Chapter 123 Hongjun’s Scheme
Looking at the receding figure, Madam Hou Qing cried like a child, heartbroken.

Candlelight swayed and its shadow fell on the window. Xiao Douya slept soundly on the bed. The man held a book about spirit cultivation. The wind rattled in the night. Wuyou bent down to pick up the books scattered on the ground. She thought whether her man got better during her absence these days. Her little hand fondled his forehead. However, the man who was still having a dream gave a palm. Wuyou was thrown away by the unexpected palm. The bang woke up the man. He sat up immediately. Wuyou rubbed the corner of her mouth and shed tears with grievance. Xiao Qi was in a trance, thinking that he was making a dream, but he found that he hurt Xiaoyao.

“Husband, having a nightmare?” Wuyou picked herself up from the ground, wondering why her husband would have a nightmare since everything was going on well. Xiao Qi just dodged it. During Xiaoyao’s absence these days, Xiao Qi had read many Kunlun’s books and found that it was hard to be Kunlun’s Sect Master, and that the Sect Master was busier than the King with various affairs. What’s more, the Sect Master should protect the common people. It was not so free as in the Fairy Kingdom.

Xu Linghe woke up from the coma, but only found the darkness in front. He tried to stand up but ran into a hard thing. He felt tearing pain on the head. Where was it? Xu Linghe climbed up along the cliff.

In order to get the Heavenly Book, Black Shadow secretly replaced the beams and pillars with rotten timbers—to pass Xiao Qi off as Xu Linghe. And the real Xu Linghe was imprisoned in the chaos, to which Black Shadow used to banish prisoners. It had been two days before Xu Linghe could climb out of the palisades. Xu Linghe remembered clearly that it was the Hongjun Crossbow that drew the thunders. And he was hit by the thunderbolt when he tried to save dark forces. But when he woke up, he had been in a strange, grey world. A lot of vultures in the sky dashed to him. Xu Linghe held the Flowing Light Sword and swung at the weird birds. However, those birds did not fear the Sword Qi of the Flowing Light, and attacked him from behind. Blood splashed, and oncoming weird birds shared flesh blood. At that moment, the world was still. With the tearing sound of flesh, those corpse vultures flung at him again. The Flowing Light Sword did not work to the weird birds. Xu Linghe wanted to struggle to free himself, but had no Spirit Power. What’s worse, he was losing consciousness little by little.

A streak of Sword Qi flashed by. The corpse vultures fled with fright in all directions. A woman in red suspended in the mid-air, holding a Spiritual Sword. The man on the ground looked extremely feeble. It was the first living creature that the woman had ever seen. Living in the Chaos, she had been accustomed to the miasma. She found the man was not like a demon or an elf. Anyone that could live in the primordial chaos did not rely on luck but the protection of divine being. A common person would be engulfed by the chaotic primordial Qi here. Apparently, the man was thrown there by Hongjun. All the demons there only took orders from a person—Hongjun, the first disciple of the Original Spirit of the Creation. The woman in red had ever seen Hongjun and was absolutely obedient to him, because she was also a part of the chaotic qi. The corpse vultures found the man on the ground had no power to fight back, and then, downthrusted toward him again. A grand feast to eat a living creature was about to start. Xu Linghe picked himself from the ground, struggled, but still fell down straight. Turbid miasma pressed and tore his bosom. Blood oozed with his every breath. His life was flowing away. But he was more assertive that he wanted to come back to see his wife and son alive. The woman in red saw Xu Linghe striving to crawl foward totteringly. But Xu Linghe did not know that the more he scrabbled, the closer he got to death.

“Don’t waste your energy. Save it to live more days.” The woman in red could not bear to see it any longer and reminded the man. However, Xu Linghe did not care too much. His hands supported his body again. Seeing the man trying to escape, those corpse vultures blocked his way. The Flowing Light Sword was useless at all like a piece of scrap iron. In the Chaos, anything with Spirit Power would be sucked by the chaotic primordial Qi. The woman in red swept the Sword Qi to drive off the foraging corpse vultures. The man on the ground stood up slowly. And then the woman in red could see his look clearly. Although his clothes were tattered and torn, and his face was mauled, his elegant demeanor could not be concealed. The blood scars on the sword-shaped eyebrows could not cover the wisdom in his eyes. His face was as handsome as an engraved sculpture, though it was extremely pale. The woman in red was a lump of Air of Chaos, but she had cultivated herself into the shape of a human body. She had no interest in the man, but was still attracted by his graceful bearing. In the desolate place, it was satisfactory to have a handsome man as a companion. The woman in red lifted Xu Linghe up and flew to the end of the desolation.

Standing on the top of the mountain, Hongjun looked down at the world. He was going to a place, the Qi Kingdom. War in the human world had begun. Yan Shen in Jinzhou felt uneasy, because Di Qing in the north officially declared war against him. The devil troops were so unstoppable that they recaptured several cities in many days successively. Yan Shen wore a frown. Although with the support of Madam Yu’s army, he could not compare to Di Qing. Chidi assembled the firepower to launch a general offensive to Jinzhou. It was about to fall. At midnight, Yan Shen gathered military officials in Jinzhou again to discuss how to reseize the cities. Perhaps they could not see any winning hope, and the whole meeting hall was inundated with pessimistic mood. Yan Shen did not want to see it indeed. When he set a flag and staged the uprising, he had faced death with indifference and known that there was no way back. Even if he died, he wanted to stand up. The meeting hall was terribly silent. Faced with the formidable foe, no one dared to shoulder the important responsibility. Madam Yu was deflated after several battles. Numerous naga people was injured or dead. It would have been an easy war, but Chidi punched out unexpectedly to hinder naga army’s advance and foil Yan army’s momentum. Di Qing marched forward courageously and defeated Madam Yu in a row. The consequence was serious, which was the last thing that Yan Shen wanted to see. He sent messages to get help, but no reply. Hope became despair. Reinforcement did not come, and Yan Shen had nothing but a road that led to death. But who wanted to die? Anyone would struggle desperately before death. He did not allow Di Qing to live comfortably. Yan Shen spent the whole night deploying in the meeting hall, hoping to find out Di army’s weak point. However, in the sand table, Di Qing always had the upper hand while Yan army was obstructed tightly. Drilling result exhausted Yan Shen. He had to take a rest. Tea was served in the meeting hall, and people drank it cups after cups. Drinking tea should be a refined thing, but military officials just glugged down and did not dare to make any trouble. Emperor Yan was in a fit of anger. They thought they had better act with great caution. Yan Shen was badly battered with anxiety. He pushed the door open, hoping the cold wind would blow away his foolishness. He was a layman to lead troops in the war, but a good mastermind. But Yan army had no place to retreat, and Madam Yu’s military force declined sharply and needed cessation for some days. Yan army also needed rest. Any struggle to fight would cause great casualties. Yan Shen knew it well, so he should find a way to boost morale. Seeking help was the only way out. But the person did not come. Yan Shen wanted to go to Kunlun to have a try, because the next person coming to his mind was Xu Linghe. But when Yan Shen thought that he had not help Xu Yinchang in those days, Yan Shen dismissed the thought immediately. Interest came before everything. How could Yan Shen open the mouth to ask for help? He weighed whether he should find another way out. The courtyard was deadly silent. Withered leaves grated under the feet. It came to the days when leaves fell in the autumn. Yan Shen thought he was like the leave. Could he pass the tribulation? He bent down to pick up a leaf and raised his hand to let the wind blow it heavily. The withered leaf was about to set sail but was blown back by the adverse wind. Yan Shen let out a long sigh. The withered leaf’s fate was exactly the same as his. The result of surrender was to turn to flower mud. He was not reconciled or willing. Because he did not only hate Di Qing, but also Di Qing had extinguished Yan family in Jinzhou. Yan Shen would not shrink back. Black Shadow streaked the night sky. Yan Shen was moved by a mixture of feelings, because the person whom he had been looking forward to arrived finally. Black Shadow suspended in the mid-air. He had already had the great desire to tame the human world and fooled with the three realms in his palms. It was Black Shadow’s mission. He wanted the Original Spirit of the Creation to know that even without the Original Spirit’s impartment, his cultivation was still superior in the Chaos.

Yan Shen knew the Black Shadow’s purpose. Only interest could drive the desire and maximize his own interest. Yan Shen knew it well, and so did Black Shadow. The meeting hall became silent upon Hongjun’s arrival. Yan Shen offered the main seat to him. Madam Yu’s eyes darkened and glanced at Black Shadow, finding that the person was full of chaotic Qi. It seemed that the person was of an impressive background. Any spiritual cultivator knew that the chaotic primordial Qi was the spirit of the Chaos, the Spiritual Qi gathered by all of vital essences. Madam Yu had guessed the person’s identity. Before Black Emperor created the world, the heaven and the earth were filled with chaotic primordial Qi. Later, the Heavenly Book created the three realms, and then those chaotic primordial Qi disappeared finally. Did Black Shadow return the three realms to reduce the three realms in the chaos again? Madam Yu did not dare to think more. Because if it was true, the three realms would retrogress for tens of thousands of years. Madam Yu was terrified at the thought. How could a common person know the nub of it? At that moment, everything died out and all the living creature would return to the rudiment condition. Yan Shen did not know that he had invited a devil. Compared with Chidi, Emperor Jun and Zhu Jiuyin, Hongjun was much worsened and terrible. He was a person who tried to turn the world upside down. Only the Heavenly Book could kill him. Although Madam Yu had allied with Yan Shen, she still had her own interest. She did hate Jiang Wuyou, but compared with naga’s hundreds of thousands of people, her daughter was insignificant. Rather than being killed by Hongjun, she thought Jiang Wuyou was a better choice. Madam Yun was pondering and did not take Yan Shen’s matter seriously. When common people became ruthless, even demons could not compare. Common people dared to make a deal with the devil with this thing. How foolish common people were! When thinking that the three realms would be in the Chaos, and all the creature would be swallowed by the chaotic Qi, Madam Yu could not help but shiver inwardly. No matter how bad she was, she was unwilling to see that.

In the meeting hall, all the ministers were awed by the unexpected Black Shadow. The person just sat there quietly with chaotic Qi shooting up to the beam which shook the roof with roars. Common people had never seen it before and were scared by the person. Madam Yu squeezed herself into the corner. Yan Shen stood straight and served tea to the person, hoping that Black Shadow would send troops to attack Yan army immediately. Hongjun knew Yan Shen’s thought well, but just disdained his plead nor refused. What could Yan Shen do with him? Yan Shen had no choice but to wait with patience. Yan Shen’s military officials had never seen their Emperor Yan like that, so they were all frightened about Black Shadow.

“Such a poor Di Qing, scare you like that?”

Before Black Shadow’s voice faded away, cold sweat oozed from Yan Shen’s forehead. It was Yan Shen himself who begged Hongjun and promised to be a puppet king at the mercy of Hongjun. Now it was far from the purpose. And even Hongjun had to come to help him in person. It was hard to Yan Shen to vindicate himself.

“You’re right. But Di Qing is supported by Chidi. Yan army is not a match.”

Yan Shen argured plausibly. Hongjun’s face looked more sullened. Even Yan Shen could not defeat the devil army. How could he dominate the four seas? Madam Yu was worried about Yan Shen. Black Shadow had limited patience. And Emperor Yan still found some useless reasons. Didn’t he fear that his bone would be torn? Hongjun had his own plot: he had plant Xiao Qi in Kunlun, and as for the rest three paties, he would let them fight among themselves. The Heaven Realm was the most powerful, so Emperor Jun should be the first target of his attack. Hongjun would draw Pangu family in the Immense Sea to his side. Zhu Jiuyin always wanted to extinguish the world, which could be used by Hongjun, so that the Pangu family would leave the three allied parties. Naga Madam Yu retreated the hall. She had guessed Hongjun’s ambition, though she allied with Yan Shen.