Chapter 38 The Emperor Wishes to See the Heir

Seeing Wu Hui indeed materialize from the moonlight, a flock of birds composed entirely of flames coalesced into a humanoid phantom.

Gu Fangchen very naturally placed the teacup in his hand into the grasp of this "Sun Tamer".

This was actually a habit of Old Guagua, as well as his signature opening cinematic.

As one of the Demonic Cult's Dao Masters, Old Guagua was an absolute late-game final boss, and one of the most oppressive bosses at that.

That iron-hatted figure draped in a rusted sword-tomb coir raincoat was a literal nightmare for players.

Especially when players exhausted all their strength to defeat him, driving a weapon straight into the iron-hatted man's chest, only to discover that as the rusted swords clattered away, exposing the body beneath his raincoat, there was a gigantic, pitch-black void right in his chest!

The players' hearts would skip a beat, and they would only have time to let out a panicked shout of dread before the screen turned pitch black—

The health bar of ["Puppeteer" Xuanming] would abruptly appear.

Phase two, please begin.

For players who had already run out of ammunition and provisions, what a despairing sight this was...

Countless players had bitten the dust at his hands, building millions of threads on forums just to wail and curse.

One could say that every time Old Guagua drank a cup of tea in a CG, it represented the demise of a player.

Gu Fangchen had died a total of one hundred and six times at Old Guagua's hands, which was well below the average.

This wasn't because practice made him perfect and he had learned how to speedrun Old Guagua, but rather because he had discovered a hidden side quest that allowed him to completely bypass the combat with this boss.

Upon completing the side quest, one could trigger a tongue-lashing to persuade this Dao Master of the "Deadly Dao", shifting his attitude from hostile to neutral.

However, the prerequisite to trigger this side quest was clearing the second-most difficult hidden ending among the first five endings—[Ten Thousand Eras in the Same Firmament].

This single condition alone blocked 99% of the players.

Gu Fangchen chose "Refining Demonic Arts" to resolve his physical body issues; that was no random choice.

His understanding of "Lord Yucai"—or rather, of the "Puppeteer" Xuanming—far surpassed that of the other nine Dao Masters of the Demonic Cult.

And using the information gap to impersonate "Lord Yucai" was originally within his plans.

It was just that he hadn't expected Wu Hui to seek him out of his own accord at this moment.

It was likely the butterfly effect caused by the death of the Xingcao Sword.

But... it came right on time.

"Lord Yucai" did not frequently appear before his subordinates; the most active figures of the "Deadly Dao" out in the world were Wu Hui and the group of Candle-Clipping Ghosts under his command.

They were responsible for eliminating all enemies who hindered the Demonic Cult.

As for the "Sun Tamer" Wu Hui, Gu Fangchen was intimately familiar with him, whether as a teammate or a mid-game boss.

This person's biggest characteristic was blind loyalty.

The normal ending for "Lord Yucai" ended with his death at the hands of the player. Yet this supreme grand boss, who had looked down upon the world for who knows how many years, expressed deep admiration and respect for the first opponent capable of slaying his puppets and seeing his true face.

Even with Wu Hui standing right beside him, in phase two he actually stopped Wu Hui from stepping forward to help, choosing a one-on-one, fair duel with the player.

——Though as a puppeteer, the fact that he himself could summon a swarm of puppets to gang up on the player was a point frequently roasted by the gaming community.

One-on-one, but not entirely one-on-one.

Simply despicable!

And Wu Hui actually obeyed "Lord Yucai's" command, refraining from making a move the entire time.

After "Lord Yucai" completely perished, Wu Hui fled with his corpse, only to make a comeback later to exact vengeance upon the player.

Until he finally detonated the Golden Crow Essence Crystal, transforming into a ball of flame.

Before his identity was exposed, Gu Fangchen, posing as "Lord Yucai", could use this to completely control Wu Hui and the Candle-Clipping Ghosts under his command.

Rounding it up, this was no different from controlling the entire "Deadly Dao".

Gu Fangchen estimated the time, waited composedly for thirty seconds, and reached out to take the cup—matching "Lord Yucai's" exact habit.

The Golden Crow fire, reputed to burn everything to ashes, was right in front of him, yet Gu Fangchen's expression remained unchanged.

——If he had dared to flinch, it would have been an instant game over.

He took a sip of tea, then raised his gaze, saying indifferently:

"Recall the order targeting the Matriarch Cult... The people of the 'Extinction Dao' are dead; on whose behalf are you losing your temper?"

The moment Gu Fangchen uttered these words, cold sweat instantly broke out on Wu Hui's forehead. He immediately lowered his head until it touched the ground.

"It was this subordinate's impulsiveness, acting without due consideration. Please punish me, Lord Sovereign!"

Now he completely understood the Lord Sovereign's intentions, and he finally had an answer as to why the Xingcao Sword had been exposed and perished at the hands of Princess Bannya.

The Lord Sovereign was weakening the power of the "Extinction Dao" and eliminating dissidents!

The Ten Upper Dao often had internal conflicts among themselves, and because the "Extinction Dao" made no distinction between friend and foe, they had the most friction with the other paths.

Especially since their "Deadly Dao" frequently operated alongside the "Extinction Dao"... they bore the brunt of it.

So this must be the Lord Sovereign utilizing the Matriarch Cult to make those madmen of the "Extinction Dao" quiet down.

He deserved to die!

He had almost ruined the Lord Sovereign's plan!

Devoid of any personal principles, Wu Hui hurriedly stated:

"I will have them return right away!"

The Lord Sovereign was right; if the people of the "Extinction Dao" died, they died. Why should he be angry for others' sakes and needlessly make the Lord Sovereign doubt his loyalty?

Gu Fangchen set the teacup down, shook his head, and said in a calm tone:

"No need, let them continue."

Wu Hui was stunned, only to hear Gu Fangchen narrow his eyes and say:

"Not only must they continue, they must slaughter the Matriarch Cult until the entire sect trembles and cowers in fear."

Gu Fangchen stood up, walked over, and stopped in front of Wu Hui, his gaze incomparably chilling:

"Let that little girl know that we are in cahoots with Gu Yuye."

Wu Hui instantly understood.

This was meant to escalate the conflict between Princess Bannya and Gu Yuye!

Now, since Princess Bannya supported the fake heir and knew that the Ten Upper Dao had ties to Gu Yuye, any action taken by them naturally equated to an action taken by Gu Yuye.

After all, surely no one would believe that the Martial Sage Gu Yuye was completely oblivious to the movements of his partners.

——Gu Fangchen intended to directly sway Princess Bannya's calculus regarding the Matriarch Cult and the sacred artifact.

By having Princess Bannya openly move against the Xingcao Sword this time, Gu Yuye would quickly deduce that the crux of the matter lay in the sacred artifact.

And right now, the sacred artifact was indeed in Gu Yuye's hands.

Should Gu Yuye seek out Princess Bannya, the latter would likely waver.

Gu Fangchen's move was designed to make Princess Bannya realize that the moment she turned cloak, she would become mere fish on Gu Yuye's chopping board.

Given Gu Yuye's personality, going back on his word was simply second nature to him.

This way, she could hardly avoid the anxiety of a fruitless endeavor.

Gu Fangchen pondered for a moment, then added casually:

"Let's start from... the Lotus Birth Temple."

This Lotus Birth Temple was a major side branch of the Matriarch Cult.

The cultists within the temple had been seduced by the people of the "Affection Dao", setting foot upon a crooked path.

By unleashing plagues, they kept ordinary people in a vast region continuously infected with disease while they pretended to provide salvation, basking in grateful adoration and having statues carved of themselves while actively manufacturing misery.

For the people of the Matriarch Cult, pursuing suffering was their ultimate goal, and returning to the Pure Land was their lifelong pursuit.

This could also be considered granting them a quick release.

Wu Hui lowered his head and answered with awe-inspiring resolution:

"Understood!"

...

At the gates of the Prince of Zhenbei's Estate.

Before Gu Yuye stood a fat eunuch wearing a benign smile all over his face:

"His Majesty's meaning is this: nineteen years have passed amidst the heavy burdens of state affairs, and he has only ever laid eyes on this ill-fated child once during the heir's grasping-the-straws ceremony."

"Now, the situation is rather intriguing, as even the Martial Sage cannot tell apart which of the two is his true flesh and blood. His Majesty wishes to grant an audience to the heir to make his own judgment."

————

Author's Note: Things have been busy lately, so updates have been fewer. However, thanks to the support of my dear readers, this book has successfully cleared all recommendations for new books and is scheduled to be officially released around next week. Therefore, starting tomorrow, I will shift to two chapters a day and pick up the pace ヾ(◍°∇°◍)ﾉﾞ!

There will be a guaranteed five-chapter release upon launch; I humbly ask for your monthly votes in support!