Divine & Bizarre: Increasing Points to Invincibility-Chapter 855 - 234: The Great Yan Trembles! Leaving the Great Yan, Heading to Shangwu!
Time trickled away, second by second, and in the blink of an eye, several days had passed. Even so, several days were hardly enough for the Great Yan Imperial City to revert to its former state. After all, the destruction caused by the recent battle between Fan Wu and the demons and devils was too extensive. How could it possibly be restored to its original state in just a few years, or even a decade?
The blood of the demons and devils in those deep pits had yet to dry, with not even half having evaporated. The blood ponds, reeking increasingly of a putrid stench day by day, repelled anyone from approaching; to get near was to feel an overpowering urge to retch, truly unbearable.
Even more horrifying was the fact that... the demons’ blood had seeped into the deeper layers of the soil, so much so that it had spread into the groundwater. Almost half of the Imperial City’s groundwater was severely contaminated.
Had it not been for the great river that fortunately ran through the entire Great Yan Imperial City—a clean freshwater river at that—many people might have died of thirst.
Whether land tainted by the blood of demons and devils could still grow crops was unknown.
If plants could no longer be cultivated...
It might be necessary to abandon that area altogether.
Truth be told, even for the Emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty, the thought of abandoning this region was painful. This heartland of the Great Yan Dynasty, if lost, would result in an immense loss for the court. Moreover, once abandoned, a new location would have to be sought, and a new Imperial Palace built, right?
Building a new Imperial Palace from scratch would demand far more human, material, and financial resources than simply rebuilding on the ruins of the old palace. However, there was no choice; an imperial dynasty couldn’t be left without an Imperial Palace, could it? What would become of its dignity?
The task now facing the people of the Great Yan Dynasty was to attempt planting crops on land infiltrated by demon blood. If these plants could thrive, and people could consume them without ill effects...
It would indicate that this ravaged land, with some reconstruction, might still be inhabitable. As for whether the residual power of the demons would affect the area,
There were ways the Great Yan Dynasty could address that—by relocating various City God Temples and Earth Temples.
With divine statues stationed to counter the remnants of demonic power,
Over time, the power of the demons would dissipate.
With time’s passage, some information also began to spread from within the Great Yan Court, which seemed to have been left unobscured by the Great Yan Emperor. Perhaps the Emperor even tacitly allowed such news to circulate from the court into the streets and alleys outside. It was the spread of this very news that sent tremors throughout the entire Imperial City!
According to the message from within the Imperial Palace, there were several revelations, one of which was - the being who killed the demon previously was not some immortal god; it was a Taoist, and not one from the Great Yan Dynasty at that but a Taoist from the Great Zhou Dynasty! Most damning of all, this person was a fugitive!
The second message was - the reason this person was sought after with a bounty was due to the court being misled by some vile subordinates. The nefarious deeds of the Holy Fire Guard members, killed by Fan Wu, were also tacitly allowed to spread by the Great Yan Court.
Upon hearing these two messages, there wasn’t a soul in the Imperial City who wasn’t shocked. Who could have imagined that a mere mortal could fight against demons and devils so fiercely?
Even if that person was a Taoist... but a Taoist is, after all, still a mortal!
Merely a cultivator who practices the Taoist arts!
Worlds apart from the immortal gods many had imagined!
And that key issue... the person was not only from outside the Great Yan Dynasty but was also a fugitive wanted within it! Moreover, the reason for the bounty was outright slander, meaning the Great Zhou Dynasty Taoist who had slain the demon had been unjustly accused and should not have been made a fugitive.
Both messages... left the citizens of the Great Yan Dynasty bewildered. Many’s first reaction was to dismiss the news as false, but upon reflection, they realized the information had come from within the Imperial Palace. Could news from the palace be falsified?
"Mother dearest... Did the court actually put a bounty of a thousand silver on our dynasty’s savior? Damn those treacherous officials, don’t they know who they’re hunting?"
"If they knew who they were hunting, they wouldn’t be called treacherous officials! What if Daoist Fan Wu from the Qiu Long Temple gets annoyed and refuses to save us?"
"Exactly! And it was clearly the Holy Fire Guard in that county town who harmed people and coveted their wealth, even plotting to annihilate entire households. Then Daoist Fan Wu saved those people and killed the nefarious Holy Fire Guard. Clearly, Daoist Fan Wu was acting out of a sense of justice! But the survivors from the Holy Fire Guard exaggerated the story, painting Daoist Fan Wu as the villain, turning him into a hunted criminal!"
