NOVPUB
Chapter 284: Chapter 281 The Culprit
Zhang Lingjian, though a Primordial Spirit True Monarch with cultivation that could be called the peak of Tian Nan,
had first suffered backlash from the Lucky Qi of Yellow State, and later, driven into a corner with no options left, had no choice but to take up his sword to battle the demons, until he was nearly burnt out and utterly exhausted.
Now, with Gu Jinlai bluntly laying out the fact that he had personally sealed the doom of Yellow Sky Sect, his faith in the sect that he had dedicated himself to for over a hundred years was mercilessly shattered, his heart, qi, and spirit all broken... in the end...
The esteemed Primordial Spirit True Monarch died vomiting blood.
After falling backwards, he was quickly silent.
Regarding this, Gu Jinlai showed not the slightest hint of expression, merely looking on coldly.
However, Yu Xuanjing, who was being escorted by Gu Chifeng, trembled and cried out in pain, "Sect... Sect Master!?"
Many of Yellow Sky Dao Disciples loyal to Zhang Lingjian abruptly stood up.
But before they could make any move, Gu Qingmei, Gu Luochen, and a few others acted at the same time.
The heavy sword roared out.
Blood splattered.
In an instant, the atmosphere at the scene became stifled.
"Take over Haitian City."
Gu Jinlai issued the order, "Show no mercy to any revolter!"
"Yes."
Gu Chifeng acknowledged the order.
He soon busied himself with the many Demon God Guards.
Yu Xuanjing watched the Demon God Guards one by one hurriedly leaving, with sadness in his eyes.
Just as Gu Jinlai had said.
If Yellow Sky Sect hadn’t been the first to act, taken into account mutual checks and balances, it is probable that the Tian Nan Boundary wouldn’t have seen any major battles for a short time...
Because the Yellow Sky Sect was the first to act, the First Venerable Daoist Zhang Taiping even gave Gu Jinlai a righteous excuse to occupy Yellow State, ultimately leading not only to the downfall of Yellow Sky Sect but also helping Lingxiao City lay the foundation for supremacy.
To say that Yellow Sky Sect perished by their hands is no exaggeration.
With this thought, the sorrow in Yu Xuanjing’s eyes deepened.
"Greed."
Yu Xuanjing lamented with regret, "If it weren’t for the greed in our hearts, coveting those Immortal Essence Gold you obtained from Dragon Sparrow Manor, perhaps... our Yellow Sky Sect wouldn’t have been the first to jump out..."
Gu Jinlai glanced at Yu Xuanjing.
The Immortal Essence Gold from Dragon Sparrow Manor?
He quickly realized something.
Yellow Sky Sect had been stirred up by the remnants of Dragon Sparrow Manor.
But...
Just as Yu Xuanjing had said, all of this was because of their own greed.
If it wasn’t for that greed, how would Yellow Sky Sect have ended up like this?
Now...
It was over.
...
Tens of thousands of Demon God Guards relentlessly pursued and killed the demons.
Without their leader, the Demon Demon King Flash Falcon, the remaining demons, to say nothing of being leaderless, were rapidly exterminated under the dual onslaught of the Demon God Guards and the Sword Heavy Cannons.
After that, the elite troops sent from Starlight City entered Yellow State, some began taking control of cities within Yellow State, while others joined the ranks pursuing the demons.
During this, there were naturally many contradictions and conflicts.
After all, many cities still had Yellow Sky Dao Disciples, even protectors and elders stationed there.
But compared to the last time when they simply left, this time, Gu Jinlai showed no leniency to Yellow Sky disciples left in the cities.
Many times, he would even personally arrive at cities where the resistance was strong, and all the rebels were struck down one by one.
Furthermore, with the Demon God Guards who had completed their pursuit of the Tianhe Demons returning to Yellow State, the cleansing of each city was accelerated even more.
Eventually, the chaos, which had continued for a month, gradually subsided.
The reason it took so long was chiefly because the incursion of demons had severely impacted Yellow State, causing many powers from the northern parts of Yellow State to flee to the south and then cause great disarray with the local forces.
If not for this, half a month would have been enough.
...
The great upheaval in Yellow State, as well as the destruction of Yellow Sky Sect, caused a tremendous shock in the land of Tian Nan.
But just as Gu Jinlai had speculated, if Lingxiao City had no reason to act against Yellow Sky Sect directly, it would surely cause the Cold Moon Sect, Netherworld Sect, and Purgatory Sect to fear for their own safety.
However, as things were at that time, it was Lingxiao City that learned Yellow Sky Sect was in trouble and gallantly stepped in to help, yet Yellow Sky Sect’s Zhang Taiping, relying on his sudden ascent to Devas Realm with the help of Lucky Qi, aimed to kill Gu Jinlai, the leader of Lingxiao City, once and for all, to secure a chance for Yellow Sky Sect to recover and grow stronger.
Even...
To seize the opportunity to annex Jiangzhou State and Star State.
If he had succeeded, that goes without saying.
The dead are gone.
Without Gu Jinlai, Star State and Jiangzhou State would fall into chaos, and the three families could share many of the spoils.
But the problem was Zhang Taiping didn’t understand the Power of Fate as well as Gu Jinlai, who also wielded the Power of Fate.
A single misstep in the game led to Yellow Sky Sect suffering backlash from Lucky Qi, resulting in their destruction.
In this situation, the three major sects naturally stood from Lingxiao City’s point of view to vehemently criticize Yellow Sky Sect for their unkind and unjust actions.
Especially as, in the future, they might need Lingxiao City’s help to stand against Mu State’s Cold Moon Sect, Sect Master Fang Linghai scolded Zhang Taiping fiercely and strongly supported Gu Jinlai’s succession to Yellow State.
Proclaiming that only by incorporating Yellow State into Lingxiao City’s rule could the citizens of Yellow State have better days ahead.
And while they stood on Lingxiao City’s side to criticize Yellow Sky Sect, their own actions were not as righteous and grand as they claimed.
The news that Gu Chifeng, while leading troops north to support Haitian City, was attacked by masters of Lizhou State Twelve Islands in Jiangzhou State, resulting in the loss of dozens of Sword Heavy Cannons, secretly spread.
All three houses were seeking to purchase Sword Heavy Cannons from the Lizhou State Twelve Islands through other channels for research.
Whether it was the battles of Baihe City, Dragon Roar City, Yuntian City, or Gourd Valley, the performance of this War Spiritual Artifact had been too outstanding.
If they did not want to face annexation by Lingxiao City in the future without any power to resist, like Dragon Sparrow Manor, deciphering and researching their own Sword Heavy Cannons was the only method.
Not to mention, these heavy cannons were indeed effective against Demons.
...
States to the south of Tianhe were in an uproar.
Yet none could affect Gu Jinlai’s process of purging Yellow State.
One month later.
City Lord Mansion of Yuntian City.
The Demon God Guards, who had been scattered around to eliminate Demons and suppress various places, were all returning.
Among those returning were also Gu Chifeng, and Cheng Lixue, who had been following the army, hoping to redeem his crimes through meritorious deeds.
Even Xin Tianqi from Jiangzhou State had personally come over.
The atmosphere in the great hall was somewhat oppressive.
...
Outside the City Lord Mansion’s council hall.
Gu Jinlai handed over his blood-stained robe to Gu Qingmei by his side and changed into a new set of clothes.
The blood on his body...
Was from the recent judgement and execution of a group of extremely evil culprits.
This was a reserved project within the Lingxiao City system.
For every place they conquered, they would hold trials for those who oppressed and ruthlessly exploited the common people.
Out of respect for Life and to ensure there would be no wrongful or false convictions, everyone sentenced to death had to be reviewed by him once to avoid any mistakes.
"Has everyone arrived?"
Gu Jinlai asked while changing his clothes.
"Yes, Star Lord Xin has also arrived."
Gu Qingmei said.
Gu Jinlai nodded his head.
He knew the reason why Xin Tianqi and the others had come at this time.
He had been aware of the loss of sixty Sword Heavy Cannons a month ago, but at the time he was busy eliminating the Tianhe Demons, and it was not appropriate to deal with Gu Chifeng then.
But now...
Tianhe Demons were reduced to one tenth of their original number, with only a few thousand escaping into Tianhe and hiding deep beneath the river.
Yellow State had also been completely pacified.
It was time to determine the right and wrong, merit and fault.
As soon as Gu Jinlai entered the great hall, Xin Tianqi stood up and said in a deep voice, "Governor Gu, it was my negligence that I did not monitor the people from the Overseas Twelve Islands landing in time, leading to such a significant loss. I am willing to accept punishment."
Gu Jinlai waved his hand: "Star Lord Xin single-handedly oversees the entire Jiangzhou State and ensures that no trouble arises there. That in itself is a great achievement. As for the landing of the people from the Overseas Twelve Islands... they were less than a hundred people, and the weakest among them were Refining God Immortals. They could have easily landed anywhere with a boat docked for a while, with no need for a pier, so it’s understandable that they were not monitored."
He spoke the truth.
With Jiangzhou State recently settled and many affairs to manage, Xin Tianqi’s ability to organize Jiangzhou State neatly was indeed a tremendous merit.
This was like a newly conquered province that managed not to generate any uprisings, demanding top-notch ability from the highest hands-on controller of the province.
As for those experts from overseas... 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
If Refining God Immortals wanted to infiltrate somewhere, let alone the coastline, even cities with walls could not stop them.
Their ability to conceal themselves and sneak in was too strong.
His gaze fell directly on Gu Chifeng.
"I’m disappointed with the combat performance exhibited by the Demon God Guards at that time."
Gu Jinlai stated bluntly.
Gu Chifeng lowered his head in guilt.
"The Demon God Guards had undergone training specific for dealing with Refining God Immortals, even up to Divinity Transformation Cultivators. When we first attacked Baihe City, the Demon God Guards also performed very well. I know that the recent consecutive expansions of the Demon God Guards are the main reason for the decline in quality, but to deteriorate to this extent, being defeated by eighty Refining Gods, over ten Divinity Transformation Cultivators, and two Monarchs, is truly disappointing."
Gu Jinlai said: "You will step down from your position as the leader of the Demon God Guards, and Luo Chen will take over."
After finishing, he turned to Gu Luochen: "I hope that you can bring the Demon God Guards out of their increasingly arrogant attitude, help them recognize their true standing. They are far from being able to Crossing the World."
"Yes."
Gu Chifeng and Gu Luochen responded simultaneously.
Cheng Lixue, witnessing the scene, hesitated for a moment, then said, "I also had a fault in that battle. I failed to stop the two Primordial Spirit True Monarchs..."
"You managed to contain one of them, so you did what you could."
Gu Jinlai said: "Now, what we need to discuss is how to make Lizhou State and the Overseas Twelve Islands pay for what they’ve done."
"I have already ordered the formation of a naval force. In no more than six months, we will have a fleet capable of long voyages."
Xin Tianqi quickly said.
"A fleet?"
Gu Jinlai looked at Xin Tianqi: "What do we need a fleet for?"
Xin Tianqi was taken aback: "Shouldn’t we... investigate clearly which house was behind this and pursue them?"
"Investigate? No need."
Gu Jinlai stated directly: "Send an ultimatum to Lizhou State; within three months, hand over the culprits!"
"Lizhou State? Was this done by Lizhou State?"
"Whether it was done by Lizhou State or not isn’t important. But they are the center of the Eastern Sea, and also the strongest power in the Eastern Sea. Even if they weren’t the ones directly responsible, with so many Refining Gods and Divinity Transformation Cultivators, along with two Monarchs involved, it’s impossible that they wouldn’t have known anything. As such, it’s easy to deal with."
Gu Jinlai spoke calmly: "Either they become our target for retribution in place of the actual murderers or they hand the murderers over to us!"
