Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 382 - 379 "Love" Runs Wild

Chapter 382: Chapter 379 "Love" Runs Wild

At the same time, a substantial part of the Imperial City, already usurped by the disciples of the "No-Life Dao," was in a state of chaos.

"Bang!"

Receiving reports that various "Weird" phenomena were continuing to converge towards Yunjing City, Zhou Xinglou smashed the nearby huanghuali wood table into smithereens with a palm strike.

During this period, faced with the bizarre sights beneath Yunjing City that no one could explain,

Zhou Xinglou, Xue Jiexi, Master Red Lotus and Fanglin Master—all key figures in charge—were extremely frustrated, yet found themselves at their wits’ end.

The "Weird" phenomena wouldn’t go anywhere else and insisted on gathering right beneath the Capital.

They also incidentally cut off the path for scholars, nobles, and candidates of the imperial examinations to enter the city.

Hearing about the crisis in the area, the potentates who were already en route all hesitated to proceed further.

Even the soldiers tasked with escorting them were scared witless, refusing to march even at the cost of their lives.

Even the usually effective "Six Desires, Heart-Chaotic Killer"—the hallmark of the "Six Desires Red Dust Dao"—had completely lost its allure to those Weird entities.

In the past, as the population surged, the Dynasty Dragon Qi would grow stronger every day.

The denser the Dragon Energy, the stronger the help offered to the "No-Life Buddha" during the blood sacrifice.

It could even enable Him to surpass the other dozen or so Heavenly Officials and take charge of the mortal world’s future development.

But since the night of the full moon on the fifteenth of June, the Dragon Qi had begun to wane, ground away by the widespread "strange tide."

Xue Jiexi, in charge of the matter, was so anxious that he was virtually jumping up and down in frustration.

The original plan was to create an incident to keep the meddling Righteous Path busy with endless issues, ensuring they would not have the spare time to cause trouble in the Capital.

But no one expected that lifting the stone would eventually crush their own feet so heavily.

The precious Dragon Qi that they had gone to great lengths to gather no longer belonged to "Great Yan" but was now under the name of the "No-Life Dao"!

It was even more agonizing than having flesh cut from their own bodies.

"Forget it, it’s been half a year since the second of February, and the rate of increase of the Dragon Qi had already begun to slow down.

At present, with the population in the city plus the major farms temporarily housing those noble families near the Capital, the total population has exceeded two million.

It already meets the minimum requirement set by the Old Buddha.

Moreover, the cage secretly prepared within the city—[Ritual: One Day Prison]—is nearly eighty percent complete and will definitely be fully ready before the end of August.

Even if someone discovers the secret of the ’Red Dust Qi,’ knowing we can utilize the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition,’ it doesn’t matter at all.

At most, they can only see the first layer and will never find out about the second layer behind it, let alone the third.

This blood sacrifice of the Dynasty must proceed without fail.

All who enter the city will become human sacrifices for the Old Buddha to enjoy. Even if the Green Seal Sage arrives, it would be the same outcome!"

Just as Master Red Lotus spoke, easing the tension,

he lifted his eyes only to see a vast flock of chattering magpies stretching across the sky of Yunjing City.

They had spontaneously formed a massive black "Magpie Bridge" that spanned across the Heavenly River, dividing East Heaven from West Heaven.

At the same time, it connected the [Altair] on the eastern bank and the [Vega] on the western bank.

The moment the Magpie Bridge took shape, those two distant stars suddenly shone brighter.

A force from Outer Heaven, tracing the path of the Magpie Bridge, descended swiftly, falling precisely upon Yunjing City before them!

As Mages in the Divine Transformation Realm, both Master Red Lotus and Fanglin Master saw it and their expressions changed drastically, yelling in unison:

"Disaster strikes! Seal the palace gates immediately, let the Yellow Seal Mage take personal charge of the defense!"

...

At the corner tower on the northwest side,

Wang Yuan and Huang Wu were also taken aback by the sight of the Magpie Bridge spanning the night sky.

"This... it’s really heading straight for us!"

In this world of divine deceit, Chinese Valentine’s Day is an artificially manipulated and distorted holiday.

However, inside the Guanlan Pavilion, there exists the oldest and most complete account of Cowherd and Weaver:

"...Wu Shen, Ji You, Cowherd seeks Weaver, fruitlessly, thrice forsaken!" (From: Bamboo Slips for Daoist Rituals from the Warring States Period recovered at the Site of the Qin Tombs at Shuihudi)

Which means, aside from those earlier mentioned details, after marrying Cowherd, Weaver was abandoned by him not once, but three times successively.

From this, one can deduce.

In the common beliefs of the Pre-Qin populace, the time Cowherd and Weaver spent together was inauspicious; whoever got married within those days would suffer an unhappy marriage.

In this world, folk myths come first, followed by corresponding divine positions and deities.

It was precisely the initial tragic tale that allowed the personified [Altair] and [Vega] to be completely consumed by the Killing Tree early on.

The story of Cowherd and Weaver, as well as the festival of Chinese Valentine’s Day that derived from it, served as the vessel for their power.

Even their existence has been longer than that of the majority of Heavenly Officials and Corpse Dissection Immortals, becoming an integral part of the operating rules of this world.

It is more inextricably linked with the human act of procreation and survival than even the [Singing Rhyme Child], and not even the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" can withstand such profound and rule-level effects!

If left unchecked, their very existence would corrupt the sanctity of marriage, destroy marital harmony, and create domestic strife...

It would then greatly affect the birthrate throughout Red County Shenzhou.

Thus, the ancestors of the Nine Soldiers began implementing a large-scale cognitive alteration measure about two thousand years ago.

They instilled in the people the belief that Chinese Valentine’s Day was beautiful, a symbol of love, that couples would receive blessings from the Cowherd and Weaver, and enjoy a happy and fulfilling marriage... and so on.

When everyone believes that the festival is actually a good thing, it can greatly weaken the power of this phenomenon-level "Weird."

It was also a means of replacing Heaven’s heart with the hearts of people.

And after some time had passed,

the Corpse Dissection Immortal discovered that during the holiday, various merchants would eagerly contribute to the hype, encouraging men and women to buy gifts and clever trinkets, thereby making a hefty profit.

They, too, became the main force warping the truth.

Now, after a long period of time, only a few alarming clues remain within the lines of the original story.

Apart from the Nine Soldiers’ Guanlan Pavilion, the truth about Chinese Valentine’s Day and the Cowherd and Weaver can no longer be found anywhere in the world.

Even if a minority of Immortal Officials still know the truth, it’s not too harmful, but it’s best not to talk about the real story of the Cowherd and Weaver on Chinese Valentine’s Day.

Preventing them from hearing it, then coming after you!

Unfortunately, although Wang Yuan and Huang Wu did not discuss their story,

The "powers" of the Cowherd and Weaver: sleeping in the same bed with different dreams, grieving phoenix and lamenting luan, separating the paired phoenixes with a mirror, broken hairpins and shattered mirrors...

Consider these powers.

Each one can be linked to Huang Wu, who naturally possesses the Vermilion Bird Style, the Dream Realm Divine Power, "Moon in the Water and Flower in the Mirror," and also holds the Divine Position of Doumu Taiyin, governing marriage.

And now she was in the midst of "Taiyin Refining Form," a process so closely aligned it’s almost impossible not to encounter issues.

At that moment.

A man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, looking debonair and as if the phrase "irresistibly handsome" was written all over his face, appeared on the city wall next to the corner tower.

It seemed as if he radiated an aura, attracting the attention of all the nearby soldiers the moment he appeared.

The male soldiers seemed not to be greatly affected, though envy appeared on their faces.

But the few female soldiers with notable Military Skill Cultivation showed an excessively happy smile upon seeing his face.

"So... so handsome! I would die without any regrets!"

Then they clutched their chests weakly and collapsed to the ground.

"Weird · Exceeding Pan An"

A peerless handsome man with no lethality towards men.

But about eighty percent of women who had not seen much of the world would suffer a sudden heart attack upon seeing his face, and die on the spot.

In reality, they were "smitten to death" by Exceeding Pan An.

Huang Wu, who had seen this scene and had been around Wang Yuan for some time, was practically immune to the "handsome" trait, and was completely unharmed.

However, after Exceeding Pan An traversed back and forth without finding Huang Wu, who was hidden by "Blending with the Mundane,"

He completely ignored the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" and started walking toward the city where the Chinese Valentine’s Day celebration was taking place.

This was one of the side effects of "Weird · Chinese Valentine’s Day."

The influence of the Cowherd and Weaver covered the entire Red County Shenzhou, and on Chinese Valentine’s Day, their abilities would strengthen all related "Weird" phenomena.

On this day, few things can withstand the onslaught of "love"!

Following close behind Exceeding Pan An, ignoring the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" and climbing onto the city wall, was a pretty young girl dressed as a maid in red.

With a flick of her delicate fingers, a red thread in her hand instantly connected to a soldier, while the other end of the red thread was attached to... the city wall.

In the next instant.

The beefy-faced soldier, amidst the astonished expressions of his comrades, licked his dark red lips towards a small damaged hole in the wall.

"Brothers, I don’t know why, but I suddenly have a very bold idea. Don’t anyone try to stop me!"

As he spoke, he began to unbuckle his belt...

Behind him.

The red-dressed girl continuously flicked her fingers, connecting the red threads from those soldiers to arrow nooks, crevices in the bricks, torches, blades, Wolf Fang Clubs, and of course... to each other.

Ah—!

In an instant, agonizing screams echoed across the battlements.

And they simply couldn’t stop.

At that moment, the scene was incredibly chaotic, incredibly chaotic!

Wang Yuan acted quickly, covering Huang Wu’s eyes and, in doing so, also saved her worldview.

This second "Weird" was none other than the "Matchmaker"!

Able to forcibly create marriages with the red thread in her hand, and not just between humans!