Mansion.
Lou Youzhi led Dou Tianyuan to the backyard.
"This is the first time you invited me to your house."
Dou Tianyuan looked around curiously, "Why, aren't you afraid of me assassinating you now?"
"You can't assassinate me."
Lou Youzhi pushed open the door of the study and said, "No one knows where my real residence is."
"…You've really been on guard against me?"
Dou Tianyuan was speechless.
"I'm not defending you, I'm defending everyone."
Lou Youzhi stepped into the study first and turned the vase on the square table to the left and right a few times.
After a slight sound of the machine turning, the smooth wall on the left began to fall, revealing a desktop-sized incomplete picture.
"Come with me."
Lou Youzhi glanced at Dou Tianyuan , walked over and touched the remaining map with his palm.
Then in an instant, he disappeared into the study.
Dou Tianyuan was stunned for a moment, then followed suit.
When they reappeared, they were already in an underground tunnel.
"That just now..."
Dou Tianyuan stared at Lou Youzhi standing beside him, "Is it the Five-Directions Diagram?"
"I didn't expect you would remember."
Lou Youzhi curled the corner of his mouth.
"Nonsense! From the very beginning, this Taoist weapon borrowed from my One-Handed Sky-Breaking Technique. How could I not remember it?"
Dou Tianyuan was a little annoyed, "Didn't you say that we don't have the fragments of the cave, so we can't make it at all?"
As early as the Wenchang period, Lou Youzhi had approached him to discuss whether it was possible to create a Taoist weapon with similar abilities to the One-Hand Breaking Heaven Technique.
The two of them designed together for a long time, and finally found that the concept was sufficient, but the material was not enough.
In order to achieve the same effect of traveling through space, it is necessary to find enough fragments of caves and heavens that have rules similar to those of communicating with Zhishou Potian.
At the time, both of them felt that this was an impossible thing and could only let it go.
Dou Tianyuan never expected that he would actually see a finished product in front of him.
"You are wrong. Although I also call it the Five Directions Diagram, it has nothing to do with your One-Hand Breaking the Sky Technique."
Lou Youzhi shook his head.
"So how did we get here from your study?"
Dou Tianyuan didn't believe it.
"We were heading in the wrong direction back then. In fact, there is no need to look for the fragments of the cave heaven with similar rules to the one-handed sky-breaking one."
Lou Youzhi took the lead and said as he walked: "After all, the Xumi mustard seed is the rule contained in all cave heavens... As long as there are enough fragments of cave heavens, it can also create a similar effect of traveling through space."
"But the problem is that the Sumeru mustard seeds are not as condensed and dense as the rules of the cave. How many fragments are needed to... Damn it!"
Dou Tianyuan was startled when he was halfway through his words, and hurriedly followed up, "How many fragments have you collected?!"
"A few hundred, all kinds of different ones."
Lou Youzhi did not give a clear answer.
“…”
Dou Tianyuan was speechless by this number.
As expected, he is called Lou Heizi.
Such a big move happened right under my nose, but I didn't even notice it.
"Unfortunately, after being refined into a Dao weapon, the rules of the cave heaven that the fragments were originally contaminated with all dissipated."
Lou Youzhi sighed, "Originally I thought it was worth it, but now..."
"What's going on now?"
Dou Tianyuan frowned.
"You'll know in a moment."
Lou Youzhi continued to move forward, taking Dou Tianyuan with him through twists and turns.
Half an incense stick later, the two finally arrived at the central hall of the underground palace.
"!!!"
Dou Tianyuan was completely shocked when he looked at the huge hall and the countless passages connecting it.
After a long while, he slowly exhaled: "You are so cautious... Did Emperor Wenchang scare you so much back then?"
"There's actually more to it than what you see, and besides, that's not what I call fear."
Lou Youzhi shook his head and walked to the middle to sit down. "If you can't even guarantee your survival, then forget about what you want to do."
"All right……"
Dou Tianyuan felt helpless and sat down opposite Lou Youzhi. "You knew that One-handed Breaking the Sky was special, so why did you dare to bring me here?"
"To test you whether this is your first time here."
Lou Youzhi said this with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean?"
Dou Tianyuan frowned.
"A few days ago, there was an extra piece of letter there."
Lou Youzhi pointed to a desk not far away and said, "Someone I don't know came in."
"You doubt me?"
Dou Tianyuan's face turned cold.
"To be honest, I don't really doubt you."
Lou Youzhi shook his head, "I just thought of you."
"So you brought me here to test me, and then you think I'm not pretending?"
Dou Tianyuan was still somewhat unhappy, but his expression had eased a lot.
"Yeah, if you're pretending, others might not be able to tell, but I can."
Lou Youzhi sighed, his eyes a little serious: "But, this is not good news."
"Tell me about your arrangements."
Dou Tianyuan also became serious.
"Too many, I won't go into detail."
Lou Youzhi replied, "In short, if you want to completely hide your arrangement from me, you have to have something that has no weight and is completely invisible to the naked eye."
"Yang Shen?"
Dou Tianyuan thought of this instinctively.
"Except Yang Shen."
Lou Youzhi shook his head, "The materials of this underground palace are mixed with purple thunder jade, so a mere Yang Spirit out of the body cannot enter."
"That's strange..."
Dou Tianyuan hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you have any doubts about anyone?"
"No."
Lou Youzhi shook his head again, "I have already investigated, at least the court officials in the open can be ruled out of suspicion."
"Well, it means that I can't find it at all."
Dou Tianyuan's face fell, and he asked, "What's written in the letter?"
"This is another reason why I brought you here."
Lou Youzhi's expression straightened up, and he looked deeply at Dou Tianyuan: "How much life do you have left?"
"Lifespan?"
Dou Tianyuan raised his eyebrows and said, "You should know that when one reaches the pinnacle of cultivation, one cannot tell how much life is left."
“Before you reached the summit?”
Lou Youzhi asked again.
"Excuse me."
Dou Tianyuan raised the corner of his mouth and said proudly: "Before reaching the top, my cultivation has never stagnated."
"…Forget it, it's pointless to ask."
Lou Youzhi was somewhat speechless. "Even if the life span of Yuchi Zhongdao is relatively long, it is not much longer. Forty-five years is probably not a good hope..."
Dou Tianyuan's eyes flashed, and he asked in a deep voice: "Why forty-five years?"
"There was only one sentence in the letter..."
Lou Youzhi calmly repeated the contents of the letter and the results of his and Gu Chengren's calculations.
Dou Tianyuan went from being shocked to being silent. After a long while, he sighed quietly, " It seems that Old Jiang will not be able to rest in peace for the time being."
"hehe."
Lou Youzhi suddenly smiled and said, "When we meet in the underworld, he will definitely call us traitors."
"Tsk, I won't let him go when the time comes. I will definitely beat him until he calls me grandpa."
Dou Tianyuan said disdainfully.
After saying this, the two fell silent.
Another half hour passed.
Dou Tianyuan said first: "In this case, each generation should do their own work. I believe in Xu Chong."
Lou Youzhi raised his eyebrows and said, "To be honest, I don't want to choose him."
"Um?"
Dou Tianyuan was surprised. "You know everything he has done. Whether it's his talent, character, or methods, he is the best choice. What are you worried about... because of his identity as a descendant of the great ancestor?"
"It has nothing to do with any of this."
Lou Youzhi shook his head. "You always say he's a lot like me, but I think he's more like you than me... If it weren't for Jiang Zhihong's death, I'm afraid you wouldn't even bother to care about these things, right?"
Ah, this...
Dou Tianyuan was suddenly speechless.
"Xu Chong is just like me in terms of being cunning."
Lou Youzhi sighed, "From the beginning to the end, he gave me the impression that he had no intention of being loyal to the emperor or loving the people."
“He only cares about the people he cares about.”
"If those things hadn't happened in Canglong, hadn't happened in Yongzhou, hadn't happened to someone close to him, he would probably be just like you, too lazy to care."
"In fact, if there were no restrictions on the household registration system, he would never have entered the officialdom in the first place."
"Of course, it has already happened, and Xu Chong's attitude is also very clear."
Lou Youzhi narrowed his eyes, "But think about it, if he really took over my position and my power, what would he do?"
"this……"
Dou Tianyuan's expression kept changing.
Although he didn't want to admit it, when he learned the cause of Jiang Zhihong's death, he did have some rebellious thoughts.
The reason why it dissipated quickly was not only because of fear, but also because of the friendship with Emperor Yongtai.
Once friends, now rulers and subjects.
Deep down, he wanted to wait until there was irrefutable evidence before making a final decision on his attitude towards Emperor Yongtai.
If it were Xu Chong, if he had enough power, he would probably have taken action at that time.
After all, Xu Chong had no friendship with Emperor Yongtai.
"It seems you thought of it."
Lou Youzhi nodded. "Once Xu Chong is absolutely sure, he will use his absolute strength or power to tear everything apart and then re-establish his own rules... This is not what I want to see, nor is it what Jiang Zhihong wants to see."
"…Okay, you have a point."
Dou Tianyuan couldn't refute it, so he asked, "Who do you plan to replace you?"
"Zhang Shunyi."
Lou Youzhi answered.
"he?"
Dou Tianyuan was very surprised.
"Gu Chengren recommended Shi Zheng to me, but after much thought, I felt that Shi Zheng was not suitable."
Lou Youzhi explained, "Although Shi Zheng is well-read in the books of sages and is essentially different from Xu Chong, the problem is that he is too obsessed with Jiang Zhihong's death."
"This will distort his mind. Once he knows the real cause of Jiang Zhihong's death, I'm afraid his methods will be even more extreme than Xu Chong's."
"In comparison, Zhang Shunyi is the most suitable candidate."
"In fact, I have already started observing him secretly."
"His talent, character, and conduct are all excellent. The most rare thing is that while he is sincere, he is not pedantic at all... In this aspect, he is better than Jiang Zhihong."
Lou Youzhi laughed, "I really can't find anyone more suitable than him."
Dou Tianyuan thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "Of course what you said is correct, but there are two problems here."
"First, Zhang Shunyi's qualifications are too shallow."
"If we follow the normal process, it will take him another 30 years to enter the cabinet. If you force him to join the cabinet, you will definitely have enough power, but he may not be able to convince the public."
"Second, Zhang Shunyi is too deeply involved with the Lu family."
"To promote him as the Prime Minister, first of all, Lü Zhong must voluntarily leave the cabinet. Secondly, other noble families and your Majesty may not agree."
Both problems are clear and obvious, but Lou Youzhi doesn't care about them.
"First question, don't forget that Zhang Shunyi was a top three scorer."
Lou Youzhi explained, "The three top scorers are different from the general top scorers. In addition to allowing him to advance rapidly in cultivation, it can also offset a large part of his lack of qualifications... As for the second question, as long as the Lu family does not make any progress, no one will be truly afraid of them, including Your Majesty."
"Well, it seems you have thought of everything."
Dou Tianyuan shook his head helplessly.
He knew that Lou Youzhi just said it easily, and it would definitely not be that easy to actually do it.
in addition……
"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
Dou Tianyuan looked directly at Lou Youzhi and said, "You brought me here for more than just telling me this."
"The first thing is the prince's side."
Lou Youzhi's eyes flickered.
"Prince?"
Dou Tianyuan's heart trembled, "Recently, the prince has been secretly repeating Du Qianchuan's actions and exposing the natural disaster to all officials... It turns out that you are the one who is in charge!"
"No, I didn't do anything."
Lou Youzhi shook his head. "I just cleared his obscured memory. The rest is what he did according to his own ideas."
"real?"
Dou Tianyuan looked at Lou Youzhi suspiciously, "Don't tell me you didn't expect this at all."
"Although I have guessed, it is just a guess after all. I am not sure he will really do it..."
Lou Youzhi's expression was somewhat complicated. "Now it seems that he is really different from the Majesty back then."
"Okay…you want me to help the prince speed things up?"
Dou Tianyuan asked.
"No need, you just need to protect him in secret."
Lou Youzhi replied, "I'm not sure if your majesty has other powers at his disposal, but it's always a good idea to plan ahead."
"That's easy... I won't ask you what you want the prince to do, because you definitely won't tell me."
Dou Tianyuan's tone was somewhat dissatisfied, "Tell me the second one."
“The second thing is, don’t do unnecessary things.”
Lou Youzhi looked at Dou Tianyuan deeply.
"Redundant...what do you mean?"
Dou Tianyuan narrowed his eyes.
"If I remember correctly, you entered the back hall of Tianji Palace many years ago."
Lou Youzhi said meaningfully, "Also, you haven't handed over Xie Changqing's Wuxiangyi to the national treasury yet. What do you want to do?"
“…”
Dou Tianyuan was silent for a long time before he slowly exhaled, "I still can't hide it from you..."
"Do you think that with the Wuxiang Yi and the One-handed Sky-breaking Technique, you can go into the back hall and explore?"
Lou Youzhi's expression became serious. "Don't forget, His Majesty has the magical power to bewitch people. Your golden body's ninth transformation should not be able to resist the magical power."
Hearing this, Dou Tianyuan's expression became subtle.
"you……"
Lou Youzhi was stunned by Dou Tianyuan's reaction, and then he was shocked, "You have been there?!"
"What are you panicking about?"
Dou Tianyuan pulled the corner of his mouth, "Do you think I'm so desperate... I didn't go in, I just opened a door and listened for a while."
“…”
At this moment, Lou Youzhi really wanted to slap Dou Tianyuan to death.
Indeed, according to the characteristics of One-Hand Breaking the Sky, if only one door is opened, the person on the opposite side will not be able to find it at all unless he happens to bump into this door.
But that is for ordinary people.
Don’t forget, there is a cave in the back hall!
Once Dou Tianyuan's door is opened within the range covered by the rules, it will be instantly noticed by the Lord of the Cave Heaven.
Just like when he first discovered Dou Tianyuan eavesdropping in Wenyuan Pavilion.
And this is not the worst.
"You and I don't know how your majesty's magical powers are performed."
Lou Youzhi looked at Dou Tianyuan warily, "What if the power of the supernatural power can directly pass through that door and act on you?"
"You think I haven't thought about this?"
Dou Tianyuan was a little depressed, and said, "I opened twenty doors in a row, each facing a different direction and in a different position. The last one I opened was the one leading to the back hall. Even if His Majesty can accurately detect the door in the back hall, he can't find the remaining nineteen doors except for that one... I placed the voice transmission magic weapon in front of the door, and I am tens of thousands of miles away. If he can control me like this, then we might as well find a place to hide and live out our days in peace."
“…”
Lou Youzhi was speechless for a while, and after a long while he finally said, "I now doubt your original intention of creating the Wind-Breaking Hand."
Dou Tianyuan's face darkened, and he waved his hand and said, "Don't go off topic. Let's talk about the serious matter. Guess what I heard?"
"What?"
Lou Youzhi felt a chill in his heart.
"What came out from the magic soldiers were waves of harsh echoes, echoes that could make people feel terrified just by listening to them."
Dou Tianyuan described it with a hint of fear in his eyes: "It felt like a huge monster that we couldn't imagine was being rubbed by something... After just a moment, I couldn't help but close all 20 doors."
Lou Youzhi closed his eyes and tried hard to imagine a picture that could match this description.
However, after a while, there was still nothing.
"That's all."
Lou Youzhi shook his head and opened his eyes. "I have no clue about this matter. Just write it down and ignore it for now."
"That's why I'm in a hurry to tell you."
Dou Tianyuan stood up and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll leave first and keep an eye on the prince."
"Thank you."
Lou Youzhi nodded slightly and watched Dou Tianyuan disappear before his eyes.
About half an hour later, footsteps were heard from one of the passages connecting to the central hall.
Yan Fang came out with someone and clasped his fists respectfully.
"My lord, Sergeant Zhang has mentioned it."