Chapter 222: The Red Emperor of the Flame Residence Comes Calling; The Dragon Court of the Great Han Makes Its Mark

"Sure enough, one must still have great power gathered within oneself~"

Watching the scene of various deities perishing, Fang Longye could not help but sigh in his heart.

The path of faith and incense seems to progress very rapidly, but a cultivator's foundation is just like something piled up with sand.

Loose and crumbling, collapsing at a single blow.

There are too many weaknesses.

Although—

Whether it is a deity purely born from faith and incense, or a cultivator following the path of the Divine Immortal, as long as one can achieve the Great Luo, one can cast off all manner of shackles.

But the Great Luo is too difficult! Huang Feihu is a proper Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, yet nearly ten million years have passed, and he has not been seen attaining the Great Luo.

"If the path of the Ghost Immortal were not so arduous and impoverished, I fear not many would choose to cultivate the path of the Divine Immortal!"

Fang Longye shook his head inwardly.

Dragon Qi swept across, destroying everything in its path.

Countless deities, as if being dumped like dumplings, were swept off their altars, without even a shred of resistance, all annihilated into nothingness.

As for some of the more powerful Divine Dao cultivators, although they had not yet been knocked off their altars, their divine domains and Dharma Realms were damaged, and their own strength was severely crippled.

It could be called miserable to the extreme.

Then, under the back-and-forth sweeping of the Dragon Qi, they soon followed in the footsteps of those minor deities and lesser spirits.

"Liu Che, you shall die a horrible death! I curse you to have no descendants!"

"Liu Che, I curse you to have your wife and children scattered, and for father and son to slaughter one another!"

"Liu Che, I curse you to be muddled in your old age, destroying with your own hands the prosperous dynasty you built!"

"Liu Che, do you not value this Great Han empire? I curse the Great Han to perish after you, in the second generation!"

"Liu Che, I curse your lifelong reputation to be utterly destroyed, to be pointed at by thousands, and to stink for ten thousand years!"

"Liu Che, you still think of walking the path of attaining the Dao in the world of the living? I curse you to sink forever, even if you enter Youming!"

"..."

These deities and Divine Immortals, while being swept off their altars by the Dragon Qi, each uttered vicious curses, which gathered together like the sound of demons.

High-pitched and urgent, containing slaughter, destruction, ruin, and an unstoppable force.

In an instant, atop Mount Tai, the sky grew dark and the earth grew dim, sand flew and stones rolled; immeasurable figures, fierce beasts, and so on, all manifested as phantoms, pouncing toward Liu Che and the entire National Fortune of the Great Han.

For a time, it was like the end of the world.

Natural disasters and man-made calamities, evil upon evil.

Roar—

The Dragon Qi surrounding Liu Che soared, sweeping across the eight wildernesses, destroying these manifestations of curses one by one.

However, there were too many of these curses, and coupled with those of the Divine Dao who had not yet perished, they were manipulating and retaliating from the shadows.

Despite having the Imperial Jade Seal to suppress the National Fortune, Liu Che had not embarked on the path of cultivation, and in wielding the Imperial Jade Seal, he could only exert a superficial effect.

Soon,

The National Fortune of the Great Han suffered a backlash.

One could see the golden True Dragon coiled within the sea of the Great Han's National Fortune; the dragon scales on its body showed signs of falling off, stained with blood, and it looked somewhat listless.

Sensing the disturbance in the Great Han's National Fortune, Liu Che, standing on the Fengshan Altar, let out a cold snort.

He shouted loudly: "I am the Human King of this age! All backlash shall be borne by me alone!"

Accompanied by his shout, the seven-colored canopy above his head swayed, casting down light and brilliance, golden and dazzling to the eyes.

The prayers of the masses rose one after another, light shone brightly, and rainbow rays ascended, manifesting all sorts of wondrous appearances, inconceivable.

Strands of golden light descended, slowly unfolding like a scroll, gathering all the backlash, all the curses, and all the ill omens into his own body.

Dizziness and a feeling of nausea assailed his heart; clearly, he had the protection of the Human King Dragon Qi, yet his whole person became incomparably weak.

Liu Che let out a muffled groan, forcibly holding on.

"Hahaha!"

Liu Che laughed out loud.

Exhilarating! Utterly exhilarating!

Even though his body was extremely weak, his heart was filled with great joy and great freedom!

"Is this the reason for Liu Che being muddled in his old age in this world?"

Fang Longye, situated within the Eastern Peak Divine Mansion, pondered to himself.

He saw the pillar of Dragon Qi above Liu Che's head, dim and lusterless, mottled and complex, and within the halos of light, it was a patch of dark green.

Within the dark green,

The aura of disaster churned, containing a scent of corrosion.

No matter how the National Fortune Dragon Qi washed over it, this sense of corrosion was like a maggot on a bone, firmly staining the Dragon Qi above Liu Che's head, unable to be erased.

It was obvious that even as the Human King, bearing these backlashes was not so easy; he would inevitably have to pay a price.

"Good fellow,"

"This Great Han is truly well-prepared!"

After focusing on the weakened Liu Che, Fang Longye shifted his gaze to within the borders of the Great Han.

He saw that in various places across the Great Han, soldiers, guards, yamen runners, and so on, had long since received orders and were lying in wait with weapons ready.

Under the sweep of the Dragon Qi, these personnel, like wolves and tigers, pounced into the shrines and temples within their jurisdictions and began to act.

They knocked down the statues in the shrines that had already developed cracks and lost their divine light, and quickly replaced them with statues of some of the Great Han's deceased ministers.

There were civil and military officials, each performing their own duties.

As for the sacrificial personnel in the temples, along with some stubborn believers, they naturally would not have a good outcome.

One by one, they were tightly bound with prepared chains and shackles.

Above, Dragon Qi swept through, shattering the Dharma Realm of the divine domains and sweeping away all manner of gods.

Below, local government offices and armies were dispatched to fell mountains and destroy temples, arresting everyone and replacing the divine statues.

With both approaches taken simultaneously, the vast majority of deities and Divine Immortals within the Great Han had no trace left, disappearing completely.

The incense-based Divine Dao is just that fragile.

Therefore—even if Liu Che wanted to canonize the deceased ministers of the Great Han to replace the gods, he would not choose those figures who had already made their mark in history.

For instance, his Huo Qubing.

That would affect their future too much! With the Underworld Dragon Court in existence, for these ministers who are dragons and phoenixes among men, walking the path of a pure Ghost Immortal is the best choice.

However,

Fang Longye had no mind to pay attention to which gods Liu Che had re-canonized at this moment. Because at this time, a great figure had appeared at Eastern Peak Mount Tai.

……

Empty steps and birdsong, moss marks green and fresh.

Thousands of Spirit Flowers fell in silence, without a sound.

Even though Liu Che's decree was not aimed at such a legitimate deity of the Heavenly Court as the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak.

After all, the Great Han is not a mad dog, biting whoever it sees.

Moreover, there are some gods who, even if they broke all the teeth of the Great Han, might not necessarily leave a tooth mark on them.

The gods dismissed this time were all carefully selected by the Great Han side.

There were strong ones and weak ones, wild gods and illicit shrines, as well as famous cultivators of the Divine Immortal Path.

What was wanted was to kill the chicken to warn the monkey.

But because the Fengshan Altar is located on Mount Tai, the Godly Soil of the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak was inevitably affected by the backlash of the Dragon Qi.

Some exquisite pavilions had already collapsed in places, revealing red bricks and jade tiles, showing quite a few broken walls and ruined remains.

"Sigh! An unprovoked disaster—"

The Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, Huang Feihu, recovered his state, first rising to look at the Great Han Dragon Qi that was spread across the universe, above and below, outside the Godly Soil.

He sighed.

Then, he reached out and waved a strand of divine power.

Tiny specks of golden light suddenly appeared, tinged with purple and blue, then outlined into patterns, intertwining with each other, instantly restoring the originally collapsed places to their original state.

Huang Feihu smiled bitterly at Fang Longye: "Brother, you have seen it too; it is not easy for us people of the Divine Dao to get by!"

"Far less carefree and at ease than you, brother—"

"Brother, you are too modest!"

"Relying on the title of Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, brother can be said to have continuous blessings; you can completely stay out of ordinary Calamities. I am truly envious!"

Fang Longye naturally chose to say pleasant things.

"Look at this Calamity of Dismissing Gods stirred up by the Human King; for you, brother, didn't you pass through it safely?"

"As long as you attain the Great Luo, I reckon this position of Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak will still be a help to you, brother!"

"Great Luo?" Huang Feihu gave a bitter smile and sighed long: "Sigh, Great Luo!"

This barrier can be said to be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"Eh?" Just as the two were conversing, Huang Feihu gave a surprised sound, then smiled: "A great fortune, a great fortune, a distinguished guest has arrived!"

Following that, he could not wait to head toward the portal of the Godly Soil, and in the process, due to being too eager, he even stumbled.

Seeing this, Fang Longye could not help but feel curious and followed him toward the outside of the Eastern Peak Divine Mansion.

The Godly Soil exists between the virtual and the real; outside the Eastern Peak Divine Mansion, it is not directly Mount Tai, but a vast and void space.

The two arrived at the portal and looked out, only to see that outside the Godly Soil, the sky was already filled with golden flames.

Wisps of golden light shone, suddenly rising and connecting into a sheet, and in the darkness, mysterious songs resounded.

A magnificent Sun God Chariot drove out from the darkness, with hanging curtains of jade beads, gorgeous and noble.

On the chariot sat a young man with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, wearing an imperial robe, his imperial might like the sea.

"The Red Emperor has arrived, making my humble dwelling shine; this junior is honored beyond measure." Seeing the visitor, Huang Feihu could not help but step aside, being respectful to the extreme.

"The Red Emperor?"

"It's him? No wonder Huang Feihu, this Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, is so respectful toward him."

After hearing Huang Feihu's address to the newcomer, Fang Longye understood immediately, his gaze flickering.

The contemporary Red Emperor is the son of the Human Race's Sage Emperor Shennong—Yan Ju.

This Yanju Clan member had also sat on the throne of the Human King after his father ascended to heaven to become an emperor, and had wielded the power of the Human Race.

Such an old antique, almost a fossil of the Human Race, had long since achieved the status of a Great Divine Ability user, far above the Great Luo.

Even if it were impossible for his true body to come here, a single incarnation arriving was enough to give Huang Feihu face.

"Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, you are too polite!" The incarnation of Yan Ju stepped off the Sun God Chariot, came before Huang Feihu, and waved his hand.

"The Human King's actions have disturbed the Great Emperor. This one has come specifically to apologize—"

"I dare not, I dare not! The Human King's actions are of great benefit to the Human Race, and this junior is also of Human Race origin; how could I mind these things—"

While leading the Red Emperor Yan Ju toward the depths of the Divine Mansion, Huang Feihu replied in fear and trepidation.

The Red Emperor smiled on his face and did not say much more.

Human hearts are complex; no matter how much faith and incense are purified, as a person of the Divine Dao, one will also come into contact with all kinds of dazzling and bewildering things.

His mind would not be as simple and honest as the ancient Human Race.

Added to that, time flows on; as a god who has always been high above, how many can always uphold their original intention? Not to mention the distant, just look at the one before him.

The Cancong Clan of the Shu region was, in the beginning, a sage who was wholeheartedly devoted to the people.

But what was the result? Having become a god after death, the passage of time has long since mottled their aspirations; how could they still be that sage of the Human Race who once thought only of the Human Race?

Therefore, as for these words from the Great Emperor of Mount Tai, he would just listen to them and leave it at that.

"Little friend, you have actually come to this Mount Tai as well?"

Chidi Yanju turned his head to look at Fang Longye, a smiling expression on his face.

"Junior Fang Longye pays his respects to Your Majesty, the Red Emperor."

Fang Longye lowered his eyelids and bowed respectfully toward him.

"Hmm~"

Yanju took a look and nodded.

"Senior~"

"My son Tianhua has already instructed those below to prepare a banquet. Shall we take our seats first?"

Huang Feihu pointed toward a palace in front and said with a respectful attitude.

Yanju smiled and said, "The guest follows the host's arrangements~"

Fang Longye also felt a surge of joy in his heart; how could watching the excitement be more important than dining with a big shot?

……

In fact, Chidi Yanju had not only visited Mount Tai, this one location.

At this moment—

Throughout the entire Nanzhan Buzhou, the immortals, gods, and great powers with deep foundations were all receiving guests one by one.

There were thought-manifestations of Chidi Yanju, his Three Corpses clones, and even his true body in action.

Of course, it was not just Chidi Yanju; the entire Daluo lineage of the Red Emperor had become active.

Even those great powers who had only laid down a few chess pieces in Nanzhan Buzhou received visits from the Red Emperor's lineage.

And in the process of all these meetings, on the other side, the Great Han Underworld Dragon Court finally revealed its claws and fangs.

Within the borders of the Great Han, there were not only those weakling gods who had perished earlier.

There were some in the Divine Dao who had become gods countless years ago, having survived through who knows how many kalpas without declining, their divine domains and Dharma Realms being no small matter.

Even though they had now been swept multiple times by the Han Dynasty Dragon Qi, their divine domains and Dharma Realms had not fallen, but were slowly undergoing repairs.

And these Divine Dao practitioners who had been heavily injured but not perished became the targets of the Great Han Underworld Dragon Court.

In a certain dark void.

One Han Dynasty emperor after another gathered, their crowns and tassels hanging down to their shoulders, dressed in imperial robes, with Dragon Qi swirling and roaring back and forth above their crowns.

And the ministers, concubines, and great generals from their respective reigns stood guard before them.

The person in the very center had a high nose and a dragon-like face, with a beautiful beard and whiskers; in particular, the Dragon Qi above his crown condensed into a pillar of light that shot straight up into the clouds, the most majestic among all those present.

It was none other than the Great Han Taizu, Gao Huangdi Liu Bang.

At this moment, he was speaking in a deep voice, instructing his descendants.

"Your ancestor has specifically held back those irrelevant immortal and divine great powers for this, so as to spare them from creating complications and interfering recklessly."

"Do not waste this opportunity specifically created for us."

"Begin according to the plan!"

"Understood."

"We respectfully obey the orders of the Taizu."

Afterwards~

These Han emperors took their subordinates and dispersed, slicing through space.

With banners unfurled, they led the soldiers of the Underworld Dragon Court to advance toward those heavily damaged and teetering Godly Soil and divine domains.

Shu region, Qingniu Gorge.

In a dark place invisible to ordinary people, there was a clear Godly Soil, vast and Generating Light.

It was just that in some places, it had suddenly collapsed, and there were quite a few broken walls and ruins, looking rather dilapidated.

Among them, there was a deity appearing as a young man, dressed in green robes, with vertical eyes on his face, shining brilliantly.

He sat upright under a precious tree, a divine wheel swaying behind his back, emitting crackling sounds, as he desperately channeled his divine power to repair his Godly Soil realm.

It was the first Shu King in the legends of the Shu region—the Cancong Clan.

His divine sense spread out, and seeing his Godly Soil become a mess, he could not help but cast his gaze toward the direction of Mount Tai, his habitually cold eyes filled with the flames of hatred.

"Liu Che!"

The Cancong Clan gritted his teeth, the fury in his voice about to erupt, and said coldly, "Such a deep hatred will not go unavenged. Once I am free, I will surely cause your dynasty to perish from this moment on!"

This ancient Shu King, who "wore green robes, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, and taught the people to raise silkworms," and was almost the embodiment of "Shu," had long since lost that original intention.

Things like the common people and the great cause of the Human Race were, in his eyes, not as important as incense and faith.

Having wholeheartedly become a deity, he was locked in an irreconcilable, mortal feud with Liu Che, who had destroyed his incense and faith.

The Cancong Clan revealed a fierce look, calculating in his heart how to take revenge.

"Inciting the believers to revolt?"

The Human King and his officials were protected by Dragon Qi and difficult to influence, but others were not; a simple dream-visitation could make their minds go haywire.

"Stirring up floods and disasters in the Shu region?"

He had used this method many times in the past, often to intimidate the common people into offering faith and incense. It was only after that Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun came to Guanjiangkou that he dared not use it anymore.

"Right! Isn't that Liu Che suffering from all sorts of Curses, his own Dragon Qi also suffering from backlash? I will strike from this point!"

Boom—

Just as the Cancong Clan was thinking of means of retaliation, suddenly, bursts of explosions came from outside.

Following that, above the Godly Soil, black clouds ground down and surged over, obscuring even the divine light of the Godly Soil.

All around, gusts of Yin wind blew, and turbid waves surged into the sky.

Although the original Godly Soil had been heavily damaged, it was still lush with green stone and beautiful trees, bright and translucent.

But now, an indescribable color of Youming permeated everything, covering it all, as if the black night outside had truly seeped into the realm of the Godly Soil.

In an instant, the entire interior of the Godly Soil shook and quaked, with many buildings collapsing, resembling a scene from the end of the world.

This commotion was even more terrifying than the previous sweeping of Dragon Qi.

"The power of Youming, and also Human Dao Dragon Qi?"

"The Underworld Dragon Court of the Great Han?"

"Damn it!"

The Cancong Clan was stunned at first, then reacted, their expression changing drastically.

(End of this chapter)