Minglong

Chapter 291 He is back!

Danyang City.

It was just before dawn, and there were still a few scattered lights in the city, while the academy located at the end of Wencheng Street was completely dark.

A major upheaval has occurred in the capital. Mu Yunling has rushed there to check on the situation, and Xu Hunli has been urgently transferred to repair the Bafang Tongming Pagoda. In the vast complex of buildings, only the boarding students who had already gone to bed remain.

The three-story Confucius Temple is located directly behind the academy. It enshrines the Confucian sages of all dynasties and has a plaque above it with the four characters "Eternal Righteousness". In front of it is a white stone square with some flower beds and sculptures along the edge. It looks ordinary and nothing out of the ordinary.

Huhu~
A night breeze rustled the white stone paving stones in front of the Confucius Temple, and several figures appeared before the steps.

Xu Tong, sword in hand, gazed at the four large characters written by Ye Sheng on the plaque:
"After searching for so many years, I never imagined that it would be hidden here. The Corpse Ancestor slaughtered countless lives, so it is reasonable to use the Confucian sages to suppress him."

He Tianqi stood beside him, his eyes also showing a hint of surprise.

After the incident with the Western Rong, he and Wei Jili still held onto a sliver of hope, but there was still the matter of the Eldest Princess and the others being manipulated. After analysis by their superiors, they decided not to gamble and to deal with it directly as if 'Wei Wuyi has been exposed'.

Therefore, while Xie Jinhuan was rushing back, they were seizing the time to cut their losses and survive, and to try to gain as much profit as possible before leaving.

Their general plan was to first send the monk Wuxin away, have someone restrain Xie Jinhuan, and then have Wei Wuyi defect and escape, luring Lu Wuzhen away; the destruction of the Bafang Tongming Pagoda was to force the Chaopins, who had come from other places to come to the aid, to go to other states to survey the situation.

With the capital city thus left empty, Xu Tong took Zhao De to the Xuanwu Hall. If they could get in, they would interrogate him together. If they couldn't get in, Xu Tong had them hide in the escape passage beforehand. They would interrogate him inside while Xu Tong looked for an opportunity to capture Fan Li outside. Regardless of whether they got any information or not, they would immediately evacuate Daqian.

Given the Emperor and Fan Li's circumstances, the chances of them knowing the news were actually quite low. However, they were just trying their luck, but unexpectedly, Xu Tong actually managed to extract information from Fan Li that there was a secret beneath the Confucius Temple.

Therefore, they quickly changed their plan, poisoning the emperor and putting Fan Li on the brink of death, in order to delay the people entering the Xuanwu Hall. They would not have the energy to track down their whereabouts, while the others would quickly come to verify.

Now that they had actually arrived at the Confucius Temple, He Tianqi still had some doubts and asked:
"Fan Li said the Corpse Ancestor's Tomb is down here?"

Huangfuqi shook his head:
"No, he only said that the things under the Confucius Temple were not to be explored without permission."

Wei Jili felt this was a gamble with his life, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"According to legend, the Qilin of the Central Plains lies beneath the Danluo Plains, and the entrance is unknown to anyone. If this is the Qilin Cave, and Ye Sheng is in seclusion there, which is why he told his disciple not to disturb him, what should we do?"

He Tianqi pondered for a moment, then shook his head:
"Why would the entrance to the Qilin Cave be located below the Confucius Temple? This 'Eternal Righteousness' is clearly meant to suppress the Corpse Ancestor. Even if we've made a mistake, at least we've confirmed the location of the Qilin Cave, and Ye Sheng might not be able to make a move. Right now, all the experts from various places are away, the Eight Directions Bright Pagoda is broken, and the capital city is busy rescuing people after discovering something amiss. No one will stop us from digging up the Demon-Suppressing Tomb. If we miss such a golden opportunity, we don't know how much we'll have to pay next time."

Zhao De was being grabbed by the collar by Wei Jili, his eyes filled with indignation, but as the saying goes, a wise man knows when to yield, so he still managed to interject:
"If that's the case, you shouldn't have brought me with you. If the capital finds out I've been kidnapped, they'll definitely be in an uproar and come after me..."

He Tianqi shook his head in response:
“You are not that important to the imperial court. Secondly, the Corpse Ancestor’s body has been destroyed, and what is being suppressed is his soul. He needs a vessel to come out, and an ordinary human body may not be able to withstand it. Your carefully crafted bodies are more suitable.”

"Didn't you want me to be emperor? Now that I'm gone, where are you going to find another incompetent fool to rule the Southern Dynasty?"

"It's just a temporary loan. I won't devour your soul and spirit. You'll just take a nap. When it's over, I'll dump you in Lingnan. You can come back on your own."

"After all this, do I still deserve to be the crown prince?!"

"It doesn't matter if we can't become it, we won't lose anything anyway, we'll just consider it as causing trouble for the Southern Dynasty."

"..."

Zhao De had nothing to say and nodded slightly.
"Alright, go ahead and dig. My father already said that everything you see is bait. You had a chance to escape, but you insisted on coming here to court death. Our ancestors even buried the Corpse Ancestor, how could they not have foreseen your little schemes..."

Wei Jili wasn't sure if his father could handle Lu Wuzhen, but he didn't want to stay in Daqian for another quarter of an hour. Seeing that everyone was preparing to break ground, he took the lead and entered the Confucius Temple, placing his hands on the base of the statue of Confucius.

Xu Tong, who came from a Confucian background, did not show any shame in the face of the gaze of the Confucian sages. He raised his hand to support the other side of the statue, and the two of them exerted their strength at the same time.

Boom boom~
The statue, which was two zhang tall, was moved more than ten zhang backward.

He Tianqi and the others quickly checked and found a bronze door on the ground.

Despite the passage of a century, the bronze door remains as bright as new, with inscriptions and Taoist and Buddhist mantras on it, clearly indicating that it was a place of sealing.

"I found it!"

Huangfu Qi glanced at it and immediately recognized it as a seal used to suppress evil spirits, his eyes lighting up with elation.

Xu Tong didn't waste any time. He raised his hand to let everyone leave the Confucius Temple first, and then gathered his energy with his three-foot-long sword.

woohoo...

Buzz buzz~~
A sudden gust of wind swept through the Confucius Temple, and the sword visibly began to tremble.

As the energy continued to gather, even the tiles on the Confucius Temple began to crack and break open, and a terrifying pressure spread from the temple.

And when the sword energy is condensed to its maximum:

Sa——

The group standing outside the Confucius Temple saw a flash of sword light inside. A thin line appeared in the center of the statue of Confucius, who had been moved to the back. The bronze door with inscriptions on the ground also emitted streams of light, which were then focused into a single line and cleaved downwards. The sword energy, exploding underground, rebounded outwards.
Poof——

Boom——

With a deafening roar, the two bronze doors flew straight into the air, smashing the statues standing on the left and right. Thick smoke and dust billowed up from the ground, and a chilling aura swept over us!

Xu Tong gripped his three-foot sword and quickly retreated, while the people outside the door held their breath.

Zhao De, without showing any emotion, shielded Wei Jili in front of him, cautiously observing him. He was shocked to find that no malevolent monster emerged from within the broken bronze door.
"As expected of the ancestor of all corpses who wreaked havoc on the world, look at that aura, that appearance..."

! !
He Tianqi's heart was pounding. Hearing this, he trembled in surprise and quickly followed Zhao De's gaze:
"Where is the Corpse Ancestor?!"

Zhao De shrugged slightly: "How would I know? You say the Corpse Ancestor is here, but I'd like to ask you, where is the Corpse Ancestor?"

"?"

Wei Jili realized he'd been tricked and, enraged, raised his hand to slap the brat, but at that moment, footsteps suddenly came from underground:
Step~
The area outside the Confucius Temple fell into a deathly silence!

The thousands of buildings of Danyang Academy, as well as the vast city outside, were also startled by the loud noise, and lights began to light up one after another, spreading to the entire city in an instant.

From the sky, it looks like a giant abyss beast has been awakened and opened its eyes on the dark earth!

He Tianqi and the others turned pale and slowly retreated under the pressure of the footsteps.

After all, the Corpse Ancestor had no physical body; it only suppressed the soul and could not possibly make any footsteps.

The only reason such noises could come from underground is that they accidentally unearthed an old demon who had been in seclusion at the academy for a hundred years!

Danyang Academy is the school of the Holy Mother Ye. It goes without saying who is able to go into seclusion in this place!

As a prodigy of cultivation in the same era as Master Qixia, Ye Sheng was one of the many brilliant figures during the chaos of the Witch Cult, yet he ultimately sat undisputedly in the position of the number one person of the righteous path, and there was no reason for that.

Step, step...

The approaching footsteps were like a death sentence, announcing to these rebellious traitors—your sword saint has returned!
Upon hearing the footsteps, Wei Jili was instantly terrified and stood frozen in place, as if a wooden chicken.

Huangfu Qi was so frightened that he fell to the ground, his eyes wide with terror as he backed away, unable to muster any strength in his hands or feet.

Even though Xu Tong had reached the late stage of the fourth realm, facing the Twin Saints Ye Ci who were infinitely close to the seventh realm, he felt a sense of despair, like an ant looking at the sky. He couldn't believe that after all his scheming, his luck was so bad that he had actually dug up the jackpot.

But the figure did not stop because of their disbelief.

tread.

As the footsteps stopped, a figure gradually emerged from the billowing smoke.

The figure, with his wide robes fluttering slightly, gray hair, and advanced age, exuded an air of arrogance that remained sharp despite a lifetime of ups and downs in his cultivation journey. He stood before the split statue of the Sage Master, one hand behind his back, surveying the crowd outside who looked on as if facing a formidable enemy, his voice low and somber:

"Who dares to disturb my peaceful cultivation?"

Zhao De's eyes lit up with elation. He quickly ran to the Confucius Temple, looked at the stunned group of people, and slightly spread his hands:
"Oh dear, two top-tier items have been ruined again, haven't they? Your father warned you, but you wouldn't listen. Still want to gamble? Come here, let me, the Crown Prince, stand here and let you hit me..."

Huangfu Qi certainly wouldn't dare stop Zhao De. He had already given up hope, but upon closer inspection of the person, he became somewhat suspicious:
"Is this Ye Sheng? Why does he look so different from the painting, and why is he wearing a Taoist robe?"

?

He Tianqi and Wei Jili, after catching their breath from the sound, realized something was wrong and frowned as they looked closely.

Xu Tong also put away his racing thoughts and carefully observed the seemingly familiar old man in the Confucius Temple:
"You are... Lü Yan?!"

"what?!"

Upon hearing the name, Wei Jili stumbled slightly, his eyes filled with disbelief.

After all, discovering Lü Yan, the second-in-command of the Northern Zhou Daoist sect, here is even more bizarre than discovering Xie Jinhuan.

Xie Jinhuan was at least an elusive and ubiquitous pillar of the Southern Dynasty, while Lü Yan was a missing person from the Northern Zhou Dynasty who had no connection with the Danyang Academy. Why was he sitting here in seclusion?

Zhao De was taken aback when he heard the identity of the big shot who had appeared, and looked around:
"Could all of this have been part of Ye Sheng's plan? No wonder he is the last sage of Confucianism..."

Xu Tong didn't believe this at all, but she really couldn't understand why Lü Yan had appeared out of nowhere in such an impossible place. Therefore, she drew her sword and questioned him:
"Why is Master Lü here?!"

(End of this chapter)