The handwriting was extremely hurried and sloppy, marred by extensive crossings-out and revisions.
Even so, Sun Erlang could still make out the general thrust of the text.
Under Immortal Emperor Taixuan's rule, the immortal dynasty grew stronger with each passing day, and remarkable figures and extraordinary talents emerged in endless waves. In the struggles against the other two nations, they triumphed time and again.
The Teacher of Heaven and Earth and the Supreme Mortal Saint were forced to join hands to withstand Taixuan's might...
This development was clearly not what the scholar had truly wanted to write.
Not only was the phrasing far weaker than before, but the overall effort felt perfunctory and detached. Perhaps unable to bear it any longer, the author had abandoned the work before reaching the conclusion. Now he spent his days drinking himself into a stupor, wallowing in a daze.
Sun Erlang was not surprised by this outcome.
In the Sacred Dynasty of Great Qi, the imagery surrounding Immortal Emperor Taixuan was far too close to that of the Faceless Sacred Emperor. If the character suffered even the slightest setback in the story, the author would face widespread condemnation. Under such real-world pressure, Immortal Emperor Taixuan naturally had to enjoy smooth sailing throughout. In the long run, his strength wound up far outstripping that of the other two sages.
Yet Sun Erlang remained curious about the trajectory the author had originally envisioned.
With a thought, Sun Erlang separated a sliver of divine sense and slipped into the scholar's sea of consciousness.
Before long, amidst a jumble of chaotic thoughts, he uncovered the concepts related to the *Romance of the Threefold Division of Xuanhuang*.
To be fair, the scholar was, after all, a native citizen born and raised in the Sacred Dynasty. Having bathed in the Sacred Emperor's grace for years, his subconscious reverence dictated that in his intended ending, Immortal Emperor Taixuan would still overcome every adversity, suppress the other two sages in turn, and unify the Xuanhuang Realm.
However, the path there was filled with defeats and setbacks; at one point, he was even pushed into desperate straits, his life hanging by a thread.
Sun Erlang had to admit that, compared to the revised draft he had seen in the real world, the original plot envisioned in the scholar's mind was vastly more tumultuous and gripping.
"As they say, good prose is like viewing mountains—it abhors flatness. By comparison, that outside version is completely bland and tasteless."
Though Sun Erlang thought so, the book involved his master, so he dared not make any decisions on his own.
Shifting his form, he returned to the Holy Emperor Throne and reported the matter to Li Ping.
It was only a trivial affair, yet for some reason, it prompted the Sacred Emperor to fall silent for a long time.
"Immortal Emperor Taixuan is me, the Supreme Mortal Saint is me, and the Teacher of Heaven and Earth is also me."
At last, the Sacred Emperor spoke slowly, his words echoing through the cold Holy Emperor Throne.
Sun Erlang started, then experienced a sudden flash of insight.
Beaming with joy, he departed.
Yet Li Ping's state of mind, typically unshakable by external affairs, was stirred by this matter, sending rare, lingering ripples through his heart.
Perhaps he now understood somewhat why Chuanfa had withdrawn entirely from worldly matters and vanished from public view after establishing the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
***
The Hongze Realm.
Zhang Ming, a Golden Core cultivator tasked by the Sacred Dynasty of Great Qi with garrisoning this realm, suddenly received a report from his subordinates.
A few uninvited guests from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had breached this pocket world.
"Three Nascent Souls and seven Golden Cores."
Zhang Ming's brows knitted tightly.
Although he had immediately sent a distress message to the Sacred Dynasty, the thought of the massive vein of Kongming Flowing Crystals recently discovered here left him unable to calm the anxiety in his chest.
"This Hongze Realm is not large, and the aura carried by Kongming Flowing Crystals is exceptionally distinct. Even with my array talismans masking it somewhat, I fear it cannot escape their detection.
"It seems a battle cannot be avoided."
Zhang Ming swiftly took stock of the forces he could deploy.
Including himself, they had only five Golden Cores in total.
The disparity was vast; defeat seemed certain.
Had he chosen to retreat, the Sacred Dynasty would not have imposed severe punishment.
However, the pride of a Great Qi soldier meant that Zhang Ming could never flee without putting up a fight.
Decisive as always, Zhang Ming deployed his only Heaven-Concealing Talisman.
True to its name, the Heaven-Concealing Talisman could shroud the heavenly secrets.
As was widely known, whenever a cultivator in the Xuanhuang Realm perished, an anomaly would manifest in the sky. The life of the fallen cultivator, and even the precise details of their death, would appear with exquisite clarity across the firmament.
Under normal circumstances, this mattered little, but in a life-or-death confrontation like today's, a casualty on either side would be broadcast instantly, greatly increasing the operational difficulty.
With the Heaven-Concealing Talisman, however, the situation could be reversed—and even turned into an advantageous condition.
Not only could the talisman conceal the death anomalies, but it could also distinguish friend from foe and treat them differently.
When their side killed an enemy, no anomaly would appear. But if one of their own was slain, an anomaly would still manifest as an alert.
Though he did not understand the specific principles behind its effects, there was no doubt that this single Heaven-Concealing Talisman could tilt the odds of victory slightly in their favor.
"Relying on this talisman alone is not enough."
Zhang Ming looked down at a small white jade arrow tucked inside his robe.
"Unfortunately, given our squad's qualifications, we can requisition at most one Army-Extinguishing Arrow each time we deploy.
"If only we had a few more, let alone these Nascent Souls, I wouldn't even fear a Soul Formation expert."
The Army-Extinguishing Arrow was a downgraded version of the Sacred Dynasty's Sky-Patrolling Arrow.
Though deemed a downgraded version, it still delivered devastating strikes to cultivators at or below the Nascent Soul realm.
Furthermore, it possessed innate tracking and aura-locking capabilities; once targeted, escape was impossible.
"We only have this one. It must be utilized to the utmost."
Soon, Zhang Ming settled on a plan.
"Fu Ge!"
"Present, sir!" a mid Golden Core subordinate clad in earthy-yellow robes answered at once.
"Use the Torrent Talisman to transport these Kongming Flowing Crystals to this subterranean location." Zhang Ming marked the precise position on a map.
Without the slightest hesitation, Fu Ge took the storage ring Zhang Ming handed him.
With a flash of yellow light, he vanished from the surface.
The storage ring contained all the crystals Zhang Ming's team had mined so far—a mere fraction of the colossal vein.
However, if detonated and guided appropriately, the dispersed aura would be more than enough to attract the attention of the Alliance cultivators on the surface.
"Bing San!"
"Set up formations along the route to delay them. Remember, do not make it too easy for them, but do not deploy those lethal killing arrays either."
A sallow-faced middle-aged man acknowledged the order and departed.
***
Methodically, Zhang Ming completed the deployment of his forces in short order.
Yet even though each member possessed unique skills, they remained severely outmatched in the face of absolute strength.
An unexpected hitch occurred at the very first step of the plan.
The Alliance cultivators were by no means ordinary. The scout tasked with luring them into the ambush was named Qiu Di.
Within this squad, his escape arts were particularly outstanding.
Yet no sooner had they crossed paths than a white-robed cultivator from the Alliance trapped him with a grotto-heaven domain before he could even execute his escape technique.
This grotto-heaven domain was rather peculiar; it did not project distinct terrain, but merely cast a halo of white light that pinned Qiu Di in place.
Having exhausted every method and seeing no hope of escape, Qiu Di made a resolute decision and detonated himself, ending his own life.
Sensing his subordinate's life force vanish, Zhang Ming felt a pang in his chest and clenched his fists.
Meanwhile, the Alliance cultivators clearly had not expected their opponent to be so fierce, committing suicide at the drop of a hat.
The atmosphere turned eerie in an instant.
"Wait, Brother Lin Bai, something is wrong!" a moment later, one of them realized.
"Why is there no death anomaly?"
"Did he fake his death?"
"Doesn't look like it. His soul was indeed obliterated."
Lin Bai's expression turned grave as he looked up toward the sky.
Before long, his face darkened. "Be careful. Someone has obscured the heavenly secrets."
Though he issued the warning, the others, far from feeling afraid, grew extraordinarily excited.
"Obscured the heavenly secrets? To deploy such methods in an unremarkable pocket world like this... there must be secrets here!"
"We made wasted trips to several locations, but we're finally about to reap a harvest!"
"Even if it isn't Kongming Flowing Crystals, unearthing the secrets here would make the trip worthwhile."
***
While the group was conversing, they suddenly felt a faint tremor through the earth.
At the same time, a familiar aura surged up from underground.
"This is..."
The group froze in unison.
Then, disbelief washed over their faces. "It really is Kongming Flowing Crystals?!"
In their perception, apart from the diffusing aura of flowing crystals, several figures seemed to be flying rapidly away from the source of the subterranean tremor.
*Realizing they can't hide it, they're trying to flee?*
The thought occurred to them instinctively.
Though eager to plunge down and investigate, they remained cautious. Instead of acting rashly, they turned their eyes toward Lin Bai.
After a moment's contemplation, Lin Bai reached a swift decision.
"Split into two groups. Brother Qian, take three men to pursue the fleeing cultivators. The rest follow me."
Wasting no words, the Alliance cultivators promptly detached four people to give chase toward the horizon.
Lin Bai led the remaining team, rushing straight toward the subterranean origin of the crystal aura.
Along the way, several formations barred their path, but they breached them with ease.
"These arrays were laid down by a Nascent Soul formation master at the very least."
"Moreover, many of these array patterns are ones I have never seen before. Intriguing..."
Their excitement only mounted.
Soon, they arrived at their destination: a colossal cavity left behind by an explosion, where numerous fragments of Kongming Flowing Crystals could still be faintly seen.
"Damn! How ruthless, to destroy them directly!"
"What a waste! A fist-sized flowing crystal has already soared to fifty thousand contribution points! And that's with high demand and zero supply!"
"There are still quite a few fragments left! Pick them up, quickly, don't waste them!"
***
The Alliance group had initially maintained some semblance of order.
However, upon seeing the cavern floor littered with fragments of Kongming Flowing Crystals, greed took hold, and they could no longer restrain themselves.
Scrambling eagerly, they flew into the cavity.
Though Lin Bai was tempted as well, he habitually scanned his surroundings first.
Detecting no apparent danger, he flew in after them.
*Strange. This does not look like the original subterranean vein. Could it be a warehouse where they gathered and stored them...?*
Lin Bai picked up a small fragment of flowing crystal as this thought crossed his mind.
Just then, his expression shifted drastically.
A small white jade arrow, originating from the subterranean shadows at an unknown moment, shot silently toward the group inside the cavity.
"Careful!" Lin Bai shouted instinctively.
He pushed his grotto-heaven domain to its limit and deployed hundreds of command flags to protect himself.
Yet the white jade arrow was far faster than expected.
A blinding orb of radiant light blossomed underground.
In an instant, it swallowed every cultivator within the cavity.
Even their grotto-heavens dissolved into nothingness.
Not far away, watching the Alliance cultivators perish, Zhang Ming felt not the slightest ripple of emotion.
"Brother Qiu Di, have a safe journey."
Without dallying, Zhang Ming rushed to support the subordinates acting as bait.
Compared to his own side, their situation was wretched indeed.
Lacking devastating weapons like the Army-Extinguishing Arrow and relying solely on petty tricks to delay the enemy, they had soon been overtaken by the Alliance pursuers and plunged into a bitter fight.
By the time Zhang Ming arrived with his men, only two survivors were desperately holding out.
The Alliance cultivator surnamed Qian was still attempting persuasion: "Fellow Daoists, why go to such lengths? These are merely worldly possessions; how can they compare to your lives? We certainly have no intention of killing you..."
Though his words sounded mild, his attacks did not let up in the slightest.
The armor on Zhang Ming's body flared with a crimson radiance.
Turning into a red streak, he charged straight at Qian.
"Brother Qian, look out!"
The gap in strength was simply too vast. Even with the empowerment of combat armor, it could not bridge the chasm between Golden Core and Nascent Soul.
The opponent evaded the strike with ease.
Failing in his ambush, Zhang Ming was heavily wounded in return.
The glow of his combat armor abruptly dimmed.
"Oh? What protective treasure is that? Withstanding a full-strength strike from me without even a crack?" Qian remarked with a mixture of surprise and greed.
*It seems we are fated to die here,* Zhang Ming thought.
Yet he felt no regret.
Having stalled for so long, reinforcements from the Sacred Dynasty would surely arrive soon.
Before that massive vein of Kongming Flowing Crystals could be discovered by the Alliance, the Sacred Dynasty would reclaim this place.
*After my death, my family will be proud of me.*
*Perhaps I might even receive personal commendation from the Sacred Emperor.*
A serene calm settled over Zhang Ming's heart. Glaring at the opposing Alliance cultivators, he commanded in an icy tone: "Soul Burning!"
Hearing this, the few surviving subordinates did not hesitate in the slightest.
As their souls burned, their flagging auras suddenly erupted once more.
"Are you mad?!" the Alliance cultivators shrieked, utterly unable to comprehend.
Against men bent on dying, there was no need to clash head-on.
Even with overwhelming strength, the Alliance cultivators focused on evading to ensure they took no injuries.
The cultivation boost granted by Soul Burning gradually faded away.
Zhang Ming and his comrades finally reached the end of their lives.
Just before his consciousness slipped into oblivion, Zhang Ming thought he saw a familiar figure.
*Young General Sun?*
A sense of release filled Zhang Ming's heart.
Boundless golden light enveloped him.
Amidst a swirling river of stars, Zhang Ming seemed to behold the great Faceless Sacred Emperor.
***
Sun Erlang gathered the lingering wills of Zhang Ming and the fallen soldiers, then turned his gaze toward the Alliance cultivators.
Boundless killing intent engulfed them in an instant.
A few moments later, the Alliance cultivators were sent to accompany the warriors of the Sacred Dynasty in death.
Sun Erlang looked toward the silent sky, his thoughts stirring.
He pointed toward the heavens.
A death anomaly slowly manifested across the sky—a fabricated account of their demise that was completely at odds with the truth.
Chapter 1258