Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

Unfortunately, while the divine tree brought power, it also confined the southern soldiers to this place.

Most of the generals were skilled in martial arts and unwilling to advance north. Although the Zhao army wanted to recover several northern cities, they did not take any action for a long time.

After the war, autumn came and another year of harvest arrived.

Emperor Chuxiao and Goddess Chitian issued new policies, including collecting information on cultivators and setting up unemployed positions for independent cultivators in various places, attempting to bind these unaffiliated cultivators to the government.

At the same time, the new policy also increased its attention to various sects. The Taoist sect, which only cared about cultivating itself and not caring about worldly affairs, was fine, but the Buddhist sect was suddenly subject to stricter control.

They started to nitpick, almost like picking bones out of an egg, calculating the pros and cons of temples in various places.

Once any disorder was discovered, large amounts of land were confiscated from the temple.

Now that the Pure Fire Sect has become the state religion, the influence of other sects has inevitably weakened, and many disciples of Buddhist temples have returned to secular life.

They could only watch helplessly as the new policies slowly plundered their assets and land, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Many monks were dissatisfied and tried to communicate with Tianliang.

However, Tianliang itself has much more internal troubles than they do. It has now been subtly divided into several factions, and both the conservative and centrist factions want to stop here and not advance north anymore.

Only a very small number of factions still wanted to follow Fang Tiande's wishes and advance north to fight again, but their numbers were too few to make the decision.

Having spent so many years in Jinshi City, Fang Tiande felt that his subordinates and former friends were gradually leaving him.

Many of those who swore brotherhood together and vowed to build a great enterprise have lost their former sincerity.

Even if they forced the army to continue north, their morale would be lowered, making them easy targets for the Zhao army...

Silently and imperceptibly, the tide had turned.

Even though the world is not yet truly stable, his Tianliang (天梁) has already reached its end.

"If only we could have pressed on in one fell swoop back then..."

"That's enough, it's not time to be discouraged. There may still be opportunities in the future." Fang Tiande had no choice but to temporarily stabilize the various factions under his command, thinking that he would wait for the right opportunity to start a new career.

Two years passed in this way, and then came the twelfth year of the divine descent.

The opportunity he hoped for never came; instead, the Southern Army of the Great Zhao and the Pure Fire Sect Army joined forces and surrounded Jinshi City from the north and east.

The red flag bearing the character "Zhao" fluttered and whistled incessantly.

The heavily armored army shone brilliantly under the golden light of the divine tree, and from the city walls, one could see the golden light covering the mountains and plains.

The cultivators of the Pure Fire Sect held up a giant ball of fire, several meters in diameter, in front of the battle formation. It shone brightly like a newborn sun, its power unknown.

When the giant fireball arrived at the city gate, an envoy stepped through the air, unfurled an imperial edict, and read out the crimes of the people of Tianliang.

First, they invited and threatened him to surrender, and then they bluntly said: If anyone can bring Fang Tiande's head and surrender, he can atone for Tianliang's sins and be appointed as a general, continuing to command his army.

After hearing this, the Tianliang man on the city wall only cursed at him a few times.

However, several eyes were also secretly sweeping towards Fang Tiande, their thoughts unknown.

Fifteen minutes later, the fireball on the city wall grew even larger and rose high into the air, scattering light that illuminated a kilometer away.

The unstable spiritual energy was accumulating within, as if it would explode at any moment.

The soldiers on the city wall instinctively panicked and retreated—once this raging fire exploded, even a general with spiritual powers could protect himself, but ordinary soldiers like them would not survive.

Outside the city, the army was arrayed in perfect formation, with newly built advanced catapults and other siege weapons being pushed to the front lines one by one.

Today, the catapults used by the Great Zhao are no longer ordinary boulders, but bombs filled with gunpowder. After several years of development, the Great Zhao has researched and replicated Yan Meng's siege tactics, and made them even more stable.

Most of Yan Meng's projectiles will not explode after they are thrown.

Later, the great alchemist Zhao changed the shape of the bullet, replaced the material of the fuse, and engraved a faint fire symbol on it. This greatly reduced the defects such as misfires and improved the explosive power.

The troops parted, and the weapons moved forward.

After the messenger made his third attempt to persuade them to surrender, only to be met with a curse, a cold female voice rang out from the Zhao army.

Immediately, the war drums sounded in unison, and the horns blared in unison.

Amidst flashes of light, the formation shifted, and the giant fireball, which had flown a hundred meters high, gradually sank.

Another method was to build a wide staircase towards the city wall, replacing the dangerous cloud ladder, so that shield-bearing soldiers could stand at the front of the battle.

The Zhao army was orderly, and its formations changed as the messengers' voices echoed.

The catapult was launched, and the pitch-black pills were thrown out in an arc, hitting the city wall with a loud bang.

The defensive equipment of Tianliang was relatively backward. When they encountered cultivators who used earth magic to build ladders, most of their equipment became useless.

Only magic can counter magic. Fang Tiande activated the curse talismans on his subordinates' brows, causing them to transform into ferocious monsters that charged violently towards the enemy army.

The fireball in the air suddenly accelerated its descent, crashing straight towards the city wall like a meteorite from outer space.

A blinding burst of light erupted instantly, rapidly expanding and engulfing large sections of the city wall.

The deafening roar caused everyone's ears to ring, and both the attackers and defenders around the city closed their eyes tightly and held their hands in front of them, pausing for a moment.

A moment later, when they came to their senses, they saw that the city wall had been blasted into a huge hole.

The fluttering banners of Tianliang turned into tattered cloth, and the elite soldiers on them were reduced to pieces of flesh and blood, scattered among the ruins of the city walls.

The sturdy city wall was reduced to countless small pieces piled up below, where survivors still wailed in agony.

Immediately afterwards, the Southern Army of the Great Zhao charged forward, stepping over the corpses and remains of the enemy to enter the city, turning the siege into street fighting with overwhelming numerical superiority...

Three days later, Fang Tiande was wounded and forced to retreat by the Crimson Goddess's sword, and Jinshi City fell.

Zhao Chuxiao entered the city and led the survivors in mourning the soldiers who died in this battle.

After a seven-day rest following the victory banquet, the army was ordered to pursue the enemy again and head south.

The Zhao army marched for several days and captured Jian'an City.

Just as they were about to continue south to take control of the two important cities of Yangling and Suicheng, before they could even set out, they received news from a general in Tianliang.

The other party claimed that he had captured Fang Tiande while he was injured, sealed his magic power and severed his meridians, and seized power in the Tianliang army. He was willing to abandon the darkness and surrender to the Great Zhao, only asking His Majesty to grant him the title of general, and he would do his best to serve the country without hesitation.

The letter was quickly delivered to Zhao Chuxiao's desk—she had made a promise when she attacked the city, and now she naturally agreed to it, so they arranged a meeting place for her to lead her troops.

The two armies met on the plain. The newly appointed general of Tianliang bowed his head and submitted to the emperor, and brought Fang Tiande, who had been ravaged and covered in sores, with disheveled and damp hair.

Although the rebel leader was still burly, he looked like a haggard and weakened wild bear kneeling on the ground, his Achilles tendons ruptured and his knees bleeding.

Zhao Chuxiao nodded, signaling the eunuch behind him to take out the imperial edict, read it aloud, and hand it to the person who had submitted to him.

Then he presented them with the armor, command, and tally of the Great Zhao general to identify them, and ordered them to count the remaining Tianliang soldiers and complete the plan within a month, and include them in the Great Zhao army.

After this series of procedural matters were completed, General Zhao Wanli, who was in charge of the troops, stepped forward to accept the new general and take charge of the merger and surrender of the military headquarters.

With the Tianliang Rebellion over, Zhao Chuxiao led his imperial guards, maids, eunuchs, and others back to Xiuzhou.

Incidentally, they also took Fang Tiande, who was already extremely weak, along the way. They exchanged a few words on the way, and after returning to the city, they locked him in the dungeon.

The territory occupied by Tianliang has finally been returned, but the people's livelihood there has been severely damaged and can only be slowly restored with the coordination of the central region.

Fortunately, after the divine tree descended, the annual grain yield was higher than the previous year. Moreover, because cultivators' magic could also increase farming efficiency and even directly promote crop growth, the grain yield of the central region was enough to supply the entire Great Zhao Kingdom.

From then on, the southern region was at peace and enjoyed a brief period of leisure.

After busying herself with civil and political affairs for a while, Zhao Chuxiao turned her attention to the north.

She had heard that as long as one broke through the Qi Refining stage and advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage, one could travel freely without any restrictions.

If a few generals could reach the Foundation Establishment stage, perhaps they could reclaim the northern territories and even advance towards Yan Meng's vast grasslands...

With this in mind, Zhao Chuxiao began collecting cultivation manuals, elixir formulas, talismans, and magical artifacts from all over the world, seeking a truly effective and highly successful method for advancement.

Currently, some geniuses have reached the tenth level of Qi Refining, but no one has truly advanced.

Most of those who attempted to advance failed; some suffered severe injuries, their meridians were severed, some died on the spot, and some experienced a profound mental upheaval.

After research, Chu Xiao determined that the world was currently lacking a type of elixir that aided in advancement—the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Although in theory, even without the assistance of spiritual objects, cultivators have a 50% chance of successfully advancing in rank.

However, that was just an ancient theory, and the world has changed so much that it is no longer possible to apply this theory.

They had no choice but to try refining Foundation Establishment Pills to see if they could help people achieve Foundation Establishment.

With the formula in hand, Zhao Chuxiao searched far and wide for rare herbs and spiritual flowers, asking renowned alchemists among the cultivators to refine it, but he failed to succeed even once in seven attempts.

Subsequent analysis revealed that the alchemist lacked the experience to refine such a high-level elixir, and the materials at hand were also subpar—these mortal herbs had only begun to absorb spiritual energy in the last ten years or so, and even if they had grown for a sufficient number of years, their medicinal effects were still completely insufficient.

In addition, generally speaking, alchemists need to achieve Foundation Establishment and reach the mid-to-late stage of the second tier before they are able to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.

However, spiritual cultivation methods in this world have only been revived for a little over a decade, and there are simply no alchemists with such high skill levels, nor are there materials with sufficient medicinal efficacy.

These two conditions have almost become a vicious cycle, trapping all ordinary cultivators in the Great Zhao Dynasty here. If they want to advance further, they must face enormous risks.

For a time, even those talented cultivators who had reached the peak of Qi Refining dared not take the risk of taking another step forward.

……

Fifteen years after the divine intervention, the Zhao state remained generally stable.

The barbarians who caused the riots in the West have been defeated, and apart from the northern territories still being in Yan Meng's hands, everything else is relatively safe.

If we ignore the cities in the north, the country can be described as peaceful and prosperous. After many years of reforms, the government is also considered to be in a state of political harmony and social stability.

However, the north cannot be ignored. Within the Great Zhao, whether it be the common people, officials, or courtiers, everyone hopes to reclaim the lost territories in the north.

Furthermore, good news also arrived at this time—although the imperial palace had not yet been able to produce the Foundation Establishment Pill, the Crimson Goddess of the Pure Fire Sect had created a spirit-locking talisman that could preserve the spiritual power within the body outside the shroud of the divine tree, and it could be mass-produced.

With the method of locking spirits, soldiers are now able to lead troops out into the world.

However, Zhao Chuxiao did not directly order an advance—the Great Zhao side had improved, but Yan Meng's side had also held more than ten White Dragon Sacrifices every year, sacrificing many living beings in exchange for dragon power, and now their combat strength was unknown.

She prefers to know herself and her enemy before engaging in battle, and is unwilling to act rashly.

Therefore, he first sent a team of imperial guards with spirit-locking talismans to the north to gather intelligence.

A month later, the imperial sash returned, but only half of it remained.

The important intelligence it brought was that Yan Meng had recently been worshipping the underground gray dragon, and that every so-called grand sacrifice held over the past ten years was a day when the gray dragon would feed.

After feeding, the gray dragon will give its essence and blood to Yan Meng's elite troops, adding to their dragon power.

It is said that the gray dragon was once in a state of utter decay, but after ten years of sacrifice, it has regained its strength and seems to be about to break free from its restraints.

The gray dragon is incredibly powerful. If it breaks free and assists Yan Meng, the Great Zhao Dynasty may be in grave danger...

In order to bring back this information, several people died, and the survivors were also covered in wounds.

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiao announced at the court assembly the next day that he would lead his troops north and hire talisman masters from all over the country to expedite the production of spirit-locking talismans, mass-producing enough to meet the needs of the main force of the Great Zhao army for half a year.

Seven days later, the troops were fully prepared and set off from the city for the northern expedition.

Zhao Chuxiao led the vanguard, using a spirit-locking talisman to protect the spiritual light within her body, and quietly watched the divine tree gradually recede into the distance.

This was the first time in ten years that she had left her cultivation grounds, and she felt as if she had been in another world.

Ten years ago, she was just a princess with only a name in the imperial city; ten years later, she is a king who has created a great empire...

Memories lingered for a long time, and when I came to my senses, the bright moon was already shining high in the sky.

After resting all night, they continued their advance the next morning, and by dusk they arrived at the first major city that Yan Meng had captured.

The defending troops were few in number and were easily captured by Zhao's army.

Without the need for cultivators to use magic, conventional military force was enough to crush the garrison.

After resting for a day, the army continued its journey.

Ten days later, the army arrived at the northern capital, formed a large formation to surround the city, and faced the defending troops of Yan Meng who were prepared on the city walls.

From the side, soldiers from the Pure Fire Sect stepped forward, took out the talismans they carried, and used their magic to create a huge fireball.

As the cultivator's cultivation level increased over time, the fireball he gathered at this moment was twice as large as when he attacked Jinshi. The raging fire rose from the dark clouds like a newborn sun in the sky.

The city was filled with fear, and even Yan Mengren, who was rumored to be fearless of death, couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Just as the fireball coalesced and rose high into the sky, slowly growing larger, several deep dragon roars suddenly echoed from within the city.

Then, the earth trembled.

The buzzing sound of something enormous moving drew closer...

The muffled dust and booming sound were like thunder in the clouds, or the sound of ten thousand horses galloping.

The city walls trembled and dust rose. The Pure Fire Sect cultivators outside the city sensed something was wrong and threw down fireballs in advance.

As the fireball fell, just halfway down the wall, a gray dragon head, tens of meters wide and long, suddenly rose from behind the city wall, its huge mouth full of fangs opening wide, and fiercely bit the fireball in the air.