He had barely finished speaking when several men, their faces covered in blood, stumbled and crawled over.
"Lord Chi! Lord Chi! It's bad! The surroundings! The surroundings are full of the Four Forbidden Army!"
"What!" Lord Chi was greatly shocked.
His expression turned grave as he scanned the surroundings.
Constant screams echoed from all directions, growing closer and closer.
"Go gather all the tribal warriors you can! We must evacuate this place! Damn it! These treacherous dogs have set a trap! They were just waiting for us to take the bait!"
Lord Chi shouted in a panic, pacing back and forth for a moment until about a hundred brothers gathered around him.
He gritted his teeth, grabbed his spear, and charged outwards.
The Royal City was a forbidden ground; no one was allowed to fly without the Heavenly King's special permission. Even princes and dukes had to walk to the palace for an audience. The Heavenly Prison was even more restrictive; even Dao Palace cultivators couldn't fly here.
"Let's go! Brothers, follow me and break through!"
The crowd roared in unison, fleeing outwards. But as they reached the outside of the Heavenly Prison, they saw countless Forbidden Army soldiers already waiting, surrounding the entire prison.
"Indeed! This is the trap set by the Heavenly King! We have a traitor among us!" Lord Chi exclaimed angrily.
The situation was critical, and he couldn't afford to worry about anything else. No matter what, preserving his life was the priority.
Leading the crowd, he charged towards a sparsely guarded area. Relying on his personal bravery, Lord Chi made the defensive line falter.
Just as he was secretly rejoicing at his imminent rescue, he heard a whooshing sound, and a halberd swept across.
"Clang!!!"
Metal clashed, sparks flew, and debris scattered in all directions. Even the incredibly sturdy Xuanwu stone was shattered.
Lord Chi staggered back several steps, his wrist numb. He looked at the attacker in terror.
Such savage power, who in Tianyuan City could possess it? Could it be one of the Four Saint Dukes?!
His expression flickered uncertainly. Among the White King's subordinates, he considered himself the best martial artist. No one in the Taicang Royal Capital could match him.
He thought that raiding the Heavenly Prison would be a simple matter.
But he never expected to fail here?! Just how many hidden experts were there in Tianyuan?
"Who are you?!" Lord Chi asked, enduring the pain as he looked at the general wielding the halberd.
"Who am I?" The other party laughed. Then, he slowly stepped out of the shadows, revealing his face in the firelight.
That such a heroic figure would appear before him caused Lord Chi to exclaim involuntarily.
Wasn't it said that the Four Forbidden Armies had already been instructed by Giant Heaven Duke? Why was the White Tiger Army's general here, even laying siege to them! Someone tell me, what exactly is going on! Lord Chi cried out in his heart.
He was naturally clearer than anyone about the White Tiger General's reputation. At the Taicang Martial Assembly years ago, he had overestimated his abilities and challenged him, never expecting to be defeated in three moves. Lord Chi still remembered that experience clearly.
Watching the White Tiger General slowly approach, Lord Chi dropped his spear. He knew that resisting now would be futile, so he might as well be quick about it, at least he would still be of some use.
His thoughts racing, Lord Chi surrendered.
The sounds of fighting within the Heavenly Prison gradually subsided.
Jiang Wen stood on a high pavilion, watching everything. He smiled as he touched the still-warm wine cup. "This wine, General Bai can still drink it warm."
…
The prison break ended quickly. The Four Forbidden Armies joined forces to suppress it, and the eight hundred Azure Dragon Army soldiers were nothing more than objects in a sack.
Lord Chi, a subordinate of the White King, was captured, and Bai Xiang, the White King's advisor, was imprisoned.
After all, the crime of assassinating the Heavenly King was a major one, and Tianyuan City would not pardon it. A letter was sent flying to the Taicang Royal Capital, and the White King hurriedly sent someone to apologize. After all, with the treason exposed, Tianyuan City's million soldiers could flatten his territory in an instant. If he didn't proactively apologize, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The Giant Heaven Duke and Hundred Eyes Duke, who had colluded with the White King, were also imprisoned. The Giant Clan was ashamed of Giant Heaven Duke and decided to move the entire clan to the desolate borderlands, fighting the foreign races on the border for a thousand years to atone for their sins.
As for Hundred Eyes Duke, the Hundred Eyes Clan expelled him from the clan. From then on, the Hundred Eyes Clan would no longer have this person.
The winds of change swept through Tianyuan City, and of the Four Royal Dukes, only Xue and Xiu Qi remained.
Afterwards, the aftershocks had not stopped, and the entire Taicang was seething with undercurrents.
"That day, Giant Heaven Duke said that the Four Saint Dukes were plotting rebellion, but I never expected that he would be the one imprisoned today," Jiang Wenji said with a smile as she sat at the table, looking at Xue beside her.
"The Heavenly King trusts me, and I will naturally not let him down," Xue said calmly. "It's just that now that two of the Four Royal Dukes are gone, it's time to choose new Royal Dukes."
"I have the same intention," Jiang Wenji nodded. She looked at Jiang Wen beside her and asked, "Taixu, I want to grant you the position of Royal Duke, are you willing?"
"Me? I'll pass," Jiang Wen shook his head. "I don't care about that position."
"Could it be that you think the Royal Dukes of Tianyuan City are not to your liking?" Jiang Wenji asked.
"No, it's just that I don't need this position," Jiang Wen said with a smile. He looked outside, where heavy snow had fallen. It had been over a year since he came here, and he had a feeling that the day he left was approaching.
Seeing that Jiang Wen did not accept the position of Royal Duke, Jiang Wenji did not force him.
The three chatted idly, and Xue asked her when she would switch back.
Jiang Wenji looked at the snow outside with a dazed expression, then smiled and said, "In a few days."
In the days that followed, Jiang Wenji stayed at Jiang Wen's residence. The two talked happily, and Jiang Wen also learned a lot.
After all, Jiang Wenji was above the Saint Realm, and her insights were what Jiang Wen urgently needed. So in these days, Jiang Wen had a better understanding of the Saint Realm. He had a feeling that he was not far from the Immortal Platform.
One day, the snow stopped, and a gentle spring breeze blew.
Jiang Wenji looked at the budding peach blossoms outside the window and suddenly said, "I should go back."
"Are you leaving?" Jiang Wen said.
"I have fallen into the mortal world for so long, she can't bear the Mandate of Humanity," Jiang Wenji said faintly.
"Why?" Jiang Wen asked in confusion. He didn't know much about the Mandate of Humanity, only that this thing was ethereal and illusory, but it was like the Heavenly Emperor's decree, determining the sins of all races.
"Do you know why the Mandate of Humanity exists?" Jiang Wenji asked.
"I don't know."
"The Mandate of Humanity, holding the title of king, with words like the Heavenly Constitution, is the lifeline of Humanity. The world only knows the goodness of the Mandate of Heaven, but does not know the evil of the Mandate of Heaven," Jiang Wenji sighed softly.
"The evil of the Mandate of Heaven? What does that mean?" Jiang Wen's scalp tingled when he heard this. He had never thought about what would happen if the Mandate of Heaven carried an evil aspect.
"The Mandate of Humanity will cause people to fall into the immeasurable abyss of tribulation," Jiang Wenji stared at Jiang Wen and revealed the secret of the Mandate of Heaven after a long time.
"It is not omnipotent, on the contrary, the Mandate of Heaven is an extremely evil thing. After I accepted the Mandate of Heaven, I found that under the influence of the Mandate of Heaven, I was no longer myself. As a king, accepting the Mandate of Heaven stabilizes the world. At the same time, I also bear the extreme evil of Humanity. It was only after accepting the Mandate of Heaven that I understood why the emperors of Taicang had to transform into demons. It was only because they had to do so, only by transforming into demons could they reduce the filth of the Mandate of Humanity," Jiang Wenji said softly.
"If it is polluted to the extreme, what will happen?" Jiang Wen asked, staring at her.
"I don't know either, I've only heard that a long time ago, the Emperor of Taicang—Xiao, accepted the Mandate of Heaven for a thousand years. In the end, he transformed into a great disaster and harmed the world. Do you know why this place is called Old Earth?"
"Was it once the place where the old people of all races lived?"
"Yes, this was once the origin of the ancestors of Taicang. It was also because of Emperor Xiao that this place was transformed into Old Earth. The people of Taicang moved away from Old Earth for ten thousand years, and only dared to come back after Xiao's evil dissipated."
