Above the nine heavens, marked by the boundary of Shengjing’s city walls, the void abruptly split into two diametrically opposed realms.
One side was bathed in red clouds stretching ten thousand miles, resembling raging flames, an auspicious omen of great fortune.
The other side was shrouded in dark clouds, with purple lightning dancing wildly like serpents.
Boom!
In the sky above the imperial palace, after the concealment of the Fan Gate vanished, wave after wave of heavenly lightning struck the twelve golden warriors, rippling outward with infinite waves of energy. Golden light and thunderbolts flashed wildly. After the shock, large areas of the golden warriors’ bodies turned charred black.
Heavenly might is like a merciless prison!
Before completely refining the earth dragon and obtaining endless power, even the twelve golden warriors could not withstand such a massive thunder tribulation.
Moreover, at this moment, Shang Jie’s full attention was focused on suppressing and refining the earth dragon. This heavenly tribulation could be described as a “half-crossing strike”—hitting precisely at the critical moment!
“Roar! Roar!”
Within the illusory space, though pierced and pinned down by twelve golden beams, the earth dragon seemed to have found an opportunity and let out a long, loud roar, struggling fiercely.
“Heaven and earth unite, and human calamity also arrives!”
Wu Ming had no intention of getting involved in this level of confrontation for now. He simply found a good vantage point and observed everything through his Heavenly Eye.
This manifestation of Heaven’s will and the earth dragon’s rebellion represented a rare experience and insight for him.
“And besides… who said I belong to the Zhou faction?”
Wu Ming sneered coldly. Without any mission restrictions, he had absolute autonomy in choosing his allegiance. He had never forgotten his true purpose, which had never been to support the Zhou and destroy the Shang.
“The Blood-Oath Alliance Leader…”
Thinking of the shadow in the memory of the Heart-Eating Child, cold glints emerged in Wu Ming’s eyes: “If even the Great Shang has fallen, where else can you hide?”
In a flash, he blended among ordinary Zhou soldiers, slowly approaching the imperial city.
Crackling!
The closer he got to the palace walls, the more dazzling the purplish-blue lightning became.
After the initial eighty-one bolts of Heavenly Punishment Lightning struck, the heavens did not hesitate for even a moment before unleashing another eighty-one bolts. Thick streaks of lightning intertwined, coalescing into terrifying thunder dragons as massive as a man!
Roaring down, the thunderous dragons seemed to want to exhaust all accumulated heavenly might of dozens of days in one single strike, wantonly unleashing destructive power.
If not for the twelve golden warriors standing tall and bearing the brunt of the thunder, the entire imperial palace might have been destroyed in an instant.
“The Great Shang erected the Pillar of Heaven and seized the Mandate of Heaven. Now it is the sole legitimate power under heaven. But now, the last remnants of the Great Shang’s protective dragon aura and legitimacy have vanished, and it must directly face all heavenly wrath…”
If previously the Great Shang still had a bit of lingering dragon aura and legitimacy to cushion the thunder punishment, making it less terrifying, now those protections had completely dissipated, leaving no shelter.
From this perspective, the way Heaven’s will in this world had accumulated thunder and unleashed it all at once was filled with a peculiar flavor, arousing Wu Ming’s great interest.
“But indeed, the material of these twelve golden warriors is extraordinary. They can suppress the earth dragon with their magical power and personally endure heavenly tribulation…”
Observing this amazing scene, Wu Ming felt secretly astonished: “Facing such heavenly punishment, even a Jade Purity cultivator would be reduced to nothing!”
He knew very well that the twelve golden warriors could not move at all now, or else they would immediately fail, having no choice but to rely on their divine artifact-level material to endure the punishment of heavenly thunder!
Even though the twelve golden warriors were extremely resilient, now they were nearing their limit.
Boom!
Another dozen lightning bolts entwined together, forming a dragon shape, claws blazing fiercely, tearing downward!
In a flash of electric light, a golden warrior’s armor was damaged, and even half its shoulder crashed down heavily into the palace, kicking up endless smoke and dust.
“The twelve golden warriors’ main bodies are damaged?”
Wu Ming’s eyes lit up.
Roar!
At this moment, both the earth dragon and the thunder dragon in the sky roared, launching fierce attacks again!
“The situation is clear now…”
Wu Ming’s eyes flickered, but instead of infiltrating the palace, he slowly retreated: “Even though the twelve golden warriors possess infinite magical power, compared to the might of heaven and earth, they are still slightly inferior… However, would the great cultivators who bet on the Great Shang really give up so easily?”
The thunder dragon struck down, the earth dragon surged upward, both targeting the twelve golden warriors in the center!
Without external intervention, the twelve golden warriors would inevitably be completely destroyed by the might of heaven and earth.
Yet, at this very moment, an unexpected event occurred!
A point of golden light suddenly rose from a corner of the palace, instantly transforming into boundless pure land, almost enveloping the entire imperial palace.
Buddhist chants echoed, heavenly flowers rained down, and golden lotuses sprouted from the earth!
These were not illusions—they were truly tangible phenomena!
“Buddhism…”
Shang Jie held a heavenly flower, its delicate texture and the heavenly fragrance filling his senses, all confirming that these were authentic.
“Haha… Even if Heaven seeks my destruction, I still have ghosts and gods from all directions to assist me!”
“Protected by the Buddha, after today, I will surely honor Buddhism as the state religion and cast the golden body of the Great Brahma Deity!”
Amidst Shang Jie’s maniacal laughter, this earthly pure land and the Buddhist realm instantly trembled. Threads of golden light suppressed all directions, even forming a giant swastika symbol, displaying its power in the air.
An illusory image of the Great Brahma Deity emerged, towering and majestic. With a single roar, it scattered the eighty-one thunderbolts, then with a palm strike, transformed its five fingers into Mount Sumeru. The six-syllable mantra flashed, instantly suppressing the earth dragon.
A powerful sense of great compassion and transcendence emerged, causing all living beings around to kneel involuntarily and chant in unison: “Our Buddha is compassionate!”
They were “converted” without the slightest resistance.
Buddhist methods can move even stones to nod in agreement—what is the difficulty in subduing these people with a mere display of Buddhist energy?
“Great Brahma Deity?!”
Seeing this, Wu Ming did not feel much impending disaster. Instead, a strange smile appeared on his lips: “Good! Finally, one of those who were hiding behind the scenes has appeared. The rest should be coming soon too?”
At this time, on the altar outside the city walls, Ji Yi continued:
“…Your servant Yi prays to the heavens for success!”
Seeing the sudden appearance of the Buddha’s illusory image in Shangjing, he was not greatly affected.
The true dragon emperor is immune to all evil, and all beings retreat in his presence—this is no mere saying!
In fact, when he saw the Buddha displaying his power, expanding the pure land, and even noticed struggling expressions in the eyes of his own generals, Ji Yi’s eyes inevitably revealed a trace of killing intent: “Buddhism!!!”
Suddenly, his expression changed, a red glow flashed from his abdomen, and he spat out a red pill!
“This is…”
The Taoist Yu Qing, who had been observing closely, changed expression: “Legend says the Empress dreamed of a divine being who gifted her a pill, leading to the birth of a true dragon, a child with extraordinary abilities from birth. So it’s actually true! Who is the great deity behind this arrangement?”
The red pill leapt, instantly merging with the Pillar of Heaven, carrying the dragon’s fate, abruptly transforming into a crimson sun, with a red true dragon coiling around it, letting out a long roar.
Sweeping through with dragon energy, the crimson sun suddenly plummeted, targeting the Shengjing palace and the location of the Buddha deity!
Boom!
The sun struck the ground, flames rising to the sky, yet causing no harm to ordinary people.
Terrifying spiritual pressure swept across, with threads of red energy spreading like rising flames, becoming increasingly intense.
Within the crimson light, the Buddhist Pure Land withered in an instant, even the Buddha’s Dharma body slowly dissolving into a fading illusion.
The crimson sun versus the Buddha deity!
The final outcome seemed to be mutual annihilation, with neither side retaining any power.
Boom!
The sky split open, and lightning continuously struck down, sweeping away the Buddhist light and illusions completely.
“This is the moment! What are we waiting for?”
With a loud shout, the Taoist Yu Qing immediately had others bring forward Guo Zihe, Qi Sha, and Tan Lang.
“Po Jun, Qi Sha, Tan Lang!”
Looking at the three generals, Taoist Yu Qing’s expression was complex: “You were originally the leaders of the rebels, but years ago, the Buddhist sect obscured the heavenly fate, substituting Xu Zongwu instead, creating a deep entanglement!”
“Before, the Buddhist sect deceived me with the Great Karma Art, creating yet another entanglement!”
“Now that Xu Zongwu has fulfilled his tribulation, this old Taoist will restore your original heavenly fate, reversing the order and reigniting the fate of the rebel kings. We will perform a blood sacrifice to destroy the twelve golden warriors!”
When the Shang Dynasty lost its virtue, the Mandate of Heaven was thrown into chaos. Ominous stars appeared, and blood sacrifices were offered to sever the dragon’s vein—such was the decree of Heaven!
The three stars of Qi Sha, Po Jun, and Tan Lang were originally envied by the Shang dynasty’s dragon vein and were destined to be its nemesis!
The Buddhist sect dared not defy Heaven but secretly gathered these rebel generals of the “Three Stars of Destruction,” substituting Xu Zongwu to bolster the Shang dynasty’s fortune.
Now, what Taoist Yu Qing intended to do was use the Buddhist sect’s previous actions as a catalyst, pushing these three back onto their original fated path.
Guo Zihe listened in confusion, his mouth stuffed with a gag, and bound by numerous seals, he could only make muffled sounds.
“Inverting the Yin and Yang Supreme Immortal Technique! Seal!”
But Taoist Yu Qing had no patience to explain. He directly invoked the immortal art.
The dark clouds scattered, revealing a starry sky ablaze with light. Among the stars, three malevolent stars shone with brilliance as large as fighting cocks. Their starlight intertwined, seemingly transforming into a black dragon that swiftly entered the bodies of the three generals.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
Guo Zihe and the others immediately bulged their eyes, their hair and beards bristling. Their very fates above their heads underwent tremendous changes.
“The rebel king’s fate has awakened. The only thing left is the blood sacrifice!”
A trace of ruthlessness appeared on Taoist Yu Qing’s face. Looking at the twelve golden warriors, he hesitated slightly before lighting three incense sticks: “Disciples of the Yu Qing sect, I beseech the Immortal sect for assistance!”
The earthly Taoist sects were merely the visible branches. Yu Qing was well aware that hidden within the many blessed lands and hidden paradises were still immortals!
These three incense sticks could transmit messages across thousands of miles and were the Yu Qing sect’s ultimate treasures, representing the promise of an immortal!
Bang!
Three breaths later, in the sky, a true blessed land and hidden paradise opened. Clear light poured down, vaguely revealing magnificent mountains and rivers within, lush with vegetation and brimming with vitality.
“Immortal Lord!”
Yu Qing deeply bowed, his spiritual consciousness rapidly exchanging messages.
Hiss!
A sword beam slashed out from the hidden paradise, swift as a ribbon, carrying an irresistible majesty. As it swept across the ground, Guo Zihe and the three generals were instantly reduced to flesh and blood, completely dissolving into the sword light. Then the beam vanished into the distance, carrying blood and malevolent energy, vaguely forming a black dragon, rushing toward the twelve golden warriors.
The sword beam merged with the black dragon, even piercing through the thunder clouds above. The void itself seemed to freeze.
The might of a single sword strike had reached such an extent!
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