The Buddha is actually me

Chapter 454: The Zhuge Family

Looking at that face, Zhang Jiuyang remained silent for a long time.

Honestly speaking, he didn't hope from the bottom of his heart that Tianzun was really Zhuge Qixing, because the more he knew about Zhuge's deeds, the more he admired him.

After Taizu passed away, Zhuge Qixing took charge of government affairs. He worked day and night, appointed people based on their merits, and even neglected his cultivation.

Later, Yue Jingzhong also died on the march due to illness caused by accumulated injuries.

From then on, Daqian's internal and external troubles, military and political affairs, all depended on Zhuge Qixing alone. In addition, he had to lead the newly established Imperial Observatory to fight against the demons in Jiuzhou and coordinate the forces of the sects.

But even in such a situation, he was able to lead Daqian to prosperity with his unparalleled wisdom, and let the light of the Qianyuan heyday even shine on people six hundred years later.

Although the world is in chaos, at least large-scale wars and demonic activities have not occurred for a long time. The relatively stable environment is largely due to Zhuge Qixing.

It is also for this reason that such a peerless powerful man in the seventh realm actually had gray hair at an early age and died before he was 100 years old.

Zhang Jiuyang really didn't want to believe that Tianzun was Zhuge Qixing, but the facts were before him and he had no choice but to believe it.

He took a deep breath and regained his composure.

Although Zhuge Qixing often reminded him of the Prime Minister Zhuge on Earth, he now secretly warned himself that Zhuge Qixing was definitely not the Prime Minister!
One of them truly devoted himself to the cause until his death, while the other faked his death and escaped, establishing the evil force like Huangquan!

No matter what Zhuge Qixing's purpose was, the establishment of Huangquan was accompanied by blood and rain, and the hands of every Heavenly Stem were stained with countless blood.

Blind Lin who raises ghosts and kills people, tigers who like to eat hearts, Painted Skin Master who peels skin to make noodles, Two-Faced Buddha who likes to deceive people...

The Imperial Observatory had no idea how many zealous and upright people had died in the battle against these evil spirits, and some had not even left behind a complete corpse.

They believed in the ideals and beliefs left by Zhuge Qixing, and went forward one after another and died heroically. If the dead knew that Tianzun was the national teacher, wouldn't it be the greatest mockery and humiliation for them?
Zhang Jiuyang clenched his fists, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"The Lord of Heaven is not Zhuge."

Yue Ling was slightly startled.

"Zhuge Qixing is already dead. Tianzun is just Tianzun. Even if he was killed, he is just the evil spirit of Huangquan, not the Great Qian State Master!"

Zhang Jiuyang said with absolute certainty.

Since some people are already dead, they should just lie in the coffin.

Yue Ling already understood what he meant. A strange light flashed in her eyes. The previous confusion and loss disappeared in an instant, replaced by an unprecedented determination.

She pulled out the Dragon Sparrow Knife with a clang, cut a wound on the palm of her hand, and let the hot blood flow on the blade.

"I, Yue Ling, swear here that I will never allow anyone to tarnish the faith passed down by Master Zhuge..."

After a pause, she said in a sonorous and murderous voice: "Even if it is the Imperial Master himself... it won't work!"

The Imperial Observatory has been passed down for 600 years. The eight words "subdue demons and monsters, and eliminate harm for the people" have long been deeply engraved in the hearts of every Imperial Observatory soldier and cannot be desecrated.

They dreamed of building a peaceful and prosperous world without demons and made great sacrifices to achieve this.

This dream has already blossomed and borne fruit through the bloodshed and sacrifice of countless predecessors. It belongs not only to Zhuge Qixing, but also to everyone who has fought for it.

"Hey, if you want to swear, just swear. Why cut yourself?"

Zhang Jiuyang held her bleeding hand. Although he could see the wound disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye, he still couldn't help feeling a little distressed.

After seven days of practicing together, the two undoubtedly became closer. Not only did they become husband and wife, but they also made great progress in their relationship.

At least in his heart, Zhang Jiuyang already regarded her as his only (crossed out) and most important wife.

Yue Ling let him hold her hand, her pretty face still stern, but there was a hint of a gentle smile in her firm and heroic eyes.

She had never thought that she would fall into the trap of a romantic relationship, and she thought it was ridiculous for two people to be so talkative.

But now she found that this feeling... seemed not bad.

If Zhang Jiuyang hadn't been by her side, she would never have regained her fighting spirit so quickly when she was sure that it was Zhuge Qixing.

She could feel that she could gain some kind of strength from Zhang Jiuyang, a kind of spiritual strength that was fearless and could break all shackles to seek one's own way.

This made her very appreciative, and even a little dependent on it until now.

He is like a magnet, attracting like-minded people to come to him unconsciously, raise their flags, raise their fighting spirit, and fight with him.

"We have now discovered the identity of Tianzun, but we are still at a disadvantage. His cultivation is unfathomable, and we don't know what he is planning. How should we start?"

Yue Ling sheathed his knife and began to ask questions.

Knowing the identity of Tianzun is only the first step in confronting him. There is still a long way to go. Even after knowing that he is Zhuge Qixing, the pressure on people will be doubled.

After all, as brilliant and talented as Zhuge Qixing was back then, so powerful is Tianzun now.

After thinking seriously for a moment, Zhang Jiuyang said something.

"Unite all friends who can be united and expand our strength."

He already had a vague premonition that there would inevitably be an extremely brutal war between him and Tianzun in the future, which would directly determine the fate and direction of Daqian.

Before that, in addition to continuing to lurk in Huangquan and trying to figure out the other party's plan as much as possible, the most important thing for him is to improve his strength and develop his influence.

In order to prepare for that epic decisive battle.

Yue Ling nodded, indicating her approval of the direction he proposed. Just as she was about to say something, her expression froze slightly.

Zhang Jiuyang also felt that someone was about to enter the world in the painting, it should be Tongji.

He immediately waved his sleeves, and the huge eye in the sky returned to the scroll again. The Jade Sky Fire in his palm rose and burned the scroll to ashes.

Tianzun is Zhuge's secret. He and Yue Ling will bury it deep in their hearts and will never tell anyone else.

The scroll had just been burned when Tongji flew over.

He was holding a booklet in his hand with an excited look on his face. It seemed that he had found some clues by following the line of Fakong.

"Donor Zhang, Marquis Yue, I found something in the Sutra Library that might be helpful to you!"

He handed the booklet to Yue Ling, but Yue Ling didn't even look at it and gave it to Zhang Jiuyang instead.

There was a hint of surprise in Tongji's eyes. For some reason, he felt that something seemed to have changed between Zhang Jiuyang and Yue Ling, which he couldn't explain.

Zhang Jiuyang flipped it open and was slightly surprised.

I thought it was some kind of notebook or diary, but it turned out to be a scent book.

The so-called incense book is a book that records how much gold and silver pilgrims have donated to the temple, from ten thousand taels of gold to one copper coin. It is called an incense book, but it is actually an account book.

This is also the rule passed down by Patriarch Baiyun. If people who burn incense and make donations regret it afterwards, they can take back all the money they offered.

It is said that the reason for this rule is to prevent the monks in Baiyun Temple from living a luxurious life and losing their meditation mind due to excessive popularity and wealth.

"Abbot Fakong was too low-key and died young. There are almost no valuable records in the temple. So I suddenly had an idea and thought of the incense book."

Tongji smiled and said, "I really had no other choice, so I thought I would try my luck and found all the incense books that Abbot Fakong had used before and after he entered the temple to see if I could find anything. Unexpectedly, I actually found something!"

Zhang Jiuyang opened the incense book, which was filled with various names and numbers, which made his scalp tingle.

No wonder Tongji has been silent for so long. It turns out that he was searching through the vast sea of ​​incense books. His perseverance is admirable.

"what have you found?"

Tongji pointed to a name in the book and said, "It's this pilgrim. There's something very wrong with him."

Zhang Jiuyang and Yue Ling looked and saw that the pilgrim's surname was Zhu and his given name was Zhu Zhiyuan. This name appeared many times in the incense book, and each time he was generous and spent a lot of money.

"This person made his first donation three months after Abbot Fakong entered the temple. He made donations every three months thereafter until Abbot Fakong suddenly died. He never came again."

Zhang Jiuyang's heart moved. This was indeed too much of a coincidence.

"Have you checked the descendants of Zhu Zhiyuan?"

Yue Ling asked immediately.

Although this happened many years ago, Zhu Zhiyuan was so rich that his descendants should still be around and should not be difficult to find.

Tongji nodded and said, "I checked, but there is absolutely no clue. It's as if this person appeared out of thin air and disappeared out of thin air."

"Oh, by the way, according to the rules of our Baiyun Temple, Zhu Zhiyuan donated so much money. If the abbot is not in seclusion, he should personally receive him for a while."

Zhang Jiuyang's eyes lit up, and he said, "It seems that Zhu Zhiyuan's purpose is to meet Abbot Fakong. They have agreed to use the rules of Baiyun Temple to meet once every three months!"

Baiyun Temple is the ancestral temple of Zen Buddhism, and there must have been top masters guarding it in the past. Tianzun is hiding his identity, and as the abbot, he is being watched by too many eyes, so it must be inconvenient for him to take action.

But he also had a great plan, so he would meet with Zhu Zhiyuan once every three months, and the method of donations was very clever, so that he could meet openly without arousing suspicion.

However, many years later, Tongji found a flaw in the incense book.

But it must be said that the opponent's plan was very clever and flawless. If Zhang Jiuyang had not learned from Bai Yunzi that the Heavenly Venerable was Abbot Fakong, even if there were flaws in the incense book, they would be buried forever.

"It's a pity that Zhu Zhiyuan is a fake name. Now there are no clues."

Tongji sighed. He hadn't slept for seven days and seven nights. Although he found a flaw from that year, it was still broken in the end.

"You two are experts in solving cases, and you are well-known. Do you have any other suggestions?"

He could only place his hopes on Zhang Jiuyang and Yue Ling.

"I will ask the Imperial Observatory to check the name Zhu Zhiyuan again. If there is any news, I will definitely inform the master."

Zhang Jiuyang didn't say anything, so Yue Ling took the initiative.

"In that case, thank you both very much!"

Tongji bowed, feeling a little disappointed. Although the Imperial Observatory was much better than Baiyun Temple in terms of intelligence, it was a fake name and it happened two hundred years ago. It would be difficult to find out anything.

He exchanged pleasantries for a while, then finally said goodbye and left in a hurry.

The abbot died suddenly. There are too many things that need him to preside over in the huge Baiyun Temple. It will be difficult for him to regain the quiet and comfortable life he had before.

After he left, Zhang Jiuyang looked at Yue Ling, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

"You're so smart, you should have guessed it."

After a long time, he finally asked.

Yue Ling nodded, his expression became very solemn, and said: "If the identity of Tianzun is not confirmed, then the line of Zhu Zhiyuan will definitely be broken. But now we know that Tianzun is Zhuge Qixing, then this Zhu Zhiyuan..."

She sighed and said, "This person is very likely from the Zhuge family."

The Zhuge family and the Yue family have been very friendly for hundreds of years and have even had intermarriage. Both sides greatly respect the friendship that their ancestors had when they fought side by side and became sworn brothers.

For example, Zhuge Yunhu and Yue Shuai are as close as brothers and have been close friends for decades.

"Now it seems that the Zhuge family... may not be as upright as we see. The people in the Zhuge family have been in contact with Tianzun more than two hundred years ago, and they were even driven by him."

Zhang Jiuyang told this cruel truth.

Tianzun is Zhuge Qixing. During the long years after his fake death, he secretly contacted people from the Zhuge family and made plans in secret.

As for Huang Quan, Tianzun stayed out of it and watched from the sidelines in a manner like raising a Gu, because he had his own power.

"But the Zhuge family has always been loyal and courageous. They have never made any mistakes since they took over the Imperial Observatory. How could it be..."

Yue Ling found it hard to believe, but was enlightened by Zhang Jiuyang's words.

"Because he is Zhuge Qixing."

She was silent for a long time, and finally had to admit that what Zhang Jiuyang said made sense.

To her, an outsider, Zhuge Qixing has such a great influence. To the people of the Zhuge family, he is simply a god they worship.

Zhang Jiuyang's face was as gloomy as water, and he said in a concentrated voice, "I am very worried about one thing now. Yue Ling, what role did Senior Zhuge Yunhu play in this?"

Yue Ling clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost pierced into her flesh.

If the Zhuge family had already had a secret connection with Zhuge Qixing, how could Zhuge Jianzheng, as the head of the family, not know about it?
Back then, he was said to be seriously injured at the hands of Tianzun and has been recuperating for decades... Was it all an act?
At this moment, she was confused.

Zhang Jiuyang smiled bitterly and said, "There is something even more terrifying."

"what's up?"

"Senior Zhuge knows that I am lurking in Huangquan. If he is Tianzun's man, doesn't that mean that I, Yama..."

"Has it been exposed a long time ago?"

A deep chill suddenly surged in Zhang Jiuyang's heart. He seemed to see Tianzun behind the ancient bronze mask at every Huangquan gathering, watching his performance with a playful look.

……

(End of this chapter)