The World Hears the Declaration of War

Within the side hall of the Heavenly Tribute Hall.

The Xia Emperor, the five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, and the nine commanders including Ji Ning were gathered. They had already learned the essential techniques of the Xingtian Formation and now understood its profound mysteries.

“In its most perfect form, the Xingtian Formation should utilize eight hundred and ten thousand Loose Immortals and nine thousand Celestial Immortals, all commanded by a single powerful leader. That is when its power is at its peak, and the form of Xingtian it manifests is most complete,” said the Myriad Beasts Immortal, stroking his great beard in astonishment. “Nine is the ultimate number. Eighty-one times nine… truly a perfect formation.”

“Yes.”

“If I could command eight hundred and ten thousand Loose Immortals and nine thousand Celestial Immortals, the power of this formation would increase dramatically,” the Mad Immortal said, a look of anticipation on his face.

The Xia Emperor above them laughed. “Indeed, the perfect Xingtian Formation would require eight hundred and ten thousand Loose Immortals and nine thousand Celestial Immortals under a single commander. If we could field that, the strength of your formed Xingtian bodies would rise by at least one or two levels. But never mind the perfect formation. Even with this simplified version—one hundred thousand Loose Immortals and one thousand Celestial Immortals—you can only control a portion of the world’s energy they draw upon. Furthermore, we are limited in numbers. If the Grand Xia deployed the perfect Xingtian Formation, it could only field a single one. With this simplified version, however, we can field over ten.”

Ji Ning and the others nodded.

That was the truth.

In fact, unless the disparity in power was catastrophic, a battle would mostly result in one side merely being at a disadvantage. For example, if a Fiendgod engaged a Ki Refiner in close combat, it would be a massacre. But if two Fiendgods fought each other in close quarters, and one was only a small sub-realm stronger, the result would be a degree of suppression, nothing more.

One exceptionally strong Fiendgod versus ten slightly weaker ones… in war, the Xia Emperor knew how to choose.

Suddenly—

A distant, grand voice, like the sound of the world itself, passed directly into the Heavenly Tribute Hall. In truth, it seemed to be transmitted to every corner of this world.

“The Xia Emperor is without virtue. As the Great Tribulation descends, I, White Extremity True Immortal, shall lead an army of a million Immortals, in accordance with the Heavenly Dao, to raise arms and topple Xia!”

“Topple Xia!” “Topple Xia!” “Topple Xia!”… The voice echoed endlessly between heaven and earth.

…

The citizens of the Grand Xia’s royal capital were the proudest of all. However, for the past half-month, they had done nothing but discuss the countless Immortals entering the Imperial Palace, and the three hundred-plus earth-shattering booms that had lasted for nearly an entire day and night. They were puzzled; they guessed.

But today, in the bright daylight—

“The Xia Emperor is without virtue. As the Great Tribulation descends, I, White Extremity True Immortal, shall lead an army of a million Immortals, in accordance with the Heavenly Dao, to raise arms and topple Xia!”

The distant voice, as if coming from the very edge of the world, caused countless citizens of the royal capital to instantly freeze in place. Then, pandemonium erupted.

“A campaign against the Grand Xia?”

“White Extremity True Immortal? Could he be a Pure Yang True Immortal?”

“An army of a million Immortals? Is this real?”

The citizens of the capital were no ordinary folk. At the very least, they knew that above Celestial Immortals were Pure Yang True Immortals.

“No wonder so many Immortals gathered at the Imperial Palace before. This explains it. It must be to deal with this White Extremity True Immortal’s rebellion.”

“This White Extremity True Immortal is incredibly powerful. To be able to command an army of a million Immortals… and they are all Immortals! A million of them… this is truly…”

“Could this White Extremity True Immortal be the ancestor of the White Extremity clan?”

All sorts of rumors flew about.

Yet, although the capital’s citizens were shocked and fearful, the royal capital had been the safest place for endless ages. Even if a marquis had rebelled in the past, they could never have reached the capital. So the people of the capital still had great faith in the Xia Emperor.

…

“A campaign against the Grand Xia?”

“An army of a million Immortals?”

“Heavens above…”

…

“This voice seems to be echoing everywhere, and in every place at the same time.”

“White Extremity True Immortal… what is a True Immortal? Could it be an existence even more powerful than a Celestial Immortal? A million Immortals? Our entire sect has only a single Immortal.”

“No wonder our Fire Fan Commandery has been so chaotic lately. It seems the heavens are about to change.”

…

Across the entire Grand Xia world—the vast lands and even the four seas—countless humans, savage beasts, great demons, and cultivators all had their own thoughts upon hearing these words. The shock caused by the ‘army of a million Immortals’ was especially terrifying. Coupled with the chaos that had already been plaguing the Grand Xia, many shallow-minded mortals believed: “This Grand Xia is probably finished. One million Immortals… Heavens above!”

Even the well-informed were terrified: “Can the entire Grand Xia even muster a million Immortals? That’s doubtful. This war will be very difficult for the Grand Xia to win. It might even lose.”

Suddenly, panic and fear gripped the hearts of the people.

With just a single declaration, the emperor had lost the support of the people.

Within the side hall of the Heavenly Tribute Hall, the Xia Emperor and the others all changed expression upon hearing the voice.

“It has finally begun,” Ji Ning murmured to himself.

“Hmph.” The Xia Emperor raised his head, frowning. As the master of the Grand Xia, and with his level of power, he could already vaguely sense the changes in the flow of fate and fortune.

“The will of the people determines the direction of fortune; when the people turn away, fortune dissipates,” the Xia Emperor whispered to himself. The will of the people could, to a certain extent, affect fortune, though it was not absolute. Many factors influenced fortune. For example, if the Grand Xia world suddenly produced ten Empyrean Gods or True Immortals, its fortune would instantly skyrocket.

After all, from the root of it, one’s own strength was paramount.

The will of the people was secondary.

In a mortal world, the will of the people might be the most important, but in this world of immortals and demons, strength was paramount. The will of the people was secondary. Still, one could not completely ignore the people’s will. The stronger one’s fortune, the better. A strong fortune was immensely helpful—it allowed one to draw upon more of the world’s energy, to acquire more heavenly treasures. Many Innate Spirit Treasures, and even legendary treasures born from the Chaos, the “Chaos Treasures,” could only be obtained through fortune. Why else would one person happen to be lucky enough to find such a treasure while others could not?

Of course, if one’s strength reached the level of Nuwa…

Nuwa’s strength was number one in the Three Realms. Thus, her fortune would also be unquestionably number one. With her power, she could even destroy heaven and earth. Even if someone else found a valuable treasure, she could just take it by force. In short, when strength was overwhelming, it had an enormous influence on ‘fortune.’ However, when the strength of two sides was not vastly different, other factors became very important.

Since the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance clearly lacked the confidence to wipe each other out, they naturally sought every means to vie for fortune.

“I will go for a moment,” the Xia Emperor said in a low voice.

With a flash, the white-robed Xia Emperor appeared and then immediately left the side hall.

Moments later.

Another voice, equally grand, as if descending from the highest heavens, echoed throughout every part of the Grand Xia world.

“White Extremity, you are but a stray dog. In years past, you knelt before me, trembling in fear. Now, having allied yourself with some other petty scoundrels, you dare to claim an army of a million Immortals and challenge my rule? This is my domain, my world. None shall covet it. White Extremity, you little brat, have you forgotten the fate of every other rebel marquis? Every single one who has rebelled has had their soul scattered to the winds, not a single exception!” The Xia Emperor’s voice was filled with an overpowering, domineering aura, a natural air of supremacy and authority.

The voices of the White Extremity True Immortal and the Xia Emperor, one after the other, rang out across the world.

The White Extremity True Immortal’s voice was more cold and ruthless.

The Xia Emperor, having been the supreme ruler of the Grand Xia for so long, naturally possessed a regal, domineering presence, one that inspired even greater trust.

“That was the voice of the Xia Emperor?”

“The voice of our Grand Xia world’s sovereign?”

“I’ve heard that from the age of the Fiendgods until now, the emperor of the Grand Xia has always been the same person—the Xia Emperor.”

Countless people in the Grand Xia world were filled with fervor.

The Xia Emperor was a legend.

Even some tribal mortals knew they were ruled by the Grand Xia. Hearing someone say, “This is my domain, my world. None shall covet it,” they naturally understood this must be the words of their sovereign, the master of the Grand Xia.

“So there have been rebellions among the marquises before.”

“That’s right. Even our tribe has had traitors and rebels in our history. A vast realm like the Grand Xia, having a rebellion from time to time… that’s only normal.”

Countless tribal mortals simply saw this as just another rebellion, no different from those in the past.

The history recorded by their tribes was, after all, very short. They had no way of understanding that this rebellion was completely different from those in the past. The Xia Emperor deliberately worked to blur the lines, while the White Extremity True Immortal had no way to refute him. After all, the Xia Emperor’s influence over the Grand Xia world was too deep. He had ruled for endless years, and this ingrained mindset of submission was already rooted deep in the hearts of the people.

…

The Xia Emperor, sensing that the fortune was beginning to stabilize and consolidate, understood the nature of the people’s will. It relied partly on strength but even more on one’s tongue. A well-spoken tongue could win the people’s allegiance, while a poor one could alienate them.

“Let’s go,” the black-robed Xia Emperor commanded. “The time for war with the Seamless Gate has come.”

With a whoosh.

The five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, as well as the nine commanders including Ji Ning, all rose to their feet. Following the Xia Emperor, they left the side hall and flew up into the air.

On the square of the Imperial Palace, over ten thousand Celestial Immortals and a million Loose Immortals had already been divided into ten groups. They were the nine army corps commanded by the nine commanders, including Ji Ning, and the Celestial and Loose Immortals directly controlled by the Xia Emperor.

“The Seamless Gate has declared war,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said, his voice booming as he looked down from on high. Such platitudes were useless on the Celestial and Loose Immortals, so he spoke directly. “In this war, only one side can prevail. What we must do… is set out and utterly crush them.”

“War!”

A shout came from below.

“War!”

A million Immortals shouted the word ‘war’ in unison. Each of them possessed a powerful will, and the sound of their united cry was like a world-shattering, apocalyptic tsunami, driving every Immortal into a state of frenzy. Who said Immortals were not susceptible to frenzy? They simply lacked an environment sufficient to ignite it.

“This is an Innate Spirit Treasure, the Eight Dragon Cloud City.” The black-robed Xia Emperor waved his hand, and instantly a palm-sized city flew high into the air, rapidly expanding in size.

It was a golden city, surrounded by clusters of clouds and guarded by eight azure dragons that swam continuously around it, its aura overwhelming.

“Eight dragons encircling a cloud city?” Ji Ning and the others were stunned by the sight of the eight azure dragons coiling around the Cloud City.

“Nine Commanders,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said.

“Here!” The nine, including Ji Ning, acknowledged the command.

“Lead your respective immortal army corps and enter the Eight Dragon Cloud City,” the black-robed Xia Emperor commanded.

“Yes.”

The nine, including Ji Ning, immediately flew out, each leading their awe-inspiring force of one thousand Celestial Immortals and one hundred thousand Loose Immortals upwards.

“The remaining Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals, follow me. In this campaign against the Seamless Gate, I shall be the supreme commander!” The black-robed Xia Emperor’s aura was overwhelming. He immediately led the five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, along with the remaining Celestial and Loose Immortals, soaring upwards.

The entire Eight Dragon Cloud City had now become a true military camp for an army of Immortals.