Kan Qinglei glanced at him. "You only know one side of the story," he said, then scanned everyone, lowering his voice. "I heard that it was his favorite concubine, Daji, who brought him down. This Daji incited the King of Yin to harm loyal officials, corrupt the court, oppress the people, and commit all sorts of wicked deeds. Furthermore, I also heard that this Daji is a fox spirit sent to destroy the King of Yin's empire."
"Tsk, nonsense," Long Qi shook his head repeatedly. "What grudge could a fox spirit possibly have with the King of Yin? Why would she want to harm his empire? What benefit would she gain from destroying it?"
"Alas," Kan Qinglei looked at everyone with disappointment, as if they were beyond help. "Daji is merely a pawn. The one truly seeking to destroy the King of Yin's empire is someone else."
"Then who exactly is trying to destroy the King of Yin's empire?" Long Qi asked with great interest.
Kan Qinglei's expression turned solemn. He looked up at the sky and made a throat-slitting gesture. "I dare not say!"
The crowd felt their curiosity piqued, their faces etched with disappointment. "Stop being so mysterious. What is there to fear?"
Huomo, floating in the air, suddenly interjected, "The Investiture of the Gods was established by the Three Religions, so it must have been decided by the Three Sages."
Kan Qinglei shook his head. "No."
"Then who was it?" Shen Lianyun patted Kan Qinglei. "Stop keeping us in suspense."
Kan Qinglei lowered his voice to a whisper. "I heard that when the King of Yin went to the Nuwa Temple to offer incense, he was struck by the beauty of Lady Nuwa's statue and composed a doggerel poem containing these lines: 'If only grace and charm can move, bring back eternal joy to serve the king.' Lady Nuwa, upon learning of this, became enraged and decided to destroy the King of Yin's empire."
"Are you saying that the demoness was sent by Lady Nuwa?" Mo Qi pondered for a moment and asked.
Kan Qinglei narrowed his eyes. Being drunk, his tongue was a bit slurred. "Isn't that obvious?"
Everyone fell silent.
After a moment, Long Qi glanced at Mo Qi and broke the silence. "This is a case of losing an empire due to lust. However, this is merely a superficial reflection. His tyranny and incompetence are fundamentally because he is unworthy of his position."
"But he has a son. If he is incapable, why not let his son take over? Perhaps his son would be a wise ruler?" Shen Lianyun asked, puzzled.
"When the common people are suffering immensely, they will inevitably rise up in rebellion. Where would there be an opportunity for you to make mistakes?" Long Qi said.
"And who can guarantee that King Wu won't be blinded by victory in a couple of years, become autocratic, and act tyrannically?" Shen Lianyun countered.
"..."
These individuals continued their back-and-forth debate.
Mo Qi remained quiet, deep in thought, occasionally taking a sip of wine by himself.
Kan Qinglei, noticing this, couldn't help but ask, "Brother Mo, do you have no opinion to share?"
"One should sit in quiet contemplation of one's own faults, and avoid discussing the faults of others in casual conversation," Mo Qi said with an air of wisdom.
"What a virtue!" Long Qi rolled her eyes at him and said.
Mo Qi looked at Long Qi. "I suddenly feel like meeting this Daji."
Long Qi hesitated slightly, her smile blooming like a flower. "I'm not drunk yet!"
Mo Qi was somewhat speechless. Legends claimed that dragons were fond of wine, and it seemed they were all true.
"I'll get thoroughly drunk with you another day," Mo Qi said, looking into her eyes.
At this moment, Shen Lianyun chuckled. "Brother Mo, you want to catch a glimpse of Daji's beauty, don't you? Your idea is good. Those who can bring ruin to a nation must surely be unparalleled beauties."
Upon hearing this, Long Qi's tears began to flow, and she immediately wept like a pear blossom in the rain. "I knew you had ill intentions! I asked you to go with me to Hongmeng Southern Sea to see my father, but you made excuses, saying you had to guard the formation and had no time. Now you have time to see a beauty."
Shen Lianyun and Kan Qinglei were stunned. The seamless transition between crying and smiling was incredibly powerful.
Mo Qi's lips twitched. Then he stood up and made a declaration. "I will go with you to the Hongmeng Southern Sea Dragon Palace right now. To hell with the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, to hell with the Shangqing Sect. I don't care about anything else."
"Forget it. When you say it like that, it makes me sound unreasonable and difficult," Long Qi continued to wipe her tears.
"Let me tell you the truth. I'm going to kill this fox spirit," Mo Qi said calmly.
"Why?" Long Qi stopped crying and asked in astonishment.
"I have an irreconcilable hatred for the fox clan," Mo Qi said. "Furthermore, this fox spirit has brought ruin and suffering to the people, and everyone should strike her down."
Long Qi stood up. "Then let's go."
With that, she led the way out of the house.
Mo Qi paused for a moment, bid farewell to Shen Lianyun and Kan Qinglei, and then followed her.
Once drunk, Long Qi completely let loose.
At one moment, she asked Mo Qi to call her Xiao Cong'er. At another, she asked Mo Qi to carry her. Then, she would proactively carry Mo Qi.
Mo Qi complied with her every request.
The two soon arrived at the royal palace. The palace was still filled with song and dance, adorned with lanterns and festive decorations, bustling with activity. There was no sense of urgency for an impending war, nor the somber atmosphere of an approaching storm.
It seemed that everyone, except the King of Yin, was eagerly awaiting that moment.
When the army stormed the palace, there would inevitably be corpses strewn everywhere, rivers of blood. But what did it matter?
Nothing was more anticipated than becoming a god.
The entire royal palace, consumed by worry and sighing day and night, was only the King of Yin.
In the past, at this hour, he would be drinking and conversing with Daji about life, or under her instigation, tormenting ministers or the populace.
But now, he realized that such days were coming to an end.
Including his own life!
He could no longer experience the joy of having a beauty in his arms, nor the thrill of commanding the empire!
All that remained was an emptiness after indulgence,
a loneliness after revelry.
Mo Qi followed a strong demonic aura through the palace and soon found Daji. She was holding two cups of wine, laughing coquettishly, searching for the King of Yin everywhere.
The King of Yin was at the Star Picking Tower, gazing into the distance alone. This magnificent landscape, so alluring, he had once tried to paint a beautiful picture within it, only to end up with a scene of devastation. Where had he truly lost?
At that moment, Daji walked over, her figure swaying, her eyes slightly glazed. The King of Yin looked back, and was once again captivated.
"King of Yin," Daji called out softly, "My lord, I've been looking for you everywhere. Why have you hidden yourself here?"
As she spoke, Daji handed one of the wine cups to the King of Yin. "King of Yin, what are you thinking about? Drink this cup with me."
The King of Yin took the wine cup, drank it down in one gulp, threw the cup aside, and then pulled Daji into his embrace.
Daji giggled, not resisting.
Looking at Daji's delicate face, the King of Yin sighed. "My beloved concubine, if one day my empire is lost and my head is severed, what will become of you?"
Daji chuckled. "That will not happen. My lord, you are wise, mighty, and peerless. No one can take your empire."
The King of Yin's expression darkened, becoming unusually serious. "Regardless of whether anyone can take it, just answer my question."
"Oh, my lord, you're scaring me," Daji said, showing no fear. Still chuckling, she tried to struggle free with her hands and feet.
Unexpectedly, the King of Yin's hands held her like pincers, and she could not break free.
"Tell me!" the King of Yin roared, somewhat hysterically.
"Hehehe," Daji continued to giggle. Her body flickered, and somehow, she slipped out of the King of Yin's embrace and stood several feet away, her smile blooming. "I won't tell you!"
The King of Yin held his hands out in the air, dumbfounded. He was certain he had held her firmly, yet she had inexplicably escaped.
"Could it be, as they say, that you are a transformed fox spirit?" the King of Yin asked, looking at Daji in utter shock.
Daji covered her mouth and giggled. "I sleep with you every night, my lord. How could I be a fox spirit?"
"You are a fox spirit!" a voice suddenly descended from the sky. As the voice faded, two figures appeared in the scene.
The man was handsome, the woman beautiful, illuminating the entire Star Picking Tower.
The King of Yin looked at Long Qi, his eyes becoming hazy again.
Her exquisite face, her alluring figure, even Daji, known for her beauty, seemed to pale in comparison.
If in the past, faced with such beauty, the King of Yin would have undoubtedly sought to possess her.
But now, he couldn't help but sigh: Lust is a double-edged sword.
Seeing Mo Qi, a hint of panic flashed in Daji's eyes, but she quickly tried to maintain her composure. "Who... who are you? What do you want? This is the royal palace, intruders die!"
Meanwhile, Mo Qi had already seen the fox spirit attached to Daji, Xiao Rou, through his Heavenly Eye.
"We're old acquaintances. You don't need to act so surprised," Mo Qi said with a cold snort.
"What do you want?" Daji asked, trembling with fear.
She clearly felt that Mo Qi's cultivation had improved significantly during these days. She hadn't been able to defeat him back then, let alone now.
"To act on behalf of Heaven," Mo Qi said simply. "I heard you've committed many sins. I've come to end your wicked life."
Daji leaped up, preparing to flee.
Mo Qi spread his hand, and a ribbon-like phantom shot out, binding Daji tightly. She rolled onto the ground.
Long Qi lunged forward. Fearing that Mo Qi might hesitate, she decided to lend him a hand.
At this moment, the King of Yin roared, "Stop!"
Long Qi involuntarily halted and turned to look at the King of Yin. "You're about to lose your empire because of her, and you still can't bear to kill her?"
The King of Yin looked up at the sky, his gaze profound. "It's not her problem at all. Without her, my empire would still be lost."
The principal party has spoken, what else can you say?
Long Qi stood there, momentarily at a loss, caught in a dilemma.
After a while, she looked at Mo Qi with a hint of resentment. "I told you we shouldn't have come, but you insisted."
Mo Qi, however, looked at the King of Yin. "To have gods from heaven and earth concerned about your empire, you shouldn't have any regrets. Why don't you tell me what wrong you actually did? I believe it's more than just a poem."
The King of Yin glanced at Mo Qi, took something from his sleeve, and handed it to Mo Qi. "It's this."
Mo Qi took it and examined it. It was an axe, or rather, more like a toy axe, only the size of a finger. What could it possibly cut?
Mo Qi looked at the King of Yin, completely bewildered. What was this thing? Could it bring about utter destruction?