The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 274 Who Am I?
Suzhou, Taihu Lake, Mantuo Villa.

The scenery was beautiful, the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers, and Xiaoyaozi sat under a green tree drinking tea.

Before him stood a stone table with nineteen crisscrossing lines, its black and white chess pieces intertwined, forming a complex and intricate game.

However, his gaze was not on the chessboard, but rather fixed on the distant blue sky and clear water, his expression thoughtful and slightly bewildered.

"The three thousand six hundred gates of enlightenment, each gate concealing the Dao, the Dao concealing the truth; since ancient times, the three sages have established the wondrous mechanism, subtly transmitted orally with the mysterious sound..."

He recited it softly, his face growing increasingly bewildered, and murmured, "Where have I heard this Daoist verse before? It wasn't from the White Stone Daoist of Changchun Valley, it seems to have been from a long, long time ago..."

After a long while, he remained motionless, then suddenly uttered three words softly: "Who am I?"

As the sound faded, a fierce wind howled out from behind, reaching a height of over three zhang (approximately 10 meters), resembling a raging torrent, churning up thousands of piles of snow, its power momentarily terrifying.

Green leaves fluttered up from all sides, shredding all the flowers and grasses, shooting away like powerful arrows.

Li Qingluo, who was carrying a kettle in the distance and wanted to come over to refill the tea, was terrified when she saw this and turned to run away.

Seeing Wang Yuyan approaching with a book from a few dozen steps away, he quickly whispered, "Yan'er, your great-grandfather is going crazy again. You'd better not go over there yet."

Wang Yuyan's eyes showed confusion: "What did Mother say?"

Li Qingluo whispered, "He was sitting there in a daze again, and then a strong wind suddenly blew, smashing a lot of flowers and trees. He's been doing this a lot lately. What else could it be but going crazy..."

Before she could finish speaking, a cold snort suddenly rang out, striking her very core. Her face turned deathly pale, her whole body trembled, and she nearly collapsed.

"Get back here! Yan'er, come here!" Xiaoyaozi's voice echoed from afar.

Wang Yuyan helped Li Qingluo up: "Mother, go back and rest. I'll go see my great-grandfather."

Li Qingluo nodded hastily, and Wang Yuyan walked forward, arriving in front of Xiaoyaozi in a moment. Xiaoyaozi looked relaxed, and his previous expression had disappeared.

Wang Yuyan looked at him and said, "Great-grandfather, your granddaughter is going to Tokyo."

Xiaoyaozi frowned: "You used to talk about going to Tokyo once a month, but now you talk about it every day. Do you really want to see the Zhao family's kid that much? I didn't know the reason before, but now that I know, you won't even bother to put on an act?"

Wang Yuyan smiled and said, "Great-grandfather, your granddaughter just wants to go to Tokyo to see His Highness."

Xiaoyaozi remained silent for a long time before saying, "I'm afraid you'll never come back. Although your skills are improving, I still feel that something is not quite right... You should go with your great-grandfather to a place first."

Wang Yuyan blinked her bright eyes: "Great-grandfather, where are we going?"

Xiaoyaozi narrowed his eyes, gazing leisurely into the distance: "Jinling, Shanhaiguan..."

Mount Song, Shaolin Temple.

Outside the Sutra Repository, the old monk who was sweeping the floor was cleaning up the clutter on the ground when he suddenly stopped moving, as if he were a wooden or clay sculpture.

Xiao Yuanshan, who was standing nearby, asked, "Master, what happened?"

After a moment, the old monk sweeping the floor slowly turned his body to the southwest, and a rare look of clarity appeared on his face.

He gazed southwest, his eyes seemingly piercing through mountains and rivers, seemingly looking at something, while he softly recited the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra...

Deep within the Kunlun Mountains, in a mysterious valley, lies an immense territory filled with numerous palaces stretching for nearly a hundred miles.

One location is surrounded by more than a dozen palaces, with the three seal characters "碧寒宫" (Bihan Palace) inscribed on the central hall.

There were dozens of people in the hall at this time, seemingly performing some kind of ritual. Incense was wafting and candles were burning brightly. Murong Fu followed behind Gongye Heihu, his expression complicated, and made a strange gesture like everyone else.

A figure dressed in Taoist robes walked by a table, holding a sword, chanting: "The principles of opening heaven and earth are clear, discussing scriptures and laws in the Azure River, the Five Elements gather at the Origin to transmit the wondrous secrets, the Three Flowers gather at the crown to expound the unborn, golden light on the crown divides into five colors, red lotuses underfoot travel ten thousand miles, the Eight Trigrams Immortal Robe flies with purple aura, the Three-Edged Sword is named Green Apple..."

Murong Fu listened with growing impatience, but fearing being seen, he quickly lowered his head. In his heart, he thought these people were all abnormal, talking about some great change in the world and asking the Yuanjun to issue an edict. They must be seriously ill.

At the very front of this main hall stands a magnificent statue of a woman, exquisitely crafted in a simple and elegant style. She wears a blue and white Taoist robe, a lotus-shaped jade crown on her head, and holds a bamboo-shaped green whisk. Her appearance is dignified and beautiful, and her expression is solemn and holy.

The person in front of him kept chanting incantations, then bowed three times to the table in front of him. There was a blank scroll spread out on the table. After bowing three times, he respectfully said, "Please, Lord Yuan, issue your decree."

The blank scroll remained motionless, without a single word appearing.

His expression changed slightly, and he muttered incantations again, bowing three times: "Please grant me your decree, Goddess."

But the scroll remained empty, with nothing on it. He looked embarrassed and repeated the same actions as before, but the scroll still didn't change.

Murong Fu raised his head, thinking to himself that it was all a charade, and silently resolved to find a chance to escape.

At this moment, the person in front sighed and turned around: "The Yuanjun has not issued an edict. Let's continue as before and follow the original decree."

An old man said shakily, "At this moment, a great change is imminent in the world, why has the Primordial Lord not issued a decree?"

The person in front shook his head: "Perhaps... the Yuanjun is busy with important matters?"

The old man said, "If we follow the previous decrees, shouldn't we be searching for the place where the Buddha Kingdom descended and seizing its inheritance at this moment? But the Great Snow Mountain is endless, and the Yuanjun will not issue a new decree, so where can we search?"

The person ahead said, "Although there are many snow-capped mountains, we still have to go there. Otherwise, if those monks enter first and obtain the inheritance from the distant Buddhist kingdom, Kunlun will be in danger."

The old man said, "Since that's the case, we shouldn't delay. The other palaces will probably do the same. Let's send some young disciples with good martial arts skills to them as soon as possible." After saying that, he began to call out names. Among the dozens of people, nine were under the age of forty, including Murong Fu.

These people were summoned, and then the person in front opened the sandalwood box under the statue of Yuanjun, and took out an old-looking scroll. Judging from its mottled color, it was something that had been left over for hundreds or thousands of years.

Then the reading began, and Murong Fu felt increasingly strange as he listened. It was said that there was a Buddhist kingdom that would descend from the heavens during a great upheaval, containing a legacy, and that they, the people of the Kunlun Palaces, were to go and seize it.

The name of this Buddhist kingdom is vague, sometimes referred to as the Saha Kingdom, sometimes as the Pure Land, and sometimes as Shambhala. It is one of them, and it will be located in the Great Snow Mountain. The Great Snow Mountain is numerous and vast, and it is unknown which one or its exact location.

The lineage hidden within that Buddhist kingdom includes Dharma protectors, Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and perhaps even Buddhas.

The imperial edict instructed the people of Kunlun to seize the inheritances of the various god-kings as much as possible. As for the bodhisattvas, if they could not seize the inheritances of the god-kings, they could try to find bodhisattva inheritances with vacant positions.

Even though the Buddha of Wonderful Enlightenment has a lineage of Buddhas, he warns against approaching it, not to think of inheriting it, and not even to enter its temple.

Murong Fu was somewhat confused upon hearing this and couldn't help but ask, "Palace Master, what exactly is this inheritance? Does obtaining it grant one the ability to become a god or a Buddha?"

Several young people around him also looked puzzled and asked questions.

The person in front said, "Naturally, they are inherited techniques. These techniques are extraordinary and different from worldly martial arts. As the Yuanjun decreed, these techniques point to the path of gods and Buddhas. When mastered, they not only bring amazing power but can also prolong life and keep one young forever."

"I see." Murong Fu showed a look of surprise, but in his heart he thought that Murong Fu had gone mad. He had gone completely mad. But this was also a good opportunity to escape from this place and return to the Central Plains to plan the restoration of his country.

Then the person ahead gave them some more detailed instructions, divided the nine of them into three groups, and told them to go back and prepare, as they would set off the next day to search for the Buddhist kingdom in the various snow-capped mountains...

Shinsho-kan Temple, Junyi Bridge Street, southwest of the inner city of Tokyo.

In the second main hall of the temple, which is also the central hall, Lin Lingsu was standing in front of the statue of a deity, her face solemn, her eyes deep and seemingly somewhat dazed.

The statues enshrined in front are the Three Pure Ones: Yuanshi is solemn and majestic, Lingbao is elegant and refined, and Taishang is kind and gentle.

Lin Lingsu slowly began to speak: "The Primordial Body unites with the Primordial One, undergoing countless tribulations and transformations, all is natural. The Great Law is transmitted through the boundless and inactive, remaining unmoved and called the Primordial Mystery. Long-term refinement in the furnace is not mercury, and the longevity beyond the material world belongs to Qian (Heaven). The changes are endless, yet still changing. The West, the West..."

He suddenly reached out a hand to his head, looking very confused, and muttered, "The West... what about the West? Why can't I remember?"

Just then, a young Taoist priest came up from behind and said, "Master, Prince Duan has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Lin Lingsu's expression gradually returned to normal, and she said, "Come with me to greet them."

As he spoke, he walked out of the door and then through the first main hall, where he saw Zhao Ji slowly approaching with several close attendants.

Before Lin Lingsu could speak, Zhao Ji smiled and said, "Daoist Lingsu said that she would set up a ceremony today to pass on the orthodox teachings of the Xuanmen sect. Is she ready?"

Lin Lingsu hurriedly bowed and said, "I have made all the preparations and am just waiting for Your Highness's arrival. Please come in and have some tea."

Zhao Ji nodded, his expression one of great excitement, and followed Lin Lingsu into the main hall...

Tokyo, Imperial City, Funing Palace.

Inside a vast, secret chamber within the palace, Zhao Xu was examining a black jade disc in front of him, the Mo Yuan Star Chart brought back from the Western Xia Great Shamanic Cult.

There were other things around the disc, all strange and unusual magical artifacts and items that had been searched from the Western Xia Great Shamanism.

Zhao Xu watched for a while, then turned back to the center of the secret room and began to practice his boxing. He practiced the Thirty-Two Postures of Taizu Long Fist.

Each punch was faster than the last, until the entire room was filled with a dazzling white light, making it impossible to see his figure.

When the thirty-second punch landed, a muffled boom was heard. The force of the punch was overwhelming, as if it were indestructible. It struck the Mo Yuan Star Chart squarely, shattering the black jade disc and the surrounding magical artifacts into dust. Many parts of the disc turned into powder.

Then he raised his hands, seemingly about to unleash his thirty-third punch, but just as the punch was halfway through, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, swayed, and stopped moving.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips: "The world has changed drastically, the world has changed drastically. I never expected that such a great change would happen at this time."

"I was too hasty, too hasty. Why couldn't I have waited a little longer? Had I waited for the world to change, for the Buddha Kingdom to descend? But none of the previous emperors dared to wait, and neither do I."

"I am not wrong, nor are the previous emperors. The secrets of Heaven are unpredictable, how can human power fathom them? But... in my lifetime, will I be able to reach the other side...?"

The ruins of Shanhaiguan Temple are located near Zijin Mountain in Jiangning Prefecture, Jiangnan.

Although the weather was fine, the scenery here was somewhat gloomy. The wild grass on the ground was different from the dark green of the mountains; it all had a slight reddish tinge.

Although more than a hundred years have passed, some ruins still remain. Xiaoyaozi led Wang Yuyan through the ruins, exploring almost every part of the place, and recounted the events of that year to Wang Yuyan.

Xiaoyaozi said, "At that time, the martial arts in the temple were vast and profound. Among them, the Boundless Sea Treasure Record, the Mountain Character Scripture, and the Illusion Yin Scripture were the most profound. Unfortunately, the Illusion Yin Scripture was incomplete, so I did not memorize it. I only focused on memorizing the martial arts that were not incomplete."

Wang Yuyan asked, "Great-grandfather, is the Illusionary Yin Scripture very powerful?"

Xiaoyaozi was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know either, but now that I think about it, I should have memorized this scripture as well."

As he was speaking, he suddenly frowned, as if he had thought of something again. A look of confusion appeared on his face, and he stopped in his tracks.

Wang Yuyan asked, "Great-grandfather, what's wrong?"

Xiaoyaozi shook his head without speaking, but that strange thought rose in his mind again: Li Zhengyan is me, Xiaoyaozi is me, then who am I...?

(End of this chapter)