Chapter 116

The world only knows that the Eastern Emperor's Bell, the Shen Nong Ding, the Xuanyuan Heavenly Secret Talisman and the Shanhe Sheji Map are the Four Great Ancient Treasures of the World, but few people knew that there is another thing that was left on earth by the Gods of Heaven when Zhuanxu Sect disconnected the heaven and earth, and that is the Golden Trunk Jade Policy.

Millions of years ago, the Great Emperor Haotian was the Supreme Master of the Heavens, Jiuzhou and Jiuyou. The Gods of Heaven are above all demons and ghosts. The universe revolves, and everything is born and dies in an endless cycle. Only the Gods of Heaven can transcend the cycle of reincarnation. But the Gods of Heaven only have long lives, not immortality.

In the Book of Life and Death, a miraculous book birthed from heaven and earth, the life spans of the Gods of Heaven are also recorded.

The Great Emperor Haotian could not allow the life span of the Gods of Heaven to be in the hands of others and forced the Great Emperor Dongyue, the Lord of Jiuyou, to hand over the Book of Life and Death. It was the height of the Great War between the Gods of Heaven and the Earthly Gods, and the fight between the three worlds was so intense that Zhuan Xu, the Human Emperor, proposed the disconnection between heaven and earth, and the three worlds should be divided and be ruled separately.

At that time, the Great Emperor Dongyue had already become a god. He did not want to disobey the Heavenly Law by allowing the Gods of Heaven to control the lifespan of the three worlds, nor could he disobey the Great Emperor Haotian, so he divided the Book of Life and Death into two and put the part that recorded the lifespan of the Gods of Heaven into a Golden Trunk and sealed it in Mount Tai, while the Book of Life and Death and the Judge's Brush, which can change the life span, were handed over to his first disciple, Bei Yin. Finally, the Great Emperor Dongyue returned to the Heavens and never descended to earth, while the Great Emperor Beiyin ruled over Jiuyou.

In the course of time, the Golden Trunk Jade Policy was gradually forgotten, with only a few scattered records in very old texts and very few people were interested about it. After all, it is useless to mortals compared to the Four Great Ancient Treasures of the world.

The Great Emperor Dongyue would never have imagined that one day the Golden Trunk Jade Policy would reappear on earth, not caused by the Gods of Heaven, but by a frenzied mortal cultivator who wants to use it to find the golden core with the imperial destiny.

Among the mountains, a hooded man wielding icy feathers held a radiant, bejeweled golden box in his hand. It was none other than the long-lost Yun Zhong Jun, whose other hand was holding Zhong Kui's Qingfeng Sword.

"Congratulations to Master for obtaining the Golden Trunk Jade Policy." Yun Zhong Jun's voice was as cold and stern as himself.

Flying Plume Ambassadors and a group of Cangyu Sect cultivators arched their hands and said in unison, "Congratulations to Master for obtaining the Golden Trunk Jade Policy!"

Qi Meng Sheng laughed loudly for a long time. In that arrogant laughter contained a hint of desolation.

Zhong Kui said in a chilling voice: "Qi Meng Sheng, even if you get the Golden Trunk Jade Policy, you still have to find the reincarnation of the Human Emperor, then take his core, and finally use Shen Nong Ding to refine this core. You have just started your journey of a thousand miles, perhaps you've dreamt that you've already succeeded?"

"As long as I get the Human Emperor's core, there will be wise people who know how to choose an ideal tree*." Qi Meng Sheng looked down on all the people, "The sects outside the Pass have had enough of your Central Plains' people's hypocrisy and shamelessness. Asking the Dao and cultivating immortality are supposed to be separate paths, yet you call us demonic cultivators. When my ice crystal body is complete, I will show you how the 'crooked way', as you call it, attain the Dao!"

Li Bu Yu said righteously, "The immortal cultivation world will never recognize the 'Dao' of a core thief! I advise you to be aware of your mistake and return to the right path. If your selfish desires bring harm to the people, you will never become an immortal!"

As if she had heard some kind of joke, Qi Meng Sheng sneered, "A villain who changed his roots by eating a human core has the face to call others a core thief."

Without waiting for Li Bu Yu's reply, the wings of the snowy owl behind Qi Meng Sheng's back flapped hard, and a fierce wind mixed with bone-chilling ice and snow swept over the mountain. Like thousands of sharp knives and waves with a murderous aura in the air, and the crowd had to concentrate on protecting themselves.

Qi Meng Sheng took the opportunity to take her disciples and fled towards the sky without looking back.

Song Chun Gui wanted to chase after them, but Li Bu Yu raised his hand to stop him.

In fact, everyone understood that of the four great immortals of the world, Xu Zhi Nan had died, Zhong Kui had lost his Qingfeng Sword, and Li Bu Yu might not be able to defeat Qi Meng Sheng, who had already semi-fused with the ice crystal, even if he tried his best. They cannot stop her.

Li Bu Yu stood motionless in the wind. Looking at the direction where Qi Meng Sheng had disappeared, his hair was grey and his face was pale, and he seemed to have aged even more.

Song Chun Gui hesitated for a long time before saying, "Master, the Heaven Master is right. Qi Meng Sheng has only obtained the Golden Trunk Jade Policy and has neither found the reincarnation of the Human Emperor nor obtained the golden core. It will be even more difficult to use the Shen Nong Ding to refine the core. We can definitely stop her."

"No matter what the cost is, we must stop her." Li Bu Yu's weary voice scattered in all directions in the wind, "The immortal cultivation world must not have a second Supreme Demon.”

"We should find the reincarnation of the Human Emperor before she does, and protect that person." Lan Zi Zhen looked at Zhong Kui, "Heaven Master, it is said that Official Lord Cui knows everything from heaven to earth, is it possible for him to find the reincarnation of the Human Emperor without using the Golden Trunk Jade Policy?"

Zhong Kui's sword brows were furrowed and his face was unusually grave. He did not answer Lan Zi Zhen, but turned his gaze to his first disciple.

Xie Bi An took a deep breath and walked over to Zhong Kui. He listened to his heart beating like a drum, thumping loudly as he said, "Pavilion Master Lan, Official Lord Cui is in charge of the Book of Life and Death and the Judge's Brush. To ensure his impartiality, he never interferes with the human realm’s matters."

Song Chun Gui said with a stern face, "But once Qi Meng Sheng completes her ice crystal body, I'm afraid it will be more than just the human realm’s matters. Have the Heaven Master and Impermanence Immortal forgotten how the Fengdu boundary was broken?"

Zhong Kui remained silent.

Fan Wu She said with a cold face, "The Human Emperor is a celestial being. The Three Life Stones cannot be illuminated. The Book of Life and Death does not record it, and there is nothing Official Lord Cui can do about it." Xie Bi An’s identity must not be known to this group of people, especially Li Bu Yu. The golden core with the imperial destiny is possibly the only immortal core that can help people ascend, who would not covet it?

The crowd looked at Zhong Kui, waiting for him to make a statement.

Only after a long time did Zhong Kui say, "I'll ask Official Lord Cui, but you all don't need to hope for that. As I see it, it's crucial to protect Shen Nong Ding."

"Right, without Shen Nong Ding, she will not be able to refine the Absolute Human Emperor."

A group of people started discussing. Some said they should send someone to track and find the reincarnation of the Human Emperor, others said they should immediately go to Kunlun and snatch the Shen Nong Ding from the control of Cangyu Sect.

Xie Bi An clenched his fists tightly, frozen like a statue in the wind and snow.

Until a hand wrapped around his fist, infusing him with warmth.

Xie Bi An turned his head and his gaze met with Fan Wu She's, whose gaze was firm and strong as he whispered, "Don't be afraid."

---

The three of them were sitting in a guest room, and the atmosphere was oppressive.

Xie Bi An suddenly raised his head: "Master, is there any way for Official Lord Cui to know, whether I am…?"

Zhong Kui shook his head, "We would have to ask him about this."

"Then, if I really am ..." The words "reincarnation of the Human Emperor", Xie Bi An could not say no matter how hard he tried, as if once he said it, the mountain would really fall on him.

"As long as you return to the underworld, Qi Meng Sheng will not be able to hurt you." Zhong Kui said.

Xie Bi An rested his forehead on his hand and said soberly, "I still can't believe it. How can this be, how is it possible? Master, I must confirm this personally, otherwise I won't have a peace of mind at any moment."

"With what you saw in your dream, all the clues match up." Zhong Kui sighed, "We have to start our journey back to Fengdu right away, or else ..."

Or else, once Qi Meng Sheng knew the truth, she would probably come back and kill.

"Then my golden core can really be refined to become some kind of Absolute Human Emperor?" Xie Bi An once again covered his abdomen. His core was still well in place, but he already felt chills all over his body. He thought of Meng Ke Fei's abdominal cavity that had been gouged with a large hole. To a cultivator, there could never be anything more cruel and painful than dying from having one's core dug out.

"Some ancient texts say so, but who has confirmed it, no one knows." Zhong Kui looked at his disciple with worry and pain in his eyes, "But if this secret is exposed, Qi Meng Sheng will not be the only one who covets your core."

"... I know."

Fan Wu She was sitting on pins and needles on the side.

He had also once coveted this core. His cultivation had reached a bottleneck and he wanted to break through the ninth Chongtian of the Zongxuan Sword and attain the Dao of the Great Ascension, which might be hopeless in this life, and only the Absolute Human Emperor could help him. He had thought that if he really ate Zong Zi Heng's Core, perhaps he would not have lost to the Great Emperor Beiyin, and it was this greed and ambition that had killed Zong Zi Heng. He had suffered a hundred years of extreme punishment, crawled back from hell to earth and was given a chance to start again. Even if he had to risk his life, he would never let this man go again.

"There is one more thing that confuses me." Zhong Kui said, "Qi Meng Sheng knew that Li Bu Yu had dug up Zong Ming He’s core and sealed him in Diancang Peak, which must have been known a hundred years ago. Cangyu Sect had little dealings with Wuliang Sect, so this matter must have been told to her by Xu Zhi Nan. Xu Zhi Nan is the beloved of Emperor Kong Hua, is this something that Emperor Kong Hua knows about?"

Xie Bi An also showed a puzzled expression, "Yeah, if Emperor Kong Hua didn't know, why didn't Xu Zhi Nan tell him? And if Emperor Kong Hua knew, then Zong Ming He wasn't killed by him, so why did he have to bear the eternal infamy of killing his father the emperor?"

Fan Wu She's brows knitted together. He wanted to know the answer to this question too ---- whether Zong Zi Heng had killed Father or not.

After ten years of exile, he had killed his way back to Wuji Palace without asking about the cause and effect of the feud between the father and son, Zong Zi Heng and Zong Ming He. When he had defeated Zong Zi Heng, pinned his big brother on the throne and violated him for a night, the possibility of the two of them speaking to each other in peace had almost been cut off.

What had happened on the Eight Trigrams Platform that year?

"Perhaps it had something to do with the entanglement between Qi Meng Sheng, Xu Zhi Nan and Cheng Yan Zhi."

"When Master interrogated Cheng Yan Zhi, did he say anything about it?"

Zhong Kui shook his head, "You must understand that although a human soul cannot lie, what he says may not be the truth, or, it may not be the whole truth."

What one person sees and hears is only one side of the story, and the truth, which is so well-spoken and believed, may have been clouded and distorted by others.

The true face of Lushan is lost to one’s sight, for it is right in this mountain that one resides.

"Master is right. Cheng Yan Zhi and Xu Zhi Nan shared a body for over a hundred years, and when it was his turn to be trapped in the square inch of the Seven Star Life-Sustaining Lamp, it would have been impossible for him to know all that Xu Zhi Nan knew. In between, there must be an inside story." Xie Bi An let out a long sigh, "All Qi Meng Sheng could do was to use this fact to play the two of them."

Fan Wu She thought back carefully on the limited number of meetings he had with Xu Zhi Nan since he had taken control of Wuji Palace. Perhaps what he had seen was the real Xu Zhi Nan, or at least he hadn't noticed anything different, but that was because he didn't know Xu Zhi Nan well in the first place. Zong Zi Heng cited Xu Zhi Nan as his confidant and regarded him as his support, didn't he also feel that something was wrong?

Zhong Kui suddenly scratched his head hard and cursed a city of foul language, "What a mess. My head hurts from thinking about it. That demonic old woman even took my Qingfeng sword, how am I going to explain this to the emperor? Cui Zi Yu will scold me to death."

Xie Bi An said with a bitter smile, "At least big brother Lan is back safe and sound."

Zhong Kui stood up, "I'm going to see Li Bu Yu. I want to ask him personally about Zong Ming He. In front of me, he won't be able to play dumb."

"Master." Fan Wu She stopped him, "We have a common enemy. Now is not the time."

Zhong Kui's beard flew up in annoyance.

Xie Bi An said, "I'll go and see Brother Lan, then, we'll go back to Fengdu."

 

 ----

How to choose an ideal tree* [良禽择木而栖]---- birds will choose the ideal place to own trees as habitat. As an analogy, excellent talents should choose a good organisation that makes use of your talents and a good leader who makes good use of you

 

Edited on 21 Apr. 21 (Emzie)

 

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