Chapter 64: The Five Decays of Celestial Beings

Let us turn the clock back by two hours.

Mount Tai Sect.

The three sect leaders and their disciples, along with the disciples of Mount Tai who had fled down the mountain, were forced back to their sect by Cheng Yuanzhen, who led his troops in pursuit.

At that moment, inside the main hall of Mount Tai Sect, Cheng Yuanzhen was leisurely brewing a cup of tea, sipping it slowly.

He was full of self-satisfaction, sneering coldly to himself.

"Embroidered Guards, Embroidered Guards… People say they are ruthless and merciless, but in my eyes, they're far too softhearted."

"So many have been allowed to escape for nothing—a single head is a traitor colluding with the Ming Cult. How much merit has slipped through their fingers!"

"Fortunately… the big fish are still here."

Cheng Yuanzhen looked up at the faces of Zhou Yingxue, Deng Boxuan, and Zhang Jingfeng.

"The Hengshan Sect, the Heng Mountain Sect, the Songshan Sect, and now the Mount Tai Sect—each of them spread across the country, and yet they insist on conspiring together."

"Once this matter is settled, I'll go sweep through their territories as well. That will be thousands more heads accounted for."

A chilling smile crept onto his face.

"Good thing I arrived ahead of time—otherwise, all these achievements would have slipped away."

He understood the emperor's intentions—the purpose of sending him was to suppress the Embroidered Guards. But he intended to go further.

Within the palace walls, a eunuch's life was worth little. To rise to such a position as his, Cheng Yuanzhen relied not only on martial prowess, but also on his ruthless decisiveness.

This Five Mountains Sword Alliance was a task he had seized by force, at the cost of blood. Merely cutting down the Mount Tai Sect and collecting a few sects as lapdogs—such a small appetite!

A rebel organization, stretching across north and south, colluding with local officials, secretly allied with the Ming Cult, plotting rebellion—wouldn't that be much more fitting?

Afterwards, he'd pin "neglecting imperial orders" on Li Miao. Next, he'd weave a "failure of oversight, inability to control subordinates" charge for Zhu Zaixi.

As for himself, he would expose this rebel network to His Majesty… and all would be worthwhile.

Having made up his mind, Cheng Yuanzhen prepared to speak, to immediately pronounce the crimes of the three sect leaders.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, a sudden retching sound was heard from outside.

"Waaah—"

He frowned, thinking it was some soldier unaccustomed to the sight of blood, but paid it no mind.

Yet immediately after, several screams rang out, mingled with cries for help, coughing, and the sounds of fighting—a sudden uproar.

Cheng Yuanzhen rose to his feet, shooting a cold glance at the three sect leaders.

He assumed the disciples being held outside had begun to resist, refusing to surrender, and had started fighting with the soldiers.

A thought crossed his mind: "Perfect—resisting an imperial envoy, using force against the law… Now, I won't even need to fabricate their crimes."

"These people of the martial world truly have no respect for the law; killing them is no injustice."

He was unworried—he himself was a supreme master, more than capable of suppressing three first-rate opponents.

Outside, the two hundred eunuchs were handpicked by him, all skilled fighters, and with the Embroidered Guards and troops, the disciples of these sects could not possibly escape his grasp.

Cheng Yuanzhen strode quickly out of the main hall, intending to bring order to the chaos.

But the sight that met his eyes made him swallow his words in shock.

Before the hall was a broad plaza, usually used by the disciples of Mount Tai to practice martial arts. Grand events such as the Alliance of Five Mountains were generally held here.

After ascending the mountain, Cheng Yuanzhen had all the Mount Tai disciples rounded up and detained here.

Now, chaos reigned.

The disciples of Mount Tai, their bindings still intact and hands tied behind their backs, suddenly leapt up, throwing themselves at the surrounding soldiers and biting them. Some disciples vomited ceaselessly, spraying blood across the ground.

Others tore into one another, ripping off flesh and swallowing it like ravenous fiends.

Cheng Yuanzhen darted forward, striking a Mount Tai disciple's pressure point, but it was as if the point no longer existed, his attack sinking into nothingness.

Furious, he seized the man's limbs and, with a crack, wrenched them apart, then examined him closely.

The man's face was blackened, his eyes bloodshot and bulging red, his mouth drooling, dark veins crawling beneath his skin.

Even with all four limbs broken, the man continued to squirm across the ground, trying to pounce at Cheng Yuanzhen.

"What… what on earth is this…" Cheng Yuanzhen spun to glare at the three sect leaders. "What have you been doing here!?"

The three did not reply.

Just then, a gentle voice sounded from behind the hall: "This is not the doing of the three sect leaders—it is the handiwork of my Manichaean Church."

Cheng Yuanzhen turned to see a man strolling slowly out from behind the hall, holding a headless corpse in his hand.

"Right Envoy Yun Zelin of the Manichaean Church greets the honored eunuch, and the respected sect leaders," he said.

Cheng Yuanzhen and the three sect leaders narrowed their eyes, stepping back warily, watching Yun Zelin.

"There's no need for alarm, sirs. I dislike conflict and have no intention of making things difficult for you," Yun Zelin said gently.

Cheng Yuanzhen snorted coldly, "No intention of making things difficult for me!?"

With that, he lunged forward, clawing at Yun Zelin's face.

Killing the Ming Cult's Right Envoy would be worth more than slaying a thousand rebels in league with the cult!

He failed to notice that, behind him, the three sect leaders each retreated several steps.

His claw neared Yun Zelin's face.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, Cheng Yuanzhen was sent flying out the door, crashing into five or six of his men before scrambling to his feet, blood trickling from his lips.

Without hesitation, he turned and fled.

"Diamond Body—that's the Diamond Body!"

"The Ming Cult fiends have produced yet another supreme master!"

That strike had landed solidly on Yun Zelin's face, yet had left not the slightest mark!

The three sect leaders did not hesitate either; they darted from the hall, gathering a few disciples and fleeing down the mountain.

Yun Zelin watched their escape in silence, making no move to stop them.

After a while, the screams outside grew ever more intense.

Yun Zelin dropped the headless corpse in his hand to the ground and sighed softly.

"Ah… Left Envoy Lan."

It was none other than Lan Lechuan's corpse, left behind in Mount Tai Sect!

"You risked your life to help the Left Sect Leader escape, believing him to be the indispensable 'blood sacrifice' for our Church Leader."

"Yet you did not realize that our Church Leader had planted the parasite in each of us long ago."

"We… we are nothing but his food."

"What a pity—these things, in the end, will never be enjoyed by the Church Leader you swore to serve."

With that, he extended his fingers like a claw, plunging them into Lan Lechuan's abdomen.

He extracted a writhing chunk of flesh.

Then stuffed it straight into his mouth!

The moment the flesh entered his belly, beads of blood began to ooze from every pore on Yun Zelin's face.

His hair gradually turned white, sweat mixed with blood streamed from his armpits, soaking his clothes, and a foul stench emanated from his body.

His gentle expression suddenly twisted, cycling rapidly through rage, sorrow, jealousy, hatred, and wild joy.

"Heh… hehe…"

Yun Zelin forced out a strained laugh.

"Clothes… soiled, hair… withered, sweat running beneath my arms, body stinking…"

"Not a joy to me…"

"Ah—The Five Decays of Heaven and Man…"

Yun Zelin exhaled deeply, forcing a smile.

"No wonder the Church Leader would rather keep us alive than harvest us, even going so far as to raise an extra Zuo Lishan…"

"As expected… it is incomplete after all…"

"Fortunately, I do not long for longevity…"

With these words, Yun Zelin slowly returned to the table, sat down supporting his knees, gazed out through the doors, and listened quietly to the wailing outside. His whole body trembled uncontrollably, and he spoke no more.