The Real War

"The gods and demons within the Autumn Mountain Great Marsh are quite clever; they know that the key to this war lies with us Celestial Immortals. If they eliminate us, they will have won half the battle!" Tianyang Ancestor sneered.

"But it is a pity that these native gods and demons have spent their entire lives within the Great Xia World. They have no idea how vast the Three Realms are, nor do they understand the true depth of the human race's heritage!"

"What does the Ancestor mean?" Ju Hua asked.

"This Illusion Demon Realm is indeed the first time I have seen one in the Great Xia World. If nothing goes wrong, the Illusion Demon Realm here in the Autumn Mountain Great Marsh should be the only one in the entire Great Xia World!" Tianyang Ancestor continued.

"These gods and demons assumed we were ignorant of the characteristics of an Illusion Demon Realm, which is why they set this trap. However, even if human Celestial Immortals had never encountered one before, we have seen records of them in our ancient texts. How could we possibly fall for such a crude scheme?"

"I understand!"

Ju Hua nodded, feeling a sense of emotion in his heart.

The human race, spread across the Three Realms, truly possessed a far deeper heritage than these native-born gods and demons of the Great Xia World. A mere gap in intelligence regarding the "Illusion Demon Realm" had rendered the gods and demons' painstaking designs—and even the sacrifice of numerous Primordial Spirit gods and demons—completely futile.

It was no wonder that when the human race first arrived in the Three Realms from the shattered ancient world, they were able to rapidly crush the vast numbers of native gods and demons to become the true masters of the Three Realms!

The gods and demons birthed by the Three Realms were not a major threat at all! In the Three Realms, the only ones capable of truly waging war against the human race were likely the humans themselves.

"Today, I thank the Ancestor for clearing my doubts!" Ju Hua bowed once more.

In truth, given Tianyang Ancestor's status, he could have said nothing at all. Ju Hua could guarantee that among the commanders of the major clans, those who knew the truth about the Illusion Demon Realm numbered no more than three—perhaps only he himself knew.

That Tianyang Ancestor had come specifically to enlighten him was, without a doubt, a sign that the man held him in high regard.

"In other major worlds, while the Illusion Demon Realm is dangerous, it is also an excellent place for tempering oneself!" As Tianyang Ancestor spoke, he produced a jade slip and handed it to Ju Hua.

"This is?" Ju Hua probed it with his divine sense, and in an instant, he received a wealth of information regarding the Illusion Demon Realm.

"So that is how it is. It can actually be used to temper one's Dao Heart?" A look of realization appeared on Ju Hua's face.

"Once the war ends, I will personally retrieve a Mirror Stone for you. At that time, you can enter and train according to the methods I have described!" Tianyang Ancestor laughed.

"This... how could I trouble the Ancestor so much?" Ju Hua said, somewhat stunned.

"Haha, it is but a small effort for me. You need not refuse!" Tianyang Ancestor said dismissively.

Seeing that Tianyang Ancestor insisted, Ju Hua set aside his reservations and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Ancestor."

"Haha, that is a matter for after the war! During the fighting, you must remain cautious!" Tianyang Ancestor laughed, his figure gradually blurring until he soon departed the Shuixuan Warship.

Ju Hua watched the spot where Tianyang Ancestor had vanished, a flicker of anticipation rising in his heart. Although he had been polite in his speech, he was, in reality, very eager to visit the Illusion Demon Realm.

On the path of cultivation, the importance of the Dao Heart went without saying. To say nothing of other things, the final tribulation of the Celestial Tribulation—the Heart Demon Tribulation—was enough to make countless people pale with fear.

No matter how powerful one's divine abilities, techniques, or magical treasures might be, if one's Dao Heart was insufficient, one would still fail to overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation!

Ju Hua wanted to overcome the Heavenly God Tribulation. He did not need to worry too much about the first three tribulations; he possessed an incredible talent and could push his realm to a sufficiently high level before the tribulation arrived. With a high realm, his strength would naturally be great, and with that strength, even without powerful divine abilities, he was confident he could endure the first three tribulations.

But the Heart Demon Tribulation relied solely on the Dao Heart. Ju Hua had only been cultivating for three hundred years; his Dao Heart was naturally inferior to those who had cultivated for countless eons. Therefore, he was naturally desperate to enter a place where he could temper his Dao Heart!

Of course, the war had not yet ended, so Ju Hua had to temporarily suppress the longing in his heart.

After the incident with the Illusion Demon Realm, the gods and demons likely realized that playing tricks and schemes against the humans was futile. Consequently, in the days that followed while sweeping through the Autumn Mountain Great Marsh, life for the human army was not as relaxed as it had been before.

Seemingly endless waves of gods and demons poured out from the depths of the Autumn Mountain Great Marsh, utilizing the terrain and the dangerous locations along the way to constantly ambush the human forces.

Two or three battles a day were considered few; at times, there would be dozens of large-scale clashes between humans and gods and demons. However, in such frequent combat, the number of times the Void-Refining gods and demons took action could be counted on one's fingers.

The reason was simple: although Void-Refining gods and demons were said to be comparable to Celestial Immortals, that only applied to the most ordinary of Celestial Immortals. The Celestial Immortals sent to the Autumn Mountain Great Marsh by the major clans were not ordinary; even the weakest among them were stronger than a standard Celestial Immortal.

While there were a few formidable Void-Refining gods and demons within the Autumn Mountain Great Marsh, two fists could not fight four hands. If they dared to show themselves, the Celestial Immortal ancestors of the various clans would certainly not mind joining forces to deal with them.

Under such intensity of combat, both humans and gods and demons were dying in large numbers. Ju Hua was able to absorb a few grain-sized specks of light every so often. As they accumulated, Ju Hua felt a quite significant increase in his talent.

With his increasingly incredible talent combined with the constant fighting, Ju Hua's insights into the Sword Dao progressed by leaps and bounds. In the third year of the war, Ju Hua mastered the sixth form of the Great Sorrow Sword Art. Based on his insights into the Sword Dao alone, he had reached the level of a Loose Immortal with a million years of cultivation.

That same year, Ju Hua also accumulated enough divine power for the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens to reach the fourteenth level.

The progression of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens from the thirteenth to the fifteenth level was merely an accumulation of divine power, so this breakthrough was a logical progression and not a major one.

Two years later, Ju Hua's Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, to which he had devoted less effort, also saw a major advancement, reaching the Domain Realm of the Great Dao.

Once the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth reached the Domain Realm, Ju Hua naturally comprehended the Lesser Teleportation, which significantly boosted his ability to survive.

Regardless, the Lesser Teleportation performed by a cultivator themselves was far more powerful than a Lesser Teleportation talisman.

In just five years of entering the Autumn Mountain Great Marsh, Ju Hua's progress had been unprecedented, yet at the same time, the Zhuanshui Clan's army had shrunk severely.

Even with Ju Hua, a commander of exceptional strength, the Zhuanshui Clan's army had lost nearly thirty percent of its personnel over five years under the frenzied attacks of the gods and demons.

The top-tier Loose Immortal Fuyun Immortal had been ambushed by gods and demons during an exploration mission and his soul had scattered on the spot! Zhuanshui Pingqiu, however, had been lucky enough to survive the series of crises...