“Cough, cough…” Xu Pingfeng covered his mouth as he coughed violently, fresh blood seeping through his fingers.

After several seconds, the coughing finally subsided. He sighed softly, “Half my life force is gone. The Judiciary showed no mercy.”

Looking around at everyone, he suggested: “Let’s return to recover first. Everyone’s injuries are severe, and I need time to refine Qingzhou’s fate energy.”

Among the three people and one beast, Xu Pingfeng’s condition was dire—he had nearly died at the Judiciary’s hands. Saying he lost half his life force was putting it mildly.

The Galore Tree Bodhisattva’s head could not regenerate, and the power of the Confucian Sage’s Knife was corroding his body, weakening his strength. He needed time to refine and remove its influence.

As for “White Emperor,” its physical vessel’s condition was only marginally better than the Galore Tree Bodhisattva’s. Now that it had obtained the Gatekeeper, it only wanted to return the spear overseas and secure its gains.

Black Lotus Daoists had suffered the least, having avoided the Judiciary’s direct attention.

In their current state, they dared not march straight to the capital.

“If the First Generation could leave contingencies that caught the Judiciary off guard, who can guarantee the Judiciary doesn’t have similar arrangements?” The Galore Tree Bodhisattva was being cautious. “This battle has already succeeded in eliminating the Judiciary. There’s no need to rush.”

Black Lotus Daoist sneered, “What can one Xu Qi’an do? At most add Luo Yuheng, Sun Xuanji, and that wretch Golden Lotus—he should be in Third Grade by now too.”

Xu Pingfeng smiled, “Don’t forget about Kou Yangzhou.”

But what did it matter? Though Great Feng still had many extraordinary experts, they were merely Second and Third Grade material. Their side had the Galore Tree Bodhisattva alone, who could suppress Luo Yuheng, Kou Yangzhou, and Xu Qi’an, leaving them helpless.

Not to mention they also had White Emperor, Black Lotus, Ji Xuan, and himself—a peak Second Grade artificer.

Once they conquered Qingzhou and refined its fate energy, his power would rise even further.

…

The Judiciary was gone… Mu Nanzhi crouched before Xu Qi’an, her eyes bewildered.

“W-what does this mean?” she asked carefully.

Mu Nanzhi didn’t know what had happened, but she knew it must be serious. She had never seen Xu Qi’an look so grim—though he hadn’t looked in a mirror just now.

Otherwise, he would have seen his expression of impending doom, as if facing the end of days.

In the Flower God’s reincarnation’s understanding, this man was stubborn, defiant, and proud at his core. Even in the face of death, he would not submit.

But that expression of desperation just now was something she had never seen before, making her inexplicably anxious.

“Disaster approaches…”

Having partially recovered, Xu Qi’an gave a brief explanation while quickly taking out a communication conch from the Book Fragment pieces. He transmitted: “Senior Brother Sun, has something happened to the Judiciary?”

National crisis, fate’s warning—he knew something was wrong with the Judiciary, but the vague sensing couldn’t tell him the specific details.

The conch remained silent, without even a single word in response.

As Xu Qi’an anxiously waited, he expanded his thoughts. Something must have happened in Qingzhou—given the current situation, this was the only possibility.

“With Xu Pingfeng and Galore Tree’s strength, they could at most hold off the Judiciary, not threaten him on Qingzhou territory. But the Judiciary is indeed likely dead… so they must have had help.”

“Among the current major powers in the Nine Provinces, the Shaman Religion’s attitude toward the Central Plains is one of watching tigers fight, perhaps even hoping to profit from others’ misfortune. But at this point, the Shaman Religion definitely wouldn’t want Great Feng to fall so quickly.”

“They’d rather let the dogs bite each other and make the fighting bloodier, so Great Shaman Saren Agu probably won’t get involved.”

“Among other forces, the Gu Tribe can’t possibly oppose Great Feng and has its hands full guarding the Extreme Abyss. Arantuo is being watched by the Southern Demons—if they dared enter the Central Plains to aid Xu Pingfeng, the Nine-tailed Fox would have long since led the Bear King and Shen Shu to raze Arantuo and release Shen Shu’s head. But in previous communication through Bai Ji, she didn’t seem to have such intentions.”

“The northern demon barbarians are already finished—a Third-grade great demon like Zhu Jiu can’t accomplish much.”

“Among other extraordinaries outside the major powers, the Heaven Sect is excluded. The Earth Sect’s Black Lotus has a death feud with the Heaven and Earth Society, and as the Society’s most outstanding member, I’m his target.”

“White Emperor is from the Great Wilderness. The Great Wilderness covets the Gatekeeper and has connections with Xu Pingfeng, but it might not be willing to move against the Judiciary as there’s no direct conflict of interest. Xu Pingfeng might not have enough leverage to request its help. This beast remains uncertain.”

“So Black Lotus joining alone couldn’t threaten the Judiciary. Xu Pingfeng must have another trump card…”

Analyzing this point, Xu Qi’an had a corresponding guess—the First Generation Judiciary!

The First Generation Judiciary’s surname was Chai, and the tomb the Chai family guarded was left by him. Xu Pingfeng had long since collected the map and controlled that great tomb.

If anything in the world could threaten a Fate Master, it could only be another Fate Master.

At this moment, Yuan Guardian’s voice sounded from the communication conch:

“Xu Yinluo, this is Guardian Yuan.”

Xu Qi’an suddenly awakened, somewhat frantically grabbing the conch and placing it by his ear, urgently asking: “Speak!”

The other side was silent for a few seconds before Yuan Guardian said:

“Damn it all, Teacher Judiciary couldn’t possibly die… I’ll kill all those bastards in Yunzhou… Teacher Judiciary won’t die, he won’t… damn it all, damn it all…”

“What should we do now… Teacher Judiciary left no instructions… Was the Teacher killed? Damn it, I’ll annihilate those Yunzhou bastards…”

These were Sun Xuanji’s truest inner thoughts.

The Judiciary was dead. Senior Brother Sun’s composure had crumbled… Xu Qi’an listened with a wooden expression, his pupils slightly dilated.

He silently put down the conch in his hand and sat motionless.

Mu Nanzhi crouched beside him without a word, the little white fox curled up in her arms, revealing a pair of bright black eyes watching him carefully.

After a while, Xu Qi’an asked:

“How is the situation in Qingzhou?”

Yuan Guardian was silent for a moment:

“Senior Brother Sun’s heart hasn’t told me…”

Sun Xuanji’s mind was in chaos.

“But Qingzhou likely can’t be held. I estimate we’ll retreat to Yongzhou,” Yuan Guardian gave his judgment.

“I understand…” Xu Qi’an ended the transmission.

…

Gu Tribe.

At the edge of the Extreme Abyss, Sky Gu Grandmother, who was leading various extraordinary leaders to enter the abyss and clear out Gu beasts and insects, suddenly stopped and looked north.

The Gu Tribe leaders and Fourth Grade experts beside her all stopped.

Luan Yu, swaying her hips seductively, asked curiously:

“Grandmother, what’s wrong?”

Sky Gu’s Grandmother pondered for a long time, her expression grave:

“The Judiciary is gone…”

Sky Gu could occasionally see glimpses of the future. Just now, in that instant, Sky Gu Grandmother had seen the Eight Trigrams Platform of Great Feng’s Star-Observing Tower.

An empty Eight Trigrams Platform.

As a Second Grade Sky Gu Master, she always took seriously these glimpses of the future.

After careful interpretation, she understood the meaning of that future glimpse—Great Feng would have no more Judiciary hereafter!

The Judiciary is gone… The present Gu Tribe’s extraordinary leaders showed bewilderment.

What did it mean the Judiciary was gone?

How could the Judiciary be gone? What would happen to Great Feng then?

In the past, upon hearing this news, they might have rejoiced and celebrated Great Feng losing its guardian deity.

But now, though they couldn’t be said to be tied to the same rope as Great Feng, they had invested heavily.

Especially the leaders of the four great tribes—Force, Heart, Corpse, and Dark—their hearts immediately rose in concern. Heart Gu Master Chun Yan frowned:

“Grandmother, what do you mean by this?”

Sky Gu’s Grandmother shook her head:

“This old one only saw that the Judiciary was gone. Perhaps dead, perhaps sealed. More detailed circumstances, I do not know.”

The leaders’ expressions instantly turned ugly.

Based on their understanding of Sky Gu, since Grandmother had spoken this news, it meant this was something that had already happened, not considered revealing heaven’s secrets.

“This…” Luan Yu retracted her seductive manner and furrowed her delicate brows:

“Without the Judiciary, how would Great Feng resist the combined forces of Yunzhou and Buddhism? That guy still owes me three months of physical compensation.”

Mosang… Dragon Chart turned to look north.

…

Jing Mountain City.

Saren Agu stood at the barren mountain peak, gazing south.

“Killing one’s teacher is the destiny of artificers. You rose by killing your teacher and ended by being killed by your student—this is a karmic cycle.”

He then looked toward the distant altar and shaman statue, sighing:

“Without the Gatekeeper, you transcendentals can finally breathe easier. But it has brought the Great Wilderness back to the Nine Provinces—who knows if this is fortune or disaster.”

The Great Shaman sighed:

“Now that you have perished, our wager no longer stands.”

He raised his hand toward the south, calling out loudly:

“Come!”

In Qingzhou, in the Yunzhou military camp, a beam of light broke through heavy restraints, heading northeast.

…

Arantuo.

Guangxian Bodhisattva sat cross-legged under the Bodhi tree, watching the Galore Tree Bodhisattva’s image projected in the golden bowl.

He quietly listened to Galore Tree finish speaking, then pressed his palms together:

“Amitabha, all sacrifices were worthwhile.”

After a pause, he said solemnly:

“Remember, before overthrowing Great Feng, you must have Xu Pingfeng come to Arantuo. Buddhism cannot repeat the mistake from five hundred years ago.”

“Additionally, be wary of that descendant of gods and demons. We still don’t know what he plans.”

Because the Galore Tree Bodhisattva had no head, he could neither nod nor make expressions, only responding with a simple “Mm.”

Guangxian Bodhisattva asked further:

“What are the next arrangements?”

Galore Tree’s voice was resonant but his tone was flat:

“Wait for Xu Pingfeng to refine Qingzhou’s fate energy, wait for me to remove the Confucian Sage Knife’s power and recover from injuries, then march north to conquer.”

Guangxian Bodhisattva pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement:

“This is the steady approach.”

…

Cloud Deer Academy.

Zhao Shou returned the Vice Sage’s Confucian Crown and Confucian Sage’s Knife to the Vice Sage Hall.

He sighed softly, walked out of the great hall, and bowed toward the Imperial Observatory.

…

Imperial Palace.

The Yongxing Emperor sat behind the yellow silk-covered desk, his right hand supporting his head, gently pinching his brow, his expression weary.

He occasionally looked up at the imperial study’s door, anxiously waiting.

Soon, Chief Eunuch Zhao Xuanzhen’s hurried figure appeared, crossing the threshold and quickly running in.

“How is it? Did you see the Judiciary?”

The Yongxing Emperor immediately stood up, both hands pressed against the desk, staring intently at Zhao Xuanzhen.

The latter shook his head slightly:

“This servant saw Minister Song and conveyed Your Majesty’s meaning. Minister Song went up to the Eight Trigrams Platform and said the Judiciary was not at the Imperial Observatory.”

The light in the Yongxing Emperor’s eyes gradually dimmed. He collapsed back into his seat and asked weakly:

“Did Minister Song say where the Judiciary is?”

Zhao Xuanzhen shook his head, seeming to want to speak but stopping himself.

The Yongxing Emperor frowned: “If you have something to say, say it.”

Zhao Xuanzhen carefully said:

“At the time, Minister Song’s expression was not good, he was somewhat incoherent and flustered. When this servant inquired, he could not explain clearly, only saying that something major might have happened…”

Something major might have happened… The Yongxing Emperor fell into contemplation, an ominous feeling welling up in his heart.

At this moment, the guard on duty outside came to the imperial study’s door, clasped his hands and bowed, announcing loudly:

“Your Majesty, the various princes and dukes seek an audience.”

The Yongxing Emperor was startled, the ominous feeling in his heart immediately intensifying.

…

Qingzhou, Provincial Administration Commission.

Officials entered and left silently, one battle report after another piling up beside Provincial Administrator Yang Gong’s desk.

“Wan Prefecture has fallen. The garrison was destroyed. The whereabouts of Great Scholar Zhang Shen are unknown, and his fate is uncertain… Qi Guangbo allowed rebel troops and refugees to plunder and massacre within the city. In one night, Wan Prefecture became ruins…”

“Guo County near Dongling has fallen. Commander Zhao Guang retreated with two thousand remnant troops. Sun Xuanji left the camp, whereabouts unknown…”

“Songshan County has fallen. The Flying Beast Army lost more than half its forces. Commander Zhu Jun led his troops to intercept the enemy forces, fighting to the death without retreat until his strength was exhausted. Xu Xinnian led eight hundred Gu Tribe remnants and three hundred garrison troops in retreat. During the withdrawal, they encountered enemy general Zhuo Haoran’s pursuit and killing. Xu Xinnian was wounded by a blade, his fate uncertain…”

In one night, Qingzhou’s second line of defense completely collapsed, with heavy losses for the Qingzhou army.

This caused the Qingzhou leadership to lose control of the situation, creating some panic and anxiety amid the shock and alarm.

“Everyone, Qingzhou cannot be held. This official has decided to retreat to Yongzhou.”

Yang Gong took a deep breath, slowly swept his gaze across the officials and advisors in the hall, and said solemnly: “Go prepare the various matters for evacuation.”

The so-called various matters included emptying all granaries, military supplies, equipment, and silver, as well as forcibly relocating the people.

Of course, according to old customs, the relocated people were the gentry and aristocratic class, not the true common people.

This wasn’t treating common people as worthless grass, but rather that in times of war, the lower classes truly had no value. The gentry and aristocratic class had money, grain, and people—by winning them over, the court could receive corresponding returns (benefits).

The common people had nothing. When they needed to be abandoned, they had to be abandoned, otherwise they would eat through and drag down the court.

The officials silently stood up, bowed to Yang Gong, and quietly withdrew from the hall, each busy with their tasks.

In an instant, the huge hall was empty of people, silent.

Sunlight shone in through the latticed windows. This Provincial Administrator seemed to have aged more than ten years in a moment as he sat paralyzed in the hall.

…

The first year of Yongxing.

Winter.

Qingzhou fell. Provincial Administrator Yang Gong led the remnant army to retreat and defend Yongzhou, entering a standoff with the Yunzhou army.