To redirect public anger and create a scapegoat, Huan Yi didn't hesitate to massacre thousands of innocents and pit humans against monsters. It was brilliant, horrifying, and cruel, all at the same time. Never in his life had Zi Shou met such a terrifying person. No, this wasn't a person.
If before, he still had doubts, by now Zi Shou had taken the full measure of the evil he'd given his soul to—convinced that under the cover of his human boy appearance, Huan Yi was an ancient demon who, for one reason or another, wanted to take control of the Yin Dynasty.
And Zi Shou, a Prince of Yin, had turned into the puppet that would enable him to reach his goals.
'What have I done? This is no longer about morals or virtue. Today, it's the human race that I have betrayed.' Zi Shou thought, trembling at the realization that, because of his fears, insecurities, and selfish desires, he'd perhaps doomed an entire nation to chaos and destruction.
"Zi Shou, you're not thinking things through. To navigate this treacherous world, you just have to ask yourself three questions. What do I want? How badly do I want it? And what am I willing to do to get it? That's it. Anything else is superfluous." As if reading through Zi Shou's thoughts, Huan Yi said, putting one hand on the Yin prince's shoulders.
In the past, Zi Shou would have automatically challenged such a demonic philosophy. But now, things were different. Not only did Zi Shou feel isolated by his father and the Yin elite's persecution, but the lack of support from the royal family's elders in his greatest time of crisis helped the seventh prince realize that, those that stood up for him when he needed them the most, were all brutal and selfish people.
His mother, Wen Xinzhui. His uncle, Wen Zhongshang, the Wen clan elders, and even…Huan Yi. All those that gave him unconditional support acted purely on selfish emotions. As this realization dawned on him, Zi Shou became convinced…that true love was incompatible with righteousness.
'I want Dongfang Bai as my wife, and the crown of the Yin Dynasty on my head! Senior, what am I supposed to do now? Please give me your orders! Regardless of the consequences, I will follow them without fail!' At this juncture, whether Huan Yi caused all these events to become Zi Shou's only hope of survival didn't matter. Zi Shou had offered his soul and embraced demonism. There was no turning back. Satisfied by the seventh prince's commitment, Huan nodded in approval.
Having already obtained ownership of Zi Shou's soul, Huan Yi didn't need his permission to do with him as he pleased. However, that…wasn't fun. For Zi Shou to knowingly go against his former principles and cause the downfall of his master…would be a lot more entertaining.
In Huan Yi's mind, evil was an art, and for art to seduce the public, it needed flair and style.
"Thankfully for you, fate is on your side. Your cousin, Wen Tiexin, is dead. He's been dead for several months, actually. The man currently passing off as Wen Tiexin, and about to marry Dongfang Bai is a shapeshifting half-demoness," Huan Yi said, causing Zi Shou's eyes to stretch impossibly.
"Impossible! My master would have noticed it!" Nothing escaped Wen Tianhua's Eye of Revelation. So even if the creature managed to trick the other members of the Wen clan, Zi Shou couldn't believe that his master wouldn't have seen through the deception of a half-demoness.
"Nothing is impossible. Wen Tianhua never uses his Eye of Revelation in cities without royal permission and spends most of his time reinforcing the seal that keeps the four Holy Kings of the Blight Sea suppressed.
As his disciple, you should be well aware of that. So, is it so hard to believe that he didn't get the chance to examine Wen Tiexin in recent months?" Huan Yi rhetorically asked, and unable to come up with a counter, Zi Shou lowered his head—dumbfounded.
In the Extreme Plateau, Holy King was a title reserved for those that had reached the peak of the Six-Path Saint realm. Before the creation of the Yin Dynasty, its founder, Holy King Zi Lu, defeated the four saints of the Blight Sea, beating them all the way to the bottom of that highly toxic ocean.
But unable to overcome the four saints' quasi-indestructible bodies, Zi Lu relied on a formation of nine ancient lotuses to seal them at the bottom of the Blight Sea, hoping that they'd never again trouble humanity.
Unfortunately, not only did they eventually regain their influence over the Blight Sea's myriad lives, but by relying on the high concentration of Poison Laws at the bottom of the Blight Sea, they made breakthrough after breakthrough, becoming Holy Kings in their own right. By then, Zi Lu was long dead. And it fell on Wen Tianhua to bear the responsibility of suppressing the four Holy Kings.
Thankfully for the Yin Dynasty, though he was still at the ninth level of the Six-Path Saint realm, Wen Tianhua's powers had already exceeded that of Zi Lu, enabling him to suppress the four Holy Kings despite their large cultivation progress.
In fact, the maintenance of that seal was the main reason why Wen Tianhua had not yet reached the peak of the Six-Paths Saint realm and become a Holy King. For that same reason, unless the nation faced an emergency, Wen Tianhua rarely interfered with the affairs of the Yin court.
"Take these." Here, Huan Yi snapped his fingers, summoning three white talismans inscribed with blood-colored runes. The talismans flew towards Zi Shou, landing in his hands.
"They are Karmic Talismans refined with my blood. Keep one on you at all times, and it will not only help you control the Ghost Blade, but also hide your demonic powers. With the other two, you have to complete two tasks:
1) Expose Wen Tiexin's death and the fraud's true appearance.
2) Use the current calamity as an excuse to have the king force Wen Tianhua to hand over his Eye of Revelation," Huan said, making Zi Shou gawk in shock.
"Force Wen Tianhua? In the Yin Dynasty, Wen Tianhua is God! Who can force him to hand over his Eye of Revelation? The king has neither the strength nor the courage to accomplish this." Alarmed by Huan Yi's orders, Zi Shou panicked. This wasn't the first time that someone coveted Wen Tianhua's Eye of Revelation. But without exception, all that tried to rob it had died, reduced to ashes by thunderbolts!
This made it clear to the Extreme Plateau's experts, that Wen Tianhua's Eye of Revelation was protected by ancient forces—forces that humans couldn't resist. Moreover, the Eye of Revelation was tied to Wen Tianhua's soul. Even if he wanted to give it up, fear of the backlash wouldn't allow him to.
"Don't worry about it. Wen Tianhua belongs to a rare category of people that I call 'useful idiots.' So long as Zi Xian uses the recent debacles as a pretext, Wen Tianhua will give him his third eye. And with the talisman that I've given you, you can make Zi Xian do whatever you want." Huan Yi had no doubt that, even now, Wen Tianhua ached with guilt.
Guilt for not having been present to vindicate Zi Shou, guilt for not having anticipated the massacres at the borders. Guilt for failing to preserve the peace between humans and land monsters. Yes, Wen Tianhua's greatest weakness…was his loyalty to the royal family and the Yin Dynasty.
This was the reason why he never allowed the Wen clan to usurp the throne, and the reason why he'd soon lose his most powerful asset.