Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 451 Going Against the Heavens
The Crown Prince wanted to persuade his father to reconsider. Just then, Dong Ping came in to report that Princess Yongkang had arrived.

"Let her in." Xiao Yan nodded.

A short while later, Xiao Yuhuan, who had grown back to the appearance of fourteen or fifteen years old, gracefully entered the Imperial Study.

"Greetings, Father Emperor; greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Why are you being so polite, Third Sister?" The Crown Prince smiled and refused her greeting.

"You're going to be the emperor, you can't be as casual as before," Xiao Yuhuan said with a smile.

"Uh..." The Crown Prince was quite surprised. He had only just learned that his father was going to abdicate. How did his third sister know about it beforehand?
"I've already told your third sister about the abdication," Xiao Yan said calmly.

"I see..." The Crown Prince nodded, inwardly surprised. All these years, he had no idea his father would discuss such an important matter with his third sister.

“To be precise, your third sister is a messenger of the gods,” Xiao Yan added. “Now that you are about to ascend the throne, it’s time to tell you this secret.”

"I see." The crown prince said with sudden realization, "Father, besides the God of Dreams, also maintains contact with other deities?"

“Of course.” Xiao Yan nodded and said, “Even gods are not monolithic; they can always find helpers.”

"Which deity did Third Sister contact? The Ghost King?" the Crown Prince hurriedly asked.

"No," Xiao Yuhuan shook her head and said, "It's someone else."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan glanced at Xiao Yuhuan in surprise. He hadn't expected that even though he had made it clear that he was going to tell the Crown Prince the truth, she still refused to reveal the name of that deity.

"This is the will of that deity; His identity must remain a secret for the time being," Xiao Yuhuan explained softly.

"..." Xiao Yan stared at Xiao Yuhuan for a while before asking, "Alright, can you tell me about the other things?"

“I can tell you everything else.” Xiao Yuhuan nodded and said in a deep voice, “That person already knows that the Emperor abdicated the throne to the Crown Prince and personally led the army on a northern expedition in order to avoid the ‘Curse of the Ancestral Dragon’ and use the miracle of the northern expedition to condense a divine core to become the guardian deity of this dynasty. This forces the Dream God to give up the refinement of this dynasty.”

“Indeed. Nothing can be hidden from Him.” Xiao Yan did not mince words.

"So that's why Father Emperor went to such lengths..." The Crown Prince was moved to tears. He finally stopped doubting whether his father was testing him.

"Does anyone think this is feasible?" Xiao Yan asked anxiously.

"He asked me to tell Father that the miracle of the Northern Expedition can condense a divine core, but you would be better off relinquishing the divine core and continuing to be your emperor." Xiao Yuhuan sighed softly and replied, "This is the most beneficial choice for Father and for the Great Liang."

"..." Xiao Yan was stunned upon hearing this. Wasn't this clearly an attempt to kill his chance of becoming a god?

Xiao Tong was also stunned for a moment, but he quickly recovered and, along with Xiao Yuhuan, advised, "Then there's no need for Father to launch a northern expedition. Father should stay here..."

"Then who will lead the army on the northern expedition? You, or your brother?" Xiao Yan raised his voice and questioned.

"Your Majesty, I volunteer!" Xiao Tong gritted his teeth and said, "Please, Father, pass the position of Crown Prince to my younger brothers!"

"Nonsense!" Xiao Yan glared and said, "Have you ever been on a battlefield? Are you even cut out for that?!"

"This..." Xiao Tong was speechless.

"Just shut up and listen to my instructions!" Xiao Yan said irritably, waving his sleeve. "You all go out and wait here so I can have some peace and quiet."

"Yes." The siblings quickly left the imperial study.

~~
Emperor Xiao Yan paced back and forth in his study, pondering until nightfall before finally summoning his children to Dong Ping. The study was unlit, and Xiao Yan stood in the shadows, his eyes seeming to flicker with fire. He gazed intently at Xiao Yuhuan and slowly said, "Tell her, I am not reconciled. I must personally lead the Northern Expedition!"

"Father, that person has already seen the future. The end result of going against the will of Heaven will be very tragic," Xiao Yuhuan warned again.

"I know, but I refuse to accept it. I want to try." Xiao Yan insisted, "At worst, I'll lose the empire, but I don't want to spend my whole life crawling at the feet of the gods!"

"Understood." Xiao Yuhuan nodded. "Your subject will convey this to Him."

"..." The crown prince stared blankly at the two of them, his heart filled with mixed feelings, and he didn't say a word.

~~
At the summit of Zijin Mountain, in the meditation hall of Tongtai Temple.

Abbot Zhendi and Zen Master Zhenguan faced each other with sorrowful expressions.

"Senior brother, the court is already preparing for the abdication ceremony, and an army of 100,000 is ready to march. What exactly is Xiao Yan planning?" Zhen Guan was panicked. "How dare you disregard the Buddha's words?"

“What else can he do? He wants to become a god too.” Zhen Di said dejectedly, “He thinks that once he becomes a god, the Buddha can’t do anything to him.”

“How is that possible?” Zhen Guan said in disbelief, “Even if he becomes a god, he will only be a lower-level god. But Buddha has become an ancient god, and he is still no match for him.”

“Yes,” Zhen Di said with a dark face, “I also thought he should know this very well and wouldn’t do such a stupid thing, but he did it anyway!”

“Xiao Yan is no fool. He must be confident to do this,” Zhen Guan judged.

“That’s right.” Zhen Di nodded slowly. “Could it be that he plans to use this Northern Expedition to completely unify China?”

"That miracle would be absolutely incredible!" Zhen Guan exclaimed in astonishment. "Forget about ancient gods, it's not impossible for them to even become chief gods!"

"That's exactly what he's planning!" Zhen Di slapped his thigh, his expression grim. "Chen Qingzhi actually managed to capture Luoyang with only seven thousand white-robed soldiers. This shows how utterly vulnerable the Northern Dynasty is. Xiao Yan must believe that with his military capabilities, he can lead an army of one hundred thousand to the north, wipe out the Northern Dynasty in one fell swoop, unify the world, and then become the supreme god!"

"Then come back and kill the Buddha..." Zhen Guan swallowed and continued.

"..." The two monks fell silent after speaking, but they could both see deep fear in each other's eyes.

"No, we absolutely cannot let him succeed!" Zhen Di gritted his teeth, his face contorted with rage.

He suffered torture in his dreams for ten years, every day was worse than death, and he would never want to repeat it again.

“Yes. He has disobeyed the Buddha’s teachings and is on the verge of death!” Zhen Guan nodded emphatically, his killing intent palpable.

"How can we stop him?"

"..." After a long deliberation, Zhen Di said in a deep voice, "Xiao Yan's strength far surpasses yours and mine, and he is also unpredictable and suspicious, making it difficult to get to the bottom of things from him."

“Yes.” Zhen Guan agreed, “Back then, he was the number one person below the gods, and after more than twenty years of hard training, his strength must be unfathomable.”

“But no matter how powerful he is, he can’t launch a northern expedition alone.” Zhen Di sneered, “He can send the Seventh Divine General to bring down a plague and paralyze the 100,000-strong army.”

“That is indeed a method.” Zhen Guan nodded first, then frowned and said, “But isn’t it a bit too vicious?”

“If we don’t harm their lives, it doesn’t count as committing a sin of killing,” Truth said calmly. “Besides, for the sake of the Buddha’s greater good, necessary sacrifices are unavoidable.”

“Senior brother is right.” Although Zhen Guan looked reluctant, he readily agreed.

(End of this chapter)