“Ominous?”
The Primordial God gazed at the blood-written character on the ground and the corpse of the Word Immortal, hearing the prompt of increased authority. His expression darkened solemnly, yet he burst into laughter. “The heavenly mechanisms are unpredictable, and human calculations even more so. I am the sovereign of all realms, the will born from the Primordial Temple. What virtue and ability do you possess to judge my fortune or misfortune?”
A flame descended, turning the Word Immortal into ashes, but the Primordial God’s figure had already vanished.
…
“I really stirred up quite a storm this time, didn’t I?”
In Shangzhou, Wu Ming sat cross-legged, contemplating his gains and losses.
“This task is obviously suspicious to anyone with clear eyes, but still, a large number of low-level authorities, as long as they aren’t fearless of annihilation, will come… Moreover, during this bloody battle, authorities won’t be transferred, but will accumulate together and eventually be concentrated on the victor!”
This automatically excluded a portion of the authorities.
After all, the higher the authority, the stronger the power, generally speaking. If there are powerful experts who can resist annihilation and are indifferent to desires, they might not participate in this chaotic situation, thus eliminating strong competitors.
In fact, in the stage Wu Ming constructed, only he and the Primordial God were the protagonists; the others were merely supporting characters.
“I can now vaguely sense… in terms of authority, among all the Reborn, I must be the highest… even…”
Wu Ming waved his hand, and the Primordial Temple’s screen automatically appeared.
“Display Reborn information!”
[Ding! Honored Controller of the Primordial Temple, you requested to access Reborn information… Authority verification in progress, partial access granted. You will receive partial Reborn information!]
The Primordial Temple immediately responded:
[Total number of Reborn: one thousand seven hundred and thirty-four! Among them, authorities: thirty-three! Specific personnel information: insufficient authority, cannot query!]
“There are only thirty-three left. I remember there were thirty-four before. It seems the Primordial God’s will hasn’t been idle either!”
Wu Ming pondered: “According to the ranks I set, classify the Reborn’s strength!”
[Level One Reborn: eight hundred and eighty-nine! Level Two Reborn: seven hundred and seventy-two! Level Three Reborn: fifty-three! Level Four Reborn: seventeen! Level Five Reborn: three!]
“Hmm…”
Wu Ming touched his chin. One Level Four Reborn was missing, it seemed the Primordial God’s will had also gained significantly.
Since killing Yuqinzi and increasing his authority again, he could now check the number of Reborn in the Primordial Temple, although he still couldn’t obtain specific information, it was enough for him to make plans.
Otherwise, if he saw there were still sixth-level great sages among them, Wu Ming would be a fool to issue this task and make clothes for others.
“But… there’s still a Level Five Reborn?”
Three Level Five, one naturally was himself, another must be the Primordial God’s will, and the last one remaining was quite surprising to Wu Ming.
“The Primordial Temple must have added certain restrictions as well, otherwise before the final master is decided, the emergence of sixth-level great sages would be detrimental to concealment and too disruptive to balance…”
The great sages outside might not be able to discern the pulse of the Primordial Temple, but sixth-level Reborn had the potential to sabotage from within.
Although this was just Wu Ming’s guess, there was a possibility. After all, the fact that no sixth-level Reborn had appeared yet was the best proof!
“The winds and clouds of eight directions converge on Shangzhou!”
Seeing this, Wu Ming suddenly smiled and then disappeared again…
…
“Vermilion Bird Camp ready! Xuanwu Camp prepared!”
Still in the imperial city, outside the Eight Trigrams Supervision Hall, Chou Yi gripped the Xuanwu sword, staring intently at the opened passage, even a bit of sweat on his face.
“Xuanwu Camp has arrived!”
A talisman flashed, transmitting the message.
“Good!”
The voice came, then there was a sudden silence.
Tat-tat!
In the silence, a pair of footsteps was clearly heard approaching.
“He’s coming!” Chou Yi’s eyes were ablaze, yet with a hint of fear.
The footsteps drew closer, revealing a figure in the attire of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs—it was clearly Cang Ying!
“Save… save me!”
He was in a wretched state, layers of talisman light dimming, holding a crystal of killing aura in his hand. As soon as he exited the passage, joy appeared on his face, and he shouted loudly.
“Roar!”
But immediately, a black shadow, twice the height of an ordinary person, chased out, causing his expression to change drastically.
The pursuer was clearly a dragon beast, its black claws extending. The already dim spiritual light could no longer protect him, and it was instantly broken through. Although Cang Ying possessed martial arts skills, facing a dragon beast nearly at the level of a martial sage, he was still like an ant.
Puu!
The sharp claws pierced effortlessly from his back, protruding from his chest, grabbing a bright red, pulsing heart, and squeezing it tightly.
As blood gushed out, the joy on Cang Ying’s face gradually froze.
“Now! Four Symbols Sword Formation, attack!”
Chou Yi’s soul emerged, attaching itself to the sword. The black sword trembled violently, revealing the form of Xuanwu, towering like a mountain, instantly blocking the passage.
“Roar!”
“Chirp!”
Beside him, red, white, and green lights flashed, transforming into a Vermilion Bird, a White Tiger, and a Green Dragon, ferociously pouncing and engaging the dragon beast in battle.
“Roar!”
Even though it was fighting four opponents, the dragon beast remained fierce, moving swiftly like the wind, seemingly attempting to break through the interception to attack the emerging experts of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.
Buzzzz!
At this moment, a sword light seemed to summon the heavenly thunder punishment, flying out from the Eight Trigrams Hall. With just one strike, it left a wound on the dragon beast, black blood gushing like a spring!
The Legalist Heaven Punishment Sword!
Cui Jue’s voice came: “What are you waiting for?”
Chou Yi and the other deputy commanders and enforcers all looked grim, bit their tongues hard, and spat out their essence blood.
After the Four Spirits’ swords were stained with blood, their power surged, suddenly transforming into four-colored mysterious lights, instantly pinning the dragon beast’s limbs.
“Cut!”
Cui Jue struck again, the Heaven Punishment Sword flashed, the dragon beast paused for a moment, and finally its large head fell off.
“Phew…”
Chou Yi retrieved his sword, looking at the black killing aura pollution marks on it, feeling a pang of pain, his face even paler, clearly showing the damage to his vital energy.
“Dad…”
As for Cang Feiyan’s cries and complaints from the side, they were completely ignored by everyone.
“Very good!”
Cui Jue approached, inspecting the dragon beast, indifferent. “Three dragon beasts have been eliminated. If we continue like this a few more times, we can thoroughly clean up the imperial tomb! Then we can safely enter the Dragon Ancestral Cave! Rest for an hour, then send someone out again!”
After speaking, he directly ordered people to carry the dragon beast’s corpse back into the hall, not even glancing at Cang Ying’s body again.
The Legalists often produced harsh officials, who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. In Cui Jue’s view, the person was from the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, so it was only natural for him to die for the court, and there would certainly be rewards afterward, which was enough!
If there were any further demands, it would be considered resentment, and killing him would be justified.
Cang Feiyan’s eyes were red, hugging Cang Ying’s corpse, her gaze lowered, yet a flash of hidden hatred passed through.
“Sigh… Your father died for the country, and the court will surely provide compensation afterward. Are there any descendants in your family? They should be granted privileges…”
Chou Yi stepped forward, slightly consoling her with a few words, but seemed somewhat distracted.
“My father had no sons, only a nephew, who also died in the tomb earlier…”
Cang Feiyan answered with red eyes, looking timid, which made Chou Yi’s expression change slightly, and he couldn’t help but speak kindly: “…It’s indeed a bit difficult in this case, but don’t worry, your father was a loyal minister. I will definitely submit a memorial afterward, praising him, and choose a relative to adopt, continuing the family line…”
“Thank you, sir!”
Cang Feiyan bowed, feeling Chou Yi’s strange gaze, her hatred coiling like a venomous snake in her heart.
…
Chou Yi didn’t pay much attention. Although he liked women, he held high status and power, whether in his sect or the court, he had all the wealth and honor he could want. What exquisite beauty couldn’t he obtain?
This girl, though young, had the cultivation of a mage, which was quite good. She would make a suitable concubine.
In the sect, although there were no cultivation techniques for dual cultivation with a partner, there were still a few methods for using a furnace and cauldron.
This thought flashed by, and Chou Yi looked at the Eight Trigrams Palace with a worried expression.
“Previously… we sent out our elites with great fanfare, but it provoked several dragon beasts to attack, causing heavy casualties and forcing us to retreat. If it weren’t for that senior’s intervention, we would have suffered major losses!”
“Seeing that the situation was unmanageable… Lord Yan could only resort to old methods, ordering us to use the crystals as bait to hunt and kill the dragon beasts one by one, reducing their numbers…”
“But this task is dangerous. Of the dozens of scouts, very few survived…”
Boom! Boom!
Another tremor came, causing Chou Yi and others’ expressions to change continuously:
“Now the earth tremors are becoming more frequent. The Dragon Ancestral Cave’s changes are about to happen at any moment. What should we do?”
Their gazes involuntarily turned toward the Supervision Hall.
Inside the hall, at the center of the Eight Trigrams Formation, there were only four people now.
Lord Yan, Cui Jue, Prince Yong, and an old Confucian scholar with a frail appearance but eyes that held the warmth of jade.
The mysterious figure Wu Ming had sensed as somewhat dangerous before, and who had intervened in the imperial tomb, was him.
“Another one eliminated this time. At this rate, it won’t take many days to clear out the imperial tomb…”
Lord Yan, seeing the corpse, had a joyful expression on his face.
In contrast, Prince Yong, upon seeing the fierce and hideous corpse of the dragon beast, showed fear on his face. Only after looking at the old Confucian scholar beside him did his expression improve somewhat.
“What does Chancellor Xiang think?”
Cui Jue looked at the old scholar, his face also showing respect.
Confucianism nurtures the righteous spirit, with various branches. Chancellor Xiang was from the School of Mind in the south. When he was young, he had passed six examinations consecutively, his literary reputation filling the world. After becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination, he was personally appointed as a Hanlin scholar. After decades of studying and cultivating the righteous spirit, he not only achieved the “Confucian Sage” level of the grand righteous body but also advanced further, reaching the state of understanding principles with sincerity, capable of foreseeing future events.
This meant that this old Confucian scholar had such profound knowledge of principles and sincerity of heart that he could even sense his own fortune and misfortune, avoiding calamities and seeking blessings.
Traditionally, divination does not predict oneself, and medicine does not treat oneself. This ability to foresee was an even higher supernatural power.
At this level of scholarship, he could establish his own school. Centuries later, he would be known as “Master Xiang”!
In Wu Ming’s view, he was at level five of the Confucian Dao!
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