The smell of gunpowder mixed with the scent of damp earth reminded Chen Kuang of the countryside during New Year's when he was a child, and the scent of cheap firecrackers wafting from the melting snow piles into the morning air.
His gaze was deep, wiping the grease off his hand.
The oil mixed in this water was certainly intentional; it wasn't hard to guess that someone had poured oil behind the wall, which seeped out through large cracks due to moisture.
Coupled with gunpowder...
It wasn't hard to guess what arrangement Li Hongling had made—
There might be secret passages beneath this Celestial Prison and within the walls, and she intended to level the place with a large quantity of gunpowder.
Just unsure how wide the range of gunpowder layout was.
Chen Kuang was expressionless.
No wonder...
Li Hongling, even knowing he was a cultivator, hadn't sealed his cultivation, merely broke his leg, and the supervision of the Celestial Prison wasn't stringent.
It wasn't that she hadn't anticipated other means, nor was she disdainful of his cultivation—it was because she was more ruthless than imagined.
From the start, the news he heard from the prison guard was fake.
Li Hongling never intended to spare the remaining ordinary palace attendants—never!
On the contrary, she wants none left.
Moreover, it seems she intends not only to kill but also to destroy the Imperial Palace.
But was this secret passage originally built, or excavated specifically in recent days for this matter?
This question is crucial.
Chen Kuang humbled himself, looked at Huo Hengxuan, who was feigning sleep, and lowered his voice.
"General Huo, was there originally a secret passage in the Celestial Prison?"
Even he could discover the matter of the secret passage; for Huo Hengxuan, it must be effortless.
Huo Hengxuan opened his eyes, his expression predictably calm.
"The Da Liang has been established for sixteen hundred years, the layout of the Imperial City has not changed a bit."
Oh, then it's originally there.
But why build a secret passage in the Celestial Prison?
Thinking back and forth…it seems only related to that Demon Suppression Prison.
"Does the General know the purpose of this secret passage? Where is the entrance and exit?"
"No purpose; the secret passage is built not deep, almost touching the wall; the entrance and exit are at the Celestial Prison's entrance, not hard to find."
"Placing this secret passage here is quite hazardous, and some Ministry of Justice officials have petitioned to renovate it."
"And then?"
"Then it was dismissed."
Huo Hengxuan shook his head: "It's said the Su Family has an ancestral command: never alter one inch of the Imperial City's layout."
Su Family naturally means the Royal Family.
This becomes interesting...
Chen Kuang dug deeper:
"Why?"
Huo Hengxuan glanced at him, growing impatient.
"Where do all these questions come from?"
Chen Kuang, however, was solemn: "It's a matter of life and death."
Huo Hengxuan was silent for a moment, then said: "A former emperor intended to make changes, yet suddenly a Daoist descended from the sky, telling him the layout of the Imperial City suppresses the fortune of a nation; any alterations would change the fundamental essence."
He sneered: "Truly a demon Daoist."
Fundamental essence...
Chen Kuang mulled over the term.
Had he not heard the story told by Lady Liang, these words would be elusive.
But now he knows the foundation of Da Liang's establishment is none other than the two great powers suppressing the great demon and nourishing all things!
This secret passage is indeed related to the Demon Suppression Prison!
Then, could this bizarre, seemingly useless secret passage be the key to suppressing the great demon?
He must find more clues.
If his plan proves worthless, this point might become crucial.
"Doushu降天" can be refined further, then cultivate divine sense—even if not comparable to the ability of Primordial Spirit emergence—is able to see all obstacles as non-existent.
Chen Kuang made up his mind, prepared to mediate again.
"Boom..."
The ground began to tremble again, the starlight outside seemed to extinguish for a moment, and the world plunged into darkness.
Chen Kuang steadied his posture, glanced outside the window, squinting.
Is this… the saintly battle ending?
Will the Liang Kingdom ancestor against Great Zhou's "Donghuang" win or lose?
"Defeated."
Huo Hengxuan sighed.
Chen Kuang doubted: "General Huo, how did you figure that out?"
From the initial hesitation of Huo Hengxuan, it seemed he knew the Liang Kingdom ancestor was certainly defeated, yet with his realm, seemingly unable to reach the so-called Saint Realm.
Huo Hengxuan's experiences also included the current cultivator's hierarchy.
Ninth Grade Enlightenment Realm, Eighth Grade Innate Realm, Seventh Grade Tower Ascension Realm, these are the Lower Three Grades.
They are the limits attainable by mortal martial artists, even the world's top masters, no more than the Peak of Tower Ascension Realm.
Tower Ascension, Tower Ascension, is ascending the twelve towers in the sky, the threshold between immortality and mortality.
Sixth Grade Sea Breaking Realm, Fifth Grade Moon Embrace Realm, Fourth Grade Grandmaster Realm, these are the Middle Three Grades–possessing various miraculous divine powers and immortal techniques.
Third Grade Profound Profound Realm, Second Grade Daoist Shore Realm, First Grade Canliao Realm, these are the Upper Three Grades, beyond common understanding, omnipotent, immortal, beyond the Five Elements.
Only by stepping into the Second Grade Daoist Shore Realm, crossing the Bitter Sea, and reaching the Other Shore, can one be called a "Saint."
Huo Hengxuan was in the Grandmaster Realm before he was crippled.
So powerful that he could protect Da Liang for decades without faltering, but against the Upper Three Grades, such strength was still like an ant.
Logically, it should be impossible to reach this realm.
Just like Chen Kuang at this moment, he couldn't even imagine how those two Saints were dueling to make the earth shake and mountains tremble.
But Huo Hengxuan ultimately was a Grandmaster of Half-step Upper Three Grades.
He nodded towards that part of the sky.
"The two Saints use the starry sky as a chessboard and have reached the midgame; the outcome is gradually becoming clear."
Chen Kuang froze, a shiver running down his spine.
He looked up at the dim sky, squinting his eyes for a closer look.
The eerie and gorgeous starry sky, contrary to what he had seen before, was not static; at that instant, a star extinguished.
No... not just one, but countless!
That was not a star, but... a complete nebula!
What a terrifying sight.
Chen Kuang, in a trance, unconsciously posed in the First Aspect stance, trying to see more clearly.
The previously chaotic galaxy turned into a giant chessboard in his eyes.
A huge hand that covered the sky suddenly fell, picked up a cluster of nebulae, moved it to a place and aligned it with several star clusters.
The brilliant nebula surrounded by it suddenly exploded, collapsing rapidly into a pitch-black abyss.
His heart spirit could not help but be drawn in, almost flying toward it.
"Calm!"
Huo Hengxuan suddenly shouted, like a great bell striking Chen Kuang's heart spirit.
He snapped back to reality, already drenched in sweat.
When he looked again, the tight, perilous, life-and-death transformation on the chessboard was clear in view.
Chen Kuang mumbled in a daze, "This is fucking ridiculous..."
Is this how you play chess in the High Martial World?
No wonder he could never tell where the battlefield was because it was never on land!
And the cause of the earthquake might not even be the Saints fighting, but rather them accidentally striking nearby asteroids, causing meteor fragments to crash down...
Truly ridiculous, truly terrifying!
Chen Kuang suddenly felt that his prospect of escaping had become somewhat bleak and pessimistic.
Liang Kingdom's elder, indeed is about to lose...
If no one restrains the other Saint, when he descends from the sky, it would be a dead end!
...
"Donghuang Saint is already assured of victory, it seems this time we can triumph smoothly."
Li Hongling climbed the East Corner Pavilion, hands behind her back, gazing at the starry sky.
Behind her followed the Black Armor Guard named Qingcuo.
Outside the Imperial City, the battle was still tense, but Li Hongling already knew the fate of these remnants of Liang Kingdom.
Wei Su shook his fan, frowning:
"Has the General forgotten that the most important thing still hasn't been found, how can it be called a triumph?"
Li Hongling squinted and said:
"The most important? How do I remember that his purpose was not for this thing; even if it can't be found, everything is already in place, what does it matter?"
Wei Su paused his movement and said:
"So when does the General plan to take action?"
Li Hongling remained expressionless: "Wait another seven days. The flames of war have not been extinguished, the Saints have not returned, no need for the Immortal Master to be in such a hurry."
Wei Su was silent for a moment and asked:
"I heard that the General interrogated that musician during the day? He's just an ordinary person, why's the General interested in being there in person?"
"Life in the military is idle and boring, just wanted to take out some frustration, why, is the Immortal Master interested too?"
"... No, I still have some matters."
...
Wei Su left the East Corner Pavilion, pondered for a while, then turned to find Shen Xingzhu.
"What is the matter, Fellow Daoist?"
The woman sat cross-legged on the edge of the eaves, solitary and alone, the starry sky behind her turned into a backdrop, her eyes behind the blue gauze looked down.
Like an ancient well without ripples, as cool as the moon.
Wei Su cupped his hands in greeting, his gaze flickering, and whispered:
"Fellow Daoist Shen, were you interested in that mortal musician before?"
"Yes, but I have not seen him in the Secret Punishment Department."
For a whole day, Shen Xingzhu observed the interrogations in the Secret Punishment Department, making the interrogators cautious, afraid of displeasing the merciful Immortal Master, and found it unbearable.
Wei Su's expression turned serious:
"That's because Li Hongling did not send him to the Secret Punishment Department... I heard Li Hongling used personal punishment on him."
Shen Xingzhu's calm, beautiful eyes suddenly rippled, like a colorful carp leaping up from the sunken lakebed, suddenly becoming lively.
She blinked:
"Personal punishment? Is he still alive?"