At the peak of the Yuxu Sect mountain.
Clad in a moon-white robe, Bai Qianshuang stood at the edge of the cliff. Her long black hair was whipped up by the fierce wind as her gaze locked onto the distant horizon.
There, the once clear blue sky was already swallowed by an oppressive, pitch-black shadow.
Dozens of massive, pitch-black flying ships pierced through the clouds, rapidly approaching the Yuxu Sect's gates. Carved onto the ships was the exclusive crest of the Wutong Holy Land. Each vessel was shrouded in a dense aura of slaughter, so thick that even the spiritual energy of heaven and earth grew stagnant wherever they passed.
"Yuxu Sect, heh, daring to provoke the Holy Land. You are courting death!"
The three leading flying ships were the most terrifying. Three vast and majestic auras poured down from them, crashing onto the Yuxu Sect's gates like three invisible mountains.
That was the unique coercion of Mahayana Realm cultivators. The three auras intertwined, causing the spiritual veins within the mountains to tremble slightly. The sect's mountain-protecting grand array activated automatically, ripples spreading across its glowing white light barrier as if it could be crushed by this pressure at any moment!
"Sect Master! The people from the Wutong Holy Land are here!" An elder behind her stepped forward quickly, his voice laced with unconcealable anxiety and dread.
"Three Mahayana Realm cultivators... they are out for our Yuxu Sect's blood!"
Bai Qianshuang slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, the panic in her eyes had dissipated.
She turned around, her gaze sweeping over the dense crowd of Yuxu Sect disciples behind her. Her voice, cold yet carrying an unquestionable authority, echoed across the entire mountain peak:
"All low-level disciples at the Crystal Formation Realm and below, evacuate the sect immediately through the secret passage in the back mountain! The rest of you, do not engage in battle. Leave at once!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the mountain peak fell into a dead silence. Immediately after, an inner sect disciple standing in the front row suddenly dropped to one knee, his voice resounding:
"Sect Master! We will not leave! The Yuxu Sect is our home. Now that the sect is facing a great disaster, how can we just drag out an ignoble existence?! Even if it means death, we will live and die with the sect!"
"Right! We will not leave! We would rather die in battle than take a single step back!"
"The Wutong Holy Land is pushing us too far! We will fight them to the bitter end!"
Shouts echoed one after another. All the disciples gripped their magical artifacts tightly, their eyes devoid of any fear, filled only with boiling blood and absolute resolve.
Seeing this scene, Bai Qianshuang's heart suddenly tightened, and her hand could not help but tremble slightly.
It was too similar.
Too similar to the day when the Qingyun Sect invaded and the Yuxu Sect was on the brink of annihilation.
It was the same back then. The entire sect shared a bitter hatred of the enemy, preferring to die in battle rather than surrender. But the final result was the sect's destruction. The elders and disciples all died in battle, leaving only her and a few others to escape with their lives. They had painstakingly rebuilt the Yuxu Sect step by step to reach where they were today.
She could not let the tragedy repeat itself.
Absolutely not.
Bai Qianshuang closed her eyes, suppressing the surging emotions in her heart. When she opened them again, her mind was made up.
She raised her hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet. Meeting countless gazes, she spoke slowly, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible exhaustion:
"There is no need to fight. Pass down my order: open the mountain gates. Our Yuxu Sect... is willing to hand over the legacy artifact."
An uproar swept through the crowd at these words.
The elders hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade her:
"Sect Master! You must not! That is our Yuxu Sect's legacy, how can we just hand it over?!"
"The Wutong Holy Land has the wild ambitions of wolves. Even if we hand over the artifact, they might not let us off!"
Bai Qianshuang shook her head gently, her gaze returning to the approaching flying ships of the Wutong Holy Land, her eyes full of helplessness.
She knew very well that the enemy had brought three Mahayana Realm cultivators. On the Yuxu Sect's side, apart from her, the highest cultivation level was merely at the peak of the Dao Comprehension Realm. Fighting head-on would only lead to a dead end.
Now, the only way was to endure, hand over the artifact, and save the lives of everyone in the sect first. Only then would they have a chance to turn the tables in the future.
However, her endurance became a joke in the eyes of the Wutong Holy Land.
The leading flying ship had already stopped above the mountain gates. A voice pierced through the light barrier, dripping with heavy mockery:
"Now you think of handing over the artifact? It is too late!"
The ship's cabin doors opened, and three elderly men in black robes with gold patterns hovered in mid-air. The coercion of their Mahayana Realms was released without reservation. The leading elder, his face full of sinister malice, swept his gaze over Bai Qianshuang below and sneered:
"We gave you a chance before, but you failed to appreciate our kindness and dared to defy the will of my Wutong Holy Land. Now that disaster is upon you, you think of yielding? It is too late!"
"How can the majesty of my Wutong Holy Land allow you to offend it so casually?"
"Today, not only will we take the artifact, but we will also trample your Yuxu Sect flat. We will kill every single person in your sect to let the entire Eastern Hua Divine Continent see the consequences of defying my Wutong Holy Land!"
As his voice fell, the three Mahayana Realm cultivators raised their hands simultaneously. Three pitch-black pillars of spiritual energy instantly condensed and smashed ruthlessly into the mountain-protecting grand array below!
With a deafening boom, the glowing white light barrier was instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks. The disciples on the mountain peak were sent staggering backward from the shockwave, coughing up blood.
"Fools who do not know what is good for them." Bai Qianshuang's voice instantly turned ice-cold.
She knew there was no stepping back anymore.
In the next second, a vast and majestic aura erupted explosively from Bai Qianshuang's body!
The coercion of the Mahayana Realm swept out like a tsunami, standing as an equal against the auras of the three opposing Mahayana cultivators, even faintly showing signs of suppressing them!
The Yuxu Sect disciples on the mountain peak were instantly stunned, and then erupted into deafening cheers.
"The Sect Master actually has a Mahayana cultivation base!"
In mid-air, the expressions of the three Mahayana Realm elders from the Wutong Holy Land changed slightly.
The leading elder stared at Bai Qianshuang and frowned.
"You are actually in the Mahayana Realm?!"
They had investigated earlier. Bai Qianshuang was barely a hundred years old, which was already considered a top-tier genius in the Eastern Hua Divine Continent.
But they never expected that this young woman had already quietly broken through to the Mahayana Realm!
A Mahayana Realm cultivator under a hundred years old! What kind of concept was that?!
Looking across the tens of thousands of years of history of the Tianxuan Continent, anyone who could reach the Mahayana Realm at this age was without exception an astonishing, heaven-defying monster who would eventually ascend to the Ascension Realm!
Such a genius had actually appeared in a Yuxu Sect that had only recently been rebuilt!
The three elders exchanged glances, all seeing deep dread and killing intent in each other's eyes.
If such a monster was not eliminated today, once she fully matured, the Wutong Holy Land would inevitably face grave danger!
"Attack together! Kill her! We absolutely cannot let her leave here alive!"
The three Mahayana Realm cultivators struck simultaneously, holding nothing back. Their very first moves were killing blows, clearly determined to slay Bai Qianshuang on the spot!
Bai Qianshuang directly summoned her avatar. A massive, thousand-foot golden lotus slowly bloomed behind her. Every fluctuation tore the space behind her apart, sending countless streaks of golden light surging toward their attacks!
The moment their techniques clashed, the golden light grew even more blinding!
The Mahayana cultivators frowned. Bai Qianshuang had only just broken through to the Mahayana Realm, yet she could actually take their full-force strike head-on, and even faintly hold the upper hand!
"Hold nothing back! With the three of us joining forces, how can we not take down a little girl who just broke through?!"
Spells clashed relentlessly, emitting deafening booms. The terrifying shockwaves of energy scattered in all directions, causing the entire mountain range of the Yuxu Sect to tremble violently.
The sect's protective grand array had long been completely shattered, yet not a single disciple of the Yuxu Sect took a step back. They tightly gripped their magical artifacts, their eyes glued to the battle in mid-air, ready to rush forward and assist at a moment's notice.
But ultimately, they were vastly outnumbered. Bai Qianshuang's robes were torn in several places, and a large patch of them was stained crimson with blood.
Yet, gripping her spiritual sword, Bai Qianshuang refused to yield a single inch.
Seeing this, the leading elder let out a sinister sneer:
"Brat, so what if you are a peerless genius? Today, your death is certain! Die!"
"Hahahahahahaha! A genius who doesn't live long enough to grow will only become dust!"
As his words fell, the three Mahayana realm cultivators gathered their spells once more. Their terrifying power was so immense that it painted the boundless sky with its hues, changing the very colors of the heavens and the earth!
"Yuxu..." A hint of absolute resolve flashed through Bai Qianshuang's eyes. She prepared to burn her very origin essence to desperately block this fatal strike.
But just at that moment, an imposing voice suddenly rolled in from the horizon, ringing clearly in the ears of everyone present:
"I'd like to see who dares to lay a hand on my person."
Before the echo of the voice faded, a streak of light tore through the vast sky, instantly appearing on the battlefield.
The figure simply waved his hand casually, and a surge of pitch-black energy erupted with a resounding boom. The full-force attacks unleashed by the three Mahayana cultivators vanished without a trace, melting away as easily as snow under the sun!
"What?!" Seeing the techniques they had painstakingly gathered broken so effortlessly, the cultivators immediately fixed their gazes upon the figure!
Bai Qianshuang was stunned for a moment. Upon seeing that familiar silhouette, her tightly strung nerves finally relaxed.
"Ye Chuan..."
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
