Chapter 275: The Earth-Piercing Divine Boat and the Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains, Sons of the Three Sects

At the Bright Moon Prefecture's Departing Fire Dao Academy, Zhao Xing's true self was devoid of sorrow or joy, completely emptying his mind.

One of his seven main soul clones, however, was still fleeing through Dang County.

If this clone were to be lost, he would suffer the loss of one-seventh of his soul power.

He would also be unable to split his consciousness into 49, 99 strands, and all soul-attack methods would be greatly diminished.

Even if he were to consume Primal Soul Liquid, it would not be something he could recover from in a short time; it would take at least a month.

"I should have shaken off the pursuers, right?" Zhao Xing looked back behind him and landed in the forest.

By this time, he had already run out of Dang County.

Ye Yukong simply hadn't been able to catch up to him!

Through the Ruler of the Heavens technique and relaying his escape with Jungle Leap,

Ye Yukong had long since lost his lock on Zhao Xing.

As for Zhao Xing's soul clone, at the time, he had only been concerned with fleeing for his life; how could he care whether those behind him were friendly forces or enemy troops?

He had, of course, heard Ye Yukong's shouts.

But both friend and foe were high-grade experts; what if he misidentified them or was being deceived?

Therefore, relying on himself to escape was the best course of action!

In any case, he couldn't be of any help; escaping was the greatest help he could provide to the friendly forces!

"The Heaven-Deriving King has not yet notified my true self that the operation has ended."

"I shall continue to run."

Zhao Xing did not dare to linger for long; he had arrived at the county with the most forest in Bright Moon Prefecture.

Here, his escape was more advantageous.

After all, Jungle Leap consumed the life force of plants.

In this way, he could recover some of his vitality.

The Ruler of the Heavens technique had a relatively high consumption.

"Everything must be based on the Heaven-Deriving King's messages; nothing else is trustworthy. How do I know it isn't an illusion?"

Zhao Xing was now fully utilizing the experience he had gained from running away in his past life.

This left Ye Yukong with no choice but to return to assist the God-Net King and the others.

At this moment, within the assassination group, only one person remained—or rather, the dual-souled Yushanzi.

He had already been surrounded by the God-Net King, the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Master, and the Heaven-Eating Palace Master.

When Ye Yukong arrived, he couldn't help but be somewhat startled.

"The Dragon Abyss Prefecture Master and the Heaven-Eating Palace Master are trapped in mid-air. Have they fallen for a ghost-wall illusion?"

"Bright Moon Shines Upon My Heart, activate!" Ye Yukong wiped his finger across his sword blade, and then a beam of moonlight flashed through his eyes.

"Woooo—"

Before his eyes was practically a ghost realm!

The Heaven-Eating Palace Master and the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Master appeared to be crashing about in the air, fighting against the void.

In reality, they were surrounded by ten thousand ghosts; hideous and terrifying monsters were blocking the two from going to support the God-Net King.

"Bright Moon Sets Behind the Western Mountains, ghosts reflect the human heart."

Yushanzi's voice appeared in Ye Yukong's ear. He discovered that the moonlight in his eyes had vanished.

"Is this the 'Word Becomes Law' of a Ritual Cultivator?"

Ye Yukong felt the sky before him grow dark, and his heart immediately tightened.

The divine office of Priest was already powerful enough, and now he had even obtained the abilities of a Ritual Cultivator.

Yushanzi was simply terrifyingly strong!

"The Dao of a Ritual Cultivator can naturally influence the rules, and Yushanzi himself, the level of his Dao, has reached the degree of 'influencing the rules'."

"This is something that even the Five Elements True Intent cannot shake, just like that wild monkey who couldn't block my Bright Moon Sword Technique. Facing a monster like Yushanzi, Ye Yukong did not dare to charge in recklessly."

He once again cast Bright Moon Shines Upon My Heart.

"Hum—"

No sooner had it risen than the light dissipated again.

"I shine!"

The light shone again.

"Hum—"

"I shine again!"

"Hum—"

Ye Yukong used this move repeatedly to constantly drain Yushanzi's energy.

The current situation was that Yushanzi was trapped in the God-Net Array.

The Dragon Abyss Prefecture Master and the Heaven-Eating Palace Master were trapped in the 【Yushan Ghost】.

Yushanzi, strengthened by Mr. Gu, was stronger than the God-Net King, but he could not kill the God-Net King, nor could he break out of the God-Net Array.

Likewise, the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Master and the Heaven-Eating Palace Master could not enter the God-Net Array, nor could they escape the 【Yushan Ghost】.

This was because Yushanzi was now not just a Priest, but a Second-Grade Ritual Cultivator—a Priest bolstered by the Life Scripture.

This was why the Heaven-Deriving King had insisted that the God-Net King add more people.

Yushanzi still had a chance of winning when fighting three at once.

If Ye Yukong, this Sword Cultivator, were allowed to join in, there would be absolutely no chance of winning left.

"Aha! You're afraid of me!"

Ye Yukong also keenly discovered this point.

"Brother Ye, continue!"

"Bright Moon, don't stop!"

The Dragon Abyss Prefecture Master and the Heaven-Eating Palace Master also noticed Ye Yukong's arrival.

"Rest assured, I'm familiar with this!"

Ye Yukong constantly cast the same move.

If it were in the past, he might not have had this much patience and might have tried some other methods.

But ever since he became a heartless stamping machine, he found that he could accept this kind of repetitive work.

"Ghost realm reflects the human heart? Your ghost realm isn't as terrifying as those official documents." Ye Yukong muttered.

Zhao Xing's clone could not participate in this level of battle at all.

His clone could only go around filing complaints.

Originally, Zhao Xing had wanted to find Li Boqian and the Heaven-Sun True Monarch.

But after thinking about it, it wasn't appropriate.

First of all, Li Boqian hadn't appeared yet, so even if Zhao Xing wanted to find someone, he couldn't.

He had already found Hu Yang, and that was enough.

The Heaven-Sun True Monarch was a god of the underworld and was not suited to overly interfere in the affairs of the living world.

If he were to intervene in specific matters, it would be interfering with the authority of Li Boqian, the Great Minister of Agriculture of the living world.

Helping his grand-disciple fight on his behalf was something Li Boqian had requested voluntarily.

Of course, the fact that the Heaven-Sun True Monarch later promised to give Zhao Xing a gift was purely out of appreciation for this ambitious grand-disciple.

"I'm not sure about the Earthly Advantage Faction, but the Heavenly Timing Faction and the Self Faction will definitely not sit idly by," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

After all, he had made no contribution to the Earthly Advantage Faction so far.

Although the "Self-Nature Theory: Earthly Advantage Chapter" touched upon it, it was mainly beneficial to the Self Faction.

Therefore, his clone at the Kunyuan Academy had only mentioned it briefly.

"I doubt Meng Kun and Gu Zhangqing can do much," Zhao Xing thought.

However, Master Zhao had truly miscalculated this time.

He had no idea that Meng Kun and Gu Zhangqing were actually the first to take action!

Kunyuan Academy, the world's number one spirit mountain, 【Spirit Mountain】, Sea-Mountain Mausoleum.

The Sea-Mountain Mausoleum was where the fourth Great Minister of Agriculture, Meng Haishan, was buried; he was also Meng Kun's grandfather.

Meng Kun flew into the Sea-Mountain True Monarch Hall in a great hurry.

"Grandfather! Please manifest your spirit, Grandfather!" Meng Kun's loud voice gave the hall-guarding Priest a fright.

"Who is making such a racket!" The hall-guarding Priest, Meng Li, appeared, but upon seeing who it was, he immediately retreated.

It was his big brother; then it was fine.

"Thump—" Meng Kun knelt on the prayer mat and quickly lit a large incense stick as thick as an arm.

"Hum—" The statue of Sea-Mountain True Monarch on the altar suddenly came to life, looking down at Meng Kun.

"Panicked and flustered, what kind of decorum is this!" Sea-Mountain True Monarch's low shout exploded in Meng Kun's ear.

"Grandfather, your great-grandson has a request!" Meng Kun kowtowed twice, then looked up at Meng Haishan.

"Speak!"

"Grandfather, there is a student in my academy named Zhao Xing," Meng Kun said. "He is currently in Pinghai Province, his whereabouts are unknown, and his life or death is uncertain. Please, Grandfather, manifest your spirit and command the underworld gods subordinate to the Earth Palace to search for his tracks!"

To find someone, underworld gods were much faster than other methods. Meng Kun didn't know anything else now and could only come to find his grandfather.

Otherwise, he could only worry in vain.

"Who is Zhao Xing that you would trouble me to search for him?"

"Grandfather," Meng Kun shouted, "he can be called the Son of the Earthly Advantage Faction, a genius rarely seen in Kunyuan Academy in ten thousand years!"

In order to get his grandfather to take action, Meng Kun went all out, praising Zhao Xing to the skies.

The reason Meng Kun was so agitated was purely because Zhao Xing hadn't written the treatise he had promised him yet!

"Is he really that much of a genius?"

"Truly, he is!" Meng Kun said. "Throughout history, there have been as many people with exceptional talent for magic as there are carp in the river, but how many have been able to leave treatises to the world? He already has two!"

"He is a great talent who can fight, govern, and write treatises!"

"Grandfather, stop asking and hurry up and get to work! If you're late, I'm afraid he'll go down there to see you!"

"You scoundrel—" Sea-Mountain True Monarch scolded him twice; Meng Kun wasn't even happy that he was asking questions!

However, scolding aside, Sea-Mountain True Monarch still took action quickly.

This was where Sea-Mountain True Monarch's true body existed, and he took a fierce breath of incense.

Following that, the two-meter-tall, arm-thick incense stick turned directly into ash.

"Hum—"

At this moment, in Pinghai Province's forty-five prefectures, over thirty thousand inland counties, and millions of districts—any temple with a statue of Sea-Mountain True Monarch began to shake in unison.

In the Dang County temple, the statue of Sea-Mountain True Monarch opened its eyes.

Then it jumped to the ground and tilted its ear to listen.

Waves of fluctuations entered its ears.

Earth-Listening Technique!

"Capture if you can."

"Run, can you run away?"

"Worthy of being Liu Tianning's disciple."

"Escape!"

"Block? This sword has three hundred years of cultivation; can you block it?"

"Bright Moon Prefecture Master?!"

"Yushanzi, I didn't expect you to have become someone else's book puppet."

A moment later, the statue jumped back to its original position.

At the same time, in the Kunyuan Earth Palace, Sea-Mountain Mausoleum, inside the divine hall.

"Zhao Xing has indeed encountered an assassination attempt; the location is Pinghai Province, Bright Moon Prefecture, Dang County."

"There are multiple high-grade experts, including Third-Grade and Second-Grade."

"Some want to kill him, others want to save him."

"One of them is named Yushanzi."

Hearing Sea-Mountain True Monarch say this, Meng Kun's expression changed instantly.

As expected!

"That scoundrel, the Prince of Liang!!"

Upon hearing the name Yushanzi, Meng Kun became furious.

He immediately rushed out of the Sea-Mountain True Monarch Hall.

"Unfilial descendant—"

Sea-Mountain True Monarch scolded him.

Because Meng Kun had only invited the god but forgotten to send him off.

"Grandfather, do not be angry."

Meng Li walked out from the side hall, set up the sacrificial offerings, and completed the god-sending ritual for his big brother.

After leaving the mausoleum, Meng Kun immediately contacted Gu Zhangqing.

"Zhangqing, it's been clarified!"

"How is it?"

"Zhao Xing is indeed being hunted by the Prince of Liang's men! Not only are there multiple Third-Grade experts, but there are even Second-Grade experts involved!"

"What? Shameless!"

Meng Kun said: "The Prince of Liang's actions are intolerable to both gods and men!"

"But the most urgent task now is to rush over and rescue Zhao Xing! I'm going to organize a thousand-man rescue team immediately! You hurry and find people! I'm going to request the Sacred Academy's divine weapons!"

Gu Zhangqing said: "Wait!"

"What for? There's no time!"

Gu Zhangqing said: "How can you make it in time if you mobilize people to Pinghai Province now?"

"Then what do you suggest?"

Gu Zhangqing said: "Go to Lüliang Province! Attack his lair and force the Prince of Liang to withdraw the assassination order."

"It will also take quite a while to get to Lüliang Province," Meng Kun said.

"Old Meng, have you gone senile?" Gu Zhangqing said. "Have you forgotten that ancient tunnel we dug in the 192nd year of the Dingxin Calendar?"

"Which one are you talking about?"

"The Tongming Ancient Road. We only dug three-quarters of it back then before stopping due to changes in the earth's veins. Later, when His Majesty wanted to fight the Great Pacification War, the academy shelved this project."

"Oh, I remember now!" Meng Kun realized. "It's the Tongming Ancient Road!"

"I've calculated it," Gu Zhangqing said. "You go and ask the Thirteenth Saint to pilot the Earth-Piercing Boat."

"Then mobilize fifty Ninth-Grade Earth-Dragon Drilling Ships, and we can dig through the ancient tunnel—the Tongming Ancient Road."

"In this way, we can reach the Bright King's Prefecture via the 【Kuntong Ancient Road】 and the 【Tongming Ancient Road】. Once we reach the Bright King's Prefecture, it will only take one hour to get to the Prince of Liang's royal city!"

"Moreover, the Bright King's Prefecture branch has enough heavy equipment and manpower for us to mobilize!"

"Right!" Meng Kun's eyes lit up. "Old Gu, you're still the smart one!"

"You hurry to the Earth Palace Academy to find people and wait for me at the Kuntong Ancient Road. I'll go to the Earth-Treasury Academy to invite the Thirteenth Saint! Let's split up." "Good!"

Meng Kun was the Dean of the Earth-Treasury Academy; he was indeed only at the Third-Grade realm.

However, as a Dean, his authority was quite significant.

Because there was only one person in Kunyuan Academy with more authority than him.

That was the leader of the Earthly Advantage Faction, the Dean of the Kunyuan General Academy, and the Mountain Master of Spirit Mountain—Xuanyuan Qingtian. This person was also his uncle-master and the sworn brother of his late father.

Meng Kun flew rapidly to a sacred mountain of Kunyuan Academy.

This mountain was named Earth-Boat Mountain.

The entire peak was crafted from mechanisms; from afar, this peak looked like an upright flying boat stuck in the soil.

The Thirteenth Saint, Xiao Zhe, was at the peak of the Second Grade!

He possessed a treasure-level divine weapon, the 【Earth-Piercing Boat】.

Xiao Zhe held no official position or title, only a loose rank and a special title—that of 【Saint】.

The barriers and restrictions of Boat Mountain had absolutely no effect on Meng Kun, the Vice Dean.

He flew directly to the palace at the summit of the boat.

"Saint! Saint Xiao!" Meng Kun shouted.

The floor suddenly split open, and a figure slowly rose up.

"Don't be so loud, I can hear you." The white-haired Xiao Zhe picked his ear. "Dean Meng, what can I do for you?"

Meng Kun immediately took out a token from his bosom, which bore the characters "Earth-Treasury."

"Saint, I am now requesting you to perform a classified mission in my capacity as Dean of the Earth-Treasury Academy."

Xiao Zhe's expression immediately became serious; he put away his cavalier manner and bowed to Meng Kun: "Please, Dean, give your orders."

"The content of the classified mission is to open the 【Tongming Ancient Road】 and transport a batch of heavy equipment."

"Open the ancient tunnel? When does it start?"

"Now," Meng Kun said. "We must depart now. I have already mobilized fifty Ninth-Grade Earth-Dragon Drilling Ships to wait at the Kuntong Ancient Road, just waiting for you, Saint, to go over."

"Good."

A quarter of an hour later.

Boat Mountain began to sink.

Boat Mountain, Boat Mountain; the mountain is the boat, and the boat is the mountain.

"Boom—"

Where the mountain had originally been, an abyss appeared.

The abyss was filled with dense earth energy.

The super-Ninth-Grade treasure, the 【Earth-Piercing Boat】, was activated just like that.

It rapidly headed toward the 【Kuntong Ancient Road】 to stand by.

Meng Kun did not stop for a moment and immediately took out his Earth Mirror to start contacting his friends.

He still had not given up on the idea of entering Pinghai Province.

Although he was at the General Academy, Meng Kun could still mobilize experts who were nearby.

A list of names flashed by, and Meng Kun tapped them one by one.

There were martial artists, Priests, and Warlocks—this was entirely Meng Kun's network!

He was going to organize a rescue team to enter Pinghai Province!

"Zhao Xing, you must hold on," Meng Kun muttered to himself. "You haven't written the treatise for me yet."

"Hum—"

Soon, the first person responded in the Earth Mirror.

"Dean Meng, I am Su Chen." A middle-aged man with a sword on his back appeared in the Earth Mirror.

"Brother Su, I have a request, it's like this—"

"No problem!" Su Chen nodded. "Back then, it was you, Dean Meng, who let me enter the world's number one mountain to seek the Dao; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to comprehend the Heavenly Sword Style. I'm setting off now."

"Many thanks."

Just as the call ended, a second figure appeared in the Earth Mirror.

"Brother Meng, what is it?"

"Brother Song, I have a request—"

Walking and talking along the way.

By the time he reached the entrance of the 【Kuntong Ancient Road】, Meng Kun had already summoned over a hundred high-grade experts!

These experts were all rogue cultivators, holding no official positions, having only inherited their original titles or obtained special cultivation qualifications.

Among them were some for whom Meng Kun could tell them to go to their deaths, and they wouldn't even blink.

"Old Meng, everything is ready."

Meng Kun glanced at the hundred-plus people behind Gu Zhangqing, as well as the fifty Earth-Dragon Drilling Ships.

"Let's go, depart!"

Lüliang Province, Youyou County.

Youyou County was one of the Prince of Liang's fiefdoms.

There was a royal palace here, but it didn't belong to the Prince of Liang.

It belonged to his son.

He was named the Prince of Ning-Le.

The Prince of Ning-Le, Ji Tao, was the Prince of Liang's fourth son.

Ji Han had no older brothers left, so he had become the eldest.

Ji Han had followed the Prince of Liang in battle during the Dingxin Calendar years, which earned him his title, and he was also the candidate to guard the Prince of Liang's base camp.

Originally, Ji Han was only at the Third-Grade realm, but after the Prince of Liang split the national fortune, Ji Han was bolstered by the Black Dragon's fortune and successfully ascended to the Second-Grade Heavenly Luck realm.

However, the situation in Lüliang Province was not the same as in Pinghai Province.

In Lüliang Province, the rebellion was far less severe than in Pinghai Province.

Ji Tao had not managed to recruit many high-grade experts to this day.

Most were high-grade experts who had originally only been mid-grade and had only ascended by consuming the Black Dragon's fortune.

Ji Tao was currently worrying in his temporary palace about recruiting high-grade experts; now that his father had activated the Heavenly Luck Gold List, he had also received the list.

But the lobbying efforts of the Ritual Cultivators under his command had had little effect; they were either rebel princes intending to go it alone, cooperating but not submitting, or they were asking for the moon, with Third-Rank Marquises daring to demand a royal title.

"Sigh—" Ji Tao rubbed his temples. "Mr. Li, why are there so many ignorant fellows who clearly have no ability but dare to make such excessive demands?"

Li Yang bowed and said: "Your Highness, that is how the great clans are. Those who split off from the main family are basically concubine-born sons or low-class descendants; joining you is merely to diversify their risks."

"However, among these people, there may well be hidden talents. During the time of the Great Ancestor, Wu Cheng was merely a Seventh-Grade Field-Tilling Officer of the Wu State."

"Following the Great Ancestor to conquer the world, he grew step by step and eventually reached the First-Grade position."

"But if it were in that era of the Warring States, who could have imagined it?"

"Your Highness still needs to have more patience."

Ji Tao nodded: "Mr. Li's words are reasonable. Talents are cultivated; I should be more patient and discover them."

"Your Highness is wise," Li Yang praised.

"Report—"

Just at this moment, a guard suddenly flew hurriedly to the outside of the palace gate.

"Speak."

"Within the Bright King's Prefecture, the Yaoguang Army general Xie Changlin has appeared on the Tianhai Plain with a large force and is currently attacking Prince Xi's military camp."

"Prince Xi has sent back an urgent report!"

"Xie Changlin? He has a lot of nerve." Ji Tao's expression turned cold instantly. "Quickly summon my five hundred Brave Dragon Guards and head to the Tianhai Plain!"

Just as Ji Tao was preparing to depart, another battle report arrived.

"Report! Prince Xi has been captured by the enemy, and the Wilderness Military Camp has been breached!"

"What? How could it be so fast!" Ji Tao was shocked.

Prince Xi was the son he valued most; at the Wilderness County military defense camp, there were five hundred thousand elite soldiers and generals.

Prince Xi himself was Third-Grade, and there were over a hundred Third-Grade experts protecting him.

How could he have been captured so quickly?

He opened the battle report, which included a Mirage Pearl and an Echo Snail.

"Hum—"

Ji Tao immediately saw the scene that had occurred on the Tianhai Plain battlefield.

"Hum—"

The battle was replayed.

He saw that on the boundless plain, a force appeared from both ends of the plain.

Ten thousand Yaoguang soldiers wearing green armor flew over the boundary marker and charged toward the defense line controlled by Prince Xi.

"Only this many people?" Ji Tao frowned.

At this time, he thought Ji Xi had made some mistake.

However, everything was normal.

Ji Xi had not made any mistakes as Ji Tao had thought.

He held his position, relying on fortifications, magic arrays, mechanisms, and border defenses to repel the enemy.

Fifty thousand men against ten thousand Yaoguang soldiers; this way of fighting was already considered conservative for his son!

It was fundamentally impossible for the Yaoguang Army led by Xie Changlin to cross the heavily defended Wilderness Pass.

However, just at this moment—

"Boom—"

The earth began to shake.

The land of the Tianhai Plain rose and fell like ocean waves, and then a massive sinkhole appeared in the ground.

Amidst the swirling earth energy, a mountain peak slowly floated up.

It soon exceeded a thousand zhang in height!

"What? This—"

Ji Tao's eyes widened instantly.

"The Earth-Piercing Divine Boat, how, how could it appear here?"

Ji Tao watched this scene.

He saw that after the Earth-Piercing Divine Boat appeared, the originally impregnable Wilderness Pass barrier began to collapse from the ground up.

It disintegrated like bubbles.

Fifteen people flew out from the Earth-Piercing Boat.

When Ji Tao saw the person in the lead, his heart couldn't help but tremble.

"Meng Kun?!"

Immediately following, a scene that shocked Ji Tao appeared.

The fifteen Earthly Advantage Faction Ministers led by Meng Kun.

Each of them moved a small mountain off the Earth-Piercing Divine Boat!

"Kunyuan Academy's Ninth-Grade supreme divine weapon, the Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains! And there are fifteen of them?!!!"

Ji Tao was completely dumbfounded.

He finally understood why Prince Xi had been defeated so quickly.

The five small mountains had already expanded dozens of times when they flew over the city!

The entire Wilderness Pass was shrouded in shadow!

Then they pressed down fiercely!

"Boom!"

The five military camps within Wilderness Pass were all crushed by the mountains!

Dense yellow light restricted the surrounding territory.

No escaping underground! No escaping at all!

Because the minimum control threshold for the Ninth-Grade supreme 【Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains】 required one to have practiced the top-tier Mountain-Moving Technique to the fourth-turn level!

And these fifteen people were definitely the strongest of the strong.

In just a single instant, the five hundred thousand-strong army at Wilderness Pass had completely vanished!

Now, Ji Xi could only lead the high-grade experts to flee for their lives.

However, another ten small mountains descended from the sky.

Bursts of yellow mist emerged between the mountains.

"Hum—"

All the high-grade experts who were flying couldn't help but retreat!

Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains: Inverted Earth Palace!

As the ultimate weapon of the Earthly Advantage Faction, the Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains contained almost all the spells of the Earthly Advantage Faction!

At this moment, the speed of these hundred experts was greatly reduced, and some were even sucked back.

In just a fleeting moment.

The mountains pressed down!

"Boom, boom, boom—"

Over a hundred high-grade experts were crushed to death directly.

As for Ji Xi, he was pressed under one of the pale-gold mountain peaks.

Only his head was exposed.

"Hum—"

The image zoomed in rapidly, as if a camera lens were being pulled closer.

Meng Kun pulled the Mirage Pearl closer with one hand and grabbed it.

Then he spoke into the Mirage Pearl:

"Ji Tao, your son is now being pressed under the Golden Mountain by this old man."

"Tell your father, the Prince."

"If Zhao Xing dies, the next one I press will be you!"

"From the moment you receive the Mirage Pearl, you have only two quarters of an hour to convey this."

"If I have not received news of Zhao Xing after two quarters of an hour."

"!"

The Mirage Pearl suddenly exploded.

The threat was self-evident.

Ji Tao was both shocked and furious.

The Kunyuan Earth Palace was in Daoyuan Continent!

How could it appear here, and with absolutely no warning?

He never expected that he would provoke so many Minister experts to mobilize, and they had even dispatched the 【Earth-Piercing Divine Boat】!

And such ultimate weapons as the Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains.

I, Ji Tao, what virtue or ability do I have?

Of course, after the shock, Ji Tao quickly remembered a serious question.

"Mr. Li, who is Zhao Xing?"

Zhao Xing had no idea that such a major event had occurred in the distant Lüliang Province.

He could never have imagined Meng Kun's hardcore rescue method.

Almost at the same time, Daoyuan Continent, Shangluo Academy, Primal Academy.

In the dense primeval forest.

"Swish—"

A figure walked out from the towering ancient trees.

Then he flew hurriedly toward the front.

The surrounding ancient trees were carved with exquisite runes and mysterious patterns, faintly flickering with strange light.

The branches extended in all directions like a huge canopy, and the leaves flickered with colorful light.

Every leaf seemed to contain infinite magic.

Soon, the figure flew out of the forest and arrived at a plain.

On the entire plain, there was only one huge divine tree; apart from that, there were no other trees.

Its leaves alone were over ten meters long, and its trunk was like a mountain.

Under the divine tree was a strange land of flowers and plants. There was a kind of blue flower, whose petals were as transparent as crystal, and starlight flickered in the stamens, emitting a charming fragrance.

Many vines wound and climbed on the divine tree, and the vines were covered with small, exquisite fruits that emitted an alluring aroma.

Pang Yuanzhen looked at this scene and couldn't help but feel very moved, but he didn't forget his purpose at the moment and continued to fly forward.

"Swish—"

He soon approached the divine tree.

Under the divine tree, there was an exquisite courtyard.

Strange flowers and plants grew in the courtyard. The leaves of these spirit plants were slender and emitted a faint fluorescence, surrounded by a faint spirit energy. They seemed to have their own consciousness, swaying slightly as if communicating with the surrounding environment.

"A legendary divine tree." Pang Yuanzhen looked at the big tree in front of him, his heart swaying; this was his first time here.

Of course, he hadn't come in his true body, but in a grass-man clone (not a ten-thousand-law clone, only capable of passing messages).

In the center of the courtyard, there was a small fountain.

The water in the fountain was crystal clear and emitted a mysterious aura. Strings of bubbles would occasionally emerge from the water, and every time a bubble burst, it would release a trace of pure spirit energy.

An old man wearing a patterned robe was standing by the fountain, nodding frequently at a flower shaped like a trumpet.

"Good, I understand."

"You must also be careful over there; the assassination you encounter will only be more severe than what your disciple faces."

"Mm, rest assured, I will arrange it. Things have reached this point; what is there for Shangluo Academy to fear?"

"You don't need to be distracted; I will arrange—"

"Pang Yuanzhen has come over; I will ask him carefully."

As he spoke, a grass-man clone flew into the courtyard.

"Greetings, Dean." Pang Yuanzhen bowed.

This was the Dean of Shangluo Academy, the leader of the Self Faction, Xu Xing.

"Yuanzhen, I already know your purpose. Tell me the situation; how is Zhao Xing now?" Xu Xing asked.

"Yes." Pang Yuanzhen immediately told Xu Xing the whole story, imitating the tone and demeanor of his conversation with Zhao Xing.

After finishing, he took two books from his bosom and handed them to Xu Xing.

"Dean, these are the 'New Chapters of the Self-Nature Theory' written by Zhao Xing."

Xu Xing took the two books and looked at them, then smiled and nodded.

"These two books alone would be enough to found a sect in ancient times."

"What did you mean when you said you were left wanting more during the Dao discussion?"

Pang Yuanzhen said: "Zhao Xing said during the Dao discussion that plant-based troop types could also be used to transform blessed lands, but this was not mentioned in these two books."

"Wei Zhao, Yang Song, and I often couldn't understand what he was talking about on weekdays."

Xu Xing smiled and tucked the two books into his bosom: "It seems he is indeed gifted."

"Dean, I wonder what we should do?" Pang Yuanzhen asked.

"Your strength is insufficient to participate; you don't need to do anything," Xu Xing's smile faded, and he said indifferently: "Someone will do it."

Pang Yuanzhen's heart tightened; he was also at the peak of the Third Grade, yet Xu Xing said he couldn't participate?

Could it be that the Dean was going to dispatch Second-Grade, or even First-Grade experts?

The Prince of Liang had truly offended the Self Faction deeply this time!

After Pang Yuanzhen's grass-man clone retreated.

Xu Xing sat down by the fountain.

"Assassinating the two most promising geniuses of the Self Faction one after another—Prince of Liang, I am just old, not dead yet."

He closed his eyes and lowered his head.

In the distant Lüliang Province and Pinghai Province, over a thousand Xu Xings opened their scarlet eyes.

In the distant Liangzhou and Pinghai Province, over a thousand Xu Xing opened their scarlet eyes.

Or in secret residences of the Shangluo Academy branches.

Or buried deep underground, like withered branches.

And one of these Xu Xings.

Also arrived in Youyou County.

His arrival speed was only a quarter of an hour slower than Meng Kun's.

Meng Kun could think of the "besiege Wei to rescue Zhao" method, and Xu Xing could certainly think of it too.

However, he did not enter the Prince of Liang's fiefdom from the border of Yaoguang County.

His goal was not just as simple as capturing a grandson of the Prince of Liang.

"Mr. Li, who is Zhao Xing?" After Ji Tao finished asking this, Li Yang prepared to answer.

When he looked up again, he discovered that Ji Tao, who had just been standing in place, had vanished!

"Your Highness, Your Highness?"

Li Yang was incomparably horrified.

The area around the Spring Palace was quiet; he activated his Ritual Cultivator spells to search continuously, but could not see any abnormalities.

Only at the spot where Ji Tao had vanished, a flower shaped like a trumpet had abruptly grown.

On the petals were two characters that seemed naturally formed.

Xu Xing.

Li Yang collapsed in front of the Spring Palace.

"Quick, quickly notify the Prince of Liang!"

On the other side.

Ji Tao felt a blur before his eyes, and suddenly he appeared in another place.

He looked around carefully and discovered that he was actually inside a closed lotus space!

"This—" Ji Tao was stunned.

He was at the Second-Grade realm!

Who could move him away without a sound?

Cold sweat broke out on Ji Tao's forehead.

He couldn't figure it out at all.

One second he was still asking "Mr. Li, who is Zhao Xing."

The next second, he had suddenly appeared here.

How could he not be afraid?

"Which, which senior is it?" Ji Tao asked with difficulty.

"You don't need to ask more; if Zhao Xing is unharmed, you still have a hope of living." Xu Xing's voice appeared within the lotus space.

Zhao Xing? Zhao Xing again!

Why was everyone looking for Zhao Xing!

Hearing Xu Xing's words, Ji Tao was on the verge of tears, and he couldn't help but lament in his heart: "I don't even know who Zhao Xing is!"

Pinghai Province, Bright Moon Prefecture, Departing Fire Dao Academy.

The Heaven-Deriving King revealed his face from the shadows.

"Zhao Xing, it's over."

The true self beside him, hearing the Heaven-Deriving King's voice, felt his thoughts return to activity.

"Your Highness, it's over?"

"Mm, all four assassins are dead; one was left alive to serve as evidence," the Heaven-Deriving King nodded.

"Many thanks, Your Highness." Zhao Xing also breathed a sigh of relief.

He could let his clone return now.

As for why a live captive was left, he was very clear—looking past the full-map perspective, in the eyes of many feudal princes, the Prince of Liang's achievements were comparable to the Great Ancestor; after all, he had once led troops to fight at Yin-You Mountain!

The Nine Heavens Response Prefecture, as well as the vast territory of the Southern Wilderness, were all created by the Pacification Legion commanded by the Prince of Liang!

The reforms of the Emperor Jing over the past few hundred years, however, had shaken the interests of many feudal princes and great clans.

So the Prince of Liang really had quite a few supporters.

The Prince of Liang's declaration to "rectify the ruler" was, at its core, not against the Great Zhou, but against Liu Si.

Now, the Prince of Liang's main legions hadn't really killed anyone or attacked any cities yet; it was all the other fief-holding princes and feudal lords doing the work. But if the Prince of Liang committed more wrongdoings, the legitimacy of his "loyalist" cause would be weakened.

As public support and prestige were constantly weakened, his position would become less and less tenable.

By then, the Prince of Liang would lose the support of the underworld gods, and at the same time, the Black Dragon's fortune would also be weakened.

The damage to the Great Zhou could also be suppressed to a minimum.

"So many high-grade experts coming to assassinate a mere Minister of Agriculture like you will make many people question the Prince of Liang; it is a blow to him," the Heaven-Deriving King said.

"Once public support is lost, the national fortune will weaken. The national fortune of the country is the same; once the Emperor is muddled, the fortune of all officials and generals in the world will weaken accordingly, and their strength will be greatly reduced."

Zhao Xing nodded: "Many thanks, Heaven-Deriving King."

Pinghai Province, Nine Heavens Response Prefecture.

The original prefecture office residence had been converted into a royal palace.

The Prince of Liang, Ji Mingxian, was currently inside the royal palace.

Although he had withdrawn most of his legions back into the Great Zhou territory, his true body was still in the Nine Heavens Response Prefecture.

The Prince of Liang, Ji Mingxian, was currently standing before the Latitude God-Net, which displayed a rough map of Pinghai Province; however, unlike a sand table, there were two currents of gold and black energy constantly fighting and entangling on it.

Above the Latitude God-Net was another scroll.

The Heavenly Luck Gold List!

This could assist the Prince of Liang in observing the movements of experts in Pinghai Province.

Behind the Prince of Liang were over a dozen statues.

These statues were all statues of Great Zhou gods.

The Prince of Liang took a look and then walked out of the room.

Just as he walked out, he saw a Ritual Cultivator wearing a scholar's robe kneeling outside.

"Mr. Gu, what is the meaning of this?" Ji Mingxian asked.

"Your Highness," Mr. Gu bowed to the ground. "I am guilty; the assassination operation failed. The Daoist Tianjue was captured alive, and the others are all dead."

The Prince of Liang said indifferently: "It is of no matter, Mr. Gu, please rise."

But Mr. Gu did not rise, instead reporting a second piece of bad news.

"A quarter of an hour ago, the Wilderness Military City was destroyed."

"Meng Kun, Dean of the Earth-Treasury Academy of Kunyuan Academy, suddenly appeared in Yaoguang County and launched an attack alongside Xie Changlin."

"The Thirteenth Saint piloted the 【Earth-Piercing Divine Boat】, and Meng Kun and the others carried the heavy weapon 【Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains】, crushing the fifty-thousand-strong army to death. Ji Xi was captured alive, and they declared that if Zhao Xing is not released within two quarters of an hour, Ji Xi will be executed."

"The eldest son was preparing to rescue him, but on the way to reorganize the army, he also vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a blooming Divine Thunder Flower with the words 'Xu Xing' carved on it."

"At the same time, forty-nine high-ranking generals in various parts of our army have disappeared."

Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed the Prince of Liang's eyes.

It was one thing for Shangluo Academy to take action; after all, he had long been an adversary of Shangluo Academy.

One of his reasons for "rectifying the ruler" was that the Transportation Department was inactive, leading to a lack of military supplies.

Liu Tianning, as the Transportation Commissioner of Pinghai Province, was his number one target.

Shangluo Academy's involvement was within his expectations.

However, he was killing Zhao Xing; why did Kunyuan Academy get involved?

And they even dispatched the 【Earth-Piercing Divine Boat】 and the 【Ten Thousand Heavy Mountains】?

Ji Mingxian still said: "Mr. Gu, please rise; this is not your fault."

However, Mr. Gu remained prostrate on the ground, continuing to report a third piece of bad news.

"Ling Tianchen of the Houbian Faction of the Profound Heaven Academy has already led fifty-nine people to the 'Weak Water Channel,' one of the military world passages." "He claims that their faction member Zhao Xing was attacked by rebels for no reason."

"The Purple Feather King and the Black Boot King, the two fief-holding princes guarding the Weak Water Channel, have been severely wounded—their life or death is unknown, and the passage has fallen into the hands of the imperial court."

Mr. Gu's voice was trembling.

This was because the Weak Water Channel was in the west, a place where ordinary humans could not guard, and only powerful non-human experts could!

And the Weak Water Channel was an important part of the Prince of Liang's military strategic plan.

The Ministers of the Houbian Faction were adept at transformation and were like fish in water in the Weak Water.

In other words, the Prince of Liang could not care about his son, but he could not be without the Weak Water Channel.

Losing the Weak Water Channel was more terrifying than losing ten sons!

After Mr. Gu finished speaking, he prostrated himself on the ground.

He couldn't understand at all how a single Zhao Xing could attract such a powerful counterattack from the Ministers of the three sects.

Wasn't he just a genius of the Self Faction?

How had he become like a Son of the Three Sects? Why did every faction want to protect him?

"The Weak Water Channel has fallen." The Prince of Liang muttered these words, a storm gathering in his eyes, and a ghostly light looked at the prostrate strategist on the ground.

This time, he did not let Mr. Gu rise again.

This time, he did not let Mr. Gu rise again.