A streak of golden escaping light rose into the air from amid the sea of troops, blocking the path ahead in the night sky.
Focusing his gaze,
One saw an elderly Daoist clad in a Dao robe, standing atop an immortal crane. His figure was not imposing, yet he stood like an ancient pine, lofty and unmoving. His Dao robe was archaic and understated, the dark cyan fabric emitting a gentle sheen beneath the moonlight. Cloud patterns drifted across its surface, ethereal and unrestrained, as though heaven and man were one. His beard and hair were snow-white, yet his face showed no signs of age—truly crane-haired with a youthful visage. His eyes shone like starlight, deep and tranquil.
As the night wind swept past, his beard and hair swayed and his sleeves fluttered. Within that immortal bearing was a dignity that looked down upon all living beings.
The human emperor of Eastern Divine Continent, the Great Sheng Emperor Longqing—Cao Kai.
"King of Northern Liang."
Emperor Longqing's voice rang out, deep and resonant. Beneath the teasing tone lay unmistakable mockery, each word like an invisible hand clamping tightly around the throat. "Even though you have deceived me time and again, to this day I still regard you favorably and grant you one final opportunity.
"Stop here, and I will preserve your title, your status, even… your command of troops!
"What you wish to accomplish,
"Only with me alive can it be achieved.
"And only I can provide you with everything you will need from here on."
"And then?"
Chen Sanshi listened quietly until the other finished speaking, then slowly opened his mouth. "So all past matters are simply written off?"
"Those who accomplish great deeds have never been bound by trifles."
Emperor Longqing intoned at an unhurried pace, his voice heavy with majesty:
"The ancients had a poem:
'The rivers and mountains of the south are drawn into the map of war;
Where may the common folk ask of fishermen and woodcutters?
Speak no more of marquisates and noble ranks—
When one general succeeds, ten thousand bones lie withered.'
"Yes.
"How could I not know the suffering of the masses, the hardships of the people?
"But without 'ten thousand withered bones,' how can there be 'one general's success'?
"Chen Sanshi.
"You are one who commands troops—you should understand this better than I.
"Can you truly say that your repeated great victories were not piled upon forests of white bones?
"Waging war is so, and governing the world is the same.
"All those subjects who died are paving the way for an age of peace.
"And you, Chen Sanshi, what you do today is to destroy all of this—to let the common people bleed in vain. That is precisely why I give you this final chance to awaken."
"This is different."
Listening to the grandiose sophistry, Chen Sanshi shook his head lightly. "Cao Kai, do you yourself believe these words?"
"Oh?"
Emperor Longqing narrowed his eyes slightly. "Then I would like to hear how you refute them."
"There is no refutation."
Chen Sanshi merely leveled the spear tip directly at the opponent's crown. From beneath the ferocious mask came a voice devoid of emotion. "You are not worthy of hearing it."
At that,
Emperor Longqing did not grow angry. He merely sighed faintly. "A name to last through the ages, yet loneliness in what follows. Since that is so, there is nothing more to say. I shall be the one to send you on your way."
The instant his words fell, he abruptly flicked the whisk in his hand. A streak of five-colored auspicious radiance descended from the heavens like a cascading ribbon, pouring down like an inverted rainbow.
Flying rainbows weave through clouds; figures stand in the Milky Way!
The Fire-Element Breathing Method surged forth.
A point of cold light arrived first, followed by the spear thrusting like a dragon.
The roaring spear shattered the flying rainbow, yet Chen Sanshi himself was forced back by the impact. Only with difficulty did he stabilize his figure. Immediately after, he consecutively activated the "Divine Speed Talisman" and the "Wind-Avoiding Talisman." His sword-flight speed skyrocketed as he turned to return toward Kunyang City.
The decisive moment had not yet arrived, and with his current cultivation he could not contend head-on with the opponent. Naturally, he would not stubbornly seek death.
From the brief exchange,
Emperor Longqing's strength surpassed even that of the Ling family's old ancestor, Ling Kui, by no small margin.
Spell cultivators and martial cultivators were not of the same path. The so-called equivalence of True Force middle stage to Foundation Establishment among spell cultivators was only a rough division. Actual strength varied from person to person.
Moreover,
Chen Sanshi still had to face two opponents at once!
The moment Cao Kai struck, Ling Kui had already attacked from the flank.
Chen Sanshi held the spear in his right hand, while from the gaps in the armor on his left arm emerged a vicious Winged Fire Serpent, colliding head-on with the surging Nether River waters.
It was precisely the Heavenly River Soft Sword he had seized from members of the Ling clan during the Battle of Chibi.
He was proficient in hundreds of weapons and techniques; soft sword techniques were naturally no exception.
At the instant of contact, the Winged Fire Serpent coiled around the greatsword, binding it tightly like chains forged of raging flames.
"Szzzz—"
Fire-element True Force and Nether River True Force eroded each other, raising wisps of green smoke.
Chen Sanshi did not contest strength with it. He directly abandoned the Heavenly River Sword while pulling back, focusing on purging the bone-clinging affliction within his body at the fastest possible speed.
By the time he finally returned to peak condition,
Emperor Longqing had already caught up.
The immortal crane beneath him let out a long cry. The magic implement in his hand had, at some unknown moment, transformed from a whisk into a longsword whose cold radiance eclipsed the moonlight.
The Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword!
The instant the sword was drawn,
Within a radius of 1,000 li, in the ears of millions of people, a dragon's roar that shook heaven and earth resounded simultaneously. In their eyes, the vast wasteland seemed to transform into a bottomless abyss. Under the emperor's command, a supreme true dragon surged skyward.
In that instant,
The hearts and minds of the million soldiers trembled. All felt the urge to prostrate themselves in worship.
The divine dragon emerged from the abyss!
The true dragon shot straight into the nine heavens. After a furious roar, it turned and crushed down toward a tiny flame of light in midair. The dragon's might shook the firmament!
The speed of the sword's radiance exceeded Chen Sanshi's escaping speed, forcing him to turn and meet the strike.
The Dragon Gall Bright Silver Spear spun with coiling flames. Yet under the backdrop of the divine dragon, it appeared as feeble as a juvenile flood dragon.
Following closely behind were more than 50 streaks of purple sword qi.
However…
The blazing fire dragon was extinguished in an instant under the crushing might of the supreme divine dragon, and the Dragon Gall Bright Silver Spear grew dim and lusterless.
One after another, the Sword Qi Techniques shattered like brittle glass.
The Thick Earth Art condensed and took form, but it only managed to hinder the strike for a brief moment. The earthen spell shield then collapsed, as fragile as a long-neglected mud wall crumbling under unbearable weight.
The Seven-Star Dragon Abyss pressed forward with unstoppable force, charging straight toward the Talisman General Iron Armor.
Sword qi surged vast as the sea, mana towering like a great mountain.
Only at the very instant before the sword edge descended upon his crown did a flash of sword light ignite before the white-robed figure. The Mountain-Suppressing Sword was drawn to block, meeting the blow head-on with stubborn resolve.
"Boom—"
The two collided.
Within a radius of several hundred kilometers, a thunder-like muffled explosion resounded. Then, before the eyes of millions, the flames covering the white robe dimmed completely. Under the overwhelming bombardment of mana, his body lost all control and plummeted straight toward the ground.
Another colossal impact followed, like a mountain crashing down from tens of thousands of meters in the sky, shaking the earth violently as though an earth dragon were turning over.
At the point where the white robe fell, billowing dust surged upward. Centered on him, a deep crater several meters wide formed, and the thick earth rapidly cracked outward in all directions, resembling land that had endured years of relentless drought.
"Cough…"
Within the dust.
Chen Sanshi spat out thick, congealed blood. The mask on his face split down the center and fell away. The Talisman General Iron Armor he wore bore a horrifying gash, warm blood gushing out from beneath the shattered armor. Even the Mountain-Suppressing Sword, an heirloom of the Former Yan Dynasty, was riddled with cracks. Those fissures spread rapidly until the blade completely shattered, turning into scattered fragments of scrap metal.
This was—
The full-power strike of the only Foundation Establishment cultivator in the entirety of Eastern Divine Continent, and one with Heavenly-grade aptitude at that. It could be said to be the full-force strike of the strongest person on the continent, further amplified by the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation, and in addition…
The Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword!
During the clash,
Chen Sanshi had used the Mystic Pearl to sense it, yet unlike in the secret chamber of Mount Ziwei, he failed to capture any bond with the Dragon Abyss Sword.
Presumably, that power—very likely tied to the nation's fortune—was being contained or sealed within the sword by Emperor Longqing.
That force was of utmost importance to the old emperor.
His master had once said—
During the blood sacrifice of Liangzhou,
It was only at the very last moment, when death was inevitable, that the old emperor prepared to unleash the power within Dragon Abyss.
Holding the Mystic Pearl, Chen Sanshi had confidence in fighting the Dragon Abyss's mysterious power to the death.
But the problem was…
At present, Emperor Longqing had not even used that mysterious power. Relying solely on the sharpness of the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword itself, he was already able to display such terrifying might.
The dragon's roar sounded once more.
Cao Kai gave no chance for the junior he had personally elevated to catch his breath. With the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation augmenting him, the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword wrapped itself in surging thunder as well, cleaving down in a strike like a heavenly lightning bolt.
"Crack—!"
Amid the interlacing lightning,
The white-robed figure within the crater was reduced to dust.
Emperor Longqing showed no joy. Instead, his pupils contracted as he activated probing spells even more cautiously, sweeping his surroundings. As expected, he found the heavily injured white-robed figure once again at a distance of about 333 meters. What he had destroyed earlier was merely a clone.
With the aid of Breath-Concealment, hidden movement, and the qi-hiding effects of the Art of Disguise, Chen Sanshi had already escaped more than 333 meters away. Only about 150 meters remained between him and the city-protecting formation.
The immortal crane cried sharply.
Emperor Longqing's speed surged until he became a streak of golden light.
The agility Chen Sanshi possessed as a spell cultivator—relative to Ling Kui—was rendered meaningless before an emperor at the Foundation Establishment realm.
In just two breaths, Emperor Longqing closed the distance. With a sweep of his Dao robe, the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword was unleashed once more, carrying seven-colored auspicious radiance and surging mana as it stabbed straight toward the white robe's heart.
Chen Sanshi endured the searing pain in his meridians and overdrawn state, forcibly mobilizing Fire-element True Force and the mana of the Swallowing Fire Art. He raised the Dragon Gall Bright Silver Spear again. Thick Earth Art and Sword Qi Technique manifested in succession, supplemented by various defensive talismans seized as spoils from cultivators, all prepared to meet this strike.
In truth,
At this distance, his life was no longer in danger. Even if he failed to block the sword, he could still ride the momentum back into the city-protecting formation.
A second-tier formation was designed precisely to contend with Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even though Longqing had succeeded in Foundation Establishment, he would not be able to do anything to the formation in a short time.
But just as Chen Sanshi steeled himself for his injuries to worsen slightly, he saw a donkey cart rise into the air, flying from above the city wall to stop before him.
"Daoist Chen, go first—this old man will cover the rear!"
Huang Laojiu swung his donkey whip as he charged onto the battlefield. Timely positioning himself before the white robe, he formed seals with both hands and used his essence blood to activate a second-tier talisman. Under a burst of radiant light, it transformed into a deep blue energy shield.
The Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword slammed into it. The shield shattered and dispersed, but it successfully halted the sword's advance.
Huang Laojiu and the cart reared high. In the perilous moment, he stabilized himself. The donkey brayed, turned sharply, and accelerated explosively, charging straight back into the city-protecting formation.
Emperor Longqing did not hesitate and launched another sword strike, but it only caused ripples like water waves across the surface of the Mystic Armor Xun Wind Formation, failing to break through.
He dared not rapidly expend vast amounts of mana to forcefully assault the formation. Doing so would only give his opponents an opening. Thus, he could only stop for the time being.
After he turned away,
The imperial army also sounded the gongs and withdrew.
"It's His Majesty!"
"It's His Majesty!"
Within the army, some generals recognized the old Daoist who had suddenly appeared in the sky—it was none other than His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty!
Emperor Longqing had arrived at the front two days earlier. He had deliberately refrained from showing himself, intending to wait for the white-robed figure to leave the city and, if possible, kill him in a single strike.
Thus, it was only at this moment that the soldiers learned the emperor had emerged from seclusion.
Recalling the scene just now—like an immortal descending to the mortal world, or a true dragon descending from the heavens—even the legendary, undefeated white-robed Chen Sanshi had been struck down by a single sword and forced to flee in disgrace.
Every single person regarded him with reverence as if he were a god.
In an instant,
The million-strong army knelt to the ground like rice stalks bending under the wind, shouting in unison:
"Great Sheng's Myriad-Longevity Emperor, long live His Majesty, long live, long live, long live!"
The roar shook heaven and earth!
On the walls of Kunyang.
"Commander!"
Zhao Kang and the others hurried forward.
Chen Sanshi, his face pale, raised a hand to signal that he was fine. Only after entering the tower and closing the door did he spit out a mouthful of blood.
If the commander-in-chief were injured, it would deal a tremendous blow to morale. Thus, no matter how severe the wound, it could not be shown to the men below.
After briefly regulating his breathing, bandaging his wounds, and swallowing several healing pills, Chen Sanshi returned to the city wall.
"Junior Brother?"
Cheng Wei and the others looked on with concern.
"Just superficial injuries. Nothing serious,"
Chen Sanshi said calmly.
"Daoist Chen,"
Huang Laojiu took out a porcelain bottle from his robe. "This old man has some healing pills here. I hope you won't mind."
"Thank you for your help, Senior,"
Chen Sanshi did not intend to take them, but he still accepted the pills and clasped his fists in thanks.
In his heart, however, his confusion deepened.
According to his earlier judgment,
Huang Laojiu's true realm likely exceeded Qi Refining.
Yet just now, he had only used a second-tier talisman and had not personally taken action.
What was he waiting for?
Was he waiting for Longqing to die, so the enemy army would collapse on its own?
Or was Chen Sanshi's judgment mistaken—was this person truly only a Qi Refining cultivator, and the reason his qi-observation technique could not see through him was merely due to a special cultivation method?
No matter what, he could only rely on himself.
"Th-the former emperor has emerged from seclusion!"
The already demoralized commanders within the city grew even more uneasy.
"He's become an immortal?!"
"Has the former emperor really become an immortal?"
Many people did not understand the divisions of cultivator realms. All they felt was that Emperor Longqing, wielding the Dragon Abyss Sword, carried an aura like the Dao Ancestor himself, or a sword immortal incarnate.
Even though Wei Xuan repeatedly explained that Foundation Establishment cultivators had a lifespan of only two hundred years and were not true immortals, it was still impossible to fully stabilize morale.
After only about half a day had passed, the imperial court once again launched a probing attack on the city.
With no way to resist a Foundation Establishment cultivator,
Huang Laojiu had no choice but to activate the Mystic Armor Xun Wind Formation at full power.
The enemy army began day and night to use the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation to wear down the city-protecting formation.
"My spirit stones—my spirit stones!"
Huang Laojiu wailed incessantly.
Outside the city.
The million-strong army.
The central command tent.
"We, your servants, pay our respects to Your Majesty."
The Prince of Qin and many generals clasped their fists and bowed.
"You cultivators—why are you not saluting?!"
Huang Hong pointed at Yuan Simiao of the Shengyun Sect and shouted harshly.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Yuan Simiao frowned. "We cultivators are not subjects of your Sheng Dynasty. Is following the rites of the jianghu not enough?"
"How dare you!"
Huang Hong's shrill voice suddenly rose. "This is the Son of Heaven of the Celestial Dynasty! How could he be compared to a mundane ruler? Even cultivators, upon seeing the Myriad-Longevity Emperor in Eastern Divine Continent, must perform the rites of a subject! Otherwise, you will be punished according to the laws of our Great Sheng Dynasty!"
"What did you say?!"
Yuan Simiao was furious and about to erupt, but then he saw Cao Kai seated cross-legged on a cushion, eyes closed in meditation. He immediately let out a cold laugh.
So this was it…
They had turned hostile!
Feigning humility first, then showing dominance!
Not long ago, the one surnamed Cao had still been humbly begging the Shengyun Sect to cooperate, offering Foundation Establishment Pills and other resources in exchange.
Now that he had succeeded in Foundation Establishment, he had immediately changed his face.
And yet…
There was truly nothing Yuan Simiao could do about it.
The other party possessed an ancient treasure capable of resisting the Heaven-and-Earth Seal and was the only Foundation Establishment cultivator in this world.
To put it bluntly,
Even if he were killed on the spot for failing to salute, as long as Emperor Longqing did not leave the sealed domain, even if the Shengyun Sect's ancestor arrived, there would be nothing he could do!
Moreover…
If the Shengyun Sect still wanted the ancestral vein of Mang Mountain, they could not even afford to fall out with him. In fact, they might end up having to curry favor with him in the future.
The offensive and defensive positions had reversed.
This man truly knew how to endure humiliation for the greater cause.
After weighing the pros and cons, Yuan Simiao did not stubbornly cling to his pride. In the end, he led his fellow disciples and respectfully bowed toward the emperor's direction:
"Yuan Simiao of the Shengyun Sect pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor."
"You may rise."
Only then did Emperor Longqing slowly open his eyes and speak in a deep voice:
"What is the situation in Kunyang City?"
"In reply to Father Emperor,"
The Prince of Qin clasped his fists. "Each time we attack, they activate the city-protecting formation. However, Sixth Brother and most of the Guiyuan Sect cultivators have already withdrawn. As long as we continue to wear them down, the day the formation collapses will be the day they are completely annihilated."
"Daoist Ling Kui,"
Emperor Longqing turned his gaze slightly. "I will personally remain here. You take several Shengyun Sect disciples and go slaughter the Guiyuan Sect's traitors."
Previously, Cao Huan and the others had been able to withdraw smoothly.
The primary reason was that the army still needed a True Force middle-stage cultivator to hold the line.
But now that Longqing had emerged from seclusion, the situation was completely different.
"Understood."
Ling Kui wasted no words. With a dogtail grass stem clenched between his teeth, he left the command tent and led seven or eight cultivators to pursue Cao Huan and the civil and military officials of the new court.
At the same time,
The remaining cultivators of the Shengyun Sect coordinated with Shan Liangcheng's Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation, launching round-the-clock bombardment against the city-protecting formation.
"Don't panic, don't panic!"
Huang Laojiu tried to calm others down, yet he himself scurried about in all directions. "The spirit stones we brought from the sect are indeed used up. But this old man has saved a little over the years—enough to hold on for a while longer."
"Damn it!"
Watching the barrier sway continuously, Wei Xuan angrily drove his broad blade into the ground. "Not only does the enemy now have a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but our own number of cultivators is pitifully small!
"Do these people really value their own interests above everything else?!
"If everyone advanced and retreated together, sharing life and death, perhaps there would still be a chance for a desperate counterattack!"
Even he, an outsider, could see it clearly.
The retreat of the Zhengtong Emperor and the others had little to do with the relationship between the white-robed figure and Cloudtop Palace. The main reason was that those people feared death and wanted to preserve their strength, worrying that if they won this battle, the Northern Liang army would become overwhelmingly dominant.
At the moment of life and death, they were still fighting among themselves!
Just as panic spread through the city, cries for help suddenly came from the direction of the northern city gate behind them.
"Open the formation!"
"Let us in!"
Guiyuan Sect cultivator Qian Qiren appeared out of nowhere, flying on his sword. Blocked outside the barrier, his expression was anxious as he shouted repeatedly.
"Qian Qiren?!"
Wang Zhi said bluntly, "Didn't you all run away? Why are you back now?!"
"General Wang, quickly have Senior Huang open the formation!"
Qian Qiren said urgently. "Ling Kui is leading people in a decapitation strike against us—he'll catch up any moment now!"
They had only just learned that Emperor Longqing had successfully reached Foundation Establishment.
At such a time, if they did not hide within the city-protecting formation, it was basically a death sentence!
"Wait!"
Wang Zhi said warily. "You haven't defected, have you? Trying to trick us into lowering the formation?"
"Wang Zhi, why do you slander me like this?!"
Qian Qiren roared in fury. "I am a direct disciple under the Guiyuan Sect's Sect Master True Person! Anyone might betray the sect, but I never would!"
As he spoke,
One flying vessel after another appeared in the rear.
Looking closely, one could see that the Guiyuan Sect cultivators had abandoned their troops and fled back in disgrace, carrying only the Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan and some high-ranking officials.
"Good!"
Wang Zhi felt a surge of vindictive satisfaction. "You only cared about saving your own lives before. Now you can just wait outside to die!"
"Senior Brother, let them in."
Chen Sanshi spoke up.
First, the city now needed manpower.
Second—and more importantly—one must not forget that Huang Laojiu was from the Guiyuan Sect. At present, everything depended on this second-tier formation master. Naturally, he would not allow his fellow disciples to be left outside.
Sure enough,
No sooner had the words been spoken than the city-protecting formation briefly contracted.
Qian Qiren, Cui Zichen, and the others immediately rushed in with the Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan and the high officials, and only then did the formation return to full power.
At that moment, the front city wall was still engaged in battle, and they had almost let in a large number of cultivators.
"What are we supposed to do now?!"
The Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan paced anxiously. "Fa-father Emperor—how could he emerge from seclusion so quickly?!"
One had to know,
When he had ascended the throne, it had been under the banner of "Longqing's ascension, rightful succession."
Now that Longqing had emerged, was it not a brutal slap in his own face?
"What Longqing?"
Shangguan Haichang reminded him, "Your Majesty, that is clearly a demonic Daoist. What does he have to do with the former emperor?!"
"Oh, right, right, right!"
The Zhengtong Emperor suddenly realized. "Some demonic Daoist from who knows where, daring to impersonate Father Emperor and defy the former emperor!"
The spread of news required time.
As long as they could win this battle before the truth spread, not many people would ever know.
And that was precisely the problem.
At present, forget about winning.
With Longqing having reached Foundation Establishment, who among them could oppose him?
If this continued, they would likely all die inside Kunyang City!
"Quick, quick—invite Immortal Master Huang!"
"Senior Huang!"
Cui Zichen privately found the elderly cultivator and asked anxiously, "Things have reached this point—does the upper sect truly not intend to deploy its trump card?"
"That's right, Senior,"
Qian Qiren added. "We can't drag this out any longer."
Back then, his master—the Guiyuan Sect's Sect Master True Person—had personally said that the sect had obtained a treasure capable of obscuring the secrets of heaven, and that they would send a senior capable of suppressing Eastern Divine Continent to decisively settle the realm and seize the Mang Mountain ancestral vein.
They had thought Huang Laojiu was that person.
But when he appeared and turned out not to be an elder of any of the Guiyuan Nine Peaks, they began to feel that he truly might only be a Qi Refining Perfection second-tier formation master—perhaps just of higher seniority.
Otherwise, with Longqing revealing himself, why had he still not taken action?
Moreover, at the beginning Huang Laojiu had even been unfamiliar with the formations, and the strength he displayed was worrying, making it even more likely that he was not the trump card at all, but merely a formation master sent to test the waters.
For this very reason,
Cao Huan had led people to retreat earlier.
Now, facing a desperate situation,
Cui Zichen and the others could no longer help voicing their doubts.