Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Part of the plan in Chapter 543
The barrier collapsed completely like a breached dam, turning into countless blood-red fragments that dissipated into the chaos...

Then, the chaotic energy, which had accumulated a thousandfold, rushed towards Hou Jing like an avalanche!
This cosmic-destroying force instantly engulfed Hou Jing's crumbling divine body. Amidst earth-shattering screams, his divine body began to twist and deform, then gradually dissolved from his extremities; his divine blood evaporated into a blackish-red mist, and his bones turned to dust…

"No..." Hou Jing's final roar was filled with endless resentment and despair, yet it could not stop his fate of annihilation.

His enormous divine body vanished without a trace under the cleansing power of chaos, leaving only a divine core emitting a dark red light, floating alone in the chaos...

With a wave of his hand, Ren Yuan sent the divine core flying into his palm.

Its surface was covered with cracks, as if it would shatter at any moment, yet it stubbornly emitted a faint but terrifying aura, indicating the last trace of this ancient god of slaughter.

Ren Yuan glanced at it a few times, and a crazy killing intent surged in his heart. He quickly put the divine core into his sleeve and used the chaotic energy to calm his restless blood and qi.

Chen Qingzhi and the other two breathed a sigh of relief and simultaneously withdrew from the great formation.

The yin-yang symbol, spanning a radius of a hundred miles, transformed into a square array about a foot in size and flew back into the witch's hand.

Needless to say, the divine arrow that bound Chen Qingzhi was also removed by Him...

It turns out that the witch found Xishan Island not to seek bad luck, but to use them to get rid of Hou Jing.

Although the two sides had previously fought to the death, they rationally chose to cooperate in the face of a common enemy. Otherwise, Ren Yuan might have rescued the princess and then fled...

But now, the common enemy is gone.

The Chaos Blade in Ren Yuan's hand was already itching to be used.

"Boy, don't be impulsive." The witch didn't need to use divination to know what he wanted to do, and she smiled faintly, "I am not your enemy."

"Are we still friends?" Ren Yuan chuckled.

“That’s possible,” the witch said with a smile.

"I don't believe you for a second, you old hag, you're wicked." Ren Yuan didn't believe him and sneered, "Don't think I don't know who shot that divine arrow back then."

"It was me." Wu Gu did not deny it and said frankly, "That's why I was able to break the seal on Father."

"Hmph, so you've been abandoned by Wu Yang and are now planning to abandon the darkness for the light?" Ren Yuan sneered.

“Ah Yuan, don’t blame her.” At this moment, Chen Qingzhi spoke up: “That arrow was part of the plan.”

"What plan?" Ren Yuan was taken aback.

"Of course, it's the plan to defeat Wu Yang," Tao Hongjing said.

"Good heavens, so you all knew about this, and I was the only one kept in the dark?" Ren Yuan immediately broke down.

"Uncle-Master, please don't misunderstand..." Tao Hongjing quickly explained, "I didn't know at the time either; I only just found out myself."

"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Ren Yuan was so angry that he glared at him.

"There have been too many things in these past twenty years, and I haven't had time to get to this point yet, but my uncle had to rush off to save people," Tao Hongjing said awkwardly.

"Don't get worked up." Wu Gu enjoyed seeing Ren Yuan's defenses crumble, and said with a grin, "Come on, let the mastermind behind everything explain things to you."

~~
In a short while, the group returned to Jiankang City, now reduced to ruins. The generals of the Heavenly Slaughter Army had all been killed by A Yao, Chen Baxian, and their men, and the ordinary soldiers, having lost their magical powers and unable to control the spirits, scattered like birds and beasts…

Ren Yuan and the others landed on the only intact Zijin Mountain.

The entire mountain was quiet... Wu Yang had also abandoned this place, and there was no trace of the Floating Pagoda Sect anymore.

The witch led them to the steep and rugged Toutuo Ridge.

There was only one thatched hut on the ridge. The witch waved and pushed open the door, and went in first.

Ren Yuan followed him inside and saw Xiao Yan lying on a straw mat.

The former emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty, tormented by the curse of the First Emperor, was emaciated and on the verge of death. He could barely sit up...

"Your Majesty..." Seeing him like this, Chen Qingzhi's eyes reddened, and he hurriedly stepped forward and knelt before the table.

“It’s Ziyun, you’ve finally come…” Xiao Yan was already blind, but he still recognized his voice immediately and quickly stretched out his withered, claw-like old hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I am late." Chen Qingzhi hurriedly reached out and grasped his hand tightly. Master and servant faced each other, tears streaming down their faces.

"Has Ren Yuan arrived?" Xiao Yan asked again.

"They're here." Chen Qingzhi calmed himself down and said softly, "He's been kept in the dark all along and still hates the Emperor."

“He should hate me for what I did.” Xiao Yan sighed and said to Ren Yuan, “But please believe me, everything I did was to kill Wu Yang and avenge my son.”

"What do you mean?" Ren Yuan asked calmly.

"This all started twenty-two years ago," Xiao Yan said slowly, sitting up with Chen Qingzhi's help.
"When the good news of your White Robe Army's capture of Luoyang came, I was very happy and prepared to abdicate in favor of the Crown Prince and personally lead an army of 100,000 north to support you and complete the great cause of unification."

“At that time, Wu Gu advised me through Yu Huan that the chances of success on this trip were slim and that I should not abdicate.” Although more than 20 years had passed, Xiao Yan still said with a face full of regret: “But I thought Wu Yang had fallen into a deep sleep and that the opportunity would be fleeting, so I still went ahead with my own way.”

"Who knew that Wu Yang's human form would bewitch the Crown Prince, causing him to commit suicide during the abdication ceremony..." Xiao Yan sighed deeply.

"From that day on, I completely understood that there was no chance of winning this game against Wu Yang. But despair is despair, but I will never give up!" A flush appeared on Xiao Yan's face, whether from excitement or from the backlash of the Ancestral Dragon Curse was unknown.

"My empire, my reputation, even my life are not that important," Xiao Yan said through gritted teeth. "Killing Wu Yang is the most important thing!"

As he spoke, he glanced at the witch and said softly, "So I accepted the divination god's advice, humbled myself, endured humiliation and hardship, and risked everything for a chance to turn things around!"

"Twenty-two years ago, I helped Xiao Yan calculate repeatedly, and he really had no chance of winning." Wu Gu sighed and continued, "Wu Yang established too great an advantage in the early stages, and he is extremely cautious and would not make a mistake."

“But even if one of the forty-nine elements disappears, there will always be a chance for victory. The key is to find that one that has disappeared.” As Wu Gu spoke, she looked at Ren Yuan and the others and said, “I had Xiao Yan send you here twenty years later so that we could find this one.”

"So you're a double agent?" Ren Yuan sized up Wu Gu and said, "Aren't you Wu Yang's most loyal sister? Turns out you're just a fake sister."

"..." Although Wu Gu didn't understand what "plastic" meant, she could roughly guess that he was mocking her. She said calmly, "I have not wronged Sister Wu Yang. The fact that I am still alive is the best proof."

"You had an affair with Xiao Yan, isn't that a betrayal of Him?" Ren Yuan sneered.

(End of this chapter)