Chapter 785

Even if the Great Yuan's strength is formidable, it has surely suffered severe damage.

I've come today to ask you: should we rest and recuperate, or press our advantage?

The Great Qin is unquestionably the first imperial dynasty; beneath it, the Great Yuan and Great Tang stand tied for second.

But now the Great Yuan has been wounded in succession, most devastatingly by Longshouxi Wudi's single sword slaying one hundred thousand Qixie troops.

The chance for the Great Tang to fully dominate second place has quietly arrived.

589 The peak of Qinglong has appeared!

Wu Zetian pondered for a long time, weighing the gains and losses in her heart.

After a long while, she asked,

"You know how heavily the Yuan army suffered in the Xixia battle; if we now annihilate the Mu Huali and Borhu clans as well,

it will certainly cripple the Great Yuan, perhaps even push it down to third place.

But do you think other powers will sit idly by while the Great Tang rises?

And will the Great Yuan itself willingly accept falling?"

As the saying goes, in literature there is no first, in martial arts there is no second.

In imperial rivalries, it is life or death, a struggle for supremacy.

Currently, the Nine Provinces are not merely ruled by the Great Qin, Great Yuan, and Great Tang.

Leaving aside the Qinglong Society, what of the Yunzhou Empire and You Dongying—will they sit idly?

Shangguan Wan had clearly considered this, and was about to answer.

Suddenly her ears twitched, her expression changed, and she said,

"Your Majesty, wait—a message has arrived from the Luán Guard."

Saying this, Shangguan Wan immediately rose from the imperial bed, tidied herself, then stepped out of the sleeping chamber.

Not long after, Shangguan Wan entered, face filled with solemnity.

"What? Has something changed?"

Wu Zetian knew Shangguan Wan best; seeing her expression, she understood the matter had not gone smoothly.

This chaos occurred within the Great Tang's borders, so any ripple from the Guobeizhen front reached Chang'an at once.

"There's one good news, one bad news, and one very surprising news—Which do you wish to hear first, Your Majesty?"

Shangguan Wan replied playfully.

"Ugh! You're really bored! Just spit it all out—the good news, the bad news, the surprising news!

And right now, nothing short of Longshouxi Wudi appearing before me could surprise me."

Wu Zetian lazily stretched, revealing boundless charm.

Hearing her last words, Shangguan Wan couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Fine! I won't drag it out anymore.

The good news is that, with the Great Yuan's 'cooperation,' Xuanxinzheng Sect has been fully exposed—and has even expressed willingness to ally with the Great Tang."

Since the Heavenly Dao Golden List revealed Xuanxinzheng Sect and Yin Yue Huangchao,

both opposing factions have produced countless experts.

Every power in the world knows how terrifying these two factions are.

The Great Qin, Great Yuan, even Yunzhou and You Dongying—likely none have stopped plotting against them.

This time, the Great Yuan's costly southern campaign was precisely to court one of them.

Yet unexpectedly, it delivered a divine assist, allowing the Great Tang to establish contact with Xuanxinzheng Sect.

"Huh? How could this happen?"

This news truly surprised Wu Zetian; she had expected this war to at most severely damage the Great Yuan.

Recover the Hetao and Yinshan frontlines, consolidate the northern border of the Great Tang.

Who could have imagined such unexpected good fortune?

Shangguan Wan held the battle report and briefly described the twists at Guobeizhen to Wu Zetian, concluding,

"The Jin Guang Sect Master was held fast by their Master Changsheng.

The newly emerged Pudu Cihang fought alone against the three strongest: Qinglong, Bai Hu, and Yan Chixia.

The Great Yuan, eager to court Yin Yue Huangchao, disregarded our Tang Army's presence and decisively besieged Xuanxinzheng disciples.

At that critical moment, Di Ge Lao made an immediate decision and ordered our troops to intervene.

We managed to rescue Xuanxinzheng Sect!

That's why Xuanxinzheng Sect is willing to ally with the Great Tang."

All of this truly owes to the Great Yuan's divine assist.

Wu Zetian listened to the twists and turns, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and smile lightly—but then she remembered Master Changsheng, not to mention

Pudu Cihang, who revealed his centipede true form and overwhelmed Yan Chixia and two other top experts.

Such a display has only been surpassed so far by Ximen Wudi's single sword.

Of course, Wu Zetian was unaware of Wu Wudi's earlier battle against the Wrathful Eye on Tianshan in Yunzhou.

After learning of Pudu Cihang's performance, she couldn't help but ask, worried and troubled,

"Wan'er, is Pudu Cihang truly a centipede true form? With such strength, and allied with the Great Yuan—

even if we gain Xuanxinzheng Sect, can we surpass the Great Yuan this time?"

Pudu Cihang, this powerful figure, had suddenly emerged in this battle.

Shangguan Wan's face darkened with bitterness, yet held a trace of relief, and said,

"This ties into the next two pieces of news."

The first is bad news: with the cooperation of the Dayuan, Pudu Cihang has finally unsealed the Yin Moon Cave Heaven and released the Yin Moon Dynasty.

It's just that no one knows that this Yin Moon Dynasty is not only terrifyingly powerful, very likely above the Xuanxinzheng Sect.

More critically, they are wildly ambitious, actually wanting to unify the Nine Provinces.

In this battle report, the Heavenly Demon also spoke frankly, that the Yin Moon Dynasty's Demon Lord Qiye's strength is actually above his own!"

Wu Zetian heard this, and instead of worrying, was delighted, saying,

"You, oh you! How is this bad news? On the contrary, it's good news.

Originally the Dayuan's strength was on par with the Great Tang; if as you say, the Yin Moon Dynasty's strength is even more terrifying.

The two combined, I'm afraid they wouldn't even need the Dayuan, they would even dare to provoke the Qinglong Society.

Now that they've declared they want to unify the Nine Provinces, clearly they cannot walk together with the Dayuan.

One powerful enemy split into two relatively strong enemies — what kind of bad news is that?"

Shangguan Wan'er heard this, her eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but nod in agreement,

"Your Majesty, what you say makes sense."

"Then what is the last surprising news?"

Actually, with Pudu Cihang being so powerful, and the Yin Moon Dynasty even more powerful, in theory the Tang Army at the front lines should be worried.

But this time not only did they successfully ally with the Xuanxinzheng Sect, Seeing Di Renjie also sent a battle report.

Clearly there are more twists and turns in this matter, very likely tied to this last piece of news.

Therefore Wu Zetian couldn't wait to ask.

"The last?"

Shangguan Wan'er smiled, saying with a hint of playfulness,

"The Qinglong Peak has appeared! Right there in Guobeizhen!"

"What?"

Wu Zetian, who had been looking languid, upon hearing this news immediately sat up from the imperial bed,

"The Qinglong Peak is in Guobeizhen? Explain it more clearly!"

The Qinglong Peak is the headquarters of the Qinglong Society; before this appearance, no one under heaven knew where this location was.

Countless people and countless great powers across the realm have been investigating the whereabouts of the Qinglong Peak these past days.

The Great Tang even dispatched countless Bu Liang Ren, wanting to find out where the Qinglong Peak was.

Who would have thought that this Qinglong Peak would suddenly appear in Guobeizhen.

This far exceeded Wu Zetian's expectations.

Moreover, above the Qinglong Peak, the legendary Qinglong Shanzhuang.