Chapter 57 Yang Yinglong's Conspiracy

The mere thought that there was more than one mastermind lurking in the darkness—along with total ignorance of their origins, their power, or the grand schemes they had laid out across the world—sent chills all over the Chieftain of Wusa, making his skin crawl.

It felt as though a dense, bewildering fog hung before his eyes, obscuring not only the path ahead and the hidden perils lurking at every turn, but even the very ground beneath his feet.

"This is deeply unsettling, brother. Being kept completely in the dark like this is sheer torture."

This illusory, decades-old phantom realm felt like a dead city. On the surface, it seemed bustling with pedestrians, yet in reality, it was densely populated with corpses, and ghostly figures could be glimpsed around every corner. The few of them walked on in the fog-shrouded dead city, unable to find a direction, let alone an exit.

The overt perils on the surface and the undercurrents swirling in the depths were enough to make anyone's blood run cold. The three chieftains considered themselves seasoned veterans of the political arena and the battlefield, far from ordinary men, yet this vast arena of life and death still left them utterly at a loss.

A desolate autumn wind swept through the rugged mountains, rustling the withered leaves, and a sycamore leaf drifted down into the collar of the Chieftain of Wusa.

He involuntarily shuddered, a shiver that quickly spread to the other two.

All at once, the three of them burst into laughter, reminded of their childhood days when they visited each other's native estates with their parents. They recalled staying up late telling ghost stories that terrified them into sleeplessness, huddling together and shivering.

Was this secret realm fraught with danger not precisely like a Ghost City of Fengdu, where ghouls and goblins ran rampant wherever one looked?

"Actually, we are not entirely without a clue," said the Chieftain of Umeng. "We can try to put ourselves in the masterminds' shoes. Once they enter this world, what would they do?"

The Chieftain of Wusa replied, "They would probably do what the Major did—exhaust every means to seize power and influence in this world, whether that power stems from authority itself or the great currents of the realm."

"Then, have you ever considered the possibility that a mastermind might throw in his lot with Yang Yinglong?"

"What?!" The Chieftains of Wusa and Yongshun were instantly struck dumb with shock.

"No rule says the only way out of the secret realm is to defeat Yang Yinglong. Perhaps helping Yang Yinglong ascend the throne is also a viable path."

"What on earth is Yang Yinglong playing at? Does he really just want to indulge his craving for being an emperor inside a secret realm?"

The Chieftain of Umeng sighed, "Naturally, it cannot be that simple. You should know that the underground palace built by Yang Yinglong is extremely close to the Great Desolate City constructed by Prince Mu, and that fake exit we used to finally leave the Great Desolate City led straight to Yang Yinglong's underground palace. That is certainly no coincidence."

"Yang Yinglong has his eyes on the national fortune sealed within the Great Desolate City," the Chieftain of Yongshun deduced the obvious conclusion.

"Then what is his method?"

The Chieftain of Umeng turned to the Chieftain of Wusa and said, "Remember when we first entered the secret realm, and you joked that 'Yang Yinglong built his underground palace just to scratch his imperial itch,' and the Major agreed with you?"

The Chieftain of Wusa said, "You mean old Yang wants to become a true emperor through this illusion?"

The Chieftain of Umeng responded, "To this day, I have no idea how Yang Yinglong plans to pull off this insane scheme. Keep in mind that in reality, Yang Yinglong's bones were long since reduced to ashes by the Ming army. Even if he wanted to crawl out of the netherworld, he wouldn't even have a physical body. But I am certain his plan is tied to the ley line energy beneath the Great Desolate City."

Ley line energy had a much more common name: the dragon vein.

"However, if Yang Yinglong becoming an emperor in the secret realm had any real significance, decades have already passed—he should have achieved his goal long ago."

"You have hit upon the blind spot. Besides, if Yang Yinglong only wanted to repeatedly crown himself emperor within the secret realm, why on earth are there legends of the Yang Yinglong treasure? It's almost as if they are afraid no one will come."

"You mean Yang Yinglong's plan requires outsiders to enter this secret realm for it to take effect?"

"Yes. And if I am not mistaken, this legend of the Yang Yinglong treasure certainly did not originate before the Battle of Sarhu."

The three chieftains exchanged glances, each harboring a tacit understanding:

No one could say for certain when the legends of the Yang Yinglong treasure began to circulate in the world, but had such legends appeared before the Battle of Sarhu, the Ming dynasty would surely have dispatched hordes of masters armed with top-tier inheritances to dig through the former Bozhou region three feet deep.

If that were the case, old Yang would have been dead beyond all hope of resurrection.

After the Battle of Sarhu, however, the Ming dynasty became bogged down in the quagmire of the Liaodong battlefield and naturally lacked the energy to pay attention to these baseless folk tales.

The Chieftain of Wusa said, "So, it is very likely that the mastermind is helping Yang Yinglong claim the throne. As for what will happen after he succeeds, though we do not know, we can be certain it will be something immensely beneficial to that mastermind."

"Yet Major Yun voluntarily abandoned that option from the very beginning, making it crystal clear that his goal was to thwart Yang Yinglong's plan, even setting a target to execute Yang Yinglong within a hundred days."

"Therefore, it is certain that Yang Yinglong successfully claiming the throne in this illusionary realm is something the Major does not wish to see."

The Chieftain of Yongshun realized a problem: "Come to think of it, we were indeed led astray by Major Yun from the start. Perhaps it is only Major Yun's stance that prevents him from wanting to see Yang Yinglong succeed, but that might not be the case for us. What do you say, brother?"

Everyone understood his point. After all, Yun Zheng was a Han official who advocated replacing native chieftains with appointed officials, and his stance did not align with theirs as local potentates. What was disadvantageous to Yun Zheng might not necessarily be disadvantageous to them.

In uttering these words, the Chieftain of Yongshun clearly intended to play both sides—meaning he would help whichever party won. However, since he did not fully grasp the logic of this illusion, he needed the Chieftain of Umeng to analyze it for him.

The Chieftain of Wusa felt this scene was somewhat familiar. Ah, yes—back in the Great Desolate City, the three chieftains had once tried to leave with Chen Yuchong and be done with it, only for Yun Zheng's chances of winning to grow so overwhelming later that they were compelled to support him.

Moreover, had they chosen to follow Chen Yuchong back then, they would have been led by that fake map into this illusionary realm, plunging into an endless fog devoid of sunlight.

At this thought, the Chieftain of Wusa made up his mind: "I want to support Major Yun. After all, no matter how grand other people's reputations are, I have never laid eyes on them, whereas Major Yun's capabilities are plain for all to see."

The Chieftain of Wusa was a relatively straightforward man, so many decisions did not require agonizing deliberation; he could simply draw conclusions based on what was right in front of him.

Sometimes, a mere gut feeling was enough to guide his actions.

Just as the three chieftains were discussing for a second time whether to strike some tacit, non-aggression understanding with Yun Zheng's enemies, Lushan County, which had suffered from one disaster after another lately, once again welcomed uninvited guests.