Inquiry about immortality

"Reporting to Protector Jade, beyond this mountain lies Wind-Stopping Valley."

Yu Ying sat in the imperial carriage, listening to her subordinates reporting outside. She looked at Bai Ying'er beside her and smiled, "Fengzhu Valley is the ancestral land of the Yinluo tribe. When Yuan Zuo traveled there, he became acquainted with the current Yinluo tribe chief through a fight, but outsiders are unaware of their relationship. That fellow secretly solved a lot of trouble for Yuan Zuo. Let's see how he puts on this show now."

It was Bai Ying'er in her true form who arrived. Qin Sang acted as a hands-off manager, but as her disciple, she couldn't just ignore everything. Whenever there was a critical moment for the Jiao Sheng Kingdom and the Five Thunder Sect, Bai Ying'er would come out of seclusion to oversee things.

With the imminent annexation of the Shadow God Kingdom, Bai Ying'er, even though she trusted Yuan Zuo and Yu Ying's abilities, still felt more at ease having to personally oversee the situation.

The route of the advance was personally planned by Yuan Zuo. Since the chief of the Yinluo tribe was so close to him, the outcome of this battle was already a foregone conclusion.

Before the words were finished, the army suddenly stopped, and they heard someone shouting a challenge from the front.

Yu Ying smiled, and clouds rose beneath her feet. She looked down from her high vantage point and saw that the clouds ahead were like a tide, with figures moving about in the sea of ​​clouds. At the crest of the tide stood a man.

This person was dressed in a black robe and had a handsome face. The only flaw was that he had no hair and his head was covered with scale-like things of varying sizes, making him look messy and disheveled.

The man in black robes carried a sword on his back, but only the scabbard was visible; the blade was not.

"Who goes there!" Yu Ying shouted.

The man in black robes looked up, his gaze sharp as a knife. "I am Yin Ming, the master of Wind-Dwelling Valley. Who are you?"

"So you are Yin Ming..." Yu Ying smiled. "I am the Great Protector of the Five Thunder Sect. I am here on the orders of the Sect Leader to fight against the Yuan bandits. The Yuan bandits are cruel and ruthless, and have been betrayed by all. Do not be so stubborn. Open the formation and surrender now, or I will raze your Wind-Dwelling Valley to the ground!"

Before the words were even finished, a thunderous shout erupted from the army ranks.

"Level the Wind-Stopping Valley!"

"Level the Wind-Stopping Valley!"

……

The sound was like thunder, earth-shattering.

Yin Ming's face darkened. "Insolence! His Majesty is wise and mighty, how dare you make such a fuss! I have three magic arrays. If I want to pass through Fengzhu Valley, I will break these three arrays. Otherwise, I will return to where I came from. Does the Great Protector dare to gamble with me?"

"What formation? How do we gamble?" Yu Ying pressed.

"Each side retreats ten thousand miles. I will lead a hundred men to form an array in front of the formation. The Great Protector will also lead a hundred men into the array. Apart from you and me, each side is only allowed to send three Void Refinement cultivators. All others must be at the Nascent Soul stage... There are three days. If all three arrays are broken, you will be the winner."

After Yin Ming finished explaining the rules, Yu Ying pondered for a moment, then, ignoring everyone's attempts to dissuade her, laughed heartily, "What's there to be afraid of!"

"it is good!"

Yin Ming's eyes gleamed with a sharp light. "An hour from now, on the battlefield, I will witness the Great Protector's divine powers!"

Yu Ying landed back in the imperial carriage and asked Bai Ying'er with a smile, "Sister Ying'er, would you like to join the fun and explore the formation?"

"No need."

Bai Ying'er gently shook her head.

Since the army set out, it has been unstoppable, conquering cities and seizing territories, and has hardly encountered any stubborn resistance from the defending troops.

The Shadow God Kingdom's reinforcements are still on their way. Many places, like Wind-Dwelling Valley, are the ancient territories of certain tribes. A major battle might not be enough to stop the Horned Beast Kingdom's army, but the territories would certainly be reduced to ruins, and the tribes' foundations would be destroyed. Therefore, unless one is utterly loyal to Yuanzuo and the Shadow God Kingdom, any provocations between the two sides are usually gentleman's agreements, ending only after a brief exchange.

As long as it's acceptable to maintain appearances, they'll readily submit. If the Horned Kingdom is defeated in the future, they can simply return to the Shadow God Kingdom's embrace, without suffering much loss in any case.

For many tribes and cultivators, it makes no difference which immortal kingdom they belong to.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Yu Ying donned her armor and took to the battlefield, selecting a hundred people from the formation, most of whom were disciples of the Five Thunder Sect. As they approached the front of the formation, they saw thick smoke billowing and a chilling wind blowing.

Yin Ming led a hundred cultivators from Fengzhu Valley to appear in the thick smoke, and then disappeared. The smoke split in two, revealing a gate, as if welcoming guests.

"Great Protector, if you have the guts, enter this gate!"

Yu Ying, seemingly unable to bear the provocation, immediately led her subordinates to break through the formation gate. As they entered the gate, they heard the sound of bells ringing in their ears, and a wave of heat swept over them. In front of them, flames soared into the sky, and three fire lotuses rose from the ground.

Looking back now, the array gate had vanished, and both armies had disappeared as well. The land stretched as far as the eye could see, with only the continuous sound of bells and the striking fire lotus.

Three fiery lotuses floated in mid-air, showing no other unusual signs, seemingly waiting for the enemy to arrive.

Yu Ying frowned slightly, raised her hand and pointed: "Wu Nandu, I'm ordering you to lead ten men to attack the one on the left..."

In the blink of an eye, the thirty cultivators, led by three Void Refinement cultivators, split into three groups and attacked the three fire lotuses, while the others stood ready for battle.

At this moment, Yu Ying's feet rose into the clouds, and she slowly flew up, her body enveloped in swirling clouds, as if she were using some kind of supernatural power to comprehend the method of breaking the formation.

The others didn't suspect anything and dared not disturb him, little did they know that Yu Ying was shouting into the void, "Yin Ming, what are you up to?"

A low laugh echoed from the void. "Great Protector, please calm down. It's not that I'm playing tricks. There's another overseer in the formation, someone of considerable importance and extremely cunning. His Majesty has ordered his elimination, but I'm worried I can't handle him, so I have to rely on the Great Protector's help."

After listening to Yin Ming explain the reasons in detail, Yu Ying suddenly understood.

Now, the Shadow God Kingdom is in turmoil, with news of rebellions pouring in like snowflakes, making it seem like a large ship riddled with holes. Some of the rebellions are genuine, some are even staged by Yuan Zuo's confidants, while others genuinely believe that Yuan Zuo's power is waning.

Yuan Zuo wanted to use the great war to eliminate dissidents, and in the future, he would lead the Shadow God Kingdom to merge with the Horned Life Kingdom, which would greatly reduce the resistance.

Yu Ying knew that Yuan Zuo was a master of manipulating people's hearts and using power tactics; such a person would surely become a powerful warlord in a chaotic world. But she admired the leader's magnanimity even more, for daring to entrust the Horned Kingdom to this man and let him do as he pleased.

The longer Yu Ying stayed by the cult leader's side, the more unfathomable he seemed. To this day, Yu Ying couldn't understand why the cult leader was so eager to expand the Jiao Sheng Kingdom. How could he be sure that the Five Kings of Zhu Qian and the Five Supreme Kingdoms were always acting according to his wishes? Wasn't he afraid of bringing about the destruction of his kingdom?
Knowing Yuan Zuo and Yin Ming's intentions, Yu Ying will naturally cooperate.

At the same time, Wu Nandu and the others had approached the Fire Lotus. The three Void Refinement cultivators unleashed their respective spiritual treasures and attacked the Fire Lotus.

‘Click! ’

Unexpectedly, the fire lotus proved to be easily destroyed.

A sense of alarm rose in Wu Nandu and the others. Just as they were about to retreat in order to advance, they suddenly heard a whooshing sound. The fragments of the fire lotus transformed into three vortexes above their heads, and the surrounding void and earth shattered in response, about to suck them in.

The others were at a loss and quickly looked at Yunxia, ​​only to see Yunxia drifting slightly. Yu Ying sneered, "A mere trick!"

Hearing Yu Ying's command, everyone felt reassured and immediately formed a battle formation to fight back.

At this moment, the cultivators in both formations were staring intently at the front of the formation. They did not know what was happening inside the formation, but they could see that the mountains and clouds were shrouded in mist and that violent tremors were coming from time to time. It was clear that the battle between the two sides was very intense.

One side broke through the formation, while the other defended it. They fought back and forth, and within a few hours, the scene within the formation suddenly underwent a dramatic change. The thick smoke seemed to be dispersed by something, drifting in all directions, and gradually, a precious banner appeared in everyone's sight.

With a 'crack', the flag broke in the middle, and the flag fell to the ground with a thud, as if it had struck the heart of the Wind-Stopping Valley army.

Conversely, the other side cheered with joy.

"The formation is broken!"

"The flag is broken; the great formation must have collapsed!"

……

As the cheers began, the broken banner suddenly transformed into a ball of spiritual light. Another strange change occurred, and the light rapidly expanded, becoming even larger than the area covered by the previous thick smoke.

The light was so dazzling that even Nascent Soul cultivators had to activate their spiritual eyes to look directly at it. The cheers from the Horned Beast Kingdom side came to an abrupt halt, as they then remembered that their commander had said that there were three great formations in total, and only the first one had been destroyed.

In the formation.

A person appeared beside Yin Ming and exclaimed softly, "This Great Protector is truly remarkable. I fear that our three carefully prepared formations may not be able to stop him. Valley Master Yin, do you have any better strategies?"

"My skills are limited to this," Yin Ming said with a wry smile, then a glimmer of hope appeared on his face. "The only thing we can do now is to ask Fellow Daoist Hui for help as soon as possible. Fellow Daoist Hui is highly regarded by the special envoy and surely has treasures bestowed by the royal palace. He will definitely be able to defeat them!"

The other party's eyes flickered slightly. "Does the Valley Master mean that he has agreed to my proposal?"

"Besides this, do I have any other choice? Do I really have to surrender to a foreign enemy?" Yin Ming said, revealing a contemptuous expression. "Even if I switch allegiance to another country, it will not be the Kingdom of Jiaosheng!"

The situation may seem complicated, but it is no secret to them that this region is destined to belong to either the King of Chuxu or the King of Zhilian. The relationship between Jiaosheng Kingdom and the Three Kings is ambiguous, which is the path to their destruction.

"Since the Valley Master is indeed a man of great principle, I will now ask my elder brother for help!"

Upon hearing this, the other party was overjoyed, and in a flash, disappeared like a bubble.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away behind Wind-Stopping Valley, a man sat cross-legged in a stone cave, his face beaming with joy, muttering, "Being able to persuade the Inlu tribe, this trip was not in vain."

Without stopping, he immediately activated the formation beneath him, but to his surprise, the formation did not react at all after activation, as if it had been cut off by some force.

What went wrong?

The man felt a strong sense of unease for no apparent reason, and then he heard a loud 'boom' as the cave shook violently.

Enemy attack!

His heart sank, and then Yin Ming's laughter came from outside, "Hehe, fellow Daoist, you hid so well, it made it hard for me to find you! Great Protector, this person is right here, don't let him escape!"

"Great Protector?"

Upon hearing this, the man was greatly shocked, suddenly realizing something, and roared in anger and fury, "Yinming, you dare to defect to the enemy!"

Before he could finish speaking, the stone door of the cave suddenly exploded, and a surge of powerful divine energy rushed into the cave, instantly destroying the array beneath him.

A figure emerged from the cave entrance; it was Yin Ming, who sneered, "Fellow Daoist Hui, are you a wise ruler? How do you compare to the sect leader?"

This man had no will to argue anymore. His cultivation was inferior to Yu Ying's, and having his true form captured, his chances of survival were slim. The battle was indeed predictable; he was quickly defeated, only managing to save his life by shouting his surrender at the last moment.

On the other side, the three great formations set up by Yin Ming were broken one after another, and having lost the bet, the Fengzhu Valley army had no choice but to give up resistance and surrender.

The wind has stopped in the valley.

Yu Ying sat in the main seat, surrounded by a group of powerful cultivators at the Void Refinement stage. Yin Ming stood to the side, showing no restraint despite being a surrendered general.

When Yu Ying inquired, Yin Ming, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, walked to the center of the hall and began to speak eloquently. He then conjured a map and drew out a route for the advance. Everyone was astonished to see this, as the route almost perfectly matched the talisman message that had just been sent from the main altar.

Only Yu Ying was fully aware of Yuan Zuo's intentions; along this path, there were only true "dissidents" who opposed Yuan Zuo.

Yuan Zuo holds power over both countries. He was somewhat restrained in Jiao Sheng Kingdom, but now he is recklessly using the Jiao Sheng Kingdom's army to eliminate dissidents. When Jiao Sheng Kingdom annexes Ying Shen Kingdom in the future, Yuan Zuo will likely hold absolute power, except for the Five Thunder Sect.

However, since the leader had given his permission, she had no reason to object. After a perfunctory discussion, they decided on a route, rested briefly, and then continued their journey.

……

The armies of the two countries advanced rapidly in the Shadow God Kingdom, but internal rebellions broke out everywhere. The Shadow God Kingdom was overwhelmed and unable to defend itself, and it looked like a building on the verge of collapse.

The atmosphere in the capital of the Shadow God Kingdom was extremely oppressive.

The special envoy of the King of Chu Xu tried to see Yuan Zuo several times, but was blocked at the door each time. Little did he know that Yuan Zuo was no longer in the palace, but was in the capital of the enemy country!

Bai Ying'er had already returned and was greeting someone outside the palace.

The newcomer was none other than Xiaoming Sanren. Upon hearing Bai Ying'er's welcoming words, he smiled happily and said, "How could I dare not come when Fairy Bai has summoned me!"

Of all the special envoys of the five kings of Zhu Qian over the years, he was the one who lived the most comfortable life, effortlessly persuading the Kingdom of Jiaosheng to reject the offers of King Chuxu and King Zhilian. Although the Kingdom of Jiaosheng did not submit to them, it still stirred up trouble as promised, preventing King Chuxu and King Zhilian from completely controlling this territory.

"You summoned me so hastily, what urgent matter could it be?" Xiaoming Sanren inquired.

"A fellow Daoist has asked me to request an audience with the special envoy," Bai Ying'er gestured, inviting Xiaoming Sanren into the hall.

"Oh? May I ask which fellow Daoist you are?"

Xiaoming Sanren was curious.

The person he most wanted to see was the leader of the Five Thunder Sect, but the other party was even more arrogant than the King of Northern Reeds. He waited for two hundred years but never saw him even once.

Judging from Bai Ying'er's tone, who else could she be but the leader of the Five Thunder Sect?

When Xiaoming Sanren entered the main hall, he saw someone he never expected.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan?"

Xiaoming Sanren never expected to see Yuanzuo here.

He once went to the Shadow God Kingdom to persuade Yuan Zuo, who is the ruler of the Shadow God Kingdom. How could he appear in the capital of the Horned Life Kingdom, and be personally introduced by Bai Ying'er!
Xiaoming Sanren stared in disbelief, looking at Yuan Zuo and then at Bai Ying'er, "You...you guys..."

Yuan Zuo chuckled, "Is the special envoy surprised to see me? You should know that the enemies are the Shadow God Kingdom and the Horned Life Kingdom, not me and the White Fairy."

This matter was too unbelievable, but Xiaoming Sanren was no ordinary person. He quickly accepted the fact and immediately realized that Yuanzuo's secret visit to the capital of Jiaosheng Kingdom to see him must have some ulterior motive.

The chaos in the Shadow God Kingdom is common knowledge. Yuan Zuo is deserted by everyone in the Shadow God Kingdom and is at odds with the special envoy of the King of Chu Xu. His arrival at this time, could it be that he intends to...?

Upon realizing this, Xiaoming Sanren was overjoyed and immediately showed an eager expression, repeatedly praising, "Excellent! Excellent! It is truly a blessing for both countries and for all living beings that the two of you have been able to reconcile!" (End of Chapter)