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

Chapter 254 The Mysterious Bell and the Key (Two-in-One)

As soon as Gu Fangchen finished speaking, a teleportation channel appeared before her.

In the passage, a blurry, enormous face emerged; it was none other than "General Qianmo," Duan Qicang.

Compared to his defiant demeanor last time, this time Faxiang appeared much more obsequious, formally performing a disciple's salute to Gu Fangchen before solemnly saying:
"Please go this way, teacher."

He gestured for him to enter, and a flash of white light appeared beside him, opening a separate "Longitude and Latitude" teleportation channel.

It was probably after Gu Fangchen threatened Duan Qicang with the secret of his "baldness" that this guy finally behaved himself, fulfilling his promise from three hundred years ago, treating the one who broke the formation with the respect due to a teacher, and following his lead without question.

Gu Fangchen nodded, not daring to waste any time, and flashed into the teleportation channel.

After Gu Fangchen's figure disappeared, Duan Qicang's blurry dharma image finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead, and still had a look of shock in his eyes.

"Hiss—it hasn't been that long... and he's already at the second rank?!"

Duan Qicang couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Although he had known about Gu Fangchen's extraordinary abilities for a long time, Duan Qicang still felt that he had little chance of winning if he were to become Xie Qian's enemy, even with so many second-rank officials helping him.

After all, Gu Fangchen's cultivation level was what it was. In his eyes, a second-rank cultivator with hundreds of years of experience, it was inevitable that he would subconsciously underestimate her based on his own experience.

But this time, in just a few days—which is almost like the blink of an eye for people like them who have lived for hundreds of years—Gu Fangchen had already advanced from the fourth rank to the second rank.

This speed is faster than riding a rocket!
Moreover, this time, it was no longer an unpredictable promotion like before; every step Gu Fangchen took was purposeful.

Through alliances and betrayals, they exploited the faith of the Three Kingdoms, and their worship became a sacred practice.

This path is so clear it couldn't be clearer; it's practically an open secret.

However, no one can replicate every step of this path.

Who can demonstrate those so-called "miracles" and perfectly obtain the national faith of three completely different countries?
But Gu Fangchen did it as if it were a very ordinary thing, methodical and effortless.

It gives the impression that being promoted to the second rank is a very easy thing...

However, Duan Qicang wouldn't think that way, because he was indeed a second-rank official, and he knew just how difficult it was to advance to the second rank.

Therefore, his disciple's salute just now was out of genuine respect for Gu Fangchen, and he had no resentment whatsoever.

Duan Qicang's gaze fell on the gradually disappearing crack in the passage, and he murmured:
"I wonder what that old bastard 'Bad Gentleman' wants from this guy."

He was only responsible for activating the teleportation. The coordinates on the other side were controlled by "Yu Bai Gong". If he dared to spy on it, "Yu Bai Gong" would poison him. Therefore, he did not know where the passage led.

But for some reason, he had a premonition...

The fact that Gu Fangchen met with "The Degenerate" before such a crucial moment may determine the future direction of the entire world.

……

Gu Fangchen entered the passage, and in the blink of an eye, the scene before her eyes changed instantly.

Scarlet petals drifted slowly down before her eyes, and an endless sea of ​​scarlet spider lilies stretched forward, reaching all the way to the girl's snow-white, delicate toes.

Her jade-like feet were perfectly proportioned, and looking up, one could see her slender calves, while the flowing white skirt accentuated her equally delicate figure.

It was a white-haired girl with her head tilted to the side and her eyes tightly closed. Her white hair was tied into two buns with red ribbons. Her face had a dreamlike beauty, so beautiful that it seemed unreal, showing a perfection that no human could reach.

In fact, she is not human.

If you get closer, you can see slight connection marks on her ankles, wrists, and joints, which are signs that she is an artificial puppet.

Countless golden threads extended from all parts of her body, like puppet strings, stretching upwards into the void and disappearing into the sky.

At the same time, it also caused her to float in mid-air, maintaining a strange posture.

This white-haired girl puppet was Xuanming's most perfect creation, whom he regarded as his daughter.

Xuanling.

Gu Fangchen took a deep breath and walked forward, stopping about three zhang away from the girl.

In the original game storyline, it was here that players fought against Xuanming, who was the boss.

Seeing this scene, Gu Fangchen couldn't help but lick her lips, feeling a bit like she was about to take out some props to buff herself.

Even though Xuanming later became an ally, the players could only investigate from this location due to the influence of the "Heavenly Gate," thus limiting the information they could obtain.

If a player tries to get too close, they will die instantly.

Gu Fangchen guessed that it was probably the same reaction as Su Najia's before; getting too close to information that shouldn't be known by others would cause her to go crazy.

Moreover, from the player's perspective, they were completely unaware of the situation, so their death is quite normal.

But Gu Fangchen is different.

"You came."

Xuanming's voice rang out from the side.

Gu Fangchen turned her head and saw that familiar handsome young man with a refined appearance and pale skin.

Guagua Gong was still dressed in simple black clothes, his face still looked childish, only his white hair and his expressionless, gloomy and cold demeanor revealed his identity as the Lord of the Path of Death.

Gu Fangchen resisted the urge to reply with "I'm here" and launch into a classic line from Gu Long's novels.

He nodded and let out a long sigh:

"The rest of the arrangements are all ready, we just need this final push."

Xuanming turned his head and looked at the countless golden threads:

"From the moment she glimpsed the Heavenly Gate, she was forever imprisoned here. Those golden threads are the cause and effect that I dare not touch again."

Normal causal lines are red, but these are gold, making the difference immediately apparent.

They all understood that this cause and effect came from the "Heavenly Gate," and that touching it was enough to drive people mad and cause them to die.

Xuanming once witnessed a fleeting moment, but he paid the price of being forever frozen in his youth, losing most of his cultivation, and it took him countless years to regain it.

But for Gu Fangchen, these threads of cause and effect were what he felt was missing when he sat in front of the computer, facing the so-called true ending of "Returning to the Truth of the Six Dusts," when he couldn't untangle the myriad of thoughts and vaguely felt something was missing.

He had some uncertainty in his heart to begin with.

However, when he actually stood in front of Xuanling, he knew that this was what he had been looking for.

Gu Fangchen's eyes flickered.

He had seen these causal lines before.

In the illusion given to him by Ning Caiyong, he had seen these countless eyes that appeared from the ten-thousand-foot-wide rift in the void.

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

It's exactly the same as the golden silk thread in front of you!
It can be confirmed that Xuanling's slumber was not due to being forced by external forces.

Instead, it was a choice she made independently, just like Ying Baishou, Shi Qingguang, and Heng Changdao. She closed herself off in order to preserve these golden threads of cause and effect.

The causal threads preserved by Xuanling are the keys and coordinates leading to the "Heavenly Gate"!
In the original game, after the player finishes talking to Xuanming, they will also get a coordinate from him.

But that coordinate only allows you to return to the moment when Xuanling was born, triggering the opening of the "Heavenly Gate".

Players can disrupt the balance between the "Death" and "Life" paths by increasing their power, thus preventing the "Heavenly Gate" from opening. This alters the initial cause and effect, allowing Xuanling to awaken.

However, has cause and effect truly changed?

If that sealed history has become the eternal sky, watching over humankind all the time.

What's the point of simply changing cause and effect at a particular moment?
The moment that gaze fell, the "Tao" had already begun its invasion.

They are the parasites that devour the world, the flames that burn it, and every spark they ignite turns the world into fuel.

Therefore, the Xuanling that the player rescued and awakened was no longer the original Xuanling, but had been occupied by the "Dao" and turned into the "Preacher".

Or perhaps it is the "Demon-Holder" mentioned by the "Master of Hengchang Dao".

"To reach the true ending, the hidden seventh ending, we must sever the causal thread from heaven!"

Gu Fangchen stepped forward, reached out, and grasped the golden thread that had fallen from the void.

The first thing he felt was burning and stinging.

The golden threads instantly transformed into flames, scorching his palms. Then, as if a strong wind had arisen from the void, it swept over Gu Fangchen's entire body, causing the flames to spread rapidly and envelop Gu Fangchen in the blink of an eye.

"boom……"

Gu Fangchen instantly transformed into a human torch, a cluster of flames. He took a deep breath, cold sweat quickly beading on his forehead, feeling the pain that penetrated to the bone.

But for Gu Fangchen now, such pain is no longer enough to shake his heart.

The enlarged image of the Dharma suddenly appeared behind him, without sorrow or joy. It stretched out its palm and closed it, holding Gu Fangchen in its palm. All around, lotus phantoms bloomed instantly, filling the air with fragrance, as if they had entered another realm.

The faith that arose from Navartma also possesses the power of Tara.

Gu Fangchen's first supernatural power was "Lotus Pure Land".

The power of this supernatural ability is the same as that of Tara, which is to transform pain into power. Moreover, it is a domain skill. If there are other people around, they can also transfer the pain to Gu Fangchen himself, and he can refine it to improve his own cultivation.

And the pain he himself experiences can also be transferred by the Dharma Form before his spiritual power is exhausted.

The burning of these golden threads is merely a form of self-protection; what truly kills is the information they contain.

But for Gu Fangchen, it was practically meaningless.

He snorted coldly:
"I'll borrow your power to help me break through to the fifth level of 'magic refinement'!"

With each level of "refining magic" that Gu Fangchen was in, the level of pain increased. The fourth level required breaking through with "planting heart poison," and the fifth level naturally required going even further.

This was originally a very difficult thing, because "planting the poison in the heart" almost represents the greatest suffering in the world. However, this cause and effect from "Heavenly Gate" is precisely an "enemy from heaven"...

But those golden lines of cause and effect were no ordinary things either.

As Gu Fangchen activated "refining magic" under the protection of that Dharma image, countless red causal lines on his body were forced to surface.

The golden flames, like a persistent, insidious infection, began to burn away the red causal threads.

In the blink of an eye, a large area was burned to ashes.

It seems they intend to erase Gu Fangchen's karma directly!
……

Yi'er was fishing in a corner of the Haiguo Wharf, swinging her little feet.

Suddenly, he raised his head, squinted his eyes, his gaze showing some surprise, and then chuckled:
"We actually found the key to open the 'Heavenly Gate'... Interesting, indeed interesting. I was right, it's really extremely interesting."

"This world has finally become a bit more fun!"

"However, if you're not careful and glimpse the 'Heavenly Gate,' you really can die... Alas, what if you don't have enough karmic merit and get burned to death?"

She closed her eyes, a knowing smile still playing on her lips.

"How about... we let her choose for herself?"

The next moment, Lü Fuyi opened her eyes blankly, looking at the fishing rod in her hand with a very puzzled expression.

"I, I am..."

Memories flooded back, and Lü Fuyi's expression changed rapidly, from white to red and then to ashen.

She was so distracted by that guy's confession that when she woke up, she had already lost her virginity?!
Moreover, that guy was clearly just coaxing Yi'er!

"asshole!"

Lu Fuyi clenched her teeth, feeling that she had been bewitched and must have been deceived.

That guy talks a good game, but in the end, he still wants everything!

And her original plan...

But then, she suddenly felt a burning pain that seemed to come from her very soul, and her expression froze for a moment.

"What did that guy do? The karmic consequences are actually dissipating?"

The Four Phases Calamity Master's expression changed instantly.

After Gu Fangchen stole her "Chaos Wheel of Karma" supernatural power, she could no longer use it, but she could still sense it.

They could even sense the karma within Gu Fangchen herself.

However, at this moment, the enormous causal power that had originally shocked her was also being burned and turned into ashes. Before long, it would probably endanger Gu Fangchen herself!

The two are currently locked in a struggle, but Gu Fangchen is, after all, a human being. If cause and effect are erased, he will cease to exist.

Unless... there is another causal force that can protect him from it.

Lu Fuyi remained silent for a long time, clearly feeling the karma belonging to Gu Fangchen being rapidly erased. She naturally decided to sit idly by, but after only a few seconds, she felt empty and panicked.

She gritted her teeth:
"Bastard... I did this for Yi'er. If this heartless man dies, Yi'er will be heartbroken."

"Anyway, Jiuyou has been turned by him now, that's right... that's how it is."

Lu Fuyi raised his hand and made a hand seal, activating the karmic power within the "Karma Wheel of the Sea of ​​Calamity".

But this time, it wasn't for my own use.

Instead, he used all the accumulated world-destroying power to block Gu Fangchen.

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.

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