Chapter 2117: Heavenly Horse Immortal Clan? Merely Livestock Bred for Selection

The seven armies and the Immortal Gate fleet descended one after another in full.

Vast, terrifying pressure spread across the cosmic starry sky, completely freezing this stretch of heaven and earth; the chaotic spatial currents were smoothed flat, the shattered Heavenly Dao rules rebuilt, and the Netherworld Gale Winds dispersed.

'Supreme Solar Sword Dao Soldiers...'

Yuan watched that force of merely one hundred and eight thousand soldiers in silence.

This was one of the ultimate forms of Dao Soldiers of the Immortal Dao — the Imperial Guard of the True Immortal Lady. A mere one hundred and eight thousand of them, among whom there were not even any Eighth Tribulation Supreme Beings, had easily fought to a stalemate with the finest elite armies of the races led by four Eighth Tribulation Supreme commanders; and if the war dragged on, they might well have single-handedly defeated all the armies of the entire Heavenly Horse Star Domain Cluster.

'Why?'

'Why not press the advantage and pursue, instead letting these strong cultivators of the Heavenly Horse Immortal Clan and the Suanni Immortal Clan escape back to their lairs?'

Within the Immortal Gate fleet, cultivators of the command and staff section such as Supreme Beings Zhen and Mieri were baffled, because the scene before them ran counter to the laws of battle.

The command of this True Immortal Lady army did not lie with Yuan here, but in the hands of Supreme Being Huanghuo, who held the Sword Immortal Lady's staff.

Commanders such as Dao Lord Zhenjun He Huan, Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou, and Dao Lord Tanlang descended one after another.

Compared with the puzzlement of the Immortal Gate's command and staff section, these Supreme Beings only needed a cursory sweep of the battlefield to understand everything.

'Blood-Redemption Sword Duels?'

Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou said lightly.

At these words, nearly every sword cultivator's eyes blazed with fanaticism, their gazes burning hot as suns.

'Yes,'

'but before that, each army needs to take turns assaulting their clan formations, using real combat to drill the formations we've practiced in the past, and to find the military formation flaws that numerous previous tests failed to uncover.'

Supreme Being Huanghuo said simply.

Training and deducing military formations can markedly boost a force's combat power, but real combat remains indispensable.

These star domains are weaker than imagined; in the future, we shouldn't often see a situation where every army's Dao Soldiers are gathered in one domain — one army's Dao Soldiers handling an attack in a single direction will suffice.

'It should be so.'

Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou, Dao Lord Tanlang, and the others nodded slightly in agreement.

Although Supreme Being Huanghuo had been granted the Sword Immortal Lady's staff, that did not mean he could act arbitrarily; many matters still required deliberation.

The seven armies of Dao Soldiers dispersed to their respective assignments.

From then on, they would each march on their own, attacking various Great Thousand Worlds and Zhong Senior Qian Shi Gao Jie with unequal forces, testing their respective cultivation results in true war.

The star domain was exceedingly vast.

Without teleportation arrays, taking them one by one was often extremely time-consuming.

The Immortal Gate had likewise been assigned a direction.

'Fellow Daoist Qingfeng Beidou,'

'might I ask what a Blood-Redemption Sword Duel is?'

Yuan called out to Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou, who was not far off, and asked.

Over the years, Yuan had cooperated extensively with many cultivators of Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong; correspondingly, he had built up some personal friendship with Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou, who leaned more toward the orthodox faction.

'You're too polite, Fellow Daoist.'

Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou did not conceal it, explaining: 'This is a martial tradition under the Sword Immortal Lady — that is, one-on-one duels. A cultivator who wins nine duels against opponents of the same realm may receive pardon.'

'It is very beneficial for the growth of sword cultivators.'

'The drawback is that once too many cultivators are pardoned, it incurs the displeasure of the Sword Lord, and the sword cultivators involved will be punished.'

The war entered a tedious marching phase.

Lacking teleportation arrays, the eight armies of Dao Soldiers and the Immortal Gate fleet could only choose a single marching route cutting straight toward the center of the star domain, breaking through one Zhong Senior Qian Shi Gao Jie and Great Thousand World after another, then building teleportation arrays upon them, advancing toward the star domain's center through spatial leaps and directional teleportation.

In this process, the Heavenly Horse Immortal Clan resisted ceaselessly, but to no avail.

One by one, the grand formations of the Great Thousand Worlds shattered under the assault of the Sword Immortal Lady's soldiers; no army dared to block them, and legion after legion of the Heavenly Horse Immortal Clan was annihilated.

They couldn't even buy time by delaying!

When the Sword Immortal Lady's army called it a march, it truly was just a march.

In a mere thousand-plus years, relying on the continually constructed ultra-long-range directional teleportation grand arrays, the Sword Immortal Lady's army drew ever closer to the center of the Heavenly Horse Star Domain.

On this day, after a Great Thousand World was breached, the cultivators within did not flee.

They were a group of sturdy human cultivators; they rode toward the army on mounts with splendid Heavenly Horse wings, dismounted from afar, and prostrated themselves on the ground.

A moment later, these Heavenly Horses and cultivators were escorted into the center of the great starry-sky camp.

'Azure Dragon Army-Breaker cultivators, Five-Element Mountain-Settling cultivators,'

'we pay our respects to the various Supreme Beings!'

a Celestial Realm cultivator said, deeply moved.

Supreme Being Huanghuo frowned slightly and handed over authority to Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou.

Compared with the Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou Holy Land, the Huanghuo Immortal Sect was a very young sect; many matters it did not know, or did not know in sufficient detail.

'Descendants of the Eastern Expedition Corps?'

Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou said in a gentle voice: 'Over the years, it has been hard on you. To have survived, and to wait until the human race's homeland is recovered — none of it has been easy.'

'Senior Qingfeng Beidou...'

the Grand Elder of the Azure Dragon Army-Breaker Immortal Sect said, his voice somewhat choked.

All these years, living in constant fear, ever at risk of being devoured and humiliated — now that he had returned to the soil of his race, a sense of security welled up within him.

Beside him, a prodigy of the Heavenly Horse Immortal Clan stood meek and submissive, like a war-beast of limited understanding.

'Little one, speak.'

'State your purpose in coming.'

Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou's voice remained gentle and warm, like that of an elder.

"Senior Qingfeng Beidou,"

"This junior has come to…"

The Grand Elder of Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong hesitated for a moment, then said: "I beg Senior, spare the Heavenly Horse Clan!"

"The Heavenly Horse Clan has always been on good terms with the human race; they are not an evil clan."

He bowed deeply and said: "Over the years, the Heavenly Horse Immortal Clan has been forced to make many compromises in order to survive among the many gods and demon clans, but all of this was done to preserve the spark of the human race, to keep it for the future."

"The Heavenly Horse Immortal Clan is an outstanding war-beast bred by the immortal dynasties of every age. Paired with them, the combat power of the human race's Dao Soldiers can be greatly enhanced. They are one of the foundations of the human race's immortal Dao, and must not be dismissed without deep consideration."

"I ask that Senior see this clearly."

The Grand Elder of Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong spoke with complete sincerity.

The many Heavenly Horse Immortal Clan prodigies who had also come here carried longing and pleading in their hearts as they looked at the many human Sovereigns present.

All the human Sovereigns had calm expressions, without the slightest ripple.

"Heh heh…"

Sovereign Qingfeng Beidou gave a light laugh.

She knew that the Grand Elder of Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong's divine soul was abnormal, and she was not angry about it.

"All man-eating demon clans,"

"Must die."

Sovereign Qingfeng Beidou said calmly: "This is the Sword Immortal Lady's order; everyone must obey it. All historical sins must be settled. The human race is a species that likes to record history."

"The Heavenly Horse Immortal Clan?"

"Nothing more than fine livestock bred in a pen, and yet they dare call themselves an immortal clan?"

"And they dare betray their masters and enslave the human race?"

"This shows that there was a problem with the Heavenly Horse breeding program of the Myriad Law Immortal Dynasty back then. The bloodlines of your branch of Heavenly Horses have all developed problems, and need to be destroyed entirely."

"To still dare harbor such delusions is truly laughable."

The surrounding Sovereigns all revealed mocking expressions.

The Suan Ni Immortal Clan and the Bi Xi Immortal Clan calling themselves immortal clans is one thing, but mere Heavenly Horses—a breed produced by the human race—daring to fail to recognize their own station is truly the height of absurdity!

"You—!"

The many Heavenly Horse prodigies who had come along had blood-red eyes, their faces contorted with rage.

However, the will of many human Sovereigns pressed down upon them, causing even their rage to vanish in an instant. Their hearts were swallowed by terror and cold, and they no longer dared make a sound.

"The human race, a land of rites and propriety."

"Slaying an envoy is not something we would do."

Sovereign Qingfeng Beidou said lightly: "You may all leave. If any of you young friends wish to stay, you may stay. Out of respect for the merits your ancestors earned in resisting the alien races, your lives will be spared."

She waved her hand, and the many Heavenly Horse prodigies who had signed master-servant blood covenants with their knights were blasted out of the Starry Sky Camp.

(End of this chapter)