novelhk Chapter 184 Alchemy, Drug Use, Blood Sacrifice, Insect Farming
Chapter 184 Alchemy, Drug Use, Blood Sacrifice, Insect Farming
Chapter 184 Alchemy, Drug Use, Blood Sacrifice, Insect Farming
The Qianqing Palace in Beijing.
On the floor, the light of the magic circle gradually faded, and a figure emerged from it.
The celestial runes flowed across the surface of the figure, adding to its mystique, before slowly dissipating as the figure solidified.
A middle-aged man, dressed in a suit, with an imposing presence and dignified appearance, stepped out of the magic circle and met the gaze of Emperor Qian standing beside it.
After a moment of silence, Zhang Kuning spoke first: "What? You're not welcoming me?"
This situation was extremely rare; there had never been a precedent in the history of the Great Qian Dynasty for a later emperor to meet with the founding emperor.
Even though Emperor Qian had anticipated many scenarios, he was still unsure how to address him, and could only say one thing in the end:
"Emperor Taizu".
He could sense the kindness emanating from Zhang Kuning's use of the self-reference "I".
If this Qian Taizu had used the self-reference "朕" (Zhen, meaning "I" or "the Emperor"), things might have gone as he envisioned, since both had been emperors of the Great Qian Dynasty, one a founder and the other a contemporary, and both harbored pride.
If the old man wants to reclaim the throne, the two will inevitably become enemies, and the war between the ghosts and immortals will be impossible to continue.
Fortunately, things are moving in a positive direction.
"Yes, you are the Master and the current Emperor. This war should rightfully be led by you."
Zhang Kuning waved his hand and pulled out a pair of sunglasses from somewhere, putting them on.
"Then, Your Majesty, please come in. I have prepared a banquet to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey."
Emperor Qian always felt somewhat reserved towards this founding emperor.
Zhang Kuning laughed, "Hey, you know this is a virtual world, right? Why are you still doing all this fancy stuff?"
Emperor Qian twitched the corner of his mouth, his inner restraint largely disappearing. "Etiquette must not be neglected."
The two moved to the other side of the palace, where five imperial masters had been waiting for a long time.
"Your Majesty, we have met with the Emperor Taizu."
The five masters bowed their heads one after another, and even though they had prepared themselves mentally, they still felt something was off.
For them, it was still too early to see a master who had been dead for many years while they were still alive.
"Hmm." Zhang Kuning pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the five people before finally settling on the Imperial Advisor Zeng Yao.
Seeing Emperor Qianlong staring at her, Zeng Yao felt a little uncomfortable, but she was too embarrassed to say anything. In the end, Emperor Qianlong helped her out of the predicament.
"The Emperor has been looking at the Grand Preceptor. Is there something you wish to ask him?"
Zhang Kuning nodded and stated bluntly, "You're a member of the Feast Cult, right?"
Zeng Yao was startled, not expecting that his background would be seen through so quickly. He cupped his hands and replied, "Your Majesty, I do indeed come from the Xiangshi Sect."
"As expected, your aura is similar to those guys. Let me give you a heads-up, you'd better not run into your ancestor. If a Grandmaster saw a descendant like you, he'd probably punch you."
Everyone was taken aback. Judging from Qian Taizu's tone, You Qingxiang, the founder of the Feasting Sect, seemed to be a very important figure.
Looking at their inquisitive eyes, Zhang Kuning smiled and said, "It seems you don't know much about us ghost immortals. I have to remind you that there are two people you'd better not provoke easily in this war between ghost immortals."
"First, Grandmaster You Qingxiang. He is basically recognized as the number one Ghost Immortal; no one can withstand a single punch from him."
"Secondly, I think you've all heard his name."
"Emperor Taizu, please stop keeping us in suspense." Seeing him pause, Emperor Qian could only play the role of the one who clapped his eyes. "Then who exactly is the second person?"
Zhang Kuning's lips curved upwards again as he said, "The first one is the Styx Path."
Styx Taoist?
That is indeed a familiar name.
Everyone present held high positions of power, and none of them were unfamiliar with the name of the Styx Daoist.
Their impression of the name was still limited to defeating Huangfu Chong and breaking through the Black Armor Army, with the addition of the assessment that he might become the second Wan Jinghan.
No one expected that this name would be so famous among the ghost immortals.
Emperor Qian feigned composure and said, "Grand Ancestor, why is this? Although that Daoist of the Styx River is strong, he shouldn't be so strong as to be unapproachable, right?"
"Hey, do you know who set up the battlefield for the Ghost Immortal War, and even the entire base of operations? It was the Styx Path. He is the one with the authority over the Heavenly Book, and in reality... he is equally unfathomable."
At this point, Zhang Kuning's smile turned bitter.
Logically speaking, You Qingxiang and Daoist Minghe were his juniors, but they both surpassed him despite starting later.
Only he knew the bitterness he endured.
"So that's how it is..." Emperor Qian murmured to himself, his emotions fluctuating wildly.
At the same time, he also breathed a sigh of relief, since his first target was not the Styx Daoist, but the Five Sects.
We dealt with the five most threatening threats first, and the rest can be handled gradually.
He was confident that the imperial court, which had mastered the core technology of the Food Cult, was developing at a much faster pace than the other six masters, and they couldn't catch up even if they tried.
In order to deal with this war taking place in the virtual world, Emperor Qian was even prepared to break the bottom line and allowed the Feast Cult to conduct some unscrupulous experiments.
He didn't believe that the barbarians in the north, who only knew how to fight and kill, or the Hundred Poisons Sect in the south, who only knew how to play with insects, could surpass the imperial court in terms of development speed.
In fact, Emperor Qian's judgment of the situation was inaccurate.
In Jingzhou, inside the Golden Wolf Royal Court's camp, rows of captured civilians stood.
Behind them, executioners kicked their knees, forcing them to kneel.
A shaman wearing various bone ornaments stood aside, watching the scene indifferently.
Beside him stood Erden, who also had a blank expression.
"Time's up, let's begin."
As soon as the shaman spoke, the executioners swung their knives in unison.
More than a dozen heads fell to the ground, and headless corpses lay scattered.
The blood spurting from the cuts in their necks quickly flowed along the grooves, converging into a pool of blood.
One after another, the Golden Wolf soldiers walked into the blood pool, letting the blood soak their bodies.
By the pool, the shaman sang and danced, shaking the ritual implements made of human bones in his hands and beating the waist drum made of human skin at his waist.
He uttered blasphemous words and praised the gods, and a strange and eerie atmosphere gradually formed.
"Is this the long-lost ritual of the grasslands? It seems that summoning the Adamant Shaman was indeed the right choice."
Erden sensed the eerie atmosphere and a chill ran through him.
Guided by the ritual, an unseen evil force was unleashed upon the soldiers in the blood pool, causing them to convulse and roll their eyes upward.
"Ah, praise be to you, great wolf god! Please accept our offerings, and bestow your precious power!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldier in the blood pool suddenly stood up, his body crackling like popping beans, and his skin was covered with a layer of jet-black hair.
Its body grew taller, its back bent downwards, its hands transformed into claws, and its nails became sharp.
Its snout was elongated, its teeth became sharp, resembling a wolf's head, and its eyes gleamed with a ghostly green light.
They have transformed from humans into half-human, half-wolf creatures.
"Good!" Erden, sensing the power within them, laughed heartily. "With such elite troops, how can we not conquer the Qian Dynasty?"
Meanwhile, deep in the mountains of the Miao region.
Deep within the Hundred Poisons Sect's territory, in a cave, bursts of chilling laughter could be heard from time to time.
"Hehehe."
"Hahaha."
Upon entering the cave, you will see an old man in a green robe and another old man dressed in Miao clothing, who are standing around a jar, occasionally letting out strange laughter.
An elderly man in Miao clothing praised him lavishly: "Wow, I never imagined that Gu worms could be used to protect against divine will! Young man, you've done well, well done!"
The old man in green robes said, "Ancestor, you flatter me. Your long-lost Iron-Eating Gu is quite remarkable. It can reproduce by consuming gold and iron. This has truly broadened my horizons!"
"Hmph hmph hmph." "Hahaha!"
The two men had silly grins on their faces, looking nothing like grandmasters.
After laughing for a while, the old man in green robes put away the jar and asked, "Ancestor, what else do you know about the war between ghosts and immortals?"
"Well, I don't know much about that either. Just remember not to mess with those two people."
The Hundred Poisons Ancestor thought for a moment, then his expression turned serious. "First, there's Grandmaster You Qingxiang of the Feast Sect, and second, there's the organizer of the Ghost Immortal War, the Blood Sea Styx."
"Besides, in order to win the war between the demons and immortals, we either need to kill the enemy master or annex their territory. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the strength of our people."
The old man in the green robe revealed a sinister smile, and worms crawled out of his chicken-claw-like hands.
"When it comes to training subordinates, my Hundred Poisons Sect is second to none. These Gu worms are called Condensing Yuan Gu. Each one can create a Condensing Yuan Realm cultivator. The only price is that they will lose their minds and become a worm-possessed person."
The strands of Condensing Essence Gu broke off on their own and fell into the container, where they continued to wriggle. The broken ends healed completely in no time.
"Great idea, no wonder you're my grand-disciple."
The Hundred Poisons Ancestor gently picked up a Condensing Essence Gu, revealing a sinister smile.
"Coincidentally, I learned some new things in the Heavenly Book World that can help you improve this Gu worm."
Modi plays with alchemy, Daqian consumes elixirs, Jinlang performs blood sacrifices, and Baidu raises insects.
All four of them have bright futures.
What about the only Master among the five sects?
At this moment, the grandmasters of the other four sects gathered at Hidden Sword Peak. Except for Wan Jinghan, all of them were present.
The person responsible for receiving them and explaining the situation to them was the former sect leader of Cangjian Peak, who had been summoned not long ago, and was also the master of Wan Jinghan and the current sect leader of Cangjian Peak.
√
...That's roughly how it happened. You've all been drawn into the ghost-immortal war orchestrated by the Styx Daoist.
Former sect leader Jian Cangsheng lowered his eyes to hide his embarrassment.
"So that's how it is. No wonder we suddenly realized the world had changed."
9
The Drunken Taoist nodded, while the Cloth Bag Master beside him had a complex expression.
He and the other grandmasters never imagined that the Styx Daoist was so capable that he could involve all four major powers.
It seems they underestimated the world.