Chapter 1243: Evil Things

Niu Youdao asked, "Refining this thing still requires taking Shang Shuqing's essence-blood?"

Zhao Xiongge knew what he was worried about. "You're thinking too much. No matter how many Crow Generals are refined, it does not require taking that much blood from a person. You only need to prick the crown of each Crow General's head with a needle dipped in blood. It would never reach the point of causing death from excessive blood loss. The purpose is simply to make the Crow General recognize its master."

"Once it recognizes its master, so long as the Grand General remains, the Crow General remains. If the Grand General dies, they follow her into death, loyal to the end, their souls returning together into the dark beyond."

"If the military tally is gone, who can still command them? In other words, once Shang Shuqing dies, those Crow Generals will cease to exist in this world as well. The two sides are already linked through blood and qi."

"And that military tally is already connected to Shang Shuqing's bloodline and bound to her life. If you forcibly strip it away, Shang Shuqing will die as well. That is why I said even I cannot break it. It has to be Shang Shuqing herself. Everything must follow its natural course."

Niu Youdao's expression grew grave. "In other words, those one hundred thousand Crow Generals truly exist?"

Zhao Xiongge said, "The Ghost Face appeared on Shang Shuqing's face, so Crow Generals definitely exist. As for whether there are truly one hundred thousand, I cannot know. But considering the circumstances back then, it is not difficult to imagine. Senior Brother Dong Guo frequently accompanied Prince Ning's armies on campaign. His purpose was probably to gather the yin souls of those who died in battle."

"Prince Ning led Yan's armies east and west for years. Far more than one hundred thousand soldiers died under his banner."

"To refine Crow Generals utterly loyal to Shang Shuqing, they had to be soldiers from his own side who were loyal to the Shang clan. If enemy soldiers were used, it would be difficult to make them stand together, and conflict might arise. If there truly are one hundred thousand Crow Generals, then those are one hundred thousand loyal souls. Ah... one hundred thousand valiant spirits, dead yet denied rest. What a sin!"

Niu Youdao said, "Even you don't know how many there are. So you only passed on the refining method and never participated in the refining itself?"

Zhao Xiongge shook his head. "Wu Chang had already fixed his eyes on me, while Senior Brother Dong Guo would necessarily have been refining them on a large scale. Do you think I could have constantly run over to Prince Ning's side?"

Niu Youdao asked, "If there truly are one hundred thousand Crow Generals, why hasn't Shang Chaozong used them?"

Zhao Xiongge said, "This matter must have been kept at the highest level of secrecy. One thing is certain: those Crow Generals are still asleep. The military tally is still there, and Shang Shuqing has not used it to perform the final awakening. Once she awakens them, the Ghost Face on her face will naturally disappear."

"For an ordinary yin soul to become a true Crow General capable of charging and fighting, there must be a long period of accumulation. It has to absorb yin qi year after year. Only after enough has accumulated, only after sufficient energy has been stored, can the transformation succeed and the refining truly be complete."

"Besides, do you think one hundred thousand Crow Generals would be enough to sweep all beneath Heaven? The moment they alarmed the Nine Saints, the Nine Saints' strength alone would be enough to sweep away all one hundred thousand."

"So long as the Nine Saints remain standing, even if those one hundred thousand Crow Generals exist, they cannot be used lightly unless there is absolutely no alternative. I think Prince Ning and the others were only making preparations. If the world later changed and the right opportunity appeared, then they would use them. Otherwise, using them would only invite disaster."

"Prince Ning himself probably never expected to suffer the calamity that later befell him. A secret of this magnitude, with three sons alive at the time, might not necessarily have been entrusted to his youngest son, Shang Chaozong."

Niu Youdao frowned suspiciously. "Even if Shang Chaozong doesn't know, could Shang Shuqing herself also know nothing? I spent years around her. From what I saw, she herself seemed completely unaware."

Zhao Xiongge shook his head. "I don't know the exact circumstances either. But with a secret of this magnitude, Prince Ning would never have handled it carelessly. He must have left some secret method for dealing with it."

Niu Youdao asked, "If those one hundred thousand Crow Generals really exist, where would they be?"

Zhao Xiongge said, "They must be in a place where yin gathers. Only such a place could provide enough yin qi for the sleeping Crow Generals to absorb and accumulate power. As for the exact location, I don't know. But Shang Shuqing should be able to find them."

Niu Youdao asked, "You mean Shang Shuqing has been hiding this from me all along?"

Zhao Xiongge could not help looking him up and down. "With that thief-like brain of yours, after spending so many years around her, do you really think she could hide something like this from you? She may not be hiding it at all. Perhaps she still doesn't know."

"But one day she will. She and the Crow Generals are already linked through blood and qi. Once the energy gathered by those sleeping Crow Generals grows strong enough, she will be able to sense them."

Niu Youdao said, "So they can only be used once their own accumulated power is strong enough? If that's true, when will those Crow Generals become strong enough?"

Zhao Xiongge hesitated. "There is no fixed answer. It depends on how dense the yin qi is where they are sleeping. I don't know where that place is, so I cannot judge."

Niu Youdao said, "If that's the case, then if the world suddenly changes and they need to be awakened early, but no one can find them, wouldn't the best opportunity be lost? Prince Ning spent years commanding armies and devising strategies. He wouldn't have left things that absolute."

"And given the storm he himself stood in at the time, how could he possibly fail to leave some backup arrangement for something this important?"

"What you say does seem to make sense..." Zhao Xiongge muttered. He fell silent for a while, then suddenly raised his head and met Niu Youdao's eyes. "Could it be..."

Niu Youdao knew they had reached the same thought and nodded. "Prince Ning, Shang Jianbo, must have left some instructions. Shang Shuqing herself must know something. Either she deliberately concealed it from me, or Prince Ning told her something without explaining its true meaning."

Zhao Xiongge slowly nodded. "Because the matter was too important, Prince Ning could not state it openly. She may know the words but still be kept in the dark about what they mean. In his position, you or I might have done the same."

"It seems you need to have a proper talk with Shang Shuqing and see whether you can make her remember anything."

Niu Youdao rolled his eyes. "Do you think I'm in any position to go talk to her right now?"

"I don't care either way." Zhao Xiongge still did not quite understand what the problem was and looked thoroughly unconcerned.

But then he sighed. "Ah... Prince Ning tied his own daughter's life to those Crow Generals."

Niu Youdao asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Xiongge said, "They are already connected through blood. Everything works both ways. If Shang Shuqing dies, the Crow Generals follow her into death. But if someone kills those sleeping Crow Generals, do you think the 'Grand General' can remain unaffected? Shang Shuqing will inevitably suffer backlash from the military tally. No one will be able to save her!"

Niu Youdao was startled. "Then doesn't that mean once the Crow Generals are awakened and sent to war, Shang Shuqing will be in danger too?"

Zhao Xiongge waved a hand. "No. You're misunderstanding me. I said the sleeping Crow Generals."

"Once Shang Shuqing awakens them, the Ghost Face will disappear. Once that happens, the backlash will naturally cease to exist. Whether the Crow Generals live or die will no longer threaten her."

"And with a single order, she can dismiss all one hundred thousand Crow Generals!"

Niu Youdao looked puzzled. "Dismiss them?"

Zhao Xiongge said, "If she orders them to fight to the death, all one hundred thousand Crow Generals will die ten thousand deaths without refusal and battle to the very end."

"If she orders them to disband, then those one hundred thousand loyal souls will lay down their armor, return to the dark beyond, and finally rest."

"In other words, Shang Shuqing will hold an army like that in her hands. Whether it becomes fortune or calamity depends entirely on a single thought from her. If Shang Shuqing becomes enamored of power and develops wicked ambitions, or if some evil person manipulates her, then that force will become a scourge upon the world."

"Niu Youdao, listen carefully. Judging from Shang Shuqing's age, if there truly are one hundred thousand Crow Generals, then they have already been sleeping for more than thirty years."

"That is equivalent to a cultivator bitterly cultivating day and night for more than thirty years without ever once interrupting his training. Have you thought about what kind of monsters they might have become? And even now, they are still sleeping, still absorbing yin qi and continuing to accumulate power."

"These are genuine evil things. They can range freely through both the yin and yang worlds, soar through the skies, come and go like the wind, and move like ghosts. I don't even understand how Li Ge came to possess such an art!"

"To tell the truth, once I sobered up afterward and thought about it calmly, I regretted what I had done."

"Why did the Demonic Sect refuse to let its Sect Leader control the Demon Canon? Why did generation after generation of sect rules insist that it be kept by a carefully chosen Saintess who did not participate in struggles for power?"

"Because they did not dare let an evil art like this spread casually. They feared it would fall into the hands of wicked people and be used to commit atrocities."

"Afterward, I truly regretted being swept up by that impassioned speech from your master. I should never have told him the method for refining Crow Generals."

"In short, once this batch of evil things is awakened and assembled into an army, remember that before death they were already a group of soldiers skilled in war. If such a force suddenly appears in the world, what consequences will follow?"

"I have never seen any record describing it. Even I do not know how terrifying they might be."

"But one thing is certain. Even if one hundred thousand cultivators assembled against them, they might not be a match. I fear even a single Nascent Soul cultivator would find it difficult to withstand a swarm of evil things utterly unafraid of death."

"So whether Shang Shuqing should awaken that army is something you need to think through carefully."

"You need to consider whether you can truly control her."

"If things ever become utterly unthinkable, and she refuses to order that army disbanded, then you must ask yourself whether you have a way to eliminate her."

"A woman has suffered beneath that Ghost Face for so many years. Who knows whether her thoughts are still those of a normal person? Who knows whether her temperament has twisted?"

"If she suddenly holds overwhelming power in her hands one day, no one can know whether some urge for rebellion or revenge will surface."

"Eliminate her..." Niu Youdao murmured, his expression heavy.

Would there really come a day when he himself had to kill Shang Shuqing?

Some truths were simply beyond expectation.

He truly had never imagined that such an enormous secret lay hidden behind that woman's ugly face.

Even he found it difficult to imagine what it would look like if that quiet, refined woman suddenly commanded one hundred thousand Crow Generals one day.

"Ah. I'll think this through some more and act according to circumstances." Niu Youdao shook his head.

Then something occurred to him. "Right. When I first met that old fellow Dong Guo all those years ago, I saw a Crow General. I previously suspected Wu Chang had refined it. Now I know Old Dong Guo himself knew the refining method..."

Zhao Xiongge knew what he intended to ask and cut him off. "No need to suspect anything. That one was definitely refined by Wu Chang. At the time, how could Senior Brother Dong Guo have dared wander around openly with a Crow General?"

Then Zhao Xiongge added, "By the way, that Shang Mirror in Yucang's hands—you were the one who gave it to him, weren't you?"

Niu Youdao froze. "How did you know?"

Zhao Xiongge sneered. "So it really was you. You're asking how I knew? I personally stole that thing from Yucang."

"I had no use for it myself. I was only involved because Senior Brother asked for my help. In the end, the mirror was given to Senior Brother Dong Guo to take away."

"The last person he met before he died was you."

"There was no possibility he would leave something like that with a brat who understood nothing at the time just so you could play with it. He must have entrusted you to deliver it to Senior Brother Tang."

"But the word we later received from Shangqing Sect was that they had never seen any Shang Mirror at all."

"At first, I thought Senior Brother Dong Guo had been wounded and perhaps someone robbed him."

"Then later I saw you getting mixed up with Yucang, one glance and another passing back and forth between you. After that, the Shang Mirror somehow returned to Yucang's hands again."

"At that point I began to suspect something was wrong with you."

"So it really was you."

"Shangqing Sect locked you up for five years and you still refused to hand the thing over. You little bastard. You were dishonest from the very beginning!"

Niu Youdao hurriedly defended himself. "You can't blame me for that. Old Dong Guo repeatedly told me the thing could only be given to Tang Mu and no one else."

"I was still hesitating over what to do when Shangqing Sect suddenly put me under house arrest."

"You know how they treated me. Put yourself in my position and see what you would have done."

[End of Chapter 1243]