The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 326 Rumors (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"You audacious demon!" Zhao Ti said coldly, his Freedom Sutra circulating rapidly, his magical power filling every inch of his body, his mind free from all obstacles and constraints.

He raised his arm and made a light gesture, and the King of the Elephant stepped out of the void, wearing golden helmet and armor, holding a long axe that shone with golden light, carrying an indomitable and unstoppable momentum to meet the army.

The soldiers couldn't help but show surprise, their eyes flashing with doubt. They waved their hands repeatedly, and billowing black smoke, seemingly containing deadly poison, rushed towards Baoxiang Wang.

King Baoxiang stood solemnly in the air, raising his long axe and cleaving down from above.

Like lightning in the night, the giant axe shone brightly, instantly cleaving away the black smoke. The soldier let out a shrill scream and fell backward.

Before his body had even fully touched the ground, a semi-transparent, thread-like object flew out from above his head, slightly twisted and scattered, and quickly flew towards the door.

Is this... a thought? Zhao Ti raised an eyebrow. Was Junbing possessed by a deity?

Possession by a deity is different from possession by a ghost. Ghost possession is when a soul enters another person's body and can exist for a long time, even possessing another person's body.

Possession by a deity involves cultivating a wisp of thought that enters the target's body. This allows the deity to control the target for a short period, but cannot stay for long, and the wisp of thought will not take over the body.

When a spirit tries to possess another body, it often encounters obstacles. Sometimes, the spirit's vital energy is so strong that it cannot enter the body at all. Even if it does enter, it may not be able to devour the original spirit. It may result in mutual injury, turning a normal person into an idiot. Therefore, wandering ghosts often choose to possess weak people.

However, the wisp of thought possessed by the immortal carries the master's cultivation and magical power. As long as the other party is not a person who cultivates Taoist arts, they can usually force their way into the body for a short time, but not for long.

However, Zhao Ti was puzzled. According to his previous guess, the immortal's magic power mostly came from the grasslands. Once outside the grasslands, it should not be so powerful, and his thoughts could not even leave himself to possess others. So what was going on now?
At that moment, King Baoxiang moved with lightning speed, instantly catching up with that thought, and raised his axe to strike.

Seeing this, Zhao Ti hurriedly stopped him. This immortal was not someone who possessed him and had a connection with him through offerings and incense. He could accurately find the other party from miles away and rush to their aid.

Instead, it actively possessed the soldiers in the military headquarters. There must have been an observation and screening process in between, so the original body must not be far away. It might even be near the military headquarters, or even inside the headquarters.

He continuously circulated his magical power, manipulating the Baoxiang Dynasty to chase after them outside. At this moment, the surrounding area was alarmed, and Zhou Tong, Wei Hanchen, and others all ran over, while soldiers also came in formation to get closer.

Before anyone could speak, Zhao Ti said calmly, "Some demons or ghosts have infiltrated the city. Come with me and see if we can find their true forms."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked and dared not speak, hurriedly following behind.

Judging from that wisp of thought, it seemed rather panicked and disoriented, for the Treasure Elephant King was right behind it. With just one swing of the axe, it could be shattered, leaving it bewildered and terrified.

Although this wisp of thought is not a soul, once it is scattered, not only will the main body's magical power be greatly reduced, but it will also suffer serious damage. If the thought condenses all its power, then the main body will almost lose its Taoist arts, and the body and soul will also be seriously injured.

King Baoxiang raised his axe several times, but Zhao Ti stopped him each time. He seemed somewhat angry and even let out a terrifying roar.

Zhao Ti frowned. At this moment, he was exerting too much effort to maintain the existence of the Treasure Elephant King's body, and he was already struggling to keep up. The Treasure Elephant King's body was gradually dimming.

By this time, they had reached a corner of the military headquarters. The figure of the King of Baoxiang was becoming increasingly blurry. Zhao Ti had a thought, and the King of Baoxiang swung his axe, but his power was no longer what it used to be.

That thought seemed to sense an opportunity, and its speed suddenly increased as it darted towards a clump of withered grass in the corner of the military headquarters.

Before King Baoxiang's giant axe could even strike Sixu, it had already withered and disappeared into the air like scattered stars.

Zhao Ti flicked his sleeve at the star-like figure, withdrawing his remaining magical power. The soldiers stopped, raised their crossbows, and fired fiercely at the corner where the thought had vanished.

The sharpness and power of a crossbow bolt cannot be withstood by any physical body. Even if the body is trained to be as hard as iron, it will not be unharmed if it encounters a strong crossbow bolt. It can even leave marks on metal and stone.

But then a white light rose from within the snow grass, dodging the crossbow bolts, and darted up the wall above.

Zhao Ti snorted coldly, having been waiting for this opportunity. He raised his finger and pointed forward, hitting the white light squarely. A shrill scream pierced the night sky, and something fell down.

Zhou Tong and the others immediately stepped forward and blocked it with their swords, only to find that it was a fox with snow-white fur.

This fox was entirely blood-red except for its eyes, which were completely devoid of any other color. To the untrained eye, it appeared delicate and lovely, but it had a ferocious appearance, baring its mouth to reveal sharp, white teeth and making a "whooshing" sound.

There was a dark hole on one side of its hind leg, pierced by Zhao Ti's finger, but no blood flowed out, and the surrounding area was frozen by the Illusionary Yin True Qi.

Huang Tianbiao jumped out of the leather pouch at Zhou Tong's waist and exclaimed in surprise, "So it's a fox spirit, and... and a female fox at that."

Zhao Ti glanced at it and said calmly, "Binding it probably won't work. How can we subdue it?"

Huang Tianbiao said, "Young master, once you are like a human and have your collarbone pierced, you will find it difficult to use anything and you will not be able to escape."

Zhao Ti nodded. The pipa bone is the scapula. The fourth level of the twelve-story building, the White Tiger Scapula, refers to this place. The third level is the Azure Dragon Ridge, and the fourth level is the White Tiger Scapula. They are all symbolic. The dragon takes flight and the tiger scapula generates wind, representing the importance and power of this place.

The white fox glared at Huang Tianbiao with its scarlet eyes and uttered a hateful voice in a woman's tone: "You scum of the grasslands, you actually betrayed us and joined the Song people! You despicable and shameless scoundrel, don't fall into my hands, or I will tear you to pieces and eat you up!"

Huang Tianbiao was so frightened that he hurriedly took a few steps back and looked at Zhao Ti. Seeing Zhao Ti's cold expression, he composed himself, put his hands on his hips, and pointed at the white fox: "What do you know, you monster? Haven't you heard the old saying, 'A wise man submits to circumstances'? I am a wise man, unlike you, you fool. Hurry up and beg the young master for mercy, or you can save your worthless life!"

The white fox gritted its teeth, making a "crunching" sound: "If you work for the Song people, unless you never return to the grasslands, you will surely die without a burial place. The immortals will not forgive you, and the high priest will not let you go either."

“Put the collarbone through.” Zhao Ti said calmly, “To still be so verbally defiant at this point, he really is a fool.”

The white fox was severely injured at this moment. The illusory Yin energy had invaded its meridians. It desperately used its magic power to resist and was not completely frozen, but it could no longer run and its thoughts could not leave its body.

At this moment, soldiers took out iron chains, used the sharp end to pierce the fur, then passed them through, strung them together on both sides of the collarbone, and then locked them tightly at the spine.

The white fox let out a miserable cry, then its body went limp, its breath came out, and it collapsed.

With the collarbone locked, both martial arts and magical power immediately become weak, making it difficult to exert force, raise one's qi, and without great skill, it is basically impossible to break free.

Zhao Ti stepped forward and pointed a finger at the white fox's chest, stopping the flow of illusory yin energy within its body. At present, it could not muster any magic power and could not resist the illusory yin energy, and it would die in a moment.

"You, you..." the white fox said weakly and resentfully, "King Song, the fairy fox will not let you go, nor will the high priest."

Zhao Ti nodded: "I will not let them get away with this either. How dare they send someone to assassinate me? They are incredibly audacious and their crimes are unforgivable!"

The white fox was listless and muttered, "Dog King, just you wait. If the Immortal Fox takes action herself, you will surely not escape. You..." "You still dare to threaten me at this time? Men, take me inside for interrogation!" Zhao Ti sneered.

The soldiers immediately picked up the white fox and, in a moment, went to a nearby annex and lit a candle.

"Hang him up." Zhao Ti said expressionlessly.

The soldiers immediately hung the iron chain on the beam, suspending the white fox in mid-air.

With the light shining on it, it became clearer. The fox, not counting its tail, was over three feet long. Its white fur was crystal clear. Although it had a fox face, it showed a human expression, with its eyes wide open, looking as if it were ready to die.

Zhou Tong moved a chair over, and Zhao Ti sat down, looking at the white fox and saying, "I will ask you three questions. If you answer them all, I will spare your life. If you cannot answer them, killing you would be too lenient. I will skin you alive, remove your bones, and execute you with the most severe torture!"

"Pah..." The white fox, weak and powerless, said in a feeble voice, "Kill me if you want. If I were afraid of death, I wouldn't have come to Wulahai City!"

Huang Tianbiao said from the side, "You fox demon, I advise you not to be ungrateful, or I'll skin you and use your skin as a mattress for the young master, and break your bones to make soup for him."

The white fox gritted its teeth upon hearing the word "mattress," but remained silent.

Zhao Ti said, "I'm asking you, who sent you to assassinate me? Even if the fox spirit you speak of is incredibly powerful, it wouldn't know I was here, would it?"

The white fox retorted angrily, "You know perfectly well why I'm asking!"

Zhao Ti nodded: "That must be the Liao army. Only the Liao army could have found out I was here and then gone to the shaman to ask for help, or... contacted you directly?"

The white fox turned its head back and remained silent.

Seeing this, Zhao Ti was not annoyed and continued, "Where have all the animals on the grasslands of the Black Mountain Weifu Military Command gone? Why are there not a single fox, weasel, white fox, willow, or gray fox?"

The white fox turned its head, closed its eyes, and remained silent.

Zhao Ti continued, "You immortals, including the beasts who have cultivated on the grasslands, all rely on the power of the grasslands. Once you leave the grasslands, you lose more than 90% of your power. You cannot be summoned by gods, nor can you possess people on your own. So, what is the reason that you are able to possess a soldier?"

Upon hearing this, the white fox suddenly opened its eyes and looked at Huang Tianbiao beside it.

Huang Tianbiao chuckled dryly twice, while the white fox revealed an extremely angry expression, and screamed hoarsely, "You damned old yellow wolf, you actually told the Song people such things, you...you wait for the heavens to punish you on the grasslands!"

"Oh?" Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. "How come it's the grasslands that are bringing down divine punishment? Isn't the grasslands under the same sky as the outside world?"

Huang Tianbiao hurriedly said, "Young master, the legend is indeed true."

Zhao Ti looked at Huang Tianbiao and frowned: "What legend?"

Huang Tianbiao scratched his head with his paw and said, "I heard it from my elders at home."

"An elder in the family?"

“It is indeed an elder in the family…” Huang Tianbiao said, “My family is a clan of unorthodox cultivators. Because none of my ancestors were immortals, we have no connection with shamanism. Some things are accumulated from what we have heard over the generations and then passed down.”

“Go on,” Zhao Ti said.

"Yes... I heard that the Great Grassland is independent of the outside world and is under the management of the Shaman Heaven. The gods outside cannot control the grassland, and the Shaman Heaven does not care about the outside world, but everything on the grassland is under the jurisdiction of the Shaman Heaven."

"Is that so?" This was the first time Zhao Ti had heard of the concept of Shaman Heaven. It was not recorded in any books of the Song Dynasty, including those in the imperial palace.

The Khitans worshipped nature and believed in multiple gods. They believed there was a supreme god who ruled over all things in the world, called "Heaven" or "Heavenly God," but this Heavenly God did not have a specific name.

“That’s right. And I’ve also heard that Shaman has three great gods under his command, each in charge of different tribes and clans on the grasslands.” Huang Tianbiao nodded vigorously.

"The three celestial gods are in charge of the various tribes of the grasslands?" Zhao Ti nodded. "What kind of gods are they?"

"It is said that the Eternal Heaven manages some tribes of the Tatars, the Spirit Vault Heaven manages some tribes of the Jurchens, and the Anji Heaven manages other tribes such as the Mohe and Shiwei," Huang Tianbiao said. "The Shaman Heaven manages everything, and the Khitans are directly managed by the Shaman Heaven."

Zhao Ti's expression was somewhat strange: "Then you beasts..."

“We are naturally under the jurisdiction of all the gods, but only shamans can bring down divine punishment,” Huang Tianbiao said.

“Shaman God…” Zhao Ti pondered, “I once visited the main altar of the Shamanism in Khatun City, but I did not see any Shaman God being worshipped. Such a great deity should have a statue, right?”

Huang Tianbiao said, "I don't know about that. I have never been to the Holy See, but I have heard that Shaman Tian is the founder of Shamanism. He created the Great Grassland and founded Shamanism."

"The founder of shamanism?" Zhao Ti took a breath, recalling the image painted on the dome of the main altar that he had seen at the shamanic church.

That was the scene of the founder of shamanism riding the Kui bull across the Milky Way. The Milky Way was vast and the Kui bull's single horn flickered in the mist, like a guiding light, leading the way forward.

The shaman ancestor appeared dignified yet slightly weary, with deep and distant eyes. Not far behind him was a long black and gold banner and a vast path of light, which looked extremely astonishing.

“It is the founder of shamanism. I vaguely remember... It seems that the founder instructed that he should not accept incense offerings, which is why there are no statues of him in shamanism,” Huang Tianbiao pondered.

"You, you dare to reveal such a secret?" The white fox was shocked and screamed, "You traitor of the grasslands, divine punishment will surely descend upon you, tearing you to pieces and turning you to ashes!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Tianbiao's beard trembled, and he felt a little scared, so he took a few steps back.

"Shut up!" Zhao Ti stood up, looked at the white fox for a moment, then walked over and touched a few spots on its body.

The white fox immediately trembled: "What, what are you doing?"

Zhao Ti said, "I'll give you half an evening to think it over carefully. If you still don't answer those questions by tomorrow, you'll be executed."

After saying this, he instructed the soldiers to keep a close watch on the area, then turned and walked towards the door.

(End of this chapter)