novelraw Chapter 288 - 254: Annihilation of the Blood Demon Sect? I Have My Reasons
Chapter 288 - 254: Annihilation of the Blood Demon Sect? I Have My Reasons
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Even at such a critical moment, Zhou Di remained expressionless. He showed no sign of panic, no fear of death—only a profound calm.
The thunderbolt of the Blood Demon Divine Punishment descended. Its Divine Power was terrifyingly immense, tearing through the heavens. The crimson lightning reflected on the faces of the crowd, casting them all in a bloody glow.
VMMMM!
Suddenly, layers of Evil Qi began to rise slowly from Zhou Di’s body. This Evil Qi was a pure, inky black, and from within it, one could faintly hear the war cries of a vast army.
"Mil... Military Evil Qi!!!"
The Forbidden Army Leader of the Yuanwu Imperial Palace stared with wide eyes, his voice filled with shock and utter disbelief. ’It’s actually Military Evil Qi!’
"This..."
The True Immortal Daoist was just as astonished.
"What’s going on?"
The Chief Eunuch was also stunned.
At the same time, the other top experts of the Imperial City also wore looks of surprise.
"You..."
The Blood Demon Sect Leader looked on, dumbfounded.
"Your Majesty, I have been late in coming to your aid. Please forgive me!"
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
From amidst the ruins, a majestic, armor-clad old man approached. He moved with a powerful stride, walking through the rubble as if on flat ground. He had a formidable build and was wreathed in a vast aura of Military Evil Qi.
"Hong Dingtian!!!"
The Blood Demon Sect Leader was dumbfounded.
"How can this be?"
"You... you..."
"This..."
Everyone was stunned.
It wasn’t just the members of the Blood Demon Sect; even the True Immortal Daoist and the others were utterly dumbfounded. None of them had imagined that Hong Dingtian was still in the Imperial City.
They were utterly horrified.
"It is of no concern."
Zhou Di’s expression remained calm, his hands clasped behind his back. From start to finish, he had not lost his composure in the slightest, as if everything was under his control.
"Dingtian, I’ll leave matters here to you," Zhou Di said.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
Hong Dingtian saluted. "I will annihilate every Demon Fiend attempting to subvert the Court and bring them all to justice. I will show no mercy."
"Good."
Zhou Di nodded in satisfaction.
Then, two soldiers emerged from behind Hong Dingtian to escort Zhou Di away. The Blood Demon Sect Leader tried to stop them but was blocked by Hong Dingtian.
And just like that, Zhou Di left the battlefield in plain sight of everyone. He departed from the eye of the storm, taken to some unknown location to recuperate.
"Hong Dingtian!!!"
The Blood Demon Sect Leader gritted his teeth. "You never went to Qing Province."
"That’s right."
Hong Dingtian nodded. "His Majesty is wise and brilliant. He long ago anticipated your Blood Demon Sect’s malevolent intentions. The one sent to Qing Province was merely my double."
"Of course," he continued, "to make the deception convincing, I imbued the double with the power of several of my Divine Techniques. That way, your Blood Demon Sect would be sure to believe it."
"Wise and brilliant?"
The Blood Demon Sect Leader sneered. "Hong Dingtian, have you gone senile? The Emperor cannot practice Cultivation. If he does, he will suffer a backlash from the Emperor Dragon Qi."
"When that happens," he continued, "every citizen and living being in the entire Great Zhou Martial Country will be buried alongside Zhou Di."
"I trust His Majesty."
Hong Dingtian’s expression was serene. "No matter what His Majesty does, I will trust him, just as he has always trusted me."
"Besides," he went on, "should the world be handed over to your Blood Demon Sect? That would be truly laughable. If that happened, I’m afraid your sect would raise all the people in the world as ’Blood Origins,’ wouldn’t you?"
"In the eyes of your Blood Demon Sect,"
"are ordinary people even human? In your minds, the members of your Blood Demon Sect have evolved time and time again. You no longer consider ordinary people to be beings on the same level as you, do you?"
"It’s like asking if a human can empathize with an ant."
Clearly, the Blood Demon Sect’s plan was to assassinate Zhou Di, plunge the world into chaos, and then unify it to establish a new dynasty. From the very beginning, their goal was never to act in the interest of the common people.
Their objective was simple.
If the Blood Demon Sect succeeded, they would naturally establish a new dynasty. And in this dynasty, the people of the world would be nothing more than ’Blood Origins’—a source to endlessly supply them with ’blood’.
It would be just like raising pigs for slaughter.
Every so often, once the pigs were fattened, a batch could be slaughtered and harvested.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
The battle erupted.
There was no point in further talk.
Hong Dingtian truly lived up to his title as the National Guardian General. Wielding the Military Evil Qi, his combat prowess was terrifying enough to shake the heavens and the earth, and he completely suppressed the Blood Demon Sect Leader.
In the end, the great battle concluded.
It had lasted for three days and three nights.
The Imperial Palace was now a field of rubble.
The top experts of the Imperial City, the Blood Demon Sect Leader, and all the Supreme Elders were embroiled in a chaotic free-for-all. The entire Yuanwu Imperial Palace Guard was mobilized.
The chaos raged for three days and three nights.
The Blood Demon Sect’s headquarters was completely uprooted. The Blood Demon Sect Leader, the Supreme Elders, and numerous other high-ranking members were almost all killed in the fighting. Ninety-nine percent of them perished; only a tiny fraction escaped, all gravely wounded.
「In Qing Province.」
Grand General Hong Dingtian’s double, leading the Yuanwu Army and the Eight States Alliance Army, officially crushed the forces of the Qing Country. They then publicly beheaded the Qing Country’s ruler, King Yingtian.
Thus, from its founding to its fall, the Qing Country existed for a mere three months. King Yingtian himself had ruled for only three months before his public execution.
It was a move that truly shook all of Kyushu.
Most importantly, the fact that Emperor Yuanwu Zhou Di had managed to uproot the headquarters of the Blood Demon Sect—a sect whose power and influence spread throughout the entire Great Zhou Martial Country—shocked and intimidated many other powerful factions.
「Late at night, in a secret chamber within the Imperial City.」
"COUGH, COUGH..."
Zhou Di coughed up blood. His face was pale, and though his aura remained majestic, his entire being exuded an air of decline. More blood trickled from his lips.
"Your Majesty!!!"
Hong Dingtian looked on anxiously. "How are you?"
"I’m fine."
Zhou Di waved his hand, took a deep breath, and said grimly, "The true core of the Blood Demon Sect isn’t the Blood Demon Sect Leader, but the ’Blood Demon’ they worship."
"Although we’ve uprooted their headquarters, we haven’t found the ’Blood Demon.’ Only by eliminating the ’Blood Demon’ they worship can we truly destroy the sect."
"Your Majesty, I am well aware of this."
Hong Dingtian said gravely, "But finding the true body of the ’Blood Demon’ is incredibly difficult. It can possess any of its followers at will."
"As Your Majesty is aware, the Blood Demon Sect has far too many followers, spread all across the world. It’s practically impossible to find the ’Blood Demon’s’ true body. We only achieved such a great victory this time because Your Majesty saw through their treacherous plot and turned it against them, giving us the chance to uproot their headquarters from the Imperial City."
"Mm."
Zhou Di nodded slightly.
"Your Majesty, how is your Cultivation of the ’Undying Immortal Dao’ progressing?"
"COUGH, COUGH..."
Zhou Di coughed again before speaking. "The ’Emperor Dragon Qi’ suppresses all other techniques in the world. I have searched ancient texts and tried every method imaginable, yet I have only just reached the Entry Level."
"Perhaps..."
Zhou Di took a deep breath, his gaze profound. "I should abdicate. Once I step down and become the Supreme Emperor, I will no longer be suppressed by the Emperor Dragon Qi. Then I will be free to practice the ’Undying Immortal Dao’."
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
Hong Dingtian was alarmed.
"The people of the world all believe that in my quest for Longevity, I practiced the ’Undying Immortal Dao,’ causing the Emperor Dragon Qi to backlash, destabilizing the Court, and allowing fiends to run rampant."
Zhou Di said grimly, "But no one knows the real reason I am doing this."
"..."
Hong Dingtian remained silent.
Because he didn’t know why Zhou Di had suddenly started down this path either.
Originally, after ascending the throne, Zhou Di had spent a decade governing with great diligence. The Great Zhou Martial Country had prospered, its national power reaching a new peak, and neighboring countries dared not provoke it.
But then, one day, Zhou Di suddenly began his pursuit of so-called Longevity. He even appointed the ’True Immortal Daoist’ as the Grand National Master and began practicing the mysterious ’Undying Immortal Dao’.
Decades had passed since then.
"Dingtian, the Blood Demon Sect has used the people’s resentment to suppress the Emperor Dragon Qi, nearly drowning it. While there will be no immediate consequences, as time goes on, the various Prefectures, Prefecture Cities, counties, towns, and villages of the Great Zhou Martial Country will slowly lose the protection of the Dragon Qi."
Zhou Di’s voice was heavy. "When that happens, demons will run rampant and fiends will plague our cities. That will be the true disaster. I will need you to guard the realm with your Military Evil Qi."
"When that time comes, everything will depend on you."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will do everything in my power."
Hong Dingtian saluted with cupped hands.
「Meanwhile, in Cangzhou Prefecture.」
For the past seven days or so, Xu Qing had been in constant Meditation, practicing the ’Life and Death Law’. He would practice for sixteen hours and rest for eight, allowing him to acquire 9.6 billion Experience Points in a single day.
In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.
[Life and Death Law Level 2: 67,000,000,000 / 2,000,000 (Upgradeable!)]
...
"Good."
Xu Qing nodded, satisfied. He prepared to upgrade the ’Life and Death Law,’ which would allow him to master the Life and Death Law as quickly as possible.
VMMMM!
Suddenly, Xu Qing sensed a streak of light tearing through the air toward him. It was one of Ye Langtian’s Divine Power Techniques, and the light coalesced to form a glowing screen.
"Master."
Ye Langtian’s face was a mask of horror, his voice laced with shock. "Something terrible has happened! Something truly terrible!!!"
"Hm?"
Xu Qing paused, taken aback. "What is it?" he asked.
"The Great Zhou Martial Country has uprooted the Blood Demon Sect’s headquarters!!!"
Ye Langtian yelled, his voice still full of shock.
"That..."
Xu Qing was genuinely surprised.
"What are the details?" Xu Qing asked.
"This is what happened..."
Ye Langtian organized his thoughts and recounted everything he had just learned to Xu Qing, who now understood the earth-shattering events that had taken place in the Great Zhou Imperial City seven days prior.
"..."
Xu Qing fell silent. He was shocked by Emperor Yuanwu Zhou Di’s methods, but his expression grew much more solemn. ’Without the protection of the Emperor Dragon Qi,’ he thought, ’it won’t be long before the world truly descends into chaos.’