Outside Guanjiangkou, a lingering stench of demon blood still hung deep within the ruins.
Xiaotian Dog crouched beside the pile of rubble, lowering its head to gnaw on the last bit of bone shards.
The dark golden vertical mark between its brows glowed faintly, inhaling and exhaling the freshly plundered demonic power as its aura surged upward section by section.
Gu Changqing did not look at it.
His gaze pierced through mountains and rivers, falling directly upon the human royal capital.
Chaoge.
Simultaneously, above the nine heavens, the trajectory of the Heavenly Dao shifted imperceptibly.
Wisps of grayish-black aura seeped out from the void, like silently spreading tides, pressing coldly toward the mortal realm.
That was not malevolent energy.
Nor was it demonic.
That was calamity.
The moment calamity qi arose, the place where the human race's fortune flourished most bore the brunt of it.
From the direction of Mount Qi, the cries of a phoenix faintly echoed.
And above Chaoge, the Dark Phoenix that had suppressed the six-hundred-year national fortune of the Great Shang let out a short, suppressed cry of grief.
Gu Changqing's gaze shifted slightly.
It was time for the momentum to rise.
Nuwa Palace.
Mist swirled and pure qi drifted.
Yet today, a striking aura of pink demonic energy managed to intrude within the Saint's Daoist temple.
The source of the demonic energy was none other than a poem inscribed upon the wall.
The brushwork was wild and unbridled, every line between the characters reeking of desecration.
That wispy demonic energy coiled tightly around the verses like a living creature, continuously eroding the sacred aura all around.
Upon the cloud bed, the holy statue of Nuwa closed her eyes lightly, her expression serene.
Yet had any Quasi-Saint been present here, they would have discovered that the void surrounding the holy statue was slowly twisting due to an anger compressed to its absolute limit.
After a long time, an extremely cold sigh echoed within the palace.
The fortune of Yin and Shang has reached its end, and this calamity is only fitting.
As the words fell, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop by several degrees.
The Demon Clan, too, shall enter the game.
The next instant, the doors of Nuwa Palace slammed shut with a boom.
From then on, the pure and sacred sanctuary was sealed, ignoring the wind and rain of the mortal world by even half a point.
Chaoge, the royal palace, the Star-Picking Tower.
This was the most extravagant place in the entire royal city.
Gold and jade paved the floor, carved balustrades and white jade structured the terraces, and the music of silk and bamboo played ceaselessly day and night.
Di Xin leaned lazily against the royal throne.
Clasped in his embrace was none other than the newly entered Su Daji.
His gaze, once as sharp as a blade, now retained only the turbidity steeped in wine and lust.
Yet that trace of pressure belonging to the Human King remained, preventing the palace attendants throughout the hall from even daring to breathe too heavily.
"Great King."
Daji half-leaned in his arms, her voice soft and cloying, yet the corners of her eyes bore grievances.
"Queen Jiang always goes out of her way to make things difficult for Your Concubine. She even said Your Concubine is the reincarnation of a fox spirit and wants to invite a priest into the palace to subdue me. Your Concubine... is so frightened."
Di Xin's gaze darkened, and he raised his hand to smash the jade desk before him.
With a loud crash, shattered jade flew in all directions.
The remaining fortune of the Human King violently shook, and the entire Star-Picking Tower swayed along with it.
"A woman consumed by jealousy dares to bully her way onto Our head?"
He looked down at Daji, the brutality in the depths of his eyes growing heavier.
"Guards!"
Armored soldiers at the entrance of the hall immediately rushed in.
"Seize Jiang! Strip her of her title as Queen, banish her to the side hall, and await further disposal!"
As those words left his lips, the palace attendants across the entire hall dropped to their knees.
The expressions of several veteran ministers shifted drastically, and they hurriedly stepped forward to kowtow.
"Your Majesty, pray reconsider!"
"The Queen is the Mother of the Nation; how can she be so lightly humiliated?"
"Scram!"
Di Xin kicked the foremost veteran minister over, his eyes burning red with fury.
"Whoever dares to plead for that woman again shall share her crime!"
Just at that moment, two figures charged into the hall.
They were none other than Yin Jiao and Yin Hong.
Both wore the attire of crown princes, but at this moment their faces were deathly pale and even their steps were chaotic.
"Father King!" Yin Jiao dropped heavily to his knees, his voice trembling, "What crime has Mother Queen committed?"
"We beg Father King to retract the order!" Yin Hong kowtowed alongside him, "Mother Queen would never harm Lady Su!"
Di Xin had originally hesitated for a split second.
Yet right at that moment, Daji sighed faintly.
A wisp of nearly invisible pink demonic energy burrowed right through the bridge of his nose.
The last shred of clarity in the depths of Di Xin's eyes was instantly swallowed by brutality.
"Very well."
He sneered aloud, raising a finger to point at Yin Jiao and Yin Hong.
"Even the two of you dare to oppose Us for the sake of that poisonous woman?"
"In Our eyes, you and Jiang are cut from the same cloth-you have both come to ruin the rivers and mountains of Cheng Tang!"
"Guards!"
His voice was as cold as a blade.
"Take these two obstacles, along with Jiang's remaining faction, and behead them all for the public to see!"
!Boom
Yin Jiao and Yin Hong's minds went completely blank.
A moment ago, they were still the most esteemed princes of the Great Shang.
The next moment, their biological father king had personally issued a decree of execution.
Several imperial guards lunged forward like wolves or tigers.
!Go
A fiercely loyal veteran general suddenly drew his blade, throwing his body across in front of the two princes, and roared hoarsely:
"Fang Bi and Fang Xiang are waiting outside to receive us! Escape Chaoge quickly and find the Four Great Lords! Avenge the Queen!"
Before his voice finished falling, he had already spun around and slashed an armored soldier to the ground with a single stroke.
Yet the next instant, multiple long halberds pierced straight through his chest.
Fresh blood spurted forth, splashing across Yin Jiao's face.
Warm, sticky, and sweet.
That was the first time he truly smelled the scent of death.
!Go
Yin Hong snapped back to his senses, jerked his paralyzed elder brother to his feet, and fled frantically outward with a few loyal guards.
Behind them came the faint, ethereal laughter of Daji.
And the roar of Di Xin, shaking and freezing with fury.
"Pass down the decree, seal the entire city!"
"A thousand pieces of gold and a ten-thousand-household marquisship to whoever takes the heads of Yin Jiao and Yin Hong!"
Kunlun Mountain, Jade Void Palace.
Clouds rolled and unspooled, and cranes cried out long and clear.
Guangchengzi and Chijingzi stood upon Qilin Cliff, looking down at that ball of mortal calamity qi burning ever more fiercely in the world below.
"Senior Brother, the demonic qi in Chaoge pierces the heavens." Chijingzi gripped the Yin-Yang Mirror, its surface reflecting the blood and fire within the palace city, "The Human King has destroyed his own foundation, and the fortune of Yin and Shang can no longer hold out much longer."
Guangchengzi's expression was calm, as though he were gazing upon a game of chess already laid out.
"King Zhou is benighted, which accords with the heavenly count."
He slowly rolled his fingers, his gaze growing somewhat deep.
"It is merely a pity that the six-hundred-year national fortune of Yin and Shang should scatter just like that."
Chijingzi was startled: "Senior Brother means?"
"Those two princes, Yin Jiao and Yin Hong." Guangchengzi said indifferently, "They still bear the final orthodox fortune of Yin and Shang suppressed within them. If they can be taken as disciples, then when King Wu's Campaign Against King Zhou takes place later, we can borrow them to make the residual fortune flow back, and our Chan Sect can add another share of fortune as well."
A brilliant light flashed in Chijingzi's eyes, and then he smiled.
"Senior Brother thinks comprehensively."
Guangchengzi swept his sleeve and turned around, his tone light and casual.
"Let us go. Those two children are currently in the time they most need 'Immortal Destiny'."
As the words fell, the two turned into streaks of golden light, tearing through the cloud layer and heading straight for Chaoge.
In their eyes, those two princes fleeing for their lives were already chess pieces laid out upon the board.
Meanwhile, Yin Jiao and Yin Hong had just managed to slip out through a side gate of the royal palace under the desperate, life-risking protection of several guards.
The two glanced back once at that palace city, both familiar and strange.
That place had once been the residence of the royal family, but at this moment it resembled a deep abyss that swallowed men whole.
!Pursue
"Don't let them get away!"
The sounds of footsteps and battle cries from behind violently pressed in.
Yin Jiao clenched his teeth hard, and Yin Hong pulled him along as they charged all the way into the intricate alleys of Chaoge.
The two princes, amidst the full-city lockdown, officially embarked upon a path of desperate flight.