Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 60 Meeting the Emperor (Third Update)

As Lu Chenyuan followed Li Lingyue out of the barrier, the sunlight made him squint slightly.

In just a few hours, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

Li Lingyue arrived in a hurry, traveling at breakneck speed, and naturally had no entourage. Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, she decided to walk into the palace and take the opportunity to tell Lu Chenyuan about things to be aware of when meeting the emperor.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

After walking about two miles and confirming that no one was around, Li Lingyue finally couldn't maintain her aloof demeanor.

She whirled around, quickly returning to Lu Chenyuan's side, her gaze sharp as she looked him up and down, checking for any injuries. "It's all Taiyi's fault for breaking through the water barrier at the entrance..." Her voice trembled with lingering fear. "The repairs took too much time. If it had been any later..."

The conversation ended abruptly there.

She couldn't imagine what would happen if those people really took Lu Chenyuan away...

Li Lingyue's fingers unconsciously clenched his clothes, her knuckles turning white.

A gentle breeze swept by, scattering a strand of her dark hair at her temple.

Lu Chenyuan raised his hand to brush it away for her, but she grabbed his wrist in mid-air.

Li Lingyue didn't speak, but looked at him intently, gripped his hand tightly, and her eyes were slightly red.

"Don't be afraid." Lu Chenyuan chuckled softly, his fingertips gently caressing her wrist. "Even if it's to the ends of the earth, to the netherworld, I will traverse mountains and rivers to find you."

“However…” he suddenly leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against her ear, “I hope I don’t find out that the princess’s residence is full of male concubines…”

Li Lingyue was initially touched, but then her ears suddenly burned, and she angrily shook off his hand: "How dare you!"

But before he could finish speaking, he broke his composure and couldn't help but let a slight smile creep up his lips.

"Who wants to keep a male concubine..."

She turned her face away, her voice trailing off, "Having one troublemaker like you is enough trouble for me..."

Sunlight filtered through the sycamore trees beside the palace wall, casting dappled shadows on her reddened earlobes.

Looking at her like this, Lu Chenyuan's smile deepened.

"?"

Beside her, the goddess's eyes flashed, and she tilted her head, making a clicking sound.

The two of them realized at the same time that there was another "person" following them!

"This is the Goddess?"

Li Lingyue wasn't ashamed of the mechanical puppets; she didn't consider them human, even if they were made by Gu Yunsheng.

"Ah."

Lu Chenyuan looked at the Empress's slashed shoulder: "She needs to be properly repaired when we get back... Never mind, her fate is still uncertain, so let's not worry about it." Lu Chenyuan couldn't give up on her, but circumstances were beyond his control. If he couldn't keep her, he wouldn't force her to stay. Anyway, there's plenty of time in the future.

Li Lingyue wasn't worried about this. The things that the Hidden Immortal left for his successor wouldn't easily change hands. Otherwise, what would be the point of going to such lengths to select a successor? Even if Lu Chenyuan was willing to give it away, the Divine Empress wouldn't let herself be slaughtered. Moreover, without the talent for mechanical arts and puppetry, there was no way to repair the damage it suffered after the war.

People get hurt, but they can heal themselves.

If the puppets are no good, then the puppet master is like a physician for the puppets.

Even with the ability to heal itself using talisman arrays, the repair and replacement of organs damaged in battle still require the assistance of a puppeteer.

As recorded in "Liezi: Tang Wen": If the king were to disintegrate his heart, he would be unable to speak; if he were to disintegrate his liver, he would be unable to see; if he were to disintegrate his kidneys, he would be unable to walk.

While mechanical puppets are physically much stronger than humans, they are also more vulnerable in certain aspects...

The two men and one armored soldier headed towards Ziwei City.

As the sun neared its zenith, a frosty wind began to blow.

It was late autumn, and most of the locust leaves along the roadside had fallen, leaving the branches as sharp as iron blades against the gray sky.

A thin layer of frost covered the bluestone slabs of the street. The horses' hooves made a crisp crunching sound as they trod across them. Although it was winter, the capital city was still bustling. Taverns along the street held up their blue flags, and the steaming mutton soup mixed with the aroma of newly brewed mulberry wine wafted through the air. Foreign merchants led their camels slowly, the camel bells jingling, their backs laden with felt and spices from the Western Regions.

A peaceful atmosphere.

As Lu Chenyuan walked along the road, he kept replaying the battle in his mind and felt it necessary to remind him: "That Zhou Guanfu... something's not right."

Li Lingyue looked at the street scene and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lu Chenyuan hesitated for once, "His face... was covered. When I looked at him, I had a very strange feeling. This is the first time I've ever had this feeling!"

With keen insight, one can see directly to the true nature of things. Any disguise is futile. But looking at that person just now was like looking at a deep pool of water. It was clear and transparent, yet one always felt that something was hidden beneath the surface. The more one tried to see clearly, the more dizzy one felt.

It's like facing a thinking mirror; it knows you're looking at it and can see through it, so it blinds your senses before your gaze even falls on it.

This feels so out of place!
Li Lingyue's expression changed slightly, and she stopped in her tracks: "You mean, he's in disguise?"

"It's possible..."

Lu Chenyuan frowned and said, "It's also possible that he has cultivated some special technique... It's not that his disguise is particularly skillful, but rather that his very existence is interfering with my judgment. It's like seeing people through an illusion, except that this illusion has merged with his true self, so it's not clear..."

"..."

Li Lingyue's gaze gradually turned serious: "Zhou Guanfu was a blacksmith by trade. He joined the Unskilled Weapon Sect at a young age and became a disciple of the former sect leader, 'Melting Sky Sword Master' Duan Rongfeng. He specialized in blacksmithing and forging, and all his martial arts skills are the true teachings of the Unskilled Weapon Sect. I've never heard of him cultivating any illusions... Hmm?"

suddenly.

She seemed to remember something, and her expression changed. Lu Chenyuan asked, "What has Your Highness thought of?"

Li Lingyue muttered to herself, "Could it be the 'Illusion Scroll'?"

Lu Chenyuan asked, "The Hidden Immortal Records?"

Li Lingyue nodded: "From your description, it sounds somewhat like the passage in the 'Illusion Scroll': 'The five senses are all illusions, the eyes are not eyes, a dream sinks into oblivion, bones turn to ashes. Truth and falsehood are indistinguishable, the heart is trapped in a nightmare, only by committing suicide does one realize the knife is empty. A single wrong thought can change a thousand autumns, all beings are mad in a dream. The most poisonous thing is neither a knife nor a curse, but the inversion of the human heart is supernatural power...'"

I rely on...

This is some kind of evil magic...

Lu Chenyuan felt a chill run down his spine. Whose side was this Gu Yunsheng on?

What is he trying to achieve by developing this kind of martial arts?
Li Lingyue said, "The 'Heavenly Craft Scroll' is the pinnacle of mechanical arts and puppetry, while the 'Illusion Scroll' is the pinnacle of disguise and illusion. According to the information we have now, the 'Illusion Scroll' is not only about 'disguise,' but also a supreme and unorthodox art that can manipulate the five senses, distort people's hearts, and erode their minds. Those who master it can make all living beings fall into an illusion and commit suicide."

Lu Chenyuan was shocked: "Wouldn't that make it flawless?"

"That's not true."

Li Lingyue shook her head: "Even with the wisdom of a hidden immortal, one cannot avoid the principle of 'every gain has its loss.' The 'Illusion Scroll' is the most bizarre of the ten hidden immortal techniques, and can even be considered an evil method. Therefore, its backlash is also the most severe."

The magic of the "Illusionary Scroll" not only affects others but also oneself. "The Illusionary Prison traps others, but ultimately traps oneself; one day it will backfire and lead to eternal damnation. One who cultivates a thousand faces is no longer human; the skin is empty and the bones are just a flute." The higher one cultivates, the more one loses people's hearts, and in the end, only an empty shell remains.

Moreover, the ability to erode the mind can only affect those whose spiritual realm is lower than one's own. To those of the same realm, it is nothing more than a clever disguise. Such a disguise can only paint the skin, not the bones.

It's like having a fake version of you standing here. They might look exactly like you, and their movements and expressions might be similar, but the unique true energy, the special physique cultivated through the *Swallowing Gold Treasure Scroll*, and the distinctive aura are all impossible to fake. Ultimately, they can only deceive ordinary, unfamiliar people.

Lu Chenyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He wasn't afraid of this kind of magic. Even if he couldn't escape its influence with his current cultivation level, the discomfort itself already spoke volumes. He was mainly worried about the people around him. Fortunately, his cultivation technique was special and on the same level as the "Illusion Scroll," making it extremely difficult for them to forge it.

"If it's 'The Shapeshifter'..."

Lu Chenyuan pondered, "Was it Zhou Guanfu who mastered this technique, or was someone else disguised as Zhou Guanfu? Logically speaking, the latter is more likely, but that purple-robed man drawing talismans in mid-air is also very strange, it also seems like a secret technique of hidden immortals. If the Netherworld Palace can obtain one, it's possible they can obtain two..."

Li Lingyue felt a headache coming on when she thought of the purple-robed man: "It seems there's more to the story. Let's postpone the extermination of the Unyielding Sect and investigate the situation in Bashu first. That way, we won't wrongly accuse innocent people or let the bad guys escape..."

"Ah."

Lu Chenyuan nodded and smiled as he flattered him, "Your Highness is wise."

Li Lingyue rolled her eyes at him, then couldn't help but laugh herself.

As the two chatted and laughed, they arrived at Duanmen Gate, in front of the Forbidden Garden of the Palace.

The vermilion palace walls gleamed blood-red in the sunlight, and the mythical beasts on the eaves bared their fangs and claws.

Before the palace gates, the Imperial Guards stood solemnly, halberds in hand, their armor gleaming coldly.

"See Your Highness the Princess."

The Imperial Guards bowed respectfully, and the female official who had rushed to the scene led the eunuchs to kneel and wait by the side, holding a gilded bronze basin with a few withered chrysanthemums floating in the clear water—the Wu Zhou Dynasty revered gold, and even the hand-washing ceremony exuded a cold and solemn atmosphere.

Li Lingyue lightly touched the water's surface with her fingertips, causing ripples to spread as she carefully cleaned her hands.

Lu Chenyuan followed suit, while inwardly criticizing the ruling class for their fussiness!
Passing through the three palace gates, one finds ancient cypress trees standing tall in the forbidden garden, their branches twisting like dragons.

In the distance came the shouts of the Imperial Guards during their drills; swords and halberds clashed, startling a few crows into flight.

The eunuch leading the way stopped in front of the Zichen Hall.

Lu Chenyuan looked up and saw that the Zichen Palace, where the emperor conducted his daily affairs, was far less magnificent than the outer court hall, but it had its own intimidating aura. There was no red steps in front of the palace, only seven levels of green jade steps. On the steps stood two bronze-gilded phoenixes with black jade inlaid in their eyes, coldly looking down at the newcomers.

"His Majesty the Holy Emperor summons Princess Taiping and Lu Chenyuan, Commander of the Suiming Pavilion, to enter the palace for an audience!"

The eunuch's shrill voice pierced the silence.

Lu Chenyuan remained calm as he followed Li Lingyue forward.

The three layers of crimson gauze curtains were lifted one after another. With each layer, the fragrance of agarwood grew stronger, while the light dimmed slightly.

As I passed through the last layer of gauze curtains, a wisp of sandalwood and musk fragrance suddenly entered my nostrils.

Lu Chenyuan looked up and saw a burly monk standing next to the bronze crane lamp on the left side of the imperial steps. He was wearing a dark purple round-necked robe with gold-embroidered lion patterns that shone faintly in the dark, but a Buddhist seven-treasure sash was incongruously tied around his waist.

—Xue Huaiyi, one of Wu Zetian's male favorites.

The monk's face showed signs of anxiety, and he was striking the air with the whisk in his hand when he suddenly froze the moment he saw Lu Chenyuan's face.

His face grew even uglier, and the way he stretched his neck forward made him look like a vicious dog guarding its food. His jeweled sash rose and fell with his heavy breathing.

"Ah……"

A hint of mockery flashed across Lu Chenyuan's eyes.

Li Lingyue frowned almost imperceptibly for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.

She understood the meaning behind Xue Huaiyi's actions, but given his special status, she could only ignore them even if she disliked them.

Li Lingyue led Lu Chenyuan forward three steps, her wide sleeves cascading like clouds. Lu Chenyuan bowed in unison, addressing the Empress behind the curtain: "Your subject/your humble subject pays respects to Your Majesty the Holy Emperor."

　I wrote 9,000 words at midnight, hoping to make it a round number, but I couldn't finish it despite my best efforts.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)