CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40 EARTH PALACE, FEROCIOUS BEAST, SACRIFICER

’As expected, Feng Ge is indeed the leader of the rebels, but she’s not rebelling against the queen.’

Under the tree, within the Ice Armor, Wu Wang maintained his seated posture, his mind buzzing with various thoughts.

This Ji Mo actually came up with the ploy of drugging the wine and taking the antidote in advance. I had really... overestimated him.

Wu Wang introspected, looking at his stomach filled with Shennong Brand antidote pills, Spring Pills, Soul-protecting Pills, Calm Mind Pills, and Parasite Extermination Pills, all wrapped in Mana yet undissolved. His smile was tinged with bitterness.

Isn’t this a waste of resources? Although Senior Shen Nong provided many elixirs, these elixirs are non-renewable resources, diminishing with each use. Forget it, forget it. What kind of malicious intent could Brother Ji harbor? He probably just didn’t want this little Condensation Establishment Realm cultivator to get involved in the upcoming events. If Brother Ji were to bare his heart and spill all his plans to me just because I saved him a few times... then Brother Ji’s ’account’ would be officially ruined, and the Ji Family should just find someone new to cultivate.

Wu Wang wasn’t upset at all about Ji Mo’s minor scheming.

Rather, it was the look in Feng Ge’s eyes when she tucked in the queen’s blanket that put Wu Wang on slight alert.

This Feng Ge... definitely has an issue.

"Hurry! Guard the queen’s chamber!"

"Set up the Protective Array!"

A few delicate shouts from women came through, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps, as two teams of Imperial Guards surrounded the chamber.

Wu Wang wasn’t in a hurry. He sat there silently contemplating; escaping wouldn’t be a problem.

The reason he could deduce so early that it was Feng Ge who planned to make a move in the Women’s country was based on numerous signs. For one, when he was attacked at the State Preceptor’s abode, Feng Ge did not appear afterward. Considering that the Great General’s mansion is not far from the State Preceptor’s, it would have been just a hop away for Feng Ge. Judging by Feng Ge’s previously demonstrated behavior, it seemed unlikely she would miss such a commotion. Moreover, the fact that Senior Shen Nong sent him to appear before Feng Ge was a hint in itself.

Wu Wang had learned that this Great General, Feng Ge, held a high position in the Women’s country, commanding all military power. If she wanted to rebel and take the throne for herself, she wouldn’t need support from the Human Domain.

The rebels’ target wasn’t the queen; Feng Ge was asking for support from the Human Domain... The answer was quite clear.

[What Feng Ge wants to upend, what the Human Domain wants to support, is the mythological order of this land.]

Nonetheless, Wu Wang still had a few lingering, unsolved doubts.

From within the Ice Armor, Wu Wang looked toward the secret chamber where the queen’s private treasures were kept. He vividly remembered several torn Sheepskin Scrolls with faintly visible symbols etched upon them.

Before gathering enough intelligence, it’s better not to make any hasty judgments. That would be far too frivolous.

He closed his eyes, and his Spiritual Sense spread out slowly, like flowing water. Like a drop of water falling on a still surface, faint ripples spread out, and the figures of over a hundred Imperial Guards surrounding the chamber projected into Wu Wang’s mind.

Wu Wang displayed the kind of patience typical of hunters from the Northern Wilderness. He waited quietly, tracking the Imperial Guards patrolling the surrounding rooftops, waiting for the instant their gazes simultaneously shifted away from his position.

Now!

Wu Wang suddenly opened his eyes. The floor beneath him soundlessly crumbled into fragments, and his figure slipped directly through.

—The place was originally an atrium, which the queen had converted into a chamber by laying a layer of wooden planks overhead, leaving significant gaps beneath.

He slapped a soft palm against the hollow Ice Armor, creating a decoy ice figure within, and installed an ice column below to prevent the spot from collapsing. Then, Wu Wang sneaked quietly beneath the wooden layer, slipping into the blind spot of the Imperial Guards watching from above.

After some maneuvering, he finally slipped into the queen’s hidden treasury.

With his Spiritual Sense maintained, listening in all directions, he swiftly searched for carriers of information among the trove of treasures: Sheepskin Scrolls, steles, and a wall hidden behind a cloth-draped wooden rack.

From a distance, Wu Wang stirred a slight breath of air, lifting the dust-covered cloth, revealing several paintings underneath.

But at this moment, Wu Wang’s expression became increasingly solemn...

What is this?

The weeping Goddess, the small figures kneeling in prayer, all within the fading Divine Light. A fearsome beast, figures crying and wailing as they were pushed forward, young girls turning to dust and vanishing. But upon close inspection, beneath the feet of both the beast and the Goddess, there was an identical disc etched with constellations, as if the beast had replaced the Goddess.

Recalling his discussion about this place’s mythology with the State Preceptor, he remembered the words sighed out by the latter: ’The Divine Spirits of the Northern Wilderness are concealed within the starlight, and the Sun Rituals allow service to the Divine Spirits.’

The God that created this place... has it left this kingdom? Did it only leave behind a fierce beast as the kingdom’s guardian, and does this beast require sacrifices to protect the kingdom?

Wu Wang, arms crossed, stood quietly before the mural, contemplating. He didn’t find the commotion outside lively; instead, he found it disruptive.

...

SWISH. SWISH. SWISH.

Figures rapidly moved between the palace buildings, clad in golden and silver armor, their expressions surprisingly uniform, all resolute.

Within the royal palace, under the shimmering golden light of a great Formation, hundreds, even thousands, of figures gathered towards the northwestern corner. More and more figures rushed into the Formation from outside, each brimming with vitality, bearing swords and spears, their strength top-notch in the Women’s country.

Due to the sudden activation of the palace’s great Formation, a bit of chaos emerged in the capital. However, most of the populace were merely curious and puzzled, gazing towards the palace. Batches of elite troops were dispatched to the streets, and rows of torches lit up all four city walls.

The capital, originally a night bright with starlight, suddenly became overcast with dense clouds. Anxiety permeated the hearts of the women, yet they did not know what exactly had happened.

In the northwestern corner of the royal palace, two flashes of blade light streaked by, and a huge Stele exploded with a bang. It revealed a round hole, roughly ten meters in diameter, and a downward-sloping tunnel that seemed to have no end.

Ji Mo, dressed in a blue Daoist robe, stood on a Lotus Platform with a Treasure Sword in hand. He was surrounded by several fiercely pulsating Immortal Treasures, including a war drum glimmering with red light and a small hammer crackling with tiny sparks of lightning.

Ling Xiaolan stood in mid-air, her sword on her back, her white dress unstained by the dust of the mortal world. Her gaze was firmly fixed on the round hole before her.

Feng Ge landed before the cave entrance, saber in hand, and immediately a large number of experts from the Women’s country converged behind her. She looked towards the entrance, her complexion somewhat pale.

The Great General took half a step forward, her eyes suddenly widening, her jaw clenched. Her Battle Armor flickered with a hint of blood-red light.

Twelve years old. The year I left this place, I was only twelve. The memories before I was twelve... always the dark Earth Palace, myself and countless nameless companions...

’Hey, we pray every day, can the Divine Spirits really hear us?’

’They should be able to. They say when we grow as tall as the Priests, we can go outside.’

’Outside? What’s it like outside?’

These were their most frequently repeated conversations.

"Ladies!" Feng Ge raised her long saber high and shouted with a firm voice. She turned, her back to the round hole, and looked at the figures before her. They were likewise gazing at Feng Ge.

Feng Ge’s voice was very low, "What will be revealed before you is the darkest and most unbearable aspect of this kingdom. Once you take this step, there’s no turning back."

Behind Feng Ge, the eyes of the Generals holding Weapons ignited with fire. As Feng Ge stepped forward, they immediately surged after her.

"Are we killing everyone inside?" Ling Xiaolan’s voice suddenly rang out.

Feng Ge turned her head and said softly, "The fault does not lie with our people, but with the beast and those of us who rely on its power. I ask Fairy Immortal to take action and merely restrain the Priests and guards inside."

"Understood." Ling Xiaolan gently closed her eyes, forming the Lotus Seal with her hands. When she opened her eyes again, her figure had transformed into a white rainbow that darted into the cave.

From afar, a few shouts echoed from within, but the voices quickly quieted down.

Ji Mo said indifferently, "We from the Human Domain will certainly not ignore this matter. Today, we shall assist General Feng in slaying the beast and rescue the Women’s country from its ominous shadow."

"Thank you," Feng Ge whispered, then, like the wind, she dashed into the circular opening with her long saber in hand.

The Generals behind her followed like shadows, figures threading into the passage one by one without any hesitation, even though they knew that today’s battle would inevitably lead to casualties.

How could there not be a bitter fight against a monstrous beast left by a Divine Spirit? But they could not be afraid now; they absolutely could not show fear in this matter!

Down the long corridor, their footsteps sounded like rushing water. The path ahead grew increasingly wide, and on the ground lay Priests in long robes, wrapped in Immortal Light, unconscious. Clearly, they had been easily subdued by the experts the Human Domain had brought to assist.

Feng Ge made a hand signal, and a few from the advancing group broke off to bind these Priests again. The deeper they ventured into the round cave, the more figures they found bound by Immortal Light. With the full power of her Jumping God Realm cultivation, Ling Xiaolan had left the guards and Priests here no chance to resist, thus avoiding the bloodshed that would have otherwise occurred.

Beside the guards clad in Armor lay scattered bows and arrows. Frightened palace maids were surrounded by strewn fruits and meats. Long-lasting lamps hung throughout the corridor, and many luminous minerals were set about; the floor was smooth and spotless.

The underground tunnel began to reveal branching paths, each clearly marked. Some led to kitchens, others to areas designated as sleeping quarters.

After pressing forward for an unknown distance, they arrived at a brightly lit, underground circular hall. The hall was divided into more than ten terraced levels from bottom to top, each with twelve openings fronted by long corridors.

Feng Ge stopped and raised her left fist high. The group behind her swiftly halted, their heads turning to survey their surroundings.

Ling Xiaolan hovered at the center of the circular hall. Her eyes were closed and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she brought out a Jade Flute and began to play it softly.

Feng Ge remained silent. She walked to a copper gong in a corner of the hall, picked up the wooden mallet beside it, and forcefully struck the gong.

DANG! DANG!

The sound of the gong resonated throughout the hall, dispersing in all directions.

Soft yet rapid footsteps came from each of the openings, and the Generals looked up. First, a little girl dressed in a loose white garment peeked her head out from a high opening and quickly ran to a corner of the corridor. Then, one after another, little girls in loose white garments emerged from the various openings, orderly taking their respective places. Their eyes, devoid of much spirit, scanned the figures below, but they soon knelt, hands joined, and began to sing a prayerful song.

Feng Ge stood before the gong, unable to move for a long while.

The sound of the flute gradually ceased. Ling Xiaolan, her expression frosty, stared at these figures. She realized that most of them were children, each age group having designated prayer spots. The oldest among them were no more than fourteen or fifteen.

There were six to seven hundred of them in total.

"They have no names." Feng Ge’s figure sank into shadow as she said calmly, "Do you want to know the purpose of their existence? Follow me."

With that, Feng Ge rose and leaped to an unoccupied opening, entering the darkness.

The memory is very distant, but I remember... that day, I walked far along a tunnel, following that strange snoring sound, all the way to the end...

That unpleasant snoring sound appeared once again. This seemingly endless corridor made people unconsciously hold their breath.

Finally, they arrived before a massive stone gate, from which strands of black smoke seeped through the cracks. Ling Xiaolan made a casual slash with her Longsword. The stone gate lit up with numerous horizontal and vertical cracks; a dazzling light shone from within, and the gate collapsed with a loud bang.

As black smoke billowed towards them, Ji Mo grasped the small, floating hammer by his side. He sent a shockwave forward, instantly dissipating the black smoke.

This was an extremely magnificent hall.

A terrifying beast, tens of meters high, sat in the center of the hall. It had a twisted human face, a bloated ox-like body, and four legs, yet it also possessed one thick arm. It reached out, grabbed an unconscious girl in a white dress, brought her to its nose, and sniffed gently. The girl’s figure rapidly turned to dust, slipping from the beast’s large hand.

The beast searched with its hand, somewhat dissatisfied, but found no other sacrifices. On a distant high platform, several Priests trembled, continuously kneeling and praying.

A girl in white... white dress...

’What are you doing here! Are you looking to die?!’

A scolding voice suddenly came from behind. Peering through a crack in the stone at a similar scene, Feng Ge still remembered her twelve-year-old self, so frightened she had forgotten to cry out, being lifted by a strong hand...

"Great General Feng Ge?!" The Priests on the platform spotted the intruders. One elderly female Priest called out tremblingly, "What... what do you want to do? This is disrespectful to the Divine Spirit! It will bring disaster!"

"Get lost," Feng Ge said flatly, her eyes already bloodshot.

The Priests scrambled off the platform without looking back and hid in a corner, not daring to utter another word.

With a low hum from her weapon, Feng Ge pointed her long saber at the beast.

"This is the guardian beast of our nation! The price for its protection is our human lives, a secret that generations of queens chose to conceal!"

Feng Ge took a deep breath, flames burning in her eyes. Her voice rose, laced with grit and vehemence.

"I am one of the sacrifices who walked out of here! The Priests use the secret Spirit Incubator Pool to breed batches of infants, giving them no names, no right to be citizens of the Women’s country! They wait until their souls mature at fifteen, then offer their souls as sacrifices to this beast! Those children we saw—should they die simply because they were born into this world? Do they not count as our people simply because they were denied names? We rise today to rescue the children trapped here and to slay this beast!"

Feng Ge suddenly lifted her head. She threw her long saber aside, and with a gesture of her hand, a spear materialized in her palm, bolts of thunder coiling around it. Her voice echoed throughout the hall, "The future of the Women’s country will be determined by us, the people of the Women’s country! Tonight, we defy the will of the Goddess! Tonight, with the swords and sabers in our hands, we will free this nation from the shadow of that beast! Feng Ge, First General of the Imperial Guard, today rebels against the God!"

The beast scratched its forehead, its bloodshot eyes staring at the tiny figures before it.

A lotus bloomed, and sword light slashed across a hundred zhang. Ling Xiaolan’s figure had already appeared above the beast’s head. Ji Mo’s hands formed seals, and the several Immortal Treasures around him blazed with light...

...

「In the center of the palace, at the foundation of the Women’s country—the Spirit Incubator Pool.」

Wu Wang sat quietly by the pool’s edge, gazing at the huge mural painted at its bottom. Hesitation flickered in his eyes before he finally let out a soft sigh.

"Who are you!"

Shouts came from the entrance of the Spirit Incubator Hall. More than ten guards immediately rushed in.

Wu Wang pointed his left hand towards these figures and gently clenched his fist. The guards were promptly trapped in solid ice, yet the ice didn’t cling to their chests and left gaps for them to breathe through their nostrils.

Wu Wang stood up, wings unfurling behind him, and said calmly, "I am... perhaps, someone who can help you."

Time is short, the task is heavy, and there are still many arrangements to make. The predicament faced by the Women’s country is even trickier than an unexpected blessing from a Star God.