The two sides clashed fiercely!
The notoriously ferocious Xiliang troops unexpectedly gained no advantage against the private armies of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan.
The main force was blocked outside Weiyang Palace, unable to advance further. However, Cao, Liu, and Sun were also entangled, unable to divert forces to rescue the Emperor within Weiyang Palace.
"Hehehe, they're in a stalemate, evenly matched." Fan Li's eyesight was limited and he couldn't clearly see the battlefield in the distance.
Princess Chang Le provided commentary, allowing Fan Li to understand the shifting battlefield conditions inside and outside Weiyang Palace.
"Do you believe that?" The Princess smiled faintly. "That they are evenly matched?"
"Are you asking me?" Fan Li shrugged, giving her a 'you're asking the wrong person' look. "I'm only at the Qi Refining realm."
In truth, Fan Li knew that Cao, Liu, and Sun were holding back their full strength. However, as their ally, Fan Li would only support Cao, Liu, and Sun's performance in today's battle, regardless of whether they gave their all or not. He was not an aid to the Han Emperor Liu Xie.
"I wonder if Lü Bu is also holding back?" A strange thought suddenly occurred to Fan Li.
In the previous life's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was the pinnacle of martial prowess, yet today his performance was on par with Hua Xiong?
Fan Li clearly remembered Lü Bu leading a force of Golden Core Black Riders into battle, fighting Sage Ruler Han Yue without any disadvantage.
Inside the Weiyang Palace.
Liu Xie gripped the Imperial Sword of Qin, remaining silent. Across from him in mid-air, Dong Zhuo, clad entirely in black robes, grinned ferociously with claws extending several inches from his fingers like a demon.
"Kahahahahaha!" Dong Zhuo let out an unpleasant laugh, mocking, "Liu Xie, so this is the extent of your loyal ministers' devotion?"
Liu Xie frowned, his gaze turning towards the battlefield outside the palace gates, filled with disappointment. Those three had ultimately failed him.
Mustering his spirit, Liu Xie retorted sarcastically, "The same could be said of you. Li Jue, Guo Si, Hua Xiong were one thing, but given Lü Bu's cultivation, his inability to even set foot into the Weiyang Palace is truly disappointing. You've certainly acquired a fine 'son'!"
"Hmph...I'll make him regret it sooner or later!" Dong Zhuo raged inwardly.
This battle was far from as smooth as he had envisioned. Despite his strength reaching the third level of the Great Vehicle realm, he could only injure the Han Emperor Liu Xie but not kill him.
"Could it be that I'm still not strong enough?!" A thought emerged in Dong Zhuo's mind.
By cultivating the Devouring Demon Art, he could devour other cultivators and assimilate their power.
Today's 'main course' was the Han Emperor Liu Xie, but perhaps he needed some additional 'appetizers'?
As he hesitated, Liu Xie took the initiative to attack. "Dong Zhuo! If you are unable to defeat me today, then you will die!”
Liu Xie raised the Imperial Sword of Qin high, and behind him in the palace, twelve towering golden figures vaguely appeared, as solid as stone sculptures. The Qin Mausoleum guardians, the twelve golden guardians!
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Each guardian possessed the strength of the Unity realm. Though lacking spiritual intelligence and somewhat clumsy, they were exceptionally sturdy and resilient.
"Such existences?!" Dong Zhuo raged.
On the battlefield within the Weiyang Palace, he held only a slight advantage - leveraging the power of a single individual against Liu Xie, the elderly Han ministers, and the Feathered Forest Guards. The addition of the twelve guardians was enough to negate his advantage.
"I refuse to believe it! How could a few puppet toys withstand my Devouring Demon Technique?" His hands formed two black vortices, attempting to draw the newly arrived guardians towards himself.
However, the twelve guardians remained as steadfast as a rock, maintaining their protective stances beside the Han Emperor without receiving any attack orders.
Seeing his demonic technique fail, the Han ministers rejoiced.
"Traitor, your demise has arrived!"
Zhang Wen, the minister with the highest cultivation among the elders, roared as he sought to seize the opportunity while Dong Zhuo was preoccupied with the guardians, aiming to strike a lethal blow from an oblique angle!
In the next second, an abrupt change occurred. The black vortices formed by Dong Zhuo's claws had initially appeared somewhat feeble.
Suddenly, the two vortices merged into one, their power exploding tremendously!
The target of the devouring vortex was no longer the twelve guardians but the approaching Minister Zhang Wen!
"Lord Zhang, be careful!" His fellow elders cried out warnings from afar, but it was already too late.
Originally advancing to attack Dong Zhuo, Zhang Wen's body now moved against his will, drawn straight towards Dong Zhuo's palms.
"Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!"
Dong Zhuo pressed his hands against Zhang Wen's crown, making an eerie caressing motion.
"Vile villain! I'll take you down with me!" Zhang Wen, realizing he'd been tricked, prepared to fight to the death.
A green light flashed! With Zhang Wen at the center, a spherical wave of energy rapidly expanded, threatening to engulf both Zhang Wen and Dong Zhuo.
"Ah! Lord Zhang is detonating his Nascent Soul, everyone retreat quickly!" Someone cried out in alarm.
Liu Xie and the ministers hastily retreated. Yet the expected massive explosion never occurred.
The expanding sphere suddenly deflated like a punctured ball, easily torn apart to reveal the two figures within.
"Traitor...disloyal subject..." Liu Xie heard Zhang Wen's voice, lamenting, "Lord Zhang?!"
As the smoke cleared, everyone finally saw. The previously robust Zhang Wen now resembled a dried corpse, as if drained of all his essence, blood, and energy.
Meanwhile, Dong Zhuo's eyes burned with vitality, his vigor replenished. The few wounds on his body were rapidly healing as well.
"The Devouring Demon Technique is truly the paramount cultivation method of our era!" Dong Zhuo savored the experience, moaning in ecstasy. But in the next moment, his gaze towards the others was filled with insatiable greed!
"You are all this old man's food."
In the distance, at Honglu Temple.
"If I taught you the Devouring Demon Technique, would you cultivate it?" Princess Chang Le mused aloud.
Fan Li shook his head without hesitation. A demonic technique that involved devouring people? Too perverse, he would never practice it.
However, after a moment of silence, Fan Li couldn't help but ask, "How is it that the Brahma Sound Pure Land has preserved such an esoteric art?"
"Preserved?" The Princess let out a disdainful, mocking laugh.
"I guessed wrong?" Fan Li was quite surprised. The Princess had obtained her entire cultivation from the Brahma Sound Pure Land.
"You didn't guess wrong, but you didn't guess right either," she replied enigmatically.
Fan Li was speechless. After pondering for a while, he could only utter three words: "Speak plainly?"
Seeing his vexation only amused the Princess further, prompting another bout of giggles. "Don't be angry, I'll tell you about the Devouring Demon Technique right now.
In truth, there is no such thing as the 'Devouring Demon Technique' in this world. The secret art cultivated by Dong Zhuo is merely an abridged version of another esoteric teaching from the Pure Land.
It seems the Pure Land transmitted this so-called demonic technique solely to use Dong Zhuo as a disposable tool, utterly disregarding the hidden dangers of cultivating an incomplete secret art."
Fan Li stared at her blankly for a few seconds before suddenly grabbing the Princess' shoulders.
"What do you mean?! The Pure Land is colluding with Dong Zhuo? Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Fan Li finally understood where Sage Ruler Han Yue’s escape route lay - Dong Zhuo’s estate!
He gripped her too forcefully, causing the Princess to wince in pain.
"Ease up, you brute," the Princess pleaded, though she did not resist, allowing Fan Li to vent his emotions on her body.
"I also witnessed Dong Zhuo wielding the Devouring Demon Technique for the first time, which made me realize that a Sage Ruler is here in Chang'an."
"Sage Ruler of Fate. The most mysterious Sage Ruler of the Pure Land. She is seldom present there, and I have never seen her nor know her true identity."
Fan Li's eyes widened...