"Whoosh~~"
Blood springs gurgled outwards, three Zhang high, the thickness of a grown human's palms.
"This time it's not a coffin, it looks like a tombstone!"
Hu Yan Zan looked at the blood spring spewing blood, entwined with lightning and shrouded in black mist, eerily strange.
Moreover, the lightning flashed with astonishing power. In Hu Yan Zan's estimation, a mere wisp of this lightning would be enough to obliterate both his and Shang Shi Tu's souls!
"Clang clang~~~"
Above the deep blood sea, blood mist billowed up, accompanied by crisp sounds.
Perhaps due to the distance or some anomaly, the sounds were sometimes hollow and distant, other times heavy and dull.
The blood spewed from the blood spring gradually weakened, revealing a black tombstone. The moment the blood spring stopped, the tombstone began to shimmer.
Its full visage was revealed, grand and majestic, an unparalleled dominance displaying the supreme might of its owner.
On the three-Zhang-high tombstone, there was only the character "烛!" (Zhú!), nothing else, completely bare.
"This Zhú?"
Hu Yan Zan was bewildered and dared not approach the mysterious tombstone, merely observing it from a distance with his eyes level.
"This Zhú is probably not simple."
"This entwined lightning, even a wisp of it, is enough to kill us. It must belong to an supreme being."
Shang Shi Tu recalled a scene from an ancient battlefield, where a supreme being struck with a palm, causing a vast Dao Province to collapse. In a lower realm, wouldn't a single palm strike be enough to destroy an entire world?
"Clang clang~~~"
"Clang clang~~~"
The sounds grew closer. The dense blood-red mist, capable of blocking their divine senses, made the two men grow wary. Since passing through the ancient forest, they had encountered no living beings, apart from those from the outside world.
Everything they had seen along the way, and the terrifying tombstone enveloped by wisps of lightning before them, all hinted that they had likely entered the core of this Blood Sea Suspended Coffin.
"Clang clang~~~"
"Creak creak~~"
A sound like wood being compressed echoed. The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a faint, dim green divine light flickering in the blood-red mist, swaying precariously as if about to extinguish at any moment.
"Creak creak~~"
An ancient ship emerged from the blood-red mist. It was empty, with no living being standing on it, and no one steering it. The ship, as if possessing consciousness, glided directly towards them and stopped at their feet. The faint green divine light they had seen earlier was merely a lamp.
A mysterious tombstone!
A peculiar ship!
For a moment, the two hesitated, unsure whether to board this vessel and venture into the deeper world.
"Gurgle gurgle~~"
The sound of flowing blood water rose again, and the water level began to rise rapidly. They could not hesitate here. With a decisive act, the two boarded the ship.
"Clang clang~~~"
"Creak creak~~"
As soon as they stood on board, the ship began to move. Wind chimes tinkled, and the faint green lamp guided their way. The mysterious ancient ship began to carry them towards the depths of the blood sea.
......
On the eighteenth day of the third month of the seventh year of the Great Han Imperial Dynasty, four days had passed since the four major powers of the Ancient Lion Kingdom betrayed the Gate of Fortune.
Following the power struggle between the Gate of Fortune, Lingxu Palace, and Anyuan Celestial Dynasty, the collapse of the teleportation array had significantly slowed the momentum of the war, leading to a brief period of peace.
The army of Anyuan Celestial Dynasty was steadily advancing towards the Gate of Fortune, and Lingxu Palace had once again gathered a million troops, beginning to push towards the border of the two provinces.
As for the Nine Li Celestial Dynasty and the Nangong family, their position was rather awkward. The reason Lingxu Palace and Anyuan Celestial Dynasty had publicly revealed the cultivation path of ultimate true gods to the Nangong family and the Nine Li Celestial Dynasty was merely to suppress the Gate of Fortune and divide territories, preventing any internal unrest.
Whether they sent troops or not was a matter of choice. If they wanted to attack the Gate of Fortune, they would have to traverse several provinces, and using teleportation arrays would be impossible.
After all, the Nangong family and the Nine Li Celestial Dynasty were not weak forces. If they opened their gates, the armies of the Nangong family and the Nine Li Celestial Dynasty descending upon their heartland and turning against them would surely bring disaster.
Therefore, the Nangong family and the Nine Li Celestial Dynasty, while loudly proclaiming their support for Lingxu Palace and Anyuan Celestial Dynasty, had not sent any troops. They had obtained the cultivation path of ultimate true gods effortlessly, so why traverse thousands of miles to do thankless work?
The Cloud Sea Province and Yan Yun Province, ruled by the Nangong family and the Nine Li Celestial Dynasty respectively, were separated from the territories controlled by the Gate of Fortune by Lingxu Palace and Anyuan Celestial Dynasty. Even if the Nangong family and the Nine Li Celestial Dynasty sent troops and seized land in the Gate of Fortune's domain, they likely wouldn't be able to hold onto it in the end.
It was better to remain uninvolved and watch from the sidelines!
These events, over the past four days, had gradually been reported back to the Great Han Imperial Dynasty, located on the sea thousands of miles away from the Gate of Fortune's territory.
"Your Majesty!"
"The Ancient Lion Kingdom, Blood Origin Celestial Dynasty, Sword Bone lineage, and Dragon Elephant Ancient Kingdom have jointly rebelled, and now Lingxu Palace and Anyuan Celestial Dynasty, two top powers, have dispatched troops to the Gate of Fortune!"
"War has broken out in the Gate of Fortune!"
"Your humble servant believes that the current situation is an excellent opportunity for the Great Han to send troops!"
"Whether it is to expand our territory or to obtain the cultivation path of ultimate true gods, these are sufficient reasons for the Great Han to dispatch troops!"
Li Si, clad in imperial robes, stepped forward and bowed: "Your Majesty, currently Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, and Qin Qiong have received the blessing of the Appointment Platform, stepping into the ranks of true gods. The blood qi of these three generals is soaring, and their combat power has skyrocketed, enough to suppress heavenly gods!"
"The Gate of Fortune is deeply embroiled in the combined forces of Anyuan Celestial Dynasty and Lingxu Palace, and has no energy to deal with the four powers of the Blood Origin Celestial Dynasty!"
"Your humble servant believes we should act with lightning speed, dispatch Generals Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, and Qin Qiong to first sweep through the Blood Origin, Sword Bone lineage, and Ancient Lion Kingdom!"
"Although these three forces each have a heavenly god suppressing them, they are not to be feared. These three generals possess the power to slay heavenly gods and will surely suppress them in one step, sweeping through the three forces and turning them into territories of our Great Han Imperial Dynasty!"
"As for the Gate of Fortune, Anyuan Celestial Dynasty, and Lingxu Palace, our Great Han Imperial Dynasty can watch from the sidelines. This way, we can first free our hands to thoroughly control the territories of the Blood Origin Celestial Dynasty, the Ancient Lion Kingdom, and the Sword Bone lineage; secondly, we can observe the true foundations of the Gate of Fortune, Lingxu Palace, and Anyuan Celestial Dynasty!"
"We can wait for a while, and once everything is clear, it will not be too late to mobilize our main army!"
......