The next day, the third day of the first lunar month.
The city gate of Fenggao County opened suddenly, and Shengjia slowly drove out of the official road.
The Ming and Huang ceremonial guards meander all the way up to the top of Sheshou Mountain. The majestic gate tower is as high as ten feet.
All civil and military officials bowed down together, and the emperor and empress were sent up to the gate tower by the crown prince, and then they were all dressed up and waiting for the auspicious time, ready to march to the top of the meditation altar.
Downstairs.
In the front row of all the officials is a long row of stone pavilions dedicated to important officials kneeling and worshiping. The gauze curtain flutters and the palace people surround it.
Xie Yun turned his head, looked past the bustling heads behind him, and looked to the other side of the hillside—
There, Shenguimen has set up twelve checkpoints, and each checkpoint is guarded by masters; the distribution extends from the foot of the mountain all the way to the top of Sheshou Mountain, and welcomes the famous martial arts sects in the Central Plains to come and challenge.
Anyone who clears all the checkpoints and goes straight to the top of the mountain can become the master of the world's martial arts. The four famous families of the Eight Mountains decent sect need to bow their heads and serve as their orders.
"The gods and ghosts in the Central Plains martial arts are open to the ring. Do you know how many challengers have come?"
Xie Yun turned his gaze back. Yin Kaiyang was standing beside him, looking leisurely at the bright yellow curtain dancing in the wind.
"..."
"Less than twenty," Yin Kaiyang said with a smile.
"… so what?"
"Power is a good thing, everyone wants it, so when the Shenguimen wantonly annexed the sect farm, everyone jumped out and shouted loudly; power is also dreadful, so when these people found that the Shenguimen was related to the imperial power , They all flinched, and only dared to send the young and frivolous young people in the sect to run for the so-called leader of the world's martial arts, but they themselves hid behind the scenes with puppet strings."
"If I set up a ring in Suran Mountain, there would be at least ten times more challengers than now, but now I can't even make up twenty," Yin Kaiyang sighed regretfully: "It was a waste of all my preparations, arranging to guard There are more than twenty masters in the level."
They did not lower their voices on purpose, and the important ministers beside them looked sideways secretly, but when their eyes touched Yin Kaiyang, they immediately retracted them.
Xie Yun asked: "So what? Even if you can become the leader of the martial arts today, those sects will really listen to your orders in the future?"
"Yes," Yin Kaiyang said lightly, "Always give them time."
Yin Kaiyang's brows and eyes were covered by a mask. From the lower half of his face and body, he couldn't tell his age, but he felt solid and steady, without any decadence brought by the years.
There is a kind of coercion around him, it feels like a condescending golden statue in a temple, as if as long as King Kong glares and presses with his backhand, it is enough to crush all living beings under his feet, making people subconsciously intimidated and surrendered—— And Xie Yun knew that it was actually Yin Kaiyang's cultivation of the "Warrior Way" mental method, combined with Xuanwu Yin's ancestral mind-stimulating technique, which resulted in this effect.
Soldiers who, deception also.
Xie Yun looked away, only to hear Yin Kaiyang laugh almost silently.
"—In the beginning there will always be some resistance, but there are also people who follow the trend, some follow the trend, and some speculate... The number of the latter will increase and spread more and more, because people are always good at being ruled and controlled. It's been that way for centuries."
"What's more, I don't plan to rule them," Yin Kaiyang said casually: "I have already proposed to the Holy One that after recovering the Central Plains martial arts, we will implement the recruitment system and the land equalization system for the major sects. This alone is enough to change the state of the world. , otherwise, why do you think the Holy Majesty supports me so much?"
Xie Yun's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Yin Kaiyang's words seemed to imply that he did not perform the puppet technique on the saint.
"...but the recruiting system alone is enough to change the foundation of the martial arts in the Central Plains. The obstacles and resistance you encounter cannot be small. What are you going to do then?"
Yin Kaiyang smiled and asked back: "Ah Yun, when you were young, you always wanted to resist the secret door, what did I do?"
Xie Yun froze for a moment.
"Then..." Xie Yun said again hoarsely after a long while, his voice was as cold as ice: "When you use the method of rebels to die to suppress all sects and unify the world of martial arts... what is the next step?"
Yin Kaiyang didn't answer, and looked up at the gate tower in the distance.
On the top of the nine-story building, the emperor's flag fluttered, and the emperor and empress dressed in grand ceremonies were standing side by side under the towering jade steps of the Fengchan Altar.
That is the ninety-five supreme beings in the country, the pinnacle of power and wealth in the world.
"Don't look at me with such eyes..." Yin Kaiyang said slowly under Xie Yun's indescribable gaze, "You should be very clear that the people who understand you and me best in this world are each other..."
"Just like when I brought you back to Chang'an from the Qianzhou wasteland, it was because I hoped that a hundred years later, I would hand over these things to you to pass on..."
Xie Yun opened his mouth, but did not make any rebuttal to this sentence.
It took a long time before he took a breath, and his voice was so soft that it went away with the wind: "—then do you know why I even exiled myself in Mobei for several years in order to escape from the secret door?"
Yin Kaiyang turned his head to look at him.
Xie Yun gritted his teeth tightly, but there was a hint of malice on the corner of his lips: "Because I have grown up, and you are not dead yet."
On the towering gate.
"The auspicious time has come—the Holy One is invited to ascend the altar—"
Before the long ending was finished, the palace people had already arranged the layers of dresses on the emperor. Tai Changqing personally bowed to lead the way.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, some of the guards stationed around the altar suddenly stepped forward and stood between Empress Wu and the emperor without saying a word.
At a glance, the queen saw that these people were masked in iron armor, and knew that they were secret warriors, and she immediately felt a little bit in her heart: "What are you doing?"
"Report to Your Majesty the Empress," a warrior lowered his head and cupped his fists, but his tone was not very polite: "For safety's sake, the head of the sect is going to remonstrate, please ask Your Majesty to offer sacrifices to the ground first, and after the enshrinement is completed, please ask the Empress to go up to the altar."
"When was this decided? Why doesn't this palace know?"
"His Royal Highness, the head of the sect has an audience this morning, and the Holy Majesty has agreed."
"The Great Ceremony of Fengchan, everything has its own way. Taichang Qing leads hundreds of officials to set a good procedure. How can you change it in front of the world?" Empress Wu's tone suddenly turned sharp, and she couldn't refuse: "—Your Majesty, what do you think?"
When the emperor turned his head, he seemed to be a little hesitant and uncertain. Behind the layers of jade beads hanging down from the crown, the emperor's eyes seemed to be very cloudy, and he opened his mouth hesitantly after a while.
Empress Wu didn't wait for him to make a sound, so she asked again aggressively: "Furthermore, when the Holy Majesty Feng Chan reads the sacrificial text, someone needs to stand behind him holding jade policies and other things. If I don't go up to the altar together, is it necessary for the Holy Majesty to do these things in person?" Things won't work? It's ridiculous!"
"..." The emperor turned his eyes to the secret warrior, hesitatingly said: "... I think what the queen said seems to be very reasonable..."
"Your Majesty," the prince said suddenly.
The prince, who didn't have much sense of presence, was suddenly focused by everyone present, and suddenly felt a great anxiety about what he was going to say next—especially when he was stared at by his mother's extremely dignified and calm eyes.
That gaze ran through his childhood, and the older he got, the colder that gaze became, and there was a kind of thorn-like thing that made him timid and fearful. He instinctively wanted to look away, but another mature and resolute figure appeared in his mind in a blink of an eye, holding a sword and holding a drink in his envious eyes, handsome and calm: "The country is vast and vast, but there is no place for a person to shrink back." Fang Cun... Wouldn't it be even more useless to die if you just waited to die?... "
"Report to Your Majesty," the prince gritted his teeth, and knelt down on one knee facing his mother's gaze: "—I am entrusted with the East Palace, and I should report to the gods of heaven and earth, and offer sacrifices to the mountains and rivers. The heart of the son of the whole man, the gift of the heir, to His Majesty!"
After that, he bowed his head and bowed down.
The air at the scene seemed to be condensed, the prince's back felt like needles, and thick cold sweat oozed from his temples.
It seemed like a long time passed, and it seemed like a blink of an eye, when he heard the emperor's relieved voice from above his head: "The prince's words are very appropriate! If so, let the prince follow me to the altar."
Empress Wu clenched her fingers in the treasure-encrusted armor suddenly, and the golden needle pierced her skin in the sleeve.
At the same time, in a canopy of towering ancient trees in the distant forest, Shan Chao half-kneeled on the top of a branch, with one hand habitually resting on the hilt of Qixing Longyuan's sword, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
He is skilled in archery and has extraordinary eyesight. He can still see clearly from such a long distance. The back of the Empress Fengguanxiapei did not follow the Holy Majesty to climb the ninety-nine white marble steps—it was the Crown Prince who accompanied the Emperor in the middle of the road. While kneeling and worshiping, he slowly walked towards the Fengchan altar.
Could it be... There was a flaw in the plan arranged by Xie Yun
Shan Chao's first reaction was to clenched the hilt of the sword tightly, his whole body tensed like a bird of prey ready to strike—then he realized what he was doing, smiled self-deprecatingly, and let go of the long sword.
When he raised his hand, he could vaguely see through his sleeves, a scarlet ribbon wrapped around his firm and smooth wrist.
At the same moment, in the stone pavilion at the foot of the gate tower.
The important officials kowtowed their heads in unison in the ritual and music, only Xie Yun looked at the top of the ten-zhang gate tower, and instantly realized that something was wrong, and immediately stepped forward.
—The next moment, there was only a "clang" sound, and he was abruptly blocked by the long knife coming across his chest!
The scabbard of the long knife was as bright red as blood, and it was icy cold to the touch, and three characters with complicated strokes were engraved in black gold seal: Xintinghou. Xie Yun looked in the direction where the blade extended, Yin Kaiyang was staring at him with a smile, and shook his head.
"Report-"
The imperial guard rushed over quickly, entered the pavilion regardless of the obstruction, and knelt heavily behind Xie Yun: "Report to the commander! Jiang Yuan, the head of Kongtong, broke into the eighth checkpoint, and was seriously injured by Lei Zhongtang, the hidden door thunderbolt. The end; Wang Chonghe, the deputy head of Huashan, broke through to the eleventh level, and was hit on the top of the head by Jing Ling, the first disciple of the secret door, and now he is alive and dead, and the rest of them have lost!"
"—Look," Yin Kaiyang seemed to feel amused, "I knew that only the Kongtong and Huashan families would go all out, and the rest of them really have reached their limit..."
Xie Yun's face sank like water, and he used two fingers to push Xintinghou down from his chest inch by inch in front of him: "Now, how many people in the God and Ghost Sect have practiced that evil skill?"
Yin Kaiyang put away the knife with great interest, but did not answer.
Xie Yun resolutely turned to the guards behind him: "Order Ma Xin to pass through the eleventh level with the Tai'a sword!"