Chapter 1396: A New Heavenly Earth Spirit Root
Mingjiang Wang clearly had guessed something as well, revealing an expression of disbelief. "Could it be that the coffin contains your corpse?"
Since Zhang Ruochen was standing right opposite him, saying such words naturally seemed somewhat strange.
Zhang Ruochen's five fingers gripped the coffin lid tightly, and he recalled the scene of Chi Yao killing him back then, a pang of pain striking his heart.
"Twelfth Imperial Uncle, after I died back then, where was my corpse buried?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Mingjiang Wang sighed. "It is shameful to say. After you died, the imperial court erupted in continuous struggles for the throne, a bloody storm where everyone feared for their own safety. Three days later, when I went to check on your corpse again... the body had vanished without a trace."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze sharpened. He stared once more at the coffin before him, then pushed forcefully. The coffin lid flew off, crashing to the ground with a bang.
Both of them looked into the coffin at the same time.
Empty.
"How is that possible?"
Zhang Ruochen reached out a hand and probed inside the coffin, finding no illusion or formation. The coffin was indeed empty.
Mingjiang Wang also showed a puzzled expression. "A coffin appearing in the Ancestral Shrine of the Emperors is already extremely strange. The characters left by the Imperial Brother on the coffin are even stranger. And now the coffin is empty—why?"
There were too many doubts.
Every single point was hard to understand.
First, a coffin could not possibly appear in the Ancestral Shrine of the Emperors.
Second, the characters written by the Ming Emperor could not appear on the coffin.
Third, if the Ming Emperor had gone to such great lengths to place the coffin in the Ancestral Shrine of the Emperors, the coffin could not be empty.
Three impossible things had all happened.
"There is blood."
Zhang Ruochen discovered a bloodstain at the bottom of the coffin. This indicated that a corpse had definitely been placed inside, but it had later been moved away.
Zhang Ruochen and Mingjiang Wang both fell silent, deep in thought.
Mingjiang Wang said, "The events of that year are becoming more and more bewildering, completely impossible to figure out."
"Forget it, let's handle the important matters first."
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were incredibly sharp. "We must move the Ancestral Shrine of the Emperors and the Imperial Clan's Forest of Tombs into the Qiankun Realm. They can no longer be left in Shengming City. Twelfth Imperial Uncle, I will leave this matter to you. I will have the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion assist you."
A massive relocation operation began in full swing. Tens of millions of cultivators gathered from all directions of Shengming City, continuously streaming into the Qiankun Realm.
For a world, what was most important?
Without a doubt, the common people were the most important.
Whether martial artists, saints, or gods, none were born out of thin air. They all emerged from billions of ordinary people.
The common people were the soil. Without them, the Qiankun Realm could never become a powerful world, one capable of rivaling the Kunlun Realm.
What Zhang Ruochen lacked most right now was people.
By the time the next morning arrived, the twelve Buddhist beads suspended around Shengming City had vanished. At the same time, all the remnants of the Sacred Bright Empire had disappeared without a trace, as if they had evaporated into thin air.
The news that the Lingxiao Heavenly King's Mansion had been breached and the Lingxiao Heavenly King had been suppressed and killed spread at lightning speed, shocking the entire world.
"Fake news! How could such a thing happen?"
"The Lingxiao Heavenly King was killed? Haha, that's hilarious. Who started that rumor?"
"With the strength of the Lingxiao Heavenly King's Mansion and the imperial army, they could sweep the entire southeastern region of the Central Domain. Who could possibly challenge them?"
At first, no one believed the news. But as more information came out and the details of last night's earth-shattering battle were exposed, every faction fell into deathly silence.
They had to accept the fact that last night, Zhang Ruochen had led the remnants of the Sacred Bright Empire, captured Shengming City, and destroyed the Lingxiao Heavenly King's Mansion, displaying overwhelming power.
At the Demon Sect's headquarters.
The saints of the Mu family received the news from the Demon Sect's branch in Shengming City, their faces turning pale with fear.
The Mu family's Sacred Lord gasped. "The Lingxiao Heavenly King and Qingyue Laozu have fallen... Among the Sacred Bright remnants, who could have killed them?"
"It is said to be the legendary Dragon-Protecting Pavilion."
Mu Lingxi's father, Yunzheng, had a pale face. "Zhang Ruochen acts completely recklessly, without regard for consequences. Now that he has such a powerful force under his command, on the seventh day of next month, Mount Wuding will likely erupt into a life-and-death battle."
"Why should we fear him? If Zhang Ruochen dares to come to Mount Wuding, we don't even need to act. The Fire Clan will deal with him. Is the Fire Clan's strength necessarily inferior to the Sacred Bright remnants?"
...
In the Saintess Palace, Qi Feiyu also told this news to Lin Suxian.
Lin Suxian's eyes narrowed slightly, and she burst out laughing. "Impressive. Truly worthy of being the Sacred Bright Crown Prince. He has courage and boldness. Haha, this way, on the seventh day of next month, Shi Qianjue will definitely pay a heavy price. Excellent, excellent."
"Will Zhang Ruochen really dare to come to Mount Wuding?" Qi Feiyu asked.
Lin Suxian said coldly, "Zhang Ruochen dared to destroy the Lingxiao Heavenly King's Mansion. Is there anything in this world he wouldn't dare to do? With this battle, his position as the Sacred Bright Crown Prince is secure."
"Moreover, after establishing his authority with this battle, even more remnants of the Sacred Bright Empire will gather on the seventh day of next month."
"I am very curious now. After Shi Qianjue learns the news, what expression will he have? Will he regret betrothing Mu Lingxi to Qiuyu? Zhang Ruochen is not like the Luo Xu of old, who could only charge up Mount Wuding alone, doing foolish things that led to his own death. Zhang Ruochen commands thousands of troops. With a single command, forces from all directions will respond. The people in the sect must be under tremendous pressure now."
...
The cultivators of the Central Imperial City were also shocked. The officials of the six ministries of the imperial court were all astonished.
A prince of the imperial clan said furiously, "What is going on? Such a major event happened, and we received no news at all? Is someone secretly helping that Sacred Bright Crown Prince, suppressing the information, trying to destroy our Chi clan?"
Someone said sarcastically, "The one currently stationed in the Yuanchu Sacred Hall is the Sacred Bright Crown Prince's ex-wife. Even if she secretly helps the Sacred Bright Crown Prince, it would be perfectly normal."
"A mere saint holds all the power of the Kunlun Realm. If it weren't for the Empress's divine decree ordering us to obey her, I would have cut her down with one slash long ago."
...
In the Yuanchu Sacred Hall, Huang Yanchen read the message talisman handed to her by Shengshu Cainü and heard the voices of the imperial clan princes and the Heavenly Kings of the Ministry of War outside the hall. She bit her lip tightly. "He... is he trying to tear the sky apart? Doesn't he know that opposing the imperial court will only lead to death?"
Shengshu Cainü could fully understand Huang Yanchen's feelings at that moment. In fact, she herself had been shocked when she first heard the news.
Destroying the Lingxiao Heavenly King's Mansion would undoubtedly enrage the imperial court. With the strength and foundation the court had accumulated over the past few hundred years, no matter how many experts the Sacred Bright Empire had, they could not withstand it.
Moreover, having killed so many ancestors and princes of the imperial clan, how could the Empress spare him when she returned?
Shengshu Cainü said, "According to the news I received, Zhang Ruochen did not restore the kingdom in Shengming City. Instead, he took all his remnants into a place called the Qiankun Realm. There are even rumors that the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree is also in the Qiankun Realm. Of course, the accuracy of this information cannot be confirmed yet."
Huang Yanchen straightened her back, refusing to be crushed by the news. She said solemnly, "Such a major event happened, yet the Heavenly Chessboard did not give any warning. If we had discovered it in advance, we might have been able to stop him, and he wouldn't have gone completely to the opposite side of us, or even the entire Kunlun Realm."
Shengshu Cainü said, "Someone used supreme divine power to obscure the heavenly secrets, so the Heavenly Chessboard detected nothing. That person's spiritual power is even stronger than the Hall Master of the Undying Divine Temple. Even I cannot fathom how the Kunlun Realm could have such a terrifying figure."
Huang Yanchen said, "What do we do now? Even if Zhang Ruochen has hidden himself, he will still appear on the seventh day of next month. Will the members of the imperial clan, the Heavenly Kings of the Ministry of War, and the Confucian ministers in the court let him off? Do they really want me to lead the imperial army and personally go to annihilate him?"
Shengshu Cainü sighed deeply. "Before the Empress left, the first divine decree she issued was for the entire court to obey you. All other divine decrees come after this one. So the choice is yours. Perhaps the Empress saw through some things long ago, guessed that such a day would come, and deliberately tempered your heart."
Shengshu Cainü left the Yuanchu Sacred Hall, leaving only Huang Yanchen sitting alone in the empty hall.
Walking out of the Ziwei Palace, Shengshu Cainü, dressed in a Confucian robe like a handsome scholar, headed toward the Qinghong Pavilion.
A year ago, Shengshu Cainü had met Zhang Ruochen here.
The environment here was quiet and secluded, with green bamboo planted everywhere, like another world compared to the chaos outside.
She walked deep into the Qinghong Pavilion until she reached a peach tree, where she paused slightly.
"Hua—"
Shengshu Cainü took another step. At the tip of her foot, ripples like water appeared, and then her entire body passed through the ripples, entering a strange realm.
Before her now was also a peach tree.
But this peach tree was enormous, with a trunk diameter of over ten miles. It grew all the way into the clouds, its height unknown—perhaps it had even grown beyond the universe.
"Grandfather, the outside world is in chaos again. The Empress is not here. Won't you go out and take control?" Shengshu Cainü clasped her hands together and bowed deeply to the peach tree before her.
An aged voice sounded, spreading across the entire realm. "They are all just juniors making a small commotion. Your grandfather has lived for thousands of years. Wouldn't it be laughable for me to meddle in such trivial matters? Besides, my duty is to guard the new heavenly earth spirit root of the Kunlun Realm, the Peach Tree. Let you juniors handle the rest yourselves. Eight hundred years, a full eight hundred years. Among you juniors, some figures should have emerged by now, capable of standing on their own and holding up a piece of the sky."