Chapter 363: Advancing Three Thousand Miles

Chapter 363: Advancing Three Thousand Miles

Inside the Celestial Pivot Mansion.

War rages everywhere.

What was once the pinnacle of grand estates is now in ruins, littered with corpses and bones that send shivers down the spine.

The Deceptive Heavenly Emperor sits in the Imperial Capital, where the former imperial palace has been transformed into a Blood Pool.

Large amounts of blood and internal organs are thrown into the Blood Pool, serving as sustenance for the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor.

He opens his mouth wide, and a torrent of blood from the Blood Pool flows into his body, a continuous stream.

As time passes.

The Blood Pool gradually drains.

The Deceptive Heavenly Emperor's aura grows stronger.

"Not enough!"

"The blood of these ordinary humans is far from enough. I need more blood to restore my power to the Upper World-Ending level!"

The Deceptive Heavenly Emperor's crimson eyes flash with a bloodthirsty gleam.

He needs to consume more blood.

And it must be the blood of powerful humans.

The blood of ordinary humans is no longer of much use to him.

Unless.

The quantity is staggering.

Otherwise.

This level of blood is just mediocre.

Now, within the Celestial Pivot Mansion, the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor can sense numerous powerful auras, all at least at the Saint level among humans.

At the thought of the delicious flesh of Saints, a greedy look appears in his crimson eyes.

At this moment.

Chen Shan suddenly appears.

"Your Majesty!"

"What is it?"

"The human army is advancing relentlessly, and many Evil Spirits are suffering repeated defeats. At this rate, they will likely enter the Imperial Capital's perimeter in just three days!"

Chen Shan speaks gravely.

The determination of the Eastern Domain has left him somewhat shaken.

Despite knowing how difficult it is to breach the Celestial Pivot Mansion, the Eastern Domain is still willing to sacrifice heavily, determined to utterly destroy the Xingchen Imperial Court.

This has led to a situation within the Celestial Pivot Mansion.

The Eastern Domain has suffered heavy losses.

But the Evil Spirits have suffered even more.

The humans are fighting with a resolve to die without ceasing.

This has made it difficult for the Evil Spirits, despite their formidable strength, to hold back the human army.

The humans seem to care little about their casualties, and there is nothing that can be done about it.

Upon hearing this, the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor's exotic face breaks into a sinister smile.

"Let them come. I will be waiting for them here, ready to capture them all at once, leaving no one to escape!"

Hearing this, Chen Shan's heart relaxes.

In his eyes, the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor is an invincible existence.

In the past, he was chased by the Ancient Qin Family because his strength had not been fully restored. Now, the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor has reached the Middle World-Ending level, comparable to the power of an Empire Aspirant.

In the entire Desolate Ancient Era, there are very few who can match him.

Currently, in the Eastern Domain.

Only the Divine Martial Empire has someone with the strength of an Empire Aspirant.

But as Chen Shan knows, that individual is always stationed in Zhenyao Immortal City to prevent a major demon invasion and cannot possibly come here.

This means.

There is no one in the Eastern Domain's army who can pose a threat to the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor.

Once the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor advances further and reaches the Upper World-Ending level, even the one guarding Zhenyao Immortal City will not be a match for him, in Chen Shan's view.

At that time.

The Netherworld Immortal Court will surely dominate the Eastern Domain, and perhaps even go further, ruling over the entire Desolate Ancient Era.

As one of the first to pledge loyalty to the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor, Chen Shan will naturally reap immense benefits.

Everyone has desires.

Chen Shan's desire is to live, and to live better and better.

Otherwise,

he wouldn't have abandoned his dignity to seek refuge with the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor in the face of life and death.

Thanks to the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor’s rewards, Chen Shan’s strength has steadily increased, reaching the threshold of the Saint realm.

No, that's not quite right—

It should be the Mid Disaster realm now.

Chen Shan is well aware that without the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor’s support, he would never have reached this level. Even reaching the peak of the Low Disaster realm, which is on par with the Half-Saint level, would have been nearly impossible.

"Pass the order down. Have the Evil Spirits slightly weaken their resistance and lure all the human cultivators to the Imperial Capital. I will be waiting for them here!"

The Deceptive Heavenly Emperor said with a sinister tone.

Previously, the Evil Spirits launched a fierce counterattack, slaughtering many human cultivators. Now, with their flesh and blood devoured by the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor, his strength has advanced even further.

This has given the Deceptive Heavenly Emperor the confidence to face the Eastern Domain’s army head-on.

At his level, every increment in strength represents a significant change.

Upon hearing this,

Chen Shan naturally accepted the order and retreated.

---

Boom!

An Evil Spirit didn’t even have time to scream before being obliterated by a terrifying force.

Nangong Chuan’s expression was indifferent, as if subduing a Mid Disaster Evil Spirit was a trivial matter for him.

With the fall of this Evil Spirit, the remaining Evil Spirit army retreated like a receding tide.

Seeing this,

the side of the Tai Xuan Empire all showed signs of relief.

"The Evil Spirits are retreating!"

After such a grueling battle, the Tai Xuan Empire had also suffered considerable losses. The sight of the Evil Spirits retreating naturally made others believe that the Evil Spirits were at the end of their strength.

Only a few people frowned in concern.

"King Chuan, something is amiss with the Evil Spirits’ retreat. There must be some other plan behind it!"

Wang Junze warned.

He had originally been defending a region against demons, but when the Evil Spirits appeared, he led his army straight to the Xingchen Imperial Court.

Strictly speaking,

the commander of this army is Wang Junze. Nangong Chuan, being an ancient Saint, only provides support.

Hearing this,

Nangong Chuan’s expression became subtle. "General Wang is right. This retreat by the Evil Spirits is indeed suspicious, as if they want to lure us deeper!"

As an ancient Saint, Nangong Chuan has seen countless conspiracies, and the Evil Spirits’ clumsy act cannot fool his eyes.

In a normal battle, Nangong Chuan would not rashly advance, to avoid falling into an ambush.

However,

the current army commander is Wang Junze, so he must follow the other’s judgment.

After a moment of thought, Wang Junze said, "We are now in a life-or-death struggle with the Evil Spirits. The battle at the Celestial Pivot Mansion must eliminate the Evil Spirits. Even if there is a plot, we cannot stop our advance.

However, this battle is not one that the Tai Xuan Empire fights alone.

I suggest we advance three thousand miles first, then wait for the other forces to join us before engaging in the final decisive battle!"

Although this is Wang Junze’s first time entering the Celestial Pivot Mansion, he is aware that five thousand miles ahead lies the Imperial Capital of the Xingchen Imperial Court.

If the Evil Spirits have any hidden moves, they must be in the Imperial Capital.

Nangong Chuan nodded in agreement.

"Then let's follow General Wang's suggestion and advance three thousand miles, and then the army will rest and regroup, preparing for the final battle!"

As he spoke, Nangong Chuan's gaze was filled with admiration for Wang Junze.

Such talent is indeed rare.

Moreover, his innate abilities are not low.

At the age of a hundred, he has already reached the Third Stage Dao Palace.

While this level of cultivation cannot compare to the top prodigies from the Desolate Ancient Era's noble families, it is still much stronger than the average prodigy.

With proper cultivation, the chances of him breaking through to the Saint realm are not small.

Perhaps even further, reaching the Great Saint realm, is not out of the question.

Don't underestimate the Taixuan Empire, which has a million-year-old heritage from the Primeval Era. Any Saint is of immense value to the empire.

Moreover, Wang Junze has exceptional talent in leading troops.

Such a prodigy is even more important than others.

Therefore, Nangong Chuan had once considered taking him as a disciple.

However—

The court is a complex place. Despite Nangong Chuan being an ancient Saint and a prince, he cannot act recklessly.

If Wang Junze were an ordinary cultivator, there would be no problem.

But since he commands a significant force, the situation is different.

Thus, Nangong Chuan suppressed this idea.

Following Wang Junze's orders, the Taixuan Empire's army advanced three thousand miles, and the Evil Spirits seemed to have completely abandoned resistance, scattering at the slightest contact.

This situation only confirmed Wang Junze's suspicions.

Otherwise, the Evil Spirits wouldn't have put up no resistance at all.

After advancing three thousand miles, Wang Junze ordered the army to rest and regroup, avoiding further risky advances.

This move left many Evil Spirits feeling helpless but with no other options.

Meanwhile, other forces encountered similar situations.

The recent counterattack by the Evil Spirits was like a last gasp, and after a brief surge, they could no longer sustain it.

However, many forces also noticed something amiss.

Especially when they learned that the Taixuan Empire had advanced three thousand miles and then halted, their suspicions grew.

As a result, these forces became more cautious, mimicking the Taixuan Empire by advancing a certain distance and then pausing, waiting for the right moment for a decisive battle.

...

In the Divine Martial Empire, Gu Xiu looked at the intelligence from the Imperial Guards, his expression changing slightly.

"It seems the Evil Spirits are preparing for their final stand!"

Given how fiercely the Evil Spirits had fought before, their sudden collapse now is hard to explain.

As long as one isn't foolish, they can see that this might be a deliberate feint by the Evil Spirits, aiming to gather all their forces for a last-ditch battle.

Of course, nothing is absolute.

Gu Xiu must be cautious.

Yan Yun frowned. "Yun Wang's guess is indeed likely. Since other forces have advanced three thousand miles and then halted, we should do the same.

Only by integrating all the forces of the Eastern Domain can we minimize the losses in this battle!"

So far, the Divine Martial Empire's thirty million troops have already suffered twelve million casualties, with countless soldiers buried here.

If the losses continue, even if they win in the end, the Divine Martial Empire will be severely weakened.

Therefore, Yan Yun now hopes to minimize the losses as much as possible.

Although the battle against the Evil Spirits is a fight to the death, it is still essential to preserve our own forces as much as possible while exterminating them.

They say that a compassionate person cannot lead an army.

But Yan Yun could not stand idly by and watch his subordinates die.

The others all nodded in agreement with this proposal.

Naturally, Gu Xiu had no reason to object.

Subsequently, the Divine Martial Empire's army advanced, and every Evil Spirit they encountered was defeated with a single blow. The pressure of advancing three thousand miles was remarkably light.

This push was even easier than when the Divine Martial Empire first entered the Xingchen Imperial Court.

Once the army had advanced three thousand miles, Gu Xiu ordered them to set up camp and refrain from any rash actions.

At this moment, an Imperial Guard approached and respectfully presented a jade token to Gu Xiu.

"Your Highness, this is a jade token sent by the Taixuan Empire. Please take a look!"

Gu Xiu took the jade token and used his divine consciousness to read the message, which immediately revealed itself to him.

A moment later, the jade token shattered into dust.

Yan Yun immediately asked, "Your Highness, what is the purpose of the Taixuan Empire?"

"The Taixuan Empire wishes to form an Alliance Against Evil and invites me to represent the Divine Martial Empire to discuss strategies against the Evil Spirits!"

Gu Xiu paused for a moment before continuing.

"Since the Taixuan Empire has sent this message, I will represent the Divine Martial Empire and make this trip. I will leave the matters here in your capable hands, General Yan!"

"No problem... However, Your Highness, please be cautious. Do not underestimate the Taixuan Empire's intentions!"

Yan Yun nodded and then added a word of caution.

Gu Xiu's status was exalted, and he was the only one who could represent the Divine Martial Empire. However, Yan Yun was also concerned about any potential schemes from the Taixuan Empire.

Although the likelihood of such schemes was minimal, it was still necessary to be on guard.

If anything were to happen to Gu Xiu, Yan Yun was certain that he and the others would be held accountable.

At this moment, the Grand Sage Huang Jie, who had been silent, spoke up.

"I will accompany you on this journey!"

"Having you by my side will ensure our safety!"

Gu Xiu did not refuse.

The others also breathed a sigh of relief.

As an ancient Grand Sage, Huang Jie's strength was unparalleled in the entire Desolate Ancient Era. In the current Waning Law Era, there were very few who could pose a genuine threat to him.

Even if the Taixuan Empire had some hidden agenda, it would be impossible to threaten the Grand Sage.

Next, Grand Sage Huang Jie produced an imperial edict and handed it to Yan Yun.

"This is an imperial edict given to me by Daoist Gu. When you need to use it, simply channel your life force into it, and it will activate and counter your enemies.

The power of this imperial edict is such that no one below the level of an Empire Aspirant can withstand it. Do not use it unless absolutely necessary!"

"Thank you, Senior!"

Yan Yun took a deep breath and respectfully accepted the imperial edict, his hands trembling slightly.

An imperial edict capable of suppressing any foe below the Empire Aspirant level was an incredibly Heaven-defying treasure.

The value of such a treasure was beyond words.

However, Yan Yun did not refuse.

He knew that once Gu Xiu and Grand Sage Huang Jie left, the imperial army would lack a top-tier powerhouse. If a powerful Evil Spirit were to attack, the consequences would be dire.

With this imperial edict, the possibility of such an event could be significantly reduced, greatly enhancing their safety.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end