Long Wanyu’s residence, Heavenly Yin City:
Gu Hai waited for two days, but the people from the Huang Heavenly Dynasty did not come. In the meantime, Mu Chenfeng had collected a lot of information on the surrounding cultural cultivators.
Gu Hai carefully analyzed the information in the study.
“Hall Master, Mister Sima Changkong seeks an audience. This subordinate has already brought him to a side hall,” Mu Chenfeng reported.
“Oh?” Gu Hai felt slightly startled.
He got up and followed Mu Chenfeng to the side hall.
Sima Changkong was drinking tea in the side hall. He immediately stood up when Gu Hai arrived. “Mister Gu, sorry to impose on you.”
“Mister Sima, sorry for the wait.” Gu Hai immediately went forward while smiling.
“What are you saying? I’m the one who came without any notice. I hope that Mister Gu does not mind.” Sima Changkong smiled.
“How could I? Mister Sima, please, have a seat!” Gu Hai smiled as he sat down.
Then, Mu Chenfeng poured tea for the two.
“Mister Gu, would it be convenient to speak here?” Sima Changkong smiled as he looked at Gu Hai.
Gu Hai’s expression changed slightly. Then, he turned to Mu Chenfeng and said, “All of you withdraw and set up a sound barrier over this hall.”
“Yes!” Mu Chenfeng nodded and left.
Buzz!
Soon, a barrier appeared around the hall.
“Mister Sima, did you come because of Yuan Chu?” Gu Hai asked with a smile.
“Partly. Emperor Kong sent someone to seek out His Holy Eminence. Then, His Holy Eminence sent me as a spokesman to ask Mister Gu to show mercy. Furthermore, Mister Gu should have already extracted all the information that you wanted over the past two days,” Sima Changkong replied with a smile.
“Oh?” Gu Hai looked at Sima Changkong.
“We hope that Mister Gu will not pursue this matter too far,” Sima Changkong said with a slight change of expression.
Gu Hai remained silent for a while before nodding. “That’s fine.”
“Many thanks, Mister Gu!” Sima Changkong smiled.
“I’m sure Mister Sima did not come today just for Yuan Chu, right? Mister Sima could not possibly make a personal appearance for a mere Yuan Chu.” Gu Hai smiled.
Sima Changkong showed a faint, bitter smile and said, “Since His Holy Eminence ordered it, this humble one had to come.”
Some envy appeared in his eyes as he looked at Gu Hai.
“Will Mister Sima explain it clearly? Gu Hai will listen carefully,” Gu Hai said gravely, appearing to have realized something.
Sima Changkong smiled faintly. “It looks like Mister Gu guessed it long ago.”
“What did I guess?” Gu Hai asked.
“Alright, I won’t beat about the bush with Mister Gu anymore. His Holy Eminence sent me here to explain the Ten Thousand Sages Convention to you and be at your disposal,” Sima Changkong said gravely.
“Be at my disposal?”
“That’s right, be at your disposal. Not only that, I am to assist Mister Gu in getting first place and enter the Cultural Dao Sage Palace,” Sima Changkong said gravely.
“Assist me in getting first place? Hah! Mister Sima, the judges this time are Qian Nation officials? Are they going to help me cheat?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“If the judges were Qian Nation officials, why would we need to seek out Mister Gu?” Sima Changkong said with a bitter smile.
“Oh?”
“Although the Ten Thousand Sages Convention is being held in the Qian Heavenly Dynasty, aside from Old Mister Guan Qi’s exception during the previous one, it is usually the people of the three holy lands who get first place,” Sima Changkong said.
“Oh? The Myriad Age Daoist Sect, the Solar Divine Palace, and the Spirit Mountain Holy Land?” Gu Hai frowned heavily.
“That’s right. If we were to mention cheating, those three would be the true cheaters. So what if one’s cultural Dao is strong? It is useless even if it were stronger than theirs, as the eventual winner would normally be chosen out of those three,” Sima Changkong said.
“Why? Cheating?” Gu Hai raised his eyebrows.
“Something like that. It is because most of the judges come from those three places,” Sima Changkong explained.
“I don’t understand. The Qian Nation is hosting this Ten Thousand Sages Convention. Why are the judges from the three holy lands? Who are the judges?” Gu Hai asked with some doubt.
“The judges are the ten thousand sages,” Sima Changkong replied gravely.
“Ten thousand sages?”
“Ten thousand cultural Dao sages. All of them were cultural Dao sages who shook the world in the past. Many of them were cultural Dao sages who wrote holy Dao scriptures. The three holy lands are bringing the Future Scripture, the Supreme Ascendant Scripture, and the Supreme Genesis Scripture. Some of the judges had even participated in improving these holy Dao scriptures,” Sima Changkong said gravely.
“Wait, Mister Sima, you said cultural Dao sages who shook the world in the past. In the past? Are they already dead?” Gu Hai asked with some suspicion.
“They died long ago,” Sima Changkong replied with a bitter smile.
“Oh?” Gu Hai said.
“You are aware of a mortal’s three spiritual souls, right?”
“After one dies, one’s mortal soul remains by the grave or corpse, the earthly soul reincarnates, and the heavenly soul ascends to heaven.” Gu Hai nodded.
“That’s right.” Sima Changkong stared at Gu Hai.
Gu Hai’s pupils suddenly constricted. “Heavenly souls?”
“That’s right. These ten thousand sages are the heavenly souls of the past cultural Dao sages. Heaven pulled them out to guard the Cultural Dao Sage Palace,” Sima Changkong said.
“Heavenly souls? So, they really do exist in a place. Such a place really does exist?” Gu Hai’s face lit up with joy.
Gu Hai did not feel that anxious over Long Wanqing’s death, as they had her heavenly soul and mortal soul. All they awaited was for the Unborn Man to find her earthly soul.
However, the situation of his first wife, Chen Xianer, was not good. While he could try to think of a way to find her mortal soul and earthly soul, if her heavenly soul had ascended to heaven, it was already gone.
Back then, Old Mister Guan Qi also did his best to find his lover. However, he ended up dying.
Having some hope was one thing. What was worse was not having hope at all. If the heavenly soul was gone, that was it. According to Sima Changkong’s words, heavenly souls did continue to exist and did not just scatter.
“The judges are the heavenly souls of these ten thousand cultural Dao sages. The chance that the Qian Nation obtained to host the Ten Thousand Sages Convention is merely something like being the banker in a casino. That allows for some advantages, but most of the sages will support the three holy lands. Do you know why?” Sima Changkong asked gravely.
“I once researched the history of heaven. The age of a heavenly dynasty is determined by its sovereign. The lifespan of a sovereign would be how long a heavenly dynasty would last. However, the three holy lands can be inherited. There would be inheritances during every age, and the three holy lands would endlessly produce cultural Dao sages. If heaven arranges for their heavenly souls to guard the Cultural Dao Sage Palace after their deaths, then most of these ten thousand sages used to be from the three holy lands. That’s why they would support their past sect no matter how hard other people worked or how well other people had done?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
Sima Changkong nodded.
“However, Old Mister Guan Qi succeeded one thousand years ago. That’s why my Qian Nation wants to try this once to snatch the first place from the three holy lands’ hands. Furthermore, to snatch it, we will need the support of the ten thousand sages. Thus, His Holy Eminence decided to use all of the Qian Nation’s resources to pave the way for you, to allow you to enter the Cultural Dao Sage Palace,” Sima Changkong said gravely.
“Why me?” Gu Hai asked with a frown.
“This is His Holy Eminence’s decision.” Sima Changkong shook his head.
Gu Hai’s face sank slightly. According to Sima Changkong’s description, it will be useless no matter how hard I work. However, the Qian Nation chose me. Why?
“What do I have to do for the Qian Nation?” Gu Hai asked.
“Everyone who enters the Cultural Dao Sage Palace will have ten days to obtain something with the opportunity they are given. His Holy Eminence will not interfere with your opportunities. He only has one request: Bring in something His Holy Eminence will give you when you enter. That is all. You don’t have to worry about the rest,” Sima Changkong said gravely.
Gu Hai remained silent for a while. Although he understood that he just had to bring something in, it was definitely not as simple as that. However, he chose not to ask about it.
“Sure!” Gu Hai nodded.
“Mister Gu is very straightforward. This will make it easy for me to give an account to His Holy Eminence.” Sima Changkong smiled.
“I keep feeling that something is off about the recent events that I encountered. Mainly because I arrived in a rush, I’m unsure if…” Gu Hai stared at Sima Changkong.
“Mister Gu noticed it? It’s good that you noticed it. It is due to Mister Gu’s capability that you resolved all of them. Including the two of us, His Holy Eminence had picked a total of ten people. You did the best. It was also to verify that you were not a spy from the five factions. So…,” Sima Changkong sighed.
“I wish to know about Zhengfa Ming…” Gu Hai stared at Sima Changkong.
“Before I came, Eunuch Ye gave me special instructions about this—that if Mister Gu asked me about this, I am to tell you the truth. As you have guessed, the other faction apart from Feng Tonglao was the Qian Nation’s Divine Night Guards. However, Eunuch Ye wished me to tell you that the Divine Night Guards never hurt Zhengfa Ming’s family. Everything was done by the Myriad Age Daoist Sect’s people,” Sima Changkong said seriously.
Gu Hai remained silent for a while before eventually nodding.
“Mister Sima, I would like to know what is in the Cultural Dao Sage Palace. Can I find other heavenly souls?” Gu Hai asked.
Sima Changkong remained silent for a while. Finally, he shook his head and replied, “I’m not sure. However, I know that Old Mister Guan Qi once entered to search for his lover’s heavenly soul one thousand years ago but did not find it.”
“Oh?”
“Has Mister Gu heard of the six paths of reincarnation?” Sima Changkong asked.
“The six paths of reincarnation? The heaven path, the human path, the asura path, the hell path, the hungry ghost path, and the animal path?”
“That’s right. Heaven controls these six paths of reincarnation, and the six paths of reincarnation have six corresponding secret realms,” Sima Changkong said.
“Six secret realms?”
“That’s right. The Cultural Dao Sage Palace is one of these secret realms—the Human Path Secret Realm. The Human Path Secret Realm opens once every one thousand years. Previously, only the three holy lands qualified to enter, up until one thousand years ago when Old Mister Guan Qi broke this pattern,” Sima Changkong explained.
The Human Path Secret Realm?
The Asura Secret Realm?
Gu Hai suddenly raised his eyebrows. The place that the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor entered was the Asura Path Secret Realm? The blueprint to making its entrance is currently in my hands? The entrance that I got Gu Qin to build?
Six paths of reincarnation? The Human Path Secret Realm?
“Mister Gu, the Qian Nation has prepared for a very long time to fight for this opportunity. I hope that Mister Gu will do your best. We will do our best to give Mister Gu the chance to enter,” Sima Changkong said.
“Why doesn’t the Qian Heavenly Emperor enter himself?” Gu Hai asked.
Old Mister Guan Qi entered personally. Why won’t the Qian Heavenly Emperor do what Old Mister Guan Qi did?
“His Holy Eminence has other plans. Mister Gu will know when the time comes,” Sima Changkong replied seriously.
“Alright. Even if you had not asked, I would do my best, as I want to go in and see if I can find the heavenly soul I want to find.” Gu Hai nodded.
