War

"Young master, all the pills have been distributed..."

Xu Feng sent a voice transmission.

"But this old servant fears he cannot accompany you into this realm. I must wait outside."

Ye Jinyu turned to see Ye Anlan, Ye Jinming, and Jinxuan handing pills out to the many clan members, one by one.

The Ye Clan's accompanying third-grade Alchemist was also giving each person instructions.

The pills fell roughly into three categories: healing, recovery, and various auxiliary uses.

Each person received twenty third-grade Clear Spirit Rejuvenation Pills, which could heal internal and external injuries below Foundation Establishment.

Each person received five bottles of third-grade Life-Creating Good Fortune Pellets. As long as a person had a breath left, they could keep them alive for three hours.

Each person received thirty bottles of second-grade Wind Spirit Pills, which could restore all the spiritual power of a Qi Refinement cultivator within half an hour.

Each person received a hundred bottles of second-grade Grain Avoidance Pills for daily cultivation.

There were third-grade Clear Heart Spirit Pills to keep inner demons from disturbing the mind.

Each person received three third-grade Azure Nether Barrier-Breaking Pills for use when attempting to break through bottlenecks.

Hearing Xu Feng's voice transmission, Ye Jinyu nodded slightly and was about to speak when Ye Wenting, who had long since been dispatched to Jiangnan, tore open space and stepped slowly to Ye Jinyu's side. He handed Ye Jinyu a Jade Slip and said quietly:

"Young master, this is the intelligence gathered on the powers of the Wind Abyss Ruin Realm. There is also... a list of some Rogue Cultivators worth noting. Once you enter the Ruin Realm, young master, you may recruit them, or keep an eye on them..."

Ye Jinyu accepted it and sent Divine Sense into it.

The Jade Slip contained a vast jumble of information, which Ye Jinyu quickly sorted through.

The sword Dao flourished in the Wind Abyss Ruin Realm, which was divided into five major regions: east, south, west, north, and center.

Its strongest powers were roughly two clans, two dynasties, and one sect, with an estimated nine Purple Mansion cultivators among them...

The first was the Great Qi Dynasty, which occupied Wind Abyss's eastern region and had founded its state on the sword of the kingly way. The current Qi Emperor was suspected to be at the Purple Mansion Middle Stage, but was advanced in years, and the crown prince, Li Tian, oversaw state affairs.

The dynasty secretly passed down the King-Observing Sword Force Instruction. Qi Emperors throughout the generations had all cultivated the sword of the kingly way, drawing on the dynasty's providence to cultivate. When the sword was unleashed, the people answered in unison-a kingly way that was open and upright.

The second was the Great Yin Dynasty, which controlled the northern region and revered the sword of the hegemonic way. The Yin Emperor was likewise aged, and his sons fought endlessly among themselves for the throne.

Its state-defending Cultivation Method, the Imperial Might Blazing Heaven Sword, cultivated the force of the hegemonic way. When the sword was unleashed, mountains and rivers changed color, and all living things bowed their heads.

"Cultivating through the kingly and hegemonic ways?" Ye Jinyu murmured. "The dynasty's providence aligns with one's own sword Dao. Presumably, cultivation is far faster than for others at the same stage, and with such a grand and glorious momentum, their combat strength is unmatched. But they are also constrained by the dynasty's providence."

"The two great dynasties of this realm are interesting. If they could be taken and merged into one... perhaps that would be a true imperial sword technique? This is a method of cultivating with providence..."

Ye Jinyu continued reading.

The third was the Yuanming Sword-Playing Sect, independent of the two great dynasties and situated on Sword Peak in the central region of the Wind Abyss Ruin Realm.

Its sect master, Jian Yiyuan, cultivated at the Purple Mansion Peak and was the foremost person in the realm.

The sect pursued the pure sword Dao. All its disciples cultivated the Wind Abyss Sword Canon, which held that "the sword strikes like the wind, leaving no trace to follow; its force is ever-changing, and the sword arises from the heart."

What remained were the two great Demon Race clans.

The Wind Surge Flood Dragon Clan dwelled in Myriad Dragon Marsh in the southern reaches and was primarily aligned with both water and wind.

The Flood Dragon King had cultivated to the Purple Mansion Late Stage and commanded hundreds of flood dragons, able to summon wind and rain and control the great marsh.

Their flood dragon pearls and scales were both superb materials for refining water-aspected Law Treasures.

The Azure Luan Clan occupied Azure Nether Mountain in the southern region and descended from wind-aspected divine birds. Its clan chief, Luan Tian, was at the Purple Mansion Middle Stage Peak, and his speed surpassed all others in Wind Abyss.

"The flood dragons are greedy for treasure, while the Azure Luan look down on the world," Ye Wenting added from the side.

"The two clans have long been at odds. They are the royal clans among the Demon Beasts of this realm."

Ye Jinyu nodded, and at that moment...

Between heaven and earth in the Cangxuan Ancient Realm, Gang winds began to rise, the sea of clouds churned, and the might of heaven and earth came surging forth.

The great affairs of a state lay in sacrifice and war.

Between the Ancient Realm and the various Ruin Realms lay the chaotic Great Void Space.

In the Great Void, there was neither heaven nor earth, only eternal darkness, the remains of stars, and turbulent currents formed by various Divine Abilities and Principles.

Only those whose cultivation had reached the Purple Mansion Realm could enter.

Great Jin had long since made a complete set of preparations for the conquest.

The court officials of the Jiangnan Ruin Realm Conquest Office lowered a vast azure gate of light from above the clouds, stretching between heaven and earth.

The gate stood ten thousand zhang high. From behind it came the faint sounds of clashing metal, dragon roars, phoenix cries, and Sword Qi tearing through the air.

All the cultivators waiting there held their breath.

Ye Jinyu stood at the very front of the Ye Clan's party. The Autumn Evolution Dao Profound Robe on Ye Jinyu's body shimmered with light and fluttered in the wind.

Ye Jinyu looked up at the gate of light, the chaotic radiance flowing within it reflected in Ye Jinyu's eyes.

"It's about to begin," Ye Wenting said quietly at Ye Jinyu's side.

"Boom!!!"

An immensely deep, muffled boom came from behind the gate of light, from beyond the boundless Great Void!

The sound was unlike thunder. It was more like the shattering noise made when fundamental Principles collided.

Immediately afterward, the thirty-six dragon-carved stone pillars at the center of the receiving platform trembled in unison, and the spiritual flames atop them surged.

The flames shot into the sky, intertwining and converging in midair until they formed a huge screen of light a hundred zhang across.

At first, the screen was a mass of chaos, with only streams of light in various colors darting about.

But soon the image began to clear, revealing an endlessly dark void, devoid of life, silent and desolate, cold and filled with killing intent.

Countless fragments of stars and the remains of meteors floated in the Great Void Space.

Farther away, a gigantic azure-green star was slowly rotating. That was the Wind Abyss Ruin Realm.

And in the void beyond the Wind Abyss Realm, dozens of figures faced one another from a distance.

The Great Jin court, the Ministry of War.

Five Purple Mansion True Persons of the Wang Clan stood in the void, all clad in crimson battle armor, with pieces of ancient jade bearing the character for "war" at their waists.

On the screen, the five took positions in a five-star formation, formed hand seals together, and chanted an ancient Incantation.

"Pivot fire, return to your place. Heavenly fire, heed our command."

"Vermilion bird fire of the blue heavens, burn the sky and boil the sea."

Divine Ability: Heavenly Flowing Fire

The five Purple Mansion True Persons roared in unison. The Law Power of their Divine Ability erupted around them like volcanoes, and fire sprang to life in the void, condensing into one crimson-gold flaming star after another, shining like suns.

These flames were no ordinary fire. They had been gathered from the flowing light of heavenly fire falling from the stars in heaven and earth, and the destructive, incinerating flames within had then been roused by Purple Mansion Divine Abilities.

One, two, three...

A full nine flaming stars condensed in the Great Void, each a hundred zhang in diameter. Their scorching heat made even the cultivators outside the screen feel their faces burn.

At the heart of the flames, the phantom of a vermilion bird could faintly be seen spreading its wings, a sign that the fire Principle had condensed to its utmost.

"Go!"

The five Purple Mansion cultivators from the Ministry of War thrust out their palms together.

Like nine falling suns, the stars trailed long tails of flame as they hurtled toward the barrier of the Wind Abyss Ruin Realm.

Meteor fragments in the Great Void vaporized instantly in their path, and even space itself faintly warped and shattered.

On the receiving platform, dead silence reigned.

All the young cultivators stared open-mouthed, their eyes full of shock.

Was this the power of a Purple Mansion Divine Ability?

Was this the combined Divine Ability of the Wang Clan, which controlled the Ministry of War, using their fire-aspected Divine Abilities?

The power of one person alone could already shatter mountains and sever peaks. With five joining forces, they could actually unleash an attack this terrifying!

If those nine flaming stars fell upon the Cangxuan Realm, they might burn an entire province to ashes!

Just as the nine flaming stars were about to strike the Wind Abyss barrier, three azure figures appeared behind the flames like ghosts.

At their head stood a figure in white robes, a sword on his back.

It was Fengyi of the Ye Clan.

He did not even draw his sword. He merely held two fingers together like a blade and traced a light stroke through the void.

"Wind, come."

Two plain words, yet they seemed like a decree of heaven and earth.

There was no wind in the Great Void to begin with.

But now, endless winds of heaven and earth gathered from every direction, becoming an azure tornado that stretched thirty thousand li!

Within the tornado, countless wind blades spun and slashed, each one powerful enough to sever a mountain peak!

Behind Fengyi, two Ye Clan Purple Mansion cultivators acted at the same time, and the three cultivators' wind-aspected Divine Abilities fused perfectly.

The two great wind-aspected Divine Abilities.

Wind Crushes Mountains

Azure Nether Intent

Gang condensed and Sha condensed. Gang winds crushed a thousand mountain peaks, Sha winds swept swiftly through the air to break through solid defenses, and the Nine Heavens Azure Nether rustled as the azure tornado crashed into the nine flaming stars.

Not to extinguish them, but to propel them!

"Borrow the force of fire, ride the might of wind-Wind Embers," Fengyi said, his voice cool and clear.

"Fellow Daoists of the Wang Clan, your method of breaking into a realm is as impressive as ever."

"Fire borrows the force of wind, and wind lends fire its might. This strike... is it worth seeing?"

As his words fell, the azure tornado swept up the nine flaming stars, its speed increasing tenfold.

The flames burned wildly in the raging wind, while the wind blades were tempered and refined in the fire. At this moment, wind and fire fused perfectly.

They became a tornado of wind and fire that slammed viciously toward the Wind Abyss barrier.

"Fellow Daoist Fengyi, your Divine Ability..." sighed the leading Purple Mansion cultivator of the Wang Clan from the Ministry of War. "It has long since reached a level of divine mastery. I fear you are not far from that level either."

"In that case, Fellow Daoist Fengyi, let us join forces and break this barrier."

"Let those Ruin Realm natives witness the renown and bearing of our realm's Purple Mansion cultivators!"

As soon as he spoke, the five Ministry of War cultivators increased their efforts together, and the radiance of the star formed by the nine flames grew brighter still.

And just then, on the other side of the Great Void battlefield, towering waves of water rose from the vast void.

Three Purple Mansion cultivators of the Sima Clan brought water into being in the Great Void and stepped forth upon its vast expanse. Two Purple Mansion cultivators of the marsh-aspected Xie Clan stood amid it.

"Azure sea True Water, heed my command."

"Boundless waters of the marsh, phoenix and luan soar through the nine heavens."

The vast waters became a torrent ten thousand zhang high. Dragon shapes could faintly be seen surging within it, accompanied by the clear cries of luan birds.

This water, too, was no ordinary water. It was Heavenly River Heavy Water gathered from above the layer of Gang winds in the nine heavens. A single drop weighed ten thousand jin, and now that it had become a torrent, its might was like the Heavenly River pouring down from above.

Water and fire could not coexist; wind crushed a thousand mountain peaks.

Under the exquisite control of the Purple Mansion cultivators, the waves did not rush toward the flames.

Instead, they raced alongside the tornado of wind and fire, forming a combined attack of the three aspects of water, fire, and wind, with the might to destroy a realm.

Wind fed the fire, fire refined the True Water, water became clouds and mist, and clouds and mist gave rise to wind.

The three aspects gave rise to one another in an endless cycle, their power building layer upon layer!

At this moment, every cultivator on the receiving platform held their breath.

Thirteen Purple Mansion True Persons had joined forces to unleash a power capable of shaking an entire realm.

This was the foundation of Cangxuan's great top powers.

Was this... a war to conquer a realm?

The world-ending sight on the screen was reflected in Ye Jinyu's eyes, yet Ye Jinyu's heart was unusually calm.

The five from the Ministry of War worked together seamlessly, evidently using a battle formation and combined attack honed through years of warfare.

The three from the Ye Clan, led by Fengyi, had brought their wind arts to a state of perfection, able to borrow momentum and use four ounces to move a thousand pounds.

The Sima Clan and Xie Clan wielded exquisite water arts and towering marsh-aspected power. Rarer still, they could coordinate perfectly with the attacks of the Ministry of War and the Ye Clan. Rather than canceling one another out, their powers nourished and strengthened one another.

This was not a simple piling up of power, but Divine Abilities fusing and giving rise to one another, the utmost control over power.

"So this is the immense power of heaven and earth, power taken to its utmost..." Ye Jinyu murmured.

"Purple Mansion Divine Abilities truly are terrifying beyond measure."