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

Chapter 267 Should I call you Xiao Zhenwu, or Lord Hengchang (Two Chapters Combined)

With one palm strike, Gu Fangchen tore apart Zhang Yi's lie that had lasted for hundreds of years.

The remaining cultivators around were all stunned, staring in astonishment at the beautiful woman who had turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished inside the coffin.

After a moment of complete silence, they erupted in uproar, and many people broke down completely.

"That damned Zhang Yi! I used to sympathize with his plight and helped him a lot because of his deep affection, but it turns out he was a fraud?!"

"Before he even 'attained enlightenment,' he was already carrying that coffin around everywhere, and everyone said he was deeply affectionate and righteous, praising him endlessly... He really put on a flawless act!"

"Carrying an empty coffin for hundreds of years, Zhang Yi, you're something else! You call yourself a Heavenly Venerable? Bah!"

Previously, when Zhang Yi tricked them into killing Yin Jin and then turned against them to compete for the "Heavenly Mandate" seed, their reaction was not this strong.

The reason for this is that the persona was well-crafted.

Many people have long heard of Zhang Yi's feat of reviving his wife, and most people have a positive opinion of this.

Even though he betrayed his wife, the thought that he would use this "destiny" seed to resurrect her made it all understandable.

At most, people might sigh at his stubbornness, or even admire him more and give up competing with him.

In the end, they were all moved to tears, having been deceived by Zhang Yi and wasted their time making wedding dresses for him!

All my previous sympathy was proof that I had been completely manipulated by Zhang Yi, so naturally I was going to lose my guard!

De Yuanzi was completely dumbfounded, his mouth agape:
"Damn... I've been swindling and cheating for most of my life, but I've never been able to fool him."

"It's fortunate that he cultivates the 'Dream' path, not the 'Deception' path, otherwise he would have become an immortal long ago, right?"

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. If this could work, and people would even offer him help for free, then why was he always exposed and exposed before, like a rat crossing the street?

Gu Fangchen seemed to see through his confusion, reached out and patted his shoulder, saying meaningfully:
"You're too direct in your lies. You need to learn how to tell stories and build a persona first."

"Only when you make others believe your story will they be willing to be deceived, and even after they realize they've been deceived, they won't fight back against you."

De Yuanzi seemed to be deep in thought, then nodded vigorously and murmured:

“That makes sense… When I take on disciples in the future, I will definitely ask them to tell more stories and establish their personas.”

Gu Fangchen smiled, then looked at Zhang Yi, whose face was deathly pale and who was frantically shaking his head and backing away.

He glared at Gu Fangchen and roared:
"No, no, no... Impossible! This is impossible!"

Although Zhang Yi did not "deceive" the world, the coffin and wife he used to deceive people were indeed the foundation of his doctrine.

This pipe dream he wove for himself was the biggest dream he ever created, one that even fooled himself.

Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, or was he a butterfly dreamt he was Zhuangzi?

The highest realm of the "dream" is when a person in a dream cannot distinguish whether they are dreaming or dreaming of others.

Now, the dream locked inside this coffin has been shattered by Gu Fangchen's palm strike.

Zhang Yi's Daoist heart naturally shattered as well.

"This is impossible... Pfft!"

He muttered to himself as he spat out another mouthful of blood, his life force instantly waning.

Zhang Yi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with madness, turned and leaped towards the outer perimeter, letting out a loud laugh:

"Hahahaha, impossible! My Ying'er is real! I went to great lengths to preserve her last breath of life, running around everywhere, just to revive her!"

"Everyone knows this, how could it be fake? It must be you! You must have killed Ying'er and used illusion to frame me... Hahahaha, that must be it!"

Zhang Yi staggered and flew a hundred miles away, then suddenly cried out to the sky, covered his head, and plummeted straight down.

"Snapped!"

He fell and turned into a puddle of mud, from which a golden thread emerged.

Someone exclaimed:

“That is… the seed of the Path of Dreams!”

The surrounding cultivators' pupils constricted immediately, and they became restless.

Today, Yin Jin and Zhang Yi, these two "enlightened ones," perished together, leaving behind two additional seeds of the Dao.

There is a seed of the way of "life" and a seed of the way of "dream".

Whoever gets it now will be the next "enlightened one".

Although they were envious, they dared not make any rash moves.

The cultivators glanced at Gu Fangchen in the center, and remembering how he had crippled Zhang Yi so easily, they all swallowed hard, and no one dared to come out.

Gu Fangchen does not appear to be an "enlightened one," but her strength far surpasses that of an "enlightened one."

They were all exhausted at this point, while Gu Fangchen was full of energy and dared not take any risks.

Besides... anyway, Gu Fangchen only has that old Taoist priest by her side. Even if each of them has a Taoist seed, there will still be one left, right?

At that time, it would be safer to try to surrender...

Gu Fangchen was well aware of what the people around him were thinking, and he had no intention of taking the Dao Seed.

He was able to kill Zhang Yi so easily because he was skilled in illusion magic.

All truth and falsehood are meaningless to him.

If it were someone else, it would actually take some extra effort...

Gu Fangchen glanced at De Yuanzi beside her. This old Taoist priest was very shrewd; he immediately displayed the qualities of a lackey, bowing and scraping, extending his hand in a "please" gesture, and smiling obsequiously:

“Senior, the ‘Destiny’ Dao Seed is on Yin Jin. Your divine skills are unparalleled. If you were to obtain this ‘Destiny’, you would surely be even more powerful and invincible!”

Gu Fangchen chuckled:
"Which of the remaining two Dao seeds do you prefer?"

De Yuanzi was secretly delighted and was about to rub his hands together when he saw the man's ambiguous smile. His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately shrank back, awkwardly saying:
"Senior just likes to joke. How could I dare to choose such a thing... These three Dao Seeds are all yours. You can give them to whomever you want."

Gu Fangchen chuckled and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.

If the Grand Preceptor knew that his sect's founder was such a shameless person, he would be so annoyed!

The patriarch has completely disgraced the Heavenly Mandate Path.

He leaped down and landed next to Yin Jin's body. He took two steps forward and reached out a hand.

Two golden threads emerged from the center and landed in the void above Gu Fangchen's palm.

Gu Fangchen narrowed her eyes, examining the Dao Seed in her hand.

This was the first time he had truly seen what this so-called Dao Seed looked like.

"These are the things that are consuming the entire world..."

Gu Fangchen looked at the golden thread in her hand that was emitting a strange and mysterious light, and suddenly reached out and grasped that section of the golden thread.

In a daze, he heard an incredibly sharp and terrifying scream that was almost indescribable.

"——!!!"

Gu Fangchen was startled. She looked at her hand again and saw the golden thread twisting and writhing wildly.

At this moment, he saw that there was something transparent wrapped around the outer layer of the golden thread, which was wriggling and struggling.

It's like a disgusting maggot.

The so-called golden threads are actually some shapeless golden rays that it swallowed.

Gu Fangchen understood.

"The Great Dao is formless... it is merely the natural order of things, so how can it be controlled by humans?"

“It is an external will that swallowed the fragments of ‘Dao’, seized these ‘Dao’, and then disguised itself as ‘Dao’, and then used cultivators to spread itself like a virus.”

In just a moment, as Gu Fangchen released her grip, the golden thread stopped struggling and returned to its original state. But the next instant, it vanished with a "whoosh," reappearing in front of De Yuanzi before disappearing into his body.

De Yuanzi was stunned for a moment, not even reacting, and then he was immediately shocked:

"Senior, it's not my fault! It flew here on its own!"

Gu Fangchen raised an eyebrow:
"I know……"

"Perhaps this is your destiny."

De Yuanzi touched his entire body and pointed to himself:
"Have I attained 'enlightenment'?"

Gu Fangchen nodded.

De Yuanzi scratched his head in confusion:
"It doesn't seem any different..."

Gu Fangchen couldn't help but laugh:
"You'll have plenty of time to experience it later."

"Now... it seems someone wants to decide the ownership of the other two Dao types."

He turned his head and saw a soldier in armor standing in mid-air.

The soldier was startled upon hearing this and cautiously cupped his hands in greeting:

“Mr. Gu, the general has no such intention. Since you have obtained this seed, it naturally belongs to you. You can give it to whomever you wish.”

"Then what are you doing here?"

"The general cherishes talent and wishes to invite you to the City of the Human Emperor to celebrate your attainment of enlightenment."

Gu Fangchen stood with her hands behind her back, a half-smile on her face, and said:
"Do you know what happened to the last person who wanted to throw me a banquet in the capital?"

The soldier was stunned.

Isn't Gu Fangchen a rogue cultivator who suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
There are only a handful of people who can host banquets in the capital, and I've never heard of anyone having any connection with this person.

Could it be that Gu Fangchen is joking...? It doesn't seem like it.

The soldiers were confused and didn't understand what Gu Fangchen meant, so they could only cautiously ask:
"I am unaware... I would appreciate your guidance, Mr. Gu."

Gu Fangchen smiled and said:

"I killed him four times, and in the end he died without a complete corpse."

He calmly recounted the terrible events, and the soldier immediately fell silent, not daring to respond.

Gu Fangchen sighed:
"However, the last one is the last one after all. General Li might be different, don't you think?"

The soldier twitched his lips, sensing that if the conversation continued, he would lose his head.

He quickly replied:

“Mr. Gu, if you are unwilling to go, the general will not force you…”

"Who said I didn't want to go? I'm more than willing, that's why I'm talking to you a bit more so that your general can prepare."

Soldiers: "..."

Was that a crime warning just now?!

He wiped away a bead of cold sweat:

"If you're willing, that would be wonderful... Please, then."

"And this Taoist priest, the general also invited him."

De Yuanzi's heart skipped a beat, and then a premonition arose naturally—this trip would not be dangerous.

He breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.

……

Not long after the group left.

On this devastated battlefield, the surviving cultivators either sought out their companions or left alone, scattering like clouds in the wind, leaving behind only a few minor cultivators hoping to scavenge for what they could.

One of the cultivators was looting the corpse when he suddenly heard a girl's voice behind him:

Who was that person who just left?

The cultivator was startled and turned around, only to see a beautiful, barefoot girl in a green dress carrying a sword. But upon closer inspection, he discovered that the girl was exuding the aura of an "enlightened one"!

His expression changed, and he quickly said:
"Reporting to senior, that person is a rogue cultivator who has only recently revealed his whereabouts. His name is unknown, but we know that his surname is Gu, and he just took three Dao Seeds from this place..."

Gu Fangchen's appearance was too brief, and these people didn't know much about her, so they could only recount what they knew.

The girl listened attentively, then told the cultivator to go about his own business.

The girl in the green dress had just left Baidi City and was traveling here when she heard that two "enlightened beings" were fighting, so she just wanted to take a look.

But to his surprise, he arrived too late; both of them were already dead.

She only caught a glimpse of the person who killed the two "enlightened ones," just their backs, but she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

The girl looked in the direction where Gu Fangchen had disappeared and murmured in confusion:
"strangeness……"

She thought for a long time but couldn't recall where she had seen such a person. So she shook her head, stopped worrying about it, sat cross-legged on the spot, and began to observe the battlefield ruins.

I only observed for a while, but I couldn't calm down.

The girl raised her hand and touched her chest in confusion. She had been pampered and spoiled since childhood in Baidi City, and her sword heart was clear and unhindered.

When did I become unable to calm down?

……

Given Gu Fangchen and the others' pace, it would only take them a few hours to reach the Human Emperor City.

After Gu Fangchen entered the "Heavenly Gate", the first place she arrived at was the White Horse Temple, which was not far from the imperial city.

However, after hearing about the female sword immortal from De Yuanzi, he mistakenly thought it was Ning Caiyong, so he went to the southwest first.

Now, after going around in circles, we're back again.

"The general is already waiting at the residence..."

The soldier had just gestured for them to proceed when Gu Fangchen shook her head.

"Once we enter the capital, we must first pay our respects to the Emperor. Let General Li wait for now."

"This……"

Just as the soldier was about to stop him, a eunuch rode up at breakneck speed. Upon reaching her, he knelt before Gu Fangchen and respectfully said:
"His Majesty invites you into the hall for a discussion."

The soldier immediately fell silent.

Gu Fangchen nodded and followed the eunuch to the main hall of the imperial city.

Along the way, he looked at the roads and decorations within the imperial city, and the more he looked, the more he felt that it was almost exactly the same as Huangtian City.

"His Majesty only allows you to enter alone. Please come and rest here, Taoist priest."

The eunuch led De Yuanzi away, leaving Gu Fangchen to climb the steps alone.

In the center of that magnificent and spacious hall, sitting on the dragon throne, was a tall, dignified, and silent man.

Gu Fangchen had never seen his face, but from Su Najia's description, he knew who this person was.

The man on the dragon throne looked at him, and then smiled:

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Gu Fangchen looked him over, nodded, and said:

"It has indeed been a while since we last met—should I call you Xiao Zhenwu, or Lord Hengchang?"

(End of this chapter)