Chapter 172: Kazhou Insect Army

The three Heavenly Kings, having exerted immense effort to escape the Heaven Thunder Forbidden Zone, watched Qin Mu's figure continuously flash and fade, growing smaller and more distant from them.

All three sighed.

"If I had known this task would be so arduous, I would never have accepted it..." Heavenly King Lu wiped black ash from his face and murmured, "This generation's Holy Cult Master is simply too unpredictable."

The other two elders deeply agreed. Heavenly King Shi said, "At least it's finally over. The Holy Cult Master is still young, but he's already showing immense promise; it's a blessing for our Holy Cult. Now that this matter is resolved, we should investigate the affair of Heavenly King Qian."

Heavenly King Lu and Heavenly King Yu felt a chill in their hearts. They stated solemnly, "Indeed, we must investigate who is targeting our Holy Cult!"

Heavenly King Shi's expression was grave as he said in a deep voice, "My greatest concern isn't that, but whether our cult's teleportation flags might have been leaked. It's a turbulent time... Look below, it seems to be the territory of Wuzhou!"

"Wuzhou? Our cult's Sacred Mountain has moved above Wuzhou?" Heavenly King Yu's heart trembled slightly. He exhaled a turbid breath and said, "Wuzhou is in rebellion, with royal relatives revolting, and the momentum is considerable. If the Holy Cult Master has fallen into Wuzhou, I'm afraid..."

Sacred Mountain of the Arrival, hidden within the Heaven Thunder Forbidden Zone, hovered high above the heavens. This sacred ground was not stationary; it was constantly in motion. On the Sacred Mountain of the Arrival, there was a place called the Abyss View. Standing there and looking down into the abyss, one could see the landscape directly beneath the mountain, even ants on the ground were clearly visible. However, in their haste this time, none of them had time to check the Abyss View. As a result, Qin Mu left the Sacred Mountain just as it passed over Wuzhou.

"Let's hope the Holy Cult Master hasn't fallen into a battlefield," Heavenly King Lu murmured.

Qin Mu fell from the sky. Fox Spirit activated a demonic wind, and Qin Mu rode the wind. Before long, he finally landed on solid ground. His vital qi was largely depleted, but he was safe nonetheless.

"It's been a long time since I've been to the Imperial College. As the first Grand Academician and an official appointed by the Emperor, I've only attended one lecture." He looked around and had Fox Spirit take out the Yankang geographical map from his satchel. Qin Mu identified the mountain ranges and found similar ones on the map.

"It's Wuzhou. But it's still far from the city." Just then, he saw a ship slowly flying through the sky. Qin Mu's heart stirred, and he immediately activated his Heaven Pilfering Divine Legs, chasing after the flying boat along the foothills. The flying boat, bearing the banner of a merchant caravan, served both as a cargo and passenger vessel. Despite the current chaos of war, there were still many merchant and passenger ships, even in the rebellious areas.

Qin Mu ran faster and faster, then suddenly stepped on air, rising into the sky. He dashed through the air as if on solid ground, catching up to the flying boat in a few breaths, and with a flash, landed on the deck.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The sound of swords being drawn filled the air. The moment he landed, dozens of flying swords were pointed at his neck, surrounding him from all sides.

"Everyone, don't be alarmed, I just want to catch a ride," Qin Mu quickly said, raising his hands cautiously.

There were dozens of people on the flying boat's deck, most of whom appeared to be merchants, along with some cultivators hired by the merchants, and a few officials. It was these officials and cultivators who were pointing flying swords at his neck.

"Young man, where are you headed?" the bare-chested boat captain, covered in tattoos, walked over. He scrutinized Qin Mu, his expression one of surprise, and asked.

Qin Mu asked, "Is this ship going to the capital?"

The boat captain nodded and said, "Yes, to the capital. The fare is one hundred Dafeng coins."

Qin Mu was startled and exclaimed, "That expensive? From Jiangling to the capital, it's only ten Dafeng coins. How did it multiply tenfold in an instant?"

"Times are tough, with daily battles and unrest along the way, so fares naturally increase. Heh heh, tenfold is already a small increase. This is a job where we're risking our lives, so we naturally need more hazard pay."

Qin Mu assented. If he were to walk to the capital himself, with the ongoing war and chaos, it would likely take him over ten days. Using the Heaven Pilfering Divine Legs required exceptionally profound cultivation, and he would quickly exhaust his energy if he ran for too long, so traveling by ship was more convenient.

"The world is not peaceful. I hear Qiu Dieyi of Linzhou has also revolted." Qin Mu paid the fare and overheard some merchants chatting. An old gentleman said, "Qiu Dieyi is no ordinary person. Before she sided with the imperial court, she was the Grand Palace Mistress of Liqing Palace, with earth-shattering cultivation. Liqing Palace has vast influence, with many disciples, a lot of whom serve as generals in the border armies. With the Grand Palace Mistress of Liqing Palace revolting, heh heh, the world will only become more chaotic."

"I heard Liqing Palace is the largest sect founded by women, with extraordinary power, not much inferior to the three great sacred grounds. Many female generals in the imperial court hail from Liqing Palace."

"The Three Wonders Fortress has also revolted. Back then, the Three Wonders Fortress enjoyed immense imperial favor; Consort Che was from the Three Wonders Fortress, supposedly the granddaughter of Che Zhengli, one of the Three Wonders! With the Three Wonders Fortress revolting this time, Consort Che was directly relegated to the cold palace."

"Why are so many sects revolting?"

"Don't you know? Three months ago, the Dao Son of the Dao Sect went to block the Imperial College's gates, and the Yankang National Master went to the Imperial College to give a sword lecture. It was then that people noticed the National Master was severely wounded. They say the National Master's wounds had started to fester, and he deliberately used fragrances to cover it, but even that couldn't hide the stench."

"Initially, when this news spread, some sects didn't believe it. But then another incident occurred: the Dragon Herding Sect Master secretly visited the National Master's mansion at night, exchanged blows with him, and actually left alive! The Dragon Herding Sect Master's skill isn't top-tier; he cultivates a serpent-turned-dragon, barely qualifying as a Cult Master-level expert. But the National Master couldn't even defeat him, which shows how severe his injuries are."

"Shhh, don't talk anymore, those officials are looking over here."

Qin Mu's heart stirred. He recalled the National Master's sword lecture in front of the Imperial College hall that day. The Yankang National Master did indeed appear somewhat sickly, but Qin Mu himself was skilled in medicine and often accompanied Granny Si to buy cosmetics, so he was certain that the National Master's flushed face was not due to illness, but from applying rouge. As for the merchants' claims about using fragrances to mask the stench of festering wounds, Qin Mu had indeed smelled those two scents at the time, but hadn't paid them much mind. Since childhood, he had studied under a pharmacist, learning to identify herbs and medicines. Both scents were merely those of common medicinal herbs and spices.

Qin Mu frowned. "The National Master's injuries have already healed, yet he used the opportunity of lecturing at the Imperial College to make outsiders believe he was still severely wounded, thinking of ways to incite those who wished to rebel but dared not. This level of cunning is truly terrifying."

The National Master's lecture at the Imperial College was three months ago. In these three months, the situation had grown increasingly chaotic, with sects and officials revolting everywhere. Qin Mu felt he understood the Yankang National Master less and less. The National Master had thrown the situation into such disarray that it was almost irreparable. Even if he could quell the rebellion, Yankang would be severely weakened. Furthermore, Yankang also faced external enemies: the Barbarian Di Nation to the west and the Langjuxu Nation to the north, suffering from both internal strife and external threats.

"Could the Yankang National Master be planning to usurp the throne?" he wondered, a look of doubt on his face. The imperial court and the rebels would fight bitterly, both suffering heavy losses, allowing the Yankang National Master to seize the opportunity to usurp the throne and declare himself emperor. However, while Qin Mu didn't know the Yankang National Master well, he didn't believe someone of such breadth of mind and character would resort to such methods to usurp the throne.

Suddenly, the flying boat shook violently. Qin Mu's heart leaped, and he quickly knelt by the railing to look out, only to see the flying boat had entered a battlefield. This battlefield was in the air, with not only flying boats and warships but also peculiar flying treasures or mounts like flying chariots, flying clouds, and flying cavalry. Fortunately, their flying boat was on the edge of the battlefield. Seeing the danger, the boatman immediately put the rudder hard to port. The flying boat tilted precariously, narrowly avoiding a warship and skimming past the side of the battlefield.

Qin Mu steadied himself to avoid falling. Suddenly, a cavalry troop riding golden-winged eagles charged towards them. From a distance, he saw flying swords erupting from the sword caskets on the riders' backs, arcing through the air towards the people on the ship. The boat captain quickly shouted loudly, "We are passing merchants, not soldiers!"

The cavalry troop paid no heed. Sharp swords flew onto the deck, attacking the people on board, and several swords also sliced at the sails, severing their ropes and causing the flying boat's speed to drop instantly. The people on the ship felt their scalps tingle. This was a battle between regular armies; clearly, one side fighting was Yankang's rebellion-suppressing army, and the other was local rebel forces, not just a simple sect uprising. For sect rebellions, aside from large-scale sects like the three great sacred grounds, it was difficult for other cults to muster strength capable of resisting a nation's regular army.

The Yankang National Master's reforms not only overhauled elementary schools, universities, and the Imperial College, but also military equipment. Soldiers in the army were equipped with standardized spirit weapons. One-on-one, they might not be a match for sect disciples, but in large numbers, similarly wielding swords with qi, many soldiers working together could unleash a volley of ten thousand swords, with astonishing power! Besides combined attacks, the army also employed ground and air combinations, linked spell formations, and various other tactics. Ten Five-Star Realm soldiers working together could easily slay a Six-Fold Realm cultivator. Even renowned sects in the martial world, when faced with an imperial encirclement and the army's tactics, were powerless to resist. In Yankang's history of annexing other states, not a few sects were wiped out this way!

On the flying boat, Qin Mu composed himself and was about to activate his sword casket when he suddenly remembered that all the flying swords within it had been destroyed in the Loulan Golden Palace, so he had discarded the casket.

"Use the Shao Bao Sword!" Qin Mu dodged the incoming flying swords. His vital qi surged into his Taotie pouch. With a crisp clang, the Shao Bao Sword unsheathed and flew out of the pouch. With a gentle sweep of the Cloud Sword Form, all the attacking flying swords were severed by him. Their blades fell onto the ship, leaving only their hilts. His sword skills were profound, and coupled with the Shao Bao Sword's sharpness, he was practically unstoppable.

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. He then noticed that on the backs of the golden-winged eagles, the soldiers opened cloth pouches at their waists. A buzzing sound instantly erupted, and countless golden, glittering insects flew out of the pouches.

"It's the insect army!" The other passengers on the flying boat's faces changed drastically, and they cried out in alarm, "The Three Wonders Fortress's insect army!"

The soldiers pointed. Countless flying insects formed into a swarm, like a venomous dragon, rushing onto the ship. They burrowed into anyone they saw, biting relentlessly. Not far from Qin Mu, a portly merchant, whose cultivation wasn't weak, was targeted. The insects burrowed into his body through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The next moment, the entire fat merchant suddenly deflated as if his air had been let out, leaving only a human skin draped on the deck. Beneath the human skin, countless insects wriggled, then crawled out from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and with a buzzing sound, flew into the air, flapping their wings.