The number of Ghost Temple is probably closely related to the power that the current emperor can wield!
This guy went to great lengths, instigating war in the north and deliberately facilitating Chen Qing's Dragon Palace plan in Jiangnan, all to secretly build the Ghost Temple from Chen Baiye's memories. The people of the capital felt extremely uneasy about those Ghost Temple. Since those things increased in number, not only have many strange things happened, but the atmosphere of the entire capital has also changed.
The capital city of the Central Plains became eerily quiet. The major families, especially those of sorcerers, clearly felt uneasy and dared not confront the emperor directly. They could only watch helplessly as the emperor set up more and more Ghost Temple in the capital.
"In Chen Baiye's memory, his suspicions are similar to yours," A Li replied. "As a peripheral elder of the Chen Household family, he wasn't qualified to participate in the Dragon Palace incident, so he paid more attention to the capital. Actually, he wanted to warn the Chen Household at the time, but ultimately didn't due to some psychological factors."
"But the reality was just as he expected. Once the number of Ghost Temple increased, the emperor's attitude towards the aristocratic families changed completely. Now that the north has been swallowed up by the giant python and the threat of the Duke of Wei is gone, many military generals who were originally transferred back dare not question the matter of the Ghost Temple. I'm afraid there has been collusion and scheming in secret all along."
"And even the Southern Barbarians have these kinds of Ghost Temple!"
" The Southern Barbarians also have them?" Shen Qi's pupils contracted. When the spatial disturbance occurred in Jiangnan, he was already on his way to the capital and was unaware of much information about the Southern Barbarians. Hearing A Li mention it now, he was naturally shocked.
"Yes, according to my memory, after Chen Baiye learned about the existence of Ghost Temple similar to the one in the capital from merchants returning from the Southern Barbarians, he started keeping a close eye on it. This guy is indeed a very perceptive person."
"Do the Southern Barbarians also build these kinds of Ghost Temple? Is it the Wutu Kingdom?"
"Yes!" A Li nodded. "There are many, far more than in the capital. According to the merchant, the Wutu Kingdom only started building these Ghost Temple a year ago, but the number is far greater than in the capital. I wonder why. In Chen Baiye's memory, the royal family's renovation of these Ghost Temple seems to be progressing very slowly, as if there are some restrictions."
Shen Qi's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he opened the map. "Do you remember the locations of those Ghost Temple in the capital?"
Chen Ying, standing to the side, asked in confusion, "Is this position really that important?"
"It should be very important," Shen Qi nodded. "This can be seen from the strength of Wutu Gu and the others. I guess these Ghost Temple can perform some kind of function, perhaps something like the Dragon Palace's Dragon Transformation Technique, which can transform a person and even allow them to use very special abilities through these Ghost Temple."
"The reason why Wutu Gu and the others were able to break through to the Transcendent realm in such a short time and become so arrogant is most likely because of the Ghost Temple. When you came back, you also said that the Emperor didn't seem to have entered the Transcendent realm, right? What made you make that judgment?"
A Li was taken aback, then said, "Aura."
"Aura?" Chen Ying frowned and said from the side, "Can you be serious?"
"I'm very serious," A Li said with a smile. For some reason, she always felt that Chen Ying was very hostile towards her. Was it because she had altered Chen Ying's memories?
"We demons, who aren't good at fighting, can only judge who's easy to attack by their aura. We can tell from a distance who we can take on and who we can't. Otherwise, if we provoked someone we shouldn't have, we'd be dead already."
"Haven't you died many times already?" Chen Ying sneered.
A Li's eyes turned slightly cold; she clearly didn't like bringing up this topic.
"Alright," Shen Qi interrupted the two, "What time is it for you to argue?" Then he looked at A Li and asked, "Are you sure?"
"I think that's for sure," A Li said impatiently. "The emperor carries the fortune of the Central Plains. I, Magic City easily sense any changes in his aura. After all, once I possess him, I can rely on the fortune of the Central Plains dynasty to directly break through to the Transcendent. You know that, right?"
Shen Qi nodded. Once a fox demon can bewitch a king, she can cross the threshold of the Transcendent. Nothing in the world is immune to temptation. He had always wondered why it had to be a king, but now he realized there was also the concept of destiny.
Luck
Shen Qi recalled some things he learned from chatting with Ziyue: the Central Plains was the land of human destiny. Back then, the Dragon Palace occupied the four seas and used human destiny to replenish itself, almost dominating the post-ancient era.
Could the construction of this Ghost Temple be due to this reason, as it was much slower than that of the Southern Barbarians?
Logically, since the emperor stopped having to consider the whims of the powerful families half a year ago, he could build as many temples as he wanted. Given the pace of craftsmen from the Central Plains, how could they possibly be slower than the Southern Barbarians? With a single order, building a thousand more Ghost Temple in the entire capital would only take a few months.
Why not do it that way?
Shen Qi believes there are only two reasons: first, the number of Ghost Temple doesn't mean anything, and having more doesn't necessarily mean gaining more power.
However, Shen Qi didn't believe this. If the emperor hadn't reached the Transcendent, why hadn't he? Even Wutu Gu were Transcendent, yet the emperor, according to A Li, only seemed slightly more imposing than before. What did that mean?
Doesn't that mean there aren't enough Ghost Temple?
If that's the case, why not continue construction?
That leaves only the second possibility: building Ghost Temple in the capital would be even more difficult than in the Southern Barbarians!
The reason is unknown, but perhaps it is because this place is the land of human destiny, while the Southern Barbarians are a land of half-demons, far inferior to this place in representing the human race.
Since that's the case
Shen Qi stood up. "I can roughly guess what happened, but I'm not entirely sure. Are you all willing to take a gamble?"
"How do we gamble?" the two Yaksha generals asked hastily. "If we win, can we rescue Prince Ao Zhen?"
"It should be possible," Shen Qi said, opening a map of the capital. " The Xiao Household family doesn't have the ability to make Ao Zhen disappear; they must have relied on external forces. Judging from the current clues, it's highly likely they used the power of the Ghost Temple. I suspect that the main purpose of setting up Ghost Temple in the capital is for the Transcendent force behind the Xiao Household. However, because the number of Ghost Temple is limited, the abilities they can use are also limited. That's why the emperor didn't enter the Transcendent and couldn't directly suppress us; the reason is probably that their methods are limited."
"So that means," the two Yaksha realized, "If there are fewer Ghost Temple, their power will be weaker, and they might not even be able to control Ao Zhen anymore?"
"That's exactly it!" Shen Qi said, "Destroying a certain number of Ghost Temple might be enough to rescue Prince Ao Zhen. Once we can rescue Prince Ao Zhen, this situation will be resolved!"
"Then what are we waiting for?" The two Yaksha were immediately filled with fighting spirit. "So it turns out they only relied on external objects. That makes things easier. After destroying them, we'll welcome back His Highness and teach that damned Emperor Xiao Household a lesson. How dare a mere mortal scheme against our own Highness? He's practically courting death!"
"The key is where to destroy them?" Shen Qi opened the map and said, "If we're not mistaken, these Ghost Temple must be extremely important to that emperor and the ancient forces behind him. We have limited manpower and resources, so we must strike at the heart of the matter."
Pointing to the map, he said, "We first need to understand the layout of the Ghost Temple, and then guess the relatively important points, because once we make a move, we may only have one chance. Once the enemy knows that we have discovered the Ghost Temple's weakness, they will definitely launch a fierce counterattack. If we cannot destroy the key Ghost Temple as soon as possible, without Prince Ao Zhen's presence, we may not have a second chance to make a move."
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over them, instantly calming the two Yaksha down considerably.
Although they were furious, they weren't stupid. The fact that Ao Zhen could be sealed meant that the opponent's methods were indeed extraordinary. If they couldn't strike decisively, they feared that, as the opponent had said, they wouldn't have a second chance to attack.
"I remember the location, but how do I determine which part is more important?" Chen Ying asked, looking at the map.
She didn't rest on her first day. When A Li entered the palace, she toured the capital and memorized the locations of all the ghosts.
"Guessing is probably infuriating." Shen Qi frowned after drawing the locations of the ghost temples on the map with his brush and ink, because judging from their placement, the location of each Ghost Temple was not simple.
The Ghost Temple were all located in other temples that were originally very popular, including Confucian temples, Buddhist Guanyin Temple dedicated to Guanyin, and the Three Stars Daoist Temple, which was very popular in the capital.
It's really hard to tell at a moment where the most important part is.
"I'm afraid we can only find out from Chen Baiye," Shen Qi sighed.
A Li frowned upon hearing this. "I've read almost all of his memories; he has no idea."
"He doesn't know, but the person who wanted him to scheme against us does!" Shen Qi sneered. "This time, let's see who can outsmart us!"