Chapter 559: Chapter 180: Chaos in the Imperial City! Zhenhai King! Atrocities of the Blood Gu Sect! (10,000-word mega Chapter, please subscribe)_5
"In my opinion, it might just be some remnant of the previous dynasty! Clinging on for a full millennium, just waiting for this day to come."
"Makes sense! Makes sense!"
"..."
These significant figures within the Imperial City were discussing such a matter. In their hearts, though, they were calculating—if a crisis like the one in the past were to really occur, how each of their families should remain wise and protect themselves amidst the chaos of war.
Even more so, how to take risks amidst the imminent turmoil in a bid for wealth and success, to secure great benefits for their respective families, striving for centuries more of fortune.
...
Meanwhile.
Imperial City.
A secluded place.
The cacophony from outside seemed incapable of disturbing the tranquility here.
The continuous echo of zither music resonated through the air.
After the tune ended.
An aged hand gently caressed the strings, feeling the aftertones that lingered long, and it took a while before the person murmured, "Indeed, a fine zither, but it always feels as though it lacks something. In this place, playing the zither eventually lacks the essence."
The speaker was an old crone who looked to be of considerable age. Perhaps, she appeared just a bit younger than the old Emperor.
"If this melody were to rise within the palace, it might carry a different significance," she said slowly, turning her head to look at a figure in black robes kneeling on one knee beside her.
The old crone spoke expressionlessly, "Why did this mishap occur?"
"Reporting to the Elder!" the person in black robes hurriedly answered, "Through our informants inside the palace, we learned that a Taoist named Fan Wu suddenly made his move, capturing one of our people."
"Fan Wu... the Taoist?" the old crone frowned, "Haven’t I said that the fire should steer clear of the cultivators in the palace?"
The figure in black robes replied with his head lowered, "I also don’t know how that happened. Elder, we now have a Sect Disciple detained in the great prison of the Imperial Censorate, undergoing their interrogation."
"If that fellow can’t hold out and spills information about us to the Imperial Censorate, then we’re in danger here!"
"Elder, if we don’t seize the chance to leave the Imperial City now, we may not be able to leave at all."
Shaking her head, the old crone said, "Opportunity often coexists with danger. What could be used to overturn the Dynasty once we’ve left the Imperial City? We of the Blood Gu Sect, in collusion with people of Zhenhai King, have turned the Imperial Palace upside down and made the Imperial City a stormy mess. Our aim is not as simple as just starting a couple of fires."
"This time, I’ve brought nine Gu Gods, and they’re all of superior quality. Those possessed by the Gu Gods have already been lying in wait within the palace. Now the dog Emperor is dead, all pillars of the Great Zhou Dynasty will converge in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace."
"Crown Prince, Princes, Vassal Kings, Ministers, Commandery Princes, the Imperial Censorate... If we could sweep them all away in one strike, or even if we just kill a third of them, the world will be plunged into chaos."
"Once Zhenhai King gets word, he will rise again with the support of our Blood Gu Sect, igniting a war that will sweep across the entire Dynasty within Great Zhou."
"Such a struggle for imperial power among mortals should not involve the Immortal Gods above or the Yin God below."
"After all, they too must abide by the heavenly rules."
The figure in the black robes listened with a secretly alarmed heart. Nine Gu Gods—that was no small matter. He knew the immense human and material resources needed to raise a single Gu God, not to mention the risks of failure.
And these nine Gu Gods... Goodness! How many living people would need to be sacrificed for them? Tens of thousands, or even more?
But...
If the lives of tens of thousands of non-Blood Gu Sect devotees could be traded for endless turmoil within a Dynasty, then it was worth it.
Let alone tens of thousands of lives, even hundreds of thousands or millions would be worth it.
After all, the ones to die wouldn’t be the disciples of their Blood Gu Sect.
They were just a bunch of sheep on two legs!
"Elder, I’m a bit puzzled... Since we’ve already had people carry the nine Gu Gods to conceal themselves within the Imperial Palace, why wait until today to make a move? Would it not have been quicker to deal with that dog Emperor earlier?" asked the figure in black robes, somewhat puzzled.
"That dog Emperor is not as fragile as you imagine!" the old crone scoffed, "Even nine Gu Gods can’t take him down! As long as he lived, we and Zhenhai King had no chance. But now it’s different, he’s dead, and everything becomes easier."
"All nine Gu Gods couldn’t take him down?" the figure in black robes was utterly dumbstruck, exclaiming in shock, "Even if he were an Immortal God, he shouldn’t be able to withstand the united force of nine Gu Gods, right?"
"Ha!" said the old crone, "How could the common Lower-Level Deities compare to that dog Emperor? At his peak, he manipulated the Dynasty’s fortunes and with one sword strike, he slew a rampaging Monster Serpent."
"Of all the Emperors through the ages of the Great Zhou, the most formidable were him and the Founding Emperor. And as to which of the two was stronger or weaker... Well, that’s hard to say!"
The figure in black robes asked softly, "When exactly does the one holding the nine Gu Gods plan to make a move? It’s said that there are many high-level cultivators within the Imperial Palace—if we strike at the moment the palace guard is most vigilant, won’t those cultivators intervene?"
