"The Emperor has emerged from seclusion!"
Staring at those four words.
The Prince of Qin's furious expression—still lingering from the assassination attempt—froze on his face. His pupils first dilated, then his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Your Highness?!"
Seeing his reaction, the officials asked anxiously.
"Did something happen in the capital?"
"Did Chen Sanshi kill his way into the capital again?"
"No!"
The Prince of Qin raised the secret letter high, displaying it to everyone. "Father Emperor! Father Emperor has successfully established his foundation and has already emerged from seclusion!"
"Foundation Establishment succeeded?"
A cultivator in the hall revealed an expression of intense yearning.
To cultivators like them.
Only Foundation Establishment truly counted as officially stepping onto the Immortal Path.
Qi Refining—though viewed by mortals as the realm of immortal masters—was, in truth, merely ordinary people who knew a few spells.
As for the remaining civil and military officials.
Upon hearing this news, their spirits were instantly lifted.
Most of them did not understand cultivation and did not know what Foundation Establishment truly meant, but they understood one thing very clearly.
That was—
The day His Majesty emerged from seclusion would be the day the rebels were annihilated!
The realm was about to be pacified!
"Heaven blesses our Great Sheng!"
"The heavens have opened their eyes, the heavens have opened their eyes!"
After a brief silence, none of the officials failed to feel their confidence surge.
"His Majesty possesses a Heavenly-grade spiritual root. Foundation Establishment is nothing remarkable," Lü Ji said in a deep voice, Fangtian halberd in hand. "Once the realm is pacified, all that is needed is to wait quietly for the Mang Mountain ancestral vein to revive. In the future, not to mention Golden Core—even Nascent Soul, capable of dominating a region of the cultivation world, is not impossible for His Majesty."
"Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
The ministers clutched at this news as if it were a lifeline.
"Golden Core, Nascent Soul?"
Hearing these unfamiliar terms, the Prince of Qin could not help but ask, "General Lü, how long is the lifespan of great immortal masters at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages?"
"Golden Core grants five hundred years, Nascent Soul a thousand years," Lü Ji explained. "When we address His Majesty as 'long live,' it is not mere empty words. Even now, with Foundation Establishment achieved, His Majesty's lifespan should already have increased to two hundred years."
"Two hundred?!"
The Prince of Qin calculated inwardly.
That meant his father emperor could live at least another hundred years!
Beside him, the Prince of Qi's expression visibly dimmed.
"Heh, good news, truly good news!"
After a moment, the Prince of Qin recovered himself and declared with fervor, "The Great Sheng Dynasty shall endure for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations!
"All personnel depart immediately!
"Head to the front lines and advance and retreat together with the soldiers!
"Perhaps, before His Majesty arrives, we can already annihilate the enemy forces!"
In the pitch-black night.
The assembled officials, escorted by a small number of soldiers, rushed toward the front lines, formally joining the million-strong war.
Kunyang City.
"Your Majesty!"
"Chen Sanshi is not here, Ling Kui has gone to chase after him, and the enemy forces have temporarily withdrawn. Now is the perfect opportunity to retreat!"
Shangguan Haichang urged, "If we do not leave tonight, before long they will use the 'Six Ding Six Jia' formation to completely trap us. At that point, even if we want to leave, we won't be able to!
"And given Chen Sanshi's cultivation.
"Even if the city falls and the entire army is annihilated, he may not die at all. He only needs to flee to the Qing Kingdom and, under the protection of the Cloud Summit Palace, he could rise again at any time. He would not care about us in the slightest!"
"What Lord Shangguan says is correct!"
"If Chen Sanshi truly had a way to defeat the enemy, why wouldn't he say it? What good is keeping it hidden?!"
Not only the civil and military officials—even the cultivators of the Guiyuan Sect had lost the will to continue holding out.
Especially since they now knew that the white-robed figure was connected to the Cloud Summit Palace, their trust in him dropped even further.
The matter of the ancestral vein—how could it not be tempting?
It was very possible that this was a grand scheme laid out jointly by the Cloud Summit Palace and Chen Sanshi.
How could they stay here and throw away their lives for nothing?
"Then withdraw part of the forces first."
The Zhengtong Emperor finally made his decision. "Minister Ming, make the arrangements for me."
"Since it is a withdrawal, it naturally cannot be a full withdrawal."
Ming Qingfeng had long since planned this and immediately laid it out in full. "There are currently a total of 170,000 soldiers in the city. Of these, more than 60,000 are Northern Liang troops, and they are unlikely to be willing to withdraw.
"So we will first withdraw 80,000, leaving 30,000 court troops behind to continue assisting in defending the city. For Kunyang City, that will be sufficient.
"After retreating to Song Prefecture, if the situation truly changes, it will not be too late for us to lead the main army back to provide reinforcements."
Once the deployment was finalized.
The defending forces within Kunyang City immediately began withdrawing.
"This is?"
Wang Zhi, covered in blood, had just come down from the city wall when he noticed the troop movements inside the city.
"You're running away?"
"Stop right there!"
It wasn't just him.
Soon, many Northern Liang commanders noticed something was wrong and rushed to the northern city gate to block the way.
"Ming Qingfeng!"
Wang Zhi locked onto a crimson-robed official in the crowd. Saber in hand, he bounded forward in two or three fierce leaps, arriving before him and shouting sternly, "Fleeing before the battle is a capital crime!"
"General Wang, don't go around making reckless accusations."
Ming Qingfeng explained, "This is not fleeing before battle at all. It is a troop-splitting strategy recently formulated by the Ministry of War."
"Splitting troops? That sounds better than it really is."
Wang Zhi replied bluntly, "Stop spouting nonsense to me. The Ministry of War is nothing. Right now, the one commanding all troops is the grand commander of the three armies. You withdraw forces privately while the commander is absent—if that isn't fleeing before battle, what is?!"
"Wang Zhi!"
Ming Qingfeng showed no fear at all. "Can the Northern Liang King's fake imperial halberd outweigh the true Emperor?"
As his words fell.
The sound of galloping hooves came from behind.
Wang Zhi turned his head and saw a dragon-carved, phoenix-painted carriage approaching the city gate, surrounded by dense ranks of Imperial Guards, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and eunuchs.
As for who sat inside.
There was no need to say.
"Have you all gone mad?!"
Wang Zhi erupted in fury. "The opportunity to break the enemy could appear at any moment. A fleeting battle chance like this—how can you leave at a time like this?!"
"An opportunity to break the enemy? If Chen Sanshi truly had a way, he would have used it long ago. Why wait until now?"
Ming Qingfeng retorted, "At present, the best possible strategy is to divide the troops into two forces that can respond to each other from afar!"
"Who dares to leave?!"
Wang Zhi raised his blade horizontally to block the way.
Zhao Kang, Zhu Tong, and the others immediately lined up behind him.
"Wang Zhi, are you trying to rebel?!"
Ming Qingfeng glared at him.
The two sides were at sword point.
The Emperor's dragon carriage drew closer and closer to the city gate.
Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, a pair of aged yet powerful hands pressed down on Wang Zhi's shoulder. "General Wang, since this is His Majesty's imperial command, let them go."
"Brother Wen?"
Wang Zhi looked at him. "You're really letting them go?"
"An imperial decree cannot be defied!"
Xu Wencai also hurried over. "General Wang, don't worry."
Only then did Wang Zhi and Zhu Tong reluctantly step aside, watching with their own eyes as the Emperor's dragon carriage slowly exited the city gate, disappearing completely into the night. Following close behind it, more and more court troops withdrew as well.
Judging by the scale of the deployment.
At least half of the people were leaving!
"It's useless. Let them go."
Xu Wencai shook his feather fan and sighed softly. "If we forcefully block them at a time like this, it will only cause internal chaos and instead play right into Shan Liangcheng's hands."
"We're really just watching this happen?"
Wang Zhi said anxiously. "If this continues, there may not even be one hundred thousand soldiers left in the city."
"Calm yourself."
Xu Wencai comforted him. "Wait for my lord to return."
The capital.
The Palace of Longevity was completely empty.
The true body of Emperor Longqing was hidden within the burial chamber of the imperial mausoleum.
At his side, the Fortune-Spirit Supreme Clarity Heavenly Treasure Tree sprawled across the stone floor together with its roots. As it radiated dazzling spiritual light, the emerald leaves on its branches continued to wither and die.
Cao Kai, clad in a dark blue Daoist robe, sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. His eyes were tightly closed, his hands forming seals. His Heavenly-grade Metal spiritual root greedily absorbed spiritual energy, then, through the Wugou Sword Formula, guided that energy through complex circulatory routes in his meridians, refining it into mana and finally funneling it into his dantian.
With his divine sense turned inward to examine himself.
Within Cao Kai's dantian, mana had grown so dense that it transformed into a thick fog, swirling and spreading endlessly—like the heavy mist filling deep mountain valleys in late autumn, or like rolling clouds high above the nine heavens.
Suddenly.
Deep within that surging sea of clouds, a trace of golden light ignited.
And then.
The entire firmament underwent a violent transformation!
The cloud sea churned, dust and vapor roared.
Everything began converging toward that golden light, forming an unprecedented storm.
Foundation Establishment.
Had reached its final moment!
In Cao Kai's mind, scene after scene began to surface.
That was his life—and also…
A hundred years of rise and fall!
In the twelfth year of the Yuanxi era, within the Daming Palace of the capital, a palace maid from the laundry bureau gave birth to a dragon seed. She was conferred the title of Lady Ning, and her son was named "Kai" by the Imperial Clan Court—a concubine-born imperial prince, Cao Kai.
Emperor Sheng Ruizong had many offspring—sixteen imperial sons alone. Moreover, being born of a concubine meant "the child was debased because of the mother." As a young boy, Cao Kai was not favored in the palace. His imperial brothers isolated and ignored him, holding him in contempt.
In the eighteenth year of Yuanxi, Lady Ning passed away from illness. Cao Kai was only six years old. After his mother's death, palace maids and eunuchs often secretly withheld his monthly stipend. Though he was an imperial prince, he often went entire months without meat.
He did not even qualify to study at the Cultural Hall. By the time he turned sixteen, the Imperial Clan Court merely sent a eunuch at the Meridian-Connecting realm to teach him martial arts. Unfortunately, his aptitude was mediocre…
During that period, Cao Kai could only sneak out of the palace to attend private schools opened by elderly officials in the capital to learn reading and writing. It was also during this time that he encountered Sun Xiangzong—then still a youth, sold to the capital by martial traffickers due to his outstanding bones and roots. Back then, he was still called Sun Qing.
In the twenty-eighth year of Yuanxi, Cao Kai—who had never once seen his father emperor since birth—received an imperial edict, dispatching him to a remote and desolate prefectural city to establish his fief.
Before leaving, resentment filled his heart. He resented being born of a concubine, resented that he might never even see his biological father in this lifetime, and resented spending his entire life raised like livestock, condemned to mediocrity.
Thus.
After a simple disguise and forging a false identity, Cao Kai went to participate in that year's imperial examinations. He cut through thorns and brambles all the way, advancing from surrounding counties to the capital, and in the end, during the palace examination, was personally named the new top scholar by the Emperor.
It was only more than ten days later, during the court ceremony for rewards, that an old man recognized him as the Seventeenth Imperial Prince.
Finally.
Emperor Sheng Ruizong remembered Cao Kai.
This concubine-born prince became renowned throughout the realm.
In the twenty-ninth year of Yuanxi, Sun Qing witnessed corrupt officials colluding with sect disciples to trample lives at will. In a fury, he cut down a sect master with a single blade, then slew a court official, and afterward fled everywhere. During his flight, he was captured alive by the jianghu's "blade-catchers."
Cao Kai, alone and at the risk of his life, brought all his possessions with him and rescued Sun Qing before the "blade-catchers" handed him over to the court.
From that day on, Sun Qing changed his name to Sun Xiangzong and became a close personal guard by the side of the Seventeenth Prince.
In the 34th year of the Yuanxi era, Cao Kai went to take up a post at the Censorate, consecutively cracking several major cases and once again earning the favor of Emperor Sheng Ruizong.
In the 35th year of the Yuanxi era, Cao Kai formally entered the court.
In the 36th year of the Yuanxi era, Cao Kai went south to provide disaster relief. Wherever he passed, he swept away treacherous officials across the land. When he departed, the people of Jiangnan all knelt and kowtowed to see him off.
In the 37th year of the Yuanxi era, the Crown Prince drowned, and more than ten imperial princes began contending for succession. Cao Kai never took part, devoting himself solely to reform and the implementation of new policies. The world came to know him as the Seventeenth Virtuous Prince.
In the 39th year of the Yuanxi era, as Emperor Sheng Ruizong increasingly valued Cao Kai and repeatedly expressed thoughts of naming him heir apparent, the Fourth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and others grew dissatisfied and devised a plot to frame him.
In the 40th year of the Yuanxi era, Prince of Tang Cao Kai was falsely accused of an illicit affair with a palace consort. Though spared death, he could not escape punishment and was exiled to the Northern Liang frontier.
That same year, barbarian armies invaded.
Cao Kai and Sun Xiangzong repeatedly defeated larger forces with fewer troops, rising to prominence along the border.
In the 42nd year of the Yuanxi era, …
Case after case, scene after scene.
A hundred years of rise and fall, passing like drifting clouds!
A century of glory and decline, seen through as though in a single dream!
Now.
Cao Kai was already 109 years old!
After ascending the throne.
Through the Imperial Clan Court, he learned more and more about the deeds of Great Sheng Taizu Emperor Cao Xie. Thus, he began seeking immortals and asking the Dao, and by chance encountered the opening of the Heavenly Gate that occurred once every fifty years, obtaining immortal techniques through a fortuitous opportunity.
But at the same time.
He sensed danger, sensed insignificance, and sensed…
Unease!
If one day.
The seal were no more.
If immortals were to swarm into the Eastern Divine Continent.
What would become of the people of the realm?
What would become of the Cao imperial clan?
From that moment on.
Cao Kai steeled his Dao heart and vowed to seek immortality.
He possessed a Heavenly-grade spiritual root. In the cultivation world, given sufficient resources, not to mention Golden Core—there was even a great chance of achieving Nascent Soul.
Yet heaven and earth were poor in spiritual energy.
After wasting twenty years, he was still only at the early stage of Qi Refining.
More terrifying still, Because Cao Kai was diligent in state affairs, laboring day and night and exhausting his qi and blood, and because his early cultivation methods were flawed and damaged his meridians, his lifespan was greatly reduced, and death drew ever closer.
He was unwilling!
His grand ambition was to become an emperor of the ages, to cut down with his sword those so-called "immortals" who had once humiliated him, to ensure the Great Sheng Dynasty would endure for countless generations, and to achieve…
The Longevity Emperor!
Why should he, such a wise and capable ruler, die young?!
Thus.
Seeking immortality and asking the Dao became ever more urgent.
Almost at any cost.
In the end, there was today.
Foundation Establishment was at hand, yet turmoil rose again!
Traitors and rebels stirred the realm into unrest!
That Chen Sanshi—cultivated in vain, childish to the extreme, truly laughable!
Talking about slaying immortals and eliminating traitors.
How could he know that these were things Cao Kai himself had planned to do all along?!
In this world.
Only he could accomplish it!
The Nation-Stabilizing Imperial Seal!
This seal suppressed the fortune of heaven and earth, passed down through generations of mortal emperors of the Eastern Divine Continent, and was further refined by Great Sheng Taizu Emperor Cao Xie.
Holding this imperial seal meant having no fear of the heavenly seal!
And together with the Dragon Abyss Sword.
When the cultivators of Heavenly Water Isle wished to interfere in the affairs of the Eastern Divine Continent, they would first have to read his expression!
Only then could he be the true protector of this world, this realm, and all its people!
Chen Sanshi's childish actions had nearly ruined the grand plan!
Fortunately…
Everything was over!
As the life paintings unfolded one after another, Cao Kai's Dao heart grew ever more resolute.
With the final trace of spiritual energy drawn into his body, the Fortune-Spirit Supreme Clarity Heavenly Treasure Tree withered completely.
At the same time.
Within Cao Kai's dantian, the sea of clouds gathered toward the golden light at an increasingly inconceivable speed, transforming into a vortex that seemed capable of devouring everything, as though compressing all power into a single point. When the last wisp of mana mist merged into the golden light, the once earth-shaking dantian suddenly became calm and serene. Only a mass of golden light slowly descended, transforming into a pool of shimmering, radiant liquid that remained within the dantian.
Foundation Establishment—success!
For Qi Refining cultivators, the mana condensed within the dantian is called mana mist.
For Foundation Establishment cultivators, the mana condensed within the dantian is called a mana sea!
When mana mist transforms into a mana sea, it signifies successful Foundation Establishment!
Emperor Longqing abruptly opened his dragon eyes, then cast a spell. His entire body passed directly through the stone of the burial chamber, carrying golden light as he surged into the sky.
Within the imperial mausoleum.
A large number of death attendants and eunuchs who cultivated the Path of Incense and Divinity were gathered there.
When Huang Hong saw the scene before him, he was first stunned. Immediately after, uncontrollable reverence and joy appeared on his face. He took the lead in kneeling to the ground and loudly proclaimed, "We welcome His Majesty's emergence from seclusion!
"Congratulations to Your Majesty on successfully achieving Foundation Establishment!
"Long live His Majesty, the Great Sheng Emperor, the Longevity Emperor—long live, long live, ten thousand lives long live!!!"
Everyone spoke in unison, their voices shaking the mountains and wilderness.
After Emperor Longqing finished sensing the surging increase in mana and the additional hundred years of lifespan, he descended from the heavens amid gentle breezes, bearing the air of an immortal, and returned to the solid earth.
"A full sixty years have passed. In the end, Heaven did not betray one with resolve."
One hand rested on his horsetail whisk. His expression remained calm as still water, without the slightest loss of composure despite breaking through a major realm. He spoke in a deep voice, "How goes the situation at Chibi?"
After the battle of Qiantang Prefecture.
Kunlun Mountain was no longer safe.
Emperor Longqing had thus moved to cultivate within the imperial mausoleum outside the capital. After consuming fasting pills, he entered a closed-door seclusion, completely cut off from the outside world and unaware of external affairs. As for the battles at the front, he only remembered that the court had promoted a young man named Zhou Rong.
"Chibi?"
Huang Hong, the Grand Chamberlain of the Directorate of Ceremonial Supervision, was momentarily at a loss for words. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end could not say it.
"What is it?" Emperor Longqing said calmly. "A great defeat at Chibi?"
"Your Majesty's foresight is unmatched. Nothing can be hidden from you. It was indeed a defeat, but…"
Huang Hong stammered, unable to finish his sentence.
Emperor Longqing narrowed his eyes and urged, "But what?"
"But the great defeat at Chibi was a long time ago already."
Huang Hong pressed his forehead to the ground, not daring to meet His Majesty's gaze. "Now Chen Sanshi and the Prince of Jin have gathered 200,000 troops and have already fought their way to the Fei River in Yuzhou."
Once the Fei River was crossed.
They could march straight to the capital!
Upon hearing this, Emperor Longqing's previously placid expression finally changed. His voice was restrained. "Bring me all current battlefield maps and war reports."
"Yes!"
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
A massive map was unfurled by several eunuchs.
Death attendants also began reading out the accumulated war reports one by one.
What?!
After only a few months of seclusion, the enemy had already reached the gates of the capital?!
Emperor Longqing's expression grew increasingly grim.
The Great Sheng realm—one capital and thirty-six prefectures.
In barely two years' time.
It had actually…
Been reduced to only the final three prefectures!
It could be said that they stood on the very brink of dynastic collapse!
"This servant is incompetent! Please quell your anger, Your Majesty!"
Huang Hong hurriedly explained, "But Your Majesty, rest assured! The rebels will absolutely not reach the capital!
"Immortal Master Shan Liangcheng has gathered 1,000,000 troops at the Fei River, and the Prince of Qin is personally stationed at the front with the civil and military officials. They have trapped the rebels firmly within Kunyang City!
"Recently,
"Immortal Master Shan Liangcheng has consecutively employed the strategies of 'Leave an Opening When Encircling an Army' and 'Sowing Discord,' dealing heavy blows to the rebels. This happened just recently!"
Emperor Longqing gazed toward the northern sky. "In the end, I underestimated Chen Sanshi."
"Your Majesty, rest assured!" Huang Hong continued. "With the Ling family's ancestor at the middle stage of the True Force Realm holding the line, Chen Sanshi has been suppressed to the point where he does not dare leave the city!"
"That's enough. Relying on others is useless."
Emperor Longqing paused. "Mobilize all remaining Imperial Guards, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Western Depot forces within the capital. Immediately follow me to the front lines. I will personally lead the campaign."
With the cultivation he had tempered for so many years, combined with his Heavenly-grade aptitude, dealing with someone at the early stage of the True Force Realm would not pose much of a problem. The only concern…
Was that the Chen-surnamed traitor was also likely on the verge of breaking through.
Since he was going, he naturally had to make full preparations.
The realm.
It was time for peace!
"Buzz!"
Emperor Longqing raised his palm, and a streak of spiritual light descended from within the mausoleum into his hand. When the light faded and one looked closely, it revealed a jade-green great seal.
The Nation-Stabilizing Imperial Seal!
This seal was square, four inches on each side, entirely blue-green jade. There were no runes carved upon its surface, yet golden light still shimmered and flowed. At the top, five dragons interwove to form the knob; intricate patterns circled its sides; and at the bottom were engraved eight grand characters:
"By Mandate of Heaven, Long Life and Eternal Prosperity!"
An emperor of the Eastern Divine Continent who possessed this imperial seal could disregard the heavenly seal!
"Buzz—"
A dragon's roar resounded.
Another streak of spiritual light fell into Emperor Longqing's hand—it was the Dragon Abyss Sword.
Holding this sword.
Was like grasping a true dragon in one's hand!
Thousands of years ago, the master swordsmith Ouyang Qing carved open Heaven-Sword Mountain, releasing the ten-thousand-year ice stream within. He diverted the water imbued with spiritual energy to the side of the forging furnace, and according to the celestial alignment of the Northern Dipper, he constructed seven cold pools beside the furnace. Thus, it was named "Seven Stars."
At this moment.
Under the gaze of the many eunuchs, anyone who merely looked down upon the sword's body would feel as though they were standing atop a towering peak, gazing down into a bottomless abyss—ethereal and profound, seizing the soul. It was as if a colossal dragon lay coiled within, ready at any moment to soar skyward and pierce the heavens.
This was "Dragon Abyss."
The full name of this sword was the Seven Stars Dragon Abyss Sword.
Within it.
There still remained what Great Sheng Taizu Emperor Cao Xie had left behind—also Emperor Longqing's greatest trump card.
Finally, he reached into his sleeve and produced a wooden box. Upon opening it, inside lay a blood-red pill.
After checking everything and confirming there were no omissions.
Emperor Longqing swept his sleeve, storing all the items away, then summoned a gigantic immortal crane. Amid its piercing cry, he rose into the air and shot toward the heavens, flying straight toward—
Kunyang City!