Chapter 259: Malevolent Qi

In this great war, Wu Ming fulfilled his duty quite well, which was to “just go through the motions!”

To him, whether the Mandate of Heaven was with the Shang or the Zhou was irrelevant, as it certainly was not with himself. Therefore, aside from dealing with the Blood Oath Alliance, he rarely took action.

After all, he was no die-hard fan of Ji Yi, nor would he voluntarily bring his own rations to work for him. Basically, whenever the old Taoist of Yuqing requested his help, there would always be something required in return—it was always a fair trade.

Wu Ming was quite happy about this arrangement.

He had witnessed the earlier scale of battle—Demon Lords, Ancient Gods, and Immortal Sages! Given his current strength, rashly getting involved would bring no benefit at all.

“It’s better to hide behind the scenes and be a hero from the shadows…”

A faint smile appeared on Wu Ming’s lips: “With so many twists and turns today, will history record it? Probably only with a line like ‘they surrounded Shengjing, captured it in three days, and the people came out to welcome them,’ merely proving Ji Yi’s Mandate of Heaven!”

At this moment, as he charged into the imperial palace, he immediately looked up, tracking the shifting imperial aura of Shang Jie.

“No matter what the leader of the Blood Oath Alliance intends to do, he must cross Shang Jie first! Moreover, the former true dragon emperor—if we use his blood for a ritual sacrifice, who knows if it could forge a divine weapon?”

“Capture Shang Jie! Capture Shang Jie!”

As the biggest reward package in the Battle of Shengjing, Shang Jie was now coveted by many. The Zhou generals storming the palace didn’t even bother to loot the golden and jade treasures before rushing straight toward the location of the Twelve Golden Men.

Indeed, there were quite a few cultivators with thoughts similar to Wu Ming’s.

“Shengjing has accumulated treasures over a thousand years; the rare and precious items within the palace might be extremely beneficial to cultivators…”

Seeing several Taoist cultivators wielding flying swords darting about, Wu Ming couldn’t help but inwardly chuckle at the saying, “Men die for wealth, birds die for food.”

The Shang imperial palace had been expanded over a thousand years, with countless magnificent buildings and golden splendor. Despite having experienced earthquakes, heavenly lightning, and finally the chaos of explosions and rebellion, golden pearls, jade walls, and silk brocades could still be seen among the ruins.

“We’re here!”

Smoke and fire filled the sky. Occasionally, there were soldiers looting amidst the chaos, last loyal ministers fighting to the death, and palace concubines and maids either trying to escape in disguise or hanging themselves. It was utter chaos.

Wu Ming didn’t bother to involve himself in any of this. He dashed swiftly, suddenly arriving at a rooftop overlooking the plaza where the Twelve Golden Men had stood.

The Twelve Golden Men were shattered and fallen, leaving the area naturally in disarray. Occasionally, blood could still be seen beneath the broken bricks, but what truly made Wu Ming’s eyes widen was the terrifying malevolent aura rising into the sky.

The thick black mist was so dense that even the naked eye could see it, forming a canopy-like cover overhead, filled with the wails of countless ghosts.

“With the Twelve Golden Men destroyed, even just one-tenth of this aura’s release would be enough to render the area around Shengjing barren for three hundred years, turning it into a wasteland! No wonder the Zhou Dynasty plans to move the capital…”

“Charge in! Capture Shang Jie alive, and it will be a feat of immense glory!”

“Capture Shang Jie alive!”

To the soldiers, this was merely a thin layer of black mist, at most an obstacle to vision. With bloodlust in their eyes, they charged in recklessly without a second thought.

However, several Taoists and sorcerers, like Wu Ming, stopped at the edge, their faces filled with caution and apprehension.

“Order all soldiers to seal off the area! No one is to enter without permission; violators will be executed!”

Soon, the commanding general arrived, seemingly a disciple of the Military School. Upon seeing the scene, his expression immediately changed: “And those soldiers who have already entered—no one is to come out! Anyone attempting to breach the perimeter will be executed without mercy!”

“Send a messenger at once to inform the emperor and request further assistance!”

After arranging these orders, the general approached the edge, his eyes filled with various emotions: “The Golden Men are destroyed, the Mandate of Heaven has fallen—this is the Xuan Niao Dragon Slaying Aura! No! It’s even more sinister and poisonous than the usual Dragon Aura, and this resentment? It’s the most toxic and deadly substance imaginable! Even I dare not get too close!”

He was quite aware that the original aura, after being altered by the Golden Men, heavenly tribulations, and a series of changes in the capital region, had undergone a mysterious transformation, bringing about unpredictable consequences.

“Hehe…”

“Kill!”

At this moment, the soldiers driven by greed began to undergo transformations.

One by one, they gasped for breath, their eyes blood-red, and they wildly slaughtered nearby living beings. Even their former comrades-in-arms became victims of their blades.

And after feeding on blood, black scales began to grow on these frenzied soldiers, and small horns sprouted from their foreheads. In an instant, they transformed into monsters.

“Save me! I don’t want to die!”

A few soldiers whose mutations were not yet severe rushed out, crying for help: “General! Officer! Save me!”

“Kill!”

The Zhou officer’s face remained cold and unfeeling. He personally drew his bow and shot a golden arrow like a falling star straight into the man’s eye socket, bursting out from the back of his head.

Bang!

The corpse slowly knelt to the ground, and even now, wisps of black mist continued to rise from it, causing the body to twitch involuntarily.

“This is a deadly poison; once infected, transformation occurs immediately, and it spreads. Be careful—don’t let a single one escape!”

The officer shouted loudly.

“Understood!”

Witnessing this scene, whatever lingering camaraderie the soldiers had felt was now completely forgotten. With spears like a forest and bows and crossbows at the ready, they firmly guarded all sides.

Luckily, these monsters merely wandered within the black mist, absorbing the malevolent aura. Although they were terrifying to behold, they remained relatively harmless.

“What is this? Metal Slaying Aura? Dragon Slaying Aura? Ghost Slaying Aura? It seems similar, yet different!”

Wu Ming was quite interested in these phenomena, but after observing for a while, he slowly turned to leave: “Shang Jie was just here, but he has been moved again!”

The ability to observe auras was not unique to him.

However, few could do so, and among those who could, their abilities varied in depth.

At this moment, several other Taoists exchanged glances and also turned, seemingly preparing to pursue.

Suddenly, all of them turned pale: “The imperial aura has been severed? Could it be that Shang Jie is already dead?”

“Hmm?”

In Wu Ming’s eyes, the last remnant of the Shang Dynasty’s aura also vanished in an instant, which was extremely strange.

Generally speaking, in such a situation, there was a seventy to eighty percent chance that Shang Jie had already become a corpse!

However, Wu Ming, with his Heaven’s Eye fully activated, could still faintly perceive a lingering trace that seemed to flicker in and out of existence. He immediately had a hunch: “This must be the work of someone concealing it with Taoist magic! Even if Shang Jie has already become a deposed monarch, to achieve this requires immense cultivation power—at least a Taoist Grandmaster!”

Looking at the seemingly clueless cultivators and sorcerers, his figure slowly faded into the shadows.

“Master Du?”

A younger Taoist, seeing this, immediately became anxious: “Master Zhaixing’s attitude is ambiguous. If he leaves alone now, he must know the secret. Should we not…”

Within the Taoist sect, those who held the title of “Du Gong” were high-ranking members of the Taoist lineage, second only to the sect leader, with profound cultivation. This one was a true cultivator with three long beards, exuding an immortal aura.

Upon hearing this, his eyes flashed with sharp light, and he stroked his beard thoughtfully: “Nonsense! Master Zhaixing has reached the realm of True Sovereign cultivation. How can we go against him? That would be like throwing eggs against a stone!”

“Are we just going to let him claim such a great achievement?”

The young Taoist grew anxious: “Won’t this allow the Maoshan Sect to overshadow our Xuanyuan Sect?”

“The emergence of a True Sovereign cultivator naturally leads to the Maoshan Sect’s rise. That’s only to be expected!”

Master Du’s eyes gleamed: “Moreover… even if Zhaixing can capture Shang Jie, it won’t be our problem but rather Yuqing’s headache!”

Although they were all part of the same Taoist school and even served under the same King Wu, internal rivalries between sects were inevitable.

Previously, under the immense pressure from Shang Jie and the Twelve Golden Men, they could barely unite against external threats. But now, inevitably, they began to turn against each other.

“It’s not a bad thing even if the Maoshan Sect rises. After all, King Wu intends for the Yuqing Sect to oversee all Taoist sects across the land. If that happens, won’t we all be under their control?”

Master Du’s eyes flashed with sharp light: “Therefore, instead of opposing this person, we should support and promote him to oppose the Yuqing Taoists… Do you understand?”

If it weren’t for the fact that this young Taoist was his nephew and a successor he was carefully grooming, he wouldn’t even bother explaining further, and would have simply sent him back to the mountain for meditation.

“I understand now. I shall follow your instructions!”

The young Taoist bowed respectfully, his eyes filled with admiration.

That Zhaixing Taoist looked even younger than himself, yet had already reached the peak of Human Immortal cultivation, on the verge of Earth Immortal! Even his own elders needed to seek his favor.

Compared to him, although he himself had cultivated to the rank of Magus and was hailed as a prodigy and the chosen heir of the Taoist sect, he was still far behind.

…

“Has the Emperor awakened…”

Shang Jie slowly opened his eyes. Before him was a secret chamber, dimly lit by an oil lamp casting faint light around, slightly dispelling the darkness, yet filled with a heavy, stifling atmosphere.

“An underground secret room?”

He slowly sat up, faint sounds of battle echoing in his ears, and his expression changed again: “What has happened to my Golden Men? And those rebels?”

“It is my honor to inform Your Majesty that the Twelve Golden Men have been utterly destroyed by heavenly lightning and earthly fire. The King Wu’s army has stormed the imperial city—the Shang Dynasty is finished!”

Appearing before Shang Jie was a man dressed entirely in black, his face seemingly veiled in a mist, revealing a countenance so ordinary it bordered on artificial.

“It’s you…”

Shang Jie hadn’t noticed anything unusual yet, murmuring: “I’ve seen you before at the Grand Astrologer’s place…”

“Your Majesty’s wisdom and majesty are unmatched; your memory is impeccable. This humble servant is in awe!”

This man was none other than the leader of the Blood Oath Alliance, whose face now bore a sinister grin: “I must also thank Your Majesty for providing this humble dwelling. This secret chamber is located beneath the ground, and with the current chaos in the imperial city, King Wu’s army won’t find us here anytime soon…”

“What do you intend to do? Rebel?”

Shang Jie’s expression immediately changed, for on the Blood Oath Alliance leader, he could detect not the slightest trace of reverence!

Undoubtedly! For those in power, such a person is the most terrifying!

What does it matter if one is the supreme ruler of the land? If someone dares to risk everything, they can pull the emperor from his throne! Without any sense of reverence, no matter how great the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors stood before them, they would be seen merely as flesh and blood—nothing more than a target for a brick to the head!

Such a person disregards all rules, embodying the possibility of shattering every chain!

Shang Jie’s forehead began to sweat slightly. He recalled how, when he had first seen this man, the latter had knelt on the ground, showing utmost respect. He inwardly cursed: “How regrettable that I failed to recognize this traitor back then! Otherwise, he should have been executed a thousand times over!”