Witch Wind

Chapter 408 Li Tian is Dead (Part 1)

The high-end combat force of Ziyang Pass was almost completely wiped out.

Xing Tianli conquered Ziyang City by simply summoning a force of ten thousand mechanical war puppets from the Tower of Creation, easily gaining control of the entire city. These mechanical war puppets, possessing the combat power of Golden Immortals, were deliberately sized to be just over three feet six inches tall.

This height is quite unusual.

To the people of Ziyang Pass, the fact that a mechanical puppet of such short stature had conquered Ziyang City must be an internal dispute within the Dali Holy Dynasty, and had nothing to do with the outsider Shu Han.

As is well known, Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of Shu Han, was also proficient in the art of the wooden horse and the flowing ox. However, the wooden horses and the flowing ox that Prime Minister Zhuge Liang created were at least several dozen feet long, and the largest could even be as big as a sun. They could swallow dozens of habitable planets from Ziyang Pass in one gulp.

Therefore, a mechanical puppet that is more than three feet tall could not possibly be a product of Shu Han!
In the prison of Ziyang City, all the prisoners were brought out by Xing Tianli's mechanical puppets. In a quiet valley in the mountains outside the city, tens of thousands of prisoners huddled cautiously on the ground.

On one side of the valley, there is a Penholder Peak, which is over a hundred feet high.

Xing Tianli sat cross-legged on the sharp mountaintop, looking down at the prisoners—he was over ten feet tall, and at such a high place, he was undoubtedly a majestic god-like figure to these little people, looking down on them from the clouds for the rest of their lives.

All around, there were even more great yaksha deities with three heads and six arms, or even a hundred heads and a thousand arms, standing on dark clouds, baring their teeth and 'cackling evil laughter' at these little figures. These great yaksha deities, whose cultivation was at least at the Taiyi realm, not only had a powerful aura, but they were also tens of feet tall, with strange appearances of many heads and arms, which made these little figures tremble with fear.

"I, Xing Tianshi, sensed the will of Heaven and knew that the Great Li Holy Dynasty was about to undergo a great upheaval. Among you, there are those who obey Heaven's will. I have come to Ziyang City to follow the guidance of Heaven, to free you from your shackles, to change the world, and to create a new world!"

Xing Tianli spoke these words with utmost decisiveness.

—'Heaven has declared that the Great Li Holy Dynasty is doomed. I rescued you from the death row so that you might rebel!'
Li Wu, being a seasoned merchant who had traveled extensively, was knowledgeable and had befriended many influential people. Upon hearing Xing Tianli's words, Li Wu broke out in a cold sweat and stared at Xing Tianli as if he had seen a ghost.

Many prisoners in the cell did not understand what Xing Tianli was saying.

In the Dali Holy Dynasty, many commoners had no opportunity to study—even though Shu Han repeatedly suggested that the Dali Holy Dynasty should popularize literacy among all its citizens, and even used some forceful means to compel the Dali Holy Dynasty to establish the imperial examination system.

However, the Dali Holy Dynasty repeatedly paid lip service to the agreement while secretly resisting it, and repeatedly shirked its responsibilities.

Now, the imperial examination system has been established in the Dali Holy Dynasty, but very few common people can actually study. Of those scholars who rise through the ranks by taking the imperial examination, 70% are still from wealthy and powerful families!

Xing Tianli's words were rather refined, and ninety percent of the prisoners present did not understand them.

Xiao Li understood, and therefore, he became afraid.

Even after being treated so cruelly in prison, Xiao Li Wu was still a wealthy merchant. Wealthy merchants are habitually opportunistic, but they cherish their lives the most. They would never gamble their life and fortune on something with great risk unless absolutely necessary!
For example, changing the day or the season.

For example, a change of dynasty.

Xiao Li was panting, with pus and blood seeping from his mouth. He looked at Xing Tianli, but simply shook his head slightly.

I originally thought that a benefactor had come to save me—but I never expected that he would turn out to be such a delusional person, a madman, a hysterical and delusional lunatic.

"Impossible!" Little Li Wu muttered. "Taoist priest, you've ruined my family's life!"

Your own benefactor can definitely save you.

He was imprisoned, he suffered such cruel treatment, his concubine was wantonly bullied and humiliated... His own benefactor, his own cheap son-in-law, would never know any of this!
Once he finds out, he will definitely come to save me!
After all!
Xiao Li's eyes were shining – he had brought a generous gift for his son-in-law because his two most beloved and beautiful daughters were both pregnant.

As far as their son-in-law was concerned, he was already a celestial being, and it was extremely difficult for celestial beings to have offspring—they were almost reproductively isolated from mortal women, and were practically two different races!
Before this, her own son-in-law had lived a dissolute life and had not left any offspring.

This time, her two daughters were surprisingly pregnant at the same time.

Xiao Li Wu revealed a strange smile.

The daughter herself said that her husband, whom she had taken for granted, seemed to be keen to make them her legal spouses!
Once officially recognized, one's status and position will be completely different, leading to rapid advancement and the prosperity and growth of one's family.

As for the words the mechanical puppet said to Xiao Li Wu when it rescued him from the prison, Xiao Li Wu was already close to death, with only one breath left. He seemed to have heard them clearly, but he also seemed not to have heard them clearly—well, he probably heard those words, but after the initial fear, Xiao Li Wu only believed that it was a delirium caused by his severe injuries.

Must be an illusion.

That's right.

Xing Tianli's gaze swept over the tens of thousands of prisoners in the valley, and he sighed softly.

"This humble Taoist priest needs to send a small gift to Liu Bei and Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to greet them... Those mundane things are too common and embarrassing to give, so this humble Taoist priest is too embarrassed to go with General Zhang Bao to meet them."

"This gift can only be delivered through your hands."

"You must not let down my sincere heart and true intentions!"

Xing Tianli's gaze fell on Xiao Li Wu. He pointed his finger, and a wisp of light green aura—a wisp of life essence differentiated from the primordial liquid of the World Mother Tree—flew out with a whooshing sound and entered Xiao Li Wu's body.

Xiao Li Wu felt an intense itching all over his body as his horrific injuries healed rapidly, including the severed tendons in his hands and feet, which were quickly and perfectly reconnected. Soon, in just a few breaths, not only the injuries Xiao Li Wu had sustained in prison, but also the internal injuries, hidden wounds, and even the depleted vital energy he had accumulated over the years due to his revelry while traveling for business, were all completely replenished and restored to their original state by this wisp of life energy.

Xiao Li stood up, completely bewildered.

He, who was originally on the verge of death and almost torn apart, suddenly seemed to have recovered to his peak eighteen-year-old self. He swung his fists, kicked his legs, jumped around a few times, and then looked down at his smooth, shiny white skin. He knelt down on the ground with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly to Xing Tianli: "This humble commoner, Li Wu, kowtows to thank the immortal master."

Xing Tianli waved his hand, and a large amount of life energy was scattered down.

In the valley, all the prisoners, under the infusion of vital energy, quickly recovered to their most perfect state of life.

For a moment, many prisoners were crying and laughing, and some even jumped around, pointing to the sky and cursing loudly.

Xing Tianli gave a deep shout: "Quiet!"

An invisible force of restriction swept across the entire valley, freezing all the prisoners in place, unable to utter a single word. Xing Tianli smiled at Xiao Li Wu and nodded, saying, "Xiao Li Wu, you are the one destined by Heaven. This matter of changing the world and creating a new world will be handled by you. Is that alright?"

Little Li Wu stared at Xing Tianli in terror, instinctively hissing, "No, it's impossible! Immortal Master, I... I..."

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and Xiao Li Wu raised his voice, wanting to say something.

Xing Tianli waved his hand and said calmly, "Let me tell you, your two daughters, the one who was pregnant, have been poisoned to death. Now, along with the fetus in her womb, their remains have been reduced to ashes and made into bone broth mixed with rice, which has been fed to the dogs."

Xiao Li Wu was stiff all over, his mind went blank, and he stared at Xing Tian Li in disbelief.

Xing Tianli sighed, looking at Xiao Li Wu with pity, and said softly, "I'm too lazy to tell you the whole story. Hmm, what about those head constables?"

Several metal puppets, carrying several constables who had been warmly entertaining Xiao Li Wu and his three concubines for the past two weeks, marched over with a rumbling gait.

They casually tossed the constables to the ground and brutally electrocuted their flesh several times. The constables screamed in agony, hurriedly recounting everything they had learned.

These matters are, of course, private affairs of the inner quarters of wealthy families. But as everyone knows, if the household is not strictly managed, those unruly servants and maids will tell the whole world what color underwear their masters like!

The matter concerning Xiao Li Wu is hardly a core secret of any major family; many people in Ziyang City know it perfectly well!
It's very simple.

Xiao Liwu's two daughters are pregnant.

His son-in-law, the wife who was married to him through proper channels and came from a wealthy family, was not pregnant!
After all, Xiao Li Wu's son-in-law was a Celestial Immortal, while his wife's cultivation was even higher, at the early stage of the Golden Immortal realm. For a Celestial Immortal and a Golden Immortal to conceive naturally was an extremely difficult thing!

Originally, life would have been peaceful and uneventful, and that would have been fine.

However, Xiao Liwu's two daughters became pregnant, and Xiao Liwu's son-in-law had the idea of ​​elevating his two concubines to equal wives. How could the principal wife tolerate two lowly commoners being on equal footing with her?

Even if a concubine's status is lower than that of the principal wife, it is still absolutely unacceptable!

A Golden Immortal from a prominent family wants to create two concubines... or even create the commoner families behind those two concubines... She doesn't even need to lift a finger; with just a command, people will naturally come to her aid.

Xiao Li Wu was arrested and imprisoned.

Little Li Wu's cheap son-in-law only wanted to plead with his legal wife, but he ended up getting slapped twice – how dare a mere celestial being ask a proper golden immortal for help?
So, the son-in-law shut up.

As a result, Xiao Liwu suffered extremely cruel torture in prison, and even his three concubines were unlucky enough to suffer.

A head constable hissed, “That’s right, Uncle Li, we are extorting your money… But this money is all we’re trying to extort from you, it has nothing to do with those important people… Those important people just want you dead, want your whole family wiped out.”

He cried out, “Your possessions, those meager bits of worldly gold and silver jewelry, are not even worth a single elixir to the wealthy... It was because we coveted your wealth that we tortured you and forced you to sign the transfer documents for the merchant guild!”

Xiao Li's face turned deathly pale.

He stared intently at the constables: "Then, what about me, me, and my people?"

A group of constables chuckled dryly: "Well, the news from your hometown is that your whole family has been thrown into jail by the local government long ago... cough cough, they also want a share of your assets... You should actually thank us, if it weren't for us keeping you hanging on, hey!"

Xing Tianli shook his head.

As soon as the big shot spoke, the underlings below started to kill him.

If it weren't for the officials of Ziyang City and the officials of Xiao Li Wu's hometown not being able to divide the spoils equally and using Xiao Li Wu's life and the lives of his clansmen as bargaining chips in their negotiations, Xiao Li Wu's life would have been reduced to ashes long ago.

Even so, according to the information obtained by Xing Tianli through soul-searching, in Xiao Li Wu's hometown, all his wives, concubines, maids, and maids had been violated, some were tortured to death, and many more committed suicide because they could not bear the humiliation.

His children, however, were the ones who could be used to divide his assets. So, although they suffered a lot of physical pain, surprisingly, not many of them died!

However, Xiao Li Wu's possessions were almost entirely squandered.

All of his family's property had been confiscated, and all his floating wealth and real estate had been sealed off by the local officials in his hometown—all that remained was for the officials in Ziyang City and the officials there to come up with a distribution plan that satisfied everyone, and then Xiao Li Wu's entire family would naturally be reduced to dust.

Little Li Wu is quite pitiful.

What did he do wrong?
He did nothing wrong.

He simply followed his merchant instincts and gave his two most beautiful daughters to a nobleman—and he wasn't the only one doing this; how many wealthy merchants in the Dali Holy Dynasty were doing the same thing?

The problem is that his two daughters shouldn't be pregnant.

This was originally a good thing, but when it happened to Xiao Li Wu, a wealthy merchant from a humble background, it became a huge disaster—Madam Jin Xian merely flicked her tongue lightly, and Xiao Li Wu's entire family was plunged into hell.

His son-in-law, after saying a few good words for him and receiving two slaps in return, simply abandoned the situation.

"So..." Xing Tianli sighed softly.

He then looked at the middle-aged man standing next to Xiao Liwu, who had previously been in the same prison as Xiao Liwu and had also been tortured to the point of near death: "Mr. Xiao Qianfeng, your son is also dead."

Xing Tianli looked at the middle-aged man whose face suddenly turned pale with pity.

"He was a very principled boy. When you were imprisoned, he went to appeal for your life, but he was immediately detained by the officials and sent to the mansion of some nobleman. He died that very night."

The middle-aged man, Xiao Qianfeng, sat down on the ground with a thud.

He murmured, "The dynasty has a saying: treat scholars well... treat scholars well..."

Xing Tianli coughed lightly, his gaze falling on several prisoners, and he recounted what had happened to them and their families after they entered the prison.

Of the tens of thousands of prisoners, probably about half were truly guilty.

The remaining half, like Xiao Li Wu and Xiao Qian Feng, were inexplicably thrown into prison, suffered inexplicable misfortune, and subsequently lost their families. Had it not been for Xing Tian Li's prison break and release of them, they wouldn't have left any trace on the official documents of Ziyang City after their deaths.

This Great Li Holy Dynasty.

With the full support of Shu Han, and with their technology already reaching the stars and possessing extremely advanced technological power, their cultivation civilization was also quite advanced.

However, their moral standards are completely mismatched with the technology and knowledge they possess.

Xing Tianli said in a low voice, "Li Tian is dead, the Han Dynasty shall rise. My friends, you have just been to the gates of hell, you should have some understanding by now. This world is not very bright, are you willing to change it?"

Xing Tianli smiled and said, "If you are willing to cooperate, I will give you a way out."

"If you are unwilling to cooperate, I will not force you... I only need to borrow your bodies and your names, and I can still handle this matter perfectly."

Xiao Li Wu, Xiao Qian Feng, and many other prisoners whose families had been inexplicably destroyed stood frozen in place for a long, long time before slowly kneeling down before Xing Tian Li.

Xing Tianli nodded in satisfaction: "That's very good. From now on, you shall be called..."

A hint of mockery flashed in Xing Tianli's eyes.

With a wave of his hand, countless thin yellow turbans shot out from the Tower of Creation, all made of the finest silk using the divine power of manipulating creation: "You are the Taiping Cult, you are the Yellow Turban Army. Little Li Wu, you are the Heavenly King; Little Qian Feng, you are the Earthly King... and you, Little Gou Quan, you are the Human King!"

"Come, here is the Blood Sea True Scripture, which has the fastest cultivation speed. I will personally infuse you with power and help you achieve the cultivation level of a Celestial Immortal in the shortest possible time."

"The warships I'm giving you on the mechanical side are all Taiyi standard warships."

"And these mechanical puppets at the Taiyi Realm level can also fight alongside you."

"Hmm, there are also these Great Yaksha Lords. They can possess you and provide you with enough life-saving abilities when you are in danger!"

Xing Tianli, rambling on and on, rebuilt the Taiping Sect and revived the Yellow Turban Army in this valley.

A month later, tens of thousands of prisoners, clad in fine armor, wielding powerful celestial weapons, and piloting mighty warships, surged out of the valley and marched towards Ziyang City.

In just half a day, Ziyang City was captured again.

Heavenly King Xiao Li Wu shouted the slogan "Equalize wealth and poverty, seek peace, create a new heaven, and welcome the Holy Lord" with all his might.

(End of this chapter)