A short while later, Emperor Wenguang changed into plain clothes. Guided by an attendant eunuch, he entered a secret underground passage in the side hall of Changlun Pavilion.
After walking barely a hundred paces, he arrived at a cavernous underground hall where an eight-bearer dragon palanquin had long been waiting.
Once he took his seat inside, an elderly eunuch called out in a drawn-out voice, "Raise the imperial palanquin!"
The palanquin was hoisted aloft and moved forward along a smooth secret passage paved with stone slabs. The eight bearers kept uniform, swift strides. A quarter of an hour later, they arrived before Lüjing Lake, where a fork in the passage appeared.
A faint fragrance wafted over. Ahead stood dozens of palace maids and eunuchs in neat, orderly attire, eyes cast down as they waited in silence. Beside them rested a phoenix carriage.
A dignified woman adorned in a phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes stood quietly before the carriage. Her face was devoid of expression, making her look like a statue.
Seeing her, Emperor Wenguang said, "The Empress has arrived."
Empress Cao curtsied. "This concubine pays respects to Your Majesty."
Seated on his palanquin, Emperor Wenguang spoke in a gentle, hushed voice. "Rise, Empress. This trial forces you to endure hardships and flee alongside Us. You do not hold resentment against Us, do you?"
"This concubine holds no resentment," the Empress replied. Her voice was cold and tranquil, betraying no emotion, like the waters of a dead, still lake.
Throughout their exchange, the attendants on both sides kept their eyes fixed on their noses and their noses aligned with their hearts, not making the slightest sound.
"Then accompany Us on Our journey," Emperor Wenguang said. With that, he raised a hand.
The dragon palanquin passed the phoenix carriage and moved forward.
Besides Empress Cao, the other imperial consorts had also arrived. Several young princes had been brought along as well, standing farther back in the distance, yet Emperor Wenguang did not spare them so much as a glance.
Another quarter of an hour later, the palanquins finally reached the bed of Lüjing Lake. It was cool and quiet here; the stone walls on either side widened gradually, and lamp-shadows stretched outward into the distance. Every three to five paces, a heavily armored imperial guardsman stood at solemn attention, halberd in hand.
Prince Yong was standing at the entrance to the corridor, speaking with a young Xuanist. Seeing the imperial palanquin and the phoenix carriage approach, he hurried forward, cupping his hands and bowing deeply. "Your son pays respects to Imperial Father and Imperial Mother!"
Emperor Wenguang asked, "Prince Yong, have the matters entrusted to you been properly settled?"
Prince Yong hastily replied, "Reporting to Imperial Father: the fissure has been opened. Imperial Father and Imperial Mother may set out at any moment."
Emperor Wenguang glanced at the young Xuanist. "Did your master not come?"
The young Xuanist bowed respectfully and said, "Ever since Master returned from Yaolan Pass, he gained new insights and has closed his doors to cultivate his arts in seclusion. He instructed me to accompany the imperial retinue and remain at Your Majesty's disposal."
Emperor Wenguang said, "We have heard your master say that you have acquired eighty percent of his skills, which is no small feat. Follow along, then."
A smile appeared on the young Xuanist's face, and he bowed once more. "My thanks to Your Majesty."
Emperor Wenguang said no more, and the imperial entourage continued forward.
Prince Yong waited by the wayside. Once Emperor Wenguang had passed, he bowed to the Empress and the consorts following behind.
When he caught sight of his younger brothers and sisters cradled in the arms of the palace maids, a trace of unease flickered deep in his eyes. This was somewhat different from what he had expected.
However, he soon noticed that the Emperor had not brought Prince Qiong or Prince Lin along, which allowed him to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Aside from those two elder imperial brothers, none of the other princes posed any threat to him. As for the future? With external calamity looming and the war to restore the dynasty ahead, who else could the Emperor rely on besides him?
The longer time passed, the greater his advantage would become.
Just then, he saw Consort Jie's carriage approach and couldn't help exhaling another sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Emperor had brought along his birth mother. He immediately stepped forward to greet her.
Although he was considered Empress Cao's son under ancestral law, he naturally harbored no affection for her.
He had already resolved that once he ascended the throne in the future, his very first act would be to elevate his birth mother to Empress Dowager.
Rounding a bend, the carriages finally arrived beneath Lüjing Lake. Looking up toward the lakebed above, a colossal fissure had been torn open, through which dazzling light spilled forth, forming floating, drifting clouds of luminescence.
Its edges were ringed and stabilized by Instrument-Fixing Orbs, hanging like a stellar ring with revolving silver radiance. Moreover, the shimmering waterlight from the lake's surface poured down through the translucent stone of the lakebed, casting rippling reflections across the stone walls. The interwoven colors and glows felt like an ethereal dream.
Anyone arriving here for the first time could not help being shaken to the core, and Prince Yong was no exception. He truly could not fathom just how much manpower and resources Taizu and Taizong had spent in those bygone days to construct this closely guarded sanctuary of escape.
No wonder he had played in the lake countless times before without ever discovering the secret hidden down here.
Within this cavernous space beneath the lake stood more than twenty docking berths.
At the center rested an airship over two hundred meters long, flanked and guarded by more than a dozen other airships of various sizes.
All the supplies and palace treasures required for the imperial "Northern Hunt" had long since been properly stowed aboard the various vessels.
The flagship, the *Fangzhang*, was equipped with the most comprehensive technology and advanced apparatuses of the modern world. Even though the former imperial household remained a feudal dynasty, that was merely its mode of governance; it did not prevent the imperial court from enjoying the conveniences and fruits brought about by the new era.
Emperor Wenguang, the Empress, the consorts, and direct imperial heirs, along with Prince Yong, boarded this vessel together. More distant members of the imperial clan, along with palace maids, guards, eunuchs, and trusted ministers, were divided among the remaining ships.
A short while later, the *Fangzhang* slowly took off. Once its hull rose above the lake's ceiling, the surrounding airships detached from their mooring towers and flew together into the fissure that rippled with lake light and shimmered with mesmerizing luminescence.
Soon, everything belonging to the material world receded, and everyone entered the spiritual realm on the other side.
This was the depths of the Confluence, the true frontier of the world on the other side. Their present journey required them to hug its periphery and follow the guidance of their compass dials to reach the exit on the opposite end.
However, traversing this realm required overcoming two necessary conditions. First, if an individual lacked a sufficiently powerful field, they would be assaulted and mutated upon entering.
Even people like them, who had already undergone partial mutation, possessed only slightly greater resistance and could not completely avoid it.
Because the airships were protected by esoteric rituals, as long as the journey went smoothly, the vast majority would not be in danger. But if they were delayed for too long, the outcome would be difficult to say.
Second, they required protection from upper-tier powers.
The Confluence was home to all manner of mutated beings. Without the protection of the two Yuan clan ancestors, it would be utterly impossible for them to reach their intended destination.
However, the two ancestors had also informed them that Great Shun's upper-tier powers were constantly searching for them, making it ill-advised to show themselves. Only by staying hidden could they maintain deterrence, ensuring that the war between both sides remained confined to lower-tier confrontations.
Meanwhile, outside the city of Youdu, night had already fallen. Great Shun's offensive had not ceased. Streaks of meteor-like impacts pounded continuously against Youdu, and after cooling down, the heavy artillery in the rear began to roar once more.
Chen Chuan was watching from the skies above when, sensing something, he turned his gaze to the side and saw an origami crane flying toward him.
He signaled for everyone to stand down and not intercept it. When the paper crane reached him, he took it into his hand, and a wisp of spirit emanated from it.
Upon receiving the message, his eyes stirred. He gave a few instructions to several high-ranking Dongxuan View martial artists, exchanged a word with Fan Zhentong overseeing the battle from the rear, and soared high into the sky.
Before long, he arrived before Mount Panquan. Seeing Mingchengzi waiting there, he touched down.
Seeing his arrival, Mingchengzi stepped forward with a bow and said with immense excitement:
"Xuanji, over these past two days I have been continuously sensing the shifts here. Just now, relying on our sect's ancestral relic, I sensed fluctuations from a fissure within Youdu. Emperor Wenguang will definitely flee tonight!"
Hearing this, Chen Chuan immediately used his boundary credential to contact Chaoming, who had followed along, having it transmit a signal to the military telegraph station established nearby and dispatch a pre-drafted telegram to the rear to inquire about the situation.
A trans-regional fissure like this required simultaneous activation from both ends. Since he had already known beforehand where the opposite exit lay, he naturally would not have failed to send people ahead to prepare.
However, to avoid alerting the enemy, he had not stationed personnel directly nearby, placing only a few field creatures there for surveillance purposes.
If a fissure reaction was detected at this moment, it would prove that Emperor Wenguang truly intended to escape from that route.
While waiting, he said, "Today is not like hundreds of years ago. There are controls across both land and sky. Even if Emperor Wenguang truly escapes through Haixi Dao, there is no way he could cross Great Shun's territory without a sound. I suspect he must still have another card up his sleeve."
Mingchengzi paused, taken aback. Having cultivated in the depths of the Confluence for years, he knew little of outside affairs and had not considered this. Now, he couldn't help pondering it.
"If what you say is true, Xuanji, that is indeed possible. If so, if he wishes to break free, his only option is to open another extraterrestrial fissure in Haixi Dao..."
At this point, his expression changed abruptly, and he said urgently, "Xuanji, Emperor Wenguang is very likely to do just that! We must rush there at once to intercept him! Otherwise, he may very well slip away!"
Chen Chuan said, "There is no need to rush, Senior Master. I have already made arrangements for this."
Although Haixi Dao was vast and sparsely populated, consisting almost entirely of desolate uninhabited wilderness, it was already part of Great Shun's territory. He had long stationed personnel there; once the enemy's tracks were pinned down, escape would be out of the question. As long as they blocked them for a brief moment, Chen Chuan and his allies could arrive.
After waiting less than ten minutes, Chaoming circled back from the sky and let out a shrill cry. Chen Chuan also received the message relayed from the rear: fluctuations of a fissure had indeed been observed in Haixi Dao, though the target appeared to be atop an inaccessible, remote mountain.
Turning it over in his mind, he knew this was entirely reasonable.
If Emperor Wenguang wanted to retreat, he could never do so alone. His consorts, imperial offspring, servants, and guards had to accompany him, and he would also need to bring all manner of imperial luxuries and rare treasures. Convenient transport was essential.
For so many people and goods to traverse Great Shun's territory, the conveyances would never be horse-drawn carriages or exotic beasts—they could only be airships. A fissure appearing at high altitude was designed precisely to facilitate such a crossing.
In that case, the target was almost certainly there. Even if the enemy pursued both open and covert routes, it did not matter; he had already ambushed the narrow paths as well.
He turned to Mingchengzi and said, "Senior Master Mingcheng, let us head for Haixi at once!"
Chapter 1425