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

Chapter 225 Luo Song: Oh no, they're coming for me (Three-in-One)

Soon after.

Prajna Lotus Moon also learned from Qing Jian that Gu Fangchen had found the Garuda Ruins, which meant that her goal, which she had worked hard for for five hundred years, was just one step away from being achieved.

All sorts of emotions that had been building up in his heart for five hundred years surged up all at once, especially his longing for that person, which he could no longer suppress. His mind was in turmoil and he could not calm down.

Late at night, she quietly went to the nearby sand dunes and Gobi Desert, looking for a suitable small cave, wanting to hide and look at the moon in the sky.

This world, where yellow sand stretches as far as the eye can see, is built upon that long-vanished kingdom.

Although everything has changed, walking through this desert landscape, she still felt a sense of trepidation, as if she were returning home.

It wasn't because of Garuda, a country that should have perished long ago, but because of the person who could never return.

When she was little, whenever she felt sad, she would secretly run to a secluded little cave, gaze at the moon in the sky and cry, or just stare blankly.

Then wait for that person to find you, and watch the moon together.

The origin of this habit was that someone told her that she was actually a citizen of an enemy country, and that the person who killed her parents might be her adoptive father, Garuda's chief of ten, who raised her.

Because Garudas rarely have blue eyes, at most they are green, and a color as pure as crystal like hers could only appear on the people of that enemy country that has already been destroyed.

She angrily rebuked the man for talking nonsense, but then became confused and ran aimlessly into a small cave. She only intended to cry for a while and then go back, but because it got dark, she was afraid to go back and was trapped in the cave for a whole day.

When the man found her, his body was covered in wounds from being bitten and torn by sand wolves. He hugged her and told her that he wasn't actually a Garuda either.

He scratched his head and smiled helplessly:

"Little Pearl, actually your biological parents are both cultivators. How could I, a mere squad leader, possibly defeat them?"

"Your father is just an ordinary person. I can manage to sneak in some military merits, but if I could kill two fifth-rank cultivators, pigs would fly..."

She stared at him blankly, then burst out laughing.

The man carried her back to her lodgings, and she never saw the person who told her that story again.

Everyone says that the villain was unlucky and died on the battlefield.

The little man was a ninth-rank martial arts cultivator.

Later, that person told her that the moon shines brightest in one's hometown, and if she missed her real home, she should come and see the moon.

No matter how long she looks, he will definitely come to find her.

However, after becoming a holy woman of the Tara religion, she rarely had such peaceful moments anymore.

She must be Prajna Lotus Moon, not Bright Pearl.

Only Mingzhu can look at the moon and miss home, while Banruo Lianyue, who has lost her eyes, must be worshipped and venerated as the moon.

That man died too young, and she had to call him "father" every day. She didn't even know his full name; she only knew that others called him "squad leader."

Following the path from her memory, Prajna Lotus Moon arrived at a similar Gobi Desert. In a fleeting moment, she saw a person's back standing on the top of a small hill.

That figure was so familiar, so familiar that it seemed as if five hundred years had vanished with that one glance.

Her eyes widened, and she strode forward, the words almost bursting from her lips.

"What a coincidence, Your Highness, are you here to admire the moon as well?"

Gu Fangchen turned her head, raised an eyebrow, and said:
"So Your Highness can smile normally now. Why have you been giving me such a sour look these past few days? Remember to smile more happily next time."

Prajna Lotus Moon's joyful and bright expression froze instantly, then turned icy cold, her killing intent intensifying.

Why does she have such a sour face? Doesn't this guy know?
They knew perfectly well what was going on, yet they deliberately used this incident to humiliate her!

"How will you be here?"

Prajna Lotus Moon looked at Gu Fangchen and asked in a cold voice.

This place is remote, just an ordinary little hill.

She came here because she was following a familiar route from her memory. But why did this person come here?
This guy never does anything without a reason; it's impossible for him to suddenly run to such a completely meaningless place without any purpose.

But strangely enough, with her cultivation level, it was impossible for her not to sense that someone was following her...

Could it be that they both just happened to want to come here for some peace and quiet? What a coincidence!

Gu Fangchen shrugged:
"Your Highness is being far too domineering. Does this mean that if you can come here, I can't?"

He sighed:
"I was just feeling a bit homesick, so I wandered around aimlessly and ended up here. Seeing that the moon was exceptionally round tonight, I stopped to admire it for a moment."

Prajna Lotus Moon sneered inwardly.

Isn't your home the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion?
This Zhenbei Prince's Mansion was destroyed by Gu Fangchen himself, and Gu Yuye was also killed by him. Yet this guy is still here pretending to reminisce!
Gu Fangchen squinted, looked up at the moon, and smiled:

"Your Highness doesn't seem to believe it, but... the moon shines brightest in one's hometown, and I suppose Your Highness understands this feeling better than I do now."

Upon hearing this, Prajna Lotus Moon intended to make a sarcastic remark, but suddenly froze.

The moon shines brightest in one's hometown... This saying is not unusual; there are many similar phrases in the poetry of the Great Wei Dynasty.

However, today Gu Fangchen not only appeared here, but also said the exact same thing.

This can no longer be explained by mere coincidence.

A terrible thought vaguely arose in Prajna Lotus Moon's mind, but she immediately extinguished it.

impossible!
This is the only thing that is absolutely impossible!

She witnessed the man die in front of her, but because she fled in haste, she didn't have time to collect his body, and she was never able to find it again after returning home.

However, she apprehended the soldier from that time and confirmed his death.

Moreover, for the past five hundred years, she had exhausted all methods to search for that person's whereabouts.

If she could even piece together a corpse, why would she need a "lotus in the womb" to regenerate a perfect body?

Furthermore, Gu Fangchen is only nineteen years old now, how could she possibly appear five hundred years ago?!
Most importantly, Gu Fangchen, the guy she hated so much, could never be the man who said he would find her no matter what!

If it were him, he definitely wouldn't treat himself like this...

Prajna Lotus Moon calmed down, steadied her mind, took a deep breath, and said:

"I am well aware of this, so the task of finding Garuda still requires Your Excellency's utmost effort."

"Of course, Your Highness should know how to get me to do my best..."

Gu Fangchen reached out and touched Banruo Lianyue's cheek with a smile.

The latter turned away in disgust, but did not leave. He simply smiled, then lifted her veil and examined the face that was so different from the one in his memory.

When only half of a face is visible, it is indeed quite difficult to recognize someone.

However, when combined with those clear, bright eyes, like glass, one can see that there are three similarities.

The once slender and delicate little girl has become like this over five hundred years; who knows how much suffering she must have endured...

Gu Fangchen suddenly lowered her hand and then said:

"It's late and the dew is heavy. Let's go back. We can talk all night long after everything is over. It's not appropriate to sit in the open like this."

Prajna Lotus Moon was stunned. She loosened her teeth and looked up. She only saw Gu Fangchen's back as he waved goodbye. She frowned and wondered what trick this guy was playing now.
But judging from his words, he still hasn't given up on his wicked intentions...

But for some reason, he actually felt that after this incident, they would still have the opportunity to have a "long talk all night long"?

Prajna Lotus Moon's gaze was icy as she raised her hand and vigorously rubbed her cheek.

When Gu Fangchen enters Garuda, that will be the day of her death!

She turned and disappeared into the moonlight.

……

In the distance, Luo Song stood with his hands behind his back, watching the two part on bad terms, and a smile curled at the corners of his lips.

He almost thought that Gu Fangchen was free of her "inner demons".

Unexpectedly, his inner demons were so despicable...

The fact that this guy chose to have someone impersonate Zhao Daniu must have stemmed from his own despicable nature.

It seems that everything he did before was a disguise; his true nature is that of such an ugly and despicable person.

Even influenced by her inner demons, she made such a despicable threat to her partner, the holy maiden of the Tara sect, a second-rank cultivator, at this critical moment.

They completely lost their minds.

This is precisely a manifestation of being blinded by "inner demons".

If it were the old Gu Fangchen, she would never have made such a reckless decision.

A woman of such high status and pride as Prajna Lotus Moon, when coerced like this, would surely try to get rid of him.

Once Gu Fangchen enters Garuda, he will lose his usefulness. If he becomes complacent and mistakenly believes that Prajna Lian Yue has completely submitted to him, he will be killed by Prajna Lian Yue.

—The tribulation of "inner demons" has come true in this way.

Luo Song seemed to have already foreseen Gu Fangchen's fate. He shook his head and disappeared from the spot.

He will enter Garuda with Gu Fangchen and the others to witness the final fate of this self-righteous ant.

This ant, once overestimating its own abilities, attempted to shake the Peach Blossom Spring, a place where "all ages are one."

But in the end, he will only die silently in that long-vanished ancient kingdom because of his own "inner demons," buried along with the yellow sand...

This is the fate he deserved.

……

Gu Fangchen walked slowly through the desert, as if sensing something, and took out the stone engraved with golden proverbs.

At this moment, one of the proverbs above is being slowly erased.

He turned around and saw a flash of red lightning across the sky.

Gu Fangchen grinned, put the stone away, and continued walking towards the hot spring palace.

That old man, Maha Boundless... really does have some skills.

This "going to the celestial sundial" is probably truly going to "die in a fitting place" in Garuda.

……

The next day.

"This is the last 'mirage'."

Gu Fangchen squinted at the oasis in front of her, which was twisting in the heat.

He walked forward, continuing to unravel the key to the massive array. Prajna Lotus Moon stopped in place, reached out, and touched the illusory light and shadow.

She was very familiar with this oasis illusion.

This is the Garuda Kingdom, once shrouded in miracles, which flourished overnight.

Prajna Lotus Moon's eyes were icy cold. Her slender fingers closed, extinguishing the light and shadow in her palm. Such splendor was bought with the blood of a thousand young boys and girls.

Once, when she was still called Mingzhu'er, she almost became one of those thousand boys and girls.

It was that person... who, as a mere squad leader, defied the orders of the Garuda royal family and priests, blocking the blades of those personal guards and allowing her to escape.

The god that Garuda worshipped was never the Peacock Tara, but an evil bird named Garuda.

Garuda was bloodthirsty by nature. He was blinded by the Peacock Tara and died in this desert. His flesh and blood piled up like mountains and gave birth to the Garuda people.

This group of people are descendants of evil birds, and they also have an innately disgusting nature.

In order to create that oasis, they had to drain the blood from the bodies of a thousand young boys and girls, and let the precious princess bathe in it, so that she would become a new Garuda.

The princess's name was Prajna Lotus Moon.

They would lie and claim that the princess had sacrificed her own eyes out of great compassion to create that miraculous oasis, in an attempt to dominate the Western Regions and seize control of the Central Plains.

Mingzhu entered the palace as a maid and used all the methods that person had taught her to get close to the princess legitimately.

Ultimately, at the crucial moment of the sacrifice, she killed Prajna Lotus Moon and took her place.

The higher-ups of Garuda were furious and immediately imprisoned her, who had just inherited the power. But it was too late; she had already taken all of Garuda's power.

Therefore, when she proposed cooperation, these people had no choice but to comply.

From then on, she was Prajna Lotus Moon.

In just three years, she secretly contacted the Tara sect and destroyed the entire Garuda.

Garuda, unwilling to accept defeat, chose to use the strength of its entire nation to form a great formation, sinking the entire kingdom beneath the yellow sands, waiting for the day it would rise again...

This is why outsiders cannot find Garuda, and why she cannot enter it.

That legend, which has been passed down for five hundred years, is nothing but a lie.

"All right."

Gu Fangchen clapped her hands and stood up.

On the ground, the incredibly complex blood-red spirit patterns were now covered with a layer of golden spirit patterns.

Then he snapped his fingers.

"Snapped."

The spiritual runes merged into it, instantly changing the arrangement of the array's core.

In an instant, the spiritual patterns spread outwards, the entire oasis twisted and changed, and disappeared into the air.

At the same time, the other points also changed, the spiritual patterns spread out and concentrated in the center, condensing into a pillar of light that shot into the sky.

After a moment of stillness, the central position opened up to both sides as if a curtain had been drawn back.

Below, a stone gate covered by yellow sand was revealed!
After a while.

Gu Fangchen and Banruo Lianyue landed in front of the stone gate and walked forward.

This stone gate is clearly a remnant of a wall or wall left over from five hundred years ago. Now it stands here abruptly, silently welcoming the howling of the wind and sand.

It's like that silent history.

Gu Fangchen reached out and patted the stone door, brushing off the dust. She saw several marks that looked like knife marks carved on it.

His hazy memories seemed to become clearer again, and he said with a touch of nostalgia:
“This is the gate of Garuda’s city.”

Prajna Lotus Moon drifted over and said softly:

"Let's go, once we pass through this door, we'll reach Garuda."

She had no fondness for the entire Garuda realm; the only place that held her fondest memories was the little house she lived in with that person.

But because that person died there, it also became a nightmare.

There's nothing to reminisce about anymore.

Gu Fangchen watched as she gracefully crossed the boundary of the stone gate and disappeared before her eyes, then followed with a smile:
"Don't rush, Your Highness. Why don't you tell me how you became Prajna Lotus Moon back then..."

He stepped through the stone gate, and the scene before him suddenly changed.

"boom!"

The entire city was engulfed in raging flames, billowing black smoke rising into the sky and obscuring the heavens. The scorching air, along with the heavy stench of blood, filled the air.

Everywhere you looked, there were corpses everywhere, and blood flowed and pooled, forming puddles that could almost float weapons.

Apart from the sound of raging fire, there was no other sound in the city.

This indicates that it is a completely dead city.

Time stands still here.

Five hundred years have passed without any change; it remains exactly as it was at the moment when it was slaughtered by Prajna Lotus Moon.

Although Gu Fangchen could roughly guess that it was probably Banruo Lianyue who did it, she still raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes.

This is not only a hidden dungeon, but it also unlocks a hidden storyline that no one has ever known before.

Although he himself was the source of this plot, he really didn't expect that the person who caused Prajna Lotus Moon to be so persistent was actually himself.

He could roughly guess that after his death, Prajna Lotus Moon did not run away, but instead sought revenge against Garuda.

Ultimately, this led to the destruction of Garuda.

The Prajna Lotus Moon floated into the air, overlooking the shattered ancient kingdom, and said softly:

"If you want to hear some boring old stories, then I won't hesitate to tell you."

These things had been weighing on her heart for five hundred years, and now that everything was coming to an end, she didn't mind treating it as a sign of pity for a dead person.

On the way to the "Boundless Spring", she told everything except for a few details.

Gu Fangchen listened with great interest, while the gossipy questions and trivial matters were also asked.

Below Garuda's royal city at its center lies the "Boundless Spring".

It is said that this spring is part of the river of time, and one can find the past or the future within it.

This was also the key to the grand formation that Garuda activated back then.

Meanwhile, the priests of Garuda, in order to maintain the great formation, sat idly in the center of the "Boundless Spring".

Unfortunately, Prajna Lotus Moon crippled him, leaving him with irreversible injuries.

His remaining strength was only enough to keep the great formation running, and his own injuries were already nearing their end.

The last Golan who stumbled into the ruins was unfortunately a coward who was afraid of death. After taking the "Heart-Planting Poison," he completely ignored the Garuda priest's bewitching whispers and immediately fled back.

Now, he has finally met the person who will open the ruins for the second time.

However, when he looked up in ecstasy, he saw an old acquaintance.

Prajna Lotus Moon touched the ground with her toes and floated above the "Boundless Spring".

Dressed in a five-colored celestial robe, she was as graceful as a fairy. Bathed in the glow of the burning, dead city, she was incomparably beautiful and radiant, like a living bodhisattva who had come to save people from suffering.

But in reality, she was the one who carried out the funeral rites for this city.

The priest froze, his eyes filled with despair:

"How could it be... how could it be you..."

Prajna Lotus Moon giggled:

"Even if it is me, so what?"

Her gaze was indifferent: "Garuda was destined to die by my hand, so I came to finish what I hadn't done before. You have preserved this 'Boundless Spring' for me for five hundred years, and it's time for you to die."

After Prajna Lotus Moon finished speaking, she stretched out her hand and gently grasped the air.

"Oh!"

Even though the priest's eyes were wide open in fury, he could only explode in an instant, turning into a cloud of blood mist that drifted into the air.

Prajna Lotus Moon's gaze swept over the blood mist, then she turned to look at Gu Fangchen, smiled alluringly, and said softly:
"You're next."

Gu Fangchen looked up at her and sighed:

"No room for negotiation?"

Prajna Lotus Moon shook her head and in the blink of an eye, she was in front of Gu Fangchen. She walked towards him step by step, each step like a lotus blossom, but she did not stop at all.

She said coldly:

“You should have known this moment would come when you threatened me.”

"Actually, I can explain..."

Before Gu Fangchen could finish speaking, her figure had already disappeared from the spot, and in a flash, she appeared in the Boundless Spring.

But how could Prajna Lotus Moon, a second-rank cultivator, possibly escape after making thorough preparations?

She raised her hand, and the pale, enormous image of Tara suddenly appeared, opening her eyes, within which a huge lotus flower bloomed.

Gu Fangchen was swallowed by the lotus flower and enveloped within it.

The soft lotus petals, now as if cast from steel, crushed Gu Fangchen's body as the Prajna Lotus Moon closed its palms.

A large amount of blood gushed out from the lotus petals, and faint golden threads seemed to be released, scattering and flowing in all directions.

That is the "lotus hidden in the womb"!
Prajna Lotus Moon took a deep breath, knowing that Gu Fangchen was only on the verge of death. She was about to use a secret method to seize the "Lotus Treasury in the Womb" when she suddenly saw a stone that Gu Fangchen was carrying, which, under the washing of the "Boundless Spring", revealed a dazzling golden light.

The hidden spiritual patterns suddenly spread out, connecting with the array eye where the Garuda priest was originally located.

At this moment, the "Wangyin Tiangui" became the eye of the great array that buried the entire Garuda.

Gu Fangchen's soul had already left her body. She opened her eyes and saw "Gu Yuandao," who was nowhere to hide in the great formation.

Or rather, it was a preacher who possessed Gu Yuandao's body!
Luo Song's pupils constricted as he saw the overwhelming array of spiritual patterns spreading out, and he finally realized that something was wrong!
This thing... it seems like it's aimed at him?!
If the other party is a preacher who is closest to the "Tao", what could possibly be used to deal with another preacher?
Yes, brother, yes.

Gu Fangchen also possessed something from the preacher.

However, that came from a preacher who had not yet arrived.

In other words, "players".

The prop from "Tan Yuan" - [Blood Substitute Child].

Once, after Gu Yuandao failed in his attempt to kill Ning Caiyong, Gu Fangchen stole his landscape painting and left behind a drop of his blood.

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.: Six thousand words to fill the gap... a bit late, but I'm still asking for votes.

(End of this chapter)