Hearing this, the old man frowned: "I clearly didn't say much, didn't do much, and didn't show any hostility towards you. How did you... figure out the clues?"
Chu Tianxiao smiled slightly: "Because the style of painting has changed."
The old man paused, not understanding what Chu Tianxiao meant, and then he continued, "Although the rewards in the secret rooms of the Imperial Garden are ever-changing, they have only one purpose, which is to strengthen one's own forces! And that is exactly what I experienced before... So, the reward of strengthening the competitor itself is strange. You, the so-called 'weapon spirit', didn't mention the main building behind the inner secret room, but kept asking me to choose the treasure chest and reward..."
Chu Tianxiao spread his hands and said, "These three things you conjured are indeed extraordinary, but to me, this is simply an insult to my intelligence! As long as I use the key to open the door leading to the main building and grab a good position, I will have a 90% chance of winning this ultimate trial. By then, the entire Imperial Garden will be mine. Why would I care about your current reward of picking one out of three treasure boxes?"
Chu Tianxiao looked at the old man with a mocking smile on his face: "You underestimate me too much. What I want is the entire Imperial Garden! And you keep talking about things I don't care about. Do you think I will be moved if you give me some immediate benefits?"
"Hmm... I guess once I make a choice, I will fall into your trap. I don't know what will happen then, but I think you can do whatever you want to me, whether it's flat or round."
"Am I right, Mo family ancestor?" The old man was silent for a while, and then laughed: "Yes! That's right! You are very smart... But the more you are like this, the more you deserve to die!"
After receiving a positive answer, the clues in Chu Tianxiao's mind suddenly came together. From then on, everything became clear...
Why did Prime Minister Mo know so many secrets? Why did he do so many things? It was because he had connections in the Imperial Garden!
"As I expected... It happened before that 20 million was enough to impress the 'old man' and get three treasures... In the final analysis, there was something wrong with the spirit of the Imperial Garden!"
"If I'm right, that thing should have fallen into disrepair and gradually lost control of the Imperial Garden, and is even on the verge of death. And this ancestor of the Mo family should be the winner of a certain battle for the Imperial Garden or someone close to him? After the one-year ownership expired, he was unwilling to give up the Imperial Garden, so he kept this thing and arranged many back-up plans... Finally, he took advantage of the great opportunity when the Imperial Garden spirit itself was extremely weak and successfully stole part of the control of the Imperial Garden! Well, during this period, he may have contacted his accomplices with interests and favors..."
“In the words of later generations, this is the theft of administrator privileges, but it should be only a very small part, otherwise he would have crushed me long ago... But even so, he also knew a lot of secrets. Although he was not very clear about the matters of the ultimate trial, he had been lurking in the Imperial Garden, waiting for the opportunity to permanently seize the entire Imperial Garden!”
Chu Tianxiao looked at the old man and felt quite amused: "Very interesting... For this opportunity, he made himself look like neither human nor ghost... The Mo family is really a group of sick guys."
Although he was mocking in his heart, Chu Tianxiao also knew that the opportunity that this "old man" had been waiting for for many years had finally come. Their Mo family had not participated in the battle for the Imperial Garden since then, and they had been secretly accumulating and preparing for this. And now, this "old man" must have figured out something, and wanted to use the bait of the first secret room to lure him into a trap, and use this ultimate trial to seize the entire Imperial Garden!
Chu Tianxiao was not very clear about the details, but after reading "The Secret Records of the Imperial Garden", he could roughly infer that the old man's method was very feasible. Once it succeeded, it would mean that all the efforts made by the Chu family before were all for the benefit of the Mo family! And Chu Tianxiao was even more so - he would either be possessed or die in the Imperial Garden!
Everything seemed to be clear now... the mystery was solved.
"Interesting... Is this the Mo family's plan? Well, now there is another layer of grudge between the Mo family and my Chu family. It seems that... after using me, it is more likely that I will die in the Imperial Garden?"
"Heh... As expected, while I was taking action, my opponent wasn't idle either. This mantis stalks the cicada while the oriole waits behind. It's quite interesting..."
"But if this is true... there must be another hidden reason for kicking me out at the beginning... But, it doesn't matter that much. At this point, the Mo family's plan has a great chance of success..."
"What a pity..."
Chu Tianxiao looked at the old man and said sarcastically, "Not only is the story well-written, but the bluffing and intimidation are also well-made."
After saying this, the old man's expression changed slightly. Before Chu Tianxiao spoke, he said slowly, "Since entering the Imperial Garden and being assigned to a small hill, I have guessed that a troublesome thing will appear. Originally... I thought it would appear during the final battle for the main building, but looking at Feng Shiming's recent formation, it is obvious that he can't wait..."
Chu Tianxiao's eyes became brighter and brighter. "You really appeared in front of me ahead of time, which made me more certain... You are not as strong as I thought before! So, don't threaten me with words. If you can make a move, why would you show up in advance? Why don't you use the old trick of choosing one of the three treasure chests? Why not just crush it to death!"
Hearing this, the old man said coldly: "Do you think I really can't do anything to you?"
Chu Tianxiao waved his hand: "Come on, you're welcome!"
This rogue-like attitude made the old man dumbfounded. He clenched his claws into fists, as if he wanted to punch Chu Tianxiao to death...
But he didn't make a move after all. He just snorted coldly: "I don't want to make a move on you, a young man. I'll just let you wait for death here!"
As he said this, the old man turned around and left. Seeing this, Chu Tianxiao murmured, "He really has become neither human nor ghost... I really can't do anything..."
As he thought this, a confident smile appeared on his face: "That's good..."
Before he finished speaking, the old man suddenly felt a chill on his back. It turned out to be Chu Tianxiao who used the Starlight Transformation. He got close to him and a rain of meteor swords fell down, with starlight sword energy spreading in all directions!
In a flash, the old man saw a meaningful smile on Chu Tianxiao's lips, and his confident words...
"Since you can't do it, then I'll... not be polite!"
In the blink of an eye, countless starlight condensed into swords, as magnificent as a meteor shower, but carrying a ruthless murderous intent, which pierced the old man's body with holes!
With two whoosh sounds, the old man quickly moved away a few steps, and the injuries on his body recovered instantly, but he showed a trace of pain, staring at Chu Tianxiao with his eyes bloodshot!
"It's useless! It will be the same even if you use a million or ten thousand swords. You can't really hurt me!"
The old man snorted, "You didn't even think of that? Looks like I have to take back some of my compliments..."
"No, I've thought of it." Chu Tianxiao smiled slightly, "It's indeed impossible for me to 'kill' you with my current strength, but that doesn't matter, as long as you still feel 'pain', that's enough..."
"You!—" The old man understood the subtext of Chu Tianxiao's words and was immediately stunned, with an expression of incomparable resentment and shame in his eyes...
"If I didn't exist in this way, if my power was still there... Damn it!"
Chu Tianxiao looked at the old man and said leisurely, "Why? Have you ever considered what would happen if I didn't fall for it? Are you helpless now?"
Hearing this, the old man sneered: "If you insist on seeking death now, I will only spend a little more to help you... Do you really think that I can't deal with you if I don't do it myself?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's figure slowly disappeared into the distance. Then, a big pit suddenly appeared here, trapping Chu Tianxiao directly. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a pool of water in front of him, and he was standing in front of a pile of rubble at the edge of the pool.
"Kill the nine-headed python within half an incense stick!"