National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

However, media outlets from the Lighthouse Empire and several others, as if by prior agreement,

all began reporting that this incident was a grand play, directed and staged by our own Great Xia Empire.

Their goal was supposedly to force the White-Red Empire into submission, leaving it no choice but to accept our protection.

If that happened, the White-Red Empire would be reduced to a mere vassal, an empire in name only.

What’s more, they pointed fingers and specifically named the mastermind behind it all: our Great Xia Empire’s National Guardian War God, Chu He!

”Is... is that true?”

Everyone looked at each other, their faces filled with shock, confusion, and disbelief, as if they were hearing a fairy tale.

”If it’s true, that’s absolutely fantastic!”

A young man clenched his fist and pumped it in the air, his face beaming with excitement and glee. ”It’s about time the Great Xia Empire did something like this!

”We’ve always been too tolerant and merciful, trying to maintain that ’gentlemanly’ demeanor. And what did it get us?

”It only emboldened those treacherous, ambitious wolves to become more and more arrogant,

”letting them prance about like buffoons, getting ever more brazen.

”That’s just human nature. After all, this world is ultimately controlled by humans,

”and the world reflects that nature.”

In an instant, forums across the Great Xia Empire and even the entire world

erupted like ignited powder kegs. This bombshell news caused an immediate uproar,

igniting a fierce war of words.

The clacking of keyboards, the shouting matches, and the voices of doubt all mingled together, like a war fought without gunpowder.

As the discussions deepened, it was like excavating a mysterious treasure;

more and more secrets, long hidden in the depths of darkness, were unearthed one by one.

They sent shockwaves through the online world, making people realize with a start

that behind this seemingly peaceful world lay such a complex and treacherous game of power and intrigue.

...

In a remote corner of the Great Xia Empire’s vast territory,

The Demon Cave.

All year round, a thick, inky haze hung heavy in the air. A fierce wind, like an untamed beast, howled and roared as it swept through.

Its mournful shrieks sounded like the wails of ten thousand evil spirits, enough to make one’s hair stand on end and a chill run down their spine.

Xu Ping’an was clad in a black robe that billowed and snapped in the wind.

He stood tall and straight, yet he exuded a strange, cold aura that seemed to emanate from his very bones,

like a Demon God Envoy in the dead of night. He stood resolute in the center of the Demon Cave, amidst gusts of sinister wind, at what looked like a direct entrance to the Nine Netherworld Hell.

He began to speak with eloquent ease. ”The selection of a burial site’s feng shui is a profoundly deep field of study.

”The most crucial aspect is the qi of the Dragon Vein’s nexus point.

”To put it plainly, this so-called qi of the Dragon Vein’s nexus point is simply the telluric energy hidden beneath a gravesite.

”This energy is like the very pulse of the earth, holding the secrets to the cycle of life and death.”

Xu Ping’an tilted his head back slightly. ”Over the years, my obsession with this Feng Shui Secret Technique has bordered on madness.

”I have traveled far and wide, searching in every corner of the world to uncover its true essence.

”The hand-copied Dragon Recognition Manuals I have accumulated over the years could form a small mountain.

”Within these priceless ancient texts, which hold the secrets of antiquity,

”the records concerning Corpse Nurturing Lands are as common as blades of grass.”

He paused for a moment,

his gaze sweeping slowly across the sinister surroundings, where it felt as if Evil Spirits lay dormant, ready to pounce and devour someone at any moment.

Then he continued, ”Take the Dead Ox Belly nexus, for example. Its shape resembles that of a bull that died a gruesome death, its stomach ripped wide open. The yin qi stagnates within, never dissipating, making it a natural Yin Qi Soul-Gathering Coffin.

”Then there’s the Dog Skull nexus, the spitting image of a vicious dog’s head, snarling ferociously. The bloodthirsty, malevolent aura it emits is palpable, enough to send a shiver down your spine.

”And the Hardwood Spearhead, which looks like a sharp spear drawn from the Hell Abyss. Its edge is keen and exposed, yet it is entangled by a wicked Curse, radiating a malevolent light.

”The Shattered Visage of Wenqu, which looks as if the Star of Literature from the Celestial Court violated celestial law and had its face mercilessly torn away. It is chaotic and twisted, with every fiber exuding an ominous air.

”As for the Unbecoming Earth, the soil itself is bizarre, as if its very soul has been defiled by evil, rendering it devoid of life, like a silent, cursed land.

”These strange, malevolent mountain formations and vein patterns all create the most baleful of Corpse Nurturing Lands.”

Xu Ping’an cleared his throat, his voice echoing through the vast, gloomy Demon Cave. ”The secret manuals contain a verse for discerning auspicious burial sites: *’Heaven’s secrets are hard to know, harder still to master; one must carefully seek the Dragon and recognize the stars. The vein must emerge from the heart, the nexus tender and new, sheltered from the wind and killing qi.*

*’To know if the bones within will turn to gold, one must clearly understand the separation and union of stillness and movement, of yin and yang.*

*’This is the mark of a noble grave, a true teaching for future generations.’*

”In the *Burial Scripture* by Qing Wuzi, the *Burial Book* by Guo Pu, the *Geography Guide* by Guan Lu, the *Three Dragon Scripture* by Yang Junsong, and many other texts on burial rites and dragon-seeking that Feng Shui Masters revere as gospel,

”and even in the terrifying folktales told to scare children from crying at night,

”it is unanimously agreed that a Corpse Nurturing Land is the most terrifying and dangerous type of burial ground in the art of feng shui—

”a place deeply tabooed by all.

”If an unfortunate corpse is mistakenly interred in such a place, the consequences are disastrous. The body’s muscles and internal organs, instead of following the natural laws of life and death by decaying, will act as if a Demon has secretly placed a bizarre Curse upon them.

”They are injected with a sinister Life Force,

”and the hair, teeth, and fingernails will continue to grow.

”The corpse, as if completely controlled by a Dark Power, will madly absorb the light of the sun and moon,”