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Chapter 435 Black Snow
The flower was broken in half, and the bare human body inside fell heavily to the ground.

The foul-smelling, yellowish-purple liquid splattered all over the ground. Before the body could even struggle, it was instantly grabbed by countless vines and devoured until not a trace remained.

That's it?
Zhou You was a little confused.

If we follow the usual script, this should at least be a mid-level boss, so how could it be defeated so easily?
Back then, at least the Hidden King managed to cause a few troubles!

However, that is the reality.

As the flowers withered, the dilapidated temple collapsed along with them, bricks and stones falling and smashing the vegetation, causing it to scream incessantly. Although the fungal carpet still covered the ground, it looked like it wouldn't last much longer.

Of course, the other two were also somewhat stunned.

Putting aside the fact that Hanlu was coming, Wei Wunian was prepared to risk his life, but it ended before it even got started.
Is it really that easy to get this money?
But soon, he discovered other problems.

—Snowflakes began to fall from the sky without my noticing.

"That's strange. It was a bright and sunny day just a moment ago, how come it's suddenly snowing?"

But after receiving a piece, he was suddenly stunned again.

"Why isn't this snow cold at all?"

Wei Wunian looked at the snowflake in his hand and murmured.

"Why is this snow black?"

Earlier, on Old Man Li's side.

—Looking at the giant's corpse before him, he scratched his head hard.

"All bark and no bite. That shouldn't be the case. The Yuan family isn't lacking in capable men. How could their morale be shaken by something like this?"

The woman next to her put down her zither, looked around, and added a comment.

"Moreover, the numbers are wrong. Those immortal Qing soldiers should not be so few—even if most of them were sent to intercept Junior Nephew Zhou, it would still be wrong."

Hearing this, Old Man Li pulled his hair harder and harder, and finally couldn't help but ask.

"What exactly does that Empress Dowager on the dragon throne want to do?"

Hua Niangzi shook her head.

"I don't know, but Governor Yuan's side has been resolved, and Junior Nephew Zhou's side should be resolved soon. When Beijing becomes visible, the army will enter it without any further incidents."

Old Li thought it made sense, so he stopped damaging his hair and decided to find a place to rest first.

However, before he could even sit down, he heard someone shout from the side.

"It's snowing!"

What's the fuss about? Although it's not the right season, given the weather, isn't it quite normal for it to snow?

Old Li slowly raised his head, intending to regain his usual authority and give a reprimand, but he immediately realized something was wrong.

The man looked stunned, as if he had witnessed something incredibly terrifying.
Old Man Li also looked up.

Above, snowflakes fell like goose feathers, however...
All the colors were jet black, like ink.

In a daze, it didn't feel like snow, but rather a continuous, swirling cloud of coal ash!

Old Li just stared at the snow, and for some reason, a record from a remote corner of the Nine Schools of Thought suddenly came to mind.

It wasn't the desperate gamble of the last emperor of Northern Qi, but something deeper, more terrifying, something he dared not even think about.

He just stood there with his mouth wide open, shouting in terror.

"No way, that old lady actually—"

Meanwhile, in Yuan Chengwen's territory.

Having just praised Xiao Dushui's bravery, he remarked that as expected of a member of the Shangqing Sect, he had effortlessly dealt with the evil spirits blocking their path. Ignoring Xiao Dushui's bewildered expression, he then proceeded to reorganize his troops with renewed vigor.

He had a rough idea of ​​how to deal with the old lady.

If she were willing to abdicate peacefully, he would reciprocate by ensuring she could live a peaceful and quiet life abroad—after all, the old lady didn't have many years left to live, and he wasn't worried about her plotting against him.

If she can't count, she can just hand it over to Li Zhangfan as a favor. It seems like she has many enemies among all sorts of people, so she won't dirty her hands or gain any bad reputation.

As for the revolutionaries...
Yuan Chengwen shook his head and laughed.

Ha, it's just a stepping stone.

Who am I, Yuan? I am destined to be emperor. The aura of the Son of Heaven resides within me, and I will surely overthrow the Qing Dynasty.
But before he could finish processing the sentence in his mind, he suddenly heard a commotion from his subordinates not far away.

—Are the Qing troops attacking again?
Through magical communication, Yuan Chengwen also learned that the main force had headed towards Zhou You's side, but he couldn't rule out the possibility of small reinforcements or that they had already turned back—so he rubbed his cheeks vigorously, preparing to direct the counterattack—

but.

In the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, Yuan Chengwen saw a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Black snowflakes fluttered down from the sky, carried by the wind, and in the blink of an eye, the whole world was dyed the same color.

Then, before he could understand what the scenery represented, another unexpected change suddenly occurred.

His own men, the soldiers who came into contact with the snowflakes, suddenly developed patches of pustules on their bodies, which quickly spread to other parts of their bodies and merged into one in the blink of an eye.

Then, the sores grew larger and larger, even exceeding the size of the body itself. Amidst sharp, inhuman screams, the people were forcibly 'expanded' to a height of three or four meters.

then.

—Exploded with a bang!

Amidst the flying chunks of flesh, robust branches and leaves stretched outwards, facing the boundless black snow, as if the plants were welcoming the rising sun, unfolding their bodies and revealing the face of despair etched within them.

what happened?
What is going on?

I was so close to victory, how could this happen?
Even with Yuan Chengwen's composure, he was so shocked by the scene that he was speechless. But soon, a magic sword shot into the sky. Although it did not cut through the thick dark clouds, it did create a patch of blue light, protecting everyone from the snowflakes.

Then, Xiao Dushui's panicked shouts rang out.

"Governor Yuan!"

"Yuan Chengwen!"

"Yuan Da Nao!"

"Li Qian!!!"

Upon hearing his familiar pseudonym, Yuan Chengwen finally snapped out of his daze. He looked around, but quickly gritted his teeth and called out to his attendants.

"Withdraw the troops! The entire army must retreat. Stay within the area covered by Master Xiao and absolutely avoid contact with the snow!"

In that voice, all that remained was resentment and terror.
-
On Zhou You's side, Wei Wunian also noticed something unusual.

Numerous water bubbles formed from the point of contact with the snowflakes and spread rapidly to the rest of the body.

"What the hell is this?!"

His cultivation was indeed quite good; the sword energy then seeped into his body, accompanied by a teeth-grinding slicing sound, and he actually managed to smooth out all the blisters.

"Spells. Traps. No, none of those. It's purely a natural phenomenon."

She panicked at the sight of the cold dew, but she made a quick decision and sprinkled out a secret fragrance from the brothel to protect everyone.

As for Zhou You
He didn't actually pay any attention to it. He just looked up at the snow, then reached out and, imitating Wei Wunian's earlier gesture, caught a snowflake.

"Mr. Zhou, watch out, that thing—"

Of course, he didn't listen either.

The moment he touched the snowflake, he seemed to connect with something else in the darkness, his perspective rising from the ground and then suddenly widening.

It's not just here; it's snowing in many places.

From the forests of the frontier to the snow-covered villages of Jiangnan, from the boundless grasslands to the warm and hot islands.

Even in places where it never snows, at this moment, thick dark clouds shrouded the land, and a vast expanse of snow began to fall!

Beneath these black snowflakes, countless people, whether male or female, old or young, poor or rich, all underwent the same transformation, becoming twisted and ultimately turning into a bizarre and terrifying plant.

Black snow fell, silencing all sound. When the snowflakes drifted by, there was no trace of anyone left, only countless branches and leaves unfurling and countless ugly flowers blooming.

Faintly, a murmured sound could be heard.

At first, it was just a muffled solo, but as more and more vegetation appeared, the sound gradually gathered and eventually floated into the air, merging into a unified chant.

It seems to be a Buddhist scripture, or it seems to be a folk song—but the medium is no longer important.

All the plants are singing, singing of the joy of new life, singing of the end of eternity!
This is true throughout the entire country, from north to south.

Just a few seconds later, Zhou You understood.

This is the snow of destruction, enough to wipe everything away and turn the entire Han land into a sinister garden!

But how is it activated?
But he quickly realized it.

From an overhead perspective, this region has three nodes, and a city has formed a circle. Using the last dragon vein of the Qing Dynasty as a foundation, it continuously leverages the laws of the entire Han land.

The city is the long-lost Beijing, and the three nodes are Changshui Temple, Nanjiazhuang, and Zhengqiandao.

It's the same as the will that Mr. Cheng mentioned before.

This is a trap.

But it wasn't aimed at himself—it was aimed at the entire Han region!
Suddenly, the other party seemed to have noticed its anomaly as well. It glanced at this place and then rejected it without hesitation.

Zhou You suddenly snapped to attention and regained his senses—at this moment, he could still hear Wei Wunian's anxious calls.

"Mr. Zhou, wake up! If something happens to you, we're all doomed!"

Zhou You didn't say anything, but pressed his face and suddenly began to breathe heavily.

Although it was only a few seconds, it felt as if he had gone through the cycle of death and rebirth.

He even said he could still feel the flesh and blood peeling away from his body, and the internal organs and bones turning into fibers.

Is this what the Empress Dowager was after?

No, judging from what Horn said, she clearly wanted to save the entire Qing Dynasty, so why did she have to resort to this method of mutual destruction?
Unfortunately.

Given the current situation, there's no time left for him to think things through.

As the black snow fell, the Qing army and the revolutionary army together transformed into bizarre vegetation.

But
The evil spirits that had never appeared before suddenly became active.

Down the mountain, the deformed and ugly things had transformed into waves, and the black snow was still falling all over the sky, but it seemed to have no effect on them at all.

"Mr. Zhou, what should we do now?"

After a while, Zhou You finally recovered. He declined Han Lu's offer of help and then struggled to sit up.

"We're clearly trapped now. Let's not stay here any longer. Before the chaos completely closes in, let's break through and find a way back to our camp."

"What should we do after that?"

"What else?"

Zhou You gritted his teeth, recalling the terrifying scene he had just witnessed, and replied in a voice that sounded as if he were forcing it out from his nose.

—In that brief moment, he also saw Beijing emerging from the void and reappearing in the world.

"It's very clear now that there's only one thing left to do."

"That means finding a way to storm into Beijing and kill that damned Empress Dowager!"

And it was right there in the Forbidden City.

On the dragon chair.

The person behind the curtain stretched out a withered arm, also catching the black snow, without showing much joy or sorrow.

After a long while, a soft sigh was heard.

Unlike before, this was not the voice of a man, a child, or an old woman. It was even difficult to tell whether it was male or female. All that could be felt was pure indifference and apathy.

"The last army loyal to the dynasty numbered 7,342, the total population of Beijing was 760,000, including 380,000 Manchus, 8,092 foreign allied troops, 2,017 officials of the dynasty in Beijing, and 103 palace servants. With all these lives as sacrifices, plus the dynasty's dragon vein as a guide, His arrival was finally brought. But was it worth it?"

No one replied for a long time.

But the questioner waited quietly, for time had lost its meaning for them.

After an unknown amount of time, the one on the dragon throne finally answered.

This time it was Empress Dowager Cixi's voice.

"What's not worth it? These are all subjects of our Great Qing Dynasty. I can use them however I want. Besides, it's their honor to sacrifice for the dynasty."

So the questioner stopped asking and asked another question.

"So, are you confident?"

"What do you mean?"

"That chosen one."

Empress Dowager Cixi stopped speaking.

After a while, it was replaced by that mature male voice.

"It's just Shi Dakai coming again. I can kill them once, and I can certainly kill them a second time. Once he's dead, we'll truly achieve success."

"But this time he is different from Shi Dakai."

The child's voice answered.

“I know, but this time he also lacks the Zhenxie Division as an inside agent. Even if there are a thousand men outside, they can't get in, so it's useless. I can kill him calmly.”

Finally, all the sounds ceased, all because of that ambiguous voice.

"We will eventually rule."

"Even if it's ruling over a hell devoid of any living beings."

"And it will rule forever..."

(End of this chapter)