Fang Ren passed through the heavy guards and came to a secret room in the ship.
He was not worried that Lin Kuang would follow him.
As a branch base, the central building ship has monitoring methods left by the direct lineage. Once someone sneaks in or breaks in by force, the direct lineage will know it immediately.
The dark room was not big, with a sea chart hanging on the wall and a stone screen as tall as a person.
Fang Ren walked up to the screen, cut his palm, and smeared the blood in the circular groove on the screen.
This is a Taoist weapon used to connect the direct bloodline. In addition to the Fang family, the Lin and Zheng families also have similar things.
Soon, the groove was covered with blood.
During this process, blood was continuously absorbed by the grooves, and gradually, the originally rough stone grooves became as smooth as a mirror.
An expressionless Fang Lezhong appeared on the mirror.
"The leader of the foreign tribe, Fang Ren, pays homage to the elders of the Lezhong tribe."
Fang Ren bowed with his hands clasped.
"What is it?"
Fang Lezhong asked calmly.
"Report to the elders."
Fang Ren bowed his head and said respectfully, "Just now, Lin Kuang arrived at the ship."
"Lin Kuang..."
Fang Lezhong was stunned and said in shock: "He's not dead?!"
"Yes."
Fang Ren continued, "I can confirm that it is indeed Lin Kuang. He seems to have just escaped and searched the sea for a while. He only found the Fang family's ship, so he showed up to ask for help and asked me to help him contact the Lin family."
“…”
Fang Lezhong fell silent.
He didn't want to believe it, but he knew Fang Ren would never lie to him.
After a moment, Fang Lezhong asked, "Have you contacted the Lin family?"
"No."
Fang Ren shook his head, "I know this matter is of great importance, so I came here to ask for your instructions."
"Did he say anything about the past twenty years?"
Fang Lezhong asked.
"No details."
Fang Ren replied, "He only said that he fell into a trap and was imprisoned in the imperial prison."
"Imperial Prison..."
Fang Lezhong narrowed his eyes and quickly rejected the idea: "This is impossible."
"Why?"
Fang Ren was surprised. "Although there are many ways to trap Yang Shen, the Imperial Prison is the most labor-saving method for more than 20 years."
"You are right, but the problem is, once you are trapped in the Imperial Prison, there is absolutely no way to escape!"
Fang Lezhong said in a deep voice, "If it were someone else, they might believe it, but someone in my Fang family was once trapped in the Imperial Prison and was imprisoned until his death."
"Golden Body Nine Transformations?!"
Fang Ren was extremely shocked. "Even the Golden Body Nine Transformations could trap someone to death. How did Lin Kuang get out?"
"It's obvious that he was released by the court."
Fang Lezhong continued to sneer.
Join the court?
Fang Ren's expression changed.
"Don't panic."
Fang Lezhong consoled him, "Now that things have come to this, I can tell you some secrets."
secret?
Fang Ren was overjoyed when he heard that and bent his body even lower.
Being able to learn the secrets about the direct bloodline means that he is closer to the direct bloodline.
"Long before Lin Kuang became the Taoist master, the Yongtai Emperor, who was the Crown Prince Qing at the time, had already established contact with our Fang family."
Fang Lezhong chuckled, "And what Lin Kuang did after he became the Taoist master caused dissatisfaction among the people in the clan... So, we told Emperor Yongtai a little secret."
“…”
Fang Ren's face was drooping with a dull expression, "So, what happened back then..."
"We told Emperor Yongtai about the rumors about the Immortal God from the three ancient clans."
Fang Lezhong raised his lips, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, no one thought that Emperor Yongtai could actually get the Eternal Heaven."
"So that's how it is."
Fang Ren was thoughtful, and then he thought of something and asked, "Yang Shen Jiubian can predict danger in advance. Even if Lin Kuang went to the capital because he was blinded by greed and ignored the danger, he should have been alert when we planned this. Why..."
"We did not attack him directly. The news leaked to Emperor Yongtai was just a rumor."
Fang Lezhong showed disdain on his face, "What's more, what happened in the Fang family's land cannot be detected by a mere Yang Shen Nine Transformations."
"That's good."
Fang Ren breathed a sigh of relief and asked again: "Since he has surrendered to the imperial court... I don't know what I should do. If I have any ill will towards him, I'm afraid he will sense it immediately."
"You don't have to do anything."
Fang Lezhong's eyes flashed.
"ah?"
Fang Ren was stunned.
"He is no longer a Taoist master. He poses no threat to the Fang family. Even if they are unlucky, it is the Lin family's misfortune. It has nothing to do with us."
Fang Lezhong laughed and said, "Please stop the ship for a while. I will notify the Lin family to pick him up... After all, we have known each other for many years. You can take this opportunity to catch up."
"Is that so..."
Fang Ren seemed somewhat unwilling and helpless, and bowed to accept the order: "Junior understands."
Fang Lezhong nodded and disappeared into the mirror.
Fang Ren stood there for a while, waiting for the mirror to return to stone, then he left the secret room and returned to the observatory.
"What took you so long?"
Lin Kuang narrowed his eyes, his eyes flickering.
"Do you think it's easy to make people believe that you're still alive?"
Fang Ren said with a sour face, "If you are afraid that I will sell you out, then get out of here right away. Once the direct descendant of the Fang family arrives, you won't be able to leave."
"...Hehe, just asking."
Lin Kuang looked at Fang Ren carefully and suddenly laughed, "If I didn't believe you, I wouldn't show up."
Fang Ren's expression improved a little, and he said, "The Lin family is worried about me and refuses to reveal their location."
"Um?"
Lin Kuang frowned, "What should we do then?"
"What else can I do?"
Fang Ren said unhappily, "Didn't you notice that this building ship has been fixed... I gave the location to the Lin family and asked them to come over."
"this……"
Lin Kuang was moved, he stood up and bowed to Fang Ren, "If Brother Fang is punished this time, I will ask the Lin family's direct lineage to mediate."
"It's not as serious as you think."
Fang Ren waved his hand, "Just don't talk nonsense everywhere."
"Brother Fang is joking."
Lin Kuang sat down with a smile.
Then the two of them began to chat and talk about the past.
Time just passes slowly.
When it was just dawn, Lin Kuang's face suddenly changed drastically, and without thinking, his yang spirit left his body, wrapped his physical body and flew out of the ship.
But it was too late.
The sea water near the building ship suddenly rose hundreds of feet!
Crash!
The sea water gathered together at high altitude, forming a huge cage!
"Thunder is coming!!!"
With a loud shout, a dazzling light appeared.
With a loud crackling sound, the entire sea water cage was covered with dense and twisted lightning.
It all happens in the blink of an eye.
Due to the high speed, Lin Kuang had no time to avoid it and crashed into the thunder and water cage.
The Yang Shen was compressed by the thunder and lightning until it shrank back into the Purple Palace.
When Fang Ren came to his senses, Lin Kuang had been tied up like a dumpling by lightning, with scars all over his body.
"My dear nephew, now that you are here, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
A crack appeared in the cage, and Fang Lezhong walked out on the breeze.
"Elder..."
Fang Ren was stunned for a moment, his mind was a little confused.
"You can't avoid the Yang Shen's induction, so I even deceived you before."
Fang Lezhong smiled and said, "The purpose is to let you hold him back so that the cave in the clan land can get closer to the building ship."
"I see."
Fang Ren suddenly realized and was instantly extremely excited.
In fact, he has always disliked Lin Kuang.
It's just that because I'm not as strong as others, I rarely have any evil thoughts.
Now, Lin Kuang has fallen into the hands of the direct lineage...
"Haha, Lin Kuang, you actually dared to come to the Fang family's ship for help. This is something I never expected."
Fang Lezhong smiled and looked at Lin Kuang, whose face was ashen and who was clearly in great pain but gritted his teeth and said nothing.
"Do you think that no one knew about your assassination of the direct descendant of our Fang family?"
"You are just a branch of the Lin family, but you killed three members of the Fang family. Who gave you the courage?"
Fang Lezhong slightly increased the power of the lightning rope.
Xu Chong couldn't help but groan, and blood began to flow from his mouth and nose.
"Don't pretend to have a backbone."
Fang Lezhong said disdainfully, "You were imprisoned in the imperial prison. If you hadn't surrendered to the imperial court, would you have been able to escape?"
"Do you think everyone is as afraid of death as your Fang family?"
Lin Kuang sneered.
"oh?"
Fang Lezhong raised his eyebrows, "Even the Golden Body Nine Transformations will be locked up in there, how can you, a Yang God, get out?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm not obligated to tell you."
Lin Kuang simply closed his eyes and said, "You can kill me or chop me up, it's all up to you."
Fang Lezhong narrowed his eyes.
The lightning rope increased in power again and began to shrink inward.
Lin Kuang's hair began to curl and his skin began to turn yellow.
A faint aroma of burnt meat wafted out.
Fang Lezhong was a little confused.
The Nine Heavens Purple Thunder, which can only be controlled by those in the Dharma Realm, is the only thing that can restrain the Yang God.
Without the protection of the Yang God, the physical body can only be cleansed to the ninth level.
If he had used just a little more force, Lin Kuang would have been killed on the spot.
So courageous...
After thinking about it, Fang Lezhong lowered his voice a little, "You really didn't surrender to the imperial court?"
Lin Kuang gave him a cold look and did not answer.
"Okay, even if you didn't surrender to the imperial court and really escaped from the imperial prison on your own..."
Fang Lezhong's lips curled up slightly, "So what secrets do you have that are worth the court keeping you in prison for more than 20 years without killing you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a trace of panic flashed in Lin Kuang's eyes, and he said in a bitter voice: "You think too much, it's just that Emperor Qing wanted me to reveal the news of Taiping Dao, and I refused to say it."
"No, no, no."
Fang Lezhong shook his head. "You are just a branch of the Lin family. You haven't had time to be included in the main branch. With the things you know, it's impossible for Emperor Qing to be so patient."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Lin Kuang's face looked extremely ugly.
"Don't want to talk? It doesn't matter. The Fang family lacks everything except time."
Fang Lezhong chuckled and looked at Fang Ren: "You continue to control the ship. Without my order, you are not allowed to let anyone leave the ship. Do you understand?"
"clear!"
Fang Ren said yes solemnly.
"Um."
Fang Lezhong nodded, waved his hand to disperse the thunder and water cage, and rushed straight to the sea with the bound Xu Chong.
Crash.
The sea surface split open to form a huge, deep gap.
At the bottom of the sea, a normal-sized black coffin was quietly resting there.
If nothing unexpected happens, the coffin is undoubtedly the Dongtian Spring and Autumn Tomb.
…
…
Capital city.
Xu Chong walked on the road, his heart calm.
When in the imperial prison, Lin Kuang gave him two directions. One was to go directly to the Lin family's ship and contact the direct lineage, tell them everything about what happened in the past, the magical powers of his incarnation, and that Ji Qingzhi was Emperor Qing, and then use the imparting of magical powers as a bargaining chip in exchange for the direct lineage's place in the Spring and Autumn Tomb.
Yes, the direct descendants of the Lin family also have the opportunity to enter the Fang family's cave.
Every few years, the three major families would exchange a group of people to go to other caves to allow the new generation to get the best growth.
Choosing this direction can ensure Xu Chong's personal safety to the greatest extent.
The only price one needs to pay is the one year of life that is consumed during the process of imparting the incarnation.
But Xu Chong quickly rejected this direction.
It’s not that he is reluctant to give up a year of his life, but he is afraid that the Lin family will insist on verifying his bloodline.
You know, he was only looking at Lin Kuang's appearance, not that he really possessed the blood of the Lin family.
If it is discovered, all plans will come to nothing and there will be no room for maneuver.
The second direction proposed by Lin Kuang was to find the Fang family's ship and lure the Fang family's direct descendants to take action!
If we go in this direction, there will be crises at all times, especially at the beginning.
If the Fang family had no intention of capturing him alive and had directly sent out a powerful lineup to surround and kill him, even if Xu Chong had the ability to split light and transform into shadows and break the sky with one hand, he would not necessarily be able to escape.
However, once the Fang family feels that Lin Kuang is valuable and chooses to capture him alive and bring him back to the cave, things will become smoother and smoother.
"Now, the first level has been passed."
Xu Chong raised his head and looked at the magnificent east gate of the imperial city: "It's the same here in the capital."
Just as Dou Tianyuan said, the new candidate for the post of Xima in the Zhanshi Mansion was quickly approved by the cabinet after being tacitly agreed by the clan leader.
Today is the day when the new and old Xima take over.
"But Master Xu Chongxu?"
The middle-aged man waiting outside the city gate saw Xu Chong and came up to him with a flattering smile.
"I am."
Xu Chong nodded, "Your Excellency?"
"I am Xue Fu, the proofreader of the Jingju Bureau. I am honored to meet you, Your Excellency."
The middle-aged man clasped his fists and bowed, "The last horse-washer ordered me to wait for you here and lead you to the Zhanshi Mansion."
The proofreader was a subordinate official of the Xima, responsible for copying, proofreading and other specific chores of the Sijing Bureau.
No need to ask, he got the news and came to curry favor with his superior in advance.
"No need to be polite."
Xu Chong nodded and said, "Lead the way."
"yes."
Xue Fu made a gesture of invitation, and when Xu Chong started to take a step, he followed behind him half a step behind.
When passing through the city gate, Xue Fu took the initiative to take Xu Chong's appointment document and token to verify his identity.
Soon, the two passed through the city gate.
"Sir, please come this way..."
Xue Fu led Xu Chong and finally stopped in front of a palace garden. "This is the Wenhua Hall of the Eastern Palace."
Xu Chong looked over.
Although magnificent, it is just a normal-looking palace complex.
There are main halls, side halls, squares and so on.
There is no trace of the atmosphere of the cave at all.
Xu Chong looked puzzled.
"Haha, Your Excellency doesn't know."
Xue Fu explained with a smile, "Wenhua Palace is indeed Wenhua Palace, and this area does belong to the Eastern Palace, but the real Zhanshi Mansion and the Prince's bedroom are not here... Please follow me, sir."
After saying that, Xue Fu took the lead and walked towards the Huabiao on one side of the square.
"This is the entrance to Jixiangtian. You can enter directly with the position token of Zhanshi Mansion."
Xue Fu turned around to explain, then took the lead and plunged into the Huabiao.
Xu Chong also followed him in.
The scene suddenly changed.
A new world appeared before Xu Chong's eyes.
The sky is blue, the clouds are colorful, the mountains are high, and the water is winding.
"Please look, sir."
Xue Fu pointed to the distance and introduced: "The village at the foot of the mountain is where some servants live and where they farm and raise livestock. The manor halfway up the mountain is where the real Zhanshi Mansion is located, and the palace at the top of the mountain is the bedroom of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"Is that so?"
Xu Chong nodded.
Judging from the sky, the weather here should be synchronized with the outside world.
Smoke rose from the village at the foot of the mountain, and the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking could be heard in the distance.
I have to say, this auspicious sky is full of life.