An Illusory Dream

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ziyan immediately said:

"Master, we've all gone into seclusion, yet you have no one left to command."

Su Yao waved his hand:

"Those of them are already at the Late-stage Qi Refinement. I'll go back to Qixia Mountain in a while and bring a few more people over; that should be enough. Besides, that spirit tree will hatch in the next few days. Once it's conferred the title of Mountain God of Golden Ao Mountain, it will be a formidable force among those in the Foundation Establishment. Furthermore, you're not going into seclusion tomorrow, so what's the rush?"

Zhang Ziyan scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile.

Everyone at the table laughed, and even the Spirit Wood Child timidly smiled.

Liu Yunhe raised his wine cup at the opportune moment, deftly steer the conversation back to the moonlight and the fragrance of osmanthus.

The sound of Cibi Lake still faintly echoes from below the cliff, just as it did on that night many years ago when the mountain was opened.

After a long while, the banquet ended, and everyone left one after another.

Liu Yunhe and Zhang Ziyan walked side by side at the front, still whispering about how to hand over the affairs in the mountains after their seclusion; Li Siyi and Zhu Xuejie walked hand in hand, followed by several female disciples, their figures gradually disappearing into the bamboo forest path; Han Ziyi walked at the back, his steps steady, as silent as ever.

The lights in the pavilion gradually went out, leaving only a lone lamp on the eaves, swaying gently in the night breeze.

Su Yao sat alone in the pavilion, staring at the half-cup of tea on the table, which was growing cold, without getting up.

Outside the pavilion, on the steps, Ren Han stood with his hands at his sides, head bowed, not daring to look directly at anyone; his black clothes almost blended into the night.

When everyone had left, Su Yao only said, "You stay here," and he has been standing here ever since, without asking any questions or moving.

After everyone had disappeared from sight, Su Yao's voice rang out. It wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet pavilion:

Ren Han.

Upon hearing this, Ren Han looked up and saw that Su Yao had already turned his back. He heard him say:

"The Heavenly Governance occasionally bestows its favor upon the mortal realm. Those who receive this favor can observe future events as omens. Those unaware believe it is merely rebirth, but in reality, the Heavenly Governance calculates future events based on all existing events, yet it cannot predict the thoughts of True Lord and other high-ranking officials."

He turned around, his gaze falling on Ren Han Han's somewhat flustered face:

"You've been with Qixia for over twenty years. Qixia has treated you fairly well. Now, it's time to say something?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Han's face turned even paler, and he immediately knelt down with a thud, remaining silent for a long time.

Seeing this, Su Yao sighed softly. He hadn't wanted to ask, but now he had no choice, since he would be in charge of Proclaiming Earth affairs here.

Seeing that Ren Han remained silent, Su Yao took out the Spirit Omens Mystery-Inquiring Tube and poured his Law Power into it, causing the tube to glow with a silvery-white light.

Feeling that familiar silvery-white light, Ren Han couldn't help but open his mouth wide, but he couldn't utter a sound.

In that instant, he thought of many things. He thought of his past life when he accidentally entered a secret realm and obtained a legacy, which was the fourth-grade Dui Metal Cultivation Method, as well as the Spiritual Qi, pills, and spiritual items needed for cultivation... Later, he painstakingly achieved the Purple Mansion, but in the end, he still died and his cultivation dissipated.

He thought that by cultivating the Purple Mansion, he would know many secrets, but he never knew anything about the Heavenly Stem Su throughout his life, and only thought that he had been reborn.

Now that I know the truth in an instant, I realize that my past life was nothing but a dream.

No wonder, no wonder everything is different now. In the end, it's just a projection of the future, not a fact that has already happened.

Seeing that Ren Han still didn't speak, Su Yao sighed and said again:

"I know how you feel right now. Let me ask you a question first: in your divination, what level have you reached?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Han whispered:

"His cultivation of the Dui Metal element is characterized by the Divine Ability ' Resounding White Sound '."

Su Yao said upon hearing this:

"Dui Metal represents the uprightness of metal, the way of the White Emperor. The White Emperor resides in the west and rules the world. The sound of the Resounding White Sound is like metal and stone, capable of rousing the deaf and awakening the blind; this is the true sound of Dui Metal."

Upon hearing this, Ren Han nodded in agreement, feeling that Su Yao's casual exposition of the theory of Dui Metal was even more profound than his own Dui Metal Daoxing after achieving the Purple Mansion realm in his previous life.

Su Yao smiled upon seeing this:

"I'm not trying to discourage you, but according to Heavenly Element's divination, it's impossible to normally achieve the Purple Mansion unless the divination indicates the cultivation of the Heavenly Governance Dao. Everything is just an illusion. That's why, when I took you in back then, even knowing you were Heavenly Element Child and not knowing which Dao you cultivated in the divination, I still bestowed upon you the Cold Qi Cultivation Method."

He paused:

"Could you tell me what happened during the simulation?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Han fell silent again. A gentle evening breeze blew by, and finally he spoke:

"Everything is different now, everything has happened ahead of schedule. Originally, the late emperor was supposed to die fifty years later, and sixty years later, the True Person of the Great Yang and Earth Witch paths would seek their golden bodies and perish." He paused, "Later, True Person of the Geng Wood, Radiant Fire, Geng Metal paths also sought their golden bodies and perish... Nanzhao, Southern Frontier Miao Frontier, western Miao territory, and many other witch kingdoms in the west suffered from a century of severe drought, rampant epidemics, miasma blocking roads, blazing fire from the sky, and constant uprisings..."

At this point, he seemed to remember something and lowered his head again.

Seeing this, Su Yao comforted him:

Please feel free to speak your mind.

Ren Han raised his head and, seeing that Su Yao's expression seemed genuine, continued, "This Pear Garden was originally the mountain gate opened by the Golden Court True Person Yang Xiu. The abbot never descended the mountain. It wasn't until a thousand years later, when someone attacked Qixia Mountain, that the abbot descended the mountain and subsequently perished..."

Su Yao waved his hand. "This won't happen. Now that I've descended the mountain and become involved, these things will cease to exist." He paused, "What's the situation in Nanzhao?"

Ren Han recalled for a moment before saying:

"Seventy years later, a miner, on the verge of death, consumed a peach of immortality and embarked on a path of cultivation. He completed Qi Refinement in one month, Foundation Establishment in three years, and Purple Mansion in ten years. He then led millions of people in Nanzhao, who were suffering from drought, plague, miasma, and frequent heavenly fires, in an uprising that swept across Nanzhao, the Southern Frontier, and the Miao Frontier. In the end, they were driven out of the Great Qing Kingdom by True Person Yang Xiu and a group of True Person, and fled to the lands of many witch kingdoms in the west."

Su Yao nodded upon hearing this. All of this was expected, only the timing was earlier than anticipated.

So he asked again:

"Can the country survive?"

Ren Han fell silent.

No matter what, he was ultimately Nanzhao Kingdom, and there were some facts he was ashamed to admit.

After a long silence, he finally cried out:

"After the uprising, Great Qing decreed that the Nanzhao king be stripped of his title and given the new title of Duke Baili, who would enjoy the regalia of a prince, with the position being hereditary and perpetual. He was also permitted to offer sacrifices to the past kings of Nanzhao at the foot of Cang Mountain..."

Seeing this, Su Yao sighed, but still asked:

"Besides the areas surrounding Nanzhao, what other major events have occurred in the world?"

Ren Han shook his head and said:

"This disciple rarely leaves Nanzhao. It was only through the words of disciples from several local temples and monasteries in Nanzhao that I learned someone had gone to Qixia Mountain... Also, before this disciple perished, the demonic calamity in the South Sea struck again..."

Hearing this, Su Yao felt a little relieved. Apart from the fact that he had not gone down the mountain, the attack on Qixia Mountain, and the demonic disaster in the South Sea, there were no other changes. However, things are unpredictable, and he still needed to be careful!