The Impersonation

Just as Emperor Jing Tai was about to swing his blade to castrate himself, a voice suddenly emerged from within the azure lotus!

"Hold!"

...

"Who is it?"

Emperor Jing Tai hurriedly hid the Kui Hua Manual in his robes and wiped the tears from his face, assuming a posture of immense majesty.

Who dared to violate his orders and trespass into the Da Gan Ancestral Temple?

He would surely have the intruder executed by a thousand cuts!

However, the expression on Emperor Jing Tai's face quickly shifted from majesty to a strange bewilderment, and then to wild ecstasy. The middle-aged emperor, whose face should have been weathered and mature, was now overcome with agitation.

It was simply because Emperor Jing Tai could not believe his ears!

"Ancestor, is it you!?"

...

Emperor Jing Tai discovered that the voice was actually coming from the azure lotus floating in mid-air!

And this lotus was the token of the Patriarch!

The Ancestor, who had founded the Da Gan Dynasty with his own hands and fought across the world without a rival, had returned to Da Gan in this manner.

Could it be that his prayers had moved the Ancestor, and he had finally thought of his incompetent descendants?

Emperor Jing Tai immediately found his direction.

He knelt on the ground, waiting devoutly for the Ancestor's guidance!

...

"Ahem, ahem."

"The Kui Hua Manual is my secret manual; you can wait for a dark, windy night when no one is around to practice it. But now, there is a more important matter for you to handle!"

"We shall follow all of the Ancestor's instructions!"

"I have heard your sincere prayers and cannot bear to see the Da Gan territory I worked so hard to build destroyed in an instant. Starting today, let Hulong Manor re-emerge in the Jianghu to rectify the martial world!"

"Ah, Hulong Manor!?"

Emperor Jing Tai felt a hint of trepidation upon hearing this name.

"But, will Hulong Manor still harbor resentment toward the Imperial Family? Releasing them from the mountains—could it lead to instability in the Da Gan realm?"

"Hmph, are you teaching me how to do things?!"

The azure lotus flickered like a swarm of fireflies, and following that displeased voice, it suddenly exploded!

The azure light in the Ancestral Hall dissipated, turning dim in an instant.

...

Emperor Jing Tai was startled.

Had the Ancestor become enraged?

Emperor Jing Tai was filled with distress, his face clouded with regret.

The Ancestor had bestowed upon him the Du E Immortal Pill and given him the Kui Hua Manual that could allow one to practice until they became an Immortal; he surely held high expectations for him!

How could he doubt the Ancestor's words and fail his kindness?

To anger the Ancestor now was truly filial impiety!

"Slap!"

Emperor Jing Tai slapped himself and prostrated on the ground.

He turned toward the Ancestor's spirit tablet, which had returned to normal, and devoutly performed the grand ceremony of three prostrations and nine kowtows. In his heart, he prayed incessantly, hoping the Ancestor would not hold a grudge against this unfilial descendant and would surely return to visit often!

On the black sandalwood altar stood eighteen spirit tablets engraved with deep gold characters—these were the tablets of the eighteen Da Gan Emperors.

Emperor Jing Tai was the nineteenth.

However, all these tablets were as silent as stone, showing no movement at all.

Only the spirit tablet of the first Ancestor, which had once stirred, was extraordinary. It was a command tablet crafted from legendary Immortal Jade, and only a power of a higher realm could possibly move it.

Emperor Jing Tai never doubted the Ancestor's identity.

He muttered that familiar yet strange name several times, finally making his decision.

Hulong Manor... Hulong Manor...

Then let Hulong Manor re-emerge!

He hoped that the next time the Ancestor descended, he would see his filial heart!

And that he might once again descend upon the Da Gan Dynasty!

...

Earlier, after Ye Fan had eavesdropped on Emperor Jing Tai's words.

A completely new power had emerged from the liquid within his body, which could actually resonate with that Black Jade Command Tablet—it was truly miraculous.

Thus, Ye Fan had a sudden idea.

He controlled this resonance, and sure enough, it caused the spirit tablet to stir.

The drop of liquid in Ye Fan's body was also more than half consumed.

Ye Fan impersonated Emperor Jing Tai's Ancestor, scaring Emperor Jing Tai into absolute obedience.

Aside from the Mei Yan Pill that Ye Fan had personally thrown out, which played a major role, that Kui Hua Manual was actually a secret manual left by the Da Gan Ancestor on the table in the secret chamber.

This also confirmed Ye Fan's view of the first Da Gan Patriarch—that Ancestor was truly not a good person, actually leaving the Kui Hua Manual for his descendants?

A "divine book" like the Kui Hua Manual—what normal man would practice it?

Ye Fan raised an eyebrow; nothing was ever absolute.

For instance, that hypocrite from the Hua Shan Sect, the young master of a certain escort agency whose family was destroyed... and even Emperor Jing Tai, who was facing the Ancestor's grace with tears of gratitude and a solemn expression, would practice it.

One could only say that Emperor Jing Tai was truly of the bloodline of the Kui Hua Manual's author—a ruthless man who actually dared to intend to castrate himself immediately!

However, the sight of Emperor Jing Tai, who usually spoke with such measured gravity and majesty, acting so ridiculously before the Ancestor was truly laughable.

Ye Fan intended to hide within the Imperial Palace for a while, but he wanted to hide comfortably and openly.

Therefore, he planned to control Emperor Jing Tai, minimizing the impact of the palace's schemes on himself to avoid exposing his true strength.

As for Hulong Manor, it was a mysterious organization Ye Fan had read about in the "Secret Records of the Inner Palace" belonging to the maidservant Xiao Lan.

Legend had it that all the Xiantian experts of the Da Gan Imperial Family joined Hulong Manor.

Ye Fan suspected there were realms higher than the Xiantian stage, so he let Hulong Manor appear in the world to see if there were actually experts of a higher realm within it.

In passing, letting Hulong Manor emerge to face the entire martial world would allow him to probe the true depths of this dynasty.

...

After leaving the Ancestral Temple, Emperor Jing Tai was in high spirits. That very night, after completing the introductory steps of the Kui Hua Manual, the Houtian Third Stage bottleneck that had been imprisoned in his body immediately showed signs of loosening.

After practicing and regulating his breath according to the Kui Hua Manual for a while, the blood in Emperor Jing Tai's body heated up, and a flow of heat seemed to slowly appear within him!

By daybreak, he had reached the Houtian Second Stage!

When one encounters a happy event, their spirit is refreshed. Emperor Jing Tai felt his mind clear and his energy abundant!

While the weather was still slightly chilly, he summoned the four great Factory Heads—who were currently at the Houtian First Stage—to the Weiyang Palace and formally announced:

"Currently, the Patriarch of the Xue Mo Sect has re-emerged in the Jianghu, endangering the realm and the safety of the Imperial Palace."

"The Chief Manager of the Inner Palace, Eunuch Chen, is dead. The East, West, South, and North Factories have been idle and negligent. Only Hulong Manor can protect the safety of the Heaven's House."

"We have decided to command Hulong Manor to re-emerge, to deter those petty thieves and restore the prestige of the Da Gan Imperial Family!"

...

"Ah, what?"

Kneeling in the grand hall, the four Factory Heads had varying expressions, their faces looking quite strange.

But one person had the most terrified expression, which was difficult to mask normally.

He was the mortal enemy of Hulong Manor, the West Factory Eunuch Cao Tian Bao—also the pale, fat man currently controlled by the Xue Mo Patriarch.

The West Factory had declined with each generation, and today, it no longer possessed any Xiantian experts.

By his generation, he only had a Houtian First Stage cultivation base, unable to even defeat a Jianghu demon.

If Hulong Manor emerged, the first one to suffer would surely be him, the West Factory Eunuch...

Cao Tian Bao's mind was in a tangled mess.

This Emperor is not doing things properly—what should I do now?