Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 190 Auspicious Symbol and Suppressing Object: The Edict to Execute Fang Xiaoru's Ten Clans (Fake)

When Jiang Wenyuan saw the pair of Qilin Shangfang Maces in the hands of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, which were inherited from the King of Kaiping, he immediately recognized him:
"It's you, Wang Fugui?!"

"So you were the eldest son of the Zheng family in disguise? Why didn't you return to Zhenhai Guard? I'm going to report this to the Imperial Censor Wang Bengu and have you punished for dereliction of duty!"

After he returned, he had already discussed with Wang Bengu and Xing Baichuan that they should use the rules of officialdom and his superior status to give Wang Fugui a good beating.

A few days ago, he was planning to use the power of the nun Miaojing from Mount Tai to capture and imprison Wang Fugui when he came to rescue his third senior brother, turning him into a male concubine, and then working together to seize his official position.

It's really hard to accept that when I said those words, the other person was probably just quietly listening outside the Hall of Righteousness.

"Jiang Wenyuan? Are you going to tell Wang Bengu?"

If he hadn't spoken, Wang Cheng wouldn't have noticed this former deputy envoy.

Then he suddenly remembered that Jiang Wenyuan, Wang Bengu, and Xing Baichuan had all promised to take a life from him before they left, in order to arrange a deadly mission to kill him, Wang Fugui.

The evil spirits and their yin bodies, the "debt collectors," have long been sharpening their knives at them.

However, since their rank was lower in the past, they could only collect interest little by little, and could not take their lives in a short time.

Now, everyone is in the same world in the book, and the power levels of both sides have been reversed.

Jiang Wenyuan is not one of my trusted generals Gao Ren and Gao Jingzhong, and has no value in continuing to cultivate him, so why should I continue to spare him?

He decisively raised his hand, pointed at him, and shouted in a low voice:
"Pay back the money!"

Bang!
This disciple of Grand Secretary Xu, Jiang Wenyuan, a fifth-rank Confucian scholar of the Mind School, was as if struck by an invisible hammer; his neck twisted, and he died instantly.

This unreasonable scene was even more shocking than when Yunxiao acted as the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden.

The others around Jiang Wenyuan were utterly horrified by this scene, failing to notice that all of his belongings had already fallen into Wang Cheng's hands.

It's unclear whether he handed it over to Qingliu once, but the "Zhang Heng Examination Paper" with the phrase "Genius is just the threshold to my recognition" has disappeared.

Fortunately, they obtained the even more valuable secret military manual, "Yangming's Art of Military Training: Cultivating the Mind Without Moving," along with Jiang Wenyuan's own learning notes:

"It can guide the 'Yangming military spirit' who once followed this Confucian and Taoist sage, quickly transform them into temple soldiers and ghost soldiers, and form an invincible military formation."

It not only enhances strength, speed, and endurance, but also allows one to fight tenaciously to the very last moment as long as their mind remains steadfast.

No matter your original background, you can all be transformed into loyal and disciplined elite soldiers!

Wang Cheng nodded in satisfaction and summoned the heavenly soldiers and generals formed from Dao energy once again.

Although he also saw the legacy of "Yin Fu Jing: Nine Heavens Striking Nine Earths" left by Shi Nai'an, he did not have time to study it, so he used the newly acquired "Nourishing the Mind Without Moving" technique instead.

With a flick of his finger, the heavenly soldiers and generals formed from Dao energy instantly gained an unwavering military spirit. Facing the blood and Dao soldiers, they showed no fear or trepidation, their hearts impenetrable.

The Blood God Weapon immediately lost most of its destructive power.

Then the entire army transformed into an unstoppable torrent of steel, forcefully breaking through the Taoist soldiers blocking their path and suppressing them in the opposite direction.

On the roof of the Hall of Gathering Righteousness, Yunxiao and Huantongxian had already engaged in battle.

The Dragon Girl used to live a long life and had rich combat experience, giving her an advantage no matter who she faced.

Unexpectedly, her opponent had lived longer than her and was clearly exceptionally familiar with the extraordinary skills of the Water Rank Officials, and had long been prepared for all sorts of tricks.

He easily broke through the layers of cloud barriers created by the secret technique [Cloud Spreading and Rainbow Cutting]. Facing the bolts of lightning, he threw out iron lightning-attracting objects one after another, diverting most of the attacks to the side.

He wrapped the blood banner around himself, and the Rejuvenating Immortal instantly gained the full power of the army, transforming into a blood-red warrior three zhang tall, and punched Yun Xiao.

The air was compressed layer by layer by the fist, producing a deafening sonic boom.

Fortunately, Ah Xiao, who also possessed the [Dragon's Blood], had a [Nine Provinces Order Talisman] within her body that the Rejuvenating Immortal had never seen before. She activated her authority and shouted:
"The decree is hereby issued!"

The Rejuvenating Immortal's body stiffened for a moment, and the power of his punch naturally decreased significantly.

Ah Xiao's skirt still fluttered, and she was sent flying by the overwhelming gale.

Instead of crashing into the water as she expected, she fell into a soft, warm embrace.

Wang Cheng, riding on a Wind and Thunder two-wheeler, held her in his arms in a princess carry.

A-Xiao stared blankly at Wang Cheng, who had appeared out of nowhere.

The entire Yan family passed away early.

As a pitiful left-behind child, Yan Yunxiao had no family or peers to accompany her since childhood.

Her only companions were the ten Heavenly Stems (甲, 乙, 丙, 丁, etc.) treasure trove and the cold, hard balance of her money shop account with countless zeros.

He had already found it quite novel and interesting when he was relied upon by Wang Cheng, his only "kindred spirit".

Now that she can rely on him, she feels a little unfamiliar, but also a little relaxed and enjoyable.

The feeling of being able to entrust your back to someone with complete peace of mind is truly captivating.

However, when the Dragon Girl, lying in Wang Cheng's arms, tried to catch a glimpse of his profile, her view was firmly blocked by something rich and generous. She couldn't help but silently clench her teeth:

"If the breasts I'm leaning on aren't my own, that would be even more perfect. You just wait, Chengzi!"

At this moment, Wang Cheng had already charged straight at the Rejuvenating Immortal without stopping.

With the blessing of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, the pair of [Qilin Shangfang Maces] transformed into two ten-zhang-long silver dragons, circling and biting the blood-red warrior, easily dismembering him in the blink of an eye.

The celestial child reappeared, its body tattered and mangled, half of its skull missing, yet it was rapidly regenerating, its vitality far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Clutching the somewhat tattered Blood Soul Banner, he retreated swiftly back to his own army, looking at the second "Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden" with a face full of surprise and uncertainty.

Combining information gathered from other sources, Wang Cheng finally found his full name in the "Rare Goods for Hoarding" section:
[The Six Heavenly Immortals, Subordinates of the Child Spirit, Rejuvenate]

"Speaking of which, this fairy child and I have a personal affiliation."

The plaque at Xuanwu Gate states that all of Mao Haifeng's legacy will be inherited by me, the victor, including his widow and his posthumous child.

Like Jiang Wenyuan and the others, this celestial child theoretically also owes me a debt!

However, Wang Cheng had already discovered that the boy under the Six Heavenly Qi seat not only had shares granted to him by the Xuanwu Gate plaque, a national treasure, but also shares held by a certain Six Heavenly Qi.

The other party was of a higher rank than a national treasure, so Wang Cheng dared not make any rash moves.

He had only one chance to gain anything from this celestial child, and there were bound to be some unknown risks involved, which made him hesitate. Was it worth the risk for the celestial child to possess something?

Just as Wang Cheng decided to resist the temptation and take the opportunity to kill all the enemies.

On the other side, the fighting spirit of the Fengzhou Mountain people finally collapsed completely.

"Let's go! We have no chance against the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden in the book. Let's fight her outside!"

He no longer has any roles to play with Wang Cheng.

Forced to unleash the novelist's ultimate skill, ripples spread around them, pages turned, and they were about to send all the members of the Guishan Academy out of Water Margin.

Even if many people stay here, it won't be enough for the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden to kill alone.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Huan Tong Xian used the Blood Banner to lift Zeng Yiben and a group of elite pirates, and they flew out through the hole he had broken.

"Where to go!"

Wang Cheng used his authority as the Mysterious Woman to cast a net across the heavens and earth, encircling both families.

Upon seeing this, Fengzhou Shanren quickly took out a bright yellow imperial edict from his bosom and held it above his head.

Golden light emanated from it, forming a fake edict to exterminate Fang Xiaoru's ten clans. The edict was issued by Emperor Taizong of the current dynasty.

The moment this imperial edict appeared, the inescapable net of justice immediately became riddled with loopholes, allowing the people of Guishan Bookstore to disappear one by one.

Rare Goods:
Origin: In order to defy the destiny of the Zhu family, Emperor Taizu Han Lin of the Great Zhao Dynasty shortened his own lifespan to extend the life of the Crown Prince. However, Emperor Xiaokang fell ill as soon as he ascended the throne, and Empress Lü and the Crown Prince had to govern the country.

At this time, several regents seized power, and Fang Xiaoru was one of their capable lieutenants.

However, he committed seven major crimes during the Xiaokang New Deal.

"First, abolish a series of northern garrisons; second, abolish the inspectors in various government offices, that is, the supervisors of civil officials; third, raise the ranks of civil officials, with the six ministers all becoming first-rank officials."
Fourth, exonerate corrupt officials from the Taizu era and return their ill-gotten gains; Fifth, amend the Great Zhao Code to reduce penalties for corruption; Sixth, significantly reduce taxes in their hometowns in the southern prefectures.

Finally, the seventh and most crucial article was the enactment of the "Recommendation Law"!

The last point, in particular, is tantamount to undermining the very foundation of the nation.

This method required civil officials of the fifth rank or above to recommend virtuous and talented individuals, thus bypassing the imperial examination system and directly appointing officials.

Would these fifth-rank officials recommend talented people from the common people they don't even know?
Just kidding, it can only be his own students and former subordinates!
This system, modeled after the recommendation system of the Wei and Jin dynasties a thousand years ago, aimed to quickly select talent, but it also led to the rapid expansion of the civil service system, with key positions in various departments filled with incompetent and nepotistic individuals.

One can imagine that if things continue like this, the Nine-Rank System will soon be restored.

The old sayings like "powerful clans hold sway, the upper class has no poor families, and the lower class has no noble families" are outdated and will soon return.

The deaths of Hou Jing and Huang Chao were all in vain, the blood of ordinary people throughout history was shed in vain, and the bones of high-ranking officials were trampled upon, and everything had to start all over again.

Looking beyond appearances to examine history, it's hard for ordinary people to imagine the true nature of these literati who claimed to be "moral scholars," "conscience of the scholarly world," "literary giants," and "great Confucian scholars."

It wasn't until Emperor Taizong, with the help of meritorious officials, successfully quelled the rebellion, restored order, and ended all the evil policies that the trial of Fang Xiaoru and his ilk was finally initiated.

The literati of today will not tell the common people that the so-called "tenth clan" is precisely those disciples and former officials whom he recommended.

However, the effect of this talisman is:

Even after executing ten clans, some will still escape!

The word "fake" alone suggests that there is more to the story.

(End of this chapter)