Chapter 204: Are You Also Rebelling Against the Imperial Court?

In the distant horizon, the body of the Qingshan Demon Lord continuously expanded, transforming into a stubborn stone giant over thirty zhang tall.

He stood there, his figure resembling a towering mountain peak, and with every breath he took, the wind of heaven and earth whistled.

"Boom!" The Qingshan Demon Lord stomped one foot on the ground; in an instant, heaven and earth shook, even though he was still a hundred miles away from the city.

Yet the commoners in the city could still feel the houses trembling continuously, and the loose dust on the beams fell down in a rustle.

That towering figure of the Qingshan Demon Lord, resembling a mountain peak, appeared before the commoners.

Many people had long been frightened into a blank state of mind, their bodies curled into balls, trembling incessantly, praying over and over for the Demon-Subduing Great Sage to descend.

Without needing to say more, many commoners had already spontaneously gathered before the Divine Idol or hanging portraits of the Demon-Subduing Great Sage to kneel and pray.

The long sword in Zhang Xianzhong's hand hummed and trembled, yet he laughed aloud, "Xuanqi, are you also excited to face a powerful enemy!"

The sword body hummed slightly, as if answering him.

Zhang Xianzhong's condition at this moment was somewhat abnormal; his entire spirit was extremely agitated and active.

Facing the Qingshan Demon Lord, a long-renowned Shape Transformation demon, he naturally dared not be careless and had activated a Secret Technique from the very beginning to cope.

This Secret Technique of his was called Jian Jue; in short, it meant extreme passion for the sword, the person merging with the sword, and the sword merging with heaven and earth.

For those whose cultivation was not yet perfected, their spirits would become somewhat unusually agitated and active after casting it.

But for those who had cultivated it to a profound level, they would instead feel their inner hearts as calm as an ancient well after casting it.

Zhang Xianzhong was naturally not proficient in mastering this Secret Technique, for a simple reason: although this Secret Technique was not a life-risking method, one still had to pay a significant price after casting it, remaining weak for a long time.

Therefore, he could not cast it often, and even though he had been trying to practice it, his mastery was still not very perfect to this day.

"Slash the Heaven!" Zhang Xianzhong roared loudly, his voice filled with anger, despair, and unwillingness.

A sword-shaped phantom condensed, and waves of momentum surged; this momentum was like the final roar of a desperate person at the moment of death.

He no longer cared about anything; even if it meant perishing together, he would fight the Blue Sky before him to the death.

This move was named Slash the Heaven, but it was not meant to slash the actual sky.

Zhang Xianzhong did not feel that heaven and earth owed him anything.

The heaven he wanted to slash was the heaven that pressed down upon him and upon the millions of suffering commoners.

This heaven was the corrupt Imperial Court officials and the noble families who preyed upon the commoners.

Even if it meant siding with demons, even if it meant using any means necessary, he would turn this heaven upside down and slaughter it clean.

Willing to be sliced to pieces, daring to pull the emperor off his horse—he was not even afraid of death, so what in this world could make him fear?

"Boom!" Heaven and earth shook, and the Five Elements were all in motion.

This sword strike from Zhang Xianzhong was filled with boundless rage, as if a supreme being had appeared to sweep the universe clean and establish a new heaven.

A look of disdain appeared in the Qingshan Demon Lord's eyes, and a mocking smile curled his lips; this sword strike was indeed very strong.

But to want to slash him, that was far from enough!

"Bang!"

The stubborn stone vibrated, and the sword Qi continuously dissipated.

Zhang Xianzhong's face turned pale, and he felt a sweetness in his throat as the vast Heaven and Earth Power continuously impacted his physical body.

His figure retreated violently, his arms trembling uncontrollably, nearly unable to hold the precious sword in his hand.

Chen Mo felt the Faith Power continuously pouring into him; almost the moment the Qingshan Demon Lord descended, the commoners' faith in him within the city was continuously rising, and the speed was more than dozens of times faster than in the past.

It was no wonder that the Human Race deities of this world had a certain degree of indulgence toward the existence of demons.

Because only by letting people know of the existence of demons would they pray for the protection of the deities.

Chen Mo did not care about Faith Power; without Faith Power, he still had many means, and his own combat power would never be low.

But for other cultivators of the Incense God Path, Faith Power was the source of their strength, and for this reason, they would naturally use more means to increase Faith Power.

The existence of demons was necessary; if everyone were happy and fulfilled, where would so many people come from to worship deities?

"Clang!" The sound of metal clashing came; Zhang Xianzhong held his long sword horizontally, wanting to block a finger from the Qingshan Demon Lord.

Unfortunately, the gap in strength between the two sides was simply too great; the Qingshan Demon Lord was not only miraculous in his true form, but his cultivation had also reached the perfection of the Transformation Realm.

It could even be said that he did not break through because he was deliberately suppressing himself.

Therefore, his combat power naturally could not be judged by that of an ordinary Shape Transformation demon.

The Qingshan Demon Lord flicked his finger, as if he were driving away some annoying little insects.

If this strike were to land, based on Zhang Xianzhong's strength, he would be dead or severely injured.

Zhang Xianzhong's expression was ugly, as if he were sighing softly, but there was no fear in his heart; his conscience was clear.

He was only worried in his heart that if he died, he did not know what would happen to his brothers at Daxishan.

"Swish!"

Chen Mo made his move at this moment; Zhang Xianzhong might not be considered a "good person," but he could definitely be called a righteous man.

Compared to corrupt officials, noble families, and demons, he could be considered a very decent person.

Moreover, from their previous contact, he was considered to be on his side, and Chen Mo could not watch him get into trouble.

Most importantly, the Qingshan Demon Lord had come to kill him; this matter started because of him, so he should naturally resolve it himself.

Brilliant divine light erupted, connecting with the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth.

The divine light shot straight at Zhang Xianzhong, wrapping him firmly.

The Qingshan Demon Lord was stunned; he never expected such a change.

He looked at Chen Mo with suspicious eyes, having already made a guess in his heart.

No wonder this person dared to suppress the Divine Nature of the Youhu Divine Venerable; it seemed that a deity also stood behind him.

Looking at it this way, the suppression of the Youhu Divine Venerable's Divine Nature was very likely a God War.

But by this time, the Qingshan Demon Lord had lost the chance to stay out of it; whether he was willing or not, he had to fight a battle at this moment.

Zhang Xianzhong's expression was one of astonishment; he never expected such a situation.

Originally, he thought that with Chen Mo's strength, it was absolutely impossible for him to be a match for the Qingshan Demon Lord, but he never expected that Chen Mo was actually a Servant God Warrior, with a god standing behind him.

Had he known Chen Mo possessed such strength, he would never have urged the other party to flee.

As for Chen Mo being the Great Sage Subduing Demons, this point was directly ignored by everyone; no one had ever had such a thought.

The reason is simple: for one, the gods of this world never easily manifest their divinity.

In the vast majority of cases, the things they do rely on their Subordinate Gods or God Warriors.

Secondly, in their perception, they could not detect Chen Mo constantly gathering Faith Power.

These powers were all gathered within the Ding Shen Treasure Furnace and constantly calcined, whereas on other gods, they could sense this very clearly.

Chen Mo lifted his body, gathered his Qi, and flew outside the city; countless Divine Nature powers converged, and strands of Faith Power constructed a phantom around his body.

Many commoners within the city recognized at a glance that this phantom was the Great Sage Subduing Demons they knelt to worship.

A trace of panic flashed in the eyes of the Qingshan God Lord; he understood that if his guess was correct, Chen Mo was now using the Descending God Method.

This method can invite the power of a god to descend and bestow it upon a Martial Artist, causing the Martial Artist's combat power to surge.

"Boom!" Chen Mo smashed down with a punch, and the Heaven and Earth Power converged.

It was not just the Divine Nature and Faith Power prying at the surrounding Heaven and Earth Power; the power of the Heavenly Law circulating within his body was also operating.

Thousands of laws merged and gathered in this heaven and earth.

The Qingshan True Lord blocked with his arms crossed, able to feel the might of this punch.

In an instant, heaven and earth shook, and the Qingshan Demon Lord's massive body was smashed into the ground, more than several zhang deep.

His arms crumbled piece by piece, and green stubborn stones scattered across the earth.

Seeing this, the commoners in the city cheered without exception, and many farmers guarding their own land outside the city also breathed a sigh of relief.

The Qingshan Demon Lord looked panicked, not expecting Chen Mo's strength to be so formidable.

He himself was a stubborn stone that had undergone Shape Transformation and attained the Dao; the sturdiness of his original form far exceeded that of demons of the same realm. Even so, his arms only withstood one of Chen Mo's moves before being smashed to pieces.

If the fight were to continue, at most three or five moves later, he would only be able to lose his life, and he likely wouldn't even have the chance to flee.

"I am willing to surrender, I am willing to surrender!" He roared with a trembling voice, his tone filled with regret.

Had he known this matter was a God War, he would never have gotten involved.

If he could have known Chen Mo's strength one step earlier, the very first moment he saw Chen Mo, he would have absolutely knelt down to surrender.

He would never have made a move, ignorant of life and death!

The Qingshan Demon Lord changed his form, transforming back into the nine-foot-tall green stone giant from before, prostrating on the ground; his stubborn stone body shivered, not daring to make any movement.

He understood that surrendering was his only path to survival now, and fortunately, he was quick to adapt to the situation.

Among demons, the strong prey on the weak; as long as one can survive, submitting to a powerhouse is not considered shameful.

Chen Mo did not continue to attack; the Qingshan Demon Lord's strength was indeed very strong, and his original form could be called quite sturdy.

His own strike just now not only utilized Faith Power, but the Heaven and Earth Power accumulated within his body also harmonized with the outside world.

The power level of this strike was not far from the Heavenly Human Realm, even if it hadn't reached it.

That the Qingshan Demon Lord was actually able to block this strike without being killed instantly meant his strength could be called quite good.

If not for this, even if the other party were willing to surrender, if they couldn't even take one of his moves, then he could only blame his own lack of strength.

"Good, those who know the times are heroes." Chen Mo smiled, a wisp of Divine Nature gathering in his hand.

The Qingshan Demon Lord only felt a force fall into his body; it was a wisp of Divine Nature.

With his current strength, he actually did not need much Divine Nature; what he wanted was a God Position.

A God Position as a Subordinate God beside a true god.

If not for this, with his strength, as long as he were willing to obtain Divine Nature, countless gods would throw out olive branches.

It was just that a God Position is hard to come by, and this vacancy was not so easy to fill, which is why he had never joined any god's camp.

And the reason he came to find Chen Mo this time was because the reward offered by the Youhu Divine Venerable was sufficiently generous.

That was a true God Position, which was full of temptation for him.

He also knew that this God Position was not so easy to obtain, because too many demons wanted this God Position.

Even if he obtained that wisp of Divine Nature, he might be targeted by other demons.

After all, the Youhu Divine Venerable's goal was that wisp of Divine Nature; as for who delivered it back, he did not care.

But out of confidence in his own strength, the Qingshan Demon Lord still acted decisively.

And thus, he was defeated by Chen Mo in one strike.

Zhang Xianzhong stood in the distance, looking at the deep pit smashed into the ground, then looking at Chen Mo.

From that golden light just now, he knew Chen Mo's strength should be very strong.

But he never expected Chen Mo to be this strong, even strong to an excessive degree.

But why had he never heard the name of such a powerhouse?

Could it be some senior from the Jianghu who had been in seclusion and only just come out, which is why he had never heard the name?

Thousands of thoughts flashed through Zhang Xianzhong's mind, but he knew he was saved and would not have to lose his life.

Although he did not care about life and death, being alive was always better than being dead.

The brothers from Daxishan were still waiting for him; if he lived to return, he could lead them to continue rebelling against the Imperial Court.

"Merge with this wisp of Divine Nature, or die." Chen Mo wore a smile, his tone peaceful.

To the Qingshan Demon Lord, it felt chilling to the bone, but he also breathed a sigh of relief.

After merging with the Divine Nature, his life and death would be controlled by the god behind Chen Mo.

But at least he could survive, and since the other party was willing to give a wisp of Divine Nature, it indicated that he had some value.

Better to live in disgrace than die in glory; the Qingshan Demon Lord quickly made his choice.

"I am willing to merge with the Divine Nature and serve the Honored God!" He spoke hurriedly, fearing that if he hesitated, he would be suppressed and killed by Chen Mo.

Facing that wisp of Divine Nature flowing into his own body, he dared not offer any resistance, carefully fusing it within himself.

Chen Mo did not keep staring at him, turning his gaze toward Zhang Xianzhong at the side.

He was not dead, yet he had suffered no light injuries.

Chen Mo flicked his finger, Heaven and Earth Power gathered, and countless life forces merged into one, transforming into a jade-green medicinal pill.

This pill could be said to have been forcibly refined by Chen Mo using a Secret Technique.

It had no grade, but its healing effect was remarkably excellent.

Zhang Xianzhong could naturally feel this too; he cupped his hands in a salute to express his thanks, and without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed the pill directly.

The reason was simple: if Chen Mo truly wanted to harm him, then given the other party's strength, there was no need to use such methods.

Between the clouds on the horizon, a snow-white graceful figure flew over at high speed.

Before this person arrived, Chen Mo had already sensed them clearly from afar.

"Did anything happen to you?" Bai Yuxia arrived at Chen Mo's side, her tone concerned as her gaze quickly swept over the surrounding situation.

She then breathed a sigh of relief; she could naturally tell that Chen Mo had already resolved all problems, only she did not know when Zhang Xianzhong had arrived.

She had indeed killed many demon kings along the way, but Chen Mo had not given her the trail of that Human Race rebel king.

Because even if she killed Zhang Xianzhong, there would not be much gain, which was why Zhang Xianzhong was able to survive all the way to Changsheng County.

"No. No need to worry." Chen Mo responded with a smile.

Bai Yuxia nodded gently and revealed a smile; just a moment ago she had been searching for other demon kings when she suddenly felt intense fluctuations of Heaven and Earth Power near Changsheng County.

She had hurried here immediately, wanting to figure out what had happened, only when she arrived, all problems had already been cleanly resolved by Chen Mo.

"I killed quite a few demons this time, and the harvest is quite bountiful." Bai Yuxia flipped her fair hand and took out a brocade pouch.

Inside were a full fourteen Demon Pills, their quality varying, mostly from Golden Core Realm demons, with a small number from Shape Transformation great demons.

Chen Mo took the Demon Pills and picked out two of better quality, then looked at Bai Yuxia, carefully explaining and instructing her on how to use her own Blood Qi to purge the demon bloodline within the Demon Pills.

After purging the demon bloodline, the remaining Demon Pills would be enough for the two of them to recover their strength.

Bai Yuxia listened with extreme detail; this was something she had truly never thought of, because she had never had so much time to experiment.

"Take these few Demon Pills and try it out first, but when purging the demon bloodline, remember to be careful."

Chen Mo took four Demon Pills from the brocade pouch and carefully instructed her.

The quality of the four Demon Pills was not very high; they were all from Golden Core Realm great demons.

The amount of demon bloodline contained within was not much, and purging it would not trigger too great a change in the Heaven and Earth of this world.

It was nothing more than losing a portion of Heavenly Law; for this world, it really did not count as a major event.

As long as the Spirit of Heaven and Earth and the World Core could be found in the end, these sacrifices were completely worth it.

Bai Yuxia left with the Demon Pills, heading to an uninhabited place to refine them.

The Qingshan Demon Lord had completely fused with the Divine Nature; he could feel this Divine Nature entrenched within his own body.

With his strength, the boost this wisp of Divine Nature could provide was not much, but doing so meant his own life was at any time held by the Demon-Subduing Great Sage.

As long as he still wanted to live, then from now on he would only act according to the orders of the Demon-Subduing Great Sage.

"In this Thousand Mountain Alliance of yours, how many demon kings are left now?" Chen Mo asked in a deep voice.

"Replying to the Great One, besides me, there are three Human Race rebel kings and two demon kings left; the other demon kings were all killed by that Great One," the Qingshan Demon Lord answered honestly.

The reason he had hurried to this county town was precisely because if he did not come, he would have become a commander without an army.

"Where are those two demon kings now? Can you call them over as well?" Chen Mo asked.

"Replying to the Great One, although those two demon kings joined my Thousand Mountain Alliance, they are not under the jurisdiction of my Qingshan Alliance; they come from Humingshan and are of the ancient Qingqiu lineage.

If this subordinate summons them, they may not necessarily come; furthermore, if I kill them, I fear I will offend Humingshan."

Humingshan is different from other demon forces; relatively speaking, their relations with the Human Race are quite harmonious.

They have been assimilated by the Human Race quite successfully, and hailing from Qingqiu, they do not use the Human Race as blood food; their goal is Faith Power.

The Heavenly Fox Lady of Humingshan has a bit of influence even across the entire Great Zhou, and is much stronger than that Spirit Venerable Ghost Tiger.

"You first summon those three Human Race rebel kings; as for those two demon kings from Humingshan, you try summoning them first and we shall see," Chen Mo pondered briefly and gave the order.

The Qingshan Demon Lord nodded, showing not the slightest sign of resistance.

The reason was simple: the demon kings he could mobilize were almost all killed, and as for the rest, they were not entirely of one mind with him anyway, so he would not feel heartache if they died.

"The official roads and waterways in Changsheng County have been destroyed because of you; the Venerable God orders you to dredge the waterways and repair the official roads."

Chen Mo continued to give orders; the reason for having him do this could also be called manifesting holiness before the public, only the Demon-Subduing Great Sage did not act personally.

But the demons subdued by the Demon-Subduing Great Sage now honestly working for the common people—this news would not only gradually spread, but would also make the local common people believe in the Demon-Subduing Great Sage more and more.

In this way, the Faith Power collected by himself would naturally also increase.

"This subordinate understands," the Qingshan Demon Lord said with a sincere expression, looking as if he would bear the burden of the work without complaint.

"Work hard; if you put in the effort, the Venerable God will not treat you unfairly," Chen Mo said with a smile, painting a picture for him as well.

The Qingshan Demon Lord nodded; as for whether he believed it or not, only he himself knew in his heart.

Zhang Xianzhong's injuries were gradually recovering at this moment; he hurried to Chen Mo's side, bowed low, and said, "This junior greets the Senior, and thanks the Senior for the grace of saving my life."

After he finished saying this, he had a hesitant look on his face, clearly still having words in his heart to say, only he did not know how to bring them up.

"Are you also rebelling against the Imperial Court?" Chen Mo looked at Zhang Xianzhong and asked in a stern voice.

Zhang Xianzhong was stunned, never expecting Chen Mo to suddenly ask him this.

He had originally wanted to ask Chen Mo if he wanted to rebel against the Imperial Court; if so, he could lead the Daxishan forces to join him.

Rebel kings like Zhang Xianzhong had not yet begun to fight for power and profit; their goal was always the same, which was to rebel, and who they followed did not matter.

The reason was simple: right now they had nothing, and were constantly being suppressed by the Imperial Court.

Zhang Xianzhong and the others did not care who was the leader, as long as they could kill officials and rebel, allowing them to vent the resentment in their hearts.

The reason he had not spoken directly was because he knew there was a god behind Chen Mo, and his strength was very great, far stronger than his own by an unknown margin.

As long as Chen Mo is willing, he can accept the Imperial Court's amnesty at any time.

Under such circumstances, Zhang Xianzhong did not think Chen Mo would continue to rebel, nor did he think he would tolerate his own group of rebels.

Yet he never expected that Chen Mo would take the initiative to ask him if he was also rebelling just like him, which truly left him quite surprised and taken aback.

"Of course, we and the Imperial Court share an irreconcilable hatred." Surprise aside, Zhang Xianzhong answered very resolutely.

"I am the same," Chen Mo smiled.

These rebel kings wanted to rebel against the Imperial Court, and Chen Mo's goal was consistent with theirs.

Furthermore, being able to survive multiple encirclement and suppression campaigns showed that the strength and ability of these rebel kings were quite formidable.

If he could subdue them, it would definitely be quite helpful for the matter of spreading his own faith.

(End of this chapter)