Chapter 239: Using Power to Suppress "People"

The imperial guards surrounding the outer field and standing on all four sides of the altar were quite unnerved by the lightning and thunder, especially with their long weapons pointing skyward.

Yan Chang and a few officials from the Directorate of Astronomy and the Ministry of Rites were also sheltering in some peripheral buildings, observing the towering altar from afar amidst the lightning and thunder.

Due to his mooncake offering, Yan Chang had seemingly gained the emperor's high regard during this period, which gave him considerable influence among the officials overseeing the Water and Land Dharma Assembly.

"Lord Yan," someone asked with a hint of concern, "with all this thunder and lightning, I fear a downpour is imminent. What should be done about the masters on the altar?"

Yan Chang frowned, looking towards the high platform.

"Those who registered as ordinary monks and priests, present simply to pray and chant, are welcome to descend from the altar to seek shelter and rest from the rain," Yan Chang replied. "However, those who registered with extraordinary powers and abilities are considered masters; a bit of wind and rain will naturally not deter them."

Upon hearing Yan Chang's words, the other officials jointly responsible for the event exchanged glances, clearly understanding his implication.

"It merely means the imperial guards on and around the altar will have to endure the elements."

"Then order all the imperial guards on the altar to withdraw to the ground below. It's better to be rained on than struck by lightning."

As Yan Chang spoke, he faced the Deputy Commander of the Outer Court Guard, who served as the second-in-command of this imperial guard contingent. While the Deputy Commander outranked Yan Chang, the imperial guards' role in such a Dharma Assembly was strictly auxiliary.

"Heh heh, Lord Yan is right," the Deputy Commander chuckled. "My men are all well-trained in military arts and are armored. Getting soaked for half a day won't be a problem."

As he spoke, the Deputy Commander relayed orders to a few nearby soldiers. They promptly unsheathed their swords, quickly fanning out and jogging to the altar from four directions, before ascending to deliver the command.

Within approximately fifteen minutes, all imperial guards and attendants on the altar began to descend in an orderly fashion via the four staircases. Eventually, only a few thousand masters remained on the high platform, each continuing their prayers through their own means.

As time passed, the sky steadily darkened, and ominous clouds slowly spread, gradually enveloping the entire imperial capital.

"CRACK!... BOOOM!"

Lightning illuminated Emperor Yuande's face as he stood under the eaves of a palace, gazing at the cloud-covered sky.

Today marked the start of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly, essentially the prelude to his upcoming birthday celebration. In nine days, Emperor Yuande would officially confer the title of "Celestial Master," subsequently inviting the Celestial Master to join his Grand Longevity Feast.

Besides eunuchs and guards, several imperial princes accompanied the emperor as he watched the sky; no ministers or consorts were present.

"Qing'er."

"Your son is here!"

At Emperor Yuande's call, Prince Wu, standing nearby, immediately bowed and responded.

"Tell me, does this thunder and lightning on the very day the Water and Land Dharma Assembly begins signify a warning from Heaven to me?"

"This... Your son... Your son truly doesn't know!"

Even someone as tactless as Wu Wen dared not answer such a question. The elderly emperor glanced at him, then turned his gaze to his third son, Yang Hao.

"Hao'er, what are your thoughts?"

Prince Jin frowned, looking first at his father, then up at the sky.

"RUMBLE..."

Thunder crashed violently, and dark clouds pressed down like ink.

"Father Emperor, there is no need for excessive worry," Prince Jin replied. "Wind, rain, lightning, and thunder are all common meteorological phenomena for this season. Snow in summer and thunder in winter would be the true anomalies."

The elderly emperor simply looked at him without further comment, then surveyed his other sons, all of whom had a "please don't call on me" expression.

"CRACK... CRACK... CRACK... BOOOM!"

Suddenly, a rapid succession of lightning bolts struck in the east, and the deafening crashes startled everyone, including the elderly emperor.

Within moments, the sky unleashed a torrential downpour, "WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH..."

On the distant altar in the eastern part of the city, some evil cultivators and demon practitioners suddenly seemed to awaken from a dream.

In the center, a gaunt man with a rat-like face stared blankly at a spot several dozen meters away. Moments before, several lightning bolts had simultaneously struck a woman standing there, leaving behind only a charred corpse emitting black smoke.

Many "masters" nearby collapsed in terror amidst the rain. The altar, which had moments ago hummed with the sounds of prayers, chanting, and dancing, had fallen completely silent.

"This isn't ordinary lightning... This is lightning magic! Someone is controlling the lightning!"

The gaunt, rat-faced man shrieked frantically.

"Someone is contr..."

"CRACK... CRACK... BOOOM!"

The man couldn't utter the rest of his sentence. Six or seven lightning bolts struck him almost simultaneously, leaving him no time to react.

The most renowned characteristic of lightning manipulation in combat is not merely its power, but its almost inescapable speed. Unlike ordinary heavenly lightning, the bolts summoned by this art are imbued with spiritual energy and true intent, and given the particular state of these evil cultivators, their potency was even more remarkable.

The "masters" who were simply ordinary people or martial artists masquerading as cultivators were the first to descend into chaos. Apart from a few paralyzed by fear, most scrambled away from the altar.

"Oh no, someone's been struck dead!" "Run! Run! Someone's been struck dead!"

"Let's go, let's go! Money isn't as important as our lives!"

"Don't push, don't push!"

More than ninety percent of the several thousand attendees were ordinary people or common martial artists, all desperate to sprout extra legs and escape the altar. Among them were also some cultivators who had no ties to the Great Zhen dynasty's major affairs or possessed no inherent wickedness.

"BOOOM!" "BOOOM!"

Lightning bolts struck intermittently; they didn't hit everyone, but during the mass scramble, a dozen or so more individuals were struck dead.

Under these circumstances, the imperial guards positioned below the altar, awed by the celestial might, also retreated from its vicinity, searching for shelter from the rain. Consequently, they did not stop the "masters," who were originally forbidden to leave the altar, from descending.

Some cultivators who safely escaped by blending into the fleeing crowd felt immense relief. Once they were away from the altar, the oppressive sense of fear abruptly diminished. Looking back, they saw the entire altar shrouded in a grey haze.

At least several hundred individuals remained on the altar, having not fled with the others. It wasn't that they didn't wish to escape, but many dared not, and indeed could not, make a move.

As the torrential rain poured down, the altar beneath everyone's feet became covered with a shallow layer of rippling water, like a pristine glaze, even though the water was constantly flowing away.

This layer of water reflected various figures, some human, others monstrous. While some individuals standing on the altar appeared entirely human, their reflections in the rippling water revealed hideous creatures.

That wasn't the crucial point, however. The key was that on this glaze-like watery surface, raindrops continuously created ripples, and simultaneously, brilliant, glowing characters began to reveal their true forms.

The characters emitted a soft glow, and endless moonlight seemed to bloom as if from a mirror, or like a brilliant moon ascending through the rain.

An immense aura encompassed the scene, and divine radiance manifested through the misty rain. All the remaining hundreds of individuals felt an overwhelming pressure, as if crushed by tons of weight, barely able to stand.

"Heh heh... The reflections in the mirror reveal all!"

Ji Yuan sat several hundred meters away in a tea stall, his back to a table, legs crossed, hands resting on his knees. With a faint smile and serene eyes, he gazed calmly at the obscure radiance emanating from the altar.

Since the time of his "Heaven-Toppling Sword Potential," Ji Yuan had made significant progress in comprehending and utilizing his own artistic conception and spiritual momentum.

He was highly satisfied with his technique of borrowing momentum, which required moonlight, decree magic, the momentum of humanity, and the inherent malevolent and evil auras of the demonic beings themselves—none could be omitted. The stronger each type of aura, the more potent the effect.

Ji Yuan considered, without false modesty, that this technique was rather imaginative, even within the infinitely profound world of cultivation.

With this downpour, the entire altar transformed into a glassy mirror. Hundreds of decree characters revealed their Daoist essence, and combined with the prior intertwining of human aura and the burgeoning moonlight, a "mirror reversal" effect had been achieved.

For the demons and monsters selected to be on the altar, their own spiritual energies were reversed by the reflection. Although their bodies stood on the altar, their energies were suppressed beneath it. This was also why the water ripples could reveal their true forms; it wasn't due to a demon-revealing mirror artifact, but simply a manifestation of their suppressed energies.

Unless they possessed the magical power or abilities to overturn this colossal stone altar, or the insight to penetrate this layer of Daoist magic, they would remain entangled and immobilized at both the energetic and psychological levels. Furthermore, their spiritual senses were veiled; the more they feared, the more agitated they became, the more profoundly they were suppressed and unable to move.

Of course, perhaps some unforeseeable escape methods might also allow them to break free.

"CRUNCH... CRUNCH..."

A burly man with bulging muscles gritted his teeth, struggling to remain standing.

"Hmph... Haa..."

With a "THWACK," one of his legs buckled and slammed onto the altar. His entire body trembled violently as he struggled, then his other leg also hit the stone platform with a heavy "THWACK." Curiously, the water surface merely rippled, without a single splash.

"ROAR!"

Nearby, another old man roared skyward, a ferocious expression distorting his face. His bones "CRACKED, CRACKED, CRACKED..." as demonic energy surged, and with immense effort, he managed to take half a step forward.

The result was an onslaught of endless lightning.

"CRACK... CRACK... BOOOM!"

The old beggar instinctively reached out to cover the little beggar's eyes, fearing the lightning from the spell would injure them.

"Tsk tsk tsk... Wouldn't it be better to just kneel obediently?"

In the entire space, only the old beggar and the little beggar seemed completely at ease. Not only were their spiritual energies unaffected, but the old beggar also possessed the mental clarity to discern the true nature of what was happening.

Yet, the old beggar was secretly astonished. Ultimately, he had underestimated it; he had already held this decree magic in high regard, but the layers of unexpected transformations were beyond anything he'd anticipated.

"ROAR!" "ROAR!"

Amidst the thunder in the sky, faint, subtle dragon roars could be heard, proclaiming the excited roar of the flood dragon above the clouds.

The Great Zhen officials standing outside the altar and the soldiers who had just taken cover in various buildings also watched the high platform with a mixture of awe and terror. Even after witnessing many masters fleeing, the sight of lightning continuously striking the altar inevitably sparked a thought in their minds.

'Surely there's no one still up there, right?'

The old beggar glanced at the sky. Having witnessed enough of these methods, he decided not to remain on the altar. He took the little beggar's hand and began walking towards the ground below.

As he moved, the immobilized "masters" on the altar looked at him with a mix of surprise, entreaty, and fury. Some pleaded for help, while others, misunderstanding the situation, hurled curses. There were even a few who attempted to stop the old beggar, but the moment they diverted their focus to use their arts, they were immediately pressed down onto the altar, unable to move.

The little beggar had never in his life witnessed such a terrifying scene of grotesque figures. Looking at the reflections of some "masters" on the ground, which were clearly monsters, he remained huddled in terror beside the old beggar.

Yet, the little beggar wasn't foolish. He had long known that Grandpa Lu possessed abilities, and observing the current situation, he realized these demons and monsters were incapable of causing harm.

"Grandpa Lu... Are they all going to die?"

"Heh, that's not for this old beggar to decide," the old man chuckled. "And certainly not for them to decide."