Madness

"Wu Bei?"

"Li Shang?"

"Poisoning?"

"Qian'er?"

The King of Huainan could influence the fortunes of the Kingdom of Huainan and restore their physical condition through the art of wind and rain, but his court officials did not possess this ability.

The King of Huainan could feel his ministers being drawn towards him, and even his queen, Tudu, was affected, but their spirits vanished in an instant.

It was like a sinkhole; anyone who entered would die. Despite the combined efforts of many, not even a ripple was made.

"Impossible!"

The King of Huainan did not believe that anyone in the world could possess such extraordinary Fortune Technique; this level of Fortune Technique was beyond what was expected.

"It must be an illusion, it must be an illusion! I must have fallen under Dongfang Shuo's illusion spell. His use of supernatural Divine Ability must be an illusion!"

The King of Huainan felt that everything was fake, but the pain of his body being devoured told him that everything was real.

Enveloped in darkness, and with countless dragonfish densely covering the golden dragon's body, the King of Huainan felt as if he were experiencing sleep paralysis, unable to move despite wanting to.

In the King of Huainan's view, the ultimate development of the Fortune Technique was to achieve the divine status of the emperor, thus becoming invincible and unparalleled in an era.

He had never seen such a situation of individual dispersion before, nor had he ever considered the situation he was currently witnessing.

This is another branch of the art of Fortune Technique, and it is very likely the pinnacle of a minister's development.

When any technique is cultivated to its ultimate level, it will unleash unimaginable power. The True Self Realm cultivators at the top of the Three Realms are also distinguished into different ranks because of this ultimate level.

The King of Huainan never expected to encounter such an exceptional opponent.

He was like an ordinary True Self Realm cultivator, while Zhang Xuezhou was at the level of Yuanshi Tianzun and others.

This is an unequal contest of Fortune Technique; this cultivator has disregarded the rules of Fortune Technique as defined in his philosophy.

"My king, come and chase me!"

Zhang Xuezhou's voice still echoed in all directions. What had seemed like a joke before had now become the nightmare of the King of Huainan.

The King of Huainan was well aware that many cultivators were facing Jin Chang in this situation: repetitive, unrealistic pronouncements would instill fear in their minds.

Even if his physical body is destroyed and he escapes this battle, the fear in the heart of the King of Huainan will not dissipate.

"I just wanted to survive. I did nothing wrong, Dongfang Shuo, I did nothing wrong!"

As his fear intensified, the King of Huainan, unable to extricate himself from the war and having directly judged its outcome, frantically tried to justify himself, hoping that Zhang Xuezhou would spare him out of consideration for their past relationship.

But he didn't hear the response he wanted; Zhang Xuezhou's voice remained unchanged.

The King of Huainan wanted to silence them, and Zhang Xuezhou was doing the same.

Many of the royal court officials who had been drawn into the war were unable to discern the truth, while Zhang Xuezhou was determined to have his body devoured by the golden dragon.

The King of Huainan wanted to dispel the Wind and Rain Technique and have Zhang Xuezhou kill him directly, but his survival instinct made him maintain the Wind and Rain Technique covering his body, thus continuously drawing on the fortune of the Kingdom of Huainan to repair his body.

The more afraid he was of death, the more he would try to survive, but this constant struggle for survival triggered a constant cycle of inner fear, almost creating a vicious cycle.

If the King of Huainan still had any sliver of hope, it was only by delaying for a long time, so that Zhang Xuezhou would fail to break through his cultivation in reality, or even suffer a backlash and die.

Apart from this method, the King of Huainan saw almost no chance of winning.

"It's all Liu Jing's fault. In his early years, he was elusive and wanted to kill us all. I had no choice but to cultivate the Emperor Qin's Fortune Technique. Liu Jing 'Fortune Technique is not as good as mine, so he cannot defeat me through magic. Forcibly killing my physical body would trigger a backlash from the Fortune Technique. I have no choice but to constantly Fortune Technique..."

Despite the intense pain, the King of Huainan continued to speak.

The King of Huainan was well aware that time in the Fortune Technique space differed from that in reality, but by incorporating methods such as verbal communication, it was possible to guide the consistency of time.

When powerful demons undergo certain special Heavenly Tribulation, they encounter a Lightning Tribulation that causes them to lose their senses. Almost no powerful demon can survive it; most of them have their bodies destroyed by the Heavenly Tribulation while they are in a daze, thus failing to pass the tribulation and dying.

No great cultivator can remain detached from their body for too long when breaking through to a higher realm. Even the physical bodies of great demons cannot withstand such a feat, King of Huainan did not believe that Zhang Xuezhou's body could endure it for long.

He constantly referenced Jin Chang's breakthrough to the True Self Realm, and continuously calculated and judged the time when Zhang Xuezhou would collapse and lose his power after being interfered with by him.

"The breaking of my physical body does not mean my physical death. So what if you defeat me? I have tens of thousands of retainers under my command. If I were to order an assassination without regard for life or death, no matter how many people are in your family, they would all be killed. Your family would be destroyed, and you would surely die!"

When he was being torn apart by the dragonfish and was in excruciating pain, the King of Huainan would also make a harsh statement, mentioning that even if Zhang Xuezhou won the battle, he would die without a burial place.

But no matter whether he chooses to argue right and wrong, make excuses, or issue threats, the response he receives is the same.

"The Immortal Court stands behind me! I have the destiny to enter the Immortal Court, and you... you bastard!"

Accompanied by constant repairs and prolonged pain, the King of Huainan began to lose control of his emotions, and his rationality eventually turned into endless abuse.

He was left with only the mechanical instinct to unleash the Wind and Rain Technique, constantly drawing upon the Qi of Huainan to block the dragonfish, slowing down their biting speed as much as possible, while also trying to repair his body as much as possible, thus buying more time so that Zhang Xuezhou could be defeated in reality.

As the deep darkness slowly receded and the dragonfish vanished like a fleeting shadow, the King of Huainan's numb mind began to clear.

"I won! In the end, I won!"

He muttered to himself, looking at the sharp-toothed dragonfish in front of him, only to see the dragonfish leap gently upwards.

Like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, the dragon fish's body rapidly transforms, becoming elongated and enlarged, with dragon claws extending out.

Amidst the shimmering golden light, the King of Huainan saw a colossal golden dragon bending down and gazing down.

He stopped muttering to himself, staring blankly at the enormous golden dragon, which then swung its claws down fiercely.

The King of Huainan was gripped in the palm of the giant golden dragon, his eyes filled with terror.

"A puppet! This is a puppet... You actually used His Majesty the Great Ancestor's body to create a puppet! Your Yin-Yang School shouldn't exist! Your kind of school of thought should be completely eradicated!"

"Liu An, I am very disappointed in you!"

A hysterical frenzy appeared in the eyes of the King of Huainan. He thought he had discerned the truth, but when the golden dragon spoke in a calm voice, the King of Huainan felt that the golden dragon in front of him radiated the benevolent light of the Emperor Gaozu, making it difficult for him to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

"It's fake, it's fake, it's all fake, this can't be real. If you are real, then what am I?!"

The King of Huainan remained silent for a few seconds, then let out a sharp, maniacal laugh.

He looked at the enormous claws of the giant golden dragon, then at his own tattered body, which could no longer be repaired by drawing upon the fortune of the Kingdom of Huainan.

Amidst his hysterical, maniacal laughter, his body was torn apart by the enormous dragon claws. Darkness appeared before his eyes, and then he saw once again the altar for sacrificial rites in the royal palace.

Just as the King of Huainan was about to speak, he desperately covered his head and tumbled off the altar.

His physical body was indeed unaffected, but the soul that carried his body suffered the stinging pain of a prolonged blow, and the residual effects spread into reality.

The King of Huainan lost control of himself, just as he had when he was in the Fortune Technique space; the moment he returned to reality, he fell into madness.