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

Chapter 295 Not a Horse Girl (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Upon hearing this, Qingyangzi said, "This... the palace didn't go into details, only saying that once you step into the empty Divine King's Hall, a predestined encounter will naturally occur, and you should just let things take their course."

Zhao Ti pondered for a moment: "Don't you know the exact address of the Buddhist Kingdom's projection?"

Qingyangzi said, "I really don't know. Originally, I was going to perform a ritual to ask the Yuanjun to issue an edict, but for some reason, the request failed and the Yuanjun did not appear. So I had to leave the palace and act according to the edict left more than a thousand years ago, searching all over the plateau and snow-capped mountains."

Zhao Ti asked, "How long have you been searching in these mountains? Have you searched the entire area?"

Qingyangzi shook his head: "We haven't been in this mountain for long, and before we could explore many places, Junior Brother Gongye disappeared, so we started looking for him again."

“Junior Brother Gongye, Gongye Qian…” Zhao Ti thought for a moment, “What does he look like, and what is his background?”

Qingyangzi was stunned and said, "It really wasn't you..."

Zhao Ti frowned: "We are not demonic monks, why would we arrest people from Kunlun for no reason? If you hadn't provoked us, we would have pretended not to have seen it."

"Yes, yes," Qingyangzi hurriedly replied, "Junior Brother Gongye is born..."

As Zhao Ti listened to his description, the more he listened, the more astonished he became. How could this sound like Murong Fu?
Qingyangzi then recounted his origins. After he finished speaking, Zhao Ti stroked his chin, almost certain that it was Mo Rongfu.

That night, Murong Fu ordered Murong Longcheng to be thrown out of Tokyo, but he was rescued by the Kunlun people who were spying outside the city.

Then that man went to Jiangnan to capture Xiaoyaozi, but was beaten to death by Xiaoyaozi.

Then Murong Fu recognized another person who was stationed in Jiangnan as his adoptive father and returned to Bihan Palace with him. This time, because he was of suitable age, he went out with him to search for the Buddhist Kingdom.

As for why Murong Fu disappeared, there are only two possibilities.

Firstly, they couldn't bear the arduous journey and didn't want to stay in the bitter cold of Kunlun, so they secretly took a detour to Dali to escape back to the Central Plains.

Secondly, the Shambhala Buddhist Kingdom descended upon this great snow-capped mountain, and Murong Fu stumbled into it by accident.

Zhao Ti squinted at the snow-capped mountains ahead. Leaving aside the first possibility, if it were the second possibility, then…

So, did Mu Wanqing, Kumārajīva, and Huo Linglong also enter the Kingdom of Shambhala after they disappeared?

However, this Buddhist kingdom is not accessible to just anyone. As the old monk of Lhasa City said, only those who believe in Buddhism and have a karmic connection with it can enter.

Mu Wanqing is a Buddhist, and she possessed the Great Wisdom Sutra when she disappeared. Kumārajīva goes without saying, and Huo Linglong knows the Dragon Elephant Prajñā Palm, a palm technique unique to esoteric Buddhism. It is likely that she also has some connection with Buddhism.

If the three of them were to see and enter Shambhala based on this, it would make sense. But why was Murong Fu also able to see and enter it?

Or does Murong Fu have some other background that he is unaware of?
Zhao Ti pondered for a long time, then looked at Qingyangzi and asked, "Where did Gongye Qian disappear to? Was it around here?"

Qingyangzi said, "This is not the place. We searched all the way here. The place where Junior Brother Gongye Qian disappeared is further east."

Zhao Ti nodded: "Lead the way, let's go take a look there."

Qingyangzi agreed, but then looked at the arrow wounds on his body and his face showed a pained expression: "I... I can't walk properly right now, could I..."

Zhao Ti glanced at the people from the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands: "Treat his injuries."

Several skilled healers immediately emerged from the crowd, removed the arrows from Qingyangzi's body, and applied medicine to his wounds, but he still struggled to walk.

He looked at the barbarian generals behind him, some of whom were riding highland horses. He ordered one of them to be given up so that Qingyangzi could ride it and lead the way.

Zhao Ti then patted Black Rose on the head, and Black Rose let out a soft hiss and followed behind.

As they walked, night fell before they knew it, so they rested for the night and continued their search the next day.

Around noon, they arrived at a place where they could only vaguely see signs of camping. Qingyangzi said, "We camped here that night. When we got up early, Junior Brother Gongye Qian was still there, but he disappeared after a while. We searched everywhere, but we couldn't find him."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti looked around the area but couldn't discern anything special about it, pondering to himself.

Even if Murong Fu did enter Shambhala, his initial purpose was certainly not this. The matter of inheriting the divine king's legacy was nothing but a vague idea; Murong Fu only cared about restoring his kingdom.

Therefore, when Murong Fu left the camp, his initial direction must have been towards Dali. If he entered the Buddhist Kingdom, it should also be on his way to Dali.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ti looked up at the sun above, determined the surrounding directions, and ordered his men to head towards Dali, directly east of the snow-capped mountains.

Because the roads were rugged and the ice and snow were slippery, they did not travel very fast and did not go very far in half a day. However, because they had to explore as they went, they did not miss any important tasks.

Zhao Ti gently stroked Black Rose's head. This time, when he brought Black Rose out, the horse's restless mood had disappeared, and it had become somewhat cheerful, occasionally turning its head to look at him with wide eyes.

Zhao Ti discovered that Black Rose could walk on the high-altitude snow-capped mountains as if it were flat ground, and the high-altitude horses could not even reach half of its speed, and were only struggling to move forward.

He stroked the horse's ear thoughtfully and said, "I saw you in the palace a few days ago and you seemed to have something on your mind. I told you I would bring you out to see what it was about, but you didn't respond."

Black Rose shook off Zhao Ti's hand from her ear, let out a chirp, and walked on in the snow without responding.

Zhao Ti smiled and shook his head: "Looks like he's been cooped up in the palace for too long, acting like a child..."

Nothing was discovered that day, so we found a sheltered spot on the snow-capped mountain to camp that night.

The next day was the same, and they camped out for another night. Then, on the third night, Black Rose suddenly let out a long howl outside the tent.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti got up and walked out of the tent. He saw Black Rose holding her reins in her mouth, spinning around in circles. As she watched him leave the tent, she became even more agitated.

At this moment, Tong Guan also ran out and exclaimed, "Your Highness, this horse..."

Before he could finish speaking, Black Rose turned and walked forward. Zhao Ti frowned and called out, but the horse did not stop.

Seeing this, he leaped onto the horse's back and reached for the reins, but the horse bit the reins and broke them, galloping away.

Seeing this from behind, Tong Guan was greatly alarmed and shouted, "Your Highness, where are you going...?"

He used his lightness skill to catch up, but unexpectedly, Black Rose's speed far exceeded that on flat ground, like a black lightning bolt. Tong Guan's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly urged all his internal energy to run.

At this moment, everyone else also came out of the camp, their faces pale and shouting as they rushed forward, but they could no longer find any trace of Black Rose. Their martial arts skills were no match for Tong Guan's, and after chasing for a while, they couldn't even catch a glimpse of Tong Guan's shadow.

Zhao Ti, sitting on his horse, observed Black Rose's strange behavior and narrowed his eyes, saying, "Didn't I just say during the day that you were acting like a child a few days ago and actually wanted to go out and play? And now you're changing your mind?"

Black Rose hissed, as if in response. Zhao Ti said calmly, "Where are you taking me? I didn't expect you to be able to run so fast in the mountains." Black Rose crossed a snow ditch ahead, then looked back at Zhao Ti, looking somewhat dazed.

It was nearly dawn, and the snow reflected off the mountains, making everything clearly visible. Zhao Ti pondered, "Do you know where Wanqing is and want to take me there?"

Black Rose cried out again, and Zhao Ti said expressionlessly, "All you know is how to cry out? You can understand my language, but I can't understand yours."

Upon hearing this, Black Rose jumped up and ran forward with a burst of joy, while Tong Guan's voice could be faintly heard behind her: "Your Highness, Your Highness..."

Zhao Ti glanced back and saw that Tong Guan was moving extremely fast, having already pushed the movement technique of the Sunflower Manual to its limit.

He said, "Your lightness skill has improved recently."

Hearing this from afar, Tong Guan called out loudly, "Your Highness, where are you going?"

Zhao Ti said, "How would I know?"

Tong Guan asked in distress, "Your Highness, what's wrong with Black Rose? Where is she taking you?"

The horse in front let out a long neigh, seemingly a little unhappy.

Zhao Ti said, "Just follow along. If you can't keep up, go back."

Tong Guan gritted his teeth and said, "Even if my legs break, I will follow Your Highness to prevent this horse from going mad and taking Your Highness to some dangerous place, and hurting Your Highness again."

Black Rose suddenly sped up again. Tong Guan was shocked and thought to himself, "What a Black Rose! She's not a horse girl anymore; she's trying to shake me off. I mustn't let her succeed."

Upon realizing this, Tong Guan took a deep breath, channeled his inner energy once more, and exerted all his internal strength. His blood surged, and he felt as if his dantian was about to explode as he chased after the enemy.

As dawn broke, Black Rose gradually slowed down. She came to a place where, although the surroundings were still covered in ice and snow, the mountain winds had subsided considerably, and the place looked peaceful and serene.

Zhao Ti raised an eyebrow and asked, "Where is this?"

Black Rose shook her head, twitched her ears, and then walked briskly towards what appeared to be a mountain hollow.

At this moment, Tong Guan finally caught up from behind. His face was already sallow, but now it was even more pale gold. White steam was rising from his body, and he was drenched in sweat, his clothes completely soaked.

"Your Highness..." he gasped, "This humble servant has finally caught up with you."

Zhao Ti glanced at him, shook his head, and said, "Take a break."

Tong Guan gasped, "This humble servant...this humble servant is not tired. This humble servant is worried about Your Highness. Even if I run myself to death, I will follow Your Highness."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Black Rose and said angrily, "You damn horse, what exactly do you want? Where have you brought His Highness? This is utterly disrespectful and has ulterior motives..."

“It might know where Wanqing is,” Zhao Ti pondered.

"Ah? Your Highness..." Tong Guan was taken aback upon hearing this: "That's right, that's right, this humble servant forgot that this horse originally belonged to Miss Mu. Perhaps we can really find it. This humble servant just misspoke, misspoke."

Black Rose ignored Tong Guan completely and continued walking towards the ravine, arriving a moment later.

Zhao Ti looked around and raised his eyebrows. Although this place seemed unremarkable, he felt a strange sensation in his heart for some reason.

Black Rose stepped into the entrance of the mountain pass without hesitation. Tong Guan blinked in confusion behind her and hurriedly followed.

The scenery along the mountain pass was beautiful, warm as spring, with no ice or snow, as if it were a completely different world from the outside.

The mountainside was covered with lush green vines, full of life, and there were also small, unidentified white flowers blooming among them.

Tong Guan murmured, "Where is this? How strange it is, with flowers blooming."

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes and scanned his surroundings. A guess involuntarily surfaced in his mind, but he was also puzzled as to why Black Rose would find this place.

As they ventured deeper into the passage, Zhao Ti looked up at the wide expanse before him in astonishment. The place before him was vast and boundless, a place as beautiful as a fairyland.

The sky was filled with light white clouds, and the sun shone with divine light, illuminating everything before us. The meadows were like lush green carpets, the lakes were like bright blue eyes, and wildflowers were scattered everywhere, their fragrance carried on the wind.

There are also many beautiful, dreamlike buildings, numerous magnificent palaces, and the gentle sound of bells. The golden roofs of distant temples gleam, creating a scene of paradise, so peaceful and enchanting.

It seemed to be a paradise, an ideal land, with celestial music echoing, cleansing the soul and bringing peace, comfort, and boundless joy.

Tong Guan stared blankly ahead, his body trembling slightly: "Your Highness, where in these mountains is there such a place? From the outside... it doesn't seem like there's room for such a large place."

Zhao Ti gazed into the distance, his expression calm, and four words floated into his mind: Shambhala.

"Your Highness, why does this humble servant feel like we're in paradise? Am I hallucinating again?" Tong Guan rubbed his eyes vigorously. "But I didn't eat any poisonous mushrooms, so how could I be hallucinating?"

“It’s not an illusion.” Zhao Ti breathed a sigh of relief and said, “This is the Pure Land of Bliss, the Kingdom of Shambhala.”

As soon as he said that, Black Rose immediately turned to look at him. Her eyes were clear as water, and they seemed to express human emotions, with a hint of joy and a touch of coldness.

"Your Highness, Shambhala..." Tong Guan paused, then asked, "What kind of place is Shambhala?"

Zhao Ti slowly said, "Shambhala is said to be the pure land of Amitabha Buddha. It is usually orderly, and goodness flows everywhere. The people who live there are all kind-hearted, help and love each other, and respect each other equally. All good things are cherished. There is no strife or suffering. It is full of warmth everywhere and has the best life. It is a country full of happiness and peace."

Tong Guan exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness, does such a place really exist in the world? Wouldn't that be a divine land... But even a divine land probably wouldn't be this perfect."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "You see things very clearly."

Tong Guan said, "This humble servant, this humble servant only had a humble thought in his mind. What Your Highness just said is... is..."

Zhao Ti shook his head: "That's not what I said, it's just what the Buddhist community outside has been saying."

Tong Guan asked, "A rumor from the Buddhist sect?"

Zhao Ti smiled slightly: "It is just a Buddhist rumor. However, even if gods and Buddhas really exist in this world, I don't really believe that such a blissful world exists."

Upon hearing this, the black rose let out a clear, ethereal cry, the meaning of which was unknown.

Zhao Ti gently stroked the horse's ear, and the horse began to walk forward...

(End of this chapter)