The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 240 Mission Accomplished

Before the enlightened voice could finish, and before the incredibly old mountain guardian could say anything, Ge Lang and his cousin were already speechless with horror:

"What?!!"

"Jiang Wei, Jiang Boyue... the prodigy of Tianshui?!"

The last great general of the Han Dynasty, a direct disciple of Zhuge Liang, a peerless hero who once galloped across the battlefield with high spirits, that legendary footnote in history finally slowly fell, merging with the withered and almost decaying figure before us.

Looking at the old man before him, Ge Lang opened his mouth, almost bursting into tears.

The mountain guardian slowly raised his eyes, and a faint glimmer of light, accumulated over hundreds of years, finally flashed across the depths of his eyes.

Kaiming raised his hand, his voice deep and slow yet undeniably firm. A gentle yet powerful aura naturally spread out, gently pushing Ge Lang and the other man behind him. Kaiming said, "I have something to say to him. You two go into the village immediately, help the villagers pack their things, and prepare to leave."

"……Yes."

The Ge brothers staggered away, their steps unsteady, revealing the turbulent emotions surging within them. Kaiming slowly squatted down, looking at the once dashing hero in his current state, and whispered, "...You've been guarding this place all this time."

The old, frail mountain keeper raised his head, his cloudy eyes looking at Kaiming:
"It really is you."

"The Prime Minister's teacher."

Kaiming immediately understood why he was there and said, "...Qimen Bagua, and even the [Edict of the River Lord] completed by Kongming through strategy, are just things on the surface, nothing more than a decoy."

"Used to conceal what Kongming truly cared about."

"For example, that crushing defeat."

"For example, the core he truly wanted to protect. The decree of the River God Emperor is precious enough to attract and fight against ordinary enemies, preventing others from discovering the secrets of Qimen. But only when I recognized you did I truly match the last code he left behind."

A faint smile appeared on the mountain guardian's face. He was so old that even this smile was difficult to produce. He said:

"Indeed, just as the Prime Minister described, you are the kind of person who is unreliable in normal times, but can definitely be trusted in times of danger, and is absolutely worthy of being entrusted with tasks."

"I am here on the Prime Minister's final orders..."

"Here, the true enemy is revealed."

The mountain guardian's voice was hoarse, like the wind rustling through withered branches: "Back then, under the Prime Minister's strategy, we had already built a basic alliance and gained an absolute advantage. However, the other side was also inciting other forces, and the situation was changing rapidly."

"They appeared when the Prime Minister pushed them to the limit."

Kaiming asked, "Who are they?! How did they appear?"

The mountain guardian said, "At the crucial moment, on the battlefield, the power of the dead appeared."

"On the final battlefield, on General Guan's battlefield, the enemy general who appeared raised his banner. In Jiangdong, there appeared [Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King], while when the Prime Minister was arranging his troops, he was facing [Han Xin]; and on General Zhao's side, there appeared [General Fubo].

"That time, the real defeat was because we did not expect that the opponent had the power and status to mobilize the deceased. The Prime Minister deduced that the opponent possessed the authority and ability to condense these legends and powers and hand them over to the people of the present."

"General Guan Yu ultimately died in battle surrounded by troops several times his own strength."

"And Xuande's opponent was Emperor Gaozu."

"Lord Xuande suffered two major defeats. In the last one, he fought against Emperor Gaozu with two swords."

“The Emperor Gaozu laughed heartily, saying that my son would succeed him.”

"Even though he was being manipulated, he chose to give up and ultimately perished together with Lord Xuande. When we later discovered that even General Guan's power had appeared in the enemy's battle formation, we finally realized how terrifying the situation was..."

Kaiming finally realized what this was, and his cheek twitched.

"The Book of Bai Ze... is not just the Book of Bai Ze, but probably includes other things as well; anchoring time? Incorporating cause and effect... and life and death."

"With supreme cause and effect, they anchored a historical destiny that was most favorable to them, and then, with the help of the distorted and upgraded [Bai Ze Book], they imprinted the power of many heroes who survived history."

Even if someone perceives the anchored cause and effect, they will still have to face numerous heroes from ancient times to the present as their opponents.

Kaiming could imagine the desperate situation his student was in at that time—legendary figures had become enemies; their power was being used by the enemy, and even after their own generals and heroes died in battle, their power could be taken away by the enemy.

In addition, there are pre-determined causal relationships.

This is almost a guaranteed defeat; the goal is to erase the pieces that have glimpsed the game and smooth out the ripples and disturbances in history.

Kaiming asked, "How did they do it?"

The mountain guardian said, "The Prime Minister and Sima Yi discovered this matter. Afterwards, Sima Yi volunteered to die, offering his head as a ploy. He died under the Prime Minister's scheme, thus completing an experiment. The Prime Minister ultimately discovered the weakness of [Cause and Effect]."

"What!?"

“By using the effect, one can influence and choose the cause of the other party. If one wants to kill the prime minister with a sword, then there must be a sword to be drawn. Cause and effect are mysterious, but in fact they also influence each other.”

"One of their leaders is named [Shi], who is in charge of causal anchoring."

"This is authority, not just an individual."

"In conclusion, the Prime Minister traced the cause back to the effect, devised a plan to kill that generation's 'History,' and because of the previous attempt, the Seven Star Lamp extended his life. The Great Teacher of Virtue appeared to help him protect the lamp, and Lü Bu, who had survived thanks to the Prime Minister's efforts, served as his guard." "We exhausted everything and finally seized a treasure."

"This is also something I must pass down."

The mountain keeper thought of the prime minister of that time.

Even if the plan succeeds, our side still pays a heavy price. Although we managed to prolong their lives with the Seven Star Lamp, it didn't last long, and the Prime Minister was also going to die.

However, the Prime Minister had already foreseen his own death. He even used his own death as a result to deduce the cause of the other party's death, and thus set up the final trap.

However, when entrusting these final wishes, a trace of sadness and pity appeared in the eyes of the clear-eyed old man. He placed his hand on the shoulder of the once dashing young general and said:
"Spanning hundreds, even thousands of years, you persevered and passed the flame of hope to future generations. Only you could have done that, Job..."

"But this matter is just too cruel for you."

How did I manage to agree to that back then?

They should still be full of passion, right?

They must still be full of enthusiasm and readily agreed, right?
It's alright, I'm willing to carry on the Prime Minister's legacy.

He knew that his talent for cultivation was actually very poor and could not compare with those people at all. In his entire life, the strongest he could achieve was only the peak of the fifth rank. However, the Prime Minister must have had his reasons for entrusting him with such a responsibility.

Was it because the Prime Minister knew that he would never give up?
Was it because the Prime Minister trusted him?

However, the centuries that followed were not so pleasant.

Over the centuries, this body had long since decayed and rotted, its so-called vitality maintained only at the cost of the Great Teacher's curse.

To prevent it from being distorted by the enemy's power and turned into a jade talisman, it cannot be transformed into an incense-burning deity, because human will would be corrupted; it cannot be used with evil magic, because evil magic would distort the mind.

This responsibility, which has lasted for hundreds of years, can only be fulfilled by a human being.

Only in this way can we avoid being influenced or manipulated.

They will not fall into that jade book according to their own destiny, nor will they become in a state between life and death and forget their mission.

More than once, upon witnessing numerous injustices, he felt indignant and wanted to go out to save the innocent victims and uphold his loyalty.

More than once, I sat here in agony and boredom, unable to speak, unable to confide, and even better not to have much interaction with people, enduring the dullness and loneliness.

More than once, he wanted to give up.

More than once, he wanted to end his life and put an end to this long and arduous labor.

In a state of despair and loss of control, they may even roar and scream in anger.

With human life, with human flesh and blood already decaying, one must not do evil, much less do good, not act rashly, and not forget oneself, even as the body decays and ages, bearing all the pains of humanity every moment, the body decaying every moment.

Even if their arms decay and their hearts age, they must hold on with all their might.

Now, this long mission has finally come to an end.

The mountain guardian slowly extended his hand, and the flowing light converged, transforming into a jade book. It slowly rotated, emitting a clear and warm light. This was the Bai Ze Book, and it was a genuine authentic book, grasped by a human hand.

wow-

The jade book was unfolded, revealing a jade talisman.

The moment the ancient name appeared, Kaiming's pupils contracted sharply. He slowly exhaled a long breath and bowed deeply, saying, "...Thank you."

The mountain guardian raised his head and looked at him, but it was as if he was looking at other figures behind Kaiming. He looked at those figures: a tall man with a long beard, a heroic general, a spear god in silver armor and white robe, a tyrant holding a sword in both hands, and a young man in a scholar's robe with wide sleeves and holding a feather fan.

The mountain keeper's voice was so soft it almost disappeared in the wind:

"This time, your humble servant..."

"We will not fail in our mission."

Prime Minister.

The jade book slowly fell into Kaiming's hands.

Even when history is anchored, even in the darkness of distortion, there will still be a group of people who will make the same choice. Seeing the people suffer from disaster and the people are unwilling to accept their fate, they will draw their swords and rise up to pass on the flame of hope across time and layer by layer.

From the Great Teacher of Virtue to Zhuge Liang, and even Jiang Boyue, who struggled to keep up.

The last remaining embers of the fire.

A genuine book of Bai Ze.

The true name jade talisman imprinted at its core is—

【Ji Xuanyuan】!
(End of this chapter)