Volume 1, Chapter 41: The Birthday Banquet

Therefore, like Yingren, he felt that writing a few more poems wouldn't hurt; if one path is blocked, another might open. By producing enough verses—all of which were timeless, celebrated masterpieces—he was bound to earn the appreciation of those three gentlemen eventually.

A century-old mansion, no matter how it is renovated, always retains a certain air of decay. Furthermore, ever since the Qi family relatives moved to the capital, this massive estate had been sparsely populated, and now it seemed exceptionally desolate.

Emerging from the Marquis’s mansion, the four guards stationed at the gate dared not show the slightest negligence this time; they all bowed slightly. Zhao Wushang had already stepped forward. He said nothing, but from Qi Ning’s expression, he had already deduced the outcome.

To speak might mean death, but to say nothing was a guaranteed execution of one's entire household. The two jailers who had administered the torture laughed and joked, accepted the gold reward from Head Jailer Liu, and whistled as they sauntered away.

Watching the dust rising in the distance, Su Zhuo stood atop the center of the valley. Through the telepath of the team, he issued his orders. The troops shifted in orderly fashion, and the Zerg army, led by three Flame Demon Insects, swept through the valley like a hot knife through butter.

"Bones and muscles?" Qi Ning wondered. He had only ever heard of people with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, where damp and cold weather exacerbated the pain, yet for Ximen Wuchen, it was hot weather that worsened it. Moreover, Ximen Wuchen was a supreme martial arts expert of the Jianghu, and the Divine Marquis Mansion possessed countless medicinal cures; how could he be plagued by a mere bone and muscle ailment?

Chu Huan was not wearing his official robes, but rather an ordinary brocade garment. Most of the soldiers at Tiangu Fortress were unaware of his true identity.

Su Zhuo knew that although the Zerg generally possessed low intelligence, their decision-makers were quite clever. They understood the strategic significance of capturing Beijing, which was why they had committed massive forces there at the very beginning of the apocalypse.

However, Chen Wunuo had never explained this to anyone, not even when Empress Zhangsun questioned him.

He knew in his heart, however, that there were countless eccentric people in this world. He was not the only one who used a black cloak to conceal his identity, and this black-robed figure might not be the same one he had encountered before.

If this were truly the case, and the stone tablet confirmed his identity but forbade him from viewing its contents, he would not hesitate to summon the elders and destroy the thing entirely.

Construction of the city wall foundation had begun, and Lin Mu also started his work. The initial construction of the base depended solely on his abilities; once the main spaces were excavated, the expansion of the facility could be left to the survivors under his governance.

The street vendor, caught in the center of the collision and explosion of three god-level laws, was completely unharmed, moving through the chaos as effortlessly as a fish in water.

It was a direct, pragmatic, and highly effective principle: if it was a matter of fists, then he would show them that his fists were the greatest under heaven.

Ancestor Tianyue knew that the "Ancestor Zhenshan" was an imposter, but he did not know who was behind the disguise. Of course, he did not believe it was Zhulingsuan, as the other party’s disguise was designed with precautions against him.

Speaking of the dark forces, the Fire Demon could not suppress the rage in his heart. Especially regarding the members of the Dark Alchemy Alliance—he killed them on sight, regardless of how much trouble it might cause.

"Indeed, Your Majesty. Now that the seal is broken, the Great Realm can no longer absorb the spiritual energy from the many fragmented realms. Should we send people to occupy some of these fragments and seal them back up?" some officials asked, heads bowed.

The avatar of the red-robed man, specifically the one tasked with accumulating power, had followed Xiao Yao’s suggestion and hidden all powers except for the strength of the Heavenly Dao.

Hadn't Ancestor Tianyue brought the fake Ancestor Zhenshan here precisely to confirm his identity? And why not ask how that identity was confirmed?

The power of his divine ability far exceeded that of cultivators at the same level. Throughout this exchange, he had beaten the Stone Demon so soundly that it cried out for its father and mother, wailing incessantly.

The nuns of Jingchen Nunnery often descended from the mountain to protect this sanctuary for the local people. Whenever demons or evil spirits disturbed the mortal realm, the nunnery would be the first to dispatch disciples to subdue them. Now, with a cultivator of the Gui-Zhen realm overseeing them, the disciples of Jingchen Nunnery felt even more confident when dealing with such entities.

The Jinan Company was brightly lit at this moment, with department heads sitting stiffly in the large conference room.

After the last cultivator was pushed out by the light emitted from the bronze mirror, fewer than a few hundred thousand people remained. At this moment, another disciple of the Taiqing Sect invoked a stone tablet. The tablet was inscribed with a profound and perfect Dao law, and the power of that law surged forth continuously, leaving Feng Yi deeply shocked.

Yet, no matter the angle, there were flaws in every approach, and none could be considered the perfect solution. Consequently, after Li Shimin proposed his idea, the Chengqing Hall fell into a rare, heavy silence.

Ever since the incident at Mount Lujie, no one had set foot there again. Every cultivator who approached the vicinity of the mountain was deterred by the overwhelming, sea-crushing waves and the world-destroying thunderclouds, not daring to take a single step forward.

As Luo Shizu’s words landed, the Heaven-Extinguishing Fist collided directly with Luo Shiyang’s fist. For Luo Shizu, whether it was the Heaven-Extinguishing Palm or the Heaven-Extinguishing Fist, the method was the same—the path of the Heaven-Shattering Fist taught to him by Feng Yi—allowing him to alternate freely between palm and fist.

On the fourth floor of the Illusion Mist Tavern, in a clean and tidy room, Hua Tian and Qing’er were planning their next steps. According to Hua Tian’s intent, they would wait here until the Illusion Mist Sea opened, then head directly to Linglong Island to seek an audience with the Fairy of Linglong.

"The cycle of time possesses critical nodes. You cannot simply initiate a cycle whenever and wherever you wish."