Chapter 971: Black

Chapter 971: Black

"What is it? I am very busy right now; if it is a trivial matter, go find someone else," Li Huowang said, reaching out to turn the page.

Since he could not gather intelligence on the Si Ming from that side, he had to find a way from this side. Under the current circumstances, the more he understood them, the better his chances in the coming battles; after all, to know one's enemy and oneself is to ensure victory in every fight.

"Brother Li, I am afraid this is a matter that truly requires your presence, for none of the rest of us can enter the State of Tianchen."

Hearing this, Li Huowang slowly turned his head to look at Gao Zhijian behind him. "Does this matter concern Zuo Qiuyong?"

In the State of Tianchen, the only thing that could capture Gao Zhijian's attention was likely that physical Si Ming.

Gao Zhijian nodded. "Indeed. Naturally, the State of Tianchen cannot remain aloof. Since he is the master of Tianchen, with crisis looming, he must issue the Decree of Corruption. Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of the world; the people of Tianchen must also contribute their strength."

Gao Zhijian spoke with such an air of entitlement, as if he were merely conscripting commoners for labor.

"Ha, do you think that will work? You think you can just order the State of Tianchen to be corrupted? Tianchen is not much smaller than Great Qi, and its population is certainly no less. Do you think Zuo Qiuyong will listen to you?"

Gao Zhijian shook his head. "My words are useless, but yours are not. Brother Li, the population of Tianchen is no less than that of the old Great Qi. If the people of Tianchen are corrupted, our odds of victory will increase."

"We must win. Does Brother Li not wish to win? Besides, if we lose, the people of Tianchen will die as well."

Li Huowang closed the book in his hand, stood up, and walked out of the room in silence. At this moment, words were futile; either they all lived, or they all perished. "I will go talk to Zuo Qiuyong. There should still be some military strategists left in Tianchen."

"Brother Li is most benevolent. I entrust this matter to you." Gao Zhijian bowed to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang walked up to Gao Zhijian and, clenching his fist, struck him heavily across the face. "Stop using me as your damn weapon! I find I like you less and less!"

Gao Zhijian raised a hand slightly, stopping his guards and eunuchs from intervening.

"Brother Li, you said it yourself: a good emperor. In the eyes of others, a good emperor is never a pleasant sight."

"Want to be a good emperor, do you? Fine! I will take you to this feast alone today! You can tell him yourself! If he kills or maims you, I will absolutely not lift a finger!" Li Huowang walked over, draped an arm over his shoulder, and with a powerful leap, crossed directly from Great Liang into the State of Tianchen.

Within Great Liang lay the capital, but here in Tianchen, the land was covered in vast, dense forests, with endless black mountain ranges in the distance.

"Brother Li, he will not harm me. It makes no difference who comes; Zuo Qiuyong will agree. Even though he is a noble Si Ming, he cannot remain detached from this matter." Facing the unfamiliar surroundings, Gao Zhijian appeared calm, still finding the composure to debate with Li Huowang.

"Hush! Be quiet, something is wrong here!" Standing in the woods, Li Huowang frowned, scanning everything around him.

Everything in Tianchen seemed normal, yet in his eyes, it felt profoundly strange, as if something fundamental had shifted.

"What is it? Could the people of Fusheng Heaven have occupied Tianchen? Or is there an ambush?" Gao Zhijian immediately considered the worst-case scenario.

"No!" Li Huowang said, suddenly fixing his gaze on the distant mountains. The longer he looked, the more the mountains resembled human forms. Furthermore, to his knowledge, Tianchen was primarily forest; there were no such peaks.

"Move!" Li Huowang grabbed Gao Zhijian and immediately used the art of shrinking the earth to close the distance to the mountains rapidly.

As Li Huowang drew nearer, his expression grew increasingly grim. The black mountains were moving.

When they finally reached the foot of the range, a nauseating stench hit them, causing Li Huowang’s stomach to churn. Before him lay a mountain of corpses, buzzing with a sea of flies!

The reason it appeared black was simply that the sky was blotted out by countless flies, covering the mountain-sized mass of flesh so thoroughly that it looked like dark rock from afar.

"What on earth is going on here!" Li Huowang’s roar startled the dense swarm of flies.

The black mass rose in a thick cloud, obscuring the entire sky, and as it ascended, the ground revealed a colossal, rotting corpse-mountain covered in writhing maggots.

Though he loathed to believe it, reality did not lie. This mountain-sized body was none other than Zuo Qiuyong, the one who governed the Heavenly Dao of Growth. Zuo Qiuyong’s body had been overtaken by rot.

He was dead, and he had died like a joke.

"This is impossible, this cannot be!" Li Huowang backed away in disbelief, staring at the corpse of his ally. "We had won! How could Zuo Qiuyong be dead?!!"

Li Huowang could not fathom how Zuo Qiuyong had died. He had clearly defeated them; he had clearly killed the Si Ming of Fusheng Heaven!!

"What is the meaning of this!" Li Huowang looked at Gao Zhijian in utter shock, yet Gao Zhijian knew even less than he did and had no idea what had occurred.

Xuan Pin, who would have been most likely to know the truth, was dead. It could be said that no one understood the situation better than Li Huowang himself; if he did not know, then surely no one else would.

Unwilling to accept this, Li Huowang stomped his feet and plunged into the corpse of Zuo Qiuyong, determined to find a clue.

He searched through Zuo Qiuyong’s brain, then delved into every part of his body, leaving no detail unexamined.

A long while later, when Gao Zhijian saw Li Huowang emerge, he stepped forward and asked, "Brother Li, what has happened?"

Li Huowang shook his head in disbelief. "The Heavenly Dao of Growth is gone. I searched everywhere and could not find it. It has vanished from Zuo Qiuyong!"

"Could Fusheng Heaven have ambushed Zuo Qiuyong while I was distracted? Did they steal the Heavenly Dao of Growth?" Li Huowang wondered to himself.

But then he shook his head vigorously. "That is impossible, absolutely impossible. If they had forcibly seized a Si Ming’s Dao, it could not have been done so silently, especially since this concerns the Heavenly Dao."

"If the Heavenly Dao of Growth had been stolen by the Si Ming of Fusheng Heaven, there would have been natural disasters! The Dao of Growth would have vanished from the Five Realms entirely!"

"Yet, whether in Great Qi, Great Liang, or even here in Tianchen, growth still exists. This means the Heavenly Dao of Growth has not left the White Jade Capital!"