Chapter 875: The Late Emperor

"Fortunately we snatched it back, otherwise who knows what those barbarians would have done with Your Majesty's corpse — afraid to strike for fear of harming the hostage, fighting a war so wretchedly to the death."

"For this we must thank Daoist Pan. If not for her, who knows how many more would have died today. Those lamas really are fearsome."

"Hey, do you think she's an immortal?"

"A true immortal, probably not, but a half-immortal she is. I've heard they cultivate immortality, and their goal is to become immortals. If she had truly become one, we wouldn't have been able to meet her. It's precisely while her proper cultivation is unfinished that we have the chance to see her."

"Truly amazing," a soldier sighed in admiration. "If only I could cultivate too."

"It's not impossible. I've heard that as long as you pray sincerely, perhaps we too may have an immortal affinity."

"Really? How could sincere prayer alone grant an immortal affinity?"

"It's true. Do you know who Pan Yun is?"

"Who?"

The other party lowered his voice and said: "She's the own younger sister of Pan Yu, Assistant Regional Commander of the Vanguard Battalion. I heard that when her sister was born, her body was very weak, but she loved worshipping the gods from childhood, persisted in meditation every day, and one day she actually left the mortal world and learned to cultivate."

"Really or not?"

"Of course it's true. My cousin works in the Vanguard Battalion's kitchen. During meals, Pan Yu would talk about his sister with his comrades, and my cousin heard it all."

The crowd exclaimed in wonder, then their minds began to stir, and they asked: "Which immortal god does she worship?"

"I'll tell you quietly — don't spread it around."

Everyone crowded closer, pricking up their ears.

That person whispered: "They all say Pan Yun is a Daoist Priest of Long Hushan, but she only learned her arts there. Who she truly worships is under the sect of Mount Sanqing. She is a disciple of the Mount Sanqing Mountain God, so naturally she worships the Mount Sanqing Mountain God."

A person beside him added: "Not only is worshipping the Mount Sanqing Mountain God effective, worshipping Pan Yun is also effective. I heard that many people under General Chen's command have yellow talismans given by Daoist Pan, and on the battlefield they avoided several fatal wounds. And those civil officials who came back alive from the battlefield — it's because they wore the yellow talismans Pan Yun gave them."

"The Mount Sanqing Mountain God is rather far off, but Pan Yun is right here in our army. Worshipping her wouldn't be more useful than worshipping a mountain god, would it?"

The crowd's eyes flickered, and their hearts were all stirred.

Worshipping the gods can be complicated, but it can also be very simple.

The simplest way is to recite a few lines sincerely in your heart, praying;

A slightly more complex way is to kneel on the spot, bow a few times toward the direction where the immortal is, then pray sincerely; an even more complex way requires preparing offerings and incense candles;

The most complex way, please refer to state sacrifices.

Though they were clearly exhausted to the extreme, utterly weary, and many soldiers still bore wounds, they still knelt on the ground, kowtowing again and again toward the direction of Datong City.

The imperial court prohibits witchcraft and sorcery, and the army has always forbidden worshipping gods, with the exception of the War God.

So many soldiers kneeling and worshipping together immediately alarmed generals of the rank of Assistant Regional Commander and above. A general immediately went forward to stop them and was about to order a ban across the whole army, but was held back by another general: "Didn't you see the bodies collected and brought back today?"

Marquis Zhenyuan Gu Xingzu: "So many bodies brought back — who are you talking about?"

Jing Rui: "Those civil and military ministers at court. Several of them died in battle, and they all had a yellow talisman burned to ash on their bodies. Even Guo Deng had one."

"You mean someone harmed them?"

"Harmed them? That talisman was protecting them," Jing Rui lowered his voice and said: "I was right beside General Guo Deng when he died in battle. To atone for his sins, every time he went to the battlefield he didn't spare his life. When Your Majesty was killed, he nearly went mad, fighting in a completely suicidal way. Blades swung at his neck several times and slipped off, yet he held on for so long — I think that was the effect of that yellow talisman.

And Grand Secretary Cao and the others — though they weren't civil officials too weak to truss a chicken, surviving the slaughter on the battlefield — do you really think that was on their own ability?"

So many generals and soldiers died, yet how did they survive?

"I saw it — they also had yellow talismans burned black on their bodies. I made some inquiries, and those were all given to them by Daoist Pan."

Gu Xingzu paused, then said: "Even so, kneeling and worshipping cannot be allowed in the army. The soldiers of Great Ming worship only the Emperor."

"The Emperor has just been killed — this is precisely the time to settle the people's hearts," Jing Rui said: "Pan Yun was so valiant in the daytime, and even snatched the Emperor's body back. This is precisely when the whole army admires her. If we now forbid the soldiers from revering her, not only will the soldiers feel uneasy, I'm afraid Pan Yun herself will overthink it."

Gu Xingzu fell silent.

Jing Rui said softly: "This is precisely the time when we need people. Let them worship. These cultivators don't participate in politics and seek nothing. The soldiers' reverence might be a driving force. And it can also put the soldiers' hearts at ease."

Gu Xingzu no longer obstructed them.

In fact, there were hardly any generals who truly intended to stop them, because not only did the soldiers need peace of mind — they did too.

Most of the army's soldiers admired the strong, and Pan Yun's mightiness they had seen with their own eyes.

If they could have her power, they could surely serve the country better.

Countless streams of merit golden light rose from all over Datong City. In the eyes of cultivators, they were like fireflies, surging skyward, then converging on one place in Datong City.

Seeing Miao Zhen stood in the courtyard, looked up, and couldn't help murmuring: "It's like the Milky Way."

Tao Yanbai came out carrying a medicine chest and said: "Junior Sister, Zhang Zhong has come back to life, but…"

"His lifespan is affected?"

"Yes. Though we've saved his life for now, his injuries were too severe and damaged his foundation. I'm afraid he only has a few years left to live."

Miao Zhen withdrew her gaze from the sky and murmured: "That's enough."

Being able to keep his life is enough.

After taking the medicine and barely clinging to life, Zhang Zhong opened his eyes. His personal guard beside him saw this and immediately stepped forward to attend to him eagerly.

Zhang Zhong murmured: "I'm actually still alive…"

The personal guard hurriedly said: "It was Daoist Pan who gave up her life-saving medicine for him, and sent her two martial nephews to treat him. General, you've finally come back to life…"

Zhang Zhong's face was expressionless; he said nothing, but in his heart he was truly grateful to Pan Yun. The portion of gratitude belonging to him drifted leisurely out of the room and fell toward the room where Pan Yun was.

Miao Zhen glanced once and left.

This was only the beginning.

Once the deeds of Little Martial Uncle spread back to the imperial court and among the common folk, the merit she received would be even greater. By then, would she be able to survive?

Pan Yun now sat cross-legged on the bed, submerged in countless streams of merit golden light.

Pan Xiaohei, who had been half-dead for a long time, now lay at her feet, breathing in merit golden light and spiritual energy along with her, and finally looked a bit better.

Pan Yun cultivated earnestly, entering closed-door cultivation for three days straight, unaware of the upheaval outside.

The second day after the battle, Datong City welcomed an imperial envoy and received the new Emperor's edict. Only then did the civil and military ministers learn that Jingcheng had acted decisively and already enthroned a new sovereign.

The new Emperor ordered them to hold the passes firmly, never letting a single Oirat through, and to ensure the Retired Emperor's safety while waiting for the imperial court to send people to negotiate…

Retired Emperor? No, the Emperor has already been killed, so he is no longer the Retired Emperor, but the Late Emperor.