Am I the only one who didn't ascend?

Chapter 516 Life and Death
The moment Zhang Jincheng's consciousness awakened from his slumber, the spiritual energy on the platform also condensed, weaving a translucent spiritual body like a silk cocoon, and then wrapping up the fragile consciousness.

After a long time, the body and consciousness completed the initial fusion, and with a slight twitch, the spirit body opened its eyes.

Those eyes were like a quietly burning fire, and Wang Luo's figure was clearly and steadily reflected in the flames. Zhang Jincheng was stunned and confused, and finally exhaled a wind of spiritual energy from his spiritual body, making an incredible sound.

"Master Wang Shan..."

"Yeah, it's me, long time no see."

"Why did you, Mountain Master...ah, you saved me? You came all the way from the Immortal Alliance to save me?"

Wang Luo said: "You are the important contact person of the Immortal Alliance in Mingzhou. If you encounter difficulties, the Immortal Alliance will naturally come to rescue you. Moreover, you are a disciple of Lingshan, so of course I, the mountain master, must come in person."

Zhang Jincheng was a little confused: "I am... a disciple of Lingshan?"

"Well, it's a temporary and unilateral recruitment." Wang Luo smiled, "It's mainly to borrow the power of the Ascension Record to forcibly wake you up from this platform. If you don't want this identity, you can quit at any time. But my personal suggestion is not to go to Lingshan. There are not many rules, but there is no lack of benefits. Keeping the identity of a Lingshan person has only benefits and no harm."

Zhang Jincheng was still a little confused: "I am not from the Immortal Alliance, can I also become a Lingshan person?"

Wang Luo said: "You were not born in the Immortal Alliance, but in terms of origin, you are more legitimate than most people in the Immortal Alliance."

"?"

"The dignified Ningyuantu Heroic Spirit is on par with all the Dinghuang Heroes. This is already the most superior origin in the Immortal Alliance. If such a person cannot become a Lingshan person, then there will be no one left in Lingshan who can be used."

Zhang Jincheng was even more surprised and horrified: "Ningyuantu? Could it be that Xinheng's overall situation of settling the wilderness has already been..."

"Not so fast. The foundation stone of Xinheng Dinghuang has not yet been laid, and Ningyuantu has not manifested. So of course you are not a complete hero on the map. But your state of mind has perfectly matched the needs of Ningyuantu, so this matter is just a matter of time. As long as you complete Xinheng Dinghuang, you will naturally be listed on the map."

When it comes to completing the new Henghenghuang, Zhang Jincheng's just happy mood suddenly becomes dim and gloomy.

"It's a pity that Zhang is so incompetent and trusted the wrong person, which has almost ruined the situation in Xinheng..."

Wang Luo said, "You are wrong. Since you have seen me, it means that the situation is far from being corrupted. During the time you were incarnated as the spirit of the Qianxingtai, didn't you know what was happening outside of your body?"

Zhang Jincheng shook his head: "After I died on the high platform, my consciousness was like an eternal sleep, and I couldn't sense the changes in the outside world. May I ask the mountain master..."

“No need to ask me.” Wang Luo waved his hand. “Since you have already condensed your spirit body on the platform, then you can see for yourself. However, in fact, it has not been too long since you integrated your body and mind into the platform to consolidate the seal. The situation in Xinheng has not changed dramatically.”

Zhang Jincheng nodded slightly, and the spiritual fire that made up his eyes suddenly became blazing and hot at this moment. His gaze then looked far away, allowing him to quickly scan all around the high platform and take in the intricate situation outside Dongdu.

Then he fell into deeper doubts.

Even though he was the Xinheng State Master and had lived here for more than 600 years, Zhang Jincheng was still extremely confused after seeing the scene outside Dongdu. It had not been long since he fell asleep, but how did the situation become like this?
But as he gradually regained consciousness... compared to the current situation, he remembered that there was something more important to ask, and he couldn't wait.

"May I ask, Lord Mountain Master, you were able to personally enter the Eastern Capital and climb the high platform to wake me up, but did you borrow the power of the Seal Star Jade?"

Wang Luo nodded, took out the jade and placed it on the stage.

"Now let's return it to its original owner."

When he saw Baoyu, Zhang Jincheng's body swayed suddenly, like a candle flame blown by a strong wind. His face was obviously gloomy, and his chest was tight with pain.

"So, where did the mountain master get this thing?"

Wang Luo said: "Your confidant 'Tourist' entrusted it to me before he died."

"..."The spiritual energy that condensed his body in mid-air stopped flowing at this moment, and Zhang Jincheng melted and collapsed like a candle burned by high temperature.

Wang Luo frowned, and the golden light in his hand lit up again: "Zhang Jincheng, come back to your senses!"

The order from the mountain master dragged Zhang Jincheng out of the sea of ​​suffering. His consciousness once again merged with the spiritual energy, stabilizing his spiritual body and preventing it from disintegrating... But the excruciating pain had already clearly flowed out, which made Wang Luo gasp in amazement.

"Who are you, that tourist?"

Zhang Jincheng smiled bitterly: "Although we are not related by blood, I have always treated him as my own child."

"...I see. Please accept my condolences, Imperial Master."

Zhang Jincheng sighed and shook his head, "Thank you, Master Shan, for your understanding. But... I had expected this. That kid is always reckless in doing things. Even if it's just to buy me a little more chance of survival, he will resolutely rush to a dead end. Oh, this is indeed the duty of a 'tourist'. Unlike the Immortal Envoy, a tourist is a soldier who dies for the Imperial Master. I have been with him for a long time and developed a meaningless private relationship with him."

Seeing the hint of pleading in Zhang Jincheng's words, Wang Luo did not delve further into this topic.

"Then, tell me about the causes and consequences of this domestic mutiny from your perspective."

Zhang Jincheng then said: "I'm ashamed. I still don't understand why this happened. The Queen Mother... there is really no reason for her to be so stubborn and loyal. Since ancient times, only the national master was loyal to the Heavenly Court and didn't care about the lives of mortals. How could there be a mortal emperor who was wholeheartedly willing to die for the Heavenly Court? What's more, I persuaded several immortal officials on duty first, and went to lobby the Queen Mother with evidence of their rebellion. For her, it was God's will that she submit to the Immortal Alliance. Her mutiny was clearly against God..." At this point, Zhang Jincheng suddenly shuddered for no reason, and his spiritual body became unstable again.

Wang Luo said: "According to Yang Qijian, the reason why the Queen Mother was able to convince the Yang and Gan families to support the mutiny was that she saw the swaying of golden candles in the high hall of the Temple of Heaven."

"Impossible!" Zhang Jincheng rejected it flatly. "This is absolutely impossible! The Queen Mother is lying!"

The state teacher's decisive conclusion, along with the swelling of his spiritual body, quickly turned into a strong wind and reached every corner outside Dongdu and the ears of every person.

Including Yang Shijun's younger brothers Yang Jiuzhong and Yang Qijian, everyone's face became extremely ugly!
Wang Luo could naturally see the scenery below the platform. He couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Why are you so sure that the Queen Mother is lying? She stated this in front of Mahayana Master. If she wasn't absolutely credible, there wouldn't be so many people in the world who are determined to follow her in a mutiny."

Zhang Jincheng said: "I don't know how she bribed Eunuch Chen Lin, but the story of Gao Dian Jin Zhu is absolutely impossible. Because... Gao Dian Jin Zhu has always been a scam."

When these words came out, even Wang Luo was surprised: "A hoax? So the golden candle can't symbolize the blessing of heaven?"

Zhang Jincheng smiled bitterly with a hint of sarcasm: "Even the lower-grade immortal officials on duty never regarded the Xinheng people as human beings. How could the high and mighty Heaven protect the mortal kingdom? The so-called golden candle symbolizes the blessing of Heaven. From the beginning, it was just a lie woven by the founding national master. The golden candle that has been worshipped for six hundred years is just a prop to maintain the trend of people's hearts in the name of Heaven. Mortals, even if they know that the heavenly people have never looked at them straight, they still firmly believe that the heavenly people will bless them, and therefore feel at ease. But the candlelight of the golden candle has always been remotely controlled by the successive national masters. In the past two hundred years, I have urged the spirit to shake the candlelight three times in the immortal sacrifice to show auspicious signs. But at least this time, I naturally did nothing!"

Having said that, even though Zhang Jincheng did not present any real evidence, the seeds of doubt quickly spread outside Dongdu.

However, the next moment, the blood light rising from the imperial city suddenly became dazzling, and the strong light made it almost impossible to open one's eyes. At the same time, the voice of the general manager Chen Lin also swept in like thunder.

"What nonsense! What the Queen Mother said that day was witnessed by my own eyes and supported by the flawless light of Mingyi Divine Mirror. Not only did she speak from the bottom of her heart, but she was not false at all. It is even impossible that she was deceived by an illusion... The swaying of the golden candle is beyond doubt. On the contrary, you, the traitor, have lost your credibility the moment you betrayed the Heavenly Court!"

The thunder rumbled, stirring in all directions and far away. After being swept by the thunder, the people's hearts, which had just been floating, could not help but become firm again.

Yes, what Eunuch Chen said was right, Zhang Jincheng had long been a traitor to his country... It was even unclear whether the person with the spiritual energy on the high platform was Zhang Jincheng himself. How could one trust the words of such a person?

Zhang Jincheng only found it a little funny to hear Eunuch Chen's rebuttal: "So, Eunuch Chen's evidence is just your own one-sided statement and a mirror of the immortal family that has been passed down from generation to generation in the royal family? However, since I can forge a golden candle, can't the Yang family forge a mirror of the immortal family? Using such evidence to support a mutiny is simply absurd..."

However, Zhang Jincheng was only halfway through his impassioned speech when he was suddenly interrupted by Wang Luo.

"National Master, there is no need to engage in these meaningless verbal debates with them. The quickest and most effective way to win a debate is always to shut up the other party. On the other hand, if you can't shut up certain people, no matter what you say, it will be useless... Although you have just woken up from your dream, you should be able to see the situation around you clearly. The Queen Mother now relies on only three stubborn Mahayana True Lords. The so-called 100,000 troops are like scattered sand, and people's hearts are even more unstable and can no longer be used. Therefore, as long as the three Mahayana are shut up, the overall situation of Xinheng Dinghuang will be equivalent to winning the most crucial battle. As for how to shut up the Mahayana, National Master, you should recognize this thing, right?"

As he spoke, Wang Luo took out the treasure that the defecting immortal official had surrendered from his body.

It was a thin book with a black cover, plain in appearance, without a title, and without any spiritual charm. But the moment Zhang Jincheng saw it, he burst into a look of extreme surprise.

“Dethroned, Dethroned Immortal Record?! Those immortal officials actually handed over such a treasure to the mountain master!? Well, that’s right, they should have handed it over! Since they have surrendered to the Immortal Alliance, this Dethroned Immortal Record is naturally of no use to them anymore!”

"Oh, Record of the Exiled Immortals? That's an interesting name."

Zhang Jincheng explained: "The immortal officials once said that when you advance to the Mahayana True Lord, you are already half a step into the realm of immortals. But it is precisely because you have stepped into the realm of immortals that it is easier to manage... The immortal officials never explained the specific principles to me in detail. But they clearly said that the Record of Immortal Dethronement is a treasure of the heavenly court that was jointly refined by many wonderful golden immortals, and it contains the supreme immortal way. The name of any Mahayana in the mortal world will inevitably be included in this Record of Immortal Dethronement. And as long as you find that name in the book and lightly tick it, you can take their life. There is no possibility of escape or escape."

As he spoke, Zhang Jincheng's body trembled. He slowly picked up the black book and opened it. He soon found the names of several contemporary Mahayana masters on the last page.

Wang Luo took out an ink pen from his storage bag and handed it to him, then asked, "Is it okay to just tick the name?"

Zhang Jincheng smiled bitterly: "To be honest with you, Master Mountain Master, I have only heard about this matter from the Immortal Officials, but I have never seen it with my own eyes. During my tenure as the Imperial Master, I never asked the Immortal Officials for permission to use this item, so..."

Wang Luo nodded, "So, now is a good time to catch someone to test my magical powers. Let's choose Yu Gong. He controls the Dasheng Temple and has tens of millions of believers in the 18 counties. But he stubbornly stood on the side of the Queen Mother and shamelessly betrayed me not long ago. It can be said that we have a deep grudge. If he doesn't die, he will become a hidden danger to Dinghuang's great cause in the future."

Before Wang Luo finished speaking, Zhang Jincheng had already faithfully carried out Wang Luo's orders.

He picked up the ink pen with his spirit body and drew a heavy tick on Yu Gong's name on the last page.

Almost at the same time, Yu Gong, the abbot of Dasheng Temple, who was standing behind Nan Yingying and observing the situation on the platform anxiously, fell down silently.

Before the old man's body touched the ground, it turned into a puff of smoke in the air and dissipated without leaving any trace. Only the wide blue and white Taoist robe floated to the ground.

In an instant, the surroundings were in deathly silence, and in the silence, boundless terror began to spread. Although only a Mahayana master died, everyone present seemed to have seen their own upcoming fate!
"...Fuck!" Guo Yanfeng was the first to react. He raised his hands high and said loudly, "Lord Envoy, Lord Imperial Master, I surrender. Please don't kill me!"

But inside the Fancheng Palace, Chen Lin still had a hint of hesitation.

As a steward who has served the royal family for hundreds of years, he actually knows better than anyone why Queen Mother Yang Shijun insists on having her own way, so he can stand on the Queen Mother's side more firmly than anyone else.

But why is the situation so desperate, and the person who should have appeared a long time ago is still reluctant to show up?

During this moment of hesitation, Wang Luo's voice was heard from the podium again.

"Since Eunuch Chen refuses to surrender, let's grant his wish."

Chen Lin watched Zhang Jincheng slowly put pen to paper on the stage. The tip of the pen dipped in ink was like a sharp sword, gradually piercing his chest... The fear in his heart had reached its peak!
At this moment, in the high hall of the Temple of Heaven outside the imperial city, a blazing golden light broke through the dome and shot straight into the sky!
Then, the sky opened up.

(End of this chapter)