The chill of November bit deep, yet across the entirety of the Nine Provinces, the martial artists were ablaze with feverish excitement.

"Ten thousand bolts of lightning descended; the entire Carefree Palace is nothing but ruins."

"This Celestial God Palace is too powerful."

"Of the Eight Great Sects of the world, the Carefree Palace is about to be struck from the roster; the Celestial God Palace should take its place!"

In taverns across countless prefectural cities on the vast lands of the Nine Provinces, similar exclamations could be heard. The Void Realm experts of the Celestial God Palace had intended to slay the Old Palace Master of the Carefree Palace, but regrettably, the Old Palace Master hadn't even bothered to fight, simply fleeing. The enraged and unresigned Void Realm experts of the Celestial God Palace then unleashed thousands of lightning strikes, destroying the Carefree Palace!

Of course, this was the populace exaggerating the rumors, each retelling becoming wilder than the last.

In reality, it was merely that 'Thunderbolt Divine Eagle' that had flapped its wings and unleashed several thick bolts of lightning. But regardless of the details, the Carefree Palace’s retreat without a fight, and the subsequent destruction of their ancestral halls, pointed to one undeniable conclusion—

The 'Carefree Palace,' one of the Eight Great Sects of the Nine Provinces, was finished!

It could be said that the master of Azure Province was no longer the Carefree Palace.

Although the Carefree Palace still controlled numerous prefectural cities, having abandoned the very root of their sect, how could they possibly contend with the Celestial God Palace? Any discerning eye could see that the Carefree Palace was merely dragging out a final, miserable existence.

This spectacle thrilled and agitated the multitude of martial artists; warriors, by their very nature, thrive on chaos.

However, among the other super-sects across the Nine Provinces, the rise of the 'Celestial God Palace,' particularly the initial display of strength from their Void Realm experts, caused considerable worry among many powerful factions. This anxiety was especially acute to the north of Azure Province—in Ghost Province's 'Vast Heaven City'—and to the south of Azure Province—in Yang Province's 'Clear Lake Isle.'

Both Clear Lake Isle and Vast Heaven City feared the Celestial God Palace would march its armies either north or south!

Of course—

To the west of Azure Province lay Yu Province's 'Imperial Gate of Yu.' The consensus throughout the world was that no matter how arrogant the Celestial God Palace became, they would scarcely dare provoke the 'Imperial Gate of Yu,' the most ancient among the Eight Great Sects!

...

Azure Province, Jiangning Prefecture, Return Origin Sect.

Inside Zhuge Yuanhong’s study.

"I never imagined, never imagined the Carefree Palace would flee without a fight!" Elder Wu shook his head repeatedly, sighing in disbelief. "The Old Palace Master of the Carefree Palace was one of the absolute peak experts in the entire Nine Provinces. Rumor had it he had reached the Great Perfection of the Void Realm! Yet, he abandoned even the thousand-year foundation of his sect..."

If two Great Perfection Void Realm experts clashed, the commotion would certainly be immense!

Yet, when the Carefree Palace's ancestral grounds and main gate were destroyed, there was no sign of a confrontation between supreme masters. Naturally, the major sects concluded—the Old Palace Master of Carefree fled without engaging!

Zhuge Yuanhong frowned slightly, seemingly preoccupied with worry.

"Ancestral Master, the Old Palace Master of Carefree fled only because the Celestial God Palace is too strong," Zhuge Yuanhong stated gravely. "Now it seems, one, the Celestial God Palace possesses at least one Thunderbolt Divine Eagle! Two, the Celestial God Palace absolutely has more than one Great Perfection Void Realm expert! In fact, even two Great Perfection Void Realm experts wouldn't necessarily force the Old Palace Master of Carefree to abandon his sect!"

Elder Wu nodded.

The ancestral home of a sect was its foundation!

Just as Jiangning Prefecture was to the Return Origin Sect; lose Jiangning Prefecture, and the Return Origin Sect loses its base.

"Exactly. If he could have resisted, the Old Palace Master of Carefree wouldn't have abandoned the sect's foundation," Elder Wu agreed.

"My current concern is just this—"

Zhuge Yuanhong knitted his brows. "This Celestial God Palace is so devastatingly strong, yet we've never heard of them before. Clearly, they have concealed themselves incredibly deeply. A terrifying power that can hide so profoundly, when it erupts, it will be catastrophic!"

"To frighten the Old Palace Master of Carefree into fleeing without a fight, the Celestial God Palace's strength must be double, perhaps triple, that of the Carefree Palace!"

"Having endured such deep concealment, their sudden eruption will certainly not be satisfied with just Azure Province!"

"Perhaps they will attack our Yang Province," Zhuge Yuanhong narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.

Elder Wu gasped sharply.

"Yuanhong, are you saying... the Celestial God Palace will also occupy our Yang Province?" Elder Wu sounded somewhat outraged and incredulous.

"It's not surprising," Zhuge Yuanhong said solemnly. "Back then, when Vast Heaven City in Northeastern Ghost Province was at its peak, the Northern King led his iron cavalry and occupied half the Nine Provinces! And the supreme masters, the 'Heavenly Emperor of Qin Ridge' and the 'Yu Emperor,' once unified the world... Even the Buddhist Sect, the 'Mani Temple' which dislikes conflict, once controlled two provinces!"

Zhuge Yuanhong sighed low. "For the Celestial God Palace to have such power and yet possess no ambition would be the true anomaly!"

"And the surrounding provinces are: Ghost Province's 'Vast Heaven City' to the north, Yang Province's 'Clear Lake Isle' to the south, and Yu Province's 'Imperial Gate of Yu' to the west. The Celestial God Palace won't be foolish enough to attack the most ancient sect, the 'Imperial Gate of Yu.' As for Vast Heaven City and Clear Lake Isle, Vast Heaven City is descended from the lineage of the Northern King! Northeastern Ghost Province is also the wildest of provinces; attacking Vast Heaven City would surely be far harder than attacking Clear Lake Isle!"

"Clear Lake Isle only has that blind Sword Saint, comparable to the Old Palace Master of Carefree."

"If they could destroy the Carefree Palace, they can destroy Clear Lake Isle."

Zhuge Yuanhong gave a wry smile. "Naturally, they will also extinguish my Return Origin Sect along the way! By then, they will have unified at least Azure Province and Yang Province. They might even use Yang Province as a stepping stone to conquer Flame Province next!"

Elder Wu's face changed dramatically.

The Return Origin Sect's current strength was indeed far inferior to the Celestial God Palace's.

"Is there no way?" Elder Wu asked urgently.

"Now it all depends on the Old Palace Master of Carefree," Zhuge Yuanhong's eyes shone with light. "Having destroyed his sect's foundation, the Old Palace Master surely holds an irreconcilable feud with the Celestial God Palace! His existence... should be a headache for them. Second, our Return Origin Sect has the Ancestral Master and Qingshan as Void Realm experts. If that Undying Phoenix shows up again... then the Celestial God Palace likely won't risk offending three Void Realm experts just for a single prefecture! Perhaps they might even negotiate with us."

Elder Wu nodded upon hearing this.

As long as they weren't fools, they absolutely wouldn't dare offend three Void Realm experts for the sake of one prefecture, especially when one of them was an Undying Phoenix!

"It's a pity the Undying Phoenix hasn't arrived yet,"

Zhuge Yuanhong shook his head. "Furthermore, I don't want to expose the fact that Qingshan has reached the Void Realm... We can only take things one step at a time. Intelligence suggests the Carefree Palace is preparing to defend steadfastly in three locations... I hope they can buy the Celestial God Palace a little more time."

Zhuge Yuanhong probably had no idea that his most favored disciple, 'Teng Qingshan,' was currently aligned with the Celestial God Palace's forces.

...

Nine Ring Mountain spanned an immense area. Precisely because it occupied such a vast space, the official road could not bypass the mountain range; it had to be carved directly through it.

Outside the official road at the mouth of the Nine Ring Mountain pass.

Dense formations of soldiers, thick as a forest, were arrayed in an orderly manner, stretching endlessly like a dark, boundless ocean. Twenty-two thousand troops—what a concept? They could truly be called a 'sea of men.'

Teng Qingshan and his wife, the Second Saintess, the Crimson Flame Flag Master, the Azure Dragon Flag Master, and the three Elders—these eight individuals stood together, gazing upon the pass of the Nine Ring Mountain before them.

"Haha, what happened to the Celestial God Palace people? Scared stiff?"

"What a bunch of cowards."

"I am right here! Come and kill me if you dare!"

On the slopes of the Nine Ring Mountain, figures could be seen, shouting insults freely. As the commander, 'Li Jun' was being so brazenly reviled, with the shouting soldiers even using obscene language, it naturally enraged Li Jun.

"Xiao Jun," Teng Qingshan gently squeezed Li Jun's hand.

"En, it's fine," Li Jun bit her lip, looking at Teng Qingshan, and said in a low voice, "Do I not look like a proper commander?"

"You are doing very well," Teng Qingshan comforted her with a smile.

Those insulting people were using the vilest language possible. If he were the commander, being cursed at like that would surely fill him with fury too.

"We've scouted it out; there are an enormous number of soldiers within the Nine Ring Mountain," the Crimson Flame Flag Master, 'Lu Lilong,' fixed his tiger eyes on Teng Qingshan and Li Jun. "Commander, according to the reconnaissance, the elite troops deep inside number around thirty to forty thousand! Thirty to forty thousand of that caliber are equivalent to Black Scale Army elites, not our regular soldiers."

The Azure Dragon Flag Master stroked his beard and shook his head. "Even if we fight them head-on, thirty to forty thousand Black Scale Army equivalents could result in mutual devastation for our army. With the advantage of terrain? No matter how many of us there are, we cannot win."

"Junior Sister, what do you suggest we do?" The Second Saintess smiled toward Li Jun.

The other three Elders also looked toward Teng Qingshan and Li Jun.

As husband and wife, Teng Qingshan and Li Jun were the primary and secondary commanders; naturally, they deferred the difficult decision to the pair.

"You people have no solution?" Li Jun challenged them.

The Second Saintess, the Crimson Flame Flag Master, and the others secretly scoffed at Li Jun, deeming her a mere girl.

"What's the rush?" Teng Qingshan swept his gaze over the assembly. "The Celestial God Palace's momentum is established; the Carefree Palace is merely clinging to life. What's there to worry about?"

Teng Qingshan’s words momentarily silenced the group.

"Guest Minister Hu He, you seem supremely confident; surely you have a plan?" The Second Saintess, 'Murong Yan,' fixed her gaze on Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan merely snorted coldly, ignoring them.

Murong Yan was infuriated by the fact that Li Jun, her junior sister, had chosen this 'Hu He' as her husband. "That brat Li Jun, to find this Hu He as a husband!"

"Hm?" Teng Qingshan suddenly lifted his head and looked north.

...

The black-robed, white-browed man flew through the air, arriving above the Nine Ring Mountain. Looking down upon the undulating peaks below, the man’s expression shifted slightly.

"A Void Realm expert! There is a Void Realm expert here!"

The black-robed, white-browed man clearly sensed, amidst the endless life forces below, an extremely powerful aura—like a massive fireball composed of concentrated golden flame, interwoven with numerous sharp metallic energies.

"How can there be a Void Realm expert here? The Carefree Palace only had one. Could there be a second?" The black-robed, white-browed man was absolutely certain; he had never sensed this particular Void Realm expert's aura before... Upon stepping into the Void Realm, one ascended instantly, merging divine essence with the characteristics of heaven and earth, causing a massive shift in aura.

Although the black-robed, white-browed man had seen Teng Qingshan years ago, after Teng Qingshan reached the Void Realm, he, like Elder Wu, could not recognize him.

"Oh? This Void Realm expert is within my side's encampment."

Swoosh!

He transformed into a streak of sword light and plummeted downward.

...

The black-robed, white-browed man shot directly toward the area where Teng Qingshan and his group were located.

"Eh?" Almost instantaneously, the three Elders, the Crimson Flame Flag Master, the Azure Dragon Flag Master, and the Second Saintess stared in shock as a beam of sword light landed before them, resolving into a stern man in black robes and white brows, carrying a black divine sword on his back.

"Greetings, Celestial God!"

Including Li Jun, the Second Saintess, and the three Elders, everyone bowed respectfully.

"Guest Minister Hu He," the Second Saintess 'Murong Yan' subtly glanced at Teng Qingshan, who remained standing, and whispered, "This is a Celestial God of our Celestial God Palace. Why do you not bow?" Even the Snow Lotus Sect Master was not qualified to be called 'Celestial God'; among the Celestial God Palace, only the Palace Master and a few great Celestial Gods held the highest status.