Chapter 695

If it were any other time, the Grand Duke of Shenglan would never have involved himself in such a matter of imperial succession.

After all, in any era and among any race, imperial succession is a high-stakes gamble from which there is no return; winning means boundless glory, while failure leads to eternal damnation.

Therefore, for the Grand Duke of Shenglan, living a life of leisure and freedom within the Shenglan Domain was naturally the best choice.

But now, he can no longer do that.

Fenghai County can already represent the Shenglan Domain; if he still wishes to stay out of it at this time, it is impossible. Besides... the Shenglan Domain borders the Jiyue Domain...

Therefore, he has no choice; he must, and will, bind himself to Fenghai County.

Even if King Tianlan died here.

"This is also the brilliance of Fenghai County... If it were any other time, the death of a Heavenly King in battle would surely be a massive event, but now, the matter of Jiyue is enough to shock all directions, making even the Human Emperor afraid to act rashly."

"Adding the framework of imperial succession gives the Human Emperor an explanation, and gives the Imperial Capital an explanation; thus, the death of the Heavenly King takes on a different meaning."

"It has changed from a struggle between Fenghai County and King Tianlan into a struggle between the Twelfth Prince and the Seventh Prince... from a struggle between feudal lords into a family matter of the Imperial Clan."

"Fenghai County has a master strategist!"

The Grand Duke of Shenglan took a deep breath and chose to submit.

His joining made the entire Shenglan Domain completely unified!

At this moment, Fenghai County became the core of the Shenglan Domain; all forces and all races within the domain no longer had any ability to resist, nor did they have the slightest determination to do so.

Under absolute strength, submission is the only choice.

Not to mention that Fenghai County also controlled a human army of ten million, as well as the forces of the Grand Duke of Shenglan; such power placed Fenghai County at the pinnacle.

And Xu Qing, with the rising tide, also stood at the pinnacle of the Shenglan Domain.

Immediately following this, a decree spread from Fenghai County throughout the entire domain.

"All races and sects, obey the summons; the War of the Black Heaven begins again!"

Once this decree was issued, all sects and races in the domain dared not disobey.

If it were any other time, the Grand Duke of Shenglan would certainly have harbored contempt, but after learning of the events in the Jiyue Domain and knowing that the Upper God, Red Mother, had actually died...

And that Xu Qing was one of the participants...

How could he possibly harbor contempt for all this?

Not only was there no contempt, but in the Grand Duke of Shenglan's heart, Xu Qing's figure held countless mysteries.

Because he could not imagine how a Spirit Repository cultivator could reach such a level, looked up to by ten thousand people.

"When things are abnormal, there must be a demon; this Xu Qing... is extraordinary!"

Therefore, his response was extremely thorough; eighty percent of his army was mobilized to participate in this war.

Just like that, time passed; the Shenglan Domain was unified, and cultivators from various places, sects, and races headed to the front lines. As the war was planned and deployed by Seventh Uncle, Yao Hou, and others, and launched once more...

News regarding Jiyue also spread rapidly.

The reason for this rapid spread after an interval of time was, on one hand, that the disappearance of the Red Moon was gradually being noticed, and on the other hand... it was the jade slips from the Jiyue Domain spreading in all directions.

The jade slips were written by the Mingnan Shizi and were known throughout the entire Wanggu Continent.

Whether human or other races, most received the Mingnan Shizi's jade slips.

These jade slips explained the situation, stated that Red Mother had died, and pointed out the awakening of the Jiyue Master.

This matter immediately shocked all races and the entire Wanggu; even some hidden gods, upon noticing it, stirred up violent fluctuations.

And the truth was easy to verify; associating it with the previous opening of the Remnant Face's eyes and the changes in the Jiyue Domain, all of this became clear and obvious.

The Human Emperor's Imperial Capital Domain naturally received the jade slips and learned of this matter.

At this moment, inside the Imperial Palace of the Human Emperor's domain, in a high pavilion filled with clouds and mist, amidst the howling wind, the Human Emperor stood within, gazing into the distance.

On the desk behind him lay two jade slips, one from the Jiyue Mingnan Shizi and one from the Seventh Prince.

And his expression was devoid of joy or sorrow; where his gaze fell was a sea of churning clouds and mist.

And looking closely, one could see that the place where these clouds and mist were located was actually a vast, boundless... giant star.

This star was formed of gas, with clouds and mist flowing upon it, like an abstract painting, vast and astonishing.

After a long while, a calm voice came from behind him.

"Your Majesty, I have finished reading both jade slips."

The Human Emperor did not withdraw his gaze and spoke indifferently.

"How is it?"

At the desk behind him, at some unknown time, another person had appeared.

This person's face was like jade, with long purple hair draped over his shoulders, wearing a white robe; sitting there at this moment with a peaceful expression, it was none other than the Imperial Preceptor.

"Actually, that day, when I sensed that my time had been borrowed, I had already realized it."

The Imperial Preceptor spoke softly, picked up the teacup beside him, and took a sip.

"Moreover, isn't this exactly what you, Your Majesty, wanted to see?" The Imperial Preceptor looked up, gazed at the Human Emperor in front, and smiled slightly.

The Human Emperor was silent; after a long while, a low voice echoed from his back.

"How much certainty do you have?"

"Ten percent, as long as Your Majesty nods and agrees to this transaction."

The Imperial Preceptor spoke with a smile.

A profound look appeared in the Human Emperor's eyes as he continued to watch the clouds and mist in the distance.

Inside the pavilion, it was quiet until, after a long while, the Human Emperor took a step forward and disappeared from the pavilion.

Only his cold voice, carrying the unique majesty of a superior, echoed out.

"That Xu Qing, he is your younger brother, isn't he."

The Imperial Preceptor's expression remained as usual, without any change; he finished the tea in the cup, set it down, and then his figure smiled and blurred into nothingness.

A strong wind blew, rolling the clouds and mist, submerging the pavilion into the sea of clouds.

At the same time, within the Shenglan Domain, with the gathering of cultivators from various sects and races, the war against the Black Heaven race broke out once again.

This time, it had nothing to do with the Seventh Prince and King Tianlan.

This time, it was a war against the Black Heaven race initiated by Xu Qing, led on the surface by the Twelfth Prince, an unfinished battle.

In terms of the number of cultivators, it was even greater than before, and the Grand Duke of Shenglan personally led the team, along with Seventh Uncle, Yao Hou, and others, dividing the army into three legions to step into the Black Spirit Domain.

Although King Tianlan had been defeated before, the foundation was still there, and immortal arts could still erupt; especially since the territory conquered was vast, it had already forced the Black Heaven race on the opposite side to a certain degree.

And the wars in other directions of the Black Heaven race also made it impossible for reinforcements to arrive, so they could only hold their ground in various places, fighting their own battles.

But in reality, if the Black Heaven race within the Black Spirit Domain truly resisted, this war would still be very tragic.

But strangely... facing the entry of the Shenglan Domain, the Black Heaven race in the Black Spirit Domain did not have the slightest counterattack, which was completely different from when they faced King Tianlan.

As for Xu Qing, he did not go to the battlefield, staying at the border between the Black Spirit Domain and the Shenglan Domain, organizing information from all sides.

As time passed and the army moved smoothly, Xu Qing also had a judgment regarding the combat power of the entire Black Heaven race.

The Black Heaven race had two major domains, namely Black Spirit and Black Heaven.

Their race's Emperor and some peak powerhouses were severely injured by a mysterious person before the war; this behavior, like a beheading, caused the Black Heaven race to retreat steadily when facing the human army at the beginning.

Furthermore, because they were leaderless and faced the danger of extinction, the Black Heaven race also split into three factions based on different philosophies.

One faction was led by the Black Heaven Imperial Clan, gathering the army; they were mainly in the Black Heaven Domain and were the main force fighting the human race.

The other faction was led by the powerful and wealthy; they did not contribute much, mostly choosing to huddle together and hide, wanting to negotiate with the human race; this faction was active between Black Heaven and Black Spirit.

The last faction was the one King Tianlan had fought before; they were led by the priests of the Black Heaven race.

The priests of the Black Heaven race belonged to theocracy, originally overriding imperial power, and the Black Heaven race's status was supreme; but the failure of the god-descending art, the great defeat of the race, the indifference of the gods, and the rumors of slumber...

Made the status of the priests far worse than before; in the great war with the human race now, they were even weaker and were resented by the race.

So they could only choose the Black Spirit Domain, holding their temples.

So this faction was basically composed of priests and god-guards; they had been tirelessly summoning their gods, praying for the gods to descend.

The death of Red Mother was also first sensed by them.

Regarding the entry of Xu Qing's army, it was also from them that a decree was issued: no resistance, no counterattack, letting the army appear smoothly outside the mist where their temples were located.

This was also the place where King Tianlan fell into the trap.

With the lesson from the past, the Shenglan Domain team, as well as Seventh Uncle, Yao Hou, and others, did not rush in directly; on one hand, they spread immortal arts, and on the other hand, they had to send people in to investigate.

But before the Shenglan side could arrange it, a person walked out first from the Black Heaven race within the mist.

This person had no hair, wore a purple robe, and after appearing, bowed to the Shenglan army and made a request.

They requested Xu Qing to come personally.

They wanted to meet Xu Qing.

As long as Xu Qing came, no matter the final outcome, they would choose to surrender.

Regarding this request, the Grand Duke of Shenglan was a bit hesitant; if it were before, this choice would have been very simple for him, just a Spirit Repository cultivator.

But now it was different; he knew very well who was in charge in Fenghai County now.

So he sent the decision to Seventh Uncle and Yao Hou.

Soon, Xu Qing at the edge of the domain received Seventh Uncle's voice transmission.

Holding the voice transmission jade slip, Xu Qing remembered the feeling of being summoned on the Forbidden Sea before.

So he gazed into the depths of the Black Spirit race and chose to go.

A few days later, his figure appeared in front of the Shenglan army, outside that mist; standing here, a strange feeling arose in Xu Qing's heart.

He knew that deep in the mist, he felt... the power of his own authority.

And his appearance also caused the mist to churn, and more than a dozen Black Heaven race priests wearing purple robes walked out from the mist.

The moment they saw Xu Qing, they were obviously excited; after bowing and bending their waists, the leading old man looked at Xu Qing and let out a hoarse voice.

"Please, Purple Master, return to your position!"