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Feng Lei surged, the eight round orbs on the altar bathed in the lightning of the thunder dragon. This was a battle between metal and nature, as well as a struggle between humanity and the forces of heaven and earth!
The warhorses neighed wildly, throwing their riders to the ground. Those who witnessed this spectacle had long since prostrated themselves, murmuring in awe, filled with reverence for the heavens and earth!
However, when the thunder calmed down and they looked up, they found that the Xu Zhen and her family were enveloped in lightning on the altar, their figures slowly becoming ethereal before vanishing into the void!
Legends of Earth Immortal Sage ascending to immortality have always circulated among the people, yet no one had truly witnessed it. But today, thousands who flocked to Taiyi Mountain collectively bore witness to this scene!
“The Xu Zhen has ascended! And not just her, but her entire family has ascended!”
As everyone was still in shock, within the Feng Lei, the voice of Xu Zhen echoed once more!
“Quickly retreat!”
This command carried the authority of a Sage, causing everyone to instinctively retreat down the mountain. Just as they were halfway down, a loud explosion erupted behind them. A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky, flames illuminating all of Taiyi Mountain. The ground shook violently, and the shockwave knocked everyone behind to the ground!
The altar exploded, completely obliterated. The underground water system was ruptured, and the collapsed mountainside buried all truth beneath it. Any attempt to excavate would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
In despair, Xue Rengui and Xie Anting could only order a lockdown of Taiyi Mountain, then hastily returned to the palace to report to Li Zhi.
At this moment, Li Zhi was also at a loss. He commanded someone to summon Murong Hanzhu, but after a long wait with no sign of her arrival, he grew anxious. Just then, a report came in stating that Murong Hanzhu had been executed!
Li Zhi flew into a rage and ordered Cheng Zhijie to lead troops out of the city to search for her. The entire Taiyi Mountain was surrounded tightly; even three inches of earth were scraped away, yet nothing was found!
The power of public opinion is incredibly formidable; it is said that preventing people's voices is harder than stopping floods. While Li Zhi could have Xu Jingzong alter the Historical Records, he could not silence the people’s chatter. On that day, thousands witnessed the national master Xu Zhen achieving enlightenment and ascending; news spread rapidly within days. It was said that Tuguhun intended to create a statue for Xu Zhen and confer upon her the title of Dharma King.
In February of the fourth year of Yonghui, Li Zhi issued an edict to execute Fang Yi'ai, Xue Wanche, and Chai Lingwu. He also ordered the deaths of King Jing Li Yuanjing, Princess Gaoyang, and Princess Balin. With Murong Hanzhu dead, turmoil engulfed the court. Reluctantly, Li Zhi had no choice but to reinstate Changsun Wuji to stabilize the situation.
With great power in hand, Changsun Wuji seized the opportunity to suppress dissenters, abusing his authority for personal vendettas and dragging in King Wu Li Ke.
After the initial rebellion, the position of Crown Prince remained undecided. Emperor Taizong, recognizing King Wu Li Ke's military and literary talents similar to his own, proposed to establish King Wu Li Ke as the heir. However, Changsun Wuji and other civil officials strongly opposed this due to King Wu Li Ke's mother being a princess of the Sui Dynasty, which led to deep-seated fears regarding Li Ke.
Now that he had an opportunity, he naturally would not let it slip away. He incited Fang Yi'ai to imitate the story of He Gan Chengji, actively reporting in hopes of avoiding death. Not only did he involve King Wu Li Ke, but he also dragged in Prince of Jiangxia Li Daozong, with whom he had always been at odds. This caused widespread panic, and everyone feared Changsun Wuji.
Li Zhi did not expect Changsun Wuji to involve King Wu Li Ke. Although he remained vigilant towards Li Ke, fearing that this capable brother might rebel, several of his brothers had already died, and his sister Li Mingda was missing, possibly taken by Xu Zhen. Both Princess Gaoyang and Princess Balin were royal daughters and sisters of Li Zhi.
At this moment, he found himself unwilling to let Li Ke die a tragic death, fearing the label of being unfilial. In the court, Li Zhi wept bitterly and said to the officials present, "King Jing is my uncle, and King Wu is my elder brother. Can I spare him from death?"
The officials were all wary of Changsun Wuji's power and dared not speak up. Thus, Li Zhi turned his gaze towards his own faction, including Zhu Suiliang. Zhu Suiliang had a poor relationship with Li Daozong and feared that pardoning King Wu Li Ke would lead to a chain reaction that would also pardon Li Daozong and others; he did not stand up for Li Zhi.
Perhaps he was unaware that this would lay the groundwork for his downfall shortly thereafter.
The court fell silent for a long time without anyone speaking. Li Zhi knew the situation was settled and sighed in despair. Just then, Cui Dunli stepped forward to speak, but unfortunately, his opinion was adamantly in favor of executing these treasonous ministers!
With Murong Hanzhu dead, the Cui Clan lost its pillar in the court. Cui Dunli needed to quickly find a new ally to maintain the Cui Clan's influence in the court, and the best ally was undoubtedly Changsun Wuji!
In addition, Imperial Attendant and Crown Prince's Grand Tutor Yuwen Jie and Left Guardian General Zhi Shili were also punished for colluding with Fang Yi'ai in conspiracy; they were exiled to Lingnan. Even Shu Wang, the brother of Li Ke from the same mother, was demoted to commoner status. Fang Yi'ai's elder brother Fang Yizhi was demoted to Chunzhou Tongling Wei, while Xue Wanche's brother Xue Wanbei was exiled to Jiaozhou. Fang Xuanling was removed from his offerings at Taizong's temple.
Before Xue Wanche was executed, he shouted loudly: "I Xue Wanche am also a hero; wouldn't it be better to serve the country!"
After saying this, he tore open his collar and yelled at the executioner: "I beg you to execute me!"
Seeing Xue Wanche's boldness shocked the executioner so much that he lost strength in his hands; his first strike missed entirely. Xue Wanche immediately shouted: "Why don't you use more strength!"
The executioner trembled and took three strikes before finally severing Xue Wanche's head!
When it was King Wu Li Ke's turn, he cursed: "Changsun Wuji abuses power and harms loyal subjects; if the Ancestral Temple has spirits, they will surely destroy his clan soon!"
He never expected that this curse would come true in just a few years, and Changsun Wuji also did not meet a good end.
The aftermath of the rebellion continued to escalate. Changsun Wuji took the opportunity to eliminate dissenters without fear of the situation worsening, but Li Zhi felt that things were getting out of control.
His reputation among the people had already dropped to zero. Although he was also a victim of the rebellion, the public had turned against him, and this phenomenon was largely due to Xu Zhen!
Xu Zhen's reputation had surpassed that of him, the emperor!
He hurriedly summoned Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong to the palace to discuss revising the relevant records in the Historical Records, ensuring that everything related to Xu Zhen would be erased. Necessary modifications were made, and even many generals promoted by Xu Zhen were dismissed under various pretexts. Even his own sister, Li Mingda, involved in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, was changed to have died at the age of twelve!
To prevent Changsun Wuji from further amplifying the incident's impact, he promoted Cui Dunli to Imperial Attendant, pulling him away from Changsun Wuji's side, and reinstated Li Jue to lead the chancellors of the Council of State.
Chang'an City was still in turmoil, with daily executions and a procession of exiled officials filling the streets. Meanwhile, Xu Zhen was aboard a large ship with her family, heading towards Muxzhou.
On that day, she used the cover of an altar to board a pre-prepared vessel with her wife and children, escaping along the Dragon Head Canal. However, midway through their journey, their ship was violently rammed by a larger vessel, nearly shattering it!
Xu Zhen was furious and jumped aboard that ship with Zhou Cang, only to discover it was a diplomatic ship from Wa Country!
In fact, as early as the nineteenth year of Zhenguan, during Wa Country's Taika Era when Emperor Kōtoku ascended the throne and completed reforms that officially named the country Japan, people still commonly referred to it as Wa Country.
In the fourth year of Yonghui, which corresponds to Japan's fourth year of Hakuchi, Japan dispatched a Tang envoy led by Kishi Chōdan along with Deputy Envoy Kishi Koma, scholar Dao Yan, student Giant World Medicine, and a total of 121 people on one ship to Tang.
At the same time, Takadane Maro and another 120 envoys who had been in Tang returned to Japan on another ship. The people of Wa Country admired Tang's civilization but were also arrogant; upon seeing Xu Zhen's fragile vessel, they charged at it recklessly.
Caesar and Zhang Suling were about to give birth and could not withstand such a collision; their lives were nearly endangered. Xu Zhen was filled with rage and charged onto the enemy ship with Zhou Cang. The warriors from Wa Country shouted as they attacked but were swiftly cut down by Xu Zhen and Zhou Cang. Takadane Maro and other envoys and students were kicked into the great river.
Xu Zhen seized control of the ship and sailed smoothly towards Muxzhou aboard the envoy's vessel.
Chen Shuo Zhen was aware of Xu Zhen's plan and returned to Muxzhou early to make preparations. Xu Zhen and her companions settled in smoothly, while Caesar and Zhang Suling had a son and a daughter, leading a comfortable life.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. After ascending Taiyi Mountain, Xu Zhen was regarded as an Earth Immortal among mortals, attracting numerous followers who traveled far and wide in search of her. Chen Shuo Zhen was similarly viewed as a divine figure in Muxzhou, gaining much attention, and over time, many recognized Xu Zhen!
Once the news spread, it quickly reached the Inner Palace. Li Zhi sneered repeatedly, fearing that Xu Zhen might escape, and ordered Cui Dunli to capture her.
Cui Dunli worried that by the time he arrived, Xu Zhen might have already fled. Therefore, he commanded the Cui Clan's forces to secretly keep watch, gradually forming a siege. Upon realizing this, Xu Zhen tried every possible means to escape but found herself surrounded.
In desperation, Xu Zhen had no choice but to join Chen Shuo Zhen in rallying troops under the name of immortals. Both were renowned Earth Immortals, and their call was met with thousands of responses!
With this newfound strength, Xu Zhen and Chen Shuo Zhen quickly broke through the blockade. Xu Zhen led her followers to conquer Tonglu, while Chen Shuo Zhen commanded two thousand troops to take Muxzhou!
The news shocked the entire nation. Who was Xu Zhen? She commanded armies effortlessly, winning every battle without defeat. During her mission to India, she single-handedly defeated an entire nation and was bestowed titles such as General of the Guard and Grand Minister. Her fame spread far and wide!
As this continued, more people began to follow her. These followers proclaimed Xu Zhen as the "True Martial Emperor" and Chen Shuo Zhen as the "Wen Jia Emperor," subsequently conquering Shezhou!
With public morale soaring, many children's rhymes circulated among the people. There was even a saying: "Shuo Zhen is divine; those who oppose his army will be annihilated." The term "Shuo Zhen" did not refer to Chen Shuo Zhen; "Shuo" referred to him while "Zhen" referred to Xu Zhen!
Before Cui Dunli could arrive, he received urgent orders along the way. Left with no choice, he sent swift horses to command Wuzhou Governor Cui Yixuan and Yangzhou Governor Fang Renyu to flank Xu Zhen and Chen Shuo Zhen's forces.
Upon their arrival, Cui Yixuan and Fang Renyu discovered that Xu Zhen and Chen Shuo Zhen's main forces had already rushed to Hangzhou Prefecture. They seized over a hundred ships and plundered the treasury clean before escaping through the Qiantang River into the sea!
Cui and Fang achieved no military success but feared punishment for their failure. In desperation, they resorted to slaughtering rebels and rogues indiscriminately, killing thousands and capturing ten thousand, thus claiming some merit for themselves and being appointed as Imperial Historians!
Xu Zhen had vanished into the sea, leaving Li Zhi helpless. Wu Mei took this opportunity to persuade him to abandon the pursuit. He could only order civil and military officials to take timely measures to erase all traces of Xu Zhen's deeds.
Wu Mei gazed longingly toward the East China Sea, murmuring softly, "Sister... is this what you wanted to teach me? The Empress... hehehe..."
Things seemed to have settled down like this. No matter how intense it was, it could not withstand the silent passage of time. Gradually, the name of Xu Zhen was forgotten by the people, and the historians racked their brains to completely erase Xu Zhenzhi's name from the Historical Records.
In the year 668 AD, the first year of the Zongzhang era, Li Zhi appointed Li Jue as Commander of the Liaodong Military, leading over twenty thousand troops to attack Goguryeo. In this battle, the Tang Dynasty captured one hundred seventy-six cities and six hundred ninety-seven thousand households. Thus, Goguryeo was destroyed, and its territory was divided into nine Governor's Offices, forty-one states, and one hundred counties. The Andong Protectorate was established to oversee the entire former territory of Goguryeo.
Li Jue was promoted to Crown Prince Grand Tutor and granted an additional fief of one thousand one hundred households. Due to his deteriorating health, Li Jue eventually requested to retire.
At the end of the year, the Southern Sea bandits captured Qiongzhou. However, the ailing Li Jue seemed to recall something from long ago, a matter etched in his bones and imprinted on his soul.
His brother, Li Bi, Governor of Lizhou, had just been appointed as Minister of Imperial Guards. Li Jue quickly volunteered for battle, asking Li Bi to accompany him to quell the rebellion. After receiving his elder brother's instructions, Li Bi arrived at Qiongzhou.
Li Bi patrolled the seaside daily with his personal guards. One day, a three-masted ghost ship slowly approached the shore. Li Bi's heart tightened as he hurried forward; his guards were on high alert, but Li Bi gestured for them to relax.
A small boat rocked toward them, and at the bow stood a young man of eight feet tall with a strong build and an imposing presence. He looked like a bright star and called out loudly, "Is this Xu family's elder?"
Li Bi was overjoyed and quickly replied, "I am Li Bi; may I ask which nephew stands before me?"
The young man swiftly waded through the water with impressive agility. Once ashore, he didn't even wet the tips of his shoes and bowed deeply to Li Bi, saying, "I am Xu Jingye, your grandnephew!"
(End of the book)
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