In the far west, a vast desert stretches for millions of miles, where sandstorms often rage, blotting out the sky and sun, resembling scenes of the apocalypse. These storms can even grind entire mountain ranges into dust.
During the day, the scorching heat makes it feel like walking on molten lava, burning one’s feet.
At night, the cold is so severe that a mortal’s breath would freeze into ice shards.
The harsh environment makes it impossible for mortals to live in the millions of miles of the Western Buddhist Kingdom.
Gathered here are the Zen cultivators of the entire Wilderness.
In the southeastern part of the desert, an oasis spanning thousands of miles is dotted with camps, and a floating continent hovers above it.
With the floating continent above and an oasis below housing a million soldiers, surrounded by three Emperor Grade formations, the soldiers train day and night without rest.
At this moment.
In a palace on the floating continent.
Prime Minister Jiang Canghai and a group of generals and civil officials were gathered, their expressions unusually grave.
Jiang Canghai no longer had his previous scholarly and amiable demeanor. His face, eroded by wind and sand, looked particularly rough. He had swapped his scholarly robes for armor and swords, his disheveled white hair and sharp eyes revealing a fierce determination.
“Gentlemen, you must have heard the news that Buddha has emerged from seclusion,” Jiang Canghai began.
“The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and the intentions of the Buddhist Kingdom are clear: to besiege us and force Her Majesty to lead the army to our aid.”
“If Her Majesty dares to come, with the home-field advantage, they wouldn’t even need Buddha to act personally to easily annihilate Great Jin.”
“Recently, Great Jin and the Shizong Alliance fought a great battle. Even with the Sword Saint turning the tide, it was a pyrrhic victory, thanks in no small part to the assistance of the Ji family in Sky State…”
“It seems our enemies are not only the Buddhist Kingdom but also the Ji family in Sky State, secretly sabotaging us.”
At this point.
Jiang Canghai’s eyes turned cold and murderous as he continued, “The Buddhist Kingdom wants to use us as bait to lure and kill Her Majesty and the Space-Time Sword Saint. Are we really going to sit and wait for death?!”
The high-ranking officials present became even more serious, each voicing their agreement:
“Absolutely not! The Prime Minister’s plan was half successful. If it weren’t for the sudden sabotage by the Ji family in Sky State, revealing the movements of the Empress and the Sword Saint, the Shizong Alliance would have been defeated even faster, and the Buddhist monks wouldn’t have had time to react.”
“The Shizong Alliance is already destroyed; we can’t let the Buddhist Kingdom reap the benefits! Fight! Even if it means death! Before I die, I want to severely wound those bald monks.”
Jiang Canghai nodded slightly, looking at the group of determined men, finally showing a hint of a smile, “Rest assured, I, Jiang Canghai, am not that foolish.”
“Everyone thinks I would go down fighting, taking a million soldiers with me to perish with the Buddhist monks. That’s why those monks only dare to monitor us from tens of thousands of miles away, not daring to advance an inch, ha…”
The million elite soldiers he brought were the foundation of Great Jin. If they were all lost, even if they won against the Buddhist Kingdom in the future, it would take a long time to recover.
“Dare I ask what brilliant plan the Prime Minister has?” asked Lin Lu, the leader of the Imperial Guard.
Jiang Canghai looked at him. When they left the capital, Lin Lu was still a proper, fair-skinned young man. In just a few months, he had developed the steadiness of a seasoned general.
“It’s simple. The Buddhist Kingdom uses us as bait, surrounding but not attacking, cutting off our supplies to wear us down…”
“And that’s their flaw!”
Jiang Canghai’s eyes were deep, his finger gently tapping the table as he calmly said, “Near the border of the Buddhist Kingdom, there’s a secret realm inhabited by an ancient tribe called the Moon Clan.”
“The Moon Clan are the original inhabitants of this vast desert in the Western Buddhist Kingdom. They were nearly exterminated by the powerful Buddhist Kingdom, with only ten percent surviving in the secret realm.”
“After thousands of years of recuperation, the secret realm has some foundation. Although not enough to rival the entire Buddhist Kingdom, if we join forces, we might have a fighting chance.”
“Given the Buddhist Kingdom’s strategy of surrounding but not attacking, they will only monitor us and prevent us from leaving the Buddhist Kingdom, but they won’t attack. So, we will split into three groups.”
“One group will engage in guerrilla warfare, creating a big commotion to attract the Buddhist Kingdom’s attention. Another group will secretly head to the secret realm to contact the Moon Clan.”
After speaking, Jiang Canghai suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, and said, “The last group will be led by me!”
“I will guard the oasis with the Map of Mountains and Rivers. If necessary, I will hurl a piece of the continent at the hidden Buddhist Kingdom homeland in the sky.”
Jiang Canghai’s voice was resolute as he looked up at the cloudless sky.
This was his trump card!
A revelation from the Empress’ Husband.
The Empress’ Husband had once revealed that the hidden base of the Buddhist Kingdom was in the sky!
It was invisible, but they were always there.
It was even possible that at this very moment, the Buddhas were smiling down at them…
“Prime Minister…” The soldiers fell silent.
After the baptism of blood and fire, they had all transformed, knowing this was the only choice.
No one tried to dissuade Jiang Canghai because they knew this was the best solution!
Each of them was willing to sacrifice for the unification of Great Jin, including Prime Minister Jiang Canghai.
…
…
Half a month later.
The next morning.
For half a month, the Empress had not attended court, and Sword Saint Meng Qin seemed to have vanished.
The court officials dared not speak, let alone discuss it. Everyone knew what was happening, but no one dared to say it.
Until that day, Su Qingqiu, holding a stack of memorials, hurriedly slipped out of the Minister’s Office. During this time, with the Empress not handling state affairs or attending morning court, all matters, big and small, were thrown to Su Qingqiu.
Su Qingqiu was so busy that she felt like her heels were hitting the back of her head, her beautiful eyes filled with a look of utter despair.
“How busy must Her Majesty usually be? I’m only handling a small part, and I’m already exhausted.”
Su Qingqiu lay horizontally on a swing, her face showing a look of utter despair.
“What are Her Majesty and the Empress’ Husband doing? It’s been half a month. Are they studying divine power techniques?”
“Hmph! How unfair, why didn’t they include me in such a good thing!”
“Qingqiu also wants to improve!”
Just as Su Qingqiu was grumbling, a hunched figure, supporting himself against the wall, wobbled past her.
“Huh?”
Su Qingqiu jumped up, looking at the figure in confusion, and tentatively called out, “Hey… Eunuch?”
“What’s your name? Why haven’t I seen you in the palace before?”
The person wobbled and turned around, saying, “Qingqiu, it’s you. Come help me home.”
Su Qingqiu’s beautiful eyes widened, covering her mouth in disbelief as she exclaimed, “Master!?”
“What happened to you? Who drained you dry!?”
Meng Qingzhou’s lips were pale and bloodless, his cheeks slightly sunken, and his dark circles were very pronounced, looking like he had lost his soul.
“Don’t ask, just help me home.”
Meng Qingzhou waved his hand.
What a joke, fifteen days of continuous, unrelenting ‘punishment’ day and night would bring even the strongest man to his knees.
The fact that he held on was a testament to his extraordinary stamina and resilience!
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