Volume 1, Chapter 504 – Temporal Dislocation

After killing Dong Zhuo, Shi Lan felt little reaction in her heart. The two unnamed eighth-order martial generals at his side were also sent to the Yellow Springs along with him.

The strength of an eighth-order expert was by no means weak. She did not want to leave behind any hidden trouble.

The white giant claw in the sky slowly withdrew into the rift. The remaining three hundred thousand-plus Han troops collapsed at once, their formation breaking apart as they fled in all directions. Shi Lan did not pursue them. To her, these Han troops no longer posed any threat, and there was no need to waste more energy on them.

The instant she killed Dong Zhuo, the not-so-abundant battle merit she had accumulated in the Great Han dissipated into nothingness. By an indistinct intuition, she could sense that she had now been cast into another identity and no longer enjoyed the protection of the Great Han’s nation-guarding scarlet dragon.

This was a battlefield for suppressing rebels. By killing a fourth-rank court minister here, she had already become part of the “rebel army.”

She had originally wanted to use this opportunity to make a name for herself. Now, it seemed she would have no such chance.

Shi Lan felt not the slightest regret over this. All she sought in her heart was freedom and ease. To forcibly swallow this grievance and act against her own true will would be to walk the wrong path. Even her Dao road might collapse.

Putting away her war halberd, Shi Lan casually chose a direction and tore through space to leave. She did not go after Guan Yinping. The death of a fourth-rank minister was no minor matter. With the nation-guarding scarlet dragon in existence, a warrant for her arrest would soon be issued.

For her, leaving this world as quickly as possible was the best choice.

…

…

A scarlet giant dragon coiled through the skies above Yu Province. Countless streams of information, invisible to the naked eye, flowed through its body. Orders issued by the imperial court, along with the general movements of the various warlords, all converged within it. A thoroughly inconspicuous wanted order was mixed in among them and soon sent out to the hands of the various warlords.

Within a mountain range, Cao Cao, seated atop his war chariot, suddenly opened his eyes. In the empty space before him, a portrait of a woman appeared out of thin air.

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After staring at the portrait for a moment, Cao Cao could not help but chuckle.

“My lord, what makes you laugh?”

Xu Chu, who was driving the chariot, glanced back, somewhat curious.

“Lust is a steel knife that scrapes the bone…”

Cao Cao shook his head slightly, dispersed the portrait, and changed the subject.

“Have you found Zhang Jiao’s location yet?”

Xu Chu thought for a moment, then replied, “According to the strategist’s calculations, Zhang Jiao will definitely perform his ritual in the southeastern part of Yu Province, reversing the flow of rivers and seas and making his final gamble in concert with the stars filling the sky. The other forces are all now closing in on the southeast.”

“Faster. The Heavenly Tome on Zhang Jiao’s person is a rare treasure, with unfathomable powers of gods and spirits. It would be of great use to the strategist.”

After saying that, Cao Cao spoke no more and closed his eyes to rest.

The heavily armored man beside him had not said a single word from start to finish. He sat quietly at one side of the war chariot, like a cold stone statue devoid of life.

…

…

In the northern part of Yu Province, upon a stretch of wasteland, a vast force was slowly advancing.

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Compared with the other warlords’ armies, this force was moving far too slowly. Along the way, they were not only repairing cities, but also gathering displaced commoners and helping them rebuild their homes.

One “Liu” battle banner after another spread outward in a fan shape, covering nearly half of Yu Province’s territory.

Inside a city, Liu Bei sat upright in the main hall of the City Lord’s Manor, gazing at the portrait in the air, his fingers brushing his chin, his expression unreadable.

“Big Brother, Yinping sent word to me. She says she needs assistance.”

Guan Yu pushed open the door and entered, his steps somewhat hurried. Though his expression changed little, the concern in his eyes was hard to conceal. He knew his own daughter best. Unless matters had reached a life-or-death juncture, she would never have opened her mouth to ask for help.

“I already know. Yinping should be safe at the moment.”

The portrait in the air vanished, and Liu Bei lifted a hand to pass the information he had just received on to Guan Yu.

After learning the full sequence of events, the worry in Guan Yu’s eyes faded, though his brows drew together slightly.

“That Dong Zhuo deserved to die, but this is still a grave crime. What should be done? She is still too young and hot-blooded.”

“Shi Lan is a wanted criminal of the Great Han. What does that have to do with me, Liu Xuande?”

Liu Bei shook his head slightly and smiled.

“At the moment I cannot spare any men to go after her. Send word to Zilong and have him help instead.”

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The overseas regions were still relatively peaceful. In any case, Shi Lan had already intended to go overseas, so they might as well do her a favor. As time passed, this turmoil would naturally die down.

Just as Guan Yu had said, that Dong Zhuo deserved to die.

…

…

The Great Han’s foundations were unimaginably deep. Nearly every warlord had first-rate martial generals under his command. Under the forceful suppression of these warlords, the activity range of the Yellow Turban troops was compressed again and again until they were soon driven into a dead end.

As the sun set and the moon rose, by the seashore, several hundred thousand Yellow Turban elites established layer upon layer of camps. Like stars surrounding the moon, they guarded a high platform at the center of the encampment.

The platform stood nine hundred and ninety-nine zhang tall, divided into nine levels, each level seven-sided. Mysterious and intricate patterns had been inscribed upon it with the blood of some unknown living thing, giving off a faint, hazy glow.

At the summit of the platform stood a figure in blue robes. He tilted his head up slightly, gazing at the boundless starry sky before him. His face, devoid of all color, was utterly calm.

Only a few months had passed since the uprising began, yet he had already lost two of his sworn brothers, along with countless comrades who had wished to change heaven and earth. Of the twenty-four Divine Generals of the Protectorate, only five remained. It could truly be said that the tide had turned against him.

The Great Han was still blazing like the noonday sun. The Way of Great Peace, which had begun with the aim of saving and aiding the people, had become a rebel creed, cast into the eighteenth level of hell, never to rise again for all eternity.

Above his head, the stars wandered through a silver river, shining with brilliant radiance like silver lamps adrift across the heavens.

“I am neither one chosen by heaven, nor do I possess the power to save the common people…”

Zhang Jiao muttered softly. The vastness descending from the starry sky drained away all the spirit and resolve in his body, and a powerless sense of smallness welled up in his heart.

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Earthshaking cries of battle rose from the distance. The collision of blood and qi between first-rate martial generals tore through the Nine Heavens.

Hummm…

The instant the battle cries erupted, a sharp roar of torn space suddenly exploded. In the blink of an eye, more than ten divine arrows passed through the void, shooting straight toward the high platform to take Zhang Jiao’s life.

The battle merit earned by killing the rebel leader surpassed that of ten great victories!

…

…

Hundreds of thousands of li away, Shi Lan, who had quietly made her way here, had reined in all fluctuations of her aura and hidden herself within a stretch of woodland.

This place was the most direct route to the overseas regions. Once the fighting settled down, her departure from the Nine Provinces would follow naturally. After dealing with a few trifling matters, she could return to the Lingyang Realm and prepare for the tribulation crossing.

When she saw the increasingly brilliant star signs in the sky, Shi Lan froze where she stood. Her hand unconsciously tightened, and a tremor rose uncontrollably from the depths of her heart.

“How is this possible?!”

The starry sky above her head bore a startling resemblance to the world in her memory. The Big Dipper hung in the heavens, guarded by the Four Symbols and the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, while dense star power poured down in rolling waves, washing over the land across a radius of hundreds of thousands of li.

That overly similar starry sky gave Shi Lan, in that instant, a powerful sense of temporal and spatial dislocation. For a moment, she almost forgot what world she was standing in.