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

Chapter 204 The Furnace of Heaven and Earth Has No Dao (Part Two)

Gu Fangchen's outstretched hand grasped at nothing, his pupils contracted, and only then did the complex series of information transmitted by Ning Caiyong, whose forehead had just touched his, surface in his mind.

A series of booming, resounding voices, both loud and indistinct, seemed like celestial music, striking at his very soul.

Interspersed among these were a few sentences spoken by an unknown person, along with maniacal laughter, ambitious desires, desperate cries and shouts, and the sound of reading aloud.

"Hahahaha, the six directions and the universe are filled with stars, the furnace of heaven and earth is inherently without Tao, yet those who attain Tao, so vast and mighty, become the dowry of flies and insects..."

"As the emperor, I shall be the beginning of eternal peace and prosperity. From this day forward, I shall establish the realms of Yin and Yang to create a cycle of reincarnation. People will no longer be forever trapped in the furnace of death, but will be able to live again, three times, and even ten thousand times. This is the principle of balance and constancy."

"Why? Why? Has everything I've sought in my life been for nothing?! It's all a lie! It's all a lie! I don't believe it! I don't believe it!!!"

"Can the Dao be obtained and learned? In the past, there were nine who transmitted the Dao, named Fu Mo, Luo Song, Zhan Ming, Nie Xu, Xu Yi, Yu Ou, Xuan Ming, Can Liao, and Yi Shi..."

At the same time, unfamiliar images flashed by.

Endless mountains and rivers spun before my eyes, the sun and moon stood side by side, and the stars were enveloped within them. A ten-thousand-foot-wide rift appeared in the void, filled with countless eyes.

The gazes cast by these eyes transformed into strands of golden silk, falling towards the earth like a curtain obscuring the sky.

The people on the earth, like ants, caught the silk threads with their hands and were overjoyed.

When Gu Fangchen was startled, she subconsciously looked at those eyes.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, the countless eyes within the crack all turned to look at him.

"boom!"

Gu Fangchen instantly felt a terrifying pain in her soul, as if she had been split in two and then torn apart and played with.

The images and sounds before my eyes and ears then faded away, but the pain continued.

"Damn it, I knew it..."

He trembled violently, gritted his teeth, and turned deathly pale. He immediately began to descend, hoping for a safe landing.

But it was obviously too late. His soul could not withstand such intense pain, and everything went black before his eyes. He fell headfirst into the air.

Before he completely lost consciousness, he felt a familiar, cool fragrance waft towards him, and then he fell into a soft, warm embrace.

……

When Gu Fangchen woke up again, she saw unfamiliar curtains and drapes.

He blinked, subconsciously deducing from the style and decoration of the curtains that he should be in the residence of a prefect in Xiajing Road.

As for which prefect it was... we would need to find out from other angles.

For example, before he fell into a coma, in which county was he near...?

However, while the location is unknown, the time is clear.

He looked up and saw that he only had 3 days left in his job as a night watchman.

In other words, he must have been in a coma for at least seven days.

Gu Fangchen could still vaguely feel the lingering headache, and her soul was extremely weak... but fortunately it was only weakness. After a brief examination, she even unexpectedly discovered that her cultivation had improved considerably.

He reached the late stage of the sixth rank directly. If he also had the visualization method of the Heavenly Mandate Path, he should be able to advance directly to the fifth rank.

However, given the damage Gu Fangchen suffered to her soul at that time, there shouldn't be only such a minor aftereffect.

In other words, during the time he was unconscious, there must have been a highly skilled divine cultivator helping him maintain his soul.

Who is this person? It's so hard to guess.

The injuries to his soul are not as severe as those to his physical body.

At that time, the "charcoal seller" who had fought three ranks in a row had also taken a hit from the "military genius". Although he was saved, he was still exhausted and seriously injured.

Gu Fangchen moved her body and found her arm was heavy. She turned her head and saw Xuexiang sleeping on her arm.

The little maid was fast asleep; judging from her carefree and innocent appearance, she couldn't possibly be the Imperial Advisor.

That signature cool fragrance has also disappeared.

"When I fainted, it must have been when the Imperial Preceptor finally broke the 'Soul-Locking Array of Shared Fate' and returned to his original body."

Gu Fangchen pondered that the Imperial Preceptor couldn't possibly guard her for seven whole days. Now that he had broken the Soul-Locking Array, he was probably going to seek revenge on the "Six Star Lords".

Xiangxue was awakened by his movements, and groggily turned around, raising her head to meet Gu Fangchen's gaze. She subconsciously said:
"Your Highness..."

Then it dawned on me, my eyes widened, and I immediately jumped up:
"His Highness has woken up!"

She quickly helped Gu Fangchen sit up, picked up the tea that had been prepared in advance, and moistened the prince's throat.

This tea probably contains some rare and precious ingredients; drinking it has made my spiritual energy much more active.

After being helped into her clothes by Xuexiang, Gu Fangchen stood up and stretched, took a deep breath, and asked in a low voice:
"What happened during the days I was in a coma?"

Xuexiang recounted the whole story in detail.

After Gu Fangchen fell into a coma, it was the Imperial Advisor who caught him and then left the battlefield to hand him over to Qing Jian and the others.

—When Xuexiang and the Imperial Advisor took turns fainting that night, she already knew why she was always dizzy and unaware of what was happening.

The Yin soldiers of the Xuanhuang Army were no longer under Gu Fangchen's control, but due to the constraints of the military formation, they did not cause any trouble and simply waited silently in place.

However, to uninformed outsiders, this scene, coupled with the devastating battlefield, could easily be mistaken for the evil spirits that died here and turned into lingering demons due to their resentment.

Qing Jian could see the connection between these Yin soldiers and Gu Fangchen, but he didn't know how to deal with it. So he could only use his identity as Xiyin Attendant to summon the Tara sect followers in the area and surround and control the battlefield.

They falsely claimed to be conducting a ritual to help the deceased pass on and forbade outsiders from approaching.

The biggest problem is that the entire Xuanhuang Army has been basically wiped out, and the three routes in Shuobei are unguarded.

However, a portion of the Xuanhuang Army remained stationed in the original location.

Moreover, there was Ding Xingfeng. When he handed over the "Double Perfection Method," he truly regarded Gu Fangchen as his disciple. He immediately contacted his former subordinates, who had become the prefect, as well as a group of his former subordinates who had been scattered back then, and took the initiative to appear and take over Jinlin City.

Ding Xingfeng's official return to the martial arts world naturally caused quite a stir, and many people immediately suspected that he might want to take advantage of Gu Yuye's death to control the border and become the second Gu Yuye.

But Ding Xingfeng immediately produced the imperial edict and tiger tally, proving that it was indeed Emperor Yong'an's decree.

If Gu Yuye were to rebel, Ding Xingfeng could directly replace him, take command of his former troops, and return all military power and the title of "Marquis of Yizhou".

At the end of the previous victory banquet, Emperor Yong'an kept Ding Xingfeng behind to reminisce and returned some of his old belongings to him.

What they were actually talking about was this tiger tally.

The situation has stabilized for the time being, and in order to treat Gu Fangchen, the group temporarily stayed at the prefectural governor's mansion.

Gu Fangchen woke up now.

"call……"

He let out a sigh of relief.

Although it's still a mess, at least nothing really went wrong.

However, the current situation is truly beyond our expectations...

Gu Fangchen raised his hand and rubbed his temples, feeling extremely overwhelmed. The lingering unease he had after completing all six endings was finally coming true.

There is probably more information left unsaid in "The Mirror in the Dust".

Seeing Gu Fangchen's somber expression, Xuexiang finally asked the question that had puzzled her for seven long years: "Your Highness...where is the Princess Consort? I asked the Little Princess, and she told me to ask Your Highness. I also asked the Grand Preceptor, but she said she didn't know either. What does that mean?"

You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask...?

Let me go to "Honglu" to see you again, but where exactly is "Honglu"?
We can't exactly be talking about that mysterious game company, can we?

Gu Fangchen still had a lot of questions to sort out, and pondered for a moment:
“It’s too dangerous for her to follow me. I’ve sent my mother back to Jian’ge to take shelter. She’s already been picked up by the people my uncle sent.”

For now, we can only use this excuse as a temporary measure.

The Sword Pavilion probably knows something... so they'll likely agree with his version of events.

Otherwise, if a living person simply vanished into thin air, people who didn't know better would think he first killed the Prince of Zhenbei and then did something treasonous...

His statement is quite reasonable.

Xuexiang suddenly realized and nodded.

Indeed, it is far too dangerous for the princess, a mere mortal without any cultivation, to always accompany the prince into perilous situations.

But the princess is so stubborn that only the crown prince can persuade her.

It's better this way; otherwise, His Highness the Crown Prince would probably be worried.

Gu Fangchen then said:
How has Gu Lianxian been these past few days?

He guessed that Gu Lianxian had probably also witnessed Ning Caiyong's sword transforming into a rainbow, and therefore found it hard to accept.

Gu Fangchen was stunned into silence. The impact on Gu Lianxian was probably just as great as when she first discovered Gu Yuye's true colors.

However, Xuexiang said:

"The young princess was a little sad and confused. For the first few days, she lost her appetite, but she quickly went to help settle the people."

Gu Fangchen was taken aback, then frowned and said:
"Didn't she lock herself away?"

Given Gu Lianxian's behavior, after receiving such a shock, she would definitely lock herself away for a few days and question her existence.

Xuexiang shook her head:

"No."

Gu Fangchen recalled Juehui's unchanging behavior in Huangtian City that day, and her heart sank.

Gu Lianxian's reaction is so weak now, she probably has some memories erased, just like Juehui.

Gu Fangchen breathed a sigh of relief:

"Okay, I see."

Afterwards, Gu Fangchen first went to visit the owner of the mansion where she was temporarily staying, who was the prefect.

Knowing Gu Fangchen's identity, the prefect was very polite and expressed his gratitude. If Gu Fangchen hadn't dug Ding Xingfeng out again, they probably would never have seen Commander Ding again in their entire lives.

This prefect was formerly a subordinate of Ding Xingfeng, and later served as the prefect of Xiajing Circuit. Over the years, he has been working hard to make progress.

In terms of public security, the area is considered quite safe in this border region.

Fortunately, this place is located on the edge of the desert and was not affected too much.

Afterwards, Gu Fangchen went to the outer edge of the battlefield again, found Qing Jian, and used the "Spirit-Nourishing Bottle" to collect all the Xuanhuang Army Yin Soldiers.

The "Spirit-Nourishing Bottle" has the same effect as the Myriad Soul Banner, so it can not only refine but also store divine souls.

Although there were many of them, the "Divine Bottle" was a divine artifact, so it could still barely fit them all.

Moreover, Gu Fangchen also obtained the souls of many members of the Demonic Sect from Qing Jian, which improved the level of the "Spirit-Nourishing Bottle".

Gu Fangchen put away the "Spirit-Nourishing Bottle," turned to look at Qing Jian, and suddenly exclaimed, "Eh!"
"You've already taken the 'Jade Refining Pill'?"

The elixir was already refined on the way to Jiangnan and given to Qingjian.

However, something else happened afterward, so Qing Jian naturally didn't have time to take the pill.

But during these seven days, she had some free time, which naturally gave her the opportunity to refine the pills.

Qing Jian still habitually wrapped himself in a black robe. Upon hearing this, he raised his head and gave a somewhat awkward "hmm".

"have eaten."

"How's the result? Let me see."

Gu Fangchen's eyes lit up, and she reached out to lift Qing Jian's hood.

Players who have completed Qingjian's side quest in the game are eagerly anticipating seeing what this Xiyin attendant looks like.

However, in the end, Qingjian perished in the flames along with Prajna Lotus Moon, dashing the players' hopes.

Gu Fangchen was naturally very much looking forward to it.

Qingjian instinctively wanted to dodge, but stopped herself abruptly the next moment. She pursed her lips and waited stiffly and anxiously in place, feeling Gu Fangchen lift the hood of the cloak she had worn for so many years and untie the bandages wrapped around her face.

The delicate and sensitive skin, exposed to the wind and sand of the desert, turned a faint pink, tinged with a rosy glow.

The beauty with lotus-shaped golden eyes has a face as delicate as a peach blossom, and her peach blossom eyes are watery and charming.

This was in stark contrast to her previous cold and taciturn demeanor.

Qingjian felt her face exposed and immediately closed her eyes like a startled fawn, suppressing her shame. For her, every inch of her skin had been wrapped in bandages for years, and it had become a habit.

She would only remove her bandages when no one was around.

Having my face completely exposed now feels as shameful as being naked, and as unsettling as awaiting judgment.

Gu Fangchen gently stroked her cheek with her fingers, and it sent a shiver down her spine.

Qingjian bit her lip, suppressing the groan that was escaping her throat.

Gu Fangchen pinched her chubby cheeks and smiled:

"Such a beautiful face! It seems my 'Jade Refining Pill' is truly worth every penny."

Qingjian's eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes:

"Is it...good-looking?"

Gu Fangchen's eyes reflected her image, and she nodded earnestly:
"nice!"

Qing Jian breathed a sigh of relief, then heard Gu Fangchen say in a deep voice:

"You continue to guard Mo Hai these next few days. I'm going to take a look at the 'Martial Immortal's Tomb' underground."

The [Martial Immortal's Tomb] will disappear in the game before the player can find it.

But it still exists now.

There must be a lot of information that has not been shown to players.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Tomorrow... I'll battle another 6,000!

(End of this chapter)