Chapter 962: General's Head

Chapter 962: The Head of Generals and Ministers

A dense, unbroken sea of soldiers stretched across the horizon, encompassing not only the warriors of Great Liang, but those of Qingqiu, Later Shu, the Four Qi, Anxi, and even Great Qi.

With a sharp, collective hiss, the soldiers raised their blades behind their heads in unison. Their topknots were severed, and their long hair cascaded down their backs like dark, flowing cloaks caught in the wind.

Every gaze was cold yet resolute; even in the face of a Si-Ming, there was not a flicker of fear in the eyes of these mortals.

Among the loosened hair were all the heads controlled by Xuanpin. "Ten thousand lengths of black hair unfurl, all generals and ministers return to the fold. Heavenly Dipper and Taiyi, follow my lead! Jia and Geng, two souls, walk with me!"

"Ask not the gate gods or the household guardians! Ask not the wicked spirits or the ghosts! Ask not the mountain gods or the harbingers of woe! Ask not the demons or the unrighteous spirits!"

The blades that had shorn their hair, accompanied by the rhythmic beat of drums, were laid slowly across the throats of every soldier. "Once the ritual is entered, behead and dismember, turn to dust! For the common folk, not for a master! The Heavenly Dao is fractured..."

At the final moment, the million soldiers roared with every ounce of their strength: "The Heavenly Dao is fractured, and we, the common men, shall mend it!"

A chorus of wet, tearing sounds erupted as a million soldiers simultaneously severed their own heads. Among them, naturally, were all the heads controlled by Xuanpin.

Scorching blood, thick with malevolent energy, surged into the sky. It coalesced with the soldiers' fury and bloodlust, rapidly forming a chaotic, colossal head that touched the heavens and the earth, roaring without cease.

As Li Huowang felt even his own heart succumb to the influence of that killing intent, he finally understood what it was: the Si-Ming of the military, the Head of Generals and Ministers!

The Si-Ming of Fusheng Heaven collided violently with the Head of Generals and Ministers. With their impact, time and the very firmament cracked and shattered, causing the Heavenly Dao of the entire Tianchen Kingdom to collapse.

Both entities were rent and scattered by the collision, but as the Si-Ming governing slaughter and war, the Head of Generals and Ministers was fundamentally different from the others.

Wherever there is conflict, hatred, and slaughter, there he resides.

The more intense the carnage, the stronger he becomes; this is doubly true when Si-Ming clash.

As the killing intent and fury exploded within his heart, Li Huowang, hanging from the edge of a roof, swung his severed arm to strike the beggar’s lower leg, knocking him down.

Li Huowang, his body flushed red and veins bulging, hooked onto the gutter and vaulted back onto the roof.

"Die!" Consumed by the malevolent aura, Li Huowang charged. Ignoring the bullets tearing into his abdomen, he pressed forward, hacking the man into pieces with his bare hands.

When his blade finally snapped against the man's bone, the blood-drenched Li Huowang at last came to a halt.

His body was stained entirely crimson; he could no longer distinguish his own blood from that of his enemy.

Outside, the gunfire had ceased, the sirens had fallen silent, and all else seemed to have vanished.

Li Huowang, standing dazed, suddenly snapped to his senses. Panic-stricken, he ignored everything else, frantically searching among the headless soldiers.

There were too many of them; their bodies were piled like mountains, their blood flowed like rivers.

"Suisui! Suisui!" Alone, Li Huowang wandered through the sea of corpses, searching for his daughter with a desperate, flickering hope. "Suisui! Where are you!"

He searched for an eternity until he found a black tentacle lying limp on the ground. He frantically pushed aside the corpses and dug along the tentacle, finally uncovering a mass of them, along with two pupils of double-layered irises.

Li Huowang lunged forward, clutching the mass of tentacles to his chest, stroking them with trembling hands. "Suisui, don't be afraid, Daddy is here! Don't be afraid!"

"Daddy?"

A spark of joy ignited in Li Huowang’s heart, only to be extinguished by the next sentence. "Li Huowang, Li Sui is already dead. How many times must I tell you?"

Li Huowang’s expression dimmed. He hugged Xuanpin and shook his head violently. "It’s okay! It’s okay! As long as you’re still alive, it’s fine! I’ll find a way to change you back, I just need to purge everything you’ve swallowed!"

"Li Huowang, I’m afraid you won’t have the chance, because I am dying." Xuanpin’s voice was eerily calm, devoid of sorrow or agitation. "Human lives are the necessary price for the Head of Generals and Ministers to intervene. If no one dies, it’s just a game, not a war."

As she spoke, Xuanpin’s tentacles began to wither, and fluid seeped from them.

"No... no! Miaomiao! Come quickly! Suisui is dying! Take the death away from her!" At Li Huowang’s cry, Bai Lingmiao rushed over and pressed her hands against Xuanpin.

But a moment later, she trembled and whispered, "The Heavenly Dao of Death is no longer within her."

"It’s useless. I belong to the Head of Generals and Ministers now, no longer to the Wusheng Mother." Xuanpin’s body grew weaker, her voice fading. "Let’s talk of important matters, Li Huowang."

"Though you are the heart-parasite of Jizai, I know you are different from other Si-Ming, for Jizai himself is unlike the others; he cannot distinguish what he truly is."

"Perhaps, like the Head of Generals and Ministers, he can help us survive this catastrophe, but that is not enough—far from enough."

"Fusheng Heaven will not let this rest. The tribulations our ancestors once endured are likely coming again."

"If we do not want the people of this world to revert to those ancient beings who knew no ethics, no right or wrong, no sense of justice, then we must fight with our lives."

"Do not trust other Si-Ming; they are not on the same boat as us. Our lives can only be held in our own hands."

"The common people have been nurtured for so long; their lives are meant to be spent at this very moment. Do not fear the dead. As long as there are the living, and as long as the Heavenly Dao persists, they will be born again."

Li Huowang heard none of it. With a shattered expression, he cradled Xuanpin, muttering to himself.

"My time is short. After I die, seek out the Great Liang Imperial Preceptor. There are things you do not know that he will tell you."

"Remember what I said... Si-Ming... can be used... but never... never..."

"Stop it! Stop talking! Li Sui! You won’t die! You won’t die!" Li Huowang screamed frantically, but his Seven-Wheel cultivation only caused the environment to shift, failing to restore the dying Li Sui.

"I am... truly not... Li Sui, Li Huowang... you must not... deceive... yourself... attachment to children... is a minor path... you must let go..."

As Xuanpin’s body collapsed, the mass of withered tentacles fell apart, unraveling into loose, limp strands.

As they scattered, something was revealed at the very center: clay figurines—three of them.

They looked aged, their colors faded and surfaces cracked, yet it was clear who they represented.

One was Li Huowang, one was Bai Lingmiao, and one was Li Sui.

"I am not Li Sui, I am not... I am not... I am not her..." A black, writhing tentacle coiled around the figurine of Li Huowang, reaching out toward him with its final ounce of strength.

Just as Li Huowang reached out to take it, the tentacle went limp. The cracked figurine fell to the ground along with it, shattering into dust.