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

Chapter 230 The mortal world is like fire, burning my heart (three-in-one)

The moment Gu Fangchen touched the golden-armored centipede, she casually released the "Heart-Planting Poison" into her palm.

At this moment, the "Heart-Planting Poison" in his body can be completely used by him.

Before it was refined, the "Heart-Planting Poison" was a time bomb that could explode at any moment, blasting Gu Fangchen to pieces.

Fortunately, the "Refining Magic" technique was powerful enough, and Gu Fangchen's physical body was also exceptionally strong. The fourth layer completely sealed the not-yet-fully-matured "Heart-Planting Poison" within Gu Fangchen's body, making it part of this puppet body.

Now, his meridians are based on mountains and rivers, and his spiritual power comes from rare poisons. He also possesses the energy of fire essence and destruction. It can be said that anyone below the second rank will die if he touches him.

Those of the second rank or above, unless they are "Decadent Duke" or a master of poison like King Moli, generally have to be cautious in their actions.

Previously, Gu Fangchen had deceived Guanyue by placing a "heart-planting poison" on her, making her obey her.

Now, he doesn't need to lie anymore; he can be real.

The potency of "Heart-Planting Poison" is already terrifying for cultivators, but it is a hundred times more potent than other poisons.

"Heart-Planting Poison" is both poison and Gu. As Gu, it has a certain degree of self-awareness and will reject other Gu poisons.

When encountering other poisons, especially higher-level poisons, it will immediately exert its power to kill them.

Therefore, when Gu Fangchen caught the golden-armored centipede, the "Heart-Planting Poison" automatically and spontaneously turned it into a puddle of pus.

"Pfft! H-How is this possible?!"

The elder's pupils constricted, and the instant the golden-armored centipede turned into pus, he was struck as if by a heavy blow, his face turned pale, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Gu Fangchen, by adopting the identity of a "celestial messenger" and having emerged from the ancient city of Garuda, clearly intended to seize the credit for herself.

Regardless of whether Prajna Lotus Moon knew about this, whether it was a plan between the two of them, or whether Gu Fangchen was taking advantage of the situation, the Vattuma people could not sit idly by and wait for their doom.

If the Prajna Lotus Moon awakens the Garuda Ancient City, then at least it is half one of our own.

Once this event becomes a so-called "divine" miracle, it will give Qingman an excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of Fatuma, and it will be a fact witnessed by everyone, leaving no room for maneuver!
The Grand Elder naturally couldn't allow such a thing to happen in front of him, so he didn't hold back and released his own natal Gu.

This golden-armored centipede has undergone eighty-one selections and refinements, making it a true Gu King. Its strength is equivalent to that of a third-grade cultivator, and its venom is extremely potent.

But at this moment, he died on the spot simply from being touched by Gu Fangchen...

The crowd and monks below, whose attention had been drawn, were in an uproar upon seeing this scene.

The death of the Grand Elder's natal Gu caused him to be implicated, and he was instantly and severely injured, swaying unsteadily, unable to conceal his condition.

And this scene truly fulfilled Gu Fangchen's earlier words: "Ice and snow melt away instantly when they meet the blazing sun."

The Grand Elder's face was extremely grim, but at this point, he was even less likely to allow Gu Fangchen to confirm his own words by bearing the identity of the "Heavenly God" envoy.

Once he turns this into a "miracle" and claims it as a fact, he can then claim credit for the reappearance of Garuda.

In that case, wouldn't their Gara Cult become nothing more than complete clowns?

After five hundred years of hard work, the fruits of our labor were still stolen by an outsider!

Their sincere prayers are not as effective as the "God" sending an envoy. Soon, their Galo religion will become the "God" religion!

The Grand Elder took a deep breath, then abruptly waved his hand, releasing two more Gu worms to guard him. He then looked at the shocked followers and guards around him, and coldly shouted:
"What are you all standing there for?! Take him down now!"

When those people saw Gu Fangchen easily crush the golden-armored centipede into a puddle of pus, they were all shocked, and the hairs on the back of their heads stood on end.

That was a Gu King with the strength of a third rank, and he was just crushed to death so easily!

This inevitably made people wonder if the Gu King was a fake, but the pus that the centipede had transformed into dripped from Gu Fangchen's palm and fell onto the ground below, immediately proving its authenticity.

"Chichi..."

The pus was spilled onto the oasis, and the poisonous gas that spread instantly caused all the surrounding plants to wither and die; all living things turned into the same pus.

Moreover, its range is expanding rapidly; in the blink of an eye, it has already covered an area of ​​ten miles in radius, and it continues to spread outwards...

This toxicity is terrifying.

The onlookers were so frightened that they all retreated, fearing they might accidentally become victims.

Gu Fangchen's strength is only at the fourth rank!
If it weren't for the miracle he described, it would be truly unimaginable how this could have been done...

At this moment, the group that was ordered to step forward and capture Gu Fangchen suddenly felt like they were being told to "go and kill Tang Sanzang and his disciples."

Seeing the elder coughing up blood, they cursed inwardly, "Why didn't you go yourself?"

If you can't do it, why should we?
How can we defeat this?
However, as members of the Gara Cult, they still had to uphold basic dignity, so when the Grand Elder ordered them to go, they had no choice but to go.

Just as they hesitated, Gu Fangchen circulated her spiritual power, and the power of burning in her palm ignited, enveloping the pus and extracting its poison. Then, the demonic flower flashed and disappeared, devouring it into the puppet's body.

The more poison a "magic refinement" technique can refine, the stronger its power becomes; the more the better.

In that instant, King Mori's pupils contracted as he recognized the appearance of the blood-red demonic flower.

He felt a chill run down his spine and immediately raised his hand to stop everyone.

"Stop it all!"

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

In this situation, they would die whether they went forward or not, which was a real dilemma. Fortunately, King Mori, who had the highest status, spoke up to stop them.

The Grand Elder was naturally unhappy.

When King Mori spoke at this moment, it was undoubtedly to acknowledge Gu Fangchen's identity as the "celestial" messenger.

But if he stops now, wouldn't his natal Gu be wasted?
Whether for public or private reasons, he could not let Gu Fangchen succeed like this.

His eyes widened immediately, and he said urgently:
"Your Majesty! We must not stop! This Gu Fangchen is treacherous. How could a man from Wei be a 'heavenly god' messenger from the Qingman? Perhaps this news is false!"

"Your Majesty, do not forget that the Way of Love has now submitted to him!"

"Since he was able to sneak into the palace undetected, he must also have ways to confuse the public and deceive us with false information!"

"The only righteous path is to kill him!"

King Mori cursed the fool inwardly.

In a panic, he couldn't even recognize that it was the "Heart-Seed Poison" produced by Garuda!
They had heard about Gu Fangchen's experiences as the heir of the Prince of Zhenbei, and knew that he had been poisoned by three kinds of strange poisons, which had ruined his meridians and dantian.

However, no information was released about which three poisons they were. Only the people in the Prince's mansion and the high monk from the Garan Temple who suppressed the poison for Gu Fangchen knew.

Now, King Mori knows.

That was actually the "Heart-Planting Poison," which had not appeared in the world for many years and existed almost only in legends!
The toxicity of this first extraordinary poison is unknown to others, but as the most powerful poison master in Vatuma and the leader of the Gara Cult, how could he not know?
Trying to use their poisonous Gu to fight against "Heart-Planting Poison" is undoubtedly like throwing an egg against a rock!

No wonder Gu Fangchen was so fearless...

However, on the other hand, although Gu Fangchen's miracle of "the blazing sun melting ice and snow" was fake, her ability to turn the "heart-planting poison" into her own power was already a miracle in itself.

With the "Heart-Planting Poison" in hand, Gu Fangchen is a human nuclear bomb, and one that's even poisonous.

Even a second-rank official would have to consider the potential impact if they took action against him.

Moreover, this is the country of Fatuma, which primarily uses poison and witchcraft.

The moment King Mori realized it was "Heart Poison," all his resentment and desire to resist vanished.

Originally, after Garuda reappeared in the world, the rule of their Garuda religion was already in jeopardy.

Given the current inevitable defeat, it's better to play the victim, take a step back, and perhaps there's still room for negotiation.

Otherwise, you might end up like this fool in front of you, with not even a shred of dignity left.

When King Mori raised his head and looked at the Grand Elder, his eyes had become incredibly cold.

He waved his hand and said in a deep voice:
"What are you standing there for? Can't you see the Grand Elder is spouting nonsense, has lost his mind, and is recklessly slandering the 'Heavenly God' messenger? He's probably being impersonated. Quickly drag him away!"

As if granted a pardon, everyone immediately responded:
"Yes!"

Even without his natal Gu, the Grand Elder's strength is now a thing of the past.

Moreover, with King Mori backing him up, it was naturally much easier than fighting Gu Fangchen.

The Grand Elder was startled. Seeing the approaching people, he realized the situation was dire. His face turned even paler, and his anger surged. He immediately shouted:

"Moli! Have you forgotten who put you on the throne?! You ungrateful wretch!"

He screamed and spat out another mouthful of blood.

King Mori said indifferently:

"Of course I remember. It was my faith in and loyalty to Garuda that allowed me to ascend the throne."

"I will support all of Her Highness's decisions, solely for the sake of revitalizing the true Garuda!"

They have been surrounding Garuda City for the past few days to make sure no outsiders will enter.

So, since Gu Fangchen came out of the ancient city, it means that he was brought in by Banruo Lianyue and was with the princess.

Therefore, when he said he supported Her Highness the Princess, he was actually standing on Gu Fangchen's side.

King Mori said this, and those below naturally echoed him:
"Revitalize Garuda! Revitalize Garuda!..."

Hearing the deafening roar, the elder turned ashen-faced, realizing he had made a mistake. Despairing and severely injured by the death of his natal Gu, he immediately gave up resistance and was captured and taken to the dungeon.

King Mori turned his head and smiled:

“Your Excellency is alarmed. I will certainly interrogate this person thoroughly to find out who sent him to sow discord and undermine the friendship between Fatuma and Qingman.”

Friendships have even emerged.

Although there wasn't much conflict between Fatuma and Qingman, their relationship was far from "friendship," and they didn't even keep to themselves.

Compared to the isolated Sea Kingdom, Vatuma borders both sides but has no desire to coexist peacefully with either side.

If the Qingman are wolves, then the Great Wei are tigers.

Vatum is like a venomous snake that is always lurking. In the struggle between wolves and tigers, whoever is injured will be bitten by it.

Neither the Qingman nor the Great Wei had a good impression of the Fatu Ma.

However, at this moment, due to the change in circumstances, King Mori could also create something out of nothing.

Gu Fangchen narrowed her eyes and smiled as well:

"Easy to say."

That King Mori is still the same old fox.

He remained silent just now, allowing the Grand Elder of the Nagalu Sect to provoke him, which was clearly a test. If Gu Fangchen had lost just now, King Moli's attitude would probably be completely different now.

But now Gu Fangchen has won a great victory and even made a special appearance to show off the "Heart-Planting Poison" on her body.

Knowing the situation was settled, King Mori dealt with the Grand Elder and then exchanged pleasantries with Gu Fangchen. Gu Fangchen understood, but his true aim was to control Garuda, and with King Mori's endorsement, things were naturally much better.

What he was thinking was not important.

Gu Fangchen flipped her hand, raised the Green Barbarian White Bone Wolf Head Banner that she had taken from Su Le before leaving, and shouted:

"The 'gods' have issued a divine decree that the current state of the world will be reshuffled. The Great Wei is wicked and no longer favored by Heaven. As a result, the emperor will suffer divine punishment and die an unnatural death."

“Qingman will become the new overlord, therefore, I have come with a ‘miracle’ to make Garuda rise from the ground.”

King Mori's eyes were strange.

The rumored traitor who murdered the emperor and betrayed the country spoke eloquently before him, which was considered "divine punishment."

As everyone knows, there was only one person in the Qingman tribe who could be called "Heavenly Punishment," and that was Khan Sule.

What does Gu Fangchen want to represent?
Did Suler authorize this?

King Mori felt that this might be related to Gu Fangchen becoming the messenger of the "Gods," but whatever the reason behind it, he did not intend to refute it.

Anyway, it doesn't seem like the other side wants to overthrow his rule or anything like that... and that's enough.

"You must be curious about what kind of 'miracle' could bring Garuda back to the world."

"Now, I will tell you—"

Gu Fangchen glanced around, then said calmly:
“I was once a person who died and was resurrected. My resurrection brought about the reappearance of Garuda. This is a ‘miracle’.”

He took out a recording stone that he had prepared long ago when he entered Garuda to explore.

He casually tossed it, and the scene at the Garuda ruins appeared in the photographic stone.

—Of course, it's the director's cut.

This photographic stone displays three images pieced together.

The first scene is the manifestation of Prajna Lotus Moon, which crushes Gu Fangchen to death, causing her to bleed profusely.

She was muttering things like "Garuda is destined..."

The second scene shows the giant lotus closing, with the power of time leaking out, causing the entire Garuda to reappear.

Prajna Lotus Moon was in tears, saying things like, "I've finally waited for this day."

In the third scene, Gu Fangchen emerges from the dissipating lotus flower.

Three images, absolutely no fakery!

Very true!

And so, everyone finally understood what that enormous lotus flower they had been seeing for the past few days truly was.

It turned out that the sound of the "heavenly god" messenger in front of them coming back to life was the sound of his death.

The effect presented in these three images is exactly like that.

It seems that in order to make Garuda reappear, Prajna Lotus Moon had to kill Gu Fangchen once. Then, the "miracle" on his body allowed him to be resurrected, generating a huge amount of time power, and incidentally bringing Garuda back as well.

These scenes are incredibly realistic, only the shooting angle and timing are slightly off.

Prajna Lotus Moon never revealed to anyone that she was going to carry out a resurrection ritual, so naturally no one knew that she was the one who actually performed the resurrection.

And her relationship with Gu Fangchen was... practically nonexistent.

Outsiders would never have imagined that Gu Fangchen could be the father of Banruo Lianyue, nor would they have imagined that Banruo Lianyue would have spent five hundred years trying to revive him.

All these reasons, which outsiders would never even imagine, have been omitted, resulting in this effect.

"Resurrection" became the "miracle" bestowed upon Gu Fangchen by the "gods".

After Gu Fangchen's performance, his invulnerable "divine body" further confirmed the scene shown in the recording stone.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock.

Even King Mori was stunned for a moment, his face full of astonishment. He looked at Gu Fangchen, then at the completely realistic image on the recording stone, and was completely fooled.

Could it be... that he's telling the truth?
Is he truly an emissary of the "gods"?
The massive white skeleton, which had been silent for thousands of years, finally opened its eyes one day and brought forth a true "miracle".
King Mori took a deep breath, met Gu Fangchen's eyes, and immediately understood, saying:
"Your Excellency, such a 'miracle' must come at a price. May I ask what divine decree the 'gods' have given us?"

Gu Fangchen said slowly:

“The ‘gods’ once shot an arrow of time, which traveled through thousands of years, and now that arrow is finally about to fall.”

"The reappearance of Garuda is nothing more than a passing breeze."

King Mori immediately bowed and said in a deep voice:
"Vatuma is willing to follow Garuda and be the wind beneath his arrows!"

Seeing that even the king had pledged his loyalty, the people behind him immediately followed without hesitation.

"I'd be the wind beneath your arrows!"

"I'd be the wind beneath your arrows!"

"I'd be the wind beneath an arrow!..."

Gu Fangchen had already created enough atmosphere, and the lotus "miracle" was something they had witnessed with their own eyes, so naturally they were all convinced.

A whole bunch of people behind them immediately knelt down.

Gu Fangchen stood with her hands behind her back. Amidst the roaring crowd, she squinted and sensed an invisible plume of smoke rising with the kneeling masses.

That is... the power of the wishes of all living beings.

He took a deep breath.

As his deeds today spread, such aspirations will grow stronger, until they eventually elevate him to the pseudo-third rank...

Even higher!
Nowadays, the highest level a cultivator in the path of incense offerings can reach is the third rank, which is limited by the quantity and form of the wishes of sentient beings.

During the ancient Zhou Dynasty, rampant licentious worship could elevate a person directly to the second rank.

If placed in an even more ancient era, it might even have been a first-class rank.

Gu Fangchen exhaled the stale air.

With Vatuma captured, the next step is the Sea Kingdom.

By contacting the "Extinction" Dao through Yi'er, Zhi Xiao can find the leader of the Wu Clan who is accumulating power and preparing to seize power, thus causing the Sea Kingdom to change hands.

……

When Prajna Lotus Moon woke up, she saw a familiar ceiling.

The gaps between the wooden houses were filled with yellow sand, and the familiar dry, dusty smell of the afternoon wafted over.

In a daze, she even had the illusion that everything in the past was a long nightmare, and that she was still that willful little girl who could snuggle in her father's arms.

None of this ever happened. Her father didn't die, and Gu Fangchen was just a hateful and annoying character in her dream.

But the next moment, she heard a familiar voice beside her, a half-smile playing on its lips.

"Your Holiness, you've finally woken up."

Gu Fangchen sighed, reached out and helped Banruo Lianyue up, then used her spiritual power to examine her body again, confirming that her injuries had fully healed and that her spiritual power was even more abundant and active than before.

Prajna Lotus Moon came to her senses and subconsciously grabbed his hand.

He shook hands with him, saying helplessly:
“I’ve been watching over you for three days. My injuries have long since healed, but you still haven’t woken up.”

Gu Fangchen blinked, seemingly joking casually:
"If you don't wake up soon, I'll start to think that you're unable to accept my identity, so you'd rather remain unconscious than face reality."

"Holy Maiden, am I really that hateful?"

Prajna Lotus Moon's eyes suddenly stung with tears. She sat up halfway, staring at him in silence for a long time. Then, she pursed her lips and suddenly spoke softly:

"Little Pearl".

"Ok?"

"Call me Little Pearl."

Prajna Lotus Moon gripped his hand tightly, her eyes filled with a hint of stubbornness, and murmured:

"Daddy."

Gu Fangchen was taken aback. He had originally thought that, given the Saintess's arrogance and her previous attitude towards him, she would find it difficult to utter those two words after regaining her senses.

After all, the Holy Maiden is easily embarrassed, and recalling her past experiences would probably make her feel awkward.

He was still thinking that he had to lie to her before she would say that...

But to my surprise, she took the initiative to speak up.

Looking into Prajna Lotus Moon's beautiful, clear blue eyes, Gu Fangchen noticed a hint of fear and unease, and a thought stirred within her.

She was afraid... afraid that Gu Fangchen would leave her again.

Having been lost and regained after five hundred years, we cannot afford to lose it again once more.

So, whether it was intentional or not, it didn't matter. She couldn't accept Gu Fangchen's estrangement and the use of the title "Holy Maiden" to treat her like a stranger.

Even if it's just to lie to her, it's fine.

Therefore, Prajna Lotus Moon is willing to abandon everything she currently possesses, including her insignificant sense of shame.

Gu Fangchen was fully aware of this.

In the original storyline, because her resurrection failed, Prajna Lotus Moon chose to die by self-immolation.

Even if we had taken a gamble back then, there would have been a glimmer of hope.

But since resurrection was hopeless, she no longer cared about right or wrong, and turned into flames along with her five hundred years of obsession.

This is the side quest of Prajna Lotus Moon, and it's called "Red Dust Fire".

The mortal world is like fire, burning my heart with it.

Gu Fangchen's gaze softened, and she raised her hand to embrace the apprehensive woman before her, saying softly:

"Little Pearl".

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.: Updates should be back to normal soon, probably.

I'm a fan of happy endings, so I won't be making any sad comments (laughs).
(End of this chapter)