A Millennium Countdown: Guixu Prepares for War

The Dragon Clan Main Lineage's decree hung outside Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

That golden Dragon mark was like a thorn, nailed into the hearts of every living being in Guixu.

A thousand years.

To the Primordial World, it was so short it was practically just a brief period of seclusion.

But for Guixu, these thousand years were of utmost importance.

Because after a thousand years, the Dragon Clan Main Lineage would very likely descend in person.

The Blackwater Dragon King was already terrifying enough.

The Main Lineage's experts would only be stronger.

If a Great Principle Late Stage cultivator came, Dragon-Suppressing Pass could still rely on its formations to hold them off.

But if a Quasi-Saint came, then everything would be uncertain.

Within Guixu City, the atmosphere gradually grew tense.

However, that tension did not turn into chaos.

The Bureau of Cause and Effect, Bureau of Calamity Avoidance, Bureau of Realm Patrol, Treasury Bureau, Spirit Field Office, Guixu Academy, and Realm Guard all began operating under Lan Shuang's arrangements.

Inside the Northern Darkness Dao Palace.

The heads of Guixu's various departments had gathered.

Lan Shuang stood at the front, holding the decree the Emperor had just issued.

"The Emperor has ordered it."

"Close some of the passages to the outside world."

"Reduce excursions outside."

"Reinforce Dragon-Suppressing Pass."

"No clan is to provoke the Dragon Clan."

"For the next thousand years, Guixu will enter the Calamity-Avoidance State."

As her words fell, the expressions of those in the hall varied.

Han Jue was the first to speak.

"Does the Calamity-Avoidance State mean full-scale war preparations?"

Lan Shuang looked at him.

"It means lying low."

"Outwardly, we avoid their edge. In truth, we strengthen our foundations."

Lady Mingzhu looked thoughtful.

"The Emperor does not want Guixu to provoke the Dragon Clan first because he wants the Dragon Clan Main Lineage to make the first move."

"That way, Guixu will hold the moral high ground."

Ancestor Xuan Jia slowly nodded.

"If we strike first, we will give the Dragon Clan Main Lineage an excuse."

"Defending Dragon-Suppressing Pass is the safest choice."

Ao Lie sat to one side of the hall, his expression solemn.

"The Dragon Clan Main Lineage will not care about so-called righteousness."

"They only look at strength."

Lan Shuang said, "Then we must show them our strength."

Ao Lie raised his head.

Lan Shuang continued, "Within a thousand years, Dragon-Suppressing Pass must undergo its second reinforcement."

"The Black Tortoise Sea-Calming Formation must be expanded to cover thirty thousand miles of the Outer Sea."

"The Book of Cause and Effect must record the origins of every clan entering the realm, to prevent Dragon Clan spies from infiltrating."

"Guixu Academy will suspend some ordinary classes and add four types of courses: formations, defense, evacuation, and healing."

"The Realm Guard will expand to three thousand members."

"The Treasury will open part of its resources, prioritizing Dragon-Suppressing Pass."

"The Frost Phoenix Lineage will assist in stabilizing the forces of fire and cold."

"The Black-Shelled Turtle Tribe will handle the inner gate's defenses."

"Ao Lie will be responsible for deducing the offensive formation methods the Dragon Clan Main Lineage might use."

One arrangement after another was laid down.

The entire hall swiftly sprang into action.

This was precisely the order Guixu had cultivated over the years.

Had it been an ordinary refuge faction, hearing that the Dragon Clan Main Lineage was coming would likely have sent everyone into a panic long ago.

But Guixu was different.

They had the Bureau of Cause and Effect to steady their hearts.

They had the Academy to nurture talent.

They had the Realm Guard to defend the city.

They had Dragon-Suppressing Pass to block their enemies.

More importantly, they had the Mysterious Abyss Emperor in their hearts.

As long as the Emperor remained in Guixu, everyone had confidence.

Han Jue said in a deep voice, "The Realm Guard's expansion to three thousand will be completed within a hundred years."

"Within a thousand years, I will make them familiar with every defensive formation at Dragon-Suppressing Pass."

Lady Mingzhu said, "The Treasury will cooperate."

"The Mystic Clam Tribe can provide thirty thousand Mystic Water Pearls as formation nodes for the pass walls."

Phoenix Li also spoke.

"The Frost Phoenix Lineage can provide Frostflame to freeze the undercurrents of the Outer Sea and slow the Dragon Clan's charge."

Ancestor Xuan Jia tapped his cane.

"The Black-Shelled Turtle Tribe will carve all of our clan's tortoise shell formation patterns into the inner gate."

Ao Lie fell silent for a moment before saying, "I will write down the Dragon Clan's methods for breaking formations."

The moment he said that, many people in the hall looked at him.

Ao Lie's expression remained calm.

"Though I was born of the Dragon Clan, my sentence has not yet ended, and I still guard Guixu's outer gate."

"If the Main Lineage comes, I know what I should do."

Han Jue smiled.

"Now that sounds like the commander of the Outer Gate of Dragon-Suppressing Pass."

Ao Lie glanced at him.

"Cut the nonsense. Later, come deduce a Dragon Clan assault formation with me. Do not let me beat you flat."

Han Jue's eyes lit up.

"Bring it on."

Lan Shuang did not stop them.

This was exactly the state she wanted to see.

They could argue.

They could compete.

But it had to be within the rules and transformed into Guixu's strength.

Deep within Guixu.

Lu Chen listened to Lan Shuang's arrangements and was somewhat stunned.

He had merely said to reinforce Dragon-Suppressing Pass, reduce excursions outside, and not provoke the Dragon Clan.

Yet Lan Shuang had directly put together an entire prewar system.

The Realm Guard was expanding.

The Academy was changing its courses.

The Treasury was supplying resources.

The Frost Phoenix Lineage was assisting in defense.

The Black-Shelled Turtle Tribe was carving formations.

Ao Lie was deducing Dragon Clan tactics.

Was this execution ability not a little too strong?

Lu Chen had initially worried that everyone would panic.

Now, it seemed they were even calmer than he was.

They even looked more prepared for war than he did.

"Forget it."

"Reinforce it if you can."

"After all, I am the one whose sense of security will improve."

Lu Chen silently closed his eyes and began refining the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell.

This shell fragment could conceal part of Guixu's heavenly secrets.

With a thousand years available, he had to merge it into the Guixu Womb Membrane as soon as possible.

As long as its concealment grew stronger, when the Dragon Clan Main Lineage arrived, it would be harder for them to see his true form.

Over the next hundred years.

Guixu entered a period of rapid operation.

At Dragon-Suppressing Pass, cultivators carved formation patterns day and night.

The Mystic Clam Tribe's Mystic Water Pearls were embedded into the pass walls one by one.

The Frost Phoenix Lineage released Frostflame, forming vast swathes of cold mist across the Outer Sea.

Meanwhile, the Black-Shelled Turtle Tribe covered the inner gate with tortoise shell formation patterns.

Ao Lie led Han Jue and the Realm Guard's elites in repeatedly deducing the Dragon Clan's methods of attacking formations.

At first, the Realm Guard was beaten miserably by Ao Lie.

The Dragon Clan's formation charges, formation-breaking, entangling battles, and battlefield division were indeed extremely refined.

Han Jue lost seven times in a row.

On the eighth attempt, he finally relied on the Realm Guard's combined formation to hold out for half an hour.

Ao Lie commented, "Barely passable."

Han Jue wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Again."

Ao Lie said, "You are not resting?"

"What is there to rest for? Will the Dragon Clan Main Lineage wait for me to rest?"

Ao Lie looked at him and, for once, did not mock him.

"Continue."

The commotion from their deductions grew increasingly intense.

Quite a few Academy disciples also came running over to watch.

Guixu Academy took the opportunity to offer a "Dragon-Suppressing Pass Battle Formation Course."

For the first time, the younger generation truly understood where the Dragon Clan's strength lay.

And for the first time, they understood that if Guixu wanted to survive, having the Emperor alone was not enough.

They too had to grow stronger.

In the third hundredth year.

The Realm Guard officially expanded to three thousand members.

Eight hundred veteran guards formed the core.

Twelve hundred new members came from young cultivators of various clans.

The rest formed special units made up of experts from the Frost Phoenix, Black-Shelled Turtle, Frost Whale, Ice Scale, and other clans.

In the fifth hundredth year.

Dragon-Suppressing Pass's second layer of defense was completed.

Everything within thirty thousand miles of the Outer Sea was brought within the Black Tortoise Sea-Calming Formation's sensing range.

In the seventh hundredth year.

The Book of Cause and Effect completed its second scrutiny of all Guixu clans.

It uncovered six Dragon Clan spies, two Phoenix Clan spies, and one Qilin Clan spy.

All of them were expelled from Guixu.

In the ninth hundredth year.

Lu Chen successfully merged the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell into the Guixu Womb Membrane.

The heavenly secrets of the entire Guixu Minor World became even more obscured.

If outsiders tried to deduce Guixu's whereabouts, they would see only the murky Blackwater of the Northern Sea.

Lu Chen was somewhat reassured.

"It is much steadier now."

"If the Dragon Clan Main Lineage forgets about this after a thousand years, that would be even better."

Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished.

In the nine hundred and ninety-ninth year.

Outside Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

The Dragon Clan Main Lineage decree suddenly blazed with light.

Golden Dragon patterns transformed into a tiny Dragon and let out a long roar toward the Eastern Sea.

Then, the distant Blackwater parted.

A Dragon Clan delegation slowly appeared outside Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

At its head stood Ao Xuan.

Behind Ao Xuan stood a white-haired old man.

The old man wore a dark azure Dragon robe. His face was aged, yet his eyes were as cold and indifferent as the deep sea.

He merely stood there, yet the entire Guixu Outer Sea seemed to shrink by a notch.

Ancestor Xuan Jia's expression changed drastically.

"Great Principle Late Stage."

Ao Lie's pupils also contracted.

"Main Lineage Elder, Ao Cang."

Han Jue tightened his grip on his spear.

"They're here."

Holding the Book of Cause and Effect, Lan Shuang stood atop Dragon-Suppressing Pass and slowly exhaled.

"Pass the order."

"Everyone at Dragon-Suppressing Pass, stay on high alert."

Deep within Guixu.

Lu Chen also opened his eyes.

The system's voice rang out.

"Detected the arrival of Dragon Clan Main Lineage Elder Ao Cang."

"The Millennium Pact has arrived."

Lu Chen fell silent for a moment.

"This is big trouble."