Another six eras passed. Yuanshi and Taishang gazed at each other from afar, their eyes full of helplessness—they had calculated the beginning of the calamity, but not that time itself would be the cruelest calamity.
Calamity Qi continued to spread. Among the Saints, only Sect Leader Tongtian remained unaffected; his strength even continued to grow. The other Saints had all, to varying degrees, been tainted by Calamity Qi.
This was troublesome.
Nine eras had now passed in the Three Realms. The north wind had whitened Kunlun's ancient pines and worn old Shen Gongbao's Daoist robes.
Yet he still looked like an immortal sage. A green jade crown bound his jet-black hair, and a Jade Hairpin was tucked into it—a gift from Primordial Lord of Heaven himself. Even his gait carried a measured, unhurried air.
Shen Gongbao had always been a man of decorum.
That day, he rode a pale azure auspicious cloud down to the northern border, where he happened upon the Shang Dynasty remnants facing Xi Qi's defending troops across a dried-up river valley.
Leading Xi Qi's forces was Ji Fa's "great-great-great-grandson," Ji Yue, whose head was already full of white hair.
He gripped a treasure sword completely coated in patina, said to have been passed down by his great-great-great-great-grandfather...
This great-great-great-grandson was practically ready for the grave, while Ji Fa was still alive. His descendants were practically desperate beyond measure for that feudal lord's position...
As for the Shang Dynasty side, they were merely descendants of ordinary generals. Most of the soldiers behind them were young men, their armor covered in rust.
Shen Gongbao floated in the air and lightly waved his sleeve, suppressing the dust rising from the riverbank. His voice pierced through the space between the two armies. "Everyone, please stay."
That single phrase, "Please stay,"