Chapter 1263: Emerging from Seclusion
Chapter 1263: Emerging from Seclusion
November 23rd, 2017
In the Capital Military Camp, Luoyang, within the Imperial Palace!
While Qin Mu was spending Dong Zhuo's money like it was nothing, Lu Hai Kong was sitting in seclusion within the Imperial Palace.
When the Emperor Cauldron had devoured and fused with the Yu King Bell, the feedback it provided to Lu Hai Kong was a pleasant surprise, so much so that even after more than ten days, he still hadn't fully processed it.
Of course, these ten days hadn't been uneventful for Lu Hai Kong. At the very least, he had managed to absorb the pure energy that surged into his Dantian, and it had been a breeze to do so, taking less than three days in total.
This was to be expected, given Lu Hai Kong's exceptional talent in martial arts. Although his strength value was only 100, his martial arts prowess had already reached a level comparable to that of Yuwen Chengdu.
With such an extraordinary foundation in martial arts, absorbing the energy from his Dantian was a simple task. The Purple Qi Ascending Dragon Art operated at full capacity for three days, effortlessly assimilating that energy.
However, despite the ease of absorbing the energy, the benefits it brought to Lu Hai Kong were significant. Not only did it allow him to cultivate the Purple Qi Ascending Dragon Art to the 9th layer, but it also increased his strength value to 105.
Furthermore, the 9th-level Purple Qi Ascending Dragon Art underwent unexpected changes, even enhancing Lu Hai Kong's commander trait, Unmatched Tyrant, beyond his expectations. However, Lu Hai Kong had yet to fully process the pure spiritual energy that had appeared in his Sea of Consciousness, leaving him unable to fully comprehend his current situation.
Nevertheless, he could sense that his combat power had increased by at least three levels compared to before his seclusion. And this was just a fraction of his gains; he still had more spiritual energy to fully absorb.
Speaking of which, the pure spiritual energy that appeared in Lu Hai Kong's Sea of Consciousness wasn't particularly massive, especially when compared to the energy in his Dantian.
The issue was that Lu Hai Kong's talent in Taoist spells was far inferior to his martial arts talent, and his cultivation in Taoist spells was also less advanced than his martial arts. As a result, digesting this spiritual energy was far more challenging than absorbing the energy from his Dantian. Over the past ten days, he had spent three days absorbing the pure energy from his Dantian, and the remaining time was dedicated to dealing with the spiritual energy in his Sea of Consciousness.
Fortunately, after persistent effort, Lu Hai Kong was finally on the verge of completely refining that pure spiritual energy, having spent over ten days on it.
Unfortunately, Lu Hai Kong had initially thought that he could take advantage of this opportunity to break through the 100 mark in politics. However, given the current circumstances, even if he managed to completely absorb the pure energy, his political capital would likely stall at 99.
After all, Lu Hai Kong's talent in Taoist spells was not exceptional, and his current achievements in this field were solely due to a vast amount of resources and fortuitous encounters. This was evident from the fact that despite his political capital surpassing 90, he still hadn't unlocked a single talent.
In reality, given Lu Hai Kong's circumstances, breaking through the 100 mark in politics was an impossible feat. The only reason he had such an ambition was that he had obtained a fragment of the Azure Dragon Soul in the Dragon-Sealing Hall beneath Luoyang City, which had granted him this opportunity.
It was precisely because of the existence of the Azure Dragon Soul Fragment that Lu Hai Kong had the idea of breaking through the Break Hundred during this process.
However, as the saying goes, rise and fall with the winds. If one were to look at it purely from an energy perspective, the energy fed back by the Emperor Cauldron was indeed capable of allowing him to break through. Yet, it was also because Lu Hai Kong had not fully refined the Azure Dragon Soul Fragment that he was unable to achieve this breakthrough.
After several attempts and a general understanding of the situation, Lu Hai Kong ultimately gave up on advancing to the Break Hundred level. After absorbing that pure spiritual energy, he ended his seclusion.
Having just emerged from a half-month-long seclusion, Lu Hai Kong originally wanted to take a bath and then hold those two little ones, relaxing for a while.
However, Lu Hai Kong didn't get the chance to rest. Just as he came out of the Heaven-Stabilizing Hall, Xu Shu found him.
...
At the Capital Military Camp, outside Chang'an, near the massive Funnel.
Not long before Lu Hai Kong emerged from his seclusion, Qin Mu's project was finally completed.
As soon as the mega funnel was finished, Dong Zhuo, who had been living in his manor for over half a year, immediately left his residence and urgently urged Qin Mu to proceed with the next step of the plan.
With Dong Zhuo's urging, Qin Mu, who had already intended to wrap things up early, went with the flow and immediately began preparing for the next phase of the plan.
At this moment, outside the giant funnel, hundreds of thousands of troops were arranged in a unique formation. In front of these troops stood ten thousand shivering forced laborers.
It was evident from their trembling that these men had already guessed their impending fate.
"Begin!"
Qin Mu glanced at the ten thousand shivering laborers, his face devoid of any emotional fluctuations. On the other hand, Dong Zhuo's face showed some turbulence, but he eventually composed himself, "Let's start!"
With Dong Zhuo's command, an order was relayed, and the hundreds of thousands of troops sprang into action. The ten thousand laborers were driven into the giant funnel.
There was no rain of arrows, no slaughter. Dong Zhuo's army made no further moves after pushing the laborers into the funnel.
But this was where the true cruelty lay, the reason for Dong Zhuo's previous hesitation.
In fact, this step had caused numerous disputes between Dong Zhuo and Lu Hai Kong, as well as between Dong Zhuo and Qin Mu. The reason was that this step was simply too inhumane.
If it were just a matter of slaughter, Dong Zhuo might not have frowned, but the cruelty didn't end there.
Qin Mu's real intention was to plunge those ten thousand laborers into utter despair. He didn't kill them, but he wouldn't let them out of the funnel, nor would he provide them with any food. He wanted them to die in that funnel, enveloped in despair.
He sought not just their blood but also their despair. Only then could he meet the conditions of his plan.
Looking at the densely packed funnel filled with people, Qin Mu's lips curved into a satisfied smile, "When the funnel is soaked with the blood of despair, what you desire will naturally appear!"
(End of Chapter)
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