Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 333 Yao Guangxiao's Set: Imperial Family Affairs Are None of Your Business

When the ministers saw that King Jing had changed from being filial and humble before taking the medicine, and was about to openly kill his father in front of everyone, they were all greatly shocked.

"His Highness Prince Jing has gone mad!"

"You rebellious scoundrel, why don't you kneel down and beg His Majesty for forgiveness?"

"This...this must be the poison from the elixir, causing madness in his brain and hysteria! Imperial Physician, quickly summon the Imperial Physician to the palace!"

Among those present, whether they were the Yan faction who supported Prince Jing, the Qingliu faction who opposed him, or the neutral nobles, they all couldn't help but change color in anger, and the scene immediately descended into chaos.

Even Luo Wenlong, a core member of the Yan Party who couldn't wait for him to ascend the throne immediately, at most hoped that he would inherit the throne in accordance with the law, rather than murder the emperor and usurp the throne.

The risks involved are vastly different!

If we lose, our whole family will lose their heads.

"Left and right, take him down!"

The White Scale Guards, responsible for protecting Renshou Palace, reacted the fastest. Lu Yunchen, who had been warned by Wang Cheng and was carefully observing everyone present, immediately drew his sword and roared angrily.

"Follow the order!"

Two officials of the fifth rank, who were nominally of the same rank as Prince Jing, flew in front of him in afterimages, intending to forcibly subdue him.

I thought that even if the opponent had taken the elixir and achieved initial mastery of life cultivation, I could easily defeat a Taoist alchemist who was not skilled in combat, even if it was two against one.

Unexpectedly, the moment their hands touched King Jing, they saw him sneer.

With a sway of his shoulders, his body swelled by half, his tendons and muscles taut, like a black dragon swimming beneath his skin.

They grabbed their necks as easily as if they were chicks and slammed them together.

Bang!
The red and white ones exploded on the spot.

There are no fancy magical skills, only simple and brutal violence.

"what--!"

Which of the pampered nobles present had ever witnessed such a horrific scene?
Screams erupted from the family members on the periphery, and many people's eyes rolled back as they collapsed to the ground unconscious.

At this moment, the power that Prince Jing displayed was far more than just that of a middle-ranking official.

It is clearly the powerful ruling force of a living god of the third rank!

Seeing that there were other White Scale Guards and captains controlled by the Lord of the State still charging forward fearlessly, he smiled contemptuously:

"Get out!"

The white hat on his head flickered slightly with his shout, and everyone opposite him, including Lu Yunchen, felt as if they were facing a sovereign who held absolute power.

The body obeyed the command faster than the mind, obediently stepping aside and revealing Emperor Shaozhi behind it.

The latter, facing the madman directly, could clearly see that the monk's hat was embroidered not with the common swastika, but with the character "白" (white), and a look of surprise and doubt appeared on his face:
"This monk's hat looks like the white hat that Yao Guangxiao gave to Emperor Chengzu."

But wasn't this hat burned along with Empress Fang during a fire at the Da Gao Xuan Hall on the first day of the eleventh month of the twenty-sixth year of Shaozhi?

Why did it end up in your hands? You were only ten years old then.

Many scholars in Dazhao may never have seen this hat, but they have heard of its name.

Because the character “王” (Wang) plus “白” (Bai) forms the character “皇” (Huang), it possesses a powerful ability to transform the rotten into the miraculous for the vassal kings within the dynasty.

It comes from the monk Yao Guangxiao, who was born at the wrong time and missed the chaotic world of Yunmeng, but was determined to do something great.

When the Great Zhao Dynasty lost Zhu Laosi, he went to assist Han Laosi, and still presented Laosi with a white hat, crowning this vassal king as emperor.

This ultimately led to the creation of the auspicious talisman, the "White Hat of Emperor Chengzu."

However, his abilities are severely unbalanced, only targeting the Han royal family. He can make the vassal kings immune to the authority of the ruler of the state, and thus rival him in rank.

It was of absolutely no use to anyone else in other dynasties; it was just a tattered white hat.

Originally kept tightly sealed in the secret vault of the Great Gao Xuan Palace as a symbol of power for their fourth lineage, it has now become an accomplice to another vassal king's rebellion.

Prince Jing was very satisfied with the expression on Emperor Shaozhi's face.

"You've been in power for forty years, and there have been more than a dozen fires, big and small. How could you possibly distinguish which were intentional and which were accidental? Which were set by Guishan Bookstore and which were set by me?"
"It's a good thing that this white hat, gathering dust in the secret vault, has fallen into my hands; otherwise, it would have been a waste of its brilliance."

With arms outstretched, his rapidly rising cultivation stirred up a massive vortex within the divine energy of Emperor Qin Shihuang, who stood across the Jade Capital City.

The Dao Qi surged above his head, outlining the shape of another nine-tiered palace, with three suns—blue, red, and white—hanging high, radiating divine light.

The blazing sunlight and the Buddha's light rippled outwards, forcibly pushing aside half of the "Heavenly Rules and Earthly Laws" that originally belonged to the ruler of the state.

They actually dared to rival them in the Jade Capital City, which served as the core Taoist temple of the state.

Clearly, he relied on more than just a white hat; there were other, more important things.

Perhaps because he had been kept in the dark for so long as a son, Prince Jing thoroughly enjoyed the incredulous looks from those around him and became quite talkative.

He strode towards the Lord of the State while laughing loudly:
"I never expected that the Five Organs Returning to Truth Pill would be so effective. It not only extended my lifespan by more than sixty years, but also allowed this body to perfectly withstand the power of all my incarnations."

"Indeed, cultivating only the mind and neglecting the body will prevent a spirit from attaining sainthood even after countless eons. When the Guishan Academy assassinated us in the capital, you shared half of the people's resentment with me; today, with this elixir, you will also share half of the throne with me!"

Emperor Shaozhi's sleeves fluttered in the strong wind as he stared directly at his son, who had once resembled him most and whom he loved most, but who was now a complete stranger to him.

There were also the three yangs—green, red, and white—that the opponent manifested, as if they had suddenly thought of something.

His expression gradually changed from surprise to coldness:
"You are not my son, Zaizhen! Who are you?"

Where did you steal this White Lotus Technique from? The example of the three assassins from Guishan Bookstore being wiped out is right before our eyes. Aren't you afraid of being executed as well?

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly remembered the royal family of Prince Yi, whose entire family had been killed but whose nine generations had not been exterminated, and his face became even more gloomy.

At this moment, he was still able to maintain a calm demeanor, without his anger reaching its peak. This was merely the instinct of an emperor who had reigned for forty years, though in reality, he was furious to the extreme.

These rebels repeatedly offended his dignity and challenged his bottom line, as if everyone regarded him as a piece of fat meat called "the king of a fallen kingdom," and everyone wanted to take a bite.

In particular, this person is clearly more meticulous in his work than the hasty Guishan Bookstore, and must have been planning this for many years.

Han Zaizhen's spirit and body have always been in harmony since childhood, and even he, the ruler of the state, could not see the slightest flaw. There is only one possibility—reincarnation!
Some highly skilled individuals, when their concubine Lu Jingfei was conceived, used some incredible method to reincarnate her into the womb, achieving a state of perfect unity between spirit and body.

The thought that all the good qualities he had admired about the other person over the years were just an act was unbearable.

He had been plotting against him for 24 years since childhood, and only today did he reveal his true colors, which made him unable to suppress his murderous intent.

He didn't want to say anything more, and a glint of deep, authoritative golden light flashed in his eyes:

"Seize this scoundrel for me and interrogate him thoroughly!"

This place is ultimately his training ground. No matter how many people secretly want to kill him, his strength on the surface is overwhelmingly the best in the world.

Emperor Shaozhi didn't know why the other party had gone mad and wanted to cause trouble in front of everyone, which gave him the opportunity to call for reinforcements on the spot.

Even if the assassination were carried out suddenly tomorrow, the success rate would still be much higher than it is now.

"Escort!"

Lu Yunchen, the captain of the escort ship [Nine-Bend Turbid River], Liu Tao, the first-rank military commander who was in charge of the Beijing Garrison, and Zhang Ao, the second-rank Minister of War who was in charge of the Beijing Garrison, had just taken a step forward.

It was immediately blocked by another talismanic object.

In addition to the white hat, King Jing, who strode in, also put on an old, tattered cassock.

This time, they immediately experienced the effects of the second talisman:

"Imperial family affairs are none of your business!"

Both were created by Emperor Chengzu of this dynasty and Yao Guangxiao.

The fourth son's faction started with 800 men to fight against the eldest son's faction, confronting the imperial army of 50.

If most people hadn't stood by and remained obediently behind closed doors, how could they have become stronger with each battle?

The eldest son's foolish son provided an even greater assist, issuing the foolish order, "Do not let me bear the name of killing my uncle."

Even their own generals were not putting in their best effort, and some were even secretly colluding with the enemy.

Conversely, Dao Yan, with his keen insight into the overall situation, advised Han Lao Si: "Do not attack the cities, but rush to the capital. The capital is weak and vulnerable, and it will surely fall."

They advocated abandoning the repeated battles with the main force of the Southern Army for cities along the way, concentrating all forces to bypass the enemy's heavy forces as quickly as possible, and heading straight for the poorly defended capital.

As a result, the main force of the imperial court was tied up outside, and the defenses of Nanjing were weak. With the enemy at the gates, the outcome was clear.

When King Jing donned Yao Guangxiao's cassock, the entire world seemed to separate.

It seemed that only he and Emperor Shaozhi were left in front of him; everyone else had become useless background figures who would not hinder him from doing anything.

King Jing took away half of the authority from the ruler of the state, and his own power was gradually strengthened to the limit.

The demonic form cultivated by the [Vajrapani] manifested from within his body, transforming into a gigantic three-faced Bodhisattva.

One has the appearance of an old man, with a green sun hanging behind his head; another has the appearance of a middle-aged man, with a red sun hanging behind his head; and a third has the appearance of a young man, with a white sun hanging behind his head, looking down at the ruler of the state.

When the ruler saw the white hat, he was only slightly surprised; when he saw the kasaya, he simply frowned.

Only when he saw this iconic demonic image of the White Lotus Sect, and realized which half of his authority had been taken from him, did his expression finally change:
"The 'Three Worlds Manifestation' that has been lost in the secret Taoist book 'Buddha's Discourse on the Supreme Result Precious Scroll' represents the supreme authority of the White Lotus Sect."

Who are you"

The emperor of the Han family was different from those of other families; he was both the emperor and the leader of a religious sect.

At this point, the combination of the white hat and the incarnation of the Three Worlds King had severed the divine power of the God of the State, and with the authority of faith, it had turned around and suppressed his secular authority.

The ministers around them also realized something at the same time.

They subconsciously glanced at a place in Minzhou that was taboo within the imperial clan, their expressions a mix of complex emotions and sudden realization.

Prince Jing, Han Zaizhen, who had already reached Emperor Shaozhi, suddenly spoke in a very aged voice:
“Father, no, Han Houcong.”

Now that you have seen the leader, why don't you bow down?
Today, the Great Zhao Dynasty should be set right and its roots restored. I, the eldest grandson of the founding emperor, will reclaim everything we have lost from your lesser lineage!

(End of this chapter)