Stealing The Heavens
chapter-554

The huge mountain crashed down and threw the natural energies surrounding Zhong Ning City into a complete mess. Energies of five elements mixed with one another, and were showing signs of fusing into one and returning to their chaotic state. The joint attack of one thousand Long Bo men, whose overall strength was as strong as one thousand Heaven Immortals, was too powerful to withstand. Wu Qi had already curled up his body and was hiding somewhere tens of feet under the ground, his faint aura merged with the surrounding natural energy. He was all prepared for the attack.

A loud boom rang out as an immeasurable force came smashing down from above. It made his body tremble, and his bones and muscles were screaming. The immense force nearly kneaded him into a meatball. He coughed out a mouthful of blood and cursed Fusang Ye under his breath, who had given out the order to lay siege on the city.

Waves of force came rushing crazily at him like a fierce flood. He flicked open his eyes, and could clearly see sheets of strong, yellow colored light approaching, which overlapped with one another and rolled fiercely like dragons. They shattered the soil into the tiniest particles as they advanced. The forces were brutal and overwhelming, as if several hundred giant gods were hammering everything under the ground with thunder mallets.

Wu Qi cursed angrily. With both hands swinging continuously, he unleashed several dozens of Primordial Runes, which transformed into beams of dark light and formed into an energy barrier around him, as thick as a copper bell. Then, he flicked his fingers to summon a vast stream of earth energy, turning it into Acquired Magnetic Force that fused with the defensive barrier.

At the same time, a thick stream of cold energy flowed out of the soil surrounding him. It materialized into a layer of translucent Dark Yin Crystal Wall that glinted brilliantly, and then fused with the defensive barrier as well. Three defensive barriers had combined into one to provide him a heavy protection. Just when that was done, the strong yellow light came whistling through the soil and smashed into the barrier. A deafening boom was produced, as the impact made Wu Qi's body tremble violently. Stars were dancing before his eyes, and his blood and energy were rocking and rolling fiercely. He felt as if his body would be ripped apart at any time.

He smiled bitterly when he saw that the defensive barrier he had just created was about to fall apart under the strong impact of the yellow light. Without hesitation, he twisted his body, turning himself into a clump of hazy, dark Fiend energy that spread in all directions. Another loud boom rang out, and the defensive barrier shattered into pieces. Stopping at nothing, the strong yellow light swept past the Fiend energy which Wu Qi had turned into, then rushed deeper into the ground with a piercing whistle. Loud noises of explosion kept echoing out as it went further, all the way destroying some of the remaining defensive mechanisms under the city and leaving no traces behind.

Wu Qi retracted the Fiend energy and transformed back to his true form. His body was covered in blood, and his energy was almost depleted. The interspatial space he had temporarily created in his sleeve was on the verge of collapse. Frustrated, he cursed at those Long Bo men for laying siege on the city. His eyes were darting back and forth rapidly as he tried to figure out a way to escape the calamity.

The defense of Zhong Ning City was breached. The upcoming battle had nothing to do with him, and there was no reason why he should help Feng Lingling. But, there would be chaos in the war, and it was not difficult for him to find an opportunity to steal or rob a few storage magical treasures with large capacity.

With that evil thought tumbling in his mind, Wu Qi carefully squeezed out from under the ground and cast a spell to hide himself from the naked eyes.

Zhong Ning City had been reduced to shambles, and the huge mountain was nowhere to be found. Only the Directorate of Celestials was still standing, and tens of thousands of Oracles were seen hovering above it. Apart from them, all the buildings had collapsed, and the common people were dead, without leaving behind even ashes.

Even with the level of his cultivation base, and the profound divine abilities and magical spells he had mastered, Wu Qi was almost severely wounded under the impact of the strong yellow light, let alone those common people. The attack had completely wiped out over one million residents of Zhong Ning City, and they did not even have the chance to become ghosts.

Wu Qi exercised his Chaotic Divine Eyes and gave the surroundings a glance. Not only did the strong yellow light destroy the fleshly bodies of all the common people in the city, it had also pulverized their souls. The air was filled with Source Soul Particles that wandered freely, and in his eyes, they turned into a dense layer of purple mist that blanketed the entire Zhong Ning City.

A thought leaped into his mind. Gingerly, he activated a secret spell found in the Scroll of Stealing. A stream of light burst out from the center of his brows and quickly transformed into a vortex that sucked all the Source Soul Particles in the surroundings into his body. Nourished by these particles, his innate Chaotic Divine Soul began to grow and strengthen rapidly. It had become denser and firmer, and before long, a figure that looked exactly the same as him was emanating a faint light of purple mixed with gold as it took shape in his spiritual ocean.

He was surrounded by the souls of over one million common people. So long as he could absorb thirty to fifty percent of them, it would bring him tremendous benefits.

Just when Wu Qi was sneakily stealing the treasures left behind after the death of those common people, Fusang Ye's voice rang out again, "Feng Lingling, do you really want to put up a desperate struggle and refuse to admit your crime? Why are you so stubborn? You have caused the death of all the common people of Zhong Ning City!"

The huge mountain unleashed by the one thousand Long Bo men had turned the Prefecture Overseer Mansion into ashes. At the moment, Feng Lingling was standing above the rubble with several thousand men around him, and all of them had the same sorry look. Large bone talismans hovered over them and were emanating strong energy waves. It was these high-graded talismans that had protected these people, saving their lives from the previous attack.

Apart from Feng Lingling and his men, there were also several thousand men standing amidst the rubble of Punishment Court and Military Court. They were all covered in blood, and were throwing hostile glances at those Oracles who hovered above the Directorate of Celestial. The survivors of Punishment Court and Military Court did not hold too much of a grudge against the great armies outside the city. Instead, their hatred for these Oracles had gone bone deep.

It was all because of the betrayal of the Directorate of Celestials that caused the breach of Zhong Ning City, for they had destroyed one of the energy sources at the most critical moment. It had led to the total annihilation of their city and their clans, and they blamed Yu Mu and the Directorate of Celestials for all of this.

Feng Lingling let out a forlorn roar and said, "I have caused the death of all the common people of Zhong Ning City? Bullsh*t!"

Clad in a heavy armor, Feng Lingling took a few steps forward, then swung the steel coiling-dragon spear in his hand and snapped furiously, "What crime have I committed? What crime? Have I really offended the Celestial Lady Lord of the Heaven? Have I really made a false accusation against the King of Great Yu? King Zhang Qiu, Goddess Miao Xin, do you dare to swear to the heaven that what I've said is merely a false accusation against you?"

King Zhang Qiu did not speak. He just stared coldly at Feng Lingling with the same rigid expression of his, which made him look like a wooden puppet.

And Goddess Miao Xin simply did not have the leisure to answer the question, as she was having a good time with Lao Ai. Crisp sounds of body slamming on body resounded throughout the entire battlefield, accompanied by Miao Yue and Miao Feng's lustful laughter. An intense battle was going on in the chariot, and Goddess Miao Xin did not even hear the clamor which Feng Lingling had been making.

Fusang Ye stared at Feng Lingling with a complicated look in his eyes. Slowly, he lifted up the imperial decree and said, "I afraid we have passed the moment for a talk. Feng Lingling, I will give you a chance to put out a desperate struggle! Prepare your army… you have only fifteen minutes!"

Feng Lingling stared blankly at Fusang Ye. After some moments, he finally turned to look at the several thousand men around him, who were mostly his clan members and loyal subordinates, and the several thousand men who stood sparsely atop the now destroyed Punishment Court and Military Court. At the most, he could only assemble an army of fewer than ten thousand soldiers. Yet, he had to face an army of tens of thousands of soldiers. There was no way he could win this war.

The more people there were in a formation of human soldiers, the stronger it would become. It was completely different when compared to the battle between Immortals. An army of ten thousand soldiers coupled with bone talismans and formation could never defeat a formation comprising of tens of thousands of soldiers. Though Fusang Ye had given him a chance to assemble his army and put out a desperate struggle, but with only ten thousand soldiers at hand, he did not even have the slightest chance to win.

Feng Lingling laughed strangely as he turned the tip of his spear toward his chest. "I've been loyal to the Human Emperor," he cried out harshly, "Although I may have some selfish motives, but I've never once disobeyed the Human Emperor's imperial decree. A minor tribute is sent to the dynasty every three years, and a major one every ten years. Fresh fruits and delicacies are offered to the dynasty according to the season. I've never neglected that. I gave my loyalty to the dynasty, and yet someone wants to kill me and wipe out my entire clan with groundless accusations?"

He shook his head, then looked up at the sky and laughed wildly as he pulled the spear right toward his heart.

Feng Jiupan and all the other members of Feng Clan standing behind him roared furiously and dropped to their knees at the same time.

As the tip of the spear was about to pierce Feng Lingling's heart, the sky turned dark abruptly. Countless dark clouds were rapidly gathering over Zhong Ning City, and soon forming into a gigantic hand that measured tens of miles in circumference. As soon as it appeared, the hand lightly stretched down from about one hundred miles above the ground.

A thunderbolt came darting down with a crackle and landed hard on Feng Lingling's steel spear, vanishing it into nothingness when its tip was only one inch away from his heart. Feng Lingling, together with the several thousand members of his own clan and loyal subordinates who knelt around him, as well as his supporters from the Punishment Court and Military Court, suddenly felt their bodies became lighter. In the next moment, they were all floating in the air.

King Zhang Qiu's face fell instantly. "Who dares to rescue the criminal wanted by the Human Emperor?"

With a flip of his palm, a longsword suddenly appeared in his hand. It measured six feet long, with a blade that was black on one side and white on the other, and both sides carved with moon and stars. Then, he leaped into the air and swung the sword toward the giant hand formed from the clouds. A beam of strong light, half black and half white, flashed across the void. It was as if the world had been slashed into half by the strike.

All of a sudden, the void behind King Zhang Qiu ripped apart, and a one-feet long palm, fair and delicate as if it was carved out of the finest white jade, stretched out of the crack soundlessly. Lord Long Yang tried to give him a warning, but even when the words were still rolling at his tongue, the palm had already gently pressed against King Zhang Qiu's back.

Blood sprayed out of King Zhang Qiu's seven apertures like a dark fountain as he shrieked miserably and shot forward like a cannonball. The sword beam he had unleashed shattered into pieces and exploded into countless bright specks that drifted away in the breeze. Meanwhile, the giant hand performed a gentle cupping motion, and Feng Lingling and his company disappeared without a trace.

Fusang Ye hovered in the air and did not come out with any response. There was a bright gleam flickering in his eyes, and a hint of smile was spreading across his lips.

The immortal officer was staring blankly at the giant hand, his forehead smeared with cold sweat because of fear. "Which Primordial Immortal has his eye upon Feng Lingling? And, he actually saved Feng Lingling's entire clan with such a mighty divine ability?" He murmured. "This task given by Patriarch Miao Ying is really deadly! Is it one of her enemies trying to make things difficult for her? How could we tangle ourselves in the dispute between Primordial Immortals?"

Wu Qi's ears twitched as he heard every single word murmured by the immortal officer. He gave the giant hand a deep look, which was dwindling into the void. After that, taking the opportunity that the defensive mechanism of the city had been destroyed, he transformed into a breeze and drifted away soundlessly.