In Beiluo City,
Lu Changkong stood in black armor, with a sword hanging by his side. His posture was upright, like a spear pointing straight to the sky, standing on the city wall.
Beside him, Luo Yue's face was solemn as he squinted, watching the horizon beyond the plains outside the city.
"Old Luo, worried about Chengzi?" Lu Changkong turned his head and glanced at Luo Yue, saying.
Luo Yue's weather-beaten face remained serious.
"He has risen from a common soldier to his current level through hard work since childhood. I believe he knows what's at stake."
"Besides, dying for Beiluo would be his honor," Luo Yue said.
"The appearance of the Immortal Chance has brought together various forces, scholars from various schools, governors from various counties, even the monarch and the imperial tutor in the capital have sent people to intervene... This is a storm sweeping across the entire Great Zhou Dynasty," Lu Changkong said slowly.
"Lord, everyone is going after the Immortal Chance. Shouldn't this reduce the pressure on Great Zhou?" Luo Yue asked, voicing his doubts.
With the appearance of the Immortal Chance, many forces are chasing after it. Wouldn't this decrease the pressure on Great Zhou?
Lu Changkong looked towards the horizon, his gaze deep.
"Do you think the appearance of the Immortal Chance will ease the current situation in Great Zhou?"
"You're mistaken... The Immortal Chance is a huge variable affecting the overall situation in the world. It can nurture cultivators, and as the number of cultivators increases, the nature of warfare will change."
"It may not be apparent in the early stages of the Immortal Chance's appearance, but the longer it lasts, the more the war will lean towards the side with more cultivators," Lu Changkong said slowly.
At the end of the horizon, there were galloping horses, raising dust into the sky.
However, he did not stop there; instead, he continued, "Various forces will not cease their hostilities. Therefore, the only way to decide the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty quickly is to either overthrow it or suppress the rebellion. Only then can the other side free up their hands to control the cultivators of the world."
After hearing Lu Changkong's words, Luo Yue seemed to understand but not fully.
"However, wars don't end so easily. The Imperial Capital has six great defenders, and the coalition forces may not easily break through the six great defenses to reach the Imperial Capital. The army is at the gates of the capital."
"From my point of view, this war may last for another five or six years," Luo Yue said.
"Five or six years?" Lu Changkong chuckled.
"Some people are unwilling."
"Behind the Great Zhou Dynasty stands Confucianism, and the Mohist School, which has always been at odds with Confucianism, has spread its disciples among the forces of the county governors. Only by overthrowing the rule of the Great Zhou and establishing a new dynasty can the Mohist School implement their ideas."
"In fact, everything is now under the control of the Mohist School. Their wide-reaching network is gradually eroding the Great Zhou... But with the appearance of the Immortal Chance, it's like a bright fire falling on their net. If the Mohist School isn't careful, this net will be burned to ashes, and all their calculations will come to nothing."
Lu Changkong shook his head, looking at the galloping horses in the distance, and said slowly, "With the fall of the first generation of Mohist giants, the current Mohist School is not as good as the previous ones. Their original intentions have been swallowed up by ambition, and they have changed their taste."
...
The carriage swayed.
Xiang Shaoyun sat in the carriage, under the guard of a group of soldiers and horses, intending to retreat to the Western County.
Inside the carriage, Luo Mingsang wore a plain white dress, holding a handkerchief to gently rub Xiang Shaoyun's wounds.
In the Immortal Palace, Xiang Shaoyun wore the thickest armor and endured the most poisonous blows.
The carriage was quiet, and he closed his eyes, enjoying Luo Mingsang's care, while his mind studied the cultivation methods obtained from the Immortal Palace.
Suddenly.
The sound of galloping horses echoed.
Xiang Shaoyun, who had his eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened them.
His sharp gaze was like a piercing arrow, ready to tear through the heavens.
He placed a large hand on Luo Mingsang's delicate shoulder. "You stay in the carriage."
Xiang Shaoyun instructed.
A look of concern appeared on Luo Mingsang's breathtaking face, but she hesitated to speak.
"A mere bunch of minions. What do I, the Tyrant, have to fear?" Xiang Shaoyun chuckled confidently.
Afterward, he stepped out of the carriage.
The coachman was dead.
Pinned to the carriage door by an arrow.
Outside the mountains, soldiers were scattered everywhere, and many generals were brimming with energy and blood.
Xiang Shaoyun swept his gaze around and roughly estimated there were about five or six thousand people.
After a chaotic volley of arrows, Xiang Shaoyun's Western County Iron Cavalry was reduced to less than a hundred.
One hundred against five thousand...
The enemy still had master martial artists and many top-tier warriors.
"Lord!" A general's eyes widened with rage the moment Xiang Shaoyun stepped out of the carriage.
"We've fallen into a trap!"
"These are the troops of Liu He, the prefect of Pingyang County!"
"We'll cover the lord and break out of the encirclement!"
The soldiers of Western County were fearless warriors, but the current situation was despairing.
In the distance,
Banners fluttered.
A figure dressed in silver-white military attire, surrounded by many generals, gazed at Xiang Shaoyun.
"Indeed... The Tyrant has been seriously injured in his pursuit of the Immortal Chance. This is a rare opportunity to rid ourselves of the Tyrant," Liu He, the prefect of Pingyang County, chuckled.
He held a small flag in his hand and raised it gently. Suddenly, soldiers throughout the mountains raised their spears and bows.
"How do you know this lord has been seriously injured? This lord has changed his return route. How did you find out?" Xiang Shaoyun looked at Liu He.
"Underworld informants will tell the Tyrant for me," the man laughed lightly, then swept his flag.
"Kill!"
"Whoever takes the Tyrant's head will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver!"
As the words fell,
The battle cry suddenly shook the heavens.
Arrows whistled through the air one after another.
In the mountains, there was the roaring of energy and blood, and the echoes of master martial artists.
As if the world were spinning, the cries startled the birds in the mountains.
Xiang Shaoyun's sturdy body suddenly felt desolate, and he slowly closed his eyes.
In fact, he had already guessed many things.
"Uncle, from today onwards, my Xiang family and the Mohist School... have no more ties."
Xiang Shaoyun suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.
He grabbed the halberd behind him with both hands and swept it fiercely.
Cutting through the arrows that shot through the air, all of them were split in half.
"Where are my brave warriors from Western County?!"
"Dare you follow me into battle?!"
Xiang Shaoyun roared, his black hair flying wildly, his eyes filled with killing intent.
The hundred soldiers and generals behind him, their eyes also red, responded with explosive roars, waving their weapons with determination, and charged into battle.
One hundred against five thousand...
They were fearless, unyielding.
Xiang Shaoyun fought like a wolf, surrounded by densely packed soldiers who engulfed his figure.
With a sweep of his battle-axe, it was like a raging wind.
The spears in the soldiers' hands were all cut, and more than a dozen soldiers were sent flying.
The master martial artists under Liu He, accompanied by nearly ten top-tier warrior generals, encircled and attacked Xiang Shaoyun.
The setting sun, blood-red, spilled from the horizon, covering the entire battlefield.
Blood splattered several meters away, bodies strewn across the ground.
On the hillside,
Prefect Liu He of Pingyang County wore a grim expression. He waved his banner repeatedly, shouting "kill" countless times until his voice grew hoarse.
Beside him, strategists tried to comfort him repeatedly.
"No matter how strong Xiang Shaoyun is, he's just a martial artist. Even if he's a grandmaster, he can't withstand being surrounded by a thousand soldiers!"
"Today, the Tyrant is destined to be drenched in blood!"
Around Xiang Shaoyun's carriage, bodies piled up layer upon layer.
The carriage was splattered with blood, turning it red.
Xiang Shaoyun wielded his halberd, making it difficult for enemies to approach the carriage.
He gasped like a dragon, after all, he was just a human, and his arms felt as heavy as lead.
But surrounded by a dense crowd of soldiers, he continued to be attacked relentlessly.
The Iron Cavalry of Western County was wiped out, and the horses were all stabbed to death with spears.
Several first and second-rate warrior-level generals were pierced through by spears and fell to their knees.
In their dying moments, they looked at Xiang Shaoyun with fervor and regret.
Xiang Shaoyun's eyes were bloodshot, he once considered himself at the pinnacle of martial arts.
He was a genius, a born commander.
But...
Now, facing such a desperate situation, he hated his weakness and helplessness.
If only he were stronger!
He could be as powerful as an immortal!
Xiang Shaoyun roared lowly, the spiritual energy in his Qi Dan circulated, and the battle-axe spun rapidly, splattering countless blood blossoms.
The released spiritual energy blasted open the area around his body, creating a vacuum.
But he only had five strands of spiritual energy, and after killing hundreds of people, his Qi Dan was empty.
Inside the carriage,
Luo Mingsang opened the curtain, holding a long slender sword, her long skirt floating as she displayed her lightness skill. Her black hair swayed, blocking Xiang Shaoyun's path.
In just a moment, her gown was stained with blood.
"Shaoyun..."
Luo Mingsang leaned against Xiang Shaoyun.
Xiang Shaoyun looked at Luo Mingsang, whose body was covered in blood. The fearless look on his face suddenly turned into shock and fear.
He feared that the woman before him would turn into a cold corpse, and he feared that her beauty would fade away like fireworks.
He wielded his halberd, his mind swiftly recalling the "Mighty Spirit Cultivation Technique" he had obtained from the Immortal Palace. He wanted to restore his spiritual energy, he wanted to protect the person he wanted to protect.
"Hurry up! I need spiritual energy!"
Xiang Shaoyun's eyes were bloodshot, he killed one soldier with each swing of his axe, gasping like a dragon, growling lowly.
He crazily transferred spiritual energy according to the technique, pressing his potential to the limit.
Watching Luo Mingsang being overwhelmed by soldiers.
He was afraid, he howled to the sky.
Boom!
Suddenly,
A loud noise, Xiang Shaoyun's body shook.
...
North Slope, Heart Lake Island.
The setting sun cast a blood-red glow on the shimmering waves of North Slope Lake. Fishing boats drifted, fishermen cast their nets, and occasional hearty singing voices drifted in the wind.
Relaxing in his wheelchair, enjoying the sunset over the lake, Lufan suddenly raised an eyebrow.
A system prompt appeared before him.
"Detection of Xiang Shaoyun's reversal of the 'Mighty Spirit Cultivation Technique,' meeting the criteria for 'falling into darkness,' can refine the demonic seed..."
"Please choose, remove 'falling into darkness' or create 'the path of darkness.'"
The afterglow of the sunset illuminated Lufan's face, reflecting his astonished expression.
Lufan's gaze focused, and his mind moved. The scene before him began to rapidly flash by, lines jumping.
He suddenly saw a scene a hundred miles away.
Blood flowing, corpses strewn everywhere...