Chapter 66

Zhang Jue ascended the altar.

For a moment, the entire battlefield was transformed by the changing weather!

He held a nine-section staff, standing solemnly at the center of the altar, muttering incantations. Then, he began to dance, stepping in the pattern of the seven stars and waving the nine-section staff. This was an ancient shamanic dance passed down from ancient times, said to be one of the ways ancient people communicated with heaven and earth! Zhang Jue's dance was markedly different from the frenzied movements of ordinary shamans. His steps were based on the nine palaces and eight trigrams on the altar, already showing some resemblance to the later Mao Mountain Daoist techniques!

The talisman technique originated in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the Taiping Heavenly Book in Zhang Jue's hands was one of the origins of the talisman techniques in China. At that time, the two most famous figures were Zhang Xiu of the Five Pecks of Rice Dao (Tianshi Dao) and Zhang Jue of the Taiping Dao. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion failed, the Taiping Dao was destroyed, and the talisman techniques passed down by Zhang Jue were incorporated into the Five Pecks of Rice Dao. Over time, this evolved into the Shangqing Sect of Mao Mountain, the Lingbao Sect of Gezhao Mountain, and the Tianshi Dao of Longhu Mountain.

Ultimately, during the Yuan Dynasty, they were unified into the Zhengyi Sect.

—"Zhong, Huang, Tai, Yi!"

Zhang Jue roared and forcefully thrust the nine-section staff into the center of the altar. The ground, made of solid marble, was pierced by the bamboo staff, and cracks began to appear on the altar! The nine palaces and eight trigrams on the altar shattered, and cracks spread across the entire ten-zhang altar. Zhang Jue, with disheveled hair, chanted rapidly, raised his hands, and a bolt of lightning appeared between his palms!

A fierce wind suddenly arose, and sand and stones flew.

The originally clear sky suddenly echoed with a dull thunder. The sky, which had been cloudless, was now covered with dark, oppressive clouds in just a short moment. Lightning and thunder rumbled through the clouds, and lightning bolts streaked across the sky, the deafening thunder making it hard to breathe, yet no rain fell.

Under the might of heaven and earth, the battlefield fell silent. Countless Yellow Turban followers looked toward the altar, and they all fell to their knees in a black mass.

They even ignored the Han soldiers behind them.

They lay prostrate on the ground, sobbing and crying out in pain, shouting, "Great Virtuous Teacher!..."

...

"The celestial phenomena have changed!"

Zhao Futu looked up at Zhang Jue's figure in the distance. The battlefield was now transformed by the changing weather, with lightning and thunder, and the dark clouds covering the sky like the end of the world. His face was full of shock, and he muttered to himself, "Are you planning to die with everyone else?"

The Immortal had bestowed the three volumes of the Taiping Heavenly Book upon Zhang Jue. These three volumes were the Wind Book, the Rain Book, and the Thunder Book. Ordinary disciples were only taught the sixteen chapters of the Rain Book for healing, while his closest disciples were taught the nine chapters of the Wind Book for summoning clouds and rain. However, the Thunder Book, which Zhang Jue had never passed down, was said to disrupt the harmony of heaven. Once used, it would surely bring divine retribution!

—Boom!!!

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and struck the Han army camp. The elite soldiers guarding the camp, clad in iron, were instantly killed by the lightning. This was just the beginning. One, two, three, countless bolts of lightning struck the Han army, and the soldiers, who had been full of morale, immediately scattered, crying and screaming as they fled.

Countless people knelt on the ground, trembling before the might of heaven and earth!

"Thunderstorm!!!"

The faces of the Han army's contractors were pale, their eyes full of terror. They never imagined that Zhang Jue could summon a thunderstorm out of nowhere! At this moment, they cared nothing for the lives of others and fled with all their might from the range of the black clouds. However, the thunderstorm seemed to have eyes, and a significant portion of it covered their area!

"Black magic! Black magic!"

General He Jin shouted in terror, falling off his horse like a dog. The morale of the Han army had completely collapsed, and only a few remained unshaken by the might of heaven and earth. One person emerged from the Han army, shouting, "Follow me to kill that black magician!"

It was Cao Cao, leading several brave generals toward Zhang Jue's altar.

For some reason, the raging thunderstorm never struck Cao Cao. The lightning that had been about to strike him suddenly veered off and hit a hundred zhang away!

As Cao Cao moved, several others from the center and flanks also charged forward. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei followed closely, and then Sun Jian and Yuan Shao joined them. The others did not notice anything unusual, but Zhang Jue's gaze fell on these few charging toward him. His eyes showed a sudden realization, and he laughed loudly, "Hahahaha!"

"Is this it!... Is this it?..."

A scroll of the Heavenly Book appeared in Zhang Jue's hand, glowing with lightning. He threw the scroll into the sky and shouted, "Zhong, Huang, Tai, Yi!"

The area covered by the thunderstorm immediately focused on Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian. However, these three seemed to be protected by heaven, and any lightning that struck them was deflected by an invisible force. In Zhang Jue's eyes, a white mist gathered, forming three white pythons that protected Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian. As the thunderstorm raged, the three pythons roared and intertwined, eventually merging into a yellow dragon that soared into the sky!

The lightning and thunder suddenly disappeared, and the dark clouds dispersed, leaving a clear sky.

"Spit!"

Zhang Jue spat out a mouthful of blood, and black blood began to flow from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He fell backward, laughing madly, "Hahahaha!!!"

"The will of heaven cannot be defied!... The will of heaven cannot be defied!!!..."

The scroll of the Thunder Book, hovering in the air, suddenly exploded. A blood-red bolt of lightning appeared, piercing through the fragments of the exploding scroll and striking Zhang Jue, who was lying on the ground.

Then, in the disbelieving eyes of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian, Zhang Jue's body suddenly vanished without a trace!

...

At the same time.

A notification from the Nightmare Space sounded in Zhao Futu's ear. In a moment of weightlessness, his body turned into a streak of light and disappeared from the battlefield strewn with corpses.

When his consciousness returned, he found himself in the vast starry sky, with a blue planet beneath his feet. A three-dimensional image appeared before his eyes, showing scenes from Wancheng, then the attack by Bao Xin with 500 armored soldiers, the battle with the Yellow Turban leader, the role of a Han county magistrate, the gathering of Yellow Turban remnants to cross the Yellow River to Ji Province, the siege of Dong Min, entering the Yellow Turban camp, the banquet with the Great Virtuous Teacher, and entering the study.

The image suddenly turned to a dark void, then showed the encounter with Ling and others, the study of talismans, and finally the tragic scene of Zhang Jue's failure, lying on the ground with black blood flowing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

The image froze, and the following information appeared in the air:

"Scene: Yellow Turban Rebellion."

"Difficulty: Medium Intensity (Level 3) Battlefield"

"Pain Reduction: 70%"

"Personal Ability Enhancement: 50%"

"Current Scene Exploration: 11.21%"

"Additional Note: This scene is a slaughter scene. If a contractor is killed, they will randomly drop a bloody key, and the digital character information module will be activated. Contractors can check their personal attributes at any time through the Nightmare Mark."

"Main Mission Completed: Encounter"

"Hidden Mission Completed: Unknown!"

"Comprehensive Evaluation: A" (100% additional bonus on top of the base reward!)

...

"Space data is being processed!..."

"Contractor No. 1013, your comprehensive evaluation for this mission is A, so you will receive a 100% attribute bonus on top of the base reward. The specific rewards are as follows: 6 free attribute points, 5000 survival points, 1 F-grade soul fragment!"

"Note: Some of the items you carried cannot be brought into the Nightmare Space and will be automatically converted into survival points!"

"Your current remaining rewards are as follows: 6 free attribute points, 42180 survival points, 2 E-grade soul crystals, 2 F-grade soul crystals, 4 large soul fragments."

...