Chapter 207: Entering the Capital

Taihao Dragon Venerable revealed his true form, peering at Sanqu Prefecture City from afar, with the two divine generals, Green Dragon and White Tiger, following at his side.

Taihao Dragon Venerable's expression was very grim, having seen the White Tiger divine general flee back in a hurry several days ago.

He had realized then that something was wrong, very wrong.

Immediately after, hearing the White Tiger divine general describe the rebel's strength made him even more astonished, to the point of disbelief.

If he did not know that White Tiger was a veteran of many battles and a divine general who could not possibly have suddenly gone mad,

he would have mostly suspected that the other party had been bewitched.

For a powerhouse capable of easily defeating him to suddenly appear in a small prefecture city was truly beyond anyone's expectations.

One must know that, given the White Tiger divine general's combat power, there were already very few powerhouses in heaven and earth who could defeat him.

Yet this person had emerged from nowhere, and furthermore, according to the White Tiger divine general's description, this person's strength was immense.

When exchanging blows with him, the person even had the spare energy to protect the city.

This level of strength, even Taihao Dragon Venerable believed he could only achieve in the place where his own faith was strongest.

The key point was that it did not stop there; this person had a god standing behind him. If his strength was already this formidable, to what realm must that god have reached?

Taihao Dragon Venerable found this somewhat hard to accept; in fact, over these past few days, he had asked the White Tiger divine general countless times.

No matter what, he did not believe Chen Mo could have such strength, but the White Tiger divine general could not be a madman, and those three hundred Huben would not have died for no reason.

Regardless of whether Taihao Dragon Venerable believed it or not, he could conclude one thing: relying on his own strength, he was afraid he could no longer take down Chen Mo.

And he could not easily make a move, because as long as he did not act, no one would know his true strength.

Chen Mo and the god behind him might be extremely powerful, but without knowing his depth, they might still be wary of acting rashly.

But if he truly lost his temper and exerted his full strength, and the result was that he was no match for that god, then the situation would be truly dangerous.

Therefore, Taihao Dragon Venerable had come this time with the intention of negotiating peace from the very beginning.

As long as the other party's demands were not too high, he could agree to them.

Chen Mo stood far away on the walls of Sanqu City, also cautiously observing the distant Taihao Dragon Venerable.

Unlike last time, Taihao Dragon Venerable now wore a smile, and his aura had been completely restrained.

Apart from the two divine generals, there was a Godly Palace following behind him.

Inside the palace were many Imperial Court officials and numerous Martial Artists.

As he drew closer to Sanqu Prefecture City, Taihao Dragon Venerable took the initiative to shrink his form to express goodwill.

Chen Mo leaped into the air and arrived in front of the palace, with Bai Yuxia following closely behind him, weapon in hand.

Taihao Dragon Venerable felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy, though his expression remained indifferent.

"Fellow Daoist has impressive means." He cupped his hands in greeting and praised with a smile.

Chen Mo was indeed a rebel, that was true, but his strength was sufficient—strong enough that even he had to treat him with caution.

"Fellow Daoist is not bad either." Chen Mo smiled and returned the salute, his attitude very amicable.

Both sides had already had contact previously; Chen Mo had expressed the idea that he could accept an amnesty, and the Great Zhou Imperial Court naturally took the opportunity to step down and immediately agreed.

The reason Taihao Dragon Venerable came in person was, firstly, to negotiate terms, and secondly, to show respect to Chen Mo.

After all, in terms of strength, he was the only one in the entire Great Zhou Imperial Court who could barely be considered Chen Mo's equal.

"With Fellow Daoist's strength, even within our Great Zhou Imperial Court, you are a rare existence. The Subduing Demon Great Sage cares for the Human Race and subdues demons and monsters; you are a rare and benevolent god.

Why don't you and the Subduing Demon Venerable God join our Great Zhou and become a Prince of Equal Rank?"

Taihao Dragon Venerable spoke slowly, stating his conditions.

"Agreed." Chen Mo nodded with a smile; although his goal was not to obtain this status, it did not matter if it was high or low, as long as he could enter the Capital to see the Emperor.

However, judging by the current situation, Taihao Dragon Venerable might not yet dare to let him enter the Capital.

"Good, then please follow me inside to discuss in detail." Taihao Dragon Venerable extended an invitation, and Chen Mo nodded slightly and stepped into the palace.

Inside the palace, numerous armored soldiers and officials were on high alert, and even Taihao Dragon Venerable himself had not relaxed.

Because even by the most conservative estimate, Chen Mo's strength was on par with his own.

But there was still a more powerful god standing behind him, and that was what truly made him wary.

"Fellow Daoist, you may take a careful look at this imperial decree." Taihao Dragon Venerable took a scroll of official documents from an official at his side.

Chen Mo reached out to take it and read it carefully.

This decree permitted Chen Mo to divide the land and be enfeoffed as a king, with all affairs within the territory—such as the appointment and removal of officials, the mobilization of troops, the use of tax revenue, and the spread of faith—

and all other matters, large and small, to be decided by Chen Mo himself.

And the size of the fief was the entire Yezhou.

If he were to truly do as this said, he could be considered nearly independent, free from any constraints by Great Zhou, just like establishing a state within a state.

It was just that there was no national destiny or dragon Qi; the reason was simple: although he was granted land and title, in name, Chen Mo was still attached to Great Zhou.

"Agreed." Chen Mo pondered for a moment and slowly nodded in agreement.

"We are willing to negotiate peace with the Imperial Court and have no objections to these terms, but I wonder when we can enter the Capital to meet the Emperor and sign the alliance."

Chen Mo put down the document in his hand and asked with a smile.

Taihao Dragon Venerable felt a slight hesitation in his heart; the Capital was the true heartland of the imperial family, and letting Chen Mo enter it rashly undoubtedly carried certain risks.

He instinctively wanted to refuse, as the alliance could be signed right here and now.

But then he thought about it and understood in an instant that this was the other party testing him.

If he did not even dare to let the other party enter the Capital, then it was undoubtedly an expression that he feared the other party, or that he did not have the ability to control the other party with one hundred percent certainty even in his own core territory.

Judging by the current situation, showing weakness was not a good thing.

"Very well, Fellow Daoist can set off immediately." Taihao Dragon Venerable spoke decisively and agreed.

"Good." Chen Mo had been prepared for this earlier and immediately agreed decisively.

All affairs within Sanqu Prefecture had already been arranged, and even if he were not there, there would be people constantly spreading the faith.

Not only that, this range will continue to expand.

Because with Sanqu Prefecture as the center, throughout the entire Yezhou, Imperial Court officials had already departed and evacuated in advance.

Along with them, many noble families also began to flee desperately, but because they fled too quickly, they were destined to only be able to carry some gold, silver, and valuables, unable to transport most of their property.

Land, especially high-quality farmland, is the foundation upon which many noble families rely for survival.

But these things, they cannot take away.

Fu Qiuyu had discovered these signs earlier, and after seeking instructions from Chen Mo, she led people to continue spreading the faith of the Subduing Demon Great Sage outward.

Zhang Xianzhong naturally also sent his Righteous Army subordinates to help, going to various county towns to maintain order and divide up grain and farmland.

In this way, the faith of the Subduing Demon Great Sage could be spread to this world at an extremely fast speed.

"Good, then I invite you, fellow Daoist, to accompany me," Taihao Dragon Venerable said with a smile.

He knew why Chen Mo had the confidence to go to the Capital, because until now, that extremely powerful Subduing Demon Great Sage had not yet appeared.

Even if he arrived in the Capital and had the confidence to deal with Chen Mo, out of consideration for the Subduing Demon Great Sage, it would be impossible to take action against him.

The Godly Palace changed direction in the air, rushing all the way toward the distant horizon.

The Godly Palace was driven by Divine Power, and its speed was very fast.

Taihao Dragon Venerable, however, was not in a hurry to return to the Capital immediately; instead, he was all smiles, leaning close to Chen Mo to try and fish for information.

He really wanted to figure out why the Subduing Demon Great Sage, such a powerful god, would suddenly appear.

The strength of a god lies in the accumulated Faith Power.

He had never heard of the Subduing Demon Venerable God, which was enough to prove that this god had only appeared recently.

Yet its strength was somewhat too powerful! Powerful to the point of being somewhat abnormal!

Then there was only one possibility: the Subduing Demon Great Sage was a true ancient god, far more ancient than himself.

The years of its existence might date back thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

Later, due to certain reasons, it fell into a deep slumber, which is why it had no believers until today.

But the Faith Power it accumulated in the ancient times was still extremely vast and boundless.

Even if it were living beyond its means in the short term, it could still maintain extremely strong power.

In this way, Chen Mo's background also had an explanation: he was an ancient divine human, and had fallen into a deep slumber along with the god.

Although this explanation seemed a bit forced, it was the only reasonable explanation Taihao Dragon Venerable could think of.

Long before coming to this prefecture city, he had already arranged for officials to search ancient records to find the existence of the Subduing Demon Venerable God.

It was just hard to say whether they could find it; this ancient god might have existed for an extremely long time.

For a few thousand or ten thousand years, perhaps traces could still be found, but if it were tens of thousands of years ago, then most likely nothing would be found.

Chen Mo smiled and dealt with his probing, brushing it off with non-committal remarks; he did not need to cover it up for long—a few days at the shortest, no more than half a month at the longest, would be enough.

Taihao Dragon Venerable listened extremely carefully, preparing to go back and investigate thoroughly according to what Chen Mo had said.

He would check how long ago the Dagan Divine Dynasty was from this era.

He did not suspect that Chen Mo was lying, because this lie was too real.

The Dagan Dynasty had unique systems and customs, processes for the appointment and removal of officials, such as the Imperial Examination, and even different cultivation systems.

These things, seeing a leopard's spot allows one to see the whole, were not so easy to fabricate.

The Godly Palace soon approached the Great Zhou Capital City; along the way, many commoners who saw the Godly Palace bowed down in worship one after another.

Only commoners who had believed in Taihao Dragon Venerable for generations could live here.

Likewise, the living conditions of the commoners here were much better than elsewhere.

Many commoners were not only able to eat their fill, but often could even eat meat; the pedestrians coming and going all had rosy complexions.

And almost no one wore coarse hemp clothing; the worst were cotton robes.

The official roads were all paved with high-quality bluestone, which looked like it was frequently maintained, and even the streets within the city were cleaned by designated people.

Not only that, there were multiple Futian Courtyards in every city; children without parents and elderly people with no one to support them could enter them to be cared for.

The government would distribute rice, grain, money, and meat every month to support these old and weak people.

Here, the Imperial Court's taxes were extremely low, and the administration was clean.

Even the noble families living here could not bully the commoners at will, at least not on the surface.

The commoners living here were naturally extremely happy; things dropped on the road were not picked up, and doors were not locked at night, as if they had returned to the Great Unity era of the ancients.

But the price was that the Imperial Court's taxes from all over the world were all used to support the Capital City and the commoners near the Capital City.

It could be said that it was the blood of the commoners in other prefectures of the world that irrigated this Great Unity society.

Not only that, there were two or three city walls separating these regions from the outside world to prevent outsiders from setting foot here.

If there were not enough local young adults, they would find ways to recruit some from the outside.

If these young adults had a very deep faith in Taihao Dragon Venerable and their own abilities were relatively outstanding, possessing a specialized skill.

Then they could stay in the Capital City or nearby prefectures to live, but those without ability would be directly discarded once they became old and frail.

The Imperial Court had no spare money to support them; in most cases, they were forcibly driven out or tricked into leaving.

They might even be traded to certain demons to squeeze out their last bit of value.

Even if they had toiled in the Capital City all their lives, once they were of no use, they would be like waste slag cast out; the Capital City would not care about their life or death in the slightest.

The Godly Palace slowly approached the Capital City; many commoners in the city, no matter what they were doing, bowed down in worship upon seeing the Godly Palace.

Within the city, Taihao Dragon Venerable's Godly Palaces were countless, and Divine Idols were worshipped in every household.

The commoners living here would believe in Taihao Dragon Venerable from birth until death.

It could be said that apart from being unable to move, this region already vaguely had the prototype of a Divine Kingdom.

Condensing a Divine Kingdom is something that only cultivators of the Incense God Path who have reached an extremely high realm can achieve.

Extremely devout believers will not go to the Netherworld after death, but will arrive at the god's Divine Kingdom.

Taihao Dragon Venerable truly cannot achieve this point at present, but by this method, he can also gather countless believers who believe in himself.

The Godly Palace arrived at the center of the Capital City; Chen Mo flew down, and Taihao Dragon Venerable walked alongside him.

"This place is the inner residence of the Capital City. Fellow Daoist may choose a place to reside. I shall order people to prepare the ceremony, and in a few days, I will confer a title upon you, Fellow Daoist."

Taihao Dragon Venerable spoke, and naturally, there were people to carry it out; the Azure Dragon Divine General led Chen Mo to a deserted courtyard.

Although no one lived in the courtyard, it was cleaned frequently.

Upon arriving here, Chen Mo sensed a familiar aura, which indicated that there must be one other person in the Capital City who had crossed over from another realm.

It was just unclear whether it was the senior from the Blood Sea or that Shui Qianqiu.

Bai Yuxia also sensed this aura, but she looked at Chen Mo and had no intention of immediately seeking this person out.

Although Taihao Dragon Venerable did not stay here, he still arranged for people to stand guard nearby.

Now, the distance to obtaining the National Fortune Dragon Qi and finding the Spirit of Heaven and Earth was just one final step away.

At this time, there was no need to do anything extra; waiting calmly would suffice.

As for the existence of the other person, neither Chen Mo nor she had any intention of actively seeking them out.

Several days passed in a flash; on this day, the civil and military officials of Great Zhou gathered together.

Outside the city, a high platform had been rapidly constructed; the platform was several hundred zhang high.

It had been built with Divine Power by one of the Divine Generals under Taihao Dragon Venerable; on the high platform, the civil and military officials of Great Zhou gathered.

The current Son of Heaven was naturally also on the high platform; being the Son of Heaven was not a simple matter.

Moreover, to hold the National Fortune Dragon Qi of a dynasty meant one had to bear the karma.

Once the National Fortune Dragon Qi declined or even the dynasty collapsed, the Son of Heaven would inevitably suffer damage.

With Taihao Dragon Venerable's strength, he had other ways to control the Great Zhou Dynasty; there was no need to become the Son of Heaven and bear the karma.

This also showed that even he did not have the confidence to keep the Great Zhou Dynasty going forever.

Once the dynasty collapsed, he would inevitably suffer the backlash; the stronger the power, the heavier the backlash suffered.

Therefore, from the very beginning, he avoided this shortcoming.

But since the Great Zhou imperial power existed because of him, he still held the power of decision over the affairs of the Imperial Court.

"By the grace of Heaven and the mandate of the Emperor, the Edict says: The Divine General under the seat of the Subduing Demon Great Sage, Chen, given name Mo.

You have slain demons and monsters, benefited the region, possess both virtue and talent, and have great merit upon you. You are now conferred the title of Xingye King, with Yezhou as your fief; all affairs within the province may be decided by yourself..."

The official from the Ministry of Rites read the edict aloud; in fact, the moment they learned of this, the civil and military officials were all astonished.

Many officials were born in Yezhou and were absolutely unwilling to agree to this matter.

However, when they understood Chen Mo's true strength, they collectively chose to remain silent.

The reason was simple: because he was too strong, strong to the point of being incomprehensible.

Therefore, no one opposed it anymore; the matter of conferring Yezhou to Chen Mo was not even opposed by those officials who hailed from Yezhou.

It was just that upon learning that the Righteous Army was searching everywhere to slaughter the great clans of the She family, they sought ways to have their own families leave Yezhou quickly.

Because Chen Mo was too strong; if they did not give Yezhou to him, he would only conquer more territory.

Although some officials understood that this was merely a delaying tactic—ceding five cities today, ceding ten cities tomorrow—

they had no choice; they would just muddle through it for now. The Imperial Court was not in a hurry, so the subjects had even less need to be.

Chen Mo wore a smile and reached out to take the Imperial Edict.

Besides this, there was a full set of seals and ceremonial regalia.

Most importantly, by obtaining these seals, Chen Mo was considered integrated into the system of the Great Zhou Imperial Court.

Using this as a springboard, he could make contact with the Great Zhou National Fortune.

If he did not have this status, any attempt to forcibly contact the National Fortune Dragon Qi would inevitably suffer intense resistance and backlash.

After accepting the edict, Chen Mo revealed a smile; Taihao Dragon Venerable also walked over, chatting enthusiastically with Chen Mo, and told him there was no need to rush back to Yezhou, inviting him to stay for a few more days.

This was originally a polite remark, but he did not expect that Chen Mo would agree directly.

But since the words were already spoken, there was no reason to take them back.

Therefore, he took some time out, but Chen Mo walked around the city.

Late that night, all things were silent.

Chen Mo rose and walked outside the room; Bai Yuxia also came to his side.

"The speed of the action must be fast. With my full outburst, I can at most hold off that Taihao Dragon Venerable for an hour," Bai Yuxia said via voice transmission.

This place was where the believers of Taihao Dragon Venerable gathered; his power here was much stronger than in the outside world.

Furthermore, at that time, the Four Great Divine Generals would likely also take action, and they might even use an Array.

For Bai Yuxia to hold him off for half an hour was already a desperate method using all her means.

Chen Mo needed to take action against the National Fortune Dragon Qi; perhaps no one would notice in a short time, but as long as the time was long, Taihao Dragon Venerable would certainly be able to perceive it.

He could not watch himself control the National Fortune Dragon Qi, so someone had to briefly block him to leave Chen Mo sufficient time to find the Spirit of Heaven and Earth.

Chen Mo also could not tell her the truth about this world, because once he intended to pull this world out of the Mirage Sea,

then many people and demons would certainly die, because they were too severely eroded by the Mirage Sea.

In the process of the world completely detaching from the Mirage Sea, they would either merge with the Mirage Sea or die from their bodies exploding because they could not restrain their own power.

Admittedly, as the world completely merged with the Mirage Sea, the fate of these powerhouses would likely also be death.

But by doing so, they would at least have several hundred to a thousand years of time.

And if Chen Mo were to drag the world out of the Mirage Sea, then these powerhouses would die immediately.

Perhaps some people possessed great righteousness and would be willing to save the entire world even if they sacrificed themselves.

But such people were a minority after all; living in ignoble safety was the choice of the majority.

Therefore, Chen Mo did not tell anyone about this matter, otherwise, the powerhouses of the world would certainly besiege him.

"Very well." Chen Mo nodded slowly, then immediately took out a small golden seal.

"This is the Seal of Heavenly Secrets. Once used, it can seal off the Heaven and Earth Mechanism of a location, which can greatly weaken the Divine Power of the Taihao Dragon Venerable. Take it and use it."

Chen Mo took a small seal from his Huai; this was also something he had exchanged for within the Order of Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil.

This single Seal of Heavenly Secrets required a full three hundred thousand Good Merit, and it was a one-time-use item.

After exchanging for it, the Good Merit Chen Mo had previously accumulated was basically exhausted, with only a mere few thousand points remaining.

"Alright, you be careful too." Bai Yuxia took it and put it away, cautioning him carefully.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was, after all, a dynasty; there must be experts guarding the imperial palace, the Son of Heaven must surely have trump cards, and the number of Arrays within the palace was countless.

Moreover, forcibly seizing dragon energy was by no means an easy task.

Chen Mo smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, saying nothing more as his figure quietly vanished, stealthily making his way toward the distant imperial palace.

(End of this chapter)