Daoist Master, I'm really not an evil cultivator.

Chapter 16 The Fate of the Nation, The End of a Dynasty

"What does the Black Wind King mean by this? Does he intend to attack...?"

Blood Sword Liu Canyang's icy voice rang out. He sat upright without moving, sword energy faintly visible beneath his black robe, his pitch-black eyes fixed on the face of Black Wind King.

"Haha, exactly as Brother Liu thought." King Black Wind slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne, causing the cave walls to shatter. "I am about to gather my demon army and crush Qinghe County. At that time, the tens of thousands of offerings, riches, and spiritual items in the city will all be shared with you fellow Daoists."

"ridiculous."

Liu Canyang suddenly stood up, his black robe fluttering without wind, and a fierce bloody light shot into the sky, carving white marks into the stalactites hanging above his head.

His voice was like the clash of metal, carrying undisguised sarcasm: "The great cities of the human race are all protected by the fortunes of the dynasty and the local city gods. Once we step into them, we are like moths to a flame, our flesh and souls consumed in an instant. And now Your Majesty wants us to follow you to attack the city and die? Such a ridiculous thing, I, Liu, cannot accompany you."

Before he finished speaking, the sheathless sword behind him emitted a sharp hum, its crimson sword energy surging like flames, about to transform into a blood rainbow and soar into the sky.

"Brother Liu, please wait."

Black Wind King, however, remained unhurried, tearing off a large piece of roasted leg from his hand, the chewing sound muffled and deafening.

It raised its hand and pressed down, and a heavy, mountain-like demonic power spread out. Although it did not directly block it, it caused the air in the cave to suddenly freeze.

"Since I dare to make such a plan, I am naturally confident." It swallowed the piece of meat, making a satisfied gurgling sound in its throat. Its copper bell eyes swept across the entire scene, especially lingering on Jade Fairy and Yuan and Jia. "The city's protective fortune formation is now extremely weak and can no longer be of much use to us."

These words were like a thunderbolt from the blue.

The once bustling Black Wind Cave suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

Even the dark green flames in the fire pit, twisted into human faces, seemed to freeze for a moment.

The centipede inside the child's ear hole suddenly darted out half of its body, its tentacles stiffening.

The finger bone that the Painted Skin Lady was playing with fell into the silver plate with a "plop".

The demons who were embracing the female demons stopped in their tracks and suddenly looked up.

The blood-red monk in the corner stopped chanting, his withered eyelids lifted, and his cloudy eyes revealed surprise and doubt.

After a brief silence, a cacophony of doubts erupted.

"This...how is this possible?" A wild boar demon with protruding tusks exclaimed in disbelief, his wine cup falling to the ground and his scarlet liquid splashing all over him. "I just saw it last month. The brothers from Gray Wolf Ridge tried to sneak into the village on the edge of the county town. As soon as they touched the boundary marker, blue smoke rose from their bodies, and they turned into a puddle of pus before they could run three steps."

"Indeed," another indigo-skinned yaksha sneered. "Although the human race's fortunes have been waning year by year, the foundation of the city's protective array remains intact. Not long ago, some brothers didn't believe in such things and tried to snatch a young boy at night, only to be glared at by the magistrate on the city wall and their souls were instantly scattered. Your Majesty, this is no laughing matter."

"How could we not know?"

"Is Your Majesty speaking in jest?"

Doubts arose, and the faces of the demons inside the cave were filled with suspicion and fear. The suppression of fortune and the protection of the City God were fears etched into their very bones.

Xu Changqing sat upright behind the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the edge of the rough pottery wine cup. His gaze passed over the noise and landed on the two young men from prominent families.

Yuan Hong remained smiling and composed, slowly and methodically picking at the meat slivers between his bones. Jia Jue, on the other hand, slightly raised his chin, a hint of anticipated impatience flashing across his cold face.

"As expected." Xu Changqing understood. These powerful local families were the most well-informed.

Sure enough, just as the crowd was in an uproar and the doubts reached their peak, Jia Jue threw a piece of roasted rib covered in honey back onto the silver plate, making a crisp sound.

He stood up, the subtle patterns on his brocade robe rippling like water in the firelight. His movements were elegant, but his tone was indifferent.

"Brother Black Wind's words are true." His gaze swept over the astonished and uncertain faces below the stage, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his lips. "In today's world, the court is in chaos, warlords are carving up the land, regional princes hold sway with their armies, border troubles are endless, and refugees are rising everywhere. It is already the end of a dynasty. With the nation's fortunes so weak, how much power can the Fortune Array still retain?"

He paused, then his voice clearly reached the ears of every demon: "You have long dwelled in the mountains and fields, and may not know this. But in our eyes, the towering white jade pillars and the purple-gold beams spanning the sea of ​​this dynasty have long been eaten away by worms and are on the verge of collapse."

"The end of a dynasty?"

"Has our fortune... truly declined to this extent?"

After a brief silence, whispers spread like a tide.

At first, many demons looked incredulous, but then a mixture of ecstasy, greed, and ferocity ignited in their eyes like wildfire.

At the end of a dynasty, when humanity declines, it becomes a time when demons and monsters run rampant.

"I heard it from my third uncle's great-uncle!" A mandrill with jagged fangs leaped onto the stone table, waving its arms excitedly. "His fourth uncle's great-uncle rose to power at the end of the previous dynasty, ruling the mountains, eating people and plundering treasures, living a very glorious life. He even dared to overturn the sedan chair of the prefectural magistrate and take a share of the incense from the City God Temple."

"That's right, my grandma mentioned it too." A fox spirit with glossy fur chimed in, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "She said that back then, the county town was our granary; we could come and go as we pleased."

"Haha, I never thought we'd be lucky enough to catch such a perfect moment!"

"Blood food, countless blood food."

"And those delicate, fair-skinned young ladies..."

"Spirit stones, magical artifacts, gold and silver..."

Years of suppressed desires and ferocity were ignited and detonated by the words "dynastic end," and the dam of reason collapsed instantly in the face of overwhelming ecstasy.

Inside the cave, the scene suddenly changed.

What was just a decadent and noisy banquet has instantly transformed into a completely out-of-control hellhole.

The bear demon pounded its chest, revealing part of its true form. Its black fur grew wildly, and it grabbed a trembling rabbit demon next to it, biting off half of its head. It let the red and white fluid drip down its mouth, then raised its head and let out a deafening roar.

"Hehe... Come on..."

Beside the Painted Skin Lady, several female demons had already stripped off their clothes, revealing eerie patterns on their skin. They entangled the nearest guests, regardless of whether they were human or demon, causing them to roll on the ground, their limbs intertwined, emitting blush-inducing groans and strange laughter, filling the air with a stench.

The centipede boy howled, and the pustules all over his body burst, spewing out a five-colored poisonous mist. Countless tiny poisonous insects danced in the mist, and several little demons who couldn't dodge in time got hit, their skin immediately ulcerated, and they fell to the ground screaming and rolling around.

The dark red liquid seeping from beneath the Blood Monk suddenly surged, transforming into a viscous blood stream that meandered across the ground, eroding the rocks in its path with a hissing sound.

A fanatical smile spread across his withered face, and the scriptures he was chanting in a low voice became high-pitched and distorted.

Even worse, some people lose their minds and become uncontrollable.

A wolf demon swelled up, its bones twisted, its head elongated, and drool poured out as it indiscriminately pounced and tore at its prey.

A shadow demon transformed into a swirling cloud of black mist, from which came a sickening chewing sound...

Demonic energy, blood energy, foul energy, chaotic spiritual energy... all sorts of filthy and violent auras soared into the sky, mixed with screams, wild laughter, roars, and lewd sounds, turning Black Wind Cave into a boiling furnace, a true infernal hell.

The faces in the central green flames contorted in even greater agony, as if they too were enduring this insane heat.

Xu Changqing's body was enveloped in a silent flow of ethereal destiny energy, with a faint starlight shimmering, which kept out the foul aura and mad thoughts that rushed towards him.

Looking up at the high platform, the Black Wind King was full of pride and opened his arms as if embracing the crazy feast that he had personally ignited.

Jade Fairy remained in her white robes, but as her cool gaze swept over the chaotic dance of demons below, a faint hint of satisfaction, like admiring a masterpiece, flickered deep within her eyes.

Yuan Hong and Jia Jue stood side by side, smiling, watching this hellish scene as if they were watching a somewhat crude farce that had nothing to do with them.

Xu Changqing lowered his eyes, feeling even colder in his heart.

Upon hearing the words about the dynasty's end, the demons seemed to see the scene of the dynasty's final years, when demons ran rampant.

Rotten flesh serves as a feast, white bones as goblets, and the blood moon shines brightly over the world.

A fox dons a wedding gown, a snake coils around a golden palace; all the living beings of the city become grotesque ghosts dancing in the wind.

When a child cries at night, his heart and liver are ripped out, hung under the eaves, and left to dry in the wind as a string of fresh flowers.

The woman cried out, her voice shrill. She peeled off her skin to make paper, and used her bones as needles and thread to sew a beautiful fan.

Starving corpses littered the ground, crows and dogs feasted, and starving people resorted to cannibalism.

......

The demons that roamed the mountains and fields went even more mad...