Book 08 Chapter 059: Information from the White Emperor
Three days had pa.s.sed outside, but a staggering three years had elapsed within the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.
The energy leaking from the Spiritual Progenitor deity king had pushed Gu Hai’s physical body to its zenith. Although his skin had reverted to its original color after darkening like ink, the density of his flesh had multiplied beyond measure.
Gu Hai drew a divine sword and crushed it with his fist.
Crunch!
The sword instantly became a sphere.
“My current physical body should already be comparable to First Brother Chiyou’s at his peak,” Gu Hai mused, looking around the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.
Something had changed. The law patterns of the hungry ghost path had appeared. Previously, he did not know how to use them. After merging them into the Gu’s Immortal Firmament, he now knew. This allowed Gu Hai to open an entrance to the hungry ghost path of reincarnation as easily as he could open those to the other four paths of reincarnation.
A glint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes as he stepped out of the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.
Outside the Gu’s Immortal Firmament:
The skeleton clone had already informed the officials beforehand, so they had been waiting for Gu Hai.
“Salutations, Your Reverence,” the officials greeted respectfully.
Gu Hai nodded, then turned his attention to the Unborn Man, who had undergone some changes. He wore the same black-and-white robes, but the formerly loose white side now seemed fuller.
“You’ve made a breakthrough, Unborn Man?” Gu Hai inquired with a smile.
“It is all thanks to Your Reverence,” responded the Unborn Man. The child-like voice of his dual-layered voice had matured to a man’s.
“Your breakthrough is the Han Nation’s good fortune. You have contributed the most to Bing Ji’s return and our safe exit from the Hungry Ghost Path Secret Realm. If there’s something you desire that won’t jeopardize our realm, we will do our best to grant your wish,” Gu Hai said to the Unborn Man.
Ministers Mo Yike and Sima Changkong exchanged glances, then looked at the Unborn Man.
It was not just Gu Hai who had noticed the Unborn Man’s sneaky maneuvers but also Mo Yike and Sima Changkong. Gu Hai said this as a sign of his sincerity. If you need something, just ask me. There’s no need for these sneaky tricks that make everyone uncomfortable.
Gu Hai sensed that the Unborn Man could have opened an entrance to the Hungry Ghost Path Secret Realm much earlier. Why not open it sooner? If you wanted Lifespan Nangong and Lifespan Beiming, you could have just told me. I’m willing to help.
Gu Hai looked at the Unborn Man, hoping to alleviate his concerns while letting bygones be bygones regarding his prior underhanded actions. I’ve already shown you my sincerity. The ball’s in your court now.
The Unborn Man paused and eyed Gu Hai, as if understanding his stance, falling into a brief silence.
Many officials glanced at the Unborn Man with envy.
The plaza was eerily quiet until the Unborn Man said cautiously, “I want Lifespan Xiahou and Lifespan Dongcang.”
“Alright, we’ll send people to find them. As soon as we get any information, we’ll bring them to you,” Gu Hai said earnestly.
The Unborn Man looked pleasantly surprised. “Thank you, Your Reverence. They’re most likely in the nether realm!”
“Then you’d better open the pa.s.sageway between the nether realm and the land of the living soon for easier coordination,” Gu Hai said gravely.
“Rest a.s.sured, Your Reverence. Everything is ready. With Lifespan Nangong and Lifespan Beiming, I can open the permanent pa.s.sageway between the two realms in three days,” promised the Unborn Man.
“Oh?!” Gu Hai’s eyes lit up.
He had expected to wait two more months; this was much quicker.
“Excellent! We’ll expect it in three days,” Gu Hai said solemnly.
“Understood,” the Unborn Man replied.
Having instructed the Unborn Man, Gu Hai left the Lifespan Court’s plaza with his entourage.
Chen Tianshan gave a report when the group reached the emperor’s study.
Gu Hai looked at Chen Tianshan. “The Huang Heavenly Dynasty’s dragon vein vanished, and the nation fell into turmoil?”
Chen Tianshan nodded. “Yes. However, Ji Dihong used the blessings to send a message to his nation, pacifying the citizens, so the citizens did not do anything outrageous.”
“Ji Dihong has earned some prestige after running the Huang Heavenly Dynasty for thousands of years. How did he solve the problem?” Gu Hai asked.
“Ji Dihong found a new dragon vein after losing the old one. However, that new vein was nothing compared to the Xuanyuan Sword dragon vein, so he destroyed a few royal dynasties and fed their dragon veins to the Huang Nation’s new dragon vein. Eventually, he annihilated an imperial dynasty, aiming to absorb its dragon vein, too. However, the two dragon veins clashed and were mutually damaged. Although the Huang Nation’s dragon vein managed to devour the imperial dynasty’s dragon vein with Ji Dihong’s help, the new Huang Nation’s dragon vein became too weak to absorb more,” Chen Tianshan explained.
“Right, a dragon vein doesn’t grow overnight. It requires a slow process; haste only results in failure.” Gu Hai nodded.
“Now that the Huang Nation’s new dragon vein is wandering its territory, it curbed the leakage of Spiritual Energy. However, it only has ten percent of what it previously had. The people might still trust Ji Dihong, but they have misgivings,” Chen Tianshan added.
“With only one-tenth of the Spiritual Energy left, the odds of spirit herbs growing successfully are also slashed to a tenth. Ji Dihong should keep quiet for a while,” Gu Hai remarked solemnly.
“Exactly. Although the citizens trust him, many have chosen to emigrate. Ji Dihong will surely have a headache over the Huang Nation’s situation for a while,” Chen Tianshan chuckled.
“Your Reverence, should we do something about the internal strife in the Huang Nation?” Chen Tianshan inquired.
“No need for now. The people don’t wish to blame Ji Dihong and are looking for a scapegoat to vent their frustrations on. Causing trouble for them now might backfire and actually rally public support for him. Besides, Ji Dihong’s being quiet doesn’t mean he will remain so for long. He’s likely to act against our Han Nation again, so we should continue to monitor the Huang Nation’s politics,” Gu Hai replied.
“Yes,” everyone answered.
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After the a.s.sembly, Gu Hai spent time with Chen Xianer and Long Wanqing in the palace.
That night, Long Wanqing leaned against Gu Hai while they admired the moon together in a garden.
“Husband, you seem tougher since you returned from the hungry ghost path of reincarnation,” Long Wanqing remarked softly, her face flushed.
“Yes, I did some physical cultivation there. You and Xianer are at the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm. You should be able to handle it, right?” Gu Hai smiled.
“Says who? Even a consummate Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator cannot take the torture. Elder Sister Chen even had to switch out halfway,” Long Wanqing revealed.
“What? Really?” the stunned Gu Hai asked in shock.
“Didn’t you notice Elder Sister Chen’s change in att.i.tude earlier?” Long Wanqing rolled her eyes.
“I…I thought she was just resisting playfully. I thought she liked it…but she stopped resisting later?” Gu Hai recalled.
“You had only just come out of the Gu’s Immortal Firmament then. Why did Elder Sister Chen run off, not admiring the moon with us? You’re playing dumb!” Long Wanqing pinched Gu Hai’s waist.
“Be gentler. It hurts. The White Emperor’s consciousness switches with Xianer once in a while, and there’s no pattern to it, so I didn’t notice.” Gu Hai gave a wry smile.
“Deny it all you want. Humph!” Long Wanqing pinched him again.
Gu Hai showed a faint, bitter smile.
“By the way, have you all gotten through to Bing Ji? Is she still emotionally closed off?” Gu Hai inquired.
“Look! Thinking about Bing Ji again, are you? Always eating from one bowl while eyeing another!” Long Wanqing chided as she pinched Gu Hai’s waist a few more times.
Gu Hai wore a pained expression, even though his skin was much tougher now.
Feeling a little guilty for pinching him, Long Wanqing rubbed the spot and said, “Bing Ji is still emotionally reserved, but she’s not as distant to us as she was at first.”
“Hah…let’s take it slow, then.” Gu Hai nodded.
Long Wanqing also nodded.
Just then, Chen Xianer, clad in white, walked over, her countenance icy cold. However, a blush suddenly crept up her face when she saw Gu Hai.
“Xianer!” Gu Hai called out softly.
Watching Gu Hai act oblivious, Long Wanqing felt the urge to laugh. She quietly pinched Gu Hai several more times.
“Gu Hai, I am the White Emperor,” Chen Xianer suddenly said.
“The White Emperor? When did you swap consciousnesses with Xianer?” Gu Hai asked as if he had just learned of this.
Seeing Gu Hai’s serious expression, Long Wanqing pinched him again, several times in quick succession, before sitting upright.
“Just after we left the Gu’s Immortal Firmament—no, just a moment ago in that little garden—Chen Xianer relaxed and went into temporary hibernation. I took over for maybe a day or two,” the White Emperor responded, her blush deepening slightly.
Both Gu Hai and the White Emperor kept silent about what had happened in the Gu’s Immortal Firmament.
Long Wanqing found this strange. Just keep pretending. Both of you are the same. As if I don’t know.
Long Wanqing then added a few more pinch marks on Gu Hai’s waist.
“That’s fine. You’ve been in hibernation for a month. A little fresh air won’t hurt. The night view is magnificent today. How about enjoying the moon and sharing a drink with Wanqing and me?” Gu Hai invited.
The White Emperor nodded. “That sounds good. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Oh?” Gu Hai poured the White Emperor a cup of wine, intrigued.
“Do you remember Sect Master Heavenly Access’s death?” the White Emperor asked, sitting down with a serious expression.
“Sect Master Heavenly Access? Of course. The Purple Jade Heavenly Demon paid the price for it.” Gu Hai nodded.
“I was there, too, as you know. What you may not know is that the real culprit behind Sect Master Heavenly Access’s death is Ji Dihong, not the Purple Jade Heavenly Demon,” the White Emperor declared solemnly.
“Oh?” Gu Hai’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Essence Genesis may have captured the Purple Jade Heavenly Demon’s spiritual and physical souls, but Ji Dihong had put a restriction on her. If she got captured, the restriction would erase her memories. Essence Genesis might have found some clues in those broken memories but wasn’t certain, so he didn’t pursue Ji Dihong to the death despite going to cause trouble for Ji Dihong,” the White Emperor continued, still solemn.
“So, you’re saying Ji Dihong wanted Sect Master Heavenly Access dead? Are you certain?” Gu Hai questioned, his face stern.
“Yes!”
The White Emperor explained Ji Dihong’s plot. Ji Dihong had instructed the Purple Jade Heavenly Demon to kill Sect Master Heavenly Access to test the strength of the Myriad Age Daoist Sect. He had not expected Essence Genesis to be so formidable but had luckily covered his tracks well, avoiding any blowback.
Gu Hai sprang to his feet, his eyes s.h.i.+ning.
“Hah! I’ve been looking for a way to get at Ji Dihong, and now I’ve found it. Ji Dihong is as good as dead!” Gu Hai exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement.