Chapter 609: Return Our Loved Ones

As Xiao Nanfeng's main body underwent a tribulation, Luye was in turmoil.

Not all the cultivators of Luye had been willing to revolt alongside the city lord. Many had been unaware of what was happening and taken by surprise. The fact that the city lord had betrayed Dayin for Dazheng left them stunned.

An average Immortal city had reserves comparable to an ordinary empire. Why would the city lord of Luye have any reason to be loyal to an ordinary empire? Such a situation beggared belief.

As a result, Luye was trapped in turmoil. The strongest clans of the city immediately took up arms as they attempted to overthrow the city lord in a coup and return the governance of Luye to Dayin.

The demon-slaying army didn't interfere. City Lord Chen and a group of clans that had already sworn loyalty to Dazheng defended against the rebels.

Very quickly, the turmoil localized itself to a huge plaza. Cultivators on both sides drew their weapons and engaged in a fight to the death.

"Chen Xiaotian, you've betrayed the Immortal Emperor's faith in you!"

"We chose to serve Dayin as officials and allowed you to lead the city out of respect to your clan. Is this how you repay our efforts?!"

"You traitor! Our expectations, the public's trust, Dayin's faith—you've undermined everything!"

Many of the prominent clans of Luye were in uproar.

Chen Xiaotian took a deep breath. Our clans have known each other for generations. I take full responsibility for what has happened. I apologize. It is true that I've undermined your expectations and the public's trust."

"In that case, you should turn against Dazheng now! Once Dayin sends reinforcements, fight together with them to chase Dazheng's army out of Luye!" one cultivator suggested.

"No, you misunderstand me. I said that I've undermined your expectations and the public's trust—but I owe Dayin nothing. Rather, Dayin has made fools of us all!" Chen Xiaotian roared.

"What?" the clan heads demanded.

"Are you aware of what happens to those geniuses of ours chosen in the annual talent recruitment? Where have they all gone?" Chen Xiaotian's eyes flashed with fury.

"Aren't they all in secret organizations all across Dayin? I heard that my son was sent to be a spy in another divine empire. The Immortal Emperor's plans are deep and far-reaching. It's clear he has grand ambitions for the empire," a clan head said.

"No, you're wrong. We were all wrong," Chen Xiaotian refuted him, his voice choked with emotion.

"What do you mean? Where else could they have gone?"

"Chen Xiaotian, tell us what you know!"

"Where is my daughter?"

The clan heads demanded an answer from Chen Xiaotian.

"They've all been eaten," Chen Xiaotian replied.

The plaza was silent. Many were certain that they had misheard. They stared at Chen Xiaotian, utterly flabbergasted.

Chen Xiaotian's eyes filled with tears. He bowed deeply toward the gathered clan heads, causing them to feel an uneasy premonition that cut through their shock and anger.

"Once again, I apologize. I believed in the words of a treacherous tyrant and didn't uncover the truth. Yin Shenhua is a cursed king from an era eighty thousand years in the past. His subordinates are all cursed effigies who have revived. He established the divine empire of Dayin in an attempt to secretly grow in strength, to restore his own cultivation and those of his cursed effigies. However, ordinary methods were too slow for them. Yin Shenhua chose to take shortcuts, waging wars and taking hostages. Haven't you all wondered why Dayin frequently destroyed cities rather than take them over during its expansion?

"Why destroy these cities? It's because those cursed effigies need to consume people to grow stronger more quickly! Only when the divine and ordinary empires around us began to ally together did they finally relent. And when they couldn't devour any enemy cultivators from nearby lands, they turned on us instead. How many of our criminals are sent off toward the capital, never to be seen again? Have you considered this?" Chen Xiaotian asked.

The clan heads gulped. Their uneasy premonition grew even stronger.

"He has all sorts of cursed effigies as subordinates, and they benefit from a variety of cultivators. For instance, those who focus on dual cultivation claim all manner of women with unique or rare constitutions, whereas those who focus on spiritual cultivation prefer cultivators of either gender born during certain celestial phenomena. Those who cultivate their body absorb similar cultivators and leave them as husks. Just about everyone we've sent to the capital is now dead!" Chen Xiaotian exclaimed.

"Impossible. That's impossible!" the clan heads shouted.

"Do you know why these clan heads working with me have all chosen to betray Dayin?" Chen Xiaotian pointed at those cultivators standing behind him.

They gnashed their teeth in hatred and nodded at the clan heads they were facing. Chen Xiaotian was telling the truth.

"You're lying!" a clan head roared, unwilling to accept that such cruelty could be the truth.

"The official responsible for the talent recruitment is the prime minister of Dayin, Mo Shanhe. Xiao Nanfeng has caught and interrogated Mo Shanhe, forcing him to reveal the truth. Mo Shanhe has detailed records of which cultivators were sent to which cursed effigies. The lists are exhaustive. Allow me to show them to you now. See where your relatives have ended up!" Chen Xiaotian exclaimed.

With a wave of his hand, silk banners were unfurled from the air.

Upon seeing the densely packed records, the clan heads shuddered in fear.

"How could that be? Do you have any evidence? You're only telling us your side of the story!" a clan head countered.

"I'm the city lord of an Immortal city! My status is comparable to that of an ordinary emperor. Why would I betray a divine empire and become an official of an ordinary empire otherwise? You'll find old enemies of mine among the clan heads supporting me. Why would they suddenly have changed their mind?" Chen Xiaotian roared.

Many of the clan heads were frowning and shaking violently now. They were on the cusp of changing their minds.

"We officials are a monarch's limbs, the implements by which the monarch rules. We exalt our monarch beyond our very parents—and yet Yin Shenhua's sole aim is to rear us like cattle. He has caused the deaths of the most talented cultivators of our clans. I would kill him if I could. I would feast on his flesh, drink his blood, and avenge my relatives! I have made a terrible mistake—to my clan, to all of you gathered here, and to the people of Luye," Chen Xiaotian admitted.

"But to turn to Dazheng instead? They've killed their fair share of our clans' cultivators, too!" someone argued.

Just then, Chen Xiaotian's son, Chen Shiwu, stepped forward. "Senior clan heads, I am Chen Shiwu. I was once dispatched to Dazheng as part of the initial salvo of cultivators and forced to attack Dazheng civilians. I was later taken hostage and have been allowed to return. The ultimate culprit and mastermind behind the deaths of our Immortals is none other than Yin Shenhua. Many of us Immortals remain alive as Dazheng's hostages. Once they come to their senses, Dazheng will release them and allow them to return, as they did with me."

"In that case, my son might yet return from Dazheng?"

"Could Yin Shenhua really be such an evil demon?"

"My sister was selected during the talent recruitment. Could something have happened to her...?"

The clan heads stared at each other, shaking their heads in mute horror.

The Chen clan was renowned within the Immortal city of Luye, and many chose to believe in Chen Xiaotian's proclamation. They dropped their weapons and looked around anxiously in panic.

Their fear, their hatred—all of it was spreading out from the plaza toward the far reaches of the city.

As for those dense lists of talented cultivators and their subsequent whereabouts, many cultivators couldn't even bear to catch sight of them. They turned their heads away as the banners fluttered in the wind.

Just then, Chen Xiaotian said again, "In the name of the former city lord of Luye, I invite all those from the three hundred Immortal cities of Dayin to revolt against the tyrant Yin Shenhua! Let us confront him for the sake of our loved ones' lives!"

"Return our loved ones!" the cultivators behind him roared.

"Return our loved ones!" the cultivators all over Luye roared.

The news rapidly spread across the entire city. When ordinary civilians learned of it, they flocked toward the silk banners that had been unveiled, screaming in terror and fear as they caught sight of their children and relatives' names.

"My dear daughter, I told you not to participate, but you defied me! Oh, my dear daughter!"

"My three brothers are all dead. They've all been eaten? This can't be..."

"My beloved son...!"

Countless cries all over the city resolved into a united shout: "Return our loved ones!"

The turmoil in Luye was over, but an even more violent disturbance was about to spread across the three hundred Immortal cities of Dayin.

Many cultivators in Luye had clones, allowing them to spread information at an incredible rate. The spectral guards scattered all over the Immortal cities of Dayin also did the same. Such news, which concerned the relatives of all cultivators across the empire, could hardly be hidden. All of Dayin began to rage.

Countless Immortal cities were in a frenzy.

In some Immortal cities, civilians and clan cultivators were already marching toward their respective city lords' manors.

"Governor, is it true that the Immortal Emperor and his cursed effigy subordinates have eaten our relatives?"

"Governor, if you claim it's a lie, then show us our relatives who have been chosen to serve the empire!"

"Countless cultivators have been chosen over the years. Even if the majority have been sent to spy on other divine empires, surely it isn't hard to have a batch return to Dayin for the time being? How else can we be confident that you're telling the truth?"

Many cities were in an uproar. Even Dayin's capital was under siege from all manner of cultivators.

"Return our loved ones! Return our loved ones!" Such chants could be heard all over Dayin, leaving its officials panicking and frantic. Yin Shenhua was in secluded cultivation as he recuperated; the topmost officials had no guidance as to what to do.

Within Yongding, in a secluded pavilion, Xiao Nanfeng's avatar was having a match of go with Wen Zhong.

"Your Majesty, the second step of our plan to destroy Yin, involving civil unrest, seems to be going well." Wen Zhong smiled.

"We were lucky to have City Lord Chen Xiaotian spread the word on our behalf. He's a renowned cultivator, and his status speaks for itself." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

Wen Zhong shook his head. "Even if he weren't so inclined, Your Majesty, it would only have slowed you down by a day or two."

"Once those cursed effigies show themselves, Yin Shenhua's claims will clearly be exposed for the lies they are," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"But after such a disturbance, I'm afraid Dayin will surely counterattack," Wen Zhong continued.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded seriously. "That's only natural."

"The counterattack will be swift and fierce. Taking on Dayin alone is stretching us to our limits; we need to ensure that no other force meddles in this war. Otherwise, the outcome might well be disastrous."

"Inform the officials of rites and rituals that they may make their move. Force our neighboring powers into declaring for Dayin or Dazheng—at the least, ensure that they won't act rashly," Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

"Understood, Your Majesty." Wen Zhong nodded.