Chapter 169: Treachery, Hero, the Tide Turns!

Dan Tai Xianming looked at the pool before him—a masterpiece crafted by an extraordinary artisan, with a Dragon-Binding Pillar sunk deep into the earth; the churning water within glowed black and red, the deadly poison of the Yan Kingdom.

It was the heart's blood of the ancient beast 【Fei】.

Far richer than the blood from the one ten years ago—that ancient beast had perished eight centuries past under the coordinated assault of divine generals led by the Red Emperor; now, three drops of its heart's blood remained, and one of them lay here.

The Dragon-Binding Pillar connected directly to the Dragon Vein of Chen.

Ninety-nine chains, forged from materials used to craft mystic and divine weapons, bound it tightly—this impenetrable defense existed solely to imprison one man, whose entire torso was submerged in the number-one poison of the world: the blood of 【Fei】.

Yet he still lived.

He wore only a ragged garment, his beard grown long, eyes closed.

Dan Tai Xianming held a food box and gazed at Yue Pengwu in his black robes, speaking softly: "The great ritual begins. This grand drama is about to open—but you won't see it, and I don't wish to watch it either. Of this world and of Chen, only you, Yue Pengwu, deserve a toast from me."

"Yet they say a compassionate man cannot command armies—but you are neither cruel nor merciless enough."

"The court claimed only to abandon the people of the four southwestern commanderies—and you returned."

The chains rang out.

Yue Pengwu slowly opened his eyes.

The court issued over a dozen imperial edicts to force his return—often, before the first edict even reached the border, the second envoy had already set out, horses galloping nonstop along the military relay roads meant for urgent war reports.

At the time, the court pretended to abandon the people of the southwestern commanderies.

Simultaneously, they raised taxes, especially targeting the families of soldiers, and proclaimed it was all to fund Yue Pengwu's northern campaign—sparking unrest among the troops, while the cries of the people never ceased. Twelve edicts failed to turn the divine generals, but the people's weeping and blood finally made him bow his head.

Yue Pengwu returned at last.

He faced the Emperor's betrayal.

Dan Tai Xianming slowly poured wine, speaking softly:

"You evaded the Emperor's schemes, you avoided all my previous maneuvers—but you never imagined that the true commoner, the true refugee, among the crowds who welcomed you back, the one who offered you water; that old woman, weary and ragged, laboring day and night—her bowl held poison."

"Because of Li Wanli's fate, you distrusted the Emperor—but you were all too… naive."

Dan Tai Xianming did not say "foolish." He fell silent, then, as he had when he was still their strategist and advisor, whispered: "Against a man like me, your vigilance was always too thin."

"Strategies change—adapted to time, adapted to people."

"Even under Tai Ping Gong's command, you still cling to the purest mercy for the common folk."

"That is your greatest weakness."

Dan Tai Xianming extended his hand, speaking calmly:

"And this person you saved—she poisoned you."

"For only three catties of grain."

"You saw only the goodness in men—but human nature is inherently evil."

Yue Pengwu said: "You manipulate those who don't know the truth into harming others, then pretend to be neutral here."

"Dan Tai Xianming."

"Don't speak such words."

Dan Tai Xianming said nothing, for the old woman who poisoned him, upon learning what was in her bowl, wailed for days inside her hut—first weeping until her tears ran dry, then bleeding from the eyes; by the third day, when no sound came from within, they found her dead.

Like a mad dog howling itself to death.

Not a single grain of that three catties of grain was eaten.

It was meant to redeem her granddaughter, sold into slavery.

Yue Pengwu stared coldly at the old man, who hung his lantern on a dragon-shaped hook beside the wall, securing it; the flame burned quietly, illuminating the elder's side—he sat in the light, clad in fine white robes, untouched by dust.

Yue Pengwu's body was submerged in black blood, his beard and hair wild and matted, his eyes dark and sunken in shadow; the chains were taut—signaling that the famed general's fallen fists had clenched tight.

Dan Tai Xianming said: "... You, such a man, are the root of chaos."

"You lack the strength to change the world, yet carry burning passion—and in every nation, there are men like you, so-called heroes and champions, who slaughter each other, endlessly sparking war, then claim you protect the people."

"Yet beneath your iron hooves lie piles of white bones."

"So many dead!"

"Three hundred years of chaos—three hundred years—some are born into chaos, die in chaos, never knowing peace! All for your so-called compassion for the people, this endless war!"

"You drain the lifeblood and fortune of the Central Plains people."

"When two tigers fight, neither survives!"

"The Central Plains bleed and break—yet even if you finally unify it, how many heroes and commoners must die? How much of this land's qi and blood will be spent? Must this so-called unification allow foreign tribes to devour our people's flesh, their hooves trampling from Jiangnan to the Central Plains?!"

Dan Tai Xianming spoke calmly, his white hair, aged face.

"My strategy has already destroyed the Western Regions' Tuyuhun; the Turks will soon be turned against each other. Chen must now be weakened—the obstacle ahead is my mortal enemy."

Yue Pengwu could still control his emotions.

In his youth, he had been stubborn and fiery, uncontrollable when enraged—but after commanding armies for so long, he had been tempered. The boy was gone; now he wore armor, grew beard, read military scrolls, wrote fine poetry, his gaze deep and heavy:

"You may unify the world—but how long will this unification last? Will new warlords not arise? Will they not follow your so-called strategy of 【weaken one state, strengthen another, throw the world into chaos】?!"

"A state gained by illegitimate means will not endure. Your so-called unification is nothing but turning the spirit of our land into a web of treachery and deceit!"

Dan Tai Xianming said: "The warlords of the world are the root of chaos—it is your so-called righteous grandeur that has brought the people three hundred years of unending chaos!"

Yue Pengwu could no longer contain himself—he laughed bitterly, then roared in fury:

"The people?!"

The poisoned blood surged, the chains shrieked:

"One word from you, and warriors must die, charging forward with severed heads."

"When you speak of 'the people,' are you merely speaking of numbers? Are they just 'the tide of history'? You've been Chancellor too long, read too many Juan Sect records—you've forgotten what a human being is! Sixty years of flesh and blood traded for unification?!"

"Do you see the people as nothing but words? Are they not individuals?!"

"Do you know what happens when a city falls? Men are beheaded, women enslaved?!"

"Do you know how enemy generals fly kites—using spears to impale children, dragging their intestines as strings? Do you know how barefoot people dig for food?!"

【61】 "You sit in your Chancellor's hall, sipping tea, preaching noble sacrifice—your strategy's cost is borne only by the people of the Central Plains! Today you claim to disrupt the state for the sake of unification!"

"One day, if there's a treacherous emperor, will you come again?"

"Since you don't bear the cost yourself, it's just others who bleed."

"Are you selling off my Jiangnan subjects just to become a dog for the Emperor of Ying?!"

Yue Pengwu clenched his fists, the chains shrieked—he was still young, his blood still burned fiercely, and he cursed without restraint:

"Will you carry the eternal infamy?"

"You old gray-haired villain—even for a single life."

"You can't carry it."

Dantai Xianming did not answer, but whispered softly:

"One general's glory is built on ten thousand bones."

"In your wars, the dead civilians are no fewer than my schemes have claimed."

"What did the three hundred years of chaos bring? I no longer wish to speak. Dantai Xianming is destined to bear eternal infamy. All I want is one thing: unification of the realm. All I want is the final victory."

"Yue Pengwu, is your so-called righteous honor more important than victory?"

Dantai Xianming said: "Both the Tai Ping Army and the Yue Family Army have harmed not a single civilian. If that's what you believe, then I asked too much. You need not force your cultivation further—I know you wish to kill me here. But the chaos in Chen is like a runaway horse—it cannot be stopped."

"This poison is the ultimate of all poisons—Fei. Your cultivation ranks among the top ten divine generals of the realm, comparable in age and power to the late Tai Ping Gong. Yet after such prolonged exposure, your cultivation now only barely sustains your heart meridian."

"I do not wish to kill you. In your condition, you cannot rise again. Leave now."

Dantai Xianming lowered his gaze and handed over a letter. The paper was held aloft by qi—a family letter, written in childish strokes, from Yue Pengwu's four-year-old child. Dantai Xianming whispered: "Faint death and depart. Live with your wife and son."

"You've campaigned across the land—have you forgotten what your son looks like? The world is in chaos. Let it go."

"After you leave, never return."

Yue Pengwu stared at the old man. Dantai Xianming sensed the cold, real killing intent. The old man looked at Yue Pengwu; Dantai Xianming sighed with complex expression. Seeing the wronged general close his eyes, Yue Pengwu seemed to let his hand drop.

He thought of his wife and child—he had barely seen them since their son was born.

The family letter fell onto the Fei poison-blood. Yue Pengwu thought of his wife, child, and homeland. The thirty-something general's heart felt as if slashed by knives. Then he opened his eyes—the blood in the poison pool churned, soaking the letter. Dantai Xianming's expression hardened slightly.

At the very moment he handed over the letter, a crushing martial aura surged forth.

The chains were stretched to their limit.

The material of the Xuan Bing cracked, then shattered instantly, twisting. Time seemed to freeze. Yue Pengwu had clearly been waiting for Dantai Xianming to draw this close—for this opportunity.

His right hand snapped sharply, the chains whistling as they coiled around his fist.

Then he slammed it down.

Boom!!!

Dantai Xianming's righteous qi and destiny surged, forcibly holding back the punch.

Dantai Xianming's gaze was calm: "With this poison inside you, what use are you?"

"Your wife and child are still waiting for you."

The veteran general, no longer young, replied:

"The realm has more than just Yue Pengwu with children."

Yue Pengwu stared into Dantai Xianming's eyes. He understood—Dantai Xianming was deliberately provoking him, trying to make him succumb to poison and die here. The toxin had indeed reached his heart meridian. Yue Pengwu looked at the cold strategist before him, poison flooding his body, his vision dimming slightly.

The warrior's yuan shen tangled with the terrifying ancient poison.

He resisted the toxin's erosion, and fought Dantai Xianming.

The lamplight glowed in his eyes, like the glory of his youth. He was born a peasant, yet possessed exceptional talent—he learned any Wu Gong the moment he touched it. He once believed fighting was like brawling: win, and that's all that mattered.

But now, he vaguely saw the general's back. That man turned around. Ten years of battle—he had nearly forgotten what the man who taught him Wu Gong and brought him to the battlefield looked like. But he still remembered his words.

"Why you fight matters more than the fight itself."

"In this dark chaos, we must hold fast to this heart. If everyone resorts to deceit and treachery, the world will grow too dark. If men's hearts turn corrupt, it won't do."

"Ah, you say I'll die easily like this?"

"Brat, I won't die!"

The general angrily struck him, yet finally placed his hand on the boy's head and laughed:

"Hahahaha, if I die, aren't you still here?"

Hence the legend: "It's easier to move mountains than to shake the Tai Ping Army"—harm no civilians, not even a hair's breadth.

Yue Pengwu abandoned protection of his heart meridian.

In an instant, the Fei poison surged into his heart. Black venomous marks spread across Yue Pengwu's face; his temples turned gray. The same excruciating pain Li Guanyi had endured countless times—now multiplied a thousandfold—ripped through this tormented general.

"... Dead."

Dantai Xianming lowered his gaze, cold. He drew back his step. The next moment, Yue Pengwu's hand pierced through Dantai Xianming's rigid, cold, vast righteous qi and clamped tightly onto his face.

For the first time, Dantai Xianming showed shock—a miscalculation.

He saw Yue Pengwu's eyes—burning with an impossibly fierce light, though he should have been dead.

Dantai Xianming's heart clenched.

He had seen this radiance before—in the eyes of those men.

The original Zhou Lao, later Tai Ping Gong, the Regent Prince.

And now, this flame burned again on these divine generals and heroes—reborn, blazing like a fire that consumes all, illuminating the dark night.

"Indeed… it's the very kind I despise…"

Dantai Xianming: "The so-called hero in the people's mouths."

The most disobedient pawn.

Yue Pengwu walked through his meridians, poison coursing through him, as if seeking death.

He chose to master the poison simultaneously—forcing his internal qi to wrap and drive the toxin wildly through his channels, crushing his organs with ever-greater pressure until final shattering and death. The strange manifestation of Fei twisted behind him, reaching to tear apart this divine general.

But another golden flame now ignited.

The Manifestation is a peerless hero, steadfastly walking his own path, arising in harmony with Heaven and Earth.

In memory, the young general led him up the mountain, gazing at the illuminated lights below, humming a folk song; the young child looked upon the beautiful mortal world, and the general reached out, saying there was a gift, then grabbed a handful and held it before him.

He did not know what it was; the general opened his hand, yet nothing was inside—only the distant lights could be seen ahead.

The general placed this handful of mortal fireworks into his arms.

Then he removed his helmet and placed it atop his head.

In Yue Pengwu's eyes, a divine radiance beyond all past brilliance burned fiercely; finally, the Manifestation twisted, the body of 【Fei】 shattered, golden flames erupted, transforming into a blazing, magnificent, unparalleled Jin Chida, burning behind Yue Pengwu.

Yue Pengwu's five fingers gripped Dan Tai Xianming's face.

Dan Tai Xianming was violently thrust into the poison pool; 【Fei Blood】 instantly surged through his seven orifices into his body, the Divine General's eyes shimmered with shifting light, he reached out, and the chains—melted instantly by the extreme heat of his desperate state—slowly transformed into a long spear.

The true Divine General commands all.

Even death cannot resist this moment of combustion.

"So what if I die?"

"You came here, meaning someone under my command has already arrived here, correct? Your scheme has been uncovered; you want me dead, want me to yield—you seek to use me to shatter their morale—"

"Dream on!"

Yue Pengwu said: "What is unity won by betraying one's homeland and surrendering?"

"If they want to fight, we will fight as long as they do!"

"Only beneath sword and spear can peace arise!"

The spear swept horizontally, blazing fiercely, slashing down hard against the 【Hao Ran Zheng Qi】.

"In the end, Yue Pengwu will die—but I will take you, this thief of the chaotic age, with me!"

A clear, majestic cry pierced the air; the Jin Chida Manifestation tore through 【Fei】, circling behind its master, each feather gleaming like gold, Mu Zi Yi asserting its presence without restraint—Yue Pengwu's long-awaited opportunity arrived.

He did not spare his own life.

He sought only to drag that supreme strategist of the world into certain death.

He would carve a path to survival for this world, for Chen State, for his officers and generals.

At this moment, outside, Li Guanyi, racing toward the location of Marshal Yue's imprisonment with Yan Xuanji, suddenly narrowed his pupils, his steps halting abruptly as he turned toward another direction.

The bronze cauldron vibrated violently—

He, saw the Manifestation!

"Marshal Yue! In this direction!!!"