The Empty King's Form is Empty, A Sudden Return to the Imperial Palace

"Impossible! How could a monk who has cultivated the True Fire still be a mere novice at Imperial Awakening Temple! Who exactly are you!"

Zhao Zhen took a step back, retreating right to the base of the White Jade Maitreya.

Watching the True Fire before Zhu Yuanzhang mercilessly devour his own flames, his gaze flickered with suspicion and his tone betrayed utter disbelief.

In that very instant, he could sense that his opponent had sacrificed at least ten years of his lifespan.

"I am Zhao Zhen, Left Chancellor under the Taoist Registry of the Prince of Zhou. And who might you be?"

"Imperial Awakening Temple, Zhu Chongba."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a step forward as he spoke.

"Mountain-Shrinking Fist."

The power of a mountain condensed into that single strike.

It exerted a crushing pressure upon Zhao Zhen unlike anything he had ever felt before.

His hair stood on end, as if he were about to be ground into dust by this punch from Zhu Yuanzhang in the next moment. He hurriedly formed a precious seal with his hands and shouted.

"White Lotus Pure Fire, burn away all filth!"

"Bright King Manifestation, reopen the light!"

Accompanied by Zhao Zhen's incantation, the Dharma image of the White Jade Maitreya behind him suddenly released a brilliant radiance that illuminated all things.

The originally gold-and-red Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire suddenly transformed into white.

Its power increased by more than several times over.

"Hm? You have a cheat too?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly; he had been careless.

But... it still wasn't enough!

No one understands the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique better than I do!

Zhao Zhen watched the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire, which was still closing in on him despite Zhu Yuanzhang's punch, and felt his soul take flight in terror.

Was this novice, who seemed to have popped out of a crack in a rock, truly throwing his life away?

In just two exchanges, the opponent had already consumed at least twenty years of his lifespan!

The gold-and-red flames seemed capable of breaking through everything in the world, radiating a scorching warmth and a brilliant light that seemed destined to illuminate all the darkness in this world.

Zhao Zhen gritted his teeth.

The Corpse Incense Offering in the candle stand was nearing exhaustion.

The backlash had already begun; he could feel the fierce ghost "bound" to the candle stand starting to drain his yang energy.

No! If this continued, he would die!

He had to gamble his life as well!

Only by eliminating his opponent as quickly as possible, refining the Corpse Incense Offering anew, and stabilizing the fierce ghost could he find a glimmer of survival.

"You forced my hand... Zhu Chongba."

Zhao Zhen looked at the Imperial Awakening Temple novice who was punching toward him through the white fire, his eyes revealing a ferocious expression.

"The Green Sun has passed! The Red Sun is near! The White Sun shall rise!"

A wisp of white energy was expelled from Zhao Zhen's body, falling into the White Jade Maitreya behind him.

It made the image of the ancient Buddha, smiling and holding a flower, appear even more solemn and majestic.

Five years! Ten years! Twenty years!

But! Why!

The now-senile Zhao Zhen looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, who seemed completely unaffected and remained as youthful as ever, his eyes filled with incredulity.

"Why... you..."

"Want to ask why I'm completely unaffected, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smashed a fist toward Zhao Zhen's face.

But at this moment, the now-white-haired Zhao Zhen found even walking to be an arduous task, let alone blocking this punch.

Squelch!

Zhao Zhen's head was smashed open by Zhu Yuanzhang's fist like a ripe tomato, and fluids splattered in an instant.

"That's obviously because... I'm cheating."

Watching Zhao Zhen's corpse fall slowly with a face full of unwillingness.

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, looking at the three monks, Yuanhui and the others, who had been burned into three piles of ash, as well as the monks of Imperial Awakening Temple who had been processed into dried corpses on the lotus platform, and spoke softly.

From Zhao Zhen's corpse, he fished out two tokens.

One was the fragrant wood token of the Imperial Awakening Temple abbot, Gao Bin.

The other item was a white jade token made of the same material as the Maitreya Buddha before him; the front was carved with a large character for "Buddha," while the back bore the bold inscription: "Zhao Zhen, Left Chancellor and Pingzhang under Master Peng."

"Yuan Prefecture," "Prince of Zhou," "Master Peng"... What major events had transpired this year?

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the white jade Buddha statue before him.

There was a secret here.

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes.

Having just endured the scorching of two blasts of Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire, this white jade Maitreya remained completely unscathed.

"Mountain-Shrinking Fist."

Zhu Yuanzhang whispered softly.

Following this, a layer of deep blue, horny-like substance appeared over his hands.

Zhu Yuanzhang reached out and gently stroked the white jade Buddha statue.

Click.

The white jade Buddha statue suddenly flipped over, colliding with the lotus pedestal beside it that held the flesh-and-blood Dharma body.

It revealed a dark, ancient passage behind it.

The ancient passage had no plaque, but it did feature a pair of couplets.

"Prose peers into the Former Han, poetry reaches the flourishing Tang."

"Serving by my side, I know you to be loyal and true."

It was the same style as the one in the Scripture Depository; it seemed to have come from the same author.

This was likely no coincidence.

A thick scent of rust drifted from within the ancient passage.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and peered inside.

The walls were covered in claw marks, with dried blood congealed into black scabs.

Scattered across the floor were ghastly white bones, most of which were missing their leg bones.

One could only imagine the agony and despair these victims had suffered before they died.

[You have discovered a Secret History]

[Secret History: Mystery of the Dragon Vein (Can be unlocked after clearing Yinglong Temple)]

[Exhausting the void of the Empty King's appearance, one day to re-enter the Imperial Palace. The branches are plucked away but the roots remain, who is the true cock crowing at dawn?]

"Hm?"

A cluster of True Fire emerged from his fingertips, and with a forceful flick of his hand, he pointed forward.

The True Fire surged into the depths of the tunnel, igniting the oil lamps on both sides of the passage.

Five steps from the entrance of the tunnel, there was a corner.

At the corner stood a cyan altar.

On the altar lay a thick stack of letters and an unfolded map.

The letters were clearly freshly written and had not yet been sent; Zhu Yuanzhang noticed that the red wax on some of them had not even dried.

As for the map of Henan-Jiangbei Province marked with red dots, it did not feel like paper to Zhu Yuanzhang, but rather some kind of special leather.

He tucked them into his robes.

Looking at the underground passage that extended downward along the corner, its end nowhere in sight, Zhu Yuanzhang did not intend to explore further.

The reason was simple.

Since the Secret History of the [Mystery of the Dragon Vein] required him to clear Imperial Awakening Temple before it could be opened, it meant that its difficulty likely far exceeded his imagination.

Within a Secret History, Zhu Yuanzhang could certainly afford to be reckless.

But in reality, he only had one life.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not intend to take the risk.

"We were fellow disciples, after all; let me grant you all release."

Returning to the meditation courtyard, Zhu Yuanzhang pressed his palms together and bowed to the monks of Imperial Awakening Temple who had been turned into mummies on the surrounding lotus pedestals.

Following this, True Fire surged forth, incinerating the lotus pedestals and the sacred images.

As the ashes of the corpses drifted out of the cave on the cold wind, in a trance, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to see the figures that had been shackled one by one walk past him, each wearing a grateful smile.

"Does the soul truly exist in this world?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not know the answer.

Yet he knew that in this cruel world, he was fortunate enough to possess choices other than simply blending in.

If possible, he hoped he could change the world just as it had been in history.

He would start by opening the letter.

After reading the letter, although Zhu Yuanzhang still felt that the events unfolding within Imperial Awakening Temple remained shrouded in mystery.

At the very least, he now knew Zhao Zhen's background.

"It really is the White Lotus Sect, and the 'Incense Army' at that—the branch with the most profound influence on future generations."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.

He casually burned the letters written by Zhao Zhen, who had secretly infiltrated Imperial Awakening Temple, to "Buddha Lord Peng Yingyu" and "Prince of Zhou Zhou Ziwang" until they were nothing but ash.

After all, according to the original timeline and the contents mentioned in the letters, the Incense Army of Peng Yingyu and Zhou Ziwang, which had risen in revolt against the Great Yuan in Yuan Prefecture that January, had already been defeated by the Great Yuan imperial court, and their remnants were currently fleeing from Jiangxi toward Huaixi.

Now that he knew the information within the letters, keeping them was useless; they would only invite trouble for him, whether from the Red Turban Army or the Great Yuan side.

And yet... according to what the letter said.

Wait? Toward Huaixi... isn't that the damn direction of Imperial Awakening Temple?