Free Web NovelChapter 2417: Chapter 2416: The Suffering of Commoners in Chaotic Times
After Long Fei announced to the Human Realm, the Nine Domains were the first to respond, establishing temple halls in various Star Domains to worship the Heavenly Emperor. The will of the Heavenly Emperor then descended upon the Nine Domains.
Whenever someone prays, Long Fei’s consciousness is alerted to it.
At this level of cultivation, it is not much different from a supercomputer.
The brain can handle billions of pieces of information at once, and the larger the offering temple, the stronger the signal it emits.
At the same time, in Ci’en Pagoda on Tianshu Star.
A golden light spread above Chang’an Academy, lingering for a long time, and soon after, Long Fei’s Golden Body Dharma Laksana appeared in the sky.
The Dharma Laksana manifested in the air for a while, then suddenly vanished into the void.
The disciples of Ci’en Pagoda and the entire Chang’an Academy all knelt down to worship.
Over the past thirty thousand years, Long Fei had become the guardian divine spirit of this place.
Chang’an Academy had been targeted by the Demon Lord several times, all because Long Fei’s Golden Body Dharma Laksana intervened and drove the Demon Lord away.
Now, this Dharma Laksana disappeared before everyone’s eyes.
The disciples were bewildered as they stared at the void, thinking the Patriarch Buddha had abandoned the place.
For a time, people howled helplessly, and the temples rang their bells and prayed, wailing as one.
A golden light flickered, traversed countless light years of void, and appeared in the sky of the New Heavenly Court.
The projected body of Long Fei met with its main body once again.
They are one and not one.
Mysterious and mysterious, wondrous and wondrous.
After a simple nod between them, this golden body descended to the center of the Heavenly Court Continent.
From then on, this golden body would receive human incense offerings.
In saving others, it would also use the power of faith from the masses to save itself.
With this golden body stationed here, Long Fei had free time, taking Lin Yingying and their child to Tianshu Star.
The Chaos Beast traveled with him, while the Gluttonous Ancestor stayed behind to guard the house.
In the Human Realm, no magical weapon’s speed could compare to the Chaos Beast.
It could directly break through the void, crossing wormholes faster than a light-speed spaceship.
On Tianshu Star, the battle between the Eastern Human Race and the Western Demon Race had reached a fever pitch.
In the Western Regions, the two checkpoints leading to the Central Plains, Yang Pass and Yumen Pass, had turned rivers of blood, and the corpses were piled high as mountains.
The Five Guards Cavalry originally stationed in the Capital City had now been reinforced to the front lines.
The defenses of Chang’an City were left vulnerable, causing various forces to stir restlessly.
The most powerful among them was the current Empress Wei Clan.
After Empress Wu abdicated, the new emperor ascended the throne and greatly promoted his in-laws, appointing his father-in-law Wei Xuanzhong as Yuzhou Governor, commanding the Central Plains army.
Before this, he also made various arrangements to have his daughter, Princess Anguo, married to Wu Shansi.
Wu Shansi, unable to marry Princess Taihua, eventually married Princess Anguo, ensuring the preservation of the Empress Wu Clan after her abdication.
Empress Wei was unwilling to endure years of demotion, forced repression, and even life-threatening humiliation, determined to follow in her mother-in-law’s footsteps.
She, along with her daughter, Princess Anguo, and son-in-law, Wu Shansi, conspired extensively in the court, selling official positions and titles, and promoting their cronies, having now seized control of the court.
The new emperor, Li Shiru, was weak in character, known as the Confucian Emperor.
He was indifferent to the actions of the Empress and their daughter, allowing them to wreak havoc in the court.
The likes of Di Renying and Zhang Jianzhi, who supported his ascension, were all marginalized from the power center.
Even Princess Taihua was forced to go to Shu State by Princess Anguo.
Princess Anguo, having grown up following her parents in exile to the Southern Ridge, born amidst turmoil, had heard of and deeply envied her aunt, Princess Taihua, since childhood.
Returning to Chang’an City, she was eager to replace her aunt and seize the glory of being the top princess in the world.
The incident at Mount Shu was orchestrated by her and her husband Wu Shansi.
Now, with all the Five Guards of the Capital City sent west to support the two passes,
the Capital City’s defenses were vulnerable, and under Empress Wei’s orders, the Yuzhou army had already entered Chang’an City, completely taking control of the city’s defenses.
The capital, now a significant place, was quite different from before.
Whether it was the faction of the Empress Wu or the Li Family Faction, all were caught up in this turmoil.
Anyone not part of the Wei Clan’s faction was dismissed, imprisoned, or exiled.
Throughout the streets and alleys, people were being arrested daily.
Long Fei, along with Lin Yingying and Little Fatty, appeared on the street.
Intending to give his wife a taste of the true Great Tang scenery, who knew the East and West Streets would be in such a desolate state.
All the merchants had closed their businesses, and during the day, there were few people in the streets, only some small vendors trying to make a living by setting up stalls.
Looking at the vast Chang’an City, Lin Yingying joked, "I always thought your wandering among the stars meant harsh environments and rough living in desolate wilderness. Every night looking up at the starry sky, I would always worry about you. Who knew it would be all such prosperous lands along the way? Every day drinking good wine, eating good meat, with princess beauties for company, really makes one enjoy life!"
Long Fei coughed twice and said, "Princess beauties might often be present, but, alas, my heart is always true to you; I always see them as nothing."
"Is that so?"
Lin Yingying squinted and said, "Then who is this Princess Taihua, Little Diee mentioned?"
"You talked with Little Diee?"
Long Fei suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
Lin Yingying, with an all-knowing expression, said, "What do you think? Is there anything this family head mistress doesn’t know?"
Long Fei explained, "This Princess Taihua really has nothing special to do with me; I just saw her extraordinary talent and took her as a disciple."
Lin Yingying teased, "Indeed, Wanrong and Ziling were both your disciples back then, and over time turned into wives."
"Come, son, let dad buy you a sugar-coated hawthorn!"
Long Fei chuckled awkwardly, quickly changing the subject, and took his son from Lin Yingying’s arms.
This eldest son of theirs was either asleep or eating along the way.
Born with a mouthful of teeth, he wouldn’t eat anything vegetarian, only roasted meat.
Lin Yingying was speechless, feeling her son probably ate too many vegetables in the womb and developed a resistance.
Long Fei carried him to a hawthorn vendor to buy a freshly made sugar-coated hawthorn skewer.
Before he could pay, they heard the vendor shout, "The officers are coming!"
The vendor left the money and ran.
A group of soldiers in Yuzhou army uniforms came marching over, stopping by vendors on the street and smashing and trashing everything.
A soldier shouted curses at the vendors, "Ignorant fools, the lords have posted notices; if you don’t pay the management fee, you’re not allowed to set up stalls on the street. You knowingly break the law; all of you are sentenced to jail time!"
The street was filled with cries and wailing.
One vendor knelt down and pleaded with the soldiers, "Sirs, please forgive me! I have olds above and young ones below. The daily income is meager, barely enough to survive. How could I afford the management fee?"
The Yuzhou soldiers cursed, "That’s none of my concern. I’ve come all the way from Yuzhou to Shaan Land, can’t make the journey in empty-handed?"
He kicked the vendor to the ground and had him dragged away.
The onlookers on the street pointed and whispered; no one dared stand up for the vendors.
Only Long Fei’s family stood not far away, catching the eye of the Yuzhou soldiers, who pointed at them and said, "Hey, what are you looking at? I suspect you are rebels. Stand there and undergo inspection!"
They approached, eyes ablaze as they stared at Lin Yingying’s beauty, silently swallowing their saliva.
