Mu Shentong had perished.
The Domain had shattered.
All Dead Corpses within Great Zhou automatically ceased to exist, destroyed at the sa mont.
Watching the Dead Corpses fall in swathes, Beiming Wang, his body stained with blood, visibly sighed in relief.
Shortly after, a wave of exhaustion surged through him, compelling him to plant his long spear into the ground for support.
Too tired!
The battle had not lasted very long. However, the expenditure of energy had been enormous.
Dead Corpses were everywhere, a never-ending onslaught that left not a mont’s respite. Even for a warrior at the Grandmaster Ultimate Summit, it was difficult to sustain such expenditure in an endless fight, where every mont was spent at full strength killing enemies.
Looking around, of the two million-strong army, less than half now remained.
In other words, Great Liang had not only failed to gain any benefit from entering Great Zhou but had instead lost half of its elite troops.
Seeing this, sadness was evident in Beiming Wang’s eyes.
It wasn’t that Great Liang’s elite troops were inadequate; the Dead Corpses were simply too nurous. If there had been a city to defend, such losses might not have occurred in so short a ti.
But the problem was that this was the wilderness, with no possibility of occupying and defending a city.
In close combat, casualties were inevitable.
"General, what should we do now?" a blood-soaked deputy general stepped forward, his expression sorrowful.
Beiming Wang took a few deep breaths, allowing himself to recover sowhat.
"Regroup and withdraw from Great Zhou!"
There was no choice but to retreat. Although the Dead Corpses had vanished for so unknown reason, the elite troops under his command had been halved, and those remaining had little combat power left.
If they didn’t retreat now, any further unexpected events would truly leave them waiting for death.
Only by withdrawing from Great Zhou could the others be preserved.
At his command, the army briefly reorganized before collectively retracing their steps.
As for the fallen soldiers of Great Liang, their bodies were left where they fell. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to take them, but there was simply no way to do so.
In such circumstances, Beiming Wang could only make such a decision.
Soon, as the army withdrew, nurous bodies were left behind in the wilderness. So were from Great Liang, others the Dead Corpses of Great Zhou.
On the way back, they saw an endless sprawl of Dead Corpses on the ground, with no end in sight.
This sight made Beiming Wang feel even more fortunate.
Luckily!
All those Dead Corpses had suddenly lost their lives. Otherwise, with such a multitude of them, not a single soldier from the two million-strong Great Liang army would have survived.
Let alone others, even he himself would have had no chance of survival. Even those at the Grandmaster Ultimate Summit were human, not gods.
Being human ant there would co a mont when one’s strength was utterly exhausted, leading to death.
Just retreating along their original path, the number of Dead Corpses they saw was no less than ten million. Moreover, there were many more further on.
"It’s over!"
Within a temporarily occupied city, Yan Jing watched the Dead Corpses fall, never to rise again, and finally felt a huge weight lift from his chest.
「Withdrawing from the Great Zhou Capital.」
The Azure Dragon Army and the Fire Qilin Army led the way, heading straight back to Great Qin.
Along the way, they encountered Dead Corpses blocking their path.
At first, Great Qin’s army was able to rely on its elite combat power to decimate the Dead Corpses. But later, as more and more Dead Corpses joined the battlefield, Great Qin’s forces gradually fell into a disadvantage.
For this reason, Yan Jing had to change his strategy. Instead of forcing their way through the encircling Dead Corpses, he chose a nearby city to serve as a stronghold against their attacks.
Though the Dead Corpses were nurous, they lacked any real Spirit Intellect. At the sa ti, their thods of attack were very simplistic.
Their only advantage was their endless number.
With a city to defend, fending off the Dead Corpses beca much easier.
Even so, under the Dead Corpses’ ceaseless, suicidal attacks, the city walls had been piled high with bodies, almost to the top.
If the Dead Corpses hadn’t suddenly all perished, Yan Jing had a premonition that, in a little while, even defending the city, they would have t certain death.
At that mont, a powerful figure arrived, treading through the air.
Seeing the newcor, Yan Jing hurriedly bowed deeply in salute.
"Your Majesty!"
The newcor was none other than Gu Xuanji and the others who had retreated from the Great Zhou Capital.
"Withdraw from Great Zhou!" Gu Xuanji didn’t waste words.
Upon hearing this, Yan Jing asked no further questions and imdiately gave the order for the army to begin its withdrawal.
Shen Changqing looked back in the direction of the Great Zhou Capital, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Does Great Zhou have other experts?"
"That is the Ghost Saint," Gu Xuanji spoke indifferently.
He was very familiar with the Ghost Saint’s aura; even after a hundred years, he could still sense it.
Ghost Saint!
Shen Changqing’s expression flickered. He recalled Mu Shentong’s dying words and, combined with this na, it wasn’t hard to guess who the Ghost Saint really was.
Demon Saint!
That Demon Saint who had invaded Great Qin a hundred years ago.
Upon hearing this, everyone else’s expressions also changed.
Ran An’s face grew solemn. "Emperor Qin, with the Demon Saint having erged, and us still in Great Zhou territory, could there be danger?"
If a Demon Saint pursued them, with their current strength, they would likely just be waiting for death.
At these words, Gu Xuanji smiled confidently. "Don’t worry. The Ghost Saint is extrely timid and cautious; he won’t make a move without absolute certainty."
The battle from a hundred years ago had evidently left a lasting impression on him.
Without absolute certainty, that Demon Saint dared not make a move. Even now, with Gu Xuanji having left Great Qin, the Demon Saint would probably not risk a gamble.
However arrogant the Ghost Saint was a hundred years ago, that’s how timid he was today. Mu Shentong died solely because he was tricked.
Had he understood even a little more about the power of resentnt, he wouldn’t have died from its backlash.
"From today on, no one is to enter Great Zhou territory without permission. So many of the Human Clan have fallen; a terrifying natural disaster will inevitably arise from this. Once such a disaster takes shape, it won’t be sothing ordinary experts can contend with."
Gu Xuanji warned once more. Imdiately afterward, he looked towards Ran An and Pei Feng.
"The matter of Great Zhou is concluded. Regarding my promise to the Star Plate, I will fulfill it upon returning to Great Qin. Do you two wish to leave on your own now, or will you return with Great Qin?"
Ran An and Pei Feng exchanged glances.
In the end, Ran An chuckled lightly. "We ca together; naturally, we should return together."
Part ways? Don’t be ridiculous. The Ghost Saint might not dare to pursue Gu Xuanji, but would he hesitate to chase after us? If we split up and were ambushed by the Demon Saint, the consequences would be dire. Comparatively, it would be much safer to travel with Great Qin. Besides, if we truly encountered trouble, joining forces would give us a better chance of survival.
Pei Feng felt the sa way.
To leave at this ti, even a Defender Envoy couldn’t guarantee their own safety.
Hearing their decision, Gu Xuanji said no more and simply led the retreat.
「They returned the way they ca.」
Along the way, they saw many corpses of civilians in Great Zhou attire—n and won, old and young—all fallen to the ground. It was a shocking scene.
Seeing this, many could not help but be moved.
Though familiar with life and death from their military experience, they had never witnessed a scene like this.
Shen Changqing’s heart also grew heavy. In troubled tis, human lives are as insignificant as weeds. Before the powerful, the weak are like ants, easily crushed. Now, Mu Shentong had sacrificed the entire Great Zhou Human Tribe in pursuit of longevity and power. Who knew if, one day, even stronger beings might appear and, for their own purposes, sacrifice the entire Human Clan of the world? He didn’t want to beco soone who could be so easily obliterated one day.
Strength! Shen Changqing silently affird to himself.
Only strength could change the current situation. Although Mu Shentong was the one who sacrificed Great Zhou, the true culprits were still the Demon Evil Clan. If not for the Demon Evil Clan, even if he had desired longevity, he might not have resorted to such an act. In other words, Mu Shentong deserved death. And the Demon Evil deserved to be killed just as much.
Gu Xuanji said slowly, "A single Demon Saint can cause the thousand-year-old Great Zhou to be utterly annihilated, with countless mbers of the Human Clan perishing. If stronger Demon Evils arrive one day, our Human Clan will no longer possess the strength to turn the tide."
Hearing this, Shen Changqing turned his head to look at Gu Xuanji.
That sentence seed to be intentionally directed at him. Judging by how the others remained unfazed, it was clear they couldn’t hear this voice.
Gu Xuanji continued, "The Human Clan is too chaotic now. Everyone fights for themselves, further dividing our already inadequate strength. Contending with the Demon Evil in the future will only beco more difficult."
"You are an expert of Great Qin, but you are also an expert of the Human Clan. I have always believed that the path of Martial Dao is the true path. The Ancient practice of Destiny Sealing the Gods is ultimately not the correct way."
"Mu Shentong did not perform the Refinent of Great Zhou’s destiny; instead, he chose to sacrifice the Great Zhou Human Tribe. The primary reason is that performing Refinent on destiny without permission results, at best, in a calamity and, at worst, in backlash from destiny itself. He knew this, so he didn’t dare perform Refinent on Great Zhou’s destiny himself. Thus, by sacrificing the Great Zhou Human Tribe, he fell into the Ghost Saint’s trap."
"I’m telling you this because I hope you won’t stray onto the wrong path. Destiny Sealing the Gods is not the correct way. Moreover, the disappearance of the Ancients proves that Destiny Sealing the Gods is not the ultimate path to strength."
"With your talent, you may one day carve out your own path. Even if the way ahead is currently unclear, you can forge a new one yourself. As for Destiny Sealing the Gods, it should not be pursued unless there is absolutely no other choice."
Hearing this, Shen Changqing was silent.
The aning behind Gu Xuanji’s lengthy words was quite clear. He was now more or less considered the strongest within the Human Clan. Even if not *the* strongest, he was certainly among the most powerful on the path of Martial Dao. However, he hadn’t expected Gu Xuanji to view Destiny Sealing the Gods as an incorrect path. Considering the disappearance of the Ancients, Shen Changqing found himself sowhat agreeing. Perhaps that path had once been correct, but its disappearance ultimately suggested it wasn’t strong enough. Since it wasn’t strong enough, there was no need for him to pursue Destiny Sealing the Gods. Moreover, refining the world’s destiny to achieve Destiny Sealing the Gods—how was such an act different from Mu Shentong’s? He didn’t consider himself a person of great righteousness, but he wouldn’t stoop to such actions either.
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