In the middle of the ninth month of the ninety-first year of the Great Han, Guan Qiu, the Protector Law King of the Nine Dragons Cult, leading millions of Nine Dragons Cult disciples and piloting dozens of ordinary immortal treasure warships, launched a surprise attack on the eastern coast of the Southern Heavenly Immortal Dynasty. After several battles, they achieved victory after victory. To quell the wrath of the Southern Heavenly Emperor and cover up this shameful bloody battle, Duke Jin Xi, Duan Gan Bai, personally led an army of millions eastward.
In the battle of the Boundary Sea, with the help of Nan Tian Qing Xin, Duan Gan Bai spent several days and annihilated the million-strong army of the Nine Dragons Cult. He patrolled a hundred miles of the Boundary Sea but found no sign of Guan Qiu.
Several days later.
Under the Jade Bloodwood outside Southern Heavenly City, Southern Heavenly Immortal Dynasty.
"Cult Master!"
Guan Qiu, covered in blood, his features so mangled that his facial features were indistinguishable, knelt on both knees, looking up at the swaying love locks.
The scenes of the past flashed rapidly before his eyes.
"Alas!"
A sigh pulled Guan Qiu's thoughts back to reality. Guan Qiu turned his head slightly and saw a bald monk sitting against the west-facing cliff not far away.
"Master, why do you sigh?"
Guan Qiu's eyes were devoid of any expression. He looked at the monk before him and said softly.
"Amitabha!"
The monk stood up. He walked to Guan Qiu's side, looked at the countless wounds on his body, and shook his head. "This humble monk is Guang Ji of the Vajra Temple!"
"Oh!"
"So it's a master from the Vajra Temple!" Guan Qiu said coldly, then turned around and continued to look at the swaying love locks on the Jade Bloodwood. "Master, does love truly exist in this world? I have endured so much, yet why has she shown no response?"
"You came for her, didn't you!" Guang Ji extended his palm, and a love lock stained with blood appeared in Guan Qiu's sight, clearly engraved with the names Long Qian Ning and Duan Gan Bai.
"Miss Long, seeing your beloved already has a family, your millennia of struggles and hopes have turned out to be nothing but a dream. Benefactor, we all cherish and yearn for the romance and beauty of moonlit nights, but ultimately, we must face reality. The trivialities of life and the erosion of time will likely erase everything!"
"You came for love, sacrificing the lives of millions of beings from the Nine Dragons Cult, all to seek justice for Miss Long. But is this scene what she would have wanted to see?"
Guan Qiu's body stiffened. Before Long Qian Ning left, she had always warned him not to forget the promise they made when they founded the Nine Dragons Cult. But now, millions of disciples had vanished into thin air above the Boundary Sea.
"But... but what can I do?"
Guan Qiu's eyes were filled with tears, trembling slightly, but not a single drop fell. He shakily stood up, took the love lock from Guang Ji's hand, bowed slightly, and walked straight towards the Jin Xi Royal Mansion in Southern Heavenly City.
"Benefactor, the shore of repentance is near!" Guang Ji's expression changed drastically. The Guan Qiu before him, like Long Qian Ning that day, had lost his mind. Though alive, he was like a walking corpse.
Guan Qiu held the love lock and murmured to himself, "My love for the Cult Master, Guan Qiu, can surpass the Great Dao of the Immortal Realm. No living being can hinder my resolve." Su Dan Novel Network
That night, Guan Qiu sneaked into the Jin Xi Royal Mansion to assassinate Duan Gan Bai. Unexpectedly, he was exposed and failed. A sword thrust landed on Nan Tian Qing Xin's right shoulder. The failed assassin, Guan Qiu, had his head severed by Duan Gan Bai and hung under the Jade Bloodwood.
The news of Guan Qiu wounding Nan Tian Qing Xin reached the ears of the Southern Heavenly Emperor, Nan Tian Xun. Nan Tian Xun was enraged and ordered Duke Jin Xi, Duan Gan Bai, to lead five hundred thousand troops into the Boundary Sea and proceed to the Heavenly Treasure Realm. They were to kill all beings protected by the Nine Dragons Cult and, in a domineering manner, command the Great Han Emperor, Yang Hao, to hand over all the beings from the Ten Thousand Races originally belonging to the Nine Dragons Cult, or else, their forces would press on and destroy the Great Han Immortal Dynasty's core strength!
For a time, the Nine Realms were shaken. A conflict that was originally a romantic entanglement between a man and a woman escalated to pull the Southern Heavenly Immortal Dynasty and the Great Han Immortal Dynasty, two major powers, into a bloody war.
...
"The Southern Heavenly Immortal Dynasty has gone too far in bullying us!"
"The Nine Dragons Cult has long been within the territory of our Great Han. The people and beings living there are all subjects of our Great Han. How dare they so brazenly disregard my imperial majesty and the powerful army of our Great Han!"
Looking at the imperial edict of the Southern Heavenly Immortal Dynasty Emperor, Yang Hao was furious.
"Zheng Cheng Gong!"
Without hesitation, Yang Hao immediately looked towards Zheng Cheng Gong, the commander of the Second Army of the Ying Long Legion, who had recently emerged.
"Your subject is here!"
Zheng Cheng Gong stepped forward, his eyes filled with traces of blood, erupting with terrifying fighting spirit and a fiery rage. To disrespect the Great Han, to disrespect the Emperor, this was a great humiliation to all the people and subjects of the Great Han Immortal Dynasty.
"The Southern Heavenly Immortal Dynasty has bullied our Great Han and disregarded my imperial majesty. I order Zheng Cheng Gong to lead the Second Army of the Ying Long Legion to engage Duke Jin Xi. Yu Da You will be temporarily assigned to the Second Army. This battle will obliterate Duke Jin Xi's fifty thousand strong army!"
"Your subject obeys the decree!"
Zheng Cheng Gong saluted solemnly, accepted the imperial edict, and left the hall, urgently dispatching troops and generals to enter the Mi Cang Pass.
"Regarding the matter of the remains of the disciples of the Wuji Star Palace and the Heavenly Treasure Sect, has it been thoroughly investigated?" Yang Hao looked at Mao Xiang, the Commander of the Imperial Guards.
The Wuji Star Palace and the Heavenly Treasure Sect had been massacred, but many disciples' remains had been preserved. When the army was stationed there, signs of disturbance were discovered.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject has confirmed that a disheveled middle-aged man appeared at the ruins of the Wuji Star Palace and the Heavenly Treasure Sect. Following this clue, your subject traced him and identified him as Jiang Xing, the leader of the Burial Cult!"
Mao Xiang bowed respectfully and presented a meticulously drawn portrait of Jiang Xing.
"Jiang Xing!"
Yang Hao looked at the disheveled man in the painting.
"Your Majesty, this person's cultivation method is extremely strange, especially his act of stealing corpses. The Burial Cult he founded is also peculiar, with only him as a powerful individual. In order to steal more powerful remains, this person infiltrated the imperial mausoleum of the Southern Heavenly Immortal Dynasty, where he was injured by the Southern Heavenly Emperor, damaging his foundation. He is now in hiding in the Burial Cloud Realm."
"Interesting!"
Yang Hao seized upon the key point: only one powerful individual, and his foundation damaged. He probably wouldn't reach the Golden Immortal realm. If his injuries healed, why would he be so quiet?
"Issue an order to Er Zhu Rong to lead the White Tiger Legion north to attack the Burial Cult and occupy the Burial Cloud Realm!"
"Your subject obeys the decree!"
Mao Xiang said sternly.
"Order Zhou Yu to lead the First Army of the Ying Long Legion to assist the White Tiger Legion in the sea. The Burial Cult, standing alone, must be wiped out within ten days!"
"Your subject obeys the decree!"
Mao Xiang saluted. In just a few breaths, he took the imperial edict written by Wei Zhong Xian, bowed slightly to Yang Hao, and withdrew from the hall.
...
"Commander!"
On the southwestern Boundary Sea of the Great Han Immortal Dynasty, Zheng Cheng Gong wore the armor of the Ying Long Legion, with the peerless immortal treasure forged by Gan Jiang at his waist.
During this period, Gan Jiang had plundered countless rare treasures from the Great Han Immortal Dynasty's treasury. With his powerful refining abilities as a fourth-rank immortal craftsman, he had almost replaced all the weapons of the Great Han Immortal Dynasty's heroes with peerless immortal treasures.