Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 464 Yama's Bloodbath
When Ye Tinglan appeared to stop Gu Zhanting, Yuan Muyu looked at the blood on the altar from afar, took out a communication jade talisman and sent a message to all the Ghost Emperors: "Activate."

Situ Yue's voice came from the other end: "Think it over. Planning a surprise attack and assassination is fine, but planning a killing formation is not appropriate."

Yuan Muyu said calmly, "What's wrong with it?"

"It's not the right time at all. If you act rashly now, it won't be enough for you to break through to the Qian Yuan realm. It would mean that all your four years of planning would be for nothing. Do you even want to continue your cultivation path?"

"No, I don't want it anymore," Yuan Muyu said.

Situ Yue: "?"

"I don't even have him anymore, what use are these things to me..."

Situ Yue: "..."

Hearing this, Ji Wenchuan's mind was filled with a series of ellipses.

You lost him for these things. Now you don't want the so-called path anymore... What if you give up the path but still can't get him back? Wouldn't you have nothing left?

If you have this kind of determination, why didn't you do it sooner?
The Northern Ghost Emperor Dong Chengbi couldn't help but say, "In the previous plan, Lao Lu also told us to just carry out the assassination, saying that we didn't need to touch our formation."

This thing isn't very useful to everyone; it's just a matter of Yama. For everyone, it just means there's another boss, Qian Yuan. There are benefits, of course, but they're not that important. But after all, it's something everyone has done for so many years, so it's normal to be reluctant to give up all that effort. Even Ji Wenchuan is a little reluctant, let alone the others.

Yuan Muyu shook her head slightly: "Xingzhou has been gone for so long that he doesn't know about our arrangements. How could you not know? It's obvious that simply launching an assassination is not enough. The efficiency is questionable, and the success rate cannot even be guaranteed. However, if we cannot completely eliminate the effects of Gu Zhanting's refining in a short period of time, he might really break through. The safest way is to directly activate the killing formation."

This is true, and everyone knows this in their hearts.

Are we really going to assassinate them one by one?
The only ones who can truly guarantee a success rate are those few Ghost Emperors. But the world is so vast, what about other places? Even the high-level assassins of the Yama Palace can hardly guarantee a kill in one strike. If they fail, or if there is a stalemate or delay, and Gu Zhanting succeeds, who will be held responsible?
The safest option is to devise a killing formation.

Situ Yue said, "But he didn't ask for that. You're just doing it for your own pleasure. What if he thinks you're morally blackmailing him?"

Ji Wenchuan frowned: "Don't talk nonsense, Lao Lu isn't that petty."

Before Situ Yue could say anything, Gu Zhanting and Ye Tinglan had already begun their fight.

Yuan Muyu said sternly, "Stop arguing, this is an order!"

Ji Wenchuan was the first to respond: "Received."

The others remained silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "Okay."

The next moment, people in many prefectures and counties discovered that bloodstains appeared out of nowhere, as if the Netherworld had suddenly been disturbed, with Yama demanding lives and the Impermanent One chasing souls. Those demonic officials with long hair and bared fangs suddenly had blood flowing from their brows and died on the spot.

Some of the more powerful officials seemed able to escape the killing intent, but assassins swiftly swept past, their blades flashing, and the demonized officials coughed up blood, dying instantly.

The bizarre situation of the world being turned into a demonic place was completely resolved in an instant, as if it had been pre-planned.

The Blood Slaughtering Array of the Underworld Palace truly revealed its fangs to the world at this moment.

Yuan Muyu stood silently in place, feeling the murderous intent seep into her body.

His cultivation, which had fallen to the edge of the super grade, has grown again, recovering to the original mid-stage and even slightly expanding, reaching the edge of the late stage.

Yuan Muyu didn't care at all. Looking at her delicate hands, she muttered to herself, "The second person said this is self-pity... Is it so hard to want to be better to him and make up for the past? Then how can I avoid being self-pity?"

"Bang!" The sound of Ye Tinglan and Gu Zhanting clashing again rang out in the sky. Yuan Muyu snapped out of her daze, not caring about anything else, and quickly approached.

To say that the killing formation completely thwarted Gu Zhanting's plan is not entirely true. Yuan Muyu's plan was only three or four years old, and it only began after Lu Xingzhou was marginalized. Furthermore, the real key arrangements were made in the two years after Lu Xingzhou left, and there were still many areas that could not be arranged.

Gu Zhanting's plans began ten years ago.

Fortunately, Ye Tinglan had been a major hindrance for Gu Zhanting over the past decade, preventing him from acting too openly; otherwise, he might have already orchestrated the plan much earlier. Now, Yuan Muyu's arrangements had largely neutralized the threat, with the key prefectures and counties being subjected to a massive assassination campaign, leaving him with only a tiny fraction of the demonic energy he needed to absorb.

His ritual to honor the mountains and rivers suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

The burgeoning cultivation is now rising at a snail's pace; at this rate, it won't be ten days or half a month before the tribulation arrives.

Zhao En, standing to the side, gaped in disbelief. He had been responsible for helping to conceal the heavenly tribulation when it arrived, but even that seemed impossible... What was going on with Ye Tinglan's current state? Had she actually survived the tribulation? How did she manage it?
Regardless of how it was done, since an unexpected event has occurred, contingency plans must be activated. After his initial surprise, Gu Zhanting remained calm and said in a deep voice, "She hasn't broken through, so one person can't do much. Let's work together to isolate her and activate the second set of formations."

As the words were spoken, the five streams of energy were once again combined by the formation and slammed into Ye Tinglan in mid-air.

Meanwhile, the monsters held captive around the altar howled and roared in agony, clutching their heads and rolling around.

The previous formation only absorbed demonic energy; it could not absorb the power of the entire world.

But at this moment, the formation contracted, and began to plunder the power of these demons.

The wisps of magic flowing through the altar not only increased Gu Zhanting's power, but also enhanced the power of Zhao En and the others at the four corners.

Ye Tinglan was blocked in mid-air by the attack of the five-person formation, and even if she was strong, it would be difficult for her to spare any more power to stop it. But at this moment, a sword light came from afar and headed straight for Zhao En in the formation.

Jiang Duxu!
Another ghostly, slender figure appeared silently beside the ghostly fire demon, and with a flick of her delicate hand, struck the crown of the head.

It was clearly an ethereal flame, but in Yuan Muyu's hands it felt as if he had struck a real object.

The will-o'-the-wisps fell with a soft rustling sound, and a hoarse voice was filled with astonishment: "Who are you... to be able to turn the illusory into the real and defy death to be reborn?"

“She is Yama.” Gu Zhanting still struck Ye Tinglan in the air, coldly replying, “So that’s how it is. The so-called Yama’s Palace is just a branch of Tianyao Holy Land to cover up its true intentions. Ye Tinglan, your scheming is unworthy of your title of Pure Cultivation.”

Ye Tinglan responded calmly: "Whether I cultivate in seclusion or not is not important. It seems more important that some people disregard the country and call themselves emperors."

Just as Jiang Duxu and Yuan Muyu were about to engage in battle, hurried footsteps came from outside the altar. Sheng Qingfeng led a group of fierce generals from the Demon Suppression Division into the fray, drawing their swords and slashing directly at the surrounding demons.

They shouted, "Your Majesty, it is our dereliction of duty that allowed these demons to escape from the Demon-Slaying Domain and disturb Your Majesty. We have failed in our duty as the Demon-Suppressing Division. Gentlemen, why don't you follow me to protect Your Majesty and slay the demons!"

The others in the Demon Suppression Division had no idea what was going on. What they saw was a group of demons surrounding the altar, and His Majesty seemed to be casting a spell to suppress them, causing the demons to wail in agony.

Seeing this, everyone bravely rushed to the emperor's aid, drawing their swords and slaying the demon with more vigor than anyone else.

Gu Zhanting was taken aback.

His biggest problem is that this kind of thing is truly unbecoming of an emperor; it's something that can't be told to anyone. This time, even his own army wasn't involved in the altar's defenses; he dared not let anyone know. The only thing he did was send Huo Xingyuan to cut off all the key routes, but what was Huo Xingyuan doing? How did he let Sheng Qingfeng bring his men here?

What's going on now? Do you think I can just say in front of so many fierce generals of the Demon Suppression Division that these demons were released by me and are the nutrients I use to level up, and that you're not allowed to touch them?
At this moment, Jiang Duxu and Yuan Muyu cut into the situation, and Ye Tinglan outside violently suppressed them, causing chaos in the formation of the five of them. For a while, no one could spare the attention to stop Sheng Qingfeng.

In that brief moment of distraction, Sheng Qingfeng and his men had already chopped down more than half of the monsters.

Gu Zhanting realized what was happening and said sternly, "All of you, retreat! You don't need to lift a finger here!"

Sheng Qingfeng bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. We have failed in our duty and will apologize in the future."

After saying that, he led his men away, disappearing in less than ten breaths.

Gu Zhanting almost choked on a mouthful of blood and spat it out. Looking at the few remaining monsters, what should he do now?
His telepathic message reached the mind of the fleeing Sheng Qingfeng: "Sheng Qingfeng, how many have I promoted along the way! You, my so-called loyal minister, rebelled against me for the sake of a son-in-law!"

Sheng Qingfeng paused slightly, but did not turn around. He calmly replied, "Your Majesty, I am not a son-in-law... The so-called 'lone minister' refers to a lone minister of the Great Qian Dynasty. To allow demons to be used as nourishment, to raise monsters to form formations, will cause the world to be in turmoil and the demonic atmosphere to soar to the sky. This is not the way of the demonic path. The demons that the Demon Suppression Division suppresses are for this purpose. Now that I have taken charge of this division, I will die a hundred times without regret."

"Crack!" A thin curtain suddenly rose around the altar, encompassing all the members of the Demon Suppression Division, including Ye Tinglan, Yuan Muyu, and Jiang Duxu, as if it were a closed array.

However, Zhao En, who was in charge of the formation, activated the third backup plan: "Your Majesty, now that the nourishment is gone, they have become the new nourishment. We must not let them go lightly."

Sheng Qingfeng suddenly turned his head and looked coldly at Gu Zhanting on the stage.

Gu Zhanting's eyes were cold as he said indifferently, "Since you've betrayed us, why bother with that expression?"

Sheng Qingfeng looked at the stage and saw five Super Grade cultivators. He couldn't determine whether Gu Zhanting's condition counted as Qian Yuan.

With only three Super Grade characters on their side, Ye Tinglan's condition was at most slightly better than Gu Zhanting's, and she did not have absolute dominance.

The opponent also has the advantage of a formation.

If we were to use everyone as nourishment, it wouldn't be entirely impossible.

Gu Zhanting then said coldly, "Where is Huo Xingyuan? Why didn't he stop you? Could it be that he also became a traitor like you?"

Huo Liancheng hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, that is impossible."

Lu Xingzhou's voice came from afar: "Huo Xingyuan is here."

As the words were spoken, a head flew in like a hidden weapon, piercing through the thin curtain and heading straight for Huo Liancheng's head.

Huo Liancheng instinctively swung his hand to slap the head away, smashing it to pieces.

Even as the head was smashed, Huo Liancheng still managed to make out its shape.

It was his own son, his face filled with unseeing disbelief.

Huo Liancheng nearly coughed up blood as well, forgetting he was in the midst of a fierce battle. He pointed tremblingly at Lu Xingzhou, his roar echoing throughout the arena: "Lu Xingzhou! You dare to kill your father!"

"I apologize." Lu Xingzhou appeared at the sidelines and bowed respectfully. "I haven't introduced my real name yet. My name is Huo Qing, the son of a hunter from Danxia Mountain. I have met Your Majesty and Grand Tutor."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)