The vast grassland was encircled by tens of thousands of troops, yet not a single one could impede his progress!

"Foolish!"

The General watched from afar, unable to suppress a cold sneer. "As a Xiantian expert, the wisest course against such a massive army is to conserve Xiantian True Essence. But look at him—swinging a spear wildly, hacking indiscriminately! It certainly looks imposing, but the rate at which he burns through True Essence will be far greater than conventional killing! Even a Xiantian Golden Core expert, consuming essence so recklessly, would find his True Essence nearly depleted after slaying a few hundred men."

Indeed, this was precisely what Teng Qingshan was doing.

If he were relying solely on brute physical strength, rather than channeling True Essence into his spear swings to fling men aside without regard for technique—pure, unadulterated force—the consumption of his Xiantian True Essence would rival that of deploying a signature move! His power would drain at an astonishing speed.

He would quickly run out of reserves! A typical Xiantian expert conserved energy, killing perhaps only one or two foes per measured strike.

Ten breaths passed!

The grassland was now littered with the corpses of countless warriors. The General's face darkened as he fixed his gaze on Teng Qingshan. "General, Huhe must be close to exhausting his Xiantian True Essence."

"Hmph." The General's eyes turned frigid. "I initially saw him as a formidable warrior, someone I could enlist into my Gale Tribe. But now, having slaughtered hundreds of my Gale warriors... only his blood will suffice to consecrate the dead."

Fifteen breaths passed!

Teng Qingshan continued his steady approach, appearing entirely unhurried.

The General’s expression grew exceptionally grim. The leader of the nearby cavalry rushed to speak, "General, we have already lost nearly twenty percent of our forces, and we still haven't captured him! This Huhe's Xiantian True Essence seems limitless. We cannot sustain this!"

Capturing Teng Qingshan was a matter of honor for the Gale Tribe!

As one of the four greatest tribes of the Northern Great Grassland, they had to secure him, even at the cost of casualties. But now... the losses were mounting too heavily.

"General," another guard knight urged anxiously, "we can't continue this! This Huhe is terrifying. Furthermore... I suspect he is the demon 'Arada' rumored across the Central Grassland. If it truly is him, all of us dying would not be enough to stop him!"

"Demon Arada?" The cavalry leader gasped in shock.

The General himself turned ashen.

According to the legends—

The 'Golden Wolf Kingdom' of the Central Grassland had mobilized one hundred thousand troops to surround and kill a single man. They fought from dawn till dusk, resulting in twenty thousand casualties! The ground was stained crimson with blood, and the surviving soldiers whispered in terror that the man was the 'Demon Arada'!

The more men involved, the more terrifying the encirclement became!

Across the immense Great Grassland, a hundred thousand people was like an ocean. Even a Xiantian expert would struggle to escape, worn down until his True Essence was exhausted and he was killed amidst that boundless sea of humanity. The expenditure of vital energy against such numbers was staggering.

Yet, the man called 'Demon Arada' had sustained his slaughter for over three hours! His True Essence remained inexhaustible!

"Demon Arada, dressed in rags... could it be him? How did he travel from the Central Grassland to our territory?" The General’s face was troubled. The figure was now walking step by measured step towards him, and many of the Grassland warriors were visibly frightened, hesitant to charge wildly anymore.

"Retreat!!!" The General roared suddenly.

"Retreat!" "Retreat!" The officers in every contingent echoed the command.

Instantly, the Grassland warriors, who had formed layers of encirclement around Teng Qingshan, rapidly receded like a ebbing tide, scrambling toward their warhorses. Each man pumped every last bit of strength he possessed.

"Giddy up!" "Giddy up!"

The massive army vanished in a great, dusty surge, not even pausing to recover their dead.

"Hahaha... General Yilede, how did you find my Sweeping Staff Technique?" A hearty laugh, like rolling thunder, shook the heavens. The fleeing army, scattering like startled curs, felt no anger, only pure terror.

As for the General, he ground his teeth and cast one last look back.

"Demon 'Arada'?" the General murmured under his breath. "To fight a demon, one must call upon the Celestial Gods!"

The Celestial Mountain held absolute prestige over the Northern Grassland; for centuries, no force had ever shaken its dominion! Even witnessing Teng Qingshan's power, the General maintained unwavering faith in the revered Celestial Mountain. The Gods, he believed, were omnipotent!

...

Watching the army vanish, leaving behind countless dead or grievously wounded fighters and numerous scattered horses on the plain.

"The Four Great Tribes?" Teng Qingshan gazed towards the southeast. "Under the rule of the Celestial Mountain, pitting tribe against tribe, creating the four most powerful ones. They are even fiercer and more brutal than horse bandits. Their armies oppress smaller tribes like the Qilian Tribe, forcing them into conflict and plunder to amass sufficient silver!"

"Every tribe has learned internal energy secret manuals, learned swordsmanship!"

"Forced to fight and breed hatred among themselves, yet forbidden from harming the children... ensuring the younger generations are forged under intense pressure."

"Under this constant competition, the entire Northern Grassland has become a powerhouse factory for experts!" Facing the Celestial Mountain, a tremor ran through Teng Qingshan’s heart! Such absolute dominion, even a rule over faith—it was more thorough than that of the Eight Great Sects!

Even the Moni Temple and Snow Eagle Sects, which ruled through religious doctrine, dared not disseminate their internal energy manuals across the entire realm.

"Although the population of the Northern Grassland is likely just over a hundred million, less than Yangzhou. Yet, because everyone has access to internal energy secrets, the sheer number of elites filtered out surpasses that produced by Green Lake Island or Carefree Palace, who rule entire provinces!"

Teng Qingshan understood this perfectly.

"The strength of the Celestial Mountain is likely no less than the Eight Great Sects!" Teng Qingshan mused internally.

On the vast continent of Jiuzhou, due to the absolute rule of the Eight Great Sects, exceptionally gifted individuals aspiring to found new sects or achieve vast influence often chose to travel to the numerous small kingdoms of the Western Regions or the islands of the Eastern Sea. The experts from those regions and islands were considerable in number.

Like Ma Jinxiao, who sought revenge when Teng Qingshan was in Qingzhou, he had studied under masters from the Eastern Sea Islands and even achieved the Xiantian realm!

Like the son of the former God of Wealth, 'Zhu Tong,' named 'Zhu Chongshi,' who had spent several years overseas. These overseas islands seemed small individually, but their sheer quantity added up to a large population base. Ambitious experts would go there to fight for control of an island and establish their own power base. While the competition was fierce, at least it wasn't facing the behemoths like the Eight Great Sects in Jiuzhou.

The collective strength of all these scattered experts was significant.

"The Celestial Mountain may be strong, but it has nothing to do with me! Only when I reach the Xujing realm will I have the standing to discuss the grand strategy of the world!" Teng Qingshan continued resolutely northward. "First, I'll head to the northern coast to purchase a fine ship."

...

The Celestial Mountain was situated within the snow-capped peaks of the Northern Grassland.

The Celestial Mountain towered two to three thousand zhang, its peaks piercing the sky like spear points. Even from the ground, one could faintly discern structures atop the mountain, and at its base, streams of Grassland people arrived daily for worship! The Celestial God was the most revered existence in the hearts of the Northern Grassland people!

On the Celestial Mountain, within a side hall of a palace with white walls and red roofing, a middle-aged man clad in thick red robes sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion.

"Divine Envoy!"

A lean man with a solemn face and wearing white robes bowed deeply. "Everything I reported this morning is true, without exaggeration! This expert named 'Huhe' possesses seemingly infinite True Essence. That is why I suspect he is the much-touted demon 'Arada' of the Central Grassland."

The red-robed Divine Envoy, beneath heavy brows, possessed piercingly bright eyes.

"Arada?" The red-robed Divine Envoy frowned slightly.

"Divine Envoy, this person dares to wreak havoc under the very light of the Celestial Radiance. He must be severely punished," General 'Yilede' stated formally.

The red-robed Divine Envoy nodded coolly. "Very well, Yilede! I understand the sequence of events. You may retire."

"Divine Envoy, when do you plan to deal with Huhe?" the General asked, looking towards the envoy.

The red-robed Divine Envoy’s expression darkened, and his gaze turned icy.

The General realized his question had displeased him, and he quickly forced a smile. "Divine Envoy, I shall not disturb your quiet contemplation. I will withdraw now!" He then swiftly departed through a side door. Only then did the red-robed envoy's expression ease slightly.

"Demon 'Arada'? If it truly is him, it presents a bit of trouble."

The red-robed Divine Envoy frowned. "Yilede was not lying; the message was consistent! That 'Huhe' very likely is the Demon 'Arada'. However, someone capable of killing nearly twenty thousand men single-handedly should, by rights, have reached the Xujing realm. But Xujing experts usually don't bother with such messy affairs. Furthermore, Xujing experts hold exalted positions; few would be so bored."

"The Divine Generals judged that Demon Arada is likely a Xiantian Golden Core, but one possessing a special means to rapidly replenish his Xiantian True Essence."

Just then—

A youth, entirely shrouded in black clothing, entered. A trace of mockery played on his lips. "Big Brother, what are you doing? Spacing out?"

"Ah, it is Envoy Feng!" The red-robed Divine Envoy stood up immediately. "I was just contemplating the matter of Demon 'Arada'. Now that we have a suspected 'Arada' here, he just caused nearly two thousand casualties among the troops of our subordinate Gale Tribe."

The red-robed Divine Envoy was well aware that although his own power surpassed that of the youth before him, in terms of status, he was significantly lower than this mysterious black-clad envoy.

Envoy Feng's strength might not be paramount, but he was an absolute core figure.

"Oh, Demon 'Arada'?" The black-clad youth showed surprise. "Did he use any spear techniques? Or did you notice an axe on him?" If Teng Qingshan were present, he would instantly recognize this person as Sun Feng, who had disguised himself as a merchant previously!

"Envoy Feng, you suspect he is Teng Qingshan of the Jiuzhou continent? Impossible. Teng Qingshan is not that powerful," the red-robed envoy stated. "Besides, the reports did not mention spear techniques. They described a rather bizarre palm technique that inflicted nearly twenty thousand casualties on the Golden Wolf Kingdom's army."

Sun Feng smiled. "I was just asking. Dealing with this Demon 'Arada' shouldn't be difficult for the Celestial Mountain either! Aren't all the Divine Generals Xiantian Golden Core masters? Sending the First Divine General should absolutely resolve Demon 'Arada'."

"The First Divine General ranks in the top three of the 'Heavenly Ranking'—he could indeed handle Arada! However, the First Divine General is currently in secluded cultivation with the great 'Celestial God,'" the red-robed envoy replied respectfully.

"That's true. The First Divine General is old; if he doesn't break through to Xujing soon, his lifespan will run out," Sun Feng conceded.

The red-robed envoy managed an awkward smile; he dared not speak of a Divine General in such a manner. He continued, "Envoy Feng, summoning a Divine General is somewhat troublesome. If Envoy Feng could assist, the Divine Generals would surely grant you some deference."

"Deference? You mean deference to this set of black clothes I’m wearing," Sun Feng chuckled. "Come, let us go and meet the Divine Generals."