The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 318 Gao Cheng of the Gao Clan, Asking the Emperor (4k)

He wanted to go up and ask for clarification, but ultimately didn't dare to approach.

Many things, once you know them, there's no going back.

In the end, he could only stand there, letting out a long sigh, when he caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye.

This made him frown suddenly. He took two steps forward, bent down, and his gaze fell on the insect corpse that had been precisely cut in two.

With a slight twitch of his eyebrow, the elegantly dressed young man carefully wrapped his fingertips with his sleeve, picked up the insect corpse, held it in his palm, and examined it closely.

A moment later, he exclaimed in a low voice, "A flying demon?!"

"How could poisonous insects from the Western Regions appear in the capital?"

Just then, Cui Shilu, who had just seen Du Yuan leave, slowly walked in from outside. As soon as he entered, he heard his cousin mention "flying demon" and "Western Regions," and couldn't help but ask in confusion:
"What flying demon? Cousin, what are you talking about?"

The elegantly dressed young man handed him the insect corpse in his palm, saying:

"Just look at it, don't touch it. This is a flying ape. It looks like an ordinary mosquito, but it is actually extremely venomous. Just one bite, and even a strong man who has practiced martial arts for many years will not survive more than three days!"

He paused and added:

"These are poisonous insects unique to the Western Regions. Normally, they would never reach our capital."

Even if someone wanted to transport this thing over, they would not only have to spend money like water, but also have to rely on luck.

After all, this thing is poisonous, but the journey through mountains and rivers and the different climates can easily kill a person, let alone an insect.
Cui Shilu's expression changed drastically: "Such a vicious thing actually came from my Cui family's residence?"

He was about to call for his servants to exterminate the insects to prevent any oversight, but suddenly stopped in his tracks. He then pointed thoughtfully to the sky and said, "Cousin, could it be..."

The elegantly dressed young man shook his head:
"Unlikely. Whether it's a demonic cultivator or a righteous cultivator, if they wanted to take a life, they would never use such underhanded tricks. A yellow talisman and a spell would be enough to solve everything."

There's no need to go to such lengths to deal with mortals, and you certainly can't use something that's completely ineffective against cultivators.

This substance can easily poison mortals, but for cultivators, especially those who have survived to this day, it may only be a rare and worthwhile item to talk about.

Therefore, he tends to believe it is either the Cui family or some filthy faction within Kyoto, rather than a contest between mountain people.

As he spoke, he picked up a stick from the ground, casually drew a few strange runes on it, and then tossed the stick to Cui Shilu:

"Try throwing it out there."

Although Cui Shilu was full of doubts, he still did as he was told. He used to look down on this cousin, thinking him to be superficial and useless, but after meeting Du Yuan, his contempt turned into uncertain mutterings.

The moment the wooden stick hit the ground, the richly dressed young man glanced at the runes on the ground to determine the location, then shook his head repeatedly, his tone tinged with helplessness:

"Brother, these bugs are after you! What have you done lately that has made your own Cui family members want to kill you?"

Cui Shilu's face instantly turned ashen, as ugly as a pig's liver. He gritted his teeth and said:

"If my cousin is not mistaken, it is probably because last night my father and I overruled everyone's objections and insisted on delivering the Immortal Master's Immortal Wine to you intact!"

Upon hearing this, both of them had complicated expressions.

Cui Shilu was filled with shock and anger, feeling that his clansmen were vicious and foolish, and that they would kill him for something so obviously deserved.

The elegantly dressed young man was filled with regret. If he hadn't been so talkative, the divine wine that was offered to him would not have ended up being served to him in such a state.

After shaking his head repeatedly, the richly dressed young man stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said:
“Brother, I shouldn’t interfere in the Cui family’s affairs, but this item is extremely rare and requires a lot of money. You are more capable than me, so you should be able to find out.”

As he was speaking, he was about to leave, but just then, at this very moment, he heard a voice:
"Ugh"

The carefree and helpless feeling in the elegantly dressed young man's heart vanished instantly, replaced by a wary scan of his surroundings, while his fingertips continued to make calculations.

But just like before, nothing was gained!
"Cousin? What's going on?"

Sensing something amiss, Cui Shilu naturally inquired. After a long pause, the richly dressed young man shook his head, picked at his ear, and said:
"It's nothing, maybe I finally drove myself crazy?"

"what?!"

Cui Shilu looked puzzled.

Just then, both the elegantly dressed young man and Cui Shilu heard a voice ring out from outside the capital:
"Gao Cheng of the Gao family wants to ask the Emperor!"

Upon hearing this, Cui Shilu exclaimed in surprise:
"Gao Cheng? Wasn't he executed long ago?"

There was a great deal of debate about whether Gao Cheng should have been executed when the Gao clan was wiped out.

But in the end, it was driven by the five surnames and seven clans that the decision was finalized—beheading!
The remnants of the Gao family must not be allowed to live!
Even the executioners were from the Cui clan of Qinghe.

However, this man was a renowned virtuous and kind gentleman, so his execution was carried out in secret and unknown to others.

So much so that he could often hear his uncle, who was overseeing the execution, saying, "This man deserves to live."
-
Deep within the Kyoto Imperial Palace, the elderly imperial uncle, who had not yet returned to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, was leaning against a couch, having his pulse taken by Imperial Physician Anlu of the Imperial Medical Academy.

Anlu is currently the only person in the Imperial Medical Academy whom the pharmacists are willing to fully trust.

The other imperial physicians were either from prominent families with powerful connections, or they were afraid of trouble and would feign old age and poor eyesight to avoid any problems. Some even died peacefully in the undercurrents of power struggles over the years.
After Anlu put away the pulse pillow and left the old imperial uncle's bedchamber, he had just walked up to Yaoshi Yuan when Yaoshi Yuan asked urgently:

"How exactly is my uncle?"

Anlu lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Ning... he..." The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped in his tracks.

"Speak!" The pharmacist raised an eyebrow and scolded, "You've served me for so many years, are you afraid I'll punish you for telling the truth?"

Since the old imperial uncle rushed to find him the night before, urging him to change the era name to "Jiayou" and claiming that Emperor Taizu had appeared to him in a dream, although he eventually agreed, he did not believe it at all in his heart.

But in this world, what other way does he have to preserve the dynasty of the pharmacist family?
The disloyalty of the various prefectures was no secret, and the entire court and even the local princes were just one step away from bursting the bubble and saying they were going to rebel.

If he can't even fully control Kyoto, how can he possibly contend with the entire world?

In the end, it was nothing more than trying anything as a last resort, so we listened to the old imperial uncle's words for the time being.

But human nature is so contradictory—even though he didn't believe in dreams, he couldn't help but harbor a sliver of hope as he watched the various reports coming in from all over the country.

What if the old imperial uncle hadn't developed "hysteria" due to old age and weakness, and instead believed that the founding emperor was sending him a dream?

That's why he was in a hurry to summon Anlu, wanting to find out the true situation of the old imperial uncle.

After a brief hesitation, Anlu immediately knelt down and reported:

"Your Majesty, Prince Ning's pulse is like a taut string, indicating stagnation of liver qi, deficiency of both heart and spleen, and phlegm obstruction. This is a clear sign of hysteria!"

"Moreover, although Prince Ning seems to be logical and clear-headed, whenever asked about the key points, his answers are always ambiguous, repeatedly mentioning only the founding emperor and the immortal."

He kowtowed and said in a more emphasizing tone, "Your Majesty, you guessed correctly, Prince Ning has indeed suffered a hysterical attack!"

The last glimmer of hope vanished completely. The pharmacist felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, his body swayed, and he almost fell over.

The empress, who had been by his side the whole time, quickly stepped forward to support him and gently comforted him:
"Your Majesty, please do not worry or be distressed. My uncle is simply too concerned about the fate of my family, the Medicine Master, which is why he has fallen ill and said those things to you. He is ultimately different from those people outside!"

After saying that, she couldn't help but turn her head away, avoiding Yaoshi Yuan's gaze.

She could clearly sense that her master was sitting on the eaves of the Golden Palace, quietly gazing at the capital.

Even though she vaguely learned from her master that the founding emperor might have really appeared in her dream, she would never dare to tell the truth.

Her wish was right about one thing from the very beginning—that he was truly at odds with the entire world.

However, his enemies were not local governments, powerful families, officials, or feudal lords. Instead, they were immortals, each eyeing his immense fortune.
She didn't know how to make her wish child understand and live peacefully; she couldn't see a glimmer of hope.

Compared to today, the days when Gao Huan held absolute power seem insignificant.

"Sister, I know, I know." The pharmacist, who was holding the empress's hand, had a bitter face and a worried expression.

At the same time, that calm voice also reached the ears of the three of them:

"Gao Cheng of the Gao family wants to ask the Emperor!"

At that moment, the pharmacist suddenly turned around and looked at them, saying with disbelief and astonishment:

"Gao Cheng?!"
-
Outside Kyoto, a man and a woman were accompanying a middle-aged scholar as they walked slowly along the Kyoto official road.

Both men gazed with utmost reverence at the ancient, long sword in the middle-aged scholar's hand.

Although from the very beginning, it was their sect that arranged and facilitated everything.

Even though they followed the whole time, they still felt that the moment was too unreal.

They actually managed to obtain the sword of Confucius, one of the founders of the three religions!
Looking at Kyoto, which was so close at hand, the girl couldn't help but jump for joy:

"Sir, the apothecary who harmed your entire clan is now right before your eyes!"

At the same time, the man stepped forward and said:

"Sir, please remember this: many who play chess in Kyoto these days are so inept that even two characters cannot fully capture their essence. Therefore, even with our best efforts to help you, you will most likely only have one chance!"

As for how many scoundrels are hiding in Kyoto today, only God knows!
They just didn't think they would lose, because they had obtained the crucial "benevolence"!
The middle-aged scholar nodded slightly.

Then, holding the long sword at his waist, he stepped forward.

When he arrived at the city gate of Kyoto, the city gate captain surrounded him with several soldiers.

"Wait! Why are you carrying a sword, sir? Do you have received imperial permission?"

This was not the old sword that Du Yuan carried, which they could laugh off.

So they all stepped forward to question him. If anything seemed amiss, they wanted to arrest him on the spot!

The middle-aged scholar did not answer, but simply looked up at Kyoto, which he had not seen for many years.

He addressed them and indeed the entire city of Kyoto, saying:
"Gao Cheng of the Gao family wants to ask the Emperor!"

Upon hearing this, the city gate captain and the soldiers behind him were taken aback.

Then they all roared in anger:

"What a scoundrel!"

It's one thing for the remnants of the Gao family to dare to come to the capital and make a scene, but you're all alone, you really don't take them seriously!
Just as they were about to take Gao Cheng, they saw a flash of white light, followed by a tremendous force like a bull charging into them.

By the time they realized what was happening...

The city gate captain and many soldiers had already collapsed several steps behind him, wailing in pain.

Standing beside them was Gao Cheng, who had drawn the long sword.

No one needs to know any swordsmanship, supernatural powers, or possess any divine objects; simply handing over a sword is enough to fulfill one's wish.

"Huh? Shoot an arrow! Quick, shoot an arrow, kill him!"

The surrounding people had already fled in terror, and the guards on the city gate, seeing this, hurriedly drew their bows to prepare for a volley of fire.

But before they could even release the arrows from their hands, they saw a white light sweep past.

Then everyone was sent flying backwards, leaving only a ground filled with wails.

The vast capital city, a fortified stronghold that had stood for centuries, was so easily breached by a single person.

Gao Cheng paused briefly to glance at the longsword in his hand, then continued walking with it.

He knew that what could truly stop him were never these ordinary soldiers.

At that moment, he saw with perfect clarity the 'layered mountains' that covered Kyoto!
And cries of shock and anger:
"How brave!"

"court death!"

"Could that sword be?!"

"Stop him!"

At this moment, the various deities who had placed their pieces in Kyoto were either furious or astonished.

He was furious that someone dared to defy the world and so openly display their divine power in Kyoto.

They were astonished that there were actually people in the world who could wield the 'benevolence' that even the Confucian Temple had abandoned.

But after a brief moment of shock and anger, each side naturally took action.

We are determined to kill this arrogant fool here!
The Supreme Saint's sword is indeed formidable, but you are not only not a cultivator, but also a Yin spirit. How much of its power can you wield?

I'm afraid even a fraction of that would be difficult!

In the end, won't it just make us a laughing stock?
Do they really think we're all dead?

For a moment, even Gao Cheng, who possessed the Supreme Sword, could clearly feel an immense sense of oppression, like a storm brewing.

He paused briefly to glance at the 'layered mountains' in the sky before moving forward with his sword in one hand.

Without the slightest hesitation, nor the slightest hint of fear.

All he seeks today is success or failure. As for life and death, what does a dead man have to fear?

However, when he saw the first person blocking his way, Gao Cheng looked somewhat bewildered and even stopped anxiously.

He sheathed his longsword, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and said:

"Sir, are you going to stop me too?"

Du Yuan, who was also holding a sword, looked at Gao Cheng in front of her, shook her head, and smiled:
"No, I told you, I wouldn't stop you."

"And what brings you here, sir?"

Du Yuan stepped aside from the dragon path leading to the palace, then pointed to the sky and said:

"I'll back you up, so you can go ahead with confidence!"

Gao Cheng laughed:

“I have people behind me who are willing to help me. Sir, there is no need for you to come here and offend others!”

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan chuckled and said:
"If they really had that ability, why would I have come here?"

The two then said no more, bowed to each other in greeting.

Gao Cheng then took his sword and left.

Du Yuan, supporting herself with her ash-wood staff, quietly followed behind him.

Gao Cheng wanted to ask the Emperor, and so did he; however, he wanted to ask on behalf of all the people of the capital, specifically the cultivators on this mountain!

(End of this chapter)