At dawn.
Although it was already the hour of the Dragon (7-9 AM), the sky remained dark and devoid of light.
Dense and layered fish-scale clouds filled the entire sky, with dark clouds pressing heavily overhead, evoking an ominous and oppressive feeling, as if the city might collapse under the weight of the dark clouds.
“Ten thousand miles of clouds, yet not a single peal of thunder…”
Wu Ming gazed at the colossal Twelve Golden Statues within the Shengjing City, his eyes heavy with concern.
Certainly, this was not Heaven granting She Jie a reprieve.
In fact, he strongly suspected that these forty-nine days of calm were merely a buildup, gathering divine punishment for one massive release!
“Integrating the Twelve Golden Statues into the divine dragon veins of Shenzhou will inevitably trigger a counterforce from the earth’s energy… That will be the moment when Heaven, Earth, and Humanity jointly unleash their calamities—the only chance to break through the Golden Statues!”
The oppressive will of Heaven in this world felt like a mountain pressing down, so much so that even Wu Ming felt slightly suffocated.
“Going against Heaven… Is it truly impossible to succeed? And what exactly is this ‘Heaven’ anyway?”
At this thought, a faint cold smile surfaced on his lips.
…
“Amitabha, Your Majesty, after more than ten years of careful planning, today is the day!”
Within the palace, in the Taiji Hall, two elderly monks, who had been honored as national teachers, bowed solemnly to Shang Jie: “Once today’s task is completed and the Twelve Golden Statues subdue the dragon veins, our nation’s fate will be eternally safeguarded, lasting for ten thousand years!”
“I have already issued an order—our defenders must hold the line today at all costs!”
Shang Jie, wearing imperial robes and a crown, gazed at the endless expanse of dark clouds, slightly furrowing his brow: “I am of the Xuan Niao bloodline, the Son of Heaven—why would Heaven punish me?”
The two monks exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with sharp glimmers. They stepped forward and said, “Because Heaven’s ways are constant. The Heavenly Emperor, as ruler of the Three Realms, views all beings as straw dogs, naturally unwilling to allow the perpetuation of any single family or dynasty. However, our Great Brahma God is different. In the far west of the Great Shang, there is a nation called the White Elephant Kingdom. Its ruler, under the protection of the Brahma God, has passed down seventy-two generations, with the Brahmin nobility enjoying hereditary titles and privileges, ensuring the kingdom’s foundation lasts forever!”
“Hmm? Can the Great Brahma God protect my dynasty?”
At this, Shang Jie’s interest was clearly piqued.
“The Great Brahma God is omnipresent, omnipotent, possessing boundless power and infinite life! As long as the Emperor is sincere in his faith, blessings are sure to follow!”
Seeing hope, the two national teachers spoke with even greater solemnity, their voices imbued with a trace of sacred energy.
If the Mandate of Heaven still belonged to the Shang, this would certainly bring retribution. But now, Shang Jie has incurred Heaven’s wrath, and the Xuan Niao is sealed within the Twelve Golden Statues, leaving him at his weakest—perfect timing for covert influence!
“Very well!”
Shang Jie gritted his teeth: “You may proceed with the ritual. If we survive today and the Golden Statues are completed, what does it matter if we change the national sacrifices?”
Boom!
The moment those words were spoken, streaks of lightning flickered within the gathered fish-scale clouds, silver serpents dancing wildly. Suddenly, a deafening thunderclap erupted from the ground, as if Heaven itself was enraged!
“Understood!”
Yet, the eyes of the two monks sparkled with rapturous delight. Bowing deeply, they took their leave. One of them could no longer restrain himself and exclaimed in elation: “With the Emperor’s edict, our Brahmanic faith can finally vie for the destiny of the Divine Land, shaping a millennium of prosperity and decline with but a single decree!”
“Amen! Alas, Shang Jie is still not the true Dragon Emperor…”
The other monk, still with hands clasped in prayer, also had a joyful gleam in his eyes: “But with this vow, even if Shang Jie perishes in battle, the divine land of Shenzhou shall have opened its gates to our Brahmanic faith!”
(Note: “神州” is translated as “divine land of Shenzhou” to preserve the cultural connotation while making it accessible to English readers. “Brahma faith” is rendered as “Brahmanic faith” for grammatical correctness in English context.)
Once a faith, supported by true deities and firmly rooted, even the Mandated Emperor of Heaven would struggle to eradicate it completely.
Although the Brahma faith had long spread eastward, its various gods had been unable to manifest in person due to the restrictions of the Eastern Divine Path. But now, the situation was different!
“Heaven’s decree is destined for the flourishing of our Brahma path!”
The other national teacher naturally understood this as well: “Our immediate priority is for my senior brother and the Emperor to proceed immediately to the site of the Twelve Golden Statues. As for me, I shall risk my golden body cultivated over countless lifetimes to summon the Great Brahma God!”
“Amen!”
Both monks loudly proclaimed the sacred syllables, their eyes filled with determination.
Moments later, a deep chanting of Buddhist sutras echoed from the base of the Twelve Golden Statues. Even amidst the rolling thunder, it could not be drowned out in the slightest.
In fact, Shang Jie himself led his ministers and generals, using the entire national mandate and imperial aura to suppress and interfere with Heaven’s decree.
Rolling thunder, dark clouds pressing down on the city, lightning dancing like serpents… Even the lowliest soldier at the bottom of the ranks felt an ominous premonition of impending disaster.
…
“Advance!”
Outside the city walls, 150,000 soldiers roared in unison, pushing forward with trebuchets, arrow towers, and other siege weapons.
The commanding general gritted his teeth, seeing the calm figure of General Shang Ji Yi’an atop the central command platform, finally ceasing his hesitation, he waved his sword and shouted:
“The King has issued a decree! Whoever breaches this city shall be immediately enfeoffed as a Duke, granted an estate of fifty thousand households, allowed to establish their own territory and army! All officers and soldiers shall be promoted three ranks immediately!
Taking a deep breath, he continued: “After entering the city, you may plunder for three days, taking all wealth and women as you wish!”
The first to breach the city walls would be enfeoffed as a Duke—not just a nominal title, but a real one with a fiefdom, an army, and the authority to appoint officials!
Upon hearing this reward, many officers’ eyes immediately turned red.
“Victory! Victory! Victory!!!”
And once the order to plunder was given, the morale of King Wu’s army soared to its peak!
After all, this was the capital city—the accumulated wealth of an empire over a thousand years! Just a single household could provide them with a lifetime of luxury, even benefiting their descendants!
“Attack!”
The general closed his eyes, knowing that once this order was given, the soldiers would throw themselves into death, and today’s casualties would skyrocket. However, mercy has no place in command, and with a wave of his hand, he gave the signal.
Boom! Boom!
Amidst the war drums, the trebuchets roared in a frenzy.
“Kill!”
Then, a wave of soldiers and officers, their eyes bloodshot, charged forward carrying siege ladders and sandbags, howling wildly.
The battle had begun, and in an instant, it reached its most intense phase!
Almost every moment, soldiers from both sides were dying, with blood and fire covering the battlefield.
Boom!
At that moment, the ground suddenly shook violently, mountains and rivers trembled, as if even the city walls were dancing wildly.
A terrifying display of heavenly might momentarily stunned the entire battlefield.
“It’s an earthquake! Quick! Order the soldiers to retreat temporarily!”
A general roared, only to lose his footing and be thrown off the command platform.
Before he hit the ground, he watched in disbelief as the entire expanse of yellow earth undulated like the sea, cracking into spiderweb-like patterns.
An earthquake!
A tremor rivaling an 8 or higher on the Richter scale from Wu Ming’s past world suddenly struck at this moment!
“The divine earth dragon of China has awakened!”
In the central command tent, Qing Yu and Wu Ming had made some slight preparations, but even so, witnessing this scene left them awestruck and unable to contain their shock.
“Hahaha…”
The old Daoist Qing Yu, seeing the earth and sky shaking, the city walls trembling, and even the defending soldiers being thrown off, laughed wildly: “To forge the Twelve Golden Statues into the earth dragon, how could there be no backlash? This earth dragon, startled and enraged, retaliating is the Earth Calamity!”
Crash!
At that moment, the accumulated thunder also struck down with a deafening roar, carrying a bluish-purple hue that made cultivators’ eyes sting at a glance.
Heaven was enraged, and divine punishment descended!
“Heavenly Thunder! The most ferocious of heavenly calamities, and it strikes with forty-nine bolts at once?”
Wu Ming, upon seeing this, couldn’t help but sigh: “Having incurred Heaven’s wrath, there is no prayer that can save him…”
Within the palace, at the epicenter of the quake, the scene was one of apocalyptic proportions.
Boom! Crash!
The magnificent palace, built with the wealth of the entire nation’s people, was destroyed in an instant. The jade towers collapsed, the ground cracked, ancestral tablets fell, and many ritual objects were smashed to pieces.
“Have I truly incurred Heaven’s wrath?”
Shang Jie murmured, then suddenly pushed aside the eunuchs and maids who rushed to support him, drew his sword, and shouted: “If Heaven seeks to destroy me, I shall seize its mandate myself! Where are my national teachers?”
“Amitabha!”
The old monk immediately clasped his hands in salute. His mind transmission reached all the monks: “Today is the day our Brahma sect shall flourish. All our disciples must be ready to sacrifice their lives for the greater good!”
“Amitabha, what joy is there in life? What sorrow in death? To save and relieve suffering, only through our Brahma faith!”
“Om! Ma! Ni! Be! Mi! Hong!”
The monks formed a formation and chanted the six-syllable mantra in unison. Their divine energy coalesced into a golden Mount Sumeru, pressing down upon the imperial capital.
Roar! Roar!
Suddenly, the entire palace stabilized. But then the earth cracked open, and a deep roar of the earth dragon could be faintly heard, shaking the surrounding fields.
Zilaa!
Forty-nine bolts of Heavenly Thunder struck the golden Mount Sumeru, instantly shattering it into countless fragments of Sanskrit script that danced through the air.
In that instant, half of the surviving monks were struck down, their bodies charred and lifeless.
“Amitabha, the blood sacrifice of ten thousand Buddhist disciples shall suppress the earth dragon!”
The elderly monk’s face radiated compassion as he stepped forward, his body emanating golden light. He was igniting his perfected Arhat Golden Body, converting it into immense divine energy.
“Our Buddha is compassionate!”
The remaining disciples smiled serenely, formed the lotus mudra, held their breath, and peacefully passed away in an instant.
Boom!
Over a thousand Buddhist disciples “sacrificed themselves for righteousness,” their blood forming a crimson-gold curtain that blotted out the sky, warding off the celestial calamity and subduing the earth dragon.
“Your Majesty, why not act now? Use the Twelve Golden Statues to suppress it? What are you waiting for?”
The old monk roared like a lion.
“Hahaha! Indeed so!”
Shang Jie laughed loudly. Suddenly, the Twelve Golden Statues moved in unison, opening their mouths and roaring: “Zha!”
Boom!
An overwhelmingly domineering force erupted, instantly pacifying the earth. Faintly, one could glimpse visions of mountains and rivers, with the dragon veins of the nineteen provinces surging and converging beneath the feet of the Twelve Golden Statues.
The Twelve Golden Statues required a massive amount of dragon qi to activate, but if aided by the earth dragon, they could continuously draw upon it, unleashing infinite power to suppress all potential dragons under Heaven!
“Hahaha! Twelve Golden Statues, subdue my dragon veins! The lands of the nineteen provinces shall forever belong to the Great Shang!”
As Shang Jie laughed maniacally, the Twelve Golden Statues struck again in unison, as if tearing through the vision into a mysterious space. Within, a yellowish-brown earth dragon emerged, its dragon eyes filled with fury.
Chi chi!
With a roar, the Twelve Golden Statues shot twelve golden beams from their foreheads, like nails, aiming to pierce into the earth dragon’s body!
“Roar! Roar!”
In the final moment, the earth dragon, unwilling to submit, swung its tail fiercely, sending out a shockwave that shook the entire ground violently once more!
Boom!
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