Mutated Tao

“HAHAHAHA!”

The human-faced beast ignored everyone as it lay in the puddle of blood. The monster struggled to control its limbs as it laughed.

“Hahaha! May the sun and moon fall! The sun sets at dusk. It sets in the evening and rises in the morning! The Nine Calamities, the Celestial Dragons, and the Fallen Star! The Crimson Court falls, and the white jade darkens! The Celestial Deities’ ichor shall flow!”

Everyone saw the naked human-faced vulture ranting and laughing maniacally before falling lifelessly to the ground.

The events unfolded so quickly that no one could comprehend what had just happened. They just had their eyes fixed on the motionless corpse.

Despite the gaping wound on her abdomen, the woman who had been pregnant just a moment ago draped herself over the corpse of the beast and cried. “My son! Aaaaah!”

Her scream spurred everyone into action.

“GUARDS!” Gao Zhijian shouted.

His guards immediately surrounded him.

Li Huowang almost lost his balance when he realized what had happened. His face contorted in disgust and hatred.

It was an Omen. He had seen it once in the Qi Kingdom. The Qi Kingdom had fallen shortly after the Omen’s appearance.

The Omen was a sign of great misfortune, and now it had appeared in the Liang Kingdom. Li Huowang didn’t know what lay ahead, but he knew that everything was in grave danger.

Gao Zhijian did not recognize what it was, but some of the people around him did. An old eunuch with bronze coins sewn into his eye sockets quickly explained the Omen to Gao Zhijian in a hushed tone.

Gao Zhijian’s eyes widened with shock as he stared at the monster in the puddle of blood.

Li Huowang nodded and said in a grave tone, “He’s right. We are in grave danger.”

Gao Zhijian didn’t have the mood to go to the barracks anymore. He waved quickly. “Quick! Return to the palace!”

As if dissatisfied with how slow they were going, Gao Zhijian hopped on a horse and charged back towards the palace.

Li Huowang walked over and picked up the dead Omen from the lady’s embrace before quickly following Gao Zhijian.

As the Liang Kingdom’s Emperor, Gao Zhijian had the highest authority and could command everyone. He commanded his officials and the soldiers to prepare to depart at any moment.

The city was shrouded in uncertainty and depression. The civilians somehow sensed something was wrong. Even in broad daylight, the streets remained empty. Anyone who had to venture outside scurried like frightened rats and huddled close to the walls.

Before long, the upper-ranked officers were summoned. All of them stared at the dead Omen and listened to Gao Zhijian’s explanation, but none of them said anything.

After some time, a young eunuch entered the room and reported, “Your Majesty, I’ve received news that we are not the only place to have produced an Omen. Si Qi, Qing Qiu, Hou Shu, and even the other counties in the Liang Kingdom… have… have reported the appearances of Omens.”

The miniscule hope in everyone’s heart was shattered. Something more dangerous than the Dharma Sect was now at play. The entire world was going to experience great danger.

“Your Majesty” A general with two scars on his face swiftly kneeled down. “Please allow me to fight! I will fight with my life on the line to destroy the Dharma Sect and destroy these inauspicious omens!”

With his words, a chain reaction ensued as everyone began echoing his words. The appearance of the Omens worried everyone, making them want immediately to leap into action. Even the civil officers and the Surveillance Bureau wanted to join.

Li Huowang was standing in the corner to observe the situation. Their reactions… They are afraid that the world is going to end.

Li Huowang was afraid too. The Qi Kingdom was gone, so its inhabitants ran to the Liang Kingdom. But what if the Liang Kingdom fell too? Li Huowang dared not imagine such an ending.

“General, do not be rash! We have to be careful. The Dharma Sect has lost a lot of their manpower. They are most likely using this to trip us up. Haste makes waste!”

Gao Zhijian calmed them down and started giving them different orders. He gave every person a suitable task and started aligning their hearts as one.

Gao Zhijian appeared to have learned a lot from the previous Dragon Veins. He had learned how to calm everyone during a major crisis and devise plans to tackle it.

The officers and generals slowly left one by one.

Then, Gao Zhijian looked at Li Huowang. “Senior Li, what do you intend to do?”

The Omen’s appearance had solidified Li Huowang’s thoughts. “I need to conduct the Dragon-Slaying Immortal-Killing Array. An Omen’s appearance usually indicates that something bad is happening up there. I need to go up there and see what has happened.”

“Senior Li, is there a need for you to do so?”

“Yes.”

Gao Zhijian sat on his throne and stared at Li Huowang. “Senior Li, do you remember what I said earlier about my choice?”

“I still remember.”

“Then I will have to advise you to not do so. Xuan Pin had told me that the array could destroy the Dharma Sect in one go, so I allowed him to take that risk. I let him become the nexus of the array, but look what happened.

“They all died, and now even Omens began appearing. That method is useless! I have a plan to deal with the Dharma Sect here. I need you to help me.”

Li Huowang shook his head. “No, this method will work. No matter what that Siming was, it gave me seven secrets in hopes that I would conduct the array. The Siming needs my help.”

Gao Zhijian gripped his throne tightly. “And what are those Simings? You don’t even know who the Siming is and you trust them? Can you be confident that they aren’t using you like a pawn? Maybe Xuan Pin died because he was fooled by those Simings. The fate of humanity must be held in our own hands and not in the hands of other beings!”

Li Huowang could tell how much Gao Zhijian detested the Simings from his tone.

“Senior Li, you are strong. You should stand where you are needed the most. With Xuan Pin’s death, you have to be our main strength. Only then can we win.”

Li Huowang’s anger started to bubble after seeing how stubborn Gao Zhijian was. “You think I’m only trying to destroy the Dharma Sect? Do you think everything would be solved with that? What if everything worsens even after we destroy the Dharma Sect?”

Gao Zhijian waved his arms after seeing Li Huowang still refused to listen to him. An eunuch quickly brought out a brush and a golden decree.

Gao Zhijian wrote his decree swiftly before placing it onto the tray. The eunuch then displayed the tray to Li Huowang.

“Li Huowang, receive the decree.”

Li Huowang did not move.