180: Chapter 180 The Story of Ants and Gods

"They claim to be the mandate of heaven, placing the utmost importance on sacrifices and proclaiming the divine right of kings."

"If they were to replace the Shang and establish themselves, they would surely promote sacrifices on a grand scale and revere the immortals and gods."

"At that time, how prosperous would the Incense and Power of Faith in the Immortal Realm become?"

"Furthermore, once war breaks out in the mortal realm and the people are displaced, they are most likely to pray to the gods out of fear and despair. Consequently, the Incense and Power of Faith will be even more abundant than in times of peace."

"This is the true reason why those immortals and gods push for dynastic changes, even if they must bear the burden of Karma."

"The so-called 'mandate of heaven' not allowing a dynasty to last too long is nothing more than a fig leaf."

"So..."

Su Chen spoke slowly, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Is this why you were unwilling to collude with them and chose to come to this remote town to purify the grievances here?"

"In that case, may I speculate that the massacre in Wenli City..."

The Youth in White shrugged, a forced, relaxed smile appearing on his face.

"By coming here to purify the grievances, do you think I know nothing at all?"

"Your Majesty..."

"Wasn't the massacre in Wenli City a sin committed by your own hands?"

Almost as soon as these words were spoken.

Su Daji immediately turned toward Su Chen.

Her fox-like, enchanting eyes stared intently at Su Chen's face, watching for even the slightest change in expression.

This was the first time this matter had been openly discussed.

She wanted to judge what happened back then through Su Chen's facial expressions.

Whether it was truly Su Chen's doing or not.

Unfortunately.

There wasn't much of a change in Su Chen's expression.

There was neither the panic of having one's dirty deeds exposed nor the indifference of someone who felt the matter didn't concern them.

He sneered, not directly answering the other's question.

"So direct... Is this truly the style of those from the Immortal Realm?"

"After all, no one in the mortal realm would dare speak to me in such a manner..."

The Youth in White gave a dry laugh.

"I presume Your Majesty means that the Wenli City massacre is also a part of this struggle for 'incense'?"

"That the immortals descended to the mortal realm to commit this slaughter and then framed Your Majesty for it?"

"Thereby creating grievances and fear, tarnishing the reputation of the Yin Shang Dynasty, and paving the way for the rise of Western Zhou."

The White-haired Youth glanced at him, his gaze somewhat strange.

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"King of Yin, I have lingered here for nearly twenty years, performing rites for the dead and dissipating the resentful energy."

"I might not be able to assert anything else, but one thing is certain."

"The Wenli massacre was definitely not the direct work of those from the Immortal Realm."

"Oh?"

Su Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Your Majesty, ruling over the mortal realm, you might not be aware."

"This world has its own rules."

"If an immortal were to directly slaughter mortal beings on a large scale, they would inevitably suffer the backlash of the Heavenly Dao and be plagued by Karma. At best, their cultivation would plummet; at worst, they would face heavenly tribulation and be utterly destroyed, both body and soul."

"Therefore, they at most exert influence in the shadows or add fuel to the fire. They would never dare to act personally and become tainted by such heavy, bloody Karma."

"Only mortal cultivators can act, and the lower their cultivation, the less they are affected."

"Even so, they must pay a significant price."

"It's just that this price is much smaller than if an immortal were to act directly."

Su Chen nodded.

He had already anticipated this.

If not for this, he wouldn't have been able to live peacefully until today.

Even the experts of the Hehuan Sect.

Although they were mortal cultivators and not true righteous immortals.

They were also exceptionally wary of this point.

That's why they chose to send Su Daji, who had the lowest cultivation in the Hehuan Sect, to his side.

Just then.

A spiritual light flashed on Su Chen's forehead.

A talisman flickered in and out of sight.

It was the mother curse of the secret incantations he had placed on his three Secret Guards.

It not only ensured Su Chen's direct and efficient control over the three of them.

Any information they had could also be glimpsed through this talisman.

Su Chen seemed to have learned something.

He suddenly changed the subject and asked casually.

"You mentioned you've been here for twenty years."

"In that case... do you know if the Marquis of Jizhou, Su Hu, secretly formed a private army about twenty years ago?"

"The formation of this private army was suspicious, and its disbandment was sudden."

"It is said that after the Wenli City massacre, all information regarding this private army vanished."

The White-haired Youth paused, seemingly searching for clues in his memory.

He didn't answer immediately.

Just then, a slight commotion came from the entrance of a nearby alley.

Su Chen's three Secret Guards were seen approaching, escorting a terrified middle-aged man dressed in ordinary clothes.

When the man saw Su Chen, his whole body trembled, and his legs went weak; he was practically dragged along.

"Your Majesty."

The lead Secret Guard bowed and reported.

"This man was peeking near the wine stall just now. Upon seeing Your Majesty appear, he looked panicked and tried to flee."

"We apprehended him and conducted a brief investigation. Finding his memory unusual, we used a secret soul-searching technique and learned..."

"This man was a member of the private army formed by Su Hu twenty years ago."

"His memory shows that it was Su Hu himself who gave the order back then, commanding this private army to disguise themselves as dead soldiers in black to raid Wenli at night. They slaughtered several families and deliberately shouted, 'By royal decree, suppress the rebels!'"

"Afterward, Su Hu bestowed a large sum of money upon them and ordered them to disband and go into hiding."

"Another secret mission they received was to capture a young girl from the Su Family living in the western corner of the city. It was said she was specifically requested by a certain immortal cultivation sect."

As the words fell, the snow seemed to fall more heavily.

Su Chen's gaze slowly turned toward the White-haired Youth selling wine, his lips curling into a knowing smile.

"Sir, now... could you explain this to me?"

"Why would Su Hu, a mortal marquis, slaughter the people of his own territory and capture a young girl to offer to an immortal cultivation sect?"

"And which sect is this immortal cultivation sect?"

"What is its connection to the Marquis of Jizhou's manor?"

The moment Su Daji heard these words, her face turned as pale as snow.

Her delicate body trembled uncontrollably, as if struck by lightning.

She bit her lower lip hard, nearly drawing blood.

Her fox-like eyes stared intently at the middle-aged man, then suddenly turned to the wine-selling youth.

Finally, she turned to Su Chen.

Memories of the past surged like a tide.

She remembered.

Back then, after narrowly surviving the hands of the men in black who slaughtered the city, she was caught by another group of female ruffians.

And sent to the Hehuan Sect.

Everything concerning the Su Family and the massacre in Wenli County was fabricated by the Hehuan Sect and Su Hu.

The purpose was to throw mud at Su Chen through this series of tragedies while allowing the Hehuan Sect to acquire a supreme genius like her!

She, Su Daji, possessed the Pure Yin Body.

She had heard her master say that this constitution was supposedly only possessed by the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox of ancient times.

For it to appear in a human was completely unprecedented.

Because of this.

Her master did not have her practice the ordinary techniques of the Hehuan Sect, but instead the "Supreme Forgetting Joy and Union Canon."

(Hey everyone, the words for March are finished, heehee. Since there are fewer and fewer people, I can't reach the full attendance line anymore. I originally wanted to use a leave note, but after thinking about it, I decided to give everyone two chapters! Please keep up the reminders and free support, meow!)

(Also, some readers already guessed how Lao Chen would die yesterday, emm... but it won't be that simple. Lao Chen's exit this time will be unprecedentedly tragic. The most terrifying Yandere in history is about to be born!!)