A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 254 The Emperor's Strength

Wow!

Eight strange horses emitted a loud breath, pulling a chariot that was both solemn and majestic, with an air of immortality, as it flew through the air.

The strange horse pulling the cart was twice the size of a normal horse, its muscles were bulging and knotted, as if cast in iron, and its body was covered with thick scales, each the size of a palm, jet black and shiny. On its head, it had almost grown forked horns like a dragon.

As it sped through the air, its jet-black mane and tail, as black as silk, billowed high in the wind. The airflow also stirred the bright yellow gauze curtains hanging around the frame, briefly revealing the incantations and seal characters on the wheels of the frame.

This is the Tiannan Siming Carriage, a royal treasure crafted by Chen Xizhen using the inventory of Longhu Mountain after he returned from Longhu Mountain.

The most wondrous aspect of this chariot magic weapon is its ability to communicate with the mysterious energy between heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers, to sense the flow of water and earth veins, and to correspond with the names and titles of people's hearts.

Simply put, as long as the Emperor of Destiny sits on this carriage, tells him the name of the place he wants to go to, and thinks about the person he wants to find, the Heavenly Destiny Carriage will take him to the corresponding location, more accurately and skillfully than any map or coachman in the world.

So even if Emperor Tianming had never been to the Song-Liao border and didn't know where Han Shizhong was, as long as he sat in this carriage, kept this thought in mind, and waited quietly, that was enough.

When the emperor went on an inspection tour, he would normally be accompanied by at least several hundred guards, ceremonial attendants, palace servants, and close ministers, as well as various jeweled canopies, porcelain, silks, satins, gold and pearl fans, incense, and medicinal herbs. It would be unreasonable not to fill several carts with them.

But this time was different; the emperor only brought Zhu Yongqing with him as a guard.

The horses galloped on, their hooves clattering in the air. Zhu Yongqing, holding a halberd, stood before the carriage shaft, his eyes gleaming with a discreet light as he scanned the surroundings to prevent any bandits or strange beasts from disturbing the imperial procession.

The dilapidated villages and towns below were swept past in a flash. Eight dragon horses rose high, pulling the carriage, and crossed the steep mountain ridge that stretched for more than ten miles ahead.

When the vehicle reached the highest point on the mountain, the wheels were only three feet above the top of a lush green tree.

Zhu Yongqing saw a white-robed Taoist priest walking slowly towards Bianliang from among the trees below.

The Taoist priest seemed to sense something, looked up at the imperial carriage, and showed a surprised expression.

In a fleeting glimpse, Zhu Yongqing didn't even get a clear look at the man's features. Yet, for some reason, even after the carriage had flown hundreds of feet away, the image of the white-robed Taoist's eyes lingered in Zhu Yongqing's hazy memory.

After the carriage had traveled nearly ten miles, Zhu Yongqing, as if possessed, peeked out from the side and glanced back.

There was no one behind him. When he looked down, he was suddenly startled to see that the white-robed Taoist priest had reappeared under the carriage, looking up and staring at something.

"Who are you, you wild Taoist priest, daring to spy on me so disrespectfully!"

Zhu Yongqing defiantly swept a gust of wind downwards. The force was not concentrated, but it covered an extremely wide area. A region about fifty feet in size below was covered by his gust of wind.

Many tree crowns were bent crooked under the weight, and some trees that were not even as thick as a person's leg were directly broken off, with the upper half of the tree trunk rolling wildly on the ground as a warning, so that the other party would back down.

If even a guard standing outside the car door has such methods, then the person inside the car must be of even higher status.

Unexpectedly, his actions only confirmed something for the white-robed Taoist, who looked up and laughed, "Is that the emperor in the carriage? I was just looking for him. I didn't expect him to dare leave Bianliang alone."

"How dare a thief..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the identity of the traitor was obvious. Zhu Yongqing's expression changed, but before he could make a further move, the white-robed Taoist raised a hand.

With that gesture, the surrounding mountains and fields seemed to change color abruptly; the green hills and fallen leaves, the gray rocks and brown trees, all became indistinct and unclear.

A tremendous sense of distortion instantly emanated from the Taoist priest, causing the air, dust, light, and scenery to twist into a spiraling, expanding array of vibrant colors that surged from the ground into the sky.

The eight dragon horses, which had been advancing, were suddenly dragged backward and fell. They were shocked and angry and let out a long cry. The horse neighing turned into a dragon roar, and golden light was visible on their scales. However, they still could not resist the trend of the carriage and horses falling down.

Vibrant colors will soon envelop this place, and concentrated gravity will permeate every corner from the inside out, compressing and destroying the horses, carriages, and people as they fall.

Zhu Yongqing was highly skilled in martial arts, exceptionally talented, and exceptionally handsome, earning him the nickname "Jade Mountain Gentleman." This is why the emperor took special care of him and recruited him to his side.

At such a young age, he has already made his way into the realm of the Precious Bone God and Demon in the demonic path, which is truly extraordinary and worthy of the emperor's favor.

However, today, under the white-robed Taoist's attack, he could barely lift the crescent-shaped Azure Dragon Halberd in his hand, and his joints were cracking. He couldn't even throw the halberd in the direction the Taoist had previously indicated.

His handsome face was flushed red and purple, covered with veins and blood vessels that looked like earthworms.

The white-robed Taoist priest hadn't misspoke when he said the emperor came alone; rather, Zhu Yongqing was completely unimportant to him, as if he didn't exist.

Suddenly, the Tiannan Siming Chariot trembled violently, and all the bright yellow gauze curtains around it were blown upwards. Thick, oily black smoke billowed out from between the doors and windows of the chariot.

Thick black smoke billowed, instantly engulfing the entire carriage frame and eight horses, yet it continued to expand outwards, contrasting with the vibrant, swirling colors outside.

The scenery across the entire hillside appears to shrink, with jungles, grasslands, rocks, and pines all tending to pull and converge toward the area where the two sides are clashing.

The next moment, a huge shockwave exploded, sweeping the ground three feet deep, uprooting trees, and completely changing the landscape.

The eight horses, along with the carriage frame, were thrown far away, bounced a few times on the ground, and landed heavily, tumbling and rolling, with the ropes binding them tightly tangled together.

The horses neighed mournfully, and Zhu Yongqing, barely managing to stand up from behind the overturned carriage, shakily coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The carriage was now empty. The figure of the Heavenly Emperor slowly descended about ten feet in front of Zhu Yongqing.

"A Taoist priest in white robes, looking like a young man in his twenties—is that Guan Luoyang?"

The Emperor of Heavenly Mandate spoke slowly, his eyes gradually brightening with a terrifying intensity, "The number one traitor is indeed audacious and fearless, actually attempting to assassinate me personally?!"

"There are some questions that have been bothering me for a long time, and I must come and ask you about them in person."

Guan Luoyang emerged from the dust and smoke, his white robes fluttering lightly, untouched by the dirt. "At the beginning of your reign, you were quite diligent in governing, selecting talented officials for both civil and military posts. Even if you did nothing afterward, you would still leave a good name for yourself. Besides, you are still young. Whether you want to cultivate or ascend to immortality, you have plenty of time. Why go against the tide, condone treacherous officials, and incur the resentment of the people?"

"resentment?"

The Emperor, seemingly unconcerned, retorted, "How can traitors understand the heart of an emperor? You can't discuss ice with a summer insect. In truth, what right do you have to resent me?"

"You, you virtuous, foolish, greedy, loyal, commoner rebels, civil officials and military generals, will never understand that if it were not for me, this land would have long since fallen, the people would be suffering, and all living beings would be crying out and being abused under the iron hooves of barbarians."

"It was I who single-handedly upheld the heavens, saved the people from the raging tide, and turned the tide from the brink of collapse. Your lives were all bestowed upon you by me. You dare to complain even after suffering for me for several years?"

His eyes held emptiness and a hint of arrogance. Even though Guan Luoyang had just displayed such strength, in his eyes, he was no different from the imperial guards or ordinary bandits.

But upon hearing Guan Luoyang's response, upon hearing the very first sentence, his expression suddenly changed.

Guan Luoyang scoffed and said, "Are you referring to the Jin Kingdom? So you do know that those who committed those acts deserve to be called beasts? But why don't you consider that you yourself are even worse than a beast? And what's with this talk of getting to the bottom of things? If the Central Plains truly falls, are the Zhao family members sitting on the throne entirely innocent?"

"You know about the Jin Dynasty?!"

The Emperor was deeply moved. The ground around him suddenly cracked, and the aura emanating from him melted some of the soil and rocks around him into magma, which slowly flowed through the cracks. "You also experienced the end of the Xuanhe era and the Jingkang era?!"

The Emperor of Heaven's Mandate had never heard of the name Guan Luoyang in his previous life, but his experiences in this life were very different from those in his previous life. Now there were some people in his court whom he had no recollection of in his previous life, so he had no doubts about the origins of this number one rebel.

But now, his composure was completely shattered, and every pore on his body stood on end.

A feeling that he couldn't quite describe as either thrilled or excited erupted from the depths of his heart, like a dormant volcano suddenly bursting open with earth-shattering force.

"You! You..."

The Emperor of Destiny was overwhelmed with emotion, a thousand words swirling within him, yet he felt as if he wanted to devour something to calm himself. Time was actually very short, but he felt as if he had been standing there for an eternity. As he raised his hand, his entire back trembled with excitement. "What exactly are you...?"

Seeing his behavior, Guan Luoyang confirmed his guess: this person was undoubtedly a reincarnated individual from the native world.

The task standards have been met, and now it's up to Guan Luoyang to do what he wants to do.

"You're curious about my origins? You can think about it when you're dead."

Guan Luoyang's figure flashed, and his palm broke through the sound barrier layer by layer, blasting towards the Heavenly Emperor.

The power of his palm strike did not leak out in the slightest; all the energy he used was solely for accelerating and strengthening the bones, muscles, and skin of his hand.

However, at such extremely high speeds, the air, which was originally so weak that it was almost imperceptible, becomes like solidified gray slurry, thick and rough. Even a slight gust of air it generates can pierce through trees and shatter human bones.

The air directly in front of his palm was compressed to the point of being almost solid, forming a turbulent white palm print several times larger than Guan Luoyang's hand.

The Emperor of Destiny blocked with his arm, and the large palm print shattered his sleeve, but it couldn't budge his arm at all.

Under the pressure of his arm and Guan Luoyang's palm, the air, compressed to almost solidified, shattered into irregular, blurry semi-crystals and was ejected.

Upon impact with the ground, the fragments rapidly expand, reverting to a gaseous state and blasting out craters of varying sizes. Even a fragment the size of a fingernail can create a crater the size of a buffalo.

The Emperor of Destiny was blasted backward at breakneck speed, but a chilling laugh escaped from between his clenched teeth.

"Heh, heh heh heh, good! I've changed my mind, I'm going to capture you alive!"

The emperor's voice turned into a loud shout, and cracks in the ground stretched out in all directions, with magma-like light shining through them.

In an instant, the earth shook and mountains trembled. A huge golden pillar of light rose from the ground, carrying with it thick black smoke, and shot straight into the sky.

Even in broad daylight, people in the surrounding mountains for more than ten miles could see the dazzling color of this beam of light.

Such a beam of light, falling sixty miles away, appeared to the city guards of Bianliang as nothing more than a thin line of golden light, no thicker than a little finger. Even so, it still made them pale with fear.

Golden light shot into the depths of the clouds, rising higher and higher, until it was refracted and scattered by the clouds and mist, becoming thinner and thinner.

However, the powerful sensory force formed by the convergence of the thoughts of all people through the Imperial Dynasty's Qi Luck Method relentlessly penetrates to even higher levels.

At this extremely high altitude, the air became strangely calm, and a figure floated in it, letting the air flow gently, while he remained still, rising upwards at a speed visible to the naked eye, almost on the order of years.

This man had a jade axe at his waist, a long staff on his back, and wore light armor. His eyes were closed, and he had a white face and black beard, except for his forehead, which shone with gold, as if it had been coated with gold paint.

Looking around, he saw some people who were higher up and dressed in more ancient clothes.

The golden light from below illuminated several figures, but the demonic energy contained within the golden light only entered the body of the person with the broad, golden forehead.

The body, which had been slowly rising, paused for a moment, and then, under the continuous illumination of the golden light, began to fall!

On the distant ground, the Emperor of Destiny unleashed his full power. The demonic energy mixed with the imperial fortune condensed into a dark golden bracer and arm armor on his left hand, which had no sleeve. The armor plates, as fine as fish scales, extended into the broken cuff. One could imagine the imposing armor beneath his loose robe.

Despite the abundance of resources and the nurturing effect of elixirs refined by hundreds of Daoist officials, the Heavenly Emperor's demonic cultivation only reached the sixth level of the Precious Bone Divine Demon realm.

Guan Luoyang had questioned many captured officers and had long since figured out this point.

But there was another unexpected aspect.

This emperor's mastery of the imperial dynasty's fortune-telling techniques surpassed that of the demonic path, having reached a level equivalent to the eighth level of the demonic path.

The world is in chaos, and officials in all regions do not know how to use the secrets of the dark side of fortune, and all are showing signs of decline.

Even Guan Luoyang hadn't expected that this dog emperor was so different from his officials, and that he could use such a powerful imperial fortune.

But things have come to this point, there is no reason to back down or hesitate; we must fight it out first.

Guan Luoyang raised his left hand, and the large rocks and broken trees on the edge of the area floated up. He stomped his foot, and his figure flashed through the air, arriving in a flash. His right hand formed a claw, gathering five fingers of sword energy, and went straight for the emperor's throat.

The Emperor of Destiny was thrown off the ground by the force of gravity, causing his feet to leave the ground and float into the air. A tiny flaw appeared in his aura, but he did not think to defend himself and instead formed a sword with his fingers.

He deliberately paused for a negligible amount of time, waiting until Guan Luoyang's palm had already broken through the golden pillar of light's protection, forcing him into a desperate situation, before unleashing this finger sword with the force of a piercing sun, ready to break through any predicament.

As their palms and swords clashed, neither side yielded, their vast and profound sword intent and the sword energy that could cut through the sunlight clashing together relentlessly.

Guan Luoyang's momentum was unstoppable, so much so that the emperor's two fingers bent into a dangerous arc, forcing him to retreat mid-air.

However, Guan Luoyang felt a sharp pain in his own palm as a needle-like sword aura pierced through his hand, struck his shoulder, and then dissipated.

The secret treasure buried in Tianchi Lake of Changbai Mountain was left by a demonic general who ascended to immortality during the Warring States period. He served three generations of rulers of the State of Qi and his military strategies were unparalleled in the world. His name was Kuang Zhang.

During the Warring States period, he was the only general to break through the Qin Pass. He fought several famous battles throughout his life, each of which stirred up the world's fortunes and changed the rise and fall of various states.

In the Battle of Sangqiu, Kuang Zhang's tactics were ingenious and unpredictable, forcing King Huiwen of Qin to declare himself a vassal of the west. For the next twenty years, the states of Qi and Qin did not engage in battle again.

In the sixth year of King Xuan of Qi, Kuang Zhang took advantage of the internal strife and disunity in Yan to lead an army of 100,000 from Bohai. In just thirty days, he captured the capital of Yan, a feat known as the War of Annihilation of Yan.

Then came the Battle of Chuisha, where Kuang Zhang, utilizing the terrain and strategy, marched south and decisively defeated the elite Chu army, killing the Chu chancellor Tang Mei. After the Battle of Chuisha, the allied forces, taking advantage of their victory, conquered large swathes of land north of Chuiqiu, Wan, and Ye.

In the fifth year of King Min of Qi, Kuang Zhang led the armies of Qi, Wei, Han, Zhao and Song to break through Hangu Pass. King Zhaoxiang of Qin then returned the land north of Han and Wusui, and the land outside Wei and Fengling to seek peace.

In the pre-Qin era, a time when there was no shortage of people but no shortage of mines, he foresaw the future depletion of all the discovered mineral veins and the decline of the demonic path. Thus, he painstakingly created a secret method for accurately exploring underground mineral veins.

Unfortunately, due to frequent diplomatic conflicts during the pre-Qin period, the people of Qi were unable to properly preserve this secret technique after his ascension. By the time of the Qin and Han dynasties, the demonic path had declined.

It wasn't until a thousand years later that the secret methods of mineral veins and demonic arts buried beneath Tianchi Lake were brought to light again.

The secret method for accurately exploring mineral veins had long been disseminated by the Heavenly Emperor, but the "Eternal Calamity Treasure Book" that Kuang Zhang relied on to ascend to immortality was only fully revealed to the Emperor, who kept it a secret and practiced it diligently day and night until now.

There were no righteous wars in the Spring and Autumn Period, no peaceful days in the Warring States Period, endless calamities, the Warring States Period was a time of seven calamities.

The technique the Heavenly Emperor is currently employing is the first killing technique recorded in the manual.

Swallow, with determination!

He was determined to assassinate the king and the prime minister, with no turning back. His killing intent pierced the sun like a white rainbow, surpassing even the sunlight.

An emperor actually used such swordsmanship, not because of his own will, but because of the artistic conception described in the "Eternal Calamity Manual," and a bit of killing intent extracted from the minds of the people.

Sword energy pierced through the palm. Taking advantage of Guan Luoyang's momentary hesitation, the Emperor of Destiny unleashed his power. A thick layer of qi enveloped his feet, which slammed into the ground, causing his body to press forward. His arm swung, transforming his fingers into a fist.

Wei, be brave with force!

The Wei infantry were unparalleled in bravery and combat. With their large shields and heavy hammers, a single blow could shatter iron armor like paper, decapitate men like melons, break chariots like rotten wood, and destroy doors, houses, and armies without defeat.

Guan Luoyang alternated between his palms, his injured hand quickly healing, while his other hand unleashed a powerful strike, a head-on collision, heavy against heavy.

The true meaning of the hexagram "Earth over Heaven" is endless and cannot be fully savored. With his current Heavenly Demon Art power, he can unleash the power of gravity from all directions, converging it in his palm. When he strikes out with this palm, it is as if the earth is turning upside down and suppressing everything.

Boom! ...

The two clashed, each being thrown back a great distance, but the ground suffered the consequences.

Because the force used was so heavy and powerful, the frequency of the shockwaves emitted was extremely low.

After spreading far away, the trees and rocks, which appeared intact on the surface, had actually turned into powder and were scattered by the following gust of air.

A low peak not far away was swept across by the low-frequency shockwave, and an ominous muffled sound came from within the mountain.

Cracks appeared beneath the soil. From the outside, it looked like only one side of the mountain had suddenly experienced soil slippage, followed by a mudslide where trees fell, rocks rolled, and mud and sand cascaded down, causing half of the mountainside to collapse.

The power of nature is undeniable. Wherever the mudslide passes, everything on the ground is swept up and becomes part of that bloated mass, spreading outwards in all directions.

However, the two people fighting ahead of the rolling mud and rocks clearly had no intention of avoiding the mud.

When they clashed again, the continuous roar of their collisions echoed outwards. The arrogant and unrestrained mudslide could only suffer a crushing blow, its air currents causing it to pile up in arc-shaped counter-waves, pause, split, and drift to both sides.

The ground undulated, and the things in the sky fell faster and faster. Their bodies were covered with a layer of flames generated by high-temperature friction, and they lay dormant, throwing themselves into the magnificent mountains.

"Qin—will fight to the death!"

(End of this chapter)