The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 449 Princess
The biting wind raged as before, but in the heart of the Chute tribe's camp, around the altar temporarily erected around the tallest felt tent, the wind and snow strangely subsided.

The air was thick and heavy, a mixture of a faint smell of blood, the eerie sweetness of irises, and an indescribable odor, creating a unique and nauseating atmosphere that made it hard to breathe.

Bali Shensu sat high on the altar, wearing a large hooded cloak that covered his entire body. Only his slightly exposed face showed a sickly excitement, and his gloomy eyes stared intently at the crowd below who had been driven to the foot of the altar.

"Bali Shensu, you will die a horrible death! The ancestors of the Chute tribe will not forgive you!"

"...Yili Jin, spare my life!" "Grandpa!"

Curses, cries, pleas, and children's screams mingled together. The Chute tribesmen, mostly nobles who had tried to resist after their questioning was rejected, were now being forced to kneel in rows below the altar by Bali Shensu's trusted warriors, who were armed with bone spears and scimitars.

Around the altar, the ordinary Chute tribe members, who had been forcibly driven away to watch, were pale and trembling. Bali Shensu's bloody rule was increasingly exposed, and now he no longer bothered to pretend. After defeating Shili Xuehu and his party, he immediately ordered his confidants, whom he had won over, brainwashed, or controlled over the years, to take down the main nobles in order to intimidate the entire Chute tribe.

So even sobs were suppressed deep in the throats of the crowd, only the clear gurgling of teeth could be heard in the deathly silence. Children's mouths were tightly covered, their little faces turning blue. Bali Shensu's trusted warriors roughly surveyed the crowd, their cold blades ready to fall at any moment, suppressing any possible disturbance.

Bari Shen surveyed the area, now ruled by fear, with satisfaction. He slowly rose, pacing to the edge of the altar with his hands behind his back, first muttering to himself in a hoarse voice, then his voice grew louder and louder.

"Look at you all." He pointed at the kneeling nobles, then swept his gaze over the silent tribesmen. "Look at what position my Chute tribe has held among the eight tribes over the past hundred years? The lowest of the low, the bottom, a lamb to be trampled on."

He spread his arms, his eyes peeking out from under his hood gleaming with fanaticism: "Do you still remember our bloodline origins, the Feathered Spirit Tribe that once ruled the grasslands and communicated with the gods?! That is our true glory, that is the posture we should have."

“And you, you bunch of good-for-nothings, you idiots. What have you done? You've been content with being lowly and mediocre! You've even—” He suddenly pointed towards the camp, as if the attack by the Snow Falcon was still fresh in his mind, “and even colluded with outsiders to deal with me, Yi Lijin, who is determined to lead you to regain the glory of your ancestors and restore the splendor of the Feather Spirits.”

He stepped forward, looking down at the trembling crowd below: "You don't understand my good intentions? You question my methods? You think I'm crazy? Ha... Foolish, short-sighted. It is your weakness and betrayal that has caused the Chute tribe to fall to this state. Everything today is for the rebirth of the Yuling tribe, for the Chute tribe to once again stand at the pinnacle of all races. You... dare to stand in your way?!"

A frenzied declaration echoed above the altar, drowning out the desperate sobs of the kneeling figures and the silent fear of the onlookers. Bali Shensu, immersed in his own woven tale of righteous indignation, his withered fingers trembling nervously as he traced lines in the air. With his movements, the eerie blue light of the irises surrounding the altar flickered like breath, their petals moving without wind.

Just as Bali Shensu was engrossed in his speech and the crowd was suffocating in fear, several figures, as if they were part of the wind and snow itself, had quietly slipped into the outer perimeter of the camp, blending into the shadows and chaos of the yurts.

"...The glory of the Feathered Spirit Tribe...has been restored to its former splendor..."

The surrendered minister's lips curled down almost imperceptibly, but his face remained expressionless. He didn't even turn around; instead, he gave instructions to the three people hidden in the shadows beside him in an extremely cold voice.

"Hou Qing, clear the road. Ying Gou, lead the way. Han Ba, save people."

The instructions are extremely concise.

Hou Qing, who had clearly entered this place voluntarily, glanced at the back of the surrendered official and had no objection. He simply nodded slightly, and the bone flute silently slipped into his hand.

The older sister rubbed her hands together excitedly, her eyes gleaming with mischief. As for the drought demon, who had been silent all along, now free from its restraints, it simply clenched its fists silently.

The action has been taken.

A cold wind swept by, and the figure of the surrendered minister suddenly blurred, only to reappear in the shadows and chaos of the distance a moment later. Her speed was ghostly, precisely darting past the key points maintaining the outer perimeter's defenses. A few faint purple flashes disappeared in an instant, and several Chute guards, who had stood like wooden stakes, inexplicably stiffened and then collapsed. Where she passed, the blue light on several blooming irises scattered in the shadows suddenly dimmed, and their petals quickly withered and turned black.

Seeing the surrendered ministers so suddenly penetrate so deeply, Hou Qing frowned slightly, but immediately brought the bone flute to his lips. However, instead of playing a clear and melodious tune, he emitted a low, buzzing sound, like the flapping of countless tiny insects.

The flute music pierced through the wind and snow, and countless tiny flying insects emerged from the shadows of the camp, under the snow, and even from the gaps in the rotten felt. Guided by the flute music, the swarm of insects, like a black tide, precisely attacked the guards and tree maidens that Bali Shensu had arranged on several key passages leading to the core altar.

The flying insects weren't deadly, but they were enough to drive people mad. They burrowed into the guards' ears and nostrils, covering the tree woman's eyes, which shimmered with an eerie blue light. The guards screamed in panic and frantically scratched and slapped at each other, and order was instantly thrown into chaos; the tree woman's movements also became noticeably slowed and disordered.

A relatively safe passage leading directly out of the camp was briefly cleared due to the interference of the insect swarm.

However, some of the guards in the camp reacted quickly, and a large force immediately began to surround Hou Qing from all sides. But at this moment, a huge commotion suddenly broke out on the flank of the camp.

Several yurts were violently overturned by a burst of force, and the sound of breaking wooden frames was accompanied by a deliberately drawn-out, somewhat comical shout: "Hey—is nobody home? I'm just dropping by!"

The little woman's figure hopped and skipped across the ruins of the collapsed yurt, dragging two Chute warriors she had knocked unconscious. This blatant provocation and the huge commotion immediately attracted the attention of a considerable number of guards and tree women.

Although the elder sister appeared both shocked and frightened, her eyes gleamed with excitement. She skillfully maneuvered among the collapsed ruins and the pursuing guards, deliberately creating greater chaos to divert more and more power away from the altar.

Taking advantage of the chaos and the noise created by the elder sister, the drought demon charged straight into the inner circle like a raging bull, easily overturning the rough wooden fence and knocking down dozens of warriors supervising the tribesmen. Then, with a low growl, it charged left and right with its massive body, urging in a booming voice, "Go! Go quickly!"

The still-shaken tribespeople reacted instantly, immediately rushing towards the passage temporarily cleared by Hou Qing's flute music, following the directions. The drought demon followed closely behind, providing cover, and with a wave of its hand, several fist-sized black spheres were forcefully hurled out, smashing into the pursuers' front.

The sphere exploded, and thick, choking gray smoke instantly filled the air, obscuring visibility and briefly isolating the pursuers.

On the altar, Bali Shensu was preparing to begin the blood sacrifice when he saw the camp descend into chaos and his people flee. Enraged, he suddenly sensed something and, ignoring the commotion below the altar, began searching through the chaotic figures and raging snowstorm. "It's her, it must be her..."

A tremor from the depths of his soul could no longer be suppressed. Balishensu clutched his head and struggled for only a moment before suddenly freezing, and then bursting into maniacal laughter.

"Princess? Is that you, Princess?!" Bali Shensu's voice suddenly became shrill, carrying a chilling ecstasy, as if he had found his most coveted prey, echoing throughout the entire altar.

"You're finally back! Did you see the power of the Divine Jade?! The Divine Jade... the Divine Jade has restored the glory of the Feathered Spirits for you!!"

Bali Shensu spread his arms wide, his facial muscles convulsing with extreme excitement and contortion, as if he wanted to embrace the phantom in the wind and snow. He even stopped his intimidation of the people below the altar, letting the Chute tribesmen break free of his control and stagger away.

The surrendered official's swift figure suddenly stopped at the top of a felt tent less than ten feet from the altar.

The wind and snow seemed to stand still at that moment.

The usual languor and indifference on the surrendered official's face vanished instantly, replaced by a layer of frost. She slowly turned around, her cold gaze piercing through the wind and snow, looking down at the mad dog on the altar.

In truth, whether it was Bali Shensu or Bali Shenyu, the surrendered minister didn't care. What truly enraged her was that this so-called Bali Shenyu dared to call her "Princess"?
For two hundred years, she had only been a surrendered subject. The only one who had ever called her Siyu Dan was that man from Yinshan…

Yinshan, Duokuohuo, Bali Shensu, Shunu...

All the waiting, all the observation, all the consideration vanished completely with that cry of "Princess," leaving her with only the purest urge to destroy.

"evil creature……"

A low murmur is more biting than the cold wind.

The surrendered official no longer concealed anything. His figure transformed into a streak of purple light that tore through the gray sky, shooting out from the top of the yurt.

She moved so fast that she left afterimages in her tracks. The wind and snow automatically parted around her. The drum whip that had always hung behind her waist was no longer just decoration. Deep purple electric sparks crackled around the whip, and it emitted a low hum as it was swung. Wherever the whip passed, the air made a tearing sound as if it were being ripped by an unbearable weight.

Everything that stood between her and the altar—whether the fearless Chute warriors charging at her or the swift and unpredictable Tree Maiden—was like withered wood and dry grass. Whips flashed, limbs flew, the Tree Maiden's eerie blue light vanished instantly, and the Chute warriors didn't even have time to scream before turning to ashes. A path paved with flesh and annihilation led straight to the altar.

Upon seeing the surrendered official appear, Bali Shensu's face lit up with even greater ecstasy. Instead of dodging or avoiding, he opened his arms wide, frantically trying to meet the figure: "Princess, the Divine Jade is here!"

His demonic energy surged wildly, causing the hundreds of eerie irises surrounding the altar array to tremble violently before exploding with a deafening roar. Thick, eerie blue smoke and dust spread like a tsunami, completely engulfing the space within a radius of several dozen feet and swallowing up the surrendered officials who rushed towards him.

Seeing this, Hou Qing frowned deeply in the distance, and the tone of his bone flute suddenly rose, becoming sharp and urgent. Driven by the sound waves, the swarm of insects, as if receiving a death order, transformed into a fearless black torrent, surging madly towards the dark blue smoke, attempting to wear down its opponent with its own power.

At the same time, the ornately decorated longsword behind him was drawn with a clang, its light transforming into a chilling, blinding streak that shot like a dragon into the surrounding dust, precisely slicing through the several tree maidens who were attacking the surrendered minister's flanks and back. Where the sword light passed, the tree maidens' slender arms and legs were instantly severed, spurting out a splatter of dark blue blood.

As if startled by this sudden change, the older sister stopped playing the game, jumped onto the top of a tent, and looked down at the terrifying area shrouded in a dark blue poisonous mist, where purple lightning and sword light flashed intensely.

However, just as Hou Qing's flying sword shattered the tree maiden and the swarm of insects rushed into the poisonous fog one after another.

At the center of the poisonous fog, a brilliant purple light shone.

A purple streak, condensed to its extreme, carrying an all-consuming sharpness, instantly tore through the dense, dark blue smoke.

The ecstatic joy on Bali Shensu's face froze instantly, replaced by an extreme sense of danger. He roared, crossed his arms to block, and the evil energy within him instinctively erupted wildly, condensing into a ferocious energy python in front of him, opening its huge mouth to devour the purple light.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a deep, soul-chilling rumble that instantly erupted on the altar, forming a massive sphere of light over ten zhang in diameter that completely engulfed the entire altar. The violent energy shockwave, like a tangible tsunami, spread outwards from the center of the sphere of light.

The rubble, wooden frame ruins, and even a few tree maidens that were too close to the altar were instantly torn apart, shredded, and annihilated like pieces of paper.

Hou Qing's flying sword was violently blasted away by the shockwave, spinning back and embedding itself deeply into the distant frozen earth. The swarm of insects he controlled also seemed to be swatted down by an invisible giant hand, falling to the ground with a rustling sound, leaving only deathly silence.

The drought demon, who was raising its arms to fend off pursuers for its fleeing tribesmen in the distance, was jolted by the overwhelming force. It looked up in astonishment, its copper bell-like eyes fixed on the destructive light coming from the direction of the altar.

The older sister stood with her hands behind her back atop the tent, her eyes indifferent, yet a hint of bloodlust flickered deep within them.

"You old hag, you're playing for such a big game."

(End of this chapter)