I Can Reap Qi Fortune from Players-Chapter 500 - 287: The True Identity of the Mastermind
"I am the true you."
The Divine Summoning Plaque at his waist radiated light, instantly invoking the Gui Pu as a wisp of muddy qi descended, possessing his body.
Gui Pu’s face gradually changed, transforming into a young man with handsome white hair.
A flamboyantly beautiful Firewood Flower adorned his forehead, and his eyes were gentle and scholarly, exuding the demeanor of a grand Scholar.
Except for the white hair, his face was identical to Xin Xichen’s.
"Your logical flaw, ignoring death, has made you forget certain things related to your own demise."
Firewood Flower spoke softly:
"I am the true Xin Xichen, and you are merely an empty shell I left in the Emperor’s Tomb... In those days, I had already developed a prototype of the Immortal Technique. I discovered that only by becoming a ghost, reawakening, could I repair my foundation, cultivating the Immortal Spirit Root."
"Thus, I pondered how to remain ’undead.’
Firewood Flower looked at Xin Xichen, whose expression had changed several times, and smiled radiantly:
"The Soul Body is formed of the Soul Bubble and Soul Muddy Qi."
"I planned to use a birthing technique to inject my Soul Muddy Qi into an infant and split myself into two parts."
"Without the muddy qi, what remained of the Soul Bubble became a ghost."
"And I, Xin Xichen, would be an unprecedentedly ’living’ Ember!"
This was the truth behind the mystery of the Crown Prince in the Imperial Palace back then. He wasn’t trying to produce an heir; he was giving birth to and separating himself.
At that time, this muddy qi could lie in the darkness, lurking in the Divine Summoning Plaque, aiding this ghost in awakening and fully obtaining the Immortal Spirit Root.
Of course, he understood the obsession this ghost awakening held.
To kill Jiu Shui!
Thus, this muddy qi began plotting in the shadows, helping his Ember to awaken.
Now, it had finally succeeded!
"Was it you who broke the Imperial Mausoleum?" Xin Xichen asked angrily.
"Of course I did it. The obsession you need to awaken is to kill Jiu Shui, so causing chaos forces him to have to let you kill him!"
Xin Xichen was momentarily stunned.
His worldview had been overturned.
He could lose, he could fail, but his pride would never allow him to do something like this. He would rather die.
"Are you angry?"
Firewood Flower spoke softly: "Do you realize you’re angry at yourself? I am you."
"No, you’re not me!!" Xin Xichen said in disbelief, "I would never stoop so low. I have always been honorable."
In those days, even when he killed other Saints of the Xin Dynasty’s Royal Family, he rightfully challenged them.
Even when Xinyi teased about killing him and burning his books, he told him to come challenge him when he was stronger.
His pride looked down upon such despicable acts.
Breaking the Imperial Mausoleum and shattering the core, the harm caused and the consequences were unimaginable! It plunged the people of the Nine-State into deep waters and scorching fires.
"You are merely a young version of me, a logical loop I left behind. How can you be sure I am not you?"
Firewood Flower’s eyes were full of age, exuding an air of antiquity, coldly laughing: "Have you not understood yet? Embers are a solidified and unchanging logical loop."
"You died in your most youthful and passionate state."
"And I, as muddy qi, possess complete awareness. I am the true Xin Xichen! I am the soul! You are merely a Soul Shell."
"I continued to grow. My edges were dulled by the long river of time after the Dynasty’s demise."
"I became despicable, shameless, greedy, and unscrupulous."
"The once high-spirited hero has become grotesque to the point of nausea."
Firewood Flower suddenly grinned, turning in a circle:
"Do I look like a dog to you??"
Xin Xichen was stunned, watching his own madness and ugliness, coarseness and vulgarity.
"Everything I did was to set the stage for you. I broke the Imperial Mausoleum; only in chaos can you rise."
"No matter how the battles unfold, in the end, you will surely burn down all the Emperor’s Tombs in the Nine-State. This is your opportunity."
"Jiu Shui will also pave the way for you!"
As Firewood Flower’s voice grew louder and more overwhelming, a vast sinister aura was revealed, exposing all of the plans.
"The younger version of me, people grow and change."
Firewood Flower couldn’t help but laugh maniacally, "Hahaha, do you know how many bad things I’ve done over these ten+ millennia?? I’ve become too grotesque, too grotesque!"
"Let me tell you! Even the ancient taboos in the tombs have not done as many evil deeds as I have! Because when they died, they still had principles, limits, and logic."
"But I am different, still growing, like an overly ripe flower rotting, emitting a more and more repulsive stench, eventually becoming unimaginably foul."
He laughed twistedly, with pride.
"So... it’s me." Xin Xichen closed his eyes silently.
He had always thought he was being schemed against, constantly failing, always failing.
Unexpectedly, it turned out he himself was the mastermind manipulating everyone behind the scenes.
He even went so far as to deceive "himself" to construct this massive lie, allowing "himself" to live in failure. This unobtrusive hidden existence was indeed an excellent strategy disguised under plain sight!
Xin Xichen said: "So, you’re here to take back what’s yours. Your plan succeeded entirely, and under your guidance, I awakened."
"No."
Firewood Flower greedily shook his head, "Fear, dread, regret, have nearly drowned me over these hundreds of thousands of years... I’ve made too many mistakes; even I find myself disgusting."
"Initially, I feigned death, prepared to return and take your place after your success."
"But now, I realize that I, the true Xin Xichen, should have died long ago... I’m not worthy to be me."
"You, the left-behind Soul Bubble, are worthy of being me!"
He gazed greedily at the spirited, simple, honest scholar on the throne.
As if seeing his eighteen-year-old self.
He had worked tirelessly for hundreds of thousands of years, resorting to any means to pave the way for himself, and his wish was merely to let "myself" reach the pinnacle once again.
"Burn me, young self."
Firewood Flower was full of morbid fanaticism, advancing step by step, kneeling, and kissing the boot of this young emperor, "You are the hero who stands atop auspicious clouds in my heart."
He seemed like a devout fanatic believer, seeing his ultimate faith—the young emperor was his life’s ideals and hopes.
"Over these hundreds of thousands of years, I left behind various intelligence organizations and strategies for you, and there’s a wealth of knowledge in my mind, waiting for you to burn me, to fill in the blank hundreds of thousands of years now."
He greedily held onto the shoes of the young emperor, inhaling deeply, "The scent of my young self."
"Do not fear, all mistakes and darkness will be borne by me; you won’t remember the wrongs you’ve done, the many wrong paths you’ve taken, the countless innocents slain."
Firewood Flower laughed maniacally, his face filled with venom and madness, yet tears streaming down.
"Hahaha... let me die! Die, die, die!! Hahaha!!"
Gradually, he began to cry, as if insane, and started crying again, "Burn me, burn me, the entire path is laid out for you."
"Jiu Shui, Xi Rong, the world, even myself... have all paved the way for you!"
He laughed with immense pride.
The face of Xin Xichen on the throne suddenly became completely calm, "Do you think Jiu Shui guessed who you were, did he know your plan?"
"He might know, or he might not..." Firewood Flower hesitated, "Even if he does know, the soon-to-be-deceased old man willingly lets himself be deceived because the one ascending is a flawless, peak power Tao Emperor!"
Gui Pu separated, fainting on the ground.
Angry Xin Xichen released a flame, quickly burning the muddy qi in front of him, Firewood Flower.
"Come, my King."
This muddy qi being burned by the flame, smiled brightly, "This is the last flower-strewn path I paved for you, your road is destined to be filled with flowers and praises."
"Remember, young me, do not become this old me... do not become me..." he murmured as the flame gradually turned him to ashes.
Xin Xichen sat quietly on the throne, dazedly watching the real Xin Xichen disappear from this world.
