The ability to secure transit for a grand army within two days speaks volumes. It demonstrates that the smaller states situated between Qi and Xia have already been subjugated by Qi. Regardless of their own desires, none could resist Qi’s pronouncements.

Likely, their fate mirrors that of the former state of Yang, merely awaiting the inevitable clash between Qi and Xia to determine their future – or perhaps remaining as centers for the production of Opening Pulse Pills.

However, this is, after all, merely a borrowed path for an expedition. Qi has only deployed one branch of the Qi Nine Legions. To speak of outright annihilation of Xia in a single battle would be utterly unrealistic.

Yet, the act of capturing Jianfeng Mountain itself carries immense political weight. Furthermore, this conflict effortlessly suppressed domestic unrest, quelling a long-simmering turmoil before it could truly erupt.

All that remains is for the Blue Cards to slowly ensnare those hidden shadows.

Chongxuan Sheng remarked, “My uncle said long ago that Xia has been restless in recent years, and a confrontation between Qi and Xia is inevitable. None of us anticipated it would arrive so swiftly. Perhaps this is not the ideal moment, but it also feels… strangely opportune! Whether it can truly achieve the effect of crippling Xia depends entirely on how far this battle extends.”

Chongxuan Chu Liang frequently discussed military strategy with Chongxuan Sheng, and it can be said that Chongxuan Sheng’s understanding of military affairs was entirely inherited from Fierce Slaughter. As one of Qi’s preeminent generals today, Fierce Slaughter’s battlefield intuition is, naturally, sharp.

Thus, this move by the Qi Emperor has a third layer of purpose… to cripple Xia, to rein in their restless ambitions, and to re-establish the political dynamic between Qi and Xia. And merely killing one Divine Passage Outer Building realm cultivator, Hua Fangyu, is undeniably insufficient.

Jianfeng Mountain must be held!

Returning to this grand conflict.

Although Xia lacks the prestige it once held when it contended for hegemony with Qi, it remains a considerable power in the Southern Domain, vying with the state of Wei in the eastern part of the Southern Domain, with victories and losses on both sides. Of course, it cannot compare to the state of Chu, which has nearly unified half of the Southern Domain, yet it is absolutely not comparable to a state like Yang, whose ancestral temples have crumbled.

The “Spring Death” army is Great Qi’s second-ranked elite force, boasting tens of thousands of soldiers. It is impossible for them all to surge into Xia country at once. Therefore, the force that broke through the border and breached Jianfeng Mountain was merely a vanguard. And the Dead Prisoner Camp, led by Wang Yiwu, served as the arrowhead of this vanguard.

For Wang Yiwu, a mere Inner Treasury realm cultivator, to array-slay Hua Fangyu, the defending general of Jianfeng Mountain, is already an extraordinary achievement. Yet, to hold Jianfeng Mountain against a counterattack by the Xia army would be impossible.

How, then, was this accomplished? Could the subsequent forces of the Spring Death army have arrived in time?

Jiang Wang could not discern the details, lacking further intelligence. He could only say, “We can only observe and await developments!”

That day, he continued his cultivation.

For ordinary people, it was just another day passing. For those who strive, it was twelve hours of grueling effort.

The atmosphere within Linzi shifted with astonishing speed. The day before, hearts were still filled with apprehension, everyone secretly hiding in corners, discussing who was about to face great misfortune, and who stood to benefit… But today, all voices were focused on the frontline war situation.

Matters such as “Cui Zhu’s regicide attempt” and “Zhang Yong’s tearful plea at the shrine,” which had previously stirred confusion and unrest within the court and among the populace, were now almost entirely forgotten.

“How can the weak Xia resist the might of my Great Qi’s military edge?”

“We must capture the Xia Emperor in the Grand Temple!”

“That might not be necessary. Perhaps the army will just advance and deliver a few swift blows.”

“To dare attempt regicide against my emperor, they must repay with blood!”

The city of Linzi was abuzz with such pronouncements. Everyone was captivated by the prospect of another war between Qi and Xia, occurring after a thirty-one-year hiatus. And the overwhelming majority of the people of Qi were filled with absolute confidence.

Qi’s political situation is unstable? A mere Cui Zhu couldn’t even get within a hundred paces of the Qi Emperor.

The Qi Emperor’s harsh treatment of meritorious ministers? How the descendants of the Marquis of Nine Returns lost their hereditary titles is etched in history like iron and will be remembered clearly. When the events unfolded, public opinion surged, and no one cared about those matters. But when more significant events occurred, turning back to pacify public opinion became considerably simpler.

With Chongxuan Sheng’s background and status, he was, of course, among the first to receive news of the frontline war reports.

Jiang Wang finally learned how the vanguard of the Spring Death army managed to hold Jianfeng Mountain—

Great Qi’s Military God, Jiang Mengxiong!

Three hours after Wang Yiwu, serving as the vanguard’s arrowhead, array-slayed the Xia general Hua Fangyu and breached Jianfeng Mountain – precisely when the Xia forces, having suffered multiple failed charges, were urgently transferring reinforcements and powerful cultivators for a counterattack…

Great Qi’s Military God, Jiang Mengxiong, ascended to the peak of Jianfeng Mountain.

That individual, with a single punch, shattered the western side of Jianfeng Mountain, creating an abyss a hundred li wide. He then gazed towards the Xia capital and declared, “The Qi Emperor is far away in the Eastern Region. Why must your country undertake such a distant journey? I am here now, awaiting. Strike me!”

And thereafter…

He single-handedly faced a siege by one True Monarch and five True Persons from Xia, and on the spot, he killed one True Person!

At that moment, blood rained down from the heavens, mourning the loss of a contemporary True Person! The loss of a contemporary True Person is an incredibly significant event! In the war that occurred in the Western Border, the death of True Person Han Yin almost brought the conflict to an end. Xia’s strength, while far surpassing Zhuang Yong’s, could not easily bear such a loss.

The Xia cultivators besieging Jiang Mengxiong were forced to retreat, beginning to mobilize their grand army, intending to gather the power of the army formations to wear down Jiang Mengxiong’s True Monarch body.

However, this provided a crucial window of time, allowing the main forces of the Spring Death army to successively arrive.

Of course, there were also those who angrily accused from within the formations, claiming that Xia had no knowledge of Cui Zhu’s regicide attempt against the Qi Emperor. They argued, “Xia is an honorable state; how could it be involved in an assassination plot?” They also asserted, “Even if Xia were to carry out an assassination, it would not send a mere Inner Treasury cultivator.” Furthermore, they claimed… “Qi is the overlord of the Eastern Region; how can it, based on a single accusation, raise an unrighteous army?”

Jiang Mengxiong merely replied with a single sentence: “I am here now, I seek nothing else. Decide for yourselves!”

The attitude of the Great Qi Empire was abundantly clear – Great Qi did not need to prove whether or not Cui Zhu was truly a Xia assassin. It was Xia that needed to prove that Cui Zhu was *not* a Xia assassin!

However, these matters were, for the time being, unrelated to Jiang Wang. The three-day period of burning incense had passed, and it was now time to proceed to the Hot Spring Palace.

Within the three-hundred-li city of Linzi, countless legends circulated. These tales, said to encompass a vast array of folklore, had diverse origins. Some held a degree of credibility, while others were purely nonsensical.

Legend had it that in ancient times, the location of Linzi contained a frigid pool, bone-chilling to the touch, capable of freezing and killing upon contact. During that era, a powerful cultivator engaged in a great battle high in the sky, tearing open a rift, from which azure blood dripped into the cold pool. This single cold pool, unexpectedly, transformed into a hot spring. The people of that time named it “Heaven Spring.”

It was said that bathing in this spring water could lead to the expectation of the Divine Arrival.

Of course, the present-day Jiang Wang was well aware that the so-called “Heaven Spring” within the Hot Spring Palace was, in reality, the result of the Qi imperial hospital adding numerous top-tier medicinal ingredients, formulated with secret methods, and then combined with that particular hot spring, which did indeed possess some spiritual energy. While it couldn’t quite achieve a complete shedding of the mortal body and replacement of bones, it was quite effective in nourishing the body, containing the spirit, and strengthening the physique.

As for the notion of expecting the Divine Arrival after a celestial bath…

Among those who were not descendants of the imperial family, yet were granted the privilege of a “celestial bath,” which one was *not* already expecting the Divine Arrival?

Of the three individuals who came to the Hot Spring Palace this time, Ji Zhaonan had already achieved the Divine Arrival realm for who knows how long!