Chapter 1128: Siege Before The City Walls
"Rumble!" Overnight, a grand army trampled the mountains and rivers. More than tens of thousands of disciples from the Heavenly God Sect rushed towards Cleansing Incense like a flood.
Many sects in the middle region were frightened by this sudden mobilization from the Heavenly God Sect. This was especially true for the smaller sects within its territory. They became timid in the face of this grand army.
"War." Many experts present took note of this with changed expressions after seeing the tens of thousands of disciples.
Someone murmured in a daze: "The Heavenly God Sect finally decides to attack Cleansing Incense."
Cleansing Incense and Heavenly God Sect had always been mortal enemies. It was perfectly described by two common phrases: swearing to never co-exist and vowing to never share the same sky. Everyone in the middle region knew about this. 1
But after that war, the two sects had a long period of peace without conflicts. So today, the attack from the Heavenly God Sect came as a surprise to many people. It came too suddenly without any foreshadowing.
Of course, the big powers that knew more about the story understood that this event was not so simple.
"Rumble!" The army of tens of thousands immediately ran to Cleansing Incense. The entire sect was completely surrounded and under siege.
"Clank—clank—clang!" Alarms rang in Cleansing Incense along with spinning circular lights. A grand formation immediately protected the sect. The gates were shut tight in preparation to fight.
The surrounding army didn't make a single sound, but their weapons were ready. Arrows were drawn while their artifacts emitted frightening glows.
The harsh atmosphere from the army below the city pervaded the entire area.
Many small sects outside of Cleansing Incense fled without a trace while the vagrant cultivators escaped even faster.
Many great powers paid attention to this fight as well. Some even sent their experts here as scouts because they wanted to know the outcome of this fight. It could change the entire political climate of the middle region.
"Heavenly Jewel Mortal King, what is your intention?" Someone finally came out from the incense sect in the face of the siege. It was their first elder, Gu Tieshou.
His cultivation was much deeper than in the past, but he had also grown older as his hair was completely gray.
In recent years, Su Yonghuang, Chen Baojiao, and Li Shuangyan had been in charge of the sect. But now, with Su Yonghuang back in the Su Clan and the other two at the plateau, Gu Tieshou, as the first elder, had to take charge of the situation.
On the side of the Heavenly God Sect, the Heavenly Jewel Mortal King didn't speak. An old man eventually came out.
His hair was completely blanched as well, but his back was straight and he had a powerful glare that could penetrate the sun and moon.
"Heavenly God Ancestor!" Gu Tieshou was moved to see this old man. He knew that things weren't looking good this time.
The experts in the distance glanced at each other as well. The Heavenly God Ancestor could be said to be the creator of the sect. It became powerful under his leadership. Rumor has it that when Immortal Emperor Ta Kong was still in this world, he even praised the ancestor.
His appearance today meant that this war would continue until death. The previous war made Cleansing Incense fall into a sharp decline, so this one might take it to the brink of destruction.
"Your Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect conspired with heretics to kill the cultivators of this world. Today, my Heavenly God Sect will carry out justice in place of the heavens." His words were quite emphatic, everyone could hear him.
With a cold expression, Gu Tieshou retorted: "There are plenty of things to say to frame someone! If your sect wants to fight, we don't mind trouble either. Come! We will not bat an eye."
Although Gu Tieshou was not a contemporary master, he was a courageous man both in the past and present.
"Go!" The ancestor shouted while coldly glancing at the ancient sect. In his eyes, the sect was already doomed.
He believed that it would be a breeze to destroy the ancient sect right now due to his backing. Not anyone in this world would dare to offend them and no savior in this world would be able to rescue the ancient sect.
"Kill!" The great army roared and immediately divided into three sections before sweeping through the sect like a flood. They focused on the main branches of the sect like three sharp daggers aiming for the heart.
A Cleansing Incense disciple shouted: "Brothers, blow the horn! Kill them!" His name was Nan Huairen.
"Blmmm—" The horn resounded across the entire sect along with pounding drums, causing the earth to tremble. In the blink of an eye, the entire sect was boiling with a thirst for battle. All of its disciples were ready to fight to the end.
Luo Fenghua cried out: "Kill all of these dogs!" In his armor, he rode forward as the vanguard with a grand momentum.
"Kill!" Zhang Yu and Qu Daoli led the other disciples forward as well with no intentions of retreating. They ferociously rushed forward to meet the great army from the Heavenly God Sect.
Today, both Luo Fenghua and Zhang Yu had their own achievements. They had climbed to the Heavenly King realm and were strong enough to become protectors or elders in the sect!
The three hundred disciples from the Cleansing Jade Peak had found some success. They were taught by Li Qiye back then and didn't let him down since they were now the core force of Cleansing Incense. In the past few years, there had been some illustrious exploits from this group.
"Kill!" The two armies clashed with an earth-splitting impact. Blood began to flow like rivers. The Heavenly God Sect had the numbers advantage, but the disciples from Cleansing Incense were fierce warriors. They resembled ferocious tigers leaving their mountain and mercilessly killed their way through their enemies.
"Buzz—" At the same time, another battle was raging on inside the sect itself. The Cleansing Incense disciples there were forming powerful battle formations to halt the sieging army.
These battle formations were prepared by Su Yonghuang. Later on, Li Shuangyan took over and, due to her training, the formations were much stronger than before.
The carnage continued with the Cleansing Incense disciples fiercely stopping the Heavenly God army. Each disciple was ferocious and persistent. They wanted the blood of their enemies to wash every inch of this land!
"How interesting, daring to attack Cleansing Incense when your grandpa is here!" The fiercest in the sect was Niu Fen. He shrank into his shell and rolled forward through all obstacles. Blood jetted along with flying pieces of human flesh. 2
Despite having more disciples, the Heavenly God Sect didn't have the advantage.
The three hundred disciples from the Cleansing Jade Peak had an extremely fierce display. They were an unstoppable calvary that rolled through the enemy's ranks under Xu Pei's leadership.
Many powerful cultivators were astonished to see the excellent showing from the Cleansing Incense disciples. Even the Heavenly God Ancestor's expression sank.
Although the previous generation of the sect was quite weak, the younger generation has become a firm pillar of support. This made the sect grow several times more powerful and could oppose the Heavenly God Sect on even footing.
"The older generation of Cleansing Incense is quite mediocre, but their youths are shining like stars with boundless potential. Such a sect can be described as being very vibrant in great spirits, it will definitely be able to rise." A spectator murmured.
Even a sect master from a great power added: "No wonder why the Heavenly God Sect is in a rush. The younger generation of Cleansing Incense has such great potential. Once their wings are fully grown, it would be the end of the Heavenly God Sect."
"Ancestors, summon the imperial weapon!" The Heavenly God Ancestor commanded with a dark expression after seeing the great army failing to break through.
At this point, more than ten ancestors appeared in the Heavenly God Sect's camp. Despite their withered blood energies, their momentum was still quite powerful.
These dozen ancestors were controlling an imperial weapon. This was an artifact Cleansing Incense lost in the previous war!
"Boom!" They aimed straight at Cleansing Incense. After a loud blast, the gates to Cleansing Incense were instantly shattered. The majority of the disciples in the same direction were blown away. No one could stop such an invincible attack from an imperial weapon.
"Retreat!" Gu Tieshou was alarmed to see this and immediately commanded: "Counter with our own weapons!"
This probably sounds better in Chinese. ↩ So many familiar names. It has been a while since the first arc. ↩Chapter 1129: Mysterious Prisoner
"Boom! Boom!" More explosions resounded. Cleansing Incense also used their own imperial weapons — the Violet Imperial Hammer and the Black Tortoise Rod!
Of course, it wasn't easy to utilize the power from these weapons. Those from the older generation, like Gu Tieshou, were even more powerless in using them. In the end, Xu Pei's group had to retreat to the main mountain of the sect and worked together to use the two imperial weapons.
The Heavenly God Ancestor commanded: "Press the attack!" The other ancestors continued to use their imperial weapon to open a path straight to Cleansing Incense.
Xu Pei's and Nan Huairen's groups controlled one imperial weapon each. They used their imperial laws to protect the sect from the oncoming onslaught of the other weapon.
Even though the sect had the rod and hammer, they were still too young; there existed a big gap between them and the Heavenly God ancestors.
Nevertheless, they managed to hold their ground against the offense for now, resulting in a stalemate.
"All of you, follow me." The Heavenly God Ancestor didn't care about this field. He brought along several hundred experts to go straight for the Heavenly Crow Peak.
His goal was very clear. He wanted the manuals from the sect, especially their Immortal Emperor laws! In his eyes, destroying Cleansing Incense was only a matter of time. Even if his sect couldn't break through right away, his backing was still there.
Because of this, he needed to rush ahead and seize the merit laws first. His sect required these imperial laws the most. If they had some, then perhaps one day, they would be comparable to imperial lineages.
"Kill!" The disciples guarding the Heavenly Crow Peak screamed and went to face the intruders.
In their eyes, the Heavenly Crow Peak was the heart of Cleansing Incense. Their treasures and merit laws were all located here. If the enemies could take down this place, then Cleansing Incense would lose for sure.
"Scram!" There was no need for the Heavenly God Ancestor to take action. The several hundred experts rushed forward to kill the Cleansing Incense disciples.
"Ah—" Shrill screams resounded. The Heavenly God Sect came prepared as they had prepared to rob these merit laws. These experts were all chosen carefully; they were experts among experts.
In the blink of an eye, these experts killed all the disciples guarding the Heavenly Crow Peak. They easily entered the peak and headed for the triangular square.
"Clang—Clang—Clank—" When these experts were rushing in, a man that was chained to a shrine stood up.
"Clank!" The man tore off his chains.
More metallic clanks echoed from the chains. This man took action right away. The two chains on his wrists resembled flood dragons leaving the water and went straight for the experts.
"Ah—" Now it was their turn to scream. The two iron chains pierced them like meat skewers, all several hundred of them.
The disparity in power was too great. Despite their great number, they were no match for this man.
"Who are you!" The Heavenly God Ancestor was startled. This happened too suddenly, so he couldn't even react in time to save them.
"Clang—" The stout man didn't say anything and swung his chains down with a ferocious and unstoppable momentum.
The aghast ancestor summoned his weapon and unleashed a supreme art to fight against this man.
"Rumble!"
They took their fight to the sky. The unknown man used his chains as a weapon to stop the ancestor.
Even though the ancestor had been famous for quite a while and the world was scared of him, he couldn't seize the upper hand against this man. On the contrary, he was completely suppressed.
Everyone was shocked to see this. Many experts in the distance murmured: "That's an imperial lineage for you, crouching tigers and hidden dragons are everywhere."
Even the disciples and elders from Cleansing Incense were astounded because, from their memory, the burly man had always been locked in that place. No one knew who he was or what his background was. Even the first elder, Gu Tieshou, didn't know where he came from.
They didn't expect that the chained man was so powerful.
"Boom!" The ancestor's defensive treasure was struck by the iron chain. He vomited blood and fell down from the sky. He staggered back more than ten steps before he could stabilize his body.
His face was unsightly to the extreme. His illustrious fame was notorious at one point, but today, he was not a match for this unknown person. How could he not be furious?
He finally shouted: "Dao brothers, please lend me a hand to destroy Cleansing Incense!"
The more naive spectators were surprised by this. So it turned out that the Heavenly God Sect didn't come alone, they still had some backings.
"Rumble!" The void suddenly opened at this time. A vast mountain emerged before everyone. It pierced straight into the sky. Waterfalls fell down for a thousand miles with divine eagles circling about. Here was the dwelling of green flood dragons…
This majestic landscape suddenly appearing in the sky stunned everyone. They thought that a secret realm had shown itself to the world.
A Virtuous Paragon from the previous generation shouted: "Space Trample Mountain!"
Someone blurted in horror: "Space Trample Mountain! It's finally here."
This was a lineage created by Immortal Emperor Ta Kong. Despite only having one emperor, many people believed that it was comparable to a sect with three emperors because many of his generals were still alive and guarding the mountain.
"Rumble!" While people were still gazing at the scene in the sky, a cavalry soared out from this flying mountain and entered the aerial space of Cleansing Incense.
This cavalry did not boast numbers — only a few hundred. However, it gave off the feeling of a bloodthirsty primordial monster.
Even before it joined the fray, one could already smell a bloody stench as if its appearance signaled the start of a massacre.
Leading this cavalry was an old man in black with a spear hanging on his back. He made others shudder uncontrollably due to his dangerous aura.
"Era Sentinel General!" In the horizon, an ancestor from a great power recognized this old man and blurted in shock: "A general directly under Immortal Emperor Ta Kong!"
After hearing this, those who had heard of his name were frightened. This was a ferocious general under the emperor. Later on, he patrolled the Mortal Emperor World for the emperor. People were quite scared of him.
"A centipede dies but never falls down!" Era Sentinel coldly glared at the burly man with an oppressive murderous intent: "But today, no matter what power Cleansing Incense still has hidden, it won't be able to escape demise. Your disciples should never have offended people whom they can't afford to offend!"
The crowd was astonished to see Era Sentinel personally leading a cavalry into this battle. Even the disciples of Cleansing Incense knew that they were in dire straits.
The burly man turned serious as well. He knew that he had met a formidable foe!
"Xue Hongyi, you shouldn't have come here." A voice sounded at this time: "Back when your Space Trample Mountain schemed in the background and ordered the Heavenly God Sect to invade Cleansing Incense's territory, these old bones didn't want to bother with you. But now, your mountain actually comes to bully my Cleansing Incense, do you think we have no one to stand up for ourselves?"
A person emerged above the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. No one knew when or how he got there.
It was an old man that didn't resemble an expert at all. He had an especially wretched and lowly appearance when he opened his mouth to reveal three yellow teeth. He simply lacked the style and bearing of an expert.
"Old Devil!" Everyone from Cleansing Incense was stunned to see him. Even Gu Tieshou couldn't believe his eyes. 1
This person that came out of thin air was a celebrity at Cleansing Incense — Old Devil. He was a wretched old man that spent all day with women down at the Happy Crimson Pavilion! 2
Even new disciples didn't care for Old Devil because everyone knew that he was only a lecherous grandpa.
Who would have thought that when Cleansing Incense was on the verge of demise, this perverted and wretched old man would come out to face Era Sentinel?
Era Sentinel's eyes lit up with a terrifying light after seeing this old man as if he wanted to see through him.
"Mu Shaodi, is that you? You are the handsome and matchless Mu Shaodi?" He mentioned a name without any certainty.
Formerly known as San (Three) Gui (Sly/pervert/ghost) Ye (Grandpa/old person). Couldn't come up with a good title back then that included all three words, so I left it in pinyin. His nickname has the number three because he is good at three things: spending money, lying, and fooling around in brothels. It's harder to implement three than third and it makes the nickname even longer. Old Devil Three, Eccentric Three, Pervert Three, Old Three; blah. ↩ The name of the brothel. ↩Chapter 1130: Mu Shaodi
Old Devil smiled, revealing his three yellow teeth alongside his wretched demeanor: "I have forgotten about it. It has been a while since someone last said my name."
"What, he, he is Mu Shaodi!" Everyone's jaws dropped to the ground after hearing this. Even the spectators on the horizon were shocked as well. Old paragons from the previous generations didn't dare to believe their own eyes.
"But this is too outrageous, he, he is the number one genius of the Grand Middle Territory back then?" An undying who had seen Mu Shaodi before couldn't believe his eyes.
This old undying carefully analyzed Old Devil. No matter how he looked at him, there was no semblance of Mu Shaodi in this wretched old geezer.
Both the young and old of Cleansing Incense were skeptical as well, especially those above the protector level.
For them, Mu Shaodi was the same as a god. Many of them worshipped Mu Shaodi. Even though they had never met this ancestor before, they still admired him all the same.
Mu Shaodi was the strongest genius 50,000 years ago and competed with Immortal Emperor Ta Kong for the Heaven's Will with a record of three defeats to three victories. Even though he failed to shoulder the Heaven's Will in the end, his fame still spread far and wide in the nine worlds. Even his lifelong enemy, Immortal Emperor Ta Kong, had nothing but praise for him.
At the same time, outside of being an exceedingly powerful genius, rumor has it that he was quite a dashing man with a gallant temperament. He was also heroic and famous. During his generation, countless saintesses and princesses adored him.
No one, especially those who had seen him in the past, would believe that the handsome and heroic youth that once stood above the world was now this lowly old man before them.
Gu Tieshou was slack-jawed. Even though he had never seen Mu Shaodi, he had met Liu Sanjian who had left an inerasable impression in his mind. Mu Shaodi was the grandmaster of Liu Sanjian's grandmaster. One should be able to imagine the young emperor's invincible style from looking at Liu Sanjian.
However, not even in his dreams would he think that the young emperor in his mind would have such a contradictory appearance today. What was even worse was that the Old Devil whom the entire sect thought was a pervert that only hung around at Happy Crimson was their ancestor, Mu Shaodi. This was almost like a dream.
"Growing old will change someone." Old Devil laughed boisterously. There was no semblance of his old style. Of course, he didn't care whether he was handsome or ugly either.
After hearing Old Devil confirming his identity with his own mouth, Era Sentinel took a step back. Even though he was a general under the emperor, he was still quite apprehensive about facing the young emperor. The guy was famous for a reason back then, he had an even record against Immortal Emperor Ta Kong!
Era Sentinel coldly uttered: "Mu Shaodi, you really haven't died!"
Old Devil's three yellow teeth were too eye-catching. He smiled in response: "I can't die before you old bastards. Xue Hongyi, I did not delve into your sect's involvement back then, but you aren't being very sensible today. You actually came, wanting to destroy my sect."
Back then, the Heavenly God Sect took over the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect's territory with the Space Trample Mountain and Azure Mysterious Ancient Kingdom in the background.
The mountain also guessed that Mu Shaodi was still alive, so they didn't go overboard to the point of attacking Cleansing Incense's ancestral ground.
Now, they felt that they were powerful enough, so they wanted to destroy Cleansing Incense in one go.
Era Sentinel declared: "Mu Shaodi, it can't be denied that you are very powerful, but even your presence will not be able to save Cleansing Incense. It shall be destroyed today!"
Old Devil narrowed his eyes and glanced over at Era Sentinel and then the Heavenly God Ancestor: "With just you and this ignorant junior?"
Such words exasperated the Heavenly God Ancestor. He was quite famous in the middle region, but the young emperor viewed him as worthless.
But before him, the ancestor had to restrain his arrogance. Mu Shaodi was an existence that competed against Immortal Emperor Ta Kong. He truly was much more powerful than him.
Era Sentinel coldly uttered: "Mu Shaodi, you are greatly underestimating the Space Trample Mountain. You think this is all of our forces in this conquest?" With that, his blood energy shot into the sky and became even brighter than fireworks at night.
"Buzz—" A portal appeared in the sky. Its huge doors opened and another steady stream of soldiers rushed out.
This huge legion hovered above the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. They carried a majestic aura like a vast ocean, causing this region to be suppressed and breathless.
Very few sects in the Mortal Emperor World could instantly teleport such a great legion.
"A legion from the Azure Mysterious Ancient Kingdom!" Someone screamed after seeing this legion.
Cleansing Incense was shaken once again when they saw this gigantic army in the sky. They were already struggling to stop the imperial weapon from the Heavenly God Sect before the coming of this great legion.
The worst part was that this new legion was much stronger than the Heavenly God Sect's army!
"Hahaha, the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect should have been wiped out back then." An old man stepped out from the legion. He had platinum hair and a silver armor with a big circular reflector in front of his chest. It didn't hide his fat stomach, however, which made him look quite silly.
However, to look down on him due to his appearance would be a mistake. Profound images emerged behind him. It was a gigantic beast that could devour the world at any time. Spectators were quite scared of this phenomenon.
Not many recognized him at all. Old Devil caught a glimpse of him and said: "Azure Mysterious Demon Ancestor, a pig demon like you still dares to come here? Come, I'll take care of you, fat pig."
Such domineering words made the Cleaning Incense disciples boiling with excitement. Even the experts in the distance were in awe.
"Azure Mysterious Demon Ancestor." An expert from the previous generation murmured after hearing this: "He is a demon taught by Immortal Emperor San Dao. Even after so many years, his blood energy is actually still as virile as before."
According to rumors, this demon ancestor used to be a wild boar. After meeting Immortal Emperor San Dao and obtaining his blessing, it eventually cultivated into a demon and became an ancestor. In order to show his gratitude for being enlightened by the emperor, it stayed at the Azure Mysterious Ancient Kingdom to protect it.
So now, when this demon ancestor personally led the kingdom's legion to attack Cleansing Incense, it truly showed the kingdom's determination in wanting to destroy this sect.
"This is too incredible, it looks like they won't give up until Cleansing Incense is history." Even a ruler of a country was astounded to see this.
The Cleansing Incense of today was no longer an imperial lineage. In the eyes of many, it was only a third-rate sect. But now, Era Sentinel General and the Azure Mysterious Demon Ancestor personally led their armies to attack Cleansing Incense.
Even a fool could see that the Heavenly God Sect was only the scouting cannon fodder. The real masterminds behind this battle were the Space Trample Mountain and the ancient kingdom.
"Heh, junior, you really are strong and was recognized by the Heaven's Will. However, even if you were stronger, you still wouldn't be able to escape death today." The demon ancestor laughed before shouting. His shout echoed across the world.
"Boom!" An azure energy soared to the sky from within the ancient kingdom. It turned into a surging spring that towered for countless miles. Its vastness flooded the heaven and earth.
"Raaaa!" A huge figure appeared from this endless azure energy like a divine beast entrenching itself in this spot while emitting a primal aura. This beast loomed over the land, causing many living beings and even the entire middle region to tremble. Its aura was truly terrifying as if its awakening was the start of its all-devouring journey.
"That's the divine guardian of the ancient kingdom!" Someone murmured: "This is unbelievable… this divine beast hasn't appeared for millions of years, but it is actually coming into being right now. How outrageous…"
However, it did not end there. With a buzzing sound, a projection of a large and incomparable legion emerged above the vast mountains and rivers in the flying continent.
Great warriors and generals came out from this projection. The moment this army came out completely, an invincible aura of steel engulfed the world. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that even the starry sky above was affected.
"Is that the legion left behind by Immortal Emperor Ta Kong?" Even though people could only see the visual projection and not the whole picture of the legion, they were still frightened all the same.
A regiment of Immortal Emperor Ta Kong, regardless of its actual size and capability, was appalling enough.