In the fifty-fourth year of Qi Liyuanfeng, the Yang Kingdom will remember this year.
Not only the Yang Kingdom.
In June of this year, a terrible plague broke out.
The plague started in Jia City and then spread to Yue City.
The most terrible thing is that for a full month, Jia City desperately covered up the news, and so did Yue City. It wasn't until the plague had been quietly developing for over a month that the world knew about it!
What really made the plague outbreak in the Yang Kingdom known to the public was Rongguo.
In the border city of Yingguang, which is adjacent to the Yang Kingdom, three cases of infected patients appeared.
Yingguang City is not under the jurisdiction of the city lord. As a border city, the commanding general of the garrison holds the highest power.
The name of the commanding general of Yingguang City will be remembered by people for a long time, and it will be a disgrace to the military and political authorities of the Yang Kingdom!
His name is Jingye. Upon learning that three people in his city had died from the same illness, he immediately investigated the cases and quickly determined that it was a plague. He then implemented military control, sealed off the entire city, and effectively stopped the spread of the plague into Rongguo.Under Jingye's decisive measures, only five people in Yingguang City died from the plague.
After investigating all the people who had contact with the three deceased in Yingguang City, Jingye discovered that the source of the plague was an elderly man who had entered the Yang Kingdom and was suspected of being a spy.
He believed this was a covert operation by the Yang Kingdom.
Following this lead, it was discovered that the man came from Yue City in the Rizhao County of the Yang Kingdom, where the plague was already severe.
Jingye reported the situation to Rongguo, which immediately made it public and declared the border between Rongguo and the Yang Kingdom closed.
The world was shaken!
This day was June 13th.
Meanwhile, in Jia City, the truth was not announced until June 14th, when the entire city was officially quarantined and a plea for help was sent to the Yang Court.
On June 13th, the Yang Court had sent a letter condemning Rongguo for malicious slander, stating, "Covert operations that harm the national body."
By June 14th, they finally began to take the situation seriously and immediately sent people to investigate.
As for the city lord of Jia City being publicly executed, a major event that would have caused a great uproar on any other day, it was no longer of much concern.
Because by this time, the investigation by the Yang Court had revealed that the plague had spread throughout the entire Rizhao County, extending to the Chiyi County and encroaching on the capital city of Hengyang County!
The entire Rizhao County of the Yang Kingdom was disturbed by the plague.
...
In the grand main hall of the underground palace.
The Lord of the White Bone Dao sat high in his chair, his face calm.
The White Bone Messenger stood below the steps, speaking respectfully, "Lord, the plan is almost complete. Our people have successfully spread the plague. It occurred in a small country in the Eastern Domain, which I personally selected, thousands of miles away from here. Zhuangting would never expect us to act there, and the people of the Eastern Domain would never suspect that the White Bone Dao was involved. Even if they guessed, they would never be able to find us!"
"I, said, after, the, plan, is, completed, then, inform, me."
The Lord spoke each word slowly and evenly, without any fluctuation, showing no emotion, only endless indifference and coldness.
"Understood. I am guilty." The White Bone Messenger spoke humbly, "Because it involves the Lord's grand plan, I have to be cautious. Many times, I dare not make decisions on my own..."
"Until, the, matter, is, settled, do, not, disturb, me."
The way the Lord spoke made people feel uncomfortable. Each word hung in the most uncomfortable place for the listener.
His expression could not be seen under the mask, but he bowed respectfully, "As you command."
Because he lowered his head, the smile in his eyes could not be captured by anyone.
After the White Bone Messenger left, the entire hall fell silent once again.
After a long time.
The Lord suddenly spoke, "Glory belongs to me, and to you."
This time, it was more natural.
But there was no response.
The Lord's expression seemed as if it would never change, and his eyes remained calm.
But if someone looked closely, they could still see subtle differences in his emotions.
Two eyes, one indifferent, the other calm.
...
Walking in the long, flickering candlelit corridor, the footsteps were steady, echoing with a lonely sound.
Zhuang Gaoxian, with the strength of the Profound Truth Realm, presided over the capital city of Xin'an, while Du Ruhui, with the Zhi Chi Tianya divine ability, patrolled in all directions. As long as the intelligence was known, no one could escape.
A group of elite disciples from the Dao Academy also participated in the hunt, and the entire Zhuang Kingdom treated the extermination of the White Bone Dao as a military tactic.
The White Bone Dao in the Zhuang Kingdom had almost been completely eradicated.
Only a few of their high-ranking members were still struggling to survive.
But whether it was the Lord, the elders, or the messengers, none of them felt despair.
Even Du Ruhui, who was in charge of the extermination, had to admit that these cultists had an extremely tenacious will. Even if they were burned to ashes, they had to be careful of the possibility of their resurgence.
Returning to the secluded side hall.
Zhang Linchuan extended his left hand flat, and above his palm, a round mirror formed by two intersecting bone teeth appeared.
The mirror surface was bone-white, and after about three breaths, a face that was indescribably beautiful appeared.
The scenery behind her was vague and indistinct, not clearly visible."Lady Saint." Zhang Linchuan smiled and asked, "Where are you?"
Miaoyu also smiled, a smile that seemed to brighten the entire gloomy underground palace: "Where do you hope I am?"
"As a faithful disciple of the White Bone, I naturally hope that you can return to help our supreme and mighty Holy Master. To soon fulfill the ideal of establishing the Divine Kingdom in the mortal world and ushering in the era of the White Bone."
"How could I not want to?" Miaoyu said with a hint of melancholy: "But I want to help Him, and He needs to trust me to do so. Is He willing to let me help him?"
"Hahaha." Zhang Linchuan finally laughed out loud: "Perhaps it's not that He's unwilling, but that He dares not. Wang Changji is really formidable, forcing the Respected God to remain vigilant at all times. I had overlooked it before, there's such a character in Fenglin City."
"Tens of thousands have died, with entire domains wiped out. Among those who were lucky enough to survive, there will always be a few who will take up the mantle and succeed." Miaoyu's eyes flickered, as if she was thinking of something.
"Yes, and there's also Zhu Weiwu, who really surprised me. I used to think his invincible aura was just because he was in shallow waters, not having met the raging waves, which is laughable. Now..." Zhang Linchuan clicked his tongue in wonder.
Miaoyu did not continue on this topic but changed the subject: "At that time, with Wang Changji resisting from within, Du Ruhui forcefully intervening to erase the White Bone mark from without, and Huangfu Duanming watching like a tiger, with Zhuang Chengqian propping up his injured body in secret, the Respected God saw that the situation was untenable, so He deliberately let Wang Changji escape, dragging the entire Fenglin City domain into the nether rift to attract attention. In reality, it was to complete His descent into the world without disturbance and to plan for the resurgence of the Divine Kingdom."
"So, according to your observation," she asked, "after so much time, the Respected God still hasn't succeeded?"
"It seems the Holy Master has truly broken your heart, your tone doesn't carry a hint of regret..." Zhang Linchuan countered: "Lady Saint, pure and untainted, with a soul clear and pure, saving all beings, spreading fairness. What does it feel like to have the ideals you've held since childhood erased?"
"Neither of us are people who live by ideals."
"Indeed." Zhang Linchuan sighed: "They say 'The Holy Master and the God Master rule together with mutual respect, the Holy Master guards the mortal world, the God Master resides in the nether.' It turns out that from beginning to end, it was all just a deception, the Taoist child is merely a vessel for the God Master's descent into the world, the so-called awakening of the Taoist child is just his consciousness being completely erased by the God Master. The Holy Master is the God Master, the God Master is the Holy Master..."
Miaoyu interrupted him: "I don't think you're someone who would care about these things."
"No, I must care."
Zhang Linchuan smiled gently again.
But he did not intend to explain.
End of the text.