Chapter 867: Chapter 802: Collusion and Human Nature

At this moment, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King felt an immense power of incense flame surging through his body.

The Deer God beside him tirelessly guided him on how to refine this power into his own strength.

A moment later, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King opened his eyes with delight, saying, “I actually relied on the incense power I just gained to add another moon above the Spiritual Sea!”

Zhang San knew that there are four stages in the Purple Mansion Realm, namely A Single Thought of Mountains and Seas, Sea Creates Sun and Moon, Divine Cloud Jinqiao, and Correct Cultivating of Divine Residence.

Among them, in the second stage of Sea Creates Sun and Moon, one can form a world with one’s Seas of Wheels and Spiritual Platform, where time flows and the sun and moon turn.

And cultivating the sun and moon that can illuminate this world is the key direction for cultivation at this stage.

The issue of the Twelve Zodiacs had just been announced by Great Sui, and the Thousand-Eyed Rat King gained so much incense power so quickly.

Zhang San believed that once this matter spread, more members of the Demon Clan would group together, yearning to become the next zodiac.

At this time, Zhang San and his group left Longyou Road, heading towards Capital Region Road.

After all, Qian Shanxiu had already been brought to justice, and the matter of the North Wind Wolf King had been perfectly resolved.

He even established cooperation between the All Things Path and the human race.

This return to the Capital Region Road must find a way to gain more benefits, especially those that can help enhance his own strength.

Because Zhang San already knew from the Deer God and the Thousand-Eyed Rat King that once the Seas of Wheels experience six Sea Tribulations, it is possible to attempt to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm.

However, a Spiritual Platform that has endured six Sea Tribulations is naturally far less stable and powerful than one that has gone through nine.

So it’s best if it undergoes three more Sea Tribulations.

It’s just that the methods to initiate the last three Sea Tribulations vary for different Seas of Wheels.

Only the human race seems to have this restriction, while the Demon Clan rely on strong enough bloodlines to directly step over this juncture.

Those who can’t cross it need to use various Heavenly Treasures and Earthly Materials as well as unique opportunities to make it through.

However, the Demon Clan has no notion of special trigger conditions for this.

Zhang San thought, once he learns what methods are needed, he must also find a way to prepare for the breakthrough to the Purple Mansion Realm.

Just then, the Rat King called out to Zhang San, “Zhang San, come here, I’ll show you something good!”

Zhang San thought the Thousand-Eyed Rat King was happy and wanted to give him something.

But just as he was about to reach out, he discovered the Thousand-Eyed Rat King was pointing forward.

Following the direction indicated by the Thousand-Eyed Rat King, Zhang San saw a cliff.

He walked towards the cliff, and everyone followed, curious about what lay beneath it.

At this moment, they saw beneath the cliff a vast plain.

Across this plain, under the scorching June weather, steam enveloped the terrain, with wild grasses and stones scattered all over, covered by vast, endless black tides.

“These black tides are… wait! This isn’t a tide!”

The Immortal Monarch Who Treads Snow in Search of Plums initially couldn’t see clearly, but once he took a closer look, he was shocked.

Hu stood beside him, struck speechless by the scene.

For they discovered that the seemingly wave-like tide moving across the mountains and plains was an endless swarm of rats.

A million?

Ten million?

Or a hundred million?

Of all those standing there now, perhaps only the Thousand-Eyed Rat King knew how many rats were moving through here.

The Thousand-Eyed Rat King stood happily beside Zhang San.

“Many rat races of Great Sui are actually not related to me by blood, so I’ve dispatched some rat demons from among my descendants to various places in Great Sui affected by rat infestations. They gathered a large number of rats and led them away from Great Sui, towards the plains where the Tujue reside in the north.”

“Rest assured, there are quite a few rat demons directing them along the way, so they won’t casually consume farmers’ grain nor harm innocent people.”

“This is already the third batch heading towards Tujue. There will be a fourth and fifth batch afterwards, but probably no sixth batch.”

Zhang San gazed at the boundless waves of rats, suddenly realizing that the outcome of the war between Great Sui and Tujue was probably sealed from this moment.

…

On the plains, a unit under Dashi Bian’s command had just ambushed a group from Sharlobi’s forces, as four thousand troops ambushed twenty thousand reinforcement that had sprinted for a day and night. The result was predictable.

With the battle concluded, Feng Bubian, who had infiltrated the army on Zhang San’s orders, was now absorbing the calamity power surrounding him, feeling stronger than ever.

Currently, Feng Bubian had already ascended from a lower heaven calamity to a mid heaven calamity thanks to this war.

Feng Bubian even had confidence that after the war he could ascend to an upper heaven calamity.

Just then, he noticed two women approaching from a distance.

One of the women bore a strong resemblance to Ximen Jinxing, but he knew she was not Ximen Jinxing; she should be the newly-promoted upper heaven calamity of the Path of Calamity — Plagued by Illnesses.

Beside her stood another, even stronger upper heaven calamity from the Path of Calamity — Unchanging Human Heart.

“Judging from this journey, countless lives will be lost on these plains,”

Unchanging Human Heart remarked with a smile, as if discussing a mundane topic.

Ximen Jinlian, surveying everything around her, couldn’t help but give a sigh, “Who would have thought so many rats would come to the plains? There were already enough deaths during the war for a plague to emerge, and now with so many rats, the entire plains might face a major disaster!”

Unchanging Human Heart laughed and said, “And isn’t that precisely what you and I have been anticipating?”

Ximen Jinlian raised her hand, absorbing the calamity power from the many dead and wounded soldiers around.

Also absorbing calamity power from the rats that had already contracted many contagious diseases while still scurrying across the battlefield.

“Do you think these rats are a gift specially sent to me by Zhang San?”

“Stop flattering. The human heart is quite complex.”

Ximen Jinlian scoffed somewhat disdainfully, “I was once human, and in some respects, I still am. The human heart is complex, but how complex can it truly be?”

Hearing this, Unchanging Human Heart considered giving this sister, who was somewhat of her temperament, a lesson.

“The human heart is infinitely more complex than you can imagine.”

“Someone, to fight for his family inheritance, might ally with an enemy, asking the enemy to pretend to help his big brother kill their father. Then, wait for the big brother to die at the hands of their father, before inheriting the family wealth.”

“The entire world believes it was the big brother who allied with the enemy, but only us as the enemy know who truly colluded with us.”

…

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace, Crown Prince Yang Quan had just served the finished herbal medicine to the Kaihuang, who had been recovering from illness.

There was also a subordinate reporting the recent happenings.

Crown Prince Yang Quan smiled, saying softly, “Is Zhang San coming back?”