Lingzhang

Chapter 353: Lotus Palace
In the end, Xiao Mengxu's true intentions were finally revealed.

But at this moment, Yue Hanzhang's eyes were still observing the changes in Xiao Mengxu's expression.

Is what he said at this moment really what he thinks in his heart?

With the evidence of heart sounds, what Xiao Mengxu said was indeed his true thoughts.

But is this really what you think without reservation?
I’m afraid that may not be the case.

Under Yue Hanzhang's scrutinizing gaze, in the feedback of Xiao Mengxu's subtle expressions, and in the silent playing of the mechanical music.

Yue Hanzhang read out some subtle reservations.

What did Yue Hanzhang ask a moment ago? It was about the background of the Xuanfu people, what they wanted to do and what their purpose was in coming here!

But did Xiao Mengxu really give himself an accurate answer to this question?

Never!

He said a lot, a lot of words that were completely true to his thoughts, supported by Xinyin's evidence, but he never answered Yue Hanzhang's question!

That ultimate goal may need transformation and sublimation to be born from their accumulated foundation.

But are there really not one or two people who come into the world directly with a purpose?
Is there really no other secret method that can allow people to realize the ultimate goal directly after completing the Cicada Sheoling Method?
All these problems that were originally in another direction were covered up by Xiao Mengxu in his pile of correct words.

It was just like Yue Hanzhang used the art of language to mislead Xiao Mengxu.

Xiao Mengxu is also using a similar method to cover up some problems.

He used his own sinister and cunning calculations to cover up the whereabouts of more people in Xuanfu.

This is inconsistent with Yue Hanzhang's original intention.

But unless he imprisoned the man and tortured him, Yue Hanzhang still had to take into account the rhythm of the conversation between the two and not continue to question him forcefully.

Moreover, although Xiao Mengxu seemed to have answered questions irrelevantly, his response also deviated from the original intention of his question.

But from another perspective, killing, planned and organized killing of more Xuanfu people.

This topic was exactly what Yue Hanzhang wanted.

So, after deliberately thinking and hesitating for a while, Yue Hanzhang continued to speak.

"To be honest, although I have no shortage of spiritual resources, no one would complain about having more...

I can promise you this—"

I saw a happy smile on Xiao Mengxu's face.

He can have a say on the basis of weirdness and strangeness, and he has no obvious conflict with himself, but he also has enough means of attack and killing to defeat his "comrades".

Such a candidate seems to be the only one, Yue Hanzhang.

Xiao Mengxu felt very happy to get his nod.

But Yue Hanzhang did not stop talking.

"But there are a few things that Yue needs to make clear in advance. Let me make it clear in advance -

First of all, you said that what Yue refined were pure spiritual resources, and there would not be some miscellaneous, strange and bizarre memories that emerged out of thin air like you.

I will believe you for now, but if, if at some point I suddenly feel that something is wrong here...

Don't blame Yue for turning against me, but when I say turning against you, I don't mean how I'm going to take your life.

But the Luo family, and you, all of you who have escaped under Yue's nose, just wait to be put on the operating table and studied carefully by the Taoist Alliance's true practitioners!

As for Yue's background, guess who they will believe in me or you!"

Yue Hanzhang continued to maintain his attitude of distrust, and even the intensity of his words was much worse than before.

The more this happened, the more Xiao Mengxu felt that this was Yue Hanzhang's most genuine reaction.

And Xiao Mengxu's face also turned slightly pale.

But before he could think of any explanation, Yue Hanzhang's voice continued to ring out.

“Secondly, Jiang Lingxiu and Huang Zhishu are my people. This is out in the open, so don’t think that this is another handle on Yue.

On the contrary - for the two groups, I don't care what you want to do, whether it's to modify and adjust the opponents or to let those of your 'comrades' withdraw from the competition.

Don't let them get involved in these things. Whether they can get into the top five in the group depends on their own abilities, but if they are no longer themselves.

If Yue says he will turn against us, he will definitely turn against us!

Think carefully, Yue and you have a different personality. You have to follow the path that has been drawn. Don't mess with me!
And then this third one.

If you want to lure me into the game, you must follow my rules. Even if you are not as cautious as Yue in the past, you still have to restrain your activities of raising Gu in this Qianlong competition!

Don’t occupy any more bodies of Qizhou’s true geniuses, evildoers, and nobles!
Otherwise, what would happen in the end? I, Yue Hanzhang, killed the nobles of Qizhou one after another, embarked on the road to dominance with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but cut myself off from the entire Qizhou?
Yue couldn't agree to such a 'challenging' thing!
It's good like this now. You guys fight among yourselves, kill each other, and finally select the best ones. Then send them to me, Yue, and let me send them off!
I have told you the conditions. No matter how you try to make excuses, I only care about the final result!"

In fact, this was like a replica of Yue Hanzhang's successive killings of the sages of the Song Shengjiao sect.

Or was it that Luo Zhaoqing really harbored hatred and murderous intent in the past, sending people to their deaths one after another.

But this time it's different.

Yue Hanzhang and Xiao Mengxu already have a "tacit understanding", which means that Yue Hanzhang will be more efficient in killing the Xuanfu people, and will not "give up halfway" because of too many deaths.

And he probably had the same idea. Although the last two requirements sounded more demanding than the last, Xiao Mengxu nodded with difficulty while looking embarrassed.

It can be considered that the matter has been agreed upon.

Dealing with someone is better than not dealing with them.

With this deal as a start, it will take a long time to figure out what secrets we can get from Yue Hanzhang in the future.

There is ample time!

At this moment, the two Lao Liu looked at each other almost at the same time.

Then, they no longer stayed where they were, but walked slowly towards Yue Hanzhang's lounge.

It seemed that all the words had been said.

It was at this moment that Yue Hanzhang turned to ask Xiao Mengxu another question as if he was not paying attention.

"Oh, right, I remember Fellow Daoist Xiao mentioned the Lotus Palace? He also said that everyone is not of one mind and does not have the same goal?

This really confuses me. Logically speaking, if they don’t have the same purpose, doesn’t that mean they are not from the same place?

But the Zhuse Lotus Palace and the Lotus Palace sound like a unified name. Fellow Daoist Xiao seems to be familiar with them?
Asking this, I just think... If Fellow Daoist Xiao is familiar with all the Lotus Palaces, he would know which Lotus Palaces are still in existence, and which Lotus Palaces have disappeared or have collapsed.

Perhaps by using this method of elimination, we can narrow down the range of Yue's followers.

After all... no one would not be curious about their origins, right?"

When I heard Yue Hanzhang ask this.

Firstly, this question did not involve the many secrets of the Black Lotus Mansion; secondly, the strong distrust that Yue Hanzhang had previously displayed also made Xiao Mengxu realize that he needed to reveal more in exchange for Yue Hanzhang's trust.

So, after thinking for a while, Xiao Mengxu spoke slowly.

“I’d like to let Fellow Daoist Yue know that the various Lotus Palaces are indeed not from the same place.

As for where they specifically came from, firstly, there are very few opportunities to explore such secrets between different Lotus Palaces. Secondly, these secrets that involve the real background were also erased from your and my memories before they came into the world.

The only vague impressions that remained were all bizarre and unclear images. When he regained consciousness the next day, he was already trapped in a boundless sea of ​​Taoism in the form of a secret realm.

Therefore, this is not just a loss of memory for you, Fellow Daoist Yue, but a "safety measure" imposed on people like us.

I even suspect that even if we can use a mysterious ritual to awaken the purpose of the descent in the future, it may not be possible to awaken the true memory of the origin.

However, through the descriptions of the vague impressions of their origins by those who had come before, it was discovered that all the Lotus Palaces originated from different places.

The reason why it has a unified name is that in the ancient and ignorant times of this world, pioneers from all over the world once gathered together to explore the secret ceremony of smoothly guiding us to the world.

Because this method was jointly created and distinguished by the colors of the different secret realms, it has a unified name.

For us, calling it Black Lotus Palace or Xuan Palace is just a name."

As he said this, Xiao Mengxu really looked towards Yue Hanzhang with curiosity.

"Brother, have you really forgotten the main color of the place where you reside?"

Hearing this, Yue Hanzhang shook his head in distress.

"How can there be any color? In my vague memory, there is only the dark and corroded blood rust color. It can't be... the Blood Rust Lotus Palace, right?"

Hearing this, Xiao Mengxu also shook his head.

"That's troublesome. The process of elimination doesn't work that well. At least, in the old ignorant days, when the Lotus Palace was being negotiated, there were dozens of families there!

Endless years have passed, and now there are only seven active Lotus Mansions left that I know of clearly. Including some vague ones, there are only more than ten in total!
Many lotus palaces have been lost in the erosion of time.

Some were accidentally discovered by monks from the Taoist Alliance in the boundless sea of ​​Taoism. It was a low-probability event, but it did happen.

Some are true spirits from the Lotus Mansion who came to the world generation after generation, but they were unable to complete their set missions and goals, and in the end... they exhausted themselves and there was no chance of passing on their legacy.

Some are as unfortunate as Brother Yue, who died purely by accident in nature. But Brother Yue was able to survive, which is truly a blessing in disguise.

I have only vague memories of these things. In the past, when I was in the Xuan Mansion, my true spirit was drowsy and my mind was confused. Many of them required secret rituals to awaken me step by step.

Now all I can remember are some vague outlines. I also want to help Brother Yue find his roots, but for now, if I want to do that, Brother Yue must help me first, to help me reach a point where I can safely perform the secret ritual without being harmed by my fellow soldiers."

Xiao Mengxu took the conversation in a circle and finally came back to the transaction between them.

And this time.

After hearing more new content, Yue Hanzhang finally seemed moved and patted Xiao Mengxu's shoulder with emotion.

"I try my best!"

As he spoke, Yue Hanzhang was already standing at the door of his lounge.

And Xiao Mengxu also said goodbye.

Standing there, he watched Xiao Mengxu's back completely disappear in the corridor.

Yue Hanzhang turned on his mechanical brain, and the roaring music of the mechanized mind instantly penetrated his body and soul.

He raised his head and looked at the boundless sea of ​​Tao with a unique perspective.

"They are all monsters..."

(End of this chapter)