Teng Qingshan pondered alone deep beneath the earth. The Six-Legged Saber Cicada was lazily sprawled in the dirt, half-closing its eyes to watch Teng Qingshan. Seeing that Teng Qingshan wasn't moving for a while, the Six-Legged Saber Cicada actually closed its eyes and began to rest.

"This Hongtian Divine Armor must be somewhere along the subterranean route," Teng Qingshan frowned. "Exactly where would You Shijin have hidden the Hongtian Divine Armor?"

"Could it be that when he threw out the divine artifact components initially, it was a diversion, allowing him to toss out the Hongtian Divine Armor at the same time?" Teng Qingshan couldn't be sure of the approximate location where You Shijin discarded the Hongtian Divine Armor. If he really had to search, the area was simply too vast, and the difficulty too high.

"If I were You Shijin, knowing I was close to death, I would certainly want to deliver the Hongtian Divine Armor to the survivors in Hongtian City."

Teng Qingshan mused, "Detecting someone pursuing him from behind, he must have wanted to shake off the enemy! So, he thought of using another, secondary divine armor to ** the enemy, making it impossible for them to catch up... Later, his injuries worsened. Knowing he couldn't deliver the Hongtian Divine Armor, he definitely wouldn't want me to find it and obtain it."

"Therefore, when discarding the Hongtian Divine Armor, he absolutely would ** not** wrap it in the power of Heaven and Earth. Doing so would allow me to discover it; he wouldn't risk it," Teng Qingshan became increasingly certain.

"Then, when he used the divine armor components to ** initially, the Hongtian Divine Armor must still have been with him. At that time, he was still hoping to hold on, to hold on long enough to deliver the Hongtian Divine Armor."

"Mhm, I remember later that You Shijin's speech was slurred, clearly severely wounded. Yet, he still conversed with me then. It must have been to confuse me."

"In that case—"

"You Shijin discarded the Hongtian Divine Armor around that stretch of road."

"Not long after discarding the Hongtian Divine Armor, You Shijin died," Teng Qingshan instantly pinpointed the approximate location in his mind. "That means the probability is highest within that specific distance."

Though he wasn't completely certain, he couldn't afford to hesitate any longer.

"Saber Cicada, Saber Cicada," Teng Qingshan immediately called to wake the Six-Legged Saber Cicada.

The Six-Legged Saber Cicada opened its drowsy eyelids, its blood-red pupils casting a look of resignation toward Teng Qingshan.

"Let's go back," Teng Qingshan pointed in the direction of retreat. The Six-Legged Saber Cicada, uncomplaining, allowed Teng Qingshan to leap onto its back. Then, the Six-Legged Saber Cicada transformed into a giant electric drill, easily tearing through the underground rock and soil, advancing southwest at astonishing speed.

"This is the place where I obtained that arm guard."

As he advanced, judging by the marks left by his Sky Splitting Divine Axe and some distinctive landmarks, Teng Qingshan rapidly determined various bearings.

"Stop!" Teng Qingshan jumped off the Six-Legged Saber Cicada again, spotting the two consecutive axe marks cleaved diagonally by the Sky Splitting Divine Axe before him. "We'll start a meticulous search from right here... I estimate we'll have to search a subterranean distance of thirty to forty li." The thought of the 'Hongtian Divine Armor,' second only to the Supreme Divine Armor, filled Teng Qingshan with energy.

"Saber Cicada," Teng Qingshan also beckoned the Six-Legged Saber Cicada, the designated 'laborer.'

"Roar~~" The Six-Legged Saber Cicada let out a disgruntled low growl, its six saber arms emitting flashes of blade light.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Sword lights and blade lights pierced the soil and rock layers surrounding their path repeatedly. Both Teng Qingshan and the Six-Legged Saber Cicada were shrouded in the power of Heaven and Earth, isolating them from soil, water droplets, and other debris. Thus, Teng Qingshan and the Six-Legged Saber Cicada began their arduous search for the divine armor.

... After searching deep underground for a long time.

"There's no way to determine the exact location; we can only search inch by inch," Teng Qingshan continuously shot out sword lights with both hands. If he carelessly missed one area, the Hongtian Divine Armor might be right there. After all, it was underground... even if it was only a few zhang away, it would be invisible, obstructed by dirt and rock.

The Six-Legged Saber Cicada was also growing weary, its six saber arms swinging casually, scattering blade light everywhere.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of piercing dirt and rock echoed continuously, making even Teng Qingshan grow numb.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound suddenly rang out.

"Hmm?" Teng Qingshan's spirits instantly lifted, his eyes brightening completely.

The triangular head of the Six-Legged Saber Cicada also snapped around violently, turning toward the source of the sound. Man and beast exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of elation in their eyes.

Teng Qingshan was joyful because he might have found the Hongtian Divine Armor.

The Six-Legged Saber Cicada was joyful because it no longer needed to act as a miner laborer.

Whoosh!

Teng Qingshan and the Six-Legged Saber Cicada shot toward the source of the sound simultaneously, effortlessly smashing through layer after layer of rock until they reached their destination.

"This is—"

Teng Qingshan stared intently at the scattered individual components wedged among the surrounding soil and gravel. He saw the helmet, the inner armor, the war boots, all dispersed around him. Every piece of the divine armor was blood-red, the entire set seeming to possess a strange, potent magic; merely looking at it caused one's blood to boil with an urge toward slaughter.

"This is the Hongtian Divine Armor, second only to the Supreme Battle Armor—the Hongtian Divine Armor." Teng Qingshan immediately crouched down, swiftly collecting each piece.

In a mere three breaths, the entire set of the Hongtian Divine Armor was gathered.

"You Shijin did indeed keep this set of divine armor together," Teng Qingshan's expression shifted slightly as he carefully examined the inside of the inner armor. Faint markings and four large characters were inscribed there—Hongtian Divine Armor.

"Hongtian City must have been worried that this 'Hongtian Divine Armor,' second only to the Supreme Battle Armor, might be mistaken for ordinary battle armor, so they deliberately inscribed the words inside."

Teng Qingshan didn't dwell on it and immediately began donning the armor with swift movements.

Slipping on the blood-red war boots, putting on the inner armor, Teng Qingshan put on the divine armor components one by one: "Hmm? The physique of the 'Hongtian' King of the Northeast must have been slightly larger than mine; it feels a bit loose when worn." Although he thought this, Teng Qingshan was quite pleased as he fully equipped the set.

Once donned, only his hands and face were exposed.

"This Hongtian Divine Armor integrates the power of Heaven and Earth; this defense..." The power of Heaven and Earth rapidly converged on Teng Qingshan's body, with his Gang Jin and the divine power flowing between the armor and his body. But just then—

"Hiss hiss~~"

The Hongtian Divine Armor, which had seemed slightly loose, naturally tightened a bit, fitting snugly against his body. Teng Qingshan could even feel that his pores could absorb the external air through the armor. Moreover, he couldn't feel the armor's weight at this moment; it didn't impede any of his attacking movements in the slightest.

"Worthy of being a Divine Armor," Teng Qingshan executed his movement technique, instantly creating dozens of afterimages in the underground space before they merged back into one.

"It hasn't affected me at all; my movement technique is just as agile," Teng Qingshan observed the Hongtian Divine Armor on his body, growing more pleased.

He seized the Sky Splitting Divine Axe with one arm and brought it down upon his left arm!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Although he didn't exert much force, the three consecutive axe blows left not a single mark on the divine armor covering his left arm.

"Tsk, tsk, truly worthy of being the Hongtian Divine Armor," Teng Qingshan was delighted.

"Time to pay a visit to Hongtian City."

Teng Qingshan, clad in the Hongtian Divine Armor, wielding the Sky Splitting Divine Axe, landed on the back of the Six-Legged Saber Cicada.

Chiii~~~

The Six-Legged Saber Cicada shot straight upward. After breaking through the surface, it flapped its wings once and transformed into a streak of light, rapidly flying toward Hongtian City.

While the Six-Legged Saber Cicada was fast when burrowing, that speed was relative to other burrowing demonic beasts. In terms of absolute speed, flying was naturally faster than burrowing.

When the Six-Legged Saber Cicada arrived outside Hongtian City, night had already fallen. The city had long since returned to quietude.

Teng Qingshan looked down from above, seeing large military camps set up outside Hongtian City. The number of troops from the Heavenly God Mountain this time was too great, forcing them to camp outside the walls.

"Such a dense stench of blood," Teng Qingshan smelled the overwhelming bloodlust, and his Night Vision allowed him to clearly see the dark brown patches on the ground below—all remnants of massive amounts of blood. Thinking of the nearly eighty thousand cavalrymen from Hongtian City who fought desperately and madly, "They are likely all dead."

Although Teng Qingshan didn't observe what happened afterward, the reality was indeed so.

Those nearly eighty thousand iron riders were all dead; even the soldiers who were seriously wounded and unarmed committed suicide. The Heavenly God Palace captured no prisoners.

Although Hongtian City lost eighty thousand cavalrymen, the Heavenly God Palace suffered even greater losses.

"Wuwu~~"

In the continuous stretch of military camps, there were sounds of mourning for fallen comrades, sounds of victory celebrations, and the agonizing groans of severely wounded soldiers. Accompanied by the thick stench of blood, Teng Qingshan could only let out a sigh.

"On the entire Jiuzhou Continent, the best way to suffer the least hardship is to maintain peace for as long as possible. To achieve permanent unification is simply impossible," Teng Qingshan did not linger but rode the Six-Legged Saber Cicada to dive into Hongtian City, while simultaneously sensing clearly—

The auras of the Void Realm experts from the Heavenly God Palace.

... In an elegant courtyard.

"Hmm?" Pei San, the Heavenly God 'Sumont,' Li Chao, the Beast King 'Wu Hou,' Pei Hao, and the Snow Lotus Sect Leader—the six individuals gathered for a late-night banquet—all paused with their bowls and chopsticks.

"Hu He has arrived," Sumont said with a faint smile.

"Arriving only now, he probably went back to return the divine armor he obtained before coming over," the Snow Lotus Sect Leader sniffed. "He'll probably lie and claim he never got any divine armor."

"Xiao Lian," Pei San immediately glared at his daughter.

"Remember, Jing Yi is a guest official, not a subordinate of our Heavenly God Palace," Pei San sent a private message to those present. Pei San's intention was clear... Void Realm experts possess dignity; they are not to be ordered around. Since he is not a subordinate, why should his Six-Legged Saber Cicada be lent to the Heavenly God Palace for them to search for divine armor? It was perfectly reasonable for him to search on his own.

"Hmph," the Snow Lotus Sect Leader said no more. In the eyes of the Snow Lotus Sect Leader and the others, given Li Jun's relationship with the Heavenly God Palace, many people subconsciously assumed Teng Qingshan was one of them. Therefore, he ought to follow orders.

After all, the Heavenly God Palace had three guest officials.

The other two guest officials were invariably deferential in front of the Palace Master 'Pei San,' completely treating themselves as Pei San's subordinates. There was no other way; the Heavenly God Palace was too powerful, so they naturally clung to it.

"It's just having a Saber Cicada," the Snow Lotus Sect Leader thought to herself. "Who can't see his greedy desire for the divine armor?"

Whoosh!

A streak of light descended into the courtyard: it was Teng Qingshan, wearing the blood-red Hongtian Divine Armor, holding the Sky Splitting Divine Axe, standing on the Six-Legged Saber Cicada, and carrying another set of divine armor in one hand.