Chapter 71: Northern Sea Ice Palace
“They say they have co from the Hae-nam Sword Sect.”
At his subordinate’s reply, the Nine Mountain Giant King’s expression brightened.
That was because, next to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the Green Forest had invested the most effort into courting the Hae-nam Sword Sect.
Only by drawing them in could the Unorthodox Alliance, capable of standing against the Martial Alliance, be completed.
“Escort them in at once.”
At the Nine Mountain Giant King’s delighted words, the subordinate went out, and soon an elderly man with graying hair entered.
The mont he saw the man enter with a calm expression, the Nine Mountain Giant King recognized who he was.
The aura he openly emanated was not inferior to his own.
If he was from the Hae-nam Sword Sect and of equal standing to himself, then……
“Welco to the Green Forest, Wave Sword Venerable.”
At the Nine Mountain Giant King’s words, the entering elder, the Wave Sword Venerable, ford a faint smile.
“Thank you for the welco.”
“I have sent several invitation dispatches inviting you to Hae-nam, but I never expected you to co personally.”
“I had a ssage from my uncle, so I had no choice but to co.”
“Your uncle, you say……?”
As the Nine Mountain Giant King tilted his head, the Wave Sword Venerable answered.
“Would it be quicker if I said Man-Sa Calamity Emperor?”
At that reply, the Nine Mountain Giant King’s eyes widened.
It was because the epithet of the one once called the supre existence of the unorthodox factions had been ntioned.
“He—no, that person—is alive……?”
“Yes. He has returned.”
The man who had been without any news for the past fifty years had returned. Where he had gone, and what he had been doing, did not matter at all.
Such things were of no importance whatsoever to the Nine Mountain Giant King.
“Then was that person a mber of the Hae-nam Sword Sect? I have never heard such a story.”
“There are not many stories about him to begin with. He was not soone who operated on the mainland in the first place.”
That was true.
The na of the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor had mostly resounded across the sea.
Receiving the loyalty of over a hundred island fleets, leading a grand armada of five hundred ships, and ruling the seas of the entire world.
That was who the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor was.
The tales about him were only fragntary rumors that occasionally circulated along the southern coastline.
Even those alone were astonishing stories, enough for the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor to beco a giant among the unorthodox factions and one of the Four Heavenly Forces.
Otherwise, how could his seat have remained intact even during the fifty years he was absent?
And now, such a man had returned.
Soone of the Wave Sword Venerable’s stature had no reason to lie. There was no room to doubt that he had indeed returned.
The real issue was the ssage the returning Man-Sa Calamity Emperor wished to convey.
“What was the ssage?”
At the Nine Mountain Giant King’s tense question, the Wave Sword Venerable replied.
“Shall I co? Or will you co?”
Unlike the Wave Sword Venerable, who smiled faintly after delivering only those words, the Nine Mountain Giant King could not smile.
“Are you forcing submission upon right now?”
As the Nine Mountain Giant King’s voice imdiately dropped, the Wave Sword Venerable answered.
“Whether it is submission or companionship, I do not know my uncle’s true intent. I am rely conveying the words I was told to deliver.”
That was the truth.
When he had said that perhaps the Nine Mountain Giant King, who was shouting about completing the Unorthodox Alliance by drawing in the Northern Sea Ice Palace, needed to be dealt with, the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor had simply told him to go and convey those words.
Seeing the unwavering gaze of the Wave Sword Venerable, the Nine Mountain Giant King realized he was speaking honestly, and his expression hardened.
Even if he chose to ignore the symbolic aning of the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor as a leading figure of the unorthodox factions, the fact that he was one of the Four Heavenly Forces could not be disregarded.
If that man ca in person, there was no card he could play to oppose him.
Because of that, the Nine Mountain Giant King could not say a single word, and the Wave Sword Venerable left just like that.
Right after the Wave Sword Venerable departed, Kang Hwang asked the conflicted Nine Mountain Giant King.
“Will you submit?”
“What do you think?”
“We charge straight on, of course. A bandit without guts isn’t a bandit.”
Knowing exactly what he ant, the Nine Mountain Giant King spoke in a worried voice.
“If we hold out, there will be bloodshed. And that blood won’t end with just .”
“If he wants to kill us, even the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor will have to be prepared to lose an arm or two.”
At Kang Hwang’s words, the Nine Mountain Giant King let out a dry chuckle.
“I appreciate you thinking so highly of , but it won’t work. Not like that.”
“If it were just the Chief Banner Lord alone, sure.”
“Even with your help, it won’t work.”
“I know that even if soone like helps, it won’t be enough.”
“Then?”
“Call the Ice Heaven Blade King.”
At Kang Hwang ntioning the lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the Nine Mountain Giant King said,
“Will he co just because we call?”
Even though the Northern Sea Ice Palace had recently agreed to join the Unorthodox Alliance, he could not be certain they would step into a matter that put his very life on the line.
To the Nine Mountain Giant King’s concern, Kang Hwang replied,
“He’ll know that if we submit, they’re next.”
At Kang Hwang’s words, the Nine Mountain Giant King hesitated briefly, then nodded his head.
“Send a ssage hawk.”
At the Nine Mountain Giant King’s order, a smile spread across Kang Hwang’s face.
Calling the Ice Heaven Blade King ant that the Nine Mountain Giant King had resolved not to submit ekly.
“Yes. Chief Banner Lord.”
That was why Kang Hwang’s replying voice was filled with strength.
Unfortunately for the Nine Mountain Giant King, the Wave Sword Venerable’s next destination was the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
The ti it took him to arrive was not much different from that of the ssage hawk sent by the Green Forest.
At the very mont the Ice Heaven Blade King was hesitating after receiving the Nine Mountain Giant King’s ssage, the Wave Sword Venerable visited the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
And the Ice Heaven Blade King received a ssage entirely different from the one given to the Nine Mountain Giant King.
“Do not move. I fear the Northern Sea may turn into a sea of blood.”
As the Wave Sword Venerable calmly gazed at him after throwing out those words, the Ice Heaven Blade King asked,
“Does this an Hae-nam intends to invade the Northern Sea?”
At the Ice Heaven Blade King’s question, as cold as the Northern Sea itself, the Wave Sword Venerable curled his lips into a grin.
“It seems my uncle has no intention of mobilizing Hae-nam.”
“No matter if he is the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor, he cannot turn the Northern Sea into a sea of blood by himself.”
“Have you not heard the rumors? My uncle possesses more than a thousand Living Jiangshi.”
At the Wave Sword Venerable’s words, the Ice Heaven Blade King’s brow twitched.
He, too, had heard the rumors recently spreading through the southern Central Plains.
“Are you saying the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor knows the thod of creating Living Jiangshi?”
“The Calamity Emperor is the supre master of all matters.”
At that answer, the Ice Heaven Blade King’s eyes glead.
They might not know it, but the Northern Sea had experienced an attack by Living Jiangshi in the past.
At that ti, the Northern Sea had suffered damage more severe than expected.
Of course, at the end of that devastation, they had learned the most efficient thod to destroy Living Jiangshi.
Thus, the threat of Living Jiangshi was not as great as one might think.
The real problem was the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor’s power.
Though he had said that the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor alone could not turn the Northern Sea into a sea of blood, that was not true.
Given the Ice Palace’s circumstances, where the number of top-tier masters was no longer what it once had been, a visit from the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor could bring about a dire situation.
That was precisely why the Ice Heaven Blade King had sought to join hands with the Green Forest and enter the Unorthodox Alliance.
The absence of masters.
The Martial Alliance, which had been expanding its influence day after day, had already extended its reach deep into the Three Northeastern Provinces, where the Northern Sea’s interests lay.
To protect those interests, a confrontation with the Martial Alliance had beco inevitable, yet they lacked sufficient masters.
And in such a situation, they now faced the threat of the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor.
“Must I give an answer imdiately?”
“My uncle said he would naturally learn the Ice Palace’s answer when he visits the Green Forest.”
From those words, it was clear that the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor had already anticipated that the Green Forest would not comply willingly.
As the Ice Heaven Blade King was taken aback by that realization, the Wave Sword Venerable continued.
“We have no interest in the Northern Sea. We only wish for you to preserve it through immobility—by not moving.”
Leaving those words behind, the Wave Sword Venerable departed.
Afterward, left alone, the Ice Heaven Blade King pondered deeply for a long while before writing a single ssage and sending it off.
The ssage hawk that took flight from the Ice Palace spread its wings and flew westward.
The Cult Leader wore a puzzled expression as he read the ssage brought by the Strategist.
“Did this bastard eat sothing wrong? Why would he suddenly send us sothing like this?”
The Cult Leader had reason to be perplexed. The contents of the ssage were vague.
To be honest, this sort of ssage or letter was what the Bright Cult disliked the most.
More often than not, they went around in circles, making it impossible to tell what was really being said.
In particular, the Martial Alliance was fond of using this style of wording.
They often sent letters so ambiguous that one could not tell whether they were seeking a fight or reconciliation.
In any case, the Bright Cult’s replies were almost always the sa.
The frequent clashes between the Bright Cult and the Hundred Paths were often caused by such unclear letters from the Hundred Paths.
With plenty of such experience, the Bright Cult had now received a ssage written in that sa cloud-grasping style.
And not from the Martial Alliance of the Hundred Paths, but from the Ice Palace of the Northern Sea.
Because of that, at the Cult Leader’s question—his expression clearly saying have these people lost their minds?—the Strategist answered cautiously.
“‘Enduring the cold together’ can be read as aning they are facing a similar crisis.”
“A similar crisis?”
“I suspect they are referring to the Living Jiangshi.”
“Hani already went there, and they still think it’s a crisis?”
“The Vice Cult Leader will have nothing to worry about, but the losses among the other masters will be significant.”
At the Strategist’s answer, the Cult Leader remained silent for a mont before asking,
“Is there no way to counter Living Jiangshi?”
“We are scouring countless texts, but we have yet to discover any records detailing such a thod.”
The appearance of Living Jiangshi was recorded only three tis.
Almost as if to be fair, they had appeared once each in the Central Plains, Tibet, and the Northern Sea.
The records left in Tibet preserved, in vivid detail, the traces of a horrific war.
They stated that after suffering catastrophic losses, they had burned them all to death.
The records from the Central Plains were even more grueso.
Then as now, most of the Central Plains had been under the control of the Hundred Paths. In effect, they were records left by the Martial Alliance of the Hundred Paths.
According to them, the Martial Alliance realized far too late that Living Jiangshi could only be eliminated by fire.
As a result, the number of ordinary martial artists who died was staggering.
If the records were to be believed, the Hundred Paths required a full two hundred years to recover from that damage.
That alone made it easy to imagine the scale of the devastation they had suffered.
The Bright Cult squandered that once-in-a-lifeti opportunity by going to war with the Potala Palace.
Those damned warriors of Tibet, under the command of the Potala Palace, had launched a sudden invasion of the Central Plains.
The damage the Bright Cult suffered at that ti was just as deep and severe as the wounds the Hundred Paths had sustained from the Living Jiangshi.
It was because the Bright Cult, leading only the Eighteen Demon Sects, had fought a war against all of Tibet without the help of the Hundred Paths.
As a result, the Bright Cult and the entire demonic path had to spend a similar amount of ti to the Hundred Paths nursing their wounds.
In any case, neither the records of Tibet nor those of the Martial Alliance described any thod other than burning them with fire until complete annihilation.
As for the Northern Sea—
Records there were scarce to begin with. As if they were illiterate, the Northern Sea Ice Palace rarely kept written records.
What circulated instead were only legends so vague that it was difficult even to grasp their aning.
From those, all that could be learned was that after suffering considerable losses, they had managed to repel the Living Jiangshi.
After hearing the Strategist explain all of this, the Cult Leader’s eyes narrowed.
“So what are you suggesting? That we really join hands with these people?”
At the Cult Leader’s displeased question, the Strategist replied.
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