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In the secret realm of Taiyi Mountain, Princess Jinyang was enjoying a night of drinking and conversation with many friends. After seeing off Li Chunfeng, Yan Lide, and Qingxiazi, Princess Jinyang began to discuss the details of her journey to Tuguhun with Moya.
Moya was a serious elder of Zoroastrianism, having practiced the Seven Sacred Blade Secret Techniques for many years without ever demonstrating them in public. Princess Jinyang had been diligently training every night, accumulating her skills until she finally showcased the "Miracle" of resurrection in Tuguhun, something that had not been seen since the post-Zoroastrianism era.
In fact, throughout the history of Zoroastrianism, such occurrences were recorded only a few times in the scriptures. Now that Princess Jinyang had reached heights unattainable by her predecessors, Moya felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
Princess Jinyang was conferred the title of National Master of Tubo, and Li Zhi was not willing to fall behind. He had summoned Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong to draft an agenda for bestowing the title of National Master upon Princess Jinyang and planned to build a Zoroastrian temple for her in Chang'an.
The civil officials held Princess Jinyang in disdain, often rejecting and impeaching her. The Tang people were staunch believers in Taoism, and after Buddhism was introduced, it quickly gained a large following. During Taizong's reign, leveraging Master Xuanzang's reputation, many temples were built across the land. Now they were to construct Hu Tian Temple for Princess Jinyang. Given her popularity and influence, it was believed she would soon have a vast number of followers, which was not a good thing.
The absurdity of state affairs lay in the fact that before establishing their power, royalty often cloaked themselves in religious garb to deceive the common people with faith. Yet once they ascended to the throne, they began to denounce divine interference in governance and suppressed religion fiercely.
Throughout history, countless uprisings have occurred under the guise of religion and divine spirits, such as Zhang Jiao from the Three Kingdoms period. Thus, civil officials maintained a respectful distance from these religions.
However, they were human too and had their own beliefs. Although they often disparaged religion in court, privately they still engaged in superstitions. The number of ministers who died from poisoning due to elixirs during Taizong's reign could hardly be counted on two hands.
Therefore, even though Changsun Wuji had instructed civil officials to continue their suppression efforts, the likelihood of overcoming Princess Jinyang this time was minimal. Bestowing her as National Master and constructing Hu Tian Temple was now an inevitable course of action.
Moya was not interested in court politics; he felt that Princess Jinyang's display of Miracle in Tuguhun had spread her fame far and wide. Even the Goguryeo people were greatly impressed by Xu Zhenzhi's name because Princess Jinyang was not only the National Master of Tubo but also their Suimont and an envoy of the Sun God!
"Master, I have something that requires your attention..." Fearing that Moya might be too tipsy to focus, Princess Jinyang hurriedly took out the Cipher Tube gifted by Ludongzan.
After opening the wooden box, Moya's expression remained unchanged; he showed no signs of surprise and clearly did not recognize its origin. This left Princess Jinyang feeling disappointed; it seemed Ludongzan lacked discernment and had been fooled by a counterfeit while treating it like a treasure.
Thinking this way made Princess Jinyang self-deprecating; how could she not view this item as a treasure herself?
However, after a brief moment of confusion, Moya's bleary eyes suddenly widened with anger as his hands trembled involuntarily while holding the Cipher Tube.
"This... this is my Zoroastrianism treasure, Ahriman's Seal! This is Ahriman's Seal!" Moya swallowed hard, taking a long time to regain his composure, his face flushed with excitement as he exclaimed repeatedly.
"Ahriman's Seal?" Xu Zhen frowned in question. According to the Holy Avesta, the enemy of the good deity Ahura Mazda is the Evil God Ahriman. This Cipher Tube is named after Ahriman, but it is unclear whether it belongs to the side of the good deity or the Evil God.
Zoroastrianism has developed to a point where it is no longer as revered as in ancient times. Even the countries of the Western Regions have begun to embrace Buddhism. Few people can recognize such a Zoroastrianism treasure. However, Moya is an orthodox Zoroastrian elder, inheriting the most core secrets of Zoroastrianism, so he quickly explained the origin of this item to Xu Zhen.
It is said that the Evil God Ahriman commands a demon army known as Ebal.
According to Zoroastrianism legends, after the creation of the world, the good deity and the Evil God began a battle lasting twelve thousand years. In the first three thousand years, Ahura's world of light coexisted with Ahriman's world of darkness, separated only by emptiness. Ahriman actively attacked the world of light.
In the second three thousand years, Ahura foresaw the future and agreed with Ahriman to continue fighting for nine thousand years. However, Ahriman could only see the past and not the future. Ahura's prophecy stated that the outcome of their battle would inevitably lead to the destruction of the dark world. Ahriman panicked and indeed fell into darkness.
Humanity is similarly divided between good and evil. The good easily cross the Bridge of Judgment after death and enter an infinite paradise of light, while when evildoers attempt to cross, the bridge becomes as thin as a blade, causing them to fall into hell and suffer punishment and torment. Those whose good deeds and evil deeds cancel each other out remain in a middle ground, experiencing neither pain nor pleasure.
Ahriman, hiding in darkness, did not give up. Relying on his knowledge of the past, he summoned spirits from beyond death and formed a massive demon army. All the demons from historical legends were resurrected and joined the Dark Army.
Although Ahriman was ultimately defeated by Ahura, he was unwilling to concede defeat and buried his last heroic evil spirit in a sealed grave, hoping that when he revived for a second time, he could lead an army of evil spirits to attack the world of light!
What Moya holds in his hand at this moment is indeed the legendary seal that Ahriman used to seal away the Dark Army!
Moya took a sip of wine; his chest still could not calm down. It is no wonder he was so shocked—such legendary items are recorded only in secret texts. Now that he holds it in his hands, how could one not be astonished?
If what Moya says is true, then this item is not a holy relic of Ahura but rather an evil object belonging to Zoroastrianism's Evil God Ahriman!
Although Xu Zhen is proclaimed as a divine envoy walking among humans, she knows very well that what she relies on is merely an Illusion. Even those Seven Sacred Blade Secret Techniques are just physical techniques painstakingly cultivated; only when combined with Illusion can they create effects akin to death and resurrection.
He did not reject the principles of Zoroastrianism, which distinguish between good and evil, promote goodness while suppressing evil, advocate for truth and kindness, and worship light. This simple religious theory is beyond reproach, but convincing him to believe in the treasure before him, which seemed like a fantastical plot from a melodrama, was impossible.
However, the fact that this seal had been passed down for thousands of years suggested that even if it was not the key to summoning the Dark Army, it must be an extremely rare treasure or secret in Zoroastrian history, which was undeniable.
"Master, do you have a way to open this?" Xu Zhen asked with some interest. Moya, however, let out a self-deprecating laugh and shook his head. "Although I am an elder of Zoroastrianism, this Evil God artifact is said to only be opened by the Evil God..."
"I see..." Hearing Moya's response, Xu Zhenxin felt even more bored. He had thought this would be some rare treasure, at least something like a treasure map hidden in the Zoroastrian vaults, but he never expected this outcome.
Just as he was feeling disappointed, Moya changed his tone and said, "However, when I was traveling in the Western Regions, I once encountered a heretic who worshipped the Evil God. He claimed to have stolen Ahriman's power and could summon the dead and spirits. Seeing him promote the dark Evil God, I ordered my guards to capture him."
"This person could not withstand interrogation and confessed that in a small country in the Western Regions, everyone worshipped Ahriman and was searching for Ahriman's dark relics in an attempt to awaken Ahriman again. At that time, I just took it as a joke... Now it seems that this dark relic might be this seal..."
Xu Zhen did not expect there to be such secrets within Zoroastrianism and that there were actually people in Western countries who collectively worshipped darkness; this piqued his interest.
"What happened to that person afterward?"
"What happened? Heh heh, he disappeared..."
"You mean... you killed him?"
"No, I mean he really disappeared—vanished from the prison without a trace!"
"How is that possible!" Xu Zhen was greatly alarmed. If that person understood Illusion, it seemed quite possible. However, no matter how sophisticated Illusion might be, it was merely a trick; it could not create something from nothing or turn something into nothing. To vanish completely under such tight confinement was beyond ordinary Illusion!
"I also thought it was impossible at the time and used Illusion to recreate his disappearance. But no matter how I analyzed it with Illusion, I couldn't replicate what he did... At that time, he had nothing on him; we had even stripped him of his clothes..."
The Xu Zhen did not believe that this person truly understood magic; she could only say that his Illusion had reached an extraordinary level. The Xu Zhen had no attachment to wealth or power, but her greatest love was Illusion. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but speculate that perhaps the person had escaped back to the Western Small Kingdom, or maybe there were even greater masters of Illusion within that Western Small Kingdom.
"Do you know where the Western Small Kingdom is?"
Seeing the Xu Zhen so interested, her eyes filled with longing, Moya couldn't help but smile. In his youth, he too had been infatuated with Illusion. After that person disappeared, he had once ventured into the desert to search for that small kingdom, but his caravan encountered a sandstorm, and Moya nearly lost his life in the sea of sand. Ultimately, he gave up on that idea.
Although Moya was not exaggerating, the Xu Zhen remained undeterred. The legendary Dark Cultist had deeply captured her interest. If possible, she naturally hoped to obtain that Illusion which vanished into thin air. Moreover, she wanted to know what exactly was hidden within that seal and what the legendary Dark Army truly was.
The two chatted for a while longer until Moya could no longer withstand the effects of alcohol and finally swayed back to his room to sleep. The Xu Zhen sought out Yan Lide. As a master craftsman of the Tang Dynasty, the Xu Zhen placed her last hope in Yan Lide to unlock this seal.
Yan Lide was fast asleep when the Xu Zhen knocked on his door for quite some time. Only after a while did the plump man groggily open the door. However, upon seeing the Cipher Tube in the Xu Zhen's hand, he instantly woke up, thumping his chest and confidently assuring her that he would not let her down.
Having spent his entire life immersed in clever contraptions, this Cipher Tube was like a treasure waiting to be unearthed for him. How could Yan Lide not be excited?
The Xu Zhen also understood how intricate this Cipher Tube was; even if Yan Lide devoted himself to research, it would take a considerable amount of time to unlock it. Therefore, she stayed in Taiyi Mountain for several days, discussing engineering details with others before hurriedly returning home.
Her wedding date with Li Mingda was approaching, and she needed to make more preparations. Additionally, she needed to deal with the leverage Yan Lide had against Cui Dunli!
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