Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1443 Stepping into the Palace, Recalling the Past

After seeing these remains, Chen Chuan realized that the concubines and princes he had seen following Emperor Wen Guang on the other two routes were probably fake.

This may have been created by using some original body tissues and combining them with certain secret techniques.

Why did Emperor Wenguang kill these concubines and princes here?

To say that they killed his wife and daughters in advance to preserve the royal family's dignity and prevent them from being humiliated would be incorrect. Judging from the situation, it has been at least a year since then. A year ago, the Shun dynasty had not yet attacked, so there was no need to do such a thing.

Is it really to gain the loyalty of the legendary Serpent-Splitter? It's probably not that simple.

Ming Chengzi pondered for a moment, then made a hand seal, and a mirror of light appeared above him, from which a beam of light shone down.

This is the art of "true appraisal," which allows one to see a great deal of information about certain objects that one can understand. People with a broad knowledge base and extensive experience usually benefit more from using it.

After watching for a while, he roughly understood and couldn't help but sigh, whether it was regret or mockery, he didn't know.

He looked up and said, “Xuanji, this must be the false emperor’s way of preparing the ’blood pill’ for his own rites of ascension to immortality.”

"Blood Pill?"

Ming Chengzi said, "You may not have heard of Xuanji. This is not a sacrificial pill used to assist in cultivation or ascension to immortality."

He pointed downwards.

"If a person refines this pill with the blood, flesh, essence, and vital energy of a close relative, it can please some gods and ghosts. Among the ancient gods and ghosts, this thing was especially favored."

If such a deity or spirit were to guide this person from the other side, the false emperor's path to immortality would likely be much more successful. I suspect this is most likely due to the matchmaker, Tengfei.

Chen Chuan asked, "Does Gao Gong know the origin of this Tengfei?"

Ming Chengzi shook his head and said, "I am not very clear about his identity, but the first one to be conferred a title by my Xuanjiao was the Boshe. When my Xuanjiao and Chanjiao were fighting for the orthodox lineage, my sect suffered a temporary defeat, and many conferred gods and monsters switched to Chanjiao, including this Boshe."

These people possess the art of deception, and because of this skill, and because they joined the sect early, they later became one of the six protectors of the Chan (Zen) sect. They frequently served as messengers of the Chan sect, traveling far and wide, relaying messages between the two worlds, and thus gained considerable knowledge of many celestial beings and spirits. Now, with the blood elixir and the splitting serpent, things are most likely as described.”

Chen Chuan nodded slightly. He did remember that the secret technique used by Emperor Wen Guang in the end should be a method of the Chan sect, but the Chan sect did not show up this time.

Looking at the previous actions of the Chan sect, it seems that it did not directly participate in the struggle between various forces, but it had some interaction with all parties. It is hard to say what its specific ideas were, but it was mostly to make arrangements for the arrival of the great collision.

Now that he understood the situation, he didn't intend to look any further. He turned and walked out, planning to instruct people to clean up the place and perform some purification rituals later.

This isn't to say that these people are receiving any special treatment; they're not much more noble than the soldiers and civilians who died in Youdu City. But this is a place of convergence, and with the approaching Great Collision, those who died in special locations and under special circumstances are likely to experience abnormalities.

If that's the case, then it's troublesome; it's better to deal with it in advance.

But then he suddenly thought of something. When he was observing earlier, he didn't see anyone dressed as an empress inside. Could Empress Cao be inside as well?

We'll have someone take an inventory later and then we'll know for sure.

Beyond the stone palace lies a secluded bamboo forest, with only a few paths leading to the low hills behind it; beyond that, one exits the forest garden.

Once outside, a slight shift of the gaze naturally reveals a cluster of palace buildings in the northwest corner.

This area is hidden among the rolling hills and is not very noticeable from the ground, but when viewed from the sky, it appears orderly, solemn, and well-structured.

And there, too, there was a force blocking their spiritual observation.

Unlike previous buildings that used materials to conceal this force, this force was a continuous, albeit very subtle, force that lingered there.

After Chen Chuan and the others arrived, they looked ahead and saw a straight road leading to a high hill. There were some stone figures and statues on both sides of the road, and further out, there were neat and tall ancient trees with intertwined branches and lush green shade.

The road was paved with clean and flat tiles, and every ten steps or so there was a dragon relief. At the end was an open palace gate, and under the eaves stood two huge golden-armored generals.

This is clearly a field simulation. However, due to various interferences, these field simulations are very rare in the fusion region because they consume a lot of resources. Most of them are concentrated in the large cities of the fusion region. The fact that I have seen one here indicates that the place ahead is quite important and special.

After examining the layout, Ming Chengzi said with certainty, "Xuanji, this should be the ancestral temple of the Yuan clan, a place where the two Yuan clan ancestors are enshrined. If they want to communicate with their ancestors, they must come here."

Chen Chuan hummed in agreement, glanced at the buildings on the hilltop, and said, "Let's go take a look."

They floated into the air and, in a matter of moments, crossed the long road and landed before the palace. It was magnificent and solemn, constructed entirely of the finest stone, and guarded by exotic birds.

These birds seemed to have been given some kind of drug. They had been standing still, but as soon as the group approached, they became agitated. Their eyes turned bloodshot, and they were not afraid of the group of people who were all martial artists from the Dongxuan Temple. They flapped their wings and rushed forward.

The result was that they died on the spot as soon as they entered their territory, falling headfirst to the ground. Because there were so many of them, it was like a rain of birds.

Chen Chuan glanced at it casually, then stepped into the front hall, crossed the square, and arrived in front of a large hall.

Upon arriving, he gestured for Mu Xiaoren and another accompanying fighter to remain outside, while he and Ming Chengzi went inside. Inside the hall, they saw two statues, each over ten meters tall, standing side-by-side. Both figures had square faces and large ears, and wore the official robes and hats of the Dingchao dynasty.

When Naruko saw the two statues, his expression froze.

The fact that the two statues actually glanced at them, with a hint of coldness in their eyes, was definitely not an illusion, but rather the aura left behind by a higher power.

He paused involuntarily.

Chen Chuan, seemingly unaffected, walked straight to the two statues, looked up to meet their gazes, and after a moment, spoke:

"You two must be the ancestors of the Yuan clan. Now that the dynasty has fallen, you two can move out of here. If you are unwilling, I can send you off on your own."

The gazes of the two statues grew colder.

Chen Chuan stood still and waited for a while. Seeing that the two still had no reaction, he nodded and said, "It seems that neither of you has any objections. Then let's leave it at that."

He raised his hand and flicked his finger at the two statues. Instantly, two beams of light fell upon them, and the two statues shattered and scattered into a pile of dust. However, it could be seen that the dust was actually golden.

These two statues are actually made entirely of gold.

Ming Chengzi was shocked. These were two high-ranking forces, yet they treated them like this...

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Xuanji, this..."

Just as they were speaking, two malevolent auras suddenly descended from above, instantly enveloping them, as if the owner of that power was about to arrive at any moment.

As a divine being, Ming Chengzi felt this deeply, and under the stimulation, the spiritual fire within him involuntarily emanated outwards.

Chen Chuan, however, was not afraid at all. Even when the same aura pressed down on him, he remained calm.

After a while, the two waves of malice slowly subsided.

Ming Chengzi then relaxed and withdrew his spiritual fire.

Chen Chuan stood there, his back to Ming Chengzi, looking up and saying, "Master Ming Chengzi, there's no need to pay too much attention to these two. The upper echelons of my Great Shun have been searching for them all along."

"If they had actually come looking for me, that would have been a good thing, but now it seems they don't have the guts."

Upon hearing this, Ming Chengzi couldn't help but cast a look of admiration at Chen Chuan. Even though he knew that what Chen Chuan said made sense, how many people would dare to do it?
As a member of the Dongxuan Temple, if Chen Chuan wanted to break through the limits, he would definitely have to go to the other side for cultivation. Just thinking about being targeted by two higher-level forces made his scalp tingle.

Chen Chuan didn't care about that. Even if he didn't do that, as the commander-in-chief of the conquering state, did he think these two people wouldn't keep an eye on him?

Besides, there are far more things the other side will be eyeing than just these two, so what difference does it make if there are two more?
After waiting for a while, the lingering aura that had been hindering the spirit disappeared, seemingly vanishing along with the broken statue.

However, there were some very valuable offerings around, which the people in charge of handling them later took inventory of.

Seeing that there was nothing else amiss, he walked out of there, at which point a spiritual message came from afar.

"Commander, we've made a discovery here. Perhaps you should come and take a look." As he spoke, the other side reported another set of coordinates.

Upon hearing this, Chen Chuan's implant immediately displayed the location based on the coordinates. It was a large forest park located in the northeast of the city.

In fact, they had already discovered this place, but it was some distance from Youdu and had not been garrisoned there before, so it was not within their main focus.

It seems there might be something hidden now.

He immediately took to the air and flew towards that direction, and Ming Chengzi, Mu Xiaoren, and the others also immediately followed.

Before long, an exquisite royal garden appeared below, where countless lanterns were lit to the sky, creating a scene resembling sunlight in the real world.

The pavilions below are layered, the corridors meander, and the shadows of the eaves flow between the water bridges, creating a scene that is both magnificent and elegant.

Chen Chuan asked, "What's this place called?"

Ming Chengzi had been waiting for this moment, and upon hearing him speak, he immediately followed up with his own words:

"Xuanji, this is the Sleeping Dragon Villa built by the pseudo-dynasty on the site of the former dynasty's East Garden. The pseudo-emperor usually comes here to boat, enjoy himself, have banquets and admire lanterns. I heard that three years ago, he bestowed it upon Consort Teng as a separate palace."

……

……

(End of this chapter)