Chapter 671

The divine edict, to be exact, is that when that sheet of starlight‑condensed text appeared outside Longchi City, a thread of strange fluctuation fell from the boundless void; from the east of Mu Dalu, a thread swept westward.

Dim and dark, the Mu Dalu, almost invisible to the naked eye in the pitch‑black void, suddenly glimmered with a faint light.

The whole Mu Dalu was like a dormant divine corpse; when stimulated from outside, it suddenly had a slight reaction, waking a tiny bit from its eternal slumber.

The strange fluctuation was very slight, so Mu Dalu's reaction was also minute.

The fluctuation gently swept over Mu Dalu's surface, seeping underground only about a thousand zhang, like a needle lightly nicking a film of oil; Mu Dalu hardly moved at all.

But when this strange fluctuation, from an extremely distant eastern world, quietly arrived at the eastern frontier of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, it suddenly plunged tens of thousands of li underground, violently breaking through layer after layer of heavy rock, complex strata, countless caverns and molten lava, straight into the deep earth.

It was like a fine needle piercing the oilskin, breaking through the dermis, truly causing pain.

The continental plate where the Three Kingdoms lie shook violently; layers of bright light sprang from the heads of mountain ranges and river sources, rushing swiftly along the terrain and waterways.

Many isolated towering mountains deep in the ranges and desert cores lit up; huge columns of light like god‑slaying spears stabbed the heavens, carving gigantic, rapidly spinning vortices in the air.

Towering, divine‑majestic figures rose from the mountain peaks; their faint, hazy forms gazed upward, fixedly staring toward the direction from which the strange fluctuation came.

'Boom,' a cracked ancient bell appeared above Mu Dalu, the bell trembled lightly; its faint chime was barely audible even close by, yet at that very moment it rang in the hearts of all beings of Mu Dalu.

When the bell rang, Xi Yang was squatting in the rear courtyard of Wu Tie's Prince An's mansion.

Heir to the blood of Xi Huang and Nuwa, whose cultivation had broken into the Divine Realm six thousand years ago and whose innate divine abilities were terrifying, he was holding a thin grass stalk, teasing two crickets into a fierce fight.

He wore a smile watching the crickets, his eyes icy; his gaze, like Wu Tie's indifferent watch of the Divine Realm elders of Qingqiu and Dawei battling to the death, was lofty and uncaring.

When the bell suddenly rang in his heart, Xi Yang first froze, then his face changed abruptly.

An extremely foul utterance—learned from Li Ergouzi's vilest street slang—burst out involuntarily; Xi Yang's body flickered, turning into a wisp of green smoke that sank into the ground.

Beneath the Prince An's mansion, in a spot even Wu Tie didn't know, Xi Yang had at some point dug a small stone chamber about three zhang across, its four walls, ceiling and floor each inlaid with nine pieces of dark‑black tortoise shell.

The fifty‑four tortoise shells emitted a faint light, enveloping the whole chamber and completely masking Xi Yang's aura.

At the very moment Xi Yang performed his secret art, in the caravan slowly heading south of Yuzhou toward An'yicheng, Sima Wuyou's face turned ashen, then he sharply barked at the nearby Baihe and Zhuji.

Baihe and Zhuji's faces also shifted; they shouted in unison, their bodies becoming two ribbons of spirit light that whirled around Sima Wuyou.

A lotus with distinct red and white petals slowly blossomed from the spirit light, its petals unfolding to envelop Sima Wuyou, Baihe and Zhuji, likewise shielding their auras.

In the span of a breath, Longyong rushed over and plunged headfirst into the protective range of the red‑white lotus.

The strange fluctuation drifted slowly past, and nothing happened.

Quzhou, Phantom Cloud Mountain.

Inside Wu Fort, Wu Yu and the other Wu family elders' corpse‑slaying avatars stood by the drill ground, smiling as they watched a group of Wu clan youngsters tumble and roll, tempering their flesh.

The Wu clan's bloodline is indeed overbearing; previously Wu Tie alone had seized the stellar essence of a hundred prefectures, sending a batch back to Wu Fort. These Wu youngsters each tempered their bodies with stellar essence, nourishing their bloodline.

These mere seven‑ or eight‑year‑olds, in a very short time, grew enormous appetites and their growth rate became astonishing; now each stands eight feet tall, and when they throw a punch, their fists shake the air, repeatedly booming like thunder—an awe‑inspiring sight.

Their cultivation speed is also astonishingly fast, far surpassing and outstripping the Wu clan's former elite warriors.

Treading the earth, crowned with sun and moon, bathed in heavenly wind and dew, the cosmos' natural breath nourishes them; their bloodline power is fiercely aroused—how could their cultivation be slow? How could it lag?

Just as they were complacently stroking their beards and laughing long, the bell's toll sounded faintly in their hearts; Wu Yu and the other elders' faces shifted instantly, their formerly kind smiles turning ferociously vicious, like wounded beasts provoked, glaring fiercely into the void with murderous eyes.

"Hide… we must never ruin this foundation," Wu Yu growled; several dozen Wu elders flickered, turning into wisps of green smoke that rushed into the ancestral hall of Wu Fort.

On the ancestral tablets enshrined in the hall's center, a rich, potent faith power turned into visible crimson‑gold divine light that burst forth, instantly blanketing the whole hall.

The strange fluctuation drifted bit by bit over Phantom Cloud Mountain, over Wu Fort, then swiftly swept onward.

From within the hall came Wu Yu's low voice: "One day… one day… we shall break through this void, turn your demon heads into chamber pots, and let the clan's children play with them."

The strange fluctuation drifted bit by bit across the territories of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, the Dawu Divine Kingdom, and the Dawei Divine Kingdom.

Thread by thread, inch by inch, this strange fluctuation could once seep tens of thousands of li underground, but as Mu Dalu's mountain ranges and rivers underwent changes, it could barely penetrate a few hundred li deep, unable to peer beneath the thick strata into the boundless underground cavern world.

On the Three Kingdoms battlefield, starlight swayed, and sheet after sheet of cold, merciless text continually condensed.

In the Three Kingdoms, wherever a Divine Realm or half‑step Divine Realm expert hid—in which prefecture, county, city, or mansion—their appearance, cultivation, etc., continually turned into text appearing above everyone's heads.

Linghu Qingqing's face changed abruptly.

In the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, many commander clans; the top hundred ranked clans each hid two or three, up to five or six Divine Realm elders who did not go to war; the strongest few clans even concealed ten or more such elders sitting at home.

Linghu Qingqing wanted to kill—could his edict possibly be false?

You secretly hoarded so many old monsters at home, refusing his edict to rush to battle—what do you intend? Rebel?

What further devastated Linghu Qingqing was, where did these clans get the resources to secretly assemble so many Divine Realm elders?

Next, two jets of fire shot from Linghu Qingqing's pupils as he stared fixedly at the newest starlight‑condensed text appearing in the sky; his chest heaved violently and every pore of his body spewed fire.

In a certain secret manor of Gongyang Sanlü… Gongyang Sanlü thought Linghu Qingqing didn't know about that manor, but Linghu Qingqing actually did. However, the manor was so concealed and heavily guarded that Linghu Qingqing lost several top spies there, so he also didn't know what Gongyang Sanlü hid inside.

Now Linghu Qingqing knows—in that airtight Gongyang clan sanctuary—there are actually a full 124 Divine Realm experts hidden.

"Gongyang Sanlü… you intend to rebel, huh?"

Linghu Qingqing clenched his fists, grinding his teeth as he muttered: "What are you trying to do? What a waste of your loyal, red‑blooded façade!"

The next moment, another brand‑new text drifted out, and Linghu Qingqing snorted coldly at once.

The gods' methods are truly beyond belief; the Linghu clan's hoarded reserves for years have also been exposed. For ages, since the Former Jin Divine Kingdom began controlling the military, astronomical sums of funds and resources have flowed through their hands, and Linghu Qingqing's embezzlement is no small amount.

The Linghu clan, lurking in the shadows, now has a staggering 189 Divine Realm experts distributed around Qingqiu City to suppress the localities.

Aside from the thirty‑plus Linghu Divine Realm elders who followed Linghu Qingqing here to give their all in the Three Kingdoms battlefield, the Linghu clan still hides another 189 experts throughout the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom.

Linghu Qingqing gave the assembled nobles and officials an embarrassed glance.

Zhao Xiang, Li Guang and the other clan chiefs exchanged a glance, said nothing, but their expressions looked as if they'd been mauled by a hundred dogs.

What a Linghu clan, what a Gongyang clan—heh, heh!

Next, a clamor came from the Dawei side.

Xiahou Rulong, jumping and sputtering in rage, cursed: "You… you… pests that bring ruin to family and state!"

That strange fluctuation swept across the Three Kingdoms' territories, and the hidden strength of the major clans of the Dawei Divine Kingdom was laid bare—quite well, actually; the Dawei Divine Kingdom's hundreds of top clans have roughly equal family strength, and the numbers of Divine Realm elders they conceal range from six or seven up to eleven or twelve, fairly balanced.

But the Dawei clan chiefs' looks at the Xiahou imperial family were also off.

The Xiahou imperial family, it turns out, had hidden a full 108 Divine Realm experts in their ancestral lands… a full 108, indeed!

What does the Xiahou imperial clan want to do?

They also actually want to wipe out all the aristocratic clans of Great Wei, letting only one family reign supreme?

Kong Chengxi, Meng Buyan, Li Xuan'gui, and the others exchanged glances, and simultaneously let out a cold snort.

"Such an imperial clan…… truly makes people feel chilled, truly makes people feel disheartened…… sigh!" Li Xuan'gui slowly, lightly sighed.

Kong Chengxi and Meng Buyan both glanced at Li Xuan'gui; their eyes flickered, filled with an indescribable subtlety.

The subtle atmosphere between the imperial clan and aristocratic families of the Great Wei Divine Kingdom was quickly shattered by a roar coming from afar.

The divine emperor Wuba of the Great Martial Divine Kingdom arrived with a large retinue in a mighty fashion; his timing was perfect. When he was still some distance from Longchi City, the starlight in the sky shifted, and a large passage of text appeared.

In the Great Martial Divine Kingdom, the Wu clan imperial family alone dominates, and almost all the nation's resources are used for the imperial elite.

Besides the Wu clan, whether martial officials or civil ministers, the major families of the Great Martial Divine Kingdom have roughly equal strength, all being heavily compressed and controlled by the overbearing, violent imperial clan.

Therefore, among the Great Martial Divine Kingdom's top hundred or so families, only a dozen or so actually conceal their true strength.

Among them, nine families conceal divine-realm battle strength ranging from two to five persons.

Only three families conceal divine-realm battle strength exceeding ten persons.

"Harboring sinister intentions, plotting treason, not being frank with me—that is disloyalty……" Wuba roared loudly: "Go, exterminate the Liu, Yang, and Bai clans…… administer the 'Mad Demon Pill' to all of their divine-realm and half-step divine-realm experts, hahaha, let them go on a killing spree!"

He casually issued a murderous command; Wuba strode forward head high, chest out, treading on a mass of thick clouds, swiftly flying toward Linghu Qingqing's side: "Old fox, and also, the women of Great Wei, I look down on your sneaky behavior…… tsk, tsk, this is where we fight to the death—are you ready to die?"

Linghu Qingqing coldly regarded Wuba: "Back then, I personally hacked you with three blades—how exquisite was that?"

Wuba's visage twisted abruptly; he pointed fiercely at Linghu Qingqing: "Too bad those three blades didn't kill me…… hey, hey, old fox, once you're inside, I'll personally carve you up."

Wuba raised his head and loudly said: "I hear you, old ghost, have recently taken a liking to a woman named Silver Fish? After I wipe you out and unify the three kingdoms, that little lady—I'll tire of her first, then toss her into the Imperial Music Bureau, so that the fine young men of my Great Martial can become brothers-in-law with you, old fox."

Linghu Qingqing's visage also twisted abruptly; he glared ferociously at Wuba, as threads of blood-colored heat rose from his head—truly, his anger made his hair stand on end, his fury reaching an irreparable point.

The gods' decree: Linghu Qingqing, Wuba, and the numerous clan heads of Great Wei all issued orders in unison.

In less than three days, within the three kingdoms, numerous divine-realm elders and many half-step divine-realm strong warriors rushed to the battlefield of the three kingdoms.

Among them, there were even six divine-realm elders from the former Jin Divine Kingdom's imperial Sima clan.

Wu Tie looked at the six lone Sima clan elders standing off to the side, and couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Sima Wuyou surely has set an ambush; the Sima clan's imperial experts are certainly more than just this.

Looking again at the gathered experts, there was no sign of the Wu family elders like Wu Yu, and Wu Tie immediately felt relieved. I don't know what arrangements Wu Yu and the others made, but since they didn't come, Wu Tie has full confidence in them.

When the three days were up, the fortress below, spanning tens of thousands of miles in length and width, spewed forth immeasurable blood light.

In the void, starlight condensed into a line of bloody characters: 'Enter the battlefield, decide the fight, life and death honor and disgrace, each fulfill their heavenly mandate'!