Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1469 The Righteous Path to Survival

While inspecting the area, Chen Chuan noticed a detail.

That is, apart from the first one which is Emperor Taizu of the Chang Dynasty, the other two of these three portraits of emperors seem to be from the imperial family.

These two, however, wore imperial robes and bore the title of emperor, standing alongside him. He could roughly guess that these two were likely the upper echelons of the Chang Dynasty, so their status must have been posthumously conferred by later generations.

The portrait is placed here not only for worship or to indicate identity, but also to deter and intimidate outsiders.

Because if a portrait touches the attention of those in power, it will undoubtedly attract their attention, and most people will be wary of it. This is undoubtedly the best way to protect oneself.

However, putting aside whether the upper echelons of the Chang Dynasty still exist, even if they do, now that it is the Great Shun Republic, they might not dare to show themselves.

At that moment, with a thought, all three portraits above floated up and landed to the side, and nothing happened.

Once the cover was removed, three gilded lacquered wooden boxes were revealed in the niche behind.

His eyes flickered slightly, and the three boxes floated out from among them, slowly coming to him, their lids opening on their own.

Inside were plates covered with cloths of different colors, from left to right: white, red, and blue.

After removing the covering cloth, three white jade pieces were revealed underneath, which also had intricate and dense patterns, exactly the same as the Celestial Secret Diagram he had seen not long ago.

Regardless of the three in front of him, or the ones he had just obtained from Mi Zhuzi, they were all roughly the same size and appearance, and there were exactly three of them.

Is this a coincidence? Or is there some other reason?

However, there are some differences. The three in front of him have no cracks and are very similar to the picture of the secret map that Gao Xinjian showed him.

In addition, these three were actually slightly smaller than the ones given by Mi Zhuzi. Most people might not be able to tell the difference, but it was very obvious to him.

What is the reason for this?
Is the problem with the cracks?

If that's the case, could these cracks be related to obtaining the secret map bloodline?

This number corresponds exactly to the three people he knew: Emperor Wenguang, Prince Lin, and Prince Yong.

Similarly, he couldn't sense anything special from it, but now that it was in his hands, he could study it slowly.

Unlike the three secret maps that Mi Zhuzi gave him, the owner of these secret maps was Senior Cao, so there was no need to hand them over afterwards.

At this moment, it also occurred to me that Empress Cao had specifically requested that this secret treasure be handed over to Senior Cao, so she might have known, intentionally or unintentionally, what was hidden here.

In fact, if an ordinary person could obtain the secret map's bloodline, they might be able to soar to great heights.

After glancing around a few more times and confirming that nothing had been missed, he put all the jade pieces away.
Just as they were about to leave, the three portraits of emperors placed to the side suddenly burst into flames and quickly turned to ashes.

Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow. Was this a deliberate attempt to assert his presence? It seemed that the upper echelons of the Chang Dynasty hadn't completely disappeared, but it was hard to say exactly how much remained.

He didn't look at it any further and left directly. As for the other things, he would leave them there for now and deal with them when he had time later.

At this very moment, on the other side of the merging land, three airships painted with the Gay family crest are speeding towards the sea.

Gai Shuhe stood on the airship with a sullen face; he had been standing there motionless for a long time.

At this moment, a spirited woman who looked to be in her early twenties came up behind him, looked at him, and said:
“Father, the false dynasty is powerful, and even Youdu has fallen. Our Gai family resisted the army of Da Shun for ten days on its own. Nine out of ten of our Gai family’s troops were lost. We have already done our duty to His Majesty. People like the Wang and Geng families surrendered to the false dynasty as soon as they heard the news.”

Gai Shuhe snorted and said mockingly, "The pseudo-dynasty is different from the previous dynasties. It will not accept them. They can only survive for a while."

He raised his head slightly, "But that's not what I'm thinking about."

The woman asked in confusion, "Then who is your father...?"

Gai Shuhe sighed and said, “Since the beginning of the Gai family, we have prospered for more than 500 years. It should not fall into ruin in my generation. The journey to the land where the mainland and the sea meet is long and dangerous. I really have no confidence to overcome this difficulty.”

The woman said, “Father, with the help of your son and brother, we will surely be able to overcome these vast waves and allow our Gai family to flourish in the mainland.”

Gai Shuhe said, "Among the next generation, only you, Ying'er, have a chance to become a Xuanji martial artist. As for your brothers, I never count on them. Just don't cause trouble for your father."

Just then, they saw a white floating line stretching into the distance on the sea ahead, seemingly without end.

He perked up and said, "We're almost at White Firefly Road. Have everyone get ready and let your Shengbo's airship go first."

"Yes, father."

Gai Shuhe took a few steps forward and stared at the white line.

Traveling from the Eastern Continent to the Southern Continent in the merging lands is almost impossible, as the immeasurable ocean separates the two continents.

Actually, if it were just that, it wouldn't be so bad. There are islands in the ocean, so we can just hide on one for a while.

The problem is that this sea is teeming with powerful alien species, some of which are truly enormous. He had witnessed them several times before; they were so large they blotted out the sky, and ordinary Xuanji martial artists were powerless against them. Therefore, once he entered the ocean, he had to find land to survive. Fortunately, there was a sleeping "Night Firefly Lord" in this ocean. This creature sleeps for a thousand years and likes to sleep across two continents. Theoretically, as long as he followed this creature, he could reach the other side of the land, which was very likely the Yinglu Continent, or at least a giant continent.

When the Gai clan entered Jiaorong, they looked at the current dynasty based on the precedent of the previous dynasty and felt that the Ding dynasty would most likely be wiped out by the Da Shun dynasty. Since the Gai clan could not perish with it, they kept thinking about a way out.

During their exploration at sea, they happened to see this strange creature and were overjoyed. They then secretly devised a grand plan.

When "Lord Nightfire" is in slumber, even large alien species dare not approach him casually. If there are Xuanji martial artists present, dealing with some small alien species is not difficult, so overall it is still quite safe.

Over the years, none of the Gai family members who have gone to search for it have ever reached the end. So this journey may be extremely long, but only by going this way can they escape their pursuers and find a way to survive.

At this moment, one of the three airships accelerated forward and quickly distanced itself from the main ship. However, just as it was about to approach the white line, the sound of machine guns suddenly erupted, and some warriors from the Gai family leaped onto the sea surface and began fighting with some people.

After a while, the fighting subsided.

Gai Shuhe pointed to the lower realm token and asked in a deep voice, "Who is it?"

On each of the three main airships, there were field creatures responsible for transmitting signals. This was the most advanced field equipment that the Gai clan had purchased from the Western Continent. Upon hearing his question, they immediately replied, "Clan leader, we have checked and it is likely a remnant of the previous dynasty."

"Remnants of the Chang Dynasty?"

Gai Shuhe felt relieved, as long as it wasn't someone from Da Shun. Just then, he heard someone across from him sneer, "Aren't you just like us?"

He frowned, not because of the way the other person addressed him, but because he felt there was something implied in their words.

He suddenly felt uneasy again and immediately instructed the airship pilot, "Don't follow behind, speed up and get into the White Firefly Path as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

But as the airship sped forward, his unease did not subside; instead, it gradually intensified.

A few minutes later, he suddenly noticed something and turned his head sharply. Something seemed to flash in mid-air, and then with a loud bang, the last remaining airship turned into a huge fireball in mid-air, rushing towards them with a wave of heat and debris.

His expression changed abruptly, and he said to everyone, "You all go first." Then, his body flashed with the light of spiritual fire, and he leaped out of the airship, landing on the ground with a thud.

A beam of light flashed a few times and appeared in front of him, followed by a man with a mocking smile and a tuft of white hair on his forehead.

He wore his peaked cap askew, his uniform was open at the chest, and a long cigarette was dangling from his mouth. He took out a lighter with one hand, lit it with a snap, took a puff, and then slowly exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

Then he said, "Gai Shuhe?"

He nodded, straightened his peaked cap, coughed, and said, "I won't let you get away. You're the person Commander Chen specifically asked for."

"Commander Chen?"

Gai Shuhe's heart sank, realizing he was referring to Chen Chuan. He was both shocked and furious, for this was a disciple of the Dongxuan Temple!

He never expected that he, a general who was conquering the country, would actually attract the attention of a Dongxuan Temple.

He felt both incredulous and somewhat aggrieved.

is it necessary?

Could it be because I ran away back in Jibei Province?

Completely baffled, he couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

"you ask me?"

The man shrugged. "How would I know? Anyway, the higher-ups specifically asked for you. Why don't you go back and ask Commander Chen yourself? Hmm, are you going to obediently come back with me, or should I take care of it?"
"Oh, let me introduce myself. I am Huo Zhuifeng, Chief Inspector of the Patrol Bureau. I am the most skilled tracker in Da Shun; no one in the entire Da Shun is better at finding people than me."

He tapped Gaishuhe with the hand holding the cigarette, "You won't escape from me..."

As he spoke, his voice came from behind, "Don't even think about running away with your pets."

Gai Shuhe was startled, for Huo Zhuifeng had vanished from ahead. His pupils constricted sharply. "This speed... the Longevity Temple?!"

He gritted his teeth, and his spiritual fire burst forth, instantly soaring into the sky.

Huo Zhuifeng sighed and said with some melancholy, "Why bother? I told you you couldn't escape, why didn't you believe me? Hmm, twelve hopes, and one is in the sea."

"Huh, this has been buried for a hundred or two hundred years, hasn't it? Is this the remains of your ancestor? No wonder you won't admit defeat. Sigh, this will take a while... well... three seconds then."

As he spoke, his body transformed into wisps of divine energy, flying off in all directions.

……

……

(End of this chapter)