Chapter 464: Encirclement and Killing of the Empress
Chapter 464: Encirclement and Killing of the Empress (5k)
The Empress has arrived!
Zhao Duan looked out from afar and saw a procession of luxurious carriages heading towards the foot of Luo Mountain.
When they were still some distance from the foot of the mountain, the Queen of Yu, dressed in gorgeous clothes, stepped down step by step from the tall royal carriage.
Xu Zhenguan was dressed in a dragon robe, which was extremely dazzling under the bright sunlight. The crown on her head was gorgeous and exuded the noble air of an emperor.
On his waist hung the Tai'a sword, the weapon of Emperor Taizu, and behind him followed two attendants, one on his left and one on his right.
They are Mo Chou, who is in charge of the "Six Shangs", and Sun Lianying, the supervisor of the White Horse Supervisor.
Further behind them came the large group of civil officials and military generals, headed by the Minister of Rites, numbering hundreds of people.
This was due to the situation, as a large number of important officials needed to stay in the capital to maintain the stability of the court.
Otherwise, all the high-ranking officials, royal family members, and royal relatives of the entire dynasty should be present at the emperor's Fengshan ceremony.
The momentum will be many times greater.
Amid the sound of rituals and music, Xu Zhenguan led his ministers in a mighty procession and arrived at the foot of the mountain.
The empress walked up step by step to a high platform and looked down at her ministers.
There are two altars for the Fengshan Ceremony, one located at the top of the mountain and the other at the foot of the mountain.
The altar at the foot of the mountain had been under construction many days earlier, with tablets of many gods placed on it.
The officials accompanying the empress lined up behind her and, under the guidance of the officials from the Taichang Temple, placed the various offerings and sacrifices they brought on the incense table for worshiping the gods.
During this process, officials from the Ministry of Rites chanted the names of the gods from time to time. When tributes were placed in front of all the tablets, an official stepped out and said loudly:
"The peace of mind has been achieved, and the nine provinces are at peace!"
All the ministers present followed suit and said loudly:
"The peace of mind has been achieved, and the nine provinces are at peace!"
As a patrolling military officer, Zhao Duan did not participate in the Fengshan ceremony, but watched with great interest.
You know that the "Jiuzhou" in this world is an ancient geographical name, which is roughly equivalent to the "Nine Roads" today.
On the high platform, the empress, who was dressed in gorgeous attire, raised her hand, and all the ministers remained silent.
Sun Lianying, with gray hair on his temples, took out the drafted sacrificial documents from his sleeve and read them aloud. They were nothing more than lines praising the emperor's merits and telling the story of the empress inheriting the throne.
After finishing the recitation, the empress glanced at the tablets of the gods, her eyes looking disdainful, and said:
"Please ask for the tablet of the great ancestor!"
Immediately, Mochou came forward holding the spirit tablet of Emperor Taizu of Yu State and handed it to the empress. Xu Zhenguan held the spirit tablet in his hand, left the ministers behind, and walked towards the top of the mountain along the steps of the mountain path in front of Luoshan.
"The Fengshan ceremony of our Yu Kingdom was established by Emperor Taizu. Taizu once said that everything depends on human effort, and the prosperity of the dynasty has nothing to do with gods. Therefore, the sacrifice to gods is not the key. The altar built with five-colored soil on the top of the mountain is the core. The emperor of Yu Kingdom only respects his ancestors, not gods."
Eunuch Hai's voice entered Zhao Duan's mind.
Zhao Duan held the hilt of the Frost Sword at his waist and looked up at the empress who was climbing the mountain alone.
The mountain path was long, but the empress walked very fast, as if she could shrink the distance into an inch. After a short while, she had reached the mountainside and became a small dot.
Going further up, the empress walked into the clouds surrounding Luoshan Mountain, holding the spirit tablet in her hand, and could no longer be seen clearly.
"What happens next?" Zhao Duan asked.
Eunuch Hai said calmly: "We just need to guard the altar at the foot of the mountain. The altar below belongs to us, and the altar above belongs to Your Majesty."
Zhao Duan raised his eyes and saw a large group of worshippers and powerful soldiers, some familiar and some unfamiliar, standing ready for battle. The foot of the mountain was quiet and silent.
Suddenly, Pei Niannu's almost whispering voice came into his mind:
"I, I remember, I remember..."
……
……
In Jianning Prefecture, on the pavilion of Prince Jing’s Mansion.
Dressed in gorgeous clothes and looking majestic without even getting angry, Prince Jing Xuwen sat by the railing, fishing quietly.
The fishing line drifted into the pond, the water shimmered, and the flowers in the palace were vying for beauty.
Princess Lu Yan'er, who was dressed in plain clothes and without makeup, and Crown Prince Xu Jinglong were sitting in the pavilion.
The atmosphere was dull and depressing. Suddenly, a figure hurried up from downstairs. It was the head of the secret spy intelligence system of Prince Jing's Mansion.
Xu Jinglong stood up and went downstairs. After a moment, he returned to the upper floor with a serious expression:
"Father, everyone has gone out according to the arrangement. The warlocks sent by the God of Law and the assassins sent out should be ready to take action and attack the altar."
Prince Jing didn't turn his head, but just said "yes".
Princess Lu Yan'er's expression changed slightly, but she was not surprised.
Xu Jinglong hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help but said anxiously:
"Father, will this really work? Can we make the Fengshan ceremony fail just by attacking the altar at the foot of the mountain?
Even if the magic god is willing to fight to the death, he can't reach the top of the mountain. Moreover, he was injured by the Tai'a sword before and fled in a panic... My son knows that you have made many arrangements, but... she is a celestial being after all!"
The empress is blessed with dragon energy, and her combat power is equivalent to that of a celestial being.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was feeling very uneasy, as he really had no confidence in disrupting the Fengshan ceremony.
Prince Jing looked calmly in the direction of Luoshan.
He got up very early today, and dressed himself up very carefully before daybreak. He clearly claimed to be sick and did not go to Luoshan, but he acted solemnly as if he was going to participate in the Fengshan ceremony.
At this time, he looked at the sky and seemed to feel that there was no need to hide anything at this point. He said with emotion:
"Yes, she is a celestial being after all... a celestial being... how can she be easily dealt with? Especially today, during the Fengshan Ceremony, she used her imperial status to pull the terrain of Luoshan and activate the dragon veins. I'm afraid her strength will be even higher. Even if a powerful enemy attacks, she will not be afraid."
Xu Jinglong became more and more panicked after hearing this: "Then father, you..."
Prince Jing interrupted him and suddenly changed the subject, saying:
"Do you still remember how you dealt with Zhao Duan a few days ago?"
His Royal Highness said as a matter of course: "There are many experts around him, so it is difficult to assassinate him, so he was killed by a sorcerer's curse..."
He was halfway through his speech when he suddenly froze. Xu Jinglong was not a fool after all. His pupils suddenly trembled, as if he realized something:
"My father once said that the White-Robed Sect sorcerer who cursed Zhao Duan to death was loaned to us by King Mu."
Prince Jing smiled slightly, raised his hand to support the fishing rod, and said:
"Understand? When people are in bad luck, even drinking cold water will cause their teeth to ache. Of course, no one in the world can curse a celestial being to death, but many times, if you want to accomplish something, you only need to put a feather on the scale and make a tiny impact, that's enough."
Lu Yan'er, who had been silent the whole time and pretended to be indifferent, spoke with a serious look in her eyes:
"What exactly did you do?"
Prince Jing said calmly:
"It's not what I did, it's what we did. You don't think that I'm the only one who is preventing her from entering the zen realm, do you?"
……
To the west of Jiancheng is Yunfu.
Yunfu Road, Muwang Mansion.
As a powerful vassal prince among the "Eight Princes" whose strength is only slightly inferior to that of Prince Jing, Prince Mu has been fond of military affairs since he was a child.
The huge Prince Mu's Palace has a tough architectural style with a strong imprint of a military camp. Even the servants in the palace are trained to the standard of soldiers.
Today, outside Prince Mu’s mansion, Prince Mu’s private army has tightly blocked it, and no outsiders are allowed to approach.
Inside the palace.
Four watchtowers were built on the "parade ground" in the atrium. At this moment, Prince Mu, who was in his prime and wearing armor and military uniform, stood on the watchtower and overlooked the area below.
The huge parade ground was suddenly occupied by a group of sorcerers dressed in white.
Hundreds of warlocks formed a strange magic circle similar to a "hexagram", guarding the leader in the center.
Every warlock is dressed similarly:
The sorcerer was wearing a white funeral robe, holding a mourning stick, and had a pocket-sized coffin the size of a palm hanging around his waist. The coffins were of different colors, and the more advanced the sorcerer's cultivation, the darker the color of the coffin.
"Father, can this sorcerer from the White Robe Sect really interfere with the Fengshan Ceremony thousands of miles away?"
On the watchtower, the young man standing behind King Mu, who was also in military uniform, couldn't help but ask.
Prince Mu has a feminine appearance, a pair of peach blossom eyes, and a somewhat frail body, which is inconsistent with the iron-blooded military uniform he wears.
His complexion was not as rosy as Prince Mu's, and his skin, as white as a woman's, revealed a sense of weakness that had been drained by alcohol and sex.
Everyone in the Yunfu Road knows that His Royal Highness Prince Mu is very popular with women. He likes to hook up with good families, especially married women.
Prince Mu was quite troubled by this and admonished him repeatedly, but the prince with peach blossom eyes was the type who would not change despite repeated admonitions.
"Humph, one sorcerer can't do it, but a hundred people, plus many tools and media prepared in advance, may be able to do it."
Although King Mu, who was dressed in military uniform, disliked his son, he still patiently explained:
"Today, the sorcerers of the White Clothes Sect have joined forces to invite the 'God of Death' to descend. Even though it is far away, it can still stir up Xu Zhenguan's 'Destiny Star' for a moment. Just a moment! It can cause his fortune to plummet, from the best fortune to the worst fortune of the year, and bring him bad luck."
The prince, who had a special liking for other people's wives, said worriedly, "But can this hurt the gods?"
King Mu shook his head, his tone was sonorous and powerful: "It can't be hurt."
"That……"
"But what if someone could be injured? On the battlefield, two generals are fighting fiercely. Their strengths are similar. The victory or defeat, or even life or death, is just a matter of luck. If I can make my niece's luck a little bit worse, it will be enough to change the outcome."
At this time, in the royal palace training ground, the female leader of the White Clothes Sect, who was standing in the center of the formation, with her lips covered as if with a layer of white ash and wearing a pointed white hat, raised her head and exhaled a wisp of white air from her mouth.
Hundreds of mourning sticks were waving at the same time. In an instant, the originally clear sky was covered with dark clouds and cold winds.
In the infinitely high and distant sky, strands of power condensed into a huge, illusory coffin.
The coffin suddenly stood up and floated in the air. The coffin board opened like a door. Inside the coffin, there lay an illusory god sleeping peacefully with his hands folded on his abdomen. The "God of Death" opened his eyes from his sleep and looked towards Luoshan in the east.
The star of misfortune is moving.
……
……
Capital city, Tianshi Mansion.
Deep in the courtyard, a huge banyan tree swayed gently. Suddenly, a human face vaguely emerged from the huge, evergreen crown, looking at the clear sky.
"Something's wrong...something's wrong...The Emperor Star should be the brightest today, why did it become dim?"
"Wake up, wake up."
The big banyan tree stretched out a branch that was covered with leaves, and shook the old Taoist priest who was sleeping in the rattan chair under the tree.
Zhang Yanyi, a tall man with narrow brows and wearing a black priest robe, woke up from a light dream and listened to the narration of the banyan tree.
His expression was normal.
"It is already very dangerous to be enshrined at this moment. Before Your Majesty went south, I told her, what are the unexpected things?"
The big banyan tree hesitated and said:
"But didn't you also promise her..."
Zhang Yan nodded and said:
"I promised her that I would look after the capital and the Shenlong Temple. As for the rest, it has nothing to do with my Tianshi Mansion."
The Taoist holy place Tianshi Mansion has stood for a thousand years because it adheres to the principle of not participating in worldly political struggles.
"It's not my place to interfere in the fight between her and the Eight Kings. Who wins or loses is up to fate." Zhang Yan said calmly.
The big banyan tree thought for a moment and said, "What if other people intervene?"
The "others" here naturally refer to the realm of heaven and man.
Zhang Yanyi hesitated for a moment and looked towards the East China Sea:
"The only ones who can threaten Your Majesty are Wu Xiankui and Xuan Yin. Qingshan has been gambling with the Yu Kingdom's royal family for many years. Even if they really broke the rules, it is the Yu Kingdom's royal family's own business. As for Xuan Yin..."
The old Taoist priest wanted to say that Xuanyin, the old bald donkey, was in seclusion in Shenlong Temple all day, and if there was any unusual movement, he would be able to sense it.
Up to now, he was extremely sure that Xuan Yin was still chanting in the Shenlong Temple, so there was no need to worry.
But when the words came to my lips, I suddenly felt a vague sense of uneasiness.
Zhang Yanyi, who believed in "the Way of Heaven", was extremely sensitive to this unexpected uneasiness. He frowned, pondered for a moment, took out the heavenly book from his sleeve and threw it into the air.
Golden words on the heavenly book flew out and fell in the air like a waterfall. Zhang Yan immediately used the heavenly book to divine the Fengshan ceremony.
When it comes to the realm of heaven and man, the way of heaven cannot give any clear hints, but the general direction can be felt.
After a moment, the hexagram appeared.
When Zhang Yan raised his eyes, his expression changed drastically!
……
……
"Remembered? Senior Pei, what did you remember?"
At the foot of Luoshan Mountain, Zhao Duan heard the voice in his mind. He was startled at first and subconsciously looked around.
Seeing that no one, including Eunuch Hai, noticed, he tried to be cautious and asked in his heart.
At the same time, he was also quite surprised: Pei Niannu, who was supposed to establish contact with him only during visualization, could actually talk to him directly?
This senior who was hidden in the "Six Chapter Sutra" was indeed not simple. Others who practiced the path of becoming martial gods had no similar experience at all.
"I... remember... why the power that prevented me from coming that day... is familiar..."
Coming?
Is she referring to the "God of Law"? Last time I tried to visualize and summon her, but the "God of Law" used special means to stop me... After that, she kept talking nonsense...
Zhao Duan tried to ask in his heart:
"Could it be that the senior recognized the inheritance of the God of Law?"
Well, as the number one female sorceress six hundred years ago, Pei Niannu must have dealt with most of the powerful people, and maybe she had met a teacher who inherited the lineage of "God of Law".
However... the God of Law worships "Heavenly Dao", which is similar to a large group of people in Tianshi Mansion... She couldn't have just recognized the power of "Heavenly Dao God"... Well, such a senior should not make such a low-level mistake...
Thoughts flashed through Zhao Duan’s mind.
However, at this moment, Eunuch Hai suddenly shouted, "Here it comes!"
Zhao Duan was startled and his attention was diverted from the conversation with Pei Niannu, and he looked forward.
Suddenly, from the left side of the distant forest, a group of masked killers rushed out. Each of them held a sword and had a fierce aura. They were all martial artists with outstanding strength.
On the right side, a large group of familiar-looking warlocks with different clothing details suddenly appeared. They were the members of the Magic God Sect with whom he had fought that day.
On several higher hills, the sentries arranged by the court to stand guard died almost at the same time.
A large group of mysterious people holding magical bows and crossbows occupied the high ground. Arrows, wrapped in surging magic power and with sharp whistles, were shot towards the officials near the altar!
"Enemy attack!"
"defense!"
A strong soldier at the foot of the mountain shouted loudly, and the defenders who had been prepared moved at the same time. A translucent formation protection shield was erected out of thin air at the foot of the mountain.
Beijing officials headed by the Minister of Rites, Mo Chou and others, as well as local officials headed by the Governor-General of Grain Transport, were hurriedly driven away and hid in nearby caves for protection.
The target of this group of killers was not this group of people at all. They were obviously heading for the altar.
Arrows hit the rain cover, creating ripples. Eunuch Hai said in a deep voice:
"Protect the altar. Anyone who crosses the line will die!"
"I will protect you to the death!"
A group of palace priests spoke in deep voices, murderous intent rising from their bodies, locking their eyes on the group of sorcerers.
The strong men in the army further out had already collided with the private army of the royal palace that was coming to kill them.
"Escort!"
Zhao Duan drew his sword and with a loud shout, he led Lang Shiba and Ji Yue, together with a group of Jinyi men from Lihua Hall, to block the altar behind them.
At the same time, his eyes quickly searched for the strong ones among the enemies.
As he looked around, he saw a figure in the distance approaching like a cannonball.
Senior Brother Qingshan Duan Shuiliu showed his true appearance without any disguise, and came walking in the air with a loud laugh, holding a sword in his hand, and said with a smile:
"Hai Chunlin! Since we last met, I am here to learn from you again today!"
Eunuch Hai looked indifferent: "You are looking for death."
Zhao Duan frowned.
Duan Shuiliu appeared as promised, but... where did the "God of Law" go?
……
……
The top of Mount Luo.
After Xu Zhenguan, wearing a dragon robe, a crown on his head and holding the spirit tablet of Taizu in his hands, walked into the clouds, he could no longer see the people below him clearly.
She flew like a fairy running towards the sky and soon reached the top of the mountain.
A large piece of flat land has been cleared here, and the most eye-catching thing is an altar built with five-colored soil.
Xu Zhenguan came gracefully and landed under the altar. He respectfully placed Taizu's spirit tablet on the altar.
"Taizu blesses me... my descendants will be in Zhenguan for the sake of world peace. Today, I will offer sacrifices to the gods at Luoshan..."
Xu Zhenguan prayed silently. This was not a necessary ritual for Fengshan. In fact, the success or failure of Fengshan had little to do with this spirit tablet.
She just wanted to do it.
Xu Zhenguan finished his prayer, raised his head and frowned. In just a few breaths, the originally clear sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds.
An indescribable chill descended.
"Are you losing your mind?" Xu Zhenguan snorted coldly, "How dare you, a wicked evil spirit, to go against the will of heaven..."
She raised her hand and made a grab, and the Taia sword came out of its sheath with a clang, handing herself into the hands of the empress.
Just as the empress was about to break the dark clouds with a sword.
Suddenly, a mountain wind blew.
Xu Zhenguan turned around and looked into the distance with her beautiful eyes. She saw a bamboo raft floating in the gap between the clouds on the hillside of Luoshan Mountain and on the distant river leading to the East China Sea.
On the bamboo raft, a burly man wearing linen clothes and with messy long black and white hair draped over his shoulders came alone.
There is no one to row the boat, the bamboo raft moves on its own.
The man in plain clothes took a step forward, and the bamboo raft sank slightly, but he had already stepped over the clouds and appeared on the top of Mount Luo.
The Lord of Qingshan, one of the four celestial beings in the world.
Number one in martial arts.
Wuxiankui!
(End of this chapter)