The Zongrenfu is located in the northwest corner of the imperial palace, slightly closer to the Tianji Hall than the Keji Hall.
In the entire imperial palace area, Xu Chong had only been to the Wenhua Hall area, which is Jixiangtian where the Zhanshi Mansion was located. Therefore, he could not use the One-Hand Breaking Sky to directly enter the Zongren Mansion.
But he didn't care.
His supreme realm of splitting light into shadows was enough to allow him to avoid almost all surveillance methods and reach the clan residence.
However, he did not choose to continue sneaking in, but instead revealed his figure and walked in boldly.
"Who is coming?!"
The two guards drew their swords halfway with a clang, looking alert and fierce.
Bang.
Not seeing any movement from Xu Chong, the guard flew backwards into the yard and fainted.
The noise soon attracted the attention of others.
Quick and messy footsteps sounded, rushing towards Xu Chong who had just stepped into the gate of the clan house.
However, without exception, they all flew backwards like the two guards.
Xu Chong did not speed up, but just walked leisurely towards the depths.
He ignored those people behind him who came slower and tried to mobilize troops or file complaints when they saw the situation was not good.
These people were just low-ranking or even non-ranking clerks. There was no need to kill them, and nothing could be learned from questioning them.
It was not until a person of higher official rank appeared in the oncoming crowd that Xu Chong refrained from striking him directly.
"Tell me, where is Jiang Xinghe?"
Xu Chong reached out with one hand, and the old man in the robe of the clan official, like a magnet, put his neck into his palm.
"exist……"
The old man had never seen such a horrific method before. He was so frightened that he stammered and could only twist his arms as much as possible and point in the direction behind him.
"Thank you very much."
Xu Chong nodded.
Bang.
The old man's eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Including the guards and minor officials before, these people were just knocked unconscious by Xu Chong's cleverness. They themselves were not seriously hurt and would wake up in an hour at most.
Xu Chong let go of the old man, letting him fall to the ground, and continued to walk inside.
Later, he met a few more people from the Zongzheng clan, but these first-rank officials were all princes of the royal family, and they had long recognized Xu Chong, the descendant of Taizu.
Therefore, they were just puzzled by Xu Chong's actions and did not interfere.
After all, it is hard to say which one is higher, the status of a prince or the status of a descendant of Taizu.
In this way, Xu Chong encountered no more obstacles and entered the deepest hall as if no one was around.
But as soon as he entered the door, he frowned.
In the main seat, a figure was leaning on the back of a chair and dozing off. Judging from the robe he wore, it was the same as the previous Prince Qian's, so he was undoubtedly the clan leader.
But this person...
It's a bit too old.
There are only a few sparse strands of silver hair hanging down, and if you don't look carefully, it looks no different from a bald head.
His old face was full of wrinkles and covered with age spots. The area near his mouth had collapsed, and it was obvious that all his teeth had fallen out.
The whole person looks even older than the old lady Hua who is about to die...
Is this Jiang Xinghe?
Xu Chong's heart moved slightly, and he slowly approached, "You are the one who sent the message to me?"
The old man sitting in the main seat seemed to be really asleep. After hearing the clear voice, he frowned, then slowly opened his eyes.
It took him a long time before he could see the person's face clearly with his cloudy eyes.
"You...finally...are here."
In just five words, the old man paused twice, and each pause seemed to be accumulating strength.
Judging from the faces alone, the old man had nothing in common with Jiang Xinghe, but the familiarity in his eyes still allowed Xu Chong to confirm his identity.
So Xu Chong didn't hesitate any more, he flashed over and put one hand on Jiang Xinghe's shoulder.
After a moment, Xu Chong couldn't help but sigh.
Jiang Xinghe is different from Dou Tianyuan. He does not have any injuries on his body. The reason why he looks so old is simply because his life span has been exhausted and he is at the last moment of death.
If he had come a little later, perhaps a day later, or even an hour later, Jiang Xinghe would have died completely.
“…”
Jiang Xinghe moved his lips, wanting to say something but he didn't have the strength to do so.
"Wait a moment."
Xu Chong stopped Jiang Xinghe.
The next moment, the power of Lingyuan and Chunyang Cleansing Record flowed into Jiang Xinghe's body through his palms.
The spiritual source was wrapped up by the powerful force, and under his deliberate control, it was dispersed and integrated into Jiang Xinghe's various important organs.
At first glance, this seems a bit wasteful, because not only can it not prevent Jiang Xinghe's death, it can't even delay it.
The only function is to allow Jiang Xinghe to have enough energy during this last period of time.
At least he speaks and acts like a normal person.
After a moment, Xu Chong let go of his hand: "You can speak now."
“This method…”
Jiang Xinghe felt the long-lost abundant physical strength, and his face was full of shock.
"It just allows you to speak fluently. I can't help you live longer."
Xu Chong shook his head. "If you were supposed to die in an hour, it's still the same now."
"That's enough."
Jiang Xinghe chuckled and then changed the subject: "You came directly to me, it should be because you have received the letter and met Lord Dou."
Xu Chong nodded slightly, "If I'm not mistaken, his memory has been tampered with by you."
"No, it's not just him."
Jiang Xinghe's face became serious, "There are also Lou Xiang and the people who participated in the grand ceremony."
"No wonder you look so old."
Xu Chong's eyes were filled with sarcasm. "It is said that even a tiger will not eat its own cubs. It seems that our Majesty is even more vicious than a lion or a tiger."
"It actually has little to do with him."
Jiang Xinghe shook his head. "He didn't control me. He just let me see the gap and told me the truth. The rest was my own choice... But it doesn't matter anymore. I don't have much time. There are things I need to tell you."
"Please go ahead."
Xu Chong's face straightened.
Jiang Xinghe first organized his thoughts, and then spoke slowly.
"In fact, your majesty's original plan was to completely cover up the entire grand sacrifice incident, and then completely tamper with the memories of Prime Minister Lou and Lord Dou."
"But I rejected it with the excuse that my life span was not long enough to support it and that nothing happened and it was even more suspicious."
"It's mainly the second one."
"After all, my life span is insufficient, so I can still replace the next clan leader. But if I completely tamper with and cover up everything, it will be difficult for Dou Tianyuan to fabricate an excuse to invite you to the back hall."
"Both of these reasons are sufficient, so His Majesty did not doubt me and allowed me to conceal the truth. I only tampered with and covered up a small part to make everything seem more reasonable."
"He doesn't know that I also need you to return to Beijing."
"He wants you to return to the capital to lead you into the back palace. I want you to return to the capital to tell you everything."
Jiang Xinghe first explained to make Xu Chong put down his guard, and then continued, "Most of the things you learned from Lord Dou really happened."
"For example, the inner demon combined with the external incarnation to devour millions of royal families."
“But I tampered with one thing.”
"Your Majesty openly told all participants the truth about the impending destruction of heaven and earth as early as the beginning of the grand ceremony."
"That is to say, after learning about this, Prince Qian still chose to rewrite the imperial edict and save the royal family. Lord Dou also chose to take action against your majesty's clone after learning about this."
It is true!
Xu Chong breathed a sigh of relief.
The version he learned from Dou Tianyuan was that Dou Tianyuan learned the truth only after he and Lou Youzhi entered the back hall.
These two versions seem to have only swapped the order in which the truth appears, but their meanings are completely different.
The truth came first, and the action came later. There is nothing wrong with this. All we can say is that Dou Tianyuan is still the same Dou Tianyuan.
If one takes action first and the truth comes later, it can make people like Dou Tianyuan regret it, which means that the destruction of the Tianxuan Realm is as imminent as the Chunqiu Tomb.
It seems okay now.
"In addition, there is another tampering that is the most fatal."
Jiang Xinghe continued, "Your Majesty's clone is indeed dead, but strictly speaking it was not Lord Dou who killed him. Instead, Your Majesty took the initiative to kill his clone with his inner demon, and then... took the nutrients transformed by millions of royal family members back to the rear hall."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Chong was shocked.
As someone who had also possessed this kind of inner demon method, he clearly remembered that the inner demon's range from the body was only three feet. Although the range of its retraction could be farther, it could definitely not reach the extent of dozens of miles from Qingling to the back hall.
Obviously, this is also the effect brought about by the combination of the external incarnation and the inner demon.
After thinking for a while, Xu Chong asked, " What are the rules of the back hall?"
"What you say is what you do."
Jiang Xinghe replied, "It allows the controller to completely skip the process and directly achieve his wish when there is a reality to rely on... Before, Your Majesty was at the peak of both the Huangting and Yuchi paths in the back hall. Now, Your Majesty has repaired the Zifu and is at the peak of all three paths."
The explanation was simple, but with Xu Chong's current vision, he instantly understood the horror of this rule.
The three peaks sound very powerful, and even he has not reached them yet. However, if he wants to use them to express the power of "saying and making things happen", it is probably far from enough.
You know, 'omitted process' is not only effective in breaking through realms.
Emperor Yongtai could have practiced all the side skills he could find.
No, it's not just a side technique.
The only confirmed supernatural powers that Emperor Yongtai possessed were the cultivation of demons in his heart and the creation of an external incarnation.
But are there really only these two types?
The crushing and terrifying strength created by the combination of realm, side skills, and magical powers was enough to support Emperor Yongtai in fighting the enemy in the back hall, and he could "omit the process" again.
There is no solution.
If Jiang Xinghe had not sent the letter to the Hua family, even if he had doubts about Dou Tianyuan's behavior, he would most likely rely on his own strength and the weakness shown by Emperor Yongtai to enter the back hall.
If that happens, the consequences will be disastrous.
"Also, His Majesty wants you to enter the back hall, but he doesn't really want to send you to the outside world to find a way out."
Jiang Xinghe spoke again, "What he needs is the rules of immortality that you have already mastered."
"Longevity rules?"
Xu Chong raised his eyebrows, and then understood, "Yes, he has repaired the Purple Palace and can obtain an infinitely long life through the rules of longevity."
"No, you are really wrong this time."
Jiang Xinghe rejected the idea, saying, "The destruction of the Tianxuan Realm is real. Even with the rules of immortality, he cannot avoid the destruction of the world. There are only forty years left before the day of destruction. After he fails to repair his Purple Palace, he can live that long without the rules of immortality."
"this……"
Xu Chong was somewhat stunned and asked, "What's that for?"
"Use the rules of longevity to solidify the rule of "one word, one law, one action" so that the scope it covers will not be further reduced."
Jiang Xinghe's answer was more detailed than what Emperor Yongtai had said to Lou Youzhi and the others. "If this can be successful, it is very likely that the entire Tianxuan Realm will also stop its destruction process."
"I see……"
Xu Chong couldn't help but sneer, "It seems that only this kind of catastrophe that even he can't escape can force him to truly care about the world for once."
"Although he is unwilling to admit it, this time, he is still not thinking about the world..."
Jiang Xinghe sighed, "What he really wants is to rely on the fact that his words can be used outside the world and that the immortal gods can survive outside the world, and go out to find a more complete and advanced world... For example, the fairyland that has existed since ancient times in folk legends, where everyone can live forever."
"Well, it turns out I overestimated him."
Xu Chong shook his head disdainfully, then changed the subject, "What about you?"
"You didn't cooperate with Emperor Yongtai, which means you are still the prince I know."
"But in this case, you should be more willing to cooperate, because it can save the world and the Tianxuan Realm."
"I can't understand why you choose this."
for what?
Jiang Xinghe recalled the scene in the back hall and replied, "In the back hall, Prime Minister Lou and Lord Dou tried to commit suicide. Your Majesty doesn't understand why they chose you."
"Prime Minister Lou's answer is that if one day the sentient beings of the Profound Sky Realm become valuable to His Majesty again, His Majesty will return to the Profound Sky Realm and devour all the sentient beings."
"Lord Dou laughed and said that if it were you, you would never do that."
"I believe it."
Just as Xu Chong said, at the beginning, Jiang Xinghe did intend to fully cooperate with Emperor Yongtai and take back the rules of immortality from Xu Chong.
Because no matter what Emperor Yongtai's purpose is, doing so at least provides hope of preserving the Tianxuan Realm.
But it was because of Lou Youzhi and Dou Tianyuan's answers that made him completely change his mind.
"hehe……"
Jiang Xinghe smiled bitterly, "My Daqing has been passed down for thousands of years, but now it has become a situation where fathers are not like fathers, sons are not like sons, monarchs are not like monarchs, and subjects are not like subjects... I, the royal descendants, don't know how I will face my ancestors after I die."
Xu Chong ignored Jiang Xinghe's complicated emotions.
He was thinking about something else.
Emperor Yongtai needs to rely on the rear palace to maintain that unimaginable power.
In other words, when Yongtai left the back hall, he only had the first level of Dharmakaya, one transformation of the golden body, and the purple mansion cultivation path that had just begun.
In this case...
With my current strength, can I force Emperor Yongtai back to his previous state?
The state where one dares not step out of the back hall and all power is completely lost?
Thinking of this, Xu Chong narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.