Chapter 1565: Thousand Illusions Mystery

It seemed the divine realm harbored several core issues, and he couldn't get answers to any of them from wild gods or minor deities.

The entire divine realm was keeping these secrets.

"Also, will Bai Ziqi return to White Hair Mountain to investigate clues about Grand Master Qianhuan?"

"Of course. That's Grand Master Qianhuan!" He Lingchuan put away his black armor, transforming back into the unremarkable Island Lord He. "Even if he knows this intelligence is of questionable origin, or even a diversion, he has a duty to investigate it thoroughly."

A few months prior, just as he arrived in the Allied territories, he received a message from the Carefree Sect stating that a massive fern wood array had inexplicably appeared within White Hair Mountain. Mou State had already dispatched personnel to investigate.

The Carefree Sect initially didn't pay much attention. After all, White Hair Mountain was vast and its forests dense; even if the giant ferns were spectacular and sudden, they were hidden within the forest, with only a solitary cluster appearing every ten or so square miles. However, when disciples entering the mountain found one cluster one day and another a few days later, combined with reports of unusual sightings from mountain demons consistently notifying the Carefree Sect, the sect finally organized personnel to conduct a thorough search. They located the giant ferns throughout White Hair Mountain, then mapped their positions, calculated their arrangement, and charted the array.

The Carefree Sect was certainly aware of the coup in Bo State, You Enguang's ascension to power, and the establishment of Peng State. They also knew that the Yangshan Merchant Guild subsequently flourished throughout Peng State, enjoying most-favored trading status. Sect Master Li even maintained a rather friendly personal relationship with He Lingchuan and permitted sect disciples to sell herbs and beast cores collected from the mountain to the Yangshan Merchant Guild, which had established a base in a town near the Carefree Sect.

This news was casually disclosed to the Yangshan Merchant Guild by a Carefree Sect disciple who was collecting herbs in the mountains, and it subsequently reached He Lingchuan's ears.

He received countless clues daily from the Shanjin Plains and didn't pay much attention to this particular piece of intelligence. But a second message quickly followed:

This array was a Grand Heavenly Stem Array.

He Lingchuan's spirits lifted at once.

Because the information he received when he took on the task of finding Grand Master Qianhuan indicated that the grand spirit-gathering array laid by this great immortal in the Shanjin Plains was a variation of the Grand Heavenly Stem Array!

He personally wrote a letter to Sect Master Li and finally confirmed that the giant fern wood array on White Hair Mountain was not a conventional Grand Heavenly Stem Array.

Ancient arrays, when adapted for current use, required some modifications.

Furthermore, the Carefree Sect had occupied White Hair Mountain for one hundred fifty to sixty years, yet had never discovered the existence of this array, demonstrating its remarkable concealment and sophistication.

As for why the array was exposed, the Soul-Capturing Mirror, after calculating the array diagram, pinpointed the array's core beneath the dried-up waterfall — the very spot where He Lingchuan had encountered the White Bear King!

Thus, He Lingchuan could easily connect the array's failure with his previous actions.

Grand Master Qianhuan went into seclusion over 150 years ago, and the timing matched.

It is known that White Hair Mountain—also known as Dragon Head Mountain—is the legendary site where dragons are said to have fallen. He Lingchuan believed there was some credibility to this claim because it produced mutated luminous lamps, which could potentially unlock the mystery of the prenatal world. It also concealed a treasure like the Heart Scale; with just one Heart Scale, the White Bear King almost threatened the entire ancient Julu Kingdom.

If Dragon Head Mountain was indeed the site where a dragon god fell, then it was certainly worthy of Grand Master Qianhuan's attention for setting up an array.

Therefore, He Lingchuan could reasonably infer that it was likely because he took the Heart Scale from the White Bear King's cave that the Grand Heavenly Stem Array gradually failed and became exposed to the world.

What surprised He Lingchuan the most was that the location of the array marked on the materials given to him by Mount Ling was clearly in the North Sea, not White Hair Mountain!

This was interesting.

Mount Ling wanted him to find Grand Master Qianhuan, so it couldn't be that they had given him incorrect information.

Therefore, there was likely another hidden mechanism at play.

Grand Master Qianhuan was the most mysterious and unfathomable ancient immortal within Mount Ling; the arrays he laid out must have had many intricacies. Even Wang Xingyi had mentioned that Mount Ling had sent two groups of people to find Grand Master Qianhuan, but they never returned.

After clarifying these clues, He Lingchuan, in his guise as Emperor Jiuyou, made another trip to Stone Helm and delivered this intelligence to God Puyan.

Emperor Jiuyou would sooner or later be intolerable to the gods; this was his foresight, so he had to prepare in advance.

No matter who the gods sent to investigate Emperor Jiuyou, they would first go to Stone Helm to trace clues, as it was the pivotal battle where Emperor Jiuyou first appeared. Then, the investigators would "unexpectedly" learn about Grand Master Qianhuan from God Puyan.

Grand Master Qianhuan and Emperor Jiuyou were not weights of equal measure on a scale. Once the pursuers received this news, they would surely report it to the Celestial Gods, and once the latter knew, they would most likely demand that the focus of the investigation shift to Grand Master Qianhuan. After all, dealing with Emperor Jiuyou was not as urgent.

This would buy He Lingchuan more time and space, because it wouldn't be easy for the pursuers to comprehend Grand Master Qianhuan's arrangements given the lack of information.

Even He Lingchuan himself hadn't yet pinpointed the true location of the Upside-Down Sea.

Of course, there was also another possibility: that the gods might send two teams, one to pursue Grand Master Qianhuan and the other Emperor Jiuyou.

But there was also a matter of priority here: the most capable pursuers would be preferentially assigned to Grand Master Qianhuan, thereby weakening the forces tracking Emperor Jiuyou.

This dynamic of decline and growth would be advantageous for He Lingchuan.

Now, it seemed his foresight was indeed necessary. Even if Ah Hao from Julu Port hadn't promptly reported Bai Ziqi's arrival in the Shanjin Plains, He Lingchuan's concealed fallback plan still bought him a significant amount of time.

Upon learning that Bai Ziqi was personally investigating Emperor Jiuyou, He Lingchuan was indeed greatly startled.

But based on his understanding of Bai Ziqi, the Minister Bai would not let go once he found clues about Grand Master Qianhuan.

"Merit is a good thing; as long as you're in a system, you'll instinctively try to claim it."

With the capabilities of this Minister Bai, he would surely uncover significant details, so the secret of Emperor Jiuyou should remain safe for a short period.

He Lingchuan only hoped that Bai Ziqi wouldn't come to muddy the waters before this storm in Yao State ended.

The situation was already growing increasingly chaotic.

He opened the door and summoned Wan Qifeng: "Send a message to the Yangshan outpost at the foot of the Carefree Sect and see if Bai Ziqi has taken the bait."

That night, He Lingchuan still couldn't sleep.

Sure enough, his plans were rarely smooth; new complications always arose at critical junctures.

He had originally thought that once he reached this point, he could relax and watch the show. Now, he no longer dared to.

Bai Ziqi's arrival in the Shanjin Plains indicated that Lingxu City was extremely concerned about Emperor Jiuyou and was determined to capture him swiftly.

It seemed that both the gods and the Heavenly Palace recognized Emperor Jiuyou's immense future threat to the Celestial Gods.

What foresight they possessed.

After the morning council, as Qingyang stepped out of the palace, Yuan Xuan approached her and whispered a few words.

"Only now?" Qingyang snorted lightly. "Lead the way."

Yuan Xuan personally drove the carriage, taking her to a jewelry shop on a side street.