Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 252 - 249: Giant Gate Star Lord, Moon Breaking Great Loss

Chapter 252: Chapter 249: Giant Gate Star Lord, Moon Breaking Great Loss

A fourth-realm Military Leader’s "responsive when provoked" ability was extremely keen, having reached the level where he was unafraid of sneak attacks.

Even Wang Yuan, a Magician of the Yin God realm, gave careful thought and chose not to directly move against Lingxiao when conspiring.

At this moment, Nie Renxiong’s loud voice had only just begun to speak when he immediately woke the Spirit Guardian Marquis from his slumber.

Throwing on his clothes, he moved like a piece of paper through the window and, riding the gale, lightly landed on the deck of the ship, looking up at the group of Imperial Dragon Guards above Turbid River’s floodgate.

His brows furrowed like the blades of swords, and he shouted in great annoyance,

"Who are these nobodies barking here? Daring to block my path?!"

The restraints within Nie Renxiong’s heart had shattered, and he had returned to his original ruffian demeanor.

Seeing the man of importance emerge, he merely bowed his hands casually:

"So it’s the Spirit Guardian Marquis himself.

Your lordship may not know, but this demon object is no laughing matter. A few days ago, ’Age Star crosses heaven’ and from outside the Heavenly Gate dropped over a hundred Evil God Orders.

If we don’t collect them in time, I’m afraid it will lead to great chaos, this is also for the concern of your lordship’s safety.

Please don’t make it difficult for us."

Lingxiao, who had long served in the palace, always felt superior when he was on local official duties and didn’t pay any attention to a mere fifth-rank Minister Talismanic Treasure,

Hearing this, his face turned cold instantly:

"What a joke, I am a fourth-realm Military Leader, any demon or deceitful monster would turn to ashes before me.

Moreover, I carry an Imperial Decree, and am on an imperial mission; I won’t hesitate for a moment, even if faced with an army of thousands.

Make way, all of you!"

As he spoke, he took out a bright yellow Imperial Decree from his bosom and held it high over his head.

The direct lineage of the Imperial Dragon Guard handled the situation better, but those ordinary soldiers guarding the river channel couldn’t help but stir and look at the official ship with a hint of retreat in their eyes.

Wang Yuan and his companions dared to kill the Imperial Decree Eunuch without negotiation; these people, feeding on the emperor’s grain, didn’t have the guts to scorn imperial authority.

Nie Renxiong, however, was completely indifferent, his body spun slickly, and the official robe of Minister Talismanic Treasure disappeared, replaced with the attire of the City God.

In Ancestor’s time, all prefecture City Gods were conferred the title of ’Spirit Guardian Marquis’, equivalent to a third-rank, also adorned in marquis robes, not at all less than his Spirit Guardian Marquis one.

Moreover, he too took out a scroll of Imperial Decree from his chest, raised it high, and shouted again:

"Your lordship refuses to be controlled by the Imperial Dragon Guard?

How coincidental, I, the City God, also have an Imperial Decree, decreeing: Nie Renxiong in the position of City God to oversee all ’Yang Officials.’

Not just a mere marquis, even princes and royal descendants are subject to my authority to execute first and report later!!"

Lingxiao and his subordinates and guards from the Marquis Mansion who had surged out upon hearing the commotion couldn’t help but change color at the sight.

Being both Imperial Dragon Guard and City God, wasn’t this just like the legend of "judging the yang by day, judging the yin by night"?

Was this man planning to monopolize the entire chain of demon extermination, upstream and downstream?

And defeating an Imperial Decree with another Imperial Decree, they stood no chance legally.

If Zhou Wenrui, who liked playing the emperor’s balancing act, saw that his Imperial Decree became a tool for two "rebel ministers and traitorous subjects" to exert force against each other,

he would probably vomit blood on the spot and deeply question his own capability as an emperor, wouldn’t he?

But it wasn’t over yet.

Nie Renxiong waved his hand again, and the soldiers stationed by the riverbank sequentially unveiled tarpaulins, exposing at least a hundred large-caliber cannons.

All aimed at the official ship in the middle of Dongping Lake.

Lingxiao’s face turned ashen in an instant; he clearly saw that the first dozen or so "Daoist Skill Cannons" were actually Thunder Sails Cannons dismantled from the upper decks of three-masted warships.

These vicious weapons, with just one shot, could sink a warship of similar size, and pulverizing him along with the official ship was like child’s play.

These were the national weapons equipped only in the Long Water Camp!

Without at least a couple of days, there was no way to transport these military assets and personnel from Ninghai State over.

But the second-in-command of Long Water Camp, Central Army General Jiang Yulong, and third-in-command, Firearms Commander Wei Pengyi, were his foster father’s men.

How come there wasn’t a peep of information leaked in advance?

Was Inner Official Lv’s progress unsatisfactory? Or was it that they had accidentally leaked the news two days early, making Zhou Jinhuan take heed and prepare?

The more Spirit Guardian Marquis thought, the colder he felt in his heart, and he couldn’t help but become suspicious and paranoid.

But he didn’t know that Wang Yuan not only had the unique ability of ghost body flight but also could use the Deceit Market as a relay, dispatching troops and commanding willfully within a three hundred li radius.

Moving his troops and cannons from Ninghai State, the furthest east of Dengzhou Prefecture, all the way to Dongping Lake on the westernmost side, it hadn’t taken more than a quarter of an hour in total.

It was literally "a quarter-hour strike across the prefecture"!

Spirit Guardian Marquis snorted coldly:

"Hmph, once I take over the Long Water Camp and sit in the commander’s position, I will make you all understand what hierarchy means!"

Nie Renxiong’s face remained impassive, but inwardly he thought:

"Hierarchy? Heh, we’ll see if you survive being toyed with by my lord first, then talk about rushing to Ninghai State."

After all, everyone knows that isolation and investigation are not one-off affairs, but come in wave after wave.

There’s no need to ask when it’ll end, the answer is... soon! Soon!"

Lingxiao, looking extremely displeased, was about to turn back into the cabin to write a letter to Prime Minister Xue to tell on them.

Ah—!

Behind him, suddenly, came a piercing scream, followed by a loud crash of a splintering deck.

Everyone turned to look, only to see a Marquis Mansion guard in a mere undershirt holding his sword, hacking ruthlessly one blow after another at a comrade who had broken through the wooden wall attempting to escape.

His eyes were lifeless as if sleepwalking, muttering to himself:

"They are all monsters! All monsters! Kill you, kill all of you!"

This man seemed to have confused the real world with the dream realm.

In his dream, he seemed to be fighting on the battlefield, but in the real world, he had killed a living person.

Before the others could react, Nie Renxiong had already roared,

"Look, what did I tell you? Surround him, don’t let a single one escape!"

Marquis Guangyang clenched his teeth with a creaking sound, but was utterly helpless.

The ferocious gaze swept over Mr. Zhou, who was silent as a cicada in winter under his command, and each subordinate and guard, yet he couldn’t find the slightest clue from them.

...

At the peak of a small hill beside Dongping Lake that offered a view of the entire lake,

An old man and a young one sat on opposite sides of a small table set with two dishes and a pot of yellow wine.

Wang Yuan originally planned to use this theatrical scene to greet Brother Xu, who had come from afar and righteously lent a hand to help him subdue Inner Official Lv with a welcome to dust off the journey.

But he didn’t expect this "surprise" to arrive so quickly.

"Is the Evil God Order that effective? Has it already begun to bring them misfortune immediately after its release?"

Zhou Xianchen was a target carefully chosen by Wang Yuan.

He was a scholar capable of using ’Dragon Energy’ to perform the ’Literary Ascension Dragon Skill’ and was adept in Confucianism’s Chenwei Studies, which allowed him to examine luck and fortunes and measure auspicious and ominous signs.

His compatibility with the Evil God Order and his resistance to it were both exceptionally strong.

High compatibility would greatly enhance the effect of the Evil God Order, even without turning into a lethal Weird, and it could bring severe misfortune to everyone around him.

He would also involuntarily attract the power of other Evil God Orders, creating a cumulative effect.

High resistance would significantly delay the time for others to notice that something was wrong, with the most ideal outcome being that everyone else would perish first, and he would die last.

But even Wang Yuan, the instigator, hadn’t expected bad luck to strike so quickly.

And it seemed there were serious issues with this person’s dream realm.

Xu Zhenzhi’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he slapped Wang Yuan’s shoulder, laughing,

"I knew it, sticking around you, Brother Wang, the ’Disaster Star’, would definitely pay off.

"The Tribulation Energy can be felt from miles away; the taste is undoubtedly right! I’ve never met anyone with a greater knack for causing trouble than you in my entire life," said Old Xu.

"Brother Xu, is that really a compliment?

And as a ’Nine Soldiers’ Immortal Official, do you have any good strategies for dealing with that Weird that seems to be hiding in the dream realm?"

Boss Wang was extremely cautious and wouldn’t just believe whatever others said.

But when he opened his ’Dharma Eye’.

He immediately saw above the unremarkable Old Xu’s head, even after his own ascension to ’Yin God’ status and still unable to see through him, a halo of ’Yin Morality’ shining a hundred yards bright!

The accrued ’Yin Morality’ was at least five or six times his own, already exceeding the terrifying number of one million.

Wang Yuan was fully convinced of Xu’s claimed identity as the Immortal Official under the Immortal General of Corpse Dissection – the Giant Gate Star Lord.

In this world, there were approximately 189 Evil Gods and 92 Auspicious Gods, broadly classified into ’year, month, day, hour’ four major evil and auspicious god systems based on their different movement periods.

In this realm, the Evil Gods belong to Black Tai Sui, while the Auspicious Gods belong to Great Fate.

Most Heavenly Officials are born that way; even if mortal cultivators join them, they may achieve longevity, but at most, they are just door dogs under their command.

Over time, as the True Spirit becomes obscured, what’s left is hard for anyone to discern.

The ’Nine Soldiers’, however, believe: Immortals are made by mortals, only fearing that mortals lack determination.

Once you join the ’Nine Soldiers’, you will be granted an Immortal Official title, and when cultivation is achieved, you will obtain corresponding powers, standing on an equal footing with those Deceit Gods.

As Xu Zhenzhi, who hailed from Mountain Sea Tao, joined under Great Fate, he was bestowed the Immortal Official position of one of the seven Northern Heaven Douzhai Star Gods – the Giant Gate Star Lord.

All this was a blessing from the science of Slaughter.

"My Dao skill is deeply related to that blighted Xuankong Flying Temple. Allow me to use a similar Dao skill to divine a prediction," said Xu Zhenzhi.

He bent his fingers continuously for divination, muttering incantations under his breath.

The geomantic Tao lineages of this world were mainly divided into four major schools originating from ’form and terrain’ and ’qi management’: Great Yan, Xuankong, Forbidden Jade Box, and Passing Yin Yang.

Both Mountain Sea Tao and Xuankong Flying Temple belonged to the Liqi Sect, proficient in using mountains, seas, stars, and gods to regulate fortunes and govern life and death.

A moment later, Xu Zhenzhi re-opened his eyes, deeply furrowing his brow,

"’Age Star crosses the sky’, and the Evil God in charge of the day is ’Moon Breaking Great Loss’, thus among the 189 Evil God Orders that descended today, this order is the most malicious!

Moon Breaking Great Loss: avoid praying for blessings, establishing rituals, weddings, engagements, setting up beds, erecting structures, repairing houses, accepting wealth, opening markets, livestock entry, herding, healing, funerals, all actions bode ill..."

After explaining the origins of this Evil God to Wang Yuan, Xu Zhenzhi continued soberly,

"This most potent Evil God Order has likely entered the dream realm and fallen into the hands of some spiteful Weird.

And is now using the dream realm as the main base to interfere with reality, especially in places where other Evil God Orders serve as anchors; this is where it wreaks the most havoc.

It may also be plotting to gather all the Evil God Orders, turning the public dream of Dengzhou Prefecture into a grand Deceit Realm!

If not handled well, this Weird may be a hundred times more dangerous than the currently missing ’Yellow Clothed Boy’."

A thought struck Wang Yuan, and he immediately remembered how, on that day, Realm Mage Young Master Huadie, in a bid to escape, plunged into the dream realm.

He just didn’t know what had become of him.

"Beings from the dream realm should find it difficult to intervene in reality, but that oddly magical Young Master Huadie is an exception.

Could it be that ’Moon Breaking Great Loss’ really ended up in his hands?"

Young Master Huadie was nearly invincible among his peers in the dream realm. Now that he has turned dark, even high-ranking mages entering would struggle to match him.

Only cheating may... continue.

Thinking this, Wang Yuan silently took out the ’Deceit Object · Heart Communication Conch’.

"Now Dengzhou Prefecture has become our own enterprise; in critical moments, we must take some risks.

By the second day of the second month next year, we must reach a resolution!"