Killing intent!
The four were stunned. This was the first time the monk had revealed killing intent since the conquest. He hadn't participated in any battles before. The legion commanders were all handled by the newly promoted Extreme ranker of the Ghost Tribe's First Legion, Tai Yin.
He himself hid in the rear, propagating his Buddhist teachings, building temples, and enshrining sacred images with Ye Yun's aura and his own Buddha statues in various temples.
If he hadn't revealed his killing intent, they would have almost overlooked his strength at the peak of the Extreme rank.
"Hey, monk, shouldn't you be merciful? How come your murderous intent is greater than mine, a demon? Could it be you're a monk who drinks and eats meat?" Hei Yi couldn't help but laugh upon hearing Di Zang's words.
"Murderous intent? Is the benefactor seeing things? This poor monk calls it imposing presence! Among us Buddhist cultivators, it's called the Vajra's wrathful gaze. This is merely an expression of inner emotion, so benefactor Hei need not be concerned."
Except for Tai Yin and the other Ghost Tribe legion commanders behind Di Zang, who looked at this Ghost Buddha with fervent admiration, the more than a dozen others looked around, suppressing their laughter.
Look at his way of speaking, perfectly embodying hypocrisy and the Buddhist concept of compassion.
"Monk, can you stop calling me benefactor Hei? You can call me Brother Hei, Emperor Hei, anything, just don't call me benefactor Hei! If you keep calling me that, don't blame me for falling out with you!" Hei Yi stared menacingly at Di Zang.
"Benefactor Hei need not be so concerned. It's just a name. We come into the world with nothing and leave with nothing. You are a demon, I am a ghost, we should love each other."
Facing Hei Yi's fierce gaze, Di Zang remained utterly calm. This guy had led six legions of the Ghost Tribe to conquer over three hundred star domains in the past few months, established tens of thousands of temples, and converted billions of believers. He had also comprehended the Three Dharma of Buddhism and achieved the peak of the Extreme rank. The biggest difference between him and Hei Yi was that he collected the power of faith from believers to enhance his own strength. The more believers, the stronger he became. Hei Yi, on the other hand, devoured, whether it was demonic energy, ghost energy, or malevolent energy, he could devour all negative energies and convert them into his own demonic essence.
In terms of cultivation structure, Hei Yi cultivated himself, while Di Zang's was more like borrowing. Therefore, Di Zang's strength increased faster than anyone else's. All he needed to do was to expand his sea of Buddhism. As long as the sea of Buddhism was large enough to contain sufficient faith power, his strength could grow infinitely.
However, there was a significant flaw, just like Ye Yun back then. If someone used their powerful divine sense to forcibly sever his connection with his believers, his strength would plummet without the supply of faith power.
"Enough, stop the nonsense. I think both Hei Yi and Di Zang have a point. His Majesty's and the Empire's dignity cannot be challenged by any force. Since His Majesty has already decided to move forward, we must resolutely prevent anything that might drag us down."
"Di Zang, you've come to the front lines this time. Then your Fourth Group Army will be the vanguard, my Seven Clans' Second Group Army and the Demon Tribe's Fifth Group Army will be the wings, and the Third and Sixth Group Armies will be the rearguard for support. What do you say?"
Yue Xia stood up from his seat and surveyed everyone present, as if asking, but his tone allowed for no doubt. The commanders under Ye Yun's rule were not that democratic.
"Yes, Your Lordship!" With Yue Xia's decision, the war between the Shifang Empire and the Hundred Domains Alliance officially began.
Within three minutes of the five group armies' commanders returning to their respective headquarters, formations rose from the ground and converged in the air under their respective commanders.
This movement was quickly known to the Hundred Domains Alliance.
"Commander, it seems the Shifang Empire is determined to fight us. What do we do now?" a general with a pale face and a stiff body like a zombie stood straight in the alliance's commander's tent, his rigid face revealing nothing of his inner thoughts.
"What do we do? Of course, we fight! I say, Shi Li, are you zombies who have tried it once afraid of dying again?" the thin general sitting by the side of the tent sneered upon hearing the general's words.
"Underground Gou Chong, this is not your place to speak. If I hear you babbling again, do you believe I won't exterminate your entire clan?" Shi Li turned around and looked coldly at the lewd general, his aura erupting and pressing him down.
The general, knowing he had spoken out of turn, turned even paler with fear.
The Zombie Path, also known as the Undead Race, possessed endless vitality.
Some said that the ancestor of the Zombie Path was a preserved corpse from ten thousand years ago that, after being struck by heavenly lightning, scorched by earth fire, wrapped in green wood, and cleansed by heavenly water, gave birth to a sentient consciousness. Legend had it that upon its birth, the ancestor of the Zombie Path's physical body was comparable to a Great Sage. He then rapidly rose in the universe with his powerful physique, eventually establishing a star domain with the strength of a Monarch and further developing and strengthening the Zombie Path there.
The ancestor of the Zombie Path was the first generation of zombies. Millions of enemies from that era were either voluntarily or forcibly planted with the origin of the Zombie Path, becoming the second generation of the Zombie Path clan. Despite being second generation, many of them retained their original consciousness and memories under the erosion of the Zombie Path origin. Thus, in this vast network of relationships, the terrifying scope of the Zombie Path's influence was created.
The current Zombie Path, after millions of years of evolution, still possessed powerful physiques and had also learned to cultivate both internally and externally. Although limited by their innate nature, their internal cultivation could at most reach the level of the Sun realm. However, this also provided the Zombie Path with another avenue for development.
As for Shi Li, legend had it that he was part of a grand plan set in motion by the ancestor of the Zombie Path, who spent millions of years cultivating another first-generation zombie. What was most terrifying was not that Shi Li was cultivated as a first-generation zombie, but that after Shi Li's death, his ancestor preserved all of Shi Li's memories from his previous life with boundless resources!!
Who was Shi Li's predecessor? The second son of the domain lord of Tianchi Star Domain! He ranked third in strength among the Hundred Domains, second only to the Zombie Path! This meant that Shi Li was not only backed by the entire Zombie Path but also by Tianchi! His own strength had reached the mid-Monarch realm, and he could break through to the late-Monarch realm at any time.
"General Li, please don't be angry. Your presence here to lead the army in person already shows your righteousness. Why bother letting such a trivial matter upset you?" Ye Du Ye, the commander of the Hundred Domains Alliance, said with a genial smile from his bronze throne. As the leading star domain among the Hundred Domains, he was under great pressure.
If he had known that Shi Li would lead an army here, he would never have gotten involved in this matter.
Now, it was as if the second and third-ranked star domains were internally allied. The commander of this alliance was, to put it bluntly, merely a figurehead for the prestige of their respective domain lords.
"Alright! Then let's fight! Commander Ye, I believe we should let the armies of the Di, Dead Water, Ephemeral, and Sun Ying star domains serve as the vanguard. This way, we can probe the enemy's combat strength, and also wear them down for our main forces. Then, the Shang Tribe's six clans will be the center, the Seven Stars and Seven Clans will provide support, and finally, our top ten armies will press forward, and the enemy will surely be routed!"
"At that time, we, the Hundred Domains, will have more bargaining chips and more benefits in our negotiations with them!"
As Shi Li finished speaking, the faces of the dozens of generals in the entire tent changed drastically...