A moment later, dozens of people gathered before the Mogao Caves, looking at Master Wu Hai, who was leading them.
"The first cave we enter might be Cave No. 3," Master Wu Hai said to the assembled group. "In the Mogao Caves, all caves numbered as multiples of three have different spatial-temporal passages than other caves. For example, Cave No. 3 is a randomly teleporting cave that can send those who enter it into a random one of Caves No. 1 to No. 10."
"Therefore," Master Wu Hai said, taking out a sarira from his懷, "everyone can regroup their current teams or make plans. Once the energy in the sarira completely fills the stone tablet, we can enter the caves."
As the Sanskrit characters on the stone tablet at the entrance of the cave began to glow with golden light, the stone door of the cave opened, revealing a passage wide enough for three people to enter side by side.
Qing Lianzi brought Mo Chuan, He Lanxin, and Zhang Hanshan. The other two teachers brought Cao Beijie and Qian Xiao (through the path of narration, referring to Tang Xing). Tang Jingjing returned to the team to be assigned to a group.
Qing Lianzi looked at Luo Ni, who was following Mo Chuan like a shadow, and nudged Mo Chuan with her elbow, asking in a low voice, "What happened to you in the Loulan ruins? And who is she?"
Yesterday, the situation was unusual, and Qing Lianzi hadn't had time to ask. She had always been curious about how Mo Chuan had gotten here from the Loulan ruins.
"Uh..." Mo Chuan patted Luo Ni's head and said, "This is the last empress of Loulan. She helped me escape from the ruins."
Then Mo Chuan recounted what had happened after he had been separated from the group, but omitted the Loulan illusion and the fact that he had been forced to follow Luo Ni around the four great ruins.
"I see..." Qing Lianzi nodded. "So... you might, perhaps, probably, pretty much have gotten lucky? And there's a chance you were a Loulan consort in your past life?"
"Probably..." Mo Chuan said with a helpless look, lifting Luo Ni's little bottom a bit higher – this silly child had some strange whim earlier and insisted on Mo Chuan carrying her.
What else could he do? He had to indulge her for now.
"This feeling isn't uncommon..." Qing Lianzi rubbed her temples and said, "The previous Taoist master of Qingcheng Mountain, Uncle-Master Zi Yunzi of the Kun Gate, was said to be the reincarnation of Zhenyuan Daxian. He even retrieved a ginseng fruit and a mount from the Qingcheng ruins."
"By the way, Sister Lian, you mentioned the Kun Gate earlier, your Dui Gate, Dan Hezi's Kun Gate, and Senior Nan Shanzi's Zhen Gate. What exactly does that mean? Is it a system?"
"Well... forget it, you're qualified to know anyway," Qing Lianzi scratched her head and said after a moment of hesitation, "In Dragon Country's spiritual energy national defense construction, apart from flexible defense lines based on human factors like the Five Emperors and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, there are the fundamental formations: the Three Powers Formation, the Four Symbols Formation, the Five Elements Formation, the Six Paths Formation, the Seven Stars Formation, and the Eight Trigrams Formation."
"Qingcheng Mountain is responsible for the Eight Trigrams Formation. The Taoist master selects disciples most suited for the Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, Dui, Gen, Zhen, and Xun trigram gates from the Taoist sect to bind their spiritual veins to these eight gates. The Taoist sect members will receive spiritual energy bonuses from the mountains and rivers of Dragon Country, while the Eight Trigrams Formation will constantly draw spiritual energy from the Taoist sect members to maintain the formation."
"I see... then Daoist Nan Shanzi..." Mo Chuan asked.
"Because his own strength greatly diminished, he unbound himself from the formation after retiring to the Taoist sect. The current Kun Gate and Zhen Gate have been taken over by junior members."
As they talked, the group arrived at the cave. However, this cave was particularly narrow, and it was a bit crowded for dozens of people to enter.
"This place has already been thoroughly explored, leaving only these murals and Buddhist statues that hold significant meaning for Buddhist disciples," Qing Lianzi said, scanning the surroundings.
"That's good... Cave No. 2, we're quite lucky..." Master Wu Hai nodded and said to everyone, "Explore on your own. I have matters to attend to, so I won't be joining you. I wish all my young friends peace and that you may each gain something. I will take my leave now."
With that, Master Wu Hai bowed to the group with the Shaolin monks and turned to enter the spatial corridor deeper within the cave.
The people present also pursued their own goals and went their separate ways.
...
"Luo Ni, why are we going this way?" Mo Chuan asked, carrying Luo Ni on his back.
Earlier, when everyone was deciding on a direction, Luo Ni had pointed out a direction for Mo Chuan. After much discussion, everyone had decided to follow Luo Ni's direction – after all, she was the Empress of Loulan, so the direction she indicated must lead to something.
"I came to find this cave yesterday," Luo Ni said, rubbing her face against the top of Mo Chuan's head. "When I first arrived here, I sensed a strange power from this area. I just wasn't sure what it was at first, so I didn't want to tell you, for fear that you would run into trouble exploring it."
"Then why are you letting me explore it now?"
"Because I know whose power it is now." Luo Ni's sapphire-blue eyes blinked from beneath her mask, and she said, "It's a mixture of my teacher's and my fellow disciples' powers."
...
Longjing, Forbidden City.
"So, Emperor Jia, do you accept my invitation?" the Minister of Revenue asked, taking a sip of clear tea and looking at the tall figure before him.
Jia Huang's face was unreadable beneath his bronze mask, but his silence and hesitation indicated he was interested and could be persuaded.
"As I said earlier, Lord Fuxi has now passed away, and his seven-day memorial service will be held in four days. This tripartite balance has been lost. With two tigers in one mountain, there will inevitably be a power struggle between Lord Sui Ren and Lady Nuwa. Isn't it most important to choose sides wisely at this time?"
"Fuxi's remains are barely cold, isn't this too much for you?" Jia Huang said.
"This wasn't caused by me," the Minister of Revenue said with a helpless wave of his hand. "You've noticed it too, haven't you? Lord Fuxi passed away the day before the Dunhuang ruins opened. It's only the second day since they opened. In these two days, you, as the leader of the Imperial Guards, should know better than I, a mere Minister of Revenue, how oppressive the atmosphere in this Forbidden City has been."
Jia Huang fell silent, because what the Minister of Revenue said was true.
As the news of Lord Fuxi's passing spread, although there were no obvious clashes between Lord Sui Ren and Lady Nuwa, the officials, both high and low, from both factions had begun to stir and make their moves within this vast Forbidden City.
An atmosphere of disunity began to spread throughout the political center of Dragon Country.
As one of the leaders of the Fuxi faction, Jia Huang knew that countless officials of the Fuxi faction were likely already being courted by both sides.
After all, a faction without the leadership of a "Three Emperors" could not stand firm within the imperial palace.
"How about this... I'll reveal Lord Sui Ren's bottom line here, hoping you can make a decision soon," the Minister of Revenue said with a confident smile. "What about a chance for you to reach the ninth rank? How about it?"
Jia Huang's breathing suddenly became erratic, but he quickly regained his composure.
There were only a handful of ninth-rank individuals in Dragon Country, and the total number of ninth-rank individuals worldwide likely did not exceed thirty. If he could reach the ninth rank, the improvement in his status would naturally be considerable.
"What do you want?"
"We want two things," the Minister of Revenue said with a chuckle. "Your loyalty to the Lord, and Lord Fuxi's will."