(PS: Yesterday I saw some friends mention typos, and I would like to apologize here.
Indeed, there are many places with typos.
One reason is that I wrote the book in one go, often unaware of the mistakes.
The other reason is that I deleted many drafts a few days ago due to certain matters, and I have been rushing to catch up on drafts recently.
Therefore, I kindly request everyone, if you see any typos, please leave a message in the book review, and I will make corrections once I see them.
Thank you all.)
National Master Guo Jing!
This is currently the greatest enemy of the three, without exception.
Due to the deterrence of this "Immortal" Chu Minghao and the promise of rewards five years later, neither Emperor Zhao Song nor the civil and military officials would likely oppose the three of them.
Instead, they would provide some assistance that did not involve their own lives and fortunes, which can be confirmed.
Aside from the Nightmare, who would definitely be their enemy, only National Master Guo Jing could be considered a mortal enemy, and it was a kind that would not rest until one of them was dead.
Even with the deterrence of Chu Minghao, it would be ineffective.
Therefore, the first task given to the three by Chu Minghao was to kill Guo Jing.
Xu Shilan said, "Wu Xiaodi, do you have any information about the method of Zhege Caisheng?"
Wu Pifu nodded, recalling as he spoke, "Zhege Caisheng, also known as Caisheng Zhege, is a horrific act commonly seen in the old society... feudal society, or during chaotic times. It is generally prevalent among human traffickers or beggar groups. They would cruelly break the bones and cut the skin of abducted women and children, or even some frail adult males, artificially creating disabilities or monsters to use as tools for begging or deceiving money."
Xu Shilan and Yamada both valued this knowledge that had been lost before the Three Wars.
After listening carefully, Xu Shilan said, "The description of Zhege Caisheng in my cultivation method is even more terrifying and... bizarre."
"Specifically, there are evil techniques such as creating livestock, flower vases, and painting skins, followed by strange arts like praying to gods, nurturing corpses, and breaking yin, as well as dark arts like worshiping spirits, calling souls, and offering sacrifices. In the descriptions, using flower vases combined with nurturing corpses and calling souls can create something akin to artificial intelligence."
Wu Pifu did not understand for a moment and instinctively asked, "What does artificial intelligence have to do with Guo Jing?"
Xu Shilan explained, "From the images after the two Golden Strength Warriors were shattered, there were two child souls inside? Why would two souls emerge from the two puppets?"
Wu Pifu said, "Isn't it just some evil magic? There are plenty of such things in the Dream World, whether it's Nightmares, ghosts, or various grotesque beings. Isn't that worth being surprised about?"
Xu Shilan nodded but still said, "It is not surprising, but the key issue is... why are there specifically child souls in these two puppets? You mentioned Gao Da before, right? That refers to mechas, doesn't it?"
Wu Pifu nodded, and Xu Shilan continued, "As the saying goes, 'If not necessary, do not increase the entity.' This is especially important in mecha design. I think that even if the Golden Strength Warriors are not mechas, they belong to some kind of construct. If it is not necessary, why would Guo Jing include child souls in them? These child souls must play a role. I have two guesses: one is an energy system, and the other is a control system."
Wu Pifu opened his mouth.
He originally intended to say that these bizarre evil techniques were not scientific, but this was not the time for arguing.
He followed Xu Shilan's speculation and thought further.
After a moment, Wu Pifu said, "So this method of binding souls is the evil technique in Zhege Caisheng?"
Xu Shilan spread her hands and said, "After all, I am not familiar with these; you are more familiar with this era and this world. This is just my speculation and analysis based on the existing information. This is also our only clue at the moment."
Indeed, they currently had no clues regarding Guo Jing's whereabouts and issues.
"What about the old emperor?"
While continuing to eat fruits, Yamada suddenly said.
The two looked at him simultaneously, and Yamada, without any awareness, continued eating fruits while saying, "Does the old emperor not know Guo Jing's background? Guo Jing is the National Master he appointed, and he doesn't investigate his identity and background? Does he not know what Guo Jing is doing? No salary? No supplies?"
Wu Pifu and Xu Shilan's eyes brightened.
They exchanged glances, and Wu Pifu immediately said, "That's right, the old emperor cannot possibly be unaware of these. That thing was created right under his nose!"
He sighed and said, "So how should we investigate the truth? The old emperor is afraid of Chu Minghao, this 'Immortal,' not us cultivators."
"That's fine."
As Xu Shilan spoke, she stood up and picked up a stack of name cards from the table in the front hall, all invitations for the three to attend banquets.
She selected one and pulled out a name card from King Kang, smiling as she said, "Don't think of the emperor as some kind of god among mortals. He is just an ordinary person. To get things done, he must pass through one person after another, forming an organization to act. The emperor is like this, organizations are like this, and company groups are the same. Whether collecting materials or Zhege Caisheng, as long as it is done, there will be traces left."
"I don't believe no one knows these traces!"
Meanwhile, in a certain underground secret chamber of the palace, Emperor Zhao Ji was speaking to the bedridden Guo Jing, "National Master, please rest for now. This place is quiet and secret, and it will not let the cultivators discover you. Once you recover from your injuries, we will proceed with the supervision of the Golden Army."
Guo Jing was filled with gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty. This poor Daoist will certainly devote himself to the utmost until death!!"
Zhao Ji smiled and patted Guo Jing's arm to show his favor.
He then instructed the accompanying head eunuch to place down some supplements like century-old ginseng.
After a moment, Zhao Ji left the underground secret chamber.
After leaving the secret chamber at a considerable distance, Zhao Ji spoke in a deep voice to the head eunuch beside him, "Haven't you fully grasped the ritual method for the Golden Legion yet?"
The head eunuch lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, there are all kinds of offerings in the temple. They have also analyzed the ritual method of the Golden Legion in detail and confirmed that it contains the evil techniques of Zhege Caisheng and witchcraft. However, aside from that, there are also some parts they have never heard of. From the analysis of the techniques, it could either be a family guardian spirit or a fox spirit system, or... demon techniques."
Zhao Ji said impatiently, "This Guo Jing must have something on him; otherwise, why would I appoint him as the National Master? Why would I give him such honor? But now it cannot continue... One year, I will only give you and the offering institute one year. If you still have not mastered the ritual method by then, you need not come to see me!"
The head eunuch trembled all over and immediately knelt down, saying, "I will obey the Emperor's command!"
Zhao Ji nodded and said, "Get up. It is not that I am anxious, nor that I am cold-hearted. It is truly because an Immortal has appeared in the world. How can I let this once-in-a-millennium opportunity slip away? This is a great virtue and fortune that even the First Emperor did not have... Do well, and if I have the chance to attain the Dao, I will surely elevate you and your family."
The head eunuch was overwhelmed with gratitude, and words were unnecessary.
In that secret chamber, Guo Jing buried his head in the bed, but his eyes were filled with coldness, ferocity, killing intent, and madness...
On the other side, Wu Pifu ordered the steward sent by the royal family to relay their message about attending the banquet at King Kang's residence.
Since it was a dinner party, the three had nothing to do during the day and began practicing their own cultivation methods.
Wu Pifu naturally practiced the Tiger Demon Technique and the Green Python Shedding Skin Technique.
He had only practiced the Tiger Demon Technique for three weeks and stopped after about two hours.
Now, his Tiger Demon Technique had reached the peak stage, only one step away from the highest stage, the Ultimate Manifestation.
The practice effect was very slow; from the personal information data interface, after three weeks of practice, there was not even a 0.01% increase, making the cost-performance ratio too low.
In contrast, the Green Python Shedding Skin Technique, which was a human-immortal martial art, was still at the entry-level stage.
He practiced from morning until afternoon, practicing for over four hours, directly increasing the proficiency from 1.6% to 2.3%.
Moreover, he discovered that the human-immortal martial art had very low requirements for comprehension and mentality.
Besides practicing punches to improve proficiency, he had a bowl of tiger bone deer blood soup for lunch, and his proficiency surprisingly soared by 1%.
Now, his proficiency in the Green Python Shedding Skin Technique was around 3.3%!
"That's right. I don't know what comes after the human-immortal martial art, but at least from the perspective of practicing skin and flesh, it is all about enhancing the origin of the physical body. This is different from national arts, which control strength. Therefore, if there are any great supplements, they can significantly accelerate my accumulation speed in the human-immortal martial art."
Other Dream Worlds might not be able to achieve this, but this world could.
He was the National Master appointed by Emperor Zhao Song, supported by the royal family, which meant he could do nothing and still receive money and grain every year, and his rank was not low.
He, Yamada, and Xu Shilan were all second-rank court officials, plus the occasional rewards from the emperor, which were enough to purchase those great supplements.
"Zhao Ji, Zhao Ji, Zhao Ji..."
The three had practiced their cultivation methods all day, and it was now around four in the afternoon.
They planned to attend the banquet at five.
At this moment, they were all resting, drinking tea, and snacking on some pastries.
Yamada was fiddling with some metal parts, while Xu Shilan was recording something on a piece of paper with a plucked tail feather.
Both of them heard Wu Pifu repeatedly muttering the name of the emperor of the Zhao Song dynasty.
Yamada said casually, "What’s up? Want to take him down?"
Wu Pifu shook his head and said, "Not really. You all know that I am not familiar with history, just have a rough idea. I vaguely remember that this Zhao Ji seems to be dying or abdicating soon, and then there will be a new emperor in Zhao Song, who seems to be this King Kang Zhao Gou."
Upon hearing this, Yamada lost interest, while Xu Shilan asked, "If that's the case, we could actually manipulate this to gain even greater fame and prestige, which would be beneficial for upgrading our sanctuary."
Wu Pifu nodded, "I will try to recall... And this Guo Jing, I really feel somewhat familiar with. He is not Guo Jing, as Guo Jing was born after the Jingkang Incident, but Guo Jing, Guo Jing, seems to have done something like the Six Jia Formation or Six Jia Method in history, requiring seven thousand seven hundred seventy-seven people to set up the formation, claiming to be invincible... Could it be that there are seven thousand seven hundred seventy-seven Golden Strength Warriors?"
Xu Shilan laughed and said, "If there really are seven thousand seven hundred seventy-seven Golden Strength Warriors, then this Song Dynasty is truly remarkable; it could even unify the world."
Wu Pifu shook his head, unable to say anything.
On one hand, he lacked confidence in his memory, and on the other, he did not believe Zhao Song could truly create seven thousand seven hundred seventy-seven Golden Strength Warriors.
The appointed time soon arrived, and the three boarded a luxurious carriage heading to King Kang's residence.
When they arrived outside King Kang's residence, as soon as they got off the carriage, they unexpectedly saw King Kang Zhao Gou smiling at the entrance of the residence, with his officials and guards standing respectfully behind him.
In addition, there was someone Wu Pifu never expected...
That little girl with eyes resembling a small mute, who seemed to be the princess of the Zhao Song dynasty.
Just as Wu Pifu and the others got off the carriage, the chirping on his shoulder suddenly flew up and headed towards the little girl.
To his surprise, the little girl was not afraid at all.
Instead, she stared wide-eyed at the chirping and then extended her hand for it to perch.
The chirping stood on her palm, tilting its head to look at her, while the little girl also tilted her head, and for a moment, both the bird and the girl appeared quite adorable.
Wu Pifu felt a sinking sensation in his heart.
The chirping was actually quite shy and usually would not let Yamada or Xu Shilan touch it, yet now it allowed this little girl to touch it and even perch on her hand.
At that moment, Wu Pifu made a decision in his heart.
He planned to ask Zhao Gou at the banquet about the little mute and this little girl!
(End of Chapter)