Am I the only one who didn't ascend?

Chapter 561: Remnants and the End

The promotion of Taixu Illusion Realm in Xinheng was as rapid as wildfire. Within just over a month, a Ten-Directions Mirror was erected high in the center of Mingtai County.

It was an oversized floating mirror with a diameter of more than ten meters, occupying the most eye-catching open space in front of the County Magistrate's Mansion - not long ago, the statue of the Golden Immortal Dasheng of Dasheng Temple was located there - around the mirror, there were groups of mirrors floating like stars, and each small mirror seemed to be dancing in the air with spiritual awareness, and keenly captured the sights from all directions.

Whenever a curious gaze was caught, the mirror group would immediately turn its direction and shine the phantom light in the mirror straight ahead, reflecting the noisy scene in the illusory world of Taixu - the scene of the Nine Zun Competition.

The light of such a bright mirror can cover the entire county town and even several miles outside the city. The star-like mirror group is also enough to accommodate more than 100,000 people watching at the same time, which is more than enough for a county town in the west.

What's more, the erection of the Ten Directions Mirror is more of a symbolic meaning. As the most resolute anti-Immortal Alliance region in Xinheng, the fact that this mirror representing the Immortal Alliance culture could land in front of the County Governor's Mansion undoubtedly symbolizes the serious failure of the local resistance movement.

This wave of failure soon spread from the county governor's office to the surrounding towns and then to the countryside. So much so that more than a month later, when the first snowflakes fell on the land of Mingtai County, the land had already ignited the blazing fire of the Nine-Statue Competition. From county officials to peddlers, the focus of people's after-dinner conversations always revolved around the Nine-Statue Competition.

"Isn't this Lord Shi? It's rare to see you here, but if we are destined to meet, I must toast you a glass."

"Haha, thank you for your courtesy, sir. I should toast you with this glass of wine. If it weren't for your help in the winter storage issue, I would have had a hard time taking a break from my busy schedule today."

"Haha, it's all my duty, not my convenience. Lord Shi is being polite... Besides, if the 'Divine Calculation Supervisor Shi' really wastes his precious energy on mundane affairs, wouldn't it be a pity?"

"This... is just a fluke guess of the outcome of a few rounds. I really don't deserve the title of fortune teller. Sir Xie, please don't say that again."

"Compared to us mortals who lose as much as we buy, aren't you a fortune teller, Old Shi? I only read about the Taixu Painting Scroll of the Immortal Alliance in a few academic books before. As for the wins and losses between these national teams, I really have no idea. I am not as well-informed as you, Old Shi, who know everything about them... Of course, since it involves real money, I can't listen to your fortune telling for free. I just hope that if there is any important time in the future, Lord Shi can remember our friendship as officials in the same government and give me some convenience..."

"Well, thank you, sir... no problem, no problem. Actually, these are not really divinations. It's just that I should look at the Ten Directions Mirror more often and listen to the analysis of the Immortal Alliance members more often..."

-

Half a day later, in a remote town west of the county town, a greasy, skinny young man, while looking around vigilantly, took nimble and quiet steps, avoiding the eyes and ears of the townspeople, and came to a shabby alley full of sewage and garbage.

The people living in this alley must be the town's ruffians. On normal days, they wish they could rot at home like corpses. It would be a shame to their ancestors if they had any more energy. However, this night, every ruffian seemed to have eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms. They were full of energy and looked like hungry beasts hunting at night.

The skinny boy, like a small animal caught in a hunting circle, was blocked by a group of people not long after he stepped into the alley. Some of them were excited, some were ferocious, and their words were mixed and unclear.

"Why the hell did you just come back?"

"Xiao Jianzi, have you found out any news?"

"Who wins? Tell me now!"

Amid the noise, a young middle-aged man coughed and slapped a fat man into the gutter in the alley, finally calming the crowd. When the crowd quieted down, he coughed, forced a smile, and said to the skinny boy, "Brother Xiaojian, you've worked really hard this time. You came back from the county town overnight, you must be tired, right? Um, Chu Saner, don't you have eyes? Go get some wine!"

The middle-aged man who was called was stunned for a moment, and then, under the other party's fierce stare, he turned around and left cursing, to get the inferior wine diluted with water that he had treasured at home.

On the other side, the slick young man shook his head: "I don't need your wine. I'll leave after I finish talking about things. At noon today, the Supervisor Shi Zhengyi of the County Governor's Office and the Supervisor Xie Bing met in the Lan Gu Tower. Supervisor Shi did say some news about the Nine Venerables Competition. According to his opinion, there are two warm-up matches between Zhu Wang and Yue Yang in the next round, which are worth paying attention to. One is Rong Yao Ding Huang, and the other is Ping Long Shou. In both matches, Zhu Wang seems to be strong, but the advantage is actually Yue Yang..."

As soon as the voice fell, some of the hooligans who were watching could no longer hold back and turned away happily, some even shouted: "I understand, I understand, buy Yueyang, buy Yueyang!"

The slick young man showed a look of contempt, and then said to the green-skinned middle-aged man: "Niu Er, I have already found out the information you want. You must remember to keep your promise, otherwise..."

Niu Er laughed and said, "Brother Xiao Jian, don't worry. Although I am just a nobody, I at least know how to keep my word. I will definitely do what I promised you...as long as Yue Yang can win next time."

The young man was stunned, then angry: "Niu Er, are you going to change your mind? This is not what we agreed on before!"

Niu Er laughed again: "Brother Xiaojian, don't be angry. Of course I won't change my mind. But we agreed before that you help me find out the news in the Langu Tower in the county city, and I will help you take care of the stubborn old man in the Niu family. But although you have come back with news now, the brothers can't really tell whether it is the words of the big shots in the Langu Tower, or someone else is deceiving you, brother Xiaojian. I trust you, but I don't trust the waiters in the Langu Tower. So in the end, we still have to rely on facts. If Yueyang can really defeat the strong with the weak, it naturally means that your news is correct, brother Xiaojian, and I misunderstood you. At that time, let alone taking care of Old Niu, I can even mobilize the brothers to assist you and help you pick the two little flowers in the Niu family as soon as possible..."

"enough!"

"enough!"

The roars in unison reverberated in the alley, and as the sound gradually echoed, the people in the alley gradually changed color.

These ruffians certainly would not be afraid of the roar of a slippery young man, not to mention that the young man was also pale and trembling at this time.

The source of fear came from a stout old man wearing a white robe with gold tint at the entrance of the alley. He was the local Dasheng Temple incense master and the town's top master, Yin Shiquan.

As everyone knows, this incense master hated the Immortal Alliance the most in his life. Even when the government tried to promote the Grand Illusionary Realm in Mingtai County, he led the Dasheng Temple believers to stop it. Now in the whole town, topics related to the Immortal Alliance are taboos, and the Nine Venerables Competition is the most taboo of taboos.

Now, the group of people who tasted the forbidden fruit have been caught red-handed, and no one dares to think about the consequences...

A bunch of rogues, who used to be arrogant and bully men and women, now turned into wooden figurines, not daring to move. At most, they took advantage of their close proximity to push Niu Er forward and force him to deal with it.

Of course Niu Er didn't dare to face Master Yin directly, but as Yin Shiquan's cold gaze swept over, his scalp suddenly went numb. He had to force himself to take a step forward and said, "Master Yin..." Before he finished speaking, a strong wind blew over, like a tangible sledgehammer, smashing Niu Er into the earth wall next to him. The sound of bones breaking could be clearly heard!
"Kill, kill!"

A frightened rascal screamed and turned to run. Yin Shiquan stared at him with cold eyes, but did not try to stop him. The other rascals saw the opportunity and scattered. During the escape, some of them looked back and saw the pool of rotten meat in the ruins of the earth wall, and they were all relieved.

Someone helped to block the knife and also found out key information for future gambling. After that, it didn’t matter whether the people in the alley were dead or alive!

On the other side, Yin Shiquan looked at the few hooligans left in the alley, lying limp on the ground and unable to move, frowned, waved his sleeves, and rolled them all away far away. Then he looked at the young man whose eyes no longer had any cunning intent, with an extremely complicated look.

"Jian'er, you..."

The young man lowered his head and said nothing, but one word of silence itself is worth a thousand words.

And these thousands of words were like a thousand cuts, making Yin Shiquan feel even more painful.

The young man in front of him, Jian Zhijian, was the one he valued the most among the local Dasheng Temple believers. Although his cultivation talent was mediocre, he was flexible in his methods and had a strong mind. What was even more rare was that his parents died when he was young, and he was raised by Dasheng Temple. Yin Shiquan was like Jian Zhijian's adoptive father.

Therefore, he never thought that Jian Zhijian would actually betray him.

The reason for betrayal...is actually very sufficient. Young people may not be moved by interests, but they can never resist the impulse of youth. Moreover, Jian Zhijian has lived in poverty and loneliness since childhood. He expected this when he adopted him. He also considered giving him some training to make his mind more impeccable. Unfortunately, it was too late. But no matter what the reason, betrayal is betrayal. At this point in time when Dashengguan is moving against the trend, it must not be tolerated.

"Jian'er, do you...have anything else to say?"

Jian Zhijian raised his head and said with difficulty: "I just hope that Master Xiang can help me take good care of it..."

"Okay, I promise you."

After saying that, Yin Shiquan waved his sleeves again, and the young man disappeared from the alley... When he put down his hands, Yin Shiquan's arms were already shaking slightly uncontrollably. However, just as he was about to leave, suppressing his heartache, a strong light suddenly flashed above his head, and several ropes came over his head.

Yin Shiquan subconsciously waved his sleeves to block the rope, but soon more strong lights shone in, and at the same time, constables covered in armor and shining with auras surrounded him from all directions.

"How dare you, a traitor, commit a crime in the street and why don't you surrender?"

"Yin Shiquan, don't move!"

"Master Yin, calm down. If you have any inside information, please come to my house with me."

Finally, Ma Changxue slowly showed up. His expression was still gentle and his tone was not harsh, but at this moment, the sharp sword in his hand was more powerful than any words.

Yin Shiquan glanced around and couldn't help but sneer: "How long have you been preparing? How many outsiders have you colluded with? There are quite a few unfamiliar faces among these people wearing constable uniforms, right?"

"Shut up, traitor!"

With a loud shout, another rope came over. At the same time, someone in the crowd secretly drew out a flying sword with a cold glow, waiting for Yin Shiquan to resist again and then he would not hold back.

However, Yin Shiquan, who had always been stubborn, did not resist and let the rope fall on his body.

In fact, after he personally dealt with the traitor, he no longer had any intention of resisting. For more than two months, he had tried his best to mobilize every believer who could be mobilized and contact every gentry who could be contacted, but the result was still irreversibly tilted towards the direction he least wanted to see.

Needless to say, those ruffians who had long been fascinated by the huge profits from gambling, and officials such as Ma Changxue have always had a wavering attitude, so they can't be counted on... As for other ordinary people, precisely because they are ordinary people, it is even less likely that they will hold on to any stubborn ideas to go against the general trend. So during this period of time, he has long been accustomed to lip service. Those people who are usually well cared for by Dashengguan, on the surface, promise not to make peace, but privately they will still secretly inquire about what the Nine Zun Competition that can make a fortune is all about.

Some people who have been to the county town and seen the Ten Directions Mirror often can't help bragging about what they saw in the mirror and exaggerating the various magnificent scenes in the fantasy scroll.

Until today, even Jian Zhijian, whom he regarded as his own son, chose to betray him. Yin Shiquan knew that he had lost everything. Indeed, Jian Zhijian did not betray intentionally, but it was precisely because he did not do so intentionally that it showed that the current situation had reached a point where anyone could be corrupted.

For example, he came to this deep alley to catch someone, but in the blink of an eye his position was exposed and he was surrounded by Ma Changxue and his men. On the contrary, there was no news from the believer who was supposed to pick him up. The meaning of this is self-evident.

For a moment, Yin Shiquan felt that the whole world was his enemy, and he could no longer stand alone in the face of such an overwhelming trend.

-

The counties in the west of Xinheng did resist to the end with all their might, and the remnants of the Dashengguan, such as Yin Shiquan, even put up a "epic" struggle at the cost of self-sacrifice. However, in the context of the general trend of history, these minor resistances were not even worthy of being taken seriously by the historians.

From the time the Xinheng court introduced the Immortal Alliance Taixu Fantasy to the time the Ten Directions Mirror was erected in the last village within the country, it took only three months in total. In the memorial submitted to Emperor Gan Fengxian, Prime Minister Xiahou Ying described the promotion of the fantasy world as unstoppable.

In three months, traces of the Taixu Illusionary World have been everywhere in Xinheng. Even the bigwigs in the capital Fancheng have begun to try out the high-end Lishen Powder specially provided by the Immortal Alliance and immersed themselves in the illusion.

At the same time, the invisible force from outside Mingzhou was slowly seeping in.

(End of this chapter)