Chapter 192: I Am Also a Holder of the Great Record!

Anyway, putting aside the events experienced in the illusion created by the Qingxin Art of Love...

At least I shared an intimate moment with the Qingxin Art.

Just as Xiao Qing said, she indeed devised many clever little ideas before unlocking the “Love” CG.

“These were all little secrets I kept hidden from Little Huiyuan, you know?” She looked up and blinked. “Please forgive this little bit of selfishness of mine?”

“I forgive you,” Gu Chengming said jokingly. “But if Huiyuan finds out, she might not be so forgiving. Be prepared for her constant nagging.”

“Then we simply won't tell her.” She thought for a moment, finding a rather high-sounding reason. “The master leads the way, but the cultivation depends on the individual. If I teach too much, the master will starve.”

The time spent lingering with the Qingxin Art made him quite reluctant to leave.

Fortunately, the flow of time within the room of the Qingxin Art of Love was different from the outside world, giving Gu Chengming enough time to enjoy this hard-won tenderness.

Once he had enjoyed enough of her company, he finally freed his hands to check the CG for the 【Qingxin Art of Love】.

【CG/Qingxin Art of Love (Completed)】

【Having the Qingxin Art of Love under a complete bond allows you to remain clear-headed under any circumstances.】

【Note: As long as you still remember who you love to look at, there is no existence in this world that can make you forget who you are.】

Gu Chengming’s expression turned subtle as he looked at this effect.

As the saying goes, the fewer words an effect has, the more ridiculous it is, but this was a bit too much.

Fortunately, upon closer reflection, there was still a slight limitation. It wasn't an immunity to soul-type methods; it simply meant that when trapped within one, he could maintain his sense of self, remembering who he was and what he wanted to do.

For example, if he were to experience the illusion in the Laboratory of Love again, even if he were affected by the mystery of the womb, he would still be able to remain conscious and retain his current memories.

—This was indeed a very reliable trump card.

After all, as he progressed further, schemes at the soul level would only become more numerous and insidious. To be able to hold onto the question of “who am I” within illusions and heart demons was a fortune that countless cultivators sought in vain.

Gu Chengming silently noted this in his heart and closed the panel.

The moment he stepped out of the door of the Laboratory of Love, several familiar dialogue boxes surged up, unwilling to be left out.

【Huiyuan Sword Manual is a bit dazed: Senior Brother Chengming... Eh? No! That seemed like an illusion just now!】

【Red Dust Phantom Step is deep in thought: So this is the feeling of being trapped in an illusion; I didn't even notice it. When traveling abroad, I must be more on guard against soul methods.】

【Hundred Bones Resonating huffs: This Emperor saw through it long ago! I just didn't expose it for the sake of everyone having fun!】

【Qingxin Art: ...】

It turned out she really had pulled all the cultivation techniques in to play together.

Gu Chengming recalled the various “destined people” who appeared in that play—

Little Junior Sister Huiyuan, the demoness Zi Wuji, Miss Cangxian, Director Zhou Lixin, the arrogant sword cultivator Yun Liuyue, the little info broker Zhongmiao, the red-robed wandering cultivator Huan Hongsheng, the female doctor of the Hehuan Sect Hua Yinyang, and a Gu Haiming who clung to his side with a supreme bone.

In a sense, this had become the most “happy family” episode among all the “Love” CGs.

In other Love CGs, those who ate meat ate it alone, and others couldn't even get a sip of the soup. The Qingxin Art of Love, however, was wonderful; not only did she lead all the sisters to eat meat together, but she even let everyone eat first while she herself acted as the grand finale.

—Truly selfless.

Listening to everyone's discussion, the Qingxin Art couldn't help but let out a sigh.

She clearly wanted to enjoy some time alone occasionally, so why did it suddenly turn out like this?

She felt like she had inexplicably taken on the label of the “aggrieved party.”

...

Early the next morning, the morning bell of the capital struck three times.

A thin frost wound along the bluestone slabs, and the stall selling hot soup at the alley entrance had just been set up. White mist mixed with the bustle of the marketplace and drifted over the eaves.

After the recent cleanup operations, the number of evil spirits in the capital was clearly much lower than before Gu Chengming arrived.

But this brought up a new issue... the issue of Dragon Qi.

Logically, with something like Dragon Qi, which was condensed according to the aspirations of the masses and the national destiny, guarding the capital, the actions of the Longevity Sect should have been quite difficult, and the situation with evil spirits couldn't possibly be so rampant.

But the reality was that the Longevity Sect seemed obsessed with causing trouble in the capital, specifically in the place where the Dragon Qi was strongest. Furthermore, the Dragon Qi seemed to be asleep, turning a blind eye to the evil spirits.

This matter had been weighing on his mind since he stepped into the capital, but with the evil spirits previously being so rampant, he had to prioritize the most urgent matters first. Now that the capital was somewhat settled, it was time to pull out this thorn.

Gu Chengming decided to conduct an investigation into what exactly had happened to the Dragon Qi.

Of course, wanting to investigate the Dragon Qi with his rank in the Night Guard Division was naturally insufficient for certain things. Just as he was planning to visit Ji Yixi, a long-lost dialogue box in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly lit up.

【The Great Record speaks for the first time in ages: In other timelines, the inevitable node before the arrival of the Great Calamity is the depletion of Dragon Qi.】

【You need not ask Ji Yixi. Even she does not know the reason at this moment.】

The fellow who hadn't spoken for a long time suddenly initiated a conversation, making Gu Chengming’s heart stir.

“Oh?” he replied in his mind. “Then do you know why it is depleting this time?”

【The reason for depletion in each timeline is different. I am not clear on the specific cause this time.】

【But one thing is certain: this is an “inevitable” node. No matter what you do, you cannot change this outcome.】

It turned out that saying this was the same as saying nothing at all.

He clicked his tongue in his mind and ignored it.

—The same old routine.

Throwing out half a sentence to provoke someone, while the critical parts were always glossed over or dismissed as “inevitable.” It would never explain why it was so, or what the causes and consequences were.

To be honest, at this stage, the relationship between him and the Great Record was, at most, one of mutual exploitation.

The favorability rating, which was low enough to make one gasp, was proof. She knew far more secrets than she let on, but if she didn't want to tell him, she wouldn't.

Her occasional revelations were mostly for the sake of things she wanted to achieve. As for their truth, not a single word had been fully verified by Gu Chengming to this day.

So, rather than being led by the nose by the Great Record, it was better to do the opposite and use the things she was unwilling to do to make a deal with her.

Since she wouldn't speak, he would set it aside for now.

Gu Chengming closed the panel, straightened his cuffs, and walked out.

...

The carriage waiting outside the Night Guard Division was already prepared.

The Second Imperial Princess had been staying in a villa in the eastern suburbs of the capital for the past few days, its scale even more low-key than a common mansion.

With green bricks and gray tiles, the courtyard gate was only wide enough for a small sedan chair to pass through, and there wasn't even a plaque hanging over the lintel.

If it weren't for the archives of the Night Guard Division recording the ownership of this house, Gu Chengming really wouldn't have known where to find her.

He got off the carriage, announced himself, and handed in a Night Guard waist token. The guard at the door had obviously received instructions; after verifying the token, he stepped aside.

A rustling sound came from inside the house, and Ji Yixi pushed the door open. She was wearing informal palace attire in pale green, her hair wasn't very neatly tied, and the jade hairpin near her temple was slightly crooked, as if she had just risen from a prayer mat.

She froze for a moment when she saw Gu Chengming. Although she still had that expressionless look, a trace of embarrassment clearly flickered in her pale eyes.

“Fellow Daoist Gu.”

The small dragon coiled on her shoulder flicked its tail. After seeing who it was, it zipped up from Ji Yixi’s shoulder and circled Gu Chengming twice.

“The Fourth Realm?” It flew in front of Gu Chengming with a face full of disbelief. “You were only at the middle stage of the third realm when you last saw me, right? How long has it been? Could it be that you really are the reincarnation of some True Monarch?”

Gu Chengming ignored it.

—What kind of nobodies were True Monarchs? Two of them had already died by his hand, either directly or indirectly.

Ji Yixi, on her part, first gathered her thoughts. She lowered her eyes and went over the recent events in her mind.

She had already heard about the recent disappearance of evil spirits in the capital, and even earlier, she had seen the Dao Plague at the Cloud Moon Sect clearly through the Great Record.

Those matters seemingly had nothing to do with her on the surface, but in reality, every single one had helped resolve her predicaments.

The Dao Plague incident especially—the murky old accounts between the Cloud Moon Sect and the imperial family, which she thought would take another year or so to barely suppress, were completely uprooted by this Fellow Daoist Gu in a single trip.

She closed her eyes and, in a rare display of solemnity, gave a slight bow toward Gu Chengming.

“For the recent matters, I thank you, Fellow Daoist Gu.”

Gu Chengming waved his hand, but Ji Yixi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after getting that thank-you off her chest and sat back in her original place.

For some reason, lately, when she used the Great Record to observe Gu Chengming’s destiny, the mist was even thicker than before. Previously, looking at him was like looking through a layer of gauze, where she could discern a rough outline; now, she couldn't even see the outline. The entire halo was as blurred as ink dissolving in water.

Ji Yixi suppressed this thought and looked up. “Fellow Daoist Gu, your visit today...”

Gu Chengming went straight to the point, setting his teacup back on the table. “Your Highness should know that the Dragon Qi in the capital has been quite strange lately.”

Ji Yixi froze, then immediately understood. With a flip of her palm, several pale green spiritual runes slipped from her fingers and spread across the four walls, finally fading away silently to ensure that no one else would hear. Only then did she speak.

“In fact, I also want to investigate what exactly happened to the Dragon Qi.”

“And I am also the only person capable of doing so.”

After saying this, Ji Yixi began to explain.

The root of the Dragon Qi’s depletion was not in the streets and alleys of the capital, but in a place called the “Royal Court” in the heart of the Imperial City.

Deep within the Royal Court was hidden an object called the Dragon Qi Seed. It was a root planted at the beginning of Great Qian’s founding. All Dragon Qi was born from and dispersed from this place. To investigate the Dragon Qi, one must enter the Royal Court, and since ancient times, only two kinds of people have been able to enter that deep place in the Royal Court.

One is the Son of Heaven of Daqian, and the other is the successive holders of the Great Record.

Ji Yixi’s voice paused here.

“But... Father’s condition has been very poor lately. He is watching me very closely and simply does not allow me to enter that place.”

Gu Chengming’s heart stirred.

Could he also be considered a holder of the Great Record?

However, hearing Ji Yixi’s words, he instead asked about another matter he was very curious about.

“Your Highness, what kind of person... is the current Emperor exactly?”

He had heard many rumors about His Majesty before, and combined with various reasons, he didn't have a single bit of goodwill toward this Emperor of Great Qian. He even suspected that everything in Great Qian was rotten to the core.

Namely, that this Emperor of Great Qian was actually associated with the Longevity Sect.

Ji Yixi hesitated for a moment, then said, “In fact, my communication and contact with Father are not frequent.”

She seemed to be weighing how much she could reveal in the following words.

“Father once suffered an injury due to a certain reason. That injury is irreversible and extremely terrifying to outsiders. To maintain his dignity, he has not shown his true face since then. Imperial court sessions, decrees, and administrative discussions are all conducted through a mass of Dragon Qi.”

“...These are all matters from years ago.”

She lowered her eyes. “Since my birth, I have never seen Father’s true face.”

Hearing this, Gu Chengming’s expression became even more peculiar.

Never shown his true face? It wouldn't be that he had actually been swapped, would it?

This kind of plot was quite common in JRPGs. He could even imagine a scene where he painstakingly fought his way into the main hall, lifted the imperial robes, and found that the face underneath wasn't the old Emperor he thought it was, but some Near Heaven of the Longevity Sect wearing a human skin, or even just a writhing mass of unknown evil spirits.

Hopefully, he hadn't guessed correctly.

He didn't voice this thought, but instead said, “So Your Highness means that someone needs to enter the depths of the Royal Court to check the Dragon Qi Seed, but the current Emperor does not allow it?”

Ji Yixi nodded.

“If it is inconvenient for Your Highness to go personally...” Gu Chengming paused. “Then what if someone else goes?”

Ji Yixi blinked, not quite understanding what he meant.

The small dragon didn't understand either, but it still instinctively cut in. “What do you mean? The only ones who can enter are the Great Record...”

Halfway through its sentence, its voice came to an abrupt halt.

Because Gu Chengming raised his hand, palm upward, and lightly released his spiritual power.

An extremely subtle aura belonging to the 《Great Record》 overflowed from his fingertips.

That aura was of the same origin as the one within Ji Yixi.

The room was so quiet for a moment that the sound of the small dragon on the beam swallowing its breath could be heard. Ji Yixi opened her mouth, stammering slightly.

“...Gu, Fellow Daoist Gu, you, this is?”

Gu Chengming didn't immediately answer her. Instead, he recalled the scene when he first met this Second Imperial Princess. At that time, Ji Yixi’s first words were “I know you were the one who moved the Dragon Qi before,” which had scared him quite a bit, and her words had carried a faint implication of using the Dragon Qi as leverage.

Now it was his turn to throw an even bigger secret in front of the other party, and it was the other party’s turn to stammer.

The tables had indeed turned.

His fingers holding the teacup loosened slightly, and his mood became subtly amused.