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After some silence, he finally asked, “Do you know about the four zombie ancestor seeds?”

“Yes, this subordinate knows a bit. The zombie ancestor seeds are divided into four attributes—fire, wind, water, and earth. Fire corresponds to Jiang Ba, wind to Houqing, water to Yinggou, and earth to the earth-attributed zombie ancestor. In ancient times, the last shone brightly among the shaman race. Unfortunately, he did not treasure what he had and dared to defy Veritable Lord. Eventually, Veritable Lord annihilated him,” Long Aotian responded, nodding.

“Indeed, he was a rare talent, and he possessed the earth zombie seed. In the shaman race, he stood above everyone else but me. He reached the consummation of the spiritual souls, possessing immeasurable strength. It’s a pity, such a pity. He could have gone even further,” Jiangchen said calmly.

“All that the shaman race has is thanks to Veritable Lord. The zombies arose because of Veritable Lord. That person truly didn’t know good from bad! His death was not a pity,” Long Aotian said solemnly.

“And what would you do if you were in his shoes?” Jiangchen asked with a smile.

A gleam appeared in Long Aotian’s eyes. Is the veritable lord going to help me?

“Rest assured, Veritable Lord. No matter what I achieve, you will always be my veritable lord. I will never betray you.” Long Aotian hastily pledged his loyalty.

Jiangchen looked at Long Aotian, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. “Do you know why I initially sought you out, why I let you follow me and even gifted you a drop of my essence blood?”

“Uh…did Veritable Lord see my talent? Did you believe I had potential?” Long Aotian asked, puzzled.

Shaking his head gently, Jiangchen replied, “There are countless individuals in the world with more talent than you.”

“Please guide me, Veritable Lord,” Long Aotian said, lost.

“It’s because you are his reincarnation,” Jiangchen said lightly.

His? Which his?

Suddenly, Long Aotian remembered what Jiangchen had just spoken of and fell to his knees in terror. “Veritable Lord, I am utterly loyal to you. Please believe me. Perhaps there’s been a mistake. I am not the reincarnation of the earth-attributed zombie ancestor!”

“After I slew the earth-attributed zombie ancestor who betrayed me, I purposely let his earthly soul reincarnate. How could I be mistaken? Of your three spiritual souls and seven physical souls, your earthly soul is his,” Jiangchen responded coolly.

“Veritable Lord, this subordinate is absolutely loyal to you!” Long Aotian said, his face filled with fear.

“Relax, I’m not planning to kill you; otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken you under my wing,” Jiangchen assured him.

“Yes!” Long Aotian responded, beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“You lack talent and wisdom, but being his reincarnation is enough. Although you only have his earthly soul, the ambition has not disappeared. That is enough,” Jiangchen said lightly.

“Yes!” Long Aotian dared not say more.

“Do you still want the wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed?” Jiangchen asked, looking at Long Aotian.

After a moment of silence and a shift in his gaze, Long Aotian replied, “Yes, this subordinate still wants it!”

“Good, it’s exactly this kind of greedy look!” Jiangchen said with a smile.

“This subordinate dare not!” Long Aotian lowered his head.

“If you want it, get it with your own abilities! I will give you one thing,” Jiangchen said lightly.

As he spoke, he waved his hand.

A bronze coffin covered with seals fell in the middle of the hall.

Jiangchen waved his hand. The seals burned away, and the coffin lid suddenly opened.

Creak!

Inside the coffin lay a man in a yellow robe. Cracks covered his entire body, similar to a shattered piece of porcelain. However, these cracks were filled with an azure liquid maintaining the broken body’s integrity.

A glued-together broken corpse?

“What is…this? Why do I feel a sense of familiarity?” Long Aotian asked, looking at the corpse inside the coffin.

“It’s the body of your earthly soul’s previous life,” Jiangchen replied, looking at Long Aotian.

“It’s him?” Long Aotian exclaimed.

“Yes, he is the earth-attributed zombie ancestor, also known as Dijiang. He is the one I annihilated. His heavenly soul, mortal soul, seven physical souls, and zombie ancestor seed were all shattered. I merged them and preserved them,” Jiangchen said, reminiscing.

“Veritable Lord, Dijiang is Dijiang, and I am me. I will always be loyal to Veritable Lord!” Long Aotian quickly pledged his loyalty again.

“Dijiang was destroyed. Even so, his corpse still has the strength of a consummate Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator. Treat it as a weapon. After all, this was once your body,” said Jiangchen casually.

“Yes. Thank you, Veritable Lord. I will definitely acquire the wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed,” declared Long Aotian, overcome with ecstasy.

Nodding, Jiangchen said, “Go refine it. Your earthly soul should be able to control it.”

“Yes!” Thrilled, Long Aotian left the grand hall with Dijiang’s body.

Jiangchen watched as Long Aotian disappeared outside the hall, his face sinking slightly. “Dijiang? What a pity! I should have kept you around. Compared to you, this Long Aotian is lacking in many aspects. Your fate is in your hands now.”

------

The emperor’s study, Borderless Heavenly Capital:

Gu Hai sat behind his desk, holding a report. He looked at Sima Changkong, who stood before him.

“A plan to divide Houqing and Ji Dihong?” Gu Hai furrowed his brow.

“Indeed. Houqing is at the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm, after all. His pledging allegiance to Ji Dihong is unfavorable to our Han Nation. However, Ji Dihong distrusts Houqing. We can exploit this to alienate Houqing from Ji Dihong completely. Please, Your Reverence, look it over,” requested Sima Changkong with utmost seriousness.

After extensive scrutiny, Gu Hai said with a slight frown, “So, you suggest that Lady Houtu write a covert letter to Houqing, which Ji Dihong ‘accidentally’ discovers? Also, you propose some tampering to increase Ji Dihong’s suspicion?”

“Correct. Let Ji Dihong believe Houqing is our pawn, leaving Houqing unable to explain himself,” confirmed Sima Changkong.

After a moment of silence, Gu Hai shook his head.

“Why?” inquired Sima Changkong, baffled.

“Although Ji Dihong is suspicious by nature, his current standing is no fluke. This plot of yours may fool others, but Ji Dihong will surely see through it. It wouldn’t divide them but might make Ji Dihong trust Houqing even more!” warned Gu Hai.

After deep consideration, Sima Changkong’s expression changed as he said, “Indeed. Your Holy Eminence, this official…this official failed to think this through.”

“No harm done,” reassured Gu Hai with a smile.

A guard’s voice rang out from outside the study. “Your Reverence, Lady Houtu seeks an audience.”

“Let her in,” Gu Hai commanded.

Upon entering the study, Lady Houtu greeted Gu Hai respectfully, “Thank you, Imperial Emperor Gu, for your rescue. Otherwise, my ill-fated brother might have gotten me killed this time.”

“Lady Houtu, it’s no trouble. You have worked tirelessly for eight hundred thousand years to revive Heaven Cang and have saved Wanyu, protecting her all the while. Saving you is what the Han Imperial Dynasty should do,” Gu Hai replied, standing up.

“Thank you, Imperial Emperor Gu. To think the Empress herself…,” Lady Houtu trailed off, moved.

“When I told Wanqing, she was the first to volunteer to rescue you. She’s even more grateful to you than I am, so there’s no need for such formality,” Gu Hai said with a smile.

Lady Houtu opened her mouth to respond, but her expression was complex.

“Lady Houtu, if you need anything, just say it. Don’t hesitate,” Gu Hai encouraged her with a smile.

Lady Houtu remained silent for a while before asking with a bitter smile, “My younger brother might be ungrateful, but he’s still my younger brother. Imperial Emperor Gu, if you encounter him in the future, could you spare his life?”

Gu Hai was silent for a moment before sighing, “Very well.”

He turned to Sima Changkong. “Mister Sima, you may proceed with the plan you mentioned earlier.”

“Oh? In that case, we need Lady Houtu to help us write a letter,” Sima Changkong replied, nodding.

“A letter?” Lady Houtu was taken aback.

Sima Changkong explained the plot to divide Houqing and Ji Dihong that he and Gu Hai had discussed earlier. Upon hearing it, Lady Houtu felt flabbergasted at first, but she felt touched when Sima Changkong elaborated.

“Thank you, Imperial Emperor Gu. Your actions will increase Ji Dihong’s trust in Houqing, preventing him from harming Houqing, but…I feel undeserving of your kindness. Imperial Emperor Gu, I have one more request,” said Lady Houtu, biting her lip.

“Please, Lady Houtu, go ahead,” urged Gu Hai.

“The wind-attributed zombie ancestor seed is the root of Houqing’s troubles. Imperial Emperor Gu, sparing him is enough. However, if the opportunity arises, could you help me remove his zombie ancestor seed?” Lady Houtu implored, prostrating herself before Gu Hai.

“To reduce his cultivation?” Gu Hai asked, puzzled.

“Yes. Only when he loses his cultivation will he truly see what’s around him. The zombie ancestor seed is blinding him; one day, it will be the death of him,” Lady Houtu explained urgently.

“Very well,” Gu Hai agreed, nodding.

-----

The Huang Heavenly Dynasty’s Jade Water Palace:

Houqing held a letter from Lady Houtu that had been covertly delivered.

The letter contained a page filled with mundane chatter, and alongside it, numerous pieces of torn paper covered in ink, making them unreadable.

“Elder Sister? Why did you send me this letter? It’s all just trivial matters and these pieces of paper soaked in ink?” Houqing was puzzled.

Creak!

The doors to the hall where Houqing was burst open.

“Who’s there?” Houqing’s face changed as he saw Ji Dihong leading a line of Huang Nation officials into the room.

“Your Holy Eminence? Why are you here?” Houqing asked in surprise.

Before Ji Dihong could speak, Emperor Kong shot Houqing a suspicious look. “Houqing, we received a report that you’ve been secretly communicating with Gu Hai.”

“No, it’s a letter from my elder sister, not Gu Hai!” Houqing said while glaring.

“A letter?” Everyone’s face fell as they looked at the letter in Houqing’s hand.

Besides an intact piece of paper, there were other torn scraps of paper in the letter. Was Houqing the one who had torn them?

A sense of dread crept over Houqing as his expression changed.

It looked too much like evidence of a clandestine correspondence with Gu Hai.

“Your Holy Eminence, listen to me. It’s not what you think. This is a setup. My elder sister…my elder sister would not harm me?!” Houqing pleaded in desperation.

Houqing reached out for the scraps of paper, but Emperor Kong shot him a warning look. “Don’t move!”

Houqing wanted to stop Emperor Kong, but if he did, it would make it even harder for him to explain himself.

Emperor Kong quickly assembled the torn pieces into a whole. Despite a layer of ink covering the paper, he had the means to reveal what was beneath, which exposed faint characters.

“Haha! Just as I thought. Your Holy Eminence, look! This letter mentions a plot hatched by Houqing and Gu Hai to poison Fengbo and kill him! Such sinister intentions! How insidious of Gu Hai! When will you stop deceiving us, Houqing?!” Emperor Kong roared furiously.

“Your Holy Eminence, this official will capture Houqing!” The many officials were infuriated.

“I didn’t do anything! That’s not what’s going on!” Houqing protested, but the room was in an uproar.

“Wait a moment!” Cangjie suddenly interjected.

Emperor Kong glared at him. “Mister Cangjie, you can’t be pleading for this traitor, right?”

Cangjie simply shook his head and examined the reconstructed letter. After a moment, he smiled. “I believe Houqing is innocent. This letter is Gu Hai’s plot.”

“What?” the crowd gasped in surprise.

Houqing looked immensely relieved and moved. “Thank you, Master Cangjie.”

“How can this be? If we hadn’t arrived in time, he would’ve destroyed the evidence!” Emperor Kong retorted.

Turning to Ji Dihong, Cangjie asked, “What do you think, Your Holy Eminence?”

Ji Dihong narrowed his eyes and nodded after a moment. “I believe in Houqing too.”

Since Ji Dihong had stated his stance, the officials did not dare contradict him.

“Thank you, Your Holy Eminence!” Houqing responded, tears of gratitude welling in his eyes.

Ji Dihong simply nodded in return. Now, he finally accepted Houqing. As he held the letter in his hands, a slight frown appeared on his face as if he had a sense of what was to come.