"To court death!" At this moment, Yexiu had the complete advantage of position. He roared, clenching his fists, and at that instant, a plume of dark flame erupted, clinging to the iron staff. The staff seemed possessed, rising vertically and faintly manifesting the true form of the Tianmiao Sword. Yexiu grinned, wielding the sword, and drove straight down toward the Sand Demon Worm with his falling momentum. "The Tianmiao Sword Soul of the Blood Artifact Realm? Let me show you the Tianmiao Sword Intent bolstered by the Purple Flames of the Netherworld!"

"Boom..." The Sand Demon Worm's eyes were like mirrors; it stared blankly at Yexiu plummeting from the high heavens, shouting. At this moment, Yexiu and the Tianmiao Sword merged into one, descending from the sky. The sheer force threatened to pierce the clouds and strike directly at the yellow sands. The searing blade was about to plunge into the Sand Demon Worm’s mouth.

"Clang!" A sudden, sharp sound echoed from the Sand Demon Worm's maw. A thin beam of white light shot directly into Yexiu's eyes from below. A weapon resembling a long saber shot upward in a rapid surge, hurtling toward Yexiu.

"Clang!" Yexiu twisted his body mid-air, but the long saber pressed its attack too fiercely. The fiery staff, whose momentum had been surging like a rainbow, was knocked flying from his grasp. If his own speed hadn't been exceptional, he might have already been cleaved in two.

"Rumble..." Seeing the immediate danger averted, the desert worm plunged headlong into the sands. In moments, the previously soft, sinking sand instantly solidified, making the vast expanse of the desert firm and unyielding.

Yexiu tumbled several times, using the black flames to buffer his landing before crashing heavily onto the ground. The Tianmiao Sword Soul also fell beside him. He looked up at the white glare of the long saber high above and felt a chill run down his spine: "This saber managed to knock down the Tianmiao Sword! Could it be another Divine Artifact?"

The saber's white radiance was so intense that it obscured its true form. It hovered in the sky for a moment before suddenly dissolving into a streak of light and vanishing from everyone's sight.

"It saved the Sand Demon Worm!" Yexiu immediately guessed the intention of the saber's owner. He had intervened because the Sand Demon Worm was about to die. This person, who hadn't shown themselves, was saving these monsters—could they be their master?

"Truly, Heaven aids me!" At this moment, Xu Fu scurried over with a fawning expression. To him, Yexiu seemed like a god descended from heaven. "With the hero's assistance, we will soon reach Xianyang. Forget Prince Huhai's machinations; even if those monsters appear, we have nothing to fear. The King will soon attain eternal life."

Yexiu glanced at Xu Fu with boredom. Feudal thinking was indeed deeply poisonous to those serving the throne. "Have you ever seen that long saber before? It saved the Sand Demon Worm."

"I do not know, but I will certainly report to the King and the Divine Lord of the East Sea. The hero possesses the power of the Heavens. If he could be of use to our Great Qin, he would surely sweep across all directions." Xu Fu was about to say more, but upon noticing the change in Yexiu's expression, he quickly drew back his words. "If only you… are willing…"

Yexiu was always perceptive. Hearing Xu Fu equate the Divine Lord of the East Sea with the First Emperor meant that this Divine Lord already held a status above all others in the court. "How does Ying Zheng treat this Divine Lord of the East Sea?"

"You… Hero, you must not be disrespectful! Our Great King is the supreme ruler of the Nine Five…" Xu Fu began to lecture Yexiu again, but knowing he lacked the ability, he paused before continuing, "The King has conferred the title of Celestial Grand Preceptor upon the Divine Lord of the East Sea, placing him in charge of all matters of life and death, except military authority!"

"Heh heh, in charge of life and death!" Yexiu once again sensed the First Emperor's desperate craving for longevity. A person of unknown origin controlled the civil administration of an entire dynasty. This Divine Lord of the East Sea was clearly no ordinary figure. He wondered which Realm he belonged to!

The convoy regrouped, though its numbers had dwindled further. The Myriad Demon Saint Queen had not appeared throughout the entire incident. She remained so calm, so relaxed, so quiet—yet this silence made Yexiu deeply uneasy.

Deep within the 800-li Qin Chuan plains, Xianyang, the first official capital in history, had been built vast, grand, and magnificent during that dynasty. As the saying went, the Wei River flows south, Mount Zong stands to the north; mountains and waters are both yang, hence it is called Xianyang. This imperial capital truly gathered the essence of the world, rich in resources—a scene of prosperity.

The group traveled through rows of dwellings. The surrounding scenery suggested a scale slightly less imposing than the very heart of the capital. This was the grand unification after the Warring States period; this was the convergent trend of world affairs; this was the power of kingship, and history looked on with awe. Yexiu let out a long breath. He hadn't expected to witness such a historical moment. Whether real or not, the feeling inexplicably gave him a sense of heroic triumph.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" At that moment, the sound of orderly armor rattling reached Yexiu’s ears. Ranks of soldiers clad in sharp blades emerged from various passages, completely encircling the dozen or so individuals and the white carriage.

"Bold rebels! How dare you presumptuously enter the city using General Xu's banner! Surround them!" A military commander wearing golden-inlaid yellow armor stood majestically among the crowd. He raised his long sword, pointing it at Yexiu. "Using the King’s mandate to enter the city—you must be remnants of the Six States! Kill without mercy!"

"I am Xu Fu. Who dares challenge me!" At this, Xu Fu stepped forward to the carriage, holding up a golden plaque. He raised his head proudly. "Xu Fu is on an envoy mission to the outer territories by order of the King. The King's golden token is here! Who dares act presumptuously!"

The leading general cast a mocking glance at Xu Fu before immediately accusing him, "I am acting under the Crown Prince's orders to search the city for remnants of the Six States. I see that your golden plaque is clearly forged! Men! Kill them!"

"The Crown Prince…" Upon hearing those two words, Xu Fu's expression immediately darkened. He had long anticipated this day, but he hadn't realized how immense Huhai's ambition and power had become. Understanding the situation, he drew his own sword and commanded, "Xu Family Army, protect the Three Immortals Goddess!"

"No need. Leave it to me alone." Yexiu lazily dismounted, walking toward the golden-armored general by himself, making no move to draw a weapon.

"A mere lackey dares speak to me like that!" The golden-armored general roared in anger, flicking the long sword in his hand. He instantly struck a pebble on the ground, sending it flying unerringly toward Yexiu.

Yexiu yawned and easily dodged it by tilting his head back. In the next moment, his figure blurred, appearing instantly before the general. With one swift action, he seized the general’s hand in an unbreakable grip. "Take me to the Divine Lord of the East Sea, or you will die!"

"What!" The general was powerfully built, his strength unmatched by most, yet under Yexiu's pull, he could only fall to his knees, begging for mercy. "You… who exactly are you!"

"Where is the Divine Lord of the East Sea?" Yexiu added force disdainfully. With a sharp snap, the general's arm was broken.

"Waaah! Aaaah!" This was the first time the general had been so humiliated. He frantically used his other hand to summon the surrounding soldiers. "Kill him… kill him…"

"Swish, swish, swish!" At this, a sound like a torrential downpour of arrows erupted from the crowd. Soldiers wielding long halberds quickly charged forward.

Yexiu raised one hand, grabbing the general and holding him in front to shield himself. As the barrage of arrows struck, the general died instantly. The first soldier to charge was kicked away by Yexiu with such force that it knocked over several subsequent ranks of men behind him.

"Fire… Fire…" Xu Fu screamed as if he had seen a ghost, pointing toward the central area of the city. "That's the training grounds! How could it be on fire?"

Yexiu hadn't intended to deal with those guards; he was anxious to learn Old Liu's fate and was eager to find the Divine Lord of the East Sea. Hearing Xu Fu’s panic, he was the first to sprint toward the training grounds.

Rolling clouds of dark flames rose into the previously clear sky. The closer he got to the training grounds, the more he could hear screams originating from the depths of despair, mixed with the crackling of firewood. It turned out that a massive pit had been dug in the training grounds. Before the great pit stood a wooden altar, surrounded by four towering pyres of firewood. The flames blazed so fiercely they looked like fire dragons soaring to the heavens.

"Throw them in!" An elderly man, clutching a sphere-shaped weapon, wore a cloak of gray and white. His white hair completely obscured his face. His voice was ancient and faint, almost swallowed by the roar of the burning wood. "The King commands: these sorcerers have spread false doctrines and attempted rebellion. Bury them alive, all of them!"

"Wuuuh… wuuuh… wuuuh…" Strong men, stripped bare to the waist and wearing masks, herded the kneeling people in piles into the great pit. Bound by iron chains, those people had no way to escape. They could only weep and beg for mercy. They repeatedly crawled out of the pit only to be ruthlessly dragged back in by the impassive strongmen. The scene repeated endlessly, each moment dripping with cruel sorrow.

Is this the burying of scholars? Yexiu watched hidden atop a house. He certainly knew of this famous historical event—the Burning of Books and Burying of Scholars was the First Emperor's bloodiest act in history. Burning books to suppress thought and burying scholars brutally—on the surface, it seemed an act deserving of historical scorn. But he asked himself, what dynasty hadn't done such things? To ensure their culture truly governed their subjects, to ensure the people lacked the courage to defy the monarch, wasn't this a foolproof strategy?

"Ah… wuuuh…" As shovels cast earth and dust over the training grounds, the fate of those pitiful people was sealed. Most of them were alchemists who had tried to refine the elixir of immortality for the First Emperor. Unfortunately, they had failed, because the First Emperor had found an alternative—that mysterious old man named the Divine Lord of the East Sea.

"This… this…" Xu Fu arrived when this hell on earth had already taken shape. He knelt on the ground, unsure whether to cry or feel relieved. He, too, was technically a sorcerer, but the First Emperor trusted him so much that he was allowed to represent Great Qin on missions to the Immortal Domain of the East Sea. He looked at the Divine Lord of the East Sea, standing on the platform holding the precious orb, and knelt in worship as if before a god. "Your servant Xu Fu has not failed his mission. I have brought the Three Immortal Goddesses. I thank the boundless magic of the Divine Lord of the East Sea!"