Walking up the stairs along the bluestone paved road, you can see the Taichen Emperor's Mausoleum built against the mountain. Behind the white jade archway that is about 12 zhang high and consists of nine gates, there is a smooth and wide Shinto, and on the left and right sides are stationed the forbidden army of the Guardians.

There were several distant cranes in the clouds, and the figure of the mountain roe could be faintly seen in the verdant forest. Murong Ye and the others followed Dugu Xuan along the Shinto, but saw a simple and dark stone tablet in front of them, and hundreds of civil and military officials wearing court clothes were bowing to it. The square stele is as high as a hill, and it is engraved with the great achievements of the kings of the past dynasties, which has been baptized by wind and rain for thousands of years.

"The old minister sees the eldest prince, Your Majesty has ordered me to wait here for a long time. At this time, a white-haired blind man slowly stepped forward and bowed his hand towards Xiang Dugu Xuan. This person was wearing a crane with a cloud sea pattern, and he looked to be in his old age, with a clear face and white eyes.

The young disciple who was guarding the blind man was a rather gorgeous descendant. At this moment, after he saluted with his master, he nodded slightly towards Murong Ye and the others. I saw that this person was more than seven feet long, with a jade crown and a Taoist robe, which looked elegant and elegant.

"Master Xinghan doesn't need to be polite, please get up quickly. Dugu Xuan turned his face away and introduced to Murong Ye: "Master Xinghan is the national teacher of the dynasty, and he is among the three princes. He is not only proficient in astronomy and geography, but also has no last resort to march and fight, and has followed his father to conquer the Yunhan Kingdom, and has made countless contributions to my Taichen Kingdom. and the other is his apprentice Li Yixuan. He has won the true legend of Master Xinghan's physiognomy, and is a well-known rising star. ”

"It's just a false reputation, why do you mention it?" The blind man was clearly a blind man with his eyes open, but he turned back to Murong Ye and nodded slightly, stroking his hair and smiling: "I once had a relationship with your father in Lingnan, and I admire his courage and strategy very much. Childe walked straight along this divine path behind the old man, and His Majesty is waiting for you in the Requirean Hall. ”

"If I lead the way, he is unfamiliar in this place after all. Dugu Xuan paused and said:

"It's just that this Anling Hall is a place for the royal family to worship their ancestors, but the Nangong girl and the old lady can't go. ”

"The eldest prince doesn't need to worry, he can entrust them to the old man with peace of mind. Master Xinghan suddenly proposed: "The Imperial City is less than a hundred miles away, if you take the carriage of His Highness, it will not take long to arrive." If the girl and the old lady don't give up, they will go for a walk with the old man and the apprentice. I wonder what you think?"

Dugu Xuan and Murong Ye thought so, and nodded in favor. Nangong Huiyue lowered her eyebrows after observing her words, took the old lady's arm and bowed to the other party, and said, "Then there will be senior Lao." ”

The snow is falling in the twilight, and the mountains are steep.

At the end of the second Shinto path is the River of Dust. Stepping across the white marble bridge on the river, you can see the palaces protruding from the vermilion wall. Among them, only the Anling Palace, which was built in the Qianlong period, is the most solemn and magnificent, and it is the place where Taizu Dugu Xie raised troops in the past, and the national fortune of the Dugu Dynasty for more than 1,200 years was laid here.

Even though the ginkgo trees planted in the atrium have withered, you can still imagine the golden leaves that flutter like butterflies in autumn. The mottled branches are covered with strips of red silk, old and new, and the words of the prayers on them have become illegible due to age. Dugu Xuan led Murong Ye straight through the atrium, and then the two stood side by side between the Danying.

Incense is coiled in the hall where the candles are lit, and sandalwood is burning in the incense burners around it. At this time, there was a Dao Kuiwei's back looming in the clouds. In front of the man, there are eighty-six shrines on the mountain-shaped purple case, which enshrine the tablets of the previous emperors of the Taichen Kingdom.

King Dugu Xuan of Beijing hugged his hands together, slowly raised his eyebrows, bowed solemnly to the other party, and said with a solemn expression: "Father, the son has brought him back." ”

The black leg under the man's feet moved slightly, and he slowly turned sideways. But I saw that this person was wearing a dark crown robe, and there were twelve chapters of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, fire, and dragons woven on it. On the right side of the placket is embroidered with a family crest of red plum blossoms, and on the thumb of the left hand is a jade chise. After he took his eyes off Murong Ye's body, he instructed Dugu Xuan, "You stand down." ”

"Yes, Father. ”

Daozhi Emperor Dugu Hong was in the heyday of the Spring and Autumn Period, and he had always been happy and angry. Murong Ye was still standing there, silently looking at the man's vague figure. Then, Emperor Daozhi touched the jade in his hand and asked him calmly, "Are you not afraid of loneliness?"

"Your Majesty summoned me this time, naturally with other deep meanings. If not, why do you need the eldest prince to come to pick you up?" Murong Ye replied calmly: "What's more, the king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die, what is the benefit of worrying?" After hearing this, Emperor Daozhi glanced at Murong Ye with an approving gaze and beckoned to him. Murong Ye hesitated for a moment, and had to walk into the hall with him.

Emperor Daozhi walked to the front of the mob with his hands behind his back, stared at the snowy scene outside, and suddenly asked him, "Then you should tell me, what is the purpose of Lone?"

"It must have something to do with the grass people's father. Murong Ye untied the moire mutton fat white jade pendant tied around his waist and replied slowly. In the lower left corner of the jade pendant, there is a touch of blood red, where there is a red plum blossom carved vividly, the shape of which is no different from the family crest embroidered on the placket by His Majesty.

After Emperor Daozhi glanced at the jade pendant, his expression changed slightly and his heart fluctuated, and he asked him, "Do you know why this thing fell into your father's hands?"

"The grass people don't know what's going on, so they don't dare to speak up. ”

"There's a long story in this, and it has to start many years ago. Emperor Daozhi once again looked out of the mountain, looking straight at the snow on the mountain, as if he was reminiscing about something.

"Thousands of years ago, the two clans republiced, and the ancestors of the eight families of Yin and Yang made an alliance on the top of Mount Han, and established the first unified country on the Tianheng Star - Tianyu Kingdom. Since then, it has opened a glorious era that has lasted for more than 500 years, and is known as the 'Temporary Generation of Gods'.

"In that memorable era, the mermaids walked out of the Emerald Ocean with ice silk and night pearls in their hands and communicated with the fishermen along the coast; the feathers of the northern regions flew away from the secluded capital in groups to hunt in the warm and humid jungles of the south; the various tribes on the Tianxu Continent were like a family, and there was no fight in the area where the human race and the monsters lived together.

"It wasn't until later that the Devouring Sect was born. They preached lust and violence, openly incited the people to rebellion, and preached that the strong could rule the world. Whether it is the human race or the youkai, they are all beginning to move in the face of desire.

"The followers of the devouring sect gradually spread all over the world, and the torrent of troubled times has since swept all over the world. They rose to prominence in the war against the imperial court, and their momentum was in full swing. The Blood Moon Banner was planted on the tower filled with gunpowder, and the people were miserable after years of fighting. After that, Gao Yangjin, the emperor of the Tianyu Kingdom, joined forces with the other seven masters to jointly fight against the Devouring Sect.

"The two armies fought for several months, and they were killed in Wulingyuan, the main altar of the Devouring Sect, and the sky was dark, and the corpses were all over the field. Tens of millions of cult members were drunk and lying on the battlefield, and the sect leader with the Blood Moon Order in his hand was missing. And when Zhao Song, the main hall master of the Devouring Sect, led the remnants to leave the Wuling Plain, he once threatened: 'The day the blood moon reappears, it is the time for the killing to restart'. Since then, the Devouring Sect has disappeared from the Tianheng Star.

"After this battle, the soldiers and horses of the eight families of Yin and Yang suffered countless casualties. The emperor of the Tianyu Kingdom and the other six masters were all killed, and only Haizhen, the head of the merman clan, survived. For a time, the mountains and rivers were broken, and the heroes of the past withered. The domestic dragons have no leader, and everyone covets the artifact. With the death of Fang Rongsheng, Xiang Zizai, Cheng Pusheng and other important ministers of the society, the imperial court finally began to fall apart.

"When the time came, the clan fell, and the heroes rose up. Bloody battles were often fought among the tribes in various places, and countless virtuous ministers and loyal generals would die before the change of dynasty. The new heads of the families who supported themselves were suspicious of each other, and they led their respective families to tear the earth and become kings, and since then they have become enemies with the Gaoyang family of the Tianyu royal family. The Tianyu Kingdom, which existed in name only, slowly entered the twilight, and Tianhengxing ended the 'Divine Temporary Era' and entered the 'Age of Kingdoms' of vertical and horizontal warfare.

"After hundreds of years of whale devouring, Emperor Taizu eliminated the major forces entrenched in the middle of the Tianxu Continent, and founded Taichen in this reckless land; at the same time, the Yuan clan dominated the northern region and established the country as the ghost Rong; while Haizhen, who pursued harmony with light and dust, led the merman clan away from the land and created the Shengying Kingdom in the jade ocean in the middle of the four seas; as for the Gaoyang clan, which was no longer in glory, because its prestige was not as good as before, it had to lead the soldiers and horses who were still loyal to the Tianyu royal family to retreat to the southern regions, and established the Yunhan Kingdom there.

"Since then, the four Yin clans, which represent the monster camp by the Dugu clan, the Yuan clan, the Hai clan and the Gaoyang clan, have established a separatist force on the Tianheng Star.

"And the four Yang families, which represented the human camp of the Jun clan, the Feng clan, the Lu clan and the Yuwen clan, joined forces with the Taiyao Sect, which was rising after the Battle of Wulingyuan, to establish a powerful and unified Nanhua Kingdom in the rich and flat Eastern Regions of the Tianxu Continent, and regarded the remaining four demon kingdoms as barbarian lands, so the prejudice between the two clans was deepening.

"In addition, there are still many small states that were established on the Tianxu Continent for the last time and are independent and self-governing, each of which is dependent on the nearby powers, and has been paying tribute for years in exchange for protection. However, it is the general trend for the five countries to stand up and compete for the world. Therefore, many capable people with lofty ideals who lived in seclusion in the small state of Yuer began to join the WTO and take refuge in the five major countries of their own choice, in order to win fame and fortune.

"In the past thousand years, my Taichen Kingdom and other countries have made their own merits, but they have never been able to shake each other's foundations. The Guirong Kingdom in the north is a formidable enemy, and from time to time sends Yu Jie to the northern towns to plunder money and grain; the Yunhan Kingdom in the southwest corner of An'an is gradually regaining its former majesty, which also makes the Delong Emperor more and more fearful; and the Shengying Kingdom, which condenses tens of millions of sharks, is a big trouble, but it is not yet profitable. As for the suzerain of the Taiyao Sect, who dominates the Nanhua Kingdom, although he claims that he will not get involved in the disputes between the four demon kingdoms, he actually has the ambition of encompassing the universe and annexing the Eight Desolations.

Forty-five years ago, Emperor Delong, who was already old, could not help but become sick when he thought of the failure to compete for hegemony. Later, he revealed his heart to the former national teacher, Master Kongyuan. This person had a plan in mind when he was watching the stars at night, so he hurried to the palace to see Emperor Delong, knelt down and said: "This is a thing against the sky, and it will not be possible unless it is a fortune of the atmosphere. If it is His Majesty's blood relative, it will be a great deal.'"

Therefore, after the three young princes took the demon pill developed by Master Kongyuan, they were secretly taken out of the palace by the Wei Jianwei and sent to the homes of ordinary people in the Yunhan Kingdom, the Ghost Rong Kingdom and the Nanhua Kingdom to raise them, and since then they have been incognito in a foreign country. Before parting, Emperor Delong personally tied jade pendants for them. They are made from the same piece of jade rough stone, which was specially ordered by Emperor Delong to be made by Su An, a jade craftsman in the court, and carved with the red plum blossom family crest of the Dugu family. The Master of the Void Rim cast a layer of forbidden spells on the jade pendants, allowing them to communicate with each other for good and evil. Emperor Delong had made up his mind that if all his sons died as a result, he would leave the throne to his only brother, King Qing. ”

After a while, Murong Ye looked at the piece of mutton fat white jade pendant in his hand, and couldn't help but say in astonishment: "Could it be that this is ......?"

This is true, this is the token that the prince of the Dugu clan used to prove his life experience. Emperor Daozhi tilted his head slightly and explained: "And your father, Murong Hao, is actually the second son of Emperor Delong Dugu Yuanche, and he is also the half-brother of Gu. ”

"In the past, the lonely relatives conquered the South China Kingdom, and your father was the envoy of the Lingnan Festival at the time, and he instinctively led the troops to help our army and established immortal feats for the Taichen Kingdom. It is a pity that he was reluctant to send troops to make difficulties because of the personal feelings of his children, thus delaying the military aircraft, resulting in the final failure of the War of Eating the Sun.

Although Lone blamed him in his heart, he hoped that he would be able to live the kind of life that I had already given up and use this new identity to live. never thought that he would be victimized by a traitor in the end and end up beheaded by a full house. Fortunately, your mother and son are still safe.

"According to the rules set by the ancestors, those who have not made military merits are not allowed to attack the knighthood, so this matter will be put aside for the time being. After you have seen the shrines of the kings here, you will be considered to have returned to your ancestors. From now on, you will restore the imperial surname Dugu.

"As for the fact that the Seven Generals killed you, I don't want to investigate it deeply. When the time comes, you have to go to the Dali Temple with Xuan'er and explain the cause and effect clearly, so as not to be tongue-in-law. It's just that Wang Yu's old department will definitely not give up on this, and it is easy to dodge the open guns and difficult to defend against the dark arrows, so the Lone Society will send a guard to escort you to Rinzhou. ”

"Rinzhou?" Murong Ye suddenly asked.

"Since you can kill Wang Yu, Gu will give you his military position and fiefdom. After you get there, you must take training the army and horses, repairing the government and reassuring the people as your top priorities, so that you can clean the world for the lonely in the future. Emperor Daozhi looked at Murong Ye's eyes and said to him earnestly, "Gu knows that you have hatred in your heart. However, the gentleman is angry and does not get angry, and the poor are determined. One day, you will return to Nanhua with this hatred and wash away the shame of the past with the blood of your enemies. ”

At this time, Murong Ye respectfully bowed to the other party and replied, "Yes...... Father. ”

"Well, this voice of the father is not obvious. Emperor Daozhi paused slightly, and suddenly asked him on a whim: "Ye'er, my Dugu clan has always used red plum blossoms as their family crest, do you know why?"

"My nephew is stupid, I don't know. ”

"It is precisely because a hundred flowers are defeated, but I am the only one!" The pale red plum blossoms flew among the mountains and fields in front of him, and Emperor Daozhi stared at the thousands of reds, and his eyes suddenly became deep. "Since we were all born in the family of emperors, we naturally have to bear this heavy fate. All the sacrifices of the Dugu clan are for the great cause of the Taichen Kingdom. ”