"That Hu He is always so arrogant. Let's see how arrogant you are in front of a Heavenly God!" The Second Saintess, the Scarlet Flame Banner Lord, and a group of others had been forced to obey in recent days due to the pressure exerted by Teng Qingshan; they hadn't dared to harbor any independent thoughts. Now that a Heavenly God had descended, they were naturally ecstatic.
This was the Heavenly God of their Heavenly God Palace; even Hu He would have to bow respectfully, surely.
"Oh, greetings, Heavenly God." Teng Qingshan cupped his hands with a smile.
"Just a cupped hand?"
The Second Saintess, the three Elders, and the others were deeply shocked to witness this. "This Hu He is putting on quite an airs, does he think he's a Void Realm expert himself?"
"This Heavenly God is quite cautious." Teng Qingshan also noticed that the moment the white-robed, white-browed man arrived, he sealed off the space several feet around them, his voice transmitted through vibrations. With the space sealed, although outsiders could see, they could not hear the conversation between the Heavenly God, Teng Qingshan, Li Jun, and the others at all.
"Guest Minister Hu He?"
The white-robed, white-browed man's eyebrows twitched slightly. He scrutinized Teng Qingshan closely, a smile appearing on his face. He also cupped his hands and smiled back, "As expected of the genius praised by that old monk, the genius who defeated Bo Rileimu. It has only been three years... Guest Minister Hu He, you have already stepped into the Void Realm. Congratulations!"
"Compared to you, Heavenly God, I still have a long way to go," Teng Qingshan replied with a faint smile.
"Guest Minister Hu He is quite modest." The white-robed, white-browed man and Teng Qingshan exchanged pleasantries, speaking like old friends.
The Second Saintess, the Scarlet Flame Banner Lord, the Azure Dragon Banner Lord, and the others were completely stunned, watching Teng Qingshan and the Heavenly God converse foolishly... Even a simpleton could tell that Teng Qingshan and the white-robed, white-browed Heavenly God were conversing as equals. Especially since the Heavenly God had just offered words of congratulation.
"Void Realm?" The Second Saintess's eyes widened.
"Congratulations on reaching the Void Realm?" The three Elders were also dumbstruck. "This Hu He is a Void Realm existence, just like the Heavenly God?"
Suddenly, the Second Saintess, the three Elders, the Scarlet Flame Banner Lord, and their entire group felt as if they had been like jumping monkeys for the past month in front of Teng Qingshan—always self-important, yet utterly oblivious.
A Void Realm-level existence!
A supreme being high above the entire Nine Provinces! Even the Carefree Palace only had one Old Palace Master who was a Void Realm expert.
"Lord Hu He."
"Lord Hu He."
The Second Saintess and the others immediately bowed, their faces etched with shame. "Please, my Lord, do not hold our disrespect against us." The thought of how they had previously plotted against the wife of a Void Realm expert made them tremble.
"Brother Hu He." The white-robed, white-browed man glanced at the others and chuckled, "It seems you've been hiding your strength... Since you've reached the Void Realm, just give them a small warning. That way, they certainly won't dare to harbor any disrespectful thoughts." The white-robed, white-browed man's words clearly showed he held no regard for the Innate experts.
It was not surprising; although the Innate Golden Core and the Void Realm were only separated by one step, the difference was that between earth and heaven!
Stepping into the Void Realm meant one could control the power of heaven and earth, and one's lifespan would astonishingly reach five hundred years!
The Void Realm represented the pinnacle figures in the Nine Provinces capable of altering the grand tide of events.
"They will know what they need to know when the time comes," Teng Qingshan smiled faintly. "There's no need to display any strength specifically for their sake."
"That is true." The white-robed, white-browed man nodded with a smile.
"Brother Hu He, regarding Nine Ring Mountain, how about the two of us attack together?" the white-robed, white-browed man invited. Teng Qingshan smiled and cupped his hands: "Then I shall gratefully accept!"
The two Void Realm powerhouses exchanged a knowing smile.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A flash of sword light and a streak of fiery crimson light ignited simultaneously. Teng Qingshan and the white-robed, white-browed man vanished before the main army.
"So fast!"
The Second Saintess and the others watched the distance in astonishment. The mere speed of the Void Realm experts was enough to make them envious.
"As expected of a Void Realm expert." The Second Saintess, 'Murong Yan,' couldn't help but exclaim, glancing at Li Jun, whose face showed unconcealed pride. "Junior Sister has such good luck. No wonder she married Hu He. If a Void Realm expert were willing to marry me, I would have married long ago. A Void Realm expert..."
"Commander, congratulations."
"We truly never expected that Hu He would reach the Void Realm."
At this moment, the attitudes of the Scarlet Flame Banner Lord, the Azure Dragon Banner Lord, and the three Elders had completely shifted.
Seeing this, Li Jun naturally revealed a hint of joy on her face: "When the Second Senior Sister and the others didn't know Qingshan was a Void Realm expert, they still had certain designs. But now... it's completely different." Unless they were fools, who would willingly provoke a Void Realm expert?
A moment later.
"My Lords!"
"Kill!"
"Who, who is it!"
Angry roars echoed from within the Nine Ring Mountain range.
"There are over thirty thousand troops in the Nine Ring Mountains, along with three Innate experts." A chilling voice rang out across the entire range. "Now that the three Innate experts have all been executed, killing the rest of you is as easy as cutting grass. I give you ten breaths of time; if you resist, I will execute the leaders of all twelve of your teams!"
"The Carefree Palace is already destroyed; are you still clinging to delusion? Those who surrender, drop your weapons! Those who choose to resist, keep holding them!"
"Death, or life—choose!"
The voice resonated incessantly within Nine Ring Mountain.
On one peak, Teng Qingshan stood atop scattered rocks, gazing across the distance at the white-robed, white-browed man hovering in mid-air. This man's entire body was radiating dense, dark sword energy, like a massive black cloud enveloping him.
Teng Qingshan's ears twitched, and he overheard a conversation several miles away.
"Asking us to choose between life and death? Ridiculous."
"There are tens of thousands of us scattered throughout Nine Ring Mountain. To kill us? Hmph... Even if we die, we'll have a large scar where our heads fell off. What's there to fear?"
Teng Qingshan revealed a faint smile: "Hm? There are still teams daring to resist?"
Suddenly—
Boom!
A terrifying streak of black sword energy shot down from the sky like a sharp arrow towards the distance. This beam of black sword energy instantly traversed several miles, piercing a large hole directly through the leader of one of the teams who had just spoken, even impacting the soldiers behind him. The sword light annihilated nine people before dissipating.
That large group of soldiers stood stunned, staring blankly at their deceased leader and comrades.
"One of the twelve team leaders is dead! Those not afraid to die, continue..." The icy voice echoed through heaven and earth once more. "You have three breaths left!"
They were terrified stiff!
A sword beam, traveling several miles from that distance, had killed the enemy!
Morale completely evaporated.
"They are not on the same level at all," Teng Qingshan murmured with a shake of his head, listening to the discussions of the twelve teams through his ears. These forces had already seen their morale plummet after the sudden execution of the three Innate experts.
These Carefree Palace troops found it impossible to kill, but their opponent could dispatch them with ease.
"Clang!" "Clang!"...
Teng Qingshan heard the sounds of weapons being thrown onto the ground.
"A team has surrendered," Teng Qingshan noted.
"For the first team to surrender among the twelve, its leader will be made a City Lord!" the white-robed, white-browed man stated indifferently.
With one team taking the lead, especially with its leader being appointed a City Lord, several hesitant team leaders immediately ordered their troops to surrender, and the surrender accelerated rapidly.
...
In the face of Void Realm experts, even the most powerful armies must bow their heads—unless that army also possessed Void Realm strength! After all, even in a head-on clash, a Void Realm expert only needed to eliminate a hundred officers to completely shatter an entire force. The white-robed, white-browed man’s use of verbal threats was considered merciful.
Nine Ring Mountain, this so-called critical pass, was conquered effortlessly under the leadership of Void Realm experts.
The three strongholds stubbornly defended by the Carefree Palace throughout the entire Qing Province were all easily overcome by the Heavenly God Palace armies. This was because two of the three spearheading armies had Void Realm experts, while only the Northern route army lacked one. However, this sole army without a Void Realm expert possessed the greatest number of Innate Golden Core experts!
After shattering the three strongholds, the Heavenly God Palace army advanced like wildfire!
Everywhere they passed, cities opened their gates in surrender!
Even the Carefree Palace headquarters was destroyed, and the Carefree Palace high command had fled for their lives; why would they expect the armies of the commanderies to sacrifice themselves? Indeed, once the Carefree Palace mountain gate was destroyed, these armies lost all conviction to fight.
...
In a mere two months, 'Qing Province,' the most populous province in the Nine Provinces, changed hands.
On the third day of the twelfth month.
The Heavenly God Palace issued a proclamation to the world: the eighteen commanderies of Qing Province were now all under the rule of the Heavenly God Palace. Furthermore, the Myriad Manifestations Gate had already distributed a publication on the first day of the twelfth month, focusing on recording the process of the great battle between the 'Heavenly God Palace' and the 'Carefree Palace' in Qing Province, while also documenting one more thing—the roster of the Eight Great Sects!
Mani Temple, Yu Emperor Gate, Ying Clan, Hong Tian City, Snow Eagle Cult, Heavenly God Palace, Azure Lake Island, Sun Shooting Divine Mountain!
From this day forward, the Carefree Palace, with its history spanning over a thousand years, was struck from the list!
The Heavenly God Palace became one of the new Eight Great Sects!
Qing Province, outside a pavilion built by the East Sea coast.
Pei San sat leisurely in a bamboo chair, enjoying the sea breeze and reading a book, while Meng Dujuan was peeling fruit beside him, and the guard 'Iron Tower' stood rigidly beside Pei San.
"Master!"
"Master!"
"Father!"
The Snow Lotus Cult Master, the white-robed, white-browed man, and the beast-king 'Wu Hou,' who resembled a savage, walked over.
"You have arrived," Pei San said with a faint smile, turning his head to glance at the white-robed, white-browed man. "Where is Hu He?"
"I was ordered by Master to invite Guest Minister Hu He over... However, Guest Minister Hu He stated he had urgent matters and would visit Master when he has time in the future," the white-robed, white-browed man reported, cupping his hands. "Also, Master, your disciple invited him to join our Heavenly God Palace, even offering him the title of 'Heavenly God.' But he still refused!"
The Snow Lotus Cult Master snorted, "Father, this Hu He is too aloof. If he is unwilling to be a Heavenly God, must we beg him? Hmph."
"Heh heh." Pei San smiled calmly. "Xiao Lian, didn't you say your disciple, 'Li Jun,' is already at the Innate level?"
"Innate?" The Beast King 'Wu Hou' nearby exclaimed in shock. "Little Jun has reached the Innate level too? She—she only turned eighteen after the New Year, right?"
The Snow Lotus Cult Master revealed a look of satisfaction.
"Let's do this," Pei San instructed. "From this day forward, the other two Saintesses of the Snow Lotus Cult will be promoted to the rank of Elder. Li Jun will be the only Saintess of the Snow Lotus Cult. Xiao Lian, you are also too lazy to manage the Snow Lotus Cult... So, for now, let Li Jun temporarily oversee the Snow Lotus Cult."
Everyone present was greatly surprised.
Promoting the other two Saintesses to Elders? In fact, this stripped the other two of any chance to become the Cult Master.
In other words... Li Jun was certainly the future Cult Master of the Snow Lotus Cult.
"Yes, Father," the Snow Lotus Cult Master replied happily.
"Hu He..." Pei San muttered to himself, a smile playing on his lips.
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