The End of the War

When Qin Ran walked back from outside the sect, the battlefield in the sky was in full swing. He stood on the ground, looking up for a while, observing the Golden Core battlefield under Li Shiyin's command—defense, offense, and killing executed in an orderly manner, resembling the formations of mortal armies.

If the Xuan Qin doppelganger sought to establish a unified immortal dynasty, cultivators would inevitably need militarization. What Li Shiyin displayed now was the embryonic form of such militarization.

Truly worthy of the Li family. The doppelganger should take Shiyin along to help train the cultivator army.

As for the Primordial Spirit battlefield, Sect Leader Gu Yueming stood at the center, locked in combat with enemy Primordial Spirits.

Qin Ran watched for a while but had no intention of joining the fight. Instead, he returned directly to Dan Peak. This battlefield was not his; his battlefield lay elsewhere.

Under the ancient locust tree on Dan Peak, two people were chatting—Qin Ran and Lu Junxing. Qin Ran was treating Lu Junxing's injuries.

Though Qin Ran had pulled Lu Junxing back from the brink of death, the latter remained extremely weak, almost half-crippled. He lay motionless on a recliner, his body paralyzed.

When he saw one of Qin Ran's doppelgangers return from outside and merge back into the Qin Ran before him, he couldn't help but sigh, "Little Uncle, your doppelganger technique is truly profound."

Qin Ran smiled as he worked on detoxifying and repairing Lu Junxing's body. "This is my trump card when I roam the world."

"Then your collection of trump cards must be vast," Lu Junxing said through gritted teeth, chuckling despite the pain. "Who did you meet outside, Little Uncle?"

"Myself," Qin Ran replied with a mysterious grin.

Considering the unfathomable nature of Qin Ran's doppelganger, Lu Junxing didn't doubt him and nodded seriously.

This train of thought led him to reflect on Qin Ran's meticulous planning and control over the entire war, which had allowed them to effortlessly defeat an enemy several times their size.

Qin Ran's brilliance gave Lu Junxing a whole new perspective on the cultivation world. It turned out that intellect and strategy could be so powerful.

He pondered Qin Ran's doppelgangers, even suspecting that they might already be scattered across the Land of Immortal Legacy—or perhaps even beyond.

Lu Junxing was a peerless genius, arguably the strongest in the Land of Immortal Legacy. Though tempered by trials into a more composed demeanor, his pride was innate. Few cultivators ever earned his genuine respect.

Even Li Shiyin was someone he regarded as a junior.

Only Qin Ran commanded his admiration.

This admiration had nothing to do with talent or cultivation level but stemmed from a strategist's brilliance. If Lu Junxing were an undefeated general, Qin Ran was the mastermind behind flawless schemes.

"Little Uncle, do your doppelgangers span the world?" he asked with a smile.

Qin Ran was momentarily stunned, never expecting Lu Junxing to hold such a lofty view of him.

He shook his head with a laugh. "Impossible."

"I think it's possible," Lu Junxing murmured, lying on the recliner as he gazed through Dan Peak's protective formation at the distant battle. After a while, he sighed, "It's finally over!"

"Over?" Qin Ran glanced at the brutal fight in the sky. "This isn't the end. It's only the beginning."

"The beginning?" Lu Junxing frowned, turning to him in confusion.

"Once the wheels of fate begin turning, they cannot be easily stopped. Once ambition is stirred, it cannot be easily quelled." Qin Ran murmured, watching the battle outside. "After Zhican Valley, there's the Boundless Sword Sect. After the Boundless Sword Sect, there are the minor sects in the Hengduan Mountains. The war has only just begun."

"We still have to fight the Boundless Sword Sect?" Lu Junxing frowned.

"The Boundless Sword Sect is two-faced, playing both sides between us and Zhican Valley. While we were locked in fierce combat, they were already raiding Zhican Valley's stronghold, seizing resources." Qin Ran explained. "So you see, we fought Zhican Valley to the point of sect destruction and countless deaths, yet gained nothing. The Boundless Sword Sect reaped all the benefits. How can the world allow such a thing?"

"Moreover, whether it's resources or alchemists, the Boundless Sword Sect's power is about to surge. With greater power comes greater ambition. Even if we don't provoke them, they'll come for us."

Lu Junxing thought it over and sighed, knowing Qin Ran was right.

"No need for sighs. Once we defeat the Boundless Sword Sect and absorb their strength, the Dao Sword Sect will become the number one sect in the Land of Immortal Legacy," Qin Ran reassured him with a smile.

"Endless war..."

Qin Ran's gaze drifted to Li Shiyin at the heart of the battlefield. Soon, there would be war with the Boundless Sword Sect, then the restructuring of order in the Hengduan Mountains, followed by the grand campaign to unify the world in collaboration with Xuan Qin. Truly, an endless war—one with no end in sight.

"Endless indeed," he echoed with a sigh.

Outside, knowing victory was assured, Gu Yueming and Li Shiyin fought cautiously to minimize casualties, so the battle would not end anytime soon.

Qin Ran resumed treating Lu Junxing.

"You need to recover quickly," he said. "You're the Dao Sword Sect's ultimate weapon. Restoring the sect's glory is your duty."

"My duty?" Lu Junxing swallowed a pill Qin Ran had specially refined for him. "What about you?"

"I'm just an old man who should have retired long ago. I have no interest in worldly affairs."

"Old man?" Lu Junxing burst into laughter. "You're half my age. To put it bluntly... I watched you grow up."

The image of a lofty elder instantly crumbled. Qin Ran was left speechless.

Though Lu Junxing addressed him as "Little Uncle," the truth was that Lu Junxing was much older—by at least two decades.

"Ah..." Qin Ran sighed, withdrawing his hands. "Uncle Lu, rest and recuperate for now. I need to check on Long Qiqi's progress with the antidote."

Without another word, he left Lu Junxing and headed for the Research Building.

"Hey! Little Uncle, are you serious?" Lu Junxing called after him, aggrieved. "What kind of healer abandons a patient mid-treatment? You brat, how can you be so petty?"

Ignoring him, Qin Ran entered the Research Building and stepped into Long Qiqi's alchemy—or rather, poison-refining—chamber.

The room was a chaotic mess, filled with toxic fumes, resembling the noxious sewers of Zaun.

After searching through the haze, he finally spotted Long Qiqi's petite figure by the cauldron.

Even he feared the poison here, having taken an antidote before daring to enter.

As he approached, he got a clear look at Long Qiqi's state and was startled. She appeared utterly wretched, like a deranged little girl rummaging through garbage for food.

"You... how did you end up like this?" Qin Ran asked in disbelief. "Didn't I already refine the antidote to suppress the poison? You just needed to add two more herbs. Was it really that hard?"

Hearing his voice, Long Qiqi stopped, turned around, and glared at him with narrowed eyes, her lips pursed in anger. "Big brother, I'm just a little snake demon at the Foundation Establishment stage!! Did you get something wrong?!"

"Ah? I... I thought your alchemy skills were already advanced. You could casually concoct poisons lethal enough to kill a Primordial Spirit cultivator," Qin Ran said hesitantly. "Isn't that the case?"

Long Qiqi froze. So, in Qin Ran's eyes, her alchemy skills were that impressive?

A faint sense of pride flickered in her heart, but she continued glaring at him. "My alchemy skills are indeed high, and I did refine the antidote. But that doesn’t excuse your laziness!"

"Ahem!" Qin Ran cleared his throat awkwardly, glancing at the alchemy furnace to change the subject. "How far along are you?"

"I just added Tongyuan Grass..." Long Qiqi replied, setting aside her complaints as she picked up the alchemy report. "Earlier, I tried a few spirit herbs, but either the effects were terrible or their properties clashed..."

"That’s right, Tongyuan Grass is the key," Qin Ran nodded. "See? You figured it out yourself."

"And for the record, I wasn’t slacking off. I dismantled the poison array, saved Lu Junxing, killed Elder Sun in passing, and still had to refine healing pills for the injured at Dan Peak. Do you think I have a thousand clones or something?"

"Hah! You knew Tongyuan Grass was the solution?" Long Qiqi's eyes widened. "And you didn’t tell me?!"

"I was honing your alchemy skills..." Qin Ran said without batting an eye, stepping in to assist her while casually manipulating her. "Mindlessly refining failed pills in the alchemy chamber won’t help. Real progress comes from hands-on experience."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say!" Long Qiqi rolled her eyes.

The antidote was still primarily refined by Long Qiqi, with Qin Ran assisting and occasionally offering guidance.

After two more attempts, she finally succeeded.

The battle in the skies lasted nearly three days. While cultivators from Zhican Valley were either killed or captured, the Dao Sword Sect’s strategy toward other sects was simple: kill if possible, let them flee if not.

Seeing the tide turn and the Dao Sword Sect showing no interest in pursuing them, most outsiders quietly retreated.

Thus, the sect’s enemies dwindled further.

When Sect Leader Gu Yueming and a few Primordial Spirit cultivators ganged up on Qiu Huahui, beating her into submission and capturing her, the sect’s defensive war officially ended.

Leaving aside the interrogation of prisoners—complete with wax and whips—and the disciples scavenging the battlefield for spoils and collecting fallen comrades, Li Shiyin led the severely wounded back to Dan Peak.

"Ah?!" Zhang Junyi stared at the overwhelming number of injured, his mind blank. He turned to the makeshift beds lining Sword Washing Lake and groaned, "Are you trying to kill me?!"

With Long Qiqi busy refining the antidote, he had been single-handedly tending to the wounded. Though the Chief Alchemy Hall later sent assistants to help, the only temporary physicians available were him and Zhou Fu—neither skilled in alchemy, but capable of basic treatments.

Still, Zhang Junyi had no choice but to gather materials for more makeshift beds. At least with the war over, time and manpower were no longer in such short supply.

Meanwhile, Li Shiyin trudged into the alchemy chamber and wrapped her arms around Qin Ran from behind.

"Master," she murmured softly.

Qin Ran took her bloodied, scarred hands into his own, gently massaging them with a pained expression.

"Are you hurt?" he asked tenderly.

Li Shiyin pressed her face against his back and shook her head. "Nothing serious... but I’m so tired."

She had fought two battles—one where she slew a Primordial Spirit cultivator, and another where she commanded despite her injuries. Even as a Golden Core cultivator, the mental exhaustion was overwhelming.

Qin Ran turned and lifted her into his arms, letting her cling to him like an octopus.

"Rest now. It’s over," he whispered, stroking her hair.

"Mmm." Nuzzling against his chest, she nodded obediently and closed her eyes, drifting off in his embrace.

He rocked her gently, humming a lullaby as if soothing a child.

"Chief!" Zhang Junyi’s urgent voice cut in as he rushed into the chamber. "Two poisoned disciples are in critical condition—their hearts are failing, and their cultivation can’t suppress it anymore. You need to—"

He trailed off upon seeing the scene before him. "...Please check on them."

"Mm." Qin Ran acknowledged, and a doppelganger stepped out from behind him, following Zhang Junyi.

Once alone, he summoned another clone to handle alchemy while he carried his beloved, foolish disciple out of the Research Building. His footsteps were light as he crossed the stream and returned to their cabin.

Laying her down on the bed, he gazed at her delicate face from up close.

"Being first, an immortal dynasty, ruling the world... none of it matters to me," he murmured. "Only you do."