Illusion (2)

"Lao Yue."

Suddenly, a figure wearing a black cloak and a pure black mask appeared on the path five meters away, as if flashing by.

That path led Yue Dewen back to Great Capital, but this person appeared and blocked his way.

"You should know why we have come." Even though the newcomer was cloaked, he could not hide the solemn Daoist tone in his accent.

Within religions, Daoist priests and monks, over time, develop a unique and inexplicable aura.

Such a temperament is immediately apparent the moment one opens their mouth or makes a move.

However, this person didn't seem to care whether he was exposed.

"Besides your True One Zhen Yunzi, who else has such a distinctive voice? And you're the only one? What? You look down on me, Yue Lao Yue, thinking that just because I'm old, I should be like a fat pig in a pigsty, waiting for you to butcher me?" Yue Dewen nonchalantly picked his nose and flicked it away.

"Anyone else? Come out here."

He could sense three auras, but even with just these three, it would take a huge price to completely surround and kill him.

Even if he gets old, this body of his is not something these defeated underlings can bully.

"Heh, you've got a temper." Zhen Yunzi clapped his hands lightly from beneath the cloak. "In this world, there aren't many people I can admire, but you, Lao Yue, are definitely one. What a pity."

"It's a pity he's about to die." Another tall and burly man in a black cloak swiftly emerged from the distant bushes, his movements far surpassing those of a grandmaster.

A hundred meters is covered in an instant, yet this exaggerated speed and agility strangely doesn't create the slightest airflow.

"The Thousand Sect Alliance?" Yue Dewen frowned. "Your movement techniques are still so stupid. You eliminate sound but not smell. It's like taking off your pants to fart, completely unnecessary."

"You can only be stubborn now. Old Man Yue, today is the perfect time to repay the favor of blocking us before," the man said coldly.

Why waste so much breath on him? Why not just take action?

Two tall, imposing figures appeared on the opposite shore of the small lake behind them.

The two people were of different heights, and even just by getting close, one could smell a strong sandalwood scent mixed with a woman's incense.

"So it's you two bald monks from the Western Sect. What? Master Yuan is willing to let you out to bark?" Yue Dewen said defiantly, but his heart sank.

He could handle three, but now there are four!

There aren't many eminent monks of the Western Sect Yuan Generation Monk; there are only a handful in total.

Although people generally look down on the Western Sect True Buddha Temple, it is undeniable that their diverse recruitment strategy is indeed very powerful.

Aside from the vulnerability to backlash, the rapid rise of the Western Sect was closely related to this strategy.

"I can share the burden." The silent old man from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion slowly appeared beside Yue Dewen and said in a low voice.

"Thanks. I'll treat you to drinks when we get back!" Yue Dewen felt a little relieved. If it were just the three of them, he was still somewhat confident.

"Hmm." The old man nodded slightly.

"Then." Yue Dewen turned around and looked at the enemies in the other three directions.

Are you ready to end my era?

He lifted his Daoist robe, revealing his muscular upper body.

Since we're going to surround and kill this Old Undying, we should be prepared to be killed instead.

"Your era never began, so how can it end?" Zhen Yunzi smiled slightly.

He moved closer step by step.

"Do you think no one recognized you when you fought us back then? Or do you think your confidantes died back then?"

He held up his finger.

"Let me count, one, two, three, four, five, six. There are probably more than fifty of them, both caught and not caught."

Yue Dewen's expression suddenly changed.

If there is anything in this world that is his weakness, then the women he once loved are definitely one of them.

"So, it was you who did it!?"

"Look, there are two left. It all depends on whether you're willing to save them." Zhen Yunzi clapped his hands gently.

Not far behind, two gaunt women with gray hair were slowly brought over.

With two thuds, both of them were thrown to the ground, unconscious.

After leaving the others behind, Zhen Yunzi also took a step back, seemingly unconcerned about their reunion.

Yue Dewen slowly approached, squatted down, and carefully examined the two Azure Elder faces that he vaguely remembered.

"I"

Bang! The two women simultaneously reached out and grabbed his chest.

At the same time, Yue Dewen also suddenly reached out and grabbed the two women's hands that were reaching for him. He threw them backward to block the two Western Sect figures that were rushing towards him from behind.

"You want to kill me?! You'll pay with your life!!!"

Yue Dewen's body rapidly swelled and grew larger, his skin turned black, and countless dark red blood vessels crawled all over his body like earthworms.

His originally Azure Elder face and figure instantly transformed into more than twice his original size.

The ferocious figure, over three meters tall, swung its hand and smashed down on several attackers who rushed towards it.

Boom!!

In an instant, all sound stopped.

Yue Dewen stood there, stunned. A gaping hole, the size of a human head, had been ripped open in his chest from behind.

Behind him, the old man from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion, who was responsible for protecting his safety, silently sheathed his giant sword.

Whoosh!

In that instant, four figures around him simultaneously sliced through him like scissors.

Under the sunlight, Yue Dewen's entire body was suddenly torn into several pieces, which fell to the ground scattered.

***The night was hazy, and the fog was thick.

Ze Province, Jade Screen Road.

On a hilly, dark slope.

The unusually short pine trees, less than five meters tall, create a unique landscape in this mountainous area.

Deep within this pine-covered slope lies Pine Mountain Town, a small town with a relatively low population density.

First Squad Great Ling Army soldiers clad in black armor had already surrounded the town.

Most of the houses in the town were set ablaze, the flames shooting into the sky and turning the surrounding area a blood red.

Zhang Rongfang followed Shangguan Feihe and the other two as they slowly walked into the town.

The surrounding houses were burning, and in the buildings in the distance that were not yet burned, soldiers wearing iron masks that covered their faces dragged out living people and slit their throats.

There was no anger, no pity; the whole town was like a slaughterhouse, with soldiers carrying out the procedure of dragging out livestock and slaughtering them one by one.

Suddenly, a crossbow bolt flew out from the shadows and Shangguan Feihe squarely on the outside of his arm.

With a clang, the crossbow bolt struck the armor, making a crisp sound, and fell to the ground.

Shangguan Feihe didn't even look at the other party. Naturally, a figure rushed out from behind him and entered the shadows. Not long after, a scream was heard.

"There are 110,000 people in Pine Mountain Town. Are they all rebel soldiers?" Zhang Rongfang couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, all of them," Ning Hongli said calmly. "Our people have killed several rebel leaders here, but each time they died themselves. Later, we found out that the entire town was providing cover for the rebels."

She looked at Zhang Rongfang gently.

"Don't feel sorry for them. If some people pity them, then who will pity those they killed?"

Zhang Rongfang nodded, his gaze lingering on the entrance of a small building.

Two Black Armor Army were hacking down a frail woman who was trying to escape.

Two teenagers tried to step forward to save the person, but were also mercilessly beheaded.

They didn't look like a mutinous army, but at this time and in this situation, whether they were or not was no longer important.

Before long, all the experts in the town had finished cleaning up.

Shangguan Feihe left behind a small portion of the hundred men he had led, while the rest continued to follow them toward their next destination.

The next morning, after resting until the afternoon, they arrived at the second County Town.

Then came the third and fourth Shangguan Feihe, who barely spoke to or interacted with him, simply moving forward in silence.

Anyone who dared to stand in his way was crushed to death and thrown aside.

Even Zhang Rongfang and the other two grandmasters could only see the terrifying speed and power he occasionally unleashed.

There were no fancy moves, just a simple strike and a pause. That was enough to resolve any probing. It was a terrifying burst of power that even Zhang Rongfang couldn't see clearly.

Zhang Rongfang had no objection to the clearing out of the town, after all, he knew he was not familiar with the situation.

This massacre lasted for five days.

On the sixth day, the team had dwindled to just over twenty people; the rest were left behind to oversee the different towns they had visited.

Meanwhile, Shangguan Feihe gave everyone a day off to rest and recharge.

They were waiting for the announcement in a County Town called Mianqiu.

Standing under the eaves of the Inn, Zhang Rongfang watched the bustling streets with people coming and going.

I couldn't help but recall the continuous massacres of the past few days.

Shangguan Feihe and the other grandmasters seemed to be used to this, and it was clear that this was not the first time they had done it.

The bloodshed of the past contrasts sharply with the bustling streets under the autumn sun.

The stark contrast between the bloody brutality and the harmonious tranquility is striking.

Zhang Rongfang sighed softly. He could accept killing, and he could accept killing many people if he needed to.

But indiscriminate killing is absolutely unacceptable.

In his view, most of the towns he had visited were not worth taking action against.

Thinking this, he sighed inwardly.

I slowly started walking along the sidewalk, leaving the Inn, listening to the cacophony of voices around me, and moving forward with the flow of people.

'Powerful clans and local magnates, and the peasant Rebel Army —two completely different camps, two opposing camps. And yet, at this moment, I'm actually on the side of the powerful clans.'

He, a commoner from Barbarian Confucian background, has somehow ended up in such a strange situation.

With these strange feelings in mind, Zhang Rongfang continued to wander through the streets and alleys.

"Are you feeling a little guilty?" Ning Hongli's voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"No. It's just... something I don't understand." Zhang Rongfang shook his head. "Slaughter, an act that only breeds hatred, is meaningless to use indiscriminately."

"How could it be meaningless?" Ning Hongli laughed. She had changed into a pink belted long dress and looked like a beautiful seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, stunning and charming.

"Commoners and the lowly all believe that as long as they overthrow the few experts and their men in the Prefect, they can gain power."

"But when they wielded pitchforks and axes, storming the government offices and Prefect, and when they painstakingly surrounded and killed one after Spirit Noble and officials, they suddenly discovered that those they had killed had risen from the ground again and continued to slaughter them."

"Moreover, no matter how many times they kill each other, the other will always get up and kill the attacker."

"At that time, they will despair. They will become more obedient and disperse to join various sects."

Ning Hongli said calmly.

"And that's what we're going to do. When uprisings and chaos can't succeed no matter what, then they can't continue to act, to continue the uprising."

Because they understood that there was no hope.

Zhang Rongfang remained silent, pondering the meaning behind these words.

"You must remember that as those in positions of power, you must sever the connection between the lower classes and us as much as possible, making sure that the roof they see is low enough."

Ning Hongli continued speaking.

"In this way, no matter how much you exploit them, when they decide to rebel, what they see and touch when they jump up is just a facade we've set up."

"When the illusion is Unveiling, and they find themselves facing a world they have no idea how to defeat, everything will turn from hope to despair. Then, everything will be more stable, and our foundations will be stronger."

Ning Hongli seemed to be teaching something.

"As a Daozi, you should understand, and must understand, this is the unspoken rule commonly used by all sects today."