Chapter 403: The Great Tang Westward Expedition

"It's over?"

Mu Yi stared with his eyes, a little dazed; for the first time he directly felt the overwhelming power of a divine palace.

The endless sea of insects ended like that.

He knew the reputation of that divine palace; it was the star god named Preservation, the star god worshipped by the Cosmic Corporation, and also the star god venerated by the Tairival Camp's path of the City Builder.

The barrier on the city wall came from its mighty power.

And the star god named Propagation, the source of the endless insect sea, was so simply hammered to death by the Three Hammers?

Mu Yi felt a bit bewildered.

It was completely different from the feeling he had when he once took part in a cross‑realm war; back then he was in the battle formation, only able to see the two war gods Wei Qing and Huo Qibing, whose silhouettes slaughtered divine palaces at will.

He held no reverence for those divine palaces.

He also did not truly understand the real strength of those celestial deities.

And at this moment, the insect sea of Propagation made Mu Yi personally feel that hopeless helplessness.

The insect sea that filled him with despair was instantly reduced to ash under Preservation's heavy hammer.

The world outside seemed no better than that within Jiuzhou.

Mu Yi suddenly realized this at that moment.

The Multiverse is vast and boundless; Jiuzhou is indeed powerful, but that does not mean Jiuzhou can dominate the entire universe.

Return to Jiuzhou and face destiny!

Mu Yi made up his mind at that moment.

Escaping cannot solve the problem; even if he can flee for a while, he cannot escape forever. From the moment he stepped into Jiuzhou's great vortex, there was only one path leading to a dark ending.

"I won't enter Hell, so who will? I see now…"

Mu Yi laughed, and the Mu Yi who grasped the divine light traversed the entire Tairival, using the flames of the Hell Path to cleanse the whole world, incinerating every insect to ash.

When Mu Yi returned to the ruined camp that served as the starting point, everything had turned to dust; the ash of those insects would become the finest fertilizer, nourishing this world, awaiting the settlement of the next tribe, and reigniting the flame of civilization.

Perhaps later generations will no longer remember Tairival, but it will eventually bloom its own colors again.

"Zongwang Prompt: Hell Path lv4→Hell Path lv5"

"Zongwang Prompt: Your profession level has increased to Level 35!"

He returned to the main world through Zongwang.

Mu Yi sat quietly in Reincarnation Land; the propagation and death of Propagation's insect swarms gave him new thoughts on reincarnation.

He tried to use the Reincarnation Land he could control to conduct some experiments.

The content of the experiment was to create life.

However, it was not the grand feat of creating humans as in legend; it merely used the characteristic of reincarnation rebirth to trace some true spirits back to a soul state.

It was somewhat similar to the Mortal Path's great army, but the concept was entirely different.

The Six Paths Reincarnation Barrier kept rotating; Mu Yi used the barrier as a bridge, linking the main world's reincarnation. This reincarnation was still weak, but just right for Mu Yi to manipulate.

If it were Jiuzhou's native reincarnation, without Hou Tu Niangniang's blessing, he would probably even struggle to pass through the eighteen layers of Hell.

What is the essence of life?

Mu Yi gave his answer: the true spirit of will and the body that serves as its vessel.

In the eyes of some long‑lived species, human life is like a blazing torch.

Although it sometimes shines brightly, the hotter the fire, the sooner the ash.

In the end, human life will, like a spent torch, return to the quiet of darkness.

But there is nothing wrong with that; life itself possesses a trait of diverse expression…

And now Mu Yi's experiment is essentially to reignite the extinguished sparks.

The subjects of the experiment are the true spirits of Tairival warriors that were wiped out in the insect sea.

Mu Yi always felt that the flame of civilization should not be snuffed out so easily.

The sea of blood churned, and a familiar figure of Mu Yi rose from it, still clutching a broken spear, seemingly unable to pull himself out of the battle.

His whole body was blood‑red, scarred by various insects, like a demon that crawled out of Hell.

A violent aura rose within the sea of blood.

Shura, Mu Yi's named disciple, exhausted himself and died while defending the camp; even though his true spirit rebirthed through reincarnation, he still remembered his final war in life.

Shura stood dumbly in place, like a spirit of Asura forged by slaughter and negative will, rather than a living being.

Just as Mu Yi was disappointed, Shura lifted his head and performed a grand salute to Mu Yi.

"Teacher, I'm back!"

"Good! Good! Good!" Mu Yi uttered three 'good' in a row, his excitement indescribable.

He succeeded, successfully transforming Tairival warriors into Asura.

The Asura warriors' bodies gained true souls, becoming genuine life, capable of cultivating Elite Talent.

They will remain immortal in the sea of blood until it dries up, and the Asura Path will be shattered.

When Mu Yi converted all the true spirits preserved within the barrier into Asura, the Asura Path naturally completed its ascension.

"Zongwang Prompt: Asura Path lv4→Asura Path lv5"

"Zongwang Prompt: Your profession level has increased to Level 36!"

Having fully found his own path, Mu Yi no longer harbored any doubts.

"Qing, Ming, Yuan, Song…"

"I ride upstream against the long river of history, and that too is part of comprehending reincarnation!"

"It's decided, you it is! Great Tang!"

The deep interaction between Zongwang and Jiuzhou has indeed made things easier for Mu Yi; the Jiuzhou world that was once hard to locate is now everywhere in sight.

Having already decided to go against the current, Mu Yi simply chose a Great Tang world that looked like a high martial one.

【Great Tang Western Expedition】

Campaign Scene: Extra-large

Campaign Minimum Level Requirement: Level 1

Campaign Recommended Challenge Level: Levels 1-40

Mission Description:

In the 27th year of Zhenguan, the Tang emperor sent eminent monks westward to various countries to propagate the true Buddhist scriptures that Xuanzang had brought back from Ling Mountain, yet they repeatedly suffered slaughter at the hands of the Western Regions' states.

The Tang emperor flew into a rage and dispatched troops to the Western Regions.

Yet the Western Regions' states colluded with demons and monsters, secretly obstructing Tang soldiers and harassing the border, throwing the border populace into chaos.

The Tang emperor offered sacrifices to heaven and earth, praying for divine aid, and simultaneously ordered the recruitment of capable and extraordinary individuals to join the army in marching to the Western Regions to wage war.

ps: Warning, this map will feature a small number of divine units.

ps: In this world, carrying out large-scale slaughter and other evil acts will draw the joint hostility of the Jiuzhou factions, easily provoking unknown powerful beings to pursue and kill.

ps: Warning, this mission will trigger massive hostility from Legendary and demigod creatures.

Mu Yi felt this mission suited him better; last time he participated in a low-spec version of the Yin-Shang War, he was forced to halt, but this time he could go straight through to the end.

Moreover, those demons, monsters, and foreign evil gods are exactly the supplements he needs right now.

「Start transferring players to the campaign plane……」

As the environment shifted, Mu Yi had already appeared in the campaign world.

Well-equipped Tang soldiers were assigning levels to each Zongwang Player; although the Zongwang Players present showed signs of chaotic demonic frenzy, with both order and chaos factions, at this moment all Zongwang Players were honestly lining up.

Simply because high above, a radiant star was shedding limitless divine authority.

「Wu Qu Star? 」

Mu Yi gazed at the star in the sky, pondering; he had previously thought that only with so many masters in the Xiji Grand Camp could those Zongwang Players be barely obedient.

What does the Great Tang rely on to stabilize the situation.

If a true immortal deity is stationed there, then none of this is a problem.

Moreover, Mu Yi could sense that in this world another star was flickering with brilliance—the Wen Qu Star.

Mu Yi nodded; it seemed this world was centered on the two divine spirits, Wen Qu Star and Wu Qu Star.

The next moment, an officer approached Mu Yi's side and respectfully invited him.

「Heavenly Sovereign, please follow me! The Wu Qu Star Sovereign awaits the Heavenly Sovereign! 」

Mu Yi stared for a moment, then nodded, lifted his gaze to the stars in the sky; the divine positions of Wen Qu and Wu Qu that he sensed were naturally also sensed by the other party.

Following the officer through the crowded throng, entering the city, after passing several streets the officer stopped, then apologized and turned to leave.

What lay directly before Mu Yi was a magnificent temple.

Indeed, magnificent; even just the height of its outer walls rivals the city walls outside.

Beyond the gate lay various styles of pavilions, terraces, and towers.

Most conspicuous is a main hall.

Carved beams and painted rafters, gold bricks and jade tiles, simultaneously blazing with brilliant light—one glance tells it is absolutely not a mundane dwelling.

Outside the main hall stood a huge bronze cauldron filled with quantities of incense and candles burning; the incense smoke drifted slowly through the hall doors into the interior, while the waste smoke rose above the temple, completely obscuring the light emanating from the main hall.

The extraordinarily flourishing incense left Mu Yi greatly astonished.

The area they were in should be near Yumen Gate, not exactly a prosperous place, yet even here there are such abundant incense offerings—one can imagine how many temples exist in the heart of the Great Tang.

On the temple gate's plaque were three large characters gilded in lacquer—Wu Qu Temple.

Wu Qu belongs to metal, is the wealth star; in heaven it is the sixth star of the Northern Dipper, namely the Kaiyang of the Seven Stars, governing slaughter and conquest.

The Western Regions themselves are a necessary passage of the Silk Road.

The Wu Qu Star Sovereign personally presides here, not only to suppress demonic entities like the Zongwang Players, but also to act like a nail, ensuring the Silk Road remains unobstructed.

More importantly, the authority of Wu Qu Star can influence the tilt of warfare.

Outside the city, Mu Yi's panel already had two additional buffs.

「Zongwang Prompt: You are bathed in Wu Qu Star's radiance, gaining the 【Wu Yun Ding Sheng】 and 【Wu Qu Starlight】 status. 」

【Wu Yun Ding Sheng】: Luck +1; the Universal Experience and Zongwang Disaster Coin gained increase by 15%.

【Wu Qu Starlight】: Strength +1; all attacks gain an additional 15% damage.

Such a vast-range enhancement still has a noticeable impact on the battle situation.

Stepping into the main hall, directly ahead one can see a colossal deity statue seated centrally.

The statue's head wears a helmet like that of a general.

In its hand it holds a precious sword.

Its facial expression is solemn and imposing, its downward gaze giving a feeling of inspection.

Following his gaze back, Mu Yi found the statue's gaze becoming increasingly lively.

Woo——

As if a lingering horn call shattered the temple's silence.

As the horn's echo rang, Mu Yi's vision blurred for an instant; the next moment, upon opening his eyes, the scene before him had abruptly changed.

He opened his eyes and looked,

He saw that the hall's interior had expanded several times beyond just a moment before; pillars rose in rows, each pillar inlaid with pure gold ornaments, the flagstones underfoot, once flat, turned into colorful, glazed tiles like glass, amid which incense‑condensed clouds continually drifted.

Amidst the luxury, however, a killing intent permeated, nearly filling the entire space.

Beholding the scene where luxury and killing intent coexisted, Mu Yi clicked his tongue in wonder.

As his feeling turned forward, before him appeared a figure resembling the deity statue.

"Greetings, Lord Mu Tianjun!" the Wu Qu Star Lord said amicably, greeting Mu Yi.

Indeed, judging by the divine ranks of Jiuzhou, Mu Yi and this star lord are of equal rank, and even considering Mu Yi's dual divine positions, he should be half a rank higher.

"Greetings, Wu Qu Star Lord!"

Mu Yi also returned the greeting friendly; since the other party respected him, he naturally would not neglect courtesy.

The Wu Qu Star Lord, possessing a general's bluntness, after a brief exchange, got straight to the point.

"I and Wen Qu, acting on the order of the Ziwei Emperor, have descended our avatars to aid the Tang Emperor of this realm in his western campaign!"

"I wonder what brings Lord Mu Tianjun here this time?"

Mu Yi paused for a moment, then explained.

"Sorry for the trouble, I did not intend to alarm the Star Lord this time!"

"This time I came likewise to assist the Tang Emperor, but I am here in a personal capacity; Star Lord, you need not worry—just treat me as an ordinary acquaintance."

"If the Heavenly Lord wishes to join, we naturally welcome him!"

Upon hearing this, the Wu Qu Star Lord rejoiced; he had still worried that Mu Yi might come for some other reason, but if he came to help, he would naturally welcome him.

Although those demons, monsters, and foreign evil gods are nothing before his true form, the visitor is after all merely an incense avatar, so he too must be cautious.

Although Mu Yi's strength is somewhat lacking, he is nonetheless one of our own bearing a Heavenly Lord's divine rank, far more trustworthy than those Zongwang Players.

"Since the Heavenly Lord intends to aid our army, why not select a fief to guard and support our forces?"

Mu Yi understood the Wu Qu Star Lord's meaning: this was to grant him a tract of land, whose incense would all belong to him, also counting as a friendly gesture from the Wu Qu Star.

"Star Lord, you misunderstand; I came intending to go to the front lines and join the war!"

Mu Yi shook his head and informed the Wu Qu Star Lord of his plan.

The Wu Qu Star lord paused and said, "The battlefield is perilous; have you considered it well, Lord Mu Tianjun?"

"I come from a military strategist background!" Mu Yi's single sentence silenced all the Wu Qu Star Lord's following words.

"In that case, Lord Mu Tianjun, go to the front; I will greet the Protectorate General's Office on that side, and specific matters will be decided by the frontline commander."

The Wu Qu Star Lord wasted no more words, immediately making arrangements and handing Mu Yi a great seal, which serves as proof of identity.

"Thank you, Star Lord!" Mu Yi did not refuse the Wu Qu Star Lord's kindness; after taking the great seal, he headed westward.

Compared to those Zongwang Players who still need to undergo initial assessments, his status saved him considerable time.