Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

An army of over 200,000 set out from the capital Chang'an, heading west along the Wei River valley, passing through Longxi, and then entering the Qiang region.

This was the route of the new National Revolutionary Army's first expedition, with the intention of recovering the former dynasty's territory while also bringing together the Qiang ethnic minority areas.

Seven days after the army departed from Chang'an, it successfully crossed the Longshan Mountains and arrived at the counties of Longxi. Now, the army is ten miles away from Tianshui City.

We have now entered the Wei River basin, and the surrounding terrain gradually rises, with the entire city of Tianshui situated in the valley.

Liu Xiu, urging his warhorse, stood on a high place, gazing at Tianshui City.

He returned to the central army camp, which was nearing evening, and headed straight for the Immortal Venerable's carriage next to the central army tent.

"Immortal Lord, there is some chaos in Tianshui City. They must already know that our army is approaching the city."

Ye Xuan acquiesced, and then spoke to Liu Xiu once more:

"You don't need to ask me about everything; just do what you want."

Liu Xiu accepted the order and took his leave. In the past few days, the new National Army has been invincible.

Their force was overwhelming, and wherever they passed through a county, the garrison troops surrendered without a fight, making the recapture of the county towns effortless.

Liu Xiu believed that Tianshui City would be the same, since the garrison of a county city was at most ten thousand, how could they dare to fight against their two hundred thousand troops?

He immediately dispatched more than ten men on horseback to create a commotion below the city, waiting for the prefect to open the city gates and hand over the seal of office...

However, as time passed, night fell, and the gates of Tianshui City remained firmly closed, with no one entering or leaving.

Inside Tianshui City, in front of the rather grand prefectural government hall, Liu Chuan, the current governor of Tianshui, sat high in the main seat, while below him, many of his subordinates offered their unanimous opinions.

"Sir, the outside is swarming with the New Nationalist Army!"

"The new Nationalist army outside the city numbers over 200,000, while our garrison inside the city numbers only 12,000. How can we not surrender?"

"The Commandant is absolutely right, Your Excellency. We should open the city gates and surrender."

"..."

Since yesterday, Liu Chuan, who was seated at the head of the table, had heard so many words of persuasion to surrender that his ears were practically calloused.

He berated the crowd, saying, "Have you all forgotten the previous dynasty?!"

How can anyone follow a new dynasty that feigns superstition and reveres gods, spirits, and monsters?

The prefect of Tianshui's greatest hobby was studying metaphysics and Taoist magic, though he only learned the basics and was far from being a complete novice.

But he scoffed at the so-called Heavenly Dao Immortal Venerable and said to the crowd:

"What two battles of Chang'an? Those were just a smokescreen!"

"As for immortal magic, I also know a little bit about it. Today, I'll show you the true face of that false god."

He immediately dismissed his officers, summoned several trusted men, gave them instructions, and prepared to go out of the city to meet the enemy!

However, his preparations took a full half hour, and the vanguard of the new National Army had already arrived at the city gates, preparing to launch a strong attack on the city gates.

The tightly closed city gates were slowly pushed open, and Liu Chuan, dressed in strange clothes, appeared in the sight of the new Nationalist army, escorted by several guards.

Liu Xiu immediately recognized Liu Chuan, who was serving as the governor of Tianshui, when he was on the front lines.

Previously, when Liu Xuan gathered forces from various regions to restore the Han dynasty and jointly attacked Chang'an, he met this man once in Wancheng and exchanged a few words with him.

Judging from his current posture, could it be that he intends to fight against the more than 200,000 troops behind him all by himself?

"Liu Xiu, you little brat! It's only been three days since we last met, and I never imagined you'd be willing to submit to the rule of a false god. I misjudged you!"

When the two met again, they were on opposing sides, with 200,000 against 12,000. Liu Chuan had no choice but to bluff first.

Liu Xiu ignored his sarcasm and shouted in the direction of Tianshui City:

"I have a million-strong army behind me, and I am protected by the Celestial Venerable and the Heavenly Dao. Why don't you surrender immediately?"

He gripped the sword at his waist, ready to draw it and charge into battle at any moment, leading tens of thousands of troops to raze the bewildered city of Tianshui to the ground tonight.

On the other hand, Liu Chuan burst into laughter upon hearing Liu Xiu's words:

"What immortal venerable? If you want to talk about immortal techniques, today I will show you what true immortal techniques are like."

As soon as he finished speaking, he ordered someone to bring over a pile of ritual implements, set them up, and muttered:

"Today I will unleash divine power, causing that ancient tree to snap in two!"

Not only Liu Xiu, but everyone present looked at the location Liu Chuan pointed to, which was a dense forest outside the city gate, where there was a thick, ancient tree that had stood for hundreds of years.

Seeing that Liu Chuan seemed to be serious, the officials in Tianshui City all stared expectantly at the ancient tree.

If the Prefect truly has an explanation, then perhaps we still have a glimmer of hope...

Under everyone's expectant gaze, Liu Chuan suddenly let out a strange cry, and then the ancient tree actually broke in half.

The thick tree trunk fell straight to the ground, effectively suppressing the arrogance of the new Nationalist army.

"Um?"

Liu Xiu frowned. He thought Liu Chuan was just joking, but he didn't expect him to actually have some skills.

"how?

"You all see it, don't you? This is true, supreme power!"

Liu Chuan immediately put away the magical artifact in his hand, enjoying the astonished gazes of everyone. He truly felt that he was about to attain immortality.

Only Ye Xuan, sitting in the carriage, saw all of this.

He used the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to tell Liu Xiu, who was at the front of the army, the truth—

"You may order the archers in the army to shoot arrows into that dense forest."

Liu Xiu naturally followed the Immortal's instructions and ordered the archers who were preparing to attack the city to mount fire arrows on their crossbows.

In an instant, hundreds of arrows rained down, striking the area around the ancient tree...

"Ah, ah!"

As the flames fell, cries of agony echoed through the dark forest, and the next moment, several soldiers fled from the woods, heads in their hands.

The vanguard of the new National Army suddenly understood that this so-called magic was actually the "dog cutting down a tree principle".

When Ye Xuan used his senses to probe Tianshui City, he overheard Liu Chuan talking with his subordinates—

"You few, dressed in black and white robes, hurry to the dense forest outside the city and saw that century-old locust tree in half."

"Remember! No matter what happens, don't give yourself away."

Liu Chuan imagined that if those tales of ghosts and gods could be spread as truth, then if he were to casually demonstrate them, he should be able to frighten Liu Xiu and the others into losing their fighting spirit.

He would then lead the city's garrison into battle, and if he could cut off Liu Xiu's head, he would become a renowned prefect.

Perhaps I can even raise my arms and shout, and after Liu Xuan, seize this world—who knows…

Back in reality, everyone ridiculed Liu Chuan mercilessly. Seeing that this prefect, who had already made countless embarrassing mistakes, had run out of tricks, Liu Xiu immediately gave an order:

"Attack the city!"

The order to attack the city terrified the officials at the city gate, but Liu Chuan was still not giving up.

He sent a garrison commander from the city to confront the Han army before the battle, determined to regain some ground.

"You, go and cut Liu Xiu down from his horse!"

Unexpectedly, the city's garrison commander was beheaded by Zong Tiao within three rounds, and the bloody head rolled right in front of Liu Chuan.

Seeing this, the governor of Tianshui collapsed to the ground, and his aide felt a chill run down his spine just looking at the endless army behind Liu Xiu.

The county commandant, the imperial censor, the clerk, and others in the city completely disregarded Liu Chuan's orders and knelt down to surrender.

"We are willing to surrender! We are willing to surrender!"

Thus, the new Nationalist army reclaimed the vast city of Tianshui without lifting a finger.