Chapter 136: Annihilating Mad Dragon Fort, Chen Changsheng’s Drastic Severing of the Dao
Chapter 136 – Annihilating Mad Dragon Fort, Chen Changsheng’s Drastic Severing of the Dao
Chen Changsheng’s decree not only sent shockwaves through the gathered disciples, but it also visibly shook Zi Ning and the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Elder to their core.
Confronted with the apocalyptic edict Chen Changsheng commanded, the Elder hesitated, his voice strained. “Holy Son, by the laws of the sect, you indeed possess the authority to issue this edict.”
“Yet, to sever the karmic lineage of an entire faction is no trivial matter. Perhaps we should shrewdly weigh the fated paths a while longer.”
Hearing the Elder’s cautious counsel, Chen Changsheng offered a cold, detached smile.
“The Mad Dragon Fort has publicly spat upon the Saint Son of the Purple Mansion Holy Land. This is tantamount to openly declaring war upon our sovereign dignity.”
“Faced with such blasphemy, our Purple Mansion Holy Land absolutely cannot sheathe its blades.”
“Even if I, Chen Changsheng, chose to swallow this insult, I trust my fellow disciples would never endure such humiliation.”
“A pitiful speck like the Mad Dragon Fort… we shall simply crush it into dust. It is nothing of consequence.”
Perceiving the boiling bloodlust Chen Changsheng’s words had ignited among the disciples, the Elder hastily pulled him aside, his voice dropping to a panicked whisper.
“Holy Son, erasing the Mad Dragon Fort is naturally within our grasp.”
“However, the Purple Mansion Holy Land cannot siphon any more martial prowess from its core.”
“The sovereign apex fighters have all marched with the Holy Master to purge the Undying Bone. The remnant forces are absolutely necessary to anchor our own defensive Formations.”
“Should we bleed our garrisons further, our ancestral borders might fracture. This is no mortal game.”
The Elder’s tone was hushed, yet not entirely devoid of spiritual resonance.
The surrounding disciples caught the faint echoes of his warning. Weighing his fears, the crowd reluctantly acknowledged the ruthless logic of his words.
Yet, absorbing this caution, Chen Changsheng merely smiled and shook his head.
“Elder, your vision is clouded. To slaughter the Mad Dragon Fort, we require absolutely no escorting Elders.”
The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Elder: ???
The Elder’s Dao heart faltered; never in the sect’s history had a vanguard marched to war without the sovereign presence of an Elder.
To wage a campaign of this magnitude without an apex cultivator anchoring the spiritual tides… how could they survive?
“Holy Son, this path invites annihilation. Without a senior master suppressing the heavens, what if…”
“There are no ‘what ifs’ upon the Dao!”
Chen Changsheng’s voice cut through the Elder’s protests like a blade. He pivoted, his predatory gaze locking onto the sea of disciples.
“Hear my decree!”
“It is an eternal law of heaven: wolves cross thousands of miles to gorge on flesh, while curs travel the same distance only to feed on filth.”
“The Mad Dragon Fort is but a second-rate domain. They possess neither supreme might nor crippling frailty.”
“Should our sect unleash its Elders, the Mad Dragon Fort would instantly be reduced to ash in the wind.”
“But if we march alone, relying only on the blades in our hands to sever their lineage, then the Mad Dragon Fort transforms into a bone worthy of sharpening our fangs.”
“I have newly descended upon this peak. My perception of the Purple Mansion Holy Land is forged only from the whispers of the wasteland.”
“Yet, I refuse to believe this Holy Land is anything less than a crucible of primordial slaughter, capable of weathering the most brutal storms.”
“It will never recoil into its grand Formations like a cowering tortoise simply because the prey bares its teeth.”
“If that is your true nature, then you are destined to remain scavenging curs, never to evolve into sovereign wolves tasting sovereign blood!”
“Now, declare to the heavens: what path do you choose!”
Struck by Chen Changsheng’s visceral declaration, the martial intent of the gathered disciples ignited into a blazing inferno.
While their foundations could not rival an apex heaven-chosen like Zi Ning, they were by no means weaklings.
To forge an identity as a registered disciple meant crushing a hundred peers. To seize the outer sect robes meant slaughtering a thousand. The inner sect stood atop tens of thousands of broken bodies.
Supreme sovereigns possessed their untouchable arrogance, but these elites harbored an equally lethal pride in their Dao.
“Eradicate the Mad Dragon Fort!”
A single, bloodthirsty roar tore from the crowd, instantly triggering thousands of disciples to echo the apocalyptic war cry.
The unified roar demanding the annihilation of the Mad Dragon Fort shook the very firmament of the Purple Mansion Holy Land.
Shrewdly judging that their killing intent was sufficiently tempered, Chen Changsheng pressed his palms downward; the roaring ocean of cultivators instantly fell into dead silence.
“By the ancestral laws of our Holy Land, a vanguard of this scale mandates that seventy percent of the plundered spiritual essence be surrendered to the sect.”
“The disciples bathing in blood are permitted to siphon merely thirty percent, alongside the baseline edict Reward.”
“But today, we shatter that law. In past epochs, the Holy Land deployed Elders to anchor the heavens and ensure our survival.”
“They bled for us, asserting their absolute might, and thus they rightfully seized the lion’s share.”
“Yet in this campaign, they shall not lift a single finger. Thus, the sect shall only reclaim thirty percent.”
“Furthermore, this thirty percent tribute is not to fatten the Elders; it is a rightful Return to the very soil of the Purple Mansion Holy Land that forged our foundations!”
The moment these words struck the air, the eyes of every disciple present flooded with bloodshot avarice.
The Mad Dragon Fort was merely a second-rate power. To the leviathan that was the Purple Mansion Holy Land, their entire treasury was but a drop of water.
However, to divide an entire sect’s hoarded wealth among a vanguard of disciples… it was a staggering, heaven-defying fortune.
Not to mention the massive influx of merit Rewards promised upon the edict’s completion.
Watching Chen Changsheng brazenly rewrite the ancestral laws with such ruthless dominion, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Elder nearly went mad with terror.
The karmic weight of this rebellion was immense. Should this vanguard fall, his head alone would never satisfy the blood debt.
Yet, just as the Elder frantically weighed his fated paths, a slip of pale paper pulsating with golden Dao resonance materialized in his palm.
Sweeping his spiritual sense over the decree, a profound breath of relief escaped the Elder’s lips.
The sovereign resonance within the mandate hailed directly from the sacred rear mountains.
“Heed this! The Elder Council of the Purple Mansion Holy Land has handed down a supreme decree.”
“The Holy Land shall underwrite the full weight of this edict’s Rewards. Absolute command of all martial matters is surrendered to the Holy Son. Any who fracture his laws may be executed on sight; their souls severed before judgment.”
“Every disciple marching beneath this banner, regardless of victory or annihilation, shall be marked as having fulfilled their annual blood-trials.”
Bathed in the sovereign authority of the Elder Council, the last whispers of hesitation within the crowd vaporized.
While Chen Changsheng’s predatory promises were intoxicating, he was, in the end, merely a Saint Son.
No matter how terrifying his intellect, the absolute destiny of the Holy Land was not bound to his singular will.
Now that the ancient patriarchs had sanctified his blood-soaked gambit and bestowed supreme command upon him,
the vanguard was completely shielded from the karmic backlash of failure. The sect would not harvest their heads should they return broken.
Perceiving the silent submission of the Elder Council, the corner of Chen Changsheng’s mouth curled into a predatory smirk.
“You have heard the laws of heaven. Whether you feast on sovereign flesh or choke on watered blood is entirely up to your own ambition.”
“Furthermore, a vanguard requires a sharp edge. It must be commanded by a select few.”
“A serpent without a head is blind; a raptor without wings falls to the earth. A chaotic mob will only march into a shallow grave.”
“These four shall stand as your marshals for this slaughter. You are free to align under whichever banner you choose.”
“Should you find their martial prowess lacking, cross blades with them. Break their bones, and their mantle of leadership becomes yours.”
“All buried grudges and stifled ambitions… let them be settled in blood right here, right now.”
“Yet, hear my vow: if you spit upon this chance to prove your Dao, once we cross the borders of the Mad Dragon Fort,”
“should a single breath of dissent fracture my command, do not blame my blade for ruthlessly severing your existence.”
Finishing his decree, Chen Changsheng materialized a spirit-sand hourglass, planting it firmly into the earth. Turning his back, he strode coldly toward a nearby stone pavilion.
Locking eyes with the flowing sands and then scanning the auras of Zi Ning and the others, the dormant ambition in many disciples violently awakened.
Inner sect disciples bore the title of quasi-Saint Sons. Having stepped upon that sovereign threshold, who among them did not crave total supremacy?
In the past, the rigid hierarchy of the Dao suppressed their fangs, leaving them little room to challenge a monster like Zi Ning. Now, the heavens had cracked open.
Moreover, calculating gazes began to fixate upon Gongsun Huaiyu and her retinue.
Zi Ning had forged her Saintess crown by grinding her peers beneath her heel; her terrifying might was known. But if one dared not bare their fangs at her, why not devour the outsiders?
Outer sect disciples hungered to use Su Tian and his peers as stepping stones to breach the inner sect’s sacred barriers.
Simultaneously, established inner sect elites envisioned crushing Su Tian’s bones to elevate their own sovereign prestige.
These elites lusted for the vanguard’s command, seeking to gorge on the lion’s share of the impending slaughter’s spoils.
Fueled by this primordial avarice, challengers rapidly broke from the ranks.
Every marshal faced their respective predators. Zi Ning attracted the fewest death-seekers, followed closely by Gongsun Huaiyu. Ye Hensheng and Su Tian, however, were instantly surrounded by a horde of ravenous challengers.
…