"Whoosh—"
Lin Zhao suddenly stood up, his brows furrowed.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Xingchen and Leng Yan both glanced at the notification on his phone. Leng Yan asked, "The demon race is attacking the mountain? Is it serious?"
"Extremely serious."
Lin Zhao said, "Most likely, a thirteen-realm cultivator is coming, and perhaps more than one!"
"Damn it..."
Leng Yan gritted her teeth. "Are we going back immediately?"
"Yes!"
Lin Zhao looked at Shen Xingchen. "Get your private jet ready to take off. We're going back. Hurry!"
Shen Xingchen knew the situation was grave. The direction of events at Snow Domain Heavenly Pond might affect the entire human world. This was no joke. After all, the storyline of "Tian Xia" was a fully open narrative based on blockchain development, with free progression. The unfolding of events and various details were interconnected. If things went south at Snow Domain Heavenly Pond, the main cities of human players might even fall!
"Xingchen."
Leng Yan held up a plate of pumpkin pancakes and handed it to Shen Xingchen. "You ate little earlier when you took the call. Take this to eat on the way."
Shen Xingchen was exasperated but appreciated Leng Yan's good intentions. She accepted the pancakes. She had actually wanted to pack some shrimp paste as well, but time was too urgent.
Lin Zhao leaped onto the plane. Standing at the cabin door, he cupped his fists towards Leng Yan. "I'm sorry, A Yan. It's an emergency. I have to leave. We'll arrange hotpot next time."
"Yes, deal with matters at Snow Domain Heavenly Pond first."
Leng Yan clenched her right fist and gave Lin Zhao a thumbs-up gesture of encouragement.
The next moment, the plane soared into the sky, returning to Su City at maximum speed via the shortest route.
"Uh..."
Shen Xingchen held the pumpkin pancakes and looked at Lin Zhao sitting opposite her. She suddenly said, "I think you agreed to treat A Yan to this hotpot..."
"This..."
Lin Zhao scratched his head. "I'll have to treat you next time..."
Shen Xingchen chuckled, finding everyone quite amusing.
...
In just twenty minutes, the Su family's plane arrived in Su City. A display of the access key passed through the faint golden shield above the city, and the plane descended rapidly, landing on the open space in front of the Scarlet Moon Knights' base. Lin Zhao got off the plane and rushed away, saying, "Xingchen, I'm leaving you for now. Something big might be happening at Snow Domain Heavenly Pond."
"Okay!"
Shen Xingchen, wearing high heels, trotted behind him, smiling, "Slow down."
Lin Zhao, at this late hour, was remarkably agile. He ran upstairs and found Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Luo Man, and others still online. He quickly lay down in the game pod, put on all the equipment, and entered the game at top speed.
"Whoosh!"
The character loaded successfully and appeared in the command tent of the encampment. The moment he appeared, Xu Zhi, Mu Ya, Chu Yu, and Xiang Ji were all present in the tent.
"My Lord!"
Xu Zhi said gravely, "Your subordinate senses two incredibly powerful auras rapidly approaching Snow Domain Heavenly Pond. They are coming from the north, from the direction of the demon race's ancestral mountain. It seems the demon race intends to make a real move."
"What realm are they?"
"My subordinate's realm is too low to dare to speculate, but... there's a high probability they are Ascension realm. The pressure from their realm is simply too intense."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "Xiang Ji, immediately lead all the armored soldiers of the Snow Domain Legion with their warhorses and portable supplies to leave and head for Plum Blossom Mountain camp!"
"My Lord!?"
Xiang Ji gritted his teeth. "The battle is imminent, why are you ordering us to leave?"
"It's different."
Lin Zhao shook his head. "If it were the demon army attacking, our human cavalry would be useful. But if two thirteen-realm cultivators are attacking, human cavalry going up would merely be sending themselves to their deaths. Their mission is to kill ordinary demon soldiers and weaken the overall fortune of the demon race, not to be crushed by thirteen-realm cultivators, dying for nothing."
He then stood up and said, "Heed my order, retreat with everyone immediately!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
Xiang Ji cupped his fists and retreated. In a flash, the camp erupted with shouts of men and neighs of horses. The over one thousand iron cavalry of the Snow Domain Legion, carrying only their essentials and provisions, departed Snow Domain Heavenly Pond and moved south in an orderly fashion towards the Plum Blossom Mountain camp.
...
Lin Zhao walked out of the command tent and stood on the northern city wall of the encampment, gazing into the distance. However, his realm and cultivation were too low to discern the traces of the great demons in the distance.
Beside him, the mountain and river landscape shifted, transforming into the figure of Su Shan Jun.
"Two thirteen-realm cultivators are coming."
Su Shan Jun said calmly, "I fear I cannot help you. You must overcome this tribulation yourself."
"I know."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, Su Shan Jun. You should leave quickly. With Su Shan Jun's current low realm, if anything were to happen, my third senior brother would be heartbroken..."
"You brat..."
Su Shan Jun grumbled and left.
A few breaths later, a wisp of floating cloud descended from the sky, transforming into the figure of Han Buyu, a Cloud Master of the Star River realm, who stood beside Lin Zhao. "I sense an extremely strong karmic energy. If nothing unexpected happens... it should be the person who killed me back then, Lu Hai, who was twelve-realm then, and should now be thirteen-realm. Third shopkeeper, you must be extremely careful..."
"Old Sword Immortal, you should go."
Lin Zhao said calmly, "Your realm is too low. Do not stay here to die needlessly."
Old Sword Immortal Han Buyu gave a bitter smile. "I thought I was somewhat useful, but it seems in Third Shopkeeper's eyes, I am still an old good-for-nothing..."
"It's not like that."
Lin Zhao turned to look at him. "Lin Zhao only wishes that in this life, even if Old Sword Immortal fights and dies for the human race, it would be more valuable. Do not sacrifice yourself in vain again. When I play chess, the survival of every piece should have its value. Of course, I mean no disrespect. I just feel that Old Sword Immortal will be more useful to the human world in the future, and there's no need to be an ant trying to stop a chariot here."
"Understood."
Han Buyu cupped his fists. "This old man will observe the battlefield from above the clouds. If I am truly needed, Han Buyu will draw his sword without hesitation!"
"Yes, thank you!"
Lin Zhao smiled and nodded.
As soon as Han Buyu left, a figure radiating the aura of a five-realm cultivator descended from the sky. It was a middle-aged man in an ink-green robe, Yue Ling, the Rain Master. He stood above Lin Zhao, looking down. "Yue Ling of the Rain Master, greets Sword Immortal Xu Zhi, and Heavenly Origin realm Mu Ya!"
An eleven-realm Rain Master, he completely disregarded Chu Yu of the ten-realm and the insignificant Lin Zhao.
"Oh?"
Xu Zhi raised an eyebrow slightly, her beautiful eyes revealing undisguised anger and killing intent. She sneered, "Shouldn't Rain Master perhaps greet Commander Lin first?"
Yue Ling's lips curled. "I, Yue Ling, have been divinely appointed as a Rain Master by heaven and earth, a deity of mountains and rivers. I only pay homage to Celestial Beings and Earth Immortals, not to mortals. I ask Commander Lin to forgive me."
Lin Zhao glanced at him, having no idea who this person was.
Xu Zhi sent him a telepathic message. "Yue Ling, son of Marquis Yue Hao from back then. Fifty-three thousand Cloud State cavalry were annihilated in the northern region. He was among them. After his death, he was shown mercy by heaven and earth and appointed a Rain Master. He has now cultivated to the eleven-realm but has become increasingly arrogant, regarding himself as a deity who only respects Celestial Beings and Earth Immortals, not human princes, marquises, generals, or ministers."
"Is that so..."
After all, he was the son of a loyal martyr. Lin Zhao cupped his fists towards Yue Ling. "Back then, Marquis Yue Hao led the Cloud State cavalry to fight valiantly in the eastern region. Lin Zhao once led twenty thousand cavalry to reinforce them, but we were insufficient. I didn't get to meet Marquis Yue Hao. Since Rain Master is Marquis's son, are you here to help us resist the demon race's thirteen-realm cultivators?"
"Commander Lin is overthinking."
Yue Ling's lips curled, his sarcasm undisguised. "Firstly, two thirteen-realm demon cultivators are coming. You will surely not be able to resist them, and Yue Ling has no reason to risk his entire cultivation. Secondly, as the Rain Master of the ten thousand li domain of the northern region, my only duty is to bring clouds and rain for the world, ensuring good weather and abundant harvests. The war between the human race and the northern four tribes has nothing to do with me, Yue Ling. If Commander Lin wishes to be an ant trying to stop a chariot and resist the demon race's thirteen-realm cultivators, that is Commander Lin's business and has nothing to do with me, Yue Ling."
"Is that so..."
Lin Zhao frowned, silently crossing Yue Ling's name off his mental list. Since he was not human, why bother remembering such a person? He waved his hand. "Since Rain Master wishes to remain neutral, please depart. Snow Domain Heavenly Pond will soon become a battlefield. We cannot bear the responsibility if Rain Master is accidentally injured."
"What did you say?"
At this moment, two more deities appeared behind Rain Master Yue Ling. One was a sword-bearing maid holding a golden longsword, Lan Xi, the Wind Master of the ten-realm and one of Yue Ling's subordinates. This Wind Master wore a cloud-white short skirt and was exceptionally beautiful and agile. The other was a middle-aged man in a purple short shirt, with a fiery and violent temperament, Xue Yuan, the Thunder Master of the ten-realm. These two, along with Yue Ling and Han Buyu, collectively controlled the wind, clouds, rain, and snow near Snow Domain Heavenly Pond.
That exclamation came from Thunder Master Xue Yuan. Xue Yuan was only the Thunder Master within a few hundred li of Snow Domain Heavenly Pond, while Yue Ling governed a ten-thousand-li domain in the northern region. Their levels were vastly different, so Xue Yuan was utterly loyal to Yue Ling.
The moment Xue Yuan shouted, Xu Zhi was already enraged.
"Whoosh!"
A flying sword stopped in front of Xue Yuan's forehead, its blade trembling incessantly. As long as Xu Zhi willed it, this ten-realm Thunder Master would be killed. As a deity of mountains and rivers, dying a second time meant truly dying, vanishing completely from heaven and earth.
"Do you want to die?"
Xu Zhi said indifferently, "Shall I fulfill your wish?"
"You..."
Xue Yuan felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. At this moment, he truly felt the terror of the legendary Xu Zhi, the strongest eleven-realm cultivator. The flying sword had appeared silently. If she had truly wanted to kill him, she would have already done so.
"Sword Immortal Xu Zhi."
Rain Master Yue Ling smiled faintly. "It's unnecessary. Xue Yuan is simply blunt. After all, he is a deity of mountains and rivers implicitly recognized by the luck of heaven and earth. If you truly kill him, you will inevitably be stained with karmic consequences, which will be greatly detrimental to your grand Dao cultivation."
"Xu Zhi."
Lin Zhao waved his hand. "Let them leave. The demon race's thirteen-realm cultivators are almost here."
"Yes, my Lord!"
Xu Zhi flicked her sleeve and said, "Scram!"
Instantly, Thunder Master Xue Yuan transformed into a bolt of lightning and retreated into the clouds. Rain Master Yue Ling sneered, and his body also soared away. His sword-bearing maid, Wind Master Lan Xi, gave an apologetic smile to Lin Zhao, Xu Zhi, and the others, then took a step back and transformed into a gust of clear wind, departing.
Lin Zhao frowned. Among this group of wind and rain deities, perhaps only Lan Xi retained a sliver of humanity.
...
A few breaths later, the heartbeats of Lin Zhao, Xu Zhi, Mu Ya, and Chu Yu suddenly accelerated. From the north, two beams of light streaked towards them. They were the two thirteen-realm great demons, Fu Sheng and Lu Hai. Among them, Fu Sheng casually raised his hand, uprooted a mountain several hundred meters tall on a nine-zhang plateau, and collected it into his sleeve. He then waved his sleeve, and the mountain shot straight towards Snow Domain Heavenly Pond.
"Long time no see, everyone. Here's a welcome gift!"
Eight chapters completed. Brothers, recommend votes!!