The news that six important towns on the northwest border had fallen in one day quickly spread to Luojing City, thousands of miles away.
Princess Zhaoning, Xiao Wanjun, sat at the desk, looking at the report in front of her, and let out a long sigh.
At first, when she saw the repeated words in the report such as "a hundred thousand troops are pressing on the city" and "countless practitioners of the fourth realm and above", Princess Zhaoning felt that her heart was beating uncontrollably, as if she was in a state of excitement. The river water has been difficult to calm for a long time.
As the actual ruler of the Daqi Dynasty for a long time, and having read many spiritual classics, she knew better than anyone else that practitioners in the wilderness were a scarce resource - not only were there only one in ten thousand, but they also needed to invest a lot of resources in cultivating them.
There are even fewer monks in the fourth realm and above who can fly with weapons.
But under the banner of the rebel, hundreds of flying practitioners gathered - which was equivalent to emptying out the high-level combat power of several provinces in the Daqi Dynasty.
"So many monks have betrayed the imperial court," Princess Zhaoning frowned and thought with worry, "and in addition to the traitor Zhao Changying, even Xu Man, the master of the Jiange Pavilion, sided with them.
"Is it true that as the prophecy said in this world, war will come and the Daqi Dynasty will be replaced?"
However, she soon saw that the enemy's majestic army and those monks with terrifying postures were not real, but paper figures drawn through the art of talisman and seal script.
Zhao Changying and Xu Man did not take action at all.
The defenders of each city simply chose to surrender after seeing a very destructive golden lightning falling from the sky.
But Princess Zhaoning's mood did not relax at all.
"Gu Xu's attainments in the art of talisman and seal script...should be very close to the level of a master, right?" She thought silently, "Maybe he is already a master.
"After all, not even the Imperial Master of Da Qi has ever controlled such a large paper man army.
"And his golden lightning, what kind of magic is it? It's exactly the same as the thunder my father used to summon with the 'Taea Sword'!
"..."
Thinking of the scene when she and Gu Xu stood by the Luo River to comment on the arena competition during the Lantern Festival this year, and also thought that in just a few months, Gu Xu had already stood on the opposite side of the Qi Dynasty, Princess Zhaoning couldn't help but feel deeply about this. regret.
If there hadn't been those mistakes, how wonderful it would have been if this talented young man was still serving the Qi Dynasty!
However, as an increasingly mature ruler, Princess Zhaoning did not spend too much time remembering the past.
She quickly calmed down the fluctuating emotions in her eyes and became calm and indifferent.
A few minutes later, she took a carriage, accompanied by guards, and arrived at the residence of the Grand Master of Qi.
The Imperial Master is still the same as before, dark, thin, and plainly dressed. He does not look like a strong saint that everyone admires, but more like an old farmer working in the fields.
The only change in appearance was that there were a few more wrinkles on his face, making him look older and more haggard.
At this time, the Imperial Master stood beside a long table, staring down at a scroll that was spread out several meters long.
In the scroll, the vast battlefield stretches into the distance, and the smoke of war fills the air, reflecting the silvery white moonlight. The tall and majestic city walls collapsed and cracked, and the broken stones danced with the flames.
In the center of the battlefield, soldiers brandished swords, guns, swords and halberds and fought bloody battles.
Their faces were solemn, they were wearing armor, and their shirts made the sound of hunting.
This is undoubtedly a masterpiece of superb craftsmanship and perfection.
There's just one thing about it that makes Princess Zhaoning feel strange——
That is, none of the characters in the painting have their eyes lit.
Their eyes were blank, giving people an abrupt and strange feeling.
At this moment, Grand Master Da Qi suddenly turned his head and looked at Princess Zhaoning next to him: "Have you ever heard of the technique of 'dotting the eyes and endowing the spirit'?"
Princess Zhaoning nodded.
She read through Tao Zang and naturally knew that this was a talisman and seal technique that was once thought lost by the world.
But recently, in the hands of Zhao Xinran, a famous master of talisman and seal script in the capital, and the rebel leader Gu Xu, it has shown amazing mysteries, as if it is a miracle of creating life out of thin air.
"I thought I understood it well enough," the Imperial Master sighed, "but unexpectedly, I still underestimated its upper limit."
As he spoke, he lifted a slender brush from the table.
I didn't dip the ink into it, so I just dotted it directly on the scroll.
In the empty eye sockets of the soldiers on the scroll, eyes soon appeared - not black eyeballs, but complicated and obscure talisman and seal patterns.
As the imperial master recited the incantation softly, these soldiers who were originally motionless came to life one after another.
They broke away from the scroll and turned into thumb-sized villains, holding various weapons in their hands and fighting hard on the paper.
For a time, the sound of drums, shouts, and metal collisions filled the room and lingered for a long time.
Princess Zhaoning looked at this miniature battlefield intently.
As an ordinary person with no talent for cultivation, although she has firmly memorized the principles of many spells, whenever she sees such magical scenes, she is still always full of envy for the monks who possess extraordinary powers. .
After a while, the Imperial Master gently put down the brush in his hand.
The fighting little people stopped their movements one after another, returned to the painting, and returned to their previous flat, still, and lifeless appearance.
It’s just different from the previous picture——
Many soldiers fell in a pool of blood and lost their lives. Blood dyed the battlefield red and flowed all over the earth.
The flag hanging high fell to the ground, trampled to pieces.
"Three hundred," Da Qi Imperial Master murmured, "This is my limit."
Princess Zhaoning could hear the implication behind his words.
Gu Xu controlled an army of 100,000 paper men on the northwest border and conquered six cities in a row.
Perhaps his ability to draw talismans is still not as good as that of the national master.
But his control has reached a level that the Imperial Master can only feel inferior to.
After a brief silence, the Imperial Master frowned and asked again: "Do you know why Gu Xu suddenly turned into a traitor on the day of the Luoshui Conference?
"I originally hoped that he could master the 'Seven Styles of Burning Heaven' in the future, inherit the mantle of my teacher Chi Yangzi, and become the new pillar of the Da Qi Dynasty."
"I don't know," Princess Zhaoning shook her head slightly, "Maybe my father had anticipated today's situation during his retreat."
"Then have you thought about how to deal with it next?" the national master asked.
"The northwest border has fallen," the princess said in a serious tone, "If we don't stop them, the rebels will march straight into the hinterland of Daqi.
"Zhao Changying and Xu Man have already appeared in their military formation - although they are just paper figures, I think Gu Xu would not dare to use their images without authorization without the real person nodding his consent.
"This means that if we want to deal with them, we need to deal with at least one saint and a true king."
(End of chapter)
