Chapter 1 The Eastern Royal Court

At the location of the Eastern Royal Court's tents, tens of thousands of troops had departed but not returned. In the distant sky and earth, the sounds of thunder rumbled on without end, causing the other tribal leaders within the Eastern Royal Court to feel uneasy.

"If the Khan had the upper hand, why would there be incessant thunder from beyond the heavens?"

The Buddhist School was not skilled in using thunder techniques, and the Tantric sect of Tibetan Buddhism was even less so. If their own people were in a dominant position, there should be Buddhist light filling the sky, auspicious omens everywhere. In fact, there had been a brief scene of heavenly flowers and golden lotuses springing from the earth, but it had only lasted for a very short time before disappearing.

A sense of panic gradually spread throughout the Eastern Royal Court. Some suggested withdrawing from the area, but this was immediately opposed by some supporters of Buyan, who accused the person of trying to seize power while the Khan was away, a truly audacious act.

Just as the two sides were arguing, a vast gale suddenly arose in the sky, blowing away the entire Eastern Royal Court's continuous line of tents, and even uprooting Cang Mountain!

The earth shook, and mountains crumbled! A black-clad Taoist descended from the sky. When the tribal leaders saw Ji Xiang appear, their first reaction was not anger, but a look of shock.

They drew their sabers, but instead of waving them at the black-clad Taoist, they lowered the blades, trying to escape. However, the national fortune entwined around them was too weak; the legacy of the former Yuan Dynasty had been exhausted in this generation.

Ji Xiang didn't even bother to look at them, directly announcing:

"Your Khan has been killed by me, and now his soul is scattered. Your national preceptor has also been reduced to ashes and cannot be revived. The ten thousand men have all been sent into the gates of hell. Now I have come here, unwilling to create more bloodshed."

"I only want to take one soul from each of your three souls."

Ji Xiang's tone was calm, but it immediately caused the faces of the many leaders to change dramatically.

Taking souls and controlling them. With just one sentence, these leaders understood what sinister thing the black-clad Taoist in front of them was about to do.

This kind of method had existed since ancient times, and was not unique to any one sect. In fact, the manipulation of souls was an ancient shamanic practice, used by shamans even more than the orthodox methods of the Three Teachings, or even demons.

Moreover, taking only one of the three souls would not affect a person's normal actions. The Heavenly Soul and Earthly Soul were often outside the body, while only the Mortal Soul resided within.

"Taking your Earthly Souls, severing your karma."

If the Earthly Soul was taken, then a person's sense of karma would be severed, and their future destiny would be controlled by the person holding the Earthly Soul. He would become the source of cause, and they would become the predetermined effect, meaning "fate is not in your own hands."

The leaders looked at each other.

Ji Xiang held up three fingers.

"Three..."

Whoosh!

Before the word "two" could be uttered, someone had already dropped their saber and prostrated on the ground, their face pale with terror.

They couldn't help but be afraid.

Ji Xiang had deliberately caused such earth-shattering destruction upon descending, in order to intimidate these people and avoid unnecessary trouble and procedures. If they were not afraid even after such intimidation, then he would simply kill them.

Those who knew no fear would inevitably become a great threat in the future. Now was not the time to raise tigers, nor was there any need to do so.

"Is the Taoist here to seek justice for the General of Liaodong? Instead of deciding victory or defeat in the midst of battle, you are using powerful magic to crush us. There is no honor in what you do, Taoist."

Bang!

With a flick of Ji Xiang's finger, the leader who spoke instantly exploded into a cloud of blood!

"You have no right to speak. Does anyone else wish to comment?"

The other leaders quickly lowered their heads, their bodies stiff with fear, cold sweat soaking their clothes and dripping from their foreheads. Their hearts were in their throats, and their mental state was on the verge of collapse.

Death in war was not terrifying. Although it was not like the time of the former Yuan Dynasty, the fighting strength of the Eastern Royal Court was not too low. They often practiced by raiding, and their combat power was guaranteed to be better than that of the Ming army.

However, being crushed like insects, casually humiliated, was the first time they had understood the feeling of being "massacred."

Ji Xiang looked around: "Where is Chaohua, the leader of the Chaohua tribe?"

One of the leaders quickly came forward and shouted.

"I am Uqiyetü, the leader of the Uqiyetü tribe, Chaohua."

"Uqiyetü tribe..."

Ji Xiang didn't react at first. After about two breaths, he remembered the name of this tribe.

His tone immediately changed.

"Uqiyetü... so you are the former Three Guards of Doyan!"

Chaohua's face changed drastically, turning deathly pale in an instant. He was about to say something, but in the next moment, he had already exploded into a cloud of blood, his soul scattered!

At this time, a leader mustered his courage and said loudly with his head lowered:

"The invasion of Liaodong was all the work of the Chaohua tribe. We did not participate in this raid!"

"Chaohua has five large camps in the Eastern Royal Court. If he wants to act, no one except the Khan can control him. This matter has nothing to do with us!"

His entire body was stiff, staring at the ground with wide eyes. As the sweat dripped down, this leader realized that he had not exploded. The leaders who were prostrating beside him also looked up slightly in astonishment at him.

However, before the joy of surviving could rush to his heart, he immediately felt a blankness in his mind, as if something had been extracted. He briefly forgot what he was going to say next, and even the joyful emotion was cut off.

Their Earthly Souls were all extracted, and their connection with the karma of the world became Ji Xiang's unilateral control. Then Ji Xiang left the tent and flew into the high sky, taking out the Northern Yuan seal from his sleeve.

He imprinted the seal towards the sky!

The wind and clouds changed suddenly, and the national fortune of the Eastern Royal Court began to gather towards the seal. Because the Tatars generally did not worship their ancestors, but only sacrificed to heaven and earth, there were no physical facilities like ancestral temples to carry the national fortune. They could only use the seal, a symbol of royal power, to condense the national fortune.

As for seizing the national fortune of a country, Ji Xiang understood that it involved occupying the other party's most important ancestral temple. Japan had done this after occupying the main ancestral temple of Korea. As for how to devour and transfer it...

Ji Xiang's actions were more direct!

A towering, luminous smoke emerged from his body, and the smoke directly devoured the Northern Yuan jade seal that contained a large amount of national fortune!

The intangible national fortune, once it had a physical form, could be forcibly "snatched" and "digested" using the towering, luminous smoke and a blank divine tablet, even if the specific method of seizure was unknown! Of course, the disadvantage was that this part of the national fortune was not for the Ming Dynasty, but could only be used by himself!

Rumble!

Ten thousand thunders roared in unison, and demonic energy surged in the universe!

The sky turned black, and rolling dark clouds surged from all directions like a torrent. The vast national fortune spread from Ji Xiang's body to the entire land!

"National fortune is also a concrete manifestation of the power that Heaven initially bestowed upon the dynasties of the world. It also contains a small amount of the original power of Heaven. The Northern Yuan has been destroyed, and now the Tatar national fortune is withering. The military god who controls the highest level of war in the country can only be strengthened to the fourteenth level of the mortal realm, not even reaching the peak of the mortal realm. Moreover, both Northern and Southern Mongolia do not listen to the Eastern Royal Court's orders. The Tatars have weakened to such a degree that they are now within my control."

He was only mastering the national fortune of the weakest, most defeated, and not even completely unified Eastern Royal Court.

Of course, under normal circumstances, this was a vast power that no one could bear, not even an immortal!

But for Ji Xiang, that was not necessarily the case!

The Bitter Sea World suddenly unfolded!

The national fortune that he could not bear was all distributed into the Bitter Sea World. Receiving the fortune of the Eastern Royal Court, this world immediately transformed to a higher level.

The power of a nation was added to his body, continuing to stack on top of the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty.

In Ji Xiang's eyes, the light was as bright as a blazing torch: "With a nation of my own, I don't have to worry about my power decreasing or being suppressed by others, even if I leave the sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty."

Carrying the power of a country with him, with national fortune and prestige added to one person, it could be said that such an existence was unique in this world. No country would add its important national fortune to a single person; it would be like betting the future of the entire nation on him.

Except for Japan. After all, this state was very similar to Xu Fu's pseudo-immortality, relying on the power of a country to arm himself, in order to reach a transcendent and supreme level!

"Xu Fu used the power of a country to transform himself into a pseudo-immortal in the mortal realm, possessing the magical power equivalent to a flying immortal. If I rely on the power of a country, with such strengthening, perhaps I can surely kill a flying immortal!"

Fighting with Xu Fu seemed to be a situation of mutual destruction, but the pseudo-immortal had the support of a country, and could return to his full strength in seven days. He had not won at that time. Although Xu Fu eventually ran away using teleportation, it was not his victory, because his consumption was greater than Xu Fu's, and there was also the relationship of magical restraint involved.

A temporary advantage could only affect the outcome of the battle, but it was difficult to make a strict conclusion about the final result. There were many factors that affected the final result.

But to "surely kill" was a different matter.

No matter what means you use, apart from teleportation, which was uncontrollable, all other methods could be resolved one by one! Even if they could not be resolved, he could use his own more powerful magical power to "cover" them!

Rumble! The national fortune of the Eastern Royal Court disappeared completely as the Northern Yuan jade seal was swallowed, and a huge power that had been present in the darkness also disappeared. Those tribal leaders suddenly felt that the power of the gods that had been protecting them for a long time was gone.

Fear and panic instantly swept over their hearts, but no matter how they tried to communicate, they could no longer sense the protection of Changsheng Tian (Eternal Heaven)!

The mutation that occurred here was not only at the location of the Eastern Royal Court's tents.

It also happened throughout the entire territory of the Eastern Royal Court!

The power of the shaman priests instantly declined. They could not communicate with Changsheng Tian, and the divine power held by their divine positions was greatly reduced, because this "country" was no longer their "country," and these "gods" were naturally no longer their "gods"!

The country collapsed, and the gods severed their relationship. On the border of the Eastern Royal Court, small-scale frictions were taking place with the tribes of Northern Mongolia. It was common for tribes to attack each other, but the tribes here in the Eastern Royal Court suddenly lost all their magic power. Their national fortune collapsed, and their national prestige no longer protected them. Countless warriors were shattered by the divine power of the shamans and warriors of Northern Mongolia, turning into pools of flesh and blood, trampled underfoot in the green sea of the grasslands.

Naturally, this change was also discovered by the tribes of Northern Mongolia.

They were suspicious and uncertain. The people of the Eastern Royal Court had lost the protection of national prestige. Because the tribes of the grasslands shared Changsheng Tian, these Northern Mongolians could still sense the strengthening of Changsheng Tian, but the strengthening on the other side suddenly disappeared and collapsed. This was as unbelievable as if the other side's country had suddenly perished.

However, if a country perished, its national fortune would be transferred to the country that masterminded its destruction.

"Who destroyed the Eastern Royal Court? The Khalkha tribe is so powerful, and Buyan just obtained the Northern Yuan jade seal, and he is still issuing orders to us by virtue of his status as the legitimate Khan. How could it be destroyed so suddenly?"

The leaders of the Northern Mongolian tribes felt a strong sense of unease in their hearts.

The forces that could strike the Eastern Royal Court were only the Jianzhou Jurchens and the Ming Dynasty itself. If the Jianzhou Jurchens had destroyed the Eastern Royal Court, although this did not represent the intentions of the Ming Dynasty court, it also showed that the power of the Jianzhou Jurchens had expanded to the point where they could contend with the remnants of the Tatars, which was already a huge threat.

And if the Ming Dynasty itself had destroyed the Eastern Royal Court, this would mean that their Mongolian tribes in the two major regions of Southern and Northern Mongolia would also face the result of conquest!

"Didn't the Ming Dynasty just end the war in Korea! The seven-year war consumed countless soldiers, horses, money, and grain. Where did they get so much money and food to launch a war of annihilation against us?!"

"Shall we send people to the depths of the Eastern Royal Court to investigate? They have lost the blessing of Changsheng Tian. It will be as easy as turning our hands to break through their defenses, penetrate deep into their heartland, and retreat unscathed."

"Whether this national fortune is obtained by the Jianzhou Jurchens or by the Ming Dynasty, it is a terrible thing. We must investigate clearly."

The Northern Mongolian tribes sent scouts to the Eastern Royal Court to investigate. Several tribes made this choice.

At the same time, Ji Xiang, who had caused the great collapse of the Eastern Royal Court, completely turned this place into a wasteland and said to these leaders, who were both terrified and had their Earthly Souls extracted:

"If you don't want to die at the hands of your grassland compatriots in the upcoming war, then you know what to do in your hearts. However, the choice I give you leaves no room for consideration."

"This time, there will be no such thing as the Three Guards of Doyan."

There would no longer be such things as the Three Guards of Doyan, and even the reform of the Jianzhou Jurchens was imminent. However, these were matters that the imperial court should be concerned about. Ji Xiang was only standing on the position of the Ming Dynasty as a country when he appeared here, not on the position of the "imperial court."

However, since he had devoured the national fortune of the Eastern Royal Court, he naturally had to give the imperial court some soup. The soldiers of the Eastern Royal Court had been raiding and fighting for years, while the Ming Dynasty's border troops had been neglecting their training for a long time. The seven-year war had wiped out many elite soldiers, and the border defenses were empty. It was time to replenish some fresh blood. Even if these people were not regarded as soldiers, using them as sparring partners or instructors would be good.

Of course, the leaders of the Eastern Royal Court knew what Ji Xiang was saying. They were flustered and were about to head south immediately, because if they didn't leave, Northern and Southern Mongolia would soon invade this place. Moreover, their Earthly Souls had been extracted by Ji Xiang, and from now on, their destiny, even if they wanted to resist, would unconsciously follow the path designated by Ji Xiang.

If they didn't go now, they would be entangled by greater karma in the future, and then be forced to go south. The Tantric sect had many techniques targeting souls, and most of these people believed in Tantric Buddhism, so they were very clear about karma.

Ji Xiang played with the Earthly Souls, and these Earthly Souls condensed together to form an Earthly Soul Bead.

If the Heavenly Heart of the Great Luo Path could reverse cause and effect, then manipulating other people's Earthly Souls to influence their fate could also be considered a manual version of the "Great Luo Divine Power." It was only possible to influence mortals, but it was impossible to influence people with high cultivation. People with truly high cultivation had already unified their three souls, so how could they be easily taken?