Chapter 146: 205, 206

The Wanling Empire, the center of the earth fire that is about to be extinguished.

The dark red luster deep within the stone is like a dying candle, and the mysterious power permeating the air is faint, so weak that it seems ready to vanish at any moment. That is the god of the Wanling Empire, teetering on the brink of collapse and impending extinction.

And the rising new god of the Molten Empire is continuing his dialogue with him.

Many years ago, the existence of the Molten Empire wanted to probe the secrets of the Wanling Empire, so it launched a war, but it was a pity that the god of the Wanling Empire still had some strength at that time.

Many years have passed, and as one wanes, the other waxes; the god of the Molten Empire finally grasped the wonders of Dharma Heaven and Earth, and after several probes, discovered the decay of the Wanling Empire's deity, so he launched this attack.

At this moment, after a long conversation, the god of the Molten Empire has also understood the method to advance further.

"I remember that the Great Song also has an existence that has reached Dharma Heaven and Earth; have you seen him?" The god of the Molten Empire still harbors doubts.

"I have. However, he has been missing for a long time."

"Did he obtain the secret method to advance further from you?" The god of the Molten Empire asked aggressively.

"That he did not, but he seems to have been drawn into a higher level of slaughter, and now he has gone to the Ghost Domain in the north; I do not know what he is doing."

"He wants to search for the Broken Land in the Ghost Domain."

"This is not easy, nor is it certain."

"Hmph, I understand."

The god of the Molten Empire pondered for a long time, then said, "In two years, I will come here again."

Having said this, this god intended to turn and leave; he had already given up on launching an attack on the Great Song, and instead wanted to turn toward the Ghost Domain in the north.

As an existence who has lived for a long time and cultivated for a long time, he knows the hardship and difficulty of cultivation better than anyone.

If unnecessary war can be avoided, then it should be avoided as much as possible.

Since there is an existence in the neighboring country at the same level as him, there is no need for him to provoke it and turn that Great Song into a land of Extinction.

He, too, must head north to search for the "Broken Land" in the Ghost Domain.

At the same time, he must squeeze the god of the Wanling Empire to extract the remaining methods he possesses.

However, the god of the Wanling Empire did not seem prepared to let him leave; just as he had already turned around, he said faintly: "Do you know of Jilei Mountain within the borders of the Great Song?"

The terrain is remote, and this god of the Molten Empire does not know of it.

He shook his head.

The god of the Wanling Empire said: "That place was once an existence above you; when it was merging with the Zhen, it was interrupted by that person from the Great Song, and subsequently turned into a chaotic path of annihilation.

But that person escaped."

As the last word fell, the aged deity smiled faintly and added: "Forgot to tell you, the Heavenly Son of the Great Song who led the imperial expedition is that person's son."

And this seemingly ordinary information made the new god thoughtful.

Interruption and escape mean injury, and also mean that the opponent holds secrets.

Since a grudge has been formed, and he harbors secrets, and is even at one's bedside.

The new god abandoned the plan to head north to search for the Ghost Domain.

He decided to go west.

The new god, named Blazing Fire Divine Peak, has just entered the realm of Dharma Heaven and Earth, and is currently looking for a way to step into "Truth".

The dying deity of the Wanling Empire, named She Yitu, has long since achieved "Ghost-Suppression Fusion", residing in the territory of the Wanling Empire, providing basic abilities to all Prayer Spirit Masters in this land.

Is the "Four Fiends Power" used by that person closest to the deity not another form of "medicine human"? At this time, after Blazing Fire Divine Peak left, She Yitu returned to normal.

He wants to pursue a higher realm, and he has also pursued it, however... as if thinking of something, the entire earth suddenly tightened, the earth fire lay still, and all energy was like the calm on the surface of the sea before a tsunami.

She Yitu remembered things from a very, very, very long time ago.

Humans have human paths.

Gods are merely powerful humans.

Powerful humans naturally will also walk on more difficult paths.

She Yitu has also walked that path.

But that has already turned into his sorrowful memory, and every time he thinks of it, he cannot help but feel resentment.

However, he quickly calmed down.

A few days later... She Yitu seemed to have sensed something; he looked toward a certain place and saw a woman in white falling, her Soul flying up. That woman was the Empress of the Great Song Dynasty, and also the great general who had followed Song An on the western expedition—Zhao Lingxue.

She Yitu raised his hand to beckon, and as he used his secret method, that Soul was like being pulled, swaying as it drifted over, and was carefully placed into the Yin She in the void.

In the Yin She, there was another Soul sitting withered; who else could it be but Song An?

Song An was stunned when he saw the person who had arrived.

The two looked at each other, never having expected to reunite under such circumstances.

Although the two Souls were not ghosts, they existed in this Yin She due to some unknown secret method.

"Why have you come?" Song An was somewhat agitated, and somewhat disbelieving.

Zhao Lingxue replied: "I did not believe that Your Majesty would meet with disaster, so I led the magical beasts deep into the Molten Empire, but was surrounded and attacked. I thought I had died, but I did not expect to be able to see Your Majesty again."

"You are truly foolish."

"For Your Majesty, it is not foolish."

Listening to this, and looking at the beautiful woman before him, all the past events emerged in his mind.

Suddenly, he understood the love of his life.

He did not know where he was, but he stepped forward, hugged Zhao Lingxue's Soul tightly, and said regretfully: "I am sorry."

The Heavenly Son of the Great Song and the Empress had died in battle; the news was sent back.

Within the Great Song, the hearts of the people were filled with panic.

Even the Ji Family, which had been making a scene by uniting many old families and clans, stopped making trouble.

Army after army was not sent to the Leiyun Continent in the far west of the Great Song, but was stationed in the regions above and below the former Jilei Mountain.

An Chenyu fully understands "what kind of place the current Jilei Mountain is".

This is a chaotic journey that isolates the continent, and also a natural barrier that cannot be crossed.

This natural barrier transformed into a screen many times stronger than the original Jilei Mountain, guarding the Great Song.

In this way, one only needs to spend a small amount of military force to hold many mountain passes.

Yet even so, she was very nervous.

Because intelligence regarding "Dharma Heaven and Earth" had already been sent back, and because the invincible Song An had actually died in battle, Tong Niangzi was heartbroken. Although not much time had passed, for An Chenyu, it felt like every day was like a year.

An Chenyu had not slept for two full days and nights; she suddenly rose at dawn when the sky had just brightened, wanting to go find Zhao Hua to discuss matters. That overbearing Regent still maintained the title of "Prince Zhao."

Without any surprise, Prince Zhao was very reliable.

At this moment, just as An Chenyu rose, she heard a servant report from outside: "Prince Zhao has arrived~~~"

An Chenyu reddened her tired eyes, straightened her clothes, and arrived at the reception hall, only to see that man with an aura of grim slaughter walking over quickly, then bowing respectfully from a distance and saying, "Sister-in-law An."

An Chenyu dismissed the crowd and sat upright on the wooden chair, appearing calm as she adjusted the bronze incense burner on the sandalwood table; her expression was focused, and viewed from the side, her bearing was peerless.

"Sit."

A calm voice, revealing no emotions in her heart.

Zhao Hua glanced at An Chenyu's reddened eyes, found a chair far away to sit down, and smiled: "Sister-in-law An, are you thinking the same thing as me?"

An Chenyu was selecting the monarch and minister ingredients in the mixed incense; at this time, she said: "How about the Prince and I each write a character on our palms, then verify them with each other?"

Zhao Hua nodded.

Immediately, both of them dropped a character onto their palms.

Then they revealed them to each other.

An Chenyu wrote "Withdraw."

What Zhao Hua wrote was: Escape! The two looked at each other in silence.

Zhao Hua said decisively: "We cannot care about so much anymore; Big Brother is not here, and the Molten Empire has produced a powerhouse with Dharma Heaven and Earth. Since such a powerhouse has appeared, we cannot stay any longer.

We will pack up immediately, we must withdraw from the Imperial Capital within three days, and then feign a diversion; we must not let anyone know where we are going.

If anyone refuses to leave, then let them stay."

If it were anyone else, they might have said things like "Is it necessary to do this," "Hasn't the enemy not attacked yet," or "Don't we still have the natural barrier of Jilei Mountain."

But An Chenyu nodded.

Even if the prosperity was all for nothing, she still broke free from it.

If it were only she who thought of escaping, perhaps she would have thought more about whether or not to leave, as after all, it seemed it had not yet reached the most desperate moment.

But since Zhao Hua actually had the same idea as her, then there was no need to wait.

Both of them made up their minds.

Then, it was immediate action.

Three days later, the lineages of the Song King and the Zhao King could be described as empty.

Yet in the end, there were still many people who were unwilling to leave.

Ji Youke was unwilling to leave; not only was she unwilling to leave, she also took Ji Zhangjian and hid, hiding in a place that neither An Chenyu nor the Prince could find. They were not the only ones; there were many other descendants of the Song Family who all hid.

Helpless, An Chenyu and Tong Niangzi could only wake the sleeping Su Ningyu and Su Mengzhen, and after briefly explaining the situation, they took the descendants of the Song Family who were willing to leave and quickly withdrew from the Imperial Capital, subsequently setting up a diversion and disappearing completely from the public eye, transforming from the incomparably illustrious top Imperial Court of the Great Song into a hidden clan.

"Finally, they have all left, finally..."

Adorned with flying phoenix gold and silver net ornaments, Ji Youke finally walked out from the shadows.

The Ji Family and the forces connected to the Ji Family had already told her the news of An Chenyu and the Prince's departure.

Beside her, a man said: "Cousin, even people as smart as the Empress Dowager and the Prince are thinking of running away; if our Ji Family stays, will it really be okay?"

Ji Youke said: "Both are living under someone else's roof; under the roof of the Empress Dowager and the Prince, our Ji Family has no chance at all. But if it were a god from an enemy country, that would be different."

"What is different?"

"Stupid."

Ji Youke scolded coldly, then said, "When have you ever seen my father-in-law care about these imperial affairs? Power transitions? All my father-in-law cares about is his cultivation.

Therefore, if that god comes here, it must also be for the sake of cultivation, so... he needs a force familiar with this land.

Our Ji Family can just happen to be that force."

Having said that, she asked again: "Where is Zhangjian?"

The man said: "Cousin, Zhangjian is hiding safely."

Ji Youke said: "The Crown Prince ascending the throne is a matter of course; tomorrow we shall perform the water sacrifice and Fengshan ceremony!"

Several months later in Leiyun Continent, the Black Demon Eagle Cavalry swept across the sky like a lacquer-colored long saber, and the sharp black curtain clattered as it slashed directly toward the invading man.

The leading man was heroic and sturdy, with lightning rolling in his eyes; his large hand gripped a long spear tightly, and following a furious shout of "Kill," he led the Leiyun cavalry to break through the air without any cowardice. Unfortunately, that man changed his form, instantly using Dharma Heaven and Earth, rising instantly with an invincible posture that suppressed the world, his shoulders reaching into the clouds, and with a wave of his hand, he tore the invincible eagle cavalry of Leiyun Continent to shreds.

The man was the new god of the Molten Empire—Molten God Blade. Molten God Blade looked indifferently at these eagle cavalry; perhaps a long time ago, this kind of power could have caused him a little harm, but unfortunately, he had encountered the current him. Even the elite of a thousand armies and ten thousand horses were like toys.

As he waved his large hands repeatedly, the Black Demon Eagle Cavalry that Yan Baixiang had built with his life's blood was torn to pieces like dry wood. Floating clouds, the firmament, large swaths of giant feathers scattered and fell; the wings of several feet were still not even as good as mosquitoes in front of Molten God Blade. Before long, the entire Black Demon Eagle Cavalry was wiped out.

But Molten God Blade did not kill Yan Baixiang; instead, he shrank back to his original body, looked at the general kneeling before him covered in wounds, and said indifferently: "Where did Song Cheng go?"

Yan Baixiang's Adam's apple rolled, his eyes bloodshot and nearly splitting; he watched his life's work destroyed in an instant, watching his efforts become like a joke. "Little one, you don't need to despair; this was never a battle at your level, and I don't feel happy about winning against you." Molten God Blade remained very calm, then asked again, "Where is Song Cheng?"

Chi... chichi. Yan Baixiang gripped the mud tightly with both hands, veins bulging on his skin.

"If my foster father were here, how could you be here?"

Molten God Blade smiled faintly: "If your foster father were not injured, he might be able to fight me.

Now?

Heh... he is nothing but a turtle hiding its head."

Having said that, he raised his voice and said: "Song Cheng, do you dare to come out and fight?"

The words "come out and fight" reverberated in the valley, taking a long time to subside.

Molten God Blade shook his head, revealing a look of disappointment, then looked at Yan Baixiang and said casually, "So this is your foster father," then said to the Molten Empire generals behind him: "Lock General Yan up."

When a lion hunts a rabbit, it still uses its full strength.

Even though he felt certain he could defeat Song Cheng, he still wanted to capture a few hostages.

In the blink of an eye, several more months passed.

The Molten Empire's main army and scouts had completely entered the Yinyun Barrier, while the light vanguard army, following the Molten Divine Blade, bypassed the "Jilei Mountain that had turned into a chaotic journey" and struck directly at the Great Song Imperial Capital.

Divine power can destroy and can be invincible, but it still requires people to control the situation.

And at the moment he arrived at the city walls, the gates of the Great Song Imperial Capital were thrown wide open.

The young and cowardly Emperor wore his crown, the Empress Dowager held a golden tray with the Imperial Seal resting upon it, and behind them stood a dense crowd of officials.

The vanguard army of the Molten Empire laughed heartily; the lead general looked at the young Empress Dowager with an ambiguous expression, but after a mere glance, he hurriedly lowered his head, secretly thinking to himself, "There will be plenty of opportunities later."

Who could resist the charm of a young Empress Dowager of a fallen kingdom? However, he also feared the gods, so he dared not be presumptuous.

"I lead the officials to open the city and surrender, only hoping the god will treat the people well. Whatever the god requires, I shall certainly assist with all my might," Song Zhangjian said these words tremblingly.

The Molten Divine Blade smiled indifferently and shook his head; he seemed to have thought of his own offspring.

If one day they were to trade places, how could his own offspring be so cowardly?

As the thought flashed by, he took a step, his figure leaving behind a blurred afterimage, and he entered the city in an instant.

His voice drifted back: "Come, I shall bestow upon you a secret medicine."

Ji Youke let out a long sigh of relief, secretly lamenting that fortunately she had not yet taken her father-in-law's secret medicine; since she had now taken this god's secret medicine, she could be considered to have survived. Thus, she hurriedly knelt down and said respectfully, "Many thanks, Master."

As she spoke, she hurriedly tugged at Song Zhangjian.

It didn't matter who one knelt to as Master.

At least by following this Master, there was hope for the Ji Family to be restored.

Song Zhangjian was, after all, a descendant of the Song Family; he had grown up seeing his father's arrogance and hearing his grandfather's legends, so he was still somewhat hesitant. However, feeling the tug on his hem, he understood in his heart that "things have reached this point," so he also knelt down and said with a trembling voice, "Ma-many thanks, Master."

The Molten Divine Blade nodded secretly; he still needed these Song Family members to help him find Song Cheng's whereabouts. As he walked, he suddenly saw the Xuanwu Temple with its flourishing incense, smiled slightly, and walked past it dismissively.

He knew this was Song Cheng's Daoist Temple.

But he would not tear it down; he was waiting for Song Cheng to return through here at any time.

He had already seen the chaotic journey of Jilei Mountain; that place still had lingering, wandering power, and even he would be trapped for a long time if he entered. Since Song Cheng had experienced a battle of that level, he must be severely injured now.

He would conserve his strength and wait for Song Cheng to return.

If Song Cheng never returned, then he would not be blamed for turning this Great Song into an Extinction Land.

After all, the ready-made Multi-Ghost were already gathering at the Yunhe, and this place was only a step away from the Extinction Land.

It is unknown how much time passed.

In the extremely distant north.

Although pale, heavy snow drifted all around, upon reaching this place and landing on the strangely shaped, cracked, yellowish-brown soil, it melted rapidly.

The strange soil was incredibly dry, while what it enclosed was a restrained, low-profile, and calm inland sea.

The surface of the seawater appeared a strange blue-black; at a glance, it was bottomless, and one could vaguely see strings of bubbles floating up from the seabed, silently submerging into the sea surface and bursting gently.

The movement only served to highlight the stillness.

And suddenly, this stillness was broken in an instant.

A giant claw over a person's height suddenly poked out of the seawater, followed by a terrifying, thick-armored demonic beast giant shrimp leaping out of the sea. Its form suddenly exploded in mid-air, shockingly transforming into a phantom a zhang high.

However, as if the giant shrimp's movement was too great, before it could fall back to the sea surface, another giant fish like a pitch-black cannonball "whooshed" through the water from the seabed, leaping dozens of zhang.

Water surged wildly, and amidst the crashing, huge waves roared like a howl. Accompanied by sharp, strange shrieks, the strange fish, covered in shimmering scales, revealed its full appearance in the sunlight. Its huge mouth opened, revealing all its jagged teeth, and it bit the falling thick-armored giant shrimp in one gulp.

The immense bite force and hard teeth caused the giant shrimp to make a "crunching" sound, as if thick steel armor were being continuously pierced by spikes while simultaneously being squeezed by a giant steel fist.

At some unknown time, this inland sea of earth fire had suddenly become lively.

One after another, strange and terrifying demonic beasts were being conceived.

Suddenly, this sea of earth fire "opened its eyes" in a miraculous way.

That "eye" could not only see everything in this sea but also the scene for over a thousand miles around.

However, that "eye" first quickly scanned the panel.

【Name: Song Cheng】

【Talent: Chang Sheng Bu Lao】

【Add Points: 85595 points】

【Realm: Earth Grade Grade C】

【Technique】

Wood Spirit Evergreen Scripture (Earth Grade Grade D) (Completion)

Seal of Mountains and Rivers (Earth Grade Grade C) (Mastery (Not Yet Initiated (0/1024)))

It is not a technique, but merely a mysterious seal—a great seal that anyone who steps into this realm and merges with the mountains and rivers will naturally produce.

Without any hesitation, Song Cheng said secretly.

"Add to full."

15360 points vanished instantly, replaced by an infinite surge of memories.

Those were hundreds of years of absolute, painstaking, repeated manipulation of the Seal of Mountains and Rivers.

When one has no seal, one is merely the spirit of this land, able to use the power of the land, but it is extremely limited, much like the ordinary people living here—while they possess some power, it is very little.

But with the seal, it is as if one has completely merged with this land, or as if one has snatched this land from the heavens and earth, turning it into one's own "private residence."

From then on, in this land, everything honors you as supreme.

Those who worship you will also gain unprecedented power. This is... Prayer Spirit.

And those you are slightly close to will be regarded by the world as people "closest to the god," with high status.

You can catalyze Flat Peaches at will, causing Flat Peaches that require heart's blood to cultivate and years to mature during the "Spirit of Mountains and Rivers" stage to condense in an instant.

Your Domain will spread extremely far, and it is not limited to the place where your main body is located; however, while the outer areas are influenced by you, they are not as powerful as the strength your main body can provide.

Of course, since this place is now your "private residence," you may leave at any time, in any way: by returning to your main body, by seizing a body, or however you wish; all the endless shackles upon mortals can no longer bind you.

When you hold the Seal of Mountains and Rivers and suppress downward, it is the strongest and most terrifying attack; even if your Soul drifts far away and is not in your main body, your power will only be reduced by twenty or thirty percent.

Song Cheng carefully contemplated his current power.

The blue-black seawater of the inland sea suddenly emerged, transforming into a human-shaped silhouette.

All the sea monsters in the sea fell silent.

That human shape raised a hand and condensed it, grasping a Black and White Seal that was neither brilliant nor cold, yet was entwined with unspeakable mystery.

That seal, no matter from what angle one looked at it, was the inland sea of this place.

Song Cheng raised his hand and wielded the seal casually.

With one strike, a tsunami surged, a Soul wind swirled, the Dream shattered, and the gate to the Reappearance World even produced a knocking sound that "mortals, though unable to hear it, would surely die if they stayed nearby."

"I come to visit holding the Great Seal; if there is a master, open the door to welcome the guest; if there is no master, I shall enter myself."

Song Cheng said indifferently.

No one responded.

Song Cheng pushed the door open himself.

The scene behind the door made him unable to help but reveal a faint astonishment, yet it was only "faint."

Because he already had some clarity in his heart regarding the essence of the "Reappearance World."

It was both "the seed of evil, blooming in the Yinrang" and "a strong spiritual fluctuation branded upon eternal time and space."

What he entered was a misty, transparent "world."

This "world" was exactly the same as the real world, but it was not solid, like transparent black and white light and shadow.

He walked leisurely and saw a solid village sitting abruptly in the distance.

In the center of the village, a kite was swaying slowly, the "creak-creak" sound full of strangeness; some clay figurines were piled in the corner of the mill, and a weird singing voice drifted vaguely in the air.

"Mud doll, mud doll, the sky is raining, why don't you go home, do you not have a home, do you want to come to my home~~~~~"

As he approached the village, this weird singing became clearer.

Song Cheng understood that this Windmill Village was the Reappearance World of a certain Ghost Domain.

If a piece of time and space produces a Ghost Domain, then the Ghost Domain will be branded into the depths of this time and space.

Song Cheng walked to the front of the village, held the Mountain and River Seal, and swung it down violently.

Bang!!

That windmill village shattered and became extremely dim, but the Reappearance World had a weird power slowly repairing it.

You can seal it, you can merge with it, but you cannot destroy it.

After a brief test, Song Cheng understood his approximate current power; basically, one strike of the seal was a super-enhanced version of the "Four Fierce Lands," capable of smashing the target to pieces from the "physical level," "Soul level," "Dream level," and even the "Reappearance World level."

He quickly glanced at his data.

When he was in the Xuan Armor, he was "3869~8263"; after becoming the Spirit of Mountains and Rivers, it was "5669~10063"; and now it was "9269~13663."

What others would take at least hundreds or thousands of years to complete, he had finished in just twenty years; that was acceptable.

He was now a bit worried about A Ting and Xiao Mo'er, and he also missed that unfilial rebellious son, missed Tong Niangzi, An Jie, Su Jie, and Xiao Yu'er... He should go back and take a look.

(End of this chapter)