Gu Yuye had already planted an undercover agent by the Sixth Prince's side three years ago, someone who had been serving under the guise of a political adviser, quietly gathering intelligence within the prince's manor.
Over these three years, that spy had gradually gained the prince's trust, becoming one of his closest subordinates.
Every agent that Gu Yuye could mobilize at this point was one he had personally and painstakingly cultivated, ensuring both absolute loyalty and an impeccable background.
To reach the stage where they could be deployed meant that enormous effort and resources had been invested in their preparation.
Once activated, Gu Yuye had to ensure each agent could yield the maximum possible effect.
Originally, a figure as significant as the Sixth Prince Xiao Yi was meant to be manipulated only at the most crucial moment, possibly as a decisive piece capable of turning an entire game around.
But now, in order to deal with Gu Fangchen, he was forced to expose this particular agent ahead of time.
To make a move within the imperial capital was equivalent to detonating the agent on the spot.
For Gu Yuye, years of effort would be wasted, all to eliminate Gu Fangchen, this unforeseen variable. It was a terrible trade-off.
Yet he had no choice.
If it had only been the old Gu Fangchen, no matter what kind of "variable" he might become, Gu Yuye would never have regarded him as a real threat. That was a pawn he himself had molded and discarded. No one in this world knew better than him how to destroy Gu Fangchen.
But after a series of successive accidents, Gu Yuye's habitual overconfidence had been shattered. His mindset began to change.
For nineteen years, his complete control and suppression of Gu Fangchen had built a psychological cage around the boy, yet that same cage had also imprisoned Gu Yuye himself.
It was his own inertia of thought that had led to so many misjudgments.
Only recently had he realized that the person standing across from him was no longer a discarded pawn, but another player on the board.
"Your Highness, instead of tending to your own family affairs, you've come to meddle with my Tara Sect's sacred relic? That truly is a rarity."
From behind a white curtain came Princess Prajna's cool, lazy voice, her tone betraying no emotion.
"Family matters are indeed important," Gu Yuye said calmly, his hands clasped behind his back. "But if the matter concerns all living beings under Heaven, it may be worth setting them aside for the time being."
He spoke slowly, each word deliberate.
"Five hundred years ago, the Sixth Saintess of the Tara Sect, Kong Zhao, was tempted by the demonic sect's 'Dao of Life' and betrayed her order, taking with her the sacred relic known as 'Lotus Concealed in the Womb.' Since then, that fabled treasure capable of cleansing one's very roots has vanished without trace, plunging the Tara Sect into decline and nearly leading to its ruin."
"However, Kong Zhao was a descendant of the Peacock Clan. As is well known, the deity worshiped by the Tara Sect, the World-Saving Mother Buddha, is said in legend to have swallowed Shakyamuni and given birth to him anew, achieving a golden body through great suffering and great merit. She is none other than the Peacock Tara."
"According to the Tara Sect's doctrine, the fruit of the Peacock Tara's enlightenment is supreme under Heaven, far above Shakyamuni."
"Grateful for her grace, Shakyamuni willingly served beneath her seat, revealing to her the sufferings of the world, and thus became known as the Heavenly Drum Sound Tathagata."
"The so-called 'Lotus Concealed in the Womb' was a divine lotus manifested from the boundless merit generated when the Mother Buddha gave birth to the Tathagata."
"The Garan Temple, which venerates Shakyamuni as the Supreme Buddha, naturally condemns the Tara Sect's teachings as blasphemous. Thus began the ancient schism within the Buddhist lineage."
Princess Prajna said indifferently, "Everyone knows this story. Are you, Northern Garrison Prince, merely here to gossip with me under the pretense of saving the world?"
As the Saintess of the Tara Sect, how could she not know what Gu Yuye had just said?
To her, his words were no more than idle chatter.
She frowned slightly. Empty rhetoric was not the style of the Warlord Saint.
Her heart sank. The calmer Gu Yuye appeared, the more it suggested that he was utterly confident in what was to come.
And that could only mean one thing, this was still about the "Lotus Concealed in the Womb."
"Princess Prajna is not wrong," Gu Yuye replied with a faint smile. "This matter could indeed be considered a family affair."
"After Kong Zhao took away the 'Lotus Concealed in the Womb,' her bloodline merged with it anew. When she finally awakened to her senses, it was already too late. To preserve the sacred relic, she had no choice but to take her own life and reenter the cycle of reincarnation."
The Northern Garrison Prince's smile grew faintly strange as he enunciated each word softly:
"The reincarnation of the Sixth Saintess of the Tara Sect, sole surviving descendant of the Peacock Clan—"
"Is none other than my daughter, Gu Lianqian."
...
Gu Fangchen stepped past Xiao Yi and continued toward the imperial palace.
But the Sixth Prince, who had opposed him for over a decade, was clearly unable to accept reality. After standing frozen in shock for a moment, he dropped his sword and chased after him.
On the sword he left behind, a faint cross-shaped mark flickered for an instant before vanishing completely.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Xiao Yi jumped up and down, eyes wide.
"You must be hiding a spiritual artifact I can't see! Despicable! Shameless!"
Gu Fangchen did not slow his pace. "And yet, drawing a sixth-grade sword against someone you believe to be powerless and defenseless, that's not despicable? That's not shameless?"
That sword was of sixth-grade quality. In the hands of a competent eighth-rank martial artist, it could slice through anyone below the seventh rank as easily as cutting vegetables.
But Xiao Yi was poorly trained, all flair and no substance, fighting entirely by rote as written in the sword manuals.
In truth, his attacks were as predictable as a game NPC's scripted moves, Gu Fangchen spotted the flaw instantly.
Of course, that had conditions.
If he still had the body from before, even recognizing the flaw wouldn't have helped, he simply wouldn't have been fast enough to act on it.
But now, his physical strength had already reached the peak of the seventh rank. With his wealth of combat experience as a lifelong scapegoat, dealing with someone like Xiao Yi was no different from sparring with a child.
It was the first time Gu Fangchen had struck using his own true strength, and he was very satisfied with the result.
At the very least, it proved that the combat experience from his "game life" could be perfectly applied to reality.
For instance, just from Xiao Yi's move, he could instantly recall which sword manual it came from, which page, and even which numbered technique it was.
Basically, he was like Wang Yuyan brought to life.
At the same time, he had also noticed that when he touched the sword, a teleportation coordinate had been placed upon him.
That was a measurement technique, meaning someone from the demonic sect had acted behind the scenes.
It didn't take much thought to realize it must be one of the demonic sect members collaborating with Gu Yuye.
Xiao Yi flushed red, then stiffened and shouted hoarsely, "Despicable? And you dare say you have no ties to the demonic sect?!"
Gu Fangchen's face was calm. "Of course not."
How could he be colluding with the demonic sect?
He was already one of its leaders now. Calling that 'collusion' was absurd, the entire demonic sect was his underling!
Xiao Yi gaped at him, words caught in his throat. Then, recalling Gu Fangchen's earlier statements, guilt began to creep into his expression.
He had acted rashly, lost in anger. Now that he realized something was off, the magnitude of what he had done struck him like a hammer.
If what Gu Fangchen had said was true, then that sword strike just now...
Hadn't he just committed a grave offense?
He turned anxiously to Xiao Qiu, who merely sighed and shook his head. "This matter is long to explain, Your Highness. Better you hear it slowly later. His Majesty is waiting for the heir apparent at the Purple Extremity Hall."
"Spicy hell!"
Xiao Yi blurted out. That one sentence had told him everything he needed to know.
For Xiao Qiu to still address Gu Fangchen as "heir apparent" meant that not only had he not been convicted, even his title remained intact!