Chapter 974: Black

Since we can't gather any Sīmìng intelligence from their side, we'll have to find a solution from our end. In the current situation, the more we understand them, the better prepared we'll be for the upcoming confrontations. After all, knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory.

"Senior Brother Li, I'm afraid you're the only one who can go. The rest of us can't enter Tianchen."

Hearing this, Li Huowang slowly turned his head to look at Gao Zhijian behind him. "Does this matter concern Zuo Qiuyong?"

At present, the only thing in Tianchen that could capture Gao Zhijian's attention was likely the flesh Sīmìng.

Gao Zhijian nodded. "Exactly. Tianchen naturally cannot remain uninvolved in this matter. Since he is the lord of Tianchen, with the crisis looming, he must issue the 'Contamination Edict.' Everyone bears responsibility for the nation's rise and fall, and the people of Tianchen must also contribute."

Gao Zhijian spoke as if it were the most natural thing, as if he were merely requesting the people's labor.

"Hmph, do you think that's useful? You say Tianchen should be contaminated, and it will be? Tianchen is not much smaller than Daqi, and its population is certainly no less. Do you think Zuo Qiuyong will believe you?"

Gao Zhijian shook his head. "What I say is useless, but what you say is useful, Senior Brother Li. The population of Tianchen is no less than that of Daqi in the past. If the people of Tianchen are contaminated, our chances of victory will increase."

"We need to win. Doesn't Senior Brother Li want to win? Moreover, if we lose, the people of Tianchen will also perish."

Li Huowang closed the book in his hand, stood up, and silently walked towards the door. At this moment, words were futile; it was either all live or all die. "I'll go talk to Zuo Qiuyong. Tianchen should still have some strategists."

"Senior Brother Li, your kindness is immense. I leave this matter to you." Gao Zhijian bowed to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang walked up to Gao Zhijian, clenched his fist, and punched him hard in the face. "Stop using me as your damn pawn! I find myself disliking you more and more!"

Gao Zhijian gently raised a hand, stopping the guards and eunuchs behind him.

"Senior Brother Li, you yourself said it: a good emperor. A good emperor has never been pleasing in others' eyes."

"You want to be a good emperor, do you? Fine! Today, I'll take you to face him alone! You go talk to Zuo Qiuyong yourself! If he kills or cripples you, I won't lift a finger!" Li Huowang stepped closer, placed one hand on Gao Zhijian's shoulder, and with a powerful leap, they instantly traveled from Daliang to Tianchen.

Inside Daliang was Shangjing City, but in Tianchen, the land was covered in vast, dense forests, with an endless range of black mountains in the distance.

"Senior Brother Li, he won't harm me. It would be the same no matter who went. Zuo Qiuyong will agree. Even though he is a Sīmìng, he cannot remain unaffected by this matter." Facing the unfamiliar surroundings, Gao Zhijian remained calm, still engaging in conversation with Li Huowang.

"Shh! Don't speak, something's wrong here!" Standing in the forest, Li Huowang frowned, scrutinizing his surroundings.

Everything in Tianchen seemed normal, yet to him, it felt strangely off, as if something had changed.

"What? Did the people of Fusheng Heaven occupy Tianchen? Or is it an ambush?" Gao Zhijian immediately considered the worst possibilities.

"No!" Li Huowang said, suddenly fixating his gaze on the distant mountain range. The more he looked, the more it resembled a human form. As far as he knew, Tianchen was primarily composed of forests, with few prominent mountains.

"Let's go!" Li Huowang pulled Gao Zhijian along, instantly using 'Shrink the Ground into Inches' to rapidly approach the mountain range.

As Li Huowang drew closer, his expression gradually turned grim. The black mountain was moving.

When they finally reached the base of the mountain, the overwhelming stench churned Li Huowang's stomach. Before him was a buzzing mountain of corpses and a sea of flies!

It appeared black only because countless flies completely covered the mountain-sized body, making it seem black from a distance.

"What on earth is this?!" Li Huowang's furious shout instantly disturbed the dense swarm of flies.

A dense black cloud rose, obscuring the entire sky. And as that blackness ascended, what remained on the ground was an impossibly vast, decaying mountain of corpses, covered in squirming maggots.

Though he was unwilling to believe it, reality didn't lie. This mountain-sized body was none other than Zuo Qiuyong, the one who controlled the Heavenly Dao of Growth. His body had been consumed by decay.

He was dead, his demise like a cruel joke.

"This is impossible, utterly impossible!" Li Huowang stumbled back a few steps in disbelief, staring at the corpse of his ally. "We clearly won! How could Zuo Qiuyong be dead?!"

Li Huowang couldn't comprehend how Zuo Qiuyong, before him, had died. He had clearly defeated them, he had clearly killed the Sīmìng of Fusheng Heaven!

"What in the world happened?!" Li Huowang looked at Gao Zhijian in utter shock. However, Gao Zhijian knew even less than Li Huowang about the situation and had no idea what was going on.

Xuanpin, who was most likely to know the truth, was already dead. In fact, no one understood the entire situation better than him now. If even he didn't know, then others would surely be even more clueless.

Unwilling to accept this, Li Huowang stomped his feet hard on the ground and rushed into Zuo Qiuyong's corpse, intending to search for clues himself.

He first searched continuously within Zuo Qiuyong's brain, then burrowed into various parts of his body, missing no detail.

After a long while, when Gao Zhijian saw Li Huowang emerge again, he immediately stepped forward and asked, "Senior Brother Li, what happened?"

Li Huowang shook his head in disbelief. "The Heavenly Dao of Growth is gone. I searched everywhere but couldn't find it. The Heavenly Dao of Growth has vanished from Zuo Qiuyong's body!"

*Did Fusheng Heaven ambush Zuo Qiuyong and steal the Heavenly Dao of Growth while I wasn't paying attention?* Li Huowang wondered inwardly.

But then he vigorously shook his head again. "That's impossible, absolutely impossible. If they forcibly stole a Sīmìng's Heavenly Dao, it couldn't happen so silently. Moreover, this involves the Heavenly Dao itself."

"If the Heavenly Dao of Growth were stolen by a Sīmìng of Fusheng Heaven, there would definitely be cataclysms! The Heavenly Dao of Growth should completely disappear from the Five Realms!"

"Yet, whether it's Daqi, Daliang, or even Tianchen, growth still exists. This means the Heavenly Dao of Growth has not left the White Jade Capital!"