Nearly an eon later, Haotian sat on his throne in the mobile fortress, the Jade Peak Fortress. His fingers drummed on the armrest as he listened to his attendants report on the ongoing situation.
The war between the Three Realms and the Tengri Chaos World intensified. The more blood spilled, the faster the restriction disappeared in the World Nexus. After the one time Tengri exchanged blows with Shitian, he never took action again.
With Tongtian's authorization, Haotian led his Jade Peak Army into the World Nexus. The Tengri army's dominance of the land shifted to the Three Realms. The army of immortals slaughtered and bled the mortals of the Tengri Chaos World dry.
Under Haotian's orders, his army conquered land after land until it almost reached the edge of the Tengri Chaos World. Before Haotian could completely take over the World Nexus, the Tengri Chaos World counterattacked.
The Tengri Chaos World dispatched an even larger army of mortals and shamans who displayed combat prowess ranging from Earth Immortals to Sky Immortals. A bloody battle ensued, and the alien army pushed Haotian's army back to the middle zone.
From there, a long, drawn-out battle ensued.
Haotian would devise and implement strategies focused on killing the greatest number of mortals possible, regardless of the price. The more mortals he killed, the more Karmic Merit the Three Realms would award him. Despite his army of Earth Immortals and Sky Immortals, Haotian paid a large price.
As Sacred Mother Wudang once commented, the Tengri Chaos World possessed a terrifying information network. Haotian once deployed three legions, each using the same tactic. The first one that arrived succeeded in dyeing the land with the Tengri army's blood. However, the second two were much less successful, as if the enemy army knew precisely what the two regiments' tactics were.
It wasn't just that one instance. Every tactic Haotian used would no longer possess the same effectiveness, and the Tengri army always seemed to know the general locations of the immortal army. Because of that, his secret operations had a large chance of failing.
As the war dragged on, it became evident that the Three Realms held the advantage in terms of quality, but the Tengri Chaos World possessed superior quantity in addition to superior tactics and strategy thanks to their complex information network.
While Haotian acted as the vanguard, pushing forward as much as possible, Yaochi deployed the celestial legion. She chose a slow and steady approach. Haotian handed over the backline position to Yaochi, where she fortified and guarded with her soldiers, freeing Haotian's soldiers.
Still, as time passed, Haotian abandoned his offensive strategy for a defensive one. If he defended one territory, Yaochi defended three, causing her name to slowly rise to prominence.
Once her prestige rose, the news that meritorious spiritual artifacts would be rewarded to the highest contributors against the Tengri army spread. Numerous loose immortals joined the war and led the assault. In contrast, Yaochi commanded her soldiers to stay on the defensive and allowed the overeager loose immortals to play the role of a canary.
Although her soldiers did not contribute much, the death rate was much lower. It was an open scheme to use the loose immortals as cannon fodder, but those cannon fodders were willing. Had Yaochi allowed, many of her soldiers were also willing to lead the charge in order for a chance to obtain a meritorious spiritual artifact.
During this period, Haotian seemed to have turned silent, a stark contrast to the first time he led the advancement toward the Tengri Chaos World.
As time passed, both sides started settling down, and a stalemate appeared. Just as it seemed that the two sides would remain peaceful and no longer battle, the situation changed.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the restriction on Profound Immortals has disappeared. The thirty-six hundred Profound Immortals can sortie at any moment," Haotian's attendant reported.
Haotian slapped his throne. "Good. Mobilize them immediately, I'll lead the charge."
"W-what?" the Golden Immortal stammered out. "You mustn't, Your Majesty! It's too dangerous."
However, Haotian ignored his attendant's persuasion and led the regiment of thirty-six hundred Profound Immortals.
Haotian hadn't been idle during his period of inactivity. He had used his Vast Heaven Mirror to scry upon the Tengri invaders, seeking chinks in their armor. He found many, some small and some large. However, he exposed none of this because he knew that he only had one chance to make it count.
And now was the time to make it count.
Haotian absorbed the thirty-six hundred Profound Immortals into his Eight Treasure Vast Heaven Pagoda. Its primary purpose was to imprison Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament and below and gather the power of the sun, moon, and stars, but it could also act as a vehicle, like he just demonstrated.
He flew into the sky until the boundary turned chaotic. Although the World Nexus acted as a stable link between the two chaos worlds, it did not mean it was completely safe. A single strike from dimensional waves would injure even a Quasi-Saint like Haotian, hence the need to store the Profound Immortals. In addition, it also diluted the power of the stars, shutting down one of the prominent features of the Eight Treasure Vast Heaven Pagoda.
Still, Haotian's cultivation base was no longer restricted in the turbulent space, significantly increasing his ability to resist the dimensional waves. He successfully maneuvered through the turbulence until he was directly above the largest military camp of the Tengri army, consisting of over thirty million mortals and an unaccountable number of shamans.
Haotian didn't attempt to hide his presence as he knew that once one shaman knew, every one of them would know. Instead, he shot straight down at his fastest speed. Before anyone could react, Haotian had already appeared at the camp's center, destroying the protective barrier and releasing all thirty-six hundred Profound Immortals.
The thirty-six hundred Profound Immortals immediately started unleashing spell after spell, killing all the mortals in sight. In less than a minute, the Tengri army's casualties had already reached an astonishing three million.
However, Haotian did not pay attention to any of that. He saw the shamans praying to their Skyfather and summoning his powers. He snorted, and the palm-sized pagoda of silver and gold released eight rays of light. Every shaman the light touched immediately shot toward the Eight Treasure Vast Heaven Pagoda, trapped within its confines.
The Eight Treasure Vast Heaven Pagoda contained a miniature world within, and all those inside could be disconnected from the outside with a single thought from Haotian. As long as he trapped the shamans before they could call upon the power of their god, they were basically mortals to Haotian, even with his cultivation base suppressed to the Profound Immortal Realm.
Haotian's blitzkrieg continued successfully without any hiccups. The mortal army was in disarray and panic, causing them not to be able to devote their prayers to the shamans. Most shamans were too slow to call upon their Skyfather's blessing, and the Profound Immortals combined their might to kill the few that did quickly.
When around eight million mortal soldiers died, Haotian noticed a change. He turned his head toward the energy source that attracted his attention. He could sense a powerful force that rivaled his own suppressed state. 'Did Tengri come? No, he would have used another method to appear and attack."
'Was it a stationed shaman who received information and rushed over after receiving a blessing? No, I wouldn't feel so wary otherwise.’ Still, whoever it was, he would not back down. The Vast Heaven Sword, an acquired spiritual artifact he refined, appeared in his free hand.
Moments later, Haotian caught sight of the source. His features resembled the Tengri Chaos World mortals but with far fairer skin. His white clothing only accented the whiteness of his skin.
When he appeared, a wave of excitement spread through the Tengri army as those who noticed him started to chant, "Ulgen! Ulgen Ulgen!" People who heard the cries also looked up and started chanting too.
Haotian frowned. Through his use of the Vast Heaven Mirror, he learned of the numerous gods that were considered aspects of Tengri. Ulgen was one of them, and he was considered the god of light. Haotian could sense that Ulgen should have a similar cultivation base to him before the imposed restriction.
There were ninety-nine gods in the Tengri Chaos World. Did every one of those gods have a cultivation base equal to a Quasi-Saint? Haotian didn't think so. Although the Tengri Chaos World had existed longer, it was only a third of the Three Realm's size, so it was impossible to house so many Quasi-Saints.
However, this was food for thought for after the battle. Haotian couldn't let the Tengri army break out of its panic state. Thus, he had to strike down Ulgen with overwhelming force and crush the mortal army's spirit.
Haotian's sword glowed a brilliant white as he charged at Ulgen. His figure turned into a streak of white, resembling that of a shooting star. His eyes widened when he saw Ulgen's body and clothes turn pure white and shift from his slash.
He glanced at his surroundings and caught trails of light. Ulgen had transformed his body into pure light, almost like a light elemental. Furthermore, Haotian could sense a familiar yet unfamiliar sensation from him, the Law of Light.
A smile graced Haotian's lips. It seemed his operation would yield far more gains than he expected.
White light shrouded Haotian's body as he chased after the ray of light Ulgen had transformed into. The shamans and mortals could only see two streaks of light clashing against one another. The Profound Immortals also stared, but Haotian's transmission into their minds broke them out of their stupor, and they resumed their attacks on the Tengri army.
Ulgen darted away from Haotian and attempted to kill the Profound Immortals. From their brief clash, he discovered that Haotian's power exceeded his. Although he was faster, it was not by much.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"You don't understand the law at all, do you?" Haotian asked as he slashed his sword. Ulgen was too slow to react, and the sword sliced through him. Although no wound remained, his body dimmed.
"Although it exudes the charm of one of the three thousand laws, your control over it is laughable," Haotian said.
Ulgen's face twisted in anger as he roared. "Shut up! You know nothing about the great powers bestowed upon me by the great Skyfather!"
"Flee!" Haotian roared as he disappeared into the distance.
Light erupted from Ulgen's body, incinerating everything that it touched. Although there was no heat, the scene was reminiscent of a star going supernova.
When the light died down, Haotian saw a massive crater where the Tengri camp used to exist. He gnashed his teeth. Of the thirty-six hundred Profound Immortals he brought, six hundred had perished. Six hundred!
Golden Immortals were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns in the current Three Realms, so Profound Immortal represented one of the strongest combat powers in the Three Realms. Even for Haotian, it took a considerable amount of effort to gather them.
What angered him the most was that he failed to capture Ulgen. Haotian doubted the enemy god died. Considering that shamans could revive, he doubted one of ninety-nine gods wouldn't have the same benefits.
"Let's return," Haotian ordered. At least he forced Ulgen to kill his own believers, the remaining shamans and mortals of the army camp.
Unlike his entry, Haotian didn't use the turbulent space above the World Nexus. He had already used it once and didn't doubt that the enemy might assemble a blockade to kill him. Perhaps Tengri might take action personally.
On the route back, Haotian saw no signs of the alien army. No doubt, news of what happened had already spread, and they evacuated before he could take action. Still, he ordered the Profound Immortal to destroy and dismantle any barrier and fortress along the way.
Upon returning to Jade Peak Palace, Haotian heard his attendant's report. Yaochi had also used this chance to attack and gain more territory from the Tengri Chaos World. She didn't use blitzkrieg like him. Instead, she attacked with overwhelming force from the front. After the overwhelming victory with her army, Yaochi awarded the meritorious spiritual artifacts to those with the most military merits.
Haotian also ordered his standing army to march forward and capture as much territory as possible. He doubted they would be able to capture all the way to the heart of the enemy's land, but it should still account for a sizable amount.
After that, Haotian sealed the throne hall and began cultivating. Although faint, he could feel the stream of Karmic Merit entering him. He glanced at the Eight Treasure Vast Heaven Pagoda in his palm and, with but a thought, exterminated all the shamans within.
Instantly, he felt the flow of Karmic Merit Increased. Haotian smiled. With this much, it should be enough to advance his stagnant cultivation base by a minor level. In other words, he would finally enter the Intermediate Quasi-Saint Realm!
Hundreds of years passed while Haotian cultivated. The Jade Peak Army quieted down without Haotian's influence. They only focused on defending their territories from the Tengri Chaos World. One day, immense pressure burst from the throne hall of Jade Peak Palace.
The pressure continued to grow. One thousand li, two thousand li, four thousand li, eight thousand li, fifteen thousand li, thirty thousand li, fifty thousand li, finally stopping at sixty thousand li.
On his throne, Haotian smiled. He had finally entered the Intermediate Quasi-Saint Realm. With a wave of his hand, a beautiful feather seemingly sculpted out of sapphire emerged. It radiated a flame of white-blue, but despite its brightness, it exuded a terrifying chill.
The Lunar Phoenix Heart was something the Dragon Clan had gained after killing the world's sole Lunar Phoenix. The East Sea Dragon King, Ao Guang, had gifted this to Haotian as a representation of their relationship after Haotian repaired the two side's cooperation from the debacle between Sovereign Shennong and Ao Bing.
Haotian knew that Ao Guang had an ulterior motive. Gifting him an innate spiritual artifact would burden Haotian with a large amount of karma, especially if he used it to form his Corpse. Still, Haotian did not stop, and a figure emerged from his body and into the Lunar Phoenix Heart.
A white-blue glow erupted from the innate spiritual artifact, and when it died down, a man in the prime of his life stood in front of Haotian. He bore a sixty to seventy percent similarity to Haotian, but his face was impassive as if he had been born with no emotion—no emotion except for pride, as his eyes seemed to look down at all life.
"You are Wushang, my Evil Corpse," Haotian said. Wushang said nothing and merged into Haotian's body. Afterward, he summoned his attendant for a briefing of what had happened during his years of secluded cultivation.
While he had cultivated, the prestige he gained from his blitzkrieg wowed the Three Realms. Many people entered the World Nexus to congratulate him. Some wanted to follow him, while others wanted to establish a connection with him. A few friends had also joined.
"Haha, Daoist Kong, if you had told my followers to inform me, I would have come out to greet you," Haotian said as he walked into the courtyard where Kong Xuan stayed. Beside Kong Xuan, Jinchi sat with a bored expression.
"How can I disturb Daoist Haotian's retreat?" Kong Xuan said, causing the two to laugh. After a few more pleasantries, he said, "Actually, the reason we came here was to ask to participate in the war against the aliens."
Haotian stilled. He didn't know why Kong Xuan and Jinchi wanted to join. Logically, loose immortals like them without any burden would not easily join the war unless they had no choice. Why should a free Quasi-Saint like them join? Was it not the Saints' duty to protect the Three Realms?
Although he didn't know the reason, and he would not ask, Haotian still accepted Kong Xuan and Jinchi. No matter what the reason, the two represented a Half-Saint and a Quasi-Saint. Haotian would be a fool to turn down the offer.
He didn't immediately dispatch Kong Xuan and Jinchi. To do so would be foolish; he would lose the element of surprise for minor benefits. Not only that, but it would wear down the goodwill of the two. Haotian didn’t want to pick up the sesame seed only to lose the watermelon.
Kong Xuan and Jinchi settled down in Jade Peak Palace while Haotian started directing the war front. The sudden offense of the Jade Peak Army caught the Tengri army off guard, allowing the Jade Peak Army to gain more territory.
However, their main goal was still to eliminate as many mortals as possible, so after killing their fill, they retreated a fair distance and claimed only a portion of the land they conquered, allowing the Tengri army to retake some of their lost territories.
From there, the situation entered a stalemate again. The Tengri army wanted to break through the defensive line held up by the Three Realms while the Three Realms waited for the restriction on Golden Immortals to disappear.
In the coming years, the territory of both sides changed numerous times, but no substantial victories or losses occurred.
----------------------------------------
Haotian's eyes opened and exuded a majestic light. All those who stared into his eyes would turn blind. The radiance dimmed, but his irises remained an intense white. "Finally."
He stood up from his throne and summoned all the Golden Immortals and Profound Immortals under his command. Despite his years of accumulation, he only had less than a hundred Golden Immortals. Adding up to the dragons lent by the Dragon Clan, he had around one hundred and twenty. Also in attendance were Kong Xuan and Jinchi. They didn't stand with the other officials but at the same level as him.
The Eight Treasure Vast Heaven Pagoda appeared in Haotian's hand. Like before, it released eight rays of light that sucked in all the Golden Immortals and Profound Immortals. With the preparations done, Kong Xuan and Jinchi followed Haotian as he led them out using a secret passage. To fool the enemy, you must fool your allies first.
Upon reaching the ground, Haotian turned toward Kong Xuan and cupped his hand. "I'll be relying on fellow Daoist Kong."
"Leave it to me," Kong Xuan said without a hint of nervousness.
Kong Xuan waved his hand, and earth qi flowed out from him, encasing the trio in a yellow sphere. The sphere sunk into the ground, far below most sensory techniques.
Haotian had already used the sky to sneak into the Tengri army's backline. To do so again was asking to be punished; hence he relied on Kong Xuan's mastery of the Law of Earth to sneak beneath the ground. Although traveling by ground was slower than the sky, allowing the enemy to accumulate their defenses, it was the best option for Haotian.
The journey underground was uneventful, and nearly a day later, Kong Xuan said. "We're here. Prepare yourself."
Both Haotian and Jinchi raised their guard as the sphere rose. The moment it surfaced from the ground, Haotian released the Golden Immortals and Profound Immortals inside the Eight Treasure Vast Heaven Pagoda. They immediately started to attack, but Haotian frowned.
Over ten powerful auras that exceeded the Golden Immortal Realm despite being restricted to it entered Haotian's senses. Furthermore, the number of mortals did not match the information he gathered. 'Did they trick my Vast Heaven Mirror's scrying powers? No, this isn't the camp I wanted to attack!'
Haotian was sure that he had entered the enemy's main camp. Even he was not so foolish as to attack the main headquarters of the enemy again, so he chose to attack the third most important headquarters. "Kong Xuan!"
"Don't worry, just continue as planned," Kong Xuan said without a change in his voice. Immediately after, he sped off toward one of the Tengri Chaos World's gods. Jinchi followed behind him.
Haotian gritted his teeth. He never expected Kong Xuan would choose to ignore the plan and bring him to the most dangerous location. Just what in the world would motivate him to do such a reckless act?
"Blasphemer!" Haotian didn't have time to ponder as Ulgen soared toward him, flanked by a god exuding the aura of wood and a bird-shaped god.
Left with no choice, an aura of light shrouded him as he engaged in battle against the Tengri gods. Soon after, two more gods joined the battle against Haotian. Although he could hold his own against three gods, five suppressed him.
Haotian gnashed his teeth. Why didn't they gang up on Kong Xuan? With his Half-Saint Realm cultivation base, he should have been more than enough to kill the Tengri gods. He turned toward Kong Xuan to see him fighting against two Tengri gods while Jinchi fought against one. The two remaining gods were attacking and killing the Golden Immortals and Profound Immortals.
"Kong Xuan, stop playing around and hurry up and kill them!" Haotian yelled.
Kong Xuan ignored Haotian's cry as he stared at his two foes. One was a shapely woman of blue skin wearing bronze armor and a halberd in hand. She was Umay, the Tengri Chaos World's goddess of earth. The other was his true target and the reason he entered the World Nexus in the first place.
The god accompanying Umay had a child-like appearance, and he appeared to be sculpted out of liquid metal. With antlers, he appeared closer to a steel statue than a living being. Most importantly, Kong Xuan could sense his Metal Incarnation and his comprehension of the Law of Metal emanating from that child.
"Return to me!" Kong Xuan said as he reached toward the child.
Umay shouted something he didn't understand and slashed toward him with her halberd, but Kong Xuan ignored her. His body turned into water and phased through her attack unharmed before it returned to normal.
"Got you!" Kong Xuan shouted in triumph. The moment he tried to absorb the child-like god, a chill crawled up his spine. He looked up to see a storm brewing and the sky distorting.
Kong Xuan snorted and quickly absorbed the child-like god. His eyes glimmered with five-colored light as he felt the shackle holding him back shatter. "Finally!"
He didn't have time to celebrate for long as Tengri's giant form loomed over him. His hand reached forward to grab Kong Xuan. "Last time, I was caught unaware, but don't think I'll lose again so wretchedly!"
The Twelfth-Ranked Red Lotus of Karma appeared beneath him, while an unremarkable black spear appeared in his hand. It was the Godslayer Spear, a top-grade cardinal spiritual artifact owned by the Devil Rahu and formed from the stem of the Thirty-Sixth Ranked Jade Lotus of Chaos Pangu used to create the world.
Fire, water, earth, wood, and metal qi condensed behind Kong Xuan, and a faint mirage of a peacock appeared. The five qis entered the Godslayer Spear, causing its blade to shimmer with five lights.
"Hraaahhh!" Kong Xuan thrust the spear up toward the descending hand. Spear and hand clashed, and for a brief moment, silence reigned. Then a deafening explosion erupted, blasting everyone, Haotian included, away.
When the explosion ended, Kong Xuan had disappeared, and Tengri had lost one of its arms. Visible fury rolled off the Skyfather, and then he directed his wrathful gaze at Haotian.