Chapter 1342

Rainwater lashed the ground like a whip.

Gang winds swept across the horizon, lifting the trees on the mountain as easily as turf on a field.

Ancient trees that had grown for decades, centuries, even millennia were hauled into the sky, uprooted, revealing yellowish-brown bedrock; rainwater scoured and whipped them, mud mixed with stones slammed into the river, flowing eastward until the estuary stained a faint earth-yellow.

After scattering all the billiard balls, they rolled wildly across the table, Liang Qu having completed his task withdrew, retreating to an unnoticed corner, repeating his old trick—

The water flow parted.

Murky mud mist spread in clusters; before the hazy figure appeared, Jin Guang emerged first.

The Haiya King trembled all over, the Xiaoma King shuddered like chaff in a sieve, the Dama King, caught red-handed, averted his gaze, too afraid to meet their eyes. The three kings once again recalled the fear of being dominated by the Bai Yuan's fists, and in unison thought the same phrase.

The Ape God—invincible!

"The Ape King's movements are incredibly swift, coming and going, stirring wind, cloud, and thunder," said the Jing Wang, distracted.

Bai Yuan ignored him; the Jing Wang, who looked just like A Fei but lacked A Fei's simple honesty, was merely jealous of his handsomeness: "How's the situation? How did the fight go?"

"Very fierce."

The Wu Wang extended his tentacles, pointing at the silt in the water; the battlefield was far from the river mouth, yet even this silt trembled and rose—proof enough.

The Jiao Sha Wang worried: "The internal strife among humans is fierce indeed; when we came before, one stood idle, the Dashun arrived, and a small half flocked to them.

I see Dashun's momentum is strong; later they won't let Dashun seize the Nine Strongholds, affecting our chance to obtain the treasure medicine? What if Dashun refuses, or later they take most of it, leaving the Nine Strongholds empty-handed—would we have come all this way for nothing?"

Dashun and Nanjiang, the stones in their rivers raged wildly, intertwining, fighting from the Cangjiang front lines to the interior, then back from the interior to the first three strongholds.

Both sides deployed a combined total of nearly thirty Yaolong, besides the Tian Long, there were countless Entering Zhen Xiang Sect masters; even without direct confrontation, one could tell how fierce the battle was.

If humanity stood united, as one fortress, then just now there would be no trace of those fourteen demon kings; doubled in number, they'd now be fish head stew and octopus grills.

"Not at all," said the Jing Wang, shaking his head. "Dashun isn't strong enough to do that; forcibly taking Nanjiang would surely exhaust their vitality, but Nanjiang will definitely have to bleed again—whether they can produce it or not, perhaps there really will be an impact."

"If we can't produce it in three days, then thirty days, three hundred days!" Bai Yuan rallied the demon kings, "We've got all the time in the world!"

"The Ape King speaks truly—"

The Wu Wang, Jiao Sha Wang, and Jian Wang clenched their fists and rubbed their palms.

Upper, middle, and lower grades combined exceed a hundred portions; each demon at least takes several kinds—don't say three days, even three hundred days would be worth it.

Today we truly reaped the sweet reward; I thought it was just a trivial matter to come stop Bai Yuan, but now I don't know how many demon kings of the Eastern Sea have seen the situation clearly and regretted it.

All demon kings focused intently on the battle scene; suddenly there was no sound, and they completely forgot one important thing.

Liang Qu glanced left and right, unwilling to speak up openly, secretly messaged the Haiya King, asking it to come and draw attention.

The Haiya King lamented even more deeply, drifting forth slowly: "Today I let greed cloud my mind, made a grave mistake; what the Jing Wang said is just, and there are still two portions of the great medicine unaccounted for—"

The Dama King felt utterly dejected and quickly spoke up.

"What is due by reason, what is due by reason—I here also have four portions of great creation medicine and six portions of great medicine, which ought to be compensated to the Ape King."

"That's correct—six portions of inferior great creation medicine in total, according to the prior agreement, should be compensated to the Ape King," said the Jing Wang. "Since you've brought it up yourselves, then go quickly and return quickly—deliver it to the Ape King."

"Yes—"

Within the South Sea, the thirteen river stones gathered together split apart once more into three.

Above Nanjiang, collisions flashed like lightning and flint.

The eight previously unstoppable Dashun martial sages, like daggers, stabbed into the Nine Strongholds of Nanjiang; this force, unless the Nine Strongholds united, almost no single stronghold could resist it—and yet, upon encountering Xin Da Xian, they suffered successive defeats!

Thunder and fire pierced through, gang winds swept in all directions.

If it were a newly promoted martial sage like the autumn leaves of the netherworld, merely lingering in this residual gang wind would require constant vigilance to avoid injury.

Three meters tall, gaunt as a bamboo pole, joints like bamboo nodes, the old man Bai Xu flew upward with his white beard, eyebrows long and fine, drooping at the corners of his eyes; he parried the Xuan soldiers with his fleshly palms, afterimages intertwining at his hands, his palms carving long, thin wounds—yet he withstood them all, occasionally sparks drifting.

All phenomena fierce, Xin Hai!

The great manifestation of Nanjiang has now endured over eight hundred years, perhaps nearing nine hundred.

Yaolong thirteenth stage, holding the Wanxiang Position Fruit, Wanxiang Meng truly deserves its title as the strongest, the totem of Nanjiang, without equal, its battle record formidable. Were it not for advanced age and bodily decline, long inactive, the body seeming wrapped in a thick spiderweb, perhaps even at first sight, a Dashun martial sage would have fallen.

Golden eyes flickering, the heart-fire of Zhang Longxiang rose and surged, crimson aura blazing around his body, his entire being like a cluster of Xiong Xiong burning fierce fire; the more suppressed, the more scattered sparks rose into the heavens, scorching flesh and blood, occasionally even forcing Xin Hai to retreat two steps.

The remaining seven all surrounded Zhang Longxiang as core, providing support.

"The younger generation is to be feared—rivers and mountains ever produce talent, each generation replaces the last; Zhang Longxiang, in my prime, I never heard your name."

"Not having heard my name doesn't mean I'm nameless—it means you're ignorant; your era has long passed!" Zhang Longxiang laughed, backhanded a downward chop, dazzling sparks obscuring his face, unseen, only his voice heard: "Now remember it!"

"Remembered, Zhang Longxiang, Liang Qu—living nine hundred years in vain, never have we seen such peerless talent; heaven always favors the Central Plains," Xin Da Xian sighed long, "But young people, don't be overly vigorous.

In bygone days, the famed martial sages, grand masters, and demon kings—now each returns to dust, to earth; Yaolong how, martial sages how—none can withstand the erosion of time, yet I have lived to this day; past events like smoke—"

Xin Hai extended his arm, raised his hand and pointed.

A sensation like a needle prick at the brow.

Not daring to lose focus, Zhang Longxiang brandished his blade forward to apply pressure, attempting to break the opponent's rhythm.

Chong Wang seized a moment to glance sideways and upward, secretly observing.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted.

Above the nine heavens, dense cloud layers undulated like waves, then sank slightly, a small bulge formed, the bulge broke open, dark gray edges pierced through.

Meteorite iron forged from ten million refinements, seemingly slow but actually fast, tore through the air wave, friction producing scorching heat; white water vapor clung to the distinct angular edges like a drawstring, threads vibrating wildly, hurtling toward their heads, crashing down with a boom!

Where the meteorite passed, vacuum suddenly appeared.

Countless air molecules compressed into a thin wall, finally, under unmatched pressure, squeezed out, swiftly sweeping across, a hundred li, a thousand li,

Ten thousand li—

Birds and beasts couldn't escape in time, crushed by the invisible air wave into blood mist, ancient trees shattered into dust, drifting invisibly.

Above the South Sea, great waves surged skyward.

The Xiaoma King only felt an invisible ripple sweep over his body, utterly confused what was happening, only concerned with pressing the Dama King: "Big brother, what's going on? Why do you just listen to that Bai Mao monkey?"

Gone.

Nothing at all.

The treasures given by the Southern Frontier, the physical body I painstakingly nurtured myself, even the compensation just demanded — in the end, after provoking so many Demon Kings, everything came to nothing.

The Big Horse King, helpless, choked out: "It is our vital point————"

The Little Horse King's heart leapt, looking around in panic: "What about the vital point?"

The Big Horse King wanted to speak but stopped, stopped but wanted to speak again.

"Big Brother!"

"The vital point, seized by that monkey, it knows, it knows everything." The Big Horse King's essence, energy, and spirit visibly withered.

"How is that possible, it, how does it know? We never, never exposed it————"

The Little Horse King spoke incoherently, stammering, then quickly fell silent; it wasn't stupid, at first it didn't understand, but following the White Ape south, making such a huge detour, how could it have no guesses — only immense fear made it instinctively refuse to believe.

"It knows, it knew from the start!" The Big Horse King felt fear in his heart.

Once the Little Horse King died, the White Ape immediately headed south, then plunged straight underground, its purpose unmistakable————

"The White Ape has also died once! The Pang Wang would suspect coincidence, it wouldn't, it's more mysterious than us, our methods, exposed once and it locked onto suspicion! Just one glance at you and it understood everything, we picked the wrong opponent, this guy————has too many methods, too terrifying."

The Little Horse King trembled all over.

The nest is the true vital point of the Seahorse Clan.

Nest intact, all is well; nest destroyed, nothing remains, life itself lost. Yet without protection, even a Great Demon could destroy the nest — this is the Seahorse Clan's greatest secret. If someone ferrets out the nest, it's tantamount to offering up one's life, becoming an ox or horse at others' command!

Even if the White Ape hasn't seized it now, it knows this matter; once spread, countless mighty figures will surely attempt to divine and search for it————

What treasure compares to a Flood Dragon with its lifeline gripped?

Unwilling to expose it, we can only obey the White Ape, or kill it — but kill it — who, who can do it, even Big Brother is no match.

The Little Horse King pressed its head, howling in pain; that immense pressure, the worry of a future without freedom, almost crushed it outright.

"Ah!!!!"

In a deep pit ten li across.

Straw sandals long tattered, Xin Hai stood barefoot on meteoric iron, suspended together in midair, level with the ground; he spread his arms, joined them at his chest, and in an instant, a super-giant meteoric iron a full li in diameter was kneaded like putty, shrinking, boundless light and heat erupting, rolling heat waves vaporizing all moisture.

The entire meteoric iron sphere, compressed to the size of a human head, hovered in Xin Hai's palm, then vanished without a trace in the next instant.

Zhang Longxiang's palm trembled; his vision hadn't caught it, but his mind's eye seized it!

From the elevated-dimensional perspective, every detail was crystal clear.

"Crack."

The Dragon-Elephant Prison-Suppressing Saber shattered, gaping.

Vast, unstoppable momentum carried Zhang Longxiang flying backward.

Towering waves surged to the heavens.

Another invisible ripple swept across.

Liang Qu focused intently, yet grew somewhat muddled, gradually unable to tell who was who.

Relying on one's own perception of the river stones is poor at this aspect.

Focused staring is fine; the moment one's attention lapses slightly, positions shift violently — you might lose track of who's who, and without a change in the number of river stones, you fundamentally don't know what's happening on site — for all you know, it could be a life-and-death struggle, or they could be gathered together in a wine-pool-meat-forest orgy.

"Should be unable to break through." Liang Qu sighed.

Martial Saints don't do siege warfare, but factions do.

The Northern Court applies no pressure, Great Shun has ample manpower, can singly form a team like Zhang Longxiang's to penetrate the hinterland, another part deadlocks on the front line, but political pressure's purpose far exceeds military gains — all because of a figure like Xin Hai.

They, like cities, are entrenched in the Southern Frontier.

Five times the force, attack it; ten times, surround it.

The ailing tiger and Marquis Xingyi inside Entering Zhen Xiang, same numbers, fundamentally can't chew it down.

Likewise, "cities" can only sit in their locale, hard to employ in active offense.

Getting an expert like Xin Hai to act is far from easy.

The Furnace desires nothing, seeks nothing, built on the premise that no treasure medicine or material in the world can aid the Furnace, plus its lifespan is enduring — everything is as worthless as wild grass.

Those who can control a Position Fruit, second only to the Furnace, the principle is the same; to possess a Position Fruit, aside from someone like Liang Qu who pierced Yin and Yang to steal it early, whether inheritance or forcible seizure, which doesn't demand one's own strength?

Realm, strength both at the peak, more treasure medicines useless; simultaneously implies high realm, implies advanced age, many hundreds of years, fewer and fewer attachments — what can make them help exert effort?

Give a Position Fruit? Help universally ascend to Furnace? Furnace aside, if one has that ability, the world is mine, better to keep the Position Fruit practical. How much spoils must be captured to equal one Position Fruit?

Final tally, afraid it's a huge loss.

Even giving too many Position Fruits reverses primary and secondary, danger of overturning.

Only when truly driven to their doorstep will such a person resist defensively, thus becoming an existence akin to a "city" in different tune, same effect.

Fortunately, unable to break through aside, the strategic goals of showing attitude, political pressure, and seizing profit were already achieved when Zhang Longxiang invaded the hinterland!

"Spring hasn't arrived, autumn hasn't come, bumper harvest!"

"Ha, ha! Te."

Sunset in the west, crimson clouds filling the sky, high-temperature heat waves from steaming hair rising curling, undulating in the distance, a mouthful of fresh blood landing on stone, quickly baked dry into a blood scab.

Zhang Longxiang spat a mouthful of blood foam.

Behind him seven men, big and small, all injured, two gravely; fortunately Xin Hai pushed horizontally all the way, the group now neared the front line, reinforcements ready at any moment. Now, Zhang Longxiang faintly understood Liang Qu's words "I'll just do as I please."

"Event's on, again!"

Blood-red crimson flames rushed straight to the sky, burning half the heavens red.

Earth scorched black, cracked ten thousand zhang, the Heavenly Gang Giant roared up in anger, waving axe and halberd.

Above the vault, two more red-hot meteoric irons tore through drifting clouds, friction with air turning half the sky into magma, flowing to cover the earth.

High heat scorching, gray-green thorns forming ox horns, curving skyward!

"I, trembling with fear, kowtow repeatedly, respectfully present my blood and tears to lay bare my heart, for the appraisal of Emperor Shunyuan Dabao Shengwen Shenwu Fatian Zhengdao, Your Majesty:

I reflect that the change at Yellow Shahe was truly my secret dispatch of soldiers, covertly employing the Demon-Suppressing Art, intending to disturb the vital belt of your state. Though this scheme originated from my hand, all private dealings with the East Sea were solely my arbitrary decision. Now the demon miasma has dispersed, the heavenly net inescapable, my crimes too numerous to count, no excuse possible, willing to accept death by cauldron, to apologize to the world!

"Now I dispatch envoys bearing a letter, wishing to offer fifty million yi of annual tribute to assist in repairing the Yellow Shahe embankment, and furthermore present ten carts of precious medicines as a ceremony of apology. From now on, forever severing contact with the Eastern Sea, we shall jointly erect boundary markers. If Your Majesty the Shun Emperor deigns to show mercy and permits our two nations to renew our alliance, then our nation shall withdraw border troops, open mutual markets, and together with your esteemed nation enjoy peace————"

On the Lcang River.

The river waters surge eastward.

Colliding balls running everywhere, rolling into the corner pockets.

The envoys presented the memorial with both hands, voices choked with tears: "This is the Jianghe's spirit's postnatal molding method; we humbly beg your esteemed nation to accept it————"

Clerks carved bamboo slips.

"In the third month, eighth day of the eighty-second year of Shun, the southern frontier chieftain secretly bribed the Eastern Sea Demon King, plotting to obstruct Great Shun's governance of the Yellow Shahe. The matter leaked; the Huai King secretly memorialized. The Emperor was furious and ordered the Dragon Elephant King to rush to aid by starlight. The two armies met in battle at Hekou, fighting bitterly until midnight. The Dragon Elephant King shouted and fought fiercely; the demon masses routed, the chieftain prostrated and begged surrender."

Same year, same month, same day.

Lcang River enters the sea mouth.

Wheels rumbling, carriages and horses moving.

"Brother, my brother!"

Bai Yuan wailed and howled.

The old chieftain shook his head and sighed, reaching out to point at something.

"I have burdened the Eastern Sea demon tribes, causing them extreme hardship; furthermore causing the Little Horse King to perish, my fault is deep and heavy, my crime unpardonable. This is the recompense stipulated in the former pact, all prepared here. I wish from now on, neither side blames the past, we renew old friendship, together protect our borders clear and peaceful, forever cease warfare, to enjoy the blessings of peace."

No demons on either side, the Crow King quietly approached, poking the Horn Shark King.

"Old geezer mumbling away, what's he saying?"

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