Chapter 398

"Can he reverse black and white with one piece of paper? How can it be so easy!"

"Let those guys in the Buddhist Sect stabilize their people and spread the truth. Just take this opportunity to destroy the prestige of Imperial power and ruin their Jiang family's incense!"

Demon Sheep Venerable said through gritted teeth.

Spread the truth... The graceful woman with purple patterns felt that these two words put together seemed somewhat strange.

But she still agreed quickly and left with the black-robed youth.

However, just as they were about to counterattack, suddenly, traces of top-tier demon forces appeared in various prefectures.

These demon forces raised their banners, ordered mountain spirits and river monsters, bypassed the frontier cities, sneaked into the prefectures, and attacked the cities where Buddhist disciples gathered.

"The Buddha Lord is dead, Da Yu will fall!"

"Your Buddha Lord has already been killed by our Demon Emperor. Why don't you hurry up and surrender!"

"Kill, kill them all!"

These demon forces included remnants of the Dragon Gate, remnants of the Holy Palace, the Ancient Demon Hall, and the Star-Moon Academy, which had extensive power among demons, taught demons, and was comparable to Da Yu's Hanlin Hall.

This Star-Moon Academy had always maintained neutrality among demon forces, different from the seclusion of the Tai Xu Realm. The Star-Moon Academy never participated in disputes and had no conflict with the Da Yu Divine Dynasty, but this time it actually went down the mountain and broke out in war with Da Yu.

Among these invading demons, the leaders were all Three Imperishable Realm great demons, and their status among top-tier demon forces was second only to Demon King elders.

They raised their flags and ordered the attack, magnificent and vast.

As city after city was ravaged, and as the demons attacked, the remarks of those Buddhist high-level officials who had previously scolded His Majesty for shielding him were instantly broken.

Relying only on one edict could only convince the world, but the demons ravaging before their eyes made many Buddhist disciples realize that their Buddha Lord was really killed by demons!

After all, those demons were all raising their flags and shouting!

This made them have to believe it.

Youzhou, Xia family.

Many secret reports from various prefectures and cities arrived. In the council hall, Xia Linglong received the reassurance given by that eunuch and had returned from the Imperial Palace.

At this moment, demons were causing chaos everywhere, raising their banners, and seemed to be about to launch a general attack on Da Yu, making people in various places panic and the common people fearful.

"Is it really the Demon Emperor who took action?"

In the council hall, many Xia family members were surprised. They originally thought it was killed by that youth, but they did not expect there to be hidden secrets.

Xia Yuanwu and several other older generations, however, revealed a trace of shock in their eyes.

They had done many things for His Majesty on behalf of the Xia family, and that old sister-in-law was good at taming demons. They only heard some rumors about some secrets and it was not easy to disclose them.

But now... the various things before their eyes seemed to confirm some rumors they had captured earlier.

Xia Linglong was somewhat lost. The reassurance given by that eunuch earlier made her feel at ease, and the situation before her eyes... is this the bottom line that His Majesty gave to that General Haotian?

Her thoughts were lost until the discussion below ended and someone asked how to send troops to solve the demons invading the cities where Buddhist disciples gathered.

Xia Linglong came back to her senses, her thoughts turning rapidly, and she pondered before saying:

"Nowadays, demons are causing chaos. We must guard against other places. Let the city guards there cooperate with the Buddhist disciples to hold on. You take troops to guard other cities so that the demons don't make a feint in the east and attack in the west."

Everyone was surprised and looked at Xia Linglong with some doubt.

Not helping the cities being invaded, but instead transferring troops to guard other cities that were safe and sound?

This decision looked strange no matter how you looked at it, and it didn't look like a foolish strategy that Xia Linglong could say.

"This..."

Someone hesitated, and another dispute arose.

Before Xia Linglong could speak, Xia Yuanwu had already stared and said: "Didn't you hear clearly? Do as the head of the family says. Do you know more, or does the head of the family know more?"

Seeing that the older generation also said so, those who were still somewhat skeptical stopped talking, and immediately understood that there must be another reason.

After all, the intelligence they saw was different from the intelligence in the hands of the head of the family.

And those born as generals know best that mastering intelligence is mastering the first opportunity. Only decisions made based on intelligence are the most correct decisions. Otherwise, relying only on hot-blooded aid might break the upper-level plan and ruin things.

They had fought for a long time and had heard of countless military cases, such as using thousands of soldiers as bait in a desperate situation to counterattack the city, etc., and finally winning a great victory.

War always has sacrifices. This kind of sacrifice is not just charging and trapping, but also luring, ambushing, and death squads, etc.

That is why there is that saying: the first requirement in the army is obedience!

There was no more objection in the council hall. As everyone left to execute the orders, Xia Linglong also looked at several uncles and saw the thoughts in each other's eyes.

Xia Linglong said nothing, but went deep into the Xia family to meet the old lady living in the farmhouse courtyard.

"Among the demons, there are indeed His Majesty's eyes and ears."

This old lady sitting on the rocking chair, full of wrinkles, said something shocking and slowly told Xia Linglong this secret news.

She had a hand in this matter, but she did not violate the Imperial order and had not disclosed it to Xia Linglong, the current head of the family.

This is not because she didn't trust Xia Linglong, but first because this matter was a secret order from that monarch himself and could not be spread, and she was unwilling to secretly violate it; second, Xia Linglong knowing this matter would not benefit the Xia family, only harm it.

Because when a person knows something, it is very hard to pretend to be ignorant, and when making responses during long-term military transfers, there will always be flaws.

Third, although she knew that there were existences among the demons that His Majesty controlled and surrendered to, she did not know specifically which ones they were, so saying it was meaningless.

And now, His Majesty had already actively revealed the traces, and Xia Linglong had guessed it, so she had no need to continue hiding it.

Hearing the words spoken by the old lady, Xia Linglong was stunned, and then her stunningly beautiful cheeks were full of shock and horror.

It was actually true! The dark pieces buried by that Majesty were too deep! In this way, this attack was clearly also handled by that Majesty himself.

If it spread out, the worldviews of many people would be destroyed.

The human monarch actually sent demons to attack the city...

"Nowadays, for that child, His Majesty has even used the dark pieces buried a thousand years ago. It is really doting..."

The old lady shook the rocking chair and sighed, with a bit of hidden envy in her eyes.

Under the heavens, who can get such favor from that monarch?

I fear that his brothers and those princes have not received such favor...

Xia Linglong was somewhat lost and did not respond.

The old lady looked at her and said softly: "Do you think it's unbelievable? When His Majesty summoned me to discuss this matter, I was as shocked as you are now, but soon, I was so impressed by His Majesty that I had nothing to say."

Xia Linglong looked at her with narrowed eyes.

The old lady continued: "Can the demons in the world be killed? Obviously not. If the Da Yu Divine Dynasty is a piece of fat meat, then there will always be flies eyeing it covetously."

"But if the meat is already surrounded by flies, will new flies join?"

"No..."

Xia Linglong was stunned, feeling goosebumps rising, and the hair on her body stood up slightly.

Is this the layout of that Majesty? "Those demon forces..." she opened her mouth slightly.

"If I guessed correctly, they basically all have His Majesty's dark pieces, and they can grasp the demon's movements at any time. His Majesty's plan is to let the dark pieces replace the demon leaders one day. If I guessed correctly, that Star-Moon Academy... should be the deepest piece His Majesty has placed." The old lady said softly, with light in her eyes.

Xia Linglong felt her scalp go numb. She had never thought that that Majesty was so terrifying.

"Since His Majesty has such dark pieces, why has His Majesty not... in recent years, fighting every year?"

Xia Linglong's thoughts turned, and she opened her mouth slightly. If His Majesty used the intelligence of these dark pieces, their casualties could be reduced a lot!

You know, there are powerhouses from the five great Divine General Mansions in here, and they also fell in it.

The old lady shook her head slightly and said: "It is precisely because the losses were tragic that these dark pieces were buried deep enough. I fear that even that Buddha Lord did not think that this Majesty's heart could be so ruthless."

Xia Linglong was stunned.

"That Li family's Nine Lang, if not for his own temperament being fierce and hating evil, breaking out alone and pushing out of the border, he would not have fallen. That time His Majesty had traces of using dark pieces, but unfortunately..."

The old lady shook her head slowly. She had always paid attention to these things, especially in the situation of knowing some inside information, and when she observed again, she would see many traces that ordinary people could not see.

"In other words, the Buddha Lord was really killed by that General Haotian, but His Majesty... still favors him, and now even for his sake, he does not hesitate to expose these dark pieces hidden for years?"

Xia Linglong felt it was unbelievable. What kind of favor is this to have such an action?

Slaughtering the world's second strongest person, without suspicion and wariness, but instead not hesitating to expose the dark pieces hidden for many years for his sake—even that Crown Prince who is most favored in the court would not receive such favor! The old lady's eyes also flashed with a trace of complexity.

"It is indeed extremely partial favor, but besides this, it is also because that youth is irreplaceable. With such talent, if he does not become a saint, no one in the world can become a saint. What is hard to understand is that His Majesty can be so at ease handing this world to that child. He should be treated as the future orthodoxy by His Majesty."

"Future orthodoxy!"

Xia Linglong's pupils shrank, and her blood seemed to surge.

The weight of these few words is too heavy! That Buddha Lord planned for two thousand years, letting Buddhist halls spread across all cities, and what he sought was nothing more than a stick of incense.

For many years, the Buddhist and Daoist struggle was nothing more than to become Da Yu's orthodoxy and receive all of Da Yu's incense.

Now, that General Haotian will replace that True Person of the Dao Palace and become the object of worship for people in the world?

The old lady looked at Xia Linglong, the complexity in her eyes did not disappear, and she said in a low voice:

"Do you know what this means?"

Xia Linglong came back to her senses, looked at the trace of sadness in her eyes, was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized, feeling that her heart seemed to sink to the bottom.

When the future orthodoxy appears, does it also mean that the current True Person... is about to fail?

Apart from Youzhou, in other places, a few figures were also watching this demon attack that was chaotic everywhere.

A few old guys vaguely realized some traces behind the demons, but they dared not be sure.

Perhaps only by asking the Xia family could they confirm it. After all, the Xia family is good at locking the lifeblood of demons.

But this kind of thing obviously cannot be tested; the dragon's whiskers cannot be touched.

When demons attacked places where Buddhist disciples gathered in various places, those Arhats in the Buddhist Sect were also shocked and angry, and were furious.

The Buddha Lord had just died, and these demons came to attack, and their Buddha Lord was actually killed by these demons!

Many Buddhist disciples who escaped from Mount Wuliang and witnessed Li Hao slaughtering the Buddha Lord were now shaken. With the Imperial edict before and the demons raising their flags to attack after, plus the demons had always been evil and their demon arts were sinister, it had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

"Kill!"

"Avenge the Buddha Lord!"

"My Buddha is merciful, I want to punish the demons!"

Many Buddhist monks took off their cassocks, put on armor, and fought with the demons.

At the same time, in the Imperial Palace court.

The ministers who had previously denounced Li Hao were trembling with fear, and some even directly claimed to be seriously ill and rested at home, not daring to attend court.

Emperor Yu sat on the dragon throne and threw out the files investigated by the Demon Suppression Division and the Ministry of Justice.

"The truth has not yet come out, yet you ministers previously threatened to abolish the Duke and strip the general's name, easily slandering loyal ministers and good generals. Do you know your crime?"

This majestic speech was spoken, and although the voice was not loud, it made many people's legs go soft.

Questioning? How to question?

The Demon Suppression Division and the Ministry of Justice are both departments with extremely heavy power. The Ministry of Justice is under the Li family's control. If it is said that the Li family is partial, that's fine, but the Demon Suppression Division is a department directly under His Majesty's control.

Moreover, news of chaos in various cities had long been quietly spread to the Imperial City.

The truth is out; who dares to argue with a hard head?

Emperor Yu looked at some ministers with pale faces, snorted coldly, and asked Chu Jiuyue to pass the order.

Soon, wailing and crying sounded in the hall.

One by one, those who were entrusted by the Buddhist Sect, received benefits from the Buddhist Sect, or were Buddhist believers themselves, were dragged out of the hall.

They wanted to argue, but this monarch obviously did not intend to listen.

In front of the Xuanhuang Gate, heads rolled, and blood sprayed.

When other ministers went home after court, they could still see some eunuchs cleaning there. However, the blood was washed away by water, but it spread even wider, even more conspicuous and dazzling.

On the other side, the two people, the graceful woman with purple patterns, who were about to contact the Buddhist Sect to spread the truth, received the news from the Tianji Hall, and were stunned and shocked, immediately and angrily ordering the Tianji Hall to quickly order those demons to retreat.

Who let them represent the demons and take this pot? They still wanted to use this matter to smash that annoying kid to death.

However, the disputes in various places, although the elders of various demon forces hurriedly summoned, it was too late.

That Da Yu monarch's counterattack was too fast and too fierce, without any warning, and quickly broke their plan, not following their route.

It is said that the human heart is hard to fathom and prone to suspicion, but that monarch did not do as they wished, and even did not hesitate to spend a great price to protect that youth.

"I thought only we sneaked into the human side, but I didn't expect these damn humans to actually plant nails here too!"

The black-robed youth also came back to his senses, so angry that his face turned red. By now, this sword of the Buddhist Sect could be considered completely useless.

Even if the two Bodhisattvas and some Buddhist sons could continue to be used, they were alone and weak, and any Divine General Mansion could easily suppress them. In front of the Da Yu Divine Dynasty, they could not make any waves.

Without the riots of the middle and lower-level Buddhist disciples inciting the masses, there would be no chaos. If they forcibly called for it, they would only be separated from their heads. The Bodhisattvas and Buddhist sons at the head, as well as a few Arhats, could firmly believe the truth, but the people below had all aimed their spears at the demons.

"This group of useless things in the Buddhist Sect..."

The graceful woman with purple patterns also had an ugly expression. In the end, she chose to give up the need to continue negotiating with the Buddhist Sect and returned to the secret hall outside Da Yu Prefecture.

After the two explained the matter, the old man with the crutch also fell into silence.

Such a big thing as the Buddha Lord's fall was easily resolved by that monarch, and the countless Buddhist disciples who rioted in the nineteen prefectures were also cleverly used by that Majesty as the sharpest spear in his hand, with their anger aimed directly at the demons.

Too ruthless.

"Report to the Holy Son, and let the Holy Son decide."

Demon Sheep Venerable also showed a fierce light in his eyes: "Since he is feigning an attack, why don't we come for real!"

(End of chapter)