Legend had it that in ancient times, a Heavenly God descended and divided the world into 36 states.
Yongzhou was the center of the 36 states.
Unfortunately, the current Great Jin only occupied 11 states.
Therefore, not only was Yongzhou not the central region, but it had even become a northwestern border.
However, no one would ignore Yongzhou. There was the tallest mountain in the world here. Legend had it that it was the mountain that rose from the ground when the Heavenly God descended.
As the head of the Dao Sects in the world, the Daoyi Palace was located on Mount Donghua.
There was no clamor from the mortal world here, only fog and clouds, buildings, pavilions, and Daoists meditating and practicing martial arts.
On the Golden Peak of Mount Donghua.
A middle-aged Daoist priest who looked to be about 50 years old came to the edge of the cliff. He looked at the sea of clouds in front of him and shouted, “Sect Master, there’s some rather strange news in the new report sent by the disciples at the foot of the mountain.”
“Oh?” A soft exclamation sounded from the sea of clouds.
Then, the snow-white clouds surged up like a wave and actually opened up a path out of thin air like a miracle.
A green-robed Daoist who looked to be around 60 years old with a sage-like appearance and white hair walked slowly on the cliff.
This person was the current Sect Master of Daoyi Palace, Zhang Shuming.
“Senior Brother Sect Master’s divine power has improved again. Even traversing the bottomless abyss is like walking on flat ground!” The middle-aged Daoist priest said with envy and admiration, “I wonder if I’ll have the chance to witness the secrets of the Divine Realm in my life.”
After unlocking the Divine Treasures in the body, one would be able to refine unimaginable power. The Martial Dao’s Divine Treasure Realm was the mark of a Deity Realm expert.
They could be said to be Perfected Ones, Heavenly Masters, and Mages!
“How can this be called a divine power?” Zhang Shuming shook his head and sighed softly. “It’s just condensing clouds and stepping on them while pretending to be strolling through the sky. It’s just a minor technique. It’s not worth mentioning. How can it be called a divine power?”
“Senior Brother Sect Master, you must be joking.” The middle-aged Daoist priest smiled and said, “In today’s world, there are only a few people in the Deity Realm. If this is just a minor technique, all the martial artists in the world can be said to be ignorant and incompetent.”
“A hundred years ago, I saw what true divine power was…” Zhang Shuming seemed to be recalling something, but he shook his head. “Let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about what special news there is from the foot of the mountain.”
“A hundred years ago?” The middle-aged Daoist priest was a little curious, but he did not continue asking. He replied, “It’s about the great rebel King Yan of Fengzhou. Senior Brother Sect Master, do you still remember that King Yan?”
“I’ve heard about it often in recent years, so I naturally remember it.” Zhang Shuming nodded and stroked his often white beard. He smiled and said, “Why? Could it be that King Yan has already occupied Fengzhou and achieved success? The Emperor can’t sit still anymore and wants me to come out of seclusion?”
“No.” The middle-aged Daoist shook his head and took out a letter. He handed it to Zhang Shuming and said, “Senior Brother, please take a look. A few days ago, there was a sudden phenomena of divine punishment in Xiling County. King Yan’s hundreds of thousands of troops were reduced to ashes, but the ordinary people were not injured at all.”
“How is this possible?!” Zhang Shuming’s eyes widened as he grabbed his beard. The old Daoist bared his teeth and said, “Are you sure it’s not a rumor?”
“A disciple went to Xiling County to investigate. Every citizen saw the scene that night, so there shouldn’t be any mistakes.” The middle-aged Daoist priest seemed to be a little worried and asked in a low voice, “Senior Brother Sect Master, the hundred years are almost up. Will it be related to…”
“No.” Zhang Shuming shook his head. “Since it didn’t hurt ordinary people, I’m afraid it’s not purely the power of nature. But what kind of existence can do such a thing? How can there be such a powerful existence? It’s impossible…”
While feeling shocked, he fell into a deep confusion and even doubted his life.
As a martial cultivator who had already reached the limits of the Mortal Realm, Zhang Shuming knew very well where the upper limit of the Deity Realm was. It was absolutely impossible for anyone to do such an exaggerated thing.
Even those Human Immortals who were stronger than the Deity Realm could not do it.
Could it really be divine retribution? Was there really such a thing as divine retribution in this world?
Would the Heavenly Dao care about the disputes of the human world?
As soon as this thought appeared, Zhang Shuming felt his blood run cold.
Instinctively, he looked up at the sky.
If the heavens had feelings, it would be too terrifying.
….
There was a place called the Golden Light Mountain in Yuzhou.
Legend had it that in ancient times, there was a Buddha who preached here. Golden light descended and covered the entire place, so it was named thus.
Later on, a senior monk erected a temple here and established a sect. It was the current number one holy land of Buddhism, the “Baolin Buddhist Hall”.
At the same time that the Daoyi Palace learned of the mysterious destruction of King Yan’s army, the Baolin Buddhist Hall also received the news.
For this reason, the current Abbot specially knocked on the door of a meditation room and woke up Zen Master Dufa, who had been in seclusion for 20 years.
“Grandmaster, the hundred years are almost up. Is this phenomenon an omen?” The Abbot was the grand disciple of Monk Dufa, and his attitude was extremely respectful.
Divine Monk Du Fa looked like a thin monk in his seventies. He had a long white beard and a slightly aged face.
He closed his eyes slightly and said slowly, “This is the anger of Buddha and punishment for all living beings. You can let the disciples of the sect use this as publicity to promote Buddhism.”
“But, Grandmaster…” The Abbot was a little worried.
If the “Divine Wrath” was man-made, wouldn’t this anger a mighty figure?
“You don’t have to worry.” Zen Master Dufa opened his eyes and pressed his palms together. He smiled and said, “This can’t be man-made. It can only be the wrath of Buddha. From this, it can be seen that the mercy of Buddha is boundless. Amitabha!”
….
In the Central Continent’s Imperial City, the center of Great Jin.
The 49-year-old Emperor Jianyan, Wei Yi, was lying lazily in his bedroom.
At this moment, he was listening to Prime Minister Chu Yuanliang report on political matters through a screen.
When Chu Yuanliang said that King Yan’s army of Fengzhou had been destroyed, he suddenly sat up straight and laughed heartily. “Hahaha, good, good. This Emperor is indeed the Son of Heaven. Even the Heavens are helping me!”
“The Yan bandits had committed too many unjust acts and died from the wrath of the Heavens. This is proof that the Son of Heaven represents the mandate of Heaven itself!” Chu Yuanliang echoed loudly and hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, you can use this opportunity to strengthen your control over the surrounding states of the Central Continent. The hundred years is almost up. Perhaps you can obtain more Immortal encounters with this.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Prime Minister knows this Emperor well!” Emperor Jianyan was in a very good mood. Suddenly, he thought of something. “By the way, a few days ago, you told me that the county magistrate who could summon the wind and rain and defeated the 50,000-strong army of bandits. What’s his name again?”
“Your Majesty, it should be County Magistrate Cui Heng,” Chu Yuanliang said respectfully.
“That’s right, it’s Cui Heng.” Emperor Jianyan nodded and said with a smile, “This is a great meritorious service. The Yan bandits have wreaked havoc for many years, and no one in Fengzhou could stop them. Only this person has made such a miraculous contribution.
Perhaps it’s because of this that the Heavens sent down divine punishment and completely destroyed the Yan bandits. The merit is great and he needs to be rewarded heavily. The Fengzhou Governor, Cao Quan, was assassinated a few days ago. What do you think about giving the position of Fengzhou Governor to Cui Heng?”
“Your Majesty, you can’t.” Chu Yuanliang finally stopped agreeing. He was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He hurriedly said, “Although Cui Heng’s contributions are great, he’s only a county magistrate. If he’s promoted to a state magistrate, he’ll probably make enemies everywhere. It’s not a good thing.”
“That seems to make sense.” Emperor Jianyan nodded and thought for a moment. “How about this? I’ll confer him the title General Weiyuan and give him 300 taels of gold and an Army Seal. He can recruit 100,000 soldiers.”
“…” Chu Yuanliang was dumbfounded.
100,000 prospective recruits were enough to launch a f*cking rebellion on the spot.
However, on second thought, he realized that Fengzhou was already out of the Imperial Court’s control. It didn’t seem like a bad thing to have General Weiyuan to smooth things over.
Hence, Chu Yuanliang finally bowed and said, “Your Majesty, your grace is vast like the sea!”
….
The news of King Yan’s annihilation had already spread throughout the world, and naturally, it had already reached Lu County.
Sun Panshi and the others naturally knew as well.
However, there was no reaction at all. No one linked this matter to Cui Heng.
In this era of feudal superstition, the saying of divine retribution was easily accepted.
Therefore, not only did they not restrain their oppression of the commoners at all, they even became even more ruthless because of the destruction of King Yan.
At the same time, Sun Panshi and the others were still spreading rumors about the new county governor.
He claimed that all these changes were caused by the new county governor.
As soon as Cui Heng and the others arrived at the entrance of Lu County, they saw large numbers of citizens kneeling on the ground. However, they were not here to welcome them.
These commoners were holding banners embroidered with cloth, and there was a line of words written on them.
“May Lord Governor please give us a way out!”