Chapter 1671: The First Heavenly Master

Meng Yungui, the human deity from Yu Hua Heaven, arrived to escort supplies with a small force, primarily his personal troops known as the Feathered Camp. Over the years, many human gods, mostly from Yu Hua Heaven, had joined him. He was a skilled military commander, and most of his subordinates were fiercely loyal. However, the Celestial Heavens had also infiltrated his Feathered Camp with numerous demigods to monitor his activities. After all, as a human, he was never fully trusted by the Celestial Heavens. Although he also commanded other forces within the Celestial Heavens, such as the Ten Celestial Guards, these armies answered solely to the Heavenly Emperor and he had no authority to mobilize them.

As Meng Yungui executed Yan Yazi, a swift purge simultaneously took place within the Feathered Camp. By the time Meng Yungui had eliminated Yan Yazi's divine demons, the Feathered Camp soldiers arrived by boat, their vessels stained with blood, and the Heavenly River tributary already ran crimson.

Sword in hand, Meng Yungui stood amidst the numerous corpses of the Southern Heavenly Palace, gazing at his arriving soldiers. Slave ships docked by the riverbank, blood still trickling from the divine armor of the human gods on board.

The atmosphere grew heavy.

"Do you regret this?"

Meng Yungui's voice had lost its usual strategizing confidence; this rebellion felt more like a sudden, impulsive decision rather than a thoroughly planned revolt. For a Celestial Master of his caliber, being swayed by emotion was a significant misstep. He knew in his heart that this rebellion was doomed to fail. The human soldiers who had followed him for years would likely all perish.

"If you rebel with me, it will likely end in failure, bringing no honor, no glory. What awaits you might only be a string of defeats and the deaths of your comrades." Meng Yungui looked at his subordinates, his gaze sweeping over each familiar face. He spoke in a deep voice, "When I led you from Yu Hua Heaven, I might not be able to lead you back alive. Perhaps only your corpses will return, or perhaps nothing at all will be left. If we are defeated, the history recorded by the Celestial Heavens will only speak of our disgrace. If we die, there will be no gravestones. Our lifelong cultivation might only lead to our bodies lying like dead dogs on the battlefield, and even in death, we will be cursed: 'Look! These are the traitors!'"

"Will you still follow me?" he asked, his voice rising.

Silence fell over the Feathered Camp soldiers on the slave ships. Then, one soldier pushed open his faceplate, revealing a resolute expression.

"Celestial Master, you brought me out of Yu Hua Heaven." The middle-aged god's voice, though quiet, resonated powerfully. "I only know that before I met the Celestial Master, I lived worse than a dog. When the calamity struck years ago, starved bodies lay everywhere. I followed my villagers to the city to beg, countless dying of hunger on the way. I arrived in the city, dizzy with starvation, searching for discarded food in the foul ditches of a demigod's mansion! I found human bones they had gnawed on; I was so desperate I wanted to eat them. You were the one who pulled me out of that ditch. You told me we must have dignity, that we must not eat our own, that our human race must live with integrity and make a name for itself! You said humans are not born to be slaves, nor are they destined to be food for the gods. You said you would make humanity live better! From that moment, I have followed you!"

Another god pushed open his faceplate, revealing a long scar on his face, like a centipede mark left by a whip. His voice was hoarse as he said, "I was also a survivor of that calamity. From that moment, I have followed you. Back then, you were still a divine ability user, full of youthful vigor, and you gave hope to us, who were nothing but skin and bones from hunger."

"I was there at that time too."

Yet another god pushed open his faceplate: "We followed you through life and death; many comrades perished, but we survived."

"Me too!"

"And I!"

"Not me directly, but my father was. Before he died, my father instructed me to follow the Celestial Master, never abandoning him!"

Many other gods had not followed Meng Yungui since the Yu Hua Heaven calamity, but they had come this far due to their shared beliefs and unwavering trust in him.

"You taught us reason and righteousness, telling us that where justice lies, we must act without hesitation!" An old general smiled, "Now, justice is here, so we act without hesitation! We..." He knelt on one knee on the deck, his voice resonating loudly, "We swear to follow the Celestial Master to our deaths!"

On every slave ship, the Feathered Camp soldiers uniformly knelt on one knee, their voices echoing across the Heavenly River tributary, "We swear to follow the Celestial Master to our deaths!"

Meng Yungui's blood surged. He raised his sword, pointing it towards the Celestial Heavens, and laughed heartily, "Gentlemen, you have not failed me, and I will not fail you! Rise, all of you! Today, we rebel with me against the Celestial Heavens!"

The Heavenly River was turbulent. Fierce winds whipped up large waves, crashing against the slave ships. The slaves on board trembled with profound fear, while on deck, the human gods, filled with passionate resolve, swiftly departed under Meng Yungui's command for other Southern Heavenly realms to eliminate the Celestial Heavens' presence there. They had to seal off all communication, preventing any Celestial Heavens' forces in the Southern Heavens from alerting the Celestial Heavens. This rebellion was an impromptu act; neither they nor the Celestial Heavens were prepared. By severing communications, they could buy precious time and make extensive preparations. Yet, they all knew that even with thorough preparations, it was likely a path to certain death.

Meng Yungui immediately dispatched messengers to Yu Hua Heaven to relocate the soldiers' families and relatives. He also secretly sent others to the Celestial Heavens, where many of their families resided, emphasizing the urgent need to move their loved ones before their actions were exposed, lest the consequences be dire.

"Wang Qing, depart immediately for Yankang." Meng Yungui hesitated, then handed the letter to his most trusted disciple. "Deliver this letter to the Emperor of Yankang!"

Wang Qing hesitated. "Master," he said, "Yankang is the very target the Celestial Heavens seeks to destroy; their grand army is headed there now, so Yankang will have no surplus forces to aid us. Furthermore, when you personally led the army against Wuyou Township during the assault on the Grand Void, you slew countless Wuyou Township experts. I've heard that Emperor Yanfeng was a general in Wuyou Township at the time and suffered defeats under your command. And Wuyou Township and Yankang are one entity..."

Meng Yungui waved a dismissive hand. "Emperor Yanfeng possesses the bearing of a Heavenly Emperor, even surpassing Emperor Haotian; he will not hold a grudge. Go swiftly!"

Wang Qing acknowledged the order and swiftly departed for the Primordial Realm.

Meng Yungui further ordered the relocation of all human inhabitants from the various Southern Heavenly realms, instructing them to move away from the Heavenly River region, transport provisions and supplies, and implement a scorched-earth strategy in preparation for a decisive battle. His soldiers executed commands with swift efficiency, like extensions of his will. Moreover, the humans in the Southern Heavens, having been trained like livestock, never resisted the gods' orders and were submissive, which further facilitated their relocation. Meng Yungui then personally led other soldiers to completely dismantle Fire Heavenly Venerate's palace, using its materials to construct a formidable pass along the Heavenly River tributary. Even so, a worried expression lingered on his face.

"We can't hold them back, we can't... We can only fight to the death, but even then, we won't be able to stop them!"

Months later, the Celestial Heavens' grand army neared the Primordial Realm, but their supplies still hadn't arrived. The Celestial Heavens repeatedly issued edicts, dispatching divine envoys to the Southern Heavens to hasten the supply delivery, but these envoys vanished without a trace upon arrival. The Celestial Heavens resorted to plundering several other realms for slaves and supplies, yet they now knew something was amiss in the Southern Heavens. Emperor Haotian then decreed that First Celestial Master Shang Pingyin should lead the Divine Might and Martial Guards — two divisions of the Ten Celestial Guards, totaling 100,000 troops — to the Southern Heavens to ascertain the situation.

The Divine Might and Martial Guards were an imposing force, with even the lowest-ranking soldiers possessing Jade Capital Realm cultivation. Equipped with the Celestial Heavens' formation diagrams, they could withstand Heavenly Venerate-level opponents. Shang Pingyin, the First Celestial Master, personally leading them underscored Emperor Haotian's profound concern for the Southern Heavens. The Southern Heavens, the granary of the Celestial Heavens, could not be lost at any cost!

Shang Pingyin led his grand army to the vicinity but did not directly enter the Southern Heavens via the tributary. Instead, he first established a camp, then dispatched someone to the Southern Heaven Pass to loudly declare, "Celestial Master Meng, the Heavenly Emperor has an edict; come out and speak!"

Meng Yungui appeared on the city wall, gazing across at Shang Pingyin. As the two Celestial Masters' gazes met, Shang Pingyin unequivocally issued his command: "Meng Yungui has rebelled! Attack the city at once!"

The Left Divine Might Commander frowned, asking in a deep voice, "How did Celestial Master Shang discern that Meng Yungui has rebelled? Meng Yungui is the Celestial Heavens' Second Celestial Master. To attack directly without inquiry—if he hasn't rebelled, I fear Celestial Master Shang will be unable to account for this before His Majesty."

Shang Pingyin sneered, "Meng Yungui and I are both Celestial Masters; whether he has rebelled or not, I know it at a glance. Further discussion is pointless; attack the city immediately!" He displayed the military token, and the Divine Might armies on both sides, recognizing it as if Emperor Haotian himself were present, immediately activated their formations and began their assault on the city. Shang Pingyin's robes fluttered in the wind as he gazed at Meng Yungui on the city tower. In a deep voice, he said, "Meng Yungui, you pride yourself on your superior intellect and stratagems, but the greatest wisdom in this world lies in understanding the grand tide of events. Before my grand tide, all your clever schemes are utterly useless! To master the grand tide—that is the mark of the First Celestial Master!"

Meng Yungui flicked his sleeve, and the city gates swung wide. The divine demons of the Feathered Camp surged out, and Meng Yungui sneered, "I'd like to see if your grand tide can contend with my wisdom! Form ranks!"

Although the Feathered Camp had a comparable number of divine demons to the Divine Might and Martial Guards, their cultivation and overall strength were vastly inferior. The Celestial Heavens' Divine Might and Martial Guards utilized complete grand formation diagrams, each capable of accommodating 50,000 divine demons. Within these formations, the essence, qi, and spirit of all 50,000 merged into a single entity, their vital energy seamlessly linked, allowing the activated formation to unleash immense divine power! The formation diagrams of the Ten Celestial Guards had been meticulously refined by successive Celestial Masters, their power elevated to the pinnacle, truly a crystallization of wisdom spanning generations. When Wuyou Township escaped the Grand Void, Lang Wo led the Creators to fend off the Celestial Heavens' pursuers. The Ten Celestial Guards, by activating their formation diagrams, inflicted repeated defeats on Lang Wo and Wuyou Township, demonstrating the formidable power of these diagrams.

In contrast, the Feathered Camp's formation diagrams were not complete grand diagrams, but smaller ones, with ten individuals forming a single group, totaling ten thousand such groups. Ten thousand interlocking formation groups saw the Feathered Camp's divine demons swiftly maneuver, quickly forming their first battle array. This formation shifted unpredictably between offense and defense.

Shang Pingyin saw this and sneered, "The Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Banner Grand Array! I was the one who taught you this formation!"

The two armies clashed, and the power of their formation diagrams instantly erupted! The formations of the Celestial Heavens' grand army and the Feathered Camp instantly shifted, different arrays interlocking, as flesh and blood flew within the chaotic diagrams!

Meanwhile, Meng Yungui's envoy, Wang Qing, arrived in Yankang and presented a letter to Emperor Yanfeng. After reading it, Emperor Yanfeng pondered for a moment, then instructed, "Set up an altar, invite Dragon Pili to descend, and have Prince You Ming bring the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Banner to the Southern Heavens."