Chapter 49 - 49: The Demise of the Empress
[The invincible figure from Chu, wielding a quasi-spiritual artifact, proved too powerful even for the Empress who held the Ice Condensation Mirror. The gap between their cultivation levels, as well as their comprehension of martial arts principles, was vast. When the two sides fought, the Empress was forced to retreat, sustaining heavy injuries.]
[The defeat of the Empress greatly dampened the morale of the imperial army, and the rebellious vassals started to counterattack.]
[Meanwhile, the Zhao State, greatly alarmed and angered by Chu State’s support for Xia Country, was unwilling to let Chu intervene. So, it formed an alliance with the various vassals of Xia Country to deal a heavy blow to the
Zhao state, leading to a rapid deterioration of the situation. As a result, the
Zhao State promptly dispatched a large army to attack Chu State.]
[As the Zhao’s army pressured the border and even deployed their invincible figure, Chu’s invincible figure was forced to return to the Chu state, confronting Zhao’s invincible figure.]
[And so, all three states plunged into chaos. You watched the development of the world from your vantage point in the Sword Spirit Sect, sighing in your heart. Xia Yuan owed their survival to you, but in the end, there was nothing you could do to turn the tide.]
[During the great battles, countless losses were recorded, and the national strength of the three states dwindled drastically. The neighboring foreign races started to stir, ready to pounce and attempt to annihilate the Central Earth Ethnicity.]
[You could only sigh at the turn of events. After all, you were only at the Spirit
Realm Second Tier Cultivation and couldn’t change anything. Even Bai Tianhong, despite his deep admiration for the Empress, couldn’t do much in these chaotic times, as he was too young and his strength not quite there. Even with his spiritual tool, the Green Spirit Sword, on hand to help the Empress, he could only allow her to avoid defeat. Moreover, the Sword Spirit Sect’s
Supreme Elders would never allow him to leave the mountain with the Green Spirit Sword.]
[As for the idea of helping the vassals, Bai Tianhong had no intention of doing so. He admired the Empress for her abilities in governing and her determination, looking down upon the traitorous vassals.]
[After listening to Bai Tianhong’s comments on both sides, you couldn’t help but speculate that the Bai Tianhong in your memory helped King of Shu Liu Yu simply because he was the lesser of the evils, a desperate and helpless choice.]
[In the late Daya calendar year 496, the Empress’s injuries proved too severe, and she died in the Imperial Palace. The situation in the Xia State became more chaotic, and the morale of the imperial army plummeted, causing the soldiers to retreat. The ecstatic vassals took the opportunity to conquer the Xia State, dividing it among themselves and waging war on one another.]
[Upon witnessing the situation, you could only express regret that Xia Yuan had ultimately faced misfortune. If the invincible ancestor of Xia State could have lived another ten years, she could have truly suppressed everything and reversed the dire situation.]
“So, in the end, it became like this. But Xia Yuan was indeed a wise ruler.” Wang Ping couldn’t help but sigh.
It was just a shame.
If it were set in a normal ancient context, with the Empress’s talents in governing and the hearts of the people on her side, the vassals would not dare to revolt suddenly.
Public opinion is a terrifying force, capable of amassing unparalleled power.
However, this is the Profound World, where the power of ordinary people amounts to little.
A spiritual realm expert can effortlessly annihilate tens of thousands of ordinary people with a single strike.
Consequently, the vassals naturally didn’t care about public opinion.
Regardless of popular support, they would only need to rule the country once they ascended the throne.
If they failed to become the emperor, what use was public sentiment? What did it matter if more ordinary people died?
“In chaotic times, human lives are like grass.” Wang Ping murmured to himself.
Afterward, Wang Ping looked at the luminescent screen again, wanting to know the subsequent developments.
Though he could probably guess what happened next.
[In Daya Calendar year 500, your cultivation improved, and you successfully advanced to the Spiritual Realm Third Tier. That same year, Bai Tianhong’s cultivation broke through to the Spiritual Realm Seventh Tier. Unable to sit back and watch the misery of the common people, he descended the mountain against the Sword Spirit Sect Supreme Elder’s wishes. Bai Tianhong helped vassal Liu Yu by killing all the spiritual realm experts of the various factions, allowing him to ascend to the throne and rename the country as Great Shu.]
[Meanwhile, Chu and Zhao, witnessing the Sword Spirit Sect abandoning its neutral stance to intervene and Xia undergoing dynastic change, cease their meaningless war and begin healing their wounds.]
[You were not surprised by these developments.]
[On June 1st, in the first year of the Shu Calendar, you went down the mountain to visit Chifeng. However, Chifeng and Chi Tongtong mysteriously disappeared right before your eyes. You were dumbfounded.]
[In your opinion, even if the Chi family’s mortal enemy had made a move using the bloodline curse, it shouldn’t have been so bizarre. At the very least, there should have been an event leading up to their sudden death and subsequent disintegration.]
[Ultimately, you could only drown your sorrows with Bai Tianhong in drink.] “So strange, huh…?” Wang Ping furrowed his brows, his expression somber.
The mysterious disappearance right under his eyes, without even a trace of ashes left behind, was just too strange. He couldn’t imagine what kind of method could have caused this.
“Am I destined to fail in protecting the people of Chi Village?” Wang Ping frowned, feeling uneasy.
After a long silence, Wang Ping could only continue looking at the luminescent screen.
Maintaining its pace, the text on the luminescent screen continued to emerge.
[In the second year of the Shu Calendar, the neighboring Exotic Races took advantage of Great Shu’s weakness and invaded. They pillaged, looted, and committed unspeakable acts wherever they went, leaving no survivors.
Furious, Shu State sent out a large army to suppress them, and the Sword Spirit Sect, also angry, had its Supreme Elders descend from the mountain.]
[Among them, Bai Tianhong returned to the field once more, determined to crush the Exotic Races. In the end, with Bai Tianhong’s unparalleled strength, all the Exotic Races were annihilated, and peace was restored to the world.]
[In the tenth year of the Shu Calendar, Bai Tianhong reached the Great Perfection in the Spiritual Realm and began closed-door cultivation to break through to the Transcendent Realm.]
[That same year, disturbances erupted in the Great Shu Jianghu, with a large number of experts disappearing without trace, along with entire towns and villages of people. This attracted the attention of the Shu government, which launched an investigation.]
[However, the experts dispatched by the Shu government to investigate also mysteriously vanished. Founding Emperor of Shu Liu Yu was alarmed and furious, and he sent out spiritual realm experts to investigate.. Despite this, they were quickly cut off from communication and couldn’t even send back news!]