Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1442 Kim Hae-bong Alone

Chen Chuan reached out and took out an object from the implanted pouch. It was made of several finger-sized, smooth white jade pieces strung together, looking like a section of white lotus root.

"Moyun Lotus Root?"

Ming Chengzi's eyes lit up, but he didn't reach for it. Instead, he looked at Chen Chuanshuo with a solemn expression:
“Xuanji, I have said before that if I can kill the false emperor, I am willing to offer this treasure with both hands. Besides, I am just a lonely ghost after the destruction of the sect. How could I have the virtue to possess this thing? Even if I take it, I may not be able to keep it. I beg Xuanji to accept it.”

As he spoke, he bowed again to Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan nodded and said, "This thing is indeed useful to me, so I'll accept it."

This thing is indeed rare, a relic that he senses could be useful for breaking through the limits. Moreover, it seems to have undergone Emperor Wenguang's ascension ceremony, and contains another power, which seems to attract him even more.

Ming Chengzi was very happy to have delivered the gifts. Although Chen Chuan didn't say anything, he figured that he now had a place to go when he sought refuge with Da Shun.

Chen Chuan roughly flipped through the scriptures here. Most of them were ancient secrets to becoming an immortal, and there were quite a few cultivation methods as well. Many of them were rare copies lost by the Xuanjiao sect, and some of them he had also seen at the Tianji sect.

Now he knows which direction he should strive for next, so these books are just to broaden his horizons and knowledge.

However, there are quite a few portraits of ancient deities here, which are somewhat different from those seen at the Tianji Sect.

That's quite normal. The deities who remain in the world change with the rise and fall of dynasties, and are also subject to the influence of certain forces.

Speaking of which, he did not see the three ancient rulers, including An Shijun, this time, nor did he see their portraits here. It seems that with the abilities of these ancient deities, Emperor Wenguang could not restrain them.

Since none of these things were particularly important, he recorded the situation here using the external implant and continued walking towards the back, which was also located within the area that blocked the mind.

Pushing open the door to the next palace room, a fragrant aroma of medicine immediately filled the air. Inside, there were jars of all sizes and neatly categorized drawers, each labeled with an image and a tag.

This is a pill-making room.

Chen Chuan glanced at it and noticed a long table in front of him, on which were placed various porcelain bowls and bronze vessels.

These are the only items without labels, but they must be important; otherwise, they wouldn't be placed in such an important position.

He asked, "Master Gao is a member of the Xuanjiao sect and an expert in this field. Can you tell what this is?"

Ming Chengzi looked around from the outside first, then went up, nodded, and gently lifted the jar up.

He flicked his sleeve to remove the seal, and saw a wisp of light drift out. He was startled and immediately closed the seal again.

He said with a hint of surprise, "This is 'Ascension Water'! Emperor Wenguang is truly audacious!"

He turned around and explained to Chen Chuan.

The so-called Ascension Water is a elixir made by killing or destroying gods and monsters, mixing their remaining essence with some rare materials, and finally refining and blending it.

This substance can be consumed directly or used for alchemy. It can generally replace some of the daily cultivation of Xuanji martial artists. However, most importantly, long-term consumption can help cultivators comprehend higher realms and make it easier to break through limits. This is especially useful for fighters of the Divine Aspect and the Extraordinary Aspect.

"I say Emperor Wen Guang is bold, for he has refined this jar..." Ming Chengzi held up the jar in his hands, "often requiring several deities..."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and examined the dozen or so utensils placed on the long table one by one. Finally, he said with some alarm, "The mystery is that everything placed here is this water."

Chen Chuanshuo: "Oh? All of them?"

Ming Chengzi nodded, then shook his head and said, "That's really bold. Killing an ancient god would inevitably lead to being cursed by such beings. That false emperor really doesn't care about anything in order to ascend to immortality."

Chen Chuan knew this. The ancient gods were particularly skilled in methods of erosion and transformation, and used them to form many secret arts similar to incantations. Some of these arts were even closely integrated with their own existence, and would be activated immediately once their bodies perished.

This is also a method that these people gradually mastered in order to avoid being eliminated.

Eliminating one or two might not be a big deal, but if you take too many hits and don't have the ability to protect yourself, the damage will inevitably accumulate and eventually harm your own Xuanji martial artists.

But I suppose Emperor Wenguang doesn't really care.

Ming Chengzi then put down the jar, took a few steps back, and revealed a mocking expression on his face.

The old imperial family often sought to balance between the ancient deities and their Xuan Sect, and these ancient deities played a significant role in destroying their Dragon Supporting Faction.

But in the end, it was still refined into elixir water!

He could easily have guessed that Zen Buddhism was behind this, but looking at it now, it's ironic that Zen Buddhism didn't win in the end.

Suddenly, he thought of something, took a few more steps, and came to a certain chest and drawer cabinet. He searched around there and finally found a copybook.

He opened it and looked at it, saying, "So that's how it is, so that's how it is!" Then he walked back and presented it to Chen Chuan with both hands, saying, "Xuanji, please take a look."

Chen Chuan took it and glanced through it before discovering that it was a record of refining Ascension Water, including how to obtain it and the refining process.

But the most important thing is actually the process. As it says here, the "elixir formula" was originally presented by the Duan Chen Sect. His thoughts shifted; the Duan Chen Sect's intentions were quite intriguing. Considering the anomalies already laid by the old imperial family, this elixir formula seemed to have hit the mark perfectly.

Given the existing power structure of the old dynasty, the ancient deities were greatly weakened, and the Duanchen Sect and the Chan Sect were in a state of equilibrium. No one could dominate the world. In the end, it can be said that only the imperial family benefited the most.

He also saw that Emperor Wenguang had originally ordered Prince Lin to kill the ancient gods.

Later, the gods, led by the Three Ancient Sovereigns, sent messengers to question him. Emperor Wenguang claimed that it was all the work of King Lin alone, and in order to give them an explanation, he had King Lin, who was exorcising the evil spell, worn away his spirit.

Judging from the subsequent outcome, Emperor Wenguang had long intended to use Prince Lin as a protective vessel. In this way, he could obtain the Ascension Water, take Prince Lin's body, and also give an explanation to the Three Sovereigns—truly a clever scheme.

Ming Chengzi said with a mocking expression, "I suppose those ancient gods couldn't possibly be unaware of that false emperor's plans."

However, I have heard that the false emperor has relaxed the laws of the dynasty and allowed his people to worship gods. With such benefits, I am afraid he will only turn a blind eye.

I suspect the false emperor saw through their outward strength but inner weakness based on this, which is why he took that last risky step.

Chen Chuan hummed in agreement. The situation here in Jiaorong is complex, with multiple forces intertwined. However, Emperor Wenguang is able to gain all the benefits, which is ultimately due to his status as the strongest force.

If it weren't for the progressive faction on the Da Shun side making the decision to overthrow the old dynasty, he might actually have succeeded.

He had the implant record these details.

As for the things here, he wasn't interested in the Ascension Water. Humans had the least need for it, and besides, the water didn't taste very good; it might have some side effects.

Let's seal it up for now and send it back together after we've tallied and inventoried everything.

After visiting this place, they moved on to the next one.

Behind them was still a pharmacy, but it contained various resources needed by fighters and martial artists for their training.

There were also record books here. After Ming Chengzi found them, he silently calculated them and came up with an astonishing number: these reserves were enough to support a martial arts group of 10,000 people, ten Xuanji martial artists, three Changsheng Temple practitioners, and one Dongxuan Temple practitioner.

According to the records of entry and exit from the warehouse, every certain period of time, the herbs that have been stored for too long are removed and new ones are brought in, so that the overall quantity is kept within a certain range.

All of this came from the royal hunting grounds, plantations, and medicinal fields, so it all belonged to the emperor personally.

Chen Chuan felt that, in Emperor Wen Guang's eyes, these probably weren't anything of great value.

Because the group that represented the emperor when they set out did not carry many cultivation medicines.

Of course, it's also possible that other places have even more amazing reserves, so there's no need to worry.

Indeed, what we see before us is astonishing to an individual, but it is nothing to the country as a whole.

He remembered that a rift had been opened up in Haixi Road, and there was probably something there.

Once everything here is thoroughly investigated, he will not overlook the other side.

After exiting from here, there is a stone path leading straight to the back of the mountain, where there is also a set of defenses against spiritual energy fields, which we must check out.

After passing through the stone path, we arrived at the place and found a separate stone palace. The ground around it was covered with fallen leaves, which looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a long time, which seemed very unusual.

Once the stone door blocking the way was pushed open, a putrid smell immediately wafted out from the inner room.

What came into their view were piles of white bones, some of which were dressed in the clothes of palace maids and concubines, and some of which were relatively young skeletons.

Ming Chengzi examined the wound and said with great certainty, "The flesh is rotten but the bones are firm, and the top of the head is red. This is caused by the poison of the snake, and it is very likely that it was done by Consort Teng who follows Emperor Wenguang."

Chen Chuan suddenly realized that the one who had just fought with the simulated body was Teng Fei.

Is it a snake?
He didn't recognize it at first, because there were too many of these snake-bodied immortals and monsters to count.

Now that it's been pointed out, he couldn't help but think of the legend that this kind of snake could transform into a human body and was extremely loyal to people, but in order to raise it, the owner needed to feed it with the flesh and blood of his own relatives.

Ming Chengzi walked inside, picked up a jade ring with the character "悦" (yue) written on it.

Judging from the clothing on the skeleton, this was clearly Consort Yue, bestowed the title by Emperor Wenguang. A jade ring was then taken from another skeleton; it bore the character "婕" (Jie), indicating that this was Consort Jie.

He shook his head. Who would have thought that those concubines and princes who followed Emperor Wenguang were actually just a pile of bones?

……

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(End of this chapter)