Stretching across the southern territory of the Great Jin, adjacent to the Shu Region, was a mountain range perpetually shrouded in mist. Once, a Mountain Moving Realm cultivator attempted to disperse the fog with great divine power, only to be swallowed by it, his fate unknown.
For hundreds of miles around, life was extinct, and no cultivator dared to approach.
Zhao Gou, alone, followed a special route. Even though it was a safe path opened by the King of Shu, it was still fraught with danger.
Along the way, he encountered countless bizarre and eerie phenomena, slaying innumerable demons and monsters.
Finally, Zhao Gou saw a large teleportation array and was so moved he nearly cried.
With a flash of light, Zhao Gou passed through the teleportation array, arriving at the inner ring of the Burial Immortal Mountain Range. There, he saw the black-armored army resting and the King of Shu, Zhao Yuhuan, standing at the edge of a cliff.
“By now, Sword Elder should have killed Meng Qingzhou…”
Thinking of this, Zhao Gou believed that although this mission wasn’t a complete success, at least his greatest threat had been eliminated.
Moreover, with the Empress dead, the Great Jin Dynasty’s court would surely fall into chaos!
“Father, I have returned! The process was a bit tumultuous, but the result is good. Empress Meng Qingzhou is likely dead,” Zhao Gou said with a smile.
Just thinking about Meng Qingzhou made Zhao Gou’s teeth itch with hatred!
That bastard not only stole his dream lover but also plotted against him multiple times!
Killing him so easily was simply too lenient!
“When the Great Jin Dynasty collapses, I will scour the world, summon Meng Qingzhou’s three souls and six spirits, and torment them in the Soul Refining Furnace for eternity to quell my hatred,” Zhao Gou said with a sinister smile.
Zhao Yuhuan, who had been silent, suddenly turned and slapped Zhao Gou hard across the face.
With a resounding crack, like a thunderclap, the entire forest shook. Zhao Gou was sent flying, crashing into a nearby mountain, which half-collapsed.
Coughing up blood, Zhao Gou clutched his chest and crawled out of the rubble, hurriedly running to kneel before the King of Shu, trembling in fear.
“Father, why?”
He couldn’t understand why, after returning victorious, he was not rewarded but instead beaten so harshly.
Zhao Yuhuan’s face was dark with anger, and he coldly rebuked, “Who told you Meng Qingzhou is dead?!”
Zhao Gou was shocked and shouted, “I sent Sword Elder to assassinate Meng Qingzhou; there’s no reason for him to fail!”
Sword Elder was a half-step Sea Covering Realm cultivator. Even Zhao Gou, the heir apparent, treated him with utmost respect, calling him senior.
Moreover, Sword Elder was a trusted general under the King of Shu.
Zhao Yuhuan coldly said, “The Empress is not dead, but Sword Elder is! Explain that to me.”
As he spoke, Zhao Yuhuan threw out a shattered life token with the word “sword” inscribed on it.
“What!?” Zhao Gou’s face changed dramatically. He stood up abruptly, aggravating his injuries, and fell to the ground again, his face contorted in pain.
“Sword Elder was skilled in concealing his presence and never left any survivors. He never revealed himself, and the Great Jin court didn’t even know of his existence. How could he be killed!?”
Seeing this, Zhao Yuhuan knew it was pointless to ask further.
“Useless! You ruin everything!” Zhao Yuhuan’s hair and beard flared wildly, his eyes almost spitting fire as he roared.
“I entrusted you with such an important task, and this is how you repay me? Now, the situation has completely reversed!”
“The tables have turned! Years of careful planning, all ruined by you! Now, we must brace for the Empress’s thunderous retaliation!”
Zhao Yuhuan’s face turned red with anger, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His aura instantly weakened, his hair at the temples turning white, making him look decades older.
The soldiers under the King of Shu were shocked and quickly supported Zhao Yuhuan.
Zhao Gou was completely dumbfounded, collapsing to the ground, his body limp and powerless.
The tables have turned?
The rebellion ended before it even started??
All the soldiers present looked at Zhao Gou, their eyes filled with disappointment and contempt, no longer holding the respect and admiration they once had.
“Where did it go wrong? Why, why did it come to this?” Zhao Gou stared blankly at the sky.
“Damn heavens, you’re unfair!” Zhao Gou roared in anger.
He felt that ever since he raised the banner of rebellion, it was as if the heavens were targeting him, obstructing him at every turn.
When the plan first started, before he even took action, Meng Qingzhou suddenly appeared, accusing him of rebellion.
Within days of the bandit troubles, the Empress immediately saw through everything, executing traitorous officials with lightning speed and mobilizing the army to suppress the bandits.
He sent Wu Die to assassinate Meng Qingzhou, but Wu Die had a sudden change of heart and defected!
Then he sent Sword Elder, who was directly killed!
“Damn it!” Zhao Gou spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed backward.
At that moment, a Cloud Ascension Realm centurion hurried over, kneeling and shouting, “It’s bad! Scouts have observed the Great Jin army converging on the Burial Immortal Mountain Range, led by dozens of Mountain Moving Realm cultivators and five Sea Covering Realm cultivators. The commander is… General Qin Fenghuo of the Big Column Kingdom!”
The entire scene fell silent, the sound of a pin drop could be heard.
Everyone panicked, the Shu soldiers’ formation fell into chaos, and the atmosphere was filled with fear.
“Why is the Great Jin court mobilizing the army to the Burial Immortal Mountain Range, with Qin Fenghuo as the commander? Could they be coming for us?!”
“Impossible! We’ve established a safe zone in the Burial Immortal Mountain Range; who could have guessed?”
“Yes, they must be on an expedition to a neighboring country, just passing through the Burial Immortal Mountain Range.”
“No matter how much Jiang Canghai, the so-called strategist, racks his brains, he couldn’t possibly imagine we’d dare hide a million troops in the Forbidden Zone.”
Despite their attempts to console themselves, no one could smile.
Seeing the army on the verge of mutiny, the King of Shu, Zhao Yuhuan, stepped forward.
“Don’t panic!” Zhao Yuhuan suppressed his anger, trying to appear calm, and said:
“The Burial Immortal Mountain Range is easy to defend and hard to attack. Even if the Great Jin court knows, we have nothing to fear! Of course, they can’t possibly know!”
The Burial Immortal Mountain Range was Zhao Yuhuan’s greatest confidence.
Over the years, Zhao Yuhuan had spent most of his time and resources on the Burial Immortal Mountain Range.
If it were so easily discovered, he would be a complete failure.
“Look, what’s that?” Suddenly, someone pointed at the sky, their voice trembling.
With a collective gasp, a million soldiers looked up in unison, witnessing an unforgettable sight.
A thousand-foot-tall giant stood between heaven and earth, its eyes like the sun and moon, its nose and mouth like mountains, holding a sky-piercing halberd, surrounded by world-ending lightning.
The giant stood outside the Burial Immortal Mountain Range, bending down, its sun-like eyes scanning the entire Forbidden Zone inch by inch.
Boom!
A ferocious demon bird spread its wings and lunged at the giant, its wings radiating dark light, clearly a demon king.
“Die!” The giant opened its five-fingered mountain-like hand, grasping the demon bird’s neck like a chick, snapping it, and the world-ending lightning obliterated the demon bird’s flesh and soul.
The thunderous sound echoed through the heavens, resounding throughout the Burial Immortal Mountain Range, causing some ancient beings in the depths of the Forbidden Zone to silently open their eyes.
For a moment, the Burial Immortal Mountain Range was shrouded in eerie mist, the atmosphere growing increasingly strange and silent, as if a primordial beast was awakening.
“General Qin Fenghuo of the Great Jin Dynasty, under the Emperor’s command, here to capture the rebel king. Any creature that dares to obstruct will be executed without mercy!”
Qin Fenghuo took out a golden imperial edict and declared:
“Reading the imperial edict, all creatures in the Forbidden Zone, kneel and listen!”
Using the Divine Power of Heaven and Earth, Qin Fenghuo planted his sky-piercing halberd into the ground, unfurling the imperial edict, and solemnly read:
“By the mandate of heaven, the Emperor decrees~”
“Rebel King Zhao Yuhuan of the Shu Region has raised an army in rebellion, an unforgivable crime! Now proclaimed to the world!”
“Those who harbor or protect him will share his guilt! Those who obstruct or hinder will share his guilt! Those who brazenly provoke will share his guilt! Those who incite or fan the flames will share his guilt!”
“Thus decreed!”
As Qin Fenghuo read, each character from the imperial edict detached, growing in the wind into golden runes the size of buildings.
Sixty or seventy golden characters filled the sky, their majestic power suppressing the entire Burial Immortal Mountain Range.
Countless creatures were terrified, their souls nearly shattering.
In an instant, the previously restless Burial Immortal Mountain Range fell silent.
Eyes like torches in the dark night closed silently, peerless demon kings retreated into their caves, and human cultivators in seclusion put down their weapons…
An imperial edict subdued the ancient Forbidden Zone!
With the imperial edict’s runes hovering above his head and holding a sky-piercing halberd, Qin Fenghuo looked down on the Forbidden Zone with disdain and said:
“What a joke, Burial Immortal Mountain Range, a Forbidden Zone for living beings.”
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