Soaring Palace Hall, Borderless Heavenly Capital:
Gu Hai did not summon the officials, discussing the matter with only Kong Xuan, Gu Qin, Mo Yike, Chen Tianshan, and Gao Xianzhi.
“Your Reverence, this is Sect Master Heavenly Access’s trap. You cannot fall into it!” Gao Xianzhi exhorted anxiously.
“Noon, two days later? Han Destruction City? Your Reverence, he is clearly trying to lure you out of Borderless Heavenly Capital. How insidious of that Sect Master Heavenly Access!” Chen Tianshan said apprehensively.
Sect Master Heavenly Access was no match for Gu Hai in Borderless Heavenly Capital. Now, he was trying to lure Gu Hai out?
Gao Xianzhi and Chen Tianshan objected, not wanting Gu Hai to take risks.
Mo Yike frowned slightly but said nothing, as he understood that Gu Hai could figure out what he had.
“Father, if Sect Master Heavenly Access wants to kill the White Emperor, won’t Mother be…” Gu Qin appeared slightly worried.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, you are asking His Reverence to endanger himself!” Chen Tianshan shouted.
Gu Qin bit his lips, remaining silent. Clearly, he still wanted to save his mother.
If not for Gu Hai already knowing Gu Qin’s true identity, he would have been fooled.
Kong Xuan did not mind either way. If Gu Hai wanted to go, he would accompany Gu Hai.
Everyone looked at Gu Hai.
Whoosh!
A gust blew outside. Gu Hai knew Shangguan Hen had returned.
“Alright!” Gu Hai said.
Everyone looked at Gu Hai.
“This matter is a secret. No one is to leak it. All of you immediately calculate the possibility of rescuing the White Emperor from Han Destruction City,” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Yes!” everyone answered.
Chen Tianshan quickly took out a map and started explaining the layout of Han Destruction City.
However, Gu Hai walked out of the palace hall.
Although everyone felt confused, the emperor had issued an order, so they could not leave; they had to remain here to calculate the possibility.
Gu Hai stepped out of the large hall alone. Then, Shangguan Hen approached him alone.
“Your Reverence, this subject did his best,” Shangguan Hen said bitterly.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Hai flung out his sleeve as his face sank.
Shangguan Hen remained silent.
“Don’t worry. We have already used the immortal firmament to wrap around the Soaring Palace Hall. The people inside cannot see out or hear us,” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Yes!” Shangguan Hen waved his hand.
The nearby Yun Mo immediately flew over with Long Sanqian.
“Father!” Long Sanqian immediately kneeled and cried when he approached.
“Qin`er?” Gu Hai frowned.
“Father, this child was incapable. I brought harm to Little Tang. Little Tang died! The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s people killed him!” Long Sanqian cried.
Gu Hai’s face sank, but he did not get angry. Instead, he looked coldly at Long Sanqian and asked calmly, “What happened?”
Long Sanqian described everything that had happened earlier.
“Hah! Excellent! Excellent! How excellent of the Candle Epoch Azure Lamp! How excellent of the Past Buddha! How excellent of the Spirit Mountain Holy Land!” Gu Hai said flatly.
However, Long Sanqian heard overwhelming hatred in this ordinary tone. This was the calm before the storm, Gu Hai’s most enraged state.
“Imperial Emperor Gu, Tang Gu’s souls still exist. They should be with the Past Buddha. If you want to rescue him…,” Yun Mo said with a frown.
“Manor Lord Yun Mo, many thanks for your help this time. Rest assured. I will save Little Tang. The Spirit Mountain Holy Land? Hah! Hahaha!” Gu Hai said frostily.
“Father, it’s Long Sanqian. Long Sanqian exchanged spiritual souls with me. The Gu Qin in Borderless Heavenly Capital is a fake. He is not me!” Long Sanqian said anxiously.
“Long Sanqian? I had always thought he was just one of Guan Qi’s nine inheritors. Now, it seems that his identity is not that simple?” Gu Hai looked at Yun Mo.
Yun Mo nodded with a faint, bitter smile. “He is the reincarnation of my ancestor.”
“Teacher Yinyue?” Gu Hai asked, feeling confused.
“Yes. I only found out a year ago. Haha! He created Mister Six Fingers. Mister Six Fingers always followed his orders. Old Mister Guan Qi previously sent people to search for Ancestor. Unfortunately, Ancestor had been hiding, preventing anyone from finding him. He only exposed himself during the Revival Convention.”
“Oh? The Revival Convention? I recall a Long Sanqian participated. That was not him?”
“Yes. Ancestor has reached the peak of the music Dao. No one can compare to him in his understanding of souls. He replicated his souls and passed Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance to the replicated souls. Then he sent those souls to participate in the Revival Convention. That’s how two Ancestors appeared. One vanished while one remained,” Yun Mo explained.
“Replicating his soul and passing on Old Mister Guan Qi’s mission? Hah! How incredible of Teacher Yinyue! To think his study into the soul has reached such a level?” Gu Hai said with an unsightly expression.
“Initially, I was overjoyed when I found out he was the ancestor, so I became careless and let him lead me astray. That’s why I tricked Crown Prince Gu Qin. Imperial Emperor Gu, I’m extremely sorry!” Yun Mo said bitterly.
“You are not at fault. Even without you, Gu Qin could not have escaped if Teacher Yinyue targeted him.” Gu Hai shook his head.
“Perhaps.” Yun Mo smiled bitterly.
“Manor Lord Yun Mo, might I know why you abandoned following your ancestor and took the Han Nation’s side?” Gu Hai asked seriously.
Yun Mo remained silent for a while. “He wants to turn all the zitherists in Silver Moon City into puppets.”
“Oh?”
“He wants to create an army of zitherists. Silver Moon City has the most zitherists in the world. He wants to refine their souls and control them, making them his weapons. Destroy Silver Moon City’s citizens? Haha! The previous manor lord always taught me that the Silver Moon Mountain Manor gained its status because of Silver Moon City’s citizens. They protected the Silver Moon Mountain Manor many times during our most dangerous moments. Naturally, my Silver Moon Mountain Manor has to protect them. However, Ancestor wants to destroy them!” Yun Mo bit his lips.
“The previous manor lord?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
Gu Hai recalled the Silver Moon Mountain Manor’s previous manor lord. Even he felt he could not compare to the previous manor lord’s aboveboard character. The previous manor lord had raised Yun Mo and even destroyed his own heavenly soul and mortal soul before dying to help Yun Mo atone.
“If I help Ancestor destroy Silver Moon City and the previous manor lord reincarnates, how am I to give him an account?” Yun Mo said bitterly.
“The previous manor lord would be proud of you,” Gu Hai sighed softly.
“Furthermore, I also understand that he might someday use my blood to reconstruct his previous body,” Yun Mo said through gritted teeth.
“His previous body?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
“Yes. The previous manor lord once told me that Ancestor died very strangely back then, and he might have been plotting something. Even if he reincarnated, his new body would never be as good as his original body. He had a Music Dao Physique. To bring back his Music Dao Physique, he might need the blood of his descendants to nourish it. Furthermore, I am the only descendant left.” Yun Mo smiled bitterly.
“I understand. Manor Lord Yun Mo, stay at my place for now. It is safe here, at least,” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Many thanks, Imperial Emperor Gu!” Yun Mo nodded.
“I should be the one thanking you. You helped me rescue Gu Qin.” Gu Hai shook his head.
“Unfortunately, Tang Gu…” Yun Mo nodded bitterly.
Although he had helped Gu Hai save one son, another son had died.
“That’s right. How did he perform the soul exchange?” Gu Hai looked at Yun Mo and Long Sanqian.
“He spread his arms out, and a strange sound came from his mouth. Finally, he shouted ‘exchange,’ and our souls exchanged.” Long Sanqian frowned.
“That simple?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
“No. The target cannot move. The target has to be immobile for the music Dao technique to work. All his effort would be wasted if the target struggled strongly,” Yun Mo explained.
Gu Hai nodded as he narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Furthermore, he can exchange the souls of two other people. Mister Six Fingers can only assist. Only Ancestor can perform the soul exchange technique,” Yun Mo explained.
“We understand. Haha! Truly farsighted indeed!” Gu Hai narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Your Reverence, since the crown prince is back, let me go and capture him. We cannot let him roam free any longer!” Shangguan Hen frowned.
Gu Hai shook his head. “There’s no rush. We can discuss that after getting Qin`er’s body back first.”
“Oh? Help me get my body back? Is he willing?” Long Sanqian’s eyes lit up.
“I still don’t know what else Teacher Yinyue is capable of. However, I do know his motive. As long as I know his motive, I can help you get your body back,” Gu Hai said.
“Motive? Is his motive not to help the Wu Imperial Dynasty and create chaos in the Han Imperial Dynasty?” Shangguan Hen said.
Gu Hai shook his head. “He wants to exchange bodies with us.”
“Oh?” Everyone’s eyes narrowed as they inhaled sharply.
Exchange bodies with Gu Hai? He wants to become Gu Hai—to become the master of the Han Nation?
“How ambitious!” Shangguan Hen snarled.
“Indeed!” Long Sanqian’s expression changed too.
“Alright! Qin`er, Manor Lord Yun Mo, stay in the Gu’s Immortal Firmament for now,” Gu Hai said.
As Gu Hai spoke, he waved. Long Sanqian and Yun Mo vanished.
Gu Hai looked at Shangguan Hen.
Shangguan Hen nodded, quickly composing himself.
“Let’s go!” Gu Hai stepped into the Soaring Palace Hall with Shangguan Hen.
The people in the palace hall had been discussing in there for some time, all of them showing slight frowns.
“Your Reverence, we have discussed this for a while. We feel it is best not to take the risk. We should send Kong Xuan, Shangguan Hen, and the Mosquito Daoist to rescue the White Emperor,” Chen Tianshan said with a frown.
“There’s no need. We will go.” Gu Hai shook his head.
“But—” Gao Xianzhi protested anxiously.
“We have made up our mind. Kong Xuan and Shangguan Hen will come with us. There’s no need to wait until tomorrow. We will depart immediately. We will arrive ahead of time and rescue the White Emperor,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” Kong Xuan and Shangguan Hen answered.
Chen Tianshan and Gao Xianzhi were somewhat worried. However, they eventually nodded helplessly, as they understood they could not stop the emperor.
Mo Yike said nothing, trusting fully in Gu Hai.
“Father, this child wants to go too!” Gu Qin immediately said.
“You? You can’t. Remain in Borderless Heavenly Capital.” Gu Hai shook his head.
“No. That’s this child’s mother. Even if this child has to hide and watch in secret, I have to see Mother safe for myself! Father, I beg you. Please, let this child go!” Gu Qin said with bloodshot eyes.
Gu Hai looked at Gu Qin. After some silence, he nodded. “Alright. Listen to our commands, then!”
“Yes! Thank you, Father!” Gu Qin said excitedly as he wiped his eyes.
Shangguan Hen could not stop smiling coldly. This Gu Qin’s acting is truly convincing.
