Chapter 1693: Bloody Battle at Jade Cliff Pass (Long Chapter)
"And also the Human Sovereign Su Mozhe!" the Village Chief stepped forward, his hand on his sword but not drawing it, speaking in a clear voice.
The other Human Sovereigns looked over, extremely envious. At this moment, following closely after the First Ancestor to announce one's own name was truly majestic and imposing. Who would have thought that Little Suzi had seized the advantage? Announcing one's name after him would seem like mere accompaniment, lacking any grandeur.
The Village Chief couldn't help feeling somewhat smug, greatly pleased in his heart: "These old fellows must be dying of jealousy!"
Just then, the opposing Grand Supreme Divine Marquis laughed heartily and said, "Human Sovereign Qin Wu, I have heard of him. Back then, he was so frightened by the Netherworld Emperor that he wet his pants and became a deserter. As for Human Sovereign Su Mozhe, I've never heard of him!"
The other Human Sovereigns burst into laughter, looking triumphantly at the Village Chief.
The Village Chief's face flushed with shame as he said, "The supreme man has no self; the spiritual man has no achievement; the sage has no name. It's normal that he doesn't know my name. After today's battle, my name will be very famous..."
The crowd roared with laughter.
The Village Chief's face turned even redder, and he stammered, "You old immortals, after today's battle, I will surely become renowned throughout the world..."
The Grand Supreme Divine Marquis shouted loudly, "My warriors, activate your divine weapons and level Jade Cliff Pass! Only by reaching the shore can we have a way to survive!"
Whoosh—
Before Jade Cliff Pass, a million divine weapons soared into the sky, varying in size, like clouds blotting out the sun, flying toward Jade Cliff Pass!
The thirty-nine southern heavenly army lords had suffered a great defeat. Struck by a counterattack from Red Emperor Qi Xiayu, and then pursued by Red Emperor, Bright Emperor, Yan'er, Southern Emperor, and others leading their troops, they had abandoned all kinds of supplies and heavy equipment in their flight for survival, keeping only their divine weapons and sharp tools as they fled lightly.
Along the way, countless comrades had been left behind to cover their retreat. Only this million divine demons had escaped with their lives.
But even so, they still outnumbered the Yankang divine beings led by the Human Sovereign Hall by ten times!
Moreover, those who had survived the Southern Sea battlefield alive were the cream of the crop, each possessing extremely high skills.
A million divine weapons soared into the air, erupting with intensely brilliant divine light as they charged toward Jade Cliff Pass. This scene was so magnificent, so shocking!
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign's body trembled, and behind him, a heavenly palace leaped forth. On the Lingxiao Hall, his primordial spirit sat on the imperial throne, suddenly rising.
"The sun circles the mid-heavens, flowing through ten thousand ages!"
His Imperial Throne realm's magical power erupted, and his vast and mighty divine abilities transformed into a massive vortex, sweeping up the million divine weapons and sharp tools, spinning them around Jade Cliff Pass with a roaring sound. The power of those divine weapons erupted, but within this torrent of divine weapons, they attacked each other, exploding with bangs!
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign's divine ability was called the Heaven and Earth Seal. His cultivation was extremely profound, and when his magical power drove his divine abilities, it was truly astonishing!
The million southern heavenly divine demons before Jade Cliff Pass were horrified, but then a dozen figures shot into the sky, charging toward the First Ancestor Human Sovereign at the top of Jade Cliff Pass.
Behind them, heavenly palaces leaped forth—these were Imperial Throne realm powerhouses among the thirty-nine southern heavenly lords!
Among the southern heavenly lords, there were not a few Imperial Throne realm experts. Although a few of these Imperial Throne realm beings had died in the Southern Sea battle, the battlefield was chaotic. With fewer troops, Qi Xiayu, Red Emperor, Bright Emperor, Yan'er, and Southern Emperor had chosen to maximize enemy casualties by erasing the enemy's effective strength as much as possible, gradually whittling down their military power. Thus, these experts had escaped.
These Imperial Throne realm powerhouses charged up to Jade Lock Pass. Now was the time when the First Ancestor Human Sovereign was at his weakest. While simultaneously resisting a million divine weapons, he was under immense pressure. At this moment, his own defense was empty. If they surrounded and attacked him at close range, he would absolutely die on the spot in an instant!
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign lifted his foot and stomped heavily, his divine ability changing.
Heaven collapses, earth sinks, mourning the autumn wind!
His divine ability erupted, with himself as the center, space collapsing toward him. The million divine weapons, tattered and broken, converged madly, colliding violently, and formed a huge divine weapon iron ball before him!
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign held this divine weapon iron ball with both hands and pushed it toward the dozen Imperial Throne realm powerhouses!
The twenty-sixth layer of the Heaven and Earth Seal technique: A mountain can be moved, but the will remains unmoved!
His Dao realm erupted, and the unmovable will was fully contained in this single strike!
Those dozen Imperial Throne realm powerhouses were greatly shocked. Also at the Imperial Throne realm, the First Ancestor Human Sovereign's strike contained the Dao realm, making him closer to the Dao than them, and the power of his divine ability was even stronger!
"Fortunately, we outnumber him!"
The Grand Supreme Divine Marquis roared, and the dozen Imperial Throne realm powerhouses simultaneously erupted with their divine abilities, striking at that divine weapon iron ball!
The magical power of both sides was pushed to the extreme. The huge iron ball formed from a million divine weapons instantly twisted. Countless divine weapons were shattered, cracked, broken, and melted by the immense force!
Boom!
The iron ball was burned red-hot by the power of the divine abilities, then exploded. The molten liquid of divine gold and divine iron spread like a great curtain across Jade Cliff Pass.
The momentum of the dozen Imperial Throne realm powerhouses was slightly blocked. The First Ancestor Human Sovereign staggered backward. Just then, a sword light pierced through the curtain formed by the molten divine gold liquid, and the Sword Dao heavens spread out!
Swish, swish, swish—the sword light shimmered, carrying the golden liquid and iron slurry like a tide surging forward. In his sword light, one wave had not yet settled before another rose!
The Village Chief wielded his sword. Although his cultivation was not high, his Sword Dao attainment was extremely profound. As soon as he struck, it was the thirty layers of Sword Dao heavens!
In his early years, before retiring, he had already been a Sword Dao True God. At the Divine Bridge realm, he could fight True Gods at the Southern Heavenly Gate realm without losing, and his Sword Dao was even named after a sword diagram. At that time, his Dao realm had already reached the tenth layer of Sword Dao heavens.
In recent years, with the Yankang reforms, he had presided over the Wen Dao Academy, and after being tempered and honed by the Kai Emperor, his Sword Dao attainment had grown higher and higher!
Although his Sword Dao foundation was not as good as prodigies like Qin Mu, Kai Emperor, or Jiang Baigui, it was more solid and steady.
His thirty layers of Sword Dao heavens displayed combat power second only to the First Ancestor, truly stunning!
When his thirty layers of Sword Dao heavens were fully revealed, the golden liquid and iron slurry formed from a million divine weapons transformed into the form of thirty layers of heavens, frozen in place!
Sword light reflected on those thirty layers of heavens. Countless dense Sword Dao runes leaped within the heavens, like Sword Dao steel stamps.
Sword Dao runes were the most basic sword techniques, with only twenty sword forms. The twentieth form was the Sword Domain!
The thirty layers of heavens, like a huge Sword Dao divine artifact, appeared in a magnificent and spectacular posture among those dozen Imperial Throne realm powerhouses.
These Imperial Throne realm powerhouses were dodging the Village Chief's sword light. After they avoided his sword techniques, they realized they had fallen into this huge divine artifact!
The Village Chief roared like thunder, activating his Sword Dao, but the huge divine artifact remained motionless.
The successive generations of Human Sovereigns led the Yankang soldiers under their command, standing in strict formation, ready to meet the charging southern heavenly army. Seeing the Village Chief's face turn red but unable to activate the thirty-layer Sword Dao heavens divine artifact, they quickly shouted, "Suzi, why don't you activate the Sword Dao?"
"I don't have enough magical power!"
The Village Chief's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He had indeed wanted to fully activate the power of this Sword Dao divine artifact, but once the artifact was formed, his magical power could not control it!
Those dozen southern heavenly Imperial Throne realm powerhouses each breathed a sigh of relief and immediately rushed out of the thirty-layer Sword Dao heavens divine artifact, trying to kill the Village Chief before he could activate it.
Just then, the First Ancestor Human Sovereign stepped forward: "Su Mozhe, Primordial Spirit Guidance!"
The Village Chief understood. His primordial spirit soared into the sky, and at the same time, the First Ancestor's primordial spirit also flew out. Their primordial spirits intersected in midair, their primordial energy merging, and the power of the thirty-layer Sword Dao heavens divine artifact instantly erupted!
The power of the Sword Dao divine artifact was immeasurably greater than the Village Chief's sword techniques. It immediately enveloped those dozen southern heavenly Imperial Throne realm powerhouses, and the erupted Sword Dao at this moment caused a magnificent scene of layers of heavens spinning above the surface of the Southern Sea!
At this moment, the radiance of the Sword Dao was clearly visible to Southern Emperor, Qi Xiayu, and others who were still mopping up the remnants of the southern heavenly troops. They couldn't help but look over.
"Has the Kai Emperor been resurrected? Or is it Mu the Honored Master making a move?" Qi Xiayu asked in surprise and uncertainty.
The power of the first layer of the thirty-layer Sword Dao heavens divine artifact was not particularly strong, but it grew stronger with each layer. Three of the southern heavenly Imperial Throne realm powerhouses trapped in the thirtieth layer were instantly devoured by the Sword Dao's power, sliced to pieces, their physical bodies and primordial spirits utterly destroyed!
The other dozen or so southern heavenly powerhouses forcibly broke out, but they were also covered in wounds. The most miserable were those in the twenty-ninth and twenty-eighth layers, whose bodies had almost no intact flesh left.
Just as they rushed out of the Sword Dao divine artifact, the massive divine artifact suddenly collapsed, shattering into powder.
After all, the Sword Dao divine artifact was not personally refined. It was formed by the Village Chief's Sword Dao, by chance, melting a million divine weapons into a Sword Dao divine artifact. After this activation of its power, it exceeded the artifact's endurance, which was why it broke.
Nevertheless, the results of this strike were extraordinary.
At the same time, the million defeated southern heavenly divine demons charged up Jade Cliff Pass. The successive generations of Human Sovereigns led the Yankang soldiers and immediately fell into a desperate battle!
"Hold on!"
Qi Kang the Human Sovereign shouted loudly, "Hold on until Southern Emperor and Qi Xiayu arrive, and we will be victorious!"
"Anyone who blocks me, dies!" The southern heavenly soldiers charged in like madmen, terrifying to behold.
They knew that if they were blocked at Jade Cliff Pass, then what awaited them would inevitably be the pursuit of Red Emperor, Bright Emperor, Red Emperor, Southern Emperor, and others. By then, all of them would be buried here.
Only by cutting a bloody path and breaking through Jade Cliff Pass could they join forces with the Heavenly Court army!
This war was truly a war of blood and gore, a meat grinder, and the most terrifying battle of cornered beasts. The defeated southern heavenly army went berserk, fearless of death. No matter how many were killed, not a single one retreated or surrendered!
Around the successive generations of Human Sovereigns, familiar faces also fell. Human Sovereigns, too, suffered losses.
And the First Ancestor, joining forces with the Village Chief, had to face over a dozen Imperial Throne realm powerhouses, making the slaughter even more brutal.
Gradually, the sky grew dark, but the battle at Jade Cliff Pass was still not over. In the distance, a Moon Guardian passed by, casting moonlight that illuminated Jade Cliff Pass, stained red with blood and gore.
The battle continued. The moon tilted, and the Moon Guardian, steering the Moon Boat, drifted further and further away.
By the time the moon disappeared and the sunlight of the Sun Boat gradually rose, Red Emperor Qi Xiayu's Phoenix Boat and Southern Emperor Yan'er's Yankang Flying Feather Army finally arrived at Jade Cliff Pass.
Red Emperor and Bright Emperor's troops were slower, still behind.
They looked ahead and saw that the continuous majestic passes of Jade Cliff Pass were hung with divine demon corpses, and at the bottom of the cliff below, divine demon corpses were also piled up.
Inside the pass, fluctuations of divine abilities could still be heard. Red Emperor Qi Xiayu immediately controlled the Phoenix Boat to charge forward, leaping over Jade Cliff Pass. They saw that the battlefield stretched nearly a thousand miles behind the pass, with divine demons killed in battle everywhere along the way, and war fires still burning.
The Phoenix Boat continued flying forward, catching up to the fluctuations of divine abilities. They saw the First Ancestor Human Sovereign, Su Mozhe, and others leading several thousand Yankang soldiers, fighting the enemy in a near-frenzied slaughter.
Of the generals beside the First Ancestor, only six or seven remained.
Of the hundred thousand soldiers, only these were left. Even among the Human Sovereigns, only eight survived.
The Battle of Jade Cliff Pass was unimaginably brutal.
The First Ancestor looked up, his eyes filled with blood. In the blood-red color, he saw countless nine-headed phoenixes flying from the Phoenix Boat.
Blood tears flowed from his eyes. They had finally held on until this moment.
The defeated southern heavenly army was completely annihilated by the troops of Red Emperor and Southern Emperor Yan'er. Red Emperor and Bright Emperor also arrived belatedly with their Red Bright army. The generals gathered at Jade Cliff Pass, each silent.
This Battle of Jade Cliff Pass was far too brutal. However, Qin Mu could not send more troops. He could only let the First Ancestor and the others pile up with their flesh and blood, holding the line.
The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.
Suddenly, a voice rang out, accompanied by clapping: "You are all very good, very good. Truly worthy of being trained by Seventh Young Master, fighting without fear of death. Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird, Red Emperor, Bright Emperor—the three of you gathered together saves me the trouble of searching for you one by one."
Everyone followed the sound and saw three ancient gods with strange appearances walking over.
These ancient gods looked truly bizarre, yet among the myriad heavens and worlds, there were no such three ancient gods, leaving everyone puzzled.
"The Heavenly Emperor Hao has ordered me to eliminate Southern Emperor, Red Emperor, and Bright Emperor."
One of the ancient gods smiled and said, "I will not kill anyone else. The three Dao friends, please step forward."
In the Supreme Purity Realm of Carefree Village.
Qin Mu's eyes flickered: "Cloud the Honored Master, if I were Third Young Master or Fourth Young Master, I would never let Second Young Master and the Heavenly Emperor Hao separate. I would take the opportunity to seal Second Young Master inside the Heavenly Emperor Hao's body, not allowing her to come out and disrupt the situation. This way, we could save one person."
"Save one person, and we can win?" Cloud the Honored Master stepped forward and asked.
Qin Mu asked, "Do you know what the most useful construction of the Yankang reforms was?"
Cloud the Honored Master shook his head.
"The most useful was the teleportation portal that Yan Feng Emperor, with red eyes, emptied the national treasury to create."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "My father-in-law back then almost emptied the national treasury. He hid in the palace eating chaff and vegetables, and even almost sold his imperial robes! Later, I helped him out, and he managed to get through. After my wife ascended the throne, she went even further. In every city, every pass, wherever Yankang's territory extended, she built teleportation portals. The teleportation divine ability was a divine ability created in the Kai Emperor era. Carefree Village also has such portals."
Cloud the Honored Master said, "What do you mean?"
"The Spirit Official Hall Master flying to various places takes time. Reaching different locations has different speeds—there's a time difference."
Qin Mu said, "Between you and me, the person left behind must reach the battlefields in various places in an extremely short time to kill his thirty ancient god clones!"
Cloud the Honored Master said, "But the person left behind must deal with Second Young Master and the Heavenly Emperor Hao!"
Their eyes met, then each averted their gaze.
"I will stay behind."
Cloud the Honored Master smiled and said, "I cannot deal with the Spirit Official Hall Master's thirty ancient god clones like you can. My speed is not as fast as yours either. Leave Shang Jun to me to deal with Tai Chu, and I will deal with Second Young Master. Didn't you say I could deal with Second Young Master? I have already thought of this plan."
Qin Mu did not meet his eyes but smiled and said, "I believe you have already thought of it."
He was silent for a moment: "Back then, across the Heavenly River, across time and space, I toasted you with wine, but you could only respond with the water of the Heavenly River. Today, you and I must drink until we are thoroughly drunk!"
Cloud the Honored Master smiled and said, "I heard you never drink."
Qin Mu's eyes reddened, but his face remained calm as he said, "Today, I must drink."