Chapter 625: The Long Night Fades Away (4)

Chapter 625: The Long Night Fades Away (IV)

It is the 'Heavenly Timing' of the State, and simultaneously the 'Lord Yin' of Yin and Yang.

The old man's words were startling; all who heard them were horrified.

"Actually, compared to 'Lord Yin,' I still prefer the title 'Heavenly Timing.'"

Yin Ji smiled. "But these are all just worthless empty names. Li Jun, you may also address this old man directly by my given name, Yin Ji."

In such a tense, sword-drawn standoff, the old man's tone was unexpectedly gentle, revealing not the slightest hint of intent to condemn Li Jun and the others to death.

"So the ones who truly induced the Buddhist Sequence onto the wrong path were you, the Eastern Imperial Palace?"

Yin Ji's identity acted like a clear thread, stringing together all the doubts lingering in Li Jun's mind.

In an instant, the fog shrouding the entire District Incident dissipated completely; every vein and trajectory became crystalline clear.

Precisely because the masterminds behind the scenes were the Yin-Yang Sequence, the Eastern Imperial Palace, the Buddhist Sequence managed to 'create' the 'Buddha Kingdom' method—whose utility rivaled that of 'Huangliang'—in an extremely short time after 'Huangliang' was established.

It was also for this reason that when the Buddhist Sequence discovered the entire Sequence had walked into a dead end, that they had personally cultivated themselves into 'Huangliang Mainframes' ready to be annexed and turned into wedding garments for others at any moment, they promptly found the State Sequence, this 'lifesaving straw.'

And it was exactly because of this that the flesh-and-blood technology bestowed by the State would derive a 'New Huangliang' inextricably linked to the Yin-Yang Sequence.

Everything had been long planned by the Yin-Yang Sequence's Eastern Imperial Palace.

And the Buddhist Sequence, who fancied themselves gods, had walked nothing but the heavenly destiny tailored for them by the Yin-Yang Sequence from beginning to end.

Utterly ironic, profoundly tragic.

"The New Dao Sequence could utilize the Huangliang Grotto-Heaven to drive the metamorphosis of the entire Sequence; the Buddha Kingdom can serve the same function. How can it be called a thoroughly wrong path? If one must find a flaw, it is only that it was insufficiently perfected. Otherwise, why would those eminent monks and Dharma Kings flock to our techniques and methods, believing in them without a shred of doubt?"

Yin Ji shook his head and laughed. "They are no fools. On the contrary, to say their hearts are like clear mirrors would be no exaggeration. Li Jun, do you truly believe they were oblivious from start to finish? Wrong. In truth, they were more clear-headed than anyone. It's just that in that era, they had no choice."

"Huangliang was established; the Dao Sequence's grand trend was set. If the Buddhist Sequence did not stake everything to desperately chase, the only result awaiting them would be falling further and further behind the New Dao Sequence. After the Martial Sequence was divided and devoured, the next to die would be them."

"The cruelty of the war of faith surpasses even that of the struggle for imperial power."

Yin Ji spoke calmly. "If even basic survival cannot be guaranteed, who would care about right or wrong? The reason they now cry out that the Buddhist Sequence has no way out, regretting their past choices, is simply because they have enjoyed enough good days in the position of the Three Teachings, gorging themselves until their brains are fat and their intestines greasy, unwilling to be driven off the stage just like that."

"So what was wrong was never the techniques and methods, never the Sequence's path, but their own greed."

Yin Ji's voice deepened. "It's not that they couldn't obtain it, but that they couldn't let go!"

In a few short sentences, Yin Ji attributed the Buddhist Sequence's current fate entirely to their own greed and shortsightedness.

In his eyes, the Buddhist Sequence's actions were merely the workings of greed, a disaster of their own making.

"Old sir, don't be so quick to wash your hands clean. Even if the Buddhist Sequence was greedy, does that mean you acted out of pure benevolence?"

Zhang Siyuan sneered. "If I recall correctly, after Huangliang was completed and the various parties moved to divide authority, your Yin-Yang Sequence was the first to be swept out the door. Not only did you end up with nothing, but you also forged a blood-deep enmity with the New Dao Sequence."

Zhang Siyuan snorted. "As for the Buddhist Sequence, to put it bluntly, they were merely a shield you found for yourselves, to share the pressure from the New Dao Sequence. Am I right?"

"Worthy of being the sole son of Prime Minister Zhang; you indeed know quite a lot."

Yin Ji nodded. "But there is no gain without loss; this is the supreme principle of heaven and earth, which none can violate. The Buddhist Sequence blocked the Dao Sequence's pressure for the Yin-Yang Sequence, yet also gained nearly a hundred years of honored status."

"A population base comparable to several provinces, hundreds of millions of believers, plus incalculable benefits—the price paid was merely a few temples and mountain gates, and a few lives."

Yin Ji asked with a smile. "They gained far more than they lost. Was it not worth it?"

"The temples and mountain gates you speak of are all the forces on the Buddhist Sequence's Spirit Mountain! The dead are nearly the entire upper echelon of the Buddhist Sequence!"

Zhang Siyuan spoke in a low voice. "A Sequence ruined by you until it exists in name only—can this be called worth it?"

"In your father's New Policies, there was never a place for them to begin with. Shi Yi, Long Sheng, Qian Zu... these people were destined to die sooner or later. What difference does early or late make?"

"On the contrary, the seeds of faith they left behind now spread across the entire Great Ming Empire; wildfire cannot burn them all, spring wind blows and they grow again. One day, the Buddhist Sequence will inevitably rise again from the ashes."

Yin Ji chuckled, his tone shifting. "Of course, if Prime Minister Zhang's ultimate goal is to brand the Zhang family's Confucian Sequence seal into the hearts of all the common people under heaven, that is another matter entirely."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Zhang Siyuan's face darkened instantly. He shouted, "My father would never do such a thing!"

"Never?"

Yin Ji expressed neither agreement nor disagreement, merely asking, "Then what do you think these New Policies are for? To sweep away all factions, centralize power, return governance to the Zhu family, and then seek his own death to achieve the fame of a loyal minister for the ages?"

"Or to wave the blade and slaughter all Sequencers under heaven, 'those who obey prosper, those who oppose perish,' severing the connection between heaven and earth, reshaping a new Great Ming where Confucians cannot disrupt the law, Knights cannot violate prohibitions, where there is no individual great power, only state order?"

Yin Ji's sharp gaze pressed down on Zhang Siyuan. "Zhang Siyuan, he is your father; you should know best what he truly wants. But regardless of which path he ultimately chooses, one thing is evident. Countless people will die by his hand."

"I—"

Zhang Siyuan opened his mouth, but seemed unable to find a rebuttal. He could only fall silent.

"That you did not withdraw from the District along with the New Donglin Party this time truly exceeded my expectations. I was worried this might be another of Zhang Fengyue's hidden schemes, intending to use your hand, using so-called grace and righteousness to trap and kill Li Jun, utterly severing the Martial Sequence's hope."

Yin Ji continued, sighing. "For this, I specifically lingered to observe for a long time, waiting to see this brilliant act. But I never expected to see that Zhang Fengyue has truly grown old, become soft-hearted and indecisive, developing a fondness for his calf, no longer possessing the decisiveness and ruthlessness of his prime. It truly makes one sigh with regret."

"Not everyone is as beastly as you lot."

Zou Sijiu took over the conversation, mocking, "You used the Jichang to devour the main bodies of the Witch Lord and the Nightmare Lord. Do you think the Eastern Imperial Palace will let you off?"

"Does it matter whether they let me off or not?"

Yin Ji's tone was relaxed. "If I lose today, everything turns to nothing. Conversely, if I win, the Eastern Imperial Palace will be the first force to congratulate me on ascending to Sequence Two. Then I will still be the Eastern Imperial Palace's 'Lord Yin.' As for them."

The old man raised a hand, pointing at the Witch Lord and Nightmare Lord standing amidst the flesh and blood.

"Whether the Eastern Imperial Palace's high echelon consists of 'Nine Lords' or has always been only 'Seven Lords'—do you think anyone will care?"

"You son of a bitch."

Zou Sijiu cursed viciously, yet similarly found no words to refute.

Because what Yin Ji said was an irrefutable reality.

Even how he, as an Agricultural Sequence, became one of the Nine Lords of the Eastern Imperial Palace, was fundamentally unimportant.

As long as he was useful to the Eastern Imperial Palace, and the Eastern Imperial Palace was useful to him, that was enough.

"No more useless nonsense."

Li Jun looked coldly at the old man surrounded by a horde of Agricultural Beasts. "Release all the methods you left on Yuan Mingfei. I can let you leave alive for now. Otherwise, you will not walk out of Sangyan Divine Mountain alive today."

"Truly possessing a fraction of the Martial Sequence's former domineering arrogance, holding the power of life and death."

Yin Ji looked Li Jun up and down with envious eyes. "Li Jun, you are truly an enviable lucky star. Originally just a nobody, a street thug, you stumbled into becoming the Solitary Martial Sequence. Then you happened to encounter Zhang Fengyue launching his New Policies; a bout of thunderous methods left the Buddhist and Daoist Sequences powerless to strangle you in the cradle."

"You have walked this path with scares but no danger, growing into the source of a Sequence in such a short time. Truly, fortune smiles upon you."

Yin Ji's tone shifted. "I am different. I have trod on thin ice in the District for decades. Not only must I constantly guard against these foreign monks stabbing me in the back at any moment, but I must also beware the internal strife within the Eastern Imperial Palace. Only by struggling so hard, treading carefully at every step, could I navigate between the two sides and carve out a sliver of survival space."

"During this long stretch of days, I cherished every drop of blood, calculated every scrap of flesh. With painstaking effort, I managed these Jichang, built the State organization, and only today finally saw the hope of breaking my shackles and ascending."

"You want me to leave empty-handed with a single sentence. Do you think that's possible? Do you think that's fair? Why should my decades of painstaking effort be worth less than your mere few hundred days and nights of bloody struggle?"

A venomous cold light flashed in Yin Ji's eyes, yet his face was full of gentle smiles. "I can give you a choice too. Hand Yuan Mingfei over to me now, and I will return the people of Tianque to you, fulfilling your reputation for loyalty and righteousness. How about that?"

The moment the words fell, lightning erupted.

Li Jun's knees bent slightly; the ground beneath his feet instantly exploded into a web of cracks. Debris shot into the air, and his figure vanished from the spot.

"Close-quarters slaughter—none can block your Solitary Sequence."

Yin Ji's pupils reflected the flashing black-red lightning. He pointed a finger at his own brow and smiled. "But in here, you will have no advantage. I planted the abilities of so many Sequences into my body precisely so that today, I could devour you. Li Jun, my opportunity is not just Yuan Mingfei... it is also you!"

“Iwill personally break your bones one by one, let you taste what helplessness and humiliation feel like.”

Rip!

A sudden cracking sound rang in Li Jun’s chest, the sound of the “Conceal Heaven” defense he had built in his mind being torn apart.

Li Jun remained unmoved, he slammed his shoulder into the farming beast blocking the road, his five fingers gripping straight at Yin Ji’s smiling face, then he slammed hard into the raised knee.

Bang!

Bloody blood sprayed into the air, a figure flew out, his face caved in, twitched a few times then fell still.

The clamor of the surging crowd flooded his ears instantly; Li Jun instinctively looked up, only to be stunned by the sight before him.

Beneath the dim yellow sunset, a narrow slit of sky formed between the pressing buildings.

A bamboo dragon stretching over a hundred zhang, wrapped in raging flames, spiraled upward in the scorching air; the red silk coiled around its body was scorched and snapped, falling continuously like spilled crimson blood.

Neon signs illuminated the narrow streets; everywhere one looked were faces of terror and despair.

The stern Vajra warriors and golden-armored deities dragged their weapons and fled in disarray; the electric music Third Prince’s head crackled in the fire, his delicate features turning into a scorched black grimace.

The officials famed for suppressing all demons and monsters, now grateful to be at the rear of the procession, spat out the tusks they had been playing with, cursing as they shoved aside ordinary civilians blocking their way.

Confucian academies, Daoist spirit palaces, Buddhist divine temples.

Parade floats bearing carved beams, painted rafters, and blue-tiled eaves turned to ash in the blaze.

The airborne phoenix birds, disoriented in the rising smoke, crashed headfirst into towering skyscrapers, exploding into burning fireballs.

A great fire drove away the divine beings who had come to bless the mortal realm.

What began as a prayer for world peace, the deity procession, in the blink of an eye turned into a vengeful army marching to claim lives.

Boom!

A violent eruption nearby; the rolling heat wave carried a suffocating force.

A figure lunged forward, knocking the dazed Li Jun to the ground, narrowly avoiding the shrapnel shooting from the aftermath.

“Li Jun, have you gone stupid in those pirated Yellow Liang dreams? Why the hell are you still dreaming at a time like this?!”

The corner of his eye caught the face behind him, scolding him—a face so familiar.

Hunshui Pao Ge, Kuang Qingyun.

Wasn’t he already dead? How could he appear again?

Is this the Buddhist sequence’s Buddha realm, the Daoist sequence’s illusion, or the Yin‑Yang sequence’s dream?

Or perhaps all three?!

Li Jun’s mind was a chaotic mess; he clearly remembered he should be miles away at a certain address, tasked with killing an agricultural sequence’s Yin Ji.

Only by killing him could he save!

Save whom?

“It’s just that Liuchuan Tan gave you a beating; do you really have to throw yourself into self‑destruction like this?”

Kuang Qingyun cursed again, dragging the bewildered Li Jun to his feet from the ground.

“You’re a worthless lump; snap out of it, old man, don’t throw away your life.”

Kuang Qingyun ignored the dazed Li Jun, lifted his gaze toward the heights.

Beneath the haze of smoke, atop a high‑rise with a grey wall and blue‑tiled hard roof.

Silhouettes crouched or stood on the roof, faces twisted in grim smiles, watching the human tragedy below.

Liuchuan Tan, Yan Gui, Lang Ren.

The Blade Sacrifice Society’s “Ten Nobles” all present.

The central figure was tall and slender, a vicious black tiger skull pierced through his throat, each side of his face inlaid with three metallic lines resembling tiger stripes.

Indeed, it was the chairman of the Blade Sacrifice Society, Hu Zhong!

“Today is a good day for us to honor our ancestors and welcome the gods; you scum dare to cause trouble now? You really don’t know what death is!”

Clang!

A long sword was drawn from behind his neck; Kuang Qingyun seized the blade, pointing it at Hu Zhong standing on high.

“Brothers, cut down these turtle sons!”