Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1323: Chapter 518: The Fourth Dynasty—Unprecedented Through History!

Gu Qing’s eyes widened. "The beginning of an age of great strife? Teacher, how do you arrive at that?"

Zhao Hansheng said, "From the perspective of world geography, Flying Cloud Country itself lies at the central region of the world. This country has almost no natural barriers, the land is fertile, flat as far as the eye can see, and is a place destined for a hundred battles."

"From the perspective of history, Flying Cloud Country, and even the states of previous eras, have always been the first places to suffer the upheavals of the age and to change their course."

"Looking again from the standpoint of Qi Fortune calculation, the sages and Great Powers of Myriad Images Sect once deduced a rather crucial Omen Poem. Myriad Images Sect has, all along, been secretly avoiding this omen."

Gu Qing said, "Teacher, what exactly is this Omen Poem?"

Zhao Hansheng took a deep breath, his expression turning solemn, and spoke slowly—

Clouds rise from myriad images, calamity stirs at Eight Peaks,

The living turn to cinders, the dead find no end.

The fourth of the Dynasties, unlike all past and present,

A New Path ends the world, all kinds are cut off from trace!

Gu Qing stood there in a daze, this Omen Poem echoing over and over in his mind. A chill rose from his spine and slowly spread through his whole body.

"The living turn to cinders... the dead find no end..."

Those who are alive will be reduced to ash. Those who are dead will not find a proper end either.

What kind of scene would that be?

The mortal world turned into a sea of fire, Life Spirits plunged into misery. The Netherworld reduced to a purgatory, Lost Souls wailing in lament. The boundary between life and death completely shattered, and everything returning to nothingness.

"The fourth of the Dynasties..."

Gu Qing knew what "Dynasty" signified.

"Unlike all past and present..."

This Dynasty would be different from the previous three.

Is it better, or worse?

The end of the Omen Poem gave the answer—A New Path ends the world, all kinds are cut off from trace.

A completely new path of Dao will destroy the entire world. All living beings will utterly vanish!

"Between Heaven and Earth... everything dies out?" Gu Qing’s heart trembled.

What kind of future is that?

No people, no beasts, no grass or trees, no mountains or rivers. Only endless nothingness, eternal darkness.

"Teacher..." Gu Qing spoke, his voice somewhat dry, "this Omen Poem... is it truly reliable?"

Zhao Hansheng turned to look at him, his gaze calm.

Gu Qing went on, "Your disciple has heard that matters of prophecy are often inaccurate. Some cultivators spend an enormous price to divine the future, only for the result to be sheer nonsense; some Great Powers speak with absolute certainty, yet in the end nothing ever happens. This Omen Poem..."

He did not finish, but his meaning was already very clear.

Zhao Hansheng fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "What you say is not wrong. There are indeed failed cases when it comes to Omen Poems, and not just a few. The future is ever-changing; no one can truly see it clearly."

He paused, then shifted the tone: "But this one is different."

Zhao Hansheng said, "This was originally a secret, something Duanmu Zhang solemnly told me. At first, as your teacher, I was unwilling to believe it either. But Duanmu Zhang’s view convinced me—although Omen Poems have had failed prophecies, from two aspects, the likelihood of this Omen Poem coming true is not small."

"First, the Great Power who deduced this poem died and his Dao perished the instant the poem was completed. It was not an ordinary sitting in death, not a common fall, but a... complete disappearance. His soul scattered entirely; even soul-calling arts could not sense him. It was as if his everything was turned into fuel, burned utterly away, to obtain this Omen Poem."

"Second, the actions of the upper echelons of Myriad Images Sect. Ever since this Omen Poem came forth, Myriad Images Sect has been secretly avoiding the omen. They specially used Luck Suppressing Treasures to conceal the calamity and delay the descent of that terrifying future. As for what those treasures specifically are and how many there are, Duanmu Zhang could not find out; he only confirmed that such measures exist."

Gu Qing lowered his head and fell into silence.

An omen exchanged for by a Great Power’s life, a calamity that a Super Sect is doing its utmost to suppress—how could such an Omen Poem not be believed?

Zhao Hansheng looked at him and said gently, "Qing’er, the reason you are unwilling to believe is because you do not want the future to be so bleak."

Gu Qing raised his head.

Zhao Hansheng said slowly, "Ah, this is human nature. Who does not wish for a good and happy life? Who is willing to see Life Spirits in misery and all kinds cut off from trace?"

He paused, his voice sinking, "But looking from history, after the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, which Dynasty’s succession was not filled with Life Spirits in misery and horrors beyond measure?"

Gu Qing remained silent.

He knew what his teacher said was true.

Surveying cultivation history, there have already been three great Dynasties!

The Blood Slaughter Dynasty, with Devils and Demons running rampant. That was the darkest era of the Human Clan: the strong devoured, the weak were enslaved. Innumerable cities were massacred, countless Life Spirits were consumed. Seas of blood and mountains of corpses piled up like hills.

The Forbidden Dynasty, with gods and buddhas filling the sky. Rules and prohibitions were strict to the extreme; every word, every movement could violate a taboo. At the slightest overstep, there would be arrest, imprisonment, assassination. The people of the world lived in endless terror.

The Night Rain Dynasty was even more frightening. It was a bizarre era, everything beyond the scope of understanding. A Nascent Soul Cultivator might die from what seemed a perfectly ordinary needle prick; an Immortal City could become a burial ground overnight; you could never predict what would happen in the next second. It was the pinnacle of fear, an unending nightmare of the unknown.

By contrast, during the Five Emperors Era—

An Emperor Dynasty was a rank below a Dynasty, yet it could revive the world and bring prosperity. Commoners lived in peace and contentment, and all things flourished.

"Speaking impartially," Gu Qing sighed, "if there is to be an age of great strife this time, I would much rather have an Emperor Dynasty than a Dynasty."

Zhao Hansheng let out a sigh and said nothing.

Judging from Myriad Images Sect’s Omen Poem alone, the age of great strife will give birth to the fourth Dynasty in cultivation history.

And this Dynasty will be even more terrifying than the previous three!

The living turn to cinders, the dead find no end.

A New Path ends the world, all kinds are cut off from trace.

Blood Slaughter was carnage, Forbidden was oppression, Night Rain was eerie—and the fourth Dynasty will be pure despair.

Complete nothingness, eternal ending.

Between Heaven and Earth, nothing will be left!

After a long time.

Zhao Hansheng said, "No matter how the Omen Poem may be, that is, after all, a distant future. What matters most at present is not to fret over the great strife five hundred years from now, but to handle what lies before us!"

"Three years from now, I will again Debate Scripture with Qin De. This time, I will not lose, and I cannot lose!"

Gu Qing nodded heavily. "Teacher, your student will follow right behind you!"

"Moreover, the more people we have, the better."

Zhao Hansheng let out a hum. "Then we shall wait for Song Taosheng to join us."

The Flying Message had already been sent out through the Transmission Array at the courier station.

Given the current situation, Zhao Hansheng had to fully throw in his lot with Wang Xinyue in order to truly learn the essentials of Heart Learning, so that he would have the confidence and strength to defeat Qin De in Debate Scripture and wipe away his previous humiliation.

Zhao Hansheng’s change of stance would inevitably tear apart his old relationships and subject him to tremendous pressure.

This Golden Core Level Confucian Cultivator Song Taosheng was no ordinary Golden Core; he possessed strong Nascent Soul potential. If he stood at Zhao Hansheng’s side, he could, to a great extent, help share the burden of that pressure.

Duanmu Zhang had seen this point clearly, and that was why he recommended Song Taosheng—he knew Zhao Hansheng needed him!

And Zhao Hansheng and Gu Qing also chose to wait patiently. Both teacher and student felt that once Song Taosheng received the Flying Message, he would immediately hurry over to meet them and go together to the holy land in the hearts of Confucian Cultivators.

The Flying Message reached Song Taosheng’s hands.

After one sweep with his Divine Sense, Song Taosheng passed it to the person sitting opposite him.

Sitting across from him was only a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and a Child at that.

His baby fat cheeks had not yet faded. He wore a light apricot short jacket, his pupils black and bright like dots of lacquer. This was Kong Ran—the son of Flying Cloud Country’s Prime Minister Kong Zhaoming, a ten-year-old Divine Child.

After reading the Flying Message, Kong Ran exclaimed "Wow," and looked at Song Taosheng with envy.

Song Taosheng, however, shook his head. "I will not go."

Within his calm expression, there was a resolute firmness.

Kong Ran said, "Senior, why put yourself through this? This is such a rare opportunity! Huazhang Country is the birthplace of Confucian Cultivators; there is the Jixia Academy, the Ancient Seal Stele, and the relics of sages from all past generations. Even a mere journey of travel there is better than ten years of shutting oneself away to work behind closed doors."

"What is more, this time Senior has gained the recommendation of Lord Duanmu Zhang; you can follow Lord Zhao Hansheng and together enter the tutelage of Lord Wang Xinyue to comprehensively cultivate Heart Learning!"

Song Taosheng looked at Kong Ran and nodded slowly. "You are not wrong in the least. However, a gentleman has things he will do and things he will not."

"This time, I am leaving Myriad Images Sect not to avoid calamity, nor to seek the Dao, but to... eradicate Qin De!"