"I knew you wouldn't believe it."
Wei Huarou waved her hand gently, and a rolled-up leaf floated out from her sleeve. She smiled and said, "Before I came down to the Lower Realm, I visited Shen Jian Mountain where Xiao Jiu'er lives. Because she's reborn, she has no worldly possessions and nothing to prove herself. So, she made this leaf whistle for me to give to you, saying that if you saw it, you'd know for sure she was alive."
"Ah?"
Lin Zhao's hands trembled as he very carefully took the leaf whistle. He put it to his lips and blew hard, but no sound came out. His eyes immediately reddened, and he almost cried. It was indeed Xiao Jiu'er. Back then, on the stone bridge, he, Xiao Jiu'er, and Xiao Shitou had made whistles from reeds. Only Xiao Jiu'er would block the air hole and be unable to make a sound. It seemed she still hadn't learned.
"Xiao Jiu'er..."
Lin Zhao's body trembled. He looked at Wei Huarou with immense excitement and asked, "Cuner, is Xiao Jiu'er doing well in the Upper Realm?"
"She's doing very well."
Wei Huarou smiled and said, "After the Worldly Devouring in the human realm, Old Mr. Fu Sheng preserved her soul and took the six-year-old Xiao Jiu'er from the reversed timeline. Now, she's sixteen in the Upper Realm. Wouldn't you say a girl in her prime, Xiao Jiu'er, is the most precious age in the human world?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Lin Zhao nodded repeatedly with a smile. "It's so good that Xiao Jiu'er is still alive! Let's go, let's go to Tian Ran Ju. I'll cook some dishes, and we'll have a couple of drinks!"
Wei Huarou smiled and nodded.
The morning wine was filled with the carefree spirit of mountain deities.
After Lin Zhao and Wei Huarou had a few drinks and became slightly tipsy, Wei Huarou said, "By the way, there's one more thing, entrusted by your senior brother Ding Muchen. He asked you to take someone to the depths of the Demon Race's ancestral land, to Shan Hai Man Huang, when you have time. Ding Muchen has a very strong karmic resonance there. You should be able to guess what kind of karma it is."
"Mmm."
Lin Zhao nodded. His third senior brother was a straightforward person with a clean circle. There weren't many people or things that could truly resonate with him. The resonance in Shan Hai Man Huang was likely related to Su Shan Jun.
He glanced at Tong Yu in the distance, having already decided that after destroying the Demon Race, he would take Tong Yu there.
At this moment, Wei Huarou narrowed her beautiful eyes and looked Lin Zhao up and down. She smiled tenderly and said, "Not bad. You're already at the twelfth realm now. You're quite different from when you were in Shu Zhou."
Lin Zhao scratched his head and chuckled, "It's alright..."
Wei Huarou smiled. Although Lin Zhao held the Hao Ran Golden Order, his state of mind was almost the same as the young man in the illusion. He still possessed a pure heart, which was the most precious quality.
"Lin Zhao, when are you going to attack the Demon Race's ancestral mountain?" Wei Huarou asked.
"Today."
Lin Zhao smiled slightly. "Chen Xi and Han Yetang have already led the army."
"Oh."
Wei Huarou nodded. "I'll stay in the Lower Realm for a while. In Ding Muchen's words, I'm here to oversee the overall situation. Just let me know if you need me to act."
"It's best to have you here."
Lin Zhao said, "The final battle on the mountain will inevitably be at the ancestral mountain. I will lead Huang Tingyu, Fu Zhi, Tang Guangjun, and others to attack the ancestral mountain and settle some grievances with the Demon Race's upper five realms. Cuner, you just need to watch and make sure our people don't get hurt."
"Okay, understood."
...
Not long after, someone came up the mountain.
It was Princess Zhao Shutong of the Great Shang Dynasty. When Zhao Shutong saw Wei Huarou, she immediately knew she was a top Daoist cultivator and bowed to her. Wei Huarou smiled and nodded, telling her not to be so formal.
Lin Zhao looked at Zhao Shutong and felt she was too reserved. He smiled and asked, "Your Highness, what brings you up the mountain?"
"There's another matter that requires General Lin's help."
Zhao Shutong said, "Not long ago, His Majesty proposed a request. He wishes to personally visit Xue Yu Tian Chi for a superficial royal expedition. In reality, His Majesty wants to stay at the Mountain Peak Villa and boost the morale of the human army until the Demon Race is conquered. The Mountain Peak Villa is General Lin's territory. Regarding His Majesty's needs and safety, what do you think..."
"No problem."
Lin Zhao said, "Xue Yu Tian Chi is guarded by Ling Yu. Even if the Demon Race wanted to do something to the Mountain Peak Villa now, they couldn't. The Mountain Peak Villa is guarded by Dong Cang, Li Ying, and Miss Shi. Regardless of anything else, taking care of His Majesty's diet will definitely not be a problem. My Tian Ran Ju is also empty, so if His Majesty wants to use it as a temporary palace, that's fine too."
"Good!"
Zhao Shutong smiled and nodded. "I will issue an order for them to try not to disturb a single blade of grass or a single tree at the Mountain Peak Villa, and to return it to General Lin intact when His Majesty returns to the capital."
Lin Zhao smiled. These were all minor details, no need to dwell on them.
...
In the afternoon.
Lin Zhao personally led many cultivators from the Mountain Peak Villa to the Demon Race's realm. The celestial barrier between the two realms lay across, halting Chen Xi's vanguard. The two giant spirits guarding the barrier stood indifferently between heaven and earth. They didn't care about the wars in the human world, only about receiving money. Without money, they wouldn't lift the curtain.
Therefore, every time the Demon Race's army marched south, they would spend a large amount of Jin Zi coins. These marches had almost emptied the Demon Race's coffers, leaving them with no money, and ultimately led to their counterattack by the human race.
"Mountain Lord."
Huang Tingyu frowned and looked at the distant giant spirits. "Clear the path?"
"No need."
Lin Zhao soared into the sky, holding the Hao Ran Golden Order. A strand of golden text, conferred by heaven and earth, surged through his body. He cupped his fists towards the distant giant spirits and said, "Lin Zhao requests that the two divine beings open the barrier for three days."
The next moment, a scene that stunned everyone appeared. The two giant spirits simultaneously knelt on one knee, kneeling to the Hao Ran Golden Order of the Confucian school. The next moment, the barrier lifted, and the army rolled forward, charging into the Demon Race's realm. Lin Zhao then cupped his fists in thanks and, with the people of Xue Yu Tian Chi, flew into the Demon Race's realm through the unobstructed sky. This time, they didn't even need to draw their swords to break through the barrier.
In the sky, only human cultivators flew back and forth, while the Demon Race cultivators were all holed up on their ancestral mountain.
Huang Tingyu, Fu Zhi, Tang Guangjun, and Yu Wan Ning, the four great protectors, accompanied Lin Zhao. Behind them were Tong Yu, Lin Zhujie, Zhang Luobai, and others. Wei Huarou, with Lie Yu, hid in the cracks of heaven and earth in the sky.
Lin Zhao looked down at the battlefield. In a forest ahead, dense demon race battle flags appeared. A military camp with 200,000 troops was spread out within the jungle, blocking the passage of the human army.
"It's Tuozi Lin."
Fu Zhi narrowed her eyes and chuckled, "The Demon Race has set up a military camp near Tuozi Lin to welcome us. Tsk, they really look down on our human army. Is one camp enough?"
"More than that."
Lin Zhao pointed into the distance and raised his hand. The Shui Yue Guan Tian displayed the large map. He pointed to two valleys behind Tuozi Lin and said, "The military camp at Tuozi Lin is just a decoy. There are two more military camps set up in the valleys on both sides, totaling 600,000 troops."
"That's right."
Huang Tingyu said, "I've already seen it. In the forest valley on the west side, there are also the troops from two demon race military camps, a total of one million troops. They want to fight us to the death in the Tuozi Lin area."
"Hmph, they wish."
Lin Zhao chuckled, looked into the distance, and said, "Send word to Chen Xi and Han Yetang to lead their troops to attack the demon race's military camp at Tuozi Lin. Also, order Old Marshal Lu Fengxian and Princess Zhao Shutong to lead their troops to attack the valley on the left. One military camp in the right valley will be given to the seventeen-nation army. We maintain a troop advantage at every point."
"The two military camps in the western forest valley?" Huang Tingyu asked with a smile.
"Someone will deal with them."
Lin Zhao's gaze swept across the lush forest, and suddenly, war drums rumbled. A large expanse of vigorous death aura rose into the sky. War chariots woven from skulls rushed out of the jungle. On each chariot stood a Ghost King clad in blood-red armor. Furthermore, from the edges of heaven and earth, enormous figures emerged from the valleys – the legendary Blood Giants. Each Blood Giant had a ghost cultivator on its shoulder, urging the Blood Giant to march straight into the western forest valley.
Those 400,000 demon race troops were being crushed by nearly 800,000 ghost race troops, so it shouldn't be much of a problem.
Perhaps Nan Qingfeng, Nine-tailed, and Jian Chen would never have imagined that the long-dormant Ghost Realm finally sent out its troops, and upon deployment, they immediately switched sides. Those rusty iron swords were all pointed at the demon race army.
...
"Pah!"
In the forest valley, on the high tower of the demon race's military camp, an eleventh-realm great demon commander spat and roared, gripping his blood-red battle axe, "Those damned maggots have indeed switched sides to the human race. Tsk, they're all stupid fools who'll follow whoever feeds them. Brothers, pick up your weapons and prepare to slaughter those stinky insects!"
A group of demons raised their weapons, their fighting spirit high.
In an instant, the two sides clashed. Ghost Kings unleashed surging blood-red energy waves, continuously crushing the demon race army, while the accompanying cultivators of the Demon Race transformed into their true forms, constantly attacking the ghost race's army. It was destined that a victor would not be decided in a short time.
On the human side, Chen Xi and Han Yetang's cavalry army swept through like a tide, crashing into the demon race's military camp. On both sides, battle flags unfurled, and countless human soldiers crushed the demon formations.
...
In the north, on the east coast.
In the biting cold, the sea ice continuously shattered, followed by a tsunami. The waves stirred up by the Flood Dragon Clan were thousands of feet high, submerging the land in their path and rushing towards Ni Chang Realm.
Shuang Chen Pass, the eastern gateway of Ni Chang Realm.
"Look! What is that?!"
A mid-fifth-realm demon cultivator stared at the distant waves, feeling his scalp about to explode. "Why is there a tsunami at Shuang Chen Pass? Damn it, who can tell me why?!"
Soon, ethereal figures appeared in the sky above Shuang Chen Pass. They were the Demon Emperor, Su Chan, Cao Yan, and others. They all looked at the approaching tsunami with grim expressions.
"Ancestor Jiao Chen!"
The Demon Emperor let out a low roar, "Why is this happening?!"