Guarding the Wilderness

When Zhou Ping was still a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, he had acquired a general understanding of the Zhao Kingdom.

The Zhao Kingdom sat on the border between the human domain and the territory of the Demon Beasts. Hundreds of years ago, a mighty cultivator had slain the Demon King of this region. Using the beast's remains to anchor the Dao of Fate, this great power established a human dynasty upon the ruins.

The descendants of that mighty figure were the current royal clan of the Zhao Kingdom.

The Zhao Kingdom was vast, spanning eight thousand li in circumference. It was divided into eighteen prefectures, each over a thousand li wide and teeming with millions of mortals. Its cultivation factions were as numerous as ox hairs, but only those that dominated an entire prefecture and boasted Profound Core cultivators could be considered peak powers.

Excluding the royal clan, the Zhao Kingdom possessed only fourteen such mighty factions. Together, they were known as the Three Clans, Four Sects, and Seven Gates.

Nanyang Prefecture's supreme power was the Azure Cloud Sect, which reigned over Azure Cloud Mountain, located two thousand li from Baixi Mountain.

Yet, even though these factions ruled their respective prefectures, they dared not act recklessly. The royal clan was simply too strong, and the three great vassal clans answered only to imperial decrees. Legend held that the mighty founder was still alive, ensuring these sects never overstepped their bounds.

This was why no one dared to provoke the Immortals' Directorate, and why cultivators treated mortal officials with such careful respect. Behind them stood the imperial court and the royal clan.

"Could it be that the Azure Cloud Sect's Ancestor is attempting a breakthrough?"

Zhou Ping pondered this, then forcefully dispelled the thought from his mind.

Back in the Azure Cloud Sect, he had been nothing more than a menial disciple. He had rarely set foot on the main peak, nor had he seen many Foundation Establishment experts. Even if the Ancestor truly was breaking through, Zhou Ping would not know who it was.

Besides, even if he did know, what could he possibly do?

It was better not to dwell on it. Rumor had it that such high-level cultivators could sense whenever someone spoke their true name. Perhaps this was the exact reason Zhang Ting and his companion had refused to speak plainly.

But this revelation was still a reassuring pill to swallow. At the very least, he now knew the great drought might end before the coming new year. Though he could not be certain of its truth, it was far better than facing a disaster with no end in sight.

After all, if the drought continued, the entire Zhou clan would be ruined.

Yet, when the disaster finally passed, how many souls would remain alive in Nanyang Prefecture? How many starved corpses would litter the roadsides?

Zhou Ping walked back toward the courtyard. He decided against telling his family that the drought might soon end; it was still an uncertain hope.

A thousand li away.

A towering, majestic mountain stood upon the earth, its aura vast and imposing, its sheer peaks hidden within layers of cloud.

Yet this once-lush green mountain was now a scorched, crimson husk. Only countless dead and incinerated remains were left behind, as if the entire peak had transformed into a surging volcano, draining all life from the land!

The countless palaces, grand pavilions, and floating courtyards that once graced the mountain had all been relocated over a hundred li away.

This place was the former heart of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Inside a lone pavilion, two figures sat playing Go. The one holding the white stones was an elder in a Daoist robe, while the one holding the black stones was a fierce general clad in heavy armor.

The general placed a stone. His offensive was swift and vicious, pressing directly into the white stones' territory.

"It has been nearly six years. Senior Qingyunzi has yet to break through. Senior, why don't you go and awaken him?"

The elder smiled faintly, placing a white stone to dissolve the black stones' crushing momentum.

"Senior Brother is at a critical juncture in his breakthrough and must not be disturbed. Please forgive me, General."

The general spoke with freezing indifference. "I have come on His Majesty's orders, specifically for Senior Qingyunzi. Does Senior wish for me to return empty-handed and fail His Majesty's high expectations?"

"Senior Qingyunzi breaking through the Tongxuan barrier is a joyous occasion for our Zhao Kingdom." The general slammed another black stone onto the board, severing the white stones' broader flow. "But six years have passed without success. Instead, it has plunged Nanyang Prefecture into a living hell, leaving the people starved and corpses rotting in the fields."

"Surely your noble sect intends to do something for those countless innocent lives lost?"

The elder sighed. He was Qingxuanzi, the Azure Cloud Sect's Second Supreme Elder.

"But my Senior Brother is at the absolute precipice of his breakthrough. If he is rashly interrupted, it will inflict grievous wounds upon his Dao. I beg the Divine General's understanding."

The general seated before him was Zhao Yuanmu, the foremost Divine General under the current Emperor of the Zhao Kingdom.

"Hmph."

Zhao Yuanmu let out a cold snort. A suffocating, bloodthirsty aura surged directly at Qingxuanzi. His terrifying pressure manifested between heaven and earth, instantly suppressing all directions.

Every Azure Cloud Sect cultivator in the vicinity-from towering Foundation Establishment experts down to lowly Spirit Awakening menial disciples-was ruthlessly pressed into the dirt. It felt as if they had been plunged into a glacial abyss, their hearts pounding in terror.

Gazing toward that pavilion, not a single soul could suppress their trembling fear.

"Is that the legendary Divine General?" A Foundation Establishment cultivator lay prostrate, unable even to lift his head, forced to glimpse the figure in the pavilion only through the corner of his eye.

Qingxuanzi's expression shifted slightly. He erupted with his own spiritual might to resist, only to realize in horror that Zhao Yuanmu's aura was effortlessly suppressing him!

His face paled drastically. How many years had Zhao Yuanmu even been cultivating? Yet now, this general was stronger than him!

Zhao Yuanmu slowly rose to his feet. He stood like an insurmountable mountain piercing the heavens, radiating a majesty that made all living things tremble.

A long spear slowly materialized in his grip. Instantly, an aura of utter slaughter drowned the world. His heavy armor erupted with blinding, brilliant light. Stepping upon the empty void, he shook heaven and earth!

He raised the long spear and hurled it directly at Azure Cloud Mountain. The weapon erupted with a terrifying, world-devouring might, instantly obliterating the colossal mountain and tearing open a bronze secret chamber hidden deep within its core.

Inside sat a withered, gaunt old man in a blood-red robe, surrounded by writhing, pitch-black flames. Violently awakened by the spear's devastating impact, the old man failed to suppress the chaotic backlash in his meridians. With a sickening boom, his physical body exploded, shattering the surrounding peaks and tearing the very sky asunder.

"Little brat, courting death!"

A sinister, freezing voice echoed across the firmament. Slowly, a phantom silhouette reformed-it was the blood-robed elder. But his physical shell was torn to shreds, and the backlash had rippled into his very soul. Had he not been shielded by supreme defensive arts, his soul would have scattered, and his Dao erased!

"Ancestor! It's the Ancestor!"

Down below, countless Azure Cloud Sect cultivators cried out in desperate joy.

Yet Zhao Yuanmu stood completely unfazed. The long spear materialized back in his palm. His aura was vast, boundless, and shook the cosmos.

"Supreme Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect, Qingyunzi. You have failed to break through your bottleneck for years, yet you drain the life of Nanyang's people to fuel your fires, committing sins that drown the heavens. By the mandate of His Majesty, I have come to arrest you."

"Considering this an unintentional transgression, your sentence is passed: Guard the wilderness for five hundred years!"

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