Free Web NovelDeep within Yumen Pass, beneath the Lords Manor, in the vast underground cavern where the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate's operational hub is located.
Hong Bian, dressed in a moon-white robe embroidered with gold-threaded miracle flowers, sat cross-legged on the ground, his expression solemn.
In front of him, the Divine Kingdom's operational hub, shaped like a giant heart, floated in mid-air, emitting a dazzling, magma-like glow. Faintly visible within it were surging dragon patterns, which were the power of the yuan dragon frame, the core structure of the God Kingdom.
His four disciples—the Divine Thief Ma Sai, Bandit Leader Guersuwan, Wolf Child Silush, and Man-eating Monk Zhang Xuan—waited quietly.
A long time «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» passed.
Hong Bian turned around and smiled at the four, saying, “Once Prince leads the Shaman King to Yumen Pass, I will activate the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, causing it to vanish into the Yumen Sand Sea. At that time, everything within Yumen Pass will be sealed inside...”
“To successfully suppress and seal the Shaman King, the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate requires even greater power...”
“Furthermore, when the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate was built, it was intended to resist external enemies and suppress evil, and it was not considered that one day tens of thousands of living people would be sealed within it. This was my oversight, and it must be remedied by me.”
After listening to Hong Bian's words, his four disciples' hearts trembled, and their brows furrowed.
Their strength was considerable. Except for Silush, the other three had followed Hong Bian for many years and accumulated profound knowledge.
Hong Bian's words made them guess that the so-called “greater power” and “remedy” meant integrating his God Kingdom Prototype, built on his own authority, and even his very existence, into the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate.
The success rate of merging two God Kingdoms is usually very low, even if one of them is not a complete God Kingdom. However, with the blessing of a miracle, it will definitely succeed!
This action is imperative!
Regardless of the high risk of failure if the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate were to suppress the Shaman King with its current power, he had to do this simply considering the lives of tens of thousands of living beings within Yumen Pass.
Since the rise of the Shaman King, members of various tribes roaming the vast Gobi Desert around Yumen Pass have frequently plundered merchant caravans and travelers, employing methods more vicious and cruel than those of horse bandits and robbers, and demonstrating higher organization and discipline.
Even if the Nanling Commander and Hong Bian successfully utilized the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate to suppress the Shaman King, it would most likely result in a mutually destructive outcome.
Without the Shaman King's command and the protection of the Longxiang Army Armored Soldiers, if the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate were not sealed, most Yumen Pass residents, whether they stayed or fled, would face a dead end.
This had already been proven by facts; long before Dragon Xiang recaptured Gua and Sha prefectures, those Huihe Tribes had already committed cruel atrocities such as “killing and arson, using spears to impale infants for amusement, leaving five thousand li of land desolate.”
The Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, constructed on a foundation of slaughter and suppression, could only sustain internal vitality after being sealed by integrating the rich fragrance of the miracle flower and the vibrant God Kingdom Prototype within Chawan Temple, preventing tens of thousands of living beings within Yumen Pass from being trapped and dying within the God Kingdom.
Under the protection of the fragrance of the miracle flower and that God Kingdom Prototype, in a few months, when the Great Tang reinforcements arrive, or in a few years, when the leaderless Huihe and Tubo tribes either weaken or retreat, the crisis can be resolved, and the God Kingdom can be reopened. freewebnøvel.coɱ
For the Nanling Commander and Hong Bian, this was something they could accomplish while dealing with the Shaman King.
Earlier, when Hong Bian retrieved the God Kingdom he had placed in Chawan Temple and rushed to the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate's operational hub, the four had vaguely guessed his intentions, but hearing Hong Bian personally deliver the news of his impending death still filled their hearts with sorrow and grief.
From a certain perspective, what Hong Bian was about to do was a sacrifice!
He would sacrifice everything he possessed to the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, granting it greater power to suppress the Shaman King and providing a chance for survival to the beings temporarily sealed within the God Kingdom, completely cut off from the outside world.
Seeing the four remain silent, Hong Bian shook his head and said, “You needn’t be sad, because this is my best destination; this is something to be happy about... What’s more, I am not truly dead, but rather integrated into every inch of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate’s land, merely living in a different way.”
The Child of miracles, who awoke from the illusion, chose to return to the illusion and sleep forever to avoid being devoured by his destructive offspring and becoming an accomplice in spreading war across the land. In Hong Bian's view, this was already the best possible outcome for him.
After a pause, Hong Bian looked at Man-eating Monk Zhang Xuan and said, “Zhang Xuan, you have followed me the longest. After the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate vanishes into the yellow sand, are you willing to continue accompanying me?”
Upon hearing Hong Bian's words, the giant man, whose physique was far taller and sturdier than an ordinary person's, like an iron tower, was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses. He realized that Hong Bian wanted him to guard outside the Lords Manor to prevent petty individuals from sneaking into the God Kingdom's operational center to cause damage.
“Your disciple is willing!” Without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan replied.
“Very good!” Hong Bian nodded, shifting his gaze to Wolf Child Silush. “Silush, although Prince has already dispatched several people to seek aid from the saint, I am still a little uneasy. You are fast on your feet, so will you depart with the letters I gave you earlier?”
“After delivering those letters requesting aid... Heh, haven’t you been missing your wolf pack companions all these years? Once the matter is done, go back and find them! But remember, do not harm anyone again.”
Silush seemed to be sulking with Hong Bian, turning his face away and mumbling in response, “Okay.”
Hong Bian smiled and shook his head, shifting his gaze from Silush to Bandit Leader Guersuwan and Divine Thief Ma Sai. “Since I have decided to integrate into the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, this body of mine no longer has any meaning, but to prevent it from falling into the Shaman King's hands, it must be taken out of Yumen Pass...”
“Guersuwan, Ma Sai, before you became my disciples, you had extensive experience traveling far and wide. So, you two will take my remains and travel in two separate routes, one heading north and one heading south, and try to hide and seal them away, how about that?”
Guersuwan and Ma Sai gazed at Hong Bian with complex expressions for a moment, then exchanged glances. They then stepped forward simultaneously, cupping their fists and saying, “We will not fail our master's command!”
Upon hearing this, Hong Bian looked at his four disciples with deep satisfaction, smiling and nodding, then waved his hand and said, “Good, very good. To have such disciples, I am greatly pleased. I truly wish to stay with you longer, but Prince will soon return to Yumen Pass with the Shaman King, so it's time to prepare...”
“Silush, Zhang Xuan, you two may go!”
“Guersuwan, Ma Sai, you two stay here for now; you will leave later with my remains.”
After speaking, Hong Bian turned around to face the giant heart constructed from the yuan dragon frame and closed his eyes.
Behind him, the four silently performed the kowtow ritual towards his back. Then, Wolf Child Silush and Man-eating Monk Zhang Xuan hurriedly left the underground cavern, leaving only Bandit Leader Guersuwan and Divine Thief Ma Sai standing in place, gazing at Hong Bian's back, their eyes deepening.
A moment later, the fusion began.
Hong Bian summoned the God Kingdom Prototype temporarily stored within his body, and then, using the foundation of the God Kingdom Prototype—his miracle flower—he began to dismantle the God Kingdom Prototype that had originally stood in Chawan Temple.
Massive gold-cast solidified Spells and Spiritual Energy-filled vegetation split into complex and intricate components and vibrant Spiritual Energy, forming a torrent that surged towards the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate's operational hub in front.
Accompanied by a flash of dazzling light and a series of continuous subtle roars, Spiritual Energy surged within the giant “heart,” enveloping countless components.
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Then, the roar erupted again!
The high-pitched roar seemed to tear eardrums and shatter brains.
Accompanied by the roar, strong winds swept into the passages on the four walls of the underground cavern, emitting low growls like wild beasts.
Countless dust particles rose, and surging Spiritual Energy, almost solidifying, rolled across the ground, forming translucent ripples like water waves.
When the Spiritual Energy surging from the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate's operational hub intertwined with the Spiritual Energy surging from the God Kingdom Prototype, after a long period of gestation, Hong Bian looked with firm eyes at the colorful and dreamlike flower floating before him, and took a deep breath.
As his chest rose and fell, the entire world seemed to take a deep breath with him, and in that inhale and exhale, he seemed to be endowed with an indescribable, terrifying power. Then, he slowly extended his hands towards the miracle flower in front of him.
Hands pressed together, crushed with force!
In an instant, a solemn and distant melody sounded in the air, as if chanting a song.
“The soul originating from the illusion, its existence is proof of a miracle.
It brought gold, covering the earth.
It brought swords, ending wars.
Cattle and sheep are everywhere, food is inexhaustible, and sweet wine flows like rivers...”
The shattered miracle flower, carrying the massive Spiritual Energy continuously surging from Hong Bian's body, transformed into endless, starlit quicksand, surging towards the God Kingdom's operational hub suspended in the center of the underground cavern, and the God Kingdom Prototype that had been re-disassembled into components.
The next moment, countless waves of Spiritual Energy appeared, and a torrent swept through. Guersuwan and Ma Sai, two high-level Psychic, were caught in it. Even when operating their Spiritual Energy to the extreme to protect themselves, they still felt as if they were about to be torn apart, able only to prostrate themselves on the ground to avoid and alleviate the pain.
Those solidified Spell components cast from gold, drawn by the miracle flower and the dazzling quicksand created by Hong Bian pouring out all his Spiritual Energy, began to revolve slowly and orderly around the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate's operational hub, like satellites entering their predetermined orbits.
And the operational hub, which had already been emitting a blazing light, became even more dazzling, like a fiercely rising sun.
As this “scorching sun” rose, Hong Bian's consciousness gradually became hazy.
In a daze, various premonitory dreams he had once had flashed through his mind again.
He saw the miracle flower, which carried the world, covered in insects, its petals withering under the influence of the insects' venom, only to bloom again in the wind and rain brought by the flood dragon.
He saw war burning down city walls, iron hooves trampling lives, and the Shaman King spreading chaos and slaughter to every mountain and sea of this world.
He saw a great snake, not of this world, descending from the sky with flames, bringing the evil Royal Authority...
But this time, the great snake did not destroy the city walls of Yumen Pass, nor did the evil Royal Authority set the land ablaze.
“......”
They, those two...
Heh, I didn't expect Prince to be right again; they really don't seem to have any ill intentions.
Or perhaps, they were truly changed by Prince?
Hong Bian thought with satisfaction, emptying his mind and letting his consciousness completely sink into darkness.
Fusion complete.
As the God Kingdom Prototype, constructed by Hong Bian based on his own authority, completely merged into the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate's operational hub, his body withered and aged at a visible rate. Faintly, a golden figure could be seen flying out of his body and integrating into the God Kingdom's operational hub.
A few seconds later, the moon-white robe, supported by Hong Bian's body, suddenly collapsed, and the song chanting the description of his authority came to an abrupt halt.
Guersuwan and Ma Sai, who had been waiting for a long time, were stunned for a moment. They quickly rushed forward and found dried, blackened, seemingly rotted and then weathered fingers, leg bones, Eyeballs, a heart, and a brain beneath the moon-white robe.
Without any communication, the two looked at each other with somber expressions for a moment, then each carefully collected a portion of Hong Bian's remains, swiftly left the underground cavern, departed Yumen Pass, and then one went south and the other north, fleeing far away...
————
On the other side.
Lu Yibei and her group, driving a large truck and speeding towards Yumen Pass, smelled the distant scent of blood and burning about seven or eight kilometers away from Yumen Pass.
Continuing forward, when they were about five kilometers from Yumen Pass, from their elevated position, they saw the rivers of blood, mountains of corpses, and flickering firelight. Outside Yumen Pass, the Shaman King's army was a dense, dark mass.
As expected, Yumen Pass was indeed surrounded. Zhu Sanming and Li Tieniu looked troubled, instinctively clutching the iron boxes in their arms.
Was it truly possible to break through the Shaman King's army encirclement and deliver the two iron boxes into the city?
At this moment, Lu Yibei's voice reached their ears.
“So many enemies, this is a bit difficult!” She turned her head to Shen Baiwei and said, “My dear, do you have any good ideas?”
“Hmm...” Shen Baiwei thought seriously and said, “A direct breakthrough is definitely not possible. We can only try to feign an attack...”
“Well said!” Halfway through Shen Baiwei's sentence, Lu Yibei patted her shoulder vigorously and said, “Let's do as you said: you and I will feign an attack, and they two will strike the west!”
Shen Baiwei, “???”
What are you talking about? What do you mean, 'do as I said'? If you want to court death, do it yourself. Why drag me into it?
