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

Chapter 217 The Player's Official Female Lead (Two-in-One)

When Gu Fangchen and the Imperial Preceptor were in distress in the desert, during their most dangerous moment, they were taken in by a grandmother and grandson, which gave them a chance to recover and catch their breath.

The grandmother and granddaughter were an old woman surnamed Meng and a little girl named Hongdou. They were descendants of people from the Central Plains who had been convicted and exiled. As unregistered migrants, they could only live in this barren desert for generations.

In that desert, where water and food are scarce, the only way to survive is to work as a laborer for the local cultivator gangs who control the resources.

Most of the jobs these laborers did were either extremely heavy physical labor, drug testing for others, or scout work as cannon fodder for exploring ruins—jobs where they risked their lives for a living.

Easy jobs like logistics and sewing are highly sought after.

Given the age of this grandfather and grandson, it would be extremely difficult for them to snag a ticket.

A few years ago, Granny Meng's son found a way to impersonate someone else and join the army in the government, hoping to gain household registration through military merit.

Many of the refugees in this desert region gained official status through this method.

Many people know this path; it's a case of "if the people don't report it, the officials won't investigate," turning a blind eye. After all, these refugees often fight even harder on the battlefield in order to have a better life.

Furthermore, smoothing things over requires a considerable amount of money... and that's a steady stream of business.

However, Granny Meng's son had already become a centurion and would soon be able to take them away with him.

But not long ago, they suddenly disappeared without a trace.

The grandmother and grandson were barely able to make ends meet, which is why they risked their lives to save Gu Fangchen and Xu Fu, hoping they could find out about their son.

Since Gu Fangchen had made a promise, she naturally had to keep it.

It's simply a matter of asking Ding Xingfeng or Xiao Yinghao to find out whether this person is alive or dead.

Of course, no matter what, Gu Fangchen would take both the grandmother and grandson to a safe place.

He lay back and sighed, feeling that all the questions in his mind could only be answered by one clue.

That is Xuanling, which is beyond the player's ability to investigate.

With his current strength, he cannot get close to Tianmen Mountain, except for Xuanling, which is within easy reach.

Once he reaches the third rank, he won't suffer a mental breakdown and go insane from staring at Xuanling. If he can get clues from her, he might be able to find out what "Heavenly Gate" and "Furnace" really represent.

After all, Xuanling should have been the first person to come into contact with Tianmen.

Moreover, she should be "Xuanming" among the nine preachers.

She became a preacher because of her contact with "Tianmen" (Heavenly Gate), so she should also be able to understand the meaning of "Honglu" (Great Furnace).

"No matter what... first of all, I need to advance to the third rank."

Gu Fangchen's eyes flickered.

He had completed the first step of impersonating the reincarnation of a "god," and Suler clearly had some doubts about his identity, though he was still in a state of skepticism.

Next, he needed to convince Sule and the Qingman people of this.

Therefore, he had previously proposed a plan of alliances and counter-alliances to Suler in the Golden Tent.

By uniting the Western Regions and the Sea Kingdom, forming an alliance led by the Qingman, they besieged and attacked the Great Wei. In other words, they made the Qingman great again.

This is actually something that Qingman did.

A thousand years ago, the Qingman launched a major invasion of the Central Plains. It was under Sule's leadership that an alliance of "Western Regions-Qingman-Sea Kingdom" was established.

However, after the Central Plains counterattack, the alliance collapsed. Due to disputes over interests and internal strife, there was no possibility of forming an alliance again.

During that great battle.

The Sea Kingdom experienced internal strife, including a rebellion by the Merfolk. The regime, originally controlled by the Witch Cult, was seized by the Merfolk, and the kingdom subsequently closed itself off from the outside world, with almost no contact with the outside world.

—As mentioned before, spirit beasts rarely possess intelligence, and there has never been a demon race in this world. This merman race is actually a hybrid of slaves and some fish-shaped spirit beasts created by the witch religion. They are similar to the Qingman people, but their degree of bestiality is even higher.

When witchcraft was in power, these merfolk were nothing more than playthings and commodities, used specifically to produce the rare pearl known as "merfolk tears."

This substance is only produced from tears when merfolk are in extreme grief, and it contains extremely high spirituality.

Therefore, once the merfolk come to power, they will certainly no longer use such things for trade.

The "mermaid tears" originally extracted from the merfolk were rarely produced again, except for the portion that was already in circulation, such as those supplied to the Great Wei from the former Sea Kingdom.

Only a very small fraction of these goods were smuggled out of the sea kingdom by a few fearless merchants.

That's why the "Mermaid Tears," which Gu Fangchen always used as arrows, are so precious, and each one used is one less available.

Only Gu Fangchen would dare to use it so extravagantly.

So, the powerful combination of "Azure Sea Tide" and "Mermaid Tears" comes at a price... This skill really burns through money!
In the original game storyline, the Sea Kingdom will return to the stage only after Lu Fuyi's "Nine Netherworlds Descend" side quest.

If the Lord of Calamity wants to summon the "Nine Netherworlds," the first thing he needs to do is to open up the passage between the two realms.

The method is to widen the rift between the two worlds that exist in the present world.

The largest of these rifts exists beneath the "Dragon Soul Sea" of the Sea Kingdom, where a massive abyssal rift exists on the seabed at its deepest point.

And beneath that fissure lies the “Yellow Springs” (the underworld).

This rift is the largest and most stable existing rift between the two worlds. It has been able to stop expanding and has existed in the abyss for a long time only because it was sealed by the physical body of a true dragon from ancient times.

The fish-shaped spirit beasts that gave birth to the Merfolk race were born by feeding on the corpse of that ancient dragon and slowly developing their sentience.

It could also be said that the ancestor of the Merfolk was actually that ancient dragon.

Lord Jie's plan is to have the "Extinction" Daoist followers and the evil spirits and vengeful ghosts below the Nine Netherworlds work together to completely destroy the ancient dragon's corpse, making the Sea Abyss Rift the largest passage between the two realms.

And at that time, she can sit back and watch the world be destroyed, thus completing her "Tao".

However, the Sea Kingdom is closed off from the world, and the Merfolk regard the "Dragon Soul Sea" as a sacred place, so they naturally cannot allow outsiders to set foot there.

Therefore, several years ago, the "Extinction" Dao had already secretly found the leader of the Wu tribe who had fled to the Central Plains and lived in seclusion, and together they planned the revival of the Wu tribe.

Now, the Wu Clan has been secretly accumulating strength, waiting only for the "Extinction" Dao to cooperate, so that they can seize back control of the Sea Kingdom in one fell swoop.

Gu Fangchen stroked her chin and murmured:

"The original plot had progressed to this point... so it was time to choose who to help."

Originally, the player character in the game also had several official female leads.

However, at this point in time, most of the female characters are still under ten years old and are mostly companions, making them far less attractive than the few female characters who cannot be romanced... Therefore, Gu Fangchen has no interest in provoking them.

Moreover, given his circumstances, it's uncertain whether he'll even live to see these female characters grow up.

Furthermore... there may already be several people who have indirectly died at his hands.

For example, among the prominent families, there was a noble eldest daughter from the Dugu family.

With the Dugu family now assisting Gu Yuye in his rebellion, and their past collaboration with the Demonic Sect in switching the real and fake heirs, along with several old cases, the Dugu family will likely suffer greatly, if not die.

If Emperor Yong'an were still alive, Empress Dugu would have been a reliable support.

But unfortunately... now even Old Deng has disappeared without a trace.

The Dugu family's situation was made even worse... beyond saving.

In the major side quest "Nine Netherworlds Descend," players will also encounter one of the female protagonists, namely the holy maiden of the Merfolk—Sunaga.

In the sixth ending, "Returning to Truth," the female protagonist who is the player's reincarnation finally appears in the "Yellow Springs." If the player chooses to help the Merfolk, the abyss rift beneath the "Dragon Soul Sea" will eventually return to calm.

It makes perfect sense for the merfolk to wait for the player's reincarnation in the "Yellow Springs".

Naturally, most players would emotionally choose to side with the Merfolk. The Witch Cult is cruel, and allowing them to revive their rule would be a catastrophe that would wipe out the Merfolk.

However, this means players will have to face one of the most difficult bosses in the entire game: the Four Symbols Lord.

Therefore, although they emotionally support the merfolk, in reality, missions often fail...

He was also being beaten down by the [Four-Phase Robbery Master].

Achieving a perfect ending is truly not easy.

As for a pro like Gu Fangchen, she has naturally tried all sorts of routes.

Now, for the sake of his plan, the merfolk have no choice but to compromise.

Well... the defeated and captured saintess is actually... no, it's very regrettable. He deeply regrets it!

The process of assisting the Merfolk is too long, and besides, they have no enmity with the Great Wei. It was the Witch Clan that was defeated back then.

If they were to agree to form alliances, it would definitely have to be a Wu tribe regime.

Lord Jie has already paved the way. Gu Fangchen only needs to find the people of the "Extinction" Dao and the Witch Clan, and bring Yi'er along so that she can impersonate Lord Jie.

When the time comes, once the Witchcraft Cult regains power, it will naturally agree to unite with the Qingman.

"As for the Western Regions... with Prajna Lotus Moon here, it will be even easier."

Gu Fangchen raised her hand and squinted her eyes.

Now, the "heart poison" has spread to his limbs and bones. The demonic flower patterns that were originally concentrated on his palms have fully bloomed, and the streaks of blood on his skin are like venomous snakes.

Having survived the "calamity of swords and weapons," his physical body was now able to withstand the fourth level of "refining magic."

That way, you can refine the "Heart-Planting Poison"!

But before that, he needs to find the person who poisoned him.

And this person was from what is now the largest kingdom in the Western Regions—Vatuma.

In the original storyline, this person's identity was not revealed. However, after Gu Yuye's death, Gu Fangchen obtained a clue from some of the Xuanhuang Army's confidants, who had become ghost soldiers.

However, all that is known is that this person is a wandering merchant who somehow obtained the rare and precious poison "Heart-Planting Poison," which happened to be offered to Gu Yuye when he was looking for poison.

Afterwards, Gu Yuye sent men to hunt him down, but the man escaped back to Fatuma and disappeared...

"Although the 'Heart Poison' originated from Vatuma, it was actually planted in the ancient kingdom of Garuda."

"This means that this person knows the location of Garuda's ruins."

This country, famous for its Gu poison, was built on the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Garuda buried under the yellow sand, and also received much of Garuda's blessing.

The reason why the Gu Masters of Fatuma are so powerful is partly due to the abundance of resources in this area.

In the original storyline, due to a lack of information, players were unaware of the existence of such a wandering merchant, and therefore had no way of knowing where the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Garuda were located or how to enter them.

Even Prajna Lotus Moon herself was unaware of this.

For some unknown reason, when that ancient kingdom of yellow sand perished, it concealed itself, and no one could find its location.

Prajna Lotus Moon went to great lengths to try and revive someone.

For this, she needs three things.

First, the sacred object of the Tara religion, the "Lotus Treasury in the Womb".

Second, the "Boundless Spring" beneath Garuda.

Third, the "Wangyin Tiangui" that Qingman worshipped on the snow mountain.

The "Lotus in the Womb" is now on Gu Fangchen's body; the remaining two things are the key.

In the original storyline, because she couldn't enter the real Garuda, Prajna Lotus Moon could only find a few bottles of "Boundless Spring Water" that had been preserved from before, and could not use the real "Boundless Spring".

The "Boundless Spring" is said to be a manifestation of part of the "River of Time," where people can find everything that has flowed by in the past. As long as they retrieve what they want, they can "regain what they have lost."

The "Wangyin Tiangui" is a divine artifact used by the Great Heavenly Master of the Qingman to obtain prophecies from the stars.

Only this magical artifact can locate a specific thing in the "river of time"; otherwise, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

If you gather these three things, you can bring a person back to life.

Even if the soul has been completely shattered in the cycle of reincarnation, it can be pieced back together.

This is the obsession of Prajna Lotus Moon.

The small kingdoms in the Western Regions are no longer a force to be reckoned with, with only the Vatuma Kingdom holding a dominant position. However, many of its members are fanatical followers of Garuda.

They can also be called "Garuda beings" in a certain sense—spiritual Garuda beings.

They worship everything about Garuda, regarding it as a miracle, and hope to recreate that glorious kingdom.

However, opinions about Prajna Lotus Moon are polarized.

Because Vatuma is the kingdom of sorcerers, who are skilled at creating suffering, but the doctrine of the Tara religion is to save all suffering in the world.

In fact, it contradicts the beliefs of Vatuma.

However, according to the traditional beliefs of Vatuma, the Tara religion is actually the complete opposite of Garuda, almost contrary to the legend.

Therefore, a large number of people questioned Prajna Lotus Moon's identity.

Those who believe in her consider her a saint.

But those who didn't believe her called her a thief.

However, none of that matters now.

With Prajna Lotus Moon present, as long as we can open the Garuda Ruins, taking down Vatuma shouldn't be a big problem.

"Now... as long as we find that wandering merchant, we will naturally know how to enter the Garuda Ruins."

Gu Fangchen lowered her hand, sighed, and her expression was very complicated and strange.

but……

He now knows that the person Prajna Lotus Moon wants to resurrect is probably himself.

I wonder if Prajna Lotus Moon will be able to accept this fact at that time?
By now, Prajna Lotus Moon should still think of him as a villain who stole the "Lotus Treasury in the Womb" and repeatedly threatened her.

If she knew that this despicable man was the father she wanted to resurrect...

"Cough cough."

Gu Fangchen imagined the scene of Prajna Lotus Moon calling her that, and couldn't help but cough twice, her gaze becoming even stranger.

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.: The monthly pass giveaway ends on the 7th. Those with passes can try their luck.

(End of this chapter)