Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1131 Rise and Fall of Dynasties and Empires (Part 2)

Shenjing. Beixuan Shenjing.

Thirty thousand years ago, when the Great Chen Holy Ancestor, Xuanming Zhenwu Emperor Xuantianji, conquered this place and established his rule over the world, this place has always been the capital of the Great Chen Dynasty.

It was also the site of the former capital of the Imperial Court. If we include the emperors of all dynasties, it would not be an exaggeration to call it the capital of eight dynasties.

As the central hub of the Northern Xuan Sacrifice Continent's earth veins, this place has enjoyed favorable weather since ancient times. The rich spiritual energy nourishes all things, even activating the water vapor, which lingers year-round, transforming into a hazy spiritual mist that shrouds the entire capital city in clouds and mist, resembling a celestial palace.

It was nighttime, the bright moon hung high, and its silvery light shone on the earth. But the entire Shenjing Great Domain was not 'dim' at all, because golden light emanated from the center of the domain, where a magnificent and majestic city lit up.

Its light shines like the sun, and its soft glow is like the stars. It is faintly visible that it is a majestic palace with a top that reaches the dome, like a mountain, standing in the mist that is as hazy as the clouds in the sky.

【Xuantian Palace】.

Mysterious, profound and mysterious. Heaven, supreme and unsurpassed.

Centered on this mysterious abyss and the celestial palace where the gods stand, one can vaguely see bands of light, like a net, extending in all directions, intersecting and flowing, and then condensing into massive Dao patterns and divine runes, transforming into clouds, the Milky Way, and stars.

These great array patterns and divine light intertwined and overlapped, enveloping boundless spiritual mist, transforming into a sea of ​​light, rotating around the Xuan Tian Palace as its axis, reflecting an almost identical but upside-down 'City in the sky', like a reflection in a mirror. And below the Nine Netherworlds, one could vaguely see an enormous tree that supported the earth and the sky.

【Earth Veins】【Celestial Seas】【Netherworld】

Incredible divine power permeated the three realms, with endless spiritual energy from the earth's veins, the heavens and seas, the dragon energy of humanity, and the evil energy of martial arts flowing throughout the city, isolating it from the surrounding normal world, making it a veritable grotto-heaven.

but……

How incredible!

Although it is completely connected to the real world without any separation, and there is no separation between it and the Huai Xu Realm in terms of space, light, spirits, and objects, the Divine Capital exhibits a pure sense of otherworldly existence. It is an independent 'man-made heaven' that is not governed by the Heavenly Dao.

To forcibly seize land from the hands of heaven and earth to establish one's own territory based on human will. Perhaps this is the true meaning of "Soaring to the Nine Heavens".

Of course, Shenjing itself is a large region, surrounding the great city of Beixuan Shenjing. Beyond the great city, there are many plains and mountains surrounding Shenjing.

The suspended mountain peaks resembled fortresses... no, they were fortresses. They were divine mountains of the Great Dao, inscribed with divine runes, and on each of them guarded a divine weapon with its own consciousness, comparable to, or even surpassing, a sect in the outside world.

These strategic-level divine weapons are not only military generals and guardians, but also the core foundation of the earth vein array. They are connected by a network of spiritual light like a celestial river, sometimes floating in the sky and sometimes descending to the ground, rising and falling like surging waves.

Anyone who sees such a sight will be deeply awestruck and marvel at the power of the Heavenly Sect.

but now.

Crossing the white jade-like northern gate of the capital, what Canglinzu saw first was a gray river.

At Beiguan and Shuanghaimen, the dense crowds flowed like a river around the checkpoint, eventually sinking into despair and turning into stagnant, gray-black water. Although the nighttime glow of Shenjing was still warm, not enough to make the pervasive fog cold and damp, a kind of gloom called death suppressed all light.

That is……

refugee.

Cang Linzu remembered that in his hometown, an elder in the clan had traveled to Shenjing. In his vivid description, all the children in the clan had endless fantasies about Shenjing from a young age—it was a place of eternal light and brightness, with sweet air that could cure lung diseases simply by breathing it. The streets and alleys were full of restaurants, and the jade-like cakes of Dancai Tower and the nine-colored fish soup of Mingde Restaurant were mouthwatering. There were also singing girls who looked like fairies and a prayer pool covered with red gold...

But now, all illusions have vanished.

perhaps.

Perhaps everything in the capital remains the same, and the elders' description of the capital's splendor is no exaggeration. But now, with no food in the granaries, we can no longer imagine those beautiful scenes.

The granary slumbered in the shadows, silently walking among the refugees.

Outside the Heavenly Gate leading to the capital, countless refugee tents stretched out like a pool of gray-black water. These were refugees created by the famine and bloodshed in the north. The refugees were heading south towards the capital, but were refused entry and could only set up tents around the checkpoint.

Of course, this is not a complete rejection—Shenjing will not reject its people, but rather, it needs to be screened.

Who knows if among these people are spies of the Demonic Cult, or those possessed by the Heavenly Demon? Who knows if among these people are opportunists planning to take advantage of this refugee wave to enter the capital and obtain a household registration? And who knows if these refugees carry hidden illnesses, bloodlust, demonic energy, or many other unclean things that might disturb the peace of the capital?
You can enter.

Only a thousand people per day.

There is relief grain available.

But that's not enough at all.

There were no cries, not even groans, just a numb, deathly silence. Along the roadside, figures curled up, never to move again. Further away, several figures surrounded a still-warm corpse.

Cang Linzu knew that the imperial dynasty's disaster relief process required multiple levels of approval, from the Ministry of Revenue allocating funds to the garrison at the checkpoints, which would take at least ten days.

But ten days? How many people will die in ten days?
Of course. Of course.

With ample provisions, ten days truly, truly passed very quickly.

He could even say that he fully imagined that this time the allocation of funds from Shenjing would be in full and without any corruption—because the Heavenly Dao had changed and the Heavenly Supervision Law of Beixuan Sacrifice Continent had been updated, every official wanted to obtain their own humanitarian beliefs to enhance their own strength.

Compared to real strength, they are not stingy with worldly wealth.

But... it's still too long.

Ten days.

The gray, stagnant water emitted an indescribable stench—a mixture of corpses, excrement, and despair.

In the camp, most people lay in their tents, breathing weakly. A few, on the verge of death, were surrounded by people, waiting silently. A mother held her stiff, emaciated infant, unable to shed a tear. People waited beside her, but she continued to resist, to refuse. Those waiting were neither angry nor had the strength to be angry, for they knew that this heartbroken woman would soon follow her child.

What does a dead person matter?

Cang Linzu had been on the battlefield before. Whether it was the Battle of Linjiang City fought alongside An Jing or the battle against Chen Li's Hundred Tribes, many people would die there. The soaring bloodlust was a hundred times more tragic than the deaths of these refugees. But he was not afraid of the swift, fierce battles and deaths in the slightest.

What he feared was silence.

No one resisted, no one protested, and no one did anything—not even kill each other. Even eating meat was something that was only discussed after someone starved to death.

An eerie, deathly silence filled the entire refugee camp.

That's not surprising.

Whom are they going to rebel against? Shenjing? Tianguan? Those ordained military officers and warriors? Let alone millions or tens of millions of refugees, even if there were hundreds of millions, billions, trillions, or hundreds of billions of refugees, they would never be able to breach the smallest pass on the outskirts of Shenjing and defeat a single general at the Divine Treasure Realm.

Protest? What's the use of protesting? It's not like Shenjing hasn't issued orders for disaster relief; it's just that the procedures haven't been completed yet. Nobody wants to make mistakes, nobody wants to take responsibility. The order has already been issued; changing it rashly will lead to accountability if something goes wrong, and even if nothing goes wrong, it will give others a handle to use against them.

Even the more devastating frost disaster that Canglinzu once encountered in the northern frontier was different. The refugees here did not attack or prey on each other. This was because the Tianguan garrison did not allow such things to happen. They tacitly allowed the dead to be eaten, but did not allow the refugees to attack each other.

So that's how it is.

The refugees accepted their fate and submitted to their destiny. Even the darkest of intentions—the evil of killing other lives to survive—was forbidden. They could not be the praying mantis, but only the peaceful starving corpses, not adding to the burden of the court. Here, even curses and hatred did not exist.

There was only a faint sound.

Cang Linzu heard the sound and followed it to a corner of the camp.

It was an old man, who looked like a scholar, kneeling on the ground, digging a pit on a slope with two tiles. Beside the pit was the thin body of a seven or eight-year-old boy, emaciated but with a large belly.

Beside the pit, others were waiting. One of them said helplessly, "Uncle Zeng, why bother? What's the point of burying it? Won't it just be dug up later? It's just a waste of effort."

"Don't let me see..."

The old man said weakly, his eyes were lifeless, without tears or sorrow. He was still digging, perhaps simply because he no longer knew what else he could do.

Canglinzu stood quietly to the side.

His first thought was to step out of the shadows, help the old man dig a hole, and bury the child.

But as those people said, what's the point of burying it? It will just be dug up again, a waste of effort, and a few more people will starve to death.

He could disintegrate the child's corpse with a single finger? He could do it. The power of Ketu is the earth within the shadows, a power that connects the netherworld and enters the profound mystery. It can turn all things into dust without even revealing himself; he can do it with a single thought.

But so what? These people didn't attack, didn't fight, they just waited for people to die so they could eat something. They wanted to live, they just wanted to live. Even if the corpses were eliminated, some people would still starve to death and become new corpses. This didn't solve the root of the problem. Did he have to keep following the dead, eliminating every single corpse and causing more people to die?

That's obviously not right either.

So, he appeared and gave these people some food—he still had some fasting pills on him, which should be enough to prevent them from eating the child and to stop more people from dying.

but……

Canglinzu raised his head and looked around the refugee camp, which resembled the Dead Sea, with a somewhat blank expression.

"How many can I save?"

He muttered to himself, "How many can I save on my own?"

Perhaps we could give it a try.

Once this thought arose, the will to have enough food gradually became stronger.

Because of his 'telepathic ability', he can teleport quickly. As An Jing grows, the abilities and fortunes of these companion stars are also rising. With sufficient resources, their telepathic abilities can cover thousands of miles in an instant. If it is to transport supplies, as long as there is enough money, they can transport enough supplies to supply hundreds of thousands of troops in a single day.

Even a million would be enough for refugees.

But this kind of thing...

Can the Earth Vein Network do that too?
These checkpoint guards, each with their own ley lines, can request supplies through the ley lines. That's not difficult, so why doesn't anyone do it?

Why don't they help?

Because they are not qualified.

The granaries were full, and once again, the answer came to them on their own.

At the foot of the capital, only the emperor was qualified to do these things.

Other officials, aristocratic families, and kind-hearted garrison soldiers dared not do this. Winning people's hearts was nothing to the rulers of the Great Chen Dynasty, but if one did it, one would be remembered.

Compared to this threat to their own lives and property, who cares about the life or death of mere refugees?
"...Think about it, abundant granaries...your name, and..."

With his eyes closed, only one thought flashed through Cang Linzu's mind: "What will my senior brother do?"

Just thinking of that name, thinking of that person, made Cang Linzu laugh. He understood something, and his heart was filled with both courage and a clear will: "Since I care, then I have to do it. There's nothing to hesitate about."

So he stepped out of the shadows, reached out with one hand, and took out more than a dozen bottles of fasting pills from the Taixu magic artifact.

In an instant, as the shadows flickered, all the fasting pills flew into the mouths of the refugees present. Whether it was the old man digging the pit or the starving people waiting in silence, they all felt a warm current rising in their abdomen, which then turned into strength, filling their parched limbs and bones.

The next instant, before the old man could recover from his astonishment, Cang Lin pointed a finger, and the child's corpse turned to ashes. Inside the corpse's abdomen were many undigested bits of soil—the child had clearly died from eating Guanyin clay. The remaining ashes of his body condensed in the air, transforming into a warm, smooth stone, which slowly fell into the old man's hand.

"I'm sorry I can't help you with your burial."

He calmly said to the astonished old man, "But things have come to this, and this is all I can do."

"My lord, my lord..."

The old man was clearly a scholar who knew martial arts techniques. He could tell at a glance that Cang Linzu was at least a martial arts master, and that he was extraordinary. He couldn't help but kneel down and kowtow. Cang Linzu turned his head away and stopped looking at him. Instead, he raised his inner energy and said loudly to the entire refugee camp, "Stop."

"Stop all cannibalism! I brought food and fasting pills, enough to last everyone until the relief supplies arrive in ten days!"

"Everyone, heed my command, stay where you are, and everyone will receive a Bigu Pill!"

Before he finished speaking, he raised his hand, and streaks of shadow flowed out, shattering a large number of fasting pills in the air, turning them into streams of medicinal mist, which then spread precisely in all directions, sending the fragments of the pills into the mouths of hundreds and thousands of people.

The dosage was small, but enough to relieve the immediate crisis. Before the crowd could react, Cang Linzu's figure disappeared. Half an hour later, he returned, holding in his hands a vat of fine wine and jade dew, as well as fasting pills.

The aroma spread, and in an instant, even those who were starving and exhausted, the refugee camp erupted in cheers, praises, and cries.

It was as if stagnant water had come alive, transforming into a rushing river with a surging roar.

At the Heavenly Pass, the garrison was startled by the enormous roar. They approached the pass and looked down at the bustling refugee camp below. The leading general raised an eyebrow; he recognized Cang Linzu—it was the lieutenant who had followed Gu Yunzhi, the one…

The Destiny of Nature, a friend of Anjing.

"General, this man is offering undeserved favors; should we...?"

The guard beside him asked softly, somewhat fearful. He was terrified that the officials in the capital would think that they hadn't stopped the grain supply from being filled, which was a form of tacit approval and encouragement.

"...Let him be."

The general guarding the pass changed his expression several times, then gritted his teeth and shook his head: "If he were just a minor general, even if he was one of the men brought by Old Gu, I would at most personally take him away to save him some face."

"but……"

He said this with a wary tone: "Those are friends of Destiny. I don't want to cause any trouble and get caught up in Destiny's grand scheme..."

"All teams, listen to my command!"

The general ordered in a deep voice, "Pretend you didn't see anything, and let him do it!"

(End of this chapter)