Chapter 901

In the void, a black-and-white spirit light streaked past.

Crossing boundless mountain ranges and countless great rivers, the Yin-Yang Daoist arrived outside Kai Ping City.

Kai Ping City, the capital of King Kai Ping, spans nearly a thousand li; it is like a fierce tiger crouching in the land of the three rivers' flow. Mountains surround the city, guarding it like iron chains and golden gates, its momentum extremely grand.

A mass of killing qi shot straight up from inside Kai Ping City; within the killing qi, faintly visible were one after another broken white lotuses, appearing and disappearing.

On the petals of these white lotuses, black characters coiled around, like tiny snakes, emitting an evil aura that makes one's blood run cold.

Accompanied by loud cries, in a military camp outside Kai Ping City, hundreds of warships rose into the sky, with nearly a hundred thousand fully armed troops standing on the decks, their killing intent soaring as they headed northeast.

War drums thundered like thunder, bugle calls pierced the heavens, blood-red military flags waved on the warships, and the soldiers' eyes were filled with fervent battle intent.

A eunuch dressed in a crimson robe, his face pale and beardless, stood on the deck of the central flagship, shouting hoarsely: "The realm harbors monsters, they have usurped the throne; this is the root of the world's turmoil and the people's misery… My Kai Ping youths, we shall rectify the court, sweep away evil influences… When the state is at peace and the seas clear, each of you will be able to achieve great deeds, even be ennobled and appointed as generals."

The soldiers roared "hou hou", continuously brandishing their weapons, responding to the eunuch's clamor.

The Yin-Yang Daoist stood in midair, watching the distant warships, his face grim; simultaneously he shared what he had seen and heard with Wu Tie of Spark Martial City far away.

A faint light flickered in his pupils; the Yin-Yang Daoist waved his right hand, with a clang, countless strands of black-and-white innate yin-yang qi condensed into numerous flying swords each about a chi long, like a downpour, they flew toward that fleet.

A sky-filling sword rain fell; hundreds of warships were blasted to pieces, the hundred-thousand-strong army roared in unison, and the sword light swirled across the heavens, slicing their armor and weapons to shreds.

The eunuch in the crimson robe shrieked hysterically: "Who dares to oppose King Kai Ping?"

A flash of sword light pierced the eunuch's skull with a single strike; he could no longer utter a word.

A column of light several li in diameter shot up into the sky; the eunuch's immense inner power dissipated, returning as heavenly-earthly primal energy to the universe. The light column rose to nearly a thousand li high, then, like a fountain, it slowly dispersed in the high air, transforming into rings of dazzling light ripples that spread outward.

Spirit light flickered atop the Yin-Yang Daoist's head; the innate treasure Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle sprayed out, a black-and-white spirit light jetting from its mouth enveloped the light pillar emanating from the eunuch's body; with a light gulp, it swallowed the entire pillar together with the eunuch's shattered soul.

From within Kai Ping City came an angry roar: "Who dares to ruin my great plan?"

Hundreds of men clad in white robes, their sleeves and hems densely covered with black ink characters, ink splattered all over their bodies, with an evil aura, shot up from inside Kai Ping City.

They stared fixedly at the Yin-Yang Daoist, howling hoarsely.

"Kill them, kill them."

"We, who rectify the court, are doing a great deed to benefit the world; whoever dares to obstruct, kill them."

"Join forces, join forces… With such heretical demons and evil paths, there's no need to talk about rules and ethics with him."

"Yes, yes, join forces, go kill them, reduce them to ashes, hahaha!"

A group of wanton, restless scholars each took up various brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, ruler seals, and the like, raising a sky-full of ink light, and they struck at the Yin-Yang Daoist in a disorderly manner.

Seeing the sky-filling attack coming, the Yin-Yang Daoist shouted sternly: "Do you dare to defy the Divine Emperor's edict and cause trouble after leaving the mountains?"

These white-clad scholars, their garments covered in black characters, though their aura was evil, their cultivation methods and the literary treasures they used clearly showed they were disciples of the White Lotus Palace.

Earlier, Wu Tie received from the Great Matriarch of Wa Island a joint edict of the thirty-six divine emperors of the Su Dynasty, ordering the White Lotus Palace, Red Lotus Temple, and Green Lotus Observatory to close their mountain gates, cultivate their minds and nurture their nature, and strictly forbidding any disciples from leaving the mountains to wander the world.

These White Lotus Palace disciples appearing in Kai Ping City undoubtedly violated the edict's orders.

These scholars burst into wild laughter, their laughter maniacal and unrestrained, like a group of cultivators who have gone mad from deviation.

"Heh, White Lotus Palace? Of course we are disciples of the White Lotus Palace."

"What? Nonsense, how could we possibly be disciples of the White Lotus Palace?"

"Indeed, we are heretical scholars, expelled from the White Lotus Palace as traitors; we are utterly wicked heretical scholars… hehe!"

"The Divine Emperor's edict? We won't obey it—what can you do to us?"

Hundreds of strange and wondrous literary treasures came flying down; the Yin-Yang Daoist's treasure bottle atop his head sprayed out long streams of yin-yang qi, sweeping toward the sky-full of treasures, and he saw these treasures being sucked in one by one with a "swoosh swoosh swoosh" into the Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle.

As the black-and-white spirit light on the bottle coiled, the hundreds of scholars simultaneously spat blood.

The soul imprints they left in the treasures were erased by the bottle, their souls injured, each with a pallid face hastily retreating.

"This villain is formidable; join forces to deal with him!"

A white-haired old man bellowed hoarsely, he bit his fingertip, and with his own blood wrote in midair an ancient, sturdy "mountain" character.

Additionally, hundreds of scholars simultaneously bit their fingertips, imitating the old man's method, and in the void they wrote with blood traces variously styled "mountain" characters, each exuding an immensely heavy force.

The hundreds of "mountain" characters converged inward, then truly transformed into a blood-colored great mountain tens of thousands of zhang high, howling as it crashed down upon the Yin-Yang Daoist.

The Yin-Yang Daoist's expression changed; the treasure bottle atop his head poured out yin-yang qi, violently coiling around the blood-colored great mountain.

With a hum, the blood-colored mountain trembled; the Yin-Yang Daoist's seven orifices simultaneously spurted blood, and in a sorry state he rolled up the bottle and turned to flee.

The Yin-Yang Daoist entered the Dao through the innate Yin-Yang Grand Dao, and moreover relied on the innate treasure Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle to emerge by slaying corpses.

His foundation is extremely solid, his strength also extremely profound, certainly not beneath the so-called peak "King God".

However, he is ultimately not Wu Tie's true self; struck by a combined blow from hundreds of powerful White Lotus Palace heretical scholars, the might of this blood-colored mountain has already exceeded his limit of resistance.

"Damn, there are actually ten half-step venerable-level beings." The Yin-Yang Daoist spat blood while employing the innate Yin-Yang Great Peng Escape Technique, transforming into black-and-white flowing light that fled rapidly through the void.

A few white-haired elders stepped out of the crowd, turning into ink light to continue the pursuit, but the Yin-Yang Daoist's escape technique was too fast—traversing tens of thousands of li in an instant, millions of li with a finger snap— they only chased a few hundred li before glumly halting their escape light.

"You escaped so quickly… heh, but ultimately justice and righteousness are in our hands!" Several half-step venerable white-haired elders roared fervently: "Fellow disciples, justice and righteousness are in our hands!"

"We shall be able to orderly govern the state, return to the world a bright and clear universe, and give the people a peaceful and prosperous age!"

A white-haired elder suddenly raised his fist and roared toward the sky: "Execute the tyrant!"

Hundreds of scholars shouted in unison: "Execute the tyrant!"

Inside Kai Ping City, King Kai Ping, wearing a crimson prince's robe, leading a large group of civil and military officials, laughed and clapped loudly, shouting: "Execute the tyrant! Support the state! Rectify the court! Recreate the universe!"

King Kai Ping laughed radiantly.

The princes beside King Kai Ping, as well as the civil and military officials, also laughed radiantly.

Amid their fervent cheers, in dozens of military camps outside Kai Ping City, newly reorganized troops piloted warships soaring into the sky, heading off in all directions.

The army under King Kai Ping's command is now frantically sweeping the surrounding fiefdoms and prefectures, and the war situation is entirely favorable.

King Kai Ping, eager and full of ambition, gazed at those departing warships, nodded slowly and said: "If I can ascend the throne, you all will be founders of the state; I will surely not be stingy in granting lands and titles, ensuring each of you officials obtains a good outcome."

The civil and military officials all shouted in joy, kneeling before King Kai Ping on the ground, directly performing the great rite of paying homage to the Divine Emperor, they performed three kowtows with nine prostrations to King Kai Ping.

The Yin-Yang Daoist retreated from Kai Ping City while spitting blood, then, relying on his swift escape technique, he went to Chengping City and Shunping City to gather information.

Just like Kai Ping City, Chengping City and Shunping City were also frantically recruiting soldiers and buying horses, organizing large armies.

In the royal cities of King Chengping and King Shunping, there likewise appeared white‑clad scholars whose robes were covered in black writing, whose conduct was mad and whose aura was sinister — these were the heterodox Daoist literati.

Among these so‑called traitors expelled from the White Lotus Palace, there were quite a few who were half‑step Venerable.

The Yin‑Yang Daoist exchanged a few moves with them, found himself outmatched, and, using the profound subtlety of Daoist arts, added a slight obstruction for King Chengping and King Shunping before swiftly returning to Flame Martial City.

At the same time, the Five Phases Daoist went to Virtue Prosperity City, Trust Prosperity City, and Benevolence Trust City.

In the royal cities of the three Prosperity Kings, the Five Phases Daoist discovered a group of dark‑skinned individuals who, although they cultivated the Buddhist Zen technique of the Red Lotus Temple, had transformed it into something nearly demonic, and who likewise called themselves defectors from the Red Lotus Temple — bald, muscular men.

Among these Red Lotus Temple defectors, there were also an unknown number of half‑step Venerable.

The Five Phases Daoist likewise exchanged a few moves with them, set fire and destroyed a batch of the three Prosperity Kings' military equipment and supplies, added a slight hindrance for them, and then returned to Flame Martial City.

Meanwhile, the Sea‑Bound Daoist went to Prosperity Stability City, Flourishing Stability City, and Glory Stability City.

In the royal cities of the three Stability Kings, the Sea‑Bound Daoist encountered a group of Daoists whose aura was chaotic and frenzied, whose behavior resembled that of demons.

The techniques they employed were entirely those of the Azure Lotus Observatory, yet like the Yellow‑Skinned Daoist and the Red Elixir Daoist, they called themselves heterodox Daoists, claimed to be defectors from the Azure Lotus Observatory, and their actions had nothing whatsoever to do with that observatory.

Therefore, they naturally were not considered to be defying the divine emperor's edict.

Relying on the power of the Sea‑Bound Divine Pearl, the Sea‑Bound Daoist engaged in a fierce battle with those Daoists. Leveraging the worldly power of the 108 Sea‑Bound Divine Pearls, within Wu Tie's three‑corpse incarnations he could be deemed the strongest, his mana virtually limitless, far surpassing that of Wu Tie's true form.

After a fierce battle, the Sea‑Bound Daoist overturned Prosperity Stability City, leveled Flourishing Stability City, reduced half of Glory Stability City to ruins, withstood the Pangu true forms displayed by several half‑step Venerable Daoists, and used the Sea‑Bound Divine Pearl to inflict grave injuries upon them.

In the end, the Azure Lotus Observatory's 'defectors' were numerous and powerful; after a fierce clash, the Sea‑Bound Daoist was still struck repeatedly by the observatory's secret arts, and, like the Five Phases Daoist and the Yin‑Yang Daoist, he vomited blood and fled back to Flame Martial City.

In the Flame Martial City's Hall of Court Deliberations, Wu Tie and Pei Feng sat side by side.

Wu Tie gazed at the assembled civil and military officials in the hall and said in a deep voice, 'So, the situation is now clear: behind the Nine Kings lie the Three Divine Sects that protect the Su Dynasty…… What…… do they intend to do?'

Huang Lang and the other veteran officials of Wuguo remained silent; they had just arrived and truly had no grasp of the Su Dynasty's situation.

After a light cough, a local official who had formerly been the prefectural secretary of West Paulownia Prefecture in the Su Dynasty's Western Frontier, who after West Paulownia Prefecture was ceded to Wuguo had resolutely entered Wu Tie's service, and who now serves in the Wuguo Flame Prefecture's Household Hall, stepped forward.

He bowed respectfully to Wu Tie, and this middle‑aged official, who bore a somewhat refined scholarly air, said in a deep voice, 'Your Majesty, regarding the Su Dynasty's Three Divine Protector Sects, we officials do have some theories.'

'The so‑called saying goes: White Lotus seeks empty fame, Red Lotus values real profit, Azure Lotus closes its gates and sits, solely pursuing longevity.'

'The White Lotus Palace is foremost in seeking fame; once it has fame, it also gains profit.'

'The Red Lotus Temple is foremost in seeking profit; for the sake of profit, it does not care about fame.'

'Only the Azure Lotus Observatory stands supreme in strength among the Three Divine Sects; they regard fame and profit as rather trivial, and they do not meddle in the Su Dynasty's governance. Everyone knows that what the Azure Lotus Observatory seeks is longevity.'

'When the Nine Kings rebel simultaneously, with the Three Divine Sects acting behind the scenes, it is clear that their motives are nothing more than fame, profit, and longevity.'

'In my humble opinion, their simultaneous move this time, causing the Nine Kings to rebel together, suggests they intend to seize fame, profit, and longevity altogether……' The official named Qian Ying spoke softly: 'In fact, the greatest fame, the greatest profit, is longevity…… longevity means breaking through the Venerable level.'

Wu Tie stared at Qian Ying in astonishment; he had dealt with the Azure Lotus Observatory's Daoists before and naturally knew what they were pursuing.

But he had not expected Qian Ying to be able to voice such an opinion.

'Are these ideas of yours something you worked out yourself?' Wu Tie looked at Qian Ying with considerable interest.

'Your humble servant, I usually enjoy pondering wild, imaginative notions…… and, compared with my former colleagues, I hold rather different views…… therefore, now that Your Majesty resides in Flame Prefecture, the other former officials have withdrawn, leaving only me behind.'

Qian Ying cautiously said to Wu Tie, 'My humble servant's family also has descendants who have entered the Su Dynasty's Three Divine Protector Sects; I, in my daily life, do pay considerable attention to gathering their intelligence……'

Wu Tie nodded slowly, pointed at Qian Ying, and said, 'Huang Lang, talent, should be heavily employed…… tsk, indeed, longevity—that is the greatest fame and profit.'

'If one can attain longevity, naturally one must first break through the Venerable bottleneck. Hehe, if a Venerable were to appear, the White Lotus Palace would naturally gain immense fame, the Red Lotus Temple immense benefit, and the Azure Lotus Observatory's fundamental purpose is precisely that.'

'Tsk, this is forcing this king to act.' Wu Tie gave a wry smile: 'However, this rebellion may be more than this king can handle.'

Before Wu Tie's words had finished, several feathered scouts rushed into the hall, practically rolling and crawling.

'Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Western Demon Kingdom has three great armies marching straight toward our dynasty…… their vanguard is less than thirty thousand li from the border.'