The Legend of Min Hong

Meanwhile…

In the farthest region south of the East Wind Empire, was a kingdom which seemed to be separated from the rest of the empire due to its eerie and strange weather phenomenon.

The kingdom looked like it was the very embodiment of the taiji symbol; on the nearer part of the kingdom was a vibrant piece of territory that was so much invigorated with life; from plants, to beasts and humans alike.

Bustling towns and cities could be seen on this part of the territory.

But on the other side of this kingdom which is basically from its center to its farthest south, was a land of death.

Asides from the fact that it was always as dark as the darkest of nights, it also had these several beds of odd grey clouds that simply destroyed the beauty of its otherwise clear sky.

In fact, the sun shining brightly on the other side of the kingdom looked like a setting red sun as very little to no rays from the sun reached this part of the kingdom.

Lastly, was the ominous aura that loomed and suffused the entire atmosphere of this part of the kingdom. It would make one feel like one was being stalked at every point in time…

There were also flickering shadows always present at the corners of one's eyes 'bordering one one's blind spot'…

This was of course, the Tiandou Kingdom and the part of it covered in the evil and demonic atmosphere was the Soaring Cloud Village, and if one were to trace the source of this hellish phenomenon, it would lead precisely to where the Min Family battle was held and where Min Hong had experienced his Qi Deviation.

At the spot where Min Hong had suffered his Qi Deviation, was a seal; one which if Min Hong should see, he would remember as the one Yao Ming escaped from…

Only this time, the seal was over 50 meters in length and there seemed to be four massive pitch-black hands as thick as a tree trunk, with some purple glowing demonic runes etched on it holding the seal open.

Then, one would also notice several purple and black ball of light come out from this seal with the frequency of about one per hour.

When these motes of light come out of the seal, they would expand into the full soul of a demonic beast which looked like the crossbreed of a Minotaur and a demon spirit.

Then they would spread out and begin to suck out the life of anything they come in contact with; from ordinary, plants to pets, beasts and even some unfortunate humans.

Then, they would absorb their life force and use it to form a meager container to house their souls from the thunder that was booming above. 

If one looked at the sky, they would notice that there were several flickering multicolored lightning snaking down from the heavens but were for some mysterious reasons being blocked by the several odd beds of grey clouds.

Only by getting a clearer and deeper view would one notice that the lightning bolts were getting bigger, stronger and faster by the minute, whilst the tiny runes or characters within these grey clouds were dimming by the minute. 

Specters of ghosts and demonic souls were moving and darting all over the place.

All these descriptions and situation was caused by the single grief a twelve-year old boy felt when he witnessed his family massacred by those who claimed desire an alliance.

Yep! This was the same seal Min Hong broke when he grew an inner demon.

Just try to imagine how powerful one must actually be, to be able to break open an ancient seal just because of a mood swing.

Truly, Min Hong for whatever reasons still had a massive and trailblazing power that was strong enough to break open a Peak Grade Diamond Tiered Seal lying dormant within him.

The moment about a thousand of those motes of light containing demon souls came through the seal, the glow on the seal intensified significantly as it began to push back against the hand that is holding it apart.

Then after about thirty minutes of hustle and tussle, the four massive hands finally buckled under too much stress as the seal slammed shut.

After all, as an ancient seal which is on the level of a Peak Grade Diamond Tier, it would still have some moments where the seal would be affected by several factors that will cause a drop in their efficiency.

For this ancient seal, it was Min Hong's grief which was potent enough to birth an inner demon. 

But despite that drop in strength, the seal would also naturally have a way of replenishing itself after being used.

Thus, the seal closed shut until another thing strong enough can break through it.

But even at that, the amount of vengeful souls, ghosts and specters that now occupied this region are already numbering close to five hundred thousand of them, and as a result King Tian Xing of the Tiandou Kingdom had ordered his military forces to help temporarily evacuate and move all the people in the infected zone to a safe refuge. 

"Your majesty!" Lu Chen bootlicked King Tian Xing, as he referred to him as 'Majesty' instead of 'Highness'.

To an outsider they would truly think King Tian Xing was the emperor of the entire empire, especially when the level of sincerity within Lu Chen's bow did nothing other than to further describe the level of belief he had in King Tian Xing.

"It is your loyal subject, Lu Chen…"

He added flatteringly since he got no response from his first attempt to draw King Tian Xing's attention.

But for some invaluable reasons, his flattery seemed to work as a short, bald headed silk pants dangled out of the chambers of this mansion to attend to him.

"Haven't I told you never to disturb me whilst I am imparting the Dao?"

The bald headed man with the 'character of a spoilt idiot who doesn't have the capability to do anything, but was fortunate enough to have someone in power grant him a very powerful position' came out with an half-closed eye and a lazy and sloppily worn loose robes which did nothing to hide the perverse and lecherous proclivities he was indulging himself in, during such a critical crisis that his own Kingdom was facing.

But despite knowing the real characteristics, Lu Chen, due to greed still chose to serve him.

"We have managed to save about eighty percent of those living in the infected area..."

"We have also managed to collect the valuables they were unable to take along and it is currently being transported to your villa outside the kingdom."

Lu Chen spoke still with his head bowed and a knee to the ground.

"What about my kids, are they out of the kingdom yet?" King Tian Xing lazily asked in a slightly drunken voice.

"Yes, we have sent them and her highness to your other villa just outside the infected zones…"

"We have also managed to find six well-endowed women amongst them who would attend to all your needs when you get there."

Lu Chen made the last sentence in a low voice as he didn't know if the person who was within King Tian Xing's chamber could be trusted… 

"Don't worry about her, she is into our plans also. Moreover, you might also become her subject if our plan works, so you should refer to her with more courtesy…" Lu Chen heard this and trembled slightly.

Though he might be a very powerful person in the future…

But, just by taking a wife or concubine, Lu Chen realized that he might just have a prostitute be granted a position higher than him, with the way this 'pervert of a king' was gunning after everything in gowns and skirts…

But he still responded respectfully; "Yes, your majesty."

"Furthermore, you are going to be in charge until I am summoned for this issue, so do well to resolve it as soon as possible."

"That way, you can quickly give me a summary, so I will have something to say when that 'old goat' summons me to discuss the solution…"

"Furthermore, it will all become yours at the end, so don't allow this issue to overstay its welcome…"

King Tian Xing delegated the problem of finding a solution to the infected are of the Soaring Cloud Village to Lu Chen as he simultaneously motivated his greed so that Lu Chen would be able to develop a solution much quicker.

Then just like magic; Lu Chen fell for it as he responded with conviction;

"Rest assured your majesty, this problem will be dealt with before winter arrives…" He bellowed.

------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile…

From a bird's eye view… Back at the ordinary courtyard behind the Imperial Palace…

Emperor Duan Ji was walking with General Luo and Commander Ting like a teacher, walking ahead of his two most loyal and brilliant students whilst impacting some secrets to them whilst the General Luo duo were simply nodding whilst chipping in some of their views occasionally…

Then if one should listen a little closer, they will be able to make out some statements such as;

"I have also called several capable alchemists, beast tamers and even rune masters to check it out under my own personal protection, but we still couldn't find out how it happened…"

"There were only three of them who could actually come up with a vague theory about how it came to be…"

Commander Ting spoke as Emperor Duan Ji nodded his head at the efficiency and managerial capabilities Commander Ting just showed.

"So, what were they able to find out?" Emperor Duan Ji asked as he turned his ear towards Commander Ting seemingly interested in the next explanation that would ensue.

"The Alchemist concluded that, the area have become a place where life can never bloom again… at least to his level of knowledge."

"The beast tamer who was the second person also said that, the place was now infested with several vengeful ghosts and dark spirits that would most likely kill any human being they come across, be it mortal or cultivator." Commander Ting explained.

"The third amongst them; the rune master, said that there is no way such a massive amount of vengeful souls would have hid completely from the all-seeing eyes of the Imperial court…"

"Thus, he suggested that, either this was a failed outcome of an ancient ritual performed by an inexperienced dark cultivator, or they had been sealed for a long time and only managed to escape from the seal due to a momentary weakness in its strength."

"So, it is basically a death zone caused by the presence of some vengeful souls and dark spirits that managed to escape due to a momentary show of weakness of some ancient seal of unknown origins."

Emperor Duan Ji rubbed his chin in thought as he tried to get a clearer picture of the situation, since that is the most effective way of reaching a feasible solution.

"But how were they able to come up with such a theory?" The emperor asked once again.

"Well, as for the alchemist, he simply spread his mental strength to cover about a thousand square miles from the edge of the infected area and all his sense could pick up were the presence of death and foreboding sensation which suffused the area…"

"As for the beast tamer, he simply sent a 'snooping rat' which had its soul connected to part of his. But the rat eaten by vengeful souls who even gobbled up the tiny strand of soul force he used to control the snooping rat…"

"Then finally, the rune master, mentioned that from his augury, there was still slight ripples of torn space around a specific area within the zone."

"Put in simpler terms, he meant that; the ripple was akin to the stretch marks one gets after there is a drastic change in one's natural body size."

"It was the presence of that ripple in space that made him conclude that it must have been a seal that had kept them hidden for so long…"

Commander Ting blurted all the information he had, as the emperor shook his head in approval of the theories the alchemist, beast tamer and rune master were able to come up with.

Then he turned to his other side as he asked his loyal General Luo;

"How is the search for those kids coming, it is no normal coincidence that this happened immediately after they left the empire. Though, it might sound ridiculous, it is still a possibility my brain refuses to exclude."