Chapter 598: Denunciation and Crusade

Xiao Nanfeng's main body left Dayin's capital in a mess. The southern watchtower had collapsed entirely, and plenty of floating islands had fallen to the ground. Even the dragon-headed mountain on which the palace was situated was largely in ruins. Everyone in the city was on edge.

Just then, Yin Shenhua reclaimed with his strongest subordinates. They stood where the ruins of the dragon-headed mountain lay, their faces dour.

"Your Majesty, we did our best to stop Xiao Nanfeng, but we weren't able to do anything against him," one official said, stepping forward with his head bowed.

Yin Shenhua ignored him. He looked straight ahead at the dragon-headed mountain. "Have a look at its foundations."

Some of his subordinates immediately darted into the ruins. It took them quite a while before they returned again.

"Your Majesty, Xiao Nanfeng only freed three superior draconic veins. The secret of the mountain has yet to be exposed," one subordinate reported.

"Very good." Yin Shenhua relaxed imperceptibly.

Suddenly, another dragon's cry rang out from deep underground. The dragon-headed mountain rumbled again.

"Another superior draconic vein has awakened!" an official cried out.

Dust and smoke poured into the air as a thirty-kilometer-long golden dragon emerged from deep underground.

Its draconic might terrorized all those around it.

The next moment, however, it seemed to shake itself awake as it whirled to see Yin Shenhua and his subordinates close by.

"Yin Shenhua? You really don't intend to leave me alone, do you?" the superior draconic vein howled.

Rather than attack him, it was so frightened that it shot straight into the sky as it attempted to flee.

Because Yin Shenhua was back, the defensive formation around the city had already been taken down. The superior draconic vein flew off into the clouds in a flash.

"You won't escape!" a group of Dayin cultivators roared, poised to give chase.

"Leave it be," Yin Shenhua commanded.

The cultivators turned to Yin Shenhua in surprise.

"The roc is out of secluded cultivation now," Yin Shenhua explained.

Everyone nodded in understanding.

The next moment, a huge plume of smoke and dust emerged from the mountain as a golden ray of light shot into the sky, straight toward the escaping superior draconic vein.

It took a long moment before the blur of light resolved into a resplendent golden roc that caught up to the superior draconic vein with a single, strong flap of its wings.

Then, the roc's sharp claws thrust into the superior draconic vein.

The superior draconic vein struggled to break free, but found itself completely unable to do so. The roc pecked a huge hole in the superior draconic vein's head, causing it to slump. Then, the roc tossed it into the air and swallowed it down in one gulp.

The cultivators of Dayin gaped at the sight of what they had just witnessed.

Countless citizens had watched the three superior draconic veins smash apart the floating islands and the southern watchtower as they made their escape. They couldn't help but feel as if the divine empire of Dayin was about to meet its downfall.

However, upon seeing the roc swallow a superior draconic vein in one gulp, they suddenly felt as though the escape of the three draconic veins meant little in comparison.

Were there such strong existences in Dayin besides the Immortal Emperor himself?

The roc returned to Dayin's capital with a flap of its wings, then transformed into a young man. His eyes sparkled with divine light as a fearsome aura emanated from him.

"The second prince!"

"It's His Highness, Yin Peng! What incredible strength!" [1]

"His Highness is incredible!"

Countless Dayin cultivators gaped at what they had seen.

The roc who had transformed into a man alighted before Yin Shenhua and bowed. "I greet you, Father."

"Peng'er, have you regained your memories of the past?" Yin Shenhua asked.

"Everything, Father, though it took me a while to raise my cultivation," Yin Peng replied.

"Good, very good!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed. "War draws near. Dayin must concentrate its power and prepare to take on the Imperial Court. Mo Shanhe has been captured, and a large group of spirits are now unbound. You shall take the lead and command Dayin's spirit troops.

"Understood, Father!" Yin Peng responded.

"Start repairing the Thunderclap Hall," Yin Shenhua commanded one of his subordinates.

"Understood!"

The subordinate walked over, compass-shaped diagrams appearing underfoot as he walked, revolving around him in rings. Clearly, he was one of Daying's formations experts.

With a wave of his hand, the ruins of the dragon-headed mountain began to quake.

Dragons cried out from deep underground as a new mountain emerged from underground, pushing aside the ruins of the old one. Another earthquake rumbled across Dayin's capital as its citizens saw the dragon-headed mountain restored to its former glory.

The formations master continued to manipulate his surroundings. A forest rapidly grew out of the dragon-headed mountain, at a rate visible to the naked eye. Then, he surrounded the mountain with formations, reproducing the mountain of yore—though without many of the halls and palaces that had once decked its peaks.

A group of officials began their labor simultaneously, restoring the Thunderclap Hall to its former glory.

Before long, much of the restoration work had been completed. Yin Shenhua and some of his subordinates stepped up the mountain.

Even so, the formations master didn't stop there. He then headed to the southern watchtower and restored it with the help of several officials, and then inspected the defensive formations around Dayin's capital.

The Imperial Court was the crown jewel of the world. Whatever the Sieve of Heaven set in motion, news would quickly spread throughout the world.

That the Princess of the Moon's purported rebellion had been overturned, that the culprit appeared to be Yin Shenhua, that the Imperial Court had sent eighteen Martial Aspects to arrest him—forces around the world quickly learned of such shocking news.

Of the many Immortal Emperors, some were content to remain bystanders, but others began to set plans in motion.

Few ordinary empires were aware of what had transpired, but those around Dayin and Dazheng did.

The battle at Yongding and crisis in Dayin's capital made local news, after all.

A vigorous debate was occurring in the court of an empire that bordered Dayin.

"How bold Xiao Nanfeng is. He's clearly intending to take on Yin Shenhua!"

"The eighteen Martial Aspects of the Imperial Court boast incredible strength. They even beat back the strongest cultivators of Dayin!"

"Ao Canghai is a force to be reckoned with."

A harried official rushed in to interrupt the session of court.

"Your Majesty, Dazheng has just issued a denunciation of Dayin and is intending to lead a crusade against it!" he reported.

"What?!" The officials of court were in uproar.

The emperor was astounded as well. "Who against whom?"

"Dazheng against Dayin!" the official repeated.

"You must have gotten things mixed up." The officials all around refused to believe such nonsense.

An ordinary empire, pitting itself against a divine empire? The ordinary empire would be crushed in the blink of an eye! Of course there were exceptions, but those had only occurred when the divine empires in question were nearing their death to begin with.

That Dazheng would do so now was inconceivable.

"Read the denunciation," the emperor commanded.

"Understood, Your Majesty!"

The official began, "Yin Shenhua is a cursed effigy of yore who has returned to the mortal world and established the divine empire of Dayin. During his reign, he disrespected the Imperial Court and treated his own citizens with malice. Ambitious, he assassinated the Heavenly Emperor's own daughter and sought to control the Imperial Court to bring evil to the world. Eighteen Martial Aspects of the Imperial Court have been sent to seize him, only to face stubborn resistance. Let the world know that all who conspire with him shall be destroyed alongside him. He has raided Dazheng; my capital, Yongding; and destroyed my palace. The heavens themselves stand witness to what evil he has unleashed. Today, I, Xiao Nanfeng, emperor of Dazheng, hereby declare war on Yin Shenhua. All righteous cultivators of the world are invited to join Dazheng's army to aid in his capture, as is blessed by the auspices of heaven and the Heavenly Emperor himself. Dazheng swears not to hurt the innocent; its sole target is the traitor Yin Shenhua and his accomplices. Let my message be known to the world."

The officials frowned at each other upon hearing the denunciation in its entirety.

"Is Xiao Nanfeng crazy? 'All who conspire with him shall be destroyed alongside him'? Is he warning us not to help Dayin, or face destruction as well?"

"'All righteous cultivators of the world are invited to join Dazheng's army to aid in his capture.' He wants others to join him in this suicide mission?"

The officials were all flummoxed.

"State your opinions, advisors," the emperor commanded.

"Your Majesty, Dayin has deep, potent reserves of strength, but the Imperial Court has sent eighteen Martial Aspects. I believe we should wait and see how the situation unfolds before making a decision."

"Indeed. This isn't just a war between an ordinary empire and a divine empire, but also between cursed effigies of a past era and the Imperial Court of the present. What ramifications arise from this war are sure to be consequential. The entire world may well be affected."

"We must deliberate, Your Majesty, and not take action in haste."

The officials were largely in agreement.

"Very good," the emperor replied.

Back in Yongding, Ao Canghai and the other Martial Aspects had decided to stay in the city for the time being. They too were eyeing each other regarding the denunciation that Xiao Nanfeng had issued.

"Does Xiao Nanfeng really intend to take on the divine empire of Dayin? What gives him the courage to do so?"

"He's simply trying to play political games using us as his chips."

"Xiao Nanfeng's crazy. Others might be unaware of the situation, but wouldn't Yin Shenhua know what he's doing? Is this proclamation useful?"

The Martial Aspects scoffed at Xiao Nanfeng's antics.

Ao Canghai shut his eyes and thought for a moment. "This denunciation isn't targeted at Yin Shenhua."

"Oh?"

"It's meant for those forces that haven't yet joined the fray to prevent them from taking a side," Ao Canghai continued.

"On what grounds? What's he planning?" a Martial Aspect asked, frowning. He too had noticed something amiss.

"Could he be that ambitious?" Ao Canghai frowned.

"What are you thinking, Eastern Aspect?" one Martial Aspect asked.

"I suspect Xiao Nanfeng wants to absorb the divine empire of Dayin all by himself," Ao Canghai said. His frown deepened, as if he could hardly believe Xiao Nanfeng's daring.

"What? That's crazy! How does he intend to take on a divine empire all by himself?!" another Martial Aspect shouted.

1. 鹏 (peng) means roc. ☜