Chapter 3995 Heaven and Earth Switch Places
“How can this be?!”
When Yu Xiaoyun and his two empresses saw the double bird seal and the giant starry diagram, all of their expressions changed.
“It seems that the heavens have changed. The legendary strongest trial by fire has appeared.”
Just then, an elder silently appeared behind the three of them.
When the three of them saw that elder, they hastily bowed.
“Greetings, patriarch.”
This elder was precisely the elder who had scolded Yu Xiaoyun for losing his temper. He was also the one who had explained the process of proposing to a princess to Long Chen.
In the palace, Yu Xiaoyun was the monarch, while he was an official. But here, the roles were reversed. It was Yu Xiaoyun who acted as if he was the junior.
“It seems that everything is up to fate!” declared the elder solemnly as he eyed the Double Bird Heaven Earth Seal diagram.
“Patriarch, what do you think about it?” asked Yu Xiaoyun.
“Do you remember the double bird manifestation that appeared in the nine heavens above the capital?” asked the elder.
“Of course. The entire capital’s grand formation lost effect when it resonated with it. The master astronomer stated that it was an auspicious sign from the heavens, that it signified the rise of the Vermilion Bird Empire,” said Yu Xiaoyun.
“I investigated it later. The manifestation appeared at the exact same time as when Long Chen set foot into the Vermilion Bird’s territory,” said the elder.
“That… that has to be a coincidence, right? What relationship does Long Chen have with my Vermilion Bird Empire?” asked Yu Xiaoyun.
The elder didn’t directly reply and just looked at the gate instead. “The Vermilion Bird trials have thirteen levels. The first level is the easiest, while the thirteenth is the hardest. You are the person with the greatest talent in the recent era, the only one capable of comparing to those immemorial heavenly geniuses. Back when you underwent this trial, you managed to activate the tenth level trial, Divine Flames Refine the Sun and Moon. However, the Sun Moon Divine Flames, the squeezing of Yin and Yang, did they not almost take your lives back then?”
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaoyun and the others’ expressions changed. Thinking back, it really had been dangerous for them back then. Yu Xiaoyun said, “Back then, I managed to break through ten gates in a row, every single one of them being incredibly dangerous. The tenth one in particular, I barely survived.”
“Patriarch, Yunwen and the others might be talented, but compared to Xiaoyun, they are still lacking. How could they have activated the most difficult trial? Won’t all of them end up sealed inside like this?” asked Xu Lanxin worriedly.
This trial by fire could not be escaped if you could not open the gate yourself. Once the gate was sealed, it had to be opened from the inside.
Back then, the three of them had attended this trial and had used up all their power just to escape. They had gone in with ninety thousand people, but only thirty thousand managed to come out. The rest died inside.
That time, they had only activated the tenth level trial. But Long Chen and the others now had to face the strongest thirteenth level trial with an unimaginable danger level.
“I don’t think it is the thirteenth trial!” sighed the elder as he examined the marking on the gate.
“It’s not? Impossible! That is clearly the Double Bird Heaven Earth Lock!” exclaimed Yu Xiaoyun.
The elder turned to Yu Xiaoyun and shook his head. “Even after so many years, your head remains so foolish. But even if your head is foolish, you should at least use your eyes. Take a look at the diagram. Is there any difference compared to the records?”
“There’s no difference…?” Yu Xiaoyun stared at the diagram for a long time without noticing anything special about it.
“Ah!”
Jiang Huixin suddenly cried out. With an inconceivable expression, she pointed at the diagram. “It’s not the Double Bird Heaven Earth Lock! The Double Bird Heaven Earth Look’s immemorial Vermilion Birds were split into two colors, Yin and Yang. According to the records, the Earth bird was on top! But here, the Earth bird is on the bottom!”
The two Vermilion Birds in the diagram were identical, and the only difference was their color. They represented heaven and earth, but they were actually reversed now.
“The Heaven is Yang, male. The Earth is Yin, female. The immemorial Vermilion Bird race was always led by matriarchs. That’s why the Earth bird was always on top… But this time…” Jiang Huixin was bewildered.
When Jiang Huixin said this, Yu Xiaoyun’s expression also changed and he turned to the elder. The latter only shook his head.
“It’s too strange. When Long Chen arrived, the double bird manifestation appeared over the capital. No one paid attention to the position of the two birds at that time though. But now, the Double Bird Heaven Earth Lock has also appeared, and it is different. Whether it is a blessing or a calamity, no one can say for sure. But normally, when Heaven and Earth are reversed, it is an omen of great misfortune, which indicates the appearance of mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. We have to be prepared. Jiangxin, mobilize all the experts in the various secret realms. Bring out all your preparations for war.”
“Yes, patriarch!” answered Jiang Huixin.
“You should all leave. Make your preparations,” said the elder.
“But without them…” said Xu Lanxin.
According to their plan, once the princes and princesses passed through this trial by fire, they would be sent to the various battlefields, and that would be their true trial, the true test to see who would be the future emperor. It was a truly fair test.
Also, the Vermilion Bird Empire had been secretly raising experts for countless years, and their army was only something that they displayed on the surface, a fake to deceive their enemies. Meanwhile, their true power lay hidden.
When the Philosopher Institute started meddling with the Vermilion Bird Empire, creating all kinds of conflicts inside, a few so-called scholars thought themselves wise. It was as if they didn’t express their dissatisfaction with reality, they would be unable to show the world just how much wiser they were.
Later on, more and more of these so-called scholars appeared, along with more trolls. Some of them truly were dissatisfied with reality, while the majority were simply mouth-clackers who repeated whatever others said.
As for the elite mouth-clackers, they were the ones paid to disseminate rumors and falsehoods. After all, starting rumors was easy, but refuting them was hard. Many people liked to believe whatever they wanted to believe. Even if there was proof that it was false, they still refused to believe in reality.
On the surface, the empire was filled with a cloud of falsehoods. However, that smoke was something that the empire intentionally showed others.
Now though, there was no need to keep up the act. Thus, Yu Xiaoyun’s first step was to make Long Chen the villain and eliminate the largest group of trolls, purging the spies and traitors to clean up the empire’s atmosphere.
The eight empires had to be secretly preparing as well. The fact that the Vermillion Bird Empire had purged the Philosopher Institute was proof that they were aware of the eight empires’ plot. Hence, they had to move on to the next phase of their plans.
Right now, they were all in a race against time. The Vermilion Bird trial by fire had been opened, and according to the plan, they should have all come out before the war started. They would then lead the Vermilion Bird Empire into victory, defending their own positions and dignity.
However, plans were unable to keep up with the changes of the time. The Double Bird Heaven Earth Lock trial had appeared, so their plans were forced to change.
“Time does not wait for us, so we must be double prepared. If they do not come out in time and we just wait, we’ll have wasted the golden opportunity,” said the elder.
The three of them nodded and left to prepare, leaving behind only the elder in front of the spatial gate. The elder looked at the double bird diagram and sighed.
“All you saw was the Vermilion Birds switching places. But you didn’t see that the starlight in the heavens was no longer starlight but actual stars. This Heaven and Earth probably no longer refers to just the Vermilion Bird race. This little fellow Long Chen, just what kind of background does he have?”
The elder stared at it for a long time before silently leaving, leaving behind that strange spatial gate with countless flickering stars on it.
When the elder left, these stars slowly took the form of a mysterious diagram. It was a human-shaped diagram, but it slowly scattered and returned to its original appearance, without anyone ever seeing it.
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