From the highest echelons to the lowest, everyone within the palace had long been aware that a major battle was imminent, harboring no illusions of avoiding it.
Nor did they hold out any hope that the four great powers would genuinely comply with Zong Shou’s demand and each relinquish five minor worlds.
It was obvious this was impossible. If the Great Qian dynasty was unwilling to simply let the matter rest, the only recourse was to fight for victory on the battlefield.
Fortunately, the ten Taiyi Divine Lightning Warships arriving one after another, coupled with nearly one hundred thousand sets of second-tier Xuanhuang Daoist soldier armaments, and a Divine Realm cultivator of unknown origin, brought a sense of calm to the entire Immortal Dynasty.
Zong Shou had not truly gone mad, and the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty was not entirely without the strength to fight back.
The matter of the five hundred Spirit Realm enslaved cultivators was known only to a few high-ranking figures within the Immortal Palace.
Among the more than one hundred Immortal Realm experts, only a sparse few, like Feng Taiji, were privy to this secret.
The interior of the entire Immortal Palace was hermetically sealed by layers of restrictive formations.
Zong Shou did not fear anyone discovering anything; once the Grand Supreme Demon Punishing Formation was activated, it could crush any being within a thousand li into dust with even the slightest spiritual energy fluctuation.
Even a Saint Realm expert would struggle to evade detection from his World-Burning Blood Eyes.
At this time, Hong Jiuchen and the others were far from grasping the true depth of the Great Qian’s strength.
Regarding the five hundred Spirit Realm enslaved cultivators, he had deliberately kept the matter concealed and shrouded in secrecy. In truth, even if it were known, it made little difference; he had even intentionally or unintentionally allowed the news to spread subtly within the Immortal Palace.
On one hand, this stabilized the morale of the troops; on the other, it served to confuse their opponents.
Only the existence of the more than one hundred and forty Source Sea Demon Punishers was something he truly did not wish the Jiudu Holy Court to learn.
Zong Shou’s real reliance lay elsewhere. Being able to fully refine all those Heavenly-grade Daoist Soldiers before the great war was an unexpected delight.
If not for the transaction with Cha Houhu, gathering these materials would have likely taken him several years.
Now, paradoxically, he was racking his brain over how to conceal the existence of the Source Sea Demon Punishers.
After a calculated sequence of truth and deception, Zong Shou set aside all other matters and re-entered seclusion.
All the Source Sea Demon Punishers and Spirit Transformation Demon Punishers were bound by restrictive seals.
They could only escape their status as Daoist Soldiers through arduous cultivation and advancement.
And practicing that Grand Supreme Demon Punishing Formation was one of the best methods for their cultivation.
Within the awe-inspiring might of the formation as it purged heaven and earth, they could gain enlightenment on the Great Dao, aiding each other’s cultivation when their meridians were connected.
Every time they successfully cycled through the Grand Supreme Demon Punishing Formation once brought them immense benefit and helped them comprehend their techniques.
Therefore, these individuals required no urging from Zong Shou; they practiced spontaneously, demanding perfection from themselves with conscious effort.
As for the Dark Fox Iron Cavalry, the commanders within were all old hands Zong Shou brought from the Cloud Realm; they required even less constant supervision, needing only a few pointed reminders.
What delighted Zong Shou the most was that Lu Wubing, under the protection of Ao Kun and the others, had finally crossed the threshold into the Divine Realm and could come to his aid.
Currently, the various administrative affairs of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty were gradually being taken over by Lu Wubing.
This man possessed extraordinary ability, and his Divine Realm cultivation commanded respect.
He managed everything without any sign of awkwardness or chaos, handling matters with ease.
In just over ten days, he had gained the recognition of the entire Immortal Court, neatly organizing all the subsidiary matters of the Yuanjing Immortal Palace. All political affairs proceeded in an orderly fashion.
This allowed Zhuang Yu to free up his energy to focus entirely on military matters.
Zong Shou could once again enjoy some respite, freed from dealing with those tedious chores.
Since emerging from the Nine Hells Prison, Zong Shou had never found the time to continue honing his Sword Intent or comprehending spiritual techniques.
Initially, he was engrossed in studying the fragment of the Grand Supreme Demon Punishing Record, followed by the large-scale refinement of Source Sea and Spirit Transformation Demon Punishers, and he needed further time to perfect the auxiliary cultivation techniques for the Dark Fox Iron Cavalry.
Only now, with all matters prepared, could he finally dedicate himself wholeheartedly to his personal cultivation.
On one hand, he was continuing his efforts on the ‘Unification Sword Intent’ in the mid-stage of the Soul Realm, attempting to advance further.
His greatest reward from completing the two Heavenly-rank Daoist Soldier techniques from the Grand Supreme Demon Punishing Record was the comprehension of the ‘Punishing and Eradicating’ Sword Intent, and its grade was not low.
Even if it hadn't reached the mid-stage of the Soul Realm, it was close.
When wielded alongside his Killing Path Sword Intent, it could make his sword strikes even more sharp and unstoppable! More domineering and powerful!
However, integrating it with his other Sword Intents would require some effort.
On the other hand, he continued to perfect his World-Shaking Spiritual Technique, cultivating both spirit and martial arts simultaneously, with both meridians embodying the same core.
This technique was uniquely suited to him, a distinct method Zong Shou had created by synthesizing the strengths of several systems.
Every time Zong Shou advanced his cultivation, he needed to carefully re-examine and continuously modify and perfect it to solidify his Dao foundation.
A self-created method was like this: it could perfectly suit the individual, maximizing one’s cultivation and combat power.
However, its practice was exceptionally troublesome.
At this juncture, Zong Shou had received the inheritance of the Spirit Nodal Dream Infusion Method from Lin Xuan-shuang, allowing him to grasp all the profound mysteries and true meanings of that Origin Life Qi Technique.
While he couldn't cultivate the technique itself, he was confident he could integrate some of its strengths into his own World-Shaking Spiritual Technique.
He did not seek the inexhaustible vitality of the Origin Life Qi Technique; he merely sought to make his World-Shaking Spiritual Technique possess greater sustained power.
The dual-meridian body possessed extreme burst power, and his technique shared the same characteristic.
Thus, when Zong Shou fought others, the outcome was often decided in one or two exchanges.
The moment the sword was drawn, life and death were settled.
This was both a strength and a weakness; it couldn't simply be ignored by merely emphasizing the strengths and downplaying the weaknesses without finding ways to compensate.
Furthermore, there was the advancement—and partial fusion—of the Lu family's Sky-Burning Bloodline and the Water Qilin Bloodline. While this brought him a massive influx of inherited information, it also showed him the possibility of integrating the power of both divine abilities into his own techniques.
For some unknown reason, after learning from Cha Houhu that the other party had already claimed dozens of worlds and the Daoist Sect had purchased thousands of Spirit Realm enslaved cultivators, a nameless anxiety settled in his heart, an indescribable sense of urgency lingering in his mind.
Since leaving the Nine Hells Prison, various anomalies seemed to confirm that changes were unfolding in the Cloud Realm.
The situation of the Azure Life Dao seemed unfavorable.
“Master Xuan-shuang said Wei Xu was attempting to overcome the Tribulation to Ascend the Transcendent Realm. Did something go wrong? Come to think of it, news between the Yuanlian Realm and the Cloud Realm has been cut off for two months. That is certainly strange—”
He wished intensely that he could rush to the Cloud Realm right now to see what was truly happening there.
It was not entirely due to his attachment to the Azure Life Dao; it was because when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.
Even though he had tried his best to sever ties with the Azure Life Dao, he had to admit that the Great Qian’s secure standing in the Cloud Realm was precisely due to the open and covert protection offered by the Azure Life Dao.
His compromise with the Daoist Sect back then was because Xiu Guan was present.
If the Azure Life Dome Realm encountered any accident, the Daoist Sect would have no constraints and no reservations left.
Then those close to him in the Cloud Realm would likely have no chance of escape.
Even putting aside these external factors, purely out of personal sentiment, he did not wish for any misfortune to befall the Azure Life Dome Realm.
His mind was a turmoil, like sitting on pins and needles. At this moment, however, he could only wait until the outcome between him and the Nine Hells Immortal Court was fully decided!
Until then, exerting every effort to strengthen himself was certainly not wrong.
Concentrating on his cultivation, Zong Shou felt, for the first time, that time was agonizingly slow.
Especially with the acceleration provided by the Zhou Ji Life Chronometer, every second and every moment felt like a form of torment.
Fortunately, his ability to maintain stillness was excellent, allowing him to endure. Although he occasionally drifted off mentally, he managed to suppress the impatience most of the time and delve into his studies.
In bitter waiting, another half-month passed.
Almost every day, new intelligence arrived. Outside the domain borders, the Jiudu Immortal Court alone had added a full sixty warships,
among which were eight Cold Crystal Shadow Blade Ships, the treasured assets of the Jiudu Immortal Court, on the same tier as the Taiyi Divine Lightning Warships.
The hull was encircled by eighteen Cold Crystal Shadow Blades, whose power was extraordinary. Supported by the spiritual formations within the ship, they could indeed match a full-power strike from a peak Immortal Realm expert.
Accompanying the ships were no fewer than one hundred thousand Xuanhuang second-tier Daoist soldiers.
And now, outside the boundary river, the number of Divine Realm experts from the Jiudu Immortal Court who had revealed their presence already reached seventeen.
Whether any Saint Realm experts had arrived was still unknown.
This was only the Jiudu Immortal Court; the strength invested by the Xuanling Guild and the Jiejue Immortal Court, while far less than Jiudu’s, still amounted to a deployment of sixty thousand Daoist soldiers and twenty warships!
And the Tianfang Guild’s contribution was comparable to the other two. They were investing almost everything, sparing no expense.
The aura of an impending storm washed over him.
Given Zong Shou’s short few years of management in the Yuanlian Realm, his intelligence network could not possibly be this thorough.
The military strength and the number of experts from these factions were all clearly detailed and understood by him.
All this information was transmitted by Cha Houhu via communication talismans.
Zong Shou was not overly concerned about the military strength of these factions.
The Tiangang Sword Soldiers and Tiangang Crimson Crossbowmen had already proven themselves during the Early Qin Era.
They were unquestionably the strongest among the Yellow-grade Daoist Soldiers.
As for the Dark Fox Iron Cavalry, he was confident their combat power was no less than any Xuan-grade Daoist Soldier!
The Jiudu Immortal Court possessed millions of elite troops, but they were dispersed across various sectors for defense. The maximum number they could mobilize here was likely only those one hundred thousand soldiers.
Combining the three factions, they had barely reached one hundred and eighty thousand Daoist soldiers.
The disparity in troop numbers was not vast, only a factor of two. Therefore, the outcome would depend on the caliber of the commanding generals and the intrinsic combat strength of the Daoist Soldiers—
However, regarding the warships outside the boundary river, the disparity was nearly six-fold.
He wondered if Shi Ruolan could manage the situation.
He kept the intelligence he received secret, but everyone within the Yuanjing Immortal Palace sensed something, and the atmosphere gradually grew tense.
Zong Shou, even in his quiet chamber, could feel it. He simply ceased his cultivation and waited silently.
He knew that the Jiudu Holy Court would likely deliver him an ‘answer’ in the coming days.
Indeed, after just one day, a golden decree shot in from the void outside the domain, traveling all the way to hover above the Immortal Palace.
Golden characters projected themselves spontaneously from the decree, causing everyone inside the palace to look up.
Zong Shou took one glance and couldn't help but sneer coldly.