Chapter 1177: Da Qian Dynasty versus Da Yu Dynasty

“Lord Commander, we’ve been waiting for you for so long; you’re finally here!”

Can’t you wish for something positive for me?

With Lord Commander’s backing, they finally had a backbone. Lord Silei, the God of Thunder, finally mustered the courage to retort to Guan Shanhai. He sharply raised his head and looked at Guan Shanhai with disdain.

“We only disappeared and hid in the Immortal Palace to minimize the impact of faith power. Otherwise, what business would the Great Yu have here? You only caused a few ripples and already think yourselves invincible.”

“Do you think you’re impressive just because you’re an immortal?”

Lord Sichen, the God of Time, immediately moved aside and solemnly introduced the stunned Lord Commander:

“Look, we in Great Qian have immortals too!”

“This is Lord Commander, who conferred upon us the title of Divine Monarchs and mass-produced nascent Dao fruits!”

The long-awaited Lord Commander also arrived at Prisoner’s Peak, boosting the morale of the Great Qian cultivators. They straightened their backs and glared at the Great Yu cultivators.

Lord Commander, after a long time, fell into deep thought. He had considered many possible reactions from his old subordinates upon seeing him, but never this one.

It was as if they were possessed.

Lord Commander gently shook his head. Conferring Divine Monarchs and mass-producing nascent Dao fruits were just old matters. They were all imprisoned; what was the point of arguing about such things here?

Guan Shanhai scoffed, “Mass-producing nascent Dao fruits? Is that even worth mentioning? My Imprint Dao fruit can also create nascent Dao fruits, and it doesn’t even require the aid of faith power.”

“You really think that’s some kind of achievement.”

“What did you say!” Lord Commander slapped his thigh and angrily pointed at Guan Shanhai. He could say that conferring Divine Monarchs was an old matter, but no one else could.

“What, did I say something wrong?” As an immortal himself, Guan Shanhai did not fear Lord Commander.

“If faith power was truly so effective, why did you hide in the Immortal Palace and watch Great Qian fall and be destroyed without a care?”

“With a divine path based on faith as your national foundation, I see that your Great Qian is nothing special.”

Lord Commander retorted with a sneer, “And what about your Great Yu? You established a National Grand Master system, but only the first two Grand Masters were somewhat useful. The later ones were all busy scheming against the emperor. Did your downfall happen any slower than Great Qian’s?”

“Ultimately, under the rule of enlightened monarchs in Great Qian, numerous deities stood, fed by incense, each fulfilling their duties. Our nation was strong, and even the Demon Realm and the Eastern Sea paid tribute. What right does your Great Yu have to compare yourselves to us?”

Upon hearing this, Guan Shanhai slowly stood up, his eyes deep, as if he had returned to the time when the Great Yu Dynasty was first established.

“Ridiculous! Our Great Yu Dynasty brought an end to the chaotic central continent, deterred the demonic scoundrels from invading, and subjugated all our opponents who then willingly submitted to Great Yu. After generations of prosperity, Great Yu reached its peak, so much so that even Great Xia referred to my era as the Prosperous Age of Great Yu!”

“What’s the use of later generations’ evaluations? In the cultivation world, strength is paramount.”

Lord Commander drew a square map on the ground, representing the central continent. He then drew a vertical line, dividing the central continent into two: one side for Great Qian, the other for Great Yu.

“My Enlightenment Dao fruit can enlighten all things in the world, and the Emperor’s Devouring Dao fruit can even devour the Dao fruits of others. If the Emperor and I joined forces to attack from this direction, could your Great Yu stop us?”

Guan Shanhai was unwilling to be outdone. His cell was too far from Lord Commander’s to draw on his map, so he drew an identical map in front of himself.

“How hard would it be to stop you? Wu Yao’s Displacement Dao fruit can directly displace the Emperor into the cosmos, preventing him from even swallowing the northwest wind. Can you alone withstand a simultaneous attack from Wu Yao and me?”

“Furthermore, our Great Yu generals, each of them having climbed out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, would lead their eighteen armies, divided into six routes, in a full-scale invasion of Great Qian. Your nurtured Divine Monarchs would be lucky not to be scared witless when facing our generals!”

“Scared witless? To name a few, we have Lord Silei and Lord Sichen, who can control the timing of heavenly tribulations by activating their nascent Dao fruits. Your eighteen armies would collapse at the first touch when facing them!”

“Our Great Yu’s First General, General Yu, possesses a nascent Yin-Yang Dao fruit, which she truly cultivated herself, unlike your semi-immortals who were intentionally created by imitating the Four Ancient Immortals!”

“With General Yu leading the army, dividing yin and yang, what could you possibly do!”

“The National Grand Master speaks well! That’s how we should fight! Let’s see what Great Qian can do!” The Great Yu cultivators grew increasingly excited as they listened, unable to resist clenching their fists and cheering.

“What are you so arrogant about? By then, the Emperor would have long returned! He would descend directly from the cosmos behind your Great Yu, slaughtering his way through and forming a pincer attack with Lord Commander!” the Great Qian cultivators angrily retorted. They had endured humiliation at Prisoner’s Peak for a long time. Now that they could finally assert themselves, how could they be willing to be suppressed by the Great Yu forces again?

“At that time, Emperor Yu just needs to teleport the Emperor away again!”

“How could the Emperor possibly be defeated by the same move again? If he were teleported away again, he would just pull Wu Yao along with him!”

Both sides argued back and forth, excitedly setting up sand tables on the ground, studying how to defeat the opponent and assert their national prestige.

Lord Commander and Guan Shanhai, especially, couldn’t stand each other. They rolled up their sleeves, gesticulated wildly, spittle flying, their faces flushed. If not for the inappropriate setting, they would have probably stripped off their shirts and engaged in a real fight.

Yun Zhi watched silently from the side. Originally, she had planned to interrogate Lord Commander that very night, but seeing his current state, she figured that even whipping him with the old method wouldn’t yield any information. She decided to wait until both sides calmed down before resorting to torture.

The child Grand Master listened carefully to the tactics and countermeasures employed by both sides during their mock battle. He even noted down points he couldn’t understand, planning to ponder them later. This was invaluable experience that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

Caught in the crossfire of the national dispute, Mo Xiaochou and Duan Qinghui were fortunate to be cultivators from the Buddhist Nation, unable to participate in such large-scale conflicts.

Buddhist Nation, Western Heaven Temple, Grand Hall of Great Strength.

Dai Bufan reconsidered multiple times before deciding to try his luck at Western Heaven Temple.

After all, Junior Brother Lu only possessed an immortal body in the Buddhist Nation; he wasn’t a true immortal. And since the Buddhist sect of the Buddhist Nation was founded by the World-Honored One, it should be able to keep Junior Brother Lu in check.

The Grand Hall of Great Strength was Western Heaven Temple’s greatest reliance, and not just anyone was qualified to enter for worship.

Dai Bufan regularly handled the internal and external affairs of the Dao Seeking Sect on behalf of the Grand Elder. He was widely praised and well-known, considered the second most important figure in the Dao Seeking Sect to outsiders. Naturally, he was qualified to enter the Grand Hall of Great Strength when he came to Western Heaven Temple.

Dai Bufan dutifully lit three incense sticks and prostrated himself before the Buddha.

“Buddha above, I have two junior brothers, one named Lu Yang and the other Meng Jingzhou. I suspect they have been tainted by evil spirits, for every time they go out, a major incident occurs. Although they always manage to turn misfortune into blessings, I am ultimately concerned that they might suffer an accident and die young.”

“I humbly ask the Buddha to bless them, expel the evil spirits from their bodies, and ensure their safety!”

On the lotus pedestal, the Buddha opened his ancient eyes and helplessly watched Dai Bufan, who was diligently kowtowing.

“Is this something I can even manage? Forget lighting three incense sticks, even if you set the entire Grand Hall of Great Strength on fire, I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.”