Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Everyone turned to look.

Five people walked in from the left side of the Taoist temple. The two men in front were old men, one in his early seventies and the other just over sixty. They were followed by three middle-aged men.

Zhuge Zheng strode over, pointing a finger at Zhuge Qing, his beard trembling: "You actually conspired with outsiders to deal with our ancestor?!"

Zhuge Qing stood up, his face calm: "That person is not an ancestor; he is merely an obsession, a plunderer."

Zhuge Ping walked over, his tone gentler than Zhuge Zheng's: "Aqing, we've already examined the handwriting; it is indeed our ancestor's. You're young and don't understand these things, so don't let yourself be taken advantage of."

Zhuge Qing took a deep breath: "The handwriting is real, but the person isn't. He's a personality born from faith and stories, needing the host's approval to exist. If you recognize him, you're not recognizing Zhuge Liang, you're recognizing Luo Guanzhong."

Zhuge Zheng's face turned ashen: "Insolence!"

With a wave of his hand, a burst of energy shot out from his palm, not towards Zhuge Qing, but towards the ground.

hum!

An invisible barrier closed in from all directions, trapping everyone in the center. Everyone in the arena was unable to move, except for their mouths... oh, no, their necks and above.

Xia He was startled and whispered to Cheng Mo, "Isn't this that person's doing?"

Cheng Mo gently squeezed her hand, signaling her to calm down.

Xia He took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and watched Zhuge Qing, Xu Si, and Zhuge Zheng argue.

Zhuge Zheng became increasingly agitated as he spoke: "Our ancestors have manifested their power! This is an incredibly joyous occasion, yet you not only fail to kneel in welcome but also bring outsiders to cause trouble. How can you face the ancestors of the Zhuge family?"

Zhuge Qing's voice rose: "Wake up! If he really is an ancestor, why would he possess someone else's body? Why would he hide in the shadows? Why doesn't he dare show his true face?"

Zhuge Ping shook his head: "Our ancestors had their own considerations, and we, as their descendants, only need to follow them."

The two groups were arguing fiercely.

"You don't need to argue anymore."

A voice came from inside the Taoist temple.

Liu Wenzhou came out, wearing a dark Chinese-style robe, his hair tied back, and holding a folding fan in his hand.

His eyes were golden, and the patterns of the Eight Trigrams Formation were reflected in his pupils.

Liu Jianwen followed behind, wearing a gray jacket, his face pale, his eyes darting around, as if he had seen a ghost.

Liu Wenzhou's gaze swept over everyone present, finally landing on Zhuge Zheng and his group.

"You don't understand." There was a strange rhythm in his voice. "I spent twenty years emerging from Longzhong to assist the First Emperor in establishing the Shu Han dynasty, launching six expeditions to Qishan, devoting myself to the utmost until my dying breath—and what was the result?"

Zhuge Zheng and the others bowed deeply, saying, "Our ancestors were truly righteous."

Liu Wenzhou continued, seemingly with a touch of melancholy: "You all know the outcome. The Shu Han dynasty fell, and all my life's work went down the drain."

Zhuge Qing stared at him: "So you intend to use this method? To possess a descendant of the Liu family and establish a new Han dynasty?"

Liu Wenzhou looked at him, his golden pupils devoid of any emotion: "Why not? The world is more chaotic than at the end of the Han Dynasty. People's hearts are no longer what they used to be, and morality has declined. I want to rebuild a land of propriety, so that everyone in the world has food to eat, clothes to wear, and books to read."

Cheng Mo spoke softly, "Everything you mentioned, we have now."

Liu Wenzhou turned to look at him, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Oh? I'd like to hear more."

Cheng Mo said casually, "You've studied for three months and read two hundred books, haven't you realized that modern China is much better than the 'Han Dynasty' you imagined?"

A hint of disdain flashed across Liu Wenzhou's face: "The standard of living is indeed higher, but the intellectual and cultural level is not even a fraction of that."

Cheng Mo scoffed: "The 'universal harmony' you desire is now being realized. The 'the elderly are cared for, the able-bodied are employed, and the young are nurtured' you desire is also now being realized. Your only complaint is that there is no emperor above you."

Liu Wenzhou's expression changed.

Cheng Mo said calmly, "You don't want to restore the Han Dynasty; you want everyone to listen to you. That's your obsession—not restoring the Han Dynasty, but your own unwillingness to accept it."

"You're talking nonsense!" Liu Wenzhou roared, and the golden energy around his body suddenly surged.

Zhuge Zheng and the others also angrily rebuked them: "How dare you!" "How dare you disrespect our ancestors!" "Arrogant brat!"

Cheng Mo ignored them and continued his lecture to Liu Wenzhou: "When you were lecturing Liu Wenzhou in the inner realm, all you talked about was how to control the economy, how to infiltrate politics, and how to win people's hearts. Did you ever mention 'the common people'? Did you ever mention 'people's livelihood'?"

Liu Wenzhou's expression changed drastically, even showing some fear. The patterns of the Eight Trigrams Formation spun wildly in his golden eyes: "How did you know?!"

Cheng Mo took Xia He a step forward: "All the modern theories you've learned are about how to seize power. You haven't learned how to build, because you don't care about building at all—you only care whether the name 'Zhuge Liang' can be written into history again."

Liu Wenzhou stared intently at Cheng Mo, the patterns of the Eight Trigrams Formation reflected in his golden pupils, those patterns spinning rapidly.

"You can move around freely?"

Xia Liuqing burst into laughter from behind the barrier: "I knew it, Cheng boy, you really are something!"

Liu Wenzhou quickly calculated with his fingers, his expression shifting from surprise and doubt to seriousness: "You're a sorcerer, and you even divined my fate? Why weren't you affected? That shouldn't be the case..."

He shook his head and closed the folding fan: "Never mind, it's not important anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Wenzhou flicked his finger.

A pale blue flame flew from his fingertip, instantly distorting the surrounding air. The flame was small, only as thick as a finger, but wherever it passed, the space trembled.

The flames shot straight at Cheng Mo.

Zhuge Qing's expression changed drastically: "Is this Samadhi True Fire?"

Zhuge Zheng and the others were extremely excited, kneeling on the ground and shouting, "Long live our ancestors!"

The flames flew at great speed, reaching us in the blink of an eye.

Cheng Mo released Xia He's hand, raised his palm, and caught the flame.

The flame landed in his palm, lying there quietly, like a blue flower.

Inside Cheng Mo's inner world, black mist surged out from all directions, condensing into a chain. The pale blue flames adhered to the chain and spread little by little into the void.

Liu Wenzhou's expression completely changed: "How could this be?"

Within Cheng Mo's inner world, the flames burned ever brighter, extending along the chains into the void, even burning through the void itself, creating black holes.

hum-

Suddenly, the same pale blue flames rose from Liu Wenzhou's body, enveloping him from head to toe.

Zhuge Qing's eyes widened: "How is this possible? Why would the Samadhi True Fire turn against me?"

Zhuge Zheng and the others were equally shocked. They got up from the ground, wanting to rush forward but not daring to.

Liu Jianwen hugged his son tightly, his voice trembling: "What's wrong? What's wrong? Please don't..."

Before he could finish speaking, the flames suddenly surged, engulfing both father and son.

The flames grew stronger and stronger, their color changing from pale blue to bluish-white, then from bluish-white to transparent, and finally—

Bang!

The flames exploded, turning into countless sparks that dissipated in the night wind.

Liu Jianwen collapsed to the ground, his eyes vacant, foaming at the mouth, and his body convulsing.

Liu Wenzhou collapsed beside him, mumbling something incoherently, his voice unclear and unintelligible to anyone.

Zhuge Qing looked at Cheng Mo in shock.

A tiny spark remained in Cheng Mo's palm. After carefully examining it and confirming that he was alright, he clenched his fist and extinguished the spark.

He took Xia He's hand again, slowly stepped out of the array's range, stood in front of Zhuge Zheng and the others, and looked down at them: "Are you going to stop me?"

Cola Novels: This is where dreams begin, and where dreams come true.