Chapter 58: The Great Shun Dynasty Jurassic Park (Part 2)

  The sun was setting, and the young master Wang and Fan Qinghui had walked around this dense forest filled with primitive and wild atmosphere for more than half a circle. Unfortunately, the result of their exploration was disappointing. Although they could see daylight, they found themselves standing at the bottom of an enormous "heavenly pit", rather than on solid ground.

  What is referred to as a "heavenly pit" can be explained in modern language as a huge, isolated, and relatively closed independent ecosystem. It is usually caused by the long-term erosion of underground rivers, resulting in empty caves, which eventually lead to large-scale subsidence on the surface. The heavenly pit is surrounded by steep cliffs that are cut like knives, forming a vertical well shape. Nothing can come in from the outside, and nothing can go out from the inside, so the ferocious birds and beasts in the forest can still roam freely in the heavenly pit even after their companions on the outside have been eliminated by the Tianjing people.

  After understanding the situation, Yang Zhao couldn't help but feel a bit down. The cliff was steep and high, not extremely high, but roughly the same height as two or three Oriental Pearl Towers in Shanghai stacked together. The worst part was that it went straight up and down, making it almost impossible to find a place to climb. Although he had martial arts skills, it seemed difficult to escape the predicament of the heavenly pit. He sighed, sat down with a thud, and casually inserted the yin-yang token into the ground as a backrest, shaking his head and saying: "It seems we can't find a way out today, let's rest for a night and talk about it again tomorrow."

  After experiencing the events in Lingyun Cave, Fang Qing felt disheartened and cold, hoping to never return to the mortal world and face those disputes again. Unable to find a way out, she not only felt indifferent but also had a hint of joy. However, in front of Yang Zhao, it wasn't good to show too much emotion. So, she silently nodded, stretched out her hand to wipe the ground twice, and knelt down beside Yang Zhao.

  The so-called stool, historically, was introduced from the Western Regions to China after the Tang Dynasty. At this time, it was still the Sui Dynasty, and although the people had already used barbarian beds, slightly educated officials and wealthy families were still accustomed to kneeling on the ground. Yang Zhao happened to be a transmigrator. Although he was now a prince of the Great Sui and his martial arts skills were not weak, the habits formed over ten years in his previous life were deeply ingrained, so no matter what, he couldn't get used to this kneeling posture that tortured his thighs.

  For this matter, Yang Zhao was often scolded by the current Empress Dowager, Consort Xiao, when he was in the palace. However, Yang Zhao's natural personality is carefree and casual, accepting criticism to his face but continuing with his usual behavior behind her back, leaving Consort Xiao at a loss. At this time, the young master sat down, stretching out his two legs as far as possible, not looking like an imperial son at all, but rather like those illiterate commoners. Glancing over and seeing Yan Qinghe's stiff expression, he couldn't help but say: "The ground isn't dirty, no need to use your legs as a cushion. Relax a bit, anyway there's no one else here, looking at you like this makes me tired too."

  "Qinghui has gotten used to it, that's good, and there's nothing tiring about it." Qinghui replied softly with her head lowered. After a pause, she continued: "Where the heart is at peace, the body will also be at peace. Qinghui's heart is now more at ease than ever before."

  Yang Zhao sighed and said helplessly, "Fine, if you think it's good then it is. Actually, in my opinion, the way you are now isn't great either, but at least it's better than your past attitude of being high and mighty, thinking you're a fairy who can control others' fate."

  Feng Qinghui raised her head, and her eyes widened in surprise. "In the eyes of Young Master Wang, I am...I am actually so unworthy? But...Young Master Wang, I, Feng Qinghui, dare to swear to heaven that I have never wanted to control anyone's fate, nor do I think I'm some kind of immortal. All my actions are just for the sake of contributing a little bit of effort to help the ordinary people struggling in the mortal world."

  "Never mind, it's pointless to argue about this now." Yang Zhao crossed his arms behind his head and gazed up at the evening sun on the horizon, saying: "If we're stuck here and can't get out, then we're just two primitive people in the wilderness. What's the point of talking about the fate of the world? It's quite laughable, isn't it? However..."

  "If you can get out, what will you do?" Fang Qinghui's tone was laced with a hint of worry, and he asked, "Really follow the words spoken on Wuzhangyuan that day, kill...kill..." His voice trembled, and he couldn't ask any further.

  "Wu Zhangyuan? Oh, you're referring to the 'exterminate nine tribes' phrase." Yang Zhao chuckled and said: "Don't worry, although I dislike your Buddhist sect and Ning's Taoist sect, thoroughly eliminating Buddhism and Taoism is impossible and unnecessary. The common people will always need religious beliefs. So at most, we'll just get rid of those annoying guys and find some truly devout ones to be the leaders. With the Buddha and the Three Pure Ones under the Emperor's leadership, monks and Taoists will obediently stay in their temples, beating wooden fish and reciting scriptures, and not cause any more trouble. As for Li Yuan..."

  Young King Wang curled his lip and said, "Speaking of generations, he is still my uncle. If we were to execute the nine clans, wouldn't that include my old man as well? Besides, even if I wanted to, the Great Sui Dynasty isn't at a point where they would listen to me yet. At least my empress dowager would definitely not agree, so it's best to put this off for now. In the future... hmm, I hope my uncle and his two sons have the good fortune of Gan Luo, just don't learn from Jiang Ziya."

  Gan Luo was twelve years old when he met his master, but died at the age of thirteen. Jiang Ziya, on the other hand, did not meet King Wen of Zhou until he was eighty years old and was later enfeoffed as the King of Qi after the establishment of the Zhou dynasty, living to be over 130 years old before passing away. The length of their lives is at two extremes. Upon hearing Yang Zhao's words, Fang Qinghui couldn't help but shiver involuntarily. However, she had already made up her mind to retire from worldly affairs and no longer concern herself with the mundane world. As for whether the empire would eventually belong to Yang or Li in the future, it was now none of her business. She sighed and said: "Qinghui has no intention of getting involved in worldly affairs again, and whatever happens to Young Master Yang in the future is beyond my control and not something I wish to manage. However... having committed so many evil deeds can't be good, right?" She clasped her hands together and bowed her head, reciting a Buddhist verse: "To understand the causes of past lives, look at what one receives in this life. To understand the consequences of future lives, look at what one does in this life."

  "The Buddha's teachings are vast and profound. The World-Honored One sought the great path to liberation from suffering for all living beings, and was willing to give up his royal status to pursue the truth. I have always admired and revered this.

  Yang Zhaohan put away his tired expression and spoke seriously: "However, it's a pity that in later generations, there were too many crooked monks who distorted the Buddha's true teachings. Take your Ci Hang Jing Zhai for example, you always say you want to choose a good emperor for the people of the world. Fine, I'll assume you are truly selfless and thinking only of the people. But did your sect's founder, Dini, ever consider that this goes against the Buddha's teachings?

  In the past, when the kingdom of Kapilavastu was invaded by neighboring countries and King Suddhodana was imprisoned, the Buddha did not mobilize the Buddhist community to protect Kapilavastu, nor did he use his divine powers to destroy the enemy country in revenge. Isn't this because the Buddha knew that it would be unwise to let religion get entangled in worldly conflicts and be exploited?"

  Yang Zhao said more and more, almost as if he had returned to the state before crossing over, when he was arguing with someone on his computer. Fang Qinghui couldn't refute him, nor could she muster up the spirit to debate. She let out a soft sigh, her expression fell, and she bowed her head in silence, quietly reciting Buddhist scriptures. Under the sunset, her shadow cast on the ground seemed to contain infinite desolation and loneliness. Little Wang saw this and was taken aback for a moment. He then felt that it seemed like he was bullying a girl, which made him feel a bit embarrassed, so he also stopped talking. After sitting for a while, feeling the awkward atmosphere, he couldn't help but stand up and say: "I'll go pick some firewood in the woods and come back to start a fire tonight." He slung the yin-yang symbol over his shoulder and walked into the forest.

  In the woods, trees grew extremely densely, but underground there were hardly any withered branches to pick up. Yang Zhao shrugged his shoulders and swung the yin-yang token in a chaotic slash. This divine soldier was not a sword, but it also opened its edge, and cutting through gold or jade would be no problem. It was truly using an ox knife to kill a chicken. In less than half a minute, the branches that had been cut down were already piled up all over the ground. Although the freshly cut wood was full of moisture, burning it like this would absolutely not produce any flames. However, for Yang Zhao, this was no problem. Since absorbing the Fire Qilin's true yuan inner elixir, his body's true energy attributes had also undergone a change. With the same move, "Separate Flames", its power was now at least more than twice what it was before, and to dry out the wood and start a fire would be as easy as turning one's hand over.

  Everything has its pros and cons, when yin is strong, yang will inevitably decline, and when yang is prosperous, it will lead to the exhaustion of yin. If Yang Zhao uses Kan Water now, it would have weakened even more compared to before. The move that relies on the mutual rejection of water and fire to burst out super powerful propulsion force "Water and Fire are Incompatible" can no longer be used now. Although the strength has indeed increased, but whether it is a greater advantage or disadvantage, this account is really hard to calculate.

  "Anyway, I now have unlimited electricity. It's faster and not just a one-time use. So it doesn't matter." Yang Zhao comforted himself, tearing off the bark to tie the Yin-Yang Command on his back, then picked up two of the thickest branches and headed back. Just a few steps later, a shadow suddenly fell over his head, blocking out the still quite bright sunset glow. The young master involuntarily looked up, immediately gasping in shock. His true energy circulated with his thoughts, and in the blink of an eye, the two branches in his hand were roasted dry, then suddenly "whooshed" into flames.

  What cast a shadow on the ground was neither clouds nor those large pterosaurs. But a real, genuine flying dragon!

  Not the kind of dragon in traditional Chinese mythology that can be big or small, big then it can make clouds and fog, small then it can hide and change its shape; able to rise and hide, rising then flying in the universe, hiding then lurking inside the waves, considered as a royal symbol, the noble golden dragon incarnation of the emperor. But a completely Westernized super dragon with a body covered in dark feathers, back growing a pair of wings, dragon head beast body, tail like a sharp spear!

  This thing, even in the decades when the land was still filled with strange beasts, was extremely rare. And in the decades that followed, it should have been thoroughly extinct by now. But why does such a fierce creature still exist in this underground forest?

  No further investigation was needed. After the initial shock passed, Yang Zhao suddenly thought of a possible way out of the Heavenly Pit, which might be on this demon dragon's body. He hastily extinguished the fire on the tree branches, turned around and jumped out of the forest, pulled up Fang Qinghui who was still sitting cross-legged on the grass, closed his eyes and recited Buddha's name, and chased after the demon dragon that was descending to the southeast with all his might.

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  Nothing worth noting today... but still need your votes as usual. The number of clicks in the past few days has not reached 10,000 per day, so at this time, I need your strong support even more.