15: Hunyuan Sect, the Siege of Zijin Mountain

December 31st, the 18th year of yonghe.

On the very day Yu Xuzi left the palace, after days of encirclement and psychological torment, the Yellow Heaven Cult finally launched an attack on the capital, seeing that Purple Gold Mountain remained sealed.

From the very beginning, the siege was a one-sided affair.

Under the combined spellcasting of several Yellow Heaven Cult Cultivators, massive fireballs and sharp golden blades descended one after another; the capital's seemingly sturdy walls were torn apart as easily as paper.

"Boom— Boom— Boom—"

The massive iron-cast city gates were forced open by brute strength, and a tide-like army of yellow turbans poured into the city with frantic cheers.

"Kill!!!"

The defenders' morale had long since collapsed, and they failed to organize almost any effective resistance.

The street fighting quickly turned into a one-sided massacre and looting.

In a single day, the prosperous capital fell into a sea of blood and fire.

Cries, sounds of fighting, and the crackle of burning flames mixed together, echoing through the sky.

As the city fell, a towering fire ignited from deep within the palace, dyeing half the sky red.

At the end of his rope, this final King of Yu chose the most resolute way out—self-immolation for his country.

The Yu Kingdom, which had enjoyed its reign for over five hundred years, perished then and there!

And from start to finish, Purple Gold Mountain, standing tall on the east side of the capital, remained silent.

The gates of the State Preceptors Mansion were tightly shut, its Mountain Protecting Grand Formation shimmering with light, completely indifferent to everything happening outside, as if it were a total outsider... Early morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

At the foot of Purple Gold Mountain.

The frantic clamor of the capital did not seem to affect this area.

A desolate mountain wind whistled past, making a wailing sound that added a few degrees of chill.

Three ghost-like figures appeared silently in a hidden depression.

One of them was none other than True Man Huang Tian.

He was still dressed in his rather conspicuous golden dragon robe, and beside him stood two middle-aged men, both of whom were surprisingly Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivators!

Both were Elders of the neighboring Hunyuan Sect.

One was eight feet tall with white hair and a youthful face, known as Venerable Feng Xi.

The other was six feet tall with a square face and a long beard, his Daoist title being Venerable Xuan Ling.

In this age of decadence, many Qi Refining Cultivators would give themselves Daoist titles that only Dao Foundation Cultivators should have.

However, in front of the Cult Master of Huang Tian Cult, who dared to call himself "True Man" while only at the Qi Refinement Stage, these two "Venerable" titles were actually considered modest... "There were a few Fellow Daoists from neighboring countries who came to scout for news. I ignored them and just told them to stay away. For now, I haven't seen anyone intending to lend a hand to the State Preceptors Mansion."

"As expected."

True Man Huang Tian gazed at the silent Purple Gold Mountain not far away, which was shrouded in the hazy light of a Formation. His brow furrowed slightly, and his tone carried a hint of regret and coldness: "What a State Preceptors Mansion, shrinking back and refusing to come out!"

"The capital has been breached and the royal family slaughtered. With such a huge commotion, they can actually endure it and not even show their faces!"

Beside him, Venerable Feng Xi stepped forward, holding a round object wrapped in black cloth, with dark red blood seeping from the edges.

He let out a mocking, raspy laugh: "Hehe, this State Preceptors Mansion has been passed down for centuries; they lost their Yu Kingdom Bloodline long ago and have already usurped their hosts."

"To them, the royal family is nothing more than Mortals, less than ants."

Venerable Feng Xi casually tossed the object in his hand onto the ground.

The black cloth fell away, revealing a head with hair and beard standing on end, eyes wide open, and a face frozen in an expression of terror!

"A pity for Fellow Daoist Wang."

His tone was mocking, "To rush back from thousands of miles away, only to be ambushed by us and meet his end like this."

True Man Huang Tian glanced at Elder Wang's head and snorted coldly: "If he's killed, he's killed. It counts as cutting off one of the State Preceptors Mansion's arms."

"However, this Purple Gold Mountain is a major concern after all. As long as the Formation isn't broken, it will always be a thorn in our side, especially this generation's State Preceptor..."

Venerable Xuan Ling stepped forward with a sneer and said, "Fellow Daoist Huang Tian, rest assured. He thinks he can Breakthrough to the Dao Foundation Stage? Dreaming!"

"Our Sect Master has already returned early from Kang Country and will arrive with the Disciples today. Their turtle shell won't hold much longer."

"Watch me send them a great gift first!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he flew into the air with a chuckle, carrying the head... "This is bad! This is bad!"

Before the early morning light could fully dispel the mist on Purple Gold Mountain, a shrill scream pierced the silence of the mountains.

"Elder Li!"

A young Disciple scrambled into a certain hall on the mountainside and collapsed in front of Elder Li, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation.

His face was as pale as paper, and his pupils were dilated with horror.

Elder Li slowly opened his eyes, his brow furrowing slightly as he looked at him with a hint of displeasure: "Why such panic? Has the sky fallen?"

"Wang... Elder Wang... his head... is... outside the mountain gate!"

The Disciple was incoherent, his finger trembling as he pointed outside the hall.

"What did you say?"

Elder Li stood up abruptly, his originally cloudy old eyes instantly flashing with a terrifying brilliance.

In the blink of an eye, his figure blurred and he appeared outside the hall, flying down the mountain.

Outside the hazy light shield formed by the Mountain Protecting Grand Formation, near the mountain gate, a bloody head had been casually discarded on the ground.

The eyes were wide open; he had died with a grievance.

It was indeed the long-overdue Elder Wang!

And in the air outside the light shield, three figures were clearly visible.

"Junior Brother Wang!"

Elder Li let out a sorrowful roar, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot. He felt a surge of blood rush to his head, his heart twisting with pain!

He had known Elder Wang for nearly several decades; though not blood relatives, they were like brothers.

Seeing him die so tragically now, how could his heart not be twisted with pain?

He looked past the figure in the golden dragon robe and stared fixedly at Venerable Feng Xi and Venerable Xuan Ling in the air, his voice trembling violently with rage: "You scum of the Hunyuan Sect, it really was you pulling the strings behind the scenes!!"

"Was Ding Qing also killed by you!"

Upon hearing this, Venerable Xuan Ling let out a burst of arrogant laughter: "Hahaha, Old Man Kai Yuan, so what if it was us!"

Elder Li's Daoist title was indeed Venerable Kai Yuan.

Venerable Feng Xi also added sinisterly: "Fellow Daoist Kai Yuan, those who recognize the circumstances are heroes. Now that the Yu Kingdom has fallen and the capital has been reduced to ashes, you are all like turtles in a jar, rootless duckweed."

"Open the Formation and surrender the centuries of accumulation of the State Preceptors Mansion, and our sect might spare your lives."

"If you resist to the end, once the Formation is broken, not even a chicken or dog will be left alive on Purple Gold Mountain!"

By now, most of the Cultivators of the State Preceptors Mansion had gathered around.

After hearing these words, some were filled with righteous indignation, while others' eyes flickered with uncertainty.

Hearts were already in disarray, and panic spread rapidly.

"Bullshit!"

"Go tell your lies to the ghosts!"

Elder Li roared with his hair standing on end from anger, no longer maintaining his usual calm image. "If you want Purple Gold Mountain, you'll have to step over my dead body!"

"Alas, why struggle in a death throes?"

Venerable Xuan Ling shook his head, feigning a sigh, but was the first to strike without mercy.

"Roar~~~"

Accompanied by a domineering tiger's roar, he summoned a pitch-black Tiger-Head Staff.

Faint black flames erupted from the tiger's eyes on the staff's head, expanding with the wind into a massive black tiger thirty meters in size. It tore through the sky and pounced fiercely toward the Formation's light shield!

"Boom!!!"