Chapter 479 - 114: Divine Technique Standoff
Shangjing City.
Deep within the Imperial Palace was an altar connected to an entire mountain range. Crafted from pure white jade, it was circular, with a diameter of ninety-nine zhang. Its center was engraved with a complex Divine Technique Formation. This Array spread outward from the altar, extending beyond its edge and burrowing deep into the ground.
If one were to tear open the ground, they would find that the Array was still there. It followed the mountain range where the Imperial Palace was located, covering all of Shangjing City. Before the rise of the Pseudo-Qi Regime, it connected with the various Imperial Family temples, forming an impossibly vast Divine Technique Formation in the area surrounding Shangjing City.
But now, the Imperial Family temples in Pingzhou Road, the Southern Region of Beiyuan Road, Anqing, and the northern part of Jianglin Road had all been demolished. As a result, the altar’s Divine Technique Formation had been almost severed in half!
However, Xia Yao had long anticipated this. Twenty years ago, she had extended the altar’s Array to the Yunhai Grassland, so the Xia Imperial Family’s Divine Technique Formation had not weakened by much. Coupled with the Primordial Spirit and Spiritual Body she had cultivated, if she accepted this Divine Country—connected by the Imperial Family’s bloodline—she might truly be able to wield the power of a True Monarch, just as the legends said.
"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!"
A powerful, deep voice echoed at the entrance to the altar. An honor guard composed entirely of Sacrificial Captains entered first, taking up positions to guard all sides of the altar. Following them, a dragon palanquin, requiring twelve men to carry, slowly entered and came to a stop.
Behind the dragon palanquin was Xia Yao’s own honor guard. As the palanquin was set down, she and Jiangcun walked in one after the other. A new group of Sacrificial Captains formed another circle around the altar.
Xia Yao had sensed it when the Duke of the Chu Country declared himself Emperor, so naturally, she had come out of seclusion early.
"We respectfully invite Your Majesty to ascend the altar, to continue the reign of the empire and bring peace to the common people!" She clasped her fist in a salute before the dragon palanquin, her expression respectful and sincere.
Jiangcun also bowed, but his expression held no respect. Instead, there was a faint, almost imperceptible hint of dissatisfaction.
But no sound came from within the palanquin. After rising, Xia Yao bowed to the imperial dragon palanquin once more before stepping forward and lifting the curtain. Inside, Emperor Yuanding remained in a state of deep meditation.
Xia Yao looked at Jiangcun.
Understanding, Jiangcun stepped forward to hold the curtain for Xia Yao. She clasped her fist in a salute again, then formed a Spell with her hands. The next moment, countless fine golden threads appeared at her feet, forming a peculiar space around her.
As this peculiar space enveloped Emperor Yuanding, a layer of gold appeared on his body, emitting a golden halo. This halo resonated with the peculiar space around Xia Yao. Then, Emperor Yuanding’s body levitated and slowly followed Xia Yao toward the Magic Array Core at the center of the altar.
A moment later, under the watchful eyes of the surrounding Sacrificial Captains, Emperor Yuanding steadily sat down cross-legged. He still had not awoken. This was likely a type of Magic similar to suspended animation, meant to preserve a person’s vital functions.
The moment Emperor Yuanding sat down, the Divine Technique Formation carved on the altar activated instantly. Mesmerizing streams of golden light pierced through space, intertwining with the golden clouds above the Imperial Palace and illuminating the entire Imperial City.
The next moment, all the divine statues within the Imperial City automatically connected to the altar.
On a vast plain north of Qingpu Road, upon an altar spanning dozens of hectares, thousands of slaves were giggling foolishly, lost in hallucinations. An uninformed observer might have thought some grand carnival was being held here.
At the center of the altar, atop a massive, ninety-nine-zhang-diameter incense table, sat a great bronze cauldron. The cauldron was filled with flesh and blood brimming with spiritual energy. The divine statues standing around it greedily devoured the abundant spirituality within.
Surrounding the altar were hundreds of thousands of devoutly praying commoners. They were all prostrated on the ground, waiting for the Divine Technique to descend upon them.
As slaves were sacrificed one by one and the golden light of the Divine Technique descended upon the land, the believers finally offered up their spirituality. This spirituality was even richer, transforming into a pillar of golden light that shot into the sky as it connected to the divine statue at the center of the altar.
The next moment, dozens of identical golden pillars of light shot into the sky, stretching all the way to the northernmost edge of Yunhai.
They had actually set up dozens of such altars at once. In just this short time, tens of thousands of slaves had likely been sacrificed to the Divine Technique!
As the Divine Technique Formation continued to expand, the golden clouds above Shangjing City also spread outward. After Half an Hour, they covered the entire Shangjing City region. An image of the Imperial Palace was projected beneath the clouds, and above this phantom palace was the meditating Emperor Yuanding. His current state was like the legendary Dharma World, looking down upon the lands he ruled.
Beside the altar, Xia Yao gazed at the projection of the Imperial Palace in the sky. In her vision, beneath the palace’s projection, there was also a vast map marked with countless faithful beings. She could feel an unimaginably powerful force within it, but for now, that power did not belong to her.
"The plan has been moved up. I hope the sacrifices we’ve prepared are enough!"
Xia Yao turned to look at Jiangcun.
Jiangcun had intended to remain silent, but he finally said, "I just hope this matter can be over as soon as possible."
"It will be over after tomorrow!"
Xia Yao’s expression turned cold. "I’ll leave everything outside to you," she said.
Jiangcun nodded and turned to leave without hesitation; he did not want to see Xia Yao’s cold face.
Leaving the altar, Jiangcun raised a finger and gently flicked his temple. A soft stream of light was drawn out of his head by his finger. It was a part of his memory.
He stared at this piece of memory, stunned for a moment, before tossing it into the air.
When he looked back again, the great doors to the altar’s entrance were already closed.
Jiangcun chuckled softly. With a flick of his sleeves, he strode with a flourish toward the Imperial Palace’s grand council hall.
Outside the grand council hall, more than a dozen Third Realm Cultivators had been waiting for a long time.
"Greetings, Ninth Prince!"
When they saw Jiangcun, whatever their true feelings were, on the surface they were all incredibly deferential and respectful.
Jiangcun smiled magnanimously and said, "No need for such formalities. I’ll have to trouble all of you this time. When this is over, I’ll invite everyone to be my guest on Dongxu Island."
Everyone smiled. People are sometimes complex, yet at other times very simple. A simple polite gesture could win the goodwill of most.
After the pleasantries, Jiangcun clasped his fist in salute to those around him and said, "I’ll be entrusting the Imperial Palace to you, Fellow Daoists."
"You are too kind, Fellow Daoist!"
"You are too kind, Ninth Prince!"
"You are too kind, Your Highness!"
Some showed goodwill, some maintained their distance, and some remained wary. Then, one after another, they transformed into streaks of light and flew off toward various parts of the Imperial Palace.
After they left, Jiangcun looked up at the night sky, which was as bright as day.
「Time passed in a flash.」
Dawn broke, but nothing changed between heaven and earth. The two golden phantoms in the sky remained.
After some more time had passed, Jiangcun pinched his fingers to calculate the time, confirming it was around 1:45 PM. He said to a nearby Golden Armor Soldier on guard, "Send someone to the Chu Army Camp to deliver my first invitation. I want to see an old friend!"
He took out a bamboo slip and used his Water Spirit Qi to carve a line of text onto it. It was written in the official script of Zhongzhou, but in a simple, easy-to-understand vernacular style. The invitation was for Wang Ping.
He suddenly felt the urge to see this friend.