If Great Shun had not yet pushed into the convergence zone, Mi Zhuzi certainly would not have assumed such a humble posture.
Ever since the Duanchen Sect was founded, it had adhered to the cultivation philosophy of entering the mundane world while simultaneously transcending it.
The greater the consequences and impact brought about by entering the world, the greater the returns for one's cultivation. Moreover, its disciples were normally scattered in every corner, having little to do with one another, so they generally cared very little about how the reigning imperial court viewed them.
Even if an entire court targeted them, that might well be precisely what certain Xuanists within the sect wished to see.
Yet the reason they could afford to think that way was because they had the retreat route of the convergence zone. Now, however, the situation was different. Great Shun was already on the verge of recovering the convergence zone, leaving them less and less room to maneuver.
The Duanchen Sect possessed a long history and understood past dynasties well, so it was not difficult to see that Great Shun was the mightiest nation the East Continent had ever seen.
The number of Dongxuan Views it possessed far exceeded that of any previous dynasty. From this, one could deduce that the same held true for its upper-echelon power. Thus, they had no choice but to consider altering their past ways of doing things.
Besides, even setting that aside, the Great Impact was imminent. Although the Xuan Sect also had Xuan Ancestors enshrined on high, this situation was entirely different from past active periods. No one knew what would happen, and there was no past experience whatsoever that could be applied. There was truly no need to make a formidable enemy over matters like face.
What they were far more wary of were the Chan Sect and those ancient deities; those were their true rivals and competitors.
Of course, the most critical reason driving all of this was that, not long ago, the Xuan Ancestor of the Duanchen Sect had suddenly sent a message from beyond the heavens to the sect, directing them to seek friendly ties with Great Shun.
For over a century, the sect had rarely been in contact with the Xuan Ancestor. That the Xuan Ancestor had actively reached out this time made it evident that things were extraordinary. This, too, had spurred the Duanchen Sect to finally make up its mind to come here, adopt a low posture, and compromise.
Chen Chuan glanced at Mi Zhuzi. After a moment, he said, "Within a year at most, the Great Impact—what your esteemed sect refers to as the Outer Calamity—will be upon us. Does High Merit Mi Zhu have any thoughts on this?"
At this moment, Mi Zhuzi lifted his head. He knew that his upcoming response would decide whether relations between both sides could truly thaw.
With a solemn countenance, he said, "Our Duanchen Sect is a branch of the Xuan Sect. Since ancient times, we have fought against otherworldly demons. Once the Xuan Calamity arrives, there is absolutely no reason for our Duanchen Sect to stay out of it. We will certainly charge forward wave upon wave to prevent demons from poisoning the mortal realm.
"And anyone who resists the demons can be our friend."
Chen Chuan nodded slightly. The Great Impact was the foremost contradiction of the present. If the other party was willing to stand on the same line as Great Shun, then prior conflicts could be set aside for now.
And as for the people of the Xuan Sect, it was clear that they stood in opposition to otherworldly entities; in this regard, they were indeed trustworthy.
Yet he asked another question: "Even the Chan Sect can be your friend?"
Mi Zhuzi replied without hesitation, "Even the Chan Sect! In the past, whenever 'the two heavens bit into each other and yin and yang collided,' our Xuan Sect joined hands with the Chan Sect to resist external foes together.
"And when the Outer Calamity arrives, its force will inevitably be unprecedented. This is by no means something a single school or sect can withstand."
He stated frankly, "Before I came, our sect's Xuan Ancestor entrusted me with a message: beneath the Mystic Ring, all are one. When fate undergoes upheaval, the Patriarch will also step forward and will by no means shrink back."
Hearing this, Chen Chuan was somewhat surprised. Looking at it this way, Mi Zhuzi's visit here was not entirely of his own volition; it was also driven by upper-echelon powers.
As far as he knew, upper-echelon forces generally did not directly intervene in mundane matters below. What had brought about such a change?
He could not help thinking about how he had been personally named by the higher-ups to join the advisory group. Both seemed to stem from upper-echelon intervention—could there be some connection between the two?
Was the cause external, or internal? If external, the situation might be grave indeed.
At that moment, Mi Zhuzi shook his sleeve, and two objects floated out from within.
"To express our sect's apologies, we wish to present these two items to Xuanji. One of them is given by our sect as compensation for offending Xuanji last time.
"The other was entrusted to me by Emperor Wenguang, who said it was on loan for our sect to examine and that he would retrieve it in the future. However, Emperor Wenguang is deceased, so naturally those words no longer apply. Our sect has already viewed it, and it is of no further use to me, so I offer it to Xuanji as well."
With that, he lightly flicked his hand, and the two objects floated toward Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan saw the two items: one was a black earthenware jar, and the other was an exquisite lacquer box.
Once the objects arrived before him, he looked first at the earthenware jar. The moment his gaze fell upon it, the sealed lid lifted on its own.
Looking inside, he found that it contained items resembling black scales—the very same things Emperor Wenguang had carried on his person.
Only back then, he had seen merely a single scale, whereas now there was nearly half a jar full. The mutated tissue in his body inevitably sent forth an urge to devour these things.
He raised an eyebrow. Assuming these were obtained by refining ancient deities and otherworldly entities, half a jar was an astonishing quantity.
He could naturally appreciate the deeper implications hidden within. This item was not just compensation; it was also a display of their own strength and proof of the stance they took.
The man was truly showing great sincerity.
His gaze shifted to the other item. Hearing what Mi Zhuzi had said just now, he had already formed a guess, and when he opened the box lid, what met his eyes confirmed his suspicion.
Resting atop a lining of soft red satin lay three white jade slips arranged side by side. Each was about two inches in size, etched with intricate, dense patterns that looked at first glance like profound characters, with fine cracks running across the jade surfaces.
He said slowly, "A Heavenly Being secret diagram?"
Mi Zhuzi nodded. "Precisely. The bloodline Emperor Wenguang obtained was derived from these. These three were gathered after the fallen dynasty entered the convergence zone. What the fallen dynasty possessed in the past was either lost or fell into the hands of certain factions on your side."
This was Chen Chuan's first time viewing this legendary secret diagram at close range, yet neither his spirit nor his field detected anything unusual about it.
His body did not experience any feeling of attraction either, as if these were merely ordinary slips of jade.
Yet since major powers across the world scrambled after such things, there had to be aspects he did not understand, or perhaps special methods were required to examine them deeply.
That could be addressed later.
He raised his head, looked across, and asked, "High Merit Mi Zhu, does your sect's action here count as entering the world?"
Mi Zhuzi smiled faintly. "It is indeed entering the world."
Chen Chuan nodded. "I accept these two items."
Seeing him accept, Mi Zhuzi was also relieved. He chuckled once more. "In that case, the purpose of my visit has been fulfilled. Xuanji, I shall take my leave."
Giving him another bow, his entire body transformed into a wisp of spiritual essence, which then flashed with light and flew off out of sight.
After he left, Chen Chuan put the items away, floated into the air, and before long arrived at the location housing the third secret vault.
This time, without Pi Lingzi to operate it, dismantling the ritual on it would have to be done by himself.
He had watched twice before and mostly understood the crux of it. Although he could not undo it casually like Pi Lingzi, unraveling it was not difficult.
The ritual was not actually complicated; the key was that no mistake could be made. If a blunder occurred, it could easily destroy whatever lay inside. He would simply take his time.
Using his field power, he wore it down gradually, taking about five to six minutes to completely erode the ritual away.
He pushed open the stone doors and stepped inside. The layout of the secret vault differed little from the previous two.
Except the chests were arranged with great orderliness, and the labeling of the preserved items was exceedingly meticulous, inlaid with exquisite jade plaques rather than marked by crude paper seals.
The stone tiles on the floor were smooth and level, and the stone statues of men and horses standing here appeared pristine, as if they had just been moved inside.
Precisely because this vault had never been opened before, it still retained the appearance of the Chang dynasty.
Entering the stone hall, a single sweep of his spirit instantly laid bare everything placed here.
There were some gold and jade valuables, yet even these were merely rare, luxurious ornaments and handicrafts. The vast majority of items here were books, scripture scrolls, calligraphy, and paintings.
Even without opening them, he could perceive directly through his spirit that the land registries were placed with the greatest solemnity, completely filling an entire corner—yet such things were of no use now.
Most of what remained were technical books. While some of the techniques were long obsolete, others might still hold reference value; even if unused, they served as witnesses to the civilization of an old era, and thus held some worth.
Chen Chuan walked across the hall to the stone door. Raising the ivory ornament, he gave it a wave, and the stone door naturally dissolved open.
Stepping inside, there was likewise a long table bearing rows of book boxes, all shielded by special methods against spirit and field scrying—plainly important items at a glance.
Confirming that no ritual had been laid here, he stepped forward and opened a book box. Inside lay a tied gold scroll.
He picked it up, untied the ribbon, unrolled it for a look, then put it down. Moving to the other side, he opened another box to find a similar tied scroll. He unrolled it, skimmed a few lines, and returned it to its place.
Just as Pi Lingzi had guessed, these were covenants between the Taizu of the Chang dynasty and numerous ancient deities. As long as they were brought forth, those deities could be summoned to aid in battle.
Yet the fact that they were placed here indicated that none had ever been used.
Why had they not been brought out and used back then?
He guessed that the people of that time had likely believed bringing them out would not reverse the defeat anyway, so it was better to save them for a more opportune moment.
After all, those ancient deities would never obediently submit to a scrap of paper; they had plenty of ways to go through the motions without exerting real effort.
When all was said and done, one's own power mattered most. Those ancient deities had allied themselves because the Chang dynasty possessed sufficient strength at the time and they sought benefits from it. Drawn by profit, they would naturally scatter when profit dried up. Once that was lost, one could hardly count on those ancient deities to safeguard anything.
Nor were these items of any great urgency.
His gaze shifted upward. There hung three portraits of three Chang dynasty emperors, and behind them, he could sense three sealed alcoves. Clearly, what was placed within them were the truly precious items.
Chapter 1467