Chapter 207

The fall of Soul-Severing Pass has cost King Rahu a fortune.

Because his wager with King Lingde began on November 10th, just a few days after Liu Tianning arrived in the war zone.

He and King Lingde bet on whether Zhao Xing could resolve the issue and have Soul-Severing Pass taken within forty days.

As it turned out, Soul-Severing Pass was not taken until the end of December.

"Hahaha, Rahu, I'll gladly accept those two seventh-tier divine weapons of yours!" King Lingde laughed happily. "Thank you."

King Rahu’s mouth twitched, and he was utterly speechless.

Zhao Xing’s performance had indeed met his expectations.

But the speed at which Soul-Severing Pass was taken was still a few days slower than anticipated.

"If you had bet on two months, Rahu, Lingde would have definitely lost," King Tianyan said, shaking his head. "It's a pity it was just a few days off."

"A few days is still a few days; a bet is a bet," King Rahu said. "The resistance at Soul-Severing Pass this time slightly exceeded my expectations."

"Look at the intelligence submitted by Yingyuan Prefecture. If not for Zhao Xing’s astonishing performance, Soul-Severing Pass likely wouldn't have fallen until next year."

King Tianyan and King Lingde took a look and immediately spotted the special circumstances.

The military supplies provided by Zhao Xing far exceeded expectations.

It was because of this that the Six-Army Alliance was able to maintain a continuous, fierce assault throughout the final month, especially with the Hunyuan warships, whose attacks barely ceased during the latter half of the month.

Had the logistics not been in place, Soul-Severing Pass would have indeed lasted until next year, just as King Rahu had said.

"But why did the Divine Might Army stop fighting?" King Lingde asked, puzzled.

"The main general, Liao Rulong, had a conflict with Yi Yue," King Rahu said in a deep voice. "Liao Rulong missed the window of opportunity and stopped the pursuit halfway. Yi Yue had a huge argument with him, and the Qiyuan Army and Nangong Ye have already parted ways with them."

"Having partners that are too strong isn't necessarily a good thing; they were bound to split sooner or later," King Tianyan said. "However, this Liao Rulong is quite lucky. A ceasefire might be coming soon, so there isn't much military merit to be gained from pursuing now—the risks outweigh the opportunities."

"A ceasefire?" King Lingde and King Rahu both looked at King Tianyan. "How come I didn't know?"

King Tianyan pondered, "It is only my speculation; there is no definitive news yet."

King Rahu said, "If a ceasefire is truly imminent, stopping the pursuit now is a prudent strategy."

If a high-grade war were to break out, high-grade powerhouses would inevitably enter the fray and arrive at the front lines to prepare.

There would then be a period of chaos, and neither side would strictly adhere to the rule that 'high-grade cultivators must not attack low-grade ones.'

One might accidentally stumble into an area where high-grade cultivators appear, and instead of gaining merit, one would suffer losses in troops and generals.

Even if one didn't encounter them, once the order came down to retreat, it would all have been for nothing.

"Rahu, I might lose to you," King Tianyan said with some helplessness. If a ceasefire really happens, neither Xia Jing nor Zhao Xing will have reached the level required to be enfeoffed as a second-rank Marquis.

It can only be said that Emperor Jing is more impatient than expected; he wanted to start a real war before the troops had even finished training.

Soul-Severing Pass, a private courtyard.

"The inner Five Elements heaven and earth; the mandate of heaven is my mandate, the fortune of heaven is my fortune, and the lifespan of heaven is my lifespan."

"Yin and Yang are my true self, the Five Elements are the heaven and earth. In the end, the True Self School is the righteous path," Zhao Xing sighed inwardly.

It is now the first month of the 18th year of the Jingxin calendar. Since the fall of Soul-Severing Pass, the Divine Might Army, the Profound Armor Army, and the Town-Sea Army have been resting and reorganizing on the spot.

With nothing to do in Tonghuo City, he came to Soul-Severing Pass to cultivate.

A radius of one hundred miles around Soul-Severing Pass had been remodeled.

Its destruction was not as severe as that of Fire Dragon Pass; the Profound Heaven Sect’s Yin Five Elements Array was even still operational, with only the barrier in the southern section unable to be restored.

Situated within the Yin Five Elements Heaven and Earth Array, Zhao Xing’s understanding of the *Yin-Yang True Self Sutra* and the *Five-Finger Heaven Mandate* grew increasingly profound.

Because Liu Tianning had taught him high-grade bewitching arrays, this involved the deep-seated Dao of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements.

Secondly, he had learned the True Self Grass Man; the integration of the five methods was, in fact, a shallow-level 'integration of the five Daos.'

It was also an integration of the Dao of the Five Elements.

Now, having come to this array set up by the Profound Heaven Sect and sensing the rare Yin Five Elements array, he gained an even deeper realization.

"The Five-Finger Heaven Mandate utilizes the inner Five Elements heaven and earth to harmonize with the great Five Elements of heaven and earth."

"To deduce the destiny of the inner heaven and earth is to deduce my own destiny."

"I can even vaguely feel how long I can live," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

His extra lifespan reached 150 years, obtained through various methods such as consuming spiritual essences and increasing fortune.

So, as a seventh-rank Earth Fiend realm cultivator, how long could he live? Less than 150 years.

Shouldn't one live longer the more one cultivates?

Actually, that is not the case.

At low-grade realms, one cannot effectively extend one's life.

This realm is insignificant compared to the shackles of heaven and earth.

"In the era of Yuan Qi, the shackles of heaven's mandate are the hardest to shake among the rules of heaven and earth. Every living creature has a rule pressing down on how long they should live; this is what is called a fixed fate."

"Cultivators can become very strong, but becoming strong is also very hard to break the shackles of heaven's mandate. Even emperors of fortune dynasties can only live for a thousand years."

"After the recovery of spiritual energy, the world underwent a drastic change, entering the era of spiritual energy. The upper limit of the shackles of heaven's mandate rose, and the lifespans of all living creatures increased accordingly."

"In ancient times, the Profound Yellow Continent also had an era of spiritual energy. Giant creatures roamed the land, and whether animals or plants, their sizes were incomparably vast. Even a small blade of grass could live for a long time. The rare treasures of today were everywhere back then."

"After the era of natural disasters, the status of the world dropped to the 'Yuan Qi level,' everything shrank accordingly, and the upper limit of lifespan also decreased."

Every time Zhao Xing was promoted, he could see 'giants' in the imperial court within the illusions, especially Emperor Jing, whose body was massive, which meant his 'heavenly mandate' was stronger than anyone else's, allowing him to live longer.

Zhao Xing began to calculate how much longer he had to live before he could wait for the hope of longevity.

"There are still nineteen years left in the Jingxin calendar. After the 37th year of the Jingxin calendar, there will be the Dazhi era and the Yongzhi era. Adding these two eras together, it's 158 years, and then Emperor Jing will reach the end of his life."

"That is to say, there are still 177 years left in the Emperor Jing era."

"After that, Emperor Wu lived for 1,020 years. He broke the shackles of the imperial lifespan of the fortune dynasty, but he still didn't go any further."

"After Emperor Wu came Emperor Yuan. From here on, the Great Zhou Dynasty began to experience internal and external troubles as well as the era of natural disasters, and its fortune began to go downhill. There were a total of fifteen emperors, with an average lifespan of over a hundred years. Roughly counting, that's 1,700 years."

"Only after that does the recovery of spiritual energy arrive, which means I still have to live for nearly three thousand years," Zhao Xing thought to himself. "The road to longevity is long and arduous."

"The road must be walked one step at a time. Let's achieve the fifth-rank goal during Emperor Jing's era first."

"My military merit is now 1.6 million, ranking 45th on the seventh-rank military merit list."

"Not counting the temporary positions promoted by the Divine Might Army, my current official rank is seventh-rank lower."

"Currently, I am in the Divine Might Army, following Liao Rulong’s unit, and have not tasted defeat."

"With my military merit, if I am rewarded, a promotion of three grades is guaranteed, so I should be able to reach sixth-rank upper."

"Old Chen and Long Xiao have a higher starting point than me; they should be able to reach sixth-rank proper."

"With 1.6 million in military merit, my noble title will not be upgraded; it will remain a third-rank Marquis. Although this is not a Martial Marquis, just an idle Marquis, I can still have 160,000 mu of low-grade fertile land and a fief of 1,600 households."

"The honorary official title should be the fifth-rank Commandery Councilor, where I can participate in important decision-making discussions in the commandery city and have some say at the prefecture level, able to offer suggestions."

"The merit rank should be able to reach the sixth level. As long as I am in office, besides the salary, the annual bonus should be 300,000 points."

The bonus for merit rank is calculated in military realm points because the bonus for merit rank is issued by the military realm.

After the Great Zhou expands its territory, its land will generate a large amount of revenue, and a portion of the taxes from this revenue will be used to pay the soldiers who have obtained merit ranks.

The military class must be the wealthiest class in the Great Zhou!

Therefore, Great Zhou soldiers are also keen on expanding territory. Because even after retirement, the bonus brought by the merit rank is still one-third to one-half of what it was when in office.

Zhao Xing’s honorary official title and merit rank are not high because the previous million military merits were all used to exchange for Yin Spirit quotas.

"If nothing goes wrong, there will be a ceasefire in February, the entire barbarian-pacification battlefield will begin to withdraw troops, and the rewards will be completed in March."

"Immediately following that is the mutation of the Ten Yang Cave Heaven, which will begin to give birth to a large amount of spiritual essence of heaven and earth," Zhao Xing sorted out the future direction.

"The explosive appearance of spiritual essence of heaven and earth will last for half a year. By September, the situation will reverse, ten suns will hang in the sky, and a world-destroying disaster will appear."

"In October of the same year, Emperor Jing will reopen the low-to-mid-grade battlefield and continue the troop training strategy."

"After that, it will continue to fight until the 28th year of the Jingxin calendar, gradually investing mid-grade combat power, with the highest being fourth-rank. From the 29th to the 35th year, the war will continue to escalate, and third-rank to first-rank will enter the fray one after another."

"In the 35th year, the war will fail, and the Prince of Liang will collude with sects and Southern Barbarian forces to rebel. In the 37th year, the rebellion will be extinguished, and the war will end completely. After that, it will be the Dazhi era, Emperor Jing will begin to create people and breed offspring, and the Yongzhi era will determine the successor..."

"There is still a window period in the Southern Barbarian battlefield after the Ten Yang Cave Heaven, but I must grasp the measure, otherwise I won't be able to get out," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

If the official rank is too high, it is impossible to leave whenever one wants; after all, the army is not a place where one can come and go freely.

Enfeoffing you as an official is to make you do things, and there are only a few nodes to get out.

Once missed, Zhao Xing will have to continue fighting and participate in the mid-to-high-end battlefield, and then he will be cannon fodder.

The Great Zhou now has many talents, Liu Tianning, Fan Zhaoli, Lu Bang, Dantai Ming... these veteran fifth-rank and fourth-rank officials have lived for one or two hundred years, or even three or four hundred years.

It is not Zhao Xing’s turn to rise to power at all. The son of fortune, Lu Yuanwei, also failed in the later battlefield and eventually only barely maintained his fifth-rank lower official position.

If he is like this, others are even more dangerous.

"Enjoy the blessings that should be enjoyed, and avoid the disasters that should be avoided," Zhao Xing said. "My foundation is not strong enough, and my status is too low. I must put an end to greed and not try to influence the pattern of the great battlefield."

Cultivating the Five-Finger Heaven Mandate also sounded an alarm for Zhao Xing. He calculated the destiny of Soul-Severing Pass and Old Chen, and both suffered backlashes, let alone throwing himself into the entire barbarian-pacification war?

The fortune of the Third Derivation is indeed good, but in the later stages of the war, there are many people stronger than Zhao Xing.

Take Lu Yuanwei as an example; Zhao Xing estimated that his fortune had reached at least the Sixth Derivation!

Because he was born in Luliang Prefecture, and this 'Lu' is another prince of a different surname. Lu Yuanwei is a descendant of a prince, and he himself carries great fortune!

Comparing with him, one can know the danger of the mid-to-high-end battlefield.

"The goal during Emperor Jing’s era is to develop. Now, whether it is connections, strength, or fortune, I have not yet gained momentum, and Emperor Jing does not have that heavenly mandate. This period is not the time for me to rise and perform."

After sorting out the thoughts in his mind and confirming the future plan, Zhao Xing closed his eyes and stored the memory in the depths of his soul with the Great Dream Spring and Autumn cultivation technique.

He won't think of it at ordinary times, and it will only be triggered at key nodes. Of course, he can also actively recall it at some safe moments.

In the era of Yuan Qi, there are very few soul-searching methods. Methods like the soul-detaining grass man, which is almost a forbidden technique, can only obtain memory fragments of the past few days. But Zhao Xing is still cautious, just in case.

In the following time, Zhao Xing cultivated spells in Soul-Severing Pass.

His energy in the short term was put into the [True Self Grass Man], because this spell has infinite wonderful uses, and cultivating it is equivalent to cultivating many kinds of spells.

January 4th, 18th year of the Jingxin calendar, the transport treasure ship arrived at Soul-Severing Pass.

Lu Tingzhi intended to find Zhao Xing to 'chat about common interests,' but heard that Zhao Xing was in seclusion, so he had to give up.

Long Xiao and Chen Shijie exchanged a million military merits for Yin Spirit quotas and completed the procedure of temple-dwelling for their heavenly souls.

Xia Jing did not do this because he didn't need to. His father had already made great contributions and blessed his descendants. As the heir, Xia Jing already had such treatment.

Wen Shaoyang did not choose the Yin Spirit quota, and the others, Jiang Ming and Li Que, did not have such qualifications yet because their performance was not outstanding, and the military merit of Soul-Severing Pass was not as much as that of Fire Dragon Pass.

January 12th, Jingxin calendar, the Qiyuan Army, Yi Yue, and Nangong Ye attacked unsuccessfully. The 'Dark Soul' and 'Longyang Daoist' guarding Spirit Turtle City seized the opportunity to counterattack, and the three armies lost thousands of people.

Greedy for merit and advancing rashly, and without logistical support, the three main generals realized that the people of the Holy Spirit Royal Court were not purely incompetent. Most of the previous illusions were caused by Zhao Xing’s support.

But because of this incident, the relationship between the three and Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang dropped to freezing point.

They believed that if Liao Rulong had continued to follow up, with Zhao Xing leading the 100,000 logistics troops, they would not have suffered a setback at Spirit Turtle City.

Especially Yi Yue, after retreating, reported the war situation to the main force on the northern line.

He actually publicly denounced the two main generals, Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang, as fools.

But when mentioning Zhao Xing, he felt that Zhao Xing was a talent, and Liao Rulong was not worthy of having a logistics general like Zhao Xing.

Although the Qiyuan Army and Nangong Ye were not as extreme as Yi Yue, they also lowered their evaluation of the two main generals, Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang, when reporting the war situation.

However, the two people’s statements were relatively objective.

The Divine Might Army could be considered a strong army, and people like Long Xiao, Chen Shijie, and Zhao Xing all had a good reputation in their mouths.

It was just that the main generals Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang were indecisive and could not grasp the opportunity of the war.

The Qiyuan Army, Yi Yue, and Nangong Ye were the top three strong army generals on the seventh-rank military merit list.

They had extensive connections and had broken through Soul-Severing Pass, so what they said naturally had a great influence.

The reputation of Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang was greatly reduced, while Zhao Xing’s reputation rose straight up.

"Yi Yue, this hot-tempered guy, scolded the main general Liao Rulong like this, but praised Zhao Xing quite a bit. It seems that Zhao Xing is really doing a good job."

Wei Hong in the Tiger Jiao Army looked at this letter and couldn't help but smile. He and Yi Yue were good friends.

The hundreds of thousands of military merits that Yi Yue had accumulated before the attack was frustrated were reduced by 120,000 to 130,000, so he naturally complained to his good friend at the first time.

"If it is really as Old Yi said, then this Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang are really not worthy of the previous praise," Wei Hong said to himself.

Taking Fire Dragon Pass, the most famous one was not Zhao Xing, but Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang.

Most of Zhao Xing’s fame came from 'beheading Qian Shougang.'

Because those two were the main generals, they were highly praised at the beginning.

But after the spread of the three strong armies, the reputation of Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang also dropped a lot.

"Bastard! Yi Yue, this bastard! How dare he say that about me!" Soul-Severing Pass, City Lord’s Mansion, Liao Rulong was furious. "When have I ever been a coward? F*** your ancestors!"

Liao Rulong was really trembling with anger at this moment. He tore the letter in his hand into pieces.

Because in the public war report Yi Yue gave to the main general of the Yuanhua Army, he bluntly said that Liao Rulong was a coward, a fool, delayed the war, and was not worthy of being a general. Yes, he used these words.

The letter written to a friend was even more unbearable to look at!

It is conceivable how angry Liao Rulong was after learning about it.

"F*** his mother, I am a sixth-rank Commandant, and he is only seventh-rank. How dare he comment on me like a superior officer? I will not stand with this person!" Liao Rulong roared.

Pu Zhong was very calm. After Liao Rulong finished venting, he said: "Yi Yue is a simple person. At least he is scolding you publicly, not the kind of person who makes trouble secretly."

"Are you still speaking for him?" Liao Rulong snorted, but he didn't continue to get angry.

Cooperation between two armies and falling out is common, especially in strong-weak combinations.

He also agreed with Pu Zhong’s words. He understood why Yi Yue was angry.

But understanding is understanding, he still couldn't stand this bird anger!

"Just don't cooperate in the future," Pu Zhong comforted. "You also said you are sixth-rank, so you should be more broad-minded than him."

"You don't say anything, and you don't have to explain to anyone, you can show your generosity."

Zhao Xing also learned the news that Yi Yue, the Qiyuan Army, and others had failed in their attack, and also learned that Yi Yue had scolded Liao Rulong.

"This hot-tempered brother really scolded the wrong person," Zhao Xing couldn't laugh or cry. "It was I who persuaded Old Chen, Long Xiao, and Xia Jing. These three people have great influence, so Liao Rulong decided not to continue the attack."

"If he wants to scold, he should scold me. Instead, he praised me."

However, as the main general, Liao Rulong bore the praise and had to bear the destruction of reputation.

Zhao Xing was just a commander, so no one could scold him.

January 20th, rumors of a ceasefire circulated in the army.

January 21st, Yang An and Jia Pu issued formal orders to Liao Rulong’s unit and Wen Shaoyang’s unit, prohibiting them from continuing to attack.

January 21st to 24th.

On all lines of the Fire Demon Clan territory, powerhouses above the sixth rank appeared, some were enemies, and some were their own.

On this day, Zhao Xing also left seclusion from the underground. He sent a grass man, riding a flying boat, to patrol east of Soul-Severing Pass, and at the same time activated the Heaven Eye Method.

I saw many large cities appearing four hundred miles east of Soul-Severing Pass, with monstrous Yin energy in the cities and thick dark clouds that would not disperse.

In front appeared Yin soul giants a thousand meters high, holding giant axes, staring like tigers.

Zhao Xing took a look from afar, and the True Self Grass Man almost collapsed, so he had to retreat quickly.

And their own side also had powerhouses appearing.

Fourth-rank general Yang An came to Soul-Severing Pass in person, accompanied by fourth-rank lower strategist Jia Pu, and there were eight fifth-rank Front Generals.

The Profound Armor Army also had experts coming. Marquis Mingwei Xiang Kui sent his Assistant Regional Commander 'Zhang Jue', a fourth-rank general.

There was another fourth-rank lower Military Minister 'Li Yuanzhen'.

And seven fifth-rank officials, including priests, strategists, martial artists, and warlocks.

Although the Profound Armor Army only had more than 10,000 people, Xia Jing had a special status, so the people sent by Xiang Kui were also particularly strong.

In addition, Liu Tianning and Fan Zhaoli also arrived in person.

Among them, Liu Tianning came voluntarily, while Fan Zhaoli came at the request of Tian Shan.

The most eye-catching were 'Liu Tianning' of the Supervisory Department and Li Yuanzhen of the Profound Armor Army.

On the way back of Zhao Xing’s grass man, he saw Liu Tianning stepping on the clouds and arriving, directly rolling all the scouts and patrol boats on his side, including Zhao Xing, to the rear.

"Whoosh~" In just an instant, this gust of wind blew thousands of people on his side to fifty miles away.

At the same time, Liu Tianning pointed forward, and his voice spread across the sky with the wind: "The boundary of the ceasefire is determined from here. Anyone who dares to cross a step will be executed without mercy!"

Rumble~

The earth surged like sea waves, a shadow covered the battle line of dozens of miles, and then the shadow glowed with a faint light.

Trees reaching the sky rose from the ground, each one exceeding five hundred meters!

They shone brightly on the battlefield, some trees flashed with thunder, some trees spewed flames... As a powerhouse of the True Self School, Liu Tianning’s move directly shocked everyone.

"They are all seventh-tier plant troops!" Zhao Xing’s eyebrows jumped. "Old Liu is only a fifth-rank official, his strength is definitely more than fifth-rank."

Pure Yuan projection, being able to project so far, and being able to raise so many seventh-tier plant troops, is simply shocking.

Li Yuanzhen rode the Cloud Rain Treasure Ship, followed closely, reached out and pointed to the sky, the dark clouds dispersed, and the sun shone brightly.

A light green solar term order floated in the air, driving away the dark clouds in the distance.

"The Beginning of Spring solar term order, the weather within a thousand miles has been changed by him. The Yin Five Elements boundary has become balanced in Yin and Yang. He must have reached the 'Fixed Realm'."

From a long distance, Zhao Xing felt a spring vitality, and the earth also showed a touch of green. This place was originally eroded by Yin energy and was a wasteland where no grass grew.

Now it has been changed by Li Yuanzhen!

Zhao Xing looked at Li Yuanzhen and Liu Tianning, "Old Liu is really fierce. Li Yuanzhen is fourth-rank, and he is also a man who can reach the second-rank position later. Now it seems that Old Liu’s momentum is not inferior to Li Yuanzhen."

"Once they come, the ceasefire is really here. It seems that this time node has not changed."

February, 18th year of the Jingxin calendar, all major war zones of the barbarian-pacification battlefield entered a state of ceasefire.

The four major royal courts and five major cave heavens, all legions stopped fighting one after another, delineated the defense zone boundary, and left a buffer zone.

A large number of mid-to-high-grade powerhouses took over the battlefield, forming a confrontation.

As for the low-to-mid-grade, they began to slowly withdraw from the battlefield.

Zhao Xing also boarded the treasure ship, crossed the Canglan River, and returned to the Ten Yang Cave Heaven of the military realm on February 14th.

February 16th, in the five major cave heavens, a Heaven Heart Hall appeared.

Emperor Jing’s rewards also began on February 16th.

The military merits established by soldiers of different ranks in the war will be realized at this moment, lasting until March.

Ten Yang Cave Heaven, Yang City, Divine Might Army station.

Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, Yu Ziqi, and others were all staying in the station.

Suddenly, a golden light cylinder descended from the golden palace in the sky, the light cylinder was surrounded by coiled dragons, covering the four people.

"It's here." The four looked at each other, quickly walked into the cylindrical golden light, and were then led by a great force, flying towards the palace in the sky.