For the imperial court, the impact of this battle was quite bad.
A felon dared to blatantly break into the imperial city and cause massacre, defying the royal law and the court. It was like slapping the court in the face. It was completely lawless.
If Zhang Ruochen is not captured, where will the court's face be?
A protective formation in the Central Imperial City was opened, with chain light patterns rising into the sky, connecting the sky and the earth, sealing off the entire city and preventing Zhang Ruochen and Ling Feiyu from escaping.
Zhang Ruochen had no intention of escaping from the imperial city at this time. After all, everyone thought he would escape. If he did escape, it would only be more dangerous.
On the contrary, it is relatively safer to stay in the imperial city.
Obviously, you can never go back to Jiezi Mansion and can only find another hiding place.
Zhang Ruochen left the Seventh City and walked on the snow-covered streets. His mind had long since returned to calmness. Even if the Destiny Corpse Emperor escaped, the ancient ghost-raising clan and the ancient zombie-driving clan had paid a heavy price.
After this battle, if other forces want to deal with him, they will have to carefully consider whether they can bear the price of offending him.
On the street, the voice of a seven or eight-year-old child rang out: "Dad, look, there is a moon in the sky."
"How could there be a moon in such spooky weather... Hey, there is actually a moon, and it seems to be still moving." The middle-aged man next to the child felt surprised.
Zhang Ruochen also raised his head and saw that, above the dark sky, there was indeed a bright moon hanging, and the light it emitted only covered a city area.
That city area...is the seventh city area.
Suddenly, the bright moon started to move and flew towards another city.
Only those who have reached the holy realm can see clearly that it is not a bright moon, but a rather huge mirror.
"Could it be the supreme holy instrument of Confucianism and Taoism?"
Zhang Ruochen's face froze slightly, sensing something was wrong.
According to legend, the True True Mirror can see through all the illusions in the world. Zhang Ruochen's attainments in the thirty-six transformations of the invisible and formless are not very good. Once illuminated by the True True Mirror, his true form will be revealed in an instant.
"In order to arrest Ling Feiyu and I, those old Confucian and Taoist gentlemen actually used the Supreme Sacred Artifact. It's really a big deal."
The Guizhen Mirror's detection speed is quite fast. It only takes one breath to complete the detection of a city area and then move on to the next city area.
On the ground, there are also troops cooperating with their actions.
After a city area was explored, it was determined that Zhang Ruochen was not hiding inside, and the city protection formation was immediately activated to isolate the city area.
After such a blanket search, it won't take long before Zhang Ruochen is bound to be found.
"The search speed is so fast. The mental strength of the person who controls the True Mirror must have reached an astonishing level. What should we do now?"
Zhang Ruochen frowned, knowing very well that once he was captured, no one could save him.
Where can I hide?
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's heart moved, he thought of a place, and said to himself: "Yaochi."
At this moment, a profound and long-lasting memory emerged in Zhang Ruochen's mind.
Eight hundred years ago, Yaochi was a manor owned by the royal family of the Qingchi Central Empire, located in the suburbs outside the imperial city. It was also a garden awarded to Princess Chi Yao by the Qing Emperor. It was there that Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao met for the first time.
Every time Emperor Qing and Emperor Ming got together, it was always in Yaochi.
Therefore, Yaochi is not as simple as a manor, but has extraordinary significance. There, there is a formation jointly arranged by Emperor Qing and Emperor Ming to isolate it from the prying eyes and exploration of the outside world.
The two great emperors were both close friends and the masters of the two central empires. Every time they met, they discussed many secrets. At the same time, Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao naturally had many opportunities to get together, leaving a lot of good things in Yaochi.
memories.
If he had no other choice, Zhang Ruochen would not want to go there at all, because the more beautiful the memories, the deeper the pain in his heart will be.
In the end, because of the threat of Guizhenjing, Zhang Ruochen came to the outside of the ancient manor, stood in the snow, and looked at the gate of the manor.
What was once the suburbs of the imperial city has now become an inner city.
The manor is still the same manor as before. Even the plaque on the door has not been changed, with two familiar words printed on it - Yaochi.
Unfortunately, the current Yaochi is extremely deserted. Not even a guard or servant can be seen. There are two old seals on the door, which read "no entry" and "kill without mercy" respectively.
A forbidden place.
The monks who passed by this place also looked at the manor with a taboo look on their faces, and stepped away from it, not daring to get close.
The two seals seemed to have sealed the secret that the owner of the manor did not want to be revealed. Anyone who broke in would be killed without mercy.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were a little deep, and he walked step by step to the outside of the gate. After a moment of silence, he stretched out a hand and touched the seal.
"Boom."
A mighty force surged out from the seal, causing Zhang Ruochen to fly backwards and fall into the snow, rolling up snowflakes all over the sky.
Zhang Ruochen stood up again, looked at his bloody arms, then looked at the two old and yellowed seals, and said to himself: "Is this a warning?"
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, the holy energy circulated in his body, and the wound on his arm slowly healed.
Then, Zhang Ruochen walked to the left side of the manor with his hands behind his back, detoured for a while, and came to the back door of the manor.
There is no seal at the back door, but there is a formation barrier arranged by the two great emperors.
This was not Zhang Ruochen's first time entering Yaochi. Naturally, he knew how to break the formation barrier and stretched out a finger to draw lines on the vermilion door.
"Squeak."
The formation barrier receded, Zhang Ruochen pushed open the door and walked in.
The manor is full of dense yellow weeds, with thick snow piled on top. Looking around, you can't see any living things, and you can only hear the whistling wind.
Desolate, dilapidated, and lifeless.
The door of memory was opened, and the scene in front of Zhang Ruochen became beautiful, including pavilions, lakes, cranes, and bridges built with white mist, one scene at a time.
At this time, in his ears, he seemed to be able to hear the laughter of a boy and a girl, and they were practicing swordplay under the tree, meditating by the lake, and watching the stars and the moon on the roof.
Every dilapidated place is a memory.
"Brother Chen, with your talent, you will definitely be able to reach the realm of the Great Sage in the future and become the next generation of Ming Emperor of the Ming Central Empire. My talent is worse, and I may not be able to reach that state in this life. I am afraid that I will not be able to succeed Chi Qing.
The throne of the Central Empire."
"Who said that only those with high talents can cultivate to the realm of great saints? You have to know that in history, there have been many great saints and gods with mediocre talents, but their hearts are extremely powerful."
"Why are you so stubborn? Can't you tell me not to practice so hard and just be carefree and be the empress of the next generation of Emperor Ming?"
"So that's it...wait a minute, don't leave, Yaoyao, I'll tell you again now."
"I don't even want to hear it!"
…
The figures of the boy and girl gradually faded away, disillusioned before Zhang Ruochen's eyes. There was only a stone path covered with moss and dead branches and vines hanging down.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head gently, with a bitter smile on his lips.
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Ruochen walked into an abandoned viewing pavilion. The pavilion was full of spider webs. In the center of the spider web, there was a chess table.
On the chess table, there is an unfinished chess game, with black and white stones interlaced.
In Zhang Ruochen's memory, Emperor Ming took him to Yaochi three times. Each time, he would play the same game with Emperor Qing, and each time he would play for three days.
A game of chess was played three times for a total of nine days, but there was no winner.
In front of Zhang Ruochen's eyes, it seemed as if Emperor Ming and Emperor Qing were still sitting there, Emperor Ming holding white and Emperor Qing holding black. Their expressions were extremely solemn, and every move they made seemed like they were making a major decision.
Zhang Ruochen swept away the cobwebs with his hands, walked over, came to the side of the chess table, and looked at the endgame above.
After a moment, Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed violently and said: "No, this is not the endgame... The winner has already been decided. White lost, and my father actually lost! How is it possible?"
Zhang Ruochen remembered very clearly that the last time they played chess, there was no winner.
As the Qing Emperor, it is impossible to play this game of chess with others again.
Then, there is only one possibility. The last time Zhang Ruochen knew was not the last time. Before he knew it, Emperor Ming and Emperor Qing finished the game and decided the winner.
"What a weird chess move."
Zhang Ruochen knows chess, but he is not proficient in it.
Even so, he could see that the way the Second Emperor played chess was quite strange, but he couldn't tell what was so strange.
"Could it be that when my father was playing the last game of chess with Qing Emperor, he was assassinated by Qing Emperor and that's why he disappeared?"
Zhang Ruochen squeezed his hands together tightly, feeling a strong anger. He had a feeling that the chess piece in front of him might be related to the disappearance of his father.
"Such a weird chess game must be hiding some secret. Could it be a clue left by my father?"
Zhang Ruochen stretched out his arms, trying to lift the chess table and put it into the space ring.
However, the chess table is intertwined with the rules of the Holy Way. Each chess piece contains the power of the Great Sage and is heavier than a mountain.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't lift the chess table at all, and couldn't even pick up a chess piece.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen could only give up and memorize the chess game, preparing to find a chess master in the future who might help him unlock the secrets of the chess game.
This manor was so quiet that even Zhang Ruochen had a shuddering feeling.
"Maybe you really shouldn't come here."
Zhang Ruochen sat next to the chess table, sitting where Emperor Ming once sat. Feeling physically and mentally lonely, he let out a long sigh and immersed his mental power into the world of heaven and earth.
At this moment, he really wanted to find someone to express the pain in his heart.
The first person who comes to mind is Huang Yanchen.