Cangyuan Year 1135, Tenth Month, Twenty-Third Day.
Only one month and twenty-three days had passed since the fall of the Liang Kingdom, yet this single day saw events that shook all of Cangyuan.
The most consequential event was undoubtedly the formal declaration of war between the Martial Saint Pavilion and the Mysterious Divine Path Sect.
The truth behind the fall of the Martial Saint remained obscure. Lu Zhexuan, whose death had been widely reported, somehow advanced to the Daoist Shore Realm.
The circumstances were tangled and contradictory, spawning countless rumors, with no one able to verify the truth.
However, the Martial Saint Pavilion, having lost its founder and his two personal disciples, was undeniably thrown into chaos and eventually splintered.
The Pavilion had been formed entirely around veneration of the Martial Saint. Wen Hongsheng, having suffered a near-total defeat, was unable to stabilize the wavering hearts of its members, and the Pavilion fractured into three factions.
One faction, believing in the saying "Sages do not enter reincarnation," chose to wait patiently for the Martial Saint's return, seeking out his possible reincarnation.
A second faction, having learned of the Martial Saint's manipulations in the Ancient Battlefield of Meditation, became disillusioned and departed of their own accord.
The third faction, however, was quite peculiar.
Cang Xing, the Sect Master of the Mei Sect in Yang Kingdom, claimed that the Martial Saint had never died and had left behind a divine avatar capable of reclaiming leadership of the Pavilion.
Members of the Martial Saint Pavilion were naturally skeptical. But those who, whether out of doubt or curiosity, traveled to Yang Kingdom to meet this so-called Martial Saint's avatar, returned unanimously claiming he was indeed the genuine article.
After all, he had wielded the very "Domain of the Way of Overbearing Might", a power no member of the Pavilion could possibly mistake.
This new "Martial Saint" called himself Mo Xu.
He was the same Mo Xu who had once been possessed by Mu Zhao and had "killed" Chen Kuang during secluded cultivation by sacrificing his own meridians.
As for the Mysterious Divine Path Sect, they naturally joined forces with other sects, exposing Mu Zhao's machinations and initiating a crusade against him.
Lu Zhexuan, now newly risen to the Daoist Shore Realm, had inexplicably appeared in the Liang Kingdom following the battle. She was now hailed as the "Saint of the Heart."
Another major event was the abrupt disappearance of the Ancient Battlefield of Meditation, which had existed since ancient times.
Each sect responded differently, most remained silent. But the Zhou Kingdom and Martial Saint Pavilion insisted it had been stolen by Chen Kuang, who had miraculously returned from death, and that this theft caused its vanishing.
It was, perhaps, an attempt to justify the behavior of the Martial Saint and the Zhou Kingdom's eldest princess.
Yet at the very center of this storm, Chen Kuang himself, had gone missing...
..
Liang Kingdom, the Chen Residence.
Chen Ning held a teacup, exhaling a small breath of steam as she nervously sneaked a glance at the priestess seated at the head of the hall.
That woman... was a living Saint.
Though her heart brimmed with gratitude for being saved, learning the woman's identity still left her stunned and shaken.
A living Saint!
Not just for mortals, even for most cultivators, Saints were like distant sun, moon, and stars, unreachable and incomprehensible.
Yet now, one sat right here in their family hall, smiling faintly while chatting with Chen Rong and Gantang.
Had they not seen it with their own eyes, the priestess descending from the heavens, and with a mere step, instantly killing off the assassins, Lu Zhexuan might have seemed like an ordinary wandering Taoist.
Still... she was so beautiful.
Chen Ning thought secretly to herself.
The woman's simple Taoist robe only accentuated her otherworldly grace, lighting up the whole hall.
Big Brother was amazing, he had managed to bring a Saint to their aid!
Chen Ning's admiration for Chen Kuang only deepened.
"Thank you, Saint, for saving our lives!"
Chen Rong repeated for what must've been the fifth time.
Lu Zhexuan gave a subtle smile. "There's no need for thanks. I only fulfilled the task Chen Kuang entrusted to me."
Chen Rong gushed a few more formalities until Gantang pulled him back, at last putting an end to it.
Gantang couldn't help but ask,
"Saint, is Kuang'er well now?"
Lu Zhexuan thought for a moment. "His life is not in danger."
Gantang sighed in relief, though she held back from asking further, afraid of hearing something unsettling.
She didn't understand cultivation, after all, only that he was alive and well... that was enough.
Lu Zhexuan stood up. The Chen family rose to see her off, but she held up a hand:
"I will be staying here for a while. No need to escort me."
Chen Rong blinked in astonishment, caught off guard.
"For the Saint to grace our humble abode... truly an honor... An'er, quickly arrange a guest room."
But Lu Zhexuan's smile deepened slightly:
"No need. Which room does Chen Kuang usually stay in? I'll take that one."
The entire Chen family froze.
That... wasn't quite proper.
Even if she was a Saint, she was still a woman. How could she live in a man's room?
But this was a Saint. Who were they to say no?
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
Chen Ning blinked rapidly, and suddenly, a wild idea popped into her head.
Wild to the point of absurdity. But when she thought of her big brother, it didn't seem so far-fetched anymore.
Eyes shining with realization, Chen Ning stepped forward and said,
"Saint, please follow me. Big Brother's room is in the east wing, very clean!"
Lu Zhexuan nodded with her usual calm smile. "Then I shall trouble you."
Chen Ning winked hard at her parents. Whether they understood or not... well, that was their problem.
...
Outside the Chen Residence.
Zhou Yanwei clutched his chest and gave a bitter smile.
"Brother Lin, your plan nearly got me killed."
Lin Eryou smiled faintly.
"But you're not dead, are you? As the saying goes, 'fortune favors the bold.'"
Zhou Yanwei's face darkened. "And you forgot the next line, "
He sighed.
"Fortune may favor the bold, but it can also be lost in the gamble."
"If Chen didn't pick up on my signal, we'd both be dead."
Lin Eryou replied with a calm certainty. "But he did. Because he's Chen Kuang."
"Now the hidden assassins are all taken care of, and His Majesty has entrusted the entire Liang Kingdom to you, this is the best time for us."
They both looked up. The snow was falling harder.
, ,
Northern Frontier.
Countless soldiers and cultivators surged toward the northern defense line from all directions.
Death spread like a crimson tide, soaking the frozen earth. The stench of blood even seeped into the hundred-zhang-thick permafrost.
But still, the Northern Defense Line was collapsing, step by step.
All because of a single misjudgment by Princess Ji Wenxuan of Zhou, who had torn open a breach in the line. The battle was now nearly beyond salvage.
And yet, thanks to constant reinforcements from the rear and the natural barrier of Xunmi Mountain, the Night Barbarians' main forces had yet to cross into the Central Regions.
Amid the desolate tundra, bitter winds cut like blades through the silence.
Apart from a few beast-infested ruins, no life remained in this land.
"Hmph~ hmm~ hmm~"
A careless hum drifted across the ice fields, light and playful.
Bounding toward the cliffs was a young girl clad in thick furs.
Her face was youthful and exquisite, with a sly, mischievous smile.
But her eyes, molten gold, burning with chaotic, malevolent energy, betrayed a depth of evil and mystery beyond comprehension.
Her bare feet tapped upon the ice, toes red from the cold, her calves perfectly proportioned. Any ordinary person would have already frozen to death.
But she moved as if in springtime.
If Chen Kuang had been here, he would have recognized her instantly.
She was Lian Mi, the seemingly innocent little maid from the Xuni Pavilion.
Still humming, Lian Mi reached the icy cliff wall blanketing the edge of the world.
Before her loomed the ten-thousand-zhang-tall Xunmi Mountain, the end of the Northern Realm.
She had crossed the entire Northern Defense Line alone.
Lifting her head, golden eyes reflected the boundless mountain range.
She murmured,
"Uncle Weiran... this is the obstacle in our path. But today, it falls."
She placed a hand against the cliff wall, her voice twisting into a thousand tones, young, old, male, female, terrifying and divine:
"We of the Demonic Lineage have come to descend. And we shall destroy all things..."
BOOM... BOOM... BOOM...
Thunderous roars shook the earth, resounding across the heavens.
CRACK... CRACK...
Fissures snaked across the cliff wall, countless and unending, spreading from the mountain's base to its very peak.
The first boulder broke loose, crashing downward.
That ten-thousand-zhang mountain... crumbled like sand.
And collapsed with a roar.
..
Cangyuan Year 1135, Tenth Month, Twenty-Third Day.
The Collapse of Xunmi Mountain. The Northern Defense Line fell.
The Seventy-Two Tribes of the Night Barbarians launched a full-scale invasion.
The realms reeled. The Central Regions descended into chaos.