"This..." Gongyang Ju's face turned pale.
To achieve this, they were willing to sacrifice the entirety of the Western Frontier, the Southern Frontier, and the lives of the countless commoners within?
Zhao Guang's expression was also ugly.
Yet Wenren Jiuyue remained full of arrogance. "Her Majesty's only target is Ancestor Lan. Out of her immense grace and benevolence, she has left the Li Clan a path to survival..."
"This is what you call a path to survival?" Zhao Guang scoffed.
"Grandhaven Prefecture was destroyed in a single day. It seems you are well aware of what happened during that battle."
"So what if we are?" Wenren Jiuyue's expression turned slightly cold.
"The Li Clan was in Grandhaven Prefecture, gathering the strength of three prefectures to fight Jade Mist Valley.
The immortal watchdog was annihilated, and even the Red Dust Immortal vanished without a trace." Zhao Guang didn't bother hiding the mockery in his expression.
"According to the plans of the Western Frontier and the Empress, Jade Mist Valley should have thrown the entire Southern Frontier into chaos, effortlessly devouring the Southern Frontier and Ancestor Lan."
"But with the battle at Grandhaven Prefecture, everything changed. Led by the Li Clan, the Southern Frontier is determined to fight the Western Frontier.
You hypocritically told the Li Clan to flee because you feared their resistance would disrupt your plans!"
Wenren Jiuyue's face grew even uglier. "Commander Zhao, you also received the Imperial Dynasty's assistance to become a half-immortal. Whose side are you on?"
"I am on the side of the Imperial Dynasty and the Human Race."
Zhao Guang sneered.
"I accepted the Empress's immortal seed because I feared death. Having served the Imperial Dynasty for so many years, it is what I deserve.
But that doesn't mean I agree with what you are doing.
It's nothing more than the women of your Wenren family wanting to grasp authority and power. Don't speak of these filthy deeds as if they were so noble and pure."
"Noble? You are the ones acting noble!"
Wenren Jiuyue was furious.
"You all knew the immortals were reviving, yet did you ever care? You enjoy everything that comes after the slaughter and bewitchment of the Western Frontier.
Your immortal seed, Zhao Guang, came exactly from that; you have the blood of at least a million people on your hands!
Once our Imperial Dynasty unifies the world, future generations will judge whether Her Majesty's actions were a monumental achievement or a grave sin."
As the tension between the two escalated, Gongyang Ju hurriedly intervened.
"My Lords, please stop arguing. Let us leave the Li Clan and return to the Imperial Capital to report before doing anything else."
"No."
The three left the City of Merit. Under Wenren Jiuyue's lead, they headed toward the Xuanyuan Clan in Redmere Prefecture.
Wenren Jiuyue said, "The Li Clan being unwilling to leave does not mean the other factions are unwilling. This is also the reason Her Majesty sent us here.
Once the Xuanyuan Clan leaves, it will become an inevitable trend, and the Li Clan will have no choice but to leave."
"If they remain stubborn..."
Wenren Jiuyue's eyes were filled with pity.
"Then we will have no choice but to erect a monument in the Imperial Dynasty for the heroic spirits of the Li Clan, just like the one for Gu Fenghua."
......
Two months later.
Redmere Prefecture, outside the gates of the Xuanyuan Clan, upon the Pillar of Shame.
Numerous talismans rustled in the wind, accompanied by the loud rattling of the seal-bearing Heaven-Imprisoning Lock.
Array formations spanning heaven and earth formed an inescapable cage.
"Release me!!!"
Wenren Jiuyue glared furiously at the experts surrounding him in all directions, as well as the Xuanyuan Clan's Patriarch Xuanyuan Yuanhua, Xuanyuan Liqun, the Li Clan's Li Yaotie and Li Yunlin, and the Zhangsun Clan's Zhangsun Feng, who all stood beneath the tall pillar engraved with the word "Shame".
Everything had happened so fast.
They had originally come to request the Xuanyuan Clan to leave; Xuanyuan Liqun was extremely agreeable and had even spent an entire month discussing escape plans with them.
Finally, last night, Xuanyuan Liqun invited the three envoys from the Imperial Capital to step outside the Xuanyuan estate, only for the heavens and earth to be instantly illuminated by the brilliance of a grand array.
He, a dignified Dao-Comprehending realm cultivator, hadn't even sensed a thing before being restrained by layered grand arrays, barriers, and various streams of Spiritual power, reducing him to his current miserable state.
Looking at the numerous cultivators below staring at him with bizarre expressions, his heart was currently filled with nothing but anger and bewilderment.
He knew the strength of the Three Prefectures perfectly well.
Yet, despite his abilities, he was easily captured like a mere ant!
Of the three who came, only Zhao Guang possessed the strength to escape.
"Impossible... in such a short amount of time, these cultivators of the Three Prefectures..."
Wenren Jiuyue's face was deathly pale. He actually sensed various demonic qi and immortal qi among the cultivators below!
"Release me! I am here to advise you all. I never had any intention of making enemies of you. Everyone..."
Wenren Jiuyue roared furiously, yet the people below gave absolutely no response, only engaging in discussions that made his scalp go numb.
"The Dao of Heart Fire. My proposal is to imprison his soul and have someone cultivate his Dao of Heart Fire."
"I have experience with this!" Li Yaotie grinned at Xuanyuan Liqun.
"My clan has Soul-Suppressing Nails. Pin his limbs down, and his Dao methods will flow out from his limbs.
Using his blood for comprehension couldn't be faster. Furthermore, a child in my clan wields the Soul-Holding Lamp; roasting his soul with it will burn away his Dao rhythm and force it to leak out, leaving him with absolutely no thoughts of escape."
"We could chop off his limbs and head, splitting his soul into five parts to be distributed among the five dismembered body parts, with each family keeping one."
Zhangsun Feng's words caused everyone to take a collective step back.
Paying no mind to their reactions, Zhangsun Feng continued discussing the dismemberment in earnest,
"The Li Clan's Zhiheng excels at illusions. He can plunge his five divided souls into eternal, agonizing memories, only reuniting them once a decade."
"..."
On the Pillar of Shame, Wenren Jiuyue's face turned completely ashen.
Rendered speechless for a long time, he finally looked up at the sky and let out a furious roar with all his might.
"Zhao Guang, save me!!!"
---
Donate on Ko-fi ➡️ [https://ko-fi.com/darktea] ⬅️
Get Early Access to 90 Chapters: Search for "Dark Tea" on Ko-fi (Explore tab) and join my membership to read ahead!