What Was True Then Was Not True Now

When the earth is rolling, only in the air can you keep your body steady.

The Imperial Shuttle soared into the sky, and Zhang Xuezhou was about to carry the new emperor out of this secret place when he was stopped by the other party.

"Wait a minute, I think I've been here before!"

"Well?"

The new emperor patted Zhang Xuezhou on the shoulder and said something that left Zhang Xuezhou stunned.

Zhang Xuezhou had indeed visited the Daoist temple of the Taishan Prefecture Lord. The new emperor rarely left his residence and spent less than half a year outside of Chang'an City, let alone ever visited Taishan.

When did you get here?

"Let me think about it. You walk around for a bit, and I'll look around and think about it carefully!"

The new emperor scratched his head, trying to recall the events, and stood on the Imperial Shuttle looking down at the panicked and scattered Yin creatures.

He had never been here before, but he had a vague impression of it and even sensed that it was important to him.

The earth within the secret realm trembled, shaking as if a winnowing basket were being tossed back and forth, causing clods of earth and rocks to explode and fly everywhere. The mountain mists within the secret realm also shook, with fragments of rock constantly falling down. The whole world seemed to be facing a cataclysmic collapse.

An ordinary person would naturally seek to escape upon seeing such a scene, but with the help of the Sky Shuttle, the new emperor had more time to linger.

Moreover, having witnessed the cataclysmic collapse of the Shanglin Garden secret realm, he State of Mind unusually calm at this moment, showing no signs of anxiety or unease in the face of the impending collapse.

"There! Go that way!"

As he pondered these thoughts, the new emperor observed everything within this turbulent secret realm.

When the pitch-black Reincarnation Stone came into view, he suddenly snapped back to reality and finally remembered some secrets from the royal records.

"That stone seems to be the core of the secret realm," the new emperor said. "His Majesty the Great Ancestor said there was a great fortuitous opportunity here!"

A great fortuitous opportunity?

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise.

The Reincarnation Stone provides cold, yin Spiritual Qi, and the soul of the founding emperor once resided within it.

For Emperor Gaozu, it might indeed have been a great fortuitous opportunity, but for Zhang Xuezhou and others, it was a death knell. Li Shaojun once lost his life by the Reincarnation Stone, and Zhang Xuezhou was almost killed by Emperor Gaozu.

"I look a bit dangerous," Zhang Xuezhou warned.

"You stay in the air and circle to investigate, I'll go down and check the situation!"

Before Zhang Xuezhou could say anything more, the new emperor leaped directly off the Imperial Shuttle and then drifted down like a withered leaf.

"This secret realm contains the waters of the Underworld; please be careful when you land!"

Zhang Xuezhou let out a cry and had no choice but to urge the Sky Shuttle to keep circling around nearby.

Countless dust particles swirled in the air, creating a thick fog that nearly caused Zhang Xuezhou to lose sight of the new emperor. However, the Reincarnation Stone seemed to possess some special quality, as the dust brought by the earthquake did not contaminate the black stone.

Zhang Xuezhou missed the new emperor's arrival by only three seconds while circling, and then he saw the new emperor again near the Reincarnation Stone.

Although his body was still somewhat swaying, the new emperor gripped the Reincarnation Stone with his hand to stabilize himself.

Just like Zhang Xuezhou and others' early experiences, the cold Spiritual Qi quickly overflowed from the Reincarnation Stone.

While bringing the subtle effects of Spiritual Qi, this cold Spiritual Qi also brings the negative effects of frost and freezing.

Layers of white frost began to appear, only to be melted by the intense heat brought by the new emperor's Qi and Blood force, causing a cloud of white steam to rise beside the Reincarnation Stone.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou was about to issue another warning, he saw the new emperor's hand, which was placed on the Reincarnation Stone, grasp as if it were soft mud, and his hand directly penetrated into the hard stone surface.

"How could one possibly force their way through the Reincarnation Stone?"

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun knew the Reincarnation Stone all too well; it was a core item from a secret place they had risked their lives to obtain.

Having been entangled with a ruthless old tyrant like Emperor Gaozu, they gained no benefit from the Reincarnation Stone; on the contrary, they were tormented to the point of near death.

The new emperor's situation was clearly different from that of Zhang Xuezhou and others.

For a moment, Zhang Xuezhou wondered if it was the bloodline of the founding emperor that was at work.

When his gaze fell upon the Tai-rank six-talisman hanging at the new emperor's waist, he saw that the jade ornament had begun to emit Spiritual Qi, and he couldn't help but wonder if the Tai-rank six-talisman was having an effect.

However, the speculation that the Taijie Six Symbols were evidence of the Yin-Yang Secret Land made it difficult for Zhang Xuezhou to be certain.

He carefully maneuvered the Imperial Shuttle, ready to quickly pull the new emperor away should any potential risks arise.

"Very good, His Majesty the Emperor was right after all. There is indeed a great fortuitous opportunity here. Dongfang Shuo, why don't you give it a try!"

After hovering in the air for more than ten seconds, Zhang Xuezhou heard the new emperor laugh heartily and withdraw his right hand that had been inserted into the Reincarnation Stone.

His right hand was slightly blackened, yet it also had a faint dark sheen, as if his arm had been refined by some kind of body-refining technique.

The new emperor raised his right hand and examined it repeatedly, then quickly beckoned to Zhang Xuezhou.

"I touched this thing while searching for you, and I almost froze to death!"

Zhang Xuezhou did not rashly touch the Reincarnation Stone, but urged the new emperor to quickly leap into the Imperial Shuttle and leave this place.

"The Reincarnation Stone contains countless scientific knowledge. I even found the swordsmanship that His Majesty the Great Ancestor was once skilled in. Unfortunately, His Majesty the Great Ancestor's swordsmanship is not suitable for me," the new emperor said. "However, my exploration was not fruitless. Since I drew upon my own energy to form a sword in the Weiyang Palace, I now have the ability to draw upon my own energy to form a sword again, and there is even a high probability that I can repeat it in other places!"

"Does this stone record knowledge?"

Zhang Xuezhou found it somewhat hard to believe.

But when he thought about how the Ten Thousand Demons Stele was also just a stone, he had to admit that some treasures in the world were simply unreasonable.

"Look at this sword strike!"

The new emperor gripped his sword in his right hand and swiftly slashed out. The arc of his sword technique resembled the shape of the heavens and the earth, enveloping an area of about ten feet. Dust swirled outside the arc, unable to penetrate, while dust swirled inside the arc fell as if subjected to a powerful baptism.

Compared to the previous Reincarnation Stone, which could only maintain the cleanliness of its body, the new emperor expanded this range to within a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

"What kind of momentum does this sword strike draw upon?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"This sword technique is derived from the Horizontal Sword Technique. It draws upon the earth's tremors, generating a continuous and inexhaustible force that can withstand countless attacks. It is a defensive sword technique, and I hope this sword can protect the lands of my Great Han Dynasty. I name it 'Guardian of the Frontier'!"

The new emperor's right hand gently swept the longsword across the Reincarnation Stone, and the two characters 'Guardian of the Border' appeared on the ten-foot-tall stone. With a flash of black light, the two characters disappeared.

"The effect of drawing power into a sword in a secret place is limited, but I can sense the pattern of this sword-drawing. In the future, I should be able to draw power into a sword by means of the earth's vibrations. Do you understand the wonders that the Reincarnation Stone has given me?" the new emperor introduced.

"When I was observing you from mid-air, I noticed something unusual about the Tai Jie Six Symbols. Could it be that this precious jade resonated with the Reincarnation Stone?"

Zhang Xuezhou stretched out his right hand and pressed it on the Reincarnation Stone several times. Unlike the new emperor, he did not reach into it. Instead, cold Spiritual Qi enveloped his right hand.

Of course, the good thing is that Emperor Gaozu didn't jump out and give him another beating.

Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to point to the Tai-rank Six Talisman at the new emperor's waist, indicating that his difference from the new emperor might stem from the Tai-rank Six Talisman.

The new emperor looked slightly taken aback, then quickly removed the jade.

When the jade stone was handed over, Zhang Xuezhou's right hand, which touched the Reincarnation Stone, felt as if it were grasping soft mud.

He reached out and grabbed at the Reincarnation Stone, feeling as if he had grasped some hard core within the stone.

His mind was filled with images of powerful cultivators, who were full of vigor and pointing out the flaws in the world, only to grow old and walk sadly toward the end of their lives.

He even saw the expressionless Emperor Gaozu, who had also aged and turned to ash.

Contrary to what the new emperor had said, Zhang Xuezhou had not seen these people display any particular abilities, nor had he provided them with any information for his reference.

What Zhang Xuezhou saw were the cultivators who had once been full of vigor and high spirits, and then turned into dust and vanished.

Without the Tai-level Six Symbols, or without the sacrifices to Mount Tai like the new emperor, which would allow us to explore some of the spiritual imprints left behind in the past, these former powerhouses would simply disappear silently into the long river of history, making it difficult for later generations to find even a trace of them.

Zhang Xuezhou could guess the identities of some of the figures, but if the timeline was extended, he still couldn't identify who was who.

One powerful figure after another disappeared in quick succession, yet it felt like an eternity.

Zhang Xuezhou felt his mind gradually becoming numb and his body gradually withering away.

Like these people, his body gradually aged and became thinner.

Dust began to cover his body, maggots brought decay, and everything he saw gradually darkened.

As his body crumbled and vanished, Zhang Xuezhou felt as if his soul had been tugged, and the cacophony of mallards' cries reached his ears.

He snapped back to his senses, and the death spell began to appear on his body.