In the ninth year of Qianyuan, on the fifteenth day of the tenth month, Li Rubi ascended a sacrificial altar outside Jiushan Prefecture to worship Heaven, declaring himself the “King of Jiushan.”
Due to the haste and limited scope of only one prefecture, the coronation ceremony was rather crude. A simple altar was built, and even the Grand General’s Mansion was not renovated.
However, when Wu Ming saw Li Rubi wearing the ceremonial robes with twelve embroidered patterns and ascending the altar under the guidance of a master of ceremonies, he was already too tired to comment.
The ceremonial attire with a long robe and twelve-patterned crown was reserved for the Son of Heaven when sacrificing to the Supreme God of Heaven. It consisted of a long fur coat, black upper garment, and yellow lower robe. The upper garment bore six embroidered patterns: sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons, and multicolored birds, while the lower garment had six embroidered patterns: algae, fire, rice powder, ancestral vessels, axe-like motifs, and patterns resembling “fu.” Together, these formed the twelve patterns, hence the name “twelve-patterned robe.”
According to the rules of this world, the Son of Heaven wore twelve patterns, kings wore nine, dukes and marquises seven, earls five, viscounts three, and the lowest rank, barons, only one.
Yet Li Rubi had adopted the imperial standard!
Fully aware that this man had once again fallen into Master Nanshan’s trap, Wu Ming chose not to intervene. Just as Li Rubi stepped onto the altar to perform the Heaven-worshiping ceremony, a notification finally appeared before the main deity’s hall in Wu Ming’s mind:
[Main Quest: Establish a Regime and Declare Kingship! Help Li Rubi ascend the throne within three months!]
[Li Rubi has already declared himself king. If he survives for thirty-six hours, the mission will be considered complete, rewarding two hundred major merits and allowing your return!]
“Thirty-six hours—that means three days. I must maintain Li Rubi’s position, at the very least preventing his defeat and death?” Wu Ming mused.
He couldn’t help but look up at the ominous black qi almost covering the sky above Li Rubi, where the purple aura had already been compressed to the extreme and was barely visible. He smiled bitterly: “This is going to be really difficult!”
Boom!
Right after Li Rubi completed his sacrifice to Heaven, dark clouds gathered overhead, lightning danced wildly across the sky, and soon after, torrential rain poured down.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty! Wishing you joy and prosperity!”
Master Nanshan stepped forward again: “When a dragon emerges, storms inevitably follow! Whenever a dragon descendant seeks to become a true dragon, it must rise through the nine heavens and endure thunder tribulations. This is an auspicious omen!”
Wu Ming, soaked to the skin, almost stumbled upon hearing this, deeply convinced that in terms of audacity and shamelessness, he was indeed inferior to Master Nanshan.
…
Li Rubi was no fool. With a gloomy expression, he boarded a palanquin and returned to the Grand General’s Mansion, where he shut himself inside.
It was clear his mood was extremely bad, and none of his subordinates dared to approach him.
But while his subordinates dared not act, others did not hold back.
Upon hearing the news of Li Rubi’s self-proclamation as king, Wang Xuanfan could no longer remain passive. He launched repeated military campaigns into Jiushan Prefecture, advancing rapidly. By the seventeenth day of the tenth month, he had conquered the entire prefecture and surrounded the last city.
“A storm is about to break!”
In the night, listening to the sound of enemy troops drilling outside, Wu Ming closed his eyes and seemed to see endless banners and a terrifyingly massive army.
“However… this mission marks the first time I’ve observed changes in fortune and the rise and fall of a dragon so closely. It has been quite beneficial and rewarding!”
Since acquiring the art of fortune observation, practical examples were needed to better understand the use of dragon qi.
At this point, Wu Ming felt he had gained a great deal. At the very least, he would no longer hesitate if he had to personally take action.
“My lord!”
At this moment, He Zihai and Zhong Ting entered, both bowing respectfully.
“How did it go?”
Wu Ming had Niu Yong stand guard outside and lowered his voice to ask.
“Reporting to my lord, we spared no expense bribing the opposing commanders and have secured their cooperation. We have received promises that if we surrender and open the city gates, our past offenses will be forgiven. Additionally, if we can offer…”
Zhong Ting glanced toward the Grand General’s Mansion, his meaning clear.
“Indeed… how unwise of the Grand General to declare himself king! Now the imperial court will surely demand his head…”
Wu Ming sighed softly, though his thoughts were elsewhere.
“With the power of the imperial court, I can shift this backlash onto them…”
A Daoist who follows a dragon gains the dragon’s qi, and his cultivation progresses rapidly. However, if the fortune collapses, great calamity follows! Lightly, it results in serious injury; severely, it brings divine punishment—lightning from the heavens striking him down without a trace of his body left!
Wu Ming himself had felt this.
Although he had taken Li Rubi’s fortune and made a sudden breakthrough in his Dao cultivation, the backlash was terrifying.
According to Wu Ming’s own perception, it could potentially ruin his cultivation foundation.
Even with the use of the Tai Sui Evil-Warding Talisman, although it could suppress the effects for a month, the harm would double, and eventually, divine lightning punishment would strike him down, leaving him without a burial place!
The method of escaping from the main deity’s hall in another world was effective, but Wu Ming himself had little confidence in its actual efficacy.
Therefore, he needed to reduce this malevolent backlash as much as possible.
Defecting to the imperial court of this world was one way.
After all, while this backlash was terrifying for him, it was nothing compared to the imperial court’s authority over the entire realm.
“But… you have made an agreement to surrender the city tonight?”
Wu Ming opened his spiritual eye, observing the signs, and his expression became somewhat strange.
Zhong Ting and the others were greatly alarmed: “Without waiting for Commander Wu to make the decision, how dare we act on our own initiative?”
“Oh!”
Wu Ming nodded: “Then you can now prepare to stage a rebellion… The eastern gate will certainly fall tonight. Those who do not wish to surrender to the imperial court can go to the western gate, where there is still a chance for survival!”
“This must mean there are still people willing to surrender!”
Zhong Ting and the others clapped their hands together, stood up, and solemnly said: “We are willing to follow General Wu!”
It must be said that Wu Ming’s “mystical arts” were simply too terrifying, causing them to instinctively obey.
“Haha… Since that’s the case, I will certainly find a way out for you!”
Saying this, Wu Ming exuded a sense of confidence.
He immediately began assigning tasks, all of which had been secretly prepared beforehand, now executed in a well-ordered manner.
Just as the generals had departed, a commotion erupted at the eastern gate, flames and cries of battle soared into the sky, and faintly, shouts of “the imperial army has entered the city” and “surrender and you will not be killed” could be heard, causing them to feel a chill in their hearts and quicken their pace.
…
Inside the Grand General’s Mansion.
“Hmm?”
Li Rubi was lying drunk on a high couch when suddenly he jolted upright, spilling the wine in his hand. Hearing the cries of battle outside and seeing the flickering flames, he was greatly alarmed: “What has happened?”
“Reporting!”
A guard entered, knelt, and reported: “Yu Shaojun from Master Nanshan’s residence has rebelled, leading his personal soldiers to open the eastern gate and surrender… Your Majesty, you must flee quickly!”
“Yu Shaojun… Nanshan!!!”
Li Rubi gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot: “I will kill him! Kill them all, and exterminate their entire clans! Where are my personal guards? Go and eliminate the entire Nanshan household!”
“Master Nanshan has already disappeared, and all his disciples are gone!”
At this moment, a personal guard officer entered, knelt, and said: “Your Majesty, my men are still holding the western gate, and I have a hundred cavalry ready. Hurry and leave! If we delay, it will be too late!”
The cries of battle grew louder, clearly indicating that the city’s soldiers had abandoned resistance and were not engaging in street fighting.
In fact, some mutinous soldiers were rushing toward them, seemingly aiming for his head as a reward!
Li Rubi jolted again and finally said: “Fine! We will leave now!”
Looking at the grand mansion, he gritted his teeth again: “Issue the order! Have all my concubines killed and the mansion burned to ashes! I will not let anyone else benefit from it!”
“Understood!”
It must be said that Li Rubi had indeed been wise and capable in the past. For decades, he had shown kindness and gained the people’s loyalty. Even now, there were still loyalists willing to obey.
Moments later, the Grand General’s Mansion was engulfed in flames, and dozens of riders galloped westward toward the western gate.
…
As dawn broke.
A disheveled and fleeing army hurriedly took refuge deep in the mountains.
“Your Majesty! This place is high and forested; we can hide here for a while and be safe!”
A junior officer used his helmet to carry some water and offered it to Li Rubi.
Li Rubi’s hair was disheveled, and he licked his dry, cracked lips. Looking around, he saw that those who had followed him in the breakout had gradually scattered, leaving only ten riders remaining.
Thinking back to when he first rose to power, commanding an army of thousands and instilling fear in the imperial court, and now seeing his forces crumble like a mountain collapsing, with only ten riders left, a surge of sorrow filled his chest. He took the helmet and drank deeply.
The cool spring water flowed down his throat like a line of ice straight to his stomach, and Li Rubi jolted awake. Looking around, he felt puzzled: “This… this is the deep mountain where my ancestors’ tombs are located? How did I end up here without thinking?”
But at this moment, he couldn’t help but sigh: “Let’s go pay respects to our ancestors!”
In a daze, he felt he should apologize to his ancestors. As for what came next—whether he would commit suicide before their graves to atone or change his name and live out his remaining days in obscurity—it no longer mattered.
He continued forward to the dragon vein location.
“The green pines still stand, how many autumns have passed through wind and frost?”
Seeing the cave entrance, where the green pines still stood like canopies but showed signs of decay, Li Rubi couldn’t help but sigh.
As the group entered the cave and reached the burial site, Li Rubi’s eyes turned red: “Who dares do this?”
He saw that the site was in ruins, his ancestors’ tombs having been dug up.
In ancient times, people valued being buried in peace, and desecrating someone’s ancestral graves was considered an even greater offense than wiping out their entire family.
“Jiejie… you’ve finally arrived. Your fortune has been greatly diminished, and you couldn’t escape my magical deception!”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
With eerie laughter, a series of arrows flew, and the remaining junior officers fell to the ground, dead.
A hunched figure emerged from the darkness, his narrow eyes glowing with a greenish light.
“It’s you!”
Li Rubi recognized the figure as Master Nanshan, whom he had appointed as his strategist and trusted greatly. Overcome with grief and anger, he asked: “I have always treated you well. Why have you done this?”
“Treated me well? Hehe… My entire clan was destroyed by you. Such kindness indeed cannot be repaid unless I exterminate your entire clan in return!”
Master Nanshan, his face pale, gritted his teeth.
“Destroyed your clan?” Li Rubi clenched his teeth: “Just who are you?”
“Jiejie… who am I? Look again…”
Master Nanshan’s voice became increasingly mournful. His entire body seemed to be enveloped in a mist, his face elongating, his eyes glowing with a greenish light, resembling a fox.
“A fox! You are a fox spirit!”
Li Rubi took three steps back, and in a flash of realization, a memory surfaced in his mind.
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