The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 455 Emperor Zhaoning

Leng Shan: ? ? ?
No, I was just saying it offhand, how come you actually have it?

Leng Shan and Jian Xing exchanged a glance, then Leng Shan asked:

What does "exploring the demon realm" mean?

World dungeons are different from regular dungeons. World dungeon maps are too large and the quests involve too many things. Wu Chang needs enough helpers to take care of everything.

In addition, he had cooperated with the two before, and the cooperation process was quite pleasant. He regarded them as half of his own people, so he told them all the information about the Demon Realm, the Four Great Demon Kings, and the Earth Immortals of the Human Alliance.

After listening to Wu Chang's description, Leng Shan and Jian Xing stared at Wu Chang, unsure of what to say.

Five or six hours had passed since they entered the world instance. After accepting the Human Alliance's trial mission, they were to head to the Immortal Abode for exploration.

Logically speaking, Wu Chang's experience should be similar to theirs: after completing the trial, he entered the Immortal Abode, and now that he has finished exploring the Immortal Abode, he is returning home.

Besides being ahead of a celestial abode, their exploration of the world dungeon should be synchronized, or at least not too different. But what was that long string of information that Wu Chang just mentioned? How come they've never heard of it before?
The Demon Realm is relatively easy to discuss, but information such as the Four Great Demon Kings, the heavy losses suffered during the last exploration of the Demon Realm, and the Human Alliance's upcoming gathering of experts for another exploration involves the higher-ups of the Human Alliance. Just hearing this, one can tell that they wouldn't easily reveal it to celestial beings of unknown origin.

How did he do that?
Judging from the time Wu Chang entered the instance, as the first-ranked player with special privileges, he should have entered the instance only twelve hours earlier than them.

In just twelve hours, he not only conquered another immortal abode and gathered so much information, but he was also absolutely confident that he could take on this hidden mission. Anyone who didn't know better would think he had been in the instance for twelve days already.

If you play the dungeons like this, how can anyone else play with you?

Wu Chang said to Leng Shan:
"Aren't you carrying the Faith Virus and haven't chosen a place to release it yet? According to my intelligence, there are two most suitable places: one is the Temple of Rites, and the other is the center of the Demon Realm."

"By entering the Demon Realm, we can confirm the situation at its center. If it is suitable, we will place the Faith Virus directly within the Demon Realm."

Leng Shan nodded. Since Wu Chang had already made a plan for them, and such a good one at that, they naturally had no reason to refuse.

Wu Chang briefly shared his experience of passing the Immortal Abode Trial with the two, then urged them to go to their respective Immortal Abodes and told them to pay special attention to whether they would receive certain information after obtaining access to their Immortal Abodes.

He did not intend to travel with the two of them. He trusted An Rong's judgment as the chosen one of destiny, believing that there should be no immortal opportunities in other immortal abodes.

Without a connection to the immortals, neither blessings nor true meaning are of any value to him. Rather than wasting time making another trip, he might as well invest more energy in Zhenyue City.

After bidding farewell to Jianxing and Lengshan, Wu Chang went straight to Lidi Temple.

When Yuan Yan activated the Tianquan Formation Eye, he had already sent the news of Wu Chang obtaining the Immortal Fate back to Zhenyue City. Now that Wu Chang has returned, the attitude of the higher-ups of the Human Alliance is even more enthusiastic than before.

They originally thought that Tianquan Immortal Mansion would be the last array eye to be activated. They would need to use the other six array eyes to form an array to weaken Tianquan Immortal Mansion, and then briefly bless Yuan Yan with the luck of humanity in order to complete the fifth test of Tianquan Immortal Mansion.

Unexpectedly, the toughest nut to crack was the second one to be activated.

As expected of the number one person, his skills are truly impressive.

"The player has completed the hidden side quest: Explore the Seven Immortal Abodes and help the Human Alliance complete the corresponding array eye of the Ziwei Exorcising Array."

"Reward obtained: Humanitarian Alliance Stewardship Authority"

"You have activated the Tianquan Formation Eye, making a significant contribution to the Humanity Alliance in vanquishing demons and protecting the righteous path. Contribution value +100."

"Your current contribution value is 1400, ranking 1st among all players."

Wu Chang almost couldn't catch his breath when he saw the mission reward notification in front of him.

Lu Changgeng did not share the information about Tianmen with the higher-ups of the Human Alliance, but this approach of only giving small favors to the Heavenly People was quite effective in sharing the information.

Activating the Heavenly Power Array Eye and obtaining the Heavenly Power Immortal Fate is such a significant event that it is enough for his true form to leap from a Dharma Protector to an Earth Immortal, making his status in the Human Alliance even surpass An Rong's and put him on par with Peach Immortal.

However, when applied to a player, it's only enough to make the player a butler.

Within the Humanity Alliance, the ranks, from lowest to highest, are: ordinary disciple, core disciple, steward, deacon, hall master, honoree, protector, elder, earth immortal, and alliance leader.

While the position of a steward may seem to be in the middle ranks, in a major sect like the Divine Sword Sect, it is only equivalent to the level of a second-rate expert.

This is shockingly low compared to the status of the first person.

The Human Alliance seems to have been certain that the Celestials wouldn't abandon the Great Xuan, which is why they dared to offer such an outrageous reward.

Wu Chang could barely understand the low level, after all, the Humanity Alliance is an organization, and there is a huge difference between joining as an individual and joining with the help of a sect or bringing investment.

For example, with the same strength, if one is just a rogue cultivator or from a small sect, then one would be a worshipper in the Human Alliance; if one has a powerful sect behind them, they could become a protector like the Tang Sect Master; if one has a large sect with many members behind them, then they would be among the elders of the Human Alliance.

However, the problem is that, in addition to the level, the contribution points for players have also been reduced.

Both involve activating the array eye, but the main body activates the Kaiyang array eye, gaining 300 contribution points, while the clone, as a celestial being, activates the Tianquan array eye, gaining only 100 points.

This demonstrates that the world instance planes exhibit comprehensive and systematic discrimination against players, from treatment to contributions.

Wu Chang suddenly felt fortunate that it was the main body that killed the Fire Demon King, not his true self.

Otherwise, at this ratio, the Fire Demon King, which was previously worth 1000 points, would probably be reduced to 300 points.

The elder in charge of receiving Wu Chang at the Lidi Temple was telling him about the authority a steward had, such as being able to change mounts at the Beast Taming Pavilion and collect pills at the Spirit Medicine Pavilion, etc. Wu Chang was too lazy to listen to any of it, casually cupped his hands in greeting, and turned to leave.

After leaving Lidi Temple, Wu Chang had not gone far when he was stopped by a carriage pulled by four fine horses.

A eunuch dressed in a bullfighting robe stood in front of the sedan chair. Wu Chang remembered him; it was he who had presented the golden invitation when Wu Chang left Zhenyue City for Tianquan Lake.

The eunuch said in a high-pitched voice:

"Your Excellency Peace must be very knowledgeable and have exceptional cultivation to have obtained the Heavenly Power Immortal Fate. His Majesty has long admired the name of the Heavenly Being and has specially ordered me to invite Your Excellency to the palace for a chat. I hope Your Excellency Peace will do me the honor."

Wu Chang thought to himself that Emperor Zhaoning knew how to choose his time. Right now, all the factions of the Human Alliance, including the Divine Sword Sect, were at the Tang Sect Master's celebration banquet. Emperor Zhaoning was afraid of missing the opportunity and letting other forces snatch him away, so he actually sent people to pick him up.

Compared to the Humanitarian Alliance, Emperor Zhaoning showed the utmost respect, so he naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Thank you for showing me the way, Father-in-law."

The carriage carrying Wu Changfei sped along and soon arrived at Zhenyue Villa, located east of Zhenyue City.

The carriage stopped at the main hall of Zhenyue Villa. Inside the hall, Wu Chang once again saw Emperor Zhaoning, whose body was surrounded by five-clawed dragon energy and whose human fortune was ridiculously strong.

Wu Chang originally thought that the two sides would first exchange pleasantries, and then Emperor Zhaoning would offer him great benefits in order to win him over. He first pretended to be aloof and symbolically refused twice, but finally accepted the benefits with a half-hearted attitude and agreed to help Emperor Zhaoning with some private matters.

But to everyone's surprise, Emperor Zhaoning didn't play by the rules. He stared at him for nearly a minute, and just as the dragon aura behind Emperor Zhaoning was almost blinding him, he suddenly said:

"Sir, you have come from a distant immortal mountain overseas, crossing oceans and arriving here alone. What is your purpose?"

Wu Chang was taken aback by the question and began to suspect that Emperor Zhaoning had been distracted and not paying attention when he was talking to Lü Changgeng at the Lidi Temple.

His speech had moved the elders of the Humanitarian Alliance to tears, so why did they have to make him repeat it?

"Peace has come to Daxuan to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path, and to help all living beings in the world avoid calamity."

Emperor Zhaoning shook his head slightly and said:

“There is no one else here, only you and I. You don’t need to use these words to appease me.”

Wu Chang calmly countered with a question:

"Peace has indeed come to vanquish evil. What does Your Majesty believe is the purpose of Peace's journey?"

Emperor Zhaoning chuckled and said bluntly, "Sir, it's for the sake of becoming an immortal!"

"Since ancient times, the connection between mortals and immortals has been severed. As long as one is in the mortal world, whether one goes to overseas immortal mountains to avoid immortals whose spiritual energy is depleted, or is a cultivator who inherits the connection between immortals and immortals, one can only stop at the level of Earth Immortal."

"If you want to go from being an earth immortal to a true heavenly immortal, you must ascend to heaven."

Sensing Wu Chang's surprised gaze, Emperor Zhaoning walked slowly toward Wu Chang with his hands behind his back.

"Within that demon realm lies a Heavenly Gate. Breaking through this gate allows one to escape this realm and ascend to immortality." "Am I right?"

Wu Chang asked, "Does Your Majesty know about the Heavenly Gate?"

Emperor Zhaoning scoffed:

"The Earth Book is connected to the dynasty's energy. Only those who possess the destiny of humanity can glimpse its true meaning. If it weren't for the need for a stable dynasty to activate the Earth Book, why would these reclusive sects, who consider themselves outsiders, care about the turmoil in the Great Xuan?"

"They only know that the dynasty is stable before they can look through the Book of Earth, but they don't know how much they can see from it. It's just how much I want them to see."

"Lu Changgeng thought that the Heavenly Gate was an ancient secret and tried to hide it from the world with several elders, thinking that he had discovered the secrets of heaven. Little did he know that the location of the Heavenly Gate was recorded in the Book of Earth. It was truly ridiculous."

Wu Chang hissed, thinking to himself that as expected of the chosen one of the planes, he was indeed no pushover.

Inside the Lidi Temple, although Emperor Zhaoning was ranked alongside Lü Changgeng, the elders of the Dao Alliance only had eyes for Lü Changgeng, not Emperor Zhaoning.

Emperor Zhaoning was on the periphery of the Humanity Alliance. It seemed that the Humanity Alliance had complete control over the Great Xuan, and he had become a mascot. Who would have thought that in his eyes, the higher-ups of the Humanity Alliance were just a bunch of clowns.

Wu Chang paused for a moment, then said:
"Peaceful extermination of demons and protection of the righteous path is true, as is the desire to seek opportunities and travel to the immortal realm."

From the player's perspective, completing the world dungeon is to advance to the Realm of Reason, so Emperor Zhaoning's guess is not wrong.

Emperor Zhaoning did not dwell on which was primary or secondary; he continued:
"Sir, you have already obtained the Heavenly Power and Immortal Destiny, so you should already have some understanding of the Heavenly Gate. If you want to break through the Heavenly Gate, you must gather the human fortune through the Earth Sacrifice Ceremony before you can push the Heavenly Gate open."

"After the demon realm is destroyed, if you wish to ascend to heaven and become an immortal, I can use the fortune of humanity to help you open the gates of heaven."

Wu Chang showed a look of longing, but he quickly suppressed it with willpower and asked:

What does Your Majesty desire?

Emperor Zhaoning said, "I do not value cultivation, nor do I intend to ascend to heaven and become an immortal. I only want the Great Mystery, which is not available from any reclusive sect."

Wu Chang whispered, "What does His Majesty mean?"

Could it be that Emperor Zhaoning intends to have him purge the high-ranking members of the Human Alliance after conquering the Demon Realm?

If we disregard himself and An Rong, simply purging the other elders wouldn't be impossible, but it would cost extra money.

Emperor Zhaoning guessed Wu Chang's meaning and said:

"Sir, you misunderstand. To stabilize the world, one cannot rely solely on killing."

"I would like to ask you, sir, to help me gain absolute control over the Ziwei Exorcism Array during its construction, and to monopolize the human fortune gathered by the array."

"As long as I can monopolize the human destiny and infuse it into the Great Xuan Dynasty, I can ensure that the dynasty will last for a thousand years and surpass all hidden sects."

Wu Chang felt a pang of regret upon hearing this, as Emperor Zhaoning's restrained approach suggested he was not planning to increase the amount.

He asked, "What exactly should peace be done?"

Emperor Zhaoning said, "Earlier tonight, just before you returned, Tang Wuchang, the sect leader of the Tang Clan, completed all the trials of the Kaiyang Immortal Mansion and, like you, obtained the Kaiyang Immortal Fate, becoming the fourth Earth Immortal of the Human Dao Alliance."

"Given Lü Changgeng's personality, he certainly wouldn't let this opportunity pass. He would definitely have Tang Wuchang explore the Demon Realm again to find out the location of the Heavenly Gate."

"I would like you to join us and find out what the Humanity Alliance has gained in the Demon Realm. As for how to join, I will help you find a way."

Just as he was dozing off, Emperor Zhaoning handed him a pillow.

Wu Chang had been thinking about how to get his true self and main body to get to know each other, and then bring Leng Shan and Jian Xing into the team. But Emperor Zhao Ning took action and solved the problem for him.

Just as he was about to agree, a prompt suddenly popped up in front of him:
Side Quest 1: Join Tang Wuchang's exploration team and venture into the Demon Realm. There is no penalty for failure. Accept the quest?

"Note: This is a special mission. Once the mission is successful, the player's faction will be changed to the Great Xuan Royal Family, and the main storyline of the dungeon will be altered accordingly. Regardless of whether the mission is accepted or not, any information related to the mission cannot be shared with others in any way."

Oh wow, it's a side quest, and a series of side quests at that.

Judging from the notes, the first part of the mission is more like a pledge of allegiance; once the hidden side quest is completed, one will join the Great Xuan royal family.

The world instance is a multiplayer competitive mode, but after entering the instance, he did not find any tendency to divide into factions. He thought that the faction mode would be activated when the instance officially started.

I didn't expect that I would need to complete a side quest before I could join the corresponding faction.

He triggered a side quest, not a hidden one, which means that the Great Xuan Royal Family is a main faction, not a hidden special faction.

If joining a so-called faction requires this, then Lü Changgeng's small group should also be an independent faction.

However, when Lü Changgeng approached the main body, no side quest notification popped up in front of the main body. Lü Changgeng was indeed no good. Not only did he hold back, but he was not even prepared to truly accept him.

Joining a faction through side quests was novel in itself, but what surprised him even more was that the main quest of the quest would change depending on the faction he chose.

In previous multiplayer competitive modes, players from all factions shared the same goal, and the competition was simply about whose faction achieved the highest level of completion.

The changes to the main questline may cause conflicts between the main quests of different players, which means that some players will be unable to complete the main questline.

Following this line of thought, if some players are not sensitive to side quests and have not triggered faction side quests, then are players who have the initial main quest also considered to be in a faction?
"Would you be willing to help me, sir?"

Emperor Zhaoning's question brought Wu Chang back to his senses.

He looked at Emperor Zhaoning before him, and at the golden dragon aura radiating from behind Emperor Zhaoning, and said:
"Peace is on his way to exorcise demons and monsters and is about to explore the demon realm. If we can travel along the same route, that would be even better."

There are two chosen ones in the world instance, his original body and his true self. From the beginning, he was thinking of betting on both sides. Now that Emperor Zhaoning has taken the initiative to deliver himself to his door, how could he refuse?

Upon hearing Wu Chang's answer, Emperor Zhaoning's eyes gleamed with excitement. Whether it was the First Celestial Being or the possessor of the Heavenly Power Immortal Fate, both were of great help to him.

Although Wu Chang has not yet completed the side quest and cannot be considered to have joined the Great Xuan royal family, Emperor Zhaoning still gave him a waist tag engraved with "Xuan" and appointed him as the first secret agent.

The Xuan-character waist token of the First Secret Agent, although not as prestigious as the "As If the Emperor Were Here" token, still grants the holder unconditional cooperation with all institutions under the Da Xuan regime, including the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, making it an extremely prestigious status.

On one side is the top secret agent, and on the other is the authority of an official. Comparing the two, Emperor Zhaoning has already won too much.

Only a fool would side with the Humanitarian Alliance given this disparity in treatment.

Before leaving, Wu Chang asked the eunuch who escorted him about the locations of the various agencies of the Great Xuan, especially the Xuancha Division, the intelligence agency concerning cultivators.

After leaving Zhenyue Villa, he went straight to Xuancha Division.

He took out his waist token and first checked the information about An Rong.

The Xuancha Division's surveillance of the Human Alliance was extremely meticulous, especially regarding the three Earth Immortals; they wished they could record every word they uttered.

However, the records of the Xuanchasi did not mention any information about An Rong being poisoned, which shows that the poisoner was extremely secretive and skillful.

After Anrong, he inquired with the officials of the Xuancha Division about the origins of the celestial beings who explored the Jade Balance Immortal Mansion.

Officials from the Xuancha Division stated that the person who completed the Jade Balance Immortal Mansion trial was the second person to arrive in Zhenyue City after Wu Chang.

He said, "The person on the second day was very distinctive; I remember it very clearly. What did the person on the second day look like?"

He was speechless for a moment, then said with great shame, "I don't remember very clearly, so I'll send someone to check."

Wu Chang's identity was the top secret agent of the royal family, and in fact, the highest leader of the Xuancha Division. Making a fool of himself in front of his superior was a huge loss of face for the officials of the Xuancha Division, so they immediately mobilized all their personnel to collect intelligence on the Second Heavenly Being.

The intelligence gathering was completed quickly, but the results surprised all members of the Xuancha Division.

Whether it's the Xuancha Division or the Human Alliance, even Human Alliance cultivators who have spoken with the Second Human have very vague memories of him. They feel like they remember him, but when they think about it carefully, they can't recall his specific appearance.

Wu Chang narrowed his eyes and called out to the Xuancha Si official who wanted to continue the investigation.

Sometimes, no answer is an answer in itself. Having investigated to this point, he already knew who had breached the Jade Balance Immortal Mansion and taken away the immortal destiny within.

(End of this chapter)