The fake prince was exposed at the beginning, and I took office as emperor on the spot

Chapter 138: Last Words from Tianmen (Two in One)

This old swordsmith is named Zhou Deqing. He is the most skilled swordsmith in Cuiwei Mountain after Ying Baishou opened the Tianmen Gate.

One of the five divine swords produced by Jiange was made by him.

If it weren't for such a reputation, Ning Songjun would not have given his sword to him for maintenance.

None of the disciples in Jiange had expected that he would be bewitched by the doctrine of "righteousness" and do something that went against his principles.

As a swordsmith, the worst thing you should do is to tamper with the sword and ruin your reputation for life.

Therefore, in the original plot, Zhou Deqing committed suicide directly after the incident.

However, Gu Fangchen did not find this matter incredible.

The ability of the doctrine of righteousness to incite is even greater than that of the doctrine of emotion.

The way of "love" relies on deception, and they clearly know that they are deceiving in order to reap the instantaneous changes in emotional ups and downs.

But believers in the way of "righteousness" truly believe that what they are doing is the right thing, and that they are truly helping people fulfill their wishes and upholding what they see as justice.

Under the influence of this kind of emotion, as long as there is resentment and resentment in one's heart, it is easy to be instigated by them.

What's more, Zhou Deqing's son did not support the rebel Xue Qi during the civil strife in Jiange, but firmly supported the Ning family.

His son unfortunately died in that civil strife. In other words, the enemy who killed Zhou Deqing's son was not actually the Ning family, but Xue Qi and those who supported Cui Weishan's rebellion at that time.

The current seven sects are also among them.

But everyone now knows the result of the civil strife - at Xue Qi's plea, Ning Songjun chose to let most of the people from the seven sects go.

Zhou Deqing was filled with resentment at the time and advocated killing all the people from the seven sects.

Ning Songjun made such a choice.

Zhou Deqing could understand it intellectually. This was for the sake of consolidating Jiange's reputation and status, and obtaining support and help from other righteous sects after the civil strife. Therefore, he silently chose to give up at that time.

But emotionally, the pain of losing his son tormented him day after day, making his heart increasingly twisted.

Since ancient times, it has been difficult to have both love and friendship.

It was in this suppressed hatred that Zhou Deqing was approached by people of "righteousness".

Under the instigation of "righteousness", he transferred his hatred towards the rebels and the Seven Sects at that time to Ning Songjun.

If he had not chosen to let him go, and if it were not for the reputation of Jiange, he would have been able to avenge his son long ago.

What's more, his son clearly died for their Ning family.

It was Ning Songjun who killed my son!

Zhou Deqing's thoughts were distorted step by step, and finally he did the most despicable thing for a swordsmith. He betrayed the Sword Pavilion and instead joined forces with the Seven Sects - his real enemies.

That day, when he saw the [Seventy-two Peaks Towering Sword] appear on Donglong Lake, his soul as a swordsmith suddenly woke up.

Realized what a stupid thing I had done!
Now, he only hopes to make up for his mistakes before he dies, and then see again the quasi-precious sword left by the founder of Jiange.

And then... there is only death.

The old swordsmith sensed someone coming, opened his eyes, and saw Gu Fangchen, who had sent everyone else away, open the cell door and walk in.

Gu Fangchen squatted down and asked:
"Do you want to see the sword in my hand again?"

Zhou Deqing said in a deep voice:

"Yes."

His eyes were enthusiastic, and he said sincerely and eagerly:
"As long as we can completely refine that vein within that sword, it will become a true Supreme Grade sword, the second-best Supreme Grade sword in the world!"

"I want to see it and touch it before I die. This is the greatest wish of a swordsmith in this life!"

Gu Fangchen sneered and said sarcastically:

"This is indeed a peerless sword that would allow a swordsmith to die without regrets, but are you worthy of it?"

"How can a swordsmith who betrayed his own creed and principles, betrayed his sect, exploited the trust of swordsmen, and tampered with swords die without regrets?"

"If I hadn't shown up in time, pulled out that sword, and cleared Jiange of suspicion, do you know what would have happened to Jiange?"

Zhou Deqing was stunned and silent for a while, then said:

"I've thought about it... With the Young Pavilion Master's strength, even without his sword, the motley crowd of the Seven Sects would definitely not be his match."

"Even if the seven sects united, they could only draw with the Sword Pavilion..."

He smiled bitterly and said, "I was so confused that I actually thought that the power of the seven sects could avenge Chengzong for me."

Chengzong Chengzong, even the name he gave his son was in the hope that he could inherit the glory of the Jiange Sect...

But in the end, it was he who betrayed Jiange.

However, just as he finished speaking, he heard Gu Fangchen say coldly:
"You are wrong! Absolutely wrong!"

He said with a cold look:
"You simply don't understand why the Demon Cult would get involved in this matter. Why wouldn't they incite so many powerful forces, but instead choose to incite the Seven Sects?"

"They never thought of letting the Seven Sects attack Jiange. The one who really wanted to attack Jiange was Yaoshan Academy."

Gu Fangchen grabbed his collar, narrowed his eyes and whispered:

"You think the Evil Sword is just a pretext to frame Jiange for rebellion. When the Confucianists arrive, they will find out the truth."

"In reality, they want to use mediation to make the Evil Sword a reality and completely destroy the entire Sword Pavilion."

"You, a great hero, almost destroyed Jiange with your own hands, and yet you still want to die without regrets?"

Zhou Deqing's pupils constricted, his expression changed, as if he realized something, and said:
"What evidence do you have?"

Gu Fangchen said:

"The evil sword blueprints you forged can really replicate the evil sword that was actually destroyed long ago, right?"

Zhou Deqing opened his mouth, hesitated, and then nodded.

But Gu Fangchen's next words made him lose his composure.

Gu Fangchen narrowed his eyes again, his gaze seemed to penetrate his heart, and grinned:
"you are lying."

Zhou Deqing is one of the only two people who may have come into contact with information related to Tianmen. After all, from the secret information in the game, at least one thing is clear -

Zhou Deqing learned the wine-making skills from Lu Ping.

The relationship between these two people is definitely unusual.

He must be the only person who knows the truth after Lu Ping changed his identity.

But in the game, no one ever asked him this question.

The main reason is that after the mission is completed, he will commit suicide soon and there will be no time to ask.

And now, because of the [Seventy-two Peaks Towering Sword] in Gu Fangchen's hand, Zhou Deqing's death was delayed, and he was given the opportunity to question.

Moreover, just like Lu Ping kept silent about Ying Baishou, Zhou Deqing also kept silent about any information related to Lu Ping, making it difficult to pry open his mouth.

What Gu Fangchen had to do now was to use Zhou Deqing's guilt and sense of guilt to make him confess whether he had learned anything from Lu Ping under the pretext of atonement...

Gu Fangchen said:

"You deliberately wrote a wrong step on the drawing."

"But in reality, it's already been seen through—what's to be put into the furnace isn't Qingguang Gold, but Sky Crystal Sand, right?"

The old swordsmith's expression changed suddenly.

There are not many people in the world who can see the mistake he made. After all, there are only a few swordsmiths of the same level.

And there happens to be one, right at Yaoshan Academy.

The whole thing had nothing to do with the other people, so only the Confucianists could mediate. There was no other choice!
Zhou Deqing trembled all over, raised his hands, and endless regret surged in his heart.

If that was true, he actually almost destroyed Jiange!

He trembled and said:

"You're right... I don't deserve to die without regrets."

"I am the one who made the presumptuous request. I have troubled His Royal Highness to come to this dungeon. Someone like me is not worthy."

Gu Fangchen looked into his eyes and suddenly said in a deep voice:

"You've met Lu Ping, right?"

Zhou Deqing originally looked dejected and had already made up his mind to die. When he suddenly heard this name, his face suddenly turned pale.

He was silent for a moment, then said:
"Why are you asking this, Your Highness? The Lu family's wine shop is well-known throughout the world. Of course, I have met him before."

Gu Fangchen snorted coldly and said:
"What about when Lü Ping wasn't called Lü Ping yet, but Lü Atie?"

Lu Atie is the real name of Ying Baishou Sword Servant.

"You...how did you know?"

Zhou Deqing looked at him in disbelief.

Gu Fangchen took out a sobering stone that he had stolen from Yi'er and said:

"Because I have seen him, and this is the token of my love."

Zhou Deqing was just about to say it was impossible. Given Gu Fangchen's age, how could he have possibly met Lu Ping?

When he was only a few years old, Lu Ping went mad and died.

But the sobering stone left him speechless for a moment.

This sobering stone is unique to Lu's winery. It is placed at the bottom of the wine cellar to curb the overly strong smell of "Drunk Spring Breeze" and prevent it from harming the health of his wife and daughter.

This was something Lu Ping had found specially. If it were a relic, the daughter of the Lu family would definitely not give it away.

As for stealing?
Zhou Deqing didn't think that the prince in front of him, who was born with a rich and noble destiny, would do such a despicable thing.

It’s not that they believe in Gu Fangchen’s character, but everyone knows that this playboy has a rebellious and perverse personality, so he shouldn’t lower his status.

Then, it is really possible that this was given by Lu Ping during his lifetime.

But...how to give it to Gu Fangchen?
Gu Fangchen narrowed his eyes, put away the sobering stone, and said:
"When I met him, his name wasn't Lu Ping yet."

"Just tell me that if you want Ying Baishou to be free, you must solve the mystery of the Heavenly Gate."

He looked at Zhou Deqing and said:

"That was his dying wish, but sadly, he went mad before he could tell me how to untie it."

In fact, Gu Fangchen didn’t know what Lu Ping really wanted to do, so he could only make up such a wish based on the sword servant’s character in a few words.

Zhou Deqing knew some of the information, but certainly not much.

Otherwise, with Tianmen's evil nature, Zhou Deqing would have gone crazy like Lu Ping.

He must have come into contact with the crazy Lu Ping and learned something from him, but even this little bit of information made him feel afraid and he dared not speak it out for many years.

Zhou Deqing hesitated for a moment, but was ultimately overwhelmed by guilt. He was already useless and should have died with the secret. But since it was Lu Ping who entrusted him, it shouldn't be a problem...

In this way, he can be said to have contributed some value in the end.

Zhou Deqing gritted his teeth and said:

"Actually, I don't know what that means either."

"But since he said it must not be leaked, I have kept silent for over ten years... Please come closer, Prince."

Gu Fangchen took a deep breath and took two steps forward.

Hear him say:
"Back then, after Ying Sheng opened the Heavenly Gate, Lu Ping himself didn't know what was happening and fainted. When he woke up, it was already seven days later."

"And Ying Sheng has already used his body to suppress it and closed that half of the Heavenly Gate."

"Two words were carved with a sword on the stone next to his body."

……

"Heaven and earth are like a furnace, yin and yang are charcoal, man is copper, and Tao is fire."

"Some preachers are like those who add fuel to a fire; they end up burning themselves. Wrong, wrong, wrong..."

Gu Fangchen muttered to himself in a low voice, looking at the scenery passing by quickly outside the carriage, and fell into deep thought.

"Your Highness, what are you mumbling about?"

Xuexiang came over, looking curious.

"nothing."

Gu Fangchen shook his head, sighed, and rubbed his temples.

From the day he got the answer from Zhou Deqing until he left Jiange and set out on the road back to Huangtian City, these two sentences kept lingering in his mind.

This is information that has never appeared in the game. Even he, a player with all achievements, has never come across it. It is the last words from Tianmen!

For Gu Fangchen, it was as exciting as starting a new game.

Therefore, he has been rapidly recalling relevant information these two days.

But obviously.

From the fact that he is still thinking, it can be seen that he has not found a clue yet.

In fact, a similar sentence has appeared in the game.

It is the world believed in by the "Jie" Dao among the Ten Daos of the Demon Cult, and the believers of the "Jie" Dao take it as their responsibility to open the "Gate of Heaven".

In their view, according to the ancient Zhou Qigong practitioners, the heaven and earth are like a furnace, yin and yang are charcoal, and humans are copper.

The world is a furnace, and the lid of the furnace suppresses the upper limit of human cultivation. Their task is to open this lid.

That is "Heaven's Gate".

But now, based on this sentence, there is another sentence: "Tao is fire".

Yin and Yang are charcoal, man is copper, and Tao is the flame that burns the furnace...

This sentence alone is contrary to the basic understanding of ordinary practitioners.

After all, everyone knows that the ultimate goal of cultivation is to intercept the great Dao of heaven and earth and use it for one's own benefit. Only in this way can one be promoted to the upper third rank.

Gu Fangchen was thinking when his heart suddenly started beating and he raised his head abruptly.

"Xilulu——"

Outside the carriage, the black horse neighed.

"Be careful!" came the voice of Gu Yuandao who was riding a horse.

Ding Xingfeng hung upside down from the top of the carriage and looked at Gu Fangchen who had opened the curtain. His face was unusually serious and he said in a deep voice:
"It's the one who 'destroyed' the Dao!"

And...he was actually an acquaintance of his!

----

ps: I ordered some Japanese food, and when it was delivered, the delivery guy kindly reminded me that it was made in a small workshop.

I said ok without knowing what I was capable of, and then less than ten minutes after eating, I started to ejaculate...

I am unable to continue today, I will try harder tomorrow
(End of this chapter)