Chapter 550: Dao State

When the massive dharma image of True Lord Qingxu appeared over the city of Yidu Prefecture, the entire Ming Province was thrown into chaos!

This rebellion, meticulously prepared by True Lord Qingxu, was not limited to the single prefecture of Yidu, but spread across the entire Ming Province!

However, because the Great Luo Sect was located within the borders of Yidu Prefecture, their control over it was the strongest, allowing them to complete their plan in the shortest amount of time.

Aside from the provincial capital, Ming Province contained four prefectural cities, fourteen ordinary cities, seventy-nine towns, and hundreds of villages, with a total area of approximately 230,000 square kilometers and a total population of over 12.7 million!

Both in terms of area and population, it ranked in the middle among the twenty-three provinces of the Great Lan Dynasty.

Now that True Lord Qingxu had launched his rebellion, he intended to bring the entire Ming Province under his own control!

In addition to Yidu Prefecture, rebellions also broke out in the four locations of the Ming Province provincial capital, Jingmen Prefecture, Xiuzhou Prefecture, and Jinshan Prefecture.

And without exception, it was the Imperial Camp Army, the strongest military force, that suddenly rebelled!

If it were only the Imperial Camp Army of Yidu Prefecture that had rebelled, one could say it was because the Great Luo Sect had infiltrated them well.

But since all the Imperial Camp Armies across the entire Ming Province had rebelled, this was no longer a human issue.

It was a problem with the spirit weapons!

Although the imperial court had been weakening the Daoist influence over local judicial courts for years to minimize Daoist interference with spirit weapons.

Yet, the Great Luo Sect was based in Ming Province; no matter how much they were weakened, there were still Great Luo Sect members in every judicial court throughout the province, and almost all spirit weapons used by the Ming Province Imperial Camp Army had passed through Daoist hands.

This was one of the plans of True Lord Qingxu and True Person Master Qingding; they had spent over twenty years stealing dragon Qi while simultaneously laying out their strategy across Ming Province, secretly tampering with the spirit weapons during maintenance for the Imperial Camp Army.

Now that they had launched their move, Great Luo Sect disciples everywhere only needed to hold a replica Great Luo Token personally refined by True Lord Qingxu to influence the minds of the Imperial Camp soldiers through the spirit weapons, thereby directly controlling this most powerful fighting force!

The provincial capital of Ming Province had over five hundred Imperial Camp cavalry, while the four prefectural cities of Yidu, Jingmen, Xiuzhou, and Jinshan each had over two hundred Imperial Camp cavalry.

Added together, there were over 1,500 Imperial Camp cavalry in total!

A hundred Imperial Camp cavalry forming a military formation could contend with a Martial Arts Master, and over a thousand Imperial Camp cavalry in formation were enough to surround and kill a Grandmaster!

Yet, looking across the entire Ming Province, there was not a single university, nor a single martial arts sect.

Excluding the Great Luo Sect, the strongest fighting force was a Martial Arts Master in the provincial capital, who was the Chief of the Stop-Conflict Department.

But this Chief was no match for over five hundred Imperial Camp cavalry in formation; the moment the incident occurred, seeing that the situation was dire, he chose to flee immediately!

The experts of the Art Dao were almost all rebels, and the martial arts experts could not stop the Imperial Camp Army.

The only ones left with any fighting strength were the inspectors with their guns and the soldiers of the City Guard.

But facing an Imperial Camp Army bolstered by Art Dao experts, they could not stop them at all.

Those who didn't die surrendered!

Thus, after the thousand-meter-tall dharma image of True Lord Qingxu appeared in Yidu Prefecture, it also appeared in Jingmen Prefecture, Xiuzhou Prefecture, Jinshan Prefecture, and the provincial capital.

These four major cities also saw the thousand-meter dharma image of True Lord Qingxu appear one after another!

If one were to look down from the sky, the map of the entire Ming Province would look like an irregular oval.

In the east, south, west, north, and center, five thousand-meter-tall dharma images appeared in five directions:

In the east at Yidu Prefecture, this dharma image of True Lord Qingxu was entirely emerald green, containing boundless vitality, like a towering tree, eternal and evergreen.

In the south at Jingmen Prefecture, this dharma image of True Lord Qingxu was fiery red, containing endless light and heat, as if the great sun had descended, shining with ten thousand rays.

In the west at Jinshan Prefecture, this dharma image of True Lord Qingxu was bright white, emitting an incomparably sharp aura, like a sword that could pierce the heavens, reaching straight into the firmament.

In the north at Xiuzhou Prefecture, this dharma image of True Lord Qingxu was profound black, surrounded by surging waves, as if the waters of the North Sea had been moved here, capable of containing all things.

Finally, in the central location of the provincial capital, this dharma image of True Lord Qingxu was earth-yellow, appearing as if carved from a thousand-meter-tall mountain, thick and vast.

East is Wood, South is Fire, West is Metal, North is Water, and Earth is in the center!

Once the five thousand-meter dharma images of True Lord Qingxu were formed, their auras immediately linked together, creating a Five Elements Array that spanned over a thousand miles and covered almost the entire Ming Province!

After this unimaginably vast Five Elements Array took shape, a huge golden pillar of light shot into the sky from Great Luo Peak within Yidu Prefecture.

The golden pillar of light almost enveloped the entire Great Luo Peak, and atop the pillar was a massive golden coiling dragon!

The dragon's tail hung down at the foot of Great Luo Peak, while its head was hidden in the firmament above.

Soon, a golden dragon also appeared beside each of the five True Lord Qingxu dharma images located in the five directions.

The golden dragons circled the dharma images, flying continuously, looking vivid and lifelike.

"Son of Heaven dragon Qi?!"

In the provincial capital of Ming Province, on a small hill a dozen miles outside the city, Jiang Dong looked on in astonishment at the massive dharma image inside the city and the golden dragon that had appeared upon it.

Jiang Dong was the only Martial Arts Master in the provincial capital, the Chief of the Stop-Conflict Department.

Upon seeing over five hundred Imperial Camp cavalry form a formation and charge toward the residence of the Stop-Conflict Department, he knew he could not stop them, so he chose to flee immediately.

Because those Imperial Camp cavalry did not pursue him, Jiang Dong stopped not long after running out of the city.

As the Chief of the Stop-Conflict Department, he had a duty to defend the land, yet he had chosen to flee in the face of the Imperial Camp Army's rebellion.

If he were to be held accountable later, even as a Martial Arts Master, his fate would not be good.

So, with no immediate threat to his life, Jiang Dong did not run far.

He still wanted to observe the situation to see if there was any room for remedy.

Then he saw the thousand-meter dharma image of True Lord Qingxu appear within the provincial capital.

After the shock, Jiang Dong did not feel afraid.

Ordinary people might be frightened by such a magnificent dharma image, but as a Martial Arts Master, Jiang Dong would not look only at the surface.

He could sense that this dharma image was merely a facade, and the power contained within was actually not strong.

Under these circumstances, he was not yet scared away.

His greater apprehension was regarding the identity of True Lord Qingxu.

But then, as the five dharma images appeared and the Five Elements Array took shape, the power of the dharma images gradually grew stronger!

When that golden dragon circled beside the dharma image, Jiang Dong's expression changed completely.

His divine ability was "Insight," which allowed him to see the essence of all things, and even to transcend realms to see "Dao Principles" in advance!

Therefore, although he was not a warlock, he saw at a glance that this golden dragon was condensed from the Son of Heaven dragon Qi.

This Son of Heaven dragon Qi was one of the rarest "materials" in the world; the Emperor naturally possessed the most, but due to his own low cultivation realm, he could not fully utilize the wonders of the dragon Qi.

Now that this dragon Qi was in the hands of True Lord Qingxu, it truly displayed unimaginable power!

"Was this dragon Qi stolen? Is this the reason the Great Luo Sect was being targeted? What exactly does True Lord Qingxu want to do?"

While using his "Insight" divine ability to observe the dharma image and the golden dragon in the city, Jiang Dong pondered rapidly.

Suddenly, a strong sense of crisis struck!

The massive dharma image in the city had actually looked toward Jiang Dong's direction.

Jiang Dong was terrified!

He turned and ran without hesitation, using his Dao energy to propel his movement technique, instantly rushing out over a hundred meters.

Behind him, the dharma image of True Lord Qingxu in the city rapidly became "solid."

This "solidification" was not the dharma image shrinking, but the internal power increasing; the dharma image suddenly gave people a sense of reality, as if filled with flesh and blood.

The next second, the gaze that fell upon Jiang Dong became as tangible as reality.

The dharma image of True Lord Qingxu raised an arm hundreds of meters long and pointed in the direction of Jiang Dong.

BOOM!!!

A purple lightning bolt as thick as a water vat was generated out of thin air and struck toward the fleeing Jiang Dong.

Jiang Dong had sensed it before the lightning was generated, thanks to his "Insight" divine ability.

He looked up at the sky, his face full of despair.

The "Insight" divine ability allowed him to clearly "see" how that boundless true power, like an invisible mountain, was moving rapidly through the air.

And how it attracted and condensed the Qi of lightning, and finally how it transformed into lightning to strike him.

He could even "see" the entire internal structure of this lightning and predict exactly when it would hit him.

He could clearly see everything.

But he could neither dodge it nor block it.

BANG!!!!

The lightning fell, and the earth shook.

In the end, a scorched black pit over ten meters deep appeared on the ground, and Jiang Dong's flesh and blood were all turned into scorched earth.

A Martial Arts Master, killed with a wave of a hand!

With True Lord Qingxu's strength, it was not difficult to accomplish such a thing.

But his true body was currently over a thousand miles away on Great Luo Peak.

To release such power across a distance of over a thousand miles—let alone a True Lord, even that "Supreme" Lin Tian, the world's number one, could not do it.

Yet True Lord Qingxu had done it!

Great Luo Peak, forbidden area in the back mountain.

Inside the cave dwelling, Tai Yu was firmly suppressed by restrictions and the power of True Lord Qingxu.

The true body of True Lord Qingxu remained beside Tai Yu, having gone nowhere.

Just as True Lord Qingxu struck to kill Jiang Dong, Tai Yu felt something in his heart.

"How is it, Uncle-Master, did you sense it?"

True Lord Qingxu looked at Tai Yu.

Tai Yu had calmed down by now, looking at Qingxu with cold eyes:

"What have you done?"

True Lord Qingxu smiled slightly: "Jiang Dong of the Ming Province provincial capital, does Uncle-Master know him?"

Tai Yu was startled: "The Chief of the Stop-Conflict Department?"

"Correct, it is him."

True Person Qingxu nodded, "The divine ability he cultivated is 'Insight'. If he can become a Grandmaster, he might be one of the people with the best chance of becoming the eighth Martial Saint."

Omniscience is omnipotence. Although the 'Insight' divine ability cannot allow Jiang Dong to achieve 'omniscience', whether in combat or cultivation, 'Insight' is like a divine skill!

That is why True Person Qingxu holds Jiang Dong in such high regard.

"Because he possesses this divine ability, my arrangements in the provincial capital of Ming Province had to be even more secretive, and I spent a great deal of effort. What I am about to do next is critical; if he were to see through the key points, it could ruin things, so I killed him just now."

True Person Qingxu said nonchalantly.

"You are here, yet you killed Jiang Dong?"

Tai Yu's expression shifted.

Even with his realm and experience, it was hard for him to imagine such a thing!

A smile appeared on True Person Qingxu's face: "Hard to imagine, right? This is the 'truth' I wanted to show you, Uncle-Master!"

Tai Yu thought for a moment and said:

"You used the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi to transmit your true power over a long distance? You... you want to establish a nation?!"

A terrifying conjecture suddenly occurred to him.

The greatest characteristic of the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi is its range of influence, because Dragon Qi originates from the nation.

First there is the nation, then there is the Son of Heaven.

Within the territory of the nation, the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi can exert its influence!

But to achieve this, the prerequisite is that the person controlling the Dragon Qi must have a sufficiently high realm, and they must have enough experts to cooperate, along with enough materials to set up an array.

True Person Qingxu has satisfied all of these!

But his Dragon Qi was stolen after all; it is water without a source, a tree without roots.

If he wants to possess such means for a long time, True Person Qingxu must have his own nation!

"You madman, do you think you can possibly succeed?"

Tai Yu immediately cursed in anger.

He did not believe for a second that True Person Qingxu could succeed.

Let alone the power of just the Great Luo Sect, even adding the strength of the entire Daoist school would not be enough to establish a new nation within the borders of the Great Lan Dynasty!

"Relying only on myself, and the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi stolen over these years, it would indeed be impossible to succeed, but adding the eight hundred years of fortune of my Great Luo Sect, it may not be without a chance."

True Person Qingxu laughed:

"Uncle-Master, I said just now that within this Great Luo Sect, I am invincible in the world! If the Dao Nation is built, then I will be invincible in the world throughout the entire Dao Nation! I can use the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi to transmit my power to any place in the Dao Nation at any time. Uncle-Master, do you think such means are not enough to establish a nation within the Great Lan Dynasty?"

Tai Yu was shocked, and he finally understood True Person Qingxu's plan.

First, borrow the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi and the eight hundred years of fortune of the Great Luo Sect to establish the Dao Nation, and then, by relying on the characteristics of the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi, allow his power to be transmitted to any place within the Dao Nation at any time.

An invincible expert who can transmit his power to any place within the national borders at any time.

One person is a nation!

Who could break through such a nation?

Or rather, how great a price would have to be paid to break through it?

This is something that even the founding Emperor of the Great Lan Dynasty could not achieve back then.

For one, the opponent was a Martial Saint, not a True Person, and the Son of Heaven's Dragon Qi is more suited to the path of arts than the martial path.

For another, the territory of the Great Lan Dynasty is too vast; it is simply impossible to cover the entire nation.

But True Person Qingxu does not need such vast territory; the land area he wants to cover is only the size of one province.

As long as his Dao Nation can be established, new Dragon Qi will appear, and it will be the Dragon Qi that belongs exclusively to him, the Lord of the Dao Nation!

Once that step is reached, the true vision of himself and True Person Master Qingding can officially unfold.

Now, True Person Qingxu has successfully taken the first step.

The five Five-Elements Dharma Manifestations have been completed!

"Uncle-Master, I will surely succeed!"

True Person Qingxu said as much.

Seeking monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)