Chapter 995: The Smoke of War Rises in the Star Domain

The Heavensky Imperial Prince descended upon the eastern part of the Flame Stone Star Domain’s Demon Vine Minor World, beginning to recruit defectors and splitting off a portion of the Imperial Clan’s Forbidden Guards to form a true Imperial Clan army.

The Horned Demon Imperial Clan is a race born for war.

This race has no weaknesses in either individual strength or military might.

Many years ago, upon first encountering them in the Yin-Yang Void Realm, the Heavenly Mechanism Daozi was stunned by the Horned Demon Imperial Clan’s military formation expertise, which universally surpassed that of the Immortal Sects, causing unease.

Of course, this is tied to the Immortal Sects’ disregard for military formations and their refusal to allocate their most precious resources toward training formation cultivators.

The core of the Immortal Sects has always been the Daozi and the Great Elders.

The Heavensky Imperial Prince’s actions immediately provoked a fierce response from Flame Stone Clan’s Flame Stream Imperial Prince.

He issued a single edict, and the entire Flame Stone Star Domain, over a dozen minor worlds, immediately stirred.

Horned Demon Imperial Clan cultivators from all regions were assembled into armies; the Flame Stone Clan’s Kings and General-tier experts became officers at all levels, while Kings from outside the Flame Stone Clan were also heavily relied upon to command the slave races’ armies across the territories.

Under strict orders, the slave race armies converged and marched toward teleportation arrays in each minor world, heading for the Demon Rock Minor World.

In over a dozen minor worlds, countless cultivators gathered—all those above Foundation Establishment were conscripted, or face annihilation.

The Skullblood Vine Demon clan, where Jiang Ding was in hiding, was no exception.

Under the cold gaze of Demon Rock Clan cultivators, the Skullblood Vine Demon clan’s patriarch mobilized tens of thousands of elite warriors, each skeletal figure draped in green vines dragging vines, joining forces with passing Turtle Clan cultivators, Human Clan cultivators, Tiger Soul Clan cultivators, and others.

A vast, ocean-like military aura emerged across the world.

Jiang Ding had severed ties with the Skullblood Vine Demon patriarch, residing within the soul of a minor demon, observing the passing cultivators of various clans as he assessed the Horned Demon Imperial Clan’s war mobilization potential.

“Highly efficient.”

“Every stratum of power has been mobilized; virtually no oversight.”

Jiang Ding paused to estimate, slightly startled.

In his view, the Horned Demon Imperial Clan’s political system was extremely crude—a backward, primitive feudal clan structure with no visible institutional achievements.

Yet, precisely this system could mobilize the entire society and the entire world’s strength.

Thus, even if the Horned Demon Imperial Clan faced disadvantageous external wars, internal chaos would not arise, because before the Imperial Clan’s strength was depleted, the slave race armies had already been consumed, leaving the situation as stable as Mount Tai.

“Massive spiritual sense computational power.”

“Fine-tuned control aided by the Demon Rock Clan, their loyalty guaranteed by strict spiritual sense prohibitions, layered control like this…”

Jiang Ding quickly understood the reason.

The Horned Demon Imperial Clan’s political system was indeed crude.

But they possessed power—not merely brute force, but immense spiritual sense computational power. Even with a crude tool, overwhelming strength could still produce high administrative efficiency.

Or rather, the Horned Demon Imperial Clan’s political system was so crude precisely because of their overwhelming power and spiritual sense computational capacity.

It was enough.

At this stage of political evolution, it was sufficient—it would not drag them down in domain warfare.

If so, why bother developing a new political system?

Politics concerns interests; any change brings bloodshed and slaughter, the replacement and purge of old interest classes, each step excruciatingly difficult.

The stronger the race or power, the more true this is—hard to change.

Because opposition comes from within; the stronger the race, the stronger the conservative forces, obstructing all change.

“The Horned Demon Imperial Clan has no weakness here.”

Jiang Ding sighed faintly, crossing off one possibility.

Flame Stream Imperial Prince’s intentions, Jiang Ding could also guess from the movements of this flood of slave race armies.

Simply put, taking advantage of the Heavensky Imperial Prince’s unsteady foothold, he would mobilize the entire Horned Demon Imperial Clan army, along with slave race armies numbering dozens of times greater, to crush the Heavensky Imperial Prince’s forces while still in their infancy.

The Heavensky Imperial Prince’s three thousand Forbidden Guards were indeed strong, possessing numerous Kings.

But to the Horned Demon Imperial Clan, whose military formations dominated the domains, sheer numbers, their own army, and the slave race armies all carried King-tier power.

Flame Stream Imperial Prince mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops to besiege the Demon Vine Minor World might well annihilate the Heavensky Imperial Prince in one strike.

Yes—annihilate him completely.

In Horned Demon Imperial Clan tradition, once one enters the struggle for the Imperial Prince crown, only one side survives; the defeated Imperial Prince’s strongest heir must die.

This is tradition.

Yet, even this once-sacred tradition now shows rare exceptions in this age—it need not end this way.

“War must proceed according to the outcome we require.”

Jiang Ding murmured.

He gazed into the distance, as if already seeing the Demon Vine Minor World where the Heavensky Imperial Prince raised his banner, the future site of Imperial Prince slaughter.

At some point, he had split off a thread of his spiritual sense into the Spiritual Void Realm.

“...We will do our best.”

Nine hazy figures stood within the Spiritual Void Realm; one seemed to frown, deeply disliking this almost commanding tone.

Yet in the end, they replied.

“I have successfully gained control of a Horned Demon Imperial Clan Soul Transformation cultivator, their King, who can influence the local battlefield at critical moments.”

The clan's Soul Transformation cultivators, their sovereign, can influence the development of localized battlefields at critical moments.

“I can influence a slave race King.”

“I can influence a Flame Stone Clan King…”

“The Heavensky Imperial Prince’s Forbidden Guards are being infiltrated—requires time…”

Under Jiang Ding’s gaze, the Daozi had no choice but to respond.

Under Jiang Ding's gaze, the many Dao Heirs could not help but answer.

Jiang Ding was surprised.

Merely a few decades, and these Daozi, once so unfamiliar with covert operations, had now fully adapted and achieved results—astonishing.

Daozi, when fully committed, rarely fail.

“We can only influence indirectly.”

“If major events occur or one side’s situation suddenly collapses, we are powerless.”

“Because we cannot reveal any power or methods beyond our hidden identities—even if we fail this time, we must not.”

“Moreover, our actions must have plausible motives that can be explained—severe restrictions apply.”

The Heavenly Mechanism Daozi said solemnly.

They must act in darkness, not a single trace exposed to sunlight; they must be more loyal than the most devoted Horned Demon Imperial Clan cultivators.

If overwhelming force sweeps over them, all shadows will vanish.

“Who isn’t the same?”

“Do our best.”

Jiang Ding shook his head slightly: “Our goal is to maximally exhaust the Horned Demon Imperial Clan Kings on both sides, driving one Imperial Prince to despair, then offering him hope, compelling him to grant greater authority to the Kings we control and to unfamiliar Kings, further destabilizing the Soul Transformation forces, giving every conflict and chaos ample justification.”

“Finally, provide us with sufficient reason to access local spirit veins.”

"Finally, give us ample reason to access the spiritual veins across the lands."

The nine Daozi slowly vanished.

Two

Condition has declined

Condition has declined