobles of the Imperial Capital all learned the news: the Heavenly Son was assassinated, Prince Zhao saved the sovereign, the Heavenly Son was seriously injured... Prince Zhao is acting as regent.

And this high-ranking and powerful Prince Zhao continued to act with vigor and speed, using "medicine-person materials" to quickly control the Imperial Capital by tempting the Qi Realm powerhouses of the Imperial Capital with the promise that they "can enter the pseudo-mysterious realm and increase their lifespan by three sixty-year cycles."

With such an "Immortal" behind him, human imperial power is truly within easy reach.

This is just like "with the support of the Emperor, you can rise very quickly in the officialdom, as fast as if you were cheating"... it is all the same principle.

The suppression of those below by those above is completely a dimensionality-reduction strike.

Therefore, with the support of an "Immortal," and the Immortal on the Heavenly Son's side having completely disappeared, the speed at which Zhao Hua controlled the situation was remarkably fast; he did not even spare the Holy Light Hall.

The "False Holy Heavenly Buddha" who had previously accompanied him on the expedition and urged him to seize power with might had also vanished without a trace.

For a time, monks praised Prince Zhao's wisdom, and scholars also debated scriptures for Prince Zhao.

The Imperial Capital quickly stabilized.

Zhao Hua worked without closing his eyes until midnight, only then did he hurriedly seek out Grand Tutor Qin, and then under his guidance, he secretly arrived at the University Scholar's mansion.

On the way here, he already knew that the existence who had saved him last night and helped him completely reverse the situation was named "Xuanwu Emperor."

He had also already planned to propagate the name of the Emperor, so that others would know, and so that the faith in the Emperor would replace the original Holy Heavenly Buddha.

However, there was some trembling in the depths of his heart.

Trembling with excitement.

He knew best in his heart that the medicine-person materials he used from beginning to end were entirely provided by Eldest Brother, and were absolutely not from that so-called "Xuanwu Emperor."

Coupled with the "Black Tortoise Body" that Eldest Brother had revealed earlier, he was basically certain that the Black Tortoise last night was Eldest Brother.

What "souls are never the same," what "if it is Xuanhu it cannot be the Black Tortoise," such iron laws could not destroy Zhao Hua's worship of Eldest Brother.

In Zhao Hua's eyes, Eldest Brother is omnipotent.

Since he is omnipotent, why can he not possess two soul bodies?

Eldest Brother should not be an Emperor; what Eldest Brother should be... is the Heavenly Emperor.

However, Zhao Hua understood Eldest Brother's intentions, so... he would be the first to reject the idea that "yesterday's Black Tortoise was Song Cheng."

If someone insisted on arguing, he would kill that person.

The secret that Eldest Brother does not want to expose must absolutely not be exposed.

Carrying an extremely excited mood, Zhao Hua arrived at the University Scholar's mansion.

Before the residence, the University Scholar respectfully welcomed Prince Zhao.

To anyone, Prince Zhao was just there to win over the University Scholar.

Immediately, the University Scholar called his nephew He Zheng to serve tea.

He doted on this nephew quite a bit, so wanting to let this nephew show his face in front of Prince Zhao was also a "favoritism" that could be completely understood.

However, no one could have imagined that after He Zheng arrived, the University Scholar hurriedly stood up, then hastily took his leave, turning into a doorman, guarding outside the door, leaving only Prince Zhao and "He Zheng, who was possessed by the Emperor," in the room.

"Emperor."

Zhao Hua looked at the youth opposite him and spoke respectfully.

He needed the other party to admit it himself.

The youth, however, just sat down, drank the tea he had served, and then said: "Huazi, have you been well?"

"Eldest Brother!"

Zhao Hua immediately revealed a smile; as he laughed, his eyes turned red, and he raised his hand to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand, saying "Eldest Brother" repeatedly during the process... "It has been a long time, why have you regressed? The Huazi of the past would not cry," Song Cheng laughed.

Zhao Hua wiped his eyes a few more times fiercely and said: "I thought I would never see Eldest Brother again in this life."

Song Cheng sized up the Zhao Hua before him.

Compared to before, at this time, Zhao Hua's body was not only stained with the blood-evil aura of slaughter, but also possessed a terrifying aura of a superior.

"Winning a hundred battles" not only trains soldiers but also trains generals; it was he who brought Zhao Hua out in the beginning, but after experiencing so many great battles, Zhao Hua's ability to command troops had long since been reborn compared to before.

This could also be considered a surprise; after all, he never imagined that when Huazi led troops out, wanting to make his "short life like brilliant fireworks," it actually turned out so brilliantly that he became the Prince Zhao who "reached the pinnacle of officialdom."

He looked at the power levels of "Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow," thinking that this "Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow" were all crammed into the Great Shang Dynasty.

However, he was clearly wrong; the limit that the Great Shang Dynasty could contain was merely at the level of "Mysterious Grade, Grade C."

But he was also not sure if the giant monk he swallowed and killed last night was truly the Saint Heaven Buddha.

"Big Brother, come to the Imperial Capital."

Zhao Hua looked at Song Cheng with sudden anticipation, "The medicine men are all yours; even if you want to be the Emperor, you can completely control the situation."

Seeing Song Cheng hesitate, he said, "Big Brother, even if you don't consider yourself, you must think of A Ting and Xiao An; the children always like living in prosperous places full of human vitality."

Song Cheng said, "Then have you thought about Ling Xue?"

Ling Xue?

Zhao Hua was stunned for a moment, then remembered that this seemed to be the name of his daughter, but he had almost never seen that daughter a few times.

Song Cheng patted his shoulder and said, "When you are free, we will take the children out to play together."

Zhao Hua:. He looked up, smiled, and said, "I'll listen to Big Brother."

"It's just that, Big Brother will also be very busy, right?"

Song Cheng nodded and said, "Three people were missed, but I have clues for two of them."

He revealed a thoughtful expression.

"One has a connection to the Xiao family."

"And another must have a connection to the Heavenly Son, otherwise the Heavenly Son would not have rashly wanted to meet you at the Hour of the Bo."

Zhao Hua said, "Then turn the Heavenly Son into a medicine man."

Becoming a medicine man might be discovered.

Therefore, no one used it on the Heavenly Son, but in the current situation, it doesn't matter whether it is used or not."

Song Cheng nodded.

He was looking forward to relaxing a little and taking the children out to play everywhere.

But before that, he had to do his best to eliminate the hidden dangers.

The ruins of the Gugong were being cleared, and the officials' morning court was temporarily moved to the Zhao Prince's Mansion.

The Heavenly Son was naturally also at the Zhao Prince's Mansion.

After taking the medicine man material, Ji Qin's mindset began to produce a natural and strange change; this change reached its peak when Song Cheng stood before him... It was a kind of reverence from a sub-body to a host-body, a loyalty from a slave to a master... "Master."

The Heavenly Son looked at Song Cheng.

Song Cheng began to inquire about the strange person wearing a broken Elephant Mask who had appeared that day.

The Elephant Mask was a strange Soul mask.

After that giant monk died, this mask could actually be brought into the Ghost Tower by Song Cheng, and it was currently being kept in the Ghost Tower.

As for its function, Song Cheng did not know for the time being; he would not take the initiative to wear such strange masks.

"Reporting to Master, the person who appeared in the Gugong that day was named Ji Tianshi, the founding ancestor of my Great Shang Dynasty. He returned after leaving, wanting me to secretly summon the Prince of Zhao into the palace again; I do not know anything else."

The Heavenly Son confessed honestly.

Ji Tianshi? Song Cheng closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said to Zhao Hua on the side, "Prince of Zhao, go and investigate; I want all the information on this person."

Zhao Hua was very efficient; two days later, all the information regarding "Ji Tianshi" was placed in front of Song Cheng.

This was also thanks to many powerful figures who had lived for over a hundred years.

Records in documents can be changed or destroyed, but what is recorded in the mind cannot be changed.

Song Cheng watched silently.

"Ji Tianshi" started from scratch, entered the Divine Weapon Hall, and afterwards was like a peerless genius, rising all the way until he became the Hall Master of the Divine Weapon Hall after marriage. Later, he joined forces with the Star Gazing Tower, conquered all the way, established the Great Shang Dynasty, and then died in the Gugong due to the recurrence of old wounds.

His life, from the surface, seemed meaningless... It was like a standard "resume of a brilliant founding emperor," as if it had been prepared for people to check.

However, Song Cheng keenly noticed "Ji Tianshi's" marriage partner—Wu Xilu.

After Ji Tianshi became Emperor, Wu Xilu was naturally the Empress.

And the tradition of "the Heavenly Son ascending the throne and offering sacrifices to the Wu River God" was originally a tradition of the Divine Weapon Hall; it was the Empress's lineage that insisted on doing it, not the Ji surname Imperial Court.

However, the Wu surname of the original Divine Weapon Hall slowly weakened over time, and by now had become a marginal minor power.

Zhao Hua immediately dragged the current head of the Wu family over.

He asked, and the head of the Wu family answered.

And after Song Cheng listened to the questioning from behind a curtain, the head of the Wu family did not know much either, but said, "The old ancestor loved to sacrifice to the mountains and rivers, often saying that rivers have river gods and mountains have mountain gods, but no one had ever seen them, and no one had ever received the protection of any mountain or river god, so... slowly, no one paid attention to it anymore."

What the significance of "sacrificing to the mountains and rivers" was, Song Cheng was completely unclear.

Zhao Hua, however, patted his chest and said he would immediately form a secret guard to specifically search for ancient artifacts and scour ruins to collect enough information for Big Brother.

For the next few days, Song Cheng still did not leave.

He waited patiently, wanting to see if he could wait for the rabbit to come to the tree.

But he failed.

He then had Zhao Hua directly arrange for the "Xuanwu Temple" to replace the "Holy Light Temple" as the new faith.

With such humiliation, as long as the other party had even a shred of temper, they would always run back to take a peek.

But the result... he failed again.

It seemed that since the day he swallowed and killed the strongest giant monk, the remaining three had been completely terrified and had hidden in some unknown place, not daring to show their faces at all.

This was truly the reality of the human world, without any of the airs or face of experts.

Song Cheng was helpless; seeing that he had stayed in the Imperial Capital long enough, he had to return as soon as possible.

In the back courtyard of the An Mansion, A Ting was already drawing, and upon seeing Song Cheng appear, she moved her little body to climb down from the stool, then ran over with her arms open, shouting "Daddy." Song Cheng picked up his little darling, swung her around twice in the air, and then went to find An Chenyu and the others.

With his return, the back courtyard of the An Mansion was as festive as the New Year.

But no matter how warm the celebration was, it could not dispel the severe cold of the current weather... It was an icy chill that penetrated to the bone.

Even though the charcoal in the stove was burning, it still could not provide a shred of warmth to the entire room.

After eating early, Xiao An burrowed into her quilt.

She had to; it was too cold.

Tong Niangzi had a son and a career, so she did not cling to Song Cheng as much. Even though her love for Song Cheng had not changed, the time they spent together had decreased significantly.

An Chenyu was the same.

As for the Su sisters, they were seizing every moment to cultivate in the secret chamber.

Now that their true bodies were outside, every day that passed was a loss for them.

Therefore, after the bustle, Song Cheng found himself alone.

He thought for a moment, then sought out An Chenyu first to give her a general account of what had happened in the Imperial Capital.

He never looked for trouble; he just focused on cultivation.

However, Huazi was very good at causing trouble, and without realizing it, he had helped him settle half of the Imperial Capital. Plus, his "medicine man material" was exceptionally effective, and his "one-shot kill of someone suspected to be a true Holy Heaven Buddha" allowed the Zhao King's lineage to firmly establish roots in the Imperial Capital.

Now, the Holy Radiance Temple was being razed, and the name of the "Xuanwu Emperor" was in its prime, spreading to the surrounding areas, and would soon be known to all under heaven. It could be said that the Imperial Capital was already his territory.

As for the matter of the two Souls of the "Mysterious Turtle and Xuanhu," Song Cheng felt he could not hide it from his family, who had 100 favorability toward him. Moreover, letting An Jie, a "workaholic" who was frantically busy every day, know about her man's capabilities could also put her at ease.

Sure enough, after he quietly finished telling her about the events in the Imperial Capital, An Chenyu raised her hand and hit him like a spoiled little girl, saying, "Why are you only saying this now?"

But this was a question that did not require an answer; it was merely An Jie's rare "spoiled expression."

Song Cheng grabbed her hand and suddenly said, "An Jie, how about we go to the Imperial Capital?"

"You have always felt aggrieved about why we remain in this bitter, cold land, and always felt aggrieved about why the An Family is still a small family."

"Then... if you want glory and wealth, I will give you glory and wealth."

"If you want power over the world, I will let you be a queen. But as for me, I just want you to be able to rest, leave the affairs of the Yin Gui Society to Ling'er, and then the two of us can take A Ting, call Tong Niangzi and Xiao An, and without a care in the world, go travel and enjoy the scenery."

He did not mention the Su sisters because he still did not know how to talk to the Su family.

The Su family was in the North Land.

If they were to go to the Imperial Capital, it would inevitably involve moving the Ice Coffin.

And "moving the Ice Coffin" was a great taboo for noble families.

One must know that while the Soul can run away at any time, if the true body is gone, then it is truly over.

Therefore, the true body hidden in the Ice Coffin was the foundation of a noble family.

An Chenyu looked at him, started laughing, and then foolishly said, "I don't believe it, I don't believe it..."

Song Cheng swept her up into his arms and said, "Today, you must believe it whether you want to or not."

An Chenyu giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Then we move, move to the Imperial Capital, and leave this bitter, cold place. There is going to be a Ghost Tide here again soon."

"Also, that child A Ting... even I have become somewhat distant from her now."

"She... has become very, very withdrawn, and is very good at disguising herself."

"She disguises herself as cute, but in reality, she is not cute at all anymore."

Song Cheng:... He owed the child too much.

After thinking, he said, "How about I sleep with A Ting tonight?"

An Chenyu said, "I agree, but you have to see if Jia Er and Sister Su agree."

Song Cheng said helplessly, "Fine, fine, fine, I'll satisfy you three little vixens first."

After one night... the three women were exhausted, their jade-white bodies sprawled out, still fast asleep.

Song Cheng carefully got up, walked outside, and stretched his body.

At this time, the sky was just turning white, and everything was quiet. However, A Ting was already sitting under the eaves, her pair of pupils staring gloomily at the drawing board in front of her.

The light became a few degrees colder as it reached her.

At a glance, she looked more like a dark, hard jade sculpture.

Her lips, the corners of her eyes, her cheeks... all her features, though cute, exuded a somewhat inexplicable creepiness.

This made Song Cheng even think of the ghost girl in a horror movie.

He hurried over.

And the moment A Ting made eye contact with him, she revealed a cute smile again; all that gloominess vanished instantly, and even the light became a few degrees brighter.

"Daddy," A Ting called out.

Song Cheng walked over, picked her up, and said, "In a few days, we are moving."

"Where are we going, Daddy?"

"The Imperial Capital," Song Cheng said. "Your Uncle Zhao Hua has established a firm foothold there, so we can go over."

"The Zhao King, huh? He has controlled the Heavenly Son, and he has also latched onto a great expert called the Xuanwu Emperor."

Song Cheng:... He flicked his little darling's nose and laughed, "You know everything."

"Hee hee."

A Ting revealed a cute smile.

Song Cheng said, "You don't have to worry about those spies of yours and your mother's for now; the entire Yin Gui Society can take a vacation..."

"I can't, Daddy... there are so many things that haven't been finished yet."

"What things?"

A Ting began to count on her fingers.

But no matter how she counted, none of it was a big deal to Song Cheng.

Yet, looking at A Ting's persistent little gaze, he said helplessly, "Then do it as quickly as you can and finish early. Daddy doesn't want you to be so tired."

Having said that, he felt around in his pocket and pulled out a piece of candy that Tong Niangzi had brought back yesterday.

This is a type of candy made from a special kind of licorice from the mountains; it is very delicious.

He was just about to peel open the candy wrapper, but A Ting shook her head and said, "No candy, teeth will go bad."

Song Cheng: A Ting added, "Daddy, give me some more powerful secret agents. My current agents are so weak."

Song Cheng said, "Are the current secret agents not enough?"

A Ting said, "To help Daddy and Mommy do good things, I must have powerful secret agents."

Song Cheng said, "You don't need to lead secret agents anymore."

A Ting argued plausibly, "But, I want to do things for Daddy and Mommy."

Song Cheng's expression stiffened slightly. The operation of the Yin Sect was extremely efficient, but it was also extremely bizarre.

Regardless of the structure of the entire force, the one who ultimately issued orders and controlled the overall situation was actually just a little girl who was seven years old by nominal age.

This also meant that no matter what this little girl actually did or what orders she issued outside, others were unable to know.

If it were anyone else, once Song Cheng became suspicious, he might have directly interrogated or even forced a confession.

But the one before him was his little darling, and also a presence he felt guilty toward.

Thus, he said softly, "Whatever you want to do, you can tell Daddy, and Daddy will help you."

After saying this, he added, "No matter what."

The little darling blinked her eyes as she looked at him.

Father and daughter had not been this close for a long time, and had not started trying to communicate in depth like this.

A little girl raised with ghosts, darkness, conspiracies, and busyness as nourishment, in a certain sense, isn't she just a villain boss template? The little darling lowered her head slightly, but said nothing more.

Song Cheng said, "Daddy will help you."

The little darling suddenly said, "Daddy, the people from the Xiao family might have set out; they are coming to take us away. We cannot go to the Imperial Capital."

Song Cheng touched her hair and smiled, "No matter."

Several days later. Above the East Sea, the blue waves stretched for ten thousand acres.

A five-toothed warship was riding the wind and breaking the waves.

The ship's speed was fast!

It was as if it were in a hurry.

Now this ship had already passed Fengzhou and Donghai Zhou, and it was on the verge of reaching the territory of Beixue Zhou.

On the bow deck, a man and a woman were still standing.

The man had small eyes and a steady demeanor; the woman had a delicate figure and rather thick lips.

These were none other than Xiao Bi and Xiao Yan.

The two were acting on the family head's orders to bring Song Cheng back to Jiangnan.

But what made the two suspicious and panicked was that the "Holy Heaven Buddha" seemed to have suddenly disappeared.

The news from the Imperial Capital was even more unbelievable, saying that the Holy Light Temple was being demolished, and in its place was the "Xuanwu Temple."

Regarding this matter, the Xiao family head said, "Perhaps the Buddha has been defeated, so he is hiding somewhere to recuperate," and what they needed to do now was to have the Xiao family, who controlled Jiangnanzhou, immediately go to the Imperial Capital to pay homage and develop in a low-profile manner.

As for Song Cheng, he was the core figure in "whether or not they could keep a low profile."

Because Song Cheng was the sworn brother of the Prince of Zhao, and even more so, a presence who controlled many of the Imperial Capital's medicine men.

Both of them were exceptionally glad at this moment; fortunately, the family head was farsighted and had made Song Cheng a member of the Xiao family in advance.

Once his name was on the Yin She genealogy, he was a person of the Xiao family in life and a ghost of the Xiao family in death; no matter what happened, he had to consider the Xiao family, otherwise the Xiao family could seal him in the Yin She. With Song Cheng there, Jiangnan and the Imperial Capital would have a buffer.

Therefore, the two of them came over to snatch Song Cheng's family and "take" them to Jiangnan before the Imperial Capital could, whether using them as "hostages" or whatever else, in short, to keep them firmly under the control of the Xiao family.

At this time, in the Xiao family's Yin She, the family head Xiao Cibei was sitting with a gloomy face.

The things that had happened recently were beyond his imagination.

The juniors didn't know, but he already knew that the real Holy Heaven Buddha had been killed by that Xuanwu Emperor! The process was a one-shot kill!

How could this be?

Xiao Cibei's expression was horrified, and his mood could not be calmed at all.

The Holy Heaven Buddha was killed in one shot?

To this day, he still had not been able to accept this reality.

And just at this moment, he suddenly felt a strange sound coming from the gate of the Yin She.

Crack! Boom! The gate was suddenly smashed open.

A huge black tortoise crawled in from outside.

Xiao Cibei's eyes widened, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he watched this scene with extreme astonishment.

No, this is the Xiao family's Yin She... how could someone break in?

After that huge black tortoise broke in, without a word, it directly pushed open the place where the Xiao family genealogy was stored, its turtle head took a bite, snatched out the "Song Cheng" Spirit Tablet, and then with a shake of its head, placed the "Song Cheng" Spirit Tablet in the first position.

Xiao Cibei: (End of chapter)