【Special Royal Court Decree】
【The person who brings Gu Chengming before this Emperor, this Emperor will grant her an opportunity to become an Emperor.】
Gu Chengming stared at the crimson-gold characters on the jade plate and remained silent for three breaths.
This was bad. How was there a special counter against the Hundred Bones Resonating?
They said the person who knows you best is yourself. Was the Hundred Bones Resonating of Love trying to use this opportunity to drive a wedge between him and Lao Bai?
His gaze slowly shifted to the Hundred Bones Resonating beside him.
—Lao Bai, you wouldn't sell me out, would you?
After all, she was someone who constantly talked about being the Heavenly Emperor. With an opportunity to become an Emperor right in front of her, what if she acted on impulse—
However, the Hundred Bones Resonating's reaction was faster than he expected. The white-haired girl suddenly stood up. "That imposter—!!"
Seeing her bristling like a cat, Gu Chengming felt most of the weight lift from his heart.
The Hundred Bones Resonating turned her head and met Gu Chengming's gaze, seemingly sensing his momentary hesitation.
She froze for a moment, and then her face flushed red.
"Emperor Gu! You don't actually think this Emperor would sell you out just to become an Emperor—" "I don't," Gu Chengming denied flatly.
The Hundred Bones Resonating huffed and turned away, muttering, "This Emperor does want to become an Emperor, but Emperor Gu is much more important than that."
—Sorry, Lao Bai. I was judging the Heavenly Emperor's heart with my own petty thoughts.
...
When the Royal Court's decree spread through the secret realm, Yu Wenqiu was squatting on the edge of a cliff, munching on dry rations.
Primal God-Realm, Myriad-Law Sovereign, Origin Nine-Heavens, Hundred-Bones Royal Court... what kind of crappy name was that?
Then her gaze fell on the final special decree.
【The person who brings Gu Chengming before this Emperor, this Emperor will grant her an opportunity to become an Emperor.】 The dry rations in her hand suddenly dropped.
—Who dares touch Little Gu?!
Yu Wenqiu stood up, kicked the broken rations off the cliff, formed hand seals, and activated her Heavenly Eye.
The Heavenly Eye of the Fourth Realm was truly domineering; even in this place where laws were severed, it could still peer into karma.
However, the process was not smooth. Every time the Heavenly Eye tried to look deeper, it met with rejection.
Yu Wenqiu gritted her teeth and endured. After her divine sense shifted several times, the image gradually became clear.
Beneath a crimson-gold sky, dozens of ancient projections stood in two rows like ministers having an audience. At the highest point, atop the skeletal remains of a giant monster, sat a figure.
Her white hair was like snow, her face heroic. She wore white training robes and stepped on the bones. She was a rather beautiful woman.
Yu Wenqiu's heart sank half an inch. Just as she was preparing to further observe the other party's cultivation depth, the white-haired woman turned her head.
Across an unknown distance, those eyes looked toward the position of Yu Wenqiu's Heavenly Eye.
Then, the white-haired woman began to laugh, her smile carrying a sense of looking down from above.
Yu Wenqiu snapped her eyes open, her back already soaked with sweat.
—So strong.
Without a doubt, the woman in the image was quite unfathomable.
She took a deep breath to calm herself and re-examined the decree.
"Bring Gu Chengming before this Emperor."
This phrasing...
Yu Wenqiu's brow furrowed. If the goal was simply to kill or steal, saying "capture him" would have been enough. Using an opportunity to become an Emperor as a reward showed that the other party truly valued this matter.
But if Gu Chengming was merely an enemy or a threat to the Royal Court, why go to such lengths to issue a bounty?
Next, Yu Wenqiu used her Heavenly Eye to gather various information. Finally, from the news circulating among many cultivators and about the Royal Court, she confirmed a fact.
—The master of the Primal God-Realm, Myriad-Law Sovereign, Origin Nine-Heavens, Hundred-Bones Royal Court was looking for an Imperial Consort.
Upon seeing this news, Yu Wenqiu's brain short-circuited for two breaths. Then she stood up with a start, her face turning bright red.
So this white-haired woman of unknown origin was publicly offering a bounty for all cultivators in the secret realm to catch Little Gu because she wanted to snatch him away to be her Imperial Consort?
The good news was that Little Gu's life was most likely safe.
The bad news was that his chastity might not be.
From the capital until now, she had missed opportunity after opportunity.
First, she had chickened out herself. Later, she had been driven half-mad with anger by the remnants of the Red Dust Technique. Then, the secret realm's mutation had interrupted all her plans.
Now, even the heavens were pushing her. If she didn't act soon, someone else would snatch him away.
Yu Wenqiu reopened her eyes, her gaze terrifyingly determined.
She had to find Little Gu before that white-haired woman and all the cultivators tempted by the opportunity to become an Emperor.
No matter what, as long as she, Yu Wenqiu, was still alive, she would never allow anyone to harbor ill intentions toward Little Gu.
The Little Gu Chastity Defense War had officially begun!
The most urgent task was obviously to find Little Gu first. With her Heavenly Eye, this was much easier.
But the biggest trouble right now wasn't finding him, but the other cultivators on the way. Although it wasn't clear what the "opportunity to become an Emperor" entailed, based on the previous "Grace," it was clearly not small—enough to make a large group of people take risks.
Case in point, while crossing a withered forest, Yu Wenqiu happened to encounter such people.
A team of five cultivators was squatting in a forest clearing, pointing at a crude spiritual energy map. Their conversation was completely undisguised.
"Gu Chengming is from the Wenjian Sect, Third Realm, Middle Stage, third on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. There must be experts protecting someone like him." "Let's find his location first, then get more people together—"
Before the words were finished, a sword light shot through the air from deep within the withered forest.
"Puff." The spiritual energy map in the lead cultivator's hand was split in two by a single sword strike, paper fragments flying everywhere.
Yu Wenqiu walked out from behind a withered tree, her Dharma Sword held horizontally before her. Her peach-blossom eyes were half-squinted, and her tone was flat. "Who are you looking for?"
The five people froze simultaneously.
The spiritual pressure of the Fourth Realm was spread out without any concealment. For these cultivators of the Second and Third Realms, it was enough to make their spirits tremble.
The lead cultivator's face turned pale, and his lips trembled twice. "Senior, we were just, just looking at the map randomly—"
Yu Wenqiu took a step forward, and the five of them retreated three steps in unison.
"We're not, we're not looking anymore!"
Yu Wenqiu sheathed her sword and nodded with satisfaction as she watched the five of them scatter like startled birds.
But she also knew in her heart that she couldn't stop everyone by herself.
Hundreds of cultivators were trapped in the secret realm. These were just scattered small fry. If the disciples of truly major sects also became interested, she wouldn't be able to handle it alone.
Moreover, the Royal Court itself was searching. Those projections had high realms and were absurdly numerous.
Thinking this, Yu Wenqiu quickened her pace.
Then she encountered an old acquaintance from the Wenjian Sect.
At a bend in a valley, two figures sensed each other's presence almost simultaneously. Yu Wenqiu's Dharma Sword was already halfway out of its sheath, and Su Qingmeng's hand was also on her sword hilt.
"Elder Yu." Su Qingmeng let go first and nodded slightly.
Yu Wenqiu also sheathed her sword and looked Su Qingmeng up and down. Plain white sword robes, black hair with a wooden hairpin, a cold face—aside from some dust on the hem of her robes, she was no different from the Daoist seed in the sect who came to find Little Gu for sword practice every day on the dot.
"Little Su? Why are you here?" Yu Wenqiu got straight to the point.
"In response to the Elder, I am looking for someone." Su Qingmeng's answer was equally blunt.
The two looked at each other and immediately knew what the other wanted to do.
Su Qingmeng explained first, "The secret realm has changed, and cultivators from all sides are searching for Daoist Gu, including many with ill intentions. As the Daoist seed of the Wenjian Sect and a fellow disciple of Daoist Gu, I should naturally find him to join forces and help each other."
"If Daoist Gu were gone, there would be no one left in the Wenjian Sect to walk alongside me in the future."
Yu Wenqiu naturally didn't believe this verbal explanation.
Who was it that ran to the entrance of Little Gu's courtyard before dawn every day to wait for sword practice? Who was it that lingered after practice and insisted on staying to watch him drink tea? And who was it that was caught by Elder Jingxuan smiling like a fool on the way back to the Daoning Gate?
Given the current situation, rather than wasting time testing each other here with Su Qingmeng, it was better to find the person first. After all, once they found Little Gu, with her, Yu Wenqiu, present to keep watch, this girl wouldn't be able to pull any tricks.
Thus, the prototype of the Little Gu Chastity Defense Alliance was formed.
...
On the other side.
Su Qiuzhi naturally saw this decree as well and confirmed almost immediately that the "Gu Chengming" mentioned was the Gu Chengming she knew.
However, her thinking was very clear. Rather than running around outside like a headless fly, it was more important to directly infiltrate the enemy's interior and find out exactly what the master of this Royal Court wanted to do to Gu Chengming.
If the other party truly had ill intentions toward Gu Chengming, her being inside the Royal Court would allow her to coordinate from within at a critical moment.
If it was just a false alarm, then the trip wouldn't be a loss. What if she could get some benefits from the Royal Court?
Su Qiuzhi stepped toward the distant crimson-gold curtain of light, her mood quite light.
Then she hit a wall.
Su Qiuzhi had underestimated the difficulty of joining the "Primal God-Realm, Myriad-Law Sovereign, Origin Nine-Heavens, Hundred-Bones Royal Court."
The core area of the Royal Court was surrounded by layers of projection guards. From the periphery to the inner hall, one had to pass at least seven or eight checkpoints. Each checkpoint was guarded by a Fourth Realm projection that assessed all cultivators trying to approach. Su Qiuzhi's cultivation was considered outstanding among the younger generation, but she was still powerless against a Fourth Realm projection.
She sat on a rock, looking at the crimson-gold curtain of light in the core of the Royal Court in the distance, her hands resting on her knees as she let out a long sigh.
What kind of crappy Royal Court was this? It was even harder to enter than the Longevity Sect headquarters.
Su Qiuzhi rested her chin on her hand and thought for a while, suddenly remembering the keywords in the decree.
The master of this Royal Court had called for Gu Chengming by name, so any information related to Gu Chengming should be valuable to the Royal Court.
What if she had intelligence of sufficient weight?
Su Qiuzhi jumped off the rock, stopped ten zhang away, and said loudly:
"I have intelligence regarding Gu Chengming and wish to see the Heavenly Emperor."
Immediately after, the projection at the Royal Court's entrance respectfully stepped aside and made way.
Su Qiuzhi was stunned for a moment.
From behind the projection, two more projections walked out, standing on her left and right, forming an escort formation.
Sandwiched between two Fourth Realm projections, Su Qiuzhi passed through all the remaining checkpoints without any hindrance.
The members of the court guard who had blocked her before saw this from afar, and their jaws nearly hit the ground.
Su Qiuzhi maintained her outward composure and walked steadily, though she was somewhat bewildered inside.
—The passage authority of the name "Gu Chengming" here was too high, wasn't it?
If Gu Chengming himself stood here, he could probably just ride in on a projection's neck.
The core of the Royal Court was an open space woven with crimson-gold spiritual veins. There were no palaces or pavilions, no carved beams or painted rafters. There were only crisscrossing spiritual runes spread across the ground like a giant net. As the light flowed, the entire space was shrouded in a layer of crimson-gold.
In the very center stood a throne made from the skeletal remains of an ancient monster. The bones were massive and layered, with the highest point several zhang above the ground, looking like a small white hill from a distance.
And at the very top of that bone throne, a figure sat cross-legged. Dozens of projections were lined up on both sides of the high platform, standing with their heads bowed in silence like ministers in attendance.
Su Qiuzhi stood below the high platform, looking up at that figure. It took quite a bit of effort to suppress the weakness in her legs.
She performed a salute and tried to make her voice sound as composed and proper as possible. "I am Su Qiuzhi of the Hehuan Sect. I have intelligence regarding Gu Chengming and wish to present it to the Heavenly Emperor."
The white-haired Heavenly Emperor on the high platform opened her eyes, and a flash of interest passed through them the moment she saw Su Qiuzhi.
"You know him?"
She seemed to have confirmed this through some means already and was merely waiting for Su Qiuzhi to admit it herself.
Su Qiuzhi nodded. "I have met Daoist Gu several times and am quite familiar with his whereabouts and way of doing things."
These words were half-true and half-false. Meeting several times was true, but to say she was familiar... Su Qiuzhi's understanding of Gu Chengming was mainly focused on the dimensions of "he's handsome" and "he agreed to dual cultivate with me."
As for his whereabouts? If she knew where Gu Chengming was, she wouldn't have gone to such trouble to sneak in.
But Su Qiuzhi's skin was thick enough to allow her to tell this story to the Heavenly Emperor with a straight face.
She began a series of half-true and half-false nonsense.
Gu Chengming's cultivation habits, the characteristics of his commonly used techniques, his daily life at the Hehuan Sect, and then she mixed in some vague speculations, barely piecing together a "report" that seemed to have some weight.
The Hundred Bones Resonating of Love listened quietly, without interrupting or asking further questions.
After Su Qiuzhi finished speaking, she was actually prepared to be exposed on the spot. After all, the other party was an existence that controlled the entire secret realm. What if there was some way to detect lies—
However, the next reaction was beyond her expectations.
The white-haired Heavenly Emperor studied Su Qiuzhi for a while, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
"You certainly have some guts."
Su Qiuzhi thought to herself that this was bad. Had she been seen through?
"Continue to work for this Emperor," the Hundred Bones Resonating of Love said, her tone as casual as if she were instructing a lackey. "Help this Emperor find the Imperial Consort, and this Emperor will not treat you poorly."
After speaking, she waved her hand casually, and a ball of spiritual energy floated toward Su Qiuzhi.
Su Qiuzhi reached out to catch it. The moment the spiritual energy entered her body, a warm current passed through her meridians. It was warm but not burning, slowly seeping into her dantian along the channels.
Her spiritual energy vortex expanded by a full circle under the washing of the warm current, and her foundation was strengthened by more than just a small step.
Su Qiuzhi's pupils dilated.
—Was this a Grace that directly increased cultivation foundation?
She had talked a bunch of nonsense, and the other party not only didn't expose her but also gave her this reward on the spot, equivalent to several months of hard cultivation?
"All right, you may go."
The white-haired figure waved her hand. Su Qiuzhi felt a moment of daze, and the next moment she realized she was already outside the Royal Court.
Looking at the crimson-gold earth and the distant sky, Su Qiuzhi was somewhat bewildered.
I originally went in to be a mole, so how did I end up making a profit instead?
After calming down, Su Qiuzhi began to organize her gains from this trip.
First, she confirmed that the Hundred Bones Resonating of Love's intention for Gu Chengming was not to kill him.
Judging from the other party's words and actions, the title "Imperial Consort" was not just a casual remark. When the white-haired Heavenly Emperor mentioned Gu Chengming, the possessiveness in her tone was so strong it was undisguised.
Su Qiuzhi felt the ball of crimson-gold spiritual energy that had not yet been fully digested and fell into a dilemma.
On one hand, she had already obtained the information she wanted. Logically, she should quickly escape, find Gu Chengming, and pass these messages to him.
On the other hand...
If she continued to work for the Royal Court, she could get even more.
Moreover, based on her performance just now, the white-haired Heavenly Emperor's level of trust in her was not low—at least she had been given the authority to freely enter and exit the periphery and an escort of two projections.
Su Qiuzhi stared at the ground for a long time.
No!
She shook her head vigorously, tossing the messy thoughts out of her mind.
She was here to help Gu Chengming. She couldn't be bought off by a few mouthfuls of spiritual energy.
Furthermore, Gu Chengming had promised to dual cultivate with her. Su Qiuzhi's expression became serious.
She, Su Qiuzhi, could temporarily bow for benefits, but she would never hand her man over to someone else.
She patted her face and made a decision.
On the surface, she would continue to provide intelligence to the Royal Court. Of course, what she provided would be fake, or those trivial, useless bits of information that didn't matter whether they were checked or not. She would use this waste material to gain trust and resources while uncovering more of the Royal Court's internal secrets.
Secretly, she would find a way to send messages to Gu Chengming.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
What Su Qiuzhi didn't know was that the karmic connection between her and Gu Chengming had already been captured by the Hundred Bones Resonating of Love.
After issuing the decree, the Hundred Bones Resonating of Love did not just wait.
Although she was not good at and did not like using means other than pure strength, she had to admit that when it came to "finding people," the power of karma was indeed much more useful than fists.
The secret realm's spiritual vein network was already completely under her control. Every cultivator who entered the secret realm had karmic lines of varying depths remaining on them, like invisible threads.
As an existence with extremely complex karmic relationships, Gu Chengming should theoretically be very easy to locate, but she encountered trouble during the actual operation.
Gu Chengming's karmic lines were incredibly blurry, as if they were deliberately obscured by something. No matter how she searched, she could only touch a mass of scattered, empty shadows.
Until Su Qiuzhi appeared.
After that Hehuan Sect female cultivator left the Royal Court's core area, the Hundred Bones Resonating of Love closed her eyes again.
Following this karmic line, the Hundred Bones Resonating of Love dipped her perception like a thread into water, letting it naturally drift toward the other end it was connected to.
The crimson-gold perception traveled through the various spaces of the secret realm, passing over wastelands, canyons, and withered forests, finally stopping at the edge of the secret realm.
Near a collapsed cave on the edge of the Fallen Immortal Abyss.
The Hundred Bones Resonating of Love smiled.
With a casual point of her finger, more than ten Fourth Realm projections moved in response, flying toward the Fallen Immortal Abyss.
...
As for the party involved.
Gu Chengming was the first to sense the anomaly and complained in his heart.
—No way, what exactly is the situation? They're coming this fast?
Dozens of Fourth Realm level spiritual pressures were approaching, heading straight for their hiding place.
For them now, it wasn't that they couldn't fight. But the problem was that after fighting, their location would inevitably be exposed, drawing more pursuers. Given that the Royal Court controlled the spiritual veins of the entire secret realm, exposure meant being hunted infinitely.
【The 《Huiyuan Sword Manual》 immediately began to assist with all its might: Chengming, don't be afraid, I'm here!】
【The 《Red Dust Phantom Step》 frowned and said: Daoist Gu, don't be impulsive. Let's see the other party's intentions first.】
Gu Chengming gripped his Dharma Sword, the pink light of the sword domain faintly appearing around him. The Hundred Bones Resonating clenched her fists, and the crimson-red blood qi power spread along her arms, turning her fair skin a pale gold.
The two stood back to back, facing the cave entrance.
The projections landed outside the cave one by one, but they did not attack.
Gu Chengming's brow furrowed. The action patterns of these projections were completely different from the previous pursuit. Before, they would fight on sight without mercy, but now they had assumed a welcoming posture?
Then the lead projection spoke.
Its voice was deep, its tone respectful, and even carried a hint of caution.
"Your Highness Imperial Consort, the Heavenly Emperor has ordered us to invite you back to the palace."
The cave was silent for two breaths. Gu Chengming's expression went through changes from confusion to shock to wordless realization.
Beside him, the Hundred Bones Resonating's reaction was faster and more intense.
"Who is the Imperial Consort?!" The white-haired girl rushed forward a step, her voice rising an octave. "Emperor Gu is the Heavenly Emperor! He is not some Imperial Consort! That imposter of yours is the one who—"
She spread her arms, shielding Gu Chengming firmly behind her, her voice ringing out:
"If you want to take away Emperor Gu—you'll have to get past this Emperor first!"
Immediately after, the projections all froze in place, seemingly bewildered?
—Heavenly Emperor? When did she get here?
Not only was the appearance exactly the same, but even the aura almost completely overlapped. It was as if their Heavenly Emperor had suddenly split into two—one sitting on the high platform of the Royal Court issuing orders, and the other standing here with arms spread to protect a man.
The Hundred Bones Resonating also noticed the projections' reaction.
She was stunned at first, and then a flash of inspiration hit her.
Oh, right.
She looked exactly like that imposter.
The Hundred Bones Resonating's brain worked at high speed, going through five stages from shock to realization to disgust to weighing to gritting her teeth within two breaths.
Impersonating herself... no, impersonating the imposter...
Although it was embarrassing, if doing this could protect Emperor Gu—
The Hundred Bones Resonating took a deep breath, then she turned around, faced the projections, straightened her back, and lifted her chin, making her aura as "domineering" as possible.
"All of you, stand down."
She lowered her voice, her tone authoritative. "The Imperial Consort... this Emperor has already found him personally. No need for you to act."
Gu Chengming's eyes widened instantly.
—Emperor Bai, what are you doing?!
"Heavenly Emperor?" The lead projection took a tentative half-step forward, its tone filled with confusion. "Aren't you in the Royal Court..."
"This Emperor couldn't sit still and came personally." The Hundred Bones Resonating waved her hand, her tone carrying a hint of impatience. "What, does this Emperor need to report to you before coming to the front line to personally capture the Imperial Consort?"
These words were spoken with such conviction that the projections fell silent.
Then, the projections all took a step back and bowed their heads.
"Yes, Heavenly Emperor."
Gu Chengming stood behind the Hundred Bones Resonating, his eyes full of "This works?".
The Hundred Bones Resonating kept her expression taut, but her heart was cheering: It worked!!! As expected of this Emperor! My acting talent is also one in ten thousand!
However—
"But, Heavenly Emperor..."
That lead projection spoke again. Its tone was still respectful, but there was an added layer of subtle reminder.
"You previously gave an order, saying that after finding the Imperial Consort, you would on the spot—" It paused, seemingly weighing its words.
"...It said to declare the Imperial Consort's ownership."
The Hundred Bones Resonating's expression froze.
"You also said—" another projection added, "'This Emperor wants the entire secret realm to know that the Imperial Consort belongs to this Emperor.'"
The Hundred Bones Resonating's face suddenly turned bright red.
The projections' gazes all fell on the Hundred Bones Resonating. If she didn't do it, the projections would find the flaw.
The Hundred Bones Resonating froze in place, two voices fighting in her head.
One said: This was an order from the imposter! What does it have to do with me!
The other said: But if you don't do it, the projections will find out you're a fake, and then Emperor Gu will really be snatched away.
At that time, the one snatching Emperor Gu away won't be you, but that imposter.
What that imposter would do to Emperor Gu, you already saw with your own eyes in the Laboratory of Love.
The Hundred Bones Resonating turned around, and Gu Chengming saw surging shame, conflict, reluctance, and a secret joy in her eyes.
"Emperor Bai, you—"
The Hundred Bones Resonating grabbed Gu Chengming's collar.
"Emperor Gu." Her voice was very low, so low that only the two of them could hear, and she spoke as fast as if she were reciting a mantra. "To keep you from being snatched away, there's no other choice."
Gu Chengming looked at that flushed face and those excessively bright eyes close at hand and opened his mouth.
What kind of mysterious development was this again?
The next moment, Gu Chengming saw the girl's face gradually enlarge.
Then, a soft sensation came.
—No, Emperor Bai, who taught you to stick your tongue out again?
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