Chapter 527: Chapter 258: So You Had a Heart Too?
Mingjiang Prefecture, Miyang Wooden Pier,
It was already deep into the night, and due to the clear weather, the bright moon cast a frosty white glow on Zhou Xuan’s body.
Lord Jian, the Painter, and others were not as clear-headed as the moonlight; they all worried about Zhou Xuan’s safety.
Ever since Zhou Xuan had embarked on a Divine Soul Day Trip to seek Yunwu Venerable, four full hours had passed.
“Lord Jian, do you think something might have happened?”
The Painter wanted to tear open space to search for Zhou Xuan, but his Space Law seemed not to include the tens of thousands of feet underground of Mingjiang Prefecture.
“Young Master Xuan is destined for great things. What are you afraid of?”
Lord Jian spoke with confidence, though deep down, he was somewhat uneasy.
At that moment, Zhou Xuan’s Divine Soul Day Trip returned, and he opened his eyes. The crowd, upon seeing his movement, hurriedly gathered around him.
“Young Master, are you alright?”
Whether the Mountain and River Map could overthrow Yunwu Venerable was not their main concern; they were most worried that nothing should happen to Zhou Xuan.
After today’s battle, Zhou Xuan’s place in the hearts of those in Mingjiang Prefecture was elevated once again. As long as he was safe, any difficulties Mingjiang Prefecture might face could be overcome.
“I’m fine, but the matter with the Buddha Country has become serious.”
Zhou Xuan said, “A master took control of my Mountain and River Map, storming into a certain area of the Buddha Country. He first used the nine state capitals within the map to crash and break the tallest Buddha Tower in that area, then had the nine capitals descend God-level power to kill all the Demon Monks in over a hundred temples of the Buddha Country…”
All these astonishing feats happened within four short hours, making the crowd of You Shen feel thoroughly avenged.
“Well killed! That group of Buddha Country barbarians came to our Jing Country to flaunt their power, and we might as well wipe them out clean.”
The Music Master, face flushed with excitement, exclaimed.
Even if the great disaster that befell Mingjiang Prefecture was ultimately averted, preventing the flood from rushing into Mingdong District, Mingxi District was heavily impacted, with at least tens of thousands dead,
and this was after the hard-working rescue efforts by the boatmen of the Bitter Ghost disciples.
So many died, and simply killing the three God-level entities who turned their backs on Mingjiang couldn’t vent this fury.
The Music Master heard that a master controlled Zhou Xuan’s Mountain and River Map and killed so many Buddha Country Demon Monks, he let out a sigh of relief. If he had wine, he would have raised a large cup to toast.
“Did Yunwu Venerable also get killed by that master?” Lord Jian asked.
He knew who this so-called master was. “Xiang and Fire,” only such a master could deal a heavy blow to the Buddha Country.
“Yunwu Venerable was crushed to dust by my Mountain and River Map.”
When Zhou Xuan said this, he looked at Peng Hou’s head and asked, “See? Buddha Country is nothing but a paper tiger. Yunwu Venerable, supposedly invincible, is still flesh. When a master strikes, the Buddha Country region is equally devastated.”
Peng Hou sighed, knowing that he was destined to die today, yet at this moment, he was able to see many things clearly.
“Zhou Xuan, you… remind me a lot of myself… like I was in my youth.”
Peng Hou, throughout his life, was not weak at all times. At least before his ascension to the Heavenly Dome, he was one of the mighty warriors within the Tree Clan.
He wasn’t always brutal either; once, he also wholeheartedly considered the well-being of the Tree Clan.
“How could I resemble your cowardice?” Zhou Xuan retorted with dissatisfaction.
“I wasn’t always cowardly either.”
Peng Hou sighed, saying, “The last generation of Peng Hou demanded the Tattoo Tree Clan disciples to offer incense during their cultivation.
Offering incense is normal in any Tangkou.
The Tangkou linked to the Gods and Alien Ghosts, and it is right for disciples to offer them incense during cultivation.
But the last generation of Peng Hou wanted too much, demanding the Tattooed Clan to offer half of their incense.
Every day, after painstakingly accumulating incense, having to hand over half to the Gods is simply intolerable.
Yet the last generation of Peng Hou controlled the clan’s linkage, and through it, made those unwilling to offer him incense catch mysterious illnesses, severely punishing them even to death, turning their tattoos into punishments.”
This much Peng Sheng had mentioned before.
It was precisely because the last Tattooed Alien Ghost was excessively brutal that the Tree Clan cultivated talent corporately, to ascend to the Heavenly Dome and slay the Tattooed Alien Ghost.
“The clan couldn’t stand the tyrannical rule. The Tattoo Clan had always had warrior bloodlines within their bodies; I was the genius of the Tree Clan at the time, and after reaching eight Incense Sticks, thousands of clansmen willingly became my sustenance, helping me ascend to nine Incense Sticks. The souls of those clansmen, hung upside down on the Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree, allowed me to comprehend the Heavenly Ghost Map,
I used this map to ascend the Heavenly Dome and killed the previous Peng Hou.”
Peng Sheng harbored deep resentment towards Peng Hou, but it didn’t mean he denied everything Peng Hou once did for the Tree Clan. He spoke up,
“Peng Hou, if your original intention remained unchanged, today you would still be the Great Ancestor of the Tree Clan. But why did you change?”
“Everything has changed, not just me as a single God.”
Suddenly, Peng Hou’s eyes widened with anger, saying, “The will of Jing Country never regarded us as Gods but as their watchdogs. Each God has their own Divine Country, but is that a place of enjoyment?
No… it is a gilded cage that imprisons us. We must always watch over the disturbances in the human world, and if anything goes wrong, the will of Jing Country punishes us, and I couldn’t bear such punishment. I wanted to break free from the will of Jing Country.”
“You couldn’t bear it, but Gong Zheng could.”