Book 02 Chapter 048: Writing an Imperial Edict on the Spot
Clear River Sect:
Song Pingsheng sat in a pavilion, listening to his subordinate’s report.
“There’s no news? You are saying that there’s no news?” Song Pingsheng coldly eyed the subordinate before him.
“Yes! We have not seen any sign of Gu Hai or his three thousand evil men!” that subordinate said respectfully.
“You fool, are you going to wait until Gu Hai arrives before me before you inform me? Search for him! Go and search!” Song Pingsheng yelled furiously.
“Yes!” that subordinate answered.
After Song Pingsheng received Gu Hai’s declaration of war, he paid attention to the surroundings. However, it had been so many days already, yet there was no news at all.
This Gu Hai was very sly. Back then, the Song Nation and the Great Feng Mafia Family fell at his hands.
Gu Hai said that he would seek trouble for the First Song Sect Master, but the First Song Sect Master knew nothing about his whereabouts.
How could Song Pingsheng not feel frustrated?
——
First Song Sect:
Fu Xue glared at the spirit stone mine’s entrance. It had long since collapsed already. Rather, it had exploded. There was no way to know where Gu Hai and the others fled to based on the tunnel.
“Search! Three thousand men cannot possibly vanish without a trace! Search everywhere!” Fu Xue roared at the surrounding First Song Sect disciples.
“Yes!” the surrounding First Song Sect disciples answered.
Rumble…!
The spirit-assimilated people rushed out in all directions.
However, Fu Xue sped back to the sect.
Soon, he arrived at a cave within the sect.
Pools of blood filled the surroundings. Some of the First Song Sect disciples slowly carried out the corpses lying there.
“Primogenitor!” the spirit-assimilated cultivators greeted respectfully.
However, Fu Xue ignored these people and rushed into the depths of the cave.
Three altars lay at the deepest part of the cave. Red energy webs spread out above the altars, piercing the bodies of three men.
The three men’s upper bodies were bare, showing an exceptionally ferocious golden dragon tattoo on their backs.
These three were none other than the three servants that previously followed Long Wanqing.
When Fu Xue charged in, and the three saw him, they all showed faint sneers.
Whack! Fu Xue slapped one of the men.
“Speak. What did you leak?” Fu Xue demanded, scowling.
That person swallowed the blood in his mouth, refusing to speak.
“What did you obtain twenty years ago? Where is the dragon vein?” Fu Xue yelled while glaring.
“Little black flood dragon, if you are that capable, then kill us. Hahaha! You are seeking your death this time. Our master will not let you off. With just a command from our master, there will be no place to hide, no matter how big the world is!” that person laughed wildly.
Whack! Fu Xue slapped that person again. He felt incredibly anxious.
The three were as stubborn as rocks, hard and unyielding.
Fu Xue did not have time to waste speaking with them. He left the cave and waited for news from the search.
——
A large army camped at a military drill ground outside a city a distance from the First Song Sect. When they saw Gu Hai’s group approaching, they immediately surrounded Gu Hai’s group.
“How bold of you! This is a military camp. You cannot barge in!” the leading military officer shouted.
“Are you blind? Do you not even recognize me?” Chen Tianshan glared.
“Ah? Who are you?” That person clearly did not recognize Gu Hai’s group.
“Take out the imperial edict!” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” Chen Tianshan answered.
Then, Chen Tianshan took out an imperial edict.
“This is Chen Liangyi’s imperial edict; take a good look. Immediately inform the surrounding city lords that demons are running afoul in this region. For the sake of saving the people from a terrible situation, gather all the ordinary people and head to the north, avoid the south!” Chen Tianshan shouted.
“Ah? You know about the recent disappearances in the nearby towns?” that military officer exclaimed in shock.
“Cut the crap. Just do as told. This is an imperial edict!” Chen Tianshan glared.
That military officer received the imperial edict and scrutinized it. Then, his expression changed. This really is an imperial edict?
“Yes! This officer obeys!” that military officer answered.
“Milord, will that Fu Xue come and look for us?” Scar looked at Gu Hai.
“They should not be able to find us. However…!” Gu Hai’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Milord is worried that Fu Xue will feel angry because of the humiliation and rush straight to the Gu Residence? The two young masters are still in the Gu Residence!” Gao Xianzhi’s expression changed.
“What should we do then? Even if we rush back on horseback, we cannot be faster than Fu Xue!” Chen Tianshan said, showing an unsightly expression.
“Even sending a messenger pigeon would be too late. Now, there is only one method to inform them!” Gu Hai said with a frown.
“Oh? There’s a method that is faster than Fu Xue?” Chen Tianshan felt surprised.
Fu Xue was a flood dragon in at least the Nascent Soul Realm, someone incredibly strong. What could be faster than Fu Xue?
“Where is the fire beacon?!” Gu Hai asked another military officer.
“What do you want to do?” That military officer’s expression changed.
“The fire beacon? Using the fire beacon to send the message, allowing the message to reach Hulao Pass at the fastest speed?” Chen Tianshan’s eyes lit up.
Lighting the fire beacon was the fastest way to send information during wartime—smoke during the day and fire at night. From the various cities to the capital, all of them had a fire beacon. As long as one fire beacon lit up and the other places saw it, they would light up the fire beacon or release smoke, passing on the message at an incredibly fast speed.
“What are you going to do? The fire beacon can only be used during a national crisis!” that military officer immediately shouted to stop Gu Hai.
“Where is the fire beacon?!” Gao Xianzhi yelled with a glare.
“The fire beacon is an important tool of the nation; it cannot be used casually. It can only be used during a national crisis. What qualifications do you have to use it? Without the commander’s token or an imperial edict, no one can use it. Men! Men! Quickly come!” that military officer shouted.
A large number of soldiers immediately rushed over.
“How bold of you!” Chen Tianshan bellowed angrily, scowling.
“If you want to light the fire beacon, do it over my dead body!” that military officer shouted.
“Not bad, you have moral integrity and unflinching righteousness. Come to my Gu Residence in the future. My Gu Residence will take in officers like you!” Gu Hai said with a smile.
That officer glared. Despite feeling confused, he still blocked everyone.
“You want an imperial edict, right? Gao Xianzhi, write one!” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” Gao Xianzhi answered.
That military officer felt slightly stunned. What’s going on?
That military officer saw Gao Xianzhi take out a blank imperial edict. A subordinate ground some ink at the side; then, Gao Xianzhi started writing. Soon, Gao Xianzhi finished writing the imperial edict.
“You…you are forging an imperial edict?” that military officer roared angrily.
Gu Hai tossed the imperial edict to that military officer before heading into the military camp.
With the evil men opening a path, these ordinary soldiers could not stop them.
“The imperial seal is real? How can this be?” that military officer said, bewildered.
Whoosh!
Gao Xianzhi lit the fire beacon and released smoke. A towering pillar of black smoke soared into the sky.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Pillars of black smoke rose in the distance as though in reply to this fire beacon. The news quickly spread towards Hulao Pass.
“Gao Xianzhi, write another ten imperial edicts. Have them bring the imperial edicts to the surrounding cities and urge on the ordinary people. Save as many people as possible!” Gu Hai instructed Gao Xianzhi.
“Yes!” Gao Xianzhi answered.
Before that bewildered military officer’s gaze, Gao Xianzhi took out another ten blank imperial edicts, each of them bearing the emperor’s personal seal. These were all bona fide Chen Nation imperial edicts.
“How can this be possible?! How can this be possible?”!” The military officer stared at this scene in a daze.
“Giddy-up! Giddy-up!”
After writing the ten imperial edicts, Gu Hai led his three thousand evil men towards the Gu Residence. The bewildered military officer with the imperial edicts could only watch everyone leave.
——
First Song Palace, First Song Sect:
“Nothing? It’s been two days, and you have no news at all?” Fu Xue glared at the spirit-assimilated cultivators.
“Yes! They seemed to have evaporated!” a spirit-assimilated cultivator said carefully.
“Trash, all trash!” Fu Xue glared.
The group of spirit-assimilated cultivators did not dare to talk back.
Fu Xue’s eyes suddenly narrowed slightly. “Obtained some information? That Gu Hai must have obtained some information? Where is Gu Hai? We must capture him!”
“This subordinate does not know. However, this subordinate…this subordinate knows where Gu Hai’s home is. Perhaps we can use Gu Hai’s family…!” a spirit-assimilated cultivator suggested softly.
“Oh?” Fu Xue’s eyes lit up.
“Seal the sect up from today on. Operate the Gold Armor Water Crystal Ritual Array at full power. Do not permit anyone from going in or out!” Fu Xue ordered with a glare.
“Ah? What if the senior brothers and junior brothers outside want to return?”
“Gu Hai managed to take advantage only because they wanted to come back previously. Get them to wait outside; they are not allowed in. Don’t you just want to eat people? Just go and capture people back!” Fu Xue glared.
“Yes!” the group of spirit-assimilated cultivators answered.
“You! Bring me to the Gu Residence. Tell me where it is. I’m leaving for the Gu Residence immediately!” Fu Xue grabbed that earlier spirit-assimilated cultivator after speaking.
Whoosh!
Then Fu Xue flew out of the palace while carrying that spirit-assimilated cultivator and left the First Song Sect.
After flying out, they quickly headed north.
However, they did not fly for long before seeing many pillars of black smoke rising into the air.
“Oh no! Primogenitor, this is a message by fire beacon. Perhaps…!” That spirit-assimilated cultivator goggled.
“Trash! Do you think that I cannot see it? Quickly point the way!” Fu Xue glared.
“Yes!”
——
Three thousand horses galloped on a public road.
“Gao Xianzhi, are you sure it was them?” Gu Hai asked Gao Xianzhi as he rode on a black horse.
“Yes, Milord. We found the hall master’s three servants when we went in. However, we could not bring them away. While we did not find the hall master, I managed to get them to trust me. They told me to look for Venerable Liu Nian!” Gao Xianzhi said.
“Where is Venerable Liu Nian?” Gu Hai asked, feeling some misgivings.
“They said that the Unborn Man previously came, and Venerable Liu Nian went into the nether realm with the Unborn Man to search for the soul of the hall master’s mother. That’s why Venerable Liu Nian parted with the hall master!” Gao Xianzhi explained.
“The nether realm?” Gu Hai goggled.
“Yes, the Unborn Man can travel between the nether realm and the land of the living. According to the three servants, back when Unborn Man suddenly disappeared in the Innate Puzzle World, he had gone into the nether realm. While we traveled in the land of the living, he traveled in the nether realm. That’s why he said that we could not take the path he would take!” Gao Xianzhi explained.
“The nether realm? He went to find the earthly soul of Long Wanqing’s mother?” Gu Hai’s eyes lit up.
“Those three people said that there was an unremarkable stone where the hall master stayed. The Unborn Man left that. As long as we shatter it, the Unborn Man and Venerable Liu Nian will know that something happened. Then, they would return from that stone. Those people told us to smash that stone!” Gao Xianzhi explained.
Gu Hai nodded. Then, he took a deep breath.
He had used a trick when he fought Fu Xue with the ritual array. It was his final ruse that allowed him to retreat safely. After all, Gu Hai was no match for Fu Xue.
Gu Hai had also used all his spirit stones to deal with Fu Xue and Song Pingsheng, so he could not replicate that feat. If he could bring Venerable Liu Nian on board, perhaps…
“Giddy-up!”
The evil men whipped their horses to urge the horses to go faster.