Chapter 435: The Struggle for the Throne
Chapter 435: The Struggle for the Throne
"You don't know what it means?"
Hu Ma sensed the urgency in the divine statue, or rather, in the reincarnated senior. He vaguely realized that they were discussing something of utmost importance, so he decided to speak honestly.
However, to his surprise, the divine statue trembled upon hearing his words. The dust on its body had not been completely removed, and now, with such an intense reaction, cracks resembling a pearl net appeared, and even fresh blood seeped out from the fissures.
"Twenty years... Twenty years have passed, and you've done nothing at all?"
Hu Ma noticed a look of agitation on the divine statue, resembling someone on the brink of death. His voice was filled with confusion and endless doubt: "But... But it shouldn't be like this..."
"Ever since I fell asleep, I've been waiting to wake up and hear from you, waiting for this conversation. But you... You're completely different from what I imagined..."
"You... If you don't even know what I'm talking about, then why are you here?"
"..."
"Hmm..."
Listening to his questions and confusion, Hu Ma sighed deeply, deciding to be truthful. He spoke softly, "I entered through a painting. A disciple of the Non-Vegetarian Sect gave it to me. Within it were the Three Gates and Twelve Tribulations. I relied on the passphrase left by the reincarnated senior to enter this place."
"I originally wanted to meet the senior and ask a few questions. But it seems... Senior, your questions seem to exceed mine..."
"..."
"A painting?"
The excited divine statue was brought back to reality by Hu Ma's words. He calmed down slightly and pondered, "Ah, yes. That was left by my senior brother. He told me to hide here and wait..."
Hu Ma was slightly startled by what he heard, "Senior brother?"
"Heh, that was me..."
The divine statue slowly opened its mouth to speak but paused, sighing, "I've been in this world for too long. Even my way of speaking has changed to match theirs. There's no 'old man,' only me..."
"My code name is Great Crimson Robe. I reincarnated into this world sixty years ago... No, if I've been asleep for twenty years, then I reincarnated eighty years ago. The painting you mentioned was left behind by my senior brother when he founded the Non-Vegetarian Sect..."
"Oh... Perhaps I should tell you his code name instead. His code name was Old Gentleman's Eyebrows."
"..."
"Your senior brother founded the Non-Vegetarian Sect?"
Hu Ma's heart skipped a beat, "So, your senior brother is the Great Virtuous Master who left behind the disciples of the Non-Vegetarian Sect?"
"Great Virtuous Master?"
Hearing this name, the divine statue couldn't help but curve his lips slightly, even in such a tense moment. He chuckled softly, "As reincarnated beings, why talk about the Great Virtuous Master?"
"The so-called Great Virtuous Master is just a title we borrowed after deciding to do that thing. Anyone can call themselves the Great Virtuous Master. Of course, Old Gentleman's Eyebrows did indeed use this title and died in the capital city..."
"Of course, it wasn't easy for us either. There were seven of us, and although we achieved our goal, some died, and others were injured. I, too, suffered the destruction of my physical body and the scattering of my seven apertures. Now, only a trace of my karmic soul remains here, just so I can speak to you."
"..."
"A borrowed title? Anyone can call themselves the Great Virtuous Master?"
Upon hearing these words, Hu Ma's heart stirred. Perhaps, in the circle of reincarnated beings, this sentence alone was already a significant secret.
"You..."
As Hu Ma pondered this, the divine statue seemed to suddenly remember something, looking at him with a hint of urgency. He whispered, "You... Since you're able to come here, you must be the most capable among this generation of reincarnated beings, right?"
"..."
"What do you mean?"
Hu Ma was taken aback by his words and shook his head, "I've learned a little."
"But there's still a bit of a gap from the level you mentioned."
"..."
The divine statue seemed anxious, "Have you comprehended the truth of returning home?"
Hu Ma hesitated, "No."
"Then..."
The divine statue asked, "Have you cultivated the One Against Nation Technique? Have you refined the million shadow troops?"
For a moment, Hu Ma felt that this topic might not be suitable for him. He replied slowly, "At least, for me, these things are still hard to imagine..."
"Then..."
The divine statue was clearly getting impatient, "What about the others? There must be someone, right?"
"Perhaps..."
Hu Ma thought for a moment before slowly replying, "But I don't know. There isn't much communication among reincarnated beings."
"There isn't much communication..."
Although Hu Ma answered truthfully, his words seemed to confuse the divine statue, or rather, Great Crimson Robe. After a long silence, he whispered, "If you haven't done this, or that, what have you been doing these past twenty years?"
Hu Ma was at a loss for words to answer this question.
After a while, he slowly said, "Some are living a simple life, some are playing games, and some are causing trouble everywhere."
"There's someone who has been in this world for almost thirty years and is still struggling with whether this world is real or not..."
"Of course, there are also those who are more aggressive. They not only influenced the entire province's martial world, becoming influential figures, but they also dared to approach the magistrates. Now, they're about to secure a position as a junior magistrate..."
"..."
"What..."
The divine statue was clearly bewildered by what he heard. After a long pause, he trembled, "Even the position of a junior magistrate, which even dogs look down upon..."
"Why would someone want to strive for that?"
"..."
Hu Ma was at a loss for words. The divine statue, however, seemed to be getting more and more excited, its voice trembling as it spoke. "So, in these twenty years, you've done nothing?"
"What's the difference between you now and you twenty years ago?"
"Well, twenty years ago, none of us would have paid any attention to the position of a junior magistrate!"
"..."
'If we continue like this, it's going to get awkward...'
Hu Ma didn't know what to say. He wanted to save face, so he cautiously asked, "Well, it's not like you had a choice, right? With the Ten Surnames above, and everyone fearing a second Great Purge, who would dare to stick their neck out?"
"At least we should find out how the last Great Purge was discovered. But we don't know, so we can only..."
"..."
As he spoke, a sudden realization hit him.
Having encountered the previous generation, if he could find out the reason for the last Great Purge, it would be invaluable information.
But before he could even open his mouth, the divine statue interrupted, its voice trembling, "What?"
"The Ten Surnames... You haven't eliminated them yet?"
"..."
"What the..."
Hu Ma's spirits lifted a little. He wanted to ask this senior brother, 'What do you mean by that?'
"It's all gone wrong. All our plans have fallen apart..."
The divine statue didn't respond but continued with a tone of infinite regret, "How could this have happened? How could it have turned out like this?"
"Is it that our fate is sealed, and we were destined to lose? Even though we had planned everything together, how did it all fall apart so quickly?"
"You all... It's like you don't know anything. Could it be that all those who knew were killed? But that doesn't make sense, since the Non-Vegetarian Sect survived, how can you not know anything?"
"..."
'There's definitely something wrong here...'
Sensing the strange change in the divine statue, Hu Ma put aside his peculiar thoughts.
He could feel the statue's emotional turmoil and knew that it was in a state of confusion. Although he had many questions, he also noticed that the life incense in the incense burner, which was already scarce, was rapidly burning. So, he focused his mind and spoke in a deep voice, "Senior, perhaps now is not the time for such discussions. I came here by chance, and I also have some urgent questions I'd like to ask..."
"You... are the first generation of reincarnates?"
"Your generation of reincarnates, what happened that triggered the natives' Great Purge?"
"If reincarnates are careful enough, how could they be discovered by the natives?"
"..."
The divine statue let out a bitter laugh. "We're not the first generation. We were awakened by others..."
"If I may say so, we're just the unluckiest generation. We discovered the secret of the Earth Deity and finally understood the responsibility of reincarnates in this world..."
"But before that, we wasted too much time. By the time we discovered the secret, it was already too late. Even if we had flayed that guy, it wouldn't have changed anything. A new emperor will always emerge and complete that transaction..."
"So, that's why we tried our best to buy you some time..."
"In this world, an emperor will eventually appear, and when that happens, disaster will strike..."
"There's only one solution: to make this emperor one of us. That might give us some hope. But now, twenty years have passed, and you're still unprepared. How can you possibly compete with them?"
"..."
"They wanted to stop a transaction by flaying the emperor?"
"They did some things to buy us time, but the reincarnates of our generation don't even know about this?"
As Hu Ma listened, his mind was in turmoil. Countless pieces of information flooded his mind, and he couldn't process it all at once. He could only force himself to remember what this reincarnate said and analyze it later after leaving.
"What is the responsibility of reincarnates that you mentioned? And what is the disaster that comes with the appearance of an emperor?"
He knew that at this critical moment, every question was crucial, and he needed to ask the most pressing ones, "And also..."
"How were you discovered back then?"
(End of Chapter)
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