The Da Huang Mountain is located to the east of Taicang. According to the ancient legends of Taicang, Da Huang has always been a living being. It is powerful, mysterious, and incomprehensible to ordinary people. It is said that hundreds of years ago, before the establishment of Taicang, the Ant Long Clan ruled this region. However, when the slumbering Da Huang accidentally turned in its sleep, the cities built at the base of Da Huang Mountain were buried, submerged, and crushed under endless rocks.
The Ant Long Clan was thus annihilated.
Ji Xia returned to his palace. In his mind, the images of the two divine beings battling kept replaying, as did the scene of the Da Huang phantom destroying the foreign demon god. He could not forget the enormous phantom of the three-eyed divine being or the image of a mountain-sized magical treasure that could collapse towering mountains tens of thousands of feet high.
The Great Sun Spirit Furnace had allowed him to witness these scenes, making him acutely aware of his own insignificance.
"In the eyes of such beings, even the seven great spellcasters recorded in the Great Talisman Jade Slip would be no match for them."
"They are beyond the realms of those I have seen in the texts. I read that above the Nine Heavens, one transcends the mundane world and attains divine powers. These powers develop into spiritual cycles, and when the spiritual cycle reaches completion, it transforms into a spirit embryo, reaching the realm of Spirit Control. A Spirit Control cultivator can build a mansion of spirit power, gather spiritual essence, and wield terrifying destructive force—that is the Spiritual Mansion realm."
"A Spirit Mansion realm cultivator is already unfathomably powerful, and what lies beyond that, Taicang does not know."
"Those two divine beings earlier, even in the realm of divine powers, were as unreachable as gods themselves! They must have surpassed the Spirit Mansion realm!"
"As for Da Huang…" Ji Xia thought of the imposing Da Huang phantom and pondered, "Even the three-eyed divine being and the giant named Siyang Chao could only flee in madness. The power of Da Huang is beyond what weak beings like us could ever imagine!"
The awakening of Da Huang—will it be a blessing or a disaster for Taicang?
Ji Xia had no way of knowing. Before such beings, they were like ants, easily crushed with no ripples in their consciousness.
The threat of the Great Talisman was something Taicang could still manage to avoid. But if such a threat came from Da Huang, even with the Forbidden Decay God Tree in Ji Xia's mind, he could see no way to survive.
Ji Xia forced himself to dispel these chaotic thoughts: "A being like Da Huang wouldn't deliberately destroy Taicang, would it? Destroy the human race? But I must still plan carefully, preferably move away from Da Huang to avoid being accidentally crushed underfoot."
After witnessing the battle, the young monarch's previous pride in his Nine Heavens cultivation faded. Instead, he realized that he still had much to strive for.
"I shouldn't belittle myself. Even in Taicang, the Kingdom of Dog and the Kingdom of Zhou Qing, even in the Great Talisman, those at the level of divine powers are already extremely powerful. The realm of the three-eyed divine being, Siyang Chao, and Da Huang is beyond my reach. But I am still young. My life holds endless possibilities."
Ji Xia came to a realization, feeling clear-headed and his thoughts sharp.
With his spiritual essence circulating, he activated the Tian Cang Seal method and struck his palm forward. A spiritual essence seal formed in the air, radiating a faint glow.
"The seal has formed and is stable. I have entered the basics of the Tian Cang Seal."
He waved his hand lightly, and the spiritual seal dispersed. "When I can control this with the precision of an extension of my limbs, it will be second nature. With one strike, even a divine powers cultivator will have to retreat in the face of my terrifying spiritual essence strength!"
His confidence surged, and he felt the need to find an opponent to test his progress.
"Ji Qianqing has just entered the divine powers realm. Her cultivation is not stable yet, but once she does, I'll spar with her. She has plenty of battle experience and surpasses me in combat skills. Sparring with her will surely be beneficial for my progress."
Just as Ji Xia was about to continue his training, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps. He frowned and muttered, "It's so late, why are so many people coming to the palace?"
Now that he had reached the Nine Heavens realm, his senses were sharp, and even the slightest sound or movement around him could not escape his perception.
A guard hurried in and bowed to Ji Xia.
"Your Majesty, the ministers of Taicang are waiting outside the palace and wish to see you."
Ji Xia straightened his robes and sat on the stone chair in the center of the palace. He ordered the ministers waiting outside to come in.
Lu Yu led the way, followed by Po Xian, Ji Qianqing, and other high-ranking ministers of Taicang. They quickly entered the room and bowed to Ji Xia.
"What is it?"
Ji Xia gestured for them to rise.
"Your Majesty, the Crocodile Horn Kingdom has gone to war with the Kingdom of Dog!" Lu Yu said, his face filled with excitement.
Ji Xia was taken aback and asked, "When did this happen?"
"We don't know. We captured a deserter from the Kingdom of Dog who was fleeing toward the border. From his testimony, we learned that the war had already started when he was conscripted, so many details are unknown to him."
Ji Xia sighed. Due to the vast racial differences between the Kingdom of Dog, Zhou Qing, and Taicang, intelligence operations were nearly impossible. In fact, when the Kingdom of Dog had sent assassins into Taicang's royal court, they used highly specialized and expensive shapeshifting potions. Taicang didn't have access to such potions, so they couldn't send spies into the Kingdom of Dog.
This had led to the embarrassing situation where Taicang, as the Kingdom of Dog's sworn enemy, was completely unaware of when the war began.
"What is the scale of the war?" Ji Xia continued to inquire.
"Both kingdoms have mobilized their entire military forces and are locked in a fierce battle at the border," Lu Yu replied.
Upon hearing this, Ji Xia's face finally showed a hint of joy. But then, he quickly reined in his joy and fell into deep thought, saying, "Where is the deserter from the Kingdom of Dog? You didn't kill him during interrogation, did you?"
Ji Qianqing shook her head. "He's being held in the secret prison. The deserter wasn't very tough. After just a glimpse of the interrogation tools, he confessed everything."
"Where is Jing Ye?"
"I'm here!" Jing Ye stepped forward and saluted.
Ji Xia's thoughts flickered, and a blue and silver sword flew out of the void, landing in front of Jing Ye.
"Take this sword. Point it at the deserter's throat and interrogate him in detail. Then report back to me."
"Understood!" Jing Ye accepted the order and left.
A short time later, Jing Ye returned, holding the sword and kneeling before Ji Xia. "Your Majesty, the results of the interrogation are the same as the previous information. The Kingdom of Dog has only left 500 Evil Dog soldiers and 3,000 Hunting Army soldiers in their capital. The rest of their forces have been mobilized."
All the ministers burst into laughter upon hearing this, discussing amongst themselves.
"Good! With the Kingdom of Dog and Crocodile Horn at war, the Kingdom of Dog's military strength will be greatly reduced. They won't have the resources to attack Taicang in the near future!"
"Heaven has eyes, and Taicang is spared from a calamity."
"I was worried the Kingdom of Dog would mobilize its entire force to attack, but now we're saved from disaster. Who could have predicted this good fortune?"
"Last time, Your Majesty said that negotiations between the Kingdom of Dog and Crocodile Horn had broken down. I had my doubts, but now I see Your Majesty's foresight was spot on!"
Ji Xia laughed heartily, slamming his fist on the table, his eyes filled with cold light. "Po Xian, Ji Qianqing, where are you?"
The two of them had been listening to the officials' discussion, awkward smiles on their faces. These ministers were usually busy with state affairs and didn't know much about the strength of the army, which explained their discussions.
Suddenly, they heard Ji Xia's hearty laugh. His voice gradually faded, but his eyes became sharp and cold. "Po Xian, Ji Qianqing, where are you?"
"We're here!" Both of them stepped forward and bowed.
"You two will each lead a thousand Cangwei soldiers and join me in marching to the Kingdom of Dog. We will destroy their stronghold!"
His voice was filled with a chilling determination.