Nightfall

Compared with the gloomy and miserable underground, the fields above the ground were as charming as paradise in late summer. However, could there be any place of genuine purity? Although the Right Royal Court had been haunted and exhausted by Tang’s West Expeditionary Force, they were after all the rulers of the vast Wilderness. The war was not finished.

After a few days Jun Mo came back to the Bodhi tree to take a break. Right then Tang came from some distance and stared at him for a long while. “You’ve been fighting hard. You deserve my admiration.”

He admired Jun Mo sincerely. Jun Mo had proved his peerlessness in the current generation of powerful figures. But what convinced Tang, the untamed master of the Devil’s Doctrine, was not his powerfulness.

Jun Mo stood up and said, “It’s never hard when you are doing something you like.”

It might not be hard mentally, but physically he was already dust stained and exhausted. Everyone could tell that the non-stop battles throughout the years had consumed him tremendously.

Tang looked back toward the troubled cavalrymen of the Right Royal Court on the fields in some distance, and said, “Leave it to me here. We, Wild People, are well-trained in wandering around the world. You should go take some rest.”

Jun Mo did not thank him, nor did go for a rest. He wiped off the dust on his monk suit with the empty sleeve and turned to walk away.

Tang stroke on the legendary Bodhi tree and said, “I thought you would cut down this tree.”

“Don’t touch the Bodhi tree and the chessboard in the peak. The Youngest Brother wants them.”

Upon those words Jun Mo walked toward the southeast without bidding goodby. He had to cake care of a lot more there in the Central Plains. The slaves came out of the Giant Sinkhole in the underground and saw the vast world above. But they did not know that it was just another bigger hole. He had to lead more people to an even bigger world. It was something that the Headmaster, the Youngest Brother and every generation of the Academy had been striving for.

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People cried out throughout the fields. The slaves who had been fighting with him for years were reluctant to see him leave. And the message of him leaving spread swiftly around. They knew they could not ask him to stay. Therefore millions of people prostrated toward him like billowing wheat fields.

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Summer was gone and autumn followed. Time seemed to have slowed down. Too many things had happened in the past year. For those ordinary people who could only wait for an end of the war, it was a hell of time. But for those who raced against time, it flew too fast. They had a lot more things to do before running out of it.

It was a long year for the Tang Empire. They made concerted efforts from the imperial court to ordinary people. The soldiers sacrificed their lives to withstand the overwhelming attacks from around the world. They could finally strike back in the previous two seasons. The Tang army defeated the Golden Tribe, reclaimed the Qinghe Prefecture and showcased their power and fearlessness to the entire world.

Now they no longer needed to worry about the most powerful enemy in the north and the biggest threat nearby. But the Tang Empire had paid great prices. The Northern Battlefront Army was eliminating the last remaining forces of the Golden Tribe in the heart of the Wilderness. The Southern Battlefront Army and the Yulin Royal Guards were exhausted after the decisive victory over the allied forces of the Divine Halls.

It was not yet time for recovery. The horses could not yet return to the Xianwan Plain. But the Tang Empire needed a break and there was actually a brief period of peace in the human world. However everyone knew that it was merely a deceptive peaceful pause.

The main force of the Tang army was stationed in the Qinghe Prefecture instead of proceeding to the south. They were taking a rest as well as rebuilding the navy. The South Jin was thrown into chaos by the bloody slaughter Ning Que conducted previously. The former second most power kingdom could no longer stop the Tang army by now.

Taoism was defeated in the two major battlefields and lost control. In consideration of the current situation in South Jin, the West-Hill had finally recognized the situation and recalled as fast as possible the troops from invading the Great River Kingdom. They recalled every powerful figure back to the Divine Kingdom of West-Hill.

Currently only the Divine Kingdom of West-Hill, Yan, and some areas in the east part of the continent were still under the control of Taoism. Those more important areas were either already reclaimed by Tang or did not dare to take further actions under the deterrent of Tang. The minor kingdoms like Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen were also undergoing turmoils.

Chen Pipi led the dozen of students of Ye Su and more followers to preach along the coastal line despite the hunting of the assassinates from the Divine Halls. They launched the flames of the New Stream one after another. Taoism was placed at stake and could almost be destroyed at no time.

The New Stream spread swiftly and widely because of Ye Su’s being deified as well as the incredible and indescribable influence he made to followers throughout the world. But it was also because of the universal chaos.

Many people, including some divine priests in the Divine Halls of West-Hill were about to surrender to the tide. They were almost certain that the Divine Halls of West-Hill could no longer reign over the world and would be replaced by Tang. And Taoism would be replaced by the New Stream. Many divine priests from the Taoist temples fled with the fortune they extorted throughout the years. Even the most pious followers of Haotian could no longer find a proper place to pray for Haotian’s protection. No one could bother to eliminate the New Stream any longer.

But was it really a foregone conclusion? As long as the Tang Empire and the Academy did not capture Peach Mountain, the Divine Halls of West-Hill could still stand high on top of the peak and overlook the human world arrogantly. They had acquired countless fortune and resources throughout the years. They still had countless powerful figures. They could last forever with what they already had. Who knew what would happen in the future?

A thousand years ago, Taoism allied the entire world to challenge the Tang. Countless Knowing-Destiny cultivators came out of solitary to join the war against the Tang. The Tang Empire seemed extremely endangered at that time. And Taoism had almost turned the tide. But no one expected that the Headmaster alone would have solved all the problems and established Tang’s invincible position for a thousand years.

No victory could be claimed until the last moment. No war would come to an end until the last battle was finished. Jun Mo practiced the latter, while Ning Que and Ye Hongyu believed in the former. In other words, it had never been simple in the human world. Furthermore, those on top knew one thing for sure: If the victory could not be claimed in Haotian’s Divine Kingdom, the situation in the human could be overturned at any point.

Of course the result of the war in the human world mattered too. Everyone was following the trace of Ning Que. They saw him traveling from the Wilderness to Qinghe Prefecture, and then to the coast of East Sea. They thought he would be heading north to Yan… Because Long Qing was there. People were certain that his next target should be Long Qing.

The powerful figures in the Divine Halls and the cavalrymen from Yan were well prepared for the challenge. Yet he never showed up. No one knew that Ning Que was still in the Lanke Temple. He was practicing inside the temple and recovering in front of the Buddha’s relics. He was also learning how to throw rocks from the kids in the small town.

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