Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts - Chapter 508

On Xu Ming’s other side, Wu Yanhan threw out a punch, killing a sect leader instantly!

Xu Ming and Wu Yanhan exchanged a glance before charging once more into the crowd.

Thousands of sect leaders clashed with the civil and military officials of the Wu Kingdom.

Most of these sect leaders were at the Nascent Soul Realm, with a small portion at the Jade Purity Realm, and a rare few at the Immortal Realm.

There were originally no Ascension Realm cultivators in the battle, but the former Grand Worship of the Wu Kingdom now stood opposite the Wu Emperor.

As a result, what should have been a one-sided massacre now seemed to have become a balanced struggle.

“Mr. Liu, should we step in and help?”

Tang Ningzhi asked Liu Feng.

Xu Ming had drawn attention to himself, and several sect leaders were now converging on him. At this moment, he was already surrounded by three of them, and the situation looked dire.

Although Tang Ningzhi had some confidence in Xu Ming’s strength, the problem was that their enemies were Nascent Soul Realm cultivators—killing him wouldn’t be difficult.

Liu Feng shook his head and smiled. “There’s absolutely no need. We can afford to wait a little longer. Besides, Your Highness mustn’t forget—this is the Wu Kingdom, and Lord Xu, as the commander of the Jinyiwei, is deeply protected by the nation’s fate.”

With that, Liu Feng glanced at Tang Ningzhi and smiled. “But I must say, Your Highness seems to be quite concerned about Xu Ming. That’s rather reassuring for me.”

Tang Ningzhi turned away with a cold huff. “I’m not concerned about Xu Ming. I’m just worried that our plan might be disrupted. If something goes wrong, the consequences will be severe. And once we return, we won’t even know how to explain it.”

Liu Feng stroked his beard, completely unperturbed. “Your Highness need not worry. Our plan is foolproof. All we need to do now is watch.”

Tang Ningzhi nodded.

She trusted Liu Feng’s judgment.

“Mr. Liu, do you think the Wu Emperor’s reforms will truly succeed?”

Watching the brutal battle unfold, Tang Ningzhi knew that there was no turning back now.

However, she couldn’t understand why the Wu Emperor had suddenly decided to take such drastic action.

It was true that the issue of sects interfering in worldly affairs plagued every dynasty. Even in Chu Kingdom, the influence of cultivation sects was a major problem.

Many sects meddled in court politics and even influenced national policies.

Cultivators from the mountains could commit murder, yet at worst, they only needed to pay some money to settle matters. There was no way to make them face real consequences.

For generations, the rulers of Chu Kingdom, and indeed all rulers across the land, could only turn a blind eye and carefully balance the interests of all parties.

But now, the Wu Emperor had suddenly overturned the table.

This was the first time she had ever seen such a thing.

“Will it succeed? Who can say?” A trace of melancholy flickered through Liu Feng’s eyes.

“But regardless of the outcome, no matter which side emerges victorious, countless people will die. And this event will leave an indelible mark in history.”

“Boom!”

A thunderous explosion erupted once more from the plaza.

A high wall in the square was blasted open, leaving a gaping hole.

The Wu Emperor formed a hand seal, and the surroundings of the plaza began to shift.

In the blink of an eye, everyone found themselves standing in an open plain instead of the original square.

The only thing that remained unchanged was the golden scroll floating in the air, its black inscriptions piercingly conspicuous.

“This place is…?” Tang Ningzhi turned to Liu Feng.

Liu Feng spoke slowly. “This is a miniature world within the imperial palace, a manifestation of the Wu Kingdom’s Mountains and Rivers Sheji Diagram.

“Here, the Wu Emperor is the true sage of this realm!

“In other words, now… the Wu Emperor is about to get serious.”

The moment they entered this miniature world, a Jade Purity Realm cultivator wielded a long blade and slashed down at the Wu Emperor.

The blade instantly expanded to a massive fifty meters in length, as if it were about to cleave the very earth in two.

Yet, the Wu Emperor merely turned his head and glanced at the attacker before raising a single finger.

In an instant, the enormous blade disintegrated, scattering into iron dust that drifted through the air.

Then, with another slight movement of his finger toward the attacker’s heart, a golden light pierced through his body. The man instantly dissolved into a mist of blood, which was then absorbed by the golden scroll floating in the air.

“Kneel!”

The Wu Emperor’s voice, like an imperial decree, struck directly into the hearts of all present.

Everyone felt a tremor in their chests and coughed up blood. Their knees weakened involuntarily.

By the time they realized what had happened, they were already kneeling on the ground.

The Wu Emperor held the Imperial Seal in one hand, with a longsword sheathed at his waist.

The sword was golden, resembling the style of the Shangfang (Imperial) Sword, but it bore dragon carvings, depicting vast mountains and rivers.

Xu Ming had a strong suspicion—this sword was none other than the Heavenly Son Sword, the second of Wu Kingdom’s three sacred weapons.

Wu Kingdom possessed three immortal weapons: the Imperial Seal, the Heavenly Son Sword, and the Shangfang Sword.

Of these, only those of royal blood could wield the Imperial Seal and the Heavenly Son Sword. These two weapons were the very foundation upon which Wu Kingdom was built.

The Shangfang Sword, on the other hand, could be used by any official granted authority by the Wu Emperor.

The Wu Emperor unsheathed his sword, its golden radiance accompanied by the cry of a dragon.

With a single slash, multiple sect leaders were annihilated in an instant—wiped from existence, not a trace of their presence remaining.

Slaying Nascent Soul Realm sect leaders was as effortless for the Wu Emperor as slicing tofu.

“Wu Chang! Do you truly think yourself invincible?!”

Chen Liang, an Ascension Realm cultivator, furrowed his brows and hurled his life-bound artifact—a pagoda.

This was the Six Paths Reincarnation Pagoda, a six-tiered treasure.

It was said that Chen Liang had discovered this immortal weapon within an ancient ruin during his travels and later refined it into his own life-bound magical tool.

The Six Paths Reincarnation Pagoda descended upon the Wu Emperor, its depths echoing with the ceaseless wails of ghosts and spirits.

The Wu Emperor gazed at the pagoda with calm indifference, remaining silent.

Just as the Six Paths Reincarnation Pagoda was about to envelop him, nine golden dragons suddenly emerged, firmly holding the pagoda in place, preventing it from advancing even an inch.

“Boom!”

A deafening explosion erupted. The nine golden dragons shattered, but the Six Paths Reincarnation Pagoda was sent flying backward.

Both the Wu Emperor and the Ascension Realm elder staggered back a few steps, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.

Yet, the Wu Emperor remained far more composed—his wounds were already being mended by the fate of the land.

Meanwhile, Chen Liang coughed uncontrollably as he struggled to suppress his injuries with spiritual energy. The mountains and rivers fate that had invaded his body churned violently within him, as if trying to shatter his spiritual meridians.

Within the imperial palace, the Wu Emperor’s power was far beyond the Ascension Realm. He possessed the advantages of time, place, and people—the entire Wu Kingdom was his source of strength!

When a ruler of one of the ten great human dynasties wagered their entire nation’s fate, the consequences were never simple.

Strike while the iron is hot!

The Wu Emperor swung his sword at Chen Liang once more.

Chen Liang braced himself, holding up his pagoda as he stepped forward. Behind him, a towering Heavenly Dharma Form manifested.

The Wu Emperor merely sneered coldly.

The Heavenly Dharma Form was indeed formidable—but so what?

Before ascending the throne, during his travels across the land, he had been a mere Dragon Gate Realm cultivator yet still dared to challenge a fearsome Evil Jiao.

Though he had nearly died in that battle, only surviving thanks to a woman’s intervention, he had never once regretted it.

Had he not become an emperor, the Wu Emperor would have long since abandoned restraint. Otherwise, he would have either become a general or lived the life of a wandering swordsman.

With a single swing of his sword, he severed an arm from his opponent’s Heavenly Dharma Form.

However, he couldn’t kill the man outright—he could only keep wearing him down in battle.

After all, an Ascension Realm cultivator was not so easily slain.

But to everyone watching, it was only a matter of time before the Wu Emperor claimed victory.

Within this miniature world, one sect leader after another fell.

The black characters on the golden scroll grew darker, more vivid—almost as if they were on the verge of leaping off the paper.

Meanwhile, Xu Ming had switched from wielding the Immortal Sword Hongxiu to holding the Shangfang Sword.

Both were immortal weapons.

By all accounts, Hongxiu was far superior to the Shangfang Sword.

However—

In this particular situation, the Shangfang Sword was empowered by the fate of Wu Kingdom.

Not to mention, the spirit of Hongxiu remained in slumber.

Thus, Xu Ming could unleash greater power by wielding the Shangfang Sword.

With it in hand, he charged into the battlefield.

One by one, Nascent Soul Realm cultivators fell beneath his blade, their souls forever extinguished.

Many of these cultivators assumed Xu Ming was merely borrowing Wu Kingdom’s mountains and rivers fate to artificially reach the Nascent Soul Realm.

Yet the truth was—

They were the ones who seemed like false Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in comparison.

The Wu Kingdom’s forces now had the upper hand.

Some sect leaders were already considering surrender.

Some even hesitated, wondering if it would be better to simply sign their names and submit.

If they kept fighting at this rate, they were doomed to be obliterated—body and soul alike.

Better to live and bide their time than to perish for nothing!

Still, others held onto hope, refusing to yield.

They believed there was still a chance to turn the tide.

Surely, with the Wu Emperor making such a drastic move, there was no way that the Northern Wastelands, the Southern Demon Kingdoms, and other human dynasties like Chu Kingdom would sit idly by!

This was the perfect opportunity to take a bite out of Wu Kingdom—to tear off a bloody chunk of its flesh.

Such immense benefits—who wouldn’t be tempted?

If only another two Ascension Realm cultivator arrived—no, even just one more!

The battle would instantly shift in their favor!

But first, they had to hold out long enough for such a savior to arrive.

“Roaaar!”

Another dragon’s cry echoed across the battlefield.

Massive dragon pillars erupted from the ground.

Each one towered a hundred meters high, golden dragons coiled around their lengths.

Chen Liang found himself trapped within the formation of pillars.

These pillars pulsed with the power of laws.

Frowning, Chen Liang took a step back and began forming a series of hand seals.

The Six Paths Reincarnation Pagoda descended over him, its protective aura shrouding his body.

Beams of golden light continuously burst from the dragon pillars, slamming into the pagoda again and again.

Each impact sent violent tremors through the artifact.

Chen Liang’s entire body went numb, his soul and spirit shuddering under the relentless force.

It wasn’t as if he had never slain emperors before—

Many rulers had perished by his hands.

But he had never imagined that killing an emperor of one of the Ten Great Human Dynasties would be this difficult!

While Chen Liang was being suppressed, the Wu Emperor still had the freedom to act.

Using the Imperial Seal as his conduit, he summoned golden lightning from the heavens.

For the stronger sect leaders, being struck by this lightning only caused them to cough up blood—they could still fight on.

But for the weaker ones—

It was the end.

Some of the so-called Nascent Soul cultivators had only reached their realm by relying on elixirs. When struck by even a single bolt of golden lightning, they were instantly annihilated—body and soul alike. Some were reduced to mere blood mist, while others left behind nothing more than a charred mark on the ground.

Many officials of Wu Kingdom let out a sigh of relief, believing the battle was already decided. Victory was theirs; the only matter left was how to clean up the aftermath.

However, neither the Wu Emperor nor Xiao Mochi—who had yet to make a move—showed any sign of ease. Their expressions remained grim, their focus sharp.

They both knew one truth: the battle was far from over.

It was far too early to speak of victory or defeat.

“Hahahahaha—”

A burst of laughter rang out from the sky.

A streak of white light tore through the heavens.

As the light faded, a white-haired elder stood at the edge of the miniature world.

The moment they saw him, the faces of the resisting sect leaders lit up with hope.

Salvation had arrived!

This was no ordinary man—

This was the White-Haired Weng, the venerated guardian of Wei Kingdom.

An Ascension Realm cultivator.

With such a seasoned powerhouse entering the fray, the tide of battle was bound to shift.

But he was not alone.

As the protective formations of Wu Kingdom’s imperial palace flared in alarm, multiple streaks of light pierced through the boundaries of the miniature world, landing before the Wu Emperor.

In total, five Ascension Realm cultivators had arrived—

They hailed from Yan Kingdom, Wei Kingdom, and the ancestral elders of three major sects.

Just as the Wu Emperor and his confidants had anticipated, the other nations and sects would never let such an opportunity slip away.

They hungered for a chance to tear a chunk of flesh from Wu Kingdom.

Now, they were here, ready to rip and devour.

The White-Haired Weng stroked his beard, gazing at the Wu Emperor with a calm demeanor.

“Your Majesty,” he said, “you have bathed this land in blood, slaughtering countless cultivators. How could you go to such lengths?”

“Please, Your Majesty—cease this madness. If you admit your guilt now, perhaps… this can still be undone.”

The sect master of the Mountain Green Sect also tried to persuade him.

The Wu Emperor chuckled.

He stared at these decrepit, self-righteous old men with nothing but contempt.

“Admit guilt?” His voice was mocking. “Ridiculous! What crime have I committed?!”

“Yet you interfere in the affairs of Wu Kingdom—what is your intent?”

There was not the slightest trace of fear in the Wu Emperor’s expression.

In truth, this was exactly what he had been waiting for.

For these old ghosts to come to him personally.

The Wu Emperor took a step forward, his voice carrying across the battlefield.

“Since you have all arrived—”

“None of you shall leave!”