"I'm not asking that! I'm asking why you look exactly like me!!!"
Rin Tosaka felt as if she'd been violated.
She looked at herself—
and had always been very satisfied.
Then suddenly someone shows up looking exactly like her.
Just thinking about it was awkward!
"Hah… idiots really are just like you. We are not the same, okay? Look—do you have this chest, and my smooth skin… and my Noble Phantasm!!!"
"Screw you—so what if you've got a Noble Phantasm? I've got gems… lots of gems…"
…
Ailei-chan watched the two of them go at it.
She sat down on the steps, took out a watermelon, and gnawed away in silence.
So noisy.
The noisier, the livelier.
Anyway, she'd just eat melon. This kind of catfight was truly entertaining.
In fact, it was very easy to tell the three of them apart.
First by hair.
Then by eyes.
Rather than say all three were the same,
it was better to say that the two unreliable ones were the same.
Sure enough, I'm the most unique, aren't I?
Ailei-chan smiled to herself.
...
Xuanyuan Sword World.
In the mornings, Yuwen Tuo supervised the building of the altar; in the afternoons, he went out to inspect the spread of the Eternal Faith.
Although at first the commoners and ministers felt the emperor was talking nonsense,
adhering to the emperor's decrees was their highest duty.
So they pinched their noses and pushed people to be registered as believers.
The results were startling beyond all expectation.
A resident who practiced the concept of Eternal Meditation actually smashed a heavy boulder with a single punch.
A broken leg regrew.
A one-eyed man recovered his sight.
Extraordinary skills—real power.
People yearned for it.
In a word,
the god being preached this time was an existence with miraculous power,
not some illusory thing.
And a few days later the emperor promoted something else:
for the construction of the Grand Canal, there would be no need for conscripted laborers—
troops would be dispatched directly.
The news shook the world.
The Grand Canal was a vast undertaking, constantly devouring manpower and material.
To suddenly say conscripts were no longer needed—
what did that even mean?
It meant the liberation of the people.
The so-called public grumbling vanished in an instant! And praise for the emperor swelled.
See—this is popular support.
As long as bellies are full and you don't pull them into backbreaking toil,
they're willing to support Yang Guang.
Inside Fengxuan Pavilion,
several ministers sat together, discussing recent events.
"What do you all say this is? Isn't he being muddle-headed?"
"I think this is a true man of destiny. Otherwise how could this Eternal Faith spread so quickly? Over a hundred thousand have already joined."
"The key point is that the divine envoys gain powerful strength. Haven't you heard that even generals holding military power can't resist joining the cult? Rumor has it a single stroke from them can split a small mountain!"
"Now that the canal is being dug by the army, I'd say… the sprouts of any rebel forces will be suppressed."
The so-called rebel forces—
naturally, those dissatisfied with the collusion between certain of Yang Guang's ministers and some unruly plotters.
For example, the Li Yuan clan—
the most typical case!
One minister warned: "I think you'd all better tuck in your tails and be obedient servants of the sage. The situation is unclear."
These days, His Majesty had grown wiser.
Whoever dared to play little games might just be executed.
Lately, it was said Yuwen Tuo was investigating such matters.
Three had already been arrested.
They didn't know that those courtiers had all been seduced by the demon.
Killing them was merely cutting off the demon's claws.
…
Tianwai Village.
He Ran and Gu Yue were playing chess.
Both were transcendents.
Especially the former, protagonist of the first two [generations].
"Lately, I heard the Nüwa Temple was destroyed—and the Nüwa descendant there was taken away."
"What of it?"
Gu Yue lifted her head to glance at her old friend, feeling a twinge of emotion.
The Goddess Nüwa—
she was the beacon in their hearts.
Unexpected that anyone could break Nüwa's temple. Could it be the devil's spawn is going to run rampant again?
He Ran placed a stone and said mildly, "You and I have been reclusive here—there's merit in that, but we have no idea what's happening outside. The power of a Thousand Buddhas over the grotto has also been broken. I checked yesterday—Fuxi's Qin was taken away."
Clack.
The chess stone landed.
Gu Yue's expression finally deepened.
The world only knew of five artifacts—
but it did not know that China held ten artifacts in all.
"Who did it?"
"Yuwen Tuo."
"What? Him!"
Gu Yue was shocked—because the opponent held the Xuanyuan Sword, and from his divinations, the other had also obtained the Kunlun Mirror.
He Ran pinched a stone between his fingers and tapped the table.
"The Nüwa Temple was destroyed by him, and so was the power of the Thousand Buddhas. I don't think we can go on like this."
The other side had gathered four of the ten great artifacts.
Was this tenable?
If he joined the Demon Realm—
the Shenzhou world would be finished!
Gu Yue immediately stood. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go—"
The two mounted the clouds.
They flew toward the grotto, and the result was as He Ran had said: it had indeed been broken.
All the Buddha images were destroyed.
The energy lingering in the air, though seemingly holy, carried a hint of strangeness.
"This power's light is tinged with darkness—he's definitely joined the Demon Realm!"
Gu Yue's eyes grew cold.
Then they went to Moon River City, and the result was the same.
From the information left by Nüwa, they learned that Yuwen Tuo had not only taken away the descendant of Nüwa, but also intended to sacrifice her.
How could such a thing be tolerated!
He Ran ground his teeth. "It seems we can't hide from the world any longer. Let's kill this demon brat first."
"Just so, just so."
They set their target,
then flew straight toward Daxing.
But what they had not expected was that what awaited them was a scapegoat's pitfall!
Inside and outside the city of Daxing,
lanterns and streamers.
Joy everywhere.
Since the emperor embraced the Eternal Faith, the people's lives had visibly improved.
Taxes were lowered.
The little days flourished.
Pedestrians thronged to and fro.
Every day, people came to the temple to worship.
Yes, though the altar was still under construction,
a temple had been successfully established the very next day after the emperor's order.
There were no statues within.
There was only a stone stele encircled by nine lights of the Eternal God.
"Old Zhang, how are things with you?"
"Can't complain—refreshing! Since I joined the faith, this old man killed a tiger with one punch. Lately I'm planning to join the hunting team and go catch the monsters in the mountains."
"Hey, my boy's on the monster-capture team. Now… the monsters are pretty much all caught. I hear the court's preparing to expand the army and go to war with other states."
"That's not bad—I want to join the army too."
…
Up on the cloud,
He Ran and Gu Yue
listened to the voices drifting up without end.
Their faces went paper white.
············ Asking for flowers ·····
"Hmph, the emperor's under control!"
"This Yuwen Tuo is truly deranged. He's even controlling the emperor. I think we should head to the palace first."
"Mm."
The two drifted away—but failed to notice
that at the temple entrance below,
the standing priest wore a look of contempt.
Two immortals, and they really didn't notice?
He had just received a hint—likely they couldn't notice.
People burning incense there
could actually hear the sound upon the clouds.
That was why they deliberately said those things—because they were all loyal to Yuwen Tuo.
But to return to the two immortals—they went straight to the palace.
Along the streets,
there were basically no monks.
What they heard and saw were news about National Teacher Yuwen Tuo and the Eternal God.
They could not sit idly by while a demon like that bewitched the people.
Inside the palace,
the dragon aura was weak.
The Imperial Forest Army was good—but the two immortals ignored them.
At last they hovered above Yang Guang's bedchamber.
They slipped through the palace walls,
and saw Yang Guang within, under the control of a Dark Divine Art.
Gu Yue snorted coldly: "This demon brat really thinks no one else exists—how dare he control the emperor? Since the death of Yang Su, the cultivators at court can't even sense this strangeness."
...0
"Heh, since Yuwen Tuo dared move against Nüwa—first let's save the emperor, then expose his ugly face.
And then rescue Nüwa's descendant."
"A fine plan."
The two descended lightly,
coming to Yang Guang's side.
Unexpectedly, the very instant they landed, they heard Yang Guang roar: "Enemy attack!!! There are assassins… ooh… assassins! Help…"
Gu Yue and He Ran were dumbfounded.
What was happening?
We just landed—why are you suddenly vomiting blood?
Bang.
The door flew open.
Courtiers and generals by the dozen—who knew where they'd come from—surged in.
Before everyone's eyes,
facts spoke louder than words!
Yuwen Tuo was the first to scold: "You two thieves—what are you trying to do to His Majesty?"
"Quick—the royal physicians—save His Majesty…"
"Your Majesty, why is your chest bleeding? Imperial Forest Army—move in together!"
Why was he really vomiting blood? What did it have to do with us?
He clearly vomited blood on his own.
Just then, a sharp-eyed general spotted the immortal sword in He Ran's hand and shouted in fury: "He holds a sword—assassinating His Majesty—men, to me—"
"It wasn't us!!!"
Gu Yue tried to argue.
But he saw a divine seal shoot from Yuwen Tuo's hand.
It struck with a pop—
and landed squarely on him.
In the next instant, he reverted to his original form—a white fox.
"Wow… It's a monster! No wonder it wants to kill the emperor!"
"Truly damnable—Daji in ancient times, and a white fox today…"
"Kill it! We are Jiang Ziya—quick, aid His Majesty—"
Pff.
Gu Yue fainted dead away from sheer rage.
Daji, your sister.
Seeing the momentum turn sour, He Ran scooped up Gu Yue and ran—only to find the dragon veins restraining them.
In that moment, a voice drifted into his ear:
"Truth is, my strength is inferior to yours—but with dragon energy helping me, I can toy with you. Prepare to die…"
Yes.
Yuwen Tuo's strength was not equal to that of the two immortals.
But relying on tactics and precise calculations,
he had caught them.
First to infuriate Immortal Gu Yue into unconsciousness.
Then to "kill the emperor."
Many birds with one stone.
Perfect—perfectly perfect!
Super perfect! Prophecy.