Chapter 1672: The River of Stars Turns and the Milky Way Pours Down
"The Primordial Realm needs a victory! A resounding, morale-boosting triumph!"
In the Southern Sea, islands dotted the ocean like a scattering of stars, large and small. The Crimson Emperor and the Bright Emperor stood before the Five Dragon Isle in the Southern Sea.
The remnants of the Crimson Bright clan, manifesting as three-headed, six-armed divine beings, charged out from the islands, engaging in a bloody battle on the sea surface against the thirty-nine army marquises of the Heavenly Court. In truth, any single one of those army marquises, if deployed alone, commanded more divine demons than the entire Crimson Bright Suspended Realm!
The number of divine demons in the Crimson Bright Suspended Realm was equivalent to only a single celestial realm. Although the Crimson Bright clansmen were fierce and skilled in battle, their physical bodies and primordial spirits exceptionally powerful, capable of fighting three enemies single-handedly, they were still precariously balanced against the enemy's superior numbers.
That the Crimson Emperor and the Bright Emperor had managed to hold out this long was due to the support of the Southern Emperor, Vermilion Bird.
The Southern Emperor, Vermilion Bird, had few troops, but his daughter, Yan'er, was one of the most valued generals under the Venerable Master of the Yan Kang era. Although her progress had been delayed for a time due to childbirth, her cultivation realm had already reached the Imperial Throne stage, making her one of the rare Imperial Throne powerhouses in Yan Kang.
She had led her troops here, and with the Southern Emperor, Vermilion Bird, holding the line, they formed a pincer formation with the Crimson Bright remnants, tying down the forces of the thirty-nine army marquises of the Heavenly Court. Otherwise, the Crimson Bright Suspended Realm would have struggled to last this long.
But even with Yan'er's support on the flank, the Crimson Emperor and the Bright Emperor still found it exceedingly difficult to achieve victory. The two Heavenly Emperors from the Crimson Bright era had been dead for far too long. Although resurrected, their cultivation realms and techniques had fallen behind the times.
In recent years, they had absorbed the reforms of Yan Kang and grown rapidly, but they still lacked time.
And the Heavenly Court would not give them that time!
With the thirty-nine army marquises of the Heavenly Court, each backed by an Imperial Throne powerhouse, and the Crimson Emperor, Qi Xiayu, whose cultivation and strength were unfathomable, the Crimson Emperor and the Bright Emperor had no chance of victory!
"The Primordial Realm needs a great victory."
Yan'er's gaze fell upon the Crimson Emperor's army holding the rear. There, flames soared to the sky, phoenixes danced, and fire blazed fiercely, boiling the sea.
Within the flames, a vision manifested of a nine-headed phoenix soaring through the celestial palaces!
"The Crimson Emperor, Qi Xiayu, is a hidden agent I planted alongside the Moon Venerable."
The Southern Emperor, Vermilion Bird, came to her side, his eyes also fixed on the nine-headed phoenix. "She is a disciple of mine and the Moon Venerable's, planted within the Heavenly Court. If she were to suddenly lead her forces to strike, we could form a three-pronged attack! The casualties inflicted on the thirty-nine army marquises would not be great!"
Yan'er asked, "Then why hasn't the Crimson Emperor acted? What is she waiting for?"
The Southern Emperor, Vermilion Bird, hesitated for a moment before replying, "Back then, she betrayed the Earth Mother Primordial Lord and defected to the Southern Emperor. Then she was captured by Crown Prince Mingya and betrayed the Southern Emperor to join the Heavenly Court. This was a plan I devised with the Moon Venerable. I worry that she..."
He couldn't bring himself to continue.
Yan'er said, "You're worried she's grown reluctant to give up the power of the Heavenly Court?"
The Southern Emperor nodded. "The Heavenly Court has already enfeoffed her as a Heavenly Venerable. She stands above the countless beings and gods, second only to the Heavenly Emperor! Once someone becomes one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables and becomes addicted to power, there's no turning back. To make her turn back and become the hidden agent for me and the Moon Venerable, we need a great victory. But this victory..."
Yan'er's heart sank. But this victory was impossible to achieve in the Southern Sea.
Right now, the Crimson Emperor, Qi Xiayu, had yet to make up her mind.
If she made up her mind and personally led the demigod army of the Southern Heaven to attack, that would be the moment she fully became one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, with no possibility of ever returning!
Where would this victory, which would decide the fate of the Primordial Realm and Yan Kang, come from?
The Western Lands.
Yue Tingge, even surrounded by beautiful women, wore no smile on his face. He looked up at the celestial realms above, where the White Emperor, leading twenty-seven army marquises, had built an impenetrable fortress city of iron and stone. The battle between the two sides was on the verge of breaking out.
The Yan Feng Emperor had decreed that Yue Tingge was to be in charge of the Western Lands campaign. However, after arriving in the Western Lands, Yue Tingge discovered that this was arguably the weakest link among Yan Kang's territories!
Back when the Primordial Realm's seal was broken, the Western Lands had become isolated, no longer contiguous with Yan Kang, turning into an exclave.
The Western Lands had been maintained thanks to the control exerted by Bear Qier, the palace master of the True Heaven Palace, and Xu Shenghua of the Upper Firmament. Yan Kang had also established teleportation portals to facilitate transportation and trade. With the Yan Kang reforms, the Western Lands had become a crucial part of the whole.
But due to the great distance and Xu Shenghua's absence, defending the Western Lands had become the greatest challenge.
The Western Lands boasted the two sacred grounds of the True Heaven Palace and the Upper Firmament Academy. Fortunately, the Western Emperor, White Tiger, had also established a third sacred ground here. Many maidens of the White Tiger divine clan, formidable in combat, also lived here.
But the number of troops was simply too few.
The towering mountains, lakes, and rivers of the Western Lands were all awakened by the women of the Western Lands, transforming into colossal giants that touched the sky. Every blade of grass and every tree became a soldier, resisting the White Emperor's army.
Yue Tingge had once been the number one strategist of the Heavenly Court, a man of great renown. But even the cleverest housewife cannot cook a meal without rice. The Western Lands had too few divine demons, leaving him stretched thin.
Fortunately, the women of the Western Lands were exceptionally skilled in the art of awakening spirits, capable of transforming mountains, rivers, grass, and trees into living beings.
But even so, Yue Tingge was under immense strain. Moreover, although the Western Emperor, White Tiger, had projected his presence, his true body had not arrived, so his support for the Western Lands was limited.
"White Tiger is hesitant. He thinks Yan Kang might not win, so he's unwilling to send his main forces."
Yue Tingge knew this well. By now, a spiritual energy transfer bridge had been established between the Western Lands and the Western Extreme Heaven. It wouldn't be difficult for the White Tiger and the White Tiger divine clan army of the Western Extreme Heaven to descend.
The reason the Western Emperor, White Tiger, was delaying was that he believed Yan Kang was doomed to lose. He didn't want to invest all his hopes here.
"Right now, in any battlefield, if just one side can achieve a victory—a great victory—it can turn the tide of this unfavorable situation!"
Yue Tingge let out a turbid breath. Looking up at the fierce army of the Heavenly Court descending from the Upper Firmament, he gritted his teeth. "No matter what, we have to hold the line, hold out until news of a great victory arrives!"
The Northern Lands of the Primordial Realm, the Icefield of Kan, Shuofang City.
Here, it was freezing cold, a world of ice and snow. The divine cities of the Kan region were all cities of ice. Wei Suifeng stood in the biting wind of Shuofang City, gazing into the distance. Opposite him, the Northern Heaven's Black Emperor, Nian Guanhe, led forty army marquises, allied with the Demon Ancestor, Great Black Heaven. The number of demon gods was so vast it blanketed the icefield.
Behind Wei Suifeng were the Imperial Guard who had once followed him. Besides them, there were also the defenders of the Kan region. They wore no armor, only thick cloaks that bulged around their bodies.
On their backs, they carried the Northern Emperor's divine weapon of the Black Tortoise Great Emperor, the Five Thunder Gourd. In addition, the city's treasury was piled high with various Five Thunder Gourds, White Tiger divine weapons, Vermilion Bird war chariots, and Azure Dragon blades forged by Yan Kang—all imitations of the Four Emperors' divine weapons.
Wei Suifeng rubbed his hands together, wiping the ice crystals from his eyebrows. He chuckled, "This battle will be tough. The Northern Heaven's forty army marquises, plus that old scoundrel Great Black Heaven, could flatten me just by pushing forward. Damn it, the Black Tortoise and the other emperor still don't dare to descend directly and fight it out with the Heavenly Court! This couple is far too cautious!"
Doo-doo—
A clarion horn sounded. The forty demon god armies of the Heavenly Court split into different paths, bypassing Shuofang City and advancing towards other divine cities in the Kan region!
"Damn! This is a snake-luring tactic! That old fox Nian Guanhe saw that Shuofang's defenses are the strongest, so he's attacking the other cities, forcing me to leave the city and fight him head-on!"
Wei Suifeng gritted his teeth. Raising his war banner, the Imperial Guard soldiers simultaneously channeled their magical power. The massive ice sheet of the Kan region cracked open, and magnificent warships burst forth from the ice.
Wei Suifeng led his troops charging out of the city, shouting, "Activate the divine weapons!"
The Imperial Guard and the Shuofang city defenders followed him in the charge. Countless Five Thunder Gourds shot into the sky, their gourd mouths wide open. Five-colored thunderclouds blotted out the sky and sun, and rain fell like a storm of lightning upon the icefield.
However, the forty army marquises' diversionary attack on the other cities was merely a ruse to lure him out. As soon as Wei Suifeng rushed out of Shuofang City, the demon army led by Great Black Heaven and the forty army marquises encircled him.
Wei Suifeng fought steadily, but he knew that the Yan Kang soldiers of the Kan region couldn't hold out for long on their own. They needed the support of the Northern Emperor, Black Tortoise.
And to make the Northern Emperor, Black Tortoise, and his wife make up their minds, they needed an unprecedented victory!
This victory was the key to changing the course of the war!
The Eastern Sea. Flags fluttered on the warships. Jiang Baigui sat in command before the formidable pass of Jiangling in the Eastern Sea, gazing into the distance as the Eastern Heaven's Azure Emperor's army appeared on the horizon.
Yan Kang had mobilized as many divine demons as possible, but compared to the Azure Emperor's divine demon army, Yan Kang's entire national force was only one-tenth of the Azure Emperor's army!
This time, the Eastern Heaven's Azure Emperor had led sixty army marquises of the Eastern Heaven—the Heavenly River, Eastern Xian, Western Xian, Heavenly Spoke, Chariot Rider, Chariot Cavalry, and Array Chariot—all the most powerful feudal lord divine demon armies of the Heavenly Court!
The Azure Emperor was in no hurry to attack. His first move was to set up camp, advancing step by step, fortifying his position, showing no intention of seeking battle.
"The Azure Emperor's use of troops is watertight."
Yan Kang's National Teacher, Jiang Baigui, gazed at the aura of the Azure Emperor's divine demon army and said calmly, "As expected of the Imperial Venerable's enlightenment tree. But unfortunately, the Azure Emperor lacks wisdom. If the Hao Heavenly Emperor gave him thirty army marquises, I couldn't defeat him. But giving him sixty army marquises—he can't control them. He can't defeat me! Talent not matching one's position is his path to ruin!"
Jiang Baigui raised his command flag and led his troops out of the city. "Now, the question is: will my teacher achieve merit first, or will I?"
Just then, a divine being suddenly burst out of the teleportation portal in Jiangling, his expression one of extreme excitement. He shouted, "Victory! The Carefree Realm has shattered the Heavenly River Navy! A complete victory!"
The corner of Jiang Baigui's eye twitched. He murmured, "Teacher, you are still one step ahead... Advance—"
The Yan Kang divine demon army of Jiangling charged towards the Eastern Sea. The various units formed complex formations, endlessly changing. As the Yan Kang army charged, their formations shifted.
From the smallest unit of five soldiers, to squads of ten, platoons of twenty, companies of a hundred, battalions of five hundred, regiments of two thousand five hundred, and divisions of five regiments, every formation, from the smallest to the largest, was under Jiang Baigui's control!
His mastery of formation tactics was meticulous, surpassing even Yan Yunxi!
His command ability had reached the absolute peak!
"A pity the Azure Emperor is too cautious. Otherwise, this first great victory would have been mine!"
The news of the Carefree Realm's victory spread through one teleportation portal after another, reaching the Southern Frontier, the Southern Sea, the Western Lands, and the Kan region. Then, through the spiritual energy transfer bridges, it was sent to the Western Extreme Heaven, the Northern Extreme Heaven, and all the other celestial realms and myriad worlds!
The Heavenly Court had launched its campaign against the Primordial Realm with overwhelming force. The Heavenly River Navy had clashed with the Carefree Realm in the heartlands of the Primordial Realm. Wen Tiange had shattered the Heavenly River Navy. Zhu Shaoping had led the remnants in a rout. The Taiyin Empress had been wounded and fled far away. The Five Chariot Army had been completely annihilated!
In this battle, countless ships of the Heavenly River Navy had been captured, the Heavenly Court's heavy weapons seized, their losses were devastating, and prisoners were innumerable!
The waters of the Heavenly River had been stained crimson!
The news spread like wildfire, shaking the myriad worlds!
The Western Lands. On the battlefield, Yue Tingge stood in a sea of blood, his face covered in gore. But he lifted his head and let out a low chuckle. "The first strategist of the Kaihuang era, Wen Tiange. Though he was once my defeated foe, he fought this battle beautifully!"
And then, the sky was filled with golden light. The radiance of the spiritual energy transfer bridge became immensely thick. Countless divine maidens of the Western Extreme Heaven's White Tiger divine clan, fully armed, were descending through the bridge!
Meanwhile, beyond the heavens, the Western Extreme Heaven itself was being pulled by a tremendous force, drawing closer to the Western Lands of the Primordial Realm!
The Western Emperor, White Tiger, was about to descend!
—Wishing reader Ji Ni a happy birthday! Ji Ni is too beautiful! Ji Ni is truly too beautiful... Ji Ni, come out and leave a comment! Can you still be first?
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