“There is indeed a successor to Han Zhouzi…”
Wu Ming’s eyes gleamed with clarity, extending his divine sight and hearing to observe everything within the entire camp.
The sword in Cui Jue’s hand was something Wu Ming had seen before in the late Shang dynasty, when it was still in Han Zhouzi’s possession.
After three hundred years of refinement through Legalist penal laws, it had clearly reached completion, now renamed the “Tianxing Sword”! It could now slightly summon heavenly phenomena.
However, it still lacked that final touch to fully enact divine punishment!
“If it were truly perfected, a single slash would resonate through heaven and earth, immediately summoning thunderous calamities. Even if the White Bone Spirit were ten times more powerful, it would be reduced to dust under divine retribution!”
Wu Ming mused inwardly, “This Cui Jue indeed lives up to his reputation as a Legalist prodigy of a generation…”
At this moment, another figure emerged from the golden tent, dressed in a third-grade military official’s attire of the imperial court. Seeing the White Bone Spirit fleeing, he frowned slightly, “It still managed to escape? Deep within the White Bone Mountains, within the deadly killing formation, its demonic power will surely surge by another threefold!”
“This must be Yansheng, the Director of the Bureau of Unusual Affairs and a third-grade imperial official!”
With his divine sight activated, Wu Ming instantly recognized that although this person was slightly inferior to Cui Jue, he was still a fourth-tier expert, more than capable of becoming the head of a powerful clan and founding his own sect!
“But… there are three golden tents, and one remains whose status seems higher than these two, yet still hasn’t revealed himself?”
A faint premonition stirred in Wu Ming’s heart. He knew that if he forcefully tried to peer further, he would surely be discovered, so he ceased his attempt and focused solely on monitoring Cui Jue and Yansheng.
“This White Bone Demon God has actually refined another layer of stellar power within itself, forming a pattern akin to the ‘Sha Po Lang’ constellation. Truly remarkable!”
Cui Jue’s face remained cold, “Moreover… it also has a spiritual sword fused into its body as a ‘horizontal bone.’ I have already exerted my utmost effort!”
“How could I possibly doubt the Master?”
A stiff smile briefly appeared on Yansheng’s face, as he well understood Cui Jue’s character and knew there was no deception involved.
“However, please rest assured, Director… The White Bone Demon God has been severely wounded. Even if it returns to its lair, it won’t recover instantly… We shall investigate the killing formation at noon, and surely drive this demon away!”
Cui Jue assured him.
“That would be good… very good…”
Yansheng’s face slightly relaxed, “To complete the imperial task, we must obtain the killing-formation crystal… After all, those dragon creatures have quite a liking for this substance…”
He stopped himself as if realizing he had said too much.
“Slaughtering crystal? Dragon creatures?”
Wu Ming’s eyes lit up. If it were someone else, hearing these few key terms would leave them utterly confused. However, Wu Ming had personally experienced the chaos of the Shang dynasty and understood everything that had transpired. With this hint, he immediately deduced the situation as clearly as examining the lines on his palm.
“The dragon creatures they mentioned must be those half-dragon abominations transformed from the twelve golden statues when they were corrupted by killing energy… I never expected the Taoist priests of Yuqing to be so ineffective, leaving behind such a mess? No! Perhaps it was intentional!”
Wu Ming’s eyes gleamed, “As the saying goes, when things reach an extreme, they turn to their opposite. Once the Shang dynasty’s dragon-slaying mandate is tainted, the only path left is transformation into a monster. However, after passing through the dragon creatures, the killing energy can be extracted!”
“The killing crystal is even more attractive to these dragon creatures. Could it be that these people intend to capture large numbers of them, extract the dragon essence, and prolong the Zhou dynasty’s rule?”
The fortune of a previous dynasty conflicts with that of the current one, making it naturally useless.
But the Shang dynasty was different! Within the twelve golden statues, half of the Zhou dynasty’s national mandate had actually been sealed away!
Originally, Ji Yi had the heavenly mandate to establish a six-hundred-year dynasty, but after the red dragon was cut in two, it could only last three hundred years!
After the twelve golden statues were destroyed, the remaining three hundred years of Zhou dragon energy transformed into dragon-slaying energy, sinking into the earth and merging with the dragon creatures, rendering the entire area within a hundred miles around Shengjing barren and lifeless!
However, if this energy were now extracted, purified, and the killing energy removed, it would still be compatible with the Zhou dynasty’s roots and could be effectively utilized!
“Although there would be losses, making it impossible to recover the full three hundred years, even gaining decades or even just a few years would be highly beneficial!”
Wu Ming understood deeply that in this declining era, the Zhou imperial family would stop at nothing to preserve their lives and wealth.
They would resort to any means necessary, even if it only delayed their downfall by a few or a dozen years, gladly drinking poison to quench their thirst.
“Half of the three-hundred-year dragon energy of the Zhou dynasty has already mixed into the earth and is irretrievable, leaving at most half scattered around Shengjing that might still be recoverable… How much could a dragon creature absorb?”
Wu Ming calculated briefly, “Unless… one dragon creature were cultivated to its utmost potential, it might contain decades of dragon energy… However, this would be akin to nurturing a tiger only to be devoured later. With such massive dragon energy, even the Yuqing Taoists might not be able to handle it!”
“But dragon creatures lack intelligence. Perhaps they could be trapped… No wonder these people are searching everywhere for things like killing crystals…”
Heavenly and earthly killing energy itself is unusable! However, after being transformed through the dragon creatures, it immediately became feasible.
But how terrifying would a monster be that had accumulated decades of dragon energy within itself?
Just looking at the Bureau of Unusual Affairs assembling a group of experts, even including mysterious figures whose depth Wu Ming couldn’t fathom, and still dared not provoke it, was enough to give one an idea.
“Speaking of which, Ji Yi is quite pitiable, having three hundred years of fortune cut short. Anyone would go mad under such circumstances. It’s only natural that his descendants would become desperate and take extreme measures…”
Wu Ming was quite pessimistic about the Zhou dynasty’s current endeavor.
What’s done cannot be undone. Once something is lost, trying to reclaim it won’t be easy.
Moreover, this was no ordinary treasure, but the foundational dragon energy of the dynasty!
The current actions of the Zhou dynasty were defying heaven itself and would inevitably face repeated calamities! One only needed to look at the tyrant Jie of the Shang dynasty to understand this clearly.
“I wonder why it’s specifically the Bureau of Unusual Affairs undertaking this task? And what benefit could these mysterious experts possibly gain by working together…”
Wu Ming’s eyes flickered. Taking advantage of the chaos, he quietly edged toward the camp’s perimeter, spreading his Dharma-realm power and instantly vanishing from sight.
“The bone beast has retreated. Everyone return to your posts and tend to the wounded!”
Yansheng’s voice rang out, echoing throughout the camp. Cang Hu and the others immediately felt relieved.
Cang Ying, the Bureau’s thousand-household officer, had a flicker in his eyes, “That Zheng Jun, although his token is genuine, still feels off… I merely feigned cooperation along the way. Once we reach headquarters and verify his identity, his true nature will be exposed… That would certainly count as a merit!”
However, as he glanced around, he suddenly exclaimed in shock, “Where is he?!”
“Father?”
“Uncle?”
Cang Feiyan and Cang Hu looked on in surprise. Ignoring his alarm, Cang Ying immediately asked, “Where is Zheng Jun now?”
“He was just here… and then suddenly disappeared…”
Cang Hu scratched his head, while Cang Feiyan cried out in alarm, “No good! He must have been taken away by the bone beast!”
“Nonsense!”
Seeing these two troublesome figures, even Cang Ying couldn’t help but feel exasperated.
“What happened?”
Chou Yi approached with a murderous glint in his eyes, asking calmly yet sending a chill through Cang Ying’s heart.
“Reporting to Deputy Director Chou,”
Cang Ying respectfully replied, “The previous Dingzhou hundred-household officer Zheng Jun suddenly vanished. I suspect…”
He voiced his suspicions and mentioned his earlier pretense.
Meanwhile, Cang Hu and Cang Feiyan exchanged bewildered glances, completely unaware of the hidden intrigue.
“I also felt something was off about that man before…”
Chou Yi also furrowed his brows, “Li Zongyi from Dingzhou falling ill so suddenly was already suspicious. Now another hundred-household officer appears—this is even more dubious! You say his Yazi token shows no flaws? Nevertheless, we must proceed with caution! I have here the portraits and records of all hundred-household officers and above across the nation. We can have someone retrieve them at once…”
He promptly issued orders. Not long after, a clerk hurriedly brought forth a brocade box.
Inside the box was a scroll, which appeared completely blank when unfurled.
“In the name of Deputy Director Chou Yi, I command! Immediately summon the records of Zheng Jun, the hundred-household officer of the Bureau of Unusual Affairs in Dingzhou!”
A Yazi token appeared in Chou Yi’s hand, forged from gold and exuding great splendor. At this moment, a beam of light struck the scroll.
Buzzing!
The scroll emitted a glow, and faint ink marks automatically surfaced, forming several lines of text: “Zheng Jun, hundred-household officer of the Bureau of Unusual Affairs in Dingzhou, courtesy name Zipure, from Xiangling Village, Pei County. Has one younger brother who cultivates Daoist magic and is skilled in divination, once…”
Underneath the text was a sketch, though only in black and white, it was vivid and lifelike, depicting a young man’s appearance.
“Ah?!”
Cang Feiyan immediately shrieked, “This… this person looks nothing like that uncle at all!”
“Hmph!”
Chou Yi’s expression darkened, “What audacity! Such audacity indeed! Daring to impersonate one of our Bureau officers? I must capture him and pierce him with a thousand arrows!”
“And Li Zongyi, having lived his entire life like a dog, was unaware of his secrets being stolen. Truly a useless wretch!”
Upon hearing this, Cang Ying immediately realized that even if Li Zongyi recovered from his illness later, he would likely struggle to keep his position. Seeing Chou Yi’s anger, he dared not move and silently signaled to his daughter and nephew to keep their heads down, eyes lowered, maintaining a composed silence.
Inside, however, he could only bitterly laugh to himself.
In this declining era of the Zhou dynasty, with the entire realm in chaos and various provinces becoming semi-independent, although the Bureau of Unusual Affairs could somewhat utilize Daoist communication methods and was slightly better off, it still frequently experienced broken communications and delays were commonplace.
Not to mention, in some provinces, the Bureau had either been completely wiped out or co-opted by regional warlords, how could one expect them to remain loyal to the imperial court?
Even Li Zongyi couldn’t control all situations within Dingzhou. It was normal for an agent to go months or even years without contact. How could he possibly know everything? This was indeed an unexpected disaster.
“What happened?”
This commotion naturally drew Yansheng’s attention, and he came over to inquire.
“Someone impersonated a Bureau officer… and escaped!” Chou Yi’s face remained grim, “I originally intended to verify his identity, but unfortunately, we encountered this demon’s attack on the camp…”
“Send out a few people to pursue and eliminate him at all costs!”
Yansheng slightly furrowed his brow, “That person came and left immediately, so he couldn’t have stolen much information!”
His tone exuded great confidence, unaware that through just a few words, Wu Ming had already overheard and pieced together most of their secrets, leaving them with no mystery left at all.
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