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Is Taiyuan also deserted?

This news is truly horrifying. Taiyuan was once the foremost city in Guanzhong, the birthplace of His Majesty’s uprising, filled with hundreds of affluent families and Martial Families who possess Bloodline Power—a place like that... to be also...

"Elder..." A young disciple swallowed nervously and asked blankly, "What exactly happened? Judging by what you’re saying, is all of Guanzhong empty now?"

"Whether it’s completely empty, this old man doesn’t know, but from the mass exodus that happened half a year ago, it can’t be far off."

"Famine?" Several people were taken aback. The fertile lands of Guanzhong stretch for thousands of miles; even a drought lasting a year wouldn’t cause a famine, would it?

"The reasons are many..." The elder said with a bitter smile, "At first, it was just the livestock at home suddenly turning into man-eating monsters, stealthily devouring children and even the women in the house.

Then, farmers in the fields would die mysteriously.

With such events becoming frequent, unrest started.

Initially, it was the people from rural areas who fled to the city for refuge. .."

The crowd nodded. Rural areas had the most livestock, and the fields could indeed produce creatures that became demonized, such as field mice, snakes, wild boars, etc.

But in the cities, at best, only large households would keep pets like cats and dogs, so naturally, it would be somewhat safer than the countryside.

"However, in the cities, many people soon realized that children were still disappearing.

It began with the village children from the countryside, and later, even the children from the city dwellers, including those from large households, would inexplicably go missing, and the panic grew.

The officials would always blame it on dog demons or cat demons, but as time went on, everyone felt that something was amiss. "

"A large number of children vanished, people started killing any cats and dogs they saw. For a long time, the entire city was turned upside down, yet there was no trace of those animals. Instead, more and more children went missing until later on..."

"What happened later?" Some of the younger generation hastily inquired.

The elders, however, were reminded of the words spoken by that envoy from the Dark Moon Sect.

The Imperial Court is raising Ghost Soldiers, requiring the sacrifice of children’s flesh and blood...

Could it be...

"A merchant who returned from Capital City said that in the Capital, many Ghost Temples were erected, and it’s said that at night, people would quietly bring in children from nowhere to be cruelly sacrificed.

Often, the pitiful cries of the children were so haunting that it kept people awake at night. "

"After such rumors spread, the people began to protest, including officials and members of noble families, but then it was said..."

"What was said?"

"It was said that Yue City, next to Taiyuan, was suppressed by the Imperial Court. An entire grand city with millions of households didn’t have a single survivor left, and batches upon batches of children were sent to Capital City.

Whether the news was true or not, nobody knew for certain, but it caused a panic.

Initially, the large households began to flee, followed by the smaller ones, and eventually, even the officials themselves had vanished. .."

"Has the Imperial Court gone mad?" A group of young disciples was shocked.

The older generation frowned, feeling that the situation wasn’t so simple...

If the Imperial Court could directly suppress, why not go all out and suppress this side of Guanzhong as well, why give them the chance to escape?

And what was the purpose of the Imperial Court’s actions? Has Capital City truly fallen under the control of so-called ghosts and spirits?

----------------------------------

"My loyal subjects, I... have decided to launch a military campaign come spring, to reclaim the Northern Territory, to rout the hordes of demons, and to avenge and vindicate the billions of Northerners," the Emperor declared. "Do you have any suggestions?"

Within the grand hall of the Imperial Palace, both civil and military aristocratic families had gathered.

Since the beginning of the year, this dictator’s appearances had become increasingly frequent, and now, after having remained silent for several years, even when Duke of Wei nearly marched to Imperial City without seeing him, this time.

.. he was assertively resolved to battle the terrifying demons of the Northern Territory!

For a moment... many ministers were baffled.

Yet no one dared to express their opinions lightly, for the atmosphere in the Imperial Court... was weird, completely unlike before...

At the top echelons of the Imperial Court, the foremost civil and military officials seemed to have been completely replaced.

Nearly half of the nine senior ministers had been changed, and the heads of the great Bloodline Aristocratic Families weren’t the same as before.

Yet, their demeanor astonishingly resembled the previous ones, each with an eerie presence, standing there, making it difficult for the subordinates to even look their way.

Especially the scholars who, while they used to be afraid of those Bloodline Warriors, still had some assurance. Even if those brusque warriors looked down on these delicate scholars, at least their lives wouldn’t be at risk.

But these people were different; deep down, they all knew, these people... were not the same.

Of course, some remained as before, like... the Hong Family.

Standing at the forefront, on the Imperial Court, there were a few clans and powerful families like the Weichi and Hong Family, who appeared the same as before. Yet, because of this, they seemed out of place.

The Emperor looked at those few old officials with a hint of complexity rarely seen in his cold gaze.

The Weichi Clan and the Hong Family had followed him faithfully for many years as his direct lineages and were the military generals he had once valued most, but now, the distance between sovereign and ministers had grown further and further.

"Your Majesty...." The one who spoke was the head of the Weichi Clan, and at this moment, his gaze towards the Emperor was also filled with complexity.

Back then.... everyone followed him because he was a formidable sovereign, a sovereign capable of prospering the Human Race. Every Martial Family believed that with the control over Bloodline Power, under the leadership of this sovereign, there would be no more chaos caused by demons.

But in the end.... the Emperor they once revered, when exactly did he become the greatest demon?

They had known about the Ghost Temple for quite some time, and many families had compromised, especially those who had tasted its sweet fruits.

Indeed....

Just a few children sacrificed would equate to the cultivation of ten years.... twenty years.... or even fifty years. What could be more tempting than this?

They were old now, with him once being among the top warriors of his time, inside the great hall, there were very few who could confront him in combat, but now, any one of these sinister, ghostly beings was beyond his ability to defeat.

But wouldn’t it have been wonderful if the Imperial Court today was full of progressive, youthful successors?

Your Majesty has forgotten, the words you once said about revitalizing the Human Race.

"Is there really a need to crusade against the demons of the Northern Territory?" Patriarch Weichi raised his head and asked.

"What are you saying, My Loyal Subject?" The Emperor looked at him and spoke indifferently, "Crusading against demons, to avenge the grievances of our Northern Territory’s citizens, does that have no meaning?

Furthermore, as I know it, there are many survivors in the Northern Territory. Does saving them have no meaning?"

Surrounding them, numerous pairs of cold eyes suddenly glared over, filled with brutality and greed, seemingly waiting only for a word of command from above to pounce and tear the old man into bits to be devoured.

After all, the flesh and blood of a First Rank Warrior.... even now, was still a rare delicacy.

Facing countless dreadful gazes, the Weichi Clan Patriarch, already past seventy, stood as erect as a javelin.

"Does it have any meaning?" Patriarch Weichi laughed and said, "It’s all a matter of devouring humans. Everywhere is a land of demons; what’s the difference?"

"Of course there’s a difference!" The Emperor stood up, facing Weichi, unusually emotional as he said, "The destiny of our Human Race should naturally be controlled by our Human Race, whether it’s the demons from beyond the heavens or those anomalies in the cycle of reincarnation, they all deserve to die.

I know what you are resisting against, but what battle comes without death?

Better to shed a little blood now than to suffer from ceaseless bleeding generation after generation! "

"Can you achieve it?" Weichi looked at him.

"Do you still believe in me?"

Weichi was silent, turning his head to look beyond the great hall. Outside the hall, the hundred thousand armoured soldiers of the Flying Dragon Army radiated an overwhelming hostility, and even the skies outside the Imperial Palace were dyed red with blood!

Up in the great hall, ninety percent of his colleagues had lost themselves in that power.

He wondered if these people still maintained the habit of looking at their reflections and straightening their clothes. What kind of feelings must they have, seeing themselves now looking neither human nor ghostlike?

"Duke...." A man dressed in white approached with a smile, holding in his hands... a cup filled with black blood wine.

Patriarch Weichi looked on silently; that was a member of the Chen Family. Your Majesty.... had already conquered the Southern Sea without deploying a single soldier, purely through the allure of that power.

Even the Chen Family, who had taken control of the Nanhai Dragon Palace, couldn’t resist the temptation....

The desires of humans, truly, never seem to have an end.

With a laugh, he took the cup of blood wine, turned, and knelt down. Looking at the Emperor he had chosen to follow with his family, he smiled as he drank down the cup of blood wine.

Less than a moment later, his Bloodline Power tore apart within him, and his pupils turned the same eerie green as the surrounding people....

The Emperor watched the old man who had remained loyal from the beginning to the end, stepped forward, and helped him up.

"I assure you, no demon will ever rule over this world again, there will never be another age where our Human Race is reduced to mere food, and everyone responsible for this will pay the price, including Myself!!"