Chapter 71: The Taiping Sect Joins the Heavenly Court

"Heavenly Mandate? Is this your Heavenly Mandate? Or is it your collective Heavenly Mandate?"

Zhang Jiao laughed heartily and rebuked, "The Blue Heaven is dead, the Flaming Han has perished; this poor Daoist is the true Heavenly Mandate."

Facing the Old Immortal Nanhua, Zhang Jiao did not retreat; instead, he took a step forward, signaling his stance.

The origin of the Yellow Heaven Prosperous Age, that ideal kingdom to be established by the commoners, was about to descend, and he would not retreat.

"Zhang Jiao, do not be ignorant of etiquette, do not be ignorant of reverence."

Yu Ji waved his sleeve indifferently, forcing Zhang Jiao back with a casual gesture.

He displayed formidable strength.

Zhang Jiao practiced the Taiping Daoist Arts, and his strength was already beyond human.

He had even exchanged for some low-level insights in the Heavens Mall to enhance his own strength.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Zhang Jiao to wipe out Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, and Zhu Jun—the three pillars of the Great Han—in a single strike.

Yet now, before Yu Ji and the Three Immortals of the End of Han, Zhang Jiao seemed vulnerable.

In an instant, Zhang Jiao made a judgment in his heart: facing these Three Immortals of the Han, he was currently no match.

But it did not matter; he could call for backup.

Looking at Zhang Jiao, the Old Immortal Nanhua continued to advise, "Do you see? Zhang Jiao, this is the gap in strength between us. The meager magical arts you have learned are not worth mentioning in front of us."

"Zhang Jiao, you have completed your mission; now, step down."

The Old Immortal Nanhua seemed to have developed a fondness for his talent, repeatedly trying to persuade Zhang Jiao.

But in Zhang Jiao's heart, an unprecedented fire of rage burned; did they think they could erase all his efforts with a single sentence?

Did they think they could erase the roar of the millions of commoners in this world with a single sentence?

That was impossible.

The arrogance and coldness of the Old Immortal Nanhua were laid bare, forming a stark contrast to the first time he met him, when he appeared concerned for the country and the people, transcendent and refined.

An unprecedented sense of fragmentation appeared in Zhang Jiao's heart.

From this, he realized a cruel truth: perhaps these people had been secretly manipulating everything behind the scenes of the Great Han for the past half-year.

The Guangwu Emperor, Liu Xiu, during the Kunyang Battle, summoned flowing fire from the heavens, and with an army of only a few thousand, broke through Wang Mang's army of hundreds of thousands; winning against the strong with the weak, it was truly a myth.

Was this the result of these people acting in the shadows?

The seventh month's flowing fire, meteorites falling from the sky.

If not for powerful strength, how could such a thing be achieved?

What were this group of people, represented by the Old Immortal Nanhua, trying to do?

Were they cultivating by borrowing the National Fortune?

Or were they stealing the National Fortune to cultivate?

Having joined the Heavens Chat Group, Zhang Jiao knew many things.

Those things were all secret lore within this World.

Thus, one guess after another appeared in his heart.

But regardless of what the truth was,

what Zhang Jiao knew was that what he had to do now was to slaughter all these obstructors before him.

"Step down? This poor Daoist can step down, but do the millions of commoners behind me have a way out?"

Zhang Jiao laughed at himself and said angrily, "You are always like this, always so self-righteous. In your eyes, there has never been room for the common folk struggling in the mud."

"The Emperor is like this, the noble families are like this, and you are also like this."

In Zhang Jiao's eyes, fire was burning.

"Look! Look down! All the proletarians have united, and the future world will not be yours, nor will it be this poor Daoist's; it will be theirs, the era where the red flag flies."

"Foolish! Utterly foolish!"

The Old Immortal Nanhua sneered and said, "What is the Great Trend? The Great Trend is not this group of ants, but me; I am the Great Trend."

In the eyes of the Old Immortal Nanhua, those millions of common folk were merely millions of ants.

He could destroy them with a single hand.

The Old Immortal Nanhua looked at Zhang Jiao coldly and said, "Zhang Jiao, as your master, I gave you a chance. Since you are not the Heavenly Mandate and do not respect the Heavenly Law, then as your master, I have no choice but to send you to your death."

The current Emperor of the Great Han could die, and the Great Han could fall into chaos.

But the current Great Han could not yet perish.

It was not yet time.

The Old Immortal Nanhua, Zuo Ci, and Yu Ji would absolutely not sit by and watch the current Great Han perish.

The Old Immortal Nanhua snorted coldly and acted directly.

He appeared to be an immortal of the Human Realm, yet when he moved to strike, he was extremely cold-blooded.

Zhang Jiao's magical arts were, after all, inherited from the Old Immortal Nanhua.

Even though he had joined the Heavens Chat Group and obtained some points,

and had exchanged for some items in the Heavens Mall using those points,

the points he had obtained so far were very few, and the items he exchanged for were very low-level, only slightly increasing his strength.

Therefore, at this moment, facing the Old Immortal Nanhua, Zhang Jiao's own strength was not enough to resist.

Zhang Jiao also realized this point.

So, without hesitation, Zhang Jiao chose to join the Heavenly Court.

"Heavenly Emperor above, this poor Daoist Zhang Jiao is willing to lead the followers of the Taiping Sect to join the Heavenly Court; I beg the Heavenly Emperor for his grace."

Originally, Zhang Jiao had intended to overthrow the Great Han and join the Heavenly Court only after striking into the Imperial Capital.

But who could have known that the Old Immortal Nanhua, Yu Ji, and Zuo Ci—the Three Immortals of the Han—would suddenly appear.

This directly disrupted Zhang Jiao's plans, so Zhang Jiao has now resolutely joined the Heavenly Court.

Originally, Zhang Jiao did not join the Heavenly Court at the beginning, simply because.

He wanted the Yellow Turban Army under his command to experience war and train into an iron-blooded, powerful army amidst the flames of battle.

The necessary sacrifices in this were certain.

But only by experiencing the flames of war could the Yellow Turban Army truly grow.

Otherwise, if they had joined the Heavenly Court earlier and received the blessings of the Heavenly Court.

They would only have possessed powerful strength in name.

But now, the Yellow Turban Army has already experienced countless wars and grown into a disciplined, organized, and powerful army.

Zhang Jiao's goal has already been achieved, so at this moment, he chose to join the Heavenly Court without hesitation.

Old Immortal Nanhua saw Zhang Jiao's actions and was very puzzled, but he did not pay much attention to it.

Zhang Jiao was, after all, just a chess piece he had chosen back then; now that this chess piece had completed its mission, it should be swept into the dust.

"Are you still playing god and acting like a ghost at this time?"

Yu Ji shook his head and said, "It is of no use; failing to recognize the heavenly mandate, you cannot escape your doom."

If one speaks of these illusions and bewitching people's hearts, Yu Ji is the true king of this path.

In Yu Ji's view, Zhang Jiao was just playing god and acting like a ghost at this time.

Zhang Jiao did not pay any attention to these three, including Old Immortal Nanhua.

And Old Immortal Nanhua's magical arts attack had already descended, enveloping Zhang Jiao.

If this strike were to land, Zhang Jiao would be either dead or severely injured.

And just at this moment, a vast and majestic voice resounded between heaven and earth.

"Granted!"

Between heaven and earth, the supreme rules descended.

Old Immortal Nanhua's magical arts directly dissolved, and the void froze at this moment.

It seemed as if the supreme rules had descended, fixing this side of heaven and earth in place.

The always indifferent and arrogant Old Immortal Nanhua had a look of unprecedented shock appear on his face for the first time.

"Who is it? How is this possible?"

(End of this chapter)