Who is causing trouble for whom is still up in the air.

“Your Majesty, that move of yours is absolutely ruthless.” Xue Wuhen grinned broadly, the old wound on his chest still aching faintly, but he was laughing with genuine delight. “That old bastard Li Cangming pulled down the Spirit-Suppression Array to screw us over, and now Your Majesty is luring the aberrants right back to his doorstep—call it returning the favor in kind!”

“Well said.” Wang Hao nodded. “Which is why I need someone to carry it out.”

He looked at the Heavenly Sword.

The Heavenly Sword transformed into human form, leaning against a pillar with arms crossed. At the remark, he raised an eyebrow. “You want me to go to the Central Province and light the incense?”

“Not just light the incense. I need you to take the Aberrant-Luring Incense, infiltrate the Central Province, and find a suitable spot on the periphery of the Sixteen Holy Grounds to light the burner. After it’s lit, you need to leave before the aberrant tide fully forms—the incense has a lethal allure for aberrants, but it has no effect on living beings. All you have to do is place the burner and walk away.”

“That simple?”

“That simple.”

The Heavenly Sword was silent for a moment, then asked a question no one had expected.

“Can I grab a bite of the Central Province’s aberrants while I’m at it?”

Wang Hao’s mouth twitched. “Is there anything in that head of yours besides eating?”

“Yes.” The Heavenly Sword said with absolute seriousness.

“I can also curse out those old fossil bastards of the Central Province. I wanted to do it back at Tianxu Peak but never found the chance. This trip to the Central Province is the perfect opportunity to settle the score I didn’t finish last time.”

“…Don’t mess up the real mission.”

“Relax. I never mess up a mission when I’m cursing people out.”

On the night the Heavenly Sword departed, Wang Hao stood alone on the city wall of Zhennan Pass, watching a black streak of sword-light vanish into the northern horizon.

The night wind was strong, whipping his imperial robes to and fro.

The five million three hundred thousand people of Nan’an City were still fast asleep, unaware that their emperor was orchestrating an operation that could reshape the balance of the entire continent.

“Your Majesty.” Wei Zhongxian’s voice came from behind him. “You should get some rest.”

“Can’t sleep.” Wang Hao tucked the Myriad Hearts Lamp back into his sleeve and turned to face Wei Zhongxian. “Old Wei, tell me—what I’m doing… is it right?”

Wei Zhongxian was silent for a moment, then said something that caught Wang Hao off guard.

“Master, this old servant has served you for three years, and I’ve never seen you hesitate. What’s different today?”

Wang Hao paused, then let out a bitter chuckle. “Because what I’m hesitating over isn’t tactics—it’s morality. Luring aberrants into the Central Province—I’m doing my best to avoid residential areas, but casualties are inevitable. Those common folk are innocent; they have nothing to do with the Sixteen Holy Grounds.”

“But if Master doesn’t do it, the Sixteen Holy Grounds will.” Wei Zhongxian’s voice was calm. “When they dismantled the Spirit-Suppression Array, they didn’t spare a single thought for the lives of the South Sea Dragon Clan or the Eastern Wasteland.”

Wang Hao fell silent.

Wei Zhongxian was telling the truth. When Li Cangming pulled down the Spirit-Suppression Array, the lives of the South Sea Dragon Clan and the Eastern Wasteland meant less than shit to him. He didn’t care how many innocent souls the aberrants would devour—he only cared whether he could use the aberrants to weaken the Eastern Wasteland.

“I’m not like Li Cangming.” Wang Hao finally spoke. “I don’t use my people as pawns.”

“This old servant knows.” Wei Zhongxian bowed. “That’s why Master hesitates. And Li Cangming never would.”

Wang Hao gave Wei Zhongxian a long, searching look, then turned back to face the north.

“Old Wei, send word to Xiao Chen—speed up the mining operation. Once the Heavenly Sword stirs up trouble in the Central Province, the Sixteen Holy Grounds won’t have the mind to pay attention to those ore veins. We need to have every vein in our grip before they even react.”

“Your servant obeys.”

The Heavenly Sword was fast.

From Zhennan Pass to the Central Province border was a straight-line distance of over eighty thousand li. He covered the entire journey in a single day and night, setting foot on Central Province soil at dawn of the second day.

The terrain of the Central Province was nothing like the Eastern Wasteland. The Eastern Wasteland was vast plains and coastal hills; the Central Province was a sprawl of jagged mountain ranges and deep gorges.

The mountain gates of the Sixteen Holy Grounds were nestled among these peaks, every gate a fortress unto itself, each shrouded in the colored glow of its protective grand formation, the light of the arrays shimmering faintly in the morning rays.

The Heavenly Sword’s first stop was the periphery of Heavenly Sword Mountain.

Heavenly Sword Mountain was the second-ranked power among the Sixteen Holy Grounds. Its mountain gate sat atop a solitary peak ten thousand zhang high, the mountain itself shaped like an unsheathed sword thrusting straight into the clouds.

For a hundred li around the gate sprawled dozens of outer outposts and training grounds for disciples. Beyond that stretched endless primeval forests, teeming with low-grade aberrants that had been suppressed by the Spirit-Suppression Array.

The Heavenly Sword landed on the summit of a nameless peak, pulling the Aberrant-Luring Incense from his sleeve.

The burner was no bigger than a fist, its surface engraved with dark red runes. Following Wang Hao’s instructions, he placed the burner at the most open spot on the summit and lit the wick.

Gray smoke rose from the top of the burner, slowly dispersing in the morning breeze.

The Heavenly Sword stood beside the burner, waiting for about the time it takes to burn one stick of incense.

Then he heard it—a rustling sound drifting from the forest in the distance. The sound of aberrants on the move. One, two, ten, a hundred—more and more aberrants surged from the depths of the woods, charging madly toward the burner.

“Here we go.” The Heavenly Sword grinned, and his form vanished from the summit.

He didn’t leave the Central Province. Instead, he flew to a taller distant peak, observing the commotion around Heavenly Sword Mountain from afar.

The aberrant tide formed faster than he’d expected.

In less than half an hour, over ten thousand aberrants had poured out of the primeval forest surrounding Heavenly Sword Mountain. Level six, level seven, even level eight—every aberrant that caught the scent of the Aberrant-Luring Incense lost its mind, hurtling toward the peak where the burner sat.

But the burner was placed at the mountain’s summit, and around that mountain were the outer outposts of Heavenly Sword Mountain. For the aberrants to reach the burner, they had to pass through those outposts first.

The disciples stationed at the outposts were scared out of their wits by the sudden surge of the aberrant tide.

They had no idea why the aberrants had suddenly gone berserk. All they knew was that these monsters, usually suppressed deep in the forest by the Spirit-Suppression Array, were now charging out like mad things, biting anyone they saw, swallowing anything that moved.

“Enemy attack! Aberrant tide!” The alarm bells of the outer outposts echoed through the valley.

The disciples grabbed their weapons, activated the defensive formations, and fought desperately to hold the line against the tide.

But there were too many aberrants—over ten thousand swarming in at once. The defensive strength of the outer outposts simply wasn’t enough.

In less than the time it takes to burn one stick of incense, the first outpost was overwhelmed and swallowed by the aberration tide.

The Heavenly Sword stood on the distant peak, watching the chaos unfolding at the periphery of Heavenly Sword Mountain, that infuriating smirk plastered on his face.

“You bastards of Heavenly Sword Mountain—aren’t you so good at fighting? Go on, fight the aberrants then. Show me what you’ve got. I’m in a good mood today, so I won’t curse at you—go have your fun.”

He turned and flew to his next stop—the Chixiao Holy Ground.

The Chixiao Holy Ground was the number-one power among the Sixteen Holy Grounds of the Central Province.

Its mountain gate was nestled within a cluster of volcanoes, dozens of active volcanoes encircling the central main peak. From the mouths of these volcanoes poured endless rivers of crimson magma, the molten rock saturated with dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

The defenses of the Crimson Cloud Sacred Ground were even more formidable than those of the Heaven Sword Mountain.

Over a hundred watchtowers and arrow towers were positioned across its outer strongholds, with Void Realm experts stationed atop each one. Layers of runic formations stacked upon one another, sealing off the entire region within a hundred li of the mountain gate with an airtight defense.

But the smoke of the Spirit Luring Incense ignored every one of those defenses.

Heavenly Sword placed the second incense burner at the mouth of a dormant volcano on the outskirts of the Crimson Cloud Sacred Ground. The moment the burner was lit, gray smoke rose from the crater, spreading across a hundred li in the morning breeze.

Deep within the wild forests surrounding the Crimson Cloud Sacred Ground, countless low-tier aberrations suppressed by the Array of Suppression dwelled in great numbers.

Driven mad by the scent of the Spirit Luring Incense, they charged recklessly toward the burner.

And the burner had been placed squarely in the dead center of the Crimson Cloud Sacred Ground's outer defense line.

A tide of aberrations surged from every direction, encircling the outer strongholds of the Crimson Cloud Sacred Ground in a full siege.

The garrison forces fought desperately, but there were too many aberrations, and they were too frenzied. The defense line began to collapse after holding for less than two hours.

A level-eight aberration burst out from the deep mountains, swallowing the tallest watchtower of the outer strongholds in a single bite. The Void Realm expert stationed atop the tower was devoured with a scream, leaving not even a bone behind.

Within the Crimson Cloud Sacred Ground, alarm bells rang without cease.

Li Tianxing stood in the main hall of the central peak, his face ashen, listening to the urgent reports streaming back from the outer strongholds. His fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles cracked, and his teeth ground audibly.

"Why are the aberrations rioting? Isn't the Array of Suppression still active?"

No one could answer his question.

On a distant mountain peak, Heavenly Sword watched the chaos unfolding at the edges of the Crimson Cloud Sacred Ground and nodded in satisfaction.

"The Crimson Cloud Sacred Ground—hm, they did a bit better than the Heaven Sword Mountain. Held out for two whole hours before collapsing. But that's about it. This one thought you all were tougher than that, yet you can't even hold off a level-eight aberration."

He turned and flew toward the next destination.

Myriad Laws Sacred Sect. Cinnabar Cloud Sacred Land. Azure Fall Palace. Grand Void Observatory. Star Court.

One incense burner after another was lit, and wave after wave of aberration tides erupted across the Central Plains. Of the Sixteen Sacred Grounds, twelve saw their outer defenses struck by aberration tides. Five had their outer strongholds completely destroyed, and seven were forced to retreat their defense lines.

The entire Central Plains had descended into utter chaos.

Heavenly Sword returned to Zhennan Pass on the evening of the third day.

He landed on the city wall, his steps as light as if he had just returned from a pleasure outing. His black sword-patterned robe was spotless, not a single drop of aberration ichor on it—his trip to the Central Plains had been purely a matter of arson, not a single fight fought.

"Done," Heavenly Sword said, handing the empty incense burners back to Wang Hao. "Twelve Sacred Grounds, twelve burners, all lit. The aberration tides have formed. The heaviest impact hit around noon today—both the Crimson Cloud Sacred Ground and the Heaven Sword Mountain have had their outer defenses collapse."

"Casualties?" Wang Hao took the burners.

"Unknown. This one didn't bother to look closely," Heavenly Sword shrugged. "But certainly heavy. The aberration tide is even larger than we anticipated—there were far too many aberrations suppressed in the deep mountains and forests of the Central Plains. The Array of Suppression held them down for thousands of years, and now they've all been unleashed at once. The sight of it—tsk, tsk."

Wang Hao tucked the burners into his sleeve and looked north.

"Li Cangming must be quite busy right now."

"Busy? This one thinks he's about to lose his mind," Heavenly Sword grinned. "You should've seen his face—this one swept it with his divine sense from a distant peak. His expression went from red to purple, purple to green, green to white—like a chameleon changing colors."

Wang Hao smiled, but there was no triumph in it—only a cold, calm stillness.

"This is just the beginning. Once the second wave of aberration tides forms, he'll be even busier. I don't expect the aberrations to wipe out the Sixteen Sacred Grounds—that would be unrealistic. I only expect them to tie things up for three months. Three months from now, my injuries will be healed, my armies will be reorganized, and my spirit stone reserves will be replenished. When that time comes, we'll see who comes knocking on whose door."

He turned and descended from the city wall, his figure vanishing into the shadows of the ramparts.

Behind him, Heavenly Sword stood atop the wall, gazing at the faint black mist on the northern horizon—not the black mist of the Southern Sea, but the black mist of the Central Plains. With the Spirit Luring Incense lit, the aberration tides of the Central Plains were spreading, dark haze rising from the deep mountains and forests, coalescing into a murky gray cloud layer across the sky.