"I have to say that the Fu Dynasty is our best comrade. They directly helped the Bloodcrave Jiangshi evolve from a white-haired grade into a black-haired grade." The current sect master of the Skybrush Sect said. His eyes held a trace of disdain as he watched the walls of the capital become larger with time.
"But it also cost us over half of our forces." A nascent soul elder said, his tone gloomy. His most promising descendant had died in the Blood Sacrifice Ritual.
"You and I both know that many members and disciples won't live long after using the forbidden arts to increase their strength. In the end, we still have to rely on the Bloodcrave Jiangshi given by the Shadow Alliance to fend off those vultures after the war is won." The Skybrush Sect Master said with a sigh.
"This grudge, I will have that damn conniving brat pay!" The elder snorted. The said brat was naturally Fu Xiuyi. For these old monsters who have lived for over a thousand years, the Fu Emperor was just a brat.
"Don't underestimate the Fu Dynasty. Since they could set up a trap formation at the Bloodriver Canyon that eliminated our predecessors, it is only natural that their capital will be an even harder bone to chew. We have to be careful so that we don't break our teeth biting it," The Skybrush Sect Master said.
Once the Skybrush Sect was only a little more than a hundred meters away from the capital's walls, the Skybrush Sect stopped and lingered for a full seven days in order to raise the tension and lower the morale Fu Dynasty. Of course, this did not mean they weren't wary of any supporting armies.
A country like the Fu Dynasty would often station armies at the borders to prevent sudden invasions. If the Fu Dynasty really recalled their border armies, the Skybrush Sect would likely retreat to fight a drawn-out battle, but that would also leave them open to the invasion of hostile forces. Don't look at how the Buzhou Immortal Sect ordered every force to resist against the shadowy manipulators, most forces aside from the direct vassal sects would only consider their own interests and only put on a show.
So what if they invaded the Fu Dynasty? The invader could just argue that the Fu Dynasty had already fallen, and they were simply cleaning up the evildoers who committed such a great crime. Not to mention that the Buzhou Immortal Sect was too lofty, and many forces like the Skybrush Sect were easily seduced. They can only recognize the power that appears in front of them, such as the one displayed by the Shadow Alliance.
"The demon corpse is moving towards us!" One of the generals cried out. A slight shiver could be heard through his words.
"Now is that time to show those Skybrush Sect bastards their folly in challenging us! Soldiers avenge our fallen brethren! Enter the war formation!" A nascent soul general said as he ordered the soldiers to gather around him. Still, he could not hide the trace of fear in his eyes at all.
Compared to before, the pressure released by the demon jiangshi was at least five times greater. Not only had its size increased by threefold, but its strength had also noticeably increased. Even an idiot would have sensed it. It had to be known that the demon jiangshi was already a balance breaker when it was first unleashed. Not even the dynasty's sole venerable level expert, Ling Lihua, could offset this disadvantage.
Ten armored humanoids thousands of times larger than an ordinary man appeared outside of the capital gates. In comparison to when the war first started, the qi exuded by the war formations was a stage weaker. The reason was due to the higher ratio of martial cultivators that made up the formations.
Spiritual and martial cultivators both aspired to become immortals, but because of different methods, they each had their disadvantages and advantages. For martial cultivators, the most significant advantage was their powerful bodies!
Still, spiritual cultivators had a greater advantage when achieving immortality. Although their bodies were frailer, they had more powerful souls, which directly made it easier to form a dao seed and comprehend laws and concepts. Because of their focus on qi, spiritual cultivators could unleash ten times more power from a formation and most artifacts in comparison to martial cultivators.
Of course, if the Fu Dynasty had a soul cultivator in control of the war formation, it would easily exhibit the strength of a peak venerable, but how could a minor force like the Fu Dynasty birth a soul cultivator? The advantages of a soul cultivator were only greater and not less than a spiritual cultivator. Perhaps because soul cultivators were too heaven-defying, their Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation was terrifying.
However, the Fu Dynasty wasn't placing all their hopes on the ten war formations. As the Skybrush Sect neared, a dome formed from thousands of golden symbols and patterns appeared. With its appearance, a faint dragon's roar could be heard echoing. This was the Fu Dynasty's Dynasty Barrier Formation.
Although it mainly focused on defense, it also had auxiliary features that boosted the strength of cultivators and formations within its dome of influence. Golden armor with dragon designs appeared on each of the war formations, increasing their strength by fifty percent and giving them more confidence in dealing with the Skybrush Sect.
Seeing the Fu Dynasty's actions, the Skybrush Sect was not willing to let go of the morale they had built, so they also brought out their war formation alongside the jiangshi. Compared to before, the war formations' had a stronger aura but a bloody color to them.
The battle between the Fu Dynasty and Skybrush Sect reignited.
In contrast to before, where the Skybrush Sect had the aid of the formation they secretly constructed, now it was the Fu Dynasty that had the upper hand and field advantage.
During this time, Daoyi and Ling Haitang appeared inside the throne room. Daoyi was fine and was watching the battle intently. Ling Haitang, on the other hand, was leisurely sipping the best tea and occasionally glancing at Fu Xiuyi and Ling Lihua as if she was watching a show. She did not mention that the Nuclear Detonation Sphere was gone from the spiderweb crack in the floor.
Both Fu Xiuyi and Ling Lihua seemed not to notice or, at least, actively pretended not to notice. Instead, they focused their attention on the ongoing battle.
At first, the situation was in the Fu Dynasty's favor. Although lone grandmasters couldn't show their full worth in such a significant battle, but with Dynasty Barrier Formation's aid, they were able to minutely influence the flow of battle. That is if your name wasn't Peng Yun.
As if to replicate his previous miracle, every action of Peng Yun aided the Fu Dynasty in chipping away the strength of the Skybrush Sect. Had it not been for the Dynasty Barrier Formation's limited range that allowed the Skybrush Sect to retreat and advance whenever liked, Peng Yun's action would have caused them larger casualties.
If the Fu Dynasty were the Skybrush Sect's most hated force, then Peng Yun would be their most hated individual.
As the number of battles increased, the bloody aura on the surviving war formations became denser, and a baleful aura coated the war formations. Suddenly, one of the war formations that was crimson popped into a blood mist.
Peng Yun watched with surprise. It could be said that eight of ten war formations destroyed were due to his actions. Whenever a war formation was destroyed, he wasn't polite and looted all the treasures of the deceased Skybrush Sect members. In his words, wars were the easiest way to profit.
However, Peng Yun didn't allow the exhilaration of wealth to blind him. As an experienced combatant, he still knew that he needed his life to spend the wealth, so he was very wary when a war formation popped out of nowhere.
Under the eyes of everyone, the blood mist was absorbed by the demon jiangshi, and its aura increased to another level. "Everyone, kill the war formations before they burst!"
None of the Fu Dynasty generals were idiots. They naturally knew they had to prevent the demon jiangshi from absorbing more blood. However, that was easier said than done. As the Skybrush Sect's war formations became more and more crimson, their strength also rose like a moment of brilliance before death.
Despite their best efforts, more and more war formations burst and turned into a blood mist that fed into the demon jiangshi. Unlike when it was trapped within the Blood Sacrifice Ritual, the jiangshi wasn't absorbing blood to advance to a new grade but to wake up. After the Skybrush Sect had upgraded into a black-haired jiangshi, it was bereft of blood, the source of a jiangshi's power.
Inside the throne room, Fu Xiuyi's hands paled from the amount of strength he was using to clutch the dragon throne until the throne couldn't take it anymore, and the armrest shattered under his grip. He could just feel Ling Haitang's mocking gaze, but at this time, he couldn't be bothered to care.
As the emperor of the Fu Dynasty, Fu Xiuyi had thought that the Muscle Changing Pills would be enough to at least defend and repel the Skybrush Sect, but now, the reality was proving him wrong. It didn't matter if all the Skybrush Sect's war formations were destroyed. As long as they had that jiangshi, everything would be meaningless.
This was the simple nature of the world. As long as your personal strength reached a level, numbers became meaningless. Even if all the mortals of the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System were to siege a single immortal, they would still lose. Although the demon jiangshi hadn't reached the immortal or true demon level, it was enough to overwhelm the Fu Dynasty completely.
At this time, Ling Lihua took a step forward, and every official and general's eyes gathered on her. In her hand was the Nuclear Detonation Sphere that Ling Haitang had revealed before. Perhaps it was the reality that she would lose her life or the sheer weight of the sphere, but Ling Lihua's figure trembled as she walked towards the entrance.
When she arrived at the entrance, she stopped and took one last glance at Fu Xiuyi. "Your Majesty, no, Xiuyi. Allow me this one selfish request and let me call your name instead of addressing you as Your Majesty. Xiuyi, I know I wasn't your first choice as your empress, but I was happy to be your empress."
After saying those words, Ling Lihua turned towards the battle and walked out of the throne room.
"...Lihua."
Perhaps it was a coincidence, but Fu Xiuyi's words were soft yet loud enough for Ling Lihua to hear. Her body trembled, but she did not stop her actions.
Not long after, a cataclysmic explosion descended and engulfed the demon jiangshi and the surrounding kilometers. As if a puppet with its string cut, Fu Xiuyi collapsed onto his throne. "Go...take this chance...to...rid the dynasty's enemies...don't...don't let...the empre—Lihua's sacrifice...be...in vain."
All the officials obeyed. None of them wanted to face the emperor's wrath once he awakened from his stupor. They all thought that the emperor only respected the empress and didn't have any affection at all, but reality proved them wrong. While they left, sweat dripped down the brows of those who asked Lihua to sacrifice herself earlier.
Once everyone left, Daoyi stood up from her seat. Perhaps it was out of curiosity, or it was to see her one last time, but when Ling Lihua had left, Ling Haitang silently followed her.
"Stop acting," Daoyi said as she stood next to the limp Fu Xiuyi.
Fu Xiuyi turned his head towards Daoyi. His eyes were full of confusion, as if he was drunk and could no longer process anything.
Daoyi curled her lips contemptuously. "Although my abilities have reached the point of reading your thoughts or heart, I can still sense your emotions. From then to now, your emotions haven't fluctuated at all."
Fu Xiuyi's stiffened imperceptibly. If Daoyi weren't right next to him, she would not have seen it. Her smile became disdainful once she saw that Fu Xiuyi continued to act ignorant. "Fine, continue pretending if you want to, but you will answer my questions one way or another. Do you remember what you did fifty years ago?"
Daoyi could sense that there were some rampaging emotions in Fu Xiuyi, but the most she sensed was confusion. "There was a clan that once lived in the Southern Region. They weren't a ranked force, but they were rather powerful and had a considerable amount of grandmasters, but they were most feared because there was a disproportionately large number of soul cultivators."
The Xu Clan's sole descendant didn't even need to sense Fu Xiuyi's emotions as she could clearly hear his thumping heart. "That's right. I'm talking about the Xu Clan. Truthfully, I don't really care if they were destroyed."
Daoyi's words didn't reassure fu Xiuyi at all. If she didn't care, why would she bring it up, not to mention he could hear the chill behind her words.
"I don't care, but my mother does. She was the daughter of the Xu Clan's patriarch. Because of you, she reached the point where she was forcibly taken as a concubine by that no-good father of mine. Did you know what she said before she died?" Daoyi's disdainful smile turned unnaturally gentle as she looked at Fu Xiuyi.
Fu Xiuyi's gaze locked with Daoyi's. He no longer had the heart to act. He recalled the actions he took that day. How could he not? The action he took that time propelled the dynasty's foundation to its peak.
"She said, "Daoyi, you must discover the wretched worms that massacred the Xu Clan and deliver justice," Daoyi lied, but Fu Xiuyi didn't need to know. "I don't care about the Xu Clan, but I care about my mother very much. So tell me, oh great Fu Emperor, who was the mastermind behind the massacre of the Xu Clan? If you obediently tell me, I can give you a clean death."
Fu Xiuyi's face paled to a terrifying degree. It was to the point that onlookers might have thought he was a corpse. "Y-you can't kill me! The Buzhou Immortal Sect will lose the heart of every force on the Heaven Continent if you kill me for your personal grievances!"
Daoyi stared at him for a second before she covered her mouth and giggled. Her laughter was bell-like and charming to the point that it would please anyone who heard it. But to Fu Xiuyi, it was the cackling of a devil from the darkest pit of hell.
"Fu Xiuyi, Fu Xiuyi. It's true that the sect has some considerations, but what does that have to do with you, an empire that doesn't even have an immortal? If you were subordinate to a third-rate force, I might still have some qualms, but you were too ambitious for that, weren't you?" Daoyi said, smiling at him. "Besides, I have to thank you for your earlier performance. Even an Oscar-winning actor would have trouble replicating your performance. "
Fu Xiuyi looked at Daoyi with confusion. He didn't understand what Daoyi meant by Oscar, but he knew she was mocking him. Comparing him to a mere performer who sold their body and skills was a grave insult to those in power.
"Everyone saw how deeply affected you were by Lihua's death. So it wouldn't be a stretch for you to extinguish your own soul to follow her, wouldn't it?" Daoyi's smile deepened as she saw the creeping horror on Fu Xiuyi's face. She felt a pleasure she had never experienced before. It was called vengeance. 'Turns out I cared more than I thought. Would you be proud, Mother?'
Fu Xiuyi fell off the throne as he tried to distance himself away. He tried to summon his qi, but he discovered that he couldn't control it at all as if he had returned to being a weak mortal. "Wait! I can tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't kill me."
Daoyi stopped walking towards Fu Xiuyi, giving him some confidence. "If you help repel the Skybrush Sect, I can tell you mo—"
He never got the chance to finish as an indescribable pain assaulted him, causing him to shift into a fetal position. When the pain had passed, his eyes saw shoes eight centimeters tall. Looking up, he saw Daoyi's frosty eyes.
"Where did you get the confidence to bargain with me? Forget it. I tire of your antics." Daoyi waved her sleeve, and Fu Xiuyi's eyes became dull as if he was in a trance. "Now, tell me, who was the mastermind?"
Fu Xiuyi continued to lay on the ground, but he slowly opened his mouth. "I don't know. I only know that he goes by the title of Great Detacher of Emotions."
Daoyi frowned and continued to interrogate Fu Xiuyi. Although she didn't discover who the Great Detacher of Emotions was, she learned of several more forces intricately linked to the Xu Clan's massacre, some of which the Buzhou Immortal Sect didn't even discover.
Once Daoyi was done, she controlled Fu Xiuyi to limp back to his precious dragon throne. "Goodbye, you hypocritical man."
"STOP!!!" The voice had a desperate color to it, as if the world was about to collapse. Simultaneously, it was ephemeral, like it would disappear in the next second.
Daoyi frowned. She had constructed a barrier to prevent any disturbances, so who was it that stopped her. She saw a womanly figure formed of white petals. "I didn't expect someone with such weak willpower to have formed a daoseed and even master several concepts. Why would someone with the hope of attaining immortality serve such a lowly man, Ling Lihua?"