Chapter 401: Jade Emperor (2)

The two of them went out to buy groceries. For lunch, they made braised pork ribs seasoned with medicinal herbs, and the rich aroma wafted far and wide.

“Mama, I’m hungry!” a child’s voice called out from the neighboring yard.

“Xue’Er, go and give a bowl to each of our neighbors,” Fang Rui instructed after a moment’s thought.

His neighbors proved to be quite thoughtful. Before long, one family sent over a bolt of cloth, while the other delivered a bamboo table and rattan chairs as housewarming gifts.

Fang Rui wasn’t one to take advantage of others, and especially not in times like these. He gifted each family a piece of cured meat in return, much to their surprise and delight. They thanked him profusely.

After this series of exchanges, it felt as though they had already blended into the neighborhood, despite having only just arrived.

「In the afternoon.」

The sounds of children playing drifted in from outside the courtyard.

By the window, tree shadows swayed, casting flickering, mottled spots of light like shattered gold. The potted Jade Lotus was wreathed in wisps of flowing golden light.

Xin Xue’Er sat by the window, practicing the characters Fang Rui had taught her again and again.

When it came to obedience, neither Fang Ling nor Nannan had been her equal, to say nothing of Fang Li.

Fang Rui lay on a nearby rattan chair, flipping through a collection of secret histories and occasionally pausing in thought.

These were spoils seized from the likes of the Gu-rearing Marquis Li and Marquis Pan after their cities fell. The information was low-level, but viewing history from the bottom up held a certain unique appeal.

RUSTLE!

The gentle afternoon breeze rustled the trees in the courtyard, a slow melody that soothed his weary mind after two or three months on the road, allowing him a moment of rest.

…

「The next day.」

Fang Rui left the city alone. He mounted a Purple Feathered Crane and soared into the sky.

Looking down from high above.

Liangzhou State City truly resembled a colossal beast lying prone on the plains. Its great maw opened wide, seeming to swallow the refugees that had converged from all corners of the land.

‘Blood food… the State Military Camp…’

Fang Rui murmured to himself and flew toward the State Military Camp outside the city. When he was still about a mile out, he had the Purple Feathered Crane stop, telling it not to get any closer.

‘What powerful suppression!’

He could feel a murderous aura surging from the Liangzhou State Military Camp, so overwhelming it was suffocating. It even caused his own Spiritual Power and Spiritual Essence to flow sluggishly.

‘At this intensity, there must be at least a hundred thousand elite armored soldiers in that camp.’

He gazed into the distance.

Countless refugees, herded by armored soldiers, swarmed like ants, each with their own task. It seemed they were constructing something.

‘They’re certainly being put to work… but I imagine these refugees are also destined to become part of the ‘Divine Medicine’?’

Fang Rui recalled the intelligence he had gathered. The Black Flood Dragon Army had been offering up “blood food” with increasing frequency. It was likely that a Demi-Immortal Family, such as the Liao Family, was about to begin cultivating a Divine Medicine.

A so-called Divine Medicine was a Super Grade ingredient, a tier above Spirit Medicine. It could help a First Grade Martial Artist use a Spirit Seed to open their Spiritual Sea and break through to become a Sect Martial Saint.

Even Source Masters required Divine Medicine to overcome minor bottlenecks in their cultivation.

‘The quotas of blood food from other states are all processed and sent away. Only the local Demi-Immortal Family, the Liao Family, cultivates its Divine Medicine here…’

‘If I’m not mistaken, the site where the Liao Family cultivates their Divine Medicine should be right inside the State Military Camp.’

‘In my opinion,’ Fang Rui thought, ‘the cultivation of a Divine Medicine must generate a terrifying amount of resentful energy. Even a Source Master would find it difficult to handle. Naturally, using a large army to suppress it would be the safest method.’

‘I’ve seen the Zheng Family’s Spirit Medicine Garden in Huaiyin Prefecture, but I’ve never witnessed the cultivation of a Divine Medicine.’

‘There’s an army of a hundred thousand here, so stopping them by force is likely impossible. However, if I can observe, I might be able to resolve some of my questions.’

‘It should happen within the next half-month. The Demi-Immortal Family… the Liao Family…’

Fang Rui murmured, his gaze flickering with an uncertain light.

…

While Fang Rui was thinking about the Demi-Immortal Liao Family, the Liao Family was also thinking about him.

“Ancestor Yuanhua, the Court has sent a reprimand. They say the situation in our Liangzhou is developing too rapidly and is on the verge of spinning out of control…” the Liao Family Patriarch reported.

The man they called Ancestor Yuanhua was a withered Daoist with a sorrowful expression.

Upon hearing this, he spoke faintly, “Wasn’t this matter left to you?”

“Ancestor, please hear me out. It is not that your grandson has been idle, it’s just…”

The Liao Family Patriarch’s face was a mask of misery. “During this great calamity, all the variables have converged on our Liangzhou. The Celestial Determined Flood Dragon has not appeared, and on top of that, a ‘Demon Alliance’ has sprung out of nowhere. They possess a Beast Driving Army Formation Method, and their Demon Ancestor, Chu the Madman, is suspected to be a Super Grade expert…”

“The other Demi-Immortal Families are taking their share of the blood food, but they refuse to lift a finger to help. They just want to watch the show and drag us down. Even the Court seems content to watch from the sidelines.”

“Your grandson… your grandson is truly at his wit’s end!”

As the Liao Family Patriarch spoke, he was so overwhelmed with grievances and sorrow that he nearly burst into tears.

“The Demon Alliance?! The Beast Driving Army Formation Method?! A suspected Super Grade expert?!”

Liao Yuanhua frowned. “Have you captured anyone from the Demon Alliance?”

“Well… your grandson has been incompetent. I haven’t managed to capture a single one…” The Liao Family Patriarch covered his face in shame.

How could he have known that the entire Demon Alliance was just a front created by Fang Rui? One man comprised the entire organization. How could he possibly be caught?

“Enough. After the Divine Medicine is cultivated, I will take action personally.”

Liao Yuanhua’s voice was placid, imbued with an unshakeable confidence, as if to say, ‘It matters not; I will handle it.’ He then asked calmly, “I’ve noticed the recent supply of blood food seems a bit tight?”

“It is the Demon Alliance’s doing again. They are supplying various rebel forces with flying Demon Soldiers to hunt down our Black Flood Dragon Army as they gather blood food… However, rest assured, Ancestor. I have already given orders to use the refugees outside the State City to make up the difference. The cultivation of the Divine Medicine will not be affected in the slightest.”

“Good. The cultivation of the Divine Medicine is crucial to our Liao Family’s hundred-year plan. Absolutely no mistakes can be tolerated. Do you understand?”

“Yes, your grandson understands!”

…

A ten-day period passed in a flash.

Aside from making some arrangements outside the city, Fang Rui spent his time resting, reading, taking Xin Xue’Er for strolls through the city, and visiting teahouses to listen to music.

Having truly relaxed, he felt wonderfully free and at ease.

Lying on the rattan chair in the evening wind, Fang Rui murmured, “If the world were at peace, I too would wish for a quiet life. When have I ever enjoyed stirring up trouble?”

“But that’s not an option! It seems saving the world really is up to me.”

He pinched his fingers, making a quick calculation. “The Liao Family should be cultivating their Divine Medicine today. Time to get to work.”

“Xue’Er, go ahead and start dinner. I’ll be right back.”

Fang Rui stretched and rose to his feet. Before the words had even faded, he had vanished from the courtyard.

He left the city.

“SCREECH!”

The Purple Feathered Crane cried out, carrying Fang Rui toward the State Military Camp.

“This is far enough.”

Still a couple of miles from the Liangzhou State Military Camp, he had the Purple Feathered Crane halt. With his hands clasped behind his back, robes whipping in the wind, he stared into the distance.

In the distance.

Within the Liangzhou State Military Camp, countless refugees were being herded like livestock onto a massive altar. Below, an Array activated, transforming into roiling black gas that surged upward. The refugees shrieked in agony as their bodies began to melt away.

All their hard labor over the past days had been for this—they had been building their own tomb!

‘Even though I funded various factions to attack the Black Flood Dragon Army and their blood food collection, saving countless refugees…’ he thought, ‘it was all for nothing!’

Fang Rui sighed as a realization dawned on him. ‘Great Yu and the Demi-Immortal Families are still the masters of this world. As long as they’re willing to be shameless about it, they can always gather enough people to meet their quota.’

The only change he had managed to bring about was…

Before, the Demi-Immortal Families had at least maintained some appearances, gathering their blood food from scattered locations across the state. Now, they had torn off their masks completely, snatching refugees from right outside the State City and revealing their ‘man-eating’ nature to everyone within.

At that moment, in addition to the herded refugees, a roiling river of sanguine light stretched across the sky. A torrential wave of Yin Qi spread out, causing the air to turn deathly cold in an instant. Even the battle formation of over one hundred thousand state soldiers could barely contain it.

‘This can’t be right. This quantity… has the Liao Family gone mad?!’

Fang Rui’s expression changed abruptly, a horrified shock seizing him.

When the Yin Qi in one location becomes too dense, disasters happen. He was reminded of the terrifying Burial Flower in the Zheng Family’s Nanshan Garden, which had once stretched from the earth to the heavens.

‘I thought the Liao Family was only cultivating two or three Divine Medicines. But judging by the sheer density of this Yin Qi, they must be growing more than ten.’

‘They… aren’t they afraid of choking on an ambition this big?!’

‘The Yin Qi generated by the deaths of several million people filled with extreme resentment… an Energy Level this high could probably spawn an evil entity of the Profound Domain level!’

Just as Fang Rui was reeling from this realization, he witnessed an even more shocking scene.

In the State Military Camp, an Odd Array activated. A colossal pillar of grey-black light shot into the sky, bridging the realms of yin and yang and causing an abrupt change in the heavens.

The once-clear sky was instantly filled with roiling black clouds, and serpents of lightning danced wildly.

CRACKLE!

One bolt of purple lightning fell after another. The endless electrical glare blotted out all other colors, tearing open a channel into the unseen void.

Amidst the swirling, chaotic light, the phantom images of mansions and palaces emerged, leaking wisps of a profound and mysterious aura.

‘This aura is…’

Fang Rui’s pupils contracted violently.