Chapter 1763: A Storm of Blood

At the end of Xuanwu Avenue.

The Taishi Bureau.

Brand stood on the corridor, looking at Xuanwu Avenue in the distance, which was shrouded in a storm of blood. His gaze was somewhat dull, and he stood motionless like a statue.

It wasn't until a long time later that he asked uncertainly:

"Just now..."

"...did that Calamity of Mockery say 'Taishi Bureau'?"

"Yes... My Lord." The subordinate behind him was already trembling with fear. "It... it seems to be coming for our Taishi Bureau."

Brand’s face turned deathly pale!!

"That shouldn't be..."

"Why would it come for us... We’ve never provoked a Calamity of Mockery, have we??"

Brand couldn't figure it out. Their Taishi Bureau had always operated within the Chengtian Realm and had never had any intersection with Calamities, nor had they ever killed one. How could they provoke such intense killing intent from a World-Ender?

"My Lord, shouldn't we run?"

"Run?! Do you not know what is beneath the Taishi Bureau?!" Brand glared at his subordinate. "Even if we run, once the thing beneath is unearthed by the Calamity of Mockery, do you think the one in the palace will let us go?!"

"I’m telling you, if the thing below is discovered, no one in our Alchemy Association will escape!"

"Today, we either stop the Calamity of Mockery, or we all die together!"

Under Brand’s roar, the entire Taishi Bureau fell deathly silent. Everyone knew they couldn't abandon the Taishi Bureau... But that was a World-Ending Calamity! The major official residences had fought so desperately, yet they were still slaughtered like vegetables.

What could they use to stop it?

Brand took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and looked at the silent imperial palace in the night:

"He Jing should be at the palace by now. He is smart; he will definitely ask that person for help... As long as that person intervenes, there is still a chance!"

……

The Imperial Palace.

The night palace, which should have been empty and quiet, was now brightly lit.

Anxious figures were running through the palace paths. Those ministers, who once held power over the court and could turn the world upside down in any realm, no longer had their calm and composed demeanor. Their faces were pale, and cold sweat was pouring down!

They could hear the faint roars echoing one after another outside the palace walls, accompanied by a scarlet light illuminating the sky. They didn't know which official’s residence had been casually wiped out by the Calamity of Mockery, turning decades of accumulation into dust...

"Eunuch Zuo! Eunuch Zuo!! Please, I beg you to report this. It’s a matter of life and death, I must see His Majesty!!"

A minister rushed outside the sleeping quarters, sweating profusely, and spoke hurriedly.

A white whisk flicked lightly, and a force sent the minister stumbling back several steps. Outside the gate of the sleeping quarters, a thin figure was looking at him coldly, speaking slowly:

"Minister Li..."

"This is His Majesty’s sleeping quarters, not your Li family’s inner courtyard... How many heads do you have to dare to be so presumptuous here?"

This sentence made Minister Li’s face turn even paler. He knew he had been too reckless, but things had reached this point; how could he remain calm? He could only lower his voice and say hurriedly:

"But the Calamity of Mockery has broken into Xuanwu Avenue, and now it is truly..."

"Minister Li, this old servant knows you are anxious... Not to mention whether His Majesty is willing to see you, even if he were, you would have to wait in line." Eunuch Zuo gestured to the side. On the other side of the sleeping quarters’ entrance, a whole line of officials was waiting obediently, their faces paler than the next.

"Let me see... hmm... you are number seventeen now. However, Minister Zhao was so anxious he couldn't help but go to the restroom first. If he doesn't return in three minutes, he’ll be skipped... So, there are probably only fifteen people ahead of you." Eunuch Zuo comforted him unhurriedly.

Fifteen people?

By the time these fifteen people were done, the Calamity of Mockery would have wiped out Xuanwu Avenue a hundred times over!

"Eunuch Zuo, the Calamity of Mockery has appeared in the Chengtian Realm. This is a major event involving millions of people! Now that the world outside is in ruins, how can His Majesty sit idly by?!" Minister Li said in a low, angry voice.

"In ruins? Is it?" Eunuch Zuo chuckled. "Haven't the pedestrians on Xuanwu Avenue already been evacuated? There are only some shops and official residences left there... The situation is still under control."

As soon as this was said, Minister Li felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar!!

The slow-witted Minister Li finally seemed to realize something, and his gaze turned toward the silent sleeping quarters.

"Minister Li, I heard that there was a discrepancy between the actual amount of cold-weather supplies sent to the Aurora Prison and the amount allocated by His Majesty..." Eunuch Zuo finally got to the point, his narrow eyes narrowing like a poisonous snake that could see through people’s hearts. "I wonder if Minister Li has heard of this situation?"

Minister Li swallowed hard. He tensed up, and after a long time, he said hoarsely:

"Th-this matter... I don't know... It must have been a mistake by the people below... How about this, Eunuch Zuo, please report it to His Majesty. Whatever the discrepancy is, my Li family will make it up twofold..."

Eunuch Zuo kept his eyes narrowed and didn't answer.

The sweat on Minister Li’s forehead became denser:

"Then fivefold... no, tenfold! Whatever supplies were missing, my Li family will make it up tenfold!!"

"Hmm... I will report it for you in a moment. You go wait on the side for now." Eunuch Zuo’s expression finally softened slightly. He waved his hand, and Minister Li finally felt relieved, bowing his head and silently joining the line.

Minister Li finally understood why the other officials were all waiting silently at the entrance of the sleeping quarters...

Just as Minister Li stood still, another figure came rushing from afar!

"Eunuch Zuo! The Calamity of Mockery is slaughtering Xuanwu Avenue, why hasn't His Majesty intervened yet?" The figure spoke with a full voice. After standing at the entrance of the sleeping quarters, he deliberately raised his voice, as if he wanted not only Eunuch Zuo to hear it, but also the person inside the sleeping quarters.

Eunuch Zuo stood there quietly, staring at the person for a moment with his narrow eyes, and said gloomily:

"Minister Sun..."

"I heard that your Sun family is planning to rebel?"

The minister’s face stiffened instantly!

……

A storm of blood was happening not only on Xuanwu Avenue but also in the silent imperial palace.

However, compared to that invisible and intangible "slaughter" within the palace, the Calamity of Mockery destroying the world on Xuanwu Avenue made people feel the terror of death more intuitively.

Chen Ling didn't remember how many Divine Path practitioners he had killed.

Fifty?

Seventy?

One hundred?

They were like flies, flying out from those mansions one after another, only to be slapped to death without suspense. Even if some had strong strength, it was nothing more than "negating" them first and then slapping them to death.

These annoying guys hadn't been able to stop his footsteps for long, but Chen Ling found it strange: why, even though he had almost cut through Xuanwu Avenue, did that guy in the palace... still not intervene?

Ying Fu...

What exactly are you waiting for?