After the Fu Dynasty army retreated to the capital, a strange silence followed. Even when the emperor sent scouts to investigate the Skybrush Sect's actions, they were either killed or returned with nothing. Although there was no concrete information, one thing was certain: the war was not yet over.
It was simply the calm before the storm.
Under this silent pressure, Fu Xiuyi decided to maximize the effect of the Blood Essence Orbs. In the past, the Fu Dynasty had sparingly used these marvelous materials, but that was because they had nearly won the war after using the Blood Sacrifice Ritual. In contrast, the current Fu Dynasty was still embroiled in war.
Under Fu Xiuyi's orders, the alchemy bureau of the Fu Dynasty began to mass-produce Muscle Changing Pill. The Muscle Changing Pill was a miraculous pill that could give an ordinary mortal without cultivation talent the requirements to embark on the martial path.
Naturally, it would be too late to train a new batch of cultivators for the ongoing war in a short amount of time, so it was used to boost the current martial cultivators. As such, numerous body transformation acolytes attained martial bodies and entered the Acupoint Opening Realm. The martial body they attained was the Blood Rebirth Martial Body, a low tier body, but that was enough.
They were used to make up for the numbers lost during the early half of the war and replace the cultivators making up the war formations. With their addition, the Fu Dynasty had confidence in unleashing ten war formations again. Although weaker, the ten war formations and barrier formation around the capital were enough to repel the Skybrush Sect.
"Dammit!" Fu Xiuyi roared unwillingly on his throne. He was currently alone in the throne room in the middle of the night with no light lit, giving the normally grand and glorious throne hall a gloomy atmosphere.
The newly produced Blood Essence Orbs were enough to give the Fu Dynasty enough strength to repel the Skybrush Sect, but it was not enough to defeat them, and as a result, the Fu Dynasty would lose a large amount of land. For a dynasty, losing land was equivalent to losing the faith of the people.
Dynastic countries used special means to produce a unique faith known as Dragon Qi that would increase the luck of the nation and strengthen the imperial family. It can be said that the larger the population, the more powerful the dynasty was. And to accommodate such large populations, large amounts of land were a necessity.
There was once a dynasty known as the Qin Dynasty that had almost dominated the Mortal Continent. According to records, the Cultivator Alliance had received aid from the Buzhou Immortal Sect and Eight Pillars Sect and destroyed the Qin Dynasty. From this, it can be seen that none of the hegemonic forces wanted dynasties the size of a whole continent to exist. From then on, no dynasty had ever reached the level of a first-rate force.
Of course, all forces wanted to grow stronger. Sects wanted to move up the ranks, become a first-rate sect, and eventually become a hegemonic sect, while kingdoms wanted to become dynasties. Fu Xiuyi was no exception. He wanted to be the emperor to raise his dynasty to a third-rate force, second-rate, first-rate, and eventually replace the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
The Skybrush Sect's attack was a huge detriment to his long-term plans. Fu Xiuyi stared at the blood-red pill that exuded a golden glow in his hand. It can be considered a Muscle Changing Pill and also a Soul Nourishing Pill, known as the Soul Changing Pill.
It had cost him nearly a third of the dynasty's treasury, including the profits from besieging the Xu Clan over fifty years ago. If he ingested the pill, then he would be able to enter the Soul Nourishing Realm, but becoming a world merging venerable will be practically impossible.
"I really don't want to, but the Dynasty Barrier Formation can only be fully controlled by a nascent soul or soul nourishing grandmaster." Fu Xiuyi muttered. He had grand ambitions, and in order to accomplish his goals, he needed to attain immortality. He knew he didn't have any talent for cultivation, so he had been accumulating resources and techniques like crazy, but that was all meaningless if he lost half the dynasty now. "I can only attempt to enter the Immortal Realm through other means. It seems that I have to contact him again."
Spiritual, martial, and soul cultivation were the three most orthodox ways to attain immortality, but that doesn't mean there weren't other methods. According to legend, during the Three Sovereign and Five Emperors era, there was a method known as Dragon Vein Immortal Ascension that combined karmic merit and dragon qi to allow an emperor to become an immortal.
A flash of decisiveness appeared in Fu Xiuyi's eyes, and he swallowed the Soul Changing Pill. The pill passed through his throat and started to disperse through his ancient. The next moment, Fu Xiuyi's face twisted into a pained expression as his body was engulfed with endless vitality. Simultaneously, tribulation clouds began to gather above the imperial palace.
Fu Xiuyi's Soul Nourishing Heavenly Tribulation was about to begin.
In the Ling Ducal Estate, Ling Haitang revealed an expression of ridicule. She was very clear on Fu Xiuyi's talent. Had it not been for the Fu Dynasty's resource, he would not have entered the Core Formation or even the Acupoint Opening Realm.
She wasn't worried about Fu Xiuyi falling under the Soul Nourishing Heavenly Tribulation. When emperors underwent heavenly tribulation, they had the protection of the dynasty's Dragon Qi, so only under the rarest of conditions would an emperor fail their heavenly tribulation.
Ling Haitang's heart was full of anticipation, full of anticipation for Fu Xiuyi's face of despair when it all came crashing down. "It'll be very thrilling, won't it?"
As soon as the intoxication passed, Ling Haitang frowned. The Skybrush Sect was far more powerful than expected, and it would seem far more powerful than expected. The Buzhou Immortal Sect had already replied to her and Daoyi's message in what amounted to, "We know, continue your task."
Ling Haitang couldn't make heads or tails of it. Were they wrong, or did the Buzhou Immortal Sect already know and was prepared for the Nihility Sect's betrayal?
Ling Haitang sighed.
Six months later, the temporary peace of the war was broken.
Outside of the capital's walls, a massive beast was slowly making its way. The beast had a simian shape, the claws of a tiger, a snake's tail, and a human's face. This was the Skybrush Sect's jiangshi. However, compared to before, its mass was more than three times larger, and its fur was blood-red.
"Dammit!" Fu Xiuyi cursed. Sensing the bloody aura emanating from jiangshi, the Fu Emperor swiftly discovered why the Blood Sacrifice Ritual produced so little Blood Essence Orbs and why the Skybrush Sect didn't attack for six months.
Jiangshi primarily relied on absorbing blood to evolve. Of course, they also needed other materials, but blood was the most important. The demon jiangshi must have absorbed the blood mist from the Blood Sacrifice Ritual in order to reach a sufficient point of evolving or almost evolving.
Fu Xiuyi's face turned hideous, as if he had swallowed a fly. He quickly summoned his generals and grandmasters to the throne room to discuss their next course of action. Now, he was afraid that his ascension to the Soul Nourishing Realm was a pointless effort as he was unsure if the capital's Dynasty Barrier Formation could hold off the demon jiangshi.
The discussion was unending. Everyone's spirit was in a frenzy due to the demon jiangshi's oppressive aura as it neared the capital. It was a simple intimidation tactic to let the demon jiangshi slowly move forward instead of instantly attacking to grind down the Fu Dynasty's morale. Simple but effective.
"Enough!" Fu Xiuyi commanded, his voice full of vexation. Then he glanced at the side towards Ling Haitang and Daoyi. He coughed into his fist and, with a much more hospital voice, said, "Friends from the Buzhou Immortal Sect, I don't know if you have any ideas."
Fu Xiuyi's eyes were full of emotion. Just one look into them could cause any girl to fall into a trance, but Ling Haitang only showed a mocking smile. "You've reached the point that you're using such a juvenile trick?"
The emperor's face stiffened for a moment, but Ling Haitang continued as if she hadn't seen. "Don't worry. The Buzhou Immortal Sect will take care of the Skybrush Sect. They dare to use devilish methods like jiangshis. They aren't worthy to exist."
"Then this means?" Fu Xiuyi had a voice full of hope, but Ling Haitang cut him off.
"However, I don't know when that will be. Don't worry. Your dynasty will be avenged." Ling Haitang smiled at Fu Xiuyi for the first time since she arrived. It was a smile more beautiful than a blooming rose. However, the words spoken were like a bucket of ice, chilling the hearts of everyone in the imperial court.
Fu Xiuyi's eyes widened as he stared entrance. That trance ended when he processed Ling Haitang's words, and a dark expression appeared.
"Unfilial daughter, do you want to watch everything the Ling Family worked for disappear?!" A rebuke came from the officials present.
Ling Haitang cast a gaze of derision at her father. Her aura exploded and pressured all those below. All the grandmasters watched in shock at the sheer difference between their strengths. The Fu Dynasty had peak nascent soul and soul nourishing grandmasters, but they instantly knew that they were no match.
Less needed to be said for Duke Ling. Under his daughter's pressure, he was brought to his knees as he felt the blood in his veins halt in their tracks and his heart almost beating.
"Sister!"
Ling Haitang turned towards Ling Lihua. "It's not like there isn't any way for you to stop the demon jiangshi."
The throne room became eerily silent at her words. With a smile resembling that of a devil's, Ling Haitang took out a black orb from her spatial ring. She was visibly straining as if the orb in her palm weighed as much as a mountain. "This is a recently created device, known as the Nuclear Detonation Sphere. As long as you use it, anything within a hundred to a thousand kilometers will be incinerated."
"Haitang, I knew you were—" Fu Xiuyi started to speak but was cut off once more.
"I'm not done speaking yet." Ling Haitang said as she stared meaningfully at Ling Lihua. "It needs a venerable to continuously inject her qi into the sphere for an hour, and it is unlikely for the activator to survive the aftereffects."
The silence continued, only this time, it was accompanied by a chilling atmosphere. Ling Lihua felt every pair of eyes stare at her, and her face paled.
"You! You planned this!" Duke Ling shouted as he pointed his finger at Ling Haitang. Ling Haitang spared him a glance, and he instantly quieted, recalling the heart-stopping pressure he felt earlier.
Unheard by anyone, Ling Haitang sent Daoyi and quick and silent thank you.
She walked towards Fu Xiuyi and placed the Nuclear Detonation Sphere on the armrest of the dragon throne before leaving with Daoyi, not speaking a single word. Once she left, the throne room burst into debate, with most of the voices asking for Ling Lihua to sacrifice herself.
"ENOUGH!" Fu Xiuyi shouted. He glared at the generals and grandmaster below him. "Court is adjourned for now. We will resume tomorrow!"
He waved his sleeve and left, leaving silence in his wake.
CRACK!
As if to emphasize this, the dragon throne's armest cracked under the weight of the Nuclear Detonation Sphere. Once the sphere touched the ground, it shattered the tiles into a spiderweb-like pattern and embedded itself.
That night in the Palace of Ancient Emperors, where the ancestral tablets of the previous emperors were kept, Fu Xiuyi was silently kowtowing. Each time he bowed his head, his head made a noticeable sound as it touched the ground.
"Your Majesty," Ling Lihua watched this ragged emperor continuing bowing with a heart full of sorrow.
"Ancestors, I am useless. The Fu Dynasty will end under my reign. Ancestors, I am useless," like a mantra, the emperor continued to repeat those words.
Ling Lihua placed her hands on the emperor's shoulders and said with heartache. "Your Majesty, enough, it's not your fault."
Fu Xiuyi threw her hands off. "The Fu Dynasty will end in my reign. I am the Fu Imperial Family's greatest sinner!"
Seeing Fu Xiuyi continuing to slam his head onto the ground until blood started to flow, Ling Lihua hesitated for a moment before she steeled her heart. "Your Majesty, please allow me to use the Nuclear Detonation Sphere."
Fu Xiuyi stopped and turned around to look at Ling Lihua with a surprised expression. The emotions in his eyes changed from shock to heartache to affection to understanding, and finally, rejection. "No. I, Fu Xiuyi, am not the kind of man to sacrifice a woman!"
"Your Majesty..."
"Speak no more!" Fu Xiuyi said as he continued to kneel to the previous emperor's tablets.
Ling Lihua wanted to come forward and comfort her man but was stopped by Fu Xiuyi's aura. She had always been jealous of her sister, Ling Haitang, so when Fu Xiuyi asked to marry her, she said yes without a second thought.
However, the good days she had hoped for did not come. Fu Xiuyi respected her and treated her well, but only that. He never even touched her, even on their wedding night. As a woman, Ling Lihua's intuition told her that Fu Xiuyi always had another person in his heart.
Because of this, Ling Lihua started to grow to hate Ling Haitang even if she never showed on the surface. That hate only increased when she saw how Fu Xiuyi demeaned himself for her, but Ling Haitang continued to mock him.
Ling Lihua was prepared to live this way until she or Fu Xiuyi died, but for the first time, Fu Xiuyi really looked at her. 'It's not bad for him to see me before I die. If I die, I wonder if Xiuyi will continue to look at Sister Haitang like before.'
With those thoughts in mind, Ling Lihua steeled her heart, unaware of a pair of peeping eyes.