"Get on board."
Chen Sanshi waved his hand.
On the ground appeared a flying boat.
These were all obtained back then outside Qiantang Prefecture from the array master True Person Daoxuan. Engraved on the flying boat was a 1st-tier upper-grade formation; its speed was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator who was not skilled in escape techniques.
"Voom!"
Chen Sanshi took out a middle-grade spirit stone and set it into the array plate. The instant incomparably rich spiritual qi poured in, the flying boat burst out with astonishing speed, nearly turning into a streak of light as it shot into the sky.
The Battle of Chibi.
Countless warships were burned.
Most of the spirit stones placed inside the Water-Control Grand Formation were wasted; only a small portion of spirit stones were seized.
Just as the flying boat reached an altitude of about 330 meters.
A violent disturbance erupted within the forest.
A wandering swordsman who looked around 30 years old activated a flying talisman and rose into the air. After that, he performed a breathing method; within his body, the upper and middle sets of the 16 Sixteen-Scene Deities shone brilliantly, and surging true force poured forth.
True Force middle stage!
Chen Sanshi naturally knew who this person was.
The old ancestor of the Tianshui Ling family.
But what surprised him somewhat was this:
The true force Ling Kui ultimately displayed was vastly different from the other members of the Ling family.
It was also water-element true force.
Yet the water-element true force he released was not a clear, roaring river like Ling Yun and the others, but filthy water as black as ink.
The broad sword in Ling Kui's hand, which looked hard and sturdy, was wrapped in black, viscous liquid the moment before he swung it. Then it suddenly burst and spread, like sludge that had settled at the bottom of a lake for years being torn up by the roots, or like some eerie black creature. It became a waterfall about 6 meters wide, pouring down toward the retreating flying boat with a sky-covering, earth-darkening sweep.
Fire element!
From Chen Sanshi's 7 apertures, blazing flames burst forth. The edgeless broad saber in his hand was like a blazing mysterious tiger pouncing toward the pitch-black waterfall. Firelight tore through the darkness, and the sky reappeared overhead.
The collision of the 2 streams of true force produced a shockwave that shoved their flying boat back a great distance. The formation inlaid with the middle-grade spirit stone, together with Chen Sanshi's mana control, caused the flying boat's speed to surge again and again.
With 1 strike failing.
If Ling Kui tried to pursue again, he could only be flung far behind, forced to watch helplessly as everyone vanished into the horizon.
This was the shortcoming of martial cultivators.
Spell cultivators could use essence blood to activate high-tier talismans beyond their own realm, but true force martial cultivators could only rely on low-tier talismans for flight. In the end, it was a weakness that was hard to make up for.
And while Chen Sanshi cultivated the martial path, he was also a spell cultivator at the middle stage of Qi Refining. On the Eastern Divine Continent, even if he could not win in a head-on fight, if he wanted to leave, probably no one could stop him.
With his family all at his side, he naturally had no intention of lingering in battle. He ordered Ningxiang and Zhao Zhao to together infuse mana into the flying boat's formation. He only wanted to get away from this place as quickly as possible.
True Force middle stage!
As he controlled the flying boat, he recalled the brief exchange just now.
Sure enough, the higher the realm, the greater the gap became.
Chen Sanshi was now only missing the final deity before he could break through to True Force middle stage, yet even so, after that single clash he felt his arms go numb and his meridians throb with pain.
Moreover, the opponent's true force was extremely strange, carrying an unusual effect.
He raised his saber.
After the exchange, one could see that on the body of the edgeless broad saber, a bizarre water-element true force still clung to it, looking as if black sludge had been smeared on top. While corroding the blade, it could also gnaw away at true force.
Chen Sanshi condensed fire-element true force on the saber again. It made a "sizzle sizzle" sound, and only after burning away that sludge-like power amid thick green smoke could he re-cover the weapon completely.
Not only the weapon.
Even his physical body had invisibly suffered corrosion from the opponent's true force. In his meridians and even within the shrines of the Sixteen-Scene Deities, it was as if sludge had been smeared over everything, like a bone-clinging ulcer. He had to constantly circulate his cultivation to cleanse it away; otherwise, he could not unleash his full strength.
The old ancestor's bizarre true force could weaken an opponent's true force.
Water and fire were originally mutually restraining, and with realm suppression added on top, purging these "bone-clinging ulcers" would be troublesome.
Fortunately, Chen Sanshi was also about to break through to True Force middle stage. Difficult to handle now did not mean it could not be resolved later.
He put away these thoughts and focused on controlling the flying boat.
Ling Kui could not pursue.
For the other Qi Refining cultivators to chase up would be no different from delivering themselves to death.
So very soon.
They entered safe airspace.
Only then did Chen Sanshi have time to exchange a few words with his family.
Chen Duhe craned his neck to look outside the flying boat, looking quite happy. Chen Yunxi, on the other hand, carefully lay against the edge while holding Zhao Zhao's hand, eyes shut tight, not daring to look down.
"Lan jie'er, Senior Sister, you were frightened."
Chen Sanshi paused, then continued, "But everything will be over soon."
So-called family members.
When the clan prospered, they received its blessings; when disaster came, they were also implicated.
In the past.
If one lost a battle, the family might still have a way to live by changing names and hiding.
But now...
If he lost.
The whole family would die together.
"Dad!"
Chen Duhe looked up, pointing with his small hand at the saber in his father's grasp, filled with longing. "I want to learn!"
Chen Sanshi ignored that topic. He lowered his head to look at him and said, "Tell Dad, why did you kill someone just now?"
"He disrespected me!"
Chen Duhe said as if it were only natural.
Hearing this answer again, Chen Sanshi closed his eyes.
That person earlier deserved to be killed.
From a certain angle, it was even a good thing that the child, so young, already knew how to adapt to circumstances, because just now he was protecting his mother.
But the problem lay precisely in that sentence.
"Disrespected me!"
Just because someone "disrespected me"—that alone is enough to kill?
"He'er."
Chen Sanshi opened his eyes again and said in a deep voice, "Why do you think everyone has to respect you?"
Chen Duhe shot back, "Why shouldn't they respect me?"
His tone was utterly matter-of-fact.
"The child goes untaught—the father is at fault."
Even on the battlefield, Chen Sanshi could keep a clear head and steady emotions at all times, yet right now he almost couldn't keep his anger under control.
If he weren't considering that he bore responsibility too—being away from home all year—he would have already struck him on the spot.
"He'er, don't make your father angry."
Gu Xinlan saw her husband's mood was off and moved to step forward to discipline him.
Chen Sanshi raised a hand to signal that she needn't, then sat down cross-legged. Looking at the toddler, he said patiently, "He'er, there's a saying your father used to like very much. It goes: 'Are kings and nobles born with some special seed?'
"What it means is this.
"No one in this world is born destined to be noble. Your father is the same, and so are you.
"So you can't demand that everyone respect you, and you absolutely can't kill someone just because they disrespected you."
Chen Duhe swung his fists and said seriously, "Kings and nobles aren't born with special seed. I have special seed!"
"Hah…"
Chen Sanshi forced down his anger. "What? If I disrespect you, you'll kill me too?!"
"Father and mother gave me life—parents above all!"
Chen Duhe said without a second thought, "Other people aren't kin and aren't close—why can't I kill them?!"
"Who taught you this?"
Chen Sanshi turned his head toward his wife and asked, "Lan jie'er, don't tell me Shen Guiyi taught him this?"
"No, no."
Gu Xinlan explained, "My younger sister has a cold temperament, but she definitely didn't teach He'er to kill people."
"No one taught me!"
Chen Duhe said. "I figured it out myself!"
"You figured out my ass!"
Chen Sanshi twisted his ear. "If you keep going like this and commit some huge mistake, then it'll be my responsibility!"
He also took the chance to check.
To confirm the child had no spiritual root—otherwise, he would have thought it was some special constitution of a devil-incarnate troublemaker.
"It hurts, Dad, it hurts!"
Chen Duhe bared his teeth and grimaced. "Then tell me—if I listen to you, isn't that enough?"
"Fine. Listen carefully."
Chen Sanshi instructed, "From now on, when you're outside, I won't demand that you swallow your anger, but you absolutely must not bully the weak with strength—especially those who are unarmed.
"If outsiders merely disrespect you, you don't need to be humble with them, but you must not take their lives.
"Of course, if someone wants to harm you, then what you did today wasn't wrong."
"Dad, I remember. Can you let go now?"
Chen Duhe was finally freed. He sat on the ground, rubbing his ear. "Then Dad—if I listen to you, can you teach me martial arts?"
"If you can do what your father just said, I will naturally teach you everything I have."
Chen Sanshi emphasized, "But if you dare to recklessly harm the innocent, I will personally cripple your bones."
"I got it, Dad—don't lie to me!"
Chen Duhe still didn't understand, but for the sake of learning martial arts, he agreed anyway.
Everyone said his dad was the number-one spear saint under heaven in Divine Continent. If he was going to learn martial arts, of course he had to learn the strongest.
Chen Sanshi could tell.
This child simply couldn't comprehend what he meant.
But at least he was willing to listen.
As long as he didn't make mistakes, Chen Sanshi could teach him gradually as he grew up.
This was not something to rush.
On the flying boat, things slowly quieted down.
After flying for a long time, Gu Xinlan and the others all leaned back to rest. Only Chen Duhe remained full of energy, holding a slingshot and constantly shooting at birds that flew past in the sky.
Speaking of which.
It was only not long ago that Chen Sanshi learned through letters that his daughter Chen Yunxi had a special beast-taming constitution, and her spiritual root was an upper-grade wood-and-water dual spiritual root—her aptitude was quite good.
In another 2 years, he could pass a cultivation method on to her and have her cultivate together with him.
From Liangzhou to the Central Plains was neither too far nor too close. Even flying would still take 10 days to half a month. Traveling with stops along the way instead became a rare time for the family to be together.
In the end, they stopped in Songlin Prefecture.
From Songlin Prefecture onward lay the Fei River front. According to the intelligence the bluebird had sent back, both armies were already in position, and within the next month—
Chen Sanshi disguised and altered the appearance of all his family members, settled them in a remote place to hide, then used special incense to conceal the aura of the whole family. He also left behind the sound-transmission talismans seized from Shengyun Sect cultivators, ensuring he could know the situation at any time.
Only after making these arrangements did he bid his family farewell and rush to the front.
But in truth, all of this was merely a stopgap.
If he were defeated and died in battle, his family would be found sooner or later.
So he could only win!
Fei River.
Ba County.
The court's million-strong army surged forward in a mighty tide, all of it already rushing to the front.
The remote county town called "Ba County" was now packed with imperial relatives and high ministers.
Under the Prince of Qin's forced order, all officials of the third rank and above in the capital had been dragged here, and the morale of the court's troops greatly surged.
And the second-tier formation master Shan Liangcheng was also working at a breakneck pace to craft the formations needed for this grand array.
Behind the army, enormous stone pillars rose one after another. Their surfaces were carved with densely packed ancient runes, looking solemn and imposing—81 pillars in total, reaching up to the heavens and standing on the earth like celestial columns!
This was the Heavenly Book formation. Combined with the array core forged by a second-tier formation master, its might directly approached that of a second-tier middle-grade formation.
"Immortal Master Shan!"
The Prince of Qin, acting as regent, hurried over. "Scouts from the front have sent back intelligence—the rebel army has already been using the Fei River canal transport to arrive at Kunyang Prefecture in succession. Should we immediately send troops and strike them mid-crossing? Maybe we can force them into a situation where their forces can't concentrate, scattered into the small towns on the western side—then we break them one by one!"
"I said before—do not split the army. At most, hold only the important passes."
Shan Liangcheng said calmly. "When the formation and troops have finished assembling, we attack Kunyang City head-on. Do not create unnecessary complications."
"Mm. This prince trusts Immortal Master Shan's judgment!"
The Prince of Qin agreed and continued handling affairs of state.
Shan Liangcheng then looked at a fellow sect cultivator and asked, "Has Senior Ling returned from killing Chen Sanshi's family yet?"
"Not long ago, he sent word that he's already on the way back."
The cultivator paused, then added, "And through cultivators of 'Yunding Palace' behind Dongqing, they learned that Chen Sanshi's lawful wife, Gu Xinlan, was originally named 'Shen Xizhi'—the Eldest Princess of the Qing Kingdom. His son was established as Crown Prince by the previous empress."
"Oh?"
Shan Liangcheng gave a slight nod, silently noting it down, but he didn't pursue the topic. He only said, "That's about enough. Prepare—begin the war."
Kunyang City.
When Chen Sanshi returned here, the army had already finished assembling.
There were 200,000 troops in the city in total. Of these, about 75,000 men came from the 5 camps of the Northern Liang army; the rest were court troops.
And the Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan imitated the Prince of Qin—he likewise brought the civil and military officials, coming with an imperial expedition in person.
Both sides…
War was imminent!
Chen Sanshi drove his artifact and personally conducted one final terrain reconnaissance.
From several hundred zhang in the air, he could already see the court's army—dense ranks of soldiers and encampments almost covering the entire eastern land of Yuzhou. The sheer numbers made one's tongue click in astonishment.
After night fell, he silently arrived at certain specific terrain points. At each position he left behind several formation flags, then took out the Mystic Pearl and poured a great deal of mystic qi into it. The formation flags, carrying that mystic qi, slipped underground and vanished without a trace.
After the great victory at Chibi.
The mystic qi within the Mystic Pearl surged again.
But it could not be abused—there would be a major use for it later.
Chen Sanshi repeated the method of planting formation flags. In the end, within a radius of 1,000 li, he planted 182 formation flags in total—counted as the hidden hand he had prepared for this great battle.
After finishing all this, he used the cover of night to return to Kunyang City.
On the ground.
The enemy campfires were scattered like stars, like the lights of 10,000 households.
Both sides were already ready.
If nothing unexpected happened, the war would begin no later than tomorrow.
A million troops—if paired with the Heavenly Book formation—would likely display astonishing might.
But since things had come to this, there was only forward.
After this battle.
In Eastern Divine Continent, there would be no more enemies.