Immortals stood in the clouds, hundreds of silhouettes silent as they rushed through the starlit night toward the border between the Southern Continent and the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, led by the Celestial Immortals.

Underground, the paper puppet driver, carrying paper people and immortal beans, moved steadily through the earth behind the group of immortals from the Path to Immortality Sect.

Meanwhile, one of Li Changshuo’s Golden Immortal paper puppets had appeared beneath the capital of the Hong Lin Kingdom, frowning as he observed the situation…

The situation was beyond critical—the battle was essentially over!

Hundreds of figures clashed in the air, but it had become a one-sided encirclement.

The once-prosperous capital was now swallowed by smoke and flames. The eastern gate and city walls had been destroyed, and a cavalry charge was breaking through the city guards’ last line of defense.

A mortal war.

More precisely, this was a mortal war with Qi practitioners involved.

Most of the generals possessed cultivation, and fearing a karmic backlash, they typically followed the principle of “soldier against soldier, general against general, immortal against immortal.”

Li Changshuo spread his divine sense to monitor the surrounding ten thousand li, observing several other major battlefields.

The Hong Lin Kingdom’s defensive lines hadn’t completely collapsed—large forces still defended the territory in several directions. The army that appeared at the capital must have sneaked in.

Two invading tribes coordinated their attacks, each gathering hundreds of thousands of elite troops from the northeast and southeast, launching an almost unstoppable assault.

Even without tonight’s surprise attack on the capital, the Hong Lin Kingdom would likely not have lasted half a month.

These so-called “tribes” merely continued the old system of pre-Xia, but this didn’t mean their strength was inferior to these “kingdoms.”

In the eyes of the prosperous central nations of the Southern Continent, the Hong Lin Kingdom and these two great tribes, along with the numerous nations and tribes of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, were all considered “Eastern Barbarians.”

To be thorough, Li Changshuo repeatedly swept the area with his divine sense and quickly made discoveries.

These two tribes must have support from major immortal sects. The number of Yuan Immortals and True Immortals mixed among their troops was astonishing, and their cultivation techniques were remarkably similar.

This war could be understood as [Immortal Sects Fighting for Mortal Resources], and their side, the Path to Immortality Sect, clearly wasn’t prepared.

The losers would truly eat dirt.

The several True Immortal officials from the Path to Immortality Sect who had been captured earlier were unharmed.

On the path where the Path to Immortality Sect’s immortals were about to arrive, hundreds of auras lay hidden—over a hundred True Immortals, thirty to forty Celestial Immortals, and even two Golden Immortal level pressures.

Was this sect planning to ambush the Path to Immortality Sect’s group?

Rather than an ambush, it was more like an interception.

Li Changshuo carefully sensed the situation and detected no significant killing intent. The formation the other side had arranged was primarily defensive.

According to common occurrences in the Southern Continent’s chaos, the other side would likely just appear to force the Path to Immortality Sect’s immortals to turn back, using their hostages to avoid conflict with the Path to Immortality Sect.

Whether the Path to Immortality Sect would choose to fight depended on various factors, mainly on the Hong Lin Kingdom’s overall situation when both sides confronted each other…

As the saying goes, even a hawk uses all its strength to catch a rabbit. Li Changshuo didn’t dare be careless and immediately began making arrangements.

First, he secretly informed Sect Leader Ji Wuyou, then gathered a batch of paper puppets from the nearby East Sea, and contacted Ao Yi, telling him to prepare to summon experts from the East Sea Dragon Palace for support at any moment!

After all, the other side had two Golden Immortals—they couldn’t be underestimated…

While Li Changshou couldn’t guarantee everything, if the other side insisted on ambushing the Path to Immortality Sect’s immortals, there would be a large reinforcement force to assist their side.

This was just a small contribution he could make as an ordinary “Yuan Immortal” member of the Path to Immortality Sect.

After quickly making preparations everywhere and watching the mortal slaughter for a while, Li Changshuo’s dao heart began to feel somewhat strange.

Was he worried about the human race depleting its strength through such warfare?

Not exactly.

In the primordial world, the human race’s destiny gathered in mortals, but their strength concentrated in Qi practitioners. Moreover, the human race’s overall scale was large enough that the war here couldn’t affect their total strength.

What Li Changshuo pondered was…

Were the conflicts between mortal forces due to low external pressure, or was the Heavenly Dao influencing from behind, intentionally slowing the expansion of the human race?

Except for the Sages, even Golden Immortals, Great Luo Golden Immortals, and Quasi-Sages couldn’t completely escape the Heavenly Dao’s influence. In some ways, how were they different from these mortals…

“Perhaps this thinking is too pessimistic?” Li Changshuo muttered, gently smoothing out that slight anomaly in his dao heart.

He came here only to wait for the timing foretold by the Supreme Clarity Sage Lord, to judge how to act when the situation developed.

Li Changshuo had no intention of interfering in mortal warfare—the karmic backlash would be enormous…

His figure floated up from deep underground, and in an empty wine house near the royal palace, Li Changshuo found a private room to quietly wait for subsequent developments.

Could it be that the Sage Lord sent him here for other matters, not for the [Birth of Commerce]?

Speaking of which, the Supreme Clarity Lord always just ordered “go”—if his comprehension ability wasn’t up to standard, or if the Supreme Clarity Temple’s network lagged one day…

Ahem, he shouldn’t randomly speculate about his own Sage Lord.

Should he arrange some “descent of heavenly soldiers” scene to help You Qin save face?

Better not—with the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother away, he should be even more cautious and absolutely avoid giving others any excuse to criticize.

Cloud Maiden could guess his true body was in the Path to Immortality Sect. The risk of exposing his background was already high enough; he absolutely couldn’t do anything unnecessary.

Of course, if there was some way he could help You Qin with minimal effort, Li Changshuo wouldn’t be stingy with that bit of energy.

Just as he was thinking this, waves of immortal power emanated from deep within the royal palace, and streaks of blood-colored light shot into the sky.

Li Changshuo looked up and saw an injured light blue flood dragon appear above the Hong Lin Kingdom’s capital!

The flood dragon roared toward the sky as if trying to soar upward, but its form quickly crumbled. Its body was completely hollow inside, mixed with some black ashes…

The Hong Lin Kingdom’s destiny had collapsed!

…

“Xuan Ya… Xuan Ya?”

You Qin Xuan Ya, who had been staring absent-mindedly at the starlight on the horizon, turned her head at the sound and softly said, “Senior Martial Aunt, Martial Aunt.”

Jiu Yu, wearing hemp clothes with short sleeves and a skirt and carrying a large gourd on her back, jumped over from the clouds beside them.

Jiu Yu had intended to pounce like a hungry tiger and joke around with You Qin Xuan Ya, but thinking of something, she stopped just in time in front of You Qin Xuan Ya. She giggled and raised her hand to scratch her head instead.

After hearing about the Hong Lin Kingdom’s troubles, Jiu Yu voluntarily followed from Little Qiong Peak, wanting to give You Qin Xuan Ya more encouragement…

After entering the immortal sect, one should have severed ties with the mortal world and shouldn’t have too many connections.

But You Qin Xuan Ya’s situation was special—she was both a princess of the Hong Lin Kingdom and the top disciple of the Path to Immortality Sect’s previous batch, while the Hong Lin Kingdom was also the Path to Immortality Sect’s “financial backer”…

This led to You Qin Xuan Ya’s current very delicate situation, so delicate that Jiu Yu didn’t know how to console her and could only ask her own Senior Martial Sister to come help comfort You Qin Xuan Ya.

To the side, Jiu Yiyi approached with her sword, her purple dress floating.

Jiu Yiyi revealed a gentle smile and said to You Qin Xuan Ya:

“Xuan Ya, are you worried about your family?”

You Qin Xuan Ya slightly pursed her lips and nodded gently, her cold beautiful face showing a hint of emotion—worry and unease.

But then, You Qin Xuan Ya lowered her head and said:

“When entering the mountain, one should forget all mortal matters. Now this disciple’s mortal heart is unsettled…”

“Silly Xuan Ya,” Jiu Yu came up from behind and hugged You Qin Xuan Ya, her forehead rubbing against the skin exposed on the back of You Qin Xuan Ya’s ice-blue dress.

“Who can truly not care about their birth parents? It’s just that your parents are different from others’ parents.”

“Martial Aunt…”

“Ah, Xuan Ya feels so soft when hugged, hee hee hee… Smile, quickly smile at your Martial Aunt!”

You Qin Xuan Ya’s beautiful face immediately flushed red as she hurried to stop Jiu Yu’s mischievous hands, but she truly couldn’t bring herself to smile…

“Little Yu, stop fooling around! Xuan Ya, don’t mind her—she’s had too much wine and is acting crazy!”

Jiu Yiyi promptly exerted her Senior Martial Sister’s authority, pulling Jiu Yu away from You Qin Xuan Ya’s back and dragging her away, drawing glances and smiles from the surrounding Path to Immortality Sect immortals.

Several more sect immortals came over successively, gently advising You Qin Xuan Ya not to worry too much, saying the sect wouldn’t ignore this matter.

You Qin Xuan Ya forced herself to respond a few times before finally getting some peace, sitting cross-legged on the clouds by herself.

Others took the hint and stopped coming to disturb her.

You Qin Xuan Ya took out an egg wrapped in immortal power from her chest, looking at the simple smiley face drawn on it, her starry eyes full of determination.

‘Senior Brother Changshuo…

I will handle this matter well.’

Then, she carefully put away the egg and laid the Fire Scale Sword Case across her skirt, closing her eyes to concentrate and adjust herself to peak conditions.

Regarding the Hong Lin Kingdom’s matter, if she didn’t give it her all, how could she ask others to…

Whoosh!

A sharp whistling sound suddenly broke the starlit night’s tranquility, and this southward-drifting cloud also became noisy.

A Supreme Elder caught the message jade slip flying from the south, carefully read it after opening it, and his expression immediately darkened.

“Senior Uncle, what’s wrong?”

“The enemy army has invaded. The Hong Lin Kingdom’s capital has fallen, their immortal officials have been routed, and the enemy is approaching the royal palace.”

The Path to Immortality Sect immortals’ expressions immediately changed. You Qin Xuan Ya especially rose abruptly, her face somewhat pale, but her eyes showed little panic.

An Elder called out: “Xuan Ya…”

“This disciple is fine,” You Qin Xuan Ya clasped her hands and bowed, her ponytail swaying gently. “This disciple will follow the sect’s arrangements, and requests the sect not consider this disciple’s mortal identity when making decisions!”

“Good.”

That Supreme Elder spoke firmly: “The Hong Lin Kingdom is under our Path to Immortality Sect’s protection. If we abandon them, wouldn’t our sect’s reputation be ruined?

Half of our Celestial Immortals, rush to the capital with full force to provide support!

We must protect the Hong Lin Kingdom’s Monarch You Qin!”

Immediately, ten sect Celestial Immortals stepped forward, separated from the group, transformed into streaks of light, and shot toward the south.

You Qin Xuan Ya’s beautiful eyes carried traces of unease. After a moment’s hesitation, she still stepped forward and said:

“This disciple requests to go ahead first to provide support!”

Jiu Yu immediately jumped out, “I’ll go with Xuan Ya!”

“I’ll go too,” Jiu Yiyi came forward with her sword, looking at the hesitant Path to Immortality Sect Elder in charge. “It would be too cruel to let Xuan Ya watch from behind at this time. Little Yu and I will do our utmost to protect her.”

“In that case, this poor Daoist will accompany you all.”

An elderly woman stepped forward—she was a sect Supreme Elder with late-stage Celestial Immortal realm cultivation.

With this, the other Elders accordingly agreed, instructing them to be careful.

Jiu Yu threw out the large gourd from her back. The gourd grew with the wind, instantly becoming thirty feet long. Jiu Yiyi, You Qin Xuan Ya, and the elderly woman quickly jumped onto the gourd.

Jiu Yu sat cross-legged at the gourd’s mouth, bringing her hands together in a sword seal. Two spots of faint light flickered at her fingertips, moving as fast as phantom shadows as she formed complex magical seals.

“Swift!”

With Jiu Yu’s light shout, the large gourd shot toward the south. The start was so violent it almost threw the three immortals on its back flying off.

On the gourd, You Qin Xuan Ya couldn’t sit still.

Her heart suddenly clenched, as if something deeply personal was happening at this moment.

“Mother…”

You Qin Xuan Ya raised her hand to cover the pendant at her chest, forcing herself to calm down.

At this moment, any emotion besides calmness could only have a negative effect.

Thus, after the large gourd flew swiftly for over half an hour, the elderly woman behind suddenly called out:

“Little Yu, slow down! There’s magical combat three thousand li ahead!”

Jiu Yu immediately slowed down, grabbed the jade wine flask hanging at her waist, put it to her lips for a small sip, and asked: “Senior Martial Aunt, what’s happening?”

“Those who moved against the Hong Lin Kingdom are no ordinary immortal sect!”

The elderly woman’s expression gradually cooled as she sighed: “The ten fellow disciples we just sent have been intercepted halfway by the other side. The situation is critical.

This poor Daoist will rush ahead first to provide support. Don’t rush in recklessly—wait behind to join up with our sect’s immortals.”

With these words, the elderly woman’s figure leaped up, activated the Rainbow Light technique, moving even faster than the gourd had been flying, and hurriedly rushed ahead to provide support.

Jiu Yu turned her head to look at Jiu Yiyi and You Qin Xuan Ya, asking softly: “Shall we move closer and see if we can help somehow?”

Both immediately nodded in agreement. Jiu Yu once again activated the Evil-Vanquishing Wish-Fulfilling Sword, flying a bit slower this time as they approached the area of magical combat.

However, they were one step too late. When they got within a thousand li of the combat zone, their side’s eleven Celestial Immortals, including that Supreme Elder…

Had all been captured by the other side.

Seeing this, Jiu Yu became furious and activated her “head technique,” immediately wanting to charge up and fight it out with those dozens of enemy immortals.

Just then, streams of light shot up from the ground, quickly gathering into hundreds of figures standing on a white cloud.

Dozens of Celestial Immortals, over a hundred True Immortals, and two experts whose aura levels were faintly at the Golden Immortal realm!

Jiu Yu hiccuped and immediately shrunk her neck, turning her head to look at You Qin Xuan Ya, muttering:

“The situation seems a bit off. Should we wait?”

This was truly beyond their ability to fight.

Jiu Yiyi, being well-informed, recognized at a glance the banner these immortals had raised.

“Looking at their banner, it’s the Dao Wei Immortal Sect from Central Divine Continent, inheritors of the Clarification Teaching.”

You Qin Xuan Ya asked in a lost voice: “Why are they here?”

“Grabbing territory,” Jiu Yu shook her head beside them. “It’s obvious—the two tribes attacking the Hong Lin Kingdom are supported by this immortal sect. This kind of thing is quite common…

Xuan Ya, what do you want to do?”

You Qin Xuan Ya remained silent, only gripping the pendant at her chest tightly.

Jiu Yiyi continued: “They’ve captured but not killed our Path to Immortality Sect immortals—this is also the mortal world’s rule. This way it doesn’t count as going to war with our Path to Immortality Sect.

A major reason for the mutual destruction between nations and tribes in the Southern Continent is immortal sects secretly fighting over mortal wealth.

Later when our sect’s large group of immortals arrives, as long as we abandon the Hong Lin Kingdom, they’ll return these captured fellow disciples and send gifts to the sect to apologize. Thus…”

Jiu Yiyi’s words stopped as she and Jiu Yu simultaneously looked at You Qin Xuan Ya.

You Qin Xuan Ya’s expression remained normal as she lowered her head in thought.

Suddenly thunder crashed, and a coarse voice like thunder echoed through the sky, spreading across ten thousand li!

The voice said:

“The Hong Lin Kingdom’s monarch is dead, the dragon vein is broken, and the capital is under our control. Why are your Path to Immortality Sect friends still rushing here?

Path to Immortality Sect friends, if you agree to concede this territory, your sect’s immortals will return safely, and we will prepare gifts and come apologize another day.”

You Qin Xuan Ya’s body trembled, almost sliding off the large gourd.

Jiu Yiyi sighed: “We came one step too late after all.”

“Hmph!”

Jiu Yu’s mouth twisted as the large gourd made a turn, immediately heading southwest, directly plunging into a white cloud.

Jiu Yu tensed her face and formed magical seals again, but this time not to speed up the gourd. Instead, she used a sophisticated illusion technique, making the large gourd and the three of them become nearly transparent.

“Don’t worry, Xuan Ya, I’ll take you over there to look,” Jiu Yu humphed. “Don’t let them fool us!”

“Little Yu, this is too risky!”

As she spoke, Jiu Yiyi saw You Qin Xuan Ya’s pale little face beside her and sighed softly:

“Let’s not get too close. At this point, just one or two people can’t change anything…”

“Martial Aunts, you should go back first.”

You Qin Xuan Ya spoke softly, then slowly exhaled, her expression returning to normal.

She shouldered her sword case and jumped directly off the gourd’s back. As her skirt fluttered, her hands formed magical seals, immediately preparing to fly…

But the large gourd turned around, directly blocking You Qin Xuan Ya’s path.

Jiu Yu sat at the gourd’s mouth with her arms crossed, frowning: “What can you do by yourself? Just go throw your life away?”

Jiu Yiyi also advised: “Xuan Ya, the sect hasn’t made a decision yet. Why not wait for the Sect Leader’s orders…”

“This matter has nothing to do with either Martial Aunt, nor with the sect anymore.”

You Qin Xuan Ya spoke heavily, her voice without the slightest tremor, her gaze without the slightest wavering. “Please don’t obstruct me. This disciple will go to the Reward and Punishment Hall afterward to accept punishment.”

Jiu Yu cursed: “Enough, what time is it for such contrary talk!

I know you don’t want sect disciples to bleed because of you, but we also don’t want to watch you throw your life away. I’ll go with you—at least I can look after you.”

“No need,” You Qin Xuan Ya stepped back twice, staring at Jiu Yu, slightly clenching her fist. “I need no assistance. If Martial Aunt insists on forcing me, I would rather break my sword here!”

Jiu Yu couldn’t help but urgently say: “Born so beautiful, yet as stubborn as an ox. Don’t you still want to be with Little Changshuo!”

You Qin Xuan Ya’s eyes reddened, but she immediately took a breath and said firmly:

“There are things to do and things not to do—only then can one follow one’s heart without action!”

“You are…!”

“Little Yu!” Jiu Yiyi pulled Jiu Yu back and sighed: “Let her go. Her life should be decided by herself.”

“Thank you, Martial Aunt.”

You Qin Xuan Ya bowed in a Daoist salute, then activated her magical seals. Her figure flashed past the side, transforming into a stream of light flying due south.

She was rushing at full speed, completely disregarding the consumption of her immortal power.

What You Qin Xuan Ya didn’t notice was…

As she flew forward rapidly, a trace of the unique dao rhythm of the wind escape technique quietly enveloped her figure, making her seem to temporarily disappear from the world, successfully slipping past under the [Dao Wei Immortal Sect]’s noses.

…

Meanwhile, in the Hong Lin Kingdom’s royal palace.

Dozens of black shadows kept flitting about everywhere, and the sky in all directions was dyed deep red by the flames.

In the main hall strewn with corpses, a female True Immortal wearing a robe and mask kept swinging the whip in her hand, gritting her teeth in anger:

“Search! Don’t let even half a soul of the You Qin clan escape! I want them to beg for death but be unable to die!”

Underground, Li Changshuo looked at the new soul-capturing pearl in his palm, then raised his head to look at this cruel woman, slightly shaking his head.

Such heavy resentment.

This monarch had already been assassinated by his guards when the city attack began. The revenge should naturally be left for You Qin to take. He shouldn’t overstep his bounds—snatching away the soul first was already doing his utmost.