Scourge Messenger

Chapter 256 Yan Qing Steps into the Mortal World

A beam of fire shot out from Ying Le's fingertips, piercing Yuan Shizhou's neck like a blade. Then, with a swift stroke, Ying Le beheaded his entire clan.

However, the other officials were not so lucky. The demon warriors set their hands on fire with oil and bound them with iron chains. Countless desperate and shrill cries echoed through the hall. Some begged for mercy, while others cursed. They were burned to ashes in extreme pain.

Ying Rushi's eyes were illuminated by the brutal flames before her, but she felt no surprise or fear, only a calm and serene peace.

Upon seeing the officials in the court, Ying Rushi immediately discerned Ying Le's intentions. Among these officials were prominent families from the Central Plains with centuries-old lineages, such as the Yuan family of Pengcheng, the Gao family of Beihai, and the Peng family of Gaoping, as well as powerful northern clans with founding military achievements, such as Gai Lou, Bu Liugu, and Yuchi.

Without exception, they all belonged to powerful clans that controlled low- to mid-level secret realm resources but lacked top-tier combat power. Let alone Foundation Establishment cultivators, even the strongest members of their families were merely ordinary third-stage cultivators. Their only asset was their ancestors' achievements. Raising a sword against them would come with almost no cost. Those at the top were indifferent to Foundation Establishment cultivators; those below were eager to replace them with hundreds of thousands of imperial guards.

If it were an ordinary emperor, they might have had a chance to resist. After all, the emperor was just a slave in the main city. Power always needs to be exercised by someone, and they were the 'power' itself. If the emperor moved against them, it would be like moving against his own foundation.

However, as a Foundation Establishment Messenger, Ying Le's foundation lies in her absolute martial prowess. Whoever she promotes will become the embodiment of power!
Faced with a monster capable of wiping out their entire clan, what could the Yuan family and others do but submit to slaughter? Cursing a few words was already a sign of courage; to beg for a quick and good death was to be eternally grateful.

Ying Rushi didn't care about the lives of these powerful officials; she could have as many officials as she wanted... but she couldn't help but notice the cruelty in Ying Le's words.

The only way is to exterminate them all.

There are forty-three officials here, from thirty-eight families. How many common people live under the protection of these thirty-eight families? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Or millions?

How serious will the seemingly light-hearted words "extermination" be when they are actually carried out?

Suddenly, Ying Ru felt a poke and looked down to see Ying Le poking her waist with her fake nail guards. Ying Le's fake nail guards were extremely extravagant, inlaid with gold, jade, and diamonds, like a brightly colored and venomous snake.

Ying Le was completely unconcerned about the torment unfolding before her eyes; instead, she suddenly felt like teasing her little niece. Her fake nails, like mountain climbers, climbed up Ying Ru Shi's body, all the way to Ying Ru Shi's face.

The fake nails traced across Ying Rushi's alabaster-white cheeks. Ying Le treated Ying Rushi's face like a priceless treasure, easily piercing her delicate skin, even her eyes and brain, with just a little force. But Ying Rushi showed no fear or discomfort, nor did she try to avoid the gaze, maintaining eye contact with Ying Le the entire time.

Do you think I suddenly have a whim to torture them?

"I dare not."

"I wouldn't dare, but that's exactly what you think." Ying Le sighed, "I did this for you, and it really makes me heartbroken."

Ying Rushi remained silent, calmly waiting for Ying Le to continue.

“The Golden-Badge Divine Constable of the Divine Marquis’s Mansion is no easy task. In order to ensure that I can capture this demon, I must return to my peak condition. The most important thing is to gather my fortune.” Ying Le said, “My method for gathering fortune is not difficult. Just follow the principle of ‘killing’.”

“My aunt has always known that you are kind-hearted and cannot bear to see innocent people suffer. That’s why she specially selected this batch of sacrificial offerings. Perhaps their ancestors were once capable ministers and fierce generals who served the founding emperor in conquering the world. But over the past hundred years, their families have gradually become bloated and their thinking has become conservative. To the State of Qi, they are all parasites that devour the country. Even if it’s not for the sake of consolidating the nation’s fortune, it is only right to deal with them.”

"Since they all deserve to die anyway, I might as well use them as my stepping stones."

Ying Rushi looked at the officials who were gradually turning into charred corpses and slowly nodded: "Your Majesty is wise."

"Perhaps you've already guessed, personally slaying the Golden-Clad Divine Constable holds immense significance for me, as it concerns my path to Foundation Establishment. To ensure victory in this battle, I'm willing to pay any price." Ying Le gently pressed Ying Ru Shi's shoulder: "Ru Shi, would you be willing to lend me a hand?"

Looking at the increasingly vibrant spider lilies on Ying Le's head, Ying Rushi took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty's rise and fall is the rise and fall of the Qi Kingdom, and Your Majesty's path is the survival of the Ying family. Your Majesty is so sincere, I, though unworthy, am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse!"

"Alright." Ying Le smiled faintly. "Let's go back. With you and me in the Ying family, what troubles are there in the world?"

She paused, then said, "I am already tired of governing the country after ten years. As long as the path is perfected, the state of Qi will still need to rely on you to govern it in the future."

Stepping out of the main hall and bathed in the warm sunlight, Ying Rushi felt the chill in her body seem to dissipate. Ying Le's last words kept echoing in her mind, her heart pounding, and she felt the whole world brighten up.

Ying Le is planning to relinquish power!

She had no doubt that Ying Le would covet power. No Foundation Establishment cultivator in this world would covet imperial power. Foundation Establishment cultivators could take whatever they wanted from the mortal world, so why bother to govern the country? The emperor was nothing more than a steward for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

If Ying Le perfects his path, even if he doesn't pass on the throne, he will at least remain in the secret realm, and the Qi Kingdom will naturally be governed by mortals.

Ying Rushi never considered seizing the throne. It didn't matter to her who was emperor, because no one could act as recklessly as Ying Le. As long as the officials and the emperor checked each other and the local areas could recuperate, the Qi Kingdom could become strong again by relying on the secret resources of the northern land.

Moreover, even if Ying Le insisted on coveting the throne, Ying Ru Shi had no other choice.

Ying Le was the only one in the Ying family to achieve the Foundation Establishment stage; even without the Ying family, Ying Le would still be the emperor.

But without Ying Le, the Ying family was no longer royalty.

For both public and private reasons, for the country and for the family, Ying Rushi could only become Ying Le's pawn.

She couldn't help but fantasize: as long as the Golden-Clad Divine Constable is killed, Ying Le will go into seclusion in the secret realm, and the new emperor will use the Heaven-Slaying Sword to win over the newly rich and powerful families, once again uniting the entire Qi Kingdom as one, first destroying the Zhou Kingdom, then heading south to the Liang Kingdom, and achieving the unparalleled feat of the Divine Zhou Shengxuan...

Upon returning to the mansion, Ying Rushi discovered that a group of palace servants were already waiting in the front hall.

"The magistrate of Lecheng County received the imperial decree."

Ying replied without hesitation, "Your subject is here."

The palace attendant said: "The imperial edict reads: 'You, Duke of Lecheng, are of unparalleled literary and military talent among the imperial family. You are hereby specially promoted to Prince of Lanling, with a fief of five thousand households, and bestowed with a golden carriage and a crown with nine inscriptions. You shall diligently cultivate virtue and secure your position forever—Respectfully Yours!'"

"Your subject receives the decree." Then the palace attendant produced a second decree: "The decree bestows upon the Prince of Lanling the Bright Flame Sword, and appoints him to command the Hundred Guards of the Shanwen Camp to quell the rebellious factions and traitors within and outside the City of Never Sleeps, and to exterminate the sixteen surnames including Yuan, Gao, Peng, Hou, Yun, Lu, etc., regardless of gender, age, status, or rank, and to kill anyone with that surname without mercy!"

You should hold your breath and show a look of reluctance on your face.

If it were just the execution of all sixteen families, even including servants, the number would only be a couple of thousand. But if they were executed according to their surnames, the entire county of Nevernight would be awash with heads and blood! These sixteen families, after hundreds of years of expansion, are already major clans in the north, probably numbering in the hundreds of thousands. If this were to be carried out thoroughly…

"Prince of Lanling, please accept this sword."

A palace attendant presented Ying Rushi with the Bright Flame Sword, a weapon personally forged by Ying Le. A mere touch of the hand to the blade would ignite it, allowing for deadly combat even within the main city. Ying Le bestowed the Bright Flame Sword upon her and appointed her to oversee the clearing of the area inside and outside Nightless City; his intentions were self-evident.

Accepting this decree is tantamount to unleashing a massacre in the City That Never Sleeps!
“Prince Lanling, if you are unwilling to accept the imperial decree, I must return to the palace to report to His Majesty,” the palace servant urged.

Ying Ru clenched her fists, staring intently at the pattern on the carpet, her face filled with conflict. Just then, she heard the sound of hundreds of hooves outside, the signal that the Shanwen cavalry had entered the city, signifying that Ying Le had raised his sword.

With millions of corpses lying in wait and rivers of blood flowing, Ying Le, if he wanted to see blood, would not allow a single drop to be shed less!
Ying Rushi lowered her head, as if her spine was bent by the weight of a mountain, but she raised her hands and accepted the Bright Flame Blade, her voice revealing a resolute determination to die for it:

"My lord, take the order!"

……

...

the next morning.

After getting up, Yan Qing took stock of yesterday's harvest.

He played from afternoon to night yesterday, completing 'Stone Sinking Creek' four times in a row. If it weren't for the fact that his teammates' muscles were almost too sore to get hard, and they were all exhausted to the point of having weak legs, Yan Qing would have even planned to play the game all night.

It’s so enjoyable!

Having been in this world for so long, this was the first time Yan Qing had ever seriously teamed up with a fully equipped team to conquer a secret realm. Not only were all of them second-tier messengers, equipped with both attack and defense tokens, but they also used their spiritual power without hesitation. Coupled with the enhanced state of the 'Golden Armor,' Yan Qing felt as if he had traveled back to his original world, forming a logging team with other players to frantically farm secret realms.

(Lumberjack team: specifically refers to a team that repeatedly runs the same instance)
This is what playing games should be like!
There was no fear of death, only relentless and fierce attacks!
Having been in this run-down place for so long, Yan Qing had gotten used to teams that were always poorly equipped and lacking in resources. As a result, he had forgotten that a normal dungeon run should be one where everyone is at least at the standard level, and the experience should be easy, enjoyable, and seamless, instead of having to rest and switch members every now and then, making it feel like a challenge where you have to stop every minute.

After so many runs, the rewards were naturally quite substantial. He obtained three advanced sword techniques, three Seven Star Swords, and a total of 700,000 spirit jades. In other words, if he completed all seven days of runs, Yan Qing could grind for at least 5 million spirit jades. Not to mention the Pharmacist's Wish and Shang Xinlei, raising a few more wouldn't be a problem.

Of course, we can't sell them all at once, otherwise the price will definitely plummet. We can only gradually sell off the stock according to the previous pace.

However, the rewards from four runs of 'Stone Sinking Stream' were not as good as the loot that the Rat Monk collected on 'Lake Heart Island'.

Three rare treasures: 'Goldfish Eyepiece'!
The rare 3rd tier 'Lake Palace Spear'!
'The Secret Manual for Beginners: Raging Waves'!
'Lake Palace Treasure Nourishing Pot'!
Besides these, there were many other odds and ends dropped by demons, nearly 70,000 spirit jades, and so many blood-replenishing pills that Yan Qing couldn't even finish them all.

The 'Lake Palace Treasure Nourishing Pot' looks like a token, but it's actually a repair tool, especially effective against defensive tokens; the 'Raging Waves Secret Technique Book' has a very wide range of applications, and can be used with weapons such as swords, knives, spears, and fists; no one seems to have a use for the 'Lake Palace Spear,' but we can ask the apothecary tomorrow if he'd like it as a spare spear.

The most unique of them all is the 'goldfish eyepiece'.

"Goldfish Eyepiece"

"Rank: Third-tier Rare"

"Durability: 50/50"

Equipment requirement: 20 points of Divine Soul

"Equipment effect: +2 Dexterity"

"Equipment effect: -10% visual negative effects"

"Effect: Transparent World: After activating this effect, you will see a fish-eye world composed of lines. Matter will no longer obstruct your view, and you can clearly see the exact location of all living beings within a radius of 1 meters. Activating Transparent World requires 20 points of spiritual power, and 1 point of spiritual power will be consumed for every second it lasts."

"Review: I'm face-blind, I can't tell the difference between beauty and ugliness."

Reconnaissance token!

With the six key aspects of the token—attack, defense, movement, healing, reconnaissance, and cultivation—Yan Qing has finally made up for his biggest weakness!
Although Qi Kingdom also has reconnaissance tokens that can be exchanged, they are a pair of gauntlets that can detect the number and location of distant enemies through ground vibrations, which conflict with the 'Melting Hundred Aspects Hands' and are not very functional, so Yan Qing is too lazy to buy them.

This eyepiece is different; it has a detection range of 500 meters, which is useful even after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. It is indeed the only token dropped by the Demon King of 'Lake Heart Island'. Its functionality is almost at the limit of a third-tier detection token!
After a quick breakfast, Yan Qing began to change his clothes and wrap his bandages. The Mountain Heart-Protecting Mirror, the Bingzi Pepper Forest, the Hand of Melting a Hundred Aspects, the Lingbo Boots, and the Goldfish Eyeglasses were all legendary or rare treasures. If all the items on his body glowed at the same time, they could probably create a close-range flashbang effect.

Yan Qing was fully armed early in the morning, not for vanity.

He logged into Jiang Shi's account on the game console and first led his men to clear the Zhen San Shan Secret Realm once. While the auxiliary soldiers were scavenging the secret realm, Jiang Shi said to his men, "Just like I said yesterday, I'm going to take my sister in for training next. You don't need to come in."

Having already cleared the secret realm once, and with Jiang Shi having mentioned it beforehand, the guards were naturally eager to help. They watched as Jiang Shi led the Rabbit Girl into the secret realm, while Ye Si stood guard at the entrance. They thought to themselves, "Jiang Niang is really cautious, even arranging for Team Leader Ye Si to block the door. Is she perhaps teaching her sister her unique skills inside?"

What no one knew was that the bunny girl immediately changed into full-armor protection upon entering, and Jiang Shi floated into the air, with streaks of light breaking through the void and converging around her.

Meanwhile, Yan Qing, far away in the Thieves' House, was also floating in the air, casting a spell for twenty-five seconds, with sharp streams of light emerging from his head and flowing into the unknown void.

【Xianyou】!
Yan Qing is finally about to step into the mortal world!
(End of this chapter)