Chapter 1679: Five Chariots Battle

Qin Mu and Shang Jun gazed into the distance. In the heart of the Primordial Realm, the Heavenly Court's Five Chariot Army had deployed en masse, launching an attack from the flank.

Shang Jun asked, "Heavenly Venerable, do you need me to act?"

He was skilled in assassination, capable of infiltrating the chaotic enemy lines to eliminate high-ranking officers, taking the heads of generals from amidst a thousand armies with ease.

If the various commanders of the Heavenly River Navy were all killed, their forces would become leaderless and disorganized, making coordinated efforts impossible. In such a scenario, Carefree Valley could easily win.

"No," Qin Mu replied.

Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he shook his head. "Heavenly Venerable-level beings deter each other and do not act casually. If you make a move, you'll expose yourself and create a vulnerability. Other Dao Practitioners or Heavenly Venerables would seize that opportunity, and it would be your demise. For beings like you and me, acting means fighting to the death. In this Heavenly Calamity, the main force of the war lies in the direct confrontation of the divine and devil armies on the battlefield."

Shang Jun was somewhat perplexed but didn't ask further questions.

He wasn't one to probe for answers.

Qin Mu was considering more than Shang Jun. The war between the Heavenly Court and the Primordial Realm was not merely a battle of Heavenly Venerables, but a clash of two ideologies. While Heavenly Venerables could indeed influence the tide of battle, the ultimate outcome of these ideologies would be decided by the ordinary divine and devil soldiers, and the nations they represented.

In the face of this surging tide, even Heavenly Venerables and Dao Practitioners were but individual participants on the battlefield. They could contribute their strength and influence the course of the war, but they could not determine the victory or defeat between the Heavenly Court's rigid faction and Yan Kang's reformist movement.

After 170 years, the Yan Kang reforms had now reached the point of testing their results.

Qin Mu gazed into the distance, seeing behind the battle of Carefree Valley the surging fortune of the Heavenly Court, illuminating the western half of the Primordial Realm.

Countless Heavenly Court armies, escorting the Heavenly Court's civil and military deities and Emperor Haotian, were rushing towards them.

The battle of Carefree Valley was merely a slowly unfolding prologue.

Once the prologue was fully unveiled, the truly magnificent war epic would begin!

Suddenly, amidst the marching Heavenly Court army, two Dao Trees slowly ascended, their Dao light forming the immense and incredibly shocking faces of Emperor Haotian and Supreme Emperor Taichu.

"Showing off their might, how do they compare to me?"

With a thought, Qin Mu's Divine Treasure Domain expanded, and the World Tree grew increasingly vast.

He strode forward, descending upon Yan Kang. The World Tree, lush and vibrant like a grand canopy, covered a section of the sky.

The commander of the Heavenly Court's Five Chariot Army was the Heavenly Court's Left Deputy Prime Minister, Yan Sheng, a powerful Emperor's Throne realm expert, who personally oversaw and directed the Five Chariots.

The Five Chariot Army belonged to the Terrestrial Master branch of the Three Masters. The Heavenly Court had three Masters: the Naval Master, the Terrestrial Master, and the Divine Master. The Naval Master was in charge of waterborne forces, known as the Heavenly River Navy, commanding warships and large vessels to traverse the Heavenly River and all realms. The Divine Master was in charge of airborne forces, composed of demigods with wings.

The Terrestrial Master was in charge of ground forces, commanding various armies such as the Five Chariots, the Lever Army, the Four Assistants, the Standard Bearers, the Three Terraces, Xuanyuan, and the Bow and Arrow Army. These forces were responsible for ground operations, with distinct roles and meticulous classifications.

The Heavenly Court's Five Chariots were divided into the War Chariots, Broad Chariots, Palace Gate Chariots, Duckweed Chariots, and Light Chariots. At their center were the Heavenly Arsenal Towers. Each Heavenly Arsenal Tower was an insurmountable divine fortress, a heavy weapon of the Heavenly Court.

From the various levels of the divine fortresses, as their gates opened, military chariots poured out like a tide.

Unlike Yan Kang's flying chariots, which could miniaturize the alchemy furnaces providing propulsion, one Yan Kang chariot with a single furnace and four bronze beasts could take to the sky and dominate the air.

The Five Chariot Army's five types of battle chariots, due to deficiencies in manufacturing technology, rarely possessed flight capabilities and were often massive in size.

Each chariot housed three alchemy furnaces: one for the pivotal transmission that propelled the chariot forward, one for providing energy to the heavy divine cannons, and another for the twin bronze beasts at the rear, which emitted flames for acceleration.

These three furnaces required three alchemists to operate. Because the medicinal stones used were inefficient, the chariots often had chimneys spewing thick black smoke, leading the Five Chariot Army to be jokingly called the "Black Smoke Army," leaving a trail of smog wherever they went.

The reason Yan Kang could forge such small alchemy furnaces for their flying chariots was not only due to their advanced manufacturing capabilities but also the large number of alchemists they trained.

The Jade Face Medicine King had widely disseminated his techniques, so Yan Kang's alchemy furnaces typically burned spirit pills.

By using highly refined spirit pills instead of medicinal stones, combustion was more complete, requiring fewer furnaces that could be miniaturized to their absolute limit, allowing for faster acceleration and greater explosive power.

Nevertheless, the Heavenly Court's Five Chariot Army possessed formidable ground combat capabilities. While the Naval Master attacked Carefree Valley's fleet from above, the Five Chariots launched a sweeping ground assault from below.

The Five Chariots' divine cannons, coordinated with the Naval Master, fired upwards. Streaks of divine light pierced the sky, weaving into a net that inflicted heavy casualties on Carefree Valley.

However, from Emperor Yama's Ark of the Other Shore, Yan Kang's flying chariots had already launched.

These flying chariots were called Cloud Chariots, equipped with sword towers. The divine beings and devils of Carefree Valley on board were all masters of swordsmanship or powerful sword cultivators. When the chariot compartments opened, sword pellets rolled out from the sword towers.

The sword pellets plummeted downwards like glowing silver spheres. Though small, each pellet was incredibly heavy, composed of two thousand flying swords refined to the finest possible size.

As the sword pellets descended, the swordsmen and sword cultivators on the Cloud Chariots connected their divine consciousness and vital qi to them. The sword pellets began to spin wildly, and countless silver needle-sized flying swords rotated out, rapidly growing in size.

At this point, no complex sword moves or techniques were needed; only a basic sword stance: the thrust.

Regardless of the enemy's techniques, treasures, or formations, they simply thrust downwards from above, pouring all their magic power and divine consciousness into each strike!

This was the flying sword "ground-cleansing"!

Countless sword rain descended from the sky, piercing through the physical bodies and primordial spirits of the Five Chariot Army's divine beings and devils, and impaling their battle chariots, instantly overturning them and their occupants!

Once the alchemy furnaces of the chariot were pierced, terrifying fluctuations erupted, causing the furnaces to explode. Shattered chariot wreckage and dismembered divine and devil bodies flew into the sky.

In the sky, flying chariots wove through the air. The flying swords that had struck the ground whistled upwards, reforming into sword pellets in mid-air. Under the guidance of the soldiers in Carefree Valley's chariots, they flew forward, continuously "cleansing" the ground. Wherever they passed, the Heavenly Court's Five Chariot formation fell into disarray.

Left Deputy Prime Minister Yan Sheng, stationed in the central army, maintained a stern expression. With a command, the gates of all five Heavenly Arsenal Towers simultaneously opened, and only Broad Chariots emerged from within.

These Broad Chariots were larger than ordinary ones, with taller wheels and thicker walls, yet they lacked alchemy furnaces. As they slid out of the towers, the Heavenly Court soldiers within them activated summoning divine abilities. The sky cracked open, revealing fissures!

Behind these fissures, the vast and boundless world of the Beast Realm was revealed.

Fully armored gigantic beasts soared into the air, leaping into the fissures and descending from the Beast Realm!

These were primeval colossal beasts from the Beast Realm, possessing unparalleled massive bodies. They lunged into the Primordial Realm, roaring, and were then secured by chains that shot out from the Broad Chariots, fastening onto the collars around their necks.

The colossal beasts galloped, pulling the massive Broad Chariots in a rampaging charge. Other beasts unfurled their wings, lifting the Broad Chariots skyward, while the divine beings and devils inside unleashed divine weapons through the chariot railings, attacking Carefree Valley's flying chariots!

These primeval colossal beasts were fearless of flying swords; even divine swords piercing their bodies were deflected by their tough hides. In a short time, countless flying chariots were shattered by collisions and plummeted from the sky.

On the ground, the galloping colossal beasts roared continuously, pulling the Broad Chariots and charging towards Limguan City.

Limguan City, the first divine city on the cliff face near Grand Emperor Heaven, was vast. Its soldiers had long been prepared, but upon seeing the colossal beasts surging like a tide, their faces still turned pale.

Seeing this, the Fisherman, Han Tang, immediately rose and said, "My three senior brothers, it's time for me to join the battle!"

The Woodcutter Sage cautioned, "Dragon Xiào, the Lord of the Beast Realm, cannot be trusted. He fears power, so you must be wary of him turning against us."

The Fisherman Heavenly Master swiftly departed, his voice echoing from afar, "I understand! I oversee the animal husbandry of Emperor Kai's Heavenly Court, and my beast-taming techniques are certainly not inferior to Heavenly Venerable Dragon Xiào's!"

Leading his own troops, he flew out from Grand Emperor Heaven. As the Heavenly Master in charge of animal husbandry in Emperor Kai's Heavenly Court, all his divine soldiers and generals were adept in the art of beast management. One by one, the soldiers activated their summoning divine abilities, and the sky cracked open again, with primeval colossal beasts descending from the Beast Realm.

The Fisherman Heavenly Master and his subordinate soldiers soared into the air, landing on the backs of various colossal beasts, arriving before Limguan City to await the charge of the Five Chariot Army!

Seeing this, Left Deputy Prime Minister Yan Sheng's stern expression vanished, replaced by a hearty laugh. He abruptly stood up and declared, "That enemy bandit, Han Tang, has finally lost his patience! In this battle, Han Tang will surely die!"

He raised his arms, and another pair of arms emerged from beneath his armpits. His four terrifyingly long arms extended towards the central army of the Five Chariot Army, grabbing four Heavenly Arsenal Towers.

His primordial spirit ascended from his back, settling in his celestial palace. He reached out and grabbed the fifth Heavenly Arsenal Tower, then forcefully hurled it forward!

The five Heavenly Arsenal Towers spun as they flew forward, soaring over the Heavenly Court's Five Chariot Army. With five tremendous thuds, they crashed into Han Tang's forces arrayed before Limguan City!

The Fisherman, Han Tang, roared, and he and his divine soldiers and generals exerted their full power to control the primeval colossal beasts. The essence, qi, and spirit of man and beast merged, bolstering their collective power. They formed a formation, blocking the five Heavenly Arsenal Towers.

The five Heavenly Arsenal Towers landed, and five types of battle chariots surged out from within, plunging into the enemy ranks.

From the fish basket on Han Tang's back, two small red fish flew out, transforming into two massive Kun beasts that opened their mouths, devouring the battle chariots. Han Tang's soldiers also opened their cloth bags, releasing various exotic beasts that surged towards the enemy.

The enemy battle chariots focused only on charging forward towards Limguan City, deflecting attacks when possible and perishing when unable. Casualties mounted rapidly on their side.

Yet, the Fisherman, Han Tang, showed no signs of relaxation. He suddenly shouted, "Beware the beast army's charge!"

The primeval colossal beasts, pulling the Broad Chariots, crashed forward with a thunderous impact!

Colossal beasts collided with each other, shaking the very ground. The Fisherman, Han Tang, leaped into the air, landing on a red Kun beast, and loudly commanded, "Heed my order, activate the Beast-Taming Talismans!"

His subordinate soldiers slapped their cloth bags, and countless talismans flew out, adhering to the foreheads of the enemy's colossal beasts.

Han Tang and his group activated their techniques, and one by one, the colossal beasts submitted. However, at that moment, Left Deputy Prime Minister Yan Sheng flew in, channeling his magic power. A massive dragon scale whistled through the air, hovering mid-air, with a faint dragon roar emanating from it!

The primeval colossal beasts, having just been subdued, saw the dragon scale. The talismans on their foreheads instantly burned away, and they immediately lost control!

"Han Tang, this is Heavenly Venerable Dragon Xiào's dragon scale!"

The Left Deputy Prime Minister's robes fluttered as he landed on a Heavenly Arsenal Tower, laughing, "With Heavenly Venerable Dragon Xiào's dragon scale out, your Beast-Taming Scripture is utterly useless! Today marks your demise!"

Simultaneously, the Heavenly River Navy deployed its entire force, forming a battle array. Heavenly Master Zhu Shaoping personally arrived at the front lines, waving a large banner. As the banner swayed, the flow of the Heavenly River instantly changed!

The massive river parted on both sides of the Ark of the Other Shore, surging towards Grand Emperor Heaven. Warships unleashed barrages of cannon fire like a luminous curtain, showering Grand Emperor Heaven and rapidly thinning this immense celestial realm, threatening to sever it in half!