Chapter 197: A Gathering of the Mighty
Si Yunxiang steadied her nerves, but when she looked up, Qin Mu had already walked far away. "I will not be inferior to this so-called tyrant's physique. We women of the Si family are born to be sect master killers! The previous Saintess killed the previous sect master, and I can do the same!"
The next day, they arrived at Hong County. The county had been breached two days prior. When some soldiers saw the Imperial Preceptor, they quickly reported, "Imperial Preceptor, many people carrying flags have entered the city."
"People carrying flags?"
The Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor was surprised. He pondered for a moment, glanced at Qin Mu, and said, "Pay them no mind. How many flag-carrying people are there?"
"Over a dozen. They all wear bamboo hats covering their faces and carry different weapons wrapped tightly in cloth. They don't look like good people."
"You may withdraw."
On the third day, they arrived at Qinghe County. Many flag-carrying people had also come here, far more than the day before—already fifty or sixty in number.
On the fourth day, at Wuyin City, several hundred flag-carrying people appeared within the city. Qin Mu did not explain the origins or intentions of these flag-carrying people, and the Imperial Preceptor did not ask.
On the fifth day, they left the government office, preparing to head out of the city toward Daxiang. Just as they stepped out of the yamen and onto the main street, they saw a strange figure wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a cloth-wrapped weapon rise from a seat by the yamen gate and follow behind them.
After a few more steps, another person emerged from a nearby alley, also wearing a bamboo hat pulled low, carrying a long cloth-wrapped weapon. Then, a burly man with a bamboo hat stood up from the roadside and followed them, clutching a long cloth bundle.
Before they even left Wuyin City, several hundred strange figures, almost identically dressed, were trailing behind them—men and women, old and young alike.
Shen Wanyun, Yue Qinghong, and the others turned to look back, their hearts uneasy. These people kept their bamboo hats pulled low, following at a steady distance, unwilling to reveal their faces. No one knew what they intended to do.
"Could they be the flag-carrying people? But why don't I see their flags?" Monk Yun Que murmured.
The Imperial Preceptor remained calm, completely unbothered by the hundreds following them.
Outside Wuyin City, not far from the city gate, there was a thatched pavilion. Beneath it sat two elderly tea sellers, a man and a woman. As they approached, the old man and woman looked up and called out, "Honored guests, would you like a cup of tea?"
Monk Yun Que muttered, "We just left the city; why drink tea now?"
The Imperial Preceptor said, "I am thirsty." With that, he sat down under the pavilion and asked for a cup of tea.
Qin Mu also sat down. The two elderly people each took a seat as well, and the four of them sat at the four corners of the table, each with a cup of tea before them.
Shen Wanyun, Yue Qinghong, and the others tried to step forward, but they found that no matter how many steps they took toward the pavilion, they remained in the same spot. The pavilion seemed very close, yet after dozens of steps, they were still in place.
Startled, they sprinted with all their might toward the pavilion, moving at incredible speed, but they were still about a zhang away. The pavilion appeared within arm's reach, yet it felt like a thousand miles away!
After a while, Qin Mu and the Imperial Preceptor finished their tea. The Imperial Preceptor stood up to pay, bowed slightly, and the old man and woman also stood and bowed slightly in return.
The two walked out of the pavilion. The Imperial Preceptor said, "Let's go. On to Daxiang."
Everyone looked puzzled but still followed. Yue Qinghong turned back and saw that the hundreds of bamboo-hatted figures had not followed them. Instead, they sat outside the pavilion, each holding a cup of tea, drinking in silence—a very strange sight.
"What a bunch of weirdos," Fox Lili said.
Si Yunxiang sidled up to Qin Mu and whispered, "Did you reach an agreement?"
Qin Mu nodded. "You'll know when the time comes."
They arrived outside Daxiang City. The outskirts were covered with camps and stockades as far as the eye could see. The Duke of Wei, along with the Champion and Huaihua Generals, had stationed their troops here, not yet launching an attack on Daxiang.
Daxiang was a key stronghold in the southern frontier, gathering thousands upon thousands of enemy troops. Various rebel forces had assembled, and disciples from all sects were arriving in an endless stream, ready for battle.
If war broke out, it would undoubtedly be an epic and magnificent conflict.
As Qin Mu walked along, he saw golden-armored giants pushing massive cloud chariots, practicing siege tactics. These golden-armored warriors were experts from the combat technique school who specialized in strengthening their physical bodies. They could instantly expand their bodies dozens or even hundreds of times, turning into giants clad in armor forged from a mix of bronze and gold, the armor itself half a foot thick.
When these giants practiced siege maneuvers, they wore iron chains and held shields while pushing the cloud chariots. The cloud chariots were complex, equipped not only with giant battering rams to smash city gates and walls but also with flying ladder carts that could rise over ten zhang high to rest against the walls, allowing soldiers to climb up.
In addition, officers were activating formation diagrams, spreading them out so soldiers could stand on them and practice battle formations.
There were also cavalry riding giant birds, diving downward under their commanders' lead. Thousands of sword beams shot straight down, and with one dive, an area of over ten mu was filled with embedded flying swords!
After the cavalry flew past, the flying swords on the ground whooshed up one after another, falling into the sword boxes on their backs. The flying cavalry moved like wind and lightning, making them impossible to guard against.
And there was not just one flying cavalry unit, but dozens of them. These large units employed swarm tactics and wolf-pack tactics. If ground forces encountered flying cavalry, it would be a devastating blow.
If they faced powerful enemies, the flying cavalry could also use kite tactics to wear them down.
Besides the flying cavalry, there were also tower ships. This time, the Duke of Wei and the Champion and Huaihua Generals had mobilized several hundred tower ships, each capable of carrying over a thousand people, deploying an army of hundreds of thousands.
"The Imperial Preceptor's military reforms have truly turned the Eternal Peace army into an invincible force. If my Heavenly Demon Sect were to face such an attack, we would be annihilated," Qin Mu thought to himself.
They arrived at the military camp. The Imperial Preceptor exchanged a few words with the Duke of Wei and the two generals who came to greet him, then led Qin Mu and the others toward Daxiang City.
On the city walls of Daxiang flew the banners of various sects and schools, as well as the flags of some already destroyed nations. The Imperial Preceptor looked up, shook his head, and said, "If this old era is not completely destroyed, how can great things be accomplished? They could reignite at any time and stage a comeback. Revolution requires bloodshed; it requires the fall of tens of millions of heads."
Qin Mu asked, "Imperial Preceptor, is everything in order?"
"It is in order."
The Imperial Preceptor looked up. The city gates opened wide, and two columns of people marched out, lining up on either side of the gate. Behind them, their primordial energy manifested as phantom images of gods and demons—some divine, some demonic.
"Transcendence realm experts."
Qin Mu steadied himself. Experts at the Transcendence realm could already manifest gods and demons. The two columns at Daxiang's city gate contained as many as sixty or seventy Transcendence realm experts!
"This scene still isn't grand enough."
Yue Qinghong breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "When our Imperial Academy tests scholars from all over, just the examination in front of Qingyang Hall deploys ninety-nine Transcendence realm experts to test them. These rebels only have this many Transcendence realm experts; they wouldn't be enough for my Imperial Academy to kill."
The dozens of Transcendence realm experts kept their eyes on their noses and noses on their hearts, completely ignoring her words.
As they entered the city gate, they saw two more rows of Transcendence realm experts lining both sides of the main street. Every ten steps stood one, stretching from the city gate all the way to the city center, almost endless—likely over a thousand in total!
Yue Qinghong's heart trembled violently, and she dared not speak again. Qin Mu remained relatively calm. The Heavenly Demon Sect also had several hundred Transcendence realm experts; this was nothing unusual.
"This rebellion involves not only sects but also some nations that were already destroyed."
The Imperial Preceptor said calmly, "Back then, to win people's hearts, I did not exterminate all the experts of those nations, which allowed them to harbor rebellious intentions again. Besides sects and nations, there are also aristocratic families. The chaos from the aristocratic families is no small matter."
Qin Mu calculated in his mind. Above the Transcendence realm was the Life and Death realm, and above that was the Divine Bridge realm. With so many Transcendence realm experts, there must also be a considerable number of Life and Death realm experts—probably a hundred or so—and at least a dozen Divine Bridge realm experts.
A dozen or so sect master-level figures, plus experts from hidden holy lands like Little Jade Capital—this trip of the Imperial Preceptor's was basically offering his head to be chopped off.
As for Qin Mu and the others, they had simply already taken their heads off and tied them to their belts.
The experts lining the streets were solemn and silent, making no sound. Only the footsteps of Qin Mu and his group echoed through the city. Apart from the rebels' cultivators, there was no one else in this city.
Not only that, but all the buildings in Daxiang City had been demolished. Even the foundations had been torn up. The city was completely bare, filled only with tens of thousands of soldiers arranged in various formations, also silent, staring at them without a word.
Walking forward under the gaze of tens of thousands of cultivators placed immense psychological pressure. Even Shen Wanyun, a seasoned veteran of many battles, found his hands trembling slightly, unable to control himself.
Qin Mu had seen gods and even urinated on a divine statue, so he remained relatively composed. He felt the pressure but did not lose his composure.
The city center had also been transformed. The city lord's mansion was gone, replaced by a high platform with thousands of steps, rising dozens of zhang above the ground—taller than the city walls themselves, like a small mountain peak.
When Qin Mu reached its base, his heart trembled. This platform was not just like a small mountain peak; it was a mountain peak.
Someone had transported a mountain to crush the original city lord's mansion and then carved it into its current shape!
They arrived at the foot of the steps and slowly ascended, neither too fast nor too slow.
Finally, they reached the top. The summit had been leveled. Towering phantom images of gods and demons stood there, but the sect masters themselves were nowhere to be seen.
Qin Mu looked closely and saw that these sect masters were either standing on the palms of the god and demon phantoms or sitting cross-legged between their brows. Not a single one stood on solid ground.
They were high above, exerting immense pressure on Qin Mu and his group.
These sect master-level beings were truly too powerful.
On the fingertip of a divine phantom's hand stood a beautiful woman, looking down at the Imperial Preceptor from on high. She said softly, "The number one under the gods, the current Imperial Preceptor, has come without any helpers?"
This divine phantom took the form of a Taoist, a hundred zhang tall, with eyes as white as if made of white light. A great serpent coiled around him, and a dark tortoise stood beneath his feet. A gentle breeze stirred, and the energy behind him, like ribbons, swayed slightly.
When Si Yunxiang saw this, her heart skipped a beat, and she whispered, "The divine being formed from her primordial energy has been refined into substance. This is a realm approaching godhood!"
Qin Mu was not very knowledgeable about this aspect. Curious, he asked, "Sister, what if someone has lost their limbs, but when you look at them with your heavenly eye, their limbs appear intact, like a majestic and unparalleled deity radiating divine light so bright that you can barely see them? How does that realm compare to this woman's?"
Si Yunxiang had no understanding of this either. Before she could answer, the Imperial Preceptor suddenly turned his head, unleashing an unstoppable aura, his battle intent soaring to the heavens: "You have seen such a person?"
Qin Mu was startled by his sudden burst of battle intent. "He is one of my family's elders."
The Imperial Preceptor's eyelids twitched. "One of your family's elders again? You seem to have quite a few elders in your family."