Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 117 - 114: No Face, Embrace the Joyful Deity!

Chapter 117: Chapter 114: No Face, Embrace the Joyful Deity!

A quarter of an hour earlier.

Nie Renxiong, resembling a human-shaped bear with his full bearded face, was silently walking through Luoyang City that was adorned with lights and festive decorations, accompanied by three subordinates in official robes marked with the "Qiu Tiger."

These three individuals were core followers that had been demoted alongside him, and having weathered storms together, their interactions were far less formal than typical hierarchical relationships.

The youngest among them was particularly lively; because he bore the surname Qiu and had the title of Shaobai, his companions jokingly called him Qiu Shaobai.

Chewing on a straw, he carelessly withdrew his gaze from the entrance of a brothel and sighed softly,

"Although a grand city like Luoyang is bustling and even the courtesans are much prettier than those in countryside,

it’s all fun for a while, but over time, it feels like a prison sentence.

One’s Taoist skills not only become difficult to advance, but are also gradually worn down, which is even more painful than fighting against deceitful monsters.

Especially since Old Hu had already completed his Foundation Establishment of Daoist Skill, just short of receiving the Enligtenment Talisman."

Old Hu, beside him with a goatee, laughed and shook his head,

"Well, maybe in the future, if we wish to experience such ’suffering,’ we’d only be able to feel it by going to the Capital.

Back then, after the Emperor Taizu established the ’Imperial Dragon Commander Mansion’ and banished all the demons and monsters from the heart of the great Yan during the troubled times,

the stronger the Great Yan Kingdom became, the lower the status of we Imperial Dragon became.

The ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ shines like a blazing sun, awe-inspiring, subduing all cunning demons and monsters, and the defense line of the Imperial Dragon has been pushed back to those uninhabited wild mountains and forests."

As he said this, the serene and nostalgic look on Old Hu’s face suddenly vanished, and his voice turned deep,

"It’s a pity, during the previous Emperor’s era thirty years ago, we retreated with the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ to the village level, and fifteen years ago when Emperor Jianming ascended the throne, we fell back to the county level.

Last year, even the state level required us, the ’paperhangers,’ to patch up the shell of the tiger that Great Yan had become.

Who knows how much longer this city of Luoyang can last.

Today is only ten days away from the ’Sacrificial Technique for Bountiful Harvest.’

The last trainee guard, Fu Baoshi, was as silent as stone, adding nothing to the conversation.

But they all knew what the Sacrificial Technique implied.

While it might herald a springtime for Mages, it would certainly be a harsh winter for the common folk.

For a moment, the entire group fell silent.

After a while,

"Chin up, everyone. Tonight is the last night of the three-day celebration. Stay sharp, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief by dawn."

However, just as Nie Renxiong finished speaking,

a large bird with feet like iron claws and a body covered in black feathers, with only a red crown on its head, flapped its wings and landed on his shoulder,

cawing strangely,

"General, something seems amiss with the people in the core squares of Lide, Chengfu, and Cultivation Squares.

Half a quarter of an hour ago, they gathered spontaneously without any organization and started moving toward the Luoyang Royal Mansion; now their numbers have swelled into the thousands."

This was an Iron-Footed Bird, also known as "Iron Claw Sparrow," a type of spiritual bird bred by the Imperial Dragon.

Though not strong in combat, it understood human language and could assist the training guards in reconnaissance and transferring information, far more effective than any hunting dog.

Upon hearing this, their expressions changed drastically.

Indeed, they had been aware that since yesterday and the day before, there had been some radical voices spreading throughout the city.

"The Yifan has been imposing their will for so long because they are backed by the Zhou Court, and the Court doesn’t care about the lives of us commoners."

"Even the heavens can no longer bear to watch; these beasts must be receiving divine punishment."

"The Court? It can’t match the shovel in this old man’s hands!"

"Now that they are dead, we must claim what we are owed."

"We will claim our debts! We will become wealthy! The wealth of Luoyang King is rightfully ours, accumulated over generations by our ancestors."

"..."

If rumors ran rampant, and three men repeating something could become an accepted truth, it could briefly cause the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" to lapse and provide an opportunity for those with ulterior motives.

This was the principle behind Wang Yuan dismantling the "Golden Cage Prison Bird Formation": by disrupting human willpower, shaking the foundation of the formation.

In essence, the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" spread throughout the entirety of the Great Yan was quite similar.

However, even knowing this, the Imperial Dragon had such limited manpower; they simply couldn’t manage everything.

Meanwhile, the higher-ups in Luoyang City were concerned only with their official hats.

All of them busy contacting their mentors, peers, and hometown friends within the Court,

firstly, to confirm the news about the "Sacrificial Technique for Bountiful Harvest," and secondly, not forgetting to subtly inquire about the Court’s stance toward Yi King.

How could they spare any time to deal with a mere trickle of rumors in the city at such a time?

Of course, the willpower of the dynasty’s people wasn’t entirely intangible and ephemeral; it also had concrete manifestations: the corvée, taxes, and talents sent to the Court by the people... these were all reflections of people’s support or dissent.

So although rumors might affect the "Dharma Prohibition," they wouldn’t last long.

They might persist for a few days or even a fortnight, but the real duration during which they could cause a breach in the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" might be as brief as a quarter of an hour or even shorter.

That too would require guidance from a Mage.

Therefore,

Although Luoyang City had been completely destroyed five or six times in the history of Yan Han, at least the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" had stood unchallenged for two hundred years, so Nie Renxiong and his men weren’t overly worried at first.

But now, the worst-case scenario had still occurred.

When the four officers of the Imperial Dragon Guard, all at least Daoist Soldiers, leaped into the air and arrived at Lide Square, stepping on the eaves like flying balls, they saw a crowd running through the streets like walking corpses.

They shouted in unison:

"Welcome the Joyful Deity! Demand blood debt!"

"Get rich! Get rich! Get rich!..."

The boundless fanaticism chilled the hearts of the officers.

Especially when they saw at the front of the procession a man wearing black clothes and a tall hat, over two meters tall, walking stiffly, their faces turned pale.

The youngest, Qiu Shaobai, couldn’t help but exclaim:

"No Face? Embracing the Joyful Deity? This ’Weird’ that rivals Yellow Seal Mage has actually come to Luoyang City?"

Among the various ’Weirds’ in the world, only a small part, like the Owl God Tomb, is confined to one place and unable to move; most wander about.

And they often chase after all kinds of misfortune and distress among the people.

The suffering of birth, aging, sickness, death, resentment, separation from love, unfulfilled desires, and the burning agony of the five aggregates—wherever emotions are intense, they go there.

This ’Weird·Joyful Deity’ has the ability to fulfill wishes and enhance fortune.

Within its main territory of Junzhou, it has quite the reputation.

Many have heard the old folks tell tales.

If one encounters the ’Joyful Deity’ on the road, one only has to embrace it from behind around its waist and then speak their wish to it, and it would help them realize it. This action is also known as "Embracing the Joyful Deity".

However, there are many taboos for this act:

First, one may only embrace from behind, and only around the waist of the Joyful Deity; second, one must not look at the face of the Joyful Deity, as it originally has no face; third, one must not collide with the Joyful Deity from the front.

Once violated, one would directly lose their life.

Conversely, once successful, one would reap immense benefits.

Of course, while it sounds wonderful on the surface, this method of "getting rich" often realizes itself in unexpected ways.

Like now...

One person’s upper half had already fused with the Joyful Deity, leading thousands in a mighty surge to attack the Luoyang Royal Mansion.

To loot the rich and distribute their wealth!

In that instant, they had already successfully breached the eastern gate of the mansion.

Or rather, in the brief moment when the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ was ineffective, nothing could stop the steps of the ’Joyful Deity’.

The last ten Mystic Armor Guards stationed in the mansion suffered heavy losses instantaneously.

The common guards were even more like rivers of blood.

Nie Renxiong’s face was grim as water:

"A ’Weird’ acting merely on instinct couldn’t possibly seize the moment so precisely to break through the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’. There must be someone behind it.

Iron Claw Sparrow, go find those little rats!

The rest of you, fight with all your might!"

"By your command, General!"

As they spoke, several untied the six-sided, duck-egg-sized gilded ’iron rods’ from their backs, which were actually ’Iron Cannons’.

They aimed at the Joyful Deity from afar and pulled their triggers together.

The striking hammer inscribed with the ’Thunderclap Fire Spell’ struck hard against the edge of the powder chamber, sending sparks flying.

Boom! Boom! Boom!....

The fire flashes of the ’Divine Machine Gun and Cannon Technique’ suddenly illuminated the night sky over Luoyang City.

After hearing the tremendous noise,

Wang Yuan first checked his own tribulation energy, confirming that this incident was not targeting him.

Then, he reached out and grabbed fiercely at Huang Wu and Lady Peach Fairy beside him.

"Soul Capturing!"

The two women returned to their places, and Wang Yuan’s powers immediately returned to their peak.

Whoosh—!

With one step, he broke through the gloomy wind and also stood on the outskirts of Lide Square. His ’Divine Skill·Five Ghosts Moving Mountains’ came as naturally to him as it had to Mr. One-Eyed, but even better.

His eyes flickered with blue light, slightly scanning the distant mansion with the ’Eye as Dark Blue as Lapis’.

However, apart from the flickering spiritual lights on the battlefield,

he noticed a group of magicians shrouded in black robes with their heads covered sneaking into the mansion from the other side.

And the moment he noticed them, the ’Gathering Beasts Magic Skill’ and ’Transformation into Tiger Technique’ turned into ’Dharma Seeds’ within Wang Yuan’s body simultaneously jolted.

Hiss!

"Xiangshan’s seventy-two mystic techniques? These people are the remnants of the Xiangshan Sect!"

The words once spoken by his grandfather suddenly resurfaced in his heart.

— That’s good enough for practicing the ’Transformation into Tiger Technique’. Absolutely do not use it to seek Enlightenment, or step into the filthy mire of the ’All Appearances Dao’. When the time comes, entangled in causality, even immortals won’t be able to save you!

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