Chapter 1670: The Five Chariot Battle
Qin Mu and Lord Shang gazed into the distance. In the heart of the Yuan Realm, the five chariot armies of the Heavenly Court had emerged in full force, attacking from the flank.
Lord Shang said, "Celestial Venerable, do you need me to act?"
He was an expert in assassination, capable of lurking amidst the chaos of battle, slaying the enemy's high-ranking officers. Plucking the head of a general from a million-strong army was as easy as reaching into his own pocket. If the various commanders of the Heavenly River Navy were all killed, the army would be leaderless, its battle formations thrown into chaos, and its deployments scattered like loose sand. In such a situation, Carefree Realm could win easily.
"No need."
Qin Mu's eyes flickered, and he shook his head. "Celestial Venerable-level existences deter each other and won't act lightly. If you make a move, you'll expose yourself and create a flaw. If other cultivators or Celestial Venerables seize the opportunity, it will be your death. For beings like us, the moment we act is the moment we gamble everything. In this Heavenly Punishment, the main force of the war lies in the frontline clash between the divine and demon armies of both sides."
Lord Shang was somewhat puzzled but didn't ask further.
He wasn't the type to pry into details.
Qin Mu had thought more deeply than him. The war between the Heavenly Court and the Yuan Realm was not merely a battle of Celestial Venerables, but a collision of two ideologies. Celestial Venerables could certainly decide the outcome of a battle, but what determined the victory of an ideology were the ordinary divine and demon soldiers, and the nations behind them.
In the face of this surging torrent, Celestial Venerables, and even cultivators, were just members of the battlefield. They could contribute their strength and influence the course of the battle, but they could not decide the outcome between the stubborn faction of the Heavenly Court and the reformist faction of Eternal Peace.
The Eternal Peace Reformation, one hundred and seventy years old, had now come to the time to test its results.
Qin Mu gazed into the distance and saw that behind this Battle of Carefree Realm, the Heavenly Court's fortune was blazing brightly, illuminating half of the western sky of the Yuan Realm.
That was the countless armies of the Heavenly Court, escorting the civil and military gods of the Heavenly Court and Emperor Hao, rushing toward this place.
The Battle of Carefree Realm was merely a slowly unfolding prelude.
Once the prelude was over, the true, magnificent epic of war would begin!
Suddenly, amidst the advancing armies of the Heavenly Court, two Dao Trees rose slowly. Dao light formed the colossal faces of Emperor Hao and the Supreme Emperor Taichu, vast and awe-inspiring.
"Showing off their power? How do they compare to me?"
Qin Mu's mind stirred, and his divine treasury domain spread out, the World Tree growing larger and larger.
He took a step and descended upon Eternal Peace. The World Tree was lush and verdant, like a giant canopy covering a stretch of sky.
The main commander of the Heavenly Court's five chariot armies was the Left Junior Steward, named Yan Sheng, a Throne powerhouse. He personally commanded and directed the five chariots.
The five chariot armies belonged to a branch of the Earth Division among the three divisions. The Heavenly Court had three divisions: the Water Division, the Earth Division, and the Divine Division. The Water Division was on water, called the Heavenly River Navy, commanding towering ships and great vessels, galloping across the Heavenly River and traversing all realms. The Divine Division was in the sky, composed of half-gods with feathered wings.
The Earth Division was on the ground, possessing various ground-marching armies, such as the Five Chariots, the Pole Army, the Four Supports, the Seat Flags, the Three Platforms, the Xuan Yuan, the Bow and Arrow, and other forces. Each army had different responsibilities, with very detailed classifications.
The Heavenly Court's five chariots were divided into the War Chariot, the Broad Chariot, the Gap Chariot, the Screen Chariot, and the Light Chariot. At the center were the Heavenly Treasury Towers, each an unassailable divine tower and a heavy treasure of the Heavenly Court.
The divine towers had layer upon layer of doors. When the doors opened, various military chariots surged out like a tide.
Unlike Eternal Peace's flying chariots, Eternal Peace's flying chariots could make the furnaces that provided their power very small—one chariot, one furnace, and four bronze beasts, allowing them to soar into the sky and dominate the air.
The five types of precious carriages of the five chariot armies, due to inferior casting techniques, rarely had flying carriages. They were often bulky.
Each carriage had three furnaces: one furnace was responsible for the pivot transmission, driving the carriage forward; one furnace was responsible for artillery fire, providing energy for the heavy divine cannons on the carriage; and the other furnace was responsible for the two bronze beasts at the rear, which spewed flames for acceleration.
These three furnaces required three alchemists to manage. Because the medicinal stones were not fully utilized, the carriages often had chimneys billowing thick black smoke. Hence, the five chariot armies were jokingly called the "Smoke Army," leaving a trail of foul smoke wherever they went.
The reason Eternal Peace's flying chariot furnaces could be made so small was not only due to Eternal Peace's exceptional casting skills but also because they trained a large number of alchemists.
The Jade-Faced Medicine King had widely taught his skills. The furnaces in Eternal Peace's flying chariots often burned spirit pills.
Using highly purified spirit pills instead of medicinal stones resulted in complete combustion, requiring fewer furnaces, allowing the size to be minimized, and providing faster acceleration and greater explosive power.
That said, the Heavenly Court's five chariot armies were extremely powerful on the ground. The Water Division above attacked the Carefree Realm's naval ships, while the five chariots below pushed forward from the ground.
The divine cannons of the five chariots coordinated with the Water Division, firing upward from below. Beams of divine light pierced the sky, weaving into a net, causing heavy casualties in Carefree Realm.
However, from Emperor Shakra's Ark of the Other Shore, Eternal Peace's flying chariots had already emerged.
These flying chariots were called Cloud Chariots. Each Cloud Chariot had a sword tower. The divine and demons of Carefree Realm on the chariots were all masters of sword techniques or sword Dao. When the carriage doors opened, the sword pellets in the sword towers rolled out.
The sword pellets fell downward like glowing silver balls. Each sword pellet was small but incredibly heavy. Each pellet was composed of two thousand flying swords refined to an extremely fine size.
As the sword pellets fell, the sword technique and sword Dao divine and demons on the Cloud Chariots connected their divine consciousness and primal energy to the pellets. The pellets began to spin wildly, and countless flying swords, as thin as silver needles, flew out from the spinning pellets, rapidly enlarging.
At this point, there was no need to use any complex sword techniques or moves. Only one basic sword stance was needed: thrust.
No need to worry about what moves the enemy used, what treasures they activated, or their formation. From above, pour all your magical power and divine consciousness downward and thrust!
This was sword rain carpet-bombing!
Countless sword rains fell from the sky, piercing the bodies of the divine and demons of the five chariot armies, piercing their primordial spirits, and piercing through the precious carriages and war chariots. Men and chariots tumbled!
When the furnaces of the precious carriages were pierced, terrifying fluctuations erupted. The furnaces exploded, and fragments of shattered carriages and the limbs of divine and demons flew into the air.
In the sky, flying chariots wove back and forth. The fallen flying swords whistled back into the air, forming sword pellets again. Under the control of the soldiers on the Carefree Realm flying chariots, they flew forward, continuously carpet-bombing the ground. Wherever they passed, the Heavenly Court's five chariot formations fell into chaos.
Left Junior Steward Yan Sheng commanded from the central army, his face cold. With a shout, the doors of the five Heavenly Treasury Towers all opened. From the towers emerged Broad Chariots, all identical.
These Broad Chariots were larger than ordinary ones, with higher wheels and thicker walls. However, they had no furnaces. As they slid out of the towers, the Heavenly Court soldiers inside activated summoning divine abilities. The sky split open, revealing countless cracks!
Behind those cracks lay the vast world of the Beast Realm.
Huge, fully armored beasts soared through the air, leaping into the cracks and descending from the Beast Realm!
These giant beasts were ancient behemoths of the Beast Realm, with immense bodies. They roared as they arrived in the Yuan Realm, and then chains flew out from the Broad Chariots, locking onto the collars around their necks.
The giant beasts charged, pulling the massive Broad Chariots as they rampaged. Some beasts spread their wings, pulling the chariots into the sky. The divine and demons inside the chariots activated their divine weapons from behind the railings, attacking the flying chariots of Carefree Realm!
These ancient behemoths were impervious to flying swords. Even when divine swords struck their bodies, they were blocked by their tough hides. In an instant, countless flying chariots were shattered and fell from the sky.
On the ground, the charging beasts roared incessantly, pulling the Broad Chariots toward Linguan City.
Linguan City was the first divine city on the cliff near the Supreme Heavenly Realm. The city was vast, and the soldiers inside had long prepared. However, seeing the tide of giant beasts surging toward them, their faces turned pale.
Upon seeing this, Fisherman Han Tang immediately stood up and said, "Three senior brothers, it's time for me to go to battle!"
Woodcutter Saint said, "The Lord of the Beast Realm, Long Xiao, is untrustworthy. He fears power. You must be wary of him turning against us."
Fisherman Heavenly Master quickly departed, his voice echoing from afar: "I understand! I was in charge of animal husbandry in the Imperial Court of the Opening Heaven era. My beast-taming methods are not necessarily inferior to those of Celestial Venerable Long Xiao!"
He led his troops out of the Supreme Heavenly Realm. As the Heavenly Master in charge of animal husbandry in the Imperial Court of the Opening Heaven era, his divine soldiers and generals were all experts in the way of animal husbandry. They activated their summoning divine abilities, and the sky split open again, with ancient behemoths descending from the Beast Realm.
Fisherman Heavenly Master and his subordinates soared into the air, landing on the backs of the giant beasts. They descended before Linguan City, waiting for the charge of the five chariot armies!
Seeing this, Left Junior Steward Yan Sheng's stern expression vanished. He laughed heartily and stood up abruptly: "The enemy Han Tang has finally lost his patience! In this battle, Han Tang will surely die!"
His arms lifted, and two more arms grew from his armpits. His four arms reached toward the central army of the five chariot armies, extending terrifyingly far, grabbing four Heavenly Treasury Towers.
His primordial spirit rose behind him, seated in his celestial palace, and reached out to grab the fifth Heavenly Treasury Tower. He hurled it forward with force!
The five Heavenly Treasury Towers spun, flying forward, passing over the Heavenly Court's five chariot armies. With five thunderous booms, they crashed down before Linguan City, right into the midst of Han Tang's army!
Fisherman Han Tang roared, and together with his divine soldiers and generals, they fully controlled these ancient behemoths. The essence, energy, and spirit of man and beast merged, strengthening their own essence, energy, and spirit. They formed a formation and braced themselves against the five Heavenly Treasury Towers!
The five towers landed, and five types of precious chariots surged out from within, charging into the army.
From the fish basket on Han Tang's back, two small red fish flew out, transforming into two massive Kun fish. They opened their mouths wide, swallowing the precious chariots. Han Tang's subordinates also opened their cloth bags, releasing various strange beasts to attack the enemy.
Those chariots and precious carriages only focused on charging forward toward Linguan City. They blocked attacks when they could and died when they couldn't. Casualties were heavy.
But Fisherman Han Tang did not relax at all. Suddenly, he shouted, "Beware of the beast army's charge!"
The ancient behemoths pulling the Broad Chariots crashed into them with a thunderous impact!
Beast collided with beast, shaking the earth and sky. Fisherman Han Tang soared into the air, landing on a red Kun fish, and shouted, "Listen to my orders! Activate the beast-taming talismans!"
His subordinates slapped their cloth bags, and countless talismans flew up, sticking to the foreheads of the enemy's giant beasts.
Han Tang and his men activated their techniques, and one by one, the giant beasts were subdued. However, at that moment, Left Junior Steward Yan Sheng flew over, channeling his magical power. A massive dragon scale whistled through the air, floating in midair. The sound of dragon roars faintly echoed from within the scale!
The ancient behemoths, just subdued, saw this dragon scale, and the talismans on their foreheads burst into flames, causing them to lose control!
"Han Tang, this is Celestial Venerable Long Xiao's dragon scale!"
Left Junior Steward's robes rustled as he landed on a Heavenly Treasury Tower, laughing: "With Celestial Venerable Long Xiao's dragon scale revealed, your beast-taming scriptures are utterly useless! Today is your day of death!"
At the same time, the Heavenly River Navy's armies emerged in full force, forming battle formations. Heavenly Master Zhu Shaoping personally stood at the front, waving a large banner. The banner shook, and the flow of the Heavenly River changed direction!
That massive river split on either side of the Ark of the Other Shore, rushing toward the Supreme Heavenly Realm. A fleet of towering ships and great vessels unleashed a curtain of cannon fire, pouring down upon the Supreme Heavenly Realm. This enormous realm rapidly thinned, on the verge of being snapped in half!