Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

However, people in the martial world are not free to do as they please; even the strongest martial artist in the mortal realm cannot do as they please.

Therefore, even though news of the Hunyuan Kung Fu had spread to more than a dozen countries around Dasheng, many elders and high-ranking members of martial arts sects did not react. They even deliberately suppressed the spread of the news, claiming that the Hunyuan Kung Fu was just a scam.

In any case, the emergence of Hunyuan Gong had a tremendous impact on the mortal martial arts world of this realm.

With almost this one secret manual alone, the Xuantian Sect managed to bring most of the martial arts world to their side.

……

After launching a coup and bringing the Gou Kingdom into the Xuantian Sect's camp, Xi Heng ordered the military to remain calm for two months and used his experience of leading tens of thousands of troops to help stabilize the Xuantian army.

During this time, he also formed the Xuan Tian Forbidden Army, which is now the strongest martial arts organization in the mortal world and is composed entirely of martial artists.

The warriors disliked being bound by rules and found it difficult to form a cohesive unit in a short period of time. So Xi Heng divided them into small teams and sent them to other neighboring countries to carry out missions of communication, disruption, subversion, or subversion.

Time quickly passed to the seventh month after the war with the Pure Fire Sect, during the Spring Festival.

A sudden coup occurred in the Yao Kingdom, located to the west of the Gou Kingdom, where a great general overthrew the corrupt and decadent old royal family and established a new dynasty.

After dividing its forces to eliminate resistance in various regions, Yao State immediately declared a united front with Gou State and recognized Xuantian Sect as the state religion.

The repeated coups have made neighboring countries increasingly vigilant.

However, starting in the seventh month, the Xuantian Sect rebels stopped putting on a show and directly raised their army, dividing it into three major forces to advance towards the surrounding small countries.

These numerous small kingdoms within the mountain range were no match for the Xuantian Sect's army. Even when they sent people south to request reinforcements from the Jinghuo Sect, they received no response.

After a brief and feeble period of resistance, the Xuantian Sect's army was able to occupy almost any place they went.

There's no need to deploy troops in an offensive formation; once they reach the city walls, someone will come and surrender within two days at most.

The Xuantian Sect did not change the situation in these surrendered small countries; the king was still the king, and the general was still the general.

The only difference was that a member of the Xuantian Sect was added to the title of king of these small countries to govern their respective territories and maintain overall stability.

If someone disagrees, replace them with another; if a group disagrees, replace them with another group.

This simple and direct approach allowed the Xuantian Sect to rapidly expand its influence.

However, after conquering six mountainous kingdoms, he amassed an army of 60,000, claiming to have 100,000.

All military personnel practice Hunyuan Gong, which has even become a basic form of education for those who join the religion or the military.

……

In October after the war, while the army was still expanding its influence, Xi Heng withdrew from a frontline where the fighting had already ended and returned to the rear.

The main altar of the Xuantian Sect was located in the capital of the Gou Kingdom, near the royal city.

Months of development and the convergence of various resources have led to a significant expansion of this capital city. Its original name has disappeared, and people now call it Xuantian Holy Capital. Roads have been built, and merchants have settled here...

Xi Heng is currently in the center of the Holy Capital, next to a newly built large palace that she designed herself.

The palace's style is mainly based on the architecture of the Great Zhao Dynasty. The beams and pillars are mostly made of golden-red nanmu wood, while the top is covered with a layer of blue glazed tiles. The blue and red colors, along with the dragon and phoenix patterns, make the building look exceptionally magnificent under the sunlight.

A gentle breeze rustled through the eaves, creating a soft, almost imperceptible sound, while the clear chirping of birds drifted from afar. If this scene were frozen in time, it would surely be a magnificent yet tranquil painting.

But she was in the kitchen, doing some rather unsettling things.

A rather large iron pot rested on the stove, and a chimney extended outwards, from which thick blue smoke rose after the woodpile was ignited by magic.

A white-haired girl with her hair casually tied in a ponytail was standing around the stove, brushing a layer of grease onto an iron pot.

The oil sheen flows smoothly over its delicate surface and then curves down to the bottom.

A few wisps of white steam rose from the oil pan. Once it reached a certain temperature, the girl grabbed a large plate of corn kernels that had been prepared beforehand and spread them on the bottom of the pan.

Then, I put the lid on the pot and clapped my hands.

"Add some sugar later, and it should be fine, right?" Xi Heng clapped his hands.

Upon arriving in this world, she decided to try making popcorn herself.

However, I've been busy dealing with the Xuantian Sect and the rebels lately, so I rarely have time for them.

Only after conquering another country did she find the time to return, bringing with her several kinds of local specialty sugars back to the main hall of the Xuantian Sect.

Then she ran to the kitchen and tried to make popcorn.

Xi Heng easily flicked his finger, sending out a wisp of fire, which stabilized the temperature of the flames below the stove and gradually increased it.

Then, he casually scooped out a spoonful of icing sugar, which was extremely expensive in those days, and sprinkled it in after lifting the lid of the pot.

With a flick of the finger, a burst of light was sent out, stirring the popcorn that had already begun to pop in the pot, ensuring it was heated evenly and burst open at the same time.

Once a small dish of corn had expanded to the size of half a large pot, she pressed her palm down, instantly extinguishing the raging flames in the stove.

Then, he picked up a bottle of thick honey and poured it in.

After stirring thoroughly, Xi Heng scooped out a little from the porcelain plate, picked up a piece, and put it to his lips.

"Hmm... the taste seems a bit different?" She tilted her head, feeling that the taste and texture were quite different from what she remembered.

It's alright, though.

Xi Heng nodded, took a small plate of honey popcorn and returned to the main hall. In the empty hall, which had only been built a few days ago, he brewed a pot of tea and ate popcorn while drinking tea.

Time slowly passed by here.

Just as they finished eating the last half of the plate, they heard footsteps coming from outside the hall.

The newcomer was a young woman with her long, dark brown hair tied up in a butterfly-shaped bun. She wore an orange robe with subtle phoenix patterns adorning its surface.

This person is the former princess of the Gou Kingdom, who was supported by Xi Heng and is now the king of Gou Kingdom. Her name is Gou Ling.

The other party stopped the guards outside the palace and came alone. Upon seeing Xi Heng, he knelt down and paid his respects.

After Xi Heng glanced at her and told her to get up, she took a deep breath and explained her purpose for getting up:

"I had no intention of disturbing Your Excellency's rest, but there are many external matters to attend to, and Your Excellency still needs to make a decision."

Every time this person comes to see me, I can't help but feel nervous.

As if he could devour her—Xi Heng thought casually, then picked up another piece of sweet popcorn and put it in his mouth, a smile playing on his lips.

He glanced again at the other person's meticulously dressed face and demeanor before picking up the plate and extending it forward, saying:

"Let's not talk about those foreign affairs for now, come and enjoy my popcorn."

"..." The other party seemed not to understand, and after a few seconds, he quickly responded: "Yes, Your Excellency the Holy Envoy."

She obeyed and stepped forward, maintaining a seemingly tense posture, ascending the many steps of the altar hall to the side of the main seat.

She gently raised her hand and hesitated before reaching for the plate that Xi Heng was holding.

Hold a crispy popcorn kernel in your hand and try to bring it to your lips.

She only took a tiny bite at first, but it made Xi Heng click his tongue and then pick up three or four more and put them towards the other person's lips.

King Goling of Gou Kingdom nervously opened his mouth, only to have four kernels of popcorn stuffed into it.

"This is how it should be eaten." The white-haired girl nodded, then pinched two more and flicked them into her mouth.

It crumbles easily with a subtle cracking sound.

Then, watching the other person chew slowly and carefully, she tilted her head and asked, "How does it taste?"

“Very…delicious.” The king of the small country quickly replied, covering his mouth and turning his head to cough lightly.

"There are still quite a few left in the pots in the kitchen next to this temple. Let's take them back and share them slowly," Xi Heng said casually.

"This dish is made by popping corn kernels. You can add sugar or salt to taste. I added powdered sugar and some honey, so it might be too sweet... You can promote it a bit when you get back, and maybe it can be improved in the future."

"Yes, Your Excellency." The other party did not raise any questions or objections.

"Now tell me, what brings you here?" The white-haired girl leaned back in her chair, looking relaxed.

Gou Ling organized his thoughts for a few seconds before saying, "News has come from the southern border that although the headquarters of the Pure Fire Sect has not yet come to attack again, the fanatics who have been driven out by various countries have spontaneously organized a force, divided into more than a dozen teams, to roam around various countries and constantly attack the missionary teams of the Xuan Tian Sect. It is roughly estimated that their number can reach tens of thousands."

"Oh." Xi Heng said indifferently, "Just send troops over and kill them all, and while we're at it, build a mound of corpses as a deterrent."

"Killing so many devout believers could trigger an early offensive by the Purification Cult," the other party said.

"The new world we are about to create will not welcome these fanatical followers of the Purification Cult," the girl said calmly. "Kill them all."

……

Volume 1: Chapter 222, Opening Drums

Seven years after reloading the save file, nearing winter.

The world is vast and desolate, the wild grass is withered, and the mountains are yellow.

Amidst a desolate landscape, on the plain, a large military headquarters, arranged in a long, serpentine formation, slowly moved through the vast wilderness.

They are returning to their base from the front lines.

The soldiers carried banners depicting two intertwined snakes and a sword, which billowed and rustled in the howling, cold autumn wind.

In this large army, the leather armor worn by the people was almost all stained with faded, dried blood.

The swords, spears, and halberds, still soaked in blood and not yet wiped clean, lost their sensitivity to light under the gloomy sky.

Clearly, they had just been through a major battle. After a brief rest and cleanup of the battlefield, they picked up their weapons again but did not retreat in formation.

However, what is somewhat strange is that there are very few casualties among the troops in front of us.

There were no severely wounded people who were not carried on stretchers or placed on tanks, nor were there any corpses that were taken back to their hometowns by their comrades for burial. Instead, there were only supply wagons loaded with supplies and a large number of various weapons that had been captured.

Most of them were agricultural tools such as pitchforks, sickles, and hoes; the better ones were slightly modified broadswords; and real spears, swords, and shields were only a few.

It can be seen that the enemy that just fought was a group of militiamen or logistics soldiers who lacked organization, discipline and military experience.

When the army charged, the enemy forces quickly collapsed within moments.

People either fled or died; the vanguard army could annihilate more than half of the enemy after a period of orderly pursuit.

This battle was quite simple for the Xuan Tian Sect army, which had already experienced many battles.

They encountered absolutely no resistance; as soon as the order to charge was given, the untrained enemy would immediately scatter and never be able to regroup.

Then came the relentless pursuit.

Half a day later, the great battle finally came to an end.

The Xuan Tian Sect army fought from dawn when the two armies met until noon, leaving only one side's army cleaning up the battlefield and a large number of corpses from the other side.

Later, the nearby bodies were collected and piled up together.

The corpses of distant enemies were transported by chariots. When there were not enough chariots, grain was unloaded from supply wagons and used as transport wagons.

After another half-day of busy work, it was almost dusk when the bodies from the battlefield, stretching for miles, were finally gathered and piled up into a pyramid shape several meters high.

A burst of fire ignited, burning the corpse.

The corpses dressed in linen were quite flammable, and before long, flames that started from the corners quickly spread to the entire flesh pyramid.

The scorching heat and black smoke billowed into the sky, while the reddish-yellow flames swayed slightly in the strong wind.

The smoky smell of burnt metal mixed with the sweet musky scent of burning brain matter, along with the strange stench emanating from the human body's bacteria, intestines, pancreas, and other organs, all made the military personnel feel uncomfortable.

So, once the entire pyramid of corpses began to burn, the general ordered a return journey.

People gazed at the thick black flames that had already covered a large part of the sky, and the dim yellow light of the setting sun peeking out from under the western clouds, and left, carrying their weapons on their backs or shoulders.

The rear side was engulfed in flames, making the entire pyramid of corpses resemble a giant oil lamp or candle, burning brightly for a long time.

Three days later, the embers gradually died down, with only the interior still smoldering.

The surface of the entire pyramid of corpses, which was once a rotten, swampy black, was transformed by the flames into a grayish-white color, resembling a pile of dust.

Ashes scattered, and tiny white specks drifted down from the sky like snowflakes.

This snow, which wasn't cold, lasted a long time...

Seven days later, news of the Xuan Tian Sect's army massacring the followers of the Jing Huo Sect spread throughout the Great Sheng and its surrounding countries.

When people first heard this, they didn't think it was any important news, because the Xuantian Sect had been hostile to the Jinghuo Sect since its inception. The Jinghuo Sect had also captured many Xuantian Sect believers and missionaries, and some extremist factions would even have them burned alive in the city square as a death sentence.

The Xuantian Sect retaliated in kind, though still cruel and ruthless, it was not surprising.

But when images of the Jingguan (a mound of corpses) began to circulate in secret, and as rumors spread, the number of victims was exaggerated, things began to change.

The tens of thousands of fanatical believers who were killed and whose bodies were piled up into mountains called themselves the 'pilgrimage army'.

The word "pilgrimage" is the most fundamental lifeline of the entire Pure Fire Sect, and even the lifeline of the so-called "immortals" above.

Although the Xuantian Sect had previously promised to end the sacrificial rites, this time they actually took a very serious action.