The documents and records from the Grand Cabinet Archives and the Hall of Veritable Records of the former imperial household had now all been collected and organized in a single location.
Chen Chuan had assigned a total of three active conscious entities here: two provided by Mu Xiaoren, and one large active conscious entity temporarily requisitioned from the military.
They scanned and categorized all the archives, paying particular attention to the catalogs and documents frequently consulted by past emperors of the former dynasty.
Naturally, their primary focus was on the period following the relocation to Youdu.
During the scanning process, Chen Chuan noticed several rather important clues.
Specifically, Emperor Wenguang's great-grandfather, Emperor Quan, had bequeathed a reading list required for all successors to the imperial line, collectively known as the Record of Imperial Admonitions.
Emperor Quan was the second emperor after the retreat into the convergence zone. He could certainly be counted as a capable ruler, and it was he who had solidified the fallen dynasty's control over the convergence zone.
Great Shun had not refrained from attempting offensives, but through his outstanding diplomatic and military acumen—aided by ancient deities as well as certain members of the Xuan and Chan Sects—he had successfully repelled Great Shun's military advances.
Even the strategic disposition confronting the various center cities and the enfeoffment of the vassal lords across the convergence zone were accomplishments he had forged with his own hands.
During his reign, the fallen dynasty's territory in the convergence zone had not shrunk; on the contrary, it had expanded considerably deeper into the frontier. Without him, the fallen dynasty could never have gained a firm foothold in the convergence zone.
History was truly peculiar. As if rebounding after hitting rock bottom, almost every dynasty that retreated into the convergence zone produced such a "wise sovereign," and Emperor Quan had undoubtedly played that role.
Judging by the records, every succeeding emperor had attached immense importance to his admonitions and established rules.
Chen Chuan suspected that clues were hidden within this reading list, for where an imperial household was concerned, relying solely on oral transmission and private tutelage for vital information was too unreliable.
One could never guarantee that successors across every generation would ascend smoothly, making it essential to leave behind indexable internal information.
These books were truly voluminous. Added to the annotations and quotations crammed between lines, along with hidden subtexts, it would likely take years to decipher them under normal circumstances.
Yet with the aid of the active conscious entities, numerous excerpts sharing common semantic patterns and formats were quickly extracted, revealing that they all pointed toward an elixir scripture titled Record of Your Mind.
Chen Chuan soon located this inconspicuous elixir scripture among Emperor Wenguang's collection, only to discover that several different editions existed, each with certain discrepancies.
Relying once more on the analysis of the active conscious entities, it was determined that the printed edition—seemingly the least likely candidate—was in fact the true target.
The reason for this deduction was that this printed copy had been published in the fifth year of Emperor Quan's reign, whereas all other printed versions predated it, and every subsequent version was a handwritten transcript, making it exceptionally unique.
Chen Chuan pulled out this volume and looked through it. On the surface, it was indeed merely an elixir scripture instructing how to refine elixirs.
However, when the active conscious entities rearranged the quotations and excerpts according to the sequence dictated by the Imperial Admonitions, he immediately saw through it: while it outwardly spoke of refining elixirs, it was actually a ritual.
Moreover, it was a ritual that had to be fulfilled through elixir concoction. The three elixir recipes and various ritual paraphernalia required had likewise been subtly indicated, intentionally or otherwise, within the main text of the Imperial Admonitions.
With this realization, his thoughts stirred, and he promptly made his way into Emperor Wenguang's alchemy chamber.
Every ritual implement mentioned in the Imperial Admonitions was present here without exception. At this point, he was virtually certain he was on the right track.
Something the imperial household had expended so much effort to conceal, requiring a ritual to open, and still holding value today, could only be a "site." Of course, within the former imperial household, such sites were titled "immortal abodes."
After a moment's thought, he summoned Chaoming via mental transmission to stand guard outside the scripture repository.
Then, following the "elixir refining" process provided by the active conscious entities, he ignited the alchemy furnace in the chamber with the fire of spirituality and added the various ritual materials in sequence.
The ritual itself was not complicated—at least posing no difficulty for someone like him who possessed some understanding of esoteric rituals. Certain parts were even quite simple, which was understandable considering that the operation had to be carried out personally by the emperor himself without relying on intermediaries.
Barely half an hour later, billowing smoke rose from the furnace. He could sense an elixir pill forming within, while faint vibrations rippled around it simultaneously.
Seeing this, Chen Chuan understood somewhat: the entire ritual process—or rather, the transmutation and fusion of the ritual materials—happened to resonate with something in the world on the other side.
It was akin to entering the correct cipher, allowing one to access what lay behind it.
It was quite an ingenious method of concealment.
If he had not possessed a certain grasp of esoteric rituals and the assistance of active conscious entities in analyzing the texts, he truly would not have been able to uncover it.
Even bringing in people from the Xuan Sect or Chan Sect would have been of little use, because the ritual itself differed completely from both traditions as well as any esoteric rituals he had encountered in the past.
After waiting a short while, brilliant, snowy-white light capable of melting everything burst from around the furnace. As the glare gradually receded, a stable fissure entrance appeared there.
Chen Chuan picked up the Xuejun Saber and stepped inside. The fissure behind him did not close.
He could sense that he could close it at any time with a single thought, but he chose not to.
Glancing around, he saw a blanket of mist and clouds before him, leaving everything obscure and indistinct.
Pondering briefly, light flickered between his brows as he peered forward with his Third Eye. Sure enough, when he observed in this manner, the surroundings shifted again. The fog gradually withdrew, revealing a tranquil lake that appeared bathed in the starlight of a night sky.
Cranes formed from golden, luminous mist could be seen circling in flight, preening their feathers, or standing leisurely by the water's edge.
He could feel his spirit becoming exceptionally active upon entering this place. In all likelihood, this was the "immortal abode" required by Xuanji martial artists of the Visage of the Divine when making their ascent.
Emperor Wenguang had chosen to substitute the requirements for ascending to immortality with ascension elixir, rituals, and even aberrant entities, with ancient deities guiding him from above, which was why he had not used this place.
However, this place clearly did not suit Chen Chuan, and its aura was incompatible with his own. After pausing to observe for a moment without examining it further, he backed out.
Once outside, he brushed away the fissure with his intent. When the furnace reappeared, he deposited ritual materials once more to refine a new elixir pill. This time, the steps differed slightly from before, yet were likewise provided in the elixir scripture.
Another half hour passed, and the pill emitted an intense red light, opening a new fissure.
Chen Chuan stepped inside, and what met his eyes was vastly different from what he had seen earlier. Standing here were exquisite palace halls and pavilions, with smooth stone pavers laid across the ground.
Moreover, rare and exotic flowers and fruits seldom seen in the outside world grew here in dazzling, vibrant colors.
Yet it was utterly devoid of people.
This was a passage to the upper tier—likely granted to generals of the former dynasty or perhaps used by some ancestor of the Ding Dynasty to break through to the upper realm. To maintain a certain degree of "purity," outsiders could naturally not be present here.
Similarly, upon arriving here, he felt his aberrant tissue grow excited, but a sense of resistance soon welled up.
Because this place, too, was incompatible with him.
Thus, after standing for a brief while without venturing deeper, he exited once again.
Returning to the alchemy chamber, he closed this fissure and followed the final recipe in the elixir scripture connected to the Imperial Admonitions.
Half an hour flew by, and a cyan fissure unfolded before him, though in terms of scale it fell far short of the previous two.
The previous two "immortal abodes" corresponded to the Visage of the Divine and the Visage of the Aberrant respectively; this one ought to correspond to the Visage of Man.
Chen Chuan stepped inside, but the moment he entered, his brow furrowed, for he sensed an overly active aberrant aura.
He could understand the reason: the people of the former imperial household were no longer true humans, having transformed into another kind of aberrant organism. Thus, the Visage of Man walked by the former imperial household differed from theirs.
Here, however, he spotted a pavilion, upon whose stone table a booklet seemed to rest.
He walked over, picked it up, and leafed through it, discovering it was a handwritten manuscript containing poetic reflections and musings, some of which had actually been left by Xuanji martial artists from the Chang Dynasty.
He immediately understood that this immortal abode was likely inherited by the fallen dynasty from the previous dynasty, rather than forged by themselves.
Skimming through, there were roughly a dozen people who had left inscriptions, but apart from a great general of the Chang Dynasty who was confirmed to have indeed broken through to the upper tier, he had never heard of the rest.
Most likely, they had failed in their breakthrough.
This was actually quite normal. The risks of breaking through were extraordinarily high; otherwise, out of the entire imperial house of the Ding Dynasty, it would not have been that only two individuals ever ascended to the upper realm.
After looking through it, he also wondered whether he could renovate this place or make use of it.
While deep in thought, he suddenly sensed something. Turning his head, he saw someone sitting on a large boulder by the lakeside with his back to him. It was a man clad in the robes of a nobleman from an ancient kingdom. His silhouette looked aloof and proud, with waves of pure qi swirling around him.
Chen Chuan had never seen this person before, yet from the very first glance, he naturally recognized the other party's identity.
"Lord Qiutong?"
"Indeed. Greetings, Xuanji Chen." The figure seemed to nod, then raised his hands and cupped them toward him at an angle. "Here, mortals and gods remain separated. I cannot meet you face-to-face; please forgive me."
His voice was warm, clear, and resonant with melodious reverberations, as though arriving from an unimaginably lofty distance.
Chen Chuan had not expected to meet Lord Qiutong, one of the Three Ancient Lords, in such a place. Through the Third Eye between his brows, he could see that the figure was merely condensed from a wisp of aura that had descended here.
He could sense that the other party had likely arrived before him, so he asked, "Did Lord Qiutong wait here specifically for me?"
Lord Qiutong replied with pleasure, "Indeed, Xuanji Chen. I came here specifically to seek you out."
Chen Chuan said calmly, "What do you want with me?"
Lord Qiutong said, "An external calamity approaches, at which point the old order will cease to exist, and the shifting of dynasties will be nothing out of the ordinary. I wonder if Xuanji Chen has ever thought of seizing the mandate of heaven, grasping the advantages of the earth, and ascending to the throne of sovereign of men?"
Chapter 1461