Liangzhou.
Northern Suppression Stronghold.
In the past, this was an insurmountable mountain in the hearts of the barbarians, but now, it was filled with rows of barbarian flags fluttering in the wind.
Inside the pass, the Northern Barbarian soldiers sang and danced, venting the frustration they had endured for a thousand years.
They were poised and ready, only waiting for the Barbarian Emperor's command to ride into Liangzhou, then swallow the fertile lands beyond.
The Great Yan Martial Sage had not responded for a long time, which allowed their violent resentment to grow day by day. They would occasionally glare fiercely at the Great Yan army in the distance. They could clearly see the panic and anger on the faces of the Great Yan soldiers watching from afar, and this gave them a sense of delight, like toying with their prey.
Outside the stronghold, strange howls rang out.
Those were the Northern Barbarian cavalry laughing recklessly as they brazenly carried their prey past the Great Yan camp, provoking them with expert horsemanship.
Of course, it wasn't that there were no capable warriors among the Great Yan soldiers, but they dared not act.
If they killed these provoking cavalrymen and then triggered a large-scale Northern Barbarian attack, the consequences would be unbearable. Ultimately, it was because the Great Yan Martial Sage had not appeared that they lacked confidence.
Many sects had sent powerful experts to secretly observe and keep track of the latest developments.
But today, the situation was different.
"Cowardly Great Yan, if you dare, come kill me!"
"A bunch of pathetic jokes! See what's on my shoulder? That's your women!"
A group of Northern Barbarian cavalrymen laughed and shamelessly mocked.
The Great Yan soldiers watched this scene, their anger reddening their eyes. They wanted to act but dared not; they could only silently endure the provocation.
The barbarian cavalry's insults grew even more vulgar.
Inside the Great Yan camp, there was still no response.
"Let's go, let's go, a bunch of useless trash, truly boring!" the leader laughed, preparing to return victorious.
Suddenly, a change occurred.
An arrow shot out from deep within the camp, tearing through the air, piercing directly through the leader's skull. Its momentum unrelenting, it consecutively pierced through seven or eight Northern Barbarian cavalrymen. The remaining barbarians panicked and retreated to the rear.
The Great Yan soldiers were all jolted awake.
But before they could celebrate, powerful figures flew swiftly across the horizon—Northern Barbarian Heaven-Man Realm cultivators. Furious voices thundered across the land:
"Killing my barbarian sons is a crime punishable by death! Hand over the culprit, or today you will pay with blood!"
Within the Northern Suppression Stronghold, barbarian soldiers roared in unison with overwhelming momentum. The dark clouds of war instantly enveloped every Great Yan soldier's head. Their faces turned pale, especially when they saw the imposing figure standing atop the stronghold, causing their hearts to tremble uncontrollably.
The Barbarian Emperor, unmatched by anyone.
Inside the Great Yan camp, a figure shot up into the sky, holding a long spear and clad in azure armor, radiating fierce dignity.
General Shenyu took a deep breath, his eyes sharp as lightning:
"I'm the one who killed them. What are you going to do about it?"
The barbarian general sneered:
"Good! Very good. Suicide and apologize, or I'll make Great Yan's blood flow like a river!"
General Shenyu cursed angrily:
"Bullshit!"
Then, his spear glowed with swirling light as a shocking spear beam slashed out.
The barbarian general clearly hadn't expected the long-cowed Great Yan man to suddenly become so defiant. Caught off guard, he nearly got cleaved in two. Even so, he was left in a sorry state, breaking his defenses:
"Fine! Looks like you're sick of living!"
"Kill!"
He shouted furiously.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the war was about to erupt.
The Great Yan soldiers, long suppressed, no longer cared. Since the general had acted, they just wanted to vent their rage. What happened afterward was not their concern. The barbarian soldiers were the same—once the chance came, they stopped caring as well.
On the battlefield, the two armies clashed, their shouts shaking the heavens.
Powerful warriors fought one-on-one.
Above the Northern Suppression Stronghold, the Barbarian Emperor watched calmly, with Baoshu Buddha beside him. Everything happening in the distance was like child's play to them. Even the powerful Heaven-Man List experts seemed pitifully weak in their eyes.
"It seems the body of the Flame Sage really has problems. Previously, the Demonic Sect remnants led by the Great Yu caused him no small trouble," Baoshu Buddha said with a smile.
The Barbarian Emperor first nodded, then shook his head:
"The Demonic Sect does not have that strength. Even a catalyzed fake sage could only cause minor trouble. Most likely it's the influence of the bloodline method."
He added:
"Enough. Thinking too much is useless. We have waited so long with no appearance; it's truly time to harvest. Otherwise, if all the old fellows come out at once, there won't be enough to go around. We shouldn't be greedy. Holding two prefectures plus the original grasslands is already enough."
He took a step forward, already soaring high above the battlefield.
Baoshu Buddha followed closely behind.
Like twin suns, they instinctively drew all eyes.
Without the Barbarian Emperor's signal, Baoshu Buddha summoned the Glazed Baoshu Tree, its seven-colored light swirling, causing the Great Yan side to tremble mentally.
In a blink, a colossal Buddha palm had already formed, its overwhelming pressure suffocating all. A few hidden top-tier Heaven-Man Realm experts appeared, but before this Buddha palm, they were like ants.
The Buddha palm pressed down.
The Northern Barbarians cheered, Great Yan panicked.
General Shenyu's pupils shrank sharply. He grew nervous, fearing he would become a historic villain for Great Yan. Today's incident was not by his own decision, but a secret order from the imperial capital.
While he was panicking, a flicker of flame shot into the sky from the horizon. At first it was insignificant, but in the blink of an eye, it had become a sea of red fire.
The sound of burning echoed through the void. In mere moments, the terrifying Buddha palm was reduced to ashes. Moreover, the flame had great momentum, burning along the Glazed Baoshu Tree.
Baoshu Buddha's face changed drastically. He screamed, golden light surging over his body as he exerted all his strength. The Barbarian Emperor also looked grave, releasing waves of spiritual energy to help Baoshu Buddha extinguish the flames.
A figure appeared, hands behind his back, standing in the void with an air of commanding dominance.
Everyone in Great Yan showed expressions of cheer and shock.
"General Yanwu!" General Shenyu instinctively wanted to call out but stopped immediately because this person, though looking exactly like General Yanwu, was completely different in demeanor and aura.
The Barbarian Emperor and Baoshu Buddha finally extinguished the flames. They looked at the elder before them with extremely solemn expressions:
"Flame Sage!"
Li Yanwu scanned the battlefield and said coldly:
"Get out of Great Yan. I won't hold your sins today against you."
Though calm in words, his tone was filled with overwhelming authority.
Great Yan's side erupted in excitement, while the Northern Barbarian soldiers trembled. The Great Yan Martial Sage's prestige had dominated the world for two thousand years; it was not something that could be erased in a short time.
The Barbarian Emperor's face darkened. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Baoshu Buddha, confronting Li Yanwu.
"Flame Sage, times are different now. Before, we were all asleep, so the world belonged to you, naturally. Now that you have returned, everything must be reshuffled," he stared ahead and continued, "I only want Liangzhou."
The battlefield below gradually calmed.
Countless people looked up expectantly.
But Li Yanwu simply spat out one word:
"Get out."
In an instant, the situation changed dramatically.
Endless flames rose behind him, illuminating the world brilliantly. Even the clouds in the high sky were scorched away. The Barbarian Emperor and Baoshu Buddha's faces changed as two towering pillars of fire shot up, then pressed down toward them.
The Glazed Baoshu Tree radiated light, with a Buddha seated in meditation atop it. The Barbarian Emperor had a dark aura gathering around him, and a three-headed Celestial Wolf roared as it charged out.
But it was all useless.
The fire pillars were majestic and unstoppable.
The Buddha was scorched to ashes in an instant, Baoshu Buddha was forced underground; the three-headed Celestial Wolf resisted only briefly before vanishing. The Barbarian Emperor's expression changed; unwilling to be so embarrassed, he was blasted far away by the fire pillar's force, tumbling through the air.
For a moment, the world was silent.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the Great Yan Martial Sage.
They had expected a fierce battle, but the gap was surprisingly huge.
"Martial Sage! Martial Sage!"
Great Yan erupted in cheers.
Li Yanwu stood with his hands behind his back, gazing forward.
At some unknown moment, a blind old man appeared on the battlefield. Some already recognized him.
Elder Listening Wind!
Before the Zhenxuan Mountain Heaven-Man Ascension Ceremony, Elder Listening Wind might have been just the number one on the Heaven-Man List, but now everyone knew this was another brutal powerhouse who had easily split four Ancient Saints at the ceremony.
Li Yanwu descended and met his gaze.
Elder Listening Wind sighed softly:
"Fellow Daoist, long time no see."
Li Yanwu nodded:
"I understand your meaning, or today's result wouldn't be like this."
The Barbarian Emperor and Baoshu Buddha angrily rushed back, landing behind Elder Listening Wind. They seemed to find a backing and shouted furiously:
"Fellow Daoist Zhan Tian, you come judge fairly. We have returned now; is it too much to claim a territory?"
Li Yanwu's eyes grew cold.
Baoshu Buddha trembled instinctively. He had thought Li Yanwu's condition was poor, but he never expected him to be overwhelmingly powerful. Then the Barbarian Emperor spoke solemnly:
"Flame Sage, we are indeed no match for you now, but after the spiritual opportunity awakening, can you stop us two? What about so many fellow Daoists?"
Li Yanwu sneered disdainfully:
"That will depend on their own strength. At least for now, get out!"
This rude remark made the Barbarian Emperor's face even darker. He wanted to continue speaking.
Elder Listening Wind gently waved his hand:
"You two also calm down."
The Barbarian Emperor's face turned even blacker.
The two strongest beings at this stage stood on opposing sides; there was no way they could resist.
Elder Listening Wind continued:
"Barbarian Emperor, your barbarian grasslands are already vast enough. There's no need to fight for these lands. As for the fellow Daoists who awaken later, Flame Sage will surely carve out regions for them. As for the rest, remember, these belong to Flame Sage by right."
After these words, the Barbarian Emperor and Baoshu Buddha fell silent.
Li Yanwu nodded faintly:
"Of course, regions will be allocated to later awakenings, but the main Great Yan territory must never be touched."
The Barbarian Emperor snorted coldly.
Today's matter was impossible to continue. After a fight, they gained nothing. Continuing would only bring trouble.
He said nothing and turned to leave.
Li Yanwu's voice rang behind him:
"Wait."
The Barbarian Emperor shouted angrily:
"What? Flame Sage wants to continue?"
He suddenly turned, murderous intent condensing in his eyes.
Li Yanwu said coldly:
"You can leave, but debts cannot be erased. For every Great Yan soldier you killed, you will leave behind one."
The Barbarian Emperor's eyes were filled with tangible murderous intent, as if holding back something. Baoshu Buddha gently tugged him, helping him suppress his killing intent bit by bit. He stared deeply at Li Yanwu and coldly said:
"Fine."
After uttering this word, he fled quickly.
It wasn't that he felt pity for the million Northern Barbarian soldiers about to be enslaved or slaughtered, but because his face had been utterly ruined today, and he did not want to stay any longer.
Baoshu Buddha smiled bitterly in his heart.
Since emerging, he had suffered one defeat after another. He could only be grateful that today he did not lose his spiritual blood like at Zhenxuan Mountain.
After clasping his hands in salute, he followed the Barbarian Emperor.
Elder Listening Wind nodded slightly to Li Yanwu and turned to leave.
Only countless Northern Barbarian soldiers remained, shocked to their core.
Li Yanwu looked at their terrified gazes and said indifferently:
"Kill."
...
The news of the Liangzhou Battle spread throughout the world with incredible speed.
The Great Yan Martial Sage Li Yanwu emerged suddenly; the Barbarian Emperor was defeated, and a million Northern Barbarian soldiers slaughtered.
The world trembled once more.
Inside Mingwu Pavilion, Ning Qi listened to Luo Wentian recount the news, slightly surprised.
"Li Yanwu? Isn't that General Yanwu? I heard that the Great Yan Martial Sage who appeared on the Liangzhou battlefield looks exactly like General Yanwu and was called the Flame Sage by the Barbarian Emperor and Baoshu Buddha."
His mind turned, connecting to what Daoist Longshan had told him earlier about surviving through bloodline inheritance methods. He vaguely understood something.
"Linked by descendant bloodline… The Flame Sage's method seems different from Elder Listening Wind's."
Ning Qi thought, then said:
"The Flame Sage's strong return at the critical moment thwarted the Barbarian Emperor's plans. At least for the short term, Great Yan will not fall apart. But it seems the Flame Sage is wary of those Ancient Saints about to return, even promising to allocate some territory to them."
Luo Wentian nodded seriously:
"Exactly. The dynasty is obsessed with territorial unity. Making concessions now shows that clearly."
Daoist Longshan put down his teacup:
"Thinking too much is useless. At least these matters have nothing to do with our Zhenwu Sect now. With the Flame Sage's emergence, those martial sects will quiet down. How is the Northern Suppression King now?"
Luo Wentian said:
"He is still recovering. His luck was good, avoiding the Barbarian Emperor's spear. Otherwise, he might have become the Barbarian Emperor's scapegoat."
Daoist Longshan relaxed:
"That's good. So Little Eleven won't worry."
Luo Wentian added:
"Another thing."
"The Demonic Sect remnants seem to have disappeared."
He looked slightly serious.
Ning Qi's eyes paused.
Luo Wentian continued:
"A few days ago, the Demonic Sect seemed to gain support from some faction, stirring up turmoil. But since the Ancient Saints returned at Zhenxuan Mountain and the Liangzhou Battle, the remnants have completely gone silent."
"Whether it was the Demonic Sect leader emerging, support from an Ancient Saint, or some other hidden hand, is unknown."
Daoist Longshan nodded slowly:
"The world's landscape has drastically changed. Though the Demonic Sect's threat isn't what it was, we can't let our guard down. There's no news of other Ancient Saints yet, but they may have returned and lie hidden. We must be cautious to avoid provoking these old monsters."
Ning Qi asked:
"Any news from the Southern Alliance?"
In this era of Ancient Saints returning, the Southern Alliance's threat was minimal. He asked because of the Blood Emperor Gu.
Recently, he and the Blade Demon had attempted to refine spiritual energy again and made considerable progress.
At this rate, devising a secret technique to filter out poisons wouldn't be hard, at least a rough version was feasible. But another problem arose: the spiritual opportunity inside the Yu King Bead was insufficient for a person to reach the Martial Sage Realm alone. Further research would stall; Ning Qi needed to find other external objects to prepare ahead.
The Blood Emperor Gu naturally caught his eye.
Luo Wentian frowned slightly:
"There was intelligence that the Southern Alliance is breeding the Blood King Gu among the Northern Barbarians. But with the Barbarian Emperor's return, conflict between them is likely. The Southern Alliance must be hiding now."
Ning Qi nodded slowly.
"Senior Brother, focus more on this. I have great plans."
Luo Wentian's expression turned serious, nodding quickly.
...
In the blink of an eye, another month passed.
The world was turbulent.
The aftermath of the Liangzhou Battle continued to ferment, stirring heated discussions everywhere.
With the emergence of the Great Yan Martial Sage, Great Yan's prestige soared again. Martial sects within the territory all bowed obediently, daring not to act boldly. All previous schemes were shelved.
But there were always exceptions.
More Ancient Saints appeared!
Not just one, but two in succession.
One named the Red Sun Martial Sage, and the other the Black Ze Martial Sage. The former appeared in Yunzhou, the latter in Cangzhou. The Red Sun's lineage had long vanished in history, while the Black Ze had a branch remaining, the very Smoke and Rain Pavilion that once sent gifts to Daoist Longshan at the Heaven-Man Ascension Ceremony.
After the two Martial Sages appeared, they caused a commotion at first. But the Great Yan Martial Sage Li Yanwu hurried there immediately.
After negotiations, territories were allocated in Yunzhou and Cangzhou to the two Martial Sages. These included fertile lands, large populations, famous mountains, and great lakes.
The world took notice.
This almost meant states within the country.
The Ancient Saints' status rose sharply. Everyone realized that even the overwhelmingly strong Great Yan Martial Sage had to give face to the Ancient Saints. Many martial sects hoped an Ancient Saint would favor them.
Because the Red Sun Martial Sage supported Yunzhou's sect, renaming it the Red Sun Sect. Although the name changed, its rise was meteoric, inciting widespread envy.
Everyone knew this was just the beginning.
With these two Martial Sages' return, more Martial Sages would awaken one by one, dazzling the world.
Ning Qi felt a vague sense of urgency.
His experiments with the Blade Demon were nearing a critical point.
And at this moment, news came from Mingwu Pavilion, both expected and astonishing.
Qin Yun had finally awakened!