26 Days of Scavenging

The capital of the Qing Kingdom, the site of the Immortal Master's sacrificial ceremony.

Everyone was eagerly anticipating what might happen, hoping to witness a miracle. This was a ritual personally participated in by the gods; who knew what kind of spectacular phenomena might occur, like colorful clouds and divine radiance!

However, amidst such anticipation, the celestial master in the central altar suddenly vanished!

In the blink of an eye, it vanished!

Vanished without a trace!

At this moment, the entire sacrificial site was deathly silent.

The onlookers' eyes were still filled with expectation, and they still clung to a sliver of hope. They thought, perhaps this was just the ritual of the celestial master? Maybe the celestial master had gone to heaven to help communicate with the gods and would return soon?

And so we waited and waited.

It wasn't until the Qing Kingdom's ruler at the very front suddenly roared like a madman that everyone snapped out of their daze.

The immortal master... has left us?!

The immortal master has abandoned us?!

Have we been rejected by God?!

No, impossible! How could this be?!

Everyone who witnessed this scene was unable to accept reality.

They shouted, they questioned, they wept, and some even knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to apologize. Some people on the periphery, unable to accept the situation, even shouted that they wanted to rush into the sacrificial center.

The scene was once filled with madness.

The king, who was closest to the center of the ceremony, completely disregarded his image and stared in disbelief at the empty altar.

He roared furiously at those around him, "Find him now! Find the Immortal Master! Impossible! He couldn't have disappeared! He must still be here! All of you, go find him!! If you can't find him, I'll chop off your heads!!!"

One second the king was dreaming of gaining the power of a god, of being able to live forever and control the wind and rain, and the next second, that dream, which was about to come true, was shattered!

How could he possibly accept this!

The king's eyes were bloodshot, like those of a demon.

The surrounding ministers were so frightened that they quietly took a few steps back.

Those who are quick-witted have already realized the truth behind this ritual.

Their gazes toward their king were filled with astonishment; they felt that this king had gone mad. Otherwise, how could he have devised such a terrifying scheme if he weren't?

Now look what's happened, the immortal master is gone!

The crowd of people with the foreign envoys dared not utter a sound from the moment the people disappeared.

Those unaware of the details of the ritual felt as if they had encountered a disgrace from another country. Fearing that speaking out rashly would incur the wrath of the enraged Qing Kingdom ruler, they lamented that they had not yet managed to lure the immortal master back to their country before the immortal master disappeared. They tried to minimize their presence and decided to leave Qing Kingdom in a couple of days.

Anyway, Qing Kingdom no longer has any immortal masters. They came here for the immortal masters in the first place. Without immortal masters, Qing Kingdom is not much different from other countries, so they have nothing to refuse.

Those among the messengers who knew the inside story of the ritual, or even those who had been involved in it, were extremely uneasy at this moment.

The heart of the envoy from Zheng was the fastest.

The Zheng envoy didn't even dare to glance at the center of the altar, as if looking at it for even a moment would cause the vanished immortal master to reappear and take revenge.

He quietly moved to Zheng Jinqi's side, who was hiding in the crowd with his face covered, and said with a look of fear, "Lord Zheng, what should we do!"

The Zheng army was almost wiped out by the immortal master, which made the entire Zheng state feel extremely humiliated. This time, they sent an envoy to the Qing state with the intention of inviting the immortal master back to Zheng if possible, and if they failed, they would find a way to retaliate.

With this in mind, when they discovered that the Qing Kingdom's ruler was not as magnanimous and enlightened as rumored, they tried every means to exert their influence.

People are inherently selfish, especially those like kings who hold high positions of power and have wielded authority for a long time; their selfishness is often extremely strong.

And so, very smoothly, they secretly reached a deal with the King of Qing Kingdom to murder the Immortal Master.

In order to make the Qing Kingdom's ruler more ruthless, the Zheng Kingdom's envoy even offered to share only a small portion of the benefits, giving the lion's share to the Qing Kingdom's ruler.

They tampered with the rituals, and fearing that the immortal master would discover it beforehand, they did many things themselves, for fear that if too many people were involved, the news would leak out.

Despite being so careful and cautious, who would have thought that at the very last moment, when things were just about to turn around, such a huge change would occur!

Those are gods!

They exposed their intentions to harm the immortals and even allowed them to escape!

What terrifying fate awaits them next?!

The more the messenger thought about it, the more limp he felt.

Zheng Jinqi, who was standing to the side, was both shocked and furious.

The scene of slashing the snow-haired boy with a knife but leaving him unharmed resurfaced in his mind. The pain and hatred of those days as a prisoner were suddenly overwhelmed by the fear of encountering a god.

He couldn't speak at that moment, only feeling ice-cold all over his body, surrounded by nightmares!

The sacrificial site grew increasingly chaotic, and everyone's hearts turned cold.

With his dream shattered and on the verge of madness, the Qing Kingdom's king held a large sword. His once neatly tied hair had fallen loose during his previous outburst, and his disheveled appearance made him look even more like a madman.

However, he no longer cared about his image.

The king coldly summoned the capital guards and ordered, "Shut up, everyone. Those who are not involved, get out of here. Anyone who dares to utter a sound, behead them all! This sacrificial site always needs to be paved with blood."

The Commander of the Capital Guard bowed his head and replied, "Yes."

At his command, the soldiers who had been fully prepared and lying in ambush around the sacrificial site all came out at once.

This army was originally intended for use by the immortal master to prevent him from rebelling.

Now, their swords are pointed at those who came to witness the ceremony.

Under the suppression of the soldiers' weapons, which gleamed with a chilling light, the entire sacrificial site fell silent.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from behind.

It was another squad of Imperial Guards; they should have been at the Immortal Master's residence, occupying that magical immortal warehouse.

Upon seeing this army appear, the king's expression changed again.

The deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, who was running at the forefront, disregarded the surrounding civilians and ministers and knelt down before the king with a thud, apologizing: "Your Majesty! The Immortal Master's warehouse has vanished!"

My bad premonition came true.

The king's face turned deathly pale.

Before he could react, another exclamation rang out.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and found it was the local guards.

At first there were only one or two exclamations, but in the blink of an eye the exclamations became more and more numerous and louder, and the commotion among the guards spread to a large area.

The commander suddenly knelt on the ground and shouted, "Your Majesty, it's terrible! The divine weapons...the divine weapons have all...turned into scrap metal!!!"

Upon closer inspection, everyone saw that not only had the divine weapons turned into rectangular blocks of iron, but even the divine armor worn by the soldiers had fallen apart, crashing to the ground with a series of crackling sounds.

Boom!—

A thunderclap resounded through the sky in broad daylight.

The king could no longer bear the fear and fell to the ground with a thud.

.

The scandal of the Qing Kingdom's immortal master's ritual spread to various countries within days.

Even if the ruler of Qing Kingdom forbids the people from discussing it, and all those who do so are imprisoned and executed, there is no way to control the rumors that are spreading in the shadows.

The reputation of the Qing Kingdom's ruler plummeted to an all-time low.

Three days after the sacrificial event, an earthquake struck the capital of Qing Kingdom. The area where the royal palace was located was the most severely affected by the earthquake, and most of the palace was destroyed in the process.

Even the king's palace and the main hall where the court was held collapsed into ruins during this earthquake.

For a time, everyone said that this was a warning from the king for harming the gods.

If it were just this earthquake, such comments might have been suppressed after a while.

However, before the end of the year was completely over, another disaster struck the Qing Kingdom.

The hometown of the Minister of Rites was hit by a massive flood, turning even the hills into a vast expanse of water!

Upon hearing this news, the Minister of Rites fainted on the spot.

When he was finally revived, he ran out of the house in disheveled clothes, without avoiding passersby and people. Right there in front of everyone, he ran to the altar of the immortal master, knelt down with a thud, and repented with tears streaming down his face.

"I am guilty! I am guilty beyond measure!!! Immortal Master! Please spare my betrotheds! I shouldn't have helped the King harm you! I'm a beast! It was the King who made me change the details of the ritual, and it was also the King who made me draw the formation. It's all the King's fault! Immortal Master, I'm so sorry! Immortal Master, if you have a spirit in heaven, I offer this worthless life to atone for my sins to you!!"

After saying that, he rammed his head against the altar.

Fresh blood gradually seeped in.

No one dared to step forward to collect his body.

Following the suicide of the Minister of Rites, the floodwaters in his hometown slowly receded.

The land ravaged by the floods was no longer habitable, and groups of refugees set off from the disaster-stricken areas toward the capital.

They already knew about the Minister of Rites' suicide and had heard his apology before his death. Their hatred for the king was immense, and they were determined to go to the capital to demand an explanation from the king!

With such a large group of refugees flooding the capital, it's foreseeable that life in the capital will be difficult for some time.

But that's not all.

In the following year, Qing Kingdom was plagued by a series of disasters, as if a hornet's nest had been disturbed.

Wildfires, floods, landslides, snow disasters.

Furthermore, with neighboring countries eyeing them covetously, the Qing Kingdom's army failed to win a single battle! Unfavorable weather and circumstances consistently led to defeats in wars.

The territory of Qing Kingdom has been annexed time and time again.

As disasters continued to strike and the number of refugees grew, a rumor began to spread among the people.

"The current king is unworthy to rule Qing Kingdom. As long as he is in power, the gods will punish Qing Kingdom. Only by overthrowing the king can the people of Qing Kingdom be saved!"

"We must use the king's life to atone for our sins like a god!"

In Guanshi County, the street that was once a plague-locked-down zone is now solemn.

The streets were lined with offerings of various fruits, incense, candles, and other items, all donated by the people of Guanshi County. It seemed as if a little white-haired deity would appear from the other end of the street soon and pick up all this "trash."

At the end of the street, the room that the little fairy used as a laboratory to make the plague cure has now been completely renovated.

Besides the various instruments that the little fairy made by hand, there was also a large umbrella inside.

The umbrella is colorful, made up of scraps of fabric of different colors, patterns and materials pieced together.

This umbrella was made by the entire population of Guanshi County, who worked together to create it piece by piece!

Originally, this umbrella was to be delivered to the capital by a representative of Guanshi County and given to the little immortal in person. However, the umbrella was not handed over, and the little immortal was killed and disappeared by evil people.

Every time they look at this umbrella, everyone in Guanshi County is filled with sorrow and anger.

Little deity, such a wonderful little deity, yet the king...!

Wei Chun stood in front of the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Fellow villagers, the plan is progressing very smoothly, and everything is developing as expected. Now the final step of the rumors has spread. Next, it's time for us to avenge the little immortal!"

"Fellow villagers, are you going to back out?!"

"I will never go back on my word!"

The first to shout were Wei Chun's parents. They had been critically ill with the plague and were on the verge of death when the little deity saved them.

Now, even if their son has embarked on a path of rebellion from which there is no return, they are filled with pride and have no regrets whatsoever!

Immediately afterward, all the people of Guanshi County responded, "We will never go back on our word!"

They knew that many of them might die after today, but they also knew that if it weren't for the little deity, they would have died long ago.

Those who harmed the little deity are still shamelessly living; it's time for them to do something for the little deity!

All the able-bodied men in Guanshi County who still had the strength to wield a knife followed Wei Chun toward the city gate.

At the city gate, Generals Hong Kang and Sheng Lu stood on either side. Behind them, the Hong family army and the Sheng family army stood densely packed.

The two armies were not there to stop Wei Chun and his group.

Upon seeing Wei Chun, Hong Kang and Sheng Lu laughed heartily, mounted their horses, and said, "We've been waiting for you! Let's go, let's take that dog king's head as a token of our gratitude to this little immortal!"

Beside Hong Kang, Zhong Yuande also smiled at Wei Chun. He didn't say anything, just nodded, his face full of expectation.

Between the two armies was another group of people, including the old and the young, even women, who seemed out of place among the troops.

However, no one dared to underestimate them.

Standing at the very front of this group of dozens of people was Sun Yiyun, who, despite her age, was still full of energy.

Sun Yiyun patted the bundle on her body: "Charge with confidence, don't be afraid to die. Our Sun family has prepared all the necessary medicines. We can save you even if you're missing an arm or a leg. We also have plenty of poison if you need it. If you can't reach the king, then the reputation of my Sun family is ruined!"

The woman next to Sun Yiyun smiled slightly: "My second uncle, Sun Yichao, is in the capital. Everything is ready, so don't worry."

"good!"

As Wei Chun spoke, he waved a flag. The flag had no words on it, only a head of white hair woven from snow-white silk threads.

He looks just like a little fairy!

"Let's go! To avenge the little immortal!"

"Avenge the little immortal!"

.

Six months later, the capital of Qing Kingdom fell to refugees from all over the country. Among them, the Snow Hair Army, which included the people of Guanshi County, took the lead and rushed straight to the Qing Kingdom's palace.

The king of Qing Kingdom had already been tied up.

The one who tied him up was none other than his third son, Liu Yun, the third prince of Qing Kingdom.

Liu Yun took over the Capital Guard, but he did not intend for the Capital Guard to resist the refugees and other rebel forces.

He even took the initiative to send messages to Wei Chun and others, asking them to go to the Immortal Master's sacrificial site for a while.

Liu Yun wants to apologize to the immortal master here with the blood of the king.

The rebels accepted the offer.

The scale of this apology ceremony, and the number of onlookers, surpassed even the scale of the previous immortal master's sacrificial ceremony.

The Qing Kingdom's king was bound and placed at the front, with everyone behind him who had been involved before the Immortal Master's sacrificial ceremony.

The stewards and servants of the Naji residence who betrayed their master by tipping him off, the officials in charge of the details of the rituals, the eunuchs who knew the inside story, and the soldiers who led troops to control the immortal master and his residence.

The blankets were tightly bound all over the ground.

Even the envoys from Zheng, including Zheng Jinqi, were bound here after being coerced by Liu Yun and Wei Chun with both their interests and military power to bring people from Zheng.

These people are now covered in snot and tears, filled with remorse, and constantly pleading for mercy.

The King of Qing looked at his third son, cursing him with all sorts of foul language, showing no demeanor whatsoever of a ruler.

Liu Yun remained completely unfazed by this.

"Alright, the auspicious time has arrived. Let's begin the apology."

As the greatsword fell, the array patterns on the Immortal Master's sacrificial altar, which had not been stained with blood, were finally soaked with the spreading blood.

A sea of ​​red.

The Qing Kingdom thus came to an end in the drama of rivalry among nations. All that talk of immortality and miraculous powers was reduced to lessons and condemnations in history books.