Chapter 1108 - 454: Emperor Zhaoning (Part 2)

Chapter 1108: Chapter 454: Emperor Zhaoning (Part 2)

From this it could be seen that in the World Dungeon Plane, from treatment to contribution, there was an all-round, systemic discrimination against Players.

Wu Chang suddenly felt a bit lucky that it was his main body, not his True Self, that had killed the Fire Demon King.

Otherwise, by this ratio, that Fire Demon King worth 1000 points earlier would probably be compressed down to 300 points.

The Elder in charge of receiving Wu Chang at the Earth Rites Hall was still explaining what authority a Deacon held—such as being able to go to the Beast Taming Pavilion to change mounts, or to the Spiritual Herb Pavilion to receive Elixirs and so on—but Wu Chang couldn’t be bothered to listen, just cupped his hands perfunctorily and turned to leave.

After leaving the Earth Rites Hall, Wu Chang hadn’t walked far before a carriage drawn by four fine horses stopped in front of him.

In front of the carriage stood an eunuch in a bull-fighting robe; Wu Chang remembered him—when he left Zhenyue City for Megrez Lake, it was this man who delivered the golden invitation.

The eunuch raised his thin voice and said:

"Lord Peace has obtained the Megrez Immortal Fate; your knowledge must be vast and your cultivation peerless. His Majesty has long admired the name of a Celestial Being, and especially ordered this humble one to invite you to the palace for a talk. I ask Lord Peace to give us the honor."

Wu Chang thought to himself that Emperor Zhaoning really knew how to pick his timing. Right now all the factions of the Human Dao Alliance, including the Divine Sword Sect, were at the Tang Sect Leader’s victory banquet. Afraid of missing this window and letting other forces snatch him away, Emperor Zhaoning had actually sent someone directly to fetch him.

Compared to the Human Dao Alliance, Emperor Zhaoning maxed out on respect, so he naturally had no reason to refuse.

"I’ll trouble you, Eunuch, to lead the way."

The carriage sped off carrying Wu Chang, and soon arrived at the Zhenyue Villa east of Zhenyue City.

The carriage stopped in front of the main hall of Zhenyue Villa. Inside the hall, Wu Chang once again saw Emperor Zhaoning, with five-clawed Dragon Qi coiling around him and Human Dao Destiny so exuberant it was absurd.

Wu Chang had originally thought that after they met there would be a round of polite small talk, then Emperor Zhaoning, in order to win him over, would offer heavy rewards; he would first put on an aloof act, symbolically refuse twice, then finally accept with some reluctance, and agree to help Emperor Zhaoning with some private matters.

But to his surprise, Emperor Zhaoning didn’t follow the script. Emperor Zhaoning first stared at him for nearly a minute; just when the Dragon Qi behind Emperor Zhaoning was flashing so much it made his eyes hurt, he suddenly said:

"Sir has come from an Overseas Immortal Mountain, crossing vast oceans, arriving here all alone. What intent does he truly harbor?"

Wu Chang was taken aback by the question and started to suspect that when he was speaking with Lü Changgeng at the Earth Rites Hall earlier, Emperor Zhaoning had spaced out and not listened properly.

Back then his speech had moved the Elders of the Human Dao Alliance to tears; why was he being asked to repeat it again?

"Peace came to Great Xuan to eliminate demons and uphold the Dao, to help the people of the world escape calamity."

Emperor Zhaoning shook his head slightly and said:

"There is no one else here, only me and sir. Sir need not fob me off with such words."

Wu Chang, without changing his expression, countered:

"Peace indeed came to eliminate demons. Then what does Your Majesty think Peace is plotting in this trip?"

Emperor Zhaoning let out a light laugh and said bluntly, "Sir came—for the sake of becoming an Immortal!"

"Since ancient times, Immortal Fate in the mortal world has been severed. So long as one remains in the mortal realm, whether they head to an Overseas Immortal Mountain as Immortals fleeing Spiritual Qi depletion, or as cultivators inheriting Immortal Fate, they can only stop at Earth Immortal."

"If one wishes to go from Earth Immortal to become a true Immortal in the heavens, then one must ascend to the heavens."

Feeling Wu Chang’s surprised gaze, Emperor Zhaoning clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked toward Wu Chang.

"Within that Demon Realm, there is a Celestial Gate hidden. Break open the Celestial Gate, and you can leave this world, ascend to the heavens, and become an Immortal."

"I wonder if my guess is correct?"

Wu Chang asked, "Your Majesty knows of the Celestial Gate?"

Emperor Zhaoning said with disdain:

"The Earth Book is connected to the meridians of the dynasty; only those who bear Human Dao Destiny can glimpse its true meaning. If not for needing a stable dynasty to activate the Earth Book, would those hidden great sects, who style themselves as above the world, ever care whether Great Xuan is in turmoil?"

"They only know that the dynasty must be stable before they can flip through the Earth Book, yet they don’t know that however much they see in the Earth Book is merely however much I want them to see."

"Lü Changgeng thinks the Celestial Gate is some ancient secret, conspiring with several Elders to keep it from the world, thinking they’ve peered into heaven’s will, not knowing that the location of the Celestial Gate was already recorded in the Earth Book long ago. Truly laughable to the extreme."

Wu Chang hissed inwardly. As expected of a Plane Son, this one was definitely not an easy lamp to tend.

Within the Earth Rites Hall, Emperor Zhaoning and Lü Changgeng might have stood side by side, but in the eyes of the Human Dao Alliance Elders there was only Lü Changgeng, not Emperor Zhaoning.

Emperor Zhaoning sat at the edge of the Human Dao Alliance; on the surface, control over Great Xuan seemed entirely in the hands of the Human Dao Alliance, and he had already become a mascot. Who would’ve thought that in his eyes, the high-ups of the Human Dao Alliance were just a bunch of jumping clowns.

Wu Chang fell silent for a moment, then said:

"Peace eliminating demons and upholding the Dao is true; wanting to seek opportunities to head to the Immortal Realm is also true."

From a Player’s perspective, completing a World Dungeon was precisely for the sake of being promoted into the Realm of Reason, so Emperor Zhaoning’s guess wasn’t exactly wrong.

Emperor Zhaoning didn’t bother arguing which motive came first. He continued:

"Sir has already obtained the Megrez Immortal Fate and should have some understanding of the Celestial Gate. To break open the Celestial Gate, one must use the Earth Sacrifice Ceremony to gather Human Dao Destiny, only then can the Celestial Gate be pushed open."

"After the Demon Realm is broken, if sir wishes to ascend to the heavens and become an Immortal, I can use Human Dao Destiny to help sir push open the Celestial Gate."

Wu Chang showed a look of longing, but he quickly used his Will to suppress that desire and asked:

"What does Your Majesty want?"

Emperor Zhaoning said, "I do not place much importance on cultivation, nor do I intend to ascend to the heavens and become an Immortal. I only want Great Xuan—a Great Xuan without hidden great sects."

Wu Chang said quietly, "Your Majesty means?"

Could it be that after they broke through the Demon Realm, Emperor Zhaoning wanted him to purge all the high-ups of the Human Dao Alliance?