บท 4: 1288-1289
Chapter 1,288 The tip of the needle versus the wheat awn
"They let them escape? What are you all doing!"
"The speed of these monks is too fast! Their movements are coordinated and well-trained, not at all like a ragtag group."
"It's not about speed; they disappeared into thin air right before our eyes!"
A video spread across the Starry Web of the Holy Dynasty.
Just when the attackers were about to be caught by the Holy Dynasty's warriors, they vanished into nothingness, dissipating into the air at the crucial moment.
The warriors thought the opponents had teleported away and attempted to continue the pursuit.
But they found no trace of spatial fluctuations.
"Requesting support. The number of soldiers in Luoyan State is at its limit just holding Tiancheng. We lack the strength to pursue and eliminate the remaining forces of the Immortal Alliance within our borders."
"Over here in Shilinzhou, we've completely eliminated the resistance. We can head over!"
"We're almost there too! Hang in there, brother!"
...
Sun Erlang was reviewing the communications within the eastern battlefield, considering whether to deploy additional troops to encircle Luoyan State.
Suddenly, like a flash of lightning in his mind, Sun Erlang felt a sudden jolt, followed by a surge of doubt.
He suddenly remembered something his master had once mentioned.
"No, something's wrong. Luoyan State... Luoyan State should have been destroyed once before. Although the Immortal Alliance later rebuilt it, there's no way there could be so many monks defending it..."
"How could I forget such an important thing?"
A gleam flashed in Sun Erlang's eyes. Realizing something was amiss, he immediately issued an order to all soldiers of the Holy Dynasty: "Hold all reinforcements to Luoyan State. I will personally send someone to handle it."
"The 36th Army, tasked with defending Luoyan State, should also retreat as soon as possible."
Military orders were as unyielding as mountains.
Without any questions asked, the order was executed promptly.
"I am Lan Xiangwen, commander of the 36th Army of the First Legion. I have led my troops in the retreat. According to the order, we have withdrawn to Lueying State."
"But... I don't see our people here."
"Lan Xiangwen, what nonsense are you talking about? We've been waiting for you at the rendezvous point, and you haven't shown up! Where exactly are you?"
"No, the location of Lan Xiangwen and his 36th Army still shows within the boundaries of Luoyan State! What are you doing?!"
...
Chaos began to emerge in the internal communications of the eastern battlefield.
Wang Xuanba, the commander of the eastern battlefield, decisively isolated the communication of this group and began inquiring about their situation in detail.
Then Sun Erlang's voice also came through.
"Xuanba, something's not right here. According to my findings, after the 36th Army entered Luoyan State, their location has never changed. It's like they've fallen into a sleep."
"So, any reports they've made, don't believe them. It must be illusions from their dreams."
Wang Xuanba was somewhat shocked: "I've already sent a body of a strange beast to sneak in there and found nothing. But I never thought it would be an illusion?"
"Indeed, we did break through the newly built Luoyan Tiancheng. The first batch of soldiers who moved did leave Luoyan State. It must be some sort of method initiated by the Immortal Alliance afterward. Or perhaps, it's not even the Immortal Alliance..." Sun Erlang shared his conclusion.
"My puppet body has already reached inside Luoyan State..."
Before Sun Erlang, the scene of Luoyan State appeared.
The location of Wang Xuanba's strange beast body sensed by the Starry Sea did not show any human figures.
In fact, there was no sign of battle in the entire Luoyan State.
All was calm.
"Even a puppet body can be dragged into the illusion?" Sun Erlang's heart grew heavy.
"It's just a pity that what's fake will never become real!"
A puppet with interlacing patterns of black and gold extended its arm.
Energy surged through the puppet's body, and a longbow made of pure golden energy appeared in its hands in an instant.
As the bow was drawn, a silver arrow materialized.
Buzz!
After a brief charge, a silver light shot forth like a dragon, tearing through the sky.
The immense energy shattered the space ahead, about to reveal the truth beneath the illusionary exterior.
At that moment, a pale hand emerged from the void without any warning.
It gently grasped the arrow.
Despite the arrow's fierce silver light, it was firmly held in place, immovable.
Eventually, the light completely extinguished, and in that hand, it turned into an ordinary arrow.
The space previously pierced by the arrow also restored itself.
The pale arm that stopped the arrow, showing no signs of Sun Erlang's puppet, gradually became dim and vanished.
Sun Erlang snorted coldly.
Mysterious golden energy surged from within the puppet's body.
"Pfft!"
A pair of arms stretched out from behind the puppet.
Then another pair grew from the left side of its torso.
In total, eight pairs, or sixteen arms, appeared before the puppet's movements finally ceased.
Due to the additional limbs, the overall size of the puppet also expanded.
Golden patterns seemed to come to life, flowing continuously over its surface.
Boom!
Like thunder descending upon the world, eight longbows appeared in the puppet's hands.
The bowstrings were drawn, pointing eight arrows in different directions, ready to launch.
"Break for me!"
Sun Erlang roared.
Eight silver dragons roared furiously, shooting out from the central puppet in all directions.
Gold and silver clashed, even briefly overshadowing the moonlight from the sky.
It was as if only this forceful creation existed between heaven and earth.
Wherever the arrows passed, space shattered like broken glass, exploding layer by layer.
But strangely, those fragments didn't continue to fly outward.
Instead, they remained suspended in the air.
The silver dragons continued to rush forward, completely demolishing everything in their path.
However, the areas they destroyed seemed to freeze in time.
The true scene beyond the illusion, therefore, did not fully reveal itself.
What caused Sun Erlang's pupils to shrink was the reappearance of that pale arm.
This time, however, it didn't attempt to stop the eight arrows.
Instead, it methodically, yet swiftly, collected the frozen, illusionary fragments, one by one, and placed them back in their original positions.
If this pale arm were allowed to continue restoring everything, the mighty and potentially devastating dance of the eight Heaven-Piercing Arrows would be as if a punch had landed on cotton, utterly ineffective.
Sun Erlang, naturally, would not let his opponent succeed.
"Even if it's just a puppet body, to not even show a face from start to end..."
"Isn't that a bit too dismissive of me!"
The puppet's sixteen arms moved across its body.
They twisted and merged, turning in the blink of an eye into a pair of incredibly thick arms, almost the size of the puppet's body itself.
The puppet instantly teleported in front of the pale arm.
And grasped it firmly!
However, this seemingly delicate arm contained unimaginable strength.
Creaking sounds emanated...
The puppet's huge arms not only failed to stop it but were forcibly continued in the original direction of motion by the opposing force.
The dark golden patterns on the puppet were already running at their limit.
Sun Erlang even felt that in this intense confrontation of strength, the puppet's body was also reaching its limit of endurance.
The next moment, it would disintegrate.
A cold gleam flashed in Sun Erlang's eyes.
Energy support from other dark gold puppets was instantly infused into it.
Boom!
Covered in golden light, the puppet's body instantly expanded several times.
The surge in power forcefully turned the pale arm's movement around.
Not willing to give in, energy erupted to its peak, intending to drag out the true mastermind behind these tricks.
The thought was beautiful, but just as Sun Erlang felt he was about to achieve his goal, a sudden chill surged in his heart.
Then, he felt...
As if another cold, pale arm was placed on the puppet's shoulder.
Gently exerting force, the puppet's extreme state was broken.
The body staggered, losing balance.
Before it could adjust, Sun Erlang felt one after another pale hand, emerging from the void.
Pressed on the puppet's body.
Each hand's strength seemed not very strong.
But they were so firm, united, pressing on the puppet, like mountains and seas.
In an instant, the puppet was submerged under a pile of white hands, unable to move.
Buzz!
A drop of blood fell from Sun Erlang's eyes, forcibly withdrawing from controlling the puppet.
He had a premonition that if he continued to control the puppet and was pulled into that unknown place by those pale arms, his own body would also suffer severe damage.
"Immortal realm..." At this moment, Sun Erlang had confirmed the opponent's strength.
It was no longer something he could contend with. Despite a trace of unwillingness, Sun Erlang did not force the issue.
"You can step back now, leave this to me." Fortunately, at this moment, the voice of a skilled craftsman sounded next to the puppet's ear.
"This treasure, I finally managed to create it after much effort. I can't hand it over to you..." The craftsman muttered, his figure appearing next to the dark gold puppet.
The knife light in his hand simply traced a circle on those tightly gripping pale arms.
Countless arms broke off like torn paper from the incision.
"Go!"
The craftsman patted the dark gold puppet's shoulder, and the puppet gradually returned to its normal size.
Then, with a flash of light, it teleported away from the place.
At the last moment, Sun Erlang noticed that the craftsman had cut off halves of pale arms, which turned out to be just segments of willow branches.
"Willow?"
The craftsman also had the same question.
He wanted to pick up the cut willow branches but grasped at air.
In the moment he was distracted, the densely packed thousands of pale arms had already merged back into the space, disappearing from sight.
"Not even showing a hand? That's really not giving me, the craftsman, any face."
There was no anger on the craftsman's face, just curiosity as he took out a circular copper disc from his chest.
On the copper disc, several little figures in comical poses were placed.
Initially, the figures were frolicking, but as soon as the craftsman took out the disc, they immediately became nervous and anxious.
Pointing in different directions.
Without the craftsman making any moves, a shadow-like rope flew out from beside him.
Rapidly flying away, it vanished into the air.
After a while, as if it had collided with something, the black rope started to sway.
As long as the copper disc's figures kept pointing, the craftsman's nearby black shadow kept shooting out.
Soon, a strange and eerie black giant net was constructed around the craftsman as the center.
The figures in the copper disc seemed to have fulfilled their purpose, patting their chests in relief.
However, the craftsman reached out and picked up one of the figures.
Although the figure was very unwilling, it had no choice. With a whistle, one figure became two.
With a flip, two became four.
In no time, from a single figure, it turned into an army of figures.
Each figure, with a sullen face, jumped onto the black rope.
Then, under a vaguely uniform command, the figures began to simultaneously drag the black shadow in front of them.
The giant black net immediately contracted.
The surrounding space slightly trembled, and the restored fragments exploded again.
Something seemed to be about to be pulled out from the surface of the illusion.
The craftsman squinted his eyes, waiting, while muttering, "Even the Immortal Puppet Ancestor can be pulled, how could you not?"
A sigh sounded out of nowhere.
Melancholy notes of a qin seemed to come from the horizon.
The figures, full of vigor a moment ago, suddenly became listless and began to slack off.
The craftsman showed a vigilant expression, looking around.
"Why must we fight..."
The plaintive voice kept echoing around the craftsman.
The craftsman looked around and then smiled: "Well said! Why must we fight a battle? I, the craftsman, am not good at fighting..."
"Since neither of us wishes to fight, why not sit down and have a good talk?"
To prove his sincerity, the craftsman even put away the copper disc.
The figures joyfully ended their work, and the craftsman looked around with a smile: "I am from the Mechanism Realm, the craftsman. May I ask for your name?"
The opponent was indeed a strong being from the Immortal realm.
But during the short confrontation with the craftsman, he did not feel any reversal of the natural laws of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Thus, he judged that the opponent, like him, came from another destroyed cultivation realm survivor.
After a moment of silence, that gentle and solemn voice sounded again: "I... don't remember."
The chapter continues...
"Simply put, I don't wish to see strife. There's no malice."
As the opponent spoke, the craftsman saw the entire Luoyan Tiancheng and the monks of both the Immortal Alliance and the Holy Dynasty, blissfully fallen into sleep. Their lives were safe.
The craftsman also relaxed.
Although not afraid, it was best not to make an enemy of a being from the Immortal realm.
"Actually, we also mean no harm..."
The craftsman smiled and started chatting with the opponent.
Sun Erlang, on the other hand, received the message from the craftsman and sighed softly: "The Immortal realm is indeed vastly different from the Dao Union."
"But, if all the dark gold puppets were present at that time..."
"It might not have been impossible to fight."
...
If the Holy Dynasty's army's defeat in Luoyan State was just an accident,
Then their experience in Tianling State was an undeniable proof of the Immortal Alliance's foundation.
After a lot of effort, the Holy Dynasty army took down Tianling City, only to find it was a trap.
The city's important cultivators had already been evacuated.
Leaving behind some cultivators without backgrounds to resist with mechanisms and magical instruments.
The Holy Dynasty soldiers quickly realized it might be a trap but couldn't retreat in time before the entire Tianling City exploded.
The floating city, along with nearly ten thousand cultivators from both sides, vanished in an instant.
In the sky, falling phenomena burst forth.
Various bizarre scenes mixed and twisted, making it difficult to distinguish.
In a hidden valley in Tianling State,
"Thanks to Brother Sun's warning, our Tianling State could turn disaster into fortune." Tianling City Lord Song Mansheng stroked his beard and smiled.
Sun Liancheng's gaze still lingered on the distant sky where a giant fireball was: "It's all thanks to the city lord's wisdom. Without your decisive action, even if I had made the suggestion, the enemy's casualties wouldn't have been so high."
The other cultivators in the valley echoed: "Yes, according to our surveillance in the city, at least more than ten thousand bandits were buried in this explosion."
"Heh, you're mistaken. It was clearly twenty thousand!"
"…Ah, yes, yes, yes. I was confused! Twenty thousand, it's indeed twenty thousand! We have the video evidence!"
The group unspokenly agreed.
"What exactly are these people's origins? They attacked without warning, and most importantly, they could even affect the teleportation array and the Heavenly Mystery Mirror." Sun Liancheng interrupted the celebration.
"It's probably not the Five Elders Conference. I've fought with cultivators from the Five Elders Conference before, and the aura I sensed from them was completely different."
"Who cares about their origins? As long as the Immortal Alliance's central force makes a move, they all have to die. They're just rampant for a while!"
"Lord Song, should we take advantage of the chaos and strike for more merits?"
Someone in the valley suggested.
Song Mansheng pondered for a moment but didn't make a decision, instead looking at Sun Liancheng.
Sun Liancheng's eyes narrowed, remaining silent for a long time.
After waiting for a long time, Sun Liancheng finally shook his head: "The situation is unclear, I can't make a judgment."
Song Mansheng nodded in agreement: "If that's the case, then let's wait. With the situation unclear, it's not wise to act rashly."
Naturally, everyone in the valley agreed.
However, Song Mansheng and Sun Liancheng had a private conversation away from the others.
"Brother Sun, you didn't tell the truth just now, did you?" Song Mansheng said solemnly.
Sun Liancheng gave a wry smile: "I really can't say it directly. Otherwise, I'm afraid it would shake everyone's morale!"
Song Mansheng's expression became grave: "Is it that serious?"
Sun Liancheng said: "Yes. Lord, you also know that I was able to predict the bandits' attack this time entirely because of our Sun family's fate sensing. That day, while chatting with my nephew, I suddenly felt our family's fate flickering like a candle in the wind, about to extinguish..."
"In extreme fear, after much effort, I finally confirmed that the reason wasn't from within the Immortal Alliance but from an external attack. I originally thought it would be an attack from the Five Elders Conference, but unexpectedly, it was a group of unknown bandits."
"During this time, the future fate of our family has been fluctuating. One moment it's rich and noble, the next it's a sign of the bloodline being cut off. It's truly frightening…" Sun Liancheng sighed.
Hearing this, Song Mansheng's brow furrowed even more.
Sun Liancheng advised: "Regardless, with the merit of blowing up the city, when it comes time to reward and recognize contributions, Lord's merit will certainly not be small. The merit is already completely sufficient, why take unnecessary risks? It seems the opponent's reinforcements will arrive soon, and those bandits' combat strength is not low. Rather than taking risks, it's better to hide here in the valley."
"With the natural formation concealing us, they should not be able to detect us…"
Song Mansheng was eventually persuaded, suppressing the eager thoughts in his heart.
Sun Liancheng's judgment seemed extremely correct.
In just a short half-day, Song Mansheng saw a large number of bandits swarming over.
They looked angry and searched every corner of Tianling State carefully.
When they flew over the valley, everyone's heart skipped a beat.
Fortunately, fate was on their side, and they were not exposed.
"How many have come? We didn't stir up a hornet's nest, did we?"
"Why do we only see the opponent's reinforcements? Where are our Immortal Alliance people?"
Inside the valley, everyone was nervously looking up at the sky and whispering.
Gone was the ease from before.
Sun Qi, from the Sun family, quietly approached Sun Liancheng.
"Uncle, something's not right."
Sun Liancheng's expression changed slightly, then he became extremely vigilant, ensuring no one was paying attention before communicating with Sun Qi through voice transmission.
"The fluctuating fate of our family has begun to stabilize on one side. Staying here might lead to a dead end."
Sun Liancheng shuddered.
He trusted his nephew's words very much.
It was precisely because of his seemingly miraculous intuition that they set up the ambush and detonated the city, eliminating a large number of bandits.
Within the universe, families prosper and decline.
And Sun Qi's cultivation of the Reversed Qiankun Record could reverse this trend, making the family's fate even more concentrated.
The cost is that the more prosperous the family, the more concentrated the accumulated forces of decline will be on the cultivator of this technique.
Breaking through each realm became as difficult as reaching the heavens. Only those with exceptional talent could break through.
Sun Qi was such a genius.
"We'll move immediately." Sun Liancheng decisively made the decision.
"How do we leave now with everyone watching? And there are so many people from our Sun family." Sun Qi was somewhat uneasy.
"I've prepared in advance." Sun Liancheng said with confidence.
Inside the valley, the Sun family members quietly gathered.
However, to the eyes of others, they had not left and were still discussing matters as if they were still there.
"This [Golden Cicada's Shedding] treasure was something I obtained during an adventure when I was young. I've always been reluctant to use it, but now is the time when it must be used." Sun Liancheng sighed.
The Sun family members, without anyone in the valley noticing, had already quietly left through a secret passage in the valley known only to Sun Liancheng.
"Quick, the treasure's ability to conceal our aura won't last long. Let's find another place to hide." Sun Liancheng urged.
As they were leaving, several beams of white light streaked across the sky, coming from afar.
Their target was precisely the valley they had just left.
Boom boom boom!
The white light hit its target, unleashing unimaginable terrifying energy from the valley floor.
In the midst of the earth's roaring, shockwaves swept over in succession.
Blowing the fleeing Sun family members off their feet.
Fortunately, the treasure's concealment function was still effective, preventing their exposure.
Sun Liancheng and Sun Qi looked at the valley, now a huge circular void, with shocked expressions, their bodies stiff, their minds blank.
"A Dao Union attack! The explosion just now definitely had the power of a full-strength strike from a Dao Union expert!"
"Was that... an arrow?"
Just as Sun Liancheng was stunned, he saw several more white arrows whistling past in the sky.
His head instinctively ducked, and upon realizing the arrows were not headed towards him, he hurriedly led the Sun family members towards the next planned hiding place.
"It's not right, the entire Tianling State is no longer safe. It's not suitable to stay here; we need to find another place to take refuge."
Trembling on the way, Sun Liancheng suddenly had an epiphany and changed their direction on the spot.
He led them towards Shanteng State, which bordered Tianling State, in a frantic escape.
As they were about to reach the border's white fog barrier, the ground of Tianling State suddenly shook violently.
Then, a terrifying scene that the Sun family members would never forget in their lifetimes occurred.
In the sky, five rings interlocked, materializing from the void to reality, descending upon the world.
From above the five rings, countless tentacles stretched out, reaching towards Tianling State below.
One of them was headed straight for the Sun family members.
"Not good!" Sun Qi's face changed drastically, shouting out loud.
Sun Liancheng had already acted faster.
No longer caring about the family.
Alone, he turned into a streak of blood light, speeding towards the nearby white fog barrier.
But this blood light, visibly slowing down to the naked eye under the escape technique of burning the soul, seemed to be pulled and obstructed by countless tiny tentacles in the air.
The blood light dissipated, and Sun Liancheng revealed his true form.
Even losing the ability to fly, he fell heavily from the sky.
The dark tentacles in the sky quickly locked onto him.
Violently penetrating Sun Liancheng's body.
Sun Liancheng frantically tried to use spells to resist, but the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to solidify, not responding at all.
Without any resistance, the dark tentacles quickly passed through Sun Liancheng.
The Sun family members screamed, but they too were caught by tentacles emerging from the sky one by one.
The cries lasted only a moment before Sun Liancheng's body was assimilated into the same dark tentacles.
Even the sky showed no sign of falling phenomena.
Sun Liancheng seemed not to have died but turned into one of those dark tentacles.
The Sun family members were all captured, but only Sun Qi felt a coldness in his heart.
He dared not move.
Indeed, of the entire Sun family, only he, Sun Qi, was spared.
Because at the moment those terrifying tentacles locked onto him, Sun Qi had a premonition.
Among thousands of deadly paths, he found the only shining path of survival.
So, without any hesitation, he used the Transformation Chapter of the [Supreme Primordial True Scripture] to disperse all his cultivation.
And expelled all the spiritual energy stored in his body from within.
Without any reservation, he completely became an ordinary person.
A thick, arm-sized dark tentacle slowly floated past Sun Qi.
As if sentient, it circled around Sun Qi once.
Being so close, Sun Qi finally saw clearly that these dark tentacles were actually composed of countless densely packed black bugs.
Not daring to breathe, Sun Qi remained stiff.
Fortunately, after judging Sun Qi to be purely a non-cultivator, the dark tentacle left him alone.
Taking the entire Sun family, now also turned into black bugs, and whistling away.
Sun Qi remained in his original stiff posture, not daring to move.
Only after half a day did he collapse to the ground, completely exhausted.
"What in the world was that..."
His mind was filled with countless thoughts, and it took him a while to gather his strength.
Looking at the nearby white fog barrier and the sky where the five rings had gradually faded.
Sun Qi bit his lip and began cultivating again.
After a short period of closed-eye cultivation, Sun Qi opened his eyes again.
He keenly felt that the spiritual energy in the world...
Was different from before.
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Chapter 1,289 The Holy Emperor's Remaining Thoughts
Sun Qi lifted his hand, attempting to touch the sky. Without any deliberate effort to draw it in, the surrounding spiritual energy eagerly swarmed into his body. This sensation... Sun Qi had not experienced it for a long time. It felt as though a towering tree pressing down on him had been toppled, leaving him with an unprecedented sense of relief.
"Hehehe..." After being dazed for a moment, a fierce gleam gradually appeared in Sun Qi's eyes. "Indeed, what family, what kin, all are but burdens!"
"To reverse the cosmos, to invert the universe, at the end of this path lies unparalleled singularity!"
"I am the Sun family! The Sun family is me!"
"One family's prosperity, all mine to claim..."
Having lived in the shadow of his family for the first half of his life, now, by a twist of fate, all his relatives had perished. Sun Qi did not feel much sorrow; instead, he felt a thrill he had never experienced before. He even vaguely sensed that with the death of the other members of the Sun family, the overall fortune of the family did not disperse and vanish but slowly gathered towards him.
"Give me ten years, no, five, and I will not only return to my former glory but might even reach the realm of merging with the Dao..." The beautiful future foreseen by his strong intuition made Sun Qi's body tremble with excitement, even making him want to laugh out loud.
However, another silver-white arrow whistling by overhead instantly turned his complexion pale and made him shudder.
"Heavenly Sovereign above! Could it really be that monks from beyond the Xuanhuang realm are attacking..."
Sun Qi shrank his head and looked at the white mist barrier not far away, biting his teeth and actively speeding up the absorption of spiritual energy.
"I cannot stay in Tianlingzhou any longer. I must leave quickly..."
"It's just a pity that all those burdens have been taken away by tentacles. To cross the white mist barrier, I still have to rely on myself."
Sun Qi, who had started from scratch, made rapid progress in his cultivation. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had returned to the peak state of Qi refining.
With more and more bandits flying in the sky, Sun Qi felt increasingly urgent.
"Now that I can control flying artifacts, it's time to find a safe place first."
"Crossing just one state barrier won't reduce much of my lifespan."
"After returning to the Foundation Establishment stage, I can observe the future fortunes again. But I can't wait now..."
Sun Qi made up his mind, and a transparent sphere enveloped him, flying straight into the white mist.
As he neared Mount Tengzhou, Sun Qi shockingly discovered that there seemed to be figures hidden in the white mist ahead.
Shocked, he immediately stopped the flying artifact.
But it was too late.
"Who goes there!"
A loud shout, accompanied by colorful magical attacks, flew out from the white mist and bombarded Sun Qi.
Without even a chance to scream, Sun Qi was instantly reduced to ash!
"Target eliminated, alert lifted!"
The squadron leader of the Third Legion of Daqi, Cai Yongchen, after inspecting the scene, reported back.
"Just a Qi refining cultivator, probably a panicking monk from the Xianmeng trying to flee."
"Bad luck, I thought it was a big fish!"
"Such a poor fellow, to stumble directly into our alert zone..."
"Stop chatting, let's sweep this area clean!" Cai Yongchen snorted coldly, interrupting his subordinates' idle talk.
He suddenly sneezed.
As if something left by the Xianmeng monk, who was blasted to death without a whole corpse, had somehow entered his body.
Cai Yongchen became vigilant and carefully checked himself, but found nothing unusual.
However, his professional ethics as a leader of the Daqi Legion made him not overlook it.
He seriously reported the cause of the incident and his own feelings through the Holy Emperor's vast network.
After reporting, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and continued to lead his subordinates in the cleanup task.
...
...
In Sun Erlang's sea of consciousness, reports of such incidents continuously emerged. This included details of the holy army puppets lost on the battlefield, the number of celestial arrows, the injured and fallen soldiers of Daqi, and even the list of forces that had been captured alive or surrendered by the Wanxian Alliance...
There was also a list of newly produced materials within the territories of the Holy Dynasty of Daqi.
A group of massive, constantly changing data flashed.
Based on this, the scenarios of the battle situation being deduced in Sun Erlang's sea of consciousness, illuminated by a faint blue light from the transformation stone, also underwent corresponding changes.
Although there was some resistance from the states of the Wanxian Alliance, the vast majority of the Xianmeng territories had completely fallen into the hands of the Holy Dynasty.
The transmission images in Tiancheng were suppressed by the Holy Emperor's talismans, and new suppression and communication formations were quickly established.
"In the deduction, the victory rate of the Holy Dynasty on the outer battlefields is getting higher."
"Once the situation stabilizes, we can focus on tackling those tough bones."
"Currently, thirty-four Xianmeng cultivators who have merged with the Dao have appeared on the outer battlefields. Those who should have appeared but have not yet shown up number over a hundred..."
Thinking of this huge number, Sun Erlang couldn't help but feel a heavy burden.
Although the Xianmeng had the powerful weapon of the celestial arrows, the cultivators who had merged with the Dao were not just sitting ducks who would stand still and let you attack.
The soldiers of Daqi needed to contain them.
Casualties were inevitable.
"Fortunately, the previous Plan of Escaping Realm's Rainbow Light drew away a large number of old Xianmeng cultivators who had merged with the Dao. Otherwise, this war would have been even more difficult."
Sun Erlang looked at the miniature map of the Xianmeng territories.
In addition to the areas of contention marked in yellow and purple, a unique grey color was spreading indiscriminately across all areas.
Starting from Tianlingzhou, it slowly spread out.
Wherever the grey color took over, in the deductions of the transformation stone, the Holy Dynasty would quickly resolve the battle with absolute victory.
"The Pathogen of Dao..."
In front of Sun Erlang appeared the scene where a Xianmeng cultivator who had merged with the Dao was captured alive by a team of Daqi soldiers wearing holy army armor.
The soul of heaven and earth sacrificed by the Xianmeng cultivator was the [Red Vine].
After the city of Mount Teng was conquered by the soldiers of the Holy Dynasty, the Red Vine Xianzun arrived too late.
Like a fiery dragon, countless vines burst open between heaven and earth, wildly and savagely growing. The branches of the vines, carrying tremendous power, wildly swept through, knocking down a large number of Holy Dynasty soldiers from the sky like swatting flies.
The Red Vine took root in mid-air and proliferated on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, it had already covered the entire Mount Teng state. The original mountainous landscape was suddenly transformed into a dense primeval jungle of vines.
Facing the omnipresent, sentient red vines, the forces of three legions of the Holy Dynasty were immediately put into a tough battle.
Even with puppet armor for protection, they could not withstand being entangled and continuously roasted and absorbed.
It seemed as if this Xianmeng cultivator who had merged with the Dao really intended to turn the tide with his own strength and reclaim Mount Teng state.
However, the battle situation suddenly changed when a shadow inexplicably descended, covering the sky.
The originally vigorous red vines suddenly became weak and powerless as if hit by frost.
Even the color of their own flames dimmed a bit.
In contrast, the soldiers of the Holy Dynasty, who were previously deeply mired in a tough battle and exhausted, became invigorated as soon as the grey color arrived, becoming more lively and vigorous than before.
Even their attacks became more ferocious!
Casually launching an attack would tear open a hole in the previously seemingly indestructible Red Vine.
The wounds on the Red Vine did not heal as before but grew larger in the continuous battle.
It was as if some invisible existence was constantly gnawing at it!
The Holy Dynasty's counterattack lasted only an hour.
The enormous creature that had occupied a state's territory was finally reduced to the size of half an adult.
Captured by the soldiers of the Holy Dynasty, it was locked in a specially made cage designed to detain Xianmeng cultivators who had merged with the Dao.
This cage could isolate the cultivator inside from the external world and force the power of the soul of heaven and earth within their bodies into a dormant state.
Once detained, the cultivator who had merged with the Dao would become as powerless as an ordinary person, completely unable to escape.
After being captured, all the Xianmeng cultivators who had merged with the Dao were sent to the rear of the Holy Dynasty of Daqi for unified detention.
As the Pathogen of Dao spread, the number of captured cultivators who had merged with the Dao continued to rise.
The situation on the outer battlefields gradually stabilized, and Sun Erlang's burden lightened slightly.
Pressing his swollen forehead, Sun Erlang did not rest but re-examined the information from the battlefield.
To prevent missing any details.
Soon, he noticed the report from Cai Yongchen.
He did not think that Cai Yongchen's feelings at the time were a misconception. After pondering for a moment, Sun Erlang ordered someone to bring Cai Yongchen back from the battlefield.
After isolating him, they conducted a thorough examination.
The result was the same, nothing unusual was found.
However, Sun Erlang still felt something was not right.
After thinking about it, he finally reported the entire incident and his own inspection feelings to the Holy Emperor through the starry network.
Shortly after, the Holy Emperor replied.
"The anomaly in the body should be stray [Qi of Heaven and Earth]."
"Qi refers to the source of all things."
"It's a blessing, not a calamity, so don't worry. But this stray Qi of Heaven and Earth, coming from a fallen cultivator, might carry remnants of the predecessor's intentions, so it's not suitable to stay on the battlefield for now..."
After receiving guidance from his master, Sun Erlang suddenly realized.
At the same time, he marveled at Cai Yongchen's extraordinary fortune. This Qi of Heaven and Earth, although only a stray part was absorbed by Cai Yongchen, still had infinite effects and could even directly combine with his own Dao foundation, bringing many wonderful benefits.
"Return to Daqi first and recuperate in the Holy Heart Hall. After fully absorbing this Qi of Heaven and Earth, then return to the battlefield!"
After explaining the origin and effects of the Qi of Heaven and Earth to Cai Yongchen, Sun Erlang gave the order.
Cai Yongchen showed joy but also a bit of regret.
"I hope that by the time I return, the war will already be over." Cai Yongchen deeply bowed and turned to leave.
Sun Erlang issued a personnel order to fill Cai Yongchen's position.
Although it was just a small episode, it also revealed how efficient communication affected the overall battle situation.
Eliminating all possible hidden dangers.
The accumulation of tiny chances of victory ultimately secured the overall victory.
As days passed, only a few states on the outer battlefields were still in fierce combat.
The rest had already been taken by the Holy Dynasty's army.
Sun Erlang did not rush to order a total attack on the remaining Xianmeng territories.
Instead, he ordered the legions to build and fortify base camps on the spot.
At the same time, he methodically transferred the captured Xianmeng cultivators and materials to the interior of the Holy Dynasty of Daqi.
After years of preparation, Daqi had already made ample arrangements to accommodate and detain them.
Sun Erlang then turned his gaze back to the central four states of the Xianmeng.
"The real counterattack from the Wanxian Alliance should be coming soon."
From the sealed moonlight, faint fluctuations came, leading Sun Erlang to this conclusion.
In Tianquan state, at the boundary of the moonlight, Lu Xichan watched the rising green qi obscuring the moonlight, a trace of joy flashing in her eyes.
Although only eight days had passed in real time, the Xianmeng headquarters had already deduced countless times.
Finally finding a sliver of possibility to break the formation.
Since the formation was so transcendentally difficult to understand, it was decided to abandon the idea of "breaking the formation."
Directly use the "Spirit of Extinction" to corrode the formation units.
The Spirit of Extinction could suppress all fluctuations of spiritual power.
Under its continuous smog, it indeed had an effect.
The moonlight, originally like silver ribbons, gradually became shrouded in green smoke.
It seemed as if the formation would be broken the next moment.
However...
The moon in the sky shone down its light again.
In a moment, it replenished the lost parts.
Even though Lu Xichan had anticipated this and ordered everyone to resist desperately, they were still unable to prevent the arrival of the moonlight.
Watching the formation restore itself, Lu Xichan's face turned ashen.
"Chief..."
The formation masters under her command also turned pale, despair evident in their eyes.
"I'll request the Formation Breaking Disk." Lu Xichan said solemnly, admitting her failure to break the formation.
Transforming into a rainbow light, she disappeared into the sky.
Half a day later, Lu Xichan returned.
Behind her followed a cultivator dressed in dark green Daoist robes, with a forehead marked by a mirror-like insignia.
The face and gender were indistinguishable.
If Li Fan were here, he would recognize at a glance that this was the distinctive attire of the Mirror Master lineage of the Wanxian Alliance.
The Mirror Master, ignoring all the formation-breaking cultivators present, first looked up at the silver moonlight shrouding the surroundings and nodded slightly.
Then, he bowed slightly towards a point in the void.
The mirror mark on his forehead emitted rays of light. A white jade disc appeared in the field as the light shone on it.
The white jade disc flew by itself, slowly approaching the moonlight from above.
The moonlight twisted, absorbed by the white jade disc.
The light and shadow bursting from the white jade disc seemed to faintly reveal countless formation transformations.
After observing for a moment, the Mirror Master frowned slightly.
Then, he released another white jade disc.
However, it seemed the effect was still not satisfactory, so he released nine discs at once.
The nine discs circled each other, attracting the moonlight to the center.
The virtual images of the formation changes sped up countless times in an instant.
"What kind of formation-breaking disc is that? It's so powerful?"
"According to Chief Lu, it is a secondary entity born from the Heavenly Mystery Mirror, called the [Disassociation Disc]."
"Hiss, there are such miraculous objects in the world. If formations can be easily broken, what's the use of us formation masters?"
...
The formation masters discussed through voice transmission.
Lu Xichan stared intently at the changing patterns in the center of the Disassociation Disc, her brows still furrowed.
"Respected one, it seems..."
The Mirror Master nodded, looking at the formation in the sky with an even more solemn expression.
Then, he paused for a moment, as if making a decision.
Flying above everyone's heads, he posed strangely. Then, he bowed deeply towards a position in the void.
He gently kowtowed, and a burst of light erupted from the mark on his forehead.
Then, a virtual shadow of an item quietly appeared.
The Mirror Master tapped nineteen times.
Nineteen different virtual objects appeared in the field.
There were discs similar to the Disassociation Disc, but in different colors.
There were also white jade rulers and blue jade slips...
The nineteen objects, as if sentient, flew to the outer circle of the nine Disassociation Discs.
They spun rapidly.
The already somewhat virtual images became even more blurred in the spinning.
Their shapes changed as a result, remarkably resembling the Disassociation Discs in the inner circle!
With the assistance of the outer Disassociation Discs, the central deduction image's flashing speed increased again.
Almost making it difficult for the eye to follow.
After observing for a while, the Mirror Master said, "Three days' time, can
open a gap in this formation."
"Must take the opportunity to completely resolve the trapped formation."
The Mirror Master pointed at the moon above and said.
Lu Xichan bowed her head and said, "I will explain to the law transmitters."
The Mirror Master no longer spoke, just focusing on guarding above the Disassociation Disc and the nineteen virtual shadows.
The formation masters, after witnessing this miraculous scene and being slightly stunned for a moment, finally slowly came to their senses.
"How did nineteen more Disassociation Discs appear? The formation-breaking ability of one Disassociation Disc is already terrifying. Nineteen stacked together..."
"I get it! The Mysterious Green Mirror, the Heart Measuring Ruler, the Book of Heaven and Earth... these are all secondary entities of the Heavenly Mystery!"
A single comment stirred up a thousand waves, and all the formation masters were deeply shaken.
"Nineteen items, I only knew about the existence of secondary entities of the Heavenly Mystery Mirror, but I never imagined there would be so many!"
"No, no, no, after so many years, it's understandable that nineteen have been nurtured. But I've never heard that they can transform into each other! Doesn't that mean that each secondary entity can explode with more than ten times its own power?"
Seemingly noticing the discussions among his subordinates, Lu Xichan gave a cold glance and transmitted a message: "Don't just watch, discuss and study the parts of the formation decoded by the Disassociation Discs together."
"Don't think that breaking the formation solves everything. If we can't make up for the work afterwards, look at our Wanxian Alliance's Formation Strategy Hall, we'll have to completely change people from top to bottom."
These words made the formation masters break out in cold sweat, and their attention shifted from the secondary entities of the Heavenly Mystery to the flashing formation images.
...
On the Holy Emperor's throne.
The Holy Emperor's gaze pierced through the formation barrier, landing on the twenty-eight secondary entities of the Heavenly Mystery, including the nine Disassociation Discs.
"The Heavenly Mystery Mirror, self-pregnant, divided, and transformed into the Dao..."
The Holy Emperor nodded thoughtfully and sincerely praised: "Even though it fell into the mundane world, it never gave up on transcending again."
"The Heavenly Mystery Mirror, truly a heavy treasure passed down through the ages in the Xuanhuang realm."
The Holy Emperor restrained the cat treasure, which was curious and seemed about to leap up the next moment, with a touch of curiosity in its eyes.
Prevented by the Holy Emperor, the cat treasure was somewhat dissatisfied.
After lightly biting the Holy Emperor's finger and being blocked by a ball of golden primordial energy, the cat treasure finally calmed down.
And lay back down to rest on Li Ping's shoulder.
"Ah, great Holy Emperor, all these items below are treasures."
The One Absolute Daoist, with both eyes stretched into the vortex passage, still seemed to see the things in the Xuanhuang realm below clearly, and exclaimed.
"Each secondary entity is equivalent to a dao path split and replicated by the Heavenly Treasure Mirror."
"Some of these daos are even ones the Heavenly Mystery Mirror itself does not possess, but were detected by the Heavenly Treasure Mirror in observing this world over the years."
"If the old daoist still had a human body, he would fight to the death to snatch one. With it as a foundation, even if one achieves dao and becomes immortal in the future, it would be of great use!" The One Absolute Daoist kept boasting, seemingly encouraging the Holy Emperor to take action and snatch one.
Li Ping, however, was unmoved.
"I can comprehend the dao of heaven and earth in the starry sea myself. Why do I need to rely on external objects?"
"Moreover, the dao observed by the Heavenly Mystery Mirror may not necessarily be true."
Li Ping chuckled, leaving the One Absolute Daoist speechless.
"Great Holy Emperor, are you just going to watch them break the formation? If someone were sent to harass them, not to mention snatching some Heavenly Mystery secondary entities back, delaying their formation breaking would also be good." After being silent for a moment, the One Absolute Daoist spoke again.
"One Absolute, just do what I entrusted to you." Li Ping glanced at One Absolute indifferently.
The One Absolute Daoist laughed awkwardly and fell silent.
"This old man didn't used to be so talkative. It seems that the mirror below is indeed of great use to him." Just then, Tianyang, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
The paper people of the Du'e Sect below nodded slightly, not denying it.
However, what exactly the use was, the One Absolute Daoist refused to mention.
"You people of the ten sects are as annoying as ever." Tianyang said softly.
As if a breeze blew through the throne room of the Holy Emperor, the paper people of the Du'e Sect were immediately shaken.
Even the gates of the Du'e Sect seemed to be blown by the wind.
The One Absolute Daoist waved his hand, and the paper people huddled together to resist the wind.
Tianyang snorted coldly and looked away.
The wind gradually subsided.
"It seems you've indeed made a lot of progress." The Holy Emperor said with some delight.
"After regaining consciousness, I have a new understanding of [Ancestor]'s memories. And although my original body has died, the experiences of my puppet body during years of sleeping in the ley lines are still a treasure. The world changes, years pass, such is the nature of worldly affairs..." Tianyang's small body spoke words of profound vicissitudes.
"By the way... take a look at this."
After a while, Tianyang took out a set of child's bones.
"Hm? Isn't this your original body?" The Holy Emperor recognized the origin of the bones at a glance.
"Yes..." Tianyang's expression was indescribable.
"I can faintly feel a very special power on it. It comes from the obsession before I abandoned my body."
"It's different from the current methods..."
Hearing Tianyang's words, the Holy Emperor also became more serious.
At Tianyang's indication, Li Ping took the bones and frowned in contemplation.
After a long while, he shook his head and honestly said, "I didn't sense the energy you mentioned."
Tianyang stroked his chin, then seemed to think of something: "Maybe this will work."
A golden color instantly covered his skin.
Tianyang's body dissolved and disappeared into the suddenly appearing golden armor.
The golden armor split into several pieces, flying next to the Holy Emperor.
They assembled in sequence.
Adapting to the Holy Emperor's physique, they naturally changed.
In no time, a puppet armor tailored for the Holy Emperor was formed.
Encasing the entire body, it emitted a majestic and sacred aura.
Tianyang's voice came from the mind: "Don't resist."
"Please, witness my life..."
Boom!
"Tianyang, it's time to take your medicine!"
Numerous scenes suddenly appeared before the eyes of the Holy Emperor Li Ping.
That was the life experience of Tianyang.
However, this time, as Tianyang actively transmitted, it was as if Li Ping had truly become Tianyang and personally experienced everything.
His elder brother and master, in order to protect him, willingly went to the battlefield to die one by one.
The vivid images and emotions deeply moved the Holy Emperor of Daqi.
"Tianyang's life, no less than anyone!"
The outcry from Tianyang's heart, from virtual to real, echoed in Li Ping's ears.
Thus...
The Holy Emperor of Daqi finally managed to synchronize and sense the very special energy from Tianyang's bones.
It was as if it didn't belong to anything in the world.
Like a plum blossom in snow, standing proudly alone.
Though it seemed very weak, it persisted for thousands of years, not fading with the passage of time.
Instead, it became ever more fresh.
"This is..."
Li Ping seemed to recall something, his hands trembling slightly.
But an invisible existence cut off this connection.
The Holy Emperor felt a sense of loss.
But he was, after all, extraordinary in willpower and quickly suppressed this anomaly.
First, he tested it with the cat treasure, finding that this special energy was also unrecognizable to it, then looked down at the Du'e Sect.
The paper people of the Du'e Sect, seemingly unaware, still huddled together.
"One Absolute, do you know anything
about this?" The Holy Emperor Li Ping wasn't sure, but still asked.
At this moment, the One Absolute Daoist actually retracted his protruding eyes from the passage.
The eyeballs, with long paper trails, flew next to Tianyang's bones.
They circled several times.
From the One Absolute Daoist's expression, it seemed he really recognized something.
"The old daoist only has a guess."
"It's not for certain."
The Holy Emperor waved his hand: "But speak freely."
Seemingly afraid of being overheard, the One Absolute Daoist turned his eyeballs back and looked outside the Holy Emperor's throne.
Then, he spoke word by word: "About that great law master of Tiandu, our Du'e Sect has had a guess since ancient times."
"The law master has perished, but the ten sects' immortal methods were only preserved by a thought left after his death."
"Upholding the law master's lingering wish to [transmit the dao]."
As the One Absolute Daoist spoke, the paper people of the Du'e Sect hugged even tighter, as if some terrifying existence was approaching.
"The lingering wish to transmit the dao, neither a living being nor energy."
"It's more like..."
The Holy Emperor pondered and continued: "A resonance with the great dao."
The One Absolute Daoist clapped and praised: "The Holy Emperor truly has a keen understanding!"
"When immortals perish, their daos vanish. The immortal dao is omnipresent; if someone can even slightly approach its essence, it will also create a resonance of the dao."
"Within Tiandu lies the dao of transmitting the dao."
"And on these bones, perhaps lies the [Dao of Strife]"
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