Chapter 379: Secrets

As soon as this thought appeared, his gaze towards Zen Master Qizhen changed. It all made sense now; no wonder Zen Master Qizhen knew the secrets of that time—he was a first-hand witness.

So, Liang Yu tentatively asked,

“I don’t care about the grievances between your father and son and the royal family. I just want to know the secrets of that year.”

Looking at Liang Yu’s expression, Zen Master Qizhen clasped his hands together and slowly began to speak.

“Benefactor, since you have already guessed a thing or two, there is no need for me to conceal it.”

“Presumably, you have seen those monsters with long, narrow arms, huge bodies, and a裂口 on their faces, right?”

Following Zen Master Qizhen’s description, Liang Yu gradually matched it to the corresponding creatures. Weren’t those what he used to think of as Underground People?

Now, they should be called Underground Monsters. Zen Master Qizhen, in front of him, was the true Underground People, or Indigenous people.

Facing Zen Master Qizhen’s inquiry, Liang Yu simply nodded, indicating that he had seen them, without giving too much of a reply or interrupting him.

Zen Master Qizhen then sighed again.

It turned out that in earlier years, these Indigenous people also suffered greatly from the persecution of the Underground Monsters. They would often come out to forage at night.

It was precisely for this reason that at night, everyone would hide in a Mountain Cave, blocked by huge rocks, through narrow secret passages to avoid being hunted by the Underground Monsters.

And so, their ancestors lived like this for generations. Some also thought about no longer hiding and organizing the people to fight those monsters.

However, without weapons and equipment, relying solely on brute force, they were simply unable to deal with them.

Then, after about a hundred years, which was about two or three generations, most of the young people and those in their prime discovered a special substance in their bodies, which was called Qi.

After about twenty more years, those people had skillfully mastered the use of Qi, and some exceptionally talented individuals developed other uses for it.

Because of this advantage, the Indigenous people gradually killed and drove the Underground Monsters out of their activity range, slowly forming tribes here.

However, this situation was broken fifty years ago.

When narrating this part, Zen Master Qizhen specifically glanced at Liang Yu. If he was not a member of the royal family and wanted to know the secrets, then he must be an outsider or their descendant.

After those outsiders appeared, the first thing they did was find the largest tribal gathering place at that time and proposed the idea of cooperation with them.

That group of outsiders found the leader and offered conditions that even the leader could not refuse.

The first was that they promised to help us repel the monsters and build high walls to block the monsters’ invasion.

The second was to help us establish Towns and perfect various legal systems.

The third, and last, was to bestow upon us the spark of civilization, helping the tribal leader become the ruler of this land.

These three conditions were something no one could refuse, and there was no reason to refuse, so both parties quickly reached an agreement and established cooperation.

It was only then that Zen Master Qizhen noticed Liang Yu’s puzzled expression, and he immediately knew what he was thinking.

That was, what price would they have to pay to receive such help from the outsiders?

After all, no one would help them for no reason, and this kind of help was not just a casual favor. The price to pay was imaginable.

Soon, Zen Master Qizhen told Liang Yu the price they needed to pay.

However, as he spoke, he also drew a simple sketch on the ground.

He then pointed to a spot slightly above the center and explained that it was the Imperial City, and about a palm’s distance directly above the Imperial City, Zen Master Qizhen drew a horizontal line.

This horizontal line represented the boundary of the Forbidden Void. All other places above it belonged to the Forbidden Void, and this vast area of the Forbidden Void was their reward.

At the same time, Zen Master Qizhen also asked Liang Yu, normally, the Underground Monsters outside the border were already dangerous enough, so why would those outsiders venture into the even more dangerous Forbidden Void?

However, Liang Yu did not know the reason and did not answer, motioning for Zen Master Qizhen to continue.

There was actually nothing more to say later. Within ten years, the outsiders fulfilled the first two promises and continuously sent people to fulfill the third promise.

And the royal family also gave the Forbidden Void to the other party as per the previous agreement.

Speaking of this, Zen Master Qizhen also showed the same expression as Liang Yu.

Even now, he did not know why the outsiders wanted the Forbidden Void and needed the royal family’s grant. Given their abilities, they could have completely conquered it themselves.

Liang Yu also thought the same, but he thought more than Zen Master Qizhen. Perhaps to enter the Forbidden Void, they needed to obtain something from the royal family, just like in movies.

Entering a specific place required obtaining authority. Although this kind of thing sounds absurd, it is not impossible. Art comes from life, and perhaps it was like this in the past.

And Zen Master Qizhen’s recollections continued, but the subsequent events were unrelated to what he wanted to know.

Liang Yu also didn’t understand why he would say it, perhaps it had been bottled up in his heart for too long, and he wanted to find someone to talk to and vent.

The dynasty had experienced turmoil during those ten years, and the source of the turmoil was that position of absolute power.

Hearing this, Liang Yu knew, wasn’t it just a backstab and usurpation of power?

It was almost exactly as he had guessed.

In the middle of the second year of the dynasty, the former leader’s biological younger brother launched a coup. However, the old emperor trusted his brother so much that he had no defenses at all, and this coup came and ended quickly.

The first thing the new emperor did after ascending the throne was to exterminate all those related to his elder brother, and those ministers and General Jin who supported him were all purged with swift and decisive measures.

Hearing this, Liang Yu directly interrupted him from continuing his narration. He had roughly guessed some of the later content, which was nothing more than Hui Nian’s connection to the royal family. He didn’t care about these, nor was he interested.

Instead, he asked Zen Master Qizhen, what exactly was in the Forbidden Void?

However, Liang Yu saw Zen Master Qizhen’s expression, indicating he had never been there and didn’t know.

Helpless, Liang Yu again asked about the abyss that the leader of the small Indigenous people tribe had mentioned before, and also about the mysterious disappearance of those outsiders.

He thought Zen Master Qizhen should know something about these matters, after all, from Liang Yu’s perspective now, the biggest BOSS near West Sand City on this border should be Zen Master Qizhen himself.

Putting everything else aside, just his absurd martial prowess was something the City Lord and General Jin could never possess.

Compared to Zen Master Qizhen, those two could be said to be like toddlers learning to walk, and perhaps they couldn’t even withstand one move from Zen Master Qizhen.