Chapter 363: Absolute World Connection The Ultimate Battle (End of this volume)

Zhao Xing and the Ten Yang Legion appeared in the most unexpected place; Nine Nether God couldn't fathom how he could possibly be there.

"Did he find a way to fully recover his strength and break through the Jue Tian Di Tong barrier, allowing him to appear in Guiyang City so quickly?" Nine Nether God asked.

"Lord God, our investigations show that Zhao Xing has recovered to the fifth rank."

Upon receiving this reply, Nine Nether God took a deep breath. He would have preferred Zhao Xing to have found a loophole, recovered his full strength, and then charged through with his army. This outcome was far worse. It made him look foolish, completely manipulated by Zhao Xing. His entire army of 400,000 was marching according to Zhao Xing's will. He felt like a fool, being led by the nose. Nine Nether God felt his Dao Heart waver.

"You may leave now." Nine Nether God wanted to calm himself. Fearing his subordinates would see his composure break, he dismissed his high-ranking generals before losing control.

Once everyone was gone, Nine Nether God clenched his fists, veins bulging, a low roar escaping his throat. What humiliation! He felt as though he was being nailed to a pillar of shame! It was laughable that he had believed Zhao Xing was about to be killed by him just moments before. A frantic aura erupted from him, shattering the surrounding objects. Clearly, Nine Nether God had lost control.

At that very moment, outside Guiyang City.

"Nine Nether God! Do you dare to face me in battle!""Nine Nether God! Do you dare to face me in battle!""Nine Nether God! Do you dare to face me in battle!"

The voices thundered, echoing through the heavens and earth. It began with Zhao Xing's roar, followed by the entire Ten Yang Legion shouting in unison. Even Guiyang City's barrier couldn't completely block out the sound.

Since Nine Nether God had deployed all his troops, Guiyang City had only just over three thousand garrison soldiers. Although there were many high-ranking generals present, everyone felt insecure.

"Everyone, we must leave quickly!" a burly man with sword-like eyebrows and piercing eyes exclaimed. "Lord God drove us out; it seems he's run out of options. It's probably too late to recall the main army now."

"Indeed, Zhao Xing must have fully recovered his strength. Although there are still three thousand of us in Guiyang City, we are no match for three thousand people. If we delay, we'll be trapped and killed here!"

"We previously thought he would die in Minland, yet he somehow flew to Guiyang City. Something is definitely wrong!"

"Yes, we are no match for them; we might all die here—"

"Lord God is only at the fifth rank now. While we have twenty or thirty fifth-rank experts in the city, can we truly defeat Zhao Xing, who has fully recovered his strength?"

"I don't understand why you're all discussing being trapped, as if the battle at Guiyang City is doomed for us..."

"Witch Moon God's methods cannot be broken! Zhao Xing absolutely has not recovered his full strength!"

"Although the Ten Yang Legion has over thirty thousand troops, currently only he is at the fifth rank. In our Guiyang City, we have a total of thirty experts, including those at the early, mid, and late stages of the fifth rank!"

"No matter what, thirty against one, the advantage is clearly on our side."

Outside the grand hall, chaos erupted. Zhao Xing's sudden appearance, completely defying everyone's expectations, was the main reason. Unable to comprehend how Zhao Xing had achieved this, they could only speculate that he had fully recovered his strength.

"Hush, be quiet, Lord God is coming out—"

The area outside the grand hall quickly fell silent.

Nine Nether God stepped out the door, looked at his subordinates, but said nothing. He continued walking, as if teleporting, taking a single step that brought him outside the City Lord's Manor. The Nine Nether Generals under his command quickly realized his intention and swiftly followed him. Nine Nether God's steps were unceasing, and he soon arrived atop the city wall.

At that moment, Zhao Xing stood at the bow of a sky-breaking flying vessel, gazing across at Nine Nether God. The clamoring army quieted down. Zhao Xing raised his hand, and the army began to retreat silently. Nine Nether God also waved his hand, left the barrier, and prevented the other fifth-rank experts from leaving the city wall. He decided to accept the invitation and engage in a climactic duel with Zhao Xing.

If he could kill Zhao Xing, the morale of the three thousand cultivators in Guiyang City would undoubtedly surge. Led by the thirty fifth-rank experts, they would certainly be able to disperse the leaderless Ten Yang Legion. This was his last chance to turn the tide! Otherwise, Zhao Xing would bypass Guiyang City, head north unimpeded, like a dragon entering the sea, and become unstoppable.

Zhao Xing understood this well. Only such an invitation would be tempting enough for Nine Nether God to come out and fight. Otherwise, with thirty fifth-rank and sixth-rank experts lingering behind his army, he wouldn't be able to rest properly. The Ten Yang Legion now had nearly ten thousand cultivators. If they formed a battle formation, they wouldn't fear experts charging their lines. But doing so would make their movement too slow. Therefore, to head north, he needed to intimidate their high-level combatants (fifth-rank) so they wouldn't dare pursue him. Ideally, he would defeat Nine Nether God.

Seeing Nine Nether God come out alone, Zhao Xing was somewhat surprised. He had prepared to fight multiple opponents, but Nine Nether God intended to fight by himself.

*Whoosh, whoosh.* The two flew into the sky, standing three thousand meters apart, and the entire world fell silent.

Both were at the peak of the fifth-rank Pure Essence Realm. Both were unrivaled experts who had never known defeat!

After a moment of silence, Nine Nether God suddenly spoke, "Zhao Xing, I'm very curious how you recovered to the fifth rank. Logically, the number of people your Ten Yang Legion killed in the past three months isn't enough to support your recovery."

Zhao Xing wasn't worried about Nine Nether God stalling for time. After discovering so many powerful experts in Guiyang City, he had already ordered the Ten Yang Legion to retreat to minimize casualties. The longer they talked, the farther the Ten Yang Legion would get.

"The experts of Guiyuan Sect offered their power to me."

"As expected," Nine Nether God said with a cold gaze. "I long advised Witch Moon God to kill these ungrateful vipers before they could bite back. And now, they have indeed betrayed us."

"Those who follow the Dao receive much help; those who deviate from it receive little. You people call yourselves gods, yet you obstruct the path to ascension. How could those brilliant talents, stuck at the Rule Realm and unable to ascend, only to die in despair, ever truly pledge their loyalty to you?" Zhao Xing retorted.

"Do you really think they are truly loyal to you?" Nine Nether God scoffed. "They simply help whoever is winning. If you hadn't appeared in Guiyang City, would they have dared to do this?"

"History doesn't allow for assumptions. My presence here is a fact," Zhao Xing calmly stated. "Alright, there's no need for us to engage in this meaningless debate."

"Since you asked me a question, you answer one for me."

"Legend says Nine Nether God can freely enter the void of the Underworld. Is that true? And did you and Witch Moon God choose inheritors, or are you undergoing reincarnation?"

Nine Nether God glanced at Zhao Xing. "You know quite a lot. Yes, Witch Moon God and I can both freely enter the void. We are the guardians of the Xuanhuang World, preventing you from destroying it, and thus we receive the favor of the Heavenly Dao, while you will be punished by it."

"Kesi God isn't even from the Xuanhuang World. Don't you find it ridiculous that such a being receives the Heavenly Dao's favor?" Zhao Xing scoffed. "He should be called Ka God; he's from the divine star race, isn't he?"

"Aren't you aware of how much the Ka God race has harmed the Xuanhuang World? All this talk of 'gods' and 'Heavenly Dao' is nonsense. It's more likely you've been brainwashed by generations of Witch Moon Gods."

"How could you possibly comprehend Witch Moon God's painstaking efforts?" Nine Nether God responded calmly, unprovoked. "You simply don't understand."

"The existence of the Ka God Realm Star already proves that the vast universe contains other civilizations and life, and the Qingyuzi Legacy is even more so. I believe that a million years ago, Qingyuzi had a conversation with Witch Moon God, and even told Witch Moon God the star map coordinates outside." Zhao Xing shook his head. "But you can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep."

"Simply put, ascending dynasties mining the Xuanhuang World's resources are severing your possibility of eternal life."

"Ultimately, it's because you're greedy for life and fear death, unwilling to venture out and explore. You only want to use the Xuanhuang World to achieve eternal reincarnation. You want to monopolize the benefits of the Xuanhuang World, and to that end, you don't hesitate to sever the path to ascension, claiming it's 'for the Xuanhuang World'? How hypocritical."

"Enough talk, let's fight!"

Nine Nether God let out a low roar, and immediately, his aura exploded. His physique, originally no different from a human's, transformed. His muscles became incredibly exaggerated, stretching his clothes open. A row of eerie green compound eyes appeared on his chest and back, and a green canopy, dotted with black spots, grew from his head. Two thick wings also sprouted from his back. His hands and feet seemed covered in leather, and his muscles were striated. Lightning flickered within Nine Nether God's aura; his entire being had completely changed.

"What Nine Nether God? Merely a spirit formed from an Yin-worm of the void," Zhao Xing observed. "Neither human nor ghost."

"Silence!" Nine Nether God's voice seemed to have many vocal cords overlapping, emitting an extremely bizarre roar.

"You silence yourself!" Zhao Xing also let out a furious roar, a dragon's cry echoing through the air. The sound waves were visible to the naked eye, shattering Nine Nether God's sonic attack.

*Bang, bang, bang!* Nine Nether God shot towards Zhao Xing like an arrow released from a bowstring. His speed was incredibly fast, generating sonic booms.

"Pure Essence Projection!" At the peak of the fifth-rank Pure Essence Realm, Zhao Xing could now fully activate his Pure Essence Soil to create projections. A phantom image of a spirit mountain suddenly appeared between the two, abruptly blocking Nine Nether God's path.

*Boom!* Relying on his thick skin and tough flesh, Nine Nether God chose to ram directly into it. A colossal sound erupted as a ten-meter-long hole was gouged into the spirit mountain's phantom, sending shattered rock flying. But he himself was also bounced back. He spun uncontrollably, retreating a hundred meters before stabilizing his posture.

Nine Nether God, shaking his head, was somewhat surprised. His head was the toughest part of his body. Although he was only at the fifth rank, he had managed to collapse spirit mountains even at that level before. But this one from Zhao Xing was clearly different; it was too hard! A ten-meter hole was insignificant damage to the spirit mountain. This mountain was at least ten thousand meters tall and a thousand meters thick. How long would it take to ram through it?

"Hitting my mountain?" Zhao Xing chuckled. "Do you think you're Gong Gong?"

*Swish, swish, swish.* Zhao Xing began summoning clones. At the fifth rank, Zhao Xing could now use advanced strawman techniques. These advanced strawman techniques were all fusion arts, such as the Flying Heavenly Sacred Shield, Flying Self-Detonation, Phantom Self-Detonation, Invisible Soul Devour, and so on.

As soon as Nine Nether God flew over the mountain, he saw an army of strawmen waiting for him on the other side.

*Zizz, zizz, zizz.* The first batch of twenty strawmen, flickering with lightning, swung their lightning chains towards Nine Nether God. The second batch, also twenty strawmen, quickly approached, extending their arms to coil around and bind Nine Nether God in layers.

"King of Hell's Avatar!" Nine Nether God was enveloped by a fierce demonic god, a towering figure that blocked the strawmen's spells ten meters away, forming a protective shield.

"Explode!" Batch after batch of strawmen charged towards Nine Nether God, exploding continuously. Smoke and dust filled the sky, almost instantly engulfing Nine Nether God's body.

"All smoke, no damage. Nine Nether God's aura hasn't diminished much," Zhao Xing mused, stroking his chin. "My set of strawman attacks at the fifth rank, when facing a naturally gifted monstrous spirit like Nine Nether God, turned into a prince's battle tactic."

"Nine Nether: Yin Erosion!" Nine Nether God opened his mouth and spat out a wisp of black energy, forming a black light sword. Soon, there was a second, a third... He conjured as many light swords as there were strawman clones.

"Slash, slash, slash!" The black light swords around Nine Nether God moved like swimming dragons, swiftly piercing through each strawman. Soon, there were fewer and fewer strawmen in the sky.

"Let's see how many strawmen you can summon!" Nine Nether God sneered, pushing forward step by step amidst the explosions of strawmen. "Five Elements Poison Barrier!"

"Thunderbolt Disillusionment Finger!""Nine Heavens Gale!""Dripping Rain Domain!""Heavenly Fiery Malevolence!""Soaring Serpent Transformation!"

The strawman clones' spells continuously hammered Nine Nether God, but he endured them all with his King of Hell's Avatar. Nine Nether: Yin Erosion relentlessly cut through wind, rain, thunder, and clouds, as if capable of breaking all techniques in the world.

"This incarnation of Nine Nether God is even stronger. His 'Black Light Slash' and 'King of Hell's Avatar' are far more powerful in both offense and defense," Zhao Xing thought to himself. "It seems Witch Moon God raising the limit of Jue Tian Di Tong to the fifth rank also removed many restrictions for Nine Nether God."

"His true form is the Nine-Headed Yin Nether Worm. He possesses a total of nine innate divine abilities. Among them, Nine Nether: Yin Erosion and Nine Nether: King of Hell are stronger minor divine abilities, and he awakened them at the fifth rank. Even within the range of Jue Tian Di Tong, greatly weakened, they are still not solvable by ordinary magic."

Soon, Zhao Xing's strawmen were all destroyed, and Zhao Xing stopped sending out new ones.

"Why aren't you sending out more clones?"

"Hahahahaha, you know nothing of a god's power!" Nine Nether God cackled wildly. "I possess nine minor innate divine abilities, and even at the fifth rank, I can use three of them."

"You had a perfect chance to flee, yet you chose to challenge me? You're truly seeking death!"

Looking at the arrogant Nine Nether God, Zhao Xing assessed the situation and realized that his opponent seemed to be 'cheating,' with overall strength that completely surpassed the fifth-rank limit. If Nine Nether God were merely a sixth-rank entity, he wouldn't be able to use any divine abilities, only relying on acquired spells or martial arts. Yet, this single rank difference allowed Nine Nether God's combat power to escalate incredibly.

However— "Who says only you can cheat?"

Zhao Xing chuckled softly, flung a flower basket out, and retreated behind the Mobius Vine.

"Hmm?" Nine Nether God suddenly froze, then his expression drastically changed. He felt an intense threat. His King of Hell's Avatar instantly extinguished, and the black light swords seemed to solidify, suspended in mid-air. The Mobius Vine seemed to be rooted in the air. As its purplish-black leaves swayed, a third layer appeared in the heavens and earth—a space unique to the Mobius Vine.

One of the Mobius Vine's innate divine abilities: Void Imprisonment!

"Laugh, why aren't you laughing now?" Zhao Xing extended a hand, and the phantom spirit mountain shifted.

"Rise!" The spirit mountain lifted into the air. It was born from the Pure Essence Projection, and now Zhao Xing was using this mountain to crush his opponent. The power of the "Self" school of cultivation was fully evident at this moment. When a spirit mountain and earth veins are cultivated within one's body: "I am the Heavens and Earth!" Centuries of early development, investing vast resources, finally yielded returns in the later stages. However, in the Xuanhuang World, very few "Self" school cultivators could await such a day.

"Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell!" At the last moment, Nine Nether God's entire body suddenly split open, and a figure flew out from the solidified husk. The King of Hell's Avatar extinguished, and the black light swords vanished. But he had, after all, escaped the mountain's suppression, re-establishing his position in the high sky.

*Hiss, hiss, hiss.* Nine Nether God's chest heaved violently. He had just used his third innate ability, but this clearly consumed a vast amount of his energy. His green, white, and purple mottled skin had turned blood-red. This was an escape maneuver, and its cost was considerable. "Where are you fleeing to?!"

Zhao Xing stepped on a cloud, quickly closing the distance, and manipulated the flower basket's position, causing the Mobius Vine's position to change rapidly as well. The heavens and earth seemed to turn into a flowing river, and the range of the Void Imprisonment once again enveloped Nine Nether God.

*Boom!* Nine Nether God once again used an innate ability, escaping the Void Imprisonment. But this time, his body had shrunk significantly, as if each shedding of the shell depleted a large amount of his energy. As far as Zhao Xing knew, Nine Nether God, as the possessor of the Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell innate divine ability, could use it a maximum of nine times. Others who learned the spell could not truly unleash the full mystery of Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell, only able to use it up to five times. After all, one was naturally gifted with it, while the other was a technique developed through post-natal study of Nine Nether God's innate abilities; the difference was naturally vast.

"How can there be such a powerful plant-based combat unit!" Nine Nether God couldn't comprehend. Was this truly a life form born from the Xuanhuang World? The continuous escapes made Nine Nether God consider retreating. The continuous escapes also made the Mobius Vine extremely displeased. Everyone else died properly, so why was this guy continuously escaping?

*Spit!* The purplish-black leaves began to profusely emit mist. The Mobius Vine suddenly expanded the range of its Void Imprisonment. It expanded so quickly that even Zhao Xing was immobilized. He remained in his cloud-stepping posture, motionless.

"Big Brother is truly insane, attacking his own people," Zhao Xing was startled. Only his thoughts were active; not a single hair on the rest of his body could move.

Immobilized once again, Nine Nether God's shell-shedding speed became extremely slow. And the Mobius Vine did not give him this chance; it unleashed its second divine ability—Void Strangulation. Black fissures suddenly appeared at Nine Nether God's location. The entire process was silent. Nine Nether God simply split apart. His body was suddenly divided into sixty pieces, which rapidly pulled apart and were thrown in different directions.

Having completed all this, the Mobius Vine seemed somewhat weakened, quickly retracting into the flower basket. The Pure Essence Projection swept back, entering Zhao Xing's body to recuperate. At the same time, Zhao Xing regained his mobility and looked at Nine Nether God again. Although the black fissures had vanished, Nine Nether God couldn't re-form and had become a pile of flesh chunks.

"Heavenly Fire!" Zhao Xing quickly cast a spell, incinerating Nine Nether God's remains. Along with the two shed shells, they were all burned clean.

"You said I knew nothing of a god's power? Hmph, you also know nothing of the Mobius Vine's power." Zhao Xing, stepping on a cloud, strode away.

"My heavens, Nine Nether God is dead!""I said it before, Zhao Xing must have fully recovered his strength. What do we do now?""Charge out and avenge Nine Nether God!"

"That's right, we must have our revenge! Generals, I, Qingyangzi, will go prepare now to fight those demons from Great Zhou to the death!" A general in Nine Nether battle armor immediately cupped his hands, then, with two adjutants beside him, left the city wall.

"We'll brave fire and water, without hesitation! My Cangyue Sect will also gather its forces!" Another Nine Nether general descended from the city wall.

The remaining people were still in shock and stupor. But once these two were off the city wall, they simultaneously stripped off their Nine Nether battle armor and pulled out sets of Great Zhou's Mingguang armor. Their movements were so swift and decisive, changing outfits faster than changing faces.

"Quick, quick, let's head to the Floating Ship Bureau to the east, we'll be too late if we delay!" Qingyangzi urged. "Now that Nine Nether God is dead, the Southern Barbarians are a sinking ship. We can't wait any longer; we must complete our surrender before the news spreads."

Qingyangzi swiftly led his men towards the Floating Ship Bureau.

The other Nine Nether general quickly returned to the deliberation hall and found a barbarian colleague from the Nine Nether Army. "Brother Cangyue, why are you suddenly down here? Has the crisis outside the city been resolved?"

Daoist Cangyue looked anxious as he quickly approached the magician. "Nine Nether God has defeated the enemy! We are now to pursue them out of the city. However, my sect's army is lacking one thing. I've come to borrow something from you, brother."

"Excellent! What do you wish to borrow?"

"Your head!"

A flash of sword light crossed the neck, and the head flew high into the air. Daoist Cangyue deftly took out a soul pouch and collected both the corpse and soul of the opponent. He also swept clean all the valuable items in the logistics department.

"Go!" Zhao Xing did not attack Guiyang City again, as the city itself had fallen into chaos. He quickly pursued the retreating Ten Yang Legion, beginning his journey north.

Meanwhile, Li Hao, commander of the Wuyao Army, was struggling to capture a fortress along the southern defensive line of the Canglan River in Cangyue Prefecture.

"General! General! Urgent report from the Ten Yang Legion!"

Li Hao, who was reviewing the battle situation in the marching tent, immediately looked up upon hearing the news. "Quick, let me see it!"

At this moment, Li Hao was also extremely anxious. The higher-ups had explicitly stated that if Zhao Xing died, the grand plan of ascension would be ruined, so this rescue mission came with a death order. A day earlier, he had received news that Zhao Xing's Ten Yang Legion was besieged in Minland. And his was the closest unit. However, "closest" was relative; Li Hao estimated it would take at least half a month to reach them. So, he hoped Zhao Xing's Ten Yang Legion could hold out a little longer, or at least Zhao Xing himself.

"To General Li Hao, our army has moved north past the Tianshui River and reached Guiyang County, intending to rendezvous with General Dong Ze to the north. General, there's no need to attack Cangyue Pass for rescue—" "What?"

Li Hao was stunned, suspecting he had misread, but the signature was indeed "Grand Minister of Agriculture Zhao Xing."

"Is this truly intelligence from the Ten Yang Legion?"

"General, there's no error in the Ten Yang Legion's secret message," a subordinate reported. "Our Intelligence Bureau confirms it was indeed transmitted by the Ten Yang Legion's mechanist."

"How is that possible? He was in Minland yesterday, and today he's in Guiyang County?" Li Hao stared at the sand table map, his mind filled with questions.

Zhao Xing's four crossings of the Tianshui River bewildered not only Nine Nether God but also his own allies; everyone was kept in the dark. Li Hao was still fiercely attacking in the southeast, trying to rescue those in Minland, yet Zhao Xing and the Ten Yang Legion had already passed Guiyang County and gone north.

"General, another urgent report from the Ten Yang Legion!"

"Read it quickly!"

"General Li Hao, please be informed: Nine Nether God has been slain by the Grand Minister of Agriculture in a duel. The morale of Lanhe and Cangyue Prefectures will surely be in disarray. Our army has withdrawn from Guiyang County's border. There are no enemies ahead. General, you may seize this opportunity to consider attacking the Cangyue Pass defense line, or attack the Karlette tribe to the southeast, or the Yufeiyang tribe to the southwest. Grand Minister of Agriculture Zhao Xing." The adjutant's voice carried a hint of disbelief as he read.

Li Hao was even more confused. He suspected it was an enemy conspiracy. Otherwise, how could such a thing possibly happen?

"Is the secret message accurate?"

"Accurate."

Li Hao said with a worried expression, "I fear the main force of the Ten Yang Legion has been captured alive." He thought this way because he dared not believe the intelligence was true! It was simply too absurd! Zhao Xing, with thirty thousand men, not only escaped a siege of four hundred thousand but also casually slew Nine Nether God, the supreme commander. In Jue Tian Di Tong, this was the strongest combat power! Nine Nether God was no ordinary fifth-rank expert; according to Yun Tiandao, Nine Nether God could likely exert even greater combat power.

"What is the enemy's intention in fabricating such an outrageous story?" Li Hao immediately convened his military strategists for discussion.

Suddenly, one strategist, after looking at the map, said, "General, what if this is true? What if the Grand Minister of Agriculture truly fought like a god and escaped?"

Li Hao looked at the route of the four crossings of the Tianhe River and couldn't help but sigh. "If that's truly the case, then it's not fighting like a god, but a god waging war."

Li Hao's division ultimately decided to continue attacking Cangyue Pass. He couldn't confirm the truthfulness, but attacking as usual was definitely not wrong. If the news was true, Cangyue Pass would soon see a chain reaction.

Meanwhile, in the northeastern Dong Ze's division, they also received news from the Ten Yang Legion.

"The Ten Yang Legion has reached the 'Beisangling' area and is expected to arrive at Hong'a City in three days. Our army is requested to attack the four towns of Miyano, Fantuo, and Daoyu to meet the Ten Yang Legion—Heh."

Dong Ze looked at the intelligence report and couldn't help but snort.

"The Grand Minister of Agriculture and the Ten Yang Legion were trapped in Minland; how could they be in the Beisangling area? This must be an enemy conspiracy."

"Issue orders: the mechanist Wang Ji has either been captured alive by the enemy or defected. No further messages from him are to be trusted."

"Miyano, Fantuo, Daoyu, and Hong'a cities probably have ambushes. We'll attack from another direction," Dong Ze commanded. "We must reach Guiyang County as quickly as possible! Put pressure on Nine Nether God!"

The main rescue force was Li Hao's Wuyao Army, but Dong Ze's side also had to apply pressure. At this time, like Li Hao, he didn't believe the so-called intelligence from the Ten Yang Legion. This made the Ten Yang Legion quite frustrated.

"Damn it, why don't these old fogeys believe us?" Long Xiao exclaimed.

"If you weren't in the Ten Yang Legion, would you believe it?" Chen Shijie asked.

"This—" Long Xiao was speechless. If he put himself in their shoes, it would indeed be hard to believe. After all, it was too outrageous.

"Wang Ji, did you report the secret message from the Military Intelligence Bureau?" Xia Jing asked.

"They cursed me as a traitor and blacklisted me," Wang Ji said helplessly.

Xia Jing sighed, "Have someone else report it."

Zhao Xing chuckled, "Don't blame them. It's fine; just wait a couple more days. Once the imperial court receives news from multiple sources, they will naturally confirm it."

In late April of Yuan Ding's sixteenth year, the imperial court finally confirmed the news of Nine Nether God's death. But Zhao Xing had already returned ahead of schedule. Because when everyone else disbelieved, two people believed: one was Ye Yukong. After reviewing the intelligence and maps, he immediately dispatched troops to Hong'a City for an attack, and indeed discovered the Ten Yang Legion beginning its siege from another side. The second believer was Liu Tianning. He became Ye Yukong's military minister of agriculture. He believed not because of any analysis, but purely by intuition, feeling that the tone was truly Zhao Xing's. Consequently, Ye Yukong called upon King Shenluo and Liu Tianning to meet Zhao Xing upon his return.

Soon after, Dong Ze and Li Hao quickly mobilized their troops, launching a full-scale offensive amidst the chaos. On the tenth day of the fifth month, Zhao Xing successfully returned, having escaped the Jue Tian Di Tong area.

"Finally out, damn it!"

At the border, there were numerous dilapidated floating ships and large siege engines. At this pass of Jue Tian Di Tong, Zhao Xing saw familiar faces. Yun Tiandao, Ji Si, Liu Tianning, Ling Tianchen, Qiu Yuanshan, and even Princess Youruo had come.

"Welcome, King Zhao!"

A dense crowd erupted in fervent cheers. Zhao Xing descended from the floating ship.

"Thank you all for waiting so long."

Ji Si stepped forward and whispered, "His Majesty cannot move and specially sent me to greet you. Please proceed directly to an audience with His Majesty upon your return, King Zhao."

"Good, I understand," Zhao Xing nodded.

Witch Moon God and Ji Che, after Jue Tian Di Tong was cast, would engage in a prolonged standoff. In the previous life, almost every ascending Emperor of Fortune would seize the opportunity when Witch Moon God cast Jue Tian Di Tong to plunge the Human Emperor Sword into Witch Moon God's body. Emperor Wu was the first to do this, as it was the only way to slightly reduce the difficulty of Jue Tian Di Tong. Later generations followed suit, earning Witch Moon God the nickname 'Sword Witch'.

"I thought you were dead," Yun Tiandao said, letting out a long sigh of relief as he saw Zhao Xing return. A hint of self-reproach was in his eyes; clearly, he felt guilty for not letting Zhao Xing step onto his Star Cloud at that time.

"I'm not that easy to kill; I still need to help you find your family," Zhao Xing chuckled. "You don't need to overthink it. Witch Moon God was after me, so I definitely couldn't have stepped on your cloud."

"Zhao Xing," Liu Tianning's voice called out.

"Teacher," Zhao Xing stepped past Yun Tiandao, looking at Liu Tianning.

"It's good that you're back," Liu Tianning nodded. "I knew you wouldn't die."

"Thank you, Teacher and General Ye, for your trust."

"Let's go, first to see His Majesty. His Majesty has been worrying about you for a long time," Princess Youruo smiled.

"Alright."

Inside the Taiji Palace in Yinyou Royal City. Ji Che sat on his throne, a luminous Heavenly Book floating above his head, gleaming with golden light. As Zhao Xing walked in, the golden light trembled, revealing Ji Che's excited heart.

"Hahahahaha, Eldest Brother, you're truly back!""You crossed the Tianhe River four times and even killed Nine Nether God. Amazing!"

Ji Che seemed to brighten up instantly. The gloomy atmosphere of the entire hall became cheerful, as if he had returned to his old, carefree imperial self.

"It was also fortunate," Zhao Xing sighed. "If Great Zhou hadn't prepared for so long, leaving many spies in the Southern Barbarian lands, and if the soldiers hadn't been resolute, we probably wouldn't have achieved this." If it hadn't been the Ten Yang Legion, a different army would have found it difficult, because the Ten Yang Legion was among the first to employ unconventional methods, making them highly accustomed to this kind of warfare. Senior generals like Xia Jing, Long Xiao, and Chen Shijie were all old acquaintances; not to mention their telepathic understanding, their tacit understanding was also at its peak. Without them leading a part of the army, it would have been difficult to break into smaller units and then re-form into a large army.

"Eldest Brother, quickly tell me the exact process," Ji Che said excitedly. "I heard the news in mid-April, but I still want to hear you recount it again."

"Alright, I'll recount it once more," Zhao Xing smiled. "Around January 20th, we were trapped in Fengwu City. At that time, I discovered Nine Nether God's three armies beginning a sweep, so we had no choice but to cross the river and flee—"

Time flew by, and soon it was the 48th year of Yuan Ding. Twenty-two years had passed since Zhao Xing's return.

In Yinyou City, the Ministry of Agriculture. Zhao Xing was handling official duties when suddenly, Meng Kun rushed in excitedly.

"Grand Minister of Agriculture, a victory report! A great victory report!"

"Old Meng, what's so exciting about a victory report? Haven't we had plenty of victory reports