"Son Wei... You... you're saying that Ling Xiao risked his life to withstand Jin Yang's final strike?"
Emperor Qin's expression was dazed, a trace of astonishment flickering deep within his eyes.
Burning Dao Principles, self-destructing his soul...
The desperate, final struggle of a peerless genius was not something an ordinary person could resist.
Even if Ling Xiao was protected by his own Dao Principles and had numerous methods at his disposal, such an act was still extremely dangerous.
But...
Was it even possible?
The Ling Clan had always viewed the Qin Clan as mortal enemies.
Could centuries, millennia of accumulated hatred be set aside in a single day?
Hadn't the Si Family been utterly exterminated by Ling Xiao the moment they showed intent to submit?
So why was he now repeatedly risking his life to save the disciples of the Qin Clan?
If both Qin Wei and Qin Leng died, the Qin Clan's legacy would be severed.
For the Ling Clan, that would be infinitely beneficial.
Just what was he scheming to gain?!
Emperor Qin couldn't figure it out, but he constantly felt that an invisible hand was slowly, methodically pushing the entire Qin Clan toward its doom.
"Exactly! Father, Young Master Ling Xiao acted with great righteousness. I... I feel ashamed in comparison."
"Alas." Emperor Qin slumped listlessly onto his golden throne. If Ling Xiao wasn't the problem, then the issue necessarily lay with the Cloud Millet Immortal Sect.
But...
"Your Majesty!!!" A Qin Clan expert rushed into the hall in a panic, his face filled with terror and dismay.
"So, they've come?" Emperor Qin smiled bitterly. Thirty-one true disciples and geniuses of the Cloud Millet Sect had died in Canghai City.
If the Cloud Millet Sect Master could swallow that anger, it could only mean he... had a truly vast capacity for humiliation.
"Your Majesty!! The Cloud Millet forces are coming in full strength! They are leaving utter desolation in their wake!"
Below, the Qin Clan expert knelt on one knee, his voice trembling with fear.
Although before this, all the Qin Clan elders had been willing to fight...
Now, with the flames of war spreading and carnage unfolding, they finally understood just how perilous and brutal this conflict truly was.
Countless lives were being lost to this vendetta. With every wave of his hand, the Cloud Millet Sect Master could annihilate an entire city!
"Recall all Qin Clan experts. We make our stand at Chijin City!"
Emperor Qin proved himself worthy of being a formidable ruler. Even if he had hesitated to go to war with Cloud Millet before, now that the moment had come, he was completely composed.
Since the battle had begun... there was simply no way back.
Regardless of whose scheme this was, the Qin Clan had reached a life-or-death juncture!
To fight was to grasp at a slim chance of survival.
To try and explain would be utterly futile!
---
Meanwhile, having left Canghai City, Ling Xiao headed directly for the Cloud Millet Immortal Sect.
The era of chaos had begun. Cloud Millet and the Qin Clan were now locked in a fight to the death.
The players were in place on the chessboard. His task, of course, was to go wreck their home base while they were focused on the game.
After all, this calamity was instigated by Cloud Millet and the Qin Clan. As for who ultimately profited from it all...
The Sacred Church would surely understand that on this path of immortality, everyone was ultimately out for their own gain.
"Young Master!" Xiao Tu's figure descended nearby, and he bowed deeply to Ling Xiao.
As he watched the young master's figure approaching calmly, a deep reverence filled the eyes of this Demon Sect true disciple.
The Cloud Millet Holy Son, reputed to be the strongest among the holy sons of the Eastern Territories' immortal sects, had actually met his end today in that small, remote city.
A prodigy of his generation had fallen just like that.
Although Xiao Tu hadn't witnessed how he died, judging by the Young Master's utterly unruffled demeanor, it clearly hadn't required too much effort.
"Return to the sect for now. Tell the Sect Master to remain patient. Wait until the Cloud Millet forces reach Chijin City before leading our Demon Sect experts there."
A cold light swirled in Ling Xiao's eyes. He took a step forward, and Hua Hua's figure instantly materialized with a roar, carrying him off toward the distant mountains.
"Yes!" Xiao Tu bowed, remaining in that position for a long time.
But in his heart, he couldn't help but sigh. Two supreme orthodoxies are likely truly going to fall by the Young Master's hand.
Who could have imagined it?
A seventeen-year-old in the Breakthrough Realm, single-handedly changing the landscape of the Eastern Territories.
With Cloud Millet and the Qin Clan destroyed, who in the entire Eastern Territories would remain as a match for the Ling Clan?
An invincible youth... an invincible clan.
---
Across the Eastern Territories.
Mountains and rivers were suddenly collapsing.
The experts of all the sacred sects and ancient clans watched the Cloud Millet Sect Master standing proudly in the distant sky, slaughtering madly, their eyes filled with intense fear.
A sky-obscuring spirit seal fell from the heavens, and the very earth beneath it instantly shattered.
Screams and wails of misery never ceased. Yet the Cloud Millet elders, who always prided themselves on being an immortal sect, paid them no mind. Their immortal swords slashed out, slaughtering everyone and everything related to the Qin Clan along their path.
The sky darkened, blood energy gathered like clouds.
The Eastern Territories were being turned upside down.
---
And at this moment, before the gates of the Cloud Millet Immortal Sect, a figure in white robes arrived, stepping forward gracefully. He was slender and upright, his bearing naturally filled with the essence of the Dao.
Now that the Cloud Millet Sect Master and Feng Baiyang had led the elders on this expedition against the Qin Clan, this immortal sect had become little more than an empty shell.
Even if they had left a few elders to guard the home, their cultivation levels would likely be, at most, around the Divine King realm.
What slightly surprised Ling Xiao, however, was the caution of the Cloud Millet Sect Master, who had actually activated the sect protection array ahead of time.
A clear glow spread down from the mountain peak, enveloping the entire sect gate, emanating a feeling of indestructible solidity.
But no matter how profound this array was, how could it possibly stop Ling Xiao?
That Realm-Breaking Talisman his mother had given him was a treasure passed down through the Dan Yuan Holy Land, a peerless item even within the Sacred Dynasty.
While mortals who achieved the Dao could receive the protection of heaven and earth, ascending to the Sacred Dynasty... throughout history, how many from the Sacred Dynasty could easily descend to the lower realms?
Bai Zhixi's status was special, her Spatial Dao Principle hailed as a talent unseen in a millennium.
That swordsman in white came from the Blood Soul Sacred Hall, and his descent to the lower realms by suppressing his cultivation was suspicious in itself.
Aside from those two, probably only Ling Xiao, relying on the divine Realm-Breaking Talisman, had managed to travel around the Four Wastes.
Although that Realm-Breaking Talisman was formidable, it had its limitations.
Having traversed the boundary between realms once, its power was already depleted. Now, it could only break ordinary barriers.
Fortunately...
Ling Xiao still had that Top-Grade Array-Breaking Talisman rewarded by the System!
But this Array-Breaking Talisman could only be used once, far less durable than the Realm-Breaking Talisman.
It seems I'll need to find some time to properly research how to restore its power.
Buzz!
Light flashed, and Ling Xiao's figure instantly passed through the great array, appearing atop Cloud Millet Mountain.
Immediately, the aura of a Divine King descended from the sky, firmly locking onto his presence.
First grade Divine King?
Heh, it seems the Cloud Millet Sect Master has quite some confidence in this protection array.
"Who dares to trespass in the Cloud Millet Immortal Sect!!"
A figure in white robes descended from the sky, followed closely by several dozen sect disciples.
Ling Xiao gave them a quick glance. Well, well. A bunch of small fries.
No wonder the Cloud Millet Sect Master couldn't wait a moment longer and immediately led his experts to attack the Qin Clan.
Clearly, those thirty-one Cloud Millet disciples who died in Canghai City were the entirety of this sect's legacy inheritance.
"Elder, are you perhaps senile? Is this 'trespassing'? Didn't I just walk right up here openly?!"
Ling Xiao smiled faintly. The elder was visibly stunned for a moment.
Well... he has a point!
Wait! No!
"Once this protection array is activated, even if the Sect Master himself returns, I must be the one to deactivate it for him to enter! You... you... You look somewhat familiar?" The white-robed elder frowned, pondering for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a sharp cry.
"Ling Xiao!! You're Ling Xiao!!"
The Young Master of the Demon Sect, Ling Xiao!!
How did he get up the mountain, bypassing the great array?
Could there be a flaw in the array?
That shouldn't be possible! This array was left by the founding ancestor of Cloud Millet! How could a Breakthrough Realm ant like him break through it?
Most importantly, how had he not detected it at all?
"Oh? So that's how it is. Alright then, I'll come clean. You've got me. Yes, I am the Sacred Dynasty's premier array-breaking expert, having studied formations for five thousand years, bearing the Dao title 'Array-Breaker'... none other than Ling Xiao!!"
A devilish smile played on Ling Xiao's lips as a demonic light erupted in his eyes, like a great demon from the Nine Hells had suddenly descended upon the mortal world.