"You said it yourself. Don't blame me if there's any danger." White Phoenix scoffed.
Miao Yi nodded, then turned to Yang Zhaoqing and asked, "Is everything ready?"
Yang Zhaoqing replied, "Yes. We can depart at any time."
"Thank you for your hard work." Miao Yi smiled at White Phoenix.
Yang Zhaoqing immediately extended his hand and said, "Please!"
White Phoenix mumbled something under her breath, but it was obvious she was cursing. She left with Yang Zhaoqing in annoyance.
Miao Yi chuckled as he watched her leave.
Yun Zhiqiu looked at his confident demeanor and thought of the turmoil outside. She sighed and said, "Niu Er, you've changed."
"Hm?" Miao Yi was taken aback. He slowly turned to look at her, and their eyes met. After a moment of silence, he said, "My feelings for you have never changed."
Yun Zhiqiu smiled sweetly and said, "Don't change!"
White Phoenix left the manor. Bluemoon brought a group of troops with her, and they took to the skies together …
Starry Hall. Lord Qing paced back and forth as he listened to Wu Qu's report.
He reported about Defeating Armies, but Defeating Armies didn't want to see Lord Qing anymore. Wu Qu had no choice but to report on Defeating Armies's pacification of the Left Commandery's troops. Defeating Armies went to the Left Commandery to summon the higher-ups for a meeting. He said he wasn't going to dismiss them, but that he had a secret mission to carry out.
As for whether or not everyone would overthink it, it was inevitable. However, Defeating Armies's explanation was more or less effective.
However, one problem after another popped up, and this was not the end of the trouble.
The situation at the Almighty Weng Manor had been resolved. Cao Man and the other important members of the Xiahou family had disappeared, and their whereabouts were unknown. This worried Lord Qing greatly. What worried him the most now was that the local factions were colluding with the Xiahou family. He had already sent people to pacify the Heavenly Kings, and also to contact the Marshals and Celestial Sovereigns under the Heavenly Kings. He hoped that they would help, but he also wanted to sow discord and make the Heavenly Kings doubt themselves.
He was starting to miss the Xiahou Tuo who had always wanted to die.
When Xiahou Ta was alive, his goal was the same as his. He wanted to maintain the balance of power in the world and not break it easily. After Cao Man came up, no one could figure out what she was thinking. The Xiahou Family was also a vested interest. What good would it do for the Xiahou Family or Cao Man to break this balance? Could it be that Cao Man was different from Xiahou Ta and wanted the position of Sovereign?
Even so, he did not show any signs of weakness. In the eastern army, not only did the Imperial Guards not change their deployment because of the matter with the Netherworld Rebel Army, their numbers continued to increase, forming an absolute advantage over Teng Fei. Together with Cheng Taize, they managed to restrain the other major powers in the eastern army. If anyone dared to act rashly, they would immediately eliminate Teng Fei and weaken the alliance of the Heavenly Kings.
This put a lot of pressure on the other forces, especially Teng Fei, who bore the brunt of the pressure. He secretly complained. He didn't expect Lord Qing to put the matter of the Netherworld Rebel Army aside and target him first. Right now, his intestines were green with regret. He regretted that he had jumped out first and made it difficult for him to get off the tiger. Naturally, the other forces wouldn't let this go. They were all deliberately delaying the Imperial Guards' assembly, finding excuses to do so. It didn't seem like they wanted to fall out with Lord Qing.
The Western Paradise had already assembled the first batch of five hundred million monk soldiers. Once there was a need, they would immediately rush over to support the celestial palace.
After listening to the report, Lord Qing asked, "Is Qu Changtian in place?"
Wuqu replied, "He's already at Cheng Taize's side. He's personally overseeing things and is ready to lead the attack on Teng Fei. As for Hua Yitian's side, Niu Youde is purposely using the demonic monk Nan Bo as an excuse to inspect the situation. His troops are gathering slowly, so it won't be easy to attack the Netherworld Army in a short time. "
Lord Qing's narrowed eyes flickered coldly. No one knew what he was thinking.
Sima Wentian suddenly put away the star bell in his hand and reported, "Your Majesty, Niu Youde has left the Ox King Planet."
Lord Qing looked over. "What's going on?"
The others all showed expressions of great concern.
Sima Wentian said, "According to the direction that Niu Youde's troops were arranged before he left, he should be going to the Ancient Desolate Wasteland."
Lord Qing frowned. "What is he trying to do by going to the Ancient Desolate Wasteland at this time? Could he have discovered an ambush inside? "
Ambush? Wuqu was stunned. He still didn't know about this. He asked, "Is there an ambush in the Ancient Desolate Wasteland?"
He looked left and right, but no one answered his question.
Gao Guan, who also seemed to know nothing, said, "Could it be that Your Majesty has arranged an ambush in the Ancient Desolate Wasteland to assassinate Niu Youde?"
No one answered either. Not denying it was equivalent to admitting it. Wuqu understood, and his brows furrowed.
Sima Wentian coughed dryly. "Logically, it shouldn't have been discovered. The ambush troops are under strict control, so there is no possibility of them leaking information."
Lord Qing asked, "Then how do you explain Niu Youde going to the Ancient Desolate Wasteland now? Could it be that he is going to the Ancient Desolate Wasteland to cultivate at this time? "
Sima Wentian hesitated. "Could it be that he has other matters to attend to and has yet to discover them? This is a possibility. If that is the case … Your Majesty, should we still make a move?"
Lord Qing pondered for a moment before his expression turned sinister. "If that is the case, this is the chance to break the current stalemate. Kill! Once Niu Youde is dead, the southern army will be in chaos. Let's see where that unfilial son can run to! "
Although his main target was Teng Fei for the time being, what he wanted to resolve the most was to clean up his family. It would be a real joke if he couldn't do anything about his son's rebellion.
Shangguan Qing suddenly asked, "What if they are really discovered?"
The hall fell silent before Lord Qing said slowly, "Then let them retreat into the depths of the Ancient Desolate Wasteland. The Ancient Desolate Wasteland is huge, and it is inconvenient to fly. It won't be easy to find them if they hide."
Everyone understood what he meant. If they couldn't get rid of Niu Youde and cause the southern army to be in chaos, they couldn't afford to shed all pretense of cordiality. If Niu Youde and the southern army were forced to side with the Xiahou Family and Yuan Venerate Qing, the situation would turn upside down.
Wu Qu and Gao Guan didn't say anything about this and just listened to the three of them discussing …
In a cave in the Ancient Desolate Wasteland, Charcoal was sitting high on a stone chair. Actually, he didn't look like he was sitting. He was leaning on it and listening to a group of strange-looking evil spirits flattering him. He was so happy that he couldn't even close his mouth.
A tall and skinny man quickly entered the cave and sat down beside Charcoal. He cupped his fists and said, "Master Black is wise and mighty. Just as Master Black expected, that group of people has indeed appeared again. They are hiding underground and lying in ambush within the protective array."
Charcoal swallowed the spirit pearl in his mouth and raised his hand to signal the evil spirits in the cave to shut up. His eyes widened as he leaned forward and asked, "Have you confirmed it?"
The tall and skinny man said, "How could I dare disobey Master Charcoal's instructions? I have personally turned into mist and infiltrated the ground to check. There is no mistake!"
Pa! Slapping the armrest of the stone chair, Charcoal stood up and shouted, "Little ones, cheer up for your grandpa. Bring out your special skills and do it for me!"
"Master Charcoal is wise and mighty!" The group of evil spirits responded in unison. Their morale was high.
Charcoal placed his hands on his hips and walked out of the cave. He stood proudly at the entrance and waved his hand.
The group of Evil Spirits that followed behind him immediately scattered in all directions. Some of them rose into the air to show off, chanting and dancing in the air. The evil spirits in the surroundings that had just gained sentience and could understand the summoning drifted toward him.
Not long after, evil clouds gathered in the sky. The evil spirits gathered in the sky quickly expanded. With a light explosion, they turned into a ball of evil aura and mixed with the evil clouds. They then drove the evil clouds toward the exit of the Ancient Desolate Wasteland.
In the vast desert, at the exit of the void that was constantly being torn apart, the scouts of the royal guards were closely watching the movements at the exit.
"Old Hou, look at what's happening behind us."
Two people were hiding in the opened cave. They were observing through the peephole from the front and back. The person in charge of observing from the back suddenly called out.
The person who was observing through the peephole quickly turned around and walked over. He crouched in front of the peephole and immediately had a suspicious look on his face. He saw colorful evil clouds rolling in their direction in the sky. The two of them looked at each other in confusion. They had never seen such a movement before.
It seemed as if the boundless five-colored evil clouds had spread over the mountain top and filled up the place where the two of them were hiding. The two of them quickly cast their spells and emitted flames from their bodies, burning away the evil aura that had seeped in with a sizzling sound. When they looked through the holes in front and behind them, all they could see was a vast expanse of mist.
The overwhelming evil aura quickly covered the entire exit of the Ancient Desolate Wasteland like a vast sea of fog.
Inside the underground protective circle, the Imperial Guards were holding onto their Spell Breaker Bows, looking up at the sky from the huge underground space. They could only see the silver light of the illusory protective shell of the protective circle rippling, and the outside seemed to be surrounded by colorful evil aura.
The evil aura kept corroding the protective shield, and the protective shield was consuming energy to resist the evil aura.
Previously, everyone had seen the evil aura corroding the protective shield, but they had never seen it on such a large scale. The evil aura was so dense that it almost sealed off the protective shield.
Ximen Wuye, who was standing in the middle of the crowd, had a grave expression. He asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"
Everyone looked at each other. No one knew what was going on. Other than the periodic cleanup in the Ancient Desolate Wasteland, no one was stationed here. Probably no one knew what kind of strange changes were happening in the Ancient Desolate Wasteland.
One of the generals said, "Sir, the energy consumption of the protective shield is too high. At this rate, the protective shield won't be able to hold on for long."
Another general who was holding a star bell also said, "Sir, all the ambush points have encountered the same situation. They are all asking for instructions on how to handle it."
Ximen Wuye frowned. He did not expect to encounter such a strange thing right after the troops were released. Could it be that Niu Youde was still able to control the evil aura? He said in a deep voice, "I received news from the higher-ups that Niu Youde might be coming soon. Get everyone to continue supplying energy to the protective formation. Hold on a little longer."
One of the generals said, "Are you sure he will come? If he doesn't, the energy will be wasted for nothing, and the protective formation won't be able to be used anymore. Looking at the situation, I don't know how long we will have to stay in there, and we don't know what kind of unexpected situations we will encounter. It's not good to be one less prepared! Also, even if Niu Youde comes, how can we fight with so many of our troops? Most people won't be able to stay in the evil aura for long! "
In the past, the great army that came to the Ancient Desolate Wasteland for cleanup was basically made up of people who cultivated cultivation arts that could resist the evil aura. This time, they didn't dare to make a big fuss, for fear of alerting the enemy.
Ximen Wuye was silent for a while. He took out the star bell and contacted his superiors to report the situation here.
Inside King Niu's manor, Miao Yi was sitting in his study. After contacting Charcoal, he casually placed the star bell on the table and chuckled, "Charcoal is so proud of himself. He seems to have quite the influence in the Ancient Desolate Era."
In reality, that was indeed the case. Currently, Charcoal was not much different from the local tyrant of the Ancient Desolate Era. The name of Lord Hei was well-known, and none of the Evil Spirits in the Ancient Desolate Era dared to defy him. Charcoal's spies were everywhere. It was not easy to hide from Charcoal's eyes in the Ancient Desolate Era. Every move of Ximen Wuye was under Miao Yi's control. An ambush would be a joke.
However, an ambush at the exit was indeed troublesome. The great army couldn't launch an ambush in one go, and it would easily result in heavy casualties. It would be easier to deal with it first and force them away.
Yang Zhaoqing smiled and said, "I wonder if Lord Qing dares to admit that he set up an ambush to assassinate Your Highness. It's the lives of ten million guards after all."
As he said this, he took out the star bell. After contacting his superiors for a while, he reported, "Your Highness, the army of the Netherworld has already charged out. The defenders of the Fourth Road have retreated!"
Miao Yi propped himself up on the table and laughed coldly, "Well done!"
Sky Palace, Starry Hall.
After listening to Shangguan Qing's report about the abnormal situation in the Ancient Desolate Era, Lord Qing's expression darkened. "A massive outburst of demonic energy. What's going on? Even if Niu Youde discovered it, can he really control the demonic energy? "
Recently, his trusted subordinates, who had been taking orders from the central command, had a pensive look on their faces. They all shook their heads, indicating that they didn't know what was going on.
"Alright!" Lord Qing raised his head and gestured to Shangguan Qing. The latter then strode out of the Starry Hall.
When Lord Qing and the others walked out of the hall, a golden dragon came whistling over. It circled in the air for a while before its massive body landed outside the hall, as though it was waiting for orders.
Shangguan Qing explained the abnormal situation in the Ancient Desolate Era, then asked the golden dragon, "Do you know what's going on?"
The golden dragon raised its claw and drew a line on the ground, 'Never heard of it. When the Dragon and Phoenix Clans were still in the Blessed Lands, the demonic energy wouldn't be this rampant.'
After reading the words, everyone exchanged glances and understood that the dragon's words were probably true. When the Dragon and Phoenix Clans were still guarding the Ancient Desolate Era, it wasn't called that yet. It was a place with verdant hills and clear waters. It was a place that could be considered a Blessed Lands. How could there be a situation where demonic energy was rampant? It was only natural that the golden dragon hadn't seen it before.
However, if that was the case, then imprisoning the Dragon and Phoenix Clans here was like karma. They had shot themselves in the foot.
After Shangguan Qing dismissed the golden dragon with a wave of his hand, everyone returned to the hall.
Wu Qu said, "For something like this to happen at this time, and when Niu Youde is heading to the Ancient Desolate Era, it would be too far-fetched to say that it's a coincidence. I'm afraid that it really has something to do with Niu Youde. The troops lying in ambush might really have been exposed!" He was worried about the safety of the guards. If they were really targeted by Niu Youde, would they be able to escape?
Shangguan Qing and Sima Wentian exchanged glances. According to the original plan, if the plan failed, they were prepared to find an excuse to organize another Ancient Desolate Era purge and withdraw their troops. However, with the current situation, why would they still want to organize an Ancient Desolate Era purge? Wasn't it a joke? Who would listen? Even if the Heavenly Palace organized their own people to purge, Niu Youde wouldn't let them get close.
Things were happening everywhere, and Qing Zhu felt like he was in a terrible situation. He paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back. Finally, he ordered, "Inform everyone to retreat and hide well. After this period, we'll think of a way to provide support!"
"Yes!" Shangguan Qing replied.
On the other side, Sima Wentian rang the Heavenly Star Bell and reported anxiously, "Your Majesty, the Netherworld Army killed their way out of the Netherworld and fought with the troops stationed in the Southern Army. The Southern Army couldn't stop them and was defeated!"
Everyone was stunned, thinking that they had heard wrong. Qing Zhu asked anxiously, "The Netherworld Army killed their way out of the Netherworld Army, attacked the Southern Army, and even defeated Niu Youde's troops?"
Sima Wentian replied, "There's no mistake. The scouts stationed at the exit witnessed it. The Southern Army didn't expect the Netherworld Army to kill their way out and were caught off guard. They were defeated!"
Everyone looked at each other, wondering if Yuan Venerate Qing had gone crazy. Had he taken the wrong medicine? He was biting whoever he saw. How dare he compete with Niu Youde with such a small number of troops? Was he trying to copy Niu Youde's method of toppling Hao Defang, or did the Xiahou Family have some arrangements that made him fearless?
"He he! Niu Youde, the ever-victorious general, rarely suffers a defeat. Given his temper, how can he swallow such a loss? " Qing Zhu said, but he had a knowing smile on his face. Such a smile hadn't appeared recently. He pointed at Shangguan Qing and said, "Contact Niu Youde and tell him that the guards are willing to lend him a hand!"
He really hadn't expected such an unexpected situation to occur. Recently, there had been a lot of unexpected occurrences. This time, he had finally found an opportunity to turn the situation around.
In the Ancient Wilderness, within the underground protective array formation, Ximen Wuye, who had been staring at the silver ripples of the protective array formation, suddenly took out his Star Bell. After making some calls, he said to his subordinates, "Our ambush here might have been exposed, and Niu Youde might already know about it. Pass down my orders. Withdraw the troops immediately and listen to my orders! "
As soon as he gave the order, the densely packed people inside the protective formation quickly shrank and soon gathered into the storage bracelets on the few of them.
Only Ximen Wuye and the others were left in the empty underground space. The protective array formation was withdrawn, and they released their flying mounts. Flames surged out of their bodies to protect their mounts. The mounts flapped their wings and rushed toward the surging evil Qi, burning it and passing it in a flash.
The ground rumbled and collapsed. A few mounts wrapped in flames rushed out of the sea of evil Qi and circled high in the sky.
Riding on their mounts, Ximen Wuye and the others looked down at the endless cloud of evil Qi and were secretly shocked.
In the distance, more flaming mounts rushed out one after another and gathered together. After a brief discussion, with Ximen Wuye in the lead, they quickly fled into the distance.
In the study of the Ox King's Residence, Miao Yi was communicating with Shangguan Qing.
After listening to Shangguan Qing's words, Miao Yi bluntly said, "Cooperation? Can I believe His Majesty's words? "
Shangguan Qing: "His Majesty's words carry enormous weight. Why can't I believe him?"
Miao Yi: "Bullshit! Not long ago, the Xiahou family told me that His Majesty had ambushed ten million guards in the Ancient Wilderness to assassinate me. How will His Majesty explain this? Explain this to me first! "
Shangguan Qing hurriedly raised his head and conveyed Miao Yi's words to Lord Qing. Of course, he left out the word 'bullshit'.
Lord Qing and the others seemed to understand something. They were still wondering how Niu Youde had discovered the ambush, but it turned out that it was the Xiahou family's doing. Now that they thought about it, the Xiahou family was truly terrifying. They were truly all-pervasive, and they actually knew about such a secret.
PS: Shame, another update!
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