Chapter 393: Chapter 396: Tragic Scene at the East Border_1
"Ah..."
In the Buddha’s Light Palace, the Enlightenment Buddha sighed, his expression gloomy. He felt powerless in the face of the current situation.
If the various sacred lands had not gone to the Yellow Spring Secret Realm but had continued to exterminate the Eternal Temple, the situation would have been much better – they might have even succeeded in completely destroying the Eternal Temple.
After the Battle of Cold Water, the 3,000 special constitutions had been collected, save for a handful.
What crazy plan would the Eternal Temple implement next?
"Enlightened Buddha, an invitation has arrived from the Nine-fold Saint’s Court, inviting us to join them in the annihilation of the Eternal Temple!" Ru Yuan, the Abbot of the Thunder Sound Temple, walked into the palace, bowed, and said.
"I understand. You may go and attend to your duties!" The Enlightenment Buddha nodded and spoke calmly.
Ru Yuan bowed again and respectfully exited the hall, his steps embodying the profound mysteries of Buddhism.
"Buddha, the various sacred lands are all self-interested; continuing to cooperate with them will likely not yield any benefits!" the Subduing Dragon Buddha spoke sternly. A golden dragon shadow coiled around him, its eyes flashing fiercely. He was clearly not someone to be trifled with.
"Yes, Enlightened Buddha! Please reconsider!"
"The major sacred lands are too selfish to be worthy of an alliance!"
Subduing Tiger Buddha, Vajra Buddha, and the others all voiced their reluctance to associate with the various sacred lands and join the so-called alliance.
An alliance prone to abandonment and driven by selfish desires was indeed contemptible.
"Amitabha!" The Enlightenment Buddha recited a Buddhist mantra. The other Buddhas fell silent, listening as he said, "The Eternal Temple is powerful. Only if the entire continent unites will we have the strength to resist them!"
"After the Battle of Cold Water, the outstanding young prodigies of the major sacred lands were captured. Their resentment towards the Eternal Temple must have reached its peak. They will not give up easily!"
"The Thunder Sound Temple must take part in this alliance!"
The Enlightenment Buddha was aware of the pitfalls of joining the alliance, but he felt he had no other choice.
It would be impossible to resist the Eternal Temple relying solely on the strength of the Thunder Sound Temple. They had to leverage the strength of the other sacred lands.
"What about the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple and White Horse Temple? Will they participate as well?" the Subduing Tiger Buddha asked curiously.
In the Western Region, the Thunder Sound Temple was the most esteemed of the three temples; both White Horse Temple and Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple had to obey its commands.
"The White Horse Temple will join the alliance, while the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple will seal its mountain and not participate!" The Enlightenment Buddha pondered, considering the current situation, and ordered solemnly.
"Seal its mountain?" The Subduing Dragon Buddha and the other five were shocked. With the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple sealing its mountain at this moment, could it be that this ’plan’ is about to begin?
As powerful figures in Buddhism, they were aware of some secrets!
As far back as the First Era, when Buddhism was established, a plan had been in preparation, known as the Devotee Project.
The core of this project was to gather the power of faith and break through to the Immortal Realm!
...
The turbulence in the Middle Region, for the time being, had little to do with the East Border.
At this moment, the East Border was mired in sorrow. The Battle of Cold Water had added insult to injury in the already barren East Border.
The aftermath of the battle between hundreds of Emperor Realm martial artists had destroyed one Dao Domain, heavily damaged more than 30 others, and affected hundreds more.
From the perspective of Spiritual Energy, one-sixth of the East Border had regressed to the state prior to the spiritual tide; Spiritual Energy was scarce, and Immortal Destiny was non-existent.
From a resource perspective, one-twelfth of the East Border’s territory had its resources completely destroyed. It would take billions of years to recover.
From the perspective of Fortune, half of the East Border’s Fortune had vanished, distributed among the Kylin Sacred Land, Qionghua Sacred Land, Thousand Monster Sacred Court, Zixia Sacred Land, and the Qin Dynasty’s Sacred Court.
Fortune is born from Heaven and Earth. The Battle of Cold Water had disrupted the stability of the East Border, leading to a cliff-like decline in Fortune.
With the decline in the Fortune of Heaven and Earth, the Fortune gathered by the various powers would also be affected. Of these, the Kylin Sacred Land suffered the most, with 60% of its Fortune vanishing, followed by Qionghua Sacred Land with 40%.
After all, the territories of the Kylin Sacred Land and Qionghua Sacred Land were directly on the battlefield, so their losses were the most severe.
The Thousand Monster Sacred Court, Zixia Sacred Land, and the Qin Dynasty’s Sacred Court were comparatively less affected due to their distance from the battlefield. However, as part of the East Border, they also had to bear the collateral losses.
As a result, these three powers saw 20% of their Fortune evaporate!
"ROAR—"
High above the Imperial Capital, the Sea of Fortune had significantly shrunk, covering less than half of the Imperial Capital.
The Golden Dragon of Fortune lay in the Sea of Fortune, its scales dull, its spirit low. It gave a couple of hoarse roars and then fell into a deep sleep.
In the Imperial Hall, a court session was being held, with all civil and military officials gathered.
Qin Wudao sat on the throne, wearing a nine-dragon imperial robe. His demeanor was imposing. Perhaps it was because he had become the master of the Yellow Spring Underworld, but he now exuded a hint of divinity, making it so others dared not look directly at him.
"Your Majesty, due to the loss of Fortune, the concentration of Spiritual Energy in the Qin Dynasty’s territory has thinned by one-third compared to before," Zhuge Liang reported, stepping into the center of the hall.
The Fortune of the Qin Dynasty’s Sacred Court had suffered two reductions. One was when half was consumed in reviving Guo Jia, and the other was the current situation, due to the Battle of Cold Water.
"Dispatch men to the Middle Region to purchase spirit ores and rare treasures. Integrate them into the Earth Veins to restore the Fortune of the East Border!" Qin Wudao calmly ordered.
Fortune comes from Heaven and Earth. If the land is damaged, it can only be repaired by replenishing the Earth Veins.
Why is the Middle Region the strongest? Is it not because it is situated in the center of the Primeval Continent, possessing the most potent Earth Veins? Only thus could it give birth to 12 sacred lands.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhuge Liang bowed to acknowledge the command and retreated to his place.
"Your Majesty, I have a report!" Jia Xu, who rarely spoke in court, stepped forward, causing a stir among the civil and military officials. It seemed someone was about to suffer misfortune again. Those targeted by the Hidden Guard never met a good end.
"What is it?" Qin Wudao asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, the Huang Clan of the Middle Stream Dao Domain has violated the imperial decree. They sent their prodigy, Huang Jianding, to the Cold River, where he was captured by the Great Wall detachment. Moreover, an investigation by the Hidden Guard found that the Huang Clan is dissatisfied with the Qin Dynasty’s rule and regards the Imperial Court as an enemy. They have repeatedly insulted Your Majesty, dispatched agents to usurp the authority of local officials, forcibly seized spiritual fields, formed a private army, exploited the common people, hoarded military-standard armor, and harbored treasonous intent!" Jia Xu reported loudly, taking out a memorial from his storage ring and submitting it.
The assembled officials listened with trepidation; a few with connections to the Huang Clan broke out in a cold sweat.
If it were indeed as Jia Xu reported, merely for disobeying an imperial edict and insulting His Majesty, it would be grounds for exterminating three relations of their clan. Given the additional evidence of other crimes, even annihilating all nine relations would not be excessive.
Qin Wudao opened the memorial, which detailed the Huang Clan’s crimes. He grew furious and slammed the memorial onto the floor.
"Issue the decree: the Huang Clan, exterminate all nine relations!" Qin Wudao ordered furiously, his eyes bloodshot, his killing intent boiling.
The officials neither objected nor voiced agreement. Annihilating nine relations of a clan was, indeed, exceptionally cruel.
Zhuge Liang picked up the memorial and read it. He, too, trembled with uncontrollable rage. "The Huang Clan deserves ten thousand deaths! I agree with exterminating all nine relations!"