61: Section 61

【As soon as your Declaration Against the Traitors was released, it caused a huge sensation throughout the Great Zhou.】

【Many former officials of the previous Dynasty and aristocratic families who had failed in the previous war's reshuffle began to secretly unite, preparing to welcome your army's arrival.】

【At the same time, the Xiao Clan Royal Family was also vehemently denouncing the decision made by Xiao Huang.】

【Because this perfectly solved the problem of the princes lacking military power and the Huns not being legitimate.】

【But Xiao Huang seemed to have anticipated this.】

【She merely left a single sentence.】

“Didn’t you all agree back then?”

【She knew that even if you didn't rebel, her second uncle would, so it was better to fulfill your goal.】

【Fulfilling your goal was fulfilling her own.】

【Under external pressure, the Xiao Clan Royal Family successfully stripped Xiao Huang of her power and confined her to the Imperial Palace, forbidding her from stepping out even half a step.】

【You were unaware of what was happening in the Imperial Palace, instead focusing on the confrontation between the Huns and the Great Zhou army.】

【Because it happened so suddenly, these armies were completely unprepared, and the Hun army defeated them with overwhelming force.】

【At the same time, because of your existence as the Third Prince of the previous Dynasty, even if they were defeated and surrendered, they felt no psychological burden; instead, they believed they might achieve great success by following you.】

【The power of your identity continued to ferment, and loyal and righteous individuals, aristocratic families, and former officials of the previous Dynasty flocked to you.】

【Your maternal grandfather, Li Jinglong, also successfully joined your command.】

【As a seasoned General who had fought countless battles, he immediately elevated your army's combat effectiveness by several levels.】

【Soon, more than half of the Great Zhou Dynasty's territory was successfully conquered.】

【However, at this point, you encountered the exact same problem as the Xiao Clan Royal Family.】

【That is, the defenses of Kyoto and several surrounding major cities were simply too formidable, practically impregnable.】

【A protracted tug-of-war began.】

【Originally, you thought you could only persuade the Xiao Clan Royal Family to surrender, but you had severely underestimated your influence.】

【After only a month of standoff, the city's common people and Jianghu figures rebelled, beheading the defending General.】

【Soon, the entire Great Zhou was left with only Kyoto unconquered.】

【Everyone knew that the Xiao Clan Royal Family's power was waning, and even some of the defending soldiers and Generals within Kyoto were restless.】

【But Xiao Zhan, as the one in power, immediately discovered this and promptly beheaded a number of people to deter others.】

【He had already set up his defenses, determined to defend Kyoto, this last city, to the death!】

【At the same time, Xiao Zhan secretly maintained a group of assassins skilled in covert operations. For him, as long as he could kill you, the tide of battle could be instantly reversed.】

【Those loyal officials and righteous individuals of the former Dynasty, as well as the aristocratic families, would no longer have an object of loyalty.】

【Even if it ultimately led to warlord chaos, Xiao Zhan might still rise among the competing heroes!】

…

“Yu Niang, are you saying that Xiao Zhan is preparing to send people to assassinate me?”

【Inside the main camp.】

【You were carefully analyzing the current military situation when you suddenly saw Yu Luoniang enter with the Five Ghosts.】

【She also told you astonishing news.】

【Hearing your question, Yu Luoniang nodded.】

“Yes, Sir, I learned this after sending the Five Ghosts in. If you count them, every single one of those people is definitely a top-tier master among Mortals.”

“Even ordinary Cultivators who Cultivate Dao or Buddhism wouldn't dare to face them.”

【You showed no panic upon hearing this.】

“Yu Niang, what about you?”

“I remember you have a Magical Artifact called the “Seven Emotions and Six Desires Net” that can control others' emotions.”

“With so many deaths during this period of war, you must have secretly absorbed the scattered essence, Qi, and spirit, right?”

【Yu Luoniang covered her mouth and chuckled.】

“There's truly nothing I can hide from you, Sir.”

“I came here this time specifically to protect you.”

“This area around the camp has already been laid out with my Seven Emotions and Six Desires Net. If anyone dares to intrude, I can directly control their emotions.”

“However, among those assassins, there is a Daoist named Ye Zhiqiu. I heard he previously slayed many Demons. If he comes, I might not be able to deal with him.”

【Hearing Yu Luoniang mention another Daoist, you were somewhat surprised.】

【You had previously heard that Yu Luoniang had eight hundred years of Dao cultivation. For Ye Zhiqiu to be feared even by her, he must be a high-level Daoist.】

“Then will my ability work on him?”

【Yu Luoniang shook her head.】

“This servant doesn't know, Sir. It might work, or it might not.”

【Upon hearing this answer, you felt some regret for not developing your own abilities.】

“What about the Hun shamans?”

【Hearing this, Yu Luoniang immediately shook her head like a rattle drum.】

“No, Sir, those spirits would definitely flee immediately upon seeing such a high-level Daoist.”

【Having no other option, you called for your maternal grandfather, Li Jinglong.】

【You informed him of the news, wanting to discuss it with him.】

【Li Jinglong was quite nonchalant and directly told you that he would handle Ye Zhiqiu.】

【You looked at your maternal grandfather's aged body and couldn't help but inwardly shake your head.】

【Even if your maternal grandfather was incredibly strong, he might still be unable to deal with that Daoist.】

【With a 'dead horse, live horse' attitude, you wrote one hundred and eight 'kill' characters, aligning with the numbers of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and pasted them all over the inside of your tent.】

【If any Demon harbored killing intent towards you, these 'kill' characters would immediately activate.】

【Time quickly came to night.】

【You didn't dare to sleep, but your maternal grandfather, Li Jinglong, was in high spirits, standing at the entrance with his Guan Wang broadsword.】

【Yu Luoniang, along with the Five Ghosts, ambushed outside, preparing to deal with those Mortal masters first.】

【In the dead of night, sounds of screams and soldiers' shouts suddenly erupted from outside the camp, along with the clanging of weapons.】

【But you knew that these soldiers definitely couldn't defeat those Mortal masters; the only possibility was that Yu Niang had controlled them and made them fight each other.】

【Soon after, the sounds outside gradually ceased. A Daoist dressed in an Eight Trigrams robe, holding a wooden sword, walked into your tent. His wooden sword now had the heads of the Five Ghosts impaled on it.】

【Your heart trembled at this sight. The Five Ghosts died just like that?】

【It was simply too sudden. You wondered how Yu Niang was doing now.】

【Ye Zhiqiu burst into laughter upon seeing the 'kill' characters around you.】

“I've long heard that the Third Prince possesses Haoran Righteousness. I didn't expect the rumors to be true.”

“But didn't you know?”

“These characters are useless against me!”

【After speaking,】

【And Li Jinglong, at some unknown moment, had a mouthful of fresh blood, which he spat onto Ye Zhiqiu.】

【His Guan Wang broadsword rose and fell.】

【Ye Zhiqiu's head immediately flew off, with no possibility of survival!】

【Before dying, Ye Zhiqiu's head kept opening and closing on the ground.】

【You could vaguely make out from the twitching lips that Ye Zhiqiu kept repeating the words “I am unwilling!”】

【Li Jinglong laughed heartily.】

“The Blood Fiend Spell I learned in my youth specializes in breaking these Daoists' protective Dao techniques, like the Golden Light Spell and the Flying Head Spell.”

“I thought I'd never use it again, but now it seems it's not outdated!”

【You were somewhat surprised at this, never expecting such a method existed in the world. Indeed, there is always a counter to everything.】

“Maternal grandfather is truly vigorous in old age!”

【Yu Luoniang cautiously walked in at this moment.】

【Seeing Ye Zhiqiu's head lying on the ground, she quickly ran to your side.】

“Sir, I've dealt with all those Mortal masters.”

“It's just a pity about the Five Ghosts. There will never be such good ghost envoys in Yin Mountain again.”

【Seeing this, you held Yu Luoniang's hand and gently pulled her into your embrace.】

【At this moment, you had resolved all crises. The day Kyoto falls will be the day Xiao Huang meets you!】

Chapter 71: Ascension to the Throne, Establishing Xiao Huang as Empress

【News of Xiao Zhan sending people to assassinate you quickly reached the Khan of the Huns.】

【He rushed over anxiously.】

【He looked at the corpses outside with great concern.】

【Your life was more important to others than it was to yourself!】

【Only after seeing that you were unharmed did the Khan of the Huns breathe a sigh of relief.】

“My virtuous son-in-law, you must not come to harm.”

“If anything were to happen to you, I'm afraid all of us would fall apart.”

【At this moment, because you no longer relied solely on the Hun's military strength, but had many people voluntarily organizing themselves, forming a powerful army.】

“Father-in-law, of course I won't be harmed.”

“Don't worry.”

【You then approached Ye Zhiqiu's headless corpse. Ye Zhiqiu appeared to be only around thirty years old, yet even Yu Luoniang, with eight hundred years of Dao cultivation, was wary of him. He truly was a rare human being.】

【No wonder these Demons all desired to Cultivate human forms.】

【You searched Ye Zhiqiu's corpse and eventually found a small booklet in his bosom.】

【The booklet clearly displayed five large characters: “Five Thunder Summoning Spell”.】

【Yu Luoniang looked pleased upon seeing it.】

“Sir, this is a genuine Xuanmen Dao method, known as 'firelight burning the world, Demons turning to ashes'. After a Mortal Cultivates it, they can summon Five Thunders. Although its power is not as great as a Heavenly Tribulation, it can still deal with many Demons and humans.”

“Currently, Sir, you happen to lack means to deal with humans. If you could learn this Five Thunder Summoning Spell, it would be absolutely perfect.”

【You were somewhat surprised upon hearing Yu Luoniang's introduction.】

“This is certainly something I can learn.”

【Seeing that you were unharmed, Li Jinglong and the Khan of the Huns immediately took their leave. The corpses were handled by soldiers.】

【You, meanwhile, sat aside, carefully studying the “Five Thunder Summoning Spell”.】

…

Watching himself reading in the simulation, Su Mo also wanted to learn. After all, having more methods meant more options. However, most of the incantations within were obscure and difficult to understand, like

Five Thunders, Five Thunders, Heavenly Thunder follows. Thunder in the palm, striking ghosts and expelling evil.

Or, gathering True Qi in the hands, feet, and heart, emitting brilliant light. He understood none of it.