Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 96: Conjecture

As the spy was engulfed by the demon’s corpse, Jiang Youyue remained unfazed. This person was a servant sent by the Rong Palace. Jiang Youyue had discreetly followed the clues to the edges of the Chigou Sect, but even he couldn’t find concrete evidence to implicate them.

However, he never needed evidence to kill someone.

The reason he had kept the spy until now was that he didn’t mind these flies gathering some irrelevant information. Jiang Youyue knew well that there was more than one spy in the Imperial Preceptor’s Residence. Apart from the unruly major sects of the martial world, the young emperor also remained vigilant towards him. If the servants disappeared too quickly and frequently, he might be caught by the emperor, delaying important matters.

Not to mention that some of those spies could very well belong to the emperor himself.

Three hundred years had passed, and people seemed to forget the position of the Imperial Preceptor’s office during the founding era.

The first Imperial Preceptor accompanied the founding emperor on numerous military campaigns, achieving great merit. It was rumored that he had never made a mistake, his judgments were accurate as if he had divine insight, and he could even control the winds and rains on the battlefield, hailed by the common folk as the incarnation of the stars. The emperor of that time heavily relied on the Imperial Preceptor, seeking his counsel on all matters, big and small. After the Imperial Preceptor sacrificed himself for the heavens, the Imperial Preceptor’s Office became a true sacred shrine in the eyes of the people, inviolable.

From that time on, the position of “Imperial Preceptor”, which should have been just a title, gained real power. Everyone respected and obeyed—after all, the Imperial Preceptor must be the spiritual heir of a Saint, and a Saint was a god bestowed upon the world by heaven—how could they have ulterior motives?

However, the good times didn’t last. As Great Yun grew stronger and prospered, the need for divination diminished. Talented individuals emerged from all corners of the nation, and the Imperial Preceptor’s lineage, aside from divination and managing the celestial shrine, had little significant impact. Yet, the public’s belief in the Imperial Preceptor’s ability to communicate with the divine remained steadfast, and they continued to attribute the prosperity of the nation to the Imperial Preceptor’s Office.

With them so close to the bed, how could others sleep soundly. The successive emperors gradually disassociated the Imperial Preceptor’s lineage from the “Imperial Celestial”. Each emperor was wary of any trouble caused by the Imperial Preceptor’s lineage, but the Imperial Preceptors themselves remained low-key and honest, as if they had accepted their fate.

Now, even people from the martial world dare to audaciously infiltrate the Imperial Preceptor’s Office.

…Perhaps, with their mortal bodies, they could only see money, power, and longevity, engaging in these petty struggles. They couldn’t comprehend the ambitions of an eminent person. After enjoying peace and stability for too long, people’s vision would inevitably narrow.

Jiang Youyue thought nonchalantly as he passed through the hall with the formation and continued deeper underground.

The stone passage grew narrower and darker, and the fragrance in the air became increasingly intense. The brilliance of the magical tools swept past Jiang Youyue one after another, emitting a soft humming sound, smoothly creating a path for him. At the end of the path was a small door, shrouded in thick darkness, resembling the entrance to a tomb.

Jiang Youyue lifted the lamp by the door and knocked three times in an orderly manner. The door slowly opened a crack, revealing a murky eye that gleamed with an unpleasant green light.

Seemingly confirming Jiang Youyue’s identity, the creature moved aside, making way. Jiang Youyue took a deep breath, not knowing how many times he had stepped into this room.

The light from the lamp illuminated the stone chamber.

The thing who opened the door wasn’t tall, extremely slender, and had a figure that resembled an overly emaciated young man. It wore luxurious white clothing that exuded a shimmering blue glow, as if it were a living jade sculpture. Upon closer inspection, the thing had all its limbs and facial features intact, but they appeared shallow and faint, almost as if they were stickily connected together. Its chest didn’t show any signs of movement; there was no sign of breathing.

After opening the door, it quietly sat back down by the side of the door, motionless. Jiang Youyue paid no attention to it and raised the lamp a bit higher, examining the four walls of the stone chamber.

Hundreds of headless corpses wrapped in white blood-stained cloth hung densely on the walls. A blue-green liquid flowed continuously, evenly pouring over each body, emitting a barely audible gurgling sound. Each corpse had a small wooden sign hanging from it, on which short numbers were carved. The bodies were still intact and moist, but many of the wooden signs had already started to show signs of decay.

Jiang Youyue took down the most decayed wooden sign. The characters were filled with cinnabar, neatly written as “Two thousand six hundred and ninety-eight”.

Immortal bodies were undying, but wooden signs would eventually decay. Jiang Youyue took a new wooden sign from the shelf and used his true qi to carve the characters again, hanging it back on the immortal body. Throughout the whole process, his expression was even gentle.

After the Saint sacrificed himself to the heavens, he left behind the position of “Imperial Preceptor”—not an idle or comfortable position. He sacrificed himself to end the natural disasters of that time. He left behind numerous immortal arts and spells that seemed more like divine miracles than earthly techniques. He established the “Immortal Assembly”, recruiting talents and building celestial shrines in various places. These deeds became part of legends and have been passed down to this day.

…However, only the successive Imperial Preceptors knew that the Saint had left behind a room full of immortal bodies.

Three thousand of these immortal bodies existed, but their origins were unclear. They were the highest-grade materials for performing spells in the world. The Immortal Assembly never used them in their practices, strictly adhering to the Saint’s last instructions, only employing them for the “Hundred-Year Project”.

Using some of the immortal bodies to prolong his master’s life could still be considered part of the Hundred-Year Project, Jiang Youyue thought as he pointed at one wooden sign after another with his fingertips. After all, Great Yun desired an heir, and only his master managed to raise a “suitable” candidate in Shi Jingzhi. Therefore, letting his master witness the completion of the Hundred-Year Project could also be seen as fulfilling destiny, from beginning to end.

Not to mention that the grand plan was already approaching completion, just like the “Invitation to God”. Although it hadn’t been formally concluded, nothing could ruin it now.

Jiang Youyue carefully inspected the condition of the immortal bodies one by one, respectfully paid his respects to the headless corpses in the room and closed the heavy stone door.

The atmosphere on Zongwu Mountain wasn’t as peaceful anymore.

Yu Zikuan’s explanation was surprisingly simple—he had merely befriended a member of the Mishan Sect, with whom he often conducted trade with when he was in Taiheng. Through this contact, he obtained the battle formation. Throughout the entire transaction, Yu Zikuan had been using the identity of a “Taiheng Elder”. In theory, the Mishan Sect members shouldn’t know his true purpose.

Furthermore, their plan was formally established only after hearing about the “Shirou clues” on Zongwu Mountain, and there were no suspicions of long-term planning leading to leaks. So, Yan Zheng’s gathering the elders from various branches and ordering the activation of the Fog Tomb Formation came first, while Yu Zikuan secretly set up the battle formation later, which seemed to proceed logically.

This plan, which only they knew about, was beyond anyone’s imagination that such a deadly twist would occur. Regardless, looking at the current situation, it was impossible to continue using the unfortunate “Invitation to God Formation.”

What was peculiar was that upon realizing this, Yan Zheng’s expression was even uglier than Yu Zikuan’s. “Even if it targeted only the Ling Sect, indiscriminate killing on Zongwu Mountain, how does that benefit the person who orchestrated this?”

Yin Ci: “…” For the Ling Sect’s Patriarch to casually say, “Even if it targeted only the Ling Sect”, it made him feel somewhat sorry for Yan Budu, his once formidable opponent.

However, Yan Zheng did point out the most puzzling aspect—if they hadn’t encountered Yu Zikuan, many sects would have lost a large number of people. In this case, not to mention framing and entrapment, they wouldn’t even find the mastermind behind it all. It would lead to smaller sects fearing for their lives, larger sects suspecting each other, and the remnants of the Ling Sect causing trouble everywhere, further disrupting the already chaotic martial world.

To say that this was for not wanting people to find the “Shirou” clues, this approach was also problematic. The “Invitation to God Formation” couldn’t be permanently activated, and once this group of people died, those who should come looking for the clues would still come.

…Why would someone undertake such a laborious and thankless task?

Yin Ci was deep in thought, unaware that the Sect Master had discreetly glanced at him with increasingly serious eyes. After a moment of contemplation, Shi Jingzhi pulled Shen Zhu aside.

“Have you seen the scene when the ‘Invitation to God Formation’ is activated?” Shi Jingzhi asked in a low voice.

“Yes.” Shen Zhu lowered her eyes and said, “The Immortal Assembly once set up this formation in my hometown. When the formation was activated, the surroundings seemed to be engulfed in invisible flames, and I watched everyone gradually ‘burn dry’… The entire town was destroyed in an instant, but I managed to stand at the edge of the formation’s effect and survived.”

“No survivors in the formation? None at all?”

“No one survived, but the plants and animals were unharmed. The Immortal Assembly only searched around the perimeter and killed potential witnesses. I was young at the time and pretended to be ignorant, which allowed me to escape unscathed.”

“Mm, this formation’s residual power is dangerous. It seems to be a certain death formation.” Shi Jingzhi then glanced at Yin Ci from a distance.

“Your Highness?” This question seemed to have a subtle deviation from the current situation.

“Nothing, just curious.”

Shi Jingzhi’s tone was light, but the fog in his mind was even heavier than the Fog Tomb Formation. Throughout his journey, he truly experienced going through mountains of knives and seas of fire. If he hadn’t encountered Yin Ci back then, leaving aside starving to death on Kushan at the age of three, even if only considering the most recent events, he would have already been sliced to pieces by the Ghost Tomb mechanism. Encountering the Goddess, battling Zheng Fengdao, and even the recent lifting of the ban—all of these events could have led to his death.

Now, on Zongwu Mountain, if the “Invitation to God Formation” was indeed as dangerous as Shen Zhu described. Even with Yin Ci by his side, he would undoubtedly perish. All the life-threatening situations he had faced so far couldn’t be avoided with just help from outsiders.

The “Hundred-Year Project” had been ongoing for at least two hundred years, with the Children of Desire as an important part of it. The Imperial Preceptor had actually allowed him to wander around freely, relying on “coincidences” to stay alive. Even when he could foresee that he would be in danger, he remained indifferent and did nothing… Wasn’t this such a wasteful plan to discard so many Children of Desire each generation? How could a plan that had lasted for hundreds of years have so many loopholes?

Shi Jingzhi touched his chest and felt the safety charm given to him by Yin Ci. Beside the talisman, his heart was beating strongly beneath the not-so-thick outer garment.

At this moment, he wasn’t concerned about why this formation appeared here or who would benefit from it. A nearly absurd idea flashed through his mind.

If it were in the past, Shi Jingzhi would undoubtedly laugh out loud at such a crazy guess. However, with Yin Ci by his side, he couldn’t find it in himself to laugh anymore.

…For some unknown reason, it seemed that the Imperial Preceptor’s lineage was convinced that he “would not die accidentally”.

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