The courtyard’s believers, who had initially been filled with trepidation and unease, now expressed joy openly, their faces lighting up. They fell to their knees, chanting the names of the Four Emperors:
“Salvation Primordial Emperor Miaowu Supreme Deity, Salvation Primordial Unity Supreme Deity, Salvation Xuan Yang Supreme Deity, Salvation Universal Relief Supreme Deity…”
On the wall behind the leader were four meticulously painted scrolls, personally drawn by him. At the top was a figure in a green robe, resembling an immortal, with a handsome face. Below, arranged in a row, was a radiant young girl in a yellow dress, surrounded by dazzling light radiating outward. To her left stood an emperor in a bright yellow robe, enveloped in strands of dark yellow energy, while to her right was a woman with a cool, moon-like demeanor, holding an ancient zither, aloof yet not distant.
After the believers completed chanting the names of the Four Emperors, the middle-aged scholar-like leader raised his right hand and slowly pressed it downward.
Instantly, the courtyard fell silent, not a sound could be heard, showcasing the strictness of the religious discipline and the awe-inspiring presence of the divine.
The leader, He Yun, coughed lightly: “The Four Emperors are about to descend and eliminate the demonic tide. This is the time to test your sincerity. Whether you merely pay lip service or are truly devoted will be discerned by the divine.”
“The demonic tide may be easy to dispel, but suffering is hard to eradicate. In the end, humans cannot escape death. Will their souls descend into the netherworld for eternity, or will they serve the Four Emperors and attain eternal bliss? It all depends on a single thought!”
His expression was filled with fervor, yet inwardly he felt disdain. With the demonic tide approaching, the legend he had fabricated about the Four Emperors coming to save the world was about to be exposed. He decided to take this opportunity to make a fortune, bribe the guards, and hide in the market where the powerful and wealthy resided. There, food supplies were abundant, unlike the outside world where daily purchases were strictly limited!
Once the demonic tide passed, if he survived, he could move to another city and start anew!
Upon hearing the demand for sincere devotion, the believers hesitated, exchanging glances. At this moment, He Yun’s trusted subordinates, previously planted among the crowd, suddenly stood up, taking out all their possessions, rushing to the four scrolls, and shouting while kowtowing:
“Believer Xie Duan offers sincere devotion. Please, Salvation Primordial Emperor Miaowu Supreme Deity, grant protection!”
From the crowd, voices rose in response:
“Hurry, we must offer our devotion quickly! If we’re late, they’ll take the spots!”
“The last few to offer devotion will certainly be insincere, angering the Primordial Emperor and sending them to the eighteenth level of hell!”
The atmosphere suddenly turned frenzied, with many believers rushing forward eagerly. Watching this, He Yun smiled, his heart filled with excitement.
Just then, a figure leapt down from the wall, landing before He Yun. The figure’s right hand formed a claw, fingers curling like blooming flowers, and swiftly seized several vital points on He Yun’s chest.
“An officer is conducting an investigation. Everyone, kneel down to avoid injury!” the figure shouted loudly, his voice clear and flowing like a stream.
With a thud, the main gate was kicked open, and more than ten constables, armed with water and fire rods, entered in formation, skillfully dividing into two teams to surround the believers and He Yun’s subordinates from both sides.
Upon hearing the officer’s announcement, the believers instinctively knelt down, covering their heads. Without understanding the situation and without anyone inciting them, they were like sheep, showing no resistance.
Looking at the officer before him, He Yun saw a tall young woman dressed in a dark red officer’s uniform, in her early twenties, with slightly thick eyebrows that did not detract from her beauty. One leg was straight, the other slightly bent, as if ready to spring into action at any moment of his resistance.
“What do you want?” He Yun, who had built a cult from nothing, was certainly not a coward. He remained calm and sternly demanded.
The officer surveyed the scene, her eyes, sharp as ink-dots, locking with He Yun’s: “In normal times, the common people may worship any deity and burn any incense they wish. As long as they don’t go too far, we indeed have no grounds to intervene. But now, with the demonic tide approaching, you continue to spread heresy, mislead the people, and extort money, disregarding the peace of Pingle City. Your heart deserves punishment!”
The eloquence of her words seemed somewhat unnatural to her, causing her to wrinkle her nose slightly before fiercely adding: “In short, it’s just one thing, kid—we’ve had our eyes on you for a long time!”
He Yun’s heart quivered, his voice trembling: “You must think carefully! I am the divine messenger of the Four Emperors, responsible for their descent. If you arrest me, there will be no one to save the world. When the demonic tide comes, countless lives will be lost! Pingle City will not be saved!”
“Silence!” the female officer’s face darkened, her teeth clenched. “Listen well, officer. There have never been any saviors from heaven. What has allowed our race to survive until today is the efforts of our ancestors and ourselves!”
“When my father died fighting the demonic tide on the walls of Pingle City, there was no divine savior!”
“When my master’s master ventured into the netherworld to seek a way to destroy the rift, dying a tragic death inside, there was no divine savior!”
“When my master assassinated a demonic general and was torn apart, there was no divine savior!”
“When my entire family of nine and all my sect members died in the demonic tide, their bodies piling up like a sea of corpses, there was no divine savior!”
This topic stirred her emotions, her eyes glistening with tears. She took a long breath, her voice softening with weariness but also determination:
“In short, what allows our race to continue generation after generation is not some divine savior, but the fearless ancestors and every ‘we’ who bravely face the demonic tide!”
The entire courtyard suddenly fell silent, so quiet that even a pin dropping could be heard. The believers, many of whom had relatives who had died in the demonic tide, felt a sense of shared sorrow.
But precisely because of the cruelty of sacrifice, they placed their hopes on the illusory divine.
The female officer tore down the four scrolls, crumpled them into a ball, and turned to walk out the door, waving her hand with a hoarse voice: “Take them away, lock them in jail. If we need bait to deal with the demons, we can choose from them.”
“Yes, Officer Qin.” The constables, who held her in high regard, were further moved by her words and worked even harder, binding He Yun and his few subordinates and taking them to jail.
…
Across the vast wilderness, immature sorghum and rice could be seen, not yet harvested. Farmers carried various sacks, orderly boarding horse-drawn carriages.
The horses pulling the carriages seemed to have demonic blood, their bodies covered in black scales, with extraordinary strength. Even when the carriages were already crowded, they moved swiftly, a result of countless battles against the demonic tide.
On both sides of each carriage were elite soldiers and martial artists riding similar horses, their eyes sharp, their demeanor fierce, clearly seasoned fighters.
At the rear walked the leader, a middle-aged man with graying temples, wrinkles around his eyes and forehead, missing his left arm, and holding a thick-bladed long knife in his right hand. He shouted loudly: “Everyone should be well aware of the rules. During the retreat to Pingle City, if anyone falls behind, there will be no rescue, no waiting, only self-reliance.”
The farmers remained silent, only the children and those under twenty whispered among themselves, trying to make noise, but after being glared at by the intimidating riders, they quickly swallowed their words.
Those with experience understood why this rule was established, a lesson learned from countless blood and corpses!
“Chief Li, how can we not wait or rescue?” Beside the leader was a young man, surprised and confused by such an inhumane rule.
The leader glanced at him, his voice steady: “In every demonic tide, there have been groups that, in order to rescue or wait for a few who fell behind, were overtaken by demons and spirits, resulting in the death of everyone from top to bottom, young and old.”
A few minutes here, a rescue there—seemingly insignificant, but collectively, it might determine the line between life and death.
“You’re still young. During the last demonic tide, you hadn’t left the city, so you don’t know the cruelty of this.” The leader said calmly.
The young man still couldn’t understand, his eyes wide: “But, but there’s no sign of the demons yet. Saving a person doesn’t take long!”
“When the demons appear, no one will be able to escape!” The leader said gravely, pulling the reins and urging his horse forward.
With limited carriages, each one was packed with people. Inside were younger women and children, in the middle were young and middle-aged men of various appearances, and on the outer layer were many elderly people, both men and women. They were at the edge, barely holding on with their hands to avoid falling off.
The team moved forward quietly for a while when an elderly man with deeply wrinkled hands began to tremble, on the verge of losing his grip on the person inside and falling from the carriage.
“Grandpa, grandpa!” His granddaughter in the center noticed his perilous situation and cried out, reaching to pull him back. In an instant, the carriage descended into chaos. If this continued, more people would lose their balance.
At this moment, the old man smiled faintly, voluntarily released his hands, and fell backward, his voice echoing:
“Sweetheart, live well!”
With a thud, he fell to the ground, suffering severe injuries to his muscles and bones, and couldn’t get up for a long time.
“Grandpa…” The cries faded away as the carriage grew distant.
Seeing this, the young man beside the leader was about to go to the rescue when suddenly, a thick-backed longsword appeared before his eyes.
“Li Tou, you!” he exclaimed, both shocked and furious.
The leader looked at him coldly: “Anyone who delays the march shall be executed immediately!”
His gaze was icy, filled with a chilling intent to kill, which froze the young man in place, rendering him unable to move. He could only let the horse carry him past the old man.
Watching the old man struggling to stand up in the distance and trying to walk toward Pingle City, the young man cried out in grief and fury, “You—you have no humanity!”
“I can only care for more people.” The leader gazed indifferently at the swiftly advancing team ahead.
“They are human, and so is he. Why must he be sacrificed? Can lives really be weighed by numbers? Are many lives truly more valuable than one?” The young man’s tears welled up as he angrily protested.
“Yes,” the leader replied coldly. “During the demonic tide, as long as they aren’t outsiders, the majority will always be more important than the minority—they are better at ensuring the survival of humanity!”
The young man froze instantly, staring at the leader in disbelief. What a cold and utterly inhuman response! Unable to contain himself, he accused once more, “Chief Li, if you were asked to sacrifice yourself to save them, would you be willing?”
The leader suddenly revealed a smile, his voice low: “Once, a carriage overturned, and my only son was on it…”
His smile was uglier than a cry.
The young man looked over in shock as the secret voice transmissions from his teammates echoed in his ears: “At that time, Captain Li chose to let the team move forward while he stayed behind. As a result, he encountered several lurking demons, lost an arm, and still failed to save the child…”
The leader’s smile faded as he gazed ahead with cold yet resolute determination. On this path of survival for humanity, there was only moving forward—no turning back!
…
Officer Qin Shuanghua was overwhelmed with emotion, unable to control herself, as she slowly walked back home. Once she closed the door, she suddenly squatted down and burst into tears like a child.
“Shuanghua, what’s wrong?” Qin Shuanglian came out from the house, dressed casually.
Qin Shuanghua was startled, quickly standing up and wiping her eyes with the paper in her hand, stammering: “Big sister, you, you weren’t in retreat, were you?”
There were eleven people in the Qin family, now only herself and her cousin remained.
Qin Shuanglian smiled slightly: “Of course I came out of retreat.”
“Out of retreat? Big sister, you, you’ve advanced to the Waijing realm?” Qin Shuanghua was both surprised and delighted. Seeing Qin Shuanglian nod slightly, she cheered and jumped up and down, “You’ve reached Waijing! You’re a Waijing expert now, a notable figure in Pingle City!”
From childhood to adulthood, especially in the past ten years, her cousin had always been her role model and pride!
Qin Shuanglian calmly watched her excitement, and after a while, she asked: “Why were you crying just now?”
Qin Shuanghua was immediately embarrassed: “Earlier, I caught a heretic leader, and he provoked memories of my family.”
As she spoke, she suddenly realized her emotional outburst had made her keep holding onto the crumpled paper ball made from the scrolls, using it to wipe her tears and snot. She spat on it in disgust and threw it on the ground.
“What heresy?” Qin Shuanglian asked casually.
Qin Shuanghua sneered: “That guy was so vulgar, calling himself the Four Salvation Emperors. Look, it’s like this…”
She used her dexterous foot and true energy to unfold the paper ball for her cousin to see.
“This is Salvation Xuan Yang Supreme Deity, this is Salvation Primordial Unity Supreme Deity, this is Salvation Universal Relief Supreme Deity…” Qin Shuanghua unfolded each scroll one by one, introducing them casually, soon revealing the last one.
Qin Shuanglian had been listening with a smile, but when the last painting came into view, a man in green robes like an immortal, with a handsome face.
Green robes like an immortal, handsome face… Qin Shuanglian suddenly froze, her pupils contracting sharply.
It’s him! The blue sky is dead, the yellow sky shall rise!
Qin Shuanghua didn’t notice her cousin’s abnormality, smirking: “This is Salvation Primordial Emperor Miaowu Supreme Deity. Actually, just calling him the Primordial Emperor is fine…”
“Where is he? Where is he?” At this moment, Qin Shuanglian rushed forward, grabbing her wrists and urgently asking, interrupting her.
Qin Shuanghua was so frightened she stood there like a wooden chicken, looking at her cousin with a flushed face, feeling like she didn’t recognize her: “Who, who is where?”
She had never seen her cousin so excited, at least not in the past ten years!
“The person in this painting!” Qin Shuanglian anxiously said.
“He’s just a false god fabricated by the heretic leader…” Qin Shuanghua completely didn’t understand what her cousin was excited about. Had she gone crazy after breaking through to Waijing?
“Where is the heretic leader?” Qin Shuanglian continued to ask, her eyes slightly red.
Qin Shuanghua was thoroughly scared, stammering: “In, in the prison, big sister you…”
Before she could finish speaking, she was dragged by her cousin, flying towards the prison. Qin Shuanglian’s urgency and excitement left her completely confused and at a loss.
…
Inside the prison, He Yun and several of his subordinates were locked in a cell. This place was cold and damp, with a feeling that resentful ghosts might appear at any moment.
After the constables left, He Yun sat down dejectedly, his bottom only on a pile of straw, his mind filled with terrifying consequences.
He had heard that during the demonic tide, prisoners in the jail had no food and could only feed on each other…
The officer earlier had said they would use them as bait to lure the demons into a trap…
The more he thought, the more frightened he became, shivering with his subordinates. After a long time, he suddenly stood up, rushing to the edge of the cell, grabbing the bars and shaking them violently, crying out desperately:
“I’m innocent! Sir, I’m innocent!”
He should have knelt down and begged for mercy earlier, offering all the wealth he had scraped together to seek leniency!
Seeing this situation, the other prisoners were used to it and continued doing their own things.
At this moment, one of his subordinates approached He Yun, puzzled: “Master, why don’t you pray to the Four Salvation Emperors and ask them to descend their divine power to help?”
Although he was a trusted subordinate, He Yun had still worked hard to cultivate their faith, which was the guarantee of his special status.
Upon hearing this, He Yun gritted his teeth and said bitterly: “There are no Four Salvation Emperors! They’re all made up by me, all made up!”
Before his words had even finished, light rose from behind him in the cell, flickering with firelight, and four figures appeared inside. The leader was dressed in green robes, with a handsome face. The others included a girl in a yellow dress, a man in a bright yellow robe surrounded by dark yellow energy, and a woman with a cool, otherworldly demeanor, holding an ancient zither. These were Meng Qi and the others, who had not yet had time to change their disguises.
Several of his subordinates opened their mouths wider and wider, their eyes wide with disbelief. One of them spoke in a trembling voice: “Master, there really are the Four Salvation Emperors…”
He Yun’s anger surged: “I told you they were made up by me! Understand? I made them up!”
He turned his head, glaring at his subordinates. They were such stubborn fools. Now was the time to work together to escape the prison.
Just as he turned around, his eyes blurred, and the familiar four figures were right in front of him, exactly as they had appeared in his dreams.
Plop, several subordinates prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling as they spoke: “We welcome the Salvation Primordial Emperor Miaowu Supreme Deity…”
It’s real… He Yun’s legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground, watching the man in the green robe approach him. His pants became wet, his eyes darkened, and he nearly fainted.
What are they doing? Meng Qi frowned, beginning to activate the Yuanxin Seal.
Just then, two figures rushed in—it was indeed Qin Shuanglian and Qin Shuanghua.
All the prisoners in the jail recognized this pretty officer and knew her sister was quite extraordinary. They immediately stopped making noise, looking at them in astonishment.
Qin Shuanglian ran to the jail cell door, took a look at Meng Qi, and had no more doubts.
Then, Qin Shuanghua watched her sister suddenly kneel down. Her sister, who had only ever knelt to heaven, earth, parents, and teachers, actually knelt to the ground!
For a moment, she didn’t know whether this was real or an illusion.
Qin Shuanglian knelt on the ground, thinking of her father who had died fighting on the city walls, the nine souls of the Qin family who had perished, the many she knew and didn’t know who had died in the demonic tide, and the heroes who had bravely sacrificed themselves. A flood of emotions surged within her, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes as she heavily kowtowed to Meng Qi:
“Senior, please save us!”
“Save this world!”
Her voice was hoarse, heart-wrenching.
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