Chapter 152: Contact

Chen Mo looked at the corpse inside the coffin; from its height to its features, it was exactly the same as the Son of Heaven he had seen before.

However, the aura it exuded was different, which indicated that the cultivation technique this corpse practiced while alive was different from that of the current Son of Heaven.

Furthermore, Chen Mo had used his Blood Qi to examine the physical body and could vaguely detect signs of a disguise.

This sign was extremely subtle; if Chen Mo had not practiced the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body, and his perception of physical Blood Qi was far superior to other Martial Artists of the same realm, he might not even have been able to discover it.

Putting all these things together, Chen Mo could be one hundred percent certain that the corpse before him was absolutely not the current Son of Heaven.

Then, if the current Son of Heaven's corpse was not here, where exactly was he? Was he dead, or was he hiding in the shadows watching all of this!

Chen Mo was completely unable to determine this; the only things he could do for now were to wait, and to find a way to locate those Innate Experts and learn more information from them.

It was indeed not appropriate for him to leave the Imperial Ancestral Temple rashly right now, but that did not mean he could not have someone else go in his stead.

Find a way to locate those Innate Experts as much as possible and make contact with them.

If that still didn't work, then he would just wait slowly.

As long as the current Son of Heaven was still alive, he would inevitably show himself before the state funeral ended.

Otherwise, if he only showed himself after the New Emperor ascended the throne, he would only be left to become the Retired Emperor.

Responding to the ever-changing situation with stillness was the best choice for him at the moment.

After carefully investigating the corpse, Chen Mo used his True Qi to seal the coffin again, then took long strides out of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, nodding slightly to Empress Xu, who was eating a vegetarian meal to the side.

Empress Xu had originally been dining with numerous concubines, princes, and princesses; seeing Chen Mo walk out, she slowly ceased her movements.

Seeing her stop using her chopsticks, the remaining concubines, regardless of whether they were full or not, hurried to stop their movements as well.

Empress Xu rose and walked into the Imperial Ancestral Temple to continue keeping vigil for the Son of Heaven.

A dozen maids and eunuchs from the Imperial Kitchen then cleaned the place up once more.

"General Chen." Two Yulin Guards ran over hurriedly, each carrying a large package in their hands, "Your wife, Zhao Yu, just arrived at the Palace City gate and entrusted us to deliver these things to you."

"Oh!" Chen Mo was slightly surprised, but upon reflection, it was normal.

He hadn't covered his tracks much when entering the city this time, and the commotion he made was quite large; Zhao Yu must know he was inside the Palace City now.

Although she held a Title of Nobility, she could not enter the palace without a summons.

But asking someone to help deliver some things to Chen Mo was not a breach of protocol.

Chen Mo was not worried about her safety; unless the Prince of Pingxi was insane, it was impossible for him to make a move against her now.

If he really did that, he would be breaking the rules, and all the civil and military officials in the Imperial Court would band together to oppose him.

When it came down to it, the Prince of Pingxi only wanted to usurp power for now, not raise a banner to openly rebel.

And even for usurping power, he was still using a relatively mild method, so he had to consider the thoughts of the civil and military officials.

After all, if he could make a move against Chen Mo's wife and children now, would he make a move against their own wives and children in the future?

This was something all officials would consider.

Moreover, as an Innate Expert, Chen Mo himself was a form of deterrence.

Before making a move against his family and kin, the Prince of Pingxi had to first consider whether he could withstand the wrath and long-term pursuit of an Innate Expert.

And this Innate Expert was still very young, so his cultivation would inevitably improve further in the future.

Furthermore, the most important point was that there was not much meaning or value in making a move against Zhao Yu.

Instead, it would cause Chen Mo to lean completely toward the side of the Empress and the Crown Prince, dealing with him without sparing any effort.

As long as the Prince of Pingxi was not a fool, he would absolutely not do such a stupid thing.

At least he would absolutely not do it now, because he had not yet reached a dead end, but it was hard to say as time went on.

Therefore, Chen Mo was also considering whether to bring Zhao Yu to his side in a couple of days, or have her find a relatively safe place to hide first.

Chen Mo took the packages, took out some broken silver to tip the two Yulin Guards, and then walked with the packages to a wind-sheltered spot beside the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Inside one of the packages was a sheepskin cloak, which could be worn at night to keep out the cold.

It was now the autumn and winter season, and the night wind was bone-chilling; an extra layer of clothing would be much warmer.

Even within the Palace City, not all palaces had an Array to keep the temperature constant.

This type of Array was quite costly to set up and had certain requirements regarding the Heaven and Earth Trend.

In addition, the Grand Ancestor and the Taizong of Great Gan advocated frugality when they first founded the nation, so this type of Array was only set up in a few places, even within the Palace City.

And in the other package were rolled pancakes wrapped in three layers of oil paper; each one weighed nearly two jin, and there were seven or eight of them, still carrying a warm heat.

Inside the pancakes were braised pork, stewed until extremely tender, nearly melting in the mouth.

Because they had been sitting for a while, quite a bit of the meat juices had gradually seeped into the pancakes, and Zhao Yu had also added some stir-fried greens and shredded potatoes with green peppers to cut the greasiness.

During the vigil, the many princes and concubines were not allowed to eat meat or fish and had to keep a steady vigil for the Son of Heaven.

But the rule about not eating meat or fish did not restrict other people within the Palace City.

Otherwise, if the Yulin Guards didn't eat meat for over a month, it was questionable whether they could even lift their weapons.

Chen Mo sat on the ground, draped in the newly made sheepskin cloak, and quickly ate those rolled pancakes clean, then took some clear water from his Storage Bag to drink.

Taking a handkerchief to wipe his mouth in a leisurely manner, he then walked out of the wind-sheltered alley.

The sky had now gradually darkened; the sunset was fading, and the lingering rays were like blood.

The Yulin Guards began to change shifts, with one group going to rest and another replacing them to guard the area.

Chen Mo summoned a Yulin officer and took out the Passage Token the Son of Heaven had once given him from his Huai.

"This Token allows one to enter and exit the Wanfa Tower at will, without any restrictions.

I must guard the Imperial Ancestral Temple now and cannot move about easily; you take this Token to the top floor of the Wanfa Tower and see if you can invite the Innate Experts patronized by the Imperial Court to come forward.

If other experts are all severely injured and unwilling to show themselves, then you look for a senior named Chu Tianxiu."

As Chen Mo spoke, he not only handed over the Token but also sent out a strand of his own True Qi, attaching it to the Token.

He had to let those Innate Experts patronized by the Imperial Court know that he was also an Innate Expert, so that they might be willing to show themselves and negotiate with him.

Feeling the Xiantian True Qi on the Token, although they had long known that Chen Mo was an Innate Expert.

Yet the Feathered Forest Guard still could not help but feel astonished at this moment; he truly could not fathom how Chen Mo, being so young, had managed to break through to become an Innate Expert.

Having cultivated all the way to Acquired Perfection, he naturally counted as quite talented, and since childhood, he had always heard others praise him as a heaven-sent genius.

However, this heaven-sent genius had to be compared to someone, and compared to Chen Mo, he was somewhat insignificant.

At nearly forty, he was still at Acquired Perfection, and he did not know if he would have the chance to touch the Innate Realm in this lifetime.

Yet Chen Mo was already an Innate Expert, and most crucially, he was still so young.

Such aptitude could simply be called heaven-defying; he did not even have the thought of comparing himself to the other party, because the gap was truly too vast—for him to compare himself to Chen Mo would undoubtedly be asking for humiliation.

"This subordinate understands." The Feathered Forest Guard took the Token, bowed, and saluted.

"Wait until tonight to go; caution is of the utmost importance," Chen Mo cautioned carefully.

The Feathered Forest Guard said nothing more, nodded lightly, and carefully put away the Token.

He was, of course, clear that this matter was by no means easy, but if it were accomplished, it would be a great merit, perhaps allowing his noble title to advance a step further.

At his level of official rank, it was very difficult to rise any higher; at most, he could be promoted by another half-grade.

What he sought now was nothing more than an increase in his noble title, for that was something tangible.

The favors and connections he had gained in his official career could at most be used by the generation of his children and grandchildren; beyond that, they would be of little use.

But a noble title could allow his family to be passed down for a long time; even if he were to die, the title could still protect his children and grandchildren.

Therefore, the higher the noble title, the better.

Time passed, and the sky soon grew completely dark; the Feathered Forest Guard quietly set out, left the Palace City, and headed straight for the Inner City.

Chen Mo walked into the Imperial Ancestral Temple, where many princes and princesses were already drowsy.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple was spacious enough; although there was no bedding, one could still sleep on the floor in the second half of the night.

If one were to truly keep watch for an entire night, and do so for seven times seven, forty-nine days, then apart from a few Martial Artists, not many people could endure for such a long time.

At night, the temperature naturally dropped as well.

Many imperial concubines were fine, as they possessed some level of Martial Dao cultivation.

But those princes and princesses could only curl their bodies into a ball.

"Your Highness, wear this; it will be warmer." Chen Mo took off his cloak and draped it over Zhao Renmin.

"Thank you, Chen," Zhao Renmin said, wrapping the cloak, which still held some warmth, tightly around himself.

"When I ascend the throne, I will definitely appoint you as Grand General." He said this very earnestly; Grand General was the highest official rank he knew of.

Chen Mo smiled, not taking these words to heart.

Even if Zhao Renmin ascended the throne, power would not be in his hands for the time being; counting on him to appoint himself Grand General was not as good as counting on Empress Xu.

Moreover, the rank of Grand General was only ever used for posthumous conferment, because this position truly held the power to command the world's armies.

If someone were truly alive and holding this power, it would be very abnormal, and one could even say it had reached the point of a weak master and a strong subject.

Zhao Renmin, wrapped in the cloak, called over his younger brothers and sisters to huddle together, so that they could at least be warmer.

Although this was a breach of etiquette, since Empress Xu said nothing, no one was stupid enough to bring it up.

Chen Mo patrolled the area around the Imperial Ancestral Temple once more to ensure everything was safe, then found a place to wait quietly.

Not until near the midnight hour did a figure quietly appear outside the Palace City, and Chen Mo sensed the other party's presence almost instantly.

The person who arrived was none other than the Feathered Forest Guard.

He walked with hurried steps, his figure extremely fast, erupting with his full speed.

"My Lord, I went to see the Innate Expert of the Wanfa Tower, and there is indeed a Senior Chu Tianxiu among them.

But that senior has urgent matters and must remain at the Wanfa Tower, so he cannot leave; he asked me to immediately give this Talisman to you, and once you activate it, you can converse with him from afar."

The Feathered Forest Guard held a jade Talisman in his hands, along with the Passage Token for the Wanfa Tower that Chen Mo had previously given him.

Putting away the Token and taking the Talisman, Chen Mo walked into the empty Martial Temple beside the Imperial Ancestral Temple and circulated his True Qi to activate the Talisman.

A special, profound power flowed within the Talisman, and Chen Mo could clearly perceive his divine sense being mobilized.

He did not resist this process, but he did not send all of his divine sense into the Talisman immediately either.

He first used wisps of divine sense to scout the path, ensuring the process was safe.

This power felt like a ghost realm, and Chen Mo's divine sense gradually entered it.

At first, everything around was vast and indistinct, but it soon stabilized, and a small, simply decorated courtyard appeared before his eyes.

Chu Tianxiu was still wearing his red robe as usual, standing quietly in the courtyard; seeing Chen Mo arrive, he could not wait to ask, "You have broken through to the Innate Realm?"

Regarding this point, he truly could not fathom it no matter how he thought about it.

That Chen Mo had great talent and great strength were things he already knew, and he was also aware that Chen Mo had encountered fortuitous opportunities.

But he still had not expected Chen Mo to break through to the Innate Realm so quickly; this talent was a bit too frightening.

Originally, he had believed that Chen Mo had no chance, or at most a slim chance, of breaking through to the Heavenly Human Realm.

But now, seeing Chen Mo's talent, he suddenly felt that this slim chance had grown a little larger, no longer as slim as before.

A Martial Artist in the Innate Realm in their twenties—looking at the world today, there had never been such a figure throughout history.

Yet Chen Mo had done it; since he could achieve what predecessors had never achieved, then breaking through to the Heavenly Human Realm was not impossible.

That was why Chu Tianxiu was so eager to question Chen Mo, wanting to learn from his own mouth whether he had truly broken through to the Innate Realm.

Compared to this matter, other things were unimportant.

Even if someone were to usurp the throne or rebel, compared to this, it was still an insignificant trifle.

Only by the appearance of an Innate Expert in the Heavenly Human Realm could their world continue; otherwise, everything would be but a passing cloud after a hundred years.

"Of course, this junior is now in the Innate Realm." Chen Mo's expression was calm, a smile on his face, hiding nothing about his own strength.

(End of chapter)