Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1431 Suspicious Clues about the Tobacco Cloth

Chen Chuan glanced at Emperor Wen Guang and, judging from his aura alone, he was at the level of the Dongxuan Temple.

This is probably one of the few people since the beginning of the dynasty who has ascended to the throne as a martial artist with profound knowledge.

It is only when the old and new eras are changing and many established things are broken that such a possibility arises; otherwise, no one would tolerate someone who holds the power of infinite life sitting on the throne.

This means that all resources will eventually be concentrated in it, and overly concentrated and extremely stable power will in turn suppress the whole society, and the consequences are unpredictable.

Judging from the information provided by Ming Chengzi, Emperor Wenguang was quite talented, and as the emperor, he had access to so many resources that he could have built himself up to this level.

As for his specific combat strength, it is difficult to judge at the moment, but looking at this person, he always has a strange feeling.

When Emperor Wenguang heard Mingchengzi's question, he glanced at the latter, his expression indifferent. He did not give the latter any further response and quickly looked away, seemingly ignoring him.

Finally, he looked at Chen Chuan. Although he didn't speak, the eunuch at the door seemed to know his intention and immediately moved to face Chen Chuan:
"This must be General Chen, the Xuanji General of the Shun Dynasty? His Majesty said that Chen Xuanji is not of the Secret Diagram bloodline, yet he was able to easily suppress Prince Yong. Could he be a reincarnation of a deity or a celestial being?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Linghuai and Mu Xiaoren's expressions became more serious.

Of course, those of their level and status would also know about the secret bloodline.

To their surprise, the Prince Yong was actually the possessor of the Secret Map bloodline, and Chen Chuan defeated him in a short time. At the same time, they realized the other party's sinister intentions.

They were well aware of what this bloodline meant, and they also knew how much the various factions and governments valued such figures. If Chen Chuan could defeat this person, would he be welcomed or ostracized upon his return? How would those with the Secret Chart bloodline view him? These were all difficult questions to answer.

For the ambitious faction, Chen Chuan's current importance was self-evident. So they exchanged a glance and secretly resolved to pretend they hadn't heard those words.

As for Ming Chengzi, Mu Xiaoren was already thinking about how to make him swear an oath to keep quiet afterward. If that couldn't be done, then he would try to get rid of him.

Chen Chuan then changed his mind. It seemed that Prince Yong was indeed the owner of the secret map bloodline. As for the fact that some people in the Great Shun were wary of him after the news of his victory spread, he didn't care at all.

Prince Yong was the first member of the Secret Chart bloodline to die at his hands, but he would certainly not be the last.

In today's battle, the opponent was unable to unleash his true power. He felt as if the opponent was a defective product. If someone who could truly utilize his abilities were willing to come to him, he would be very happy to do so.

He gazed at Emperor Wen Guang and said calmly, "Wen Guang, you should know that you can't leave now. I hope you will think it through yourself."

Emperor Wenguang remained silent, and the old eunuch said, "Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, the supreme ruler of ten thousand chariots, how could you possibly surrender?"

He said very solemnly, "Chen Xuanji, His Majesty would never do such a thing that would disgrace the ancestors and the state."

After the old eunuch finished speaking, he turned around, knelt down, and kowtowed to Emperor Wenguang, saying:
"Your Majesty, this old servant will take his leave first."

After saying this, blood seeped from his face, his body swayed, and he fell to the ground.

And his body quickly melted away, turning into something like wax in an instant. Even his clothes were completely dissolved, with only a rather conspicuous jade pendant falling out.

Chen Chuan and the others had already figured it out; this person was just an ordinary Xuanji martial artist, and it was probably only because of that jade pendant that he was able to block Jiang Linghuai's mental attack.

Emperor Wenguang then stood up from his throne and looked at the three of them with a strange expression in his eyes.

Suddenly, wisps of green smoke rose from his body, then increased in number, and within a few breaths, his entire body turned into drifting smoke until he disappeared completely, leaving only a gray-white Xuan Shi robe and the jade hairpin in his hair lying on the ground.

The moment Chen Chuan stood up, that strange and incongruous feeling reached its peak.

The moment the divine aura emanated from him, he accurately judged that the Emperor Wen Guang in front of him was a wisp of divine aura. In this light, Emperor Wen Guang was following the path of the divine form.

I just couldn't tell the difference at all before.

His gaze lingered briefly on the jade hairpin; it must have been some kind of lost object.

So where is the real Emperor Wenguang? Did he choose to take that path? Or was he somewhere else?
Emperor Wenguang went to so much trouble to arrange this whole show; surely there must be some purpose behind it? It couldn't just be a simple performance for them.

Jiang Linghuai turned to look at Ming Chengzi and said with great suspicion, "Ming Chengzi, is that really Emperor Wen Guang?"

He felt there was something strange and eerie about the scene, and the hidden information beneath it was something he couldn't get his hands on, which made him feel a bit frustrated.

Ming Chengzi said in a deep voice, "It is indeed this tyrant, but..." He then stepped forward, grabbed a wisp of green smoke that had not yet completely dissipated, and then pinched it between his fingers, causing silver sand to fall from between his fingers.

“Jade sand builds the body…” He seemed to have thought of something, and his brows furrowed immediately.

He turned and bowed to Chen Chuan, "Xuanji, may I go down to the rear cabin for a look?" Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Let's go together."

He had previously explored the area from the airship, and most of it was clearly visible. Only a small part was blocked by an isolating force, which was likely the location of the main figures besides Emperor Wen Guang.

In addition, the airship contained some rather special items, such as some rare small and medium-sized alien species, as well as some rare treasures from the fusion region.

These things may be quite valuable to ordinary people, but they have almost no value to them.

Walking along the corridor of the cabin, which was covered with a gorgeous carpet, it wasn't long before a closed cabin appeared ahead, surrounded by a large number of guards lying on the ground and extremely ferocious-looking alien creatures.

It's clear that this cabin was moved in entirely from the outside, as there are almost no openings except for the doors and windows, which are now closed.

Jiang Linghuai stepped forward, and under the influence of the field, the heavy door was forcibly opened amidst distortion and deformation.

Chen Chuan and the others thus saw what was inside.

One by one, women dressed in the attire of imperial concubines lay in pools of blood, except for one woman in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, who stood there holding a blood-dripping blade.

As the door opened, the woman slowly turned around. Her face was unusually pale, but her appearance was dignified and beautiful. Judging from her attire, this should be Empress Cao.

Upon seeing them, Empress Cao immediately held her long sword to her neck, but no one stepped forward to stop her. She slashed the sword forcefully, and blood gushed out instantly. Then the sword slipped from her hand, and she collapsed.

Chen Chuan waited there calmly. After a while, all of them, like Emperor Wen Guang, turned into wisps of smoke and dissipated, leaving only a ground covered in silver sand.

These people did not have the same concealment that Emperor Wenguang had, so he noticed their demeanor at first glance and naturally had no need to intervene.

Ming Chengzi stared intently, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

Chen Chuan said, "Mingcheng Gaogong, have you thought of something?"

Ming Chengzi did not answer immediately. After a while, he solemnly said, "Xuanji, I have some clues, but it is not appropriate to make a judgment at this time. I think we should return to Youdu as soon as possible."

Jiang Linghuai asked, "What? Is it a case of 'the cicada shedding its shell'?"

Ming Chengzi shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. The person just now was indeed Emperor Wen Guang, but only one part of him. As for the rest, that's up to my deduction."

Chen Chuan said, "I'll know when I get back." He said to Jiang Linghuai, "General Jiang, you stay here and guard this Fangzhang ship, those maids and palace servants, and all the items on board. Before I return, you must not let anyone leave or let anyone approach."

As for that rift, it needs to be reopened. As long as no one comes out, we don't need to worry about it.

Jiang Linghuai knew what he was wary of, and said solemnly, "Commander, rest assured, as long as I, Jiang Linghuai, am here, I guarantee that nothing will be allowed to approach or leave!"

Chen Chuan nodded, then said to Mu Xiaoren and Ming Chengzi, "Let's go back to Jiaorong first."

After speaking, he emerged from the airship, took off, and headed back towards Anbei Road. Mu Xiaoren and Ming Chengzi quickly followed.

Upon returning to the central city of Anbei Province, Chen Chuan's implant also received intelligence from the front lines of the Fusion Land.

He had previously arranged for a group of men to ambush the strange path, so that if Emperor Wenguang were to take that route, he would also be intercepted.

Intelligence indicates that this operation was indeed successful, as they successfully intercepted the royal entourage heading to the northern border.

Because there were almost no high-level fighters among the entourage, they did not encounter any decent battles.

The report stated that after stopping the train, they discovered that Emperor Wenguang and his consorts were on board.

They initially thought they had caught a big fish, but just minutes later, Emperor Wenguang and the rest of the royal family members who accompanied him all turned into smoke and vanished on the spot. Only Prince Qiong and his guards were unharmed; they have all been captured and are currently being interrogated using special methods.

After reading it, Chen Chuan pondered, "So this part is also fictitious?"

So where exactly is this person? Is he still in Youdu, or is there another way, or is there some other reason?
After a moment's thought, he told Mingchengzi about the interception and finally asked, "Master Mingcheng, can you discern Emperor Wenguang's true intentions based on this?"

……

……

(End of this chapter)