The Sixth Trigram’s Sudden Unfurling

Concurrently, on the ground, Aliza’s division had annihilated the rearguard cannon fodder led by the Fourth Head, promptly retreating to the Snow Mountain Expanse outside Thornwood Valley. Adams, almost simultaneously, ordered his main forces to strike camp and depart, withdrawing from the perpetually spring-like Thornwood Valley.

Dud, black-armored and iron-masked, stood atop the highest peak of the Great Snow Mountain. His long halberd was planted beside him, and the biting cold wind whipped his cloak into a furious dance. “Sacred Artifact Battalion, with Chris Andy as the guide, target: the Zaro Snow Mountain Divine Emperor’s Tomb line… Fire!”

Du City’s nearly two hundred sacred artifacts of war, combined with over a hundred War Instruments seized from Thornwood Valley, and numerous weapons secretly supplied by the Papal Curia—these collectively formed the largest long-range bombardment force since the Godslayer War. With Dud’s command, four to five hundred streams of light from War Instruments shot into the sky, gradually forming a massive Energy Orb in front of the snow-covered cliff under Andy’s battle qi guidance.

“I, Chris Andy, the Moon Goddess’s favored child, have a dream, and that is… to reduce Thornwood Valley to cinders! Deep Abyss Erosion Technique!”

Andy’s back suddenly sprouted a pair of Abyss Wings. With a powerful flap, the Snow Wolf pushed the Energy Orb, bringing it down upon Thornwood Valley’s Cliff Gate!

There was no earth-shattering spectacle, no deafening roar; only the Energy Orb silently consumed the snow mountain, as if a large bucket of concentrated sulfuric acid had been poured onto the face of an peerless beauty, rapidly corroding everything—only, Zaro Snow Mountain could not scream in agony.

In an instant, half of the entire snow mountain was swallowed without a trace, and Thornwood Valley, still shrouded in black mist, was exposed to the endless wind and snow!

“Ice-Snow Sacred Artifacts, prepare! Second round… Fire!” Dud’s iron-blooded voice resonated. Andy, with a fierce shout, guided the wind and snow, “Frigid Dragon Hurricane Array!”

Ice and snow, stretching across the sky, poured into Thornwood Valley!

Bairu had been somewhat reluctant when Aliza forcibly dragged him out, but upon witnessing the scene before him, his face flushed crimson with delighted surprise. He raised his arms and cheered like a madman, “Long live His Holiness the Pontiff! It’s done, haha, Francis, no wonder you weren’t flustered; so this was your hidden move! Ha, Mas, we’ve utterly annihilated Thornwood Valley! We, we shall be Grand Speakers, Grand Marshals!”

Mas merely glared at Bairu. This oaf had no interest in fame or status; instead, he picked up a Sacred Artifact Cannon and wildly bombarded the Valley Entrance, thoroughly enjoying himself!

Bairu’s excitement received no response. He stomped his foot, then ran to Dud with a sheepish grin. “General, your divine might is boundless! Now that Thornwood Valley is frozen solid, what are we waiting for? Let’s charge in and kill all those damned Thornwood natives!”

Dud coldly cast a glance at him. “With victory assured, is there any need to risk our soldiers? Sacred Artifact Battalion, all sacred artifacts of war, aim at Thornwood Valley, indiscriminate saturation bombardment for three hours!”

Bairu’s heart suddenly trembled. ‘Damn, now *that’s* ruthless!’ Indiscriminate saturation for three hours… he estimated that by then, Thornwood Valley wouldn’t even have a single blade of grass or an intact city brick left! ‘But this is exactly how I, Bairu, like it!’ He glanced around and then asked curiously, “Where is Duke Du? He vanished when the black mist rose earlier.”

Dud said coldly, “Isn’t it for His Holiness the Pontiff’s principle of ‘leaving no living captive’? Thornwood Valley still has several undiscovered secret passages. My foster father is currently patrolling the snow mountain, ensuring that any Thornwood Valley experts escaping through those passages are cut down!”

Bairu’s face lit up with joy, and he nodded repeatedly. “Duke Du’s foresight is comprehensive, truly comprehensive!”

It must be noted that this Godfather of the Papal Curia showed no concern whatsoever that the Divine Emperor’s Tomb had been blasted to smithereens; he entirely overlooked that detail.

Indeed, at this very moment, Du Chen was still within the Labyrinth of Life, squinting his eyes with a smile as he watched the monumental changes in Thornwood Valley!

Most Thornwood natives evidently hadn’t anticipated that Sena would pass the Valley Master’s position to Sha. They were bewildered, perplexed, and confused, yet there was little resentment or defiance. For, as the Thornwood natives pondered, ‘Yes, why did we overlook this possibility? Sha is Valley Master Sena’s only direct disciple, so it’s not impossible for the Valley Master to leave the position to her apprentice after passing away!’

Thomas froze, then painfully turned his head to stare at the Elder who had delivered the decree. “You, what did you say!?”

Several Hereditary Elders of Thornwood Valley—or more accurately, the old brothers who had “stood by Sena” that day—came together and nodded. “Thomas, you heard correctly! The new Valley Master is Sha! If you don’t believe us, here is Valley Master Sena’s personal handwritten letter; take a look yourself!”

An Elder opened an iron casket and tossed a golden scroll to Thomas!

That Elder then added, “Sha, the Valley Master also left a letter for you. Please read and destroy it as quickly as possible. We old brothers still have something to say to all the Thornwood natives!”

Avril, with trembling hands, unfurled the letter. Tears welled up and streamed down her face. “Avril, your Master apologizes to you! Given your status, you should have severed all ties with Thornwood Valley and returned to Saint John City to live a life of glory, wealth, and endless adoration as the Prime Minister’s daughter… but your Master truly had no other choice!”

“Although Thomas possesses some petty cleverness, he lacks the great wisdom to govern and secure the nation! With Thornwood Valley facing imminent destruction, the two hundred thousand Thornwood natives, if they wish to survive, must choose a powerful patron between humanity and the Fiendkind! And Thomas chose the Fiendkind—but setting aside the fact that the Fiendkind are nowhere near as powerful as humans today, even if the Fiendkind were to genuinely counterattack the Three Continents, what would we Thornwood natives gain? The vast majority of the two hundred thousand Thornwood natives are Red-Bloods. Once the Fiendkind gain power, we Thornwood natives will be relegated to an inferior race, lowly slaves, forever losing the chance to hold our heads high as people! Thomas is about to destroy Thornwood Valley’s millennia-old dignity!”

“Your Master passed the Valley Master’s position to you in the hope that you would lead the Thornwood natives to align with Francis, a Red-Blood, and preserve Thornwood Valley’s foundation! When necessary, reveal your true identity. As long as Francis does not have a heart of stone, he will surely help you save Thornwood Valley’s millennia-old legacy… My words end here. I have already secretly instructed the Elders regarding other matters… Avril, for the sake of Thornwood Valley, your Master has wronged you!”

Upon finishing, Avril waved her hand, pulverizing the letter. Behind her mask, two lines of clear tears fell. ‘Master, you never wronged Avril. Thornwood Valley is my home too! For the sake of Thornwood Valley, Avril is willing to forever be the King of Assassins—Sha!’

Wiping away her tears, Avril said in a deep voice, “Elders, I understand Master’s intentions. I leave the remaining matters to you!”

“The Valley Master need not be so polite!” The Elders retrieved a proclamation from the iron casket, unfurled it, and held it above their heads. “By Valley Master Sena’s final decree, from the day Sha assumes office, Thornwood Valley’s Eight Heads Decision-Making System shall be abolished, and a Council of Elders shall be established. All major decisions within the Valley shall be deliberated and decided by us Elders and the new Valley Master!”

Thomas craned his neck and glared at the Elders. “Council of Elders… then what about me?”

“Sir Thomas, the Heads Decision-Making System has been abolished, and you are not a Hereditary Elder, so… you are naturally nothing!” the Elder said coldly, signaling Thomas’s family members nearby with a series of glances. These family members, quick to catch on, swiftly gathered, subtly encircling Thomas! It was laughable that Thomas, to evade Anya, had hidden among the commoners, and now these very commoners became his greatest hindrance!

Furthermore, and most crucially, Thomas had never fully recovered since his injury on Battle God Isle. Currently, he couldn’t unleash his full strength, making these family members a potentially fatal threat to him!

Seeing this situation, Thomas erupted in fury. Knowing there was no escape, he pointed to the sky and cursed, “Sena, you sought to harm me even in death! Folks of Thornwood City, you know better than anyone what kind of person I, Thomas, am, I…”

“Thomas, shut up!” the Elder Leader barked. “Look at the hundred and fifty thousand Thornwood natives here! They are either retainers of our Hereditary Elder families, or they belong to minor families we have supported, and the rest are at least juniors we old brothers watched grow up! If you intend to incite them… hmph, don’t dream about it!”

Thomas’s heart sank. These old coots were right; in terms of influence, he couldn’t compare to these old men, whose combined ages neared a thousand! ‘Fine, Sena, if you show no benevolence, don’t blame me for being ruthless! I’ll drag Zigurd into this first and expose his identity, so you die without peace!’

With this thought, Thomas, resolved to fight to the bitter end, shouted sternly, “Everyone listen to me, my foster mother has three adopted sons… *mmph!*”

Before he could finish, Avril suddenly realized what he was about to say. Her expression drastically changed. She smashed an Ice Hammer onto the back of Thomas’s head, knocking him unconscious, and declared, “Thomas attempted to incite rebellion; he shall be temporarily detained and later tried by the Council of Elders!”

The Elder Leader also boomed, “Listen up, everyone! From this moment forth, Thomas is banished from Thornwood Valley! The Council of Elders will strictly adhere to Valley Master Sha’s every decision. If anyone has an objection, step forward!” The Elders’ piercing gazes swept across the crowd. The hundreds of thousands of Thornwood natives fell into absolute silence!

The situation instantly underwent a sudden change. Brockman now understood—Thornwood Valley was preparing to pledge allegiance to Du City! Yet, he not only watched Thomas being captured but also shot Syngh a look that warned him not to act rashly!

“Don’t move! Ted has nearly ten thousand soldiers, and Thornwood Valley also has tens of thousands of main forces. We are heavily surrounded; a direct confrontation is futile… Wait for my signal!”

Syngh nodded solemnly. His tail had not yet recovered, and if he died again, it would be a true and complete death!

Avril slowly walked toward Du Chen, her heart bitter yet relieved. “Duke Du, you’ve seen everything! Sha wishes to ask you, if Thornwood Valley fully pledges allegiance to your Du City, what treatment would it receive?” As she walked, Avril subtly glanced at Brockman.

Du Chen chuckled inwardly. ‘Heh, this is truly bizarre! I had expected a dramatic upheaval to conquer Thornwood Valley, but Valley Master Sena’s iron casket made things so simple that only a few words were needed!’

However, a peculiar sensation arose. As Sha approached, Du Chen’s posterior suddenly began to itch intensely, and it was extremely uncomfortable! Du Chen temporarily attributed the cause of this feeling to the fact that Sha was about to lead Thornwood Valley to pledge allegiance to him. Thus, under the Pontiff’s secret order to eliminate witnesses, the Great Benevolence of saving a hundred thousand innocent people of Thornwood Valley was about to be completed, and the Fifth Trigram would fully unfurl. Hence, the unbearable itch in his butt!

Du Chen paid it no mind and chuckled, “Valley Master Sha, first, I pledge to guarantee the lives and property of the Thornwood natives, and I promise not to pursue the crimes of the evildoers within Thornwood Valley, ensuring they enjoy the same rights as commoners. As for the remaining details…”

Suddenly, Du Chen and Avril attacked simultaneously, “The rest can be discussed after Brockman is dead!”

Du Chen suddenly erupted, lightly patting Alex in his arms. Anya immediately locked onto Syngh again, while Du Chen and Sha directly charged at Brockman! Almost at the same time, Ted’s army deployed and attacked. The Thornwood natives reacted a bit slower, but under the shouts of the Elders, the commoners immediately moved away from Brockman, and the army followed closely. Although there was a slight delay, it wasn’t terribly slow!

Brockman, aided by Tyran Beast Homan, was well-prepared. Finger Sheath Sacred Artifacts suddenly appeared on his hands. He didn’t fight Du Chen or Avril, but instead turned and attacked the innocent commoners. “Syngh, release the mist, dig a tunnel!”

From this moment, a series of actions unfolded in a flash…

First, Du Chen’s Green Cloud was incredibly fast, reaching Brockman first. But seeing the commoners affected, he gritted his teeth and moved to rescue them instead!

Following that, black mist filled the Labyrinth of Life. However, at this moment, Dus was in Snoopy’s ear, so Du Chen’s vision wasn’t plunged into darkness as it was during their duel. Guided by Dus’s Thermal Vision, he clearly knew Brockman was to his left, and Syngh had already hunched over, opening an egg-sized hole in the tree bark beneath his feet with his mouth!

Du Chen backhanded a sword thrust at Brockman. Concurrently, Anya entered attack range. The little rascal, with a sassy tilt of his head, snapped his fingers, and with a series of crackles, Syngh shattered into pieces of flesh—this time he was truly dead. Only eleven Nether King Beasts remained!

Next, Avril’s ice and snow descended upon Brockman. Caught in a pincer attack, Brockman suddenly went limp, collapsing into a boneless ‘mass’ of something. This thing was incredibly agile, and it slipped through the hole Syngh had bitten open before his death, escaping to another part of the labyrinth!

Du Chen sneered coldly. “Azure Tsunami’s Water Transmutation? With Green Cloud’s speed and Fire Lotus Lantern’s flames, I could burn you to death in an instant and avenge Uncle Foye!” Thinking this, Du Chen waved his hand, summoning the Fire Lotus Lantern…

But at this critical juncture, the incredibly itchy sensation on Du Chen’s posterior suddenly intensified a thousandfold, transforming from an itch into excruciating pain that instantly spread throughout his body, shooting straight to his brain!

“Ah!” Du Chen cried out, tumbling from the sky! Green Cloud, beneath his feet, instantly dissipated into nothingness, transforming into specks of green light that returned to Du Chen’s body!

The anomaly had only just begun. After Green Cloud, many miscellaneous items fell around Du Chen, enough to fill two or three shipping containers—it turned out that the three Lotus Pedestals of the First Trigram had regurgitated their stored contents, returning to their original lotus form, and reabsorbed into Du Chen!

Then, the Water Veil Shield and Fire Lotus Lantern disassembled themselves, and Sands of the Hourglass vanished… All Arcane Artifacts seemed to have lost their intended functions, transforming back into lotus flowers and returning to Du Chen!

…All of this was completed in a flash!

“Francis!?” Avril cried out in alarm, no longer caring to pursue Brockman, and quickly moved to catch Du Chen! Ted, too, was startled and rushed forward to protect him, while Snoopy, impersonating Helen, questioned Dus through his ear, “Grandson, what’s wrong with your master? Hello? Hello! Dus!? Damn it, why are you, this fearless fellow, silent now!?”

Snoopy realized something was wrong. Hastily reaching into his ear, he found that Dus, for some unknown reason, had reverted to his original form, once again a pile of mud-like stuff…

At this moment, in an underwater cave a thousand miles away, the Requiem Death Knights were chatting and joking. Xue Ji, silent beside them, suddenly turned pale and clutched her chest—after leaving the army, Xue Ji had nowhere to go. She had found her way to the brothers through Du Chen’s connection channel with the Requiem Death Knights, temporarily wandering with them to calm her mind.

“Lord Jamis, something has happened to Francis!” Xue Ji urgently said, clutching her chest. It wasn’t that she had a telepathic link with Du Chen, but one mustn’t forget that Xue Ji still wore a necklace made of Sands of the Hourglass around her neck!

Jamis, who was painting, raised an eyebrow at the news. “Isn’t our little brother attacking Thornwood Valley? Could Thornwood Valley possibly harm him!?”

Xue Ji looked at the weathered Sands of the Hourglass fragments in her palm, shaking her head urgently. “I don’t know, but this necklace is Francis’s Lifebound Arcane Artifact. If the artifact is destroyed, something must have happened to him!” With that, she rushed out. “I’m going to Thornwood Valley to see for myself!”

Old Bovin chuckled strangely, “Hehe, weren’t you two fighting and breaking up? Why are you still so concerned about that kid?”

Xue Ji, without looking back, said seriously, “He is my fiancé!”

Old Bovin waved his hand. “But it’ll take at least seven or eight days to get to Thornwood Valley from here! Come back, have you forgotten what I, an old man, do? Come, let me divine for you!”

A trace of surprise flashed in Xue Ji’s beautiful eyes, but she quickly shook her head with a bitter smile. “Eldest Brother Bovin, didn’t you say that Francis is not someone you can divine?”

“Hmph hmph, indeed, many people in the world today cannot be divined by an old man like me. But who am I? For those who are inscrutable, I, an old man, have long developed indirect methods! I can’t divine Francis, but can’t I divine the people around him? If I know the current situation of those around him, doesn’t that mean I know Francis’s current situation!? Come… let me first see the state of Francis’s relatives and friends!”

Old Bovin, baring his stained yellow teeth, cradled a crystal ball, muttering incantations. He then fell into a mysterious state, a pure white Holy Light actually appearing on his old face. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood!

“Old Gambler, something big has happened!”

Jamis archly glanced at Bovin. “Oh? Old Charlatan, what did you divine? You’re so tired you’re spitting blood?”

“Stop your damned nonsense! Quickly pack our things!” Old Bovin got up, hastily gathering items from the sack behind him. “Just now, when I divined the state of Francis’s relatives and friends, I intended to infer Francis’s situation through people like Harry and Deboning. But, but astrology gave me this hint: ‘When the crimson fount of power collapses, the violet sun shall rise!’”

Jamis had worked with Bovin for centuries and knew his astrology like the back of his hand. He speculated, “Based on past experience, crimson refers to the Red-Bloods, which means us humans! Humanity’s fount of power is… the Cradle of Battle Gods, Battle God Isle, or rather, Zigurd, the Father of All Battle Gods! And violet, corresponding to crimson, must refer to the Fiendkind!”

Old Bovin stomped his foot hard. “Precisely! I didn’t divine anything about Francis’s butler or bodyguards, but I divined about his Master—Zigurd is dying, Battle God Isle is about to be destroyed, and after Battle God Isle falls, the Fiendkind will counterattack the Three Continents!”

Jamis’s expression turned serious. “Requiem Death Knights, all heed my command! Proceed immediately to Battle God Isle!” He looked with surprise at Xue Ji, who was walking towards the cave entrance. “Xue Ji, aren’t you coming with us to Battle God Isle?”

Xue Ji shook her head. “I don’t care what happens to Battle God Isle; I only want to know how my fiancé is!”

…Du Chen slowly opened his eyes. All around him was an ethereal starry sky, and at its center, a dazzling golden lotus bud. Lying on the lotus was a person identical to him.

“How did I end up in my Primordial Spirit space?” Du Chen had grown accustomed to this situation, showing no surprise like the first time. He asked with a smile at Dus, who was lying on the lotus, “Fifth Brother, why am I here this time? Did Master Grape leave me a message? Or did I ‘overload’ and enter a self-protective state?”

Fifth Brother grinned. “The latter! But you almost overloaded and died, and I almost got dragged down with you!”

Du Chen touched his nose. For some reason, he didn’t feel overly surprised, but rather calm. “Oh? How many lotus petals did I open this time to almost overload myself to death?”

Dus held up one palm. After thinking for a moment, feeling it wasn’t enough, he then extended a… big toe!

“Six petals?”

“No, after you reached an agreement with Sha, the Fifth Trigram fully unfurled, and the Acts of Benevolence from saving a hundred thousand innocents in Thornwood Valley began to be calculated and flow into your body. But at that very moment, from who knows where, a surge of Merit power, equivalent to hundreds of thousands of people, suddenly arrived, directly forcing open your Sixth Trigram entirely!”