Jiang Xingyan sent a detailed battle report to Xiao Ao, describing everything from the ambush at the border, to the assault on Beiluo, to the capture of its capital. She documented everything thoroughly—especially the heartfelt submission of the Beiluo people and the casualties suffered by the Huo Army—and petitioned Xiao Ao to grant compensation to the fallen heroes.
She wasn’t in a hurry to return to the capital. She needed to wait until Yun Ge’er woke up.
Early that morning, with Sun Yaxiang’s help, Jiang Xingyan changed her wound dressings. She tied the bandage knot so tightly that even the unconscious Huo Ci winced in pain. Jiang Xingyan laughed and said pitifully, “Don’t squeeze Medical Woman Sun’s hand, alright?”
Sun Yaxiang’s face flushed, and she spat lightly. “I helped you so much, and you never even let me in on the secret. I thought General Huo was you the whole time, and I felt so sorry for you!”
Jiang Xingyan gave her a deep bow. “Thank you, Medical Woman Sun, for saving me so many times. Once we swap back, I’ll surely repay you.”
Sun Yaxiang snorted, turned, and walked away. “I don’t need your repayment. Just stop making me angry all the time, and I’ll be grateful enough.”
Jiang Xingyan chuckled. The Sun family’s stubbornness really did run in the blood.
She turned her gaze to the four people lying neatly on the camp beds nearby, and the brief lightness in her heart instantly sank.
Yun Ge’er’s breathing was faint, but Sun Yaxiang, who had taken his pulse, said he wasn’t in mortal danger—just suffering from a kind of dissociative spirit disorder. Jiang Xingyan suddenly understood: Yun Ge’er’s soul had likely been bound and taken away to be punished. After all, he had helped her defy fate itself, which was unacceptable to the natural order. The price he had to pay was beyond her imagination.
She gently wiped Yun Chunfeng’s body and whispered to him, “Yun Ge’er, hang in there. Our good days are still ahead. Do you remember? The day after tomorrow is my birthday. I haven’t celebrated it in a long time. When I was little in Jiangnan, my grandfather would always find new ways to make me laugh. I had so many curious little trinkets. He made longevity noodles for me with his own hands, and you played with me all day long, as if you wanted to gather every fun thing in all of Jiangnan just for me.”
Jiang Xingyan let out a soft sigh. “We used to bet on books and spill tea while laughing, but back then, we thought it was all just ordinary.”
Far away, suspended on the Immortal Execution Platform, Yun Chunfeng hung his head, his white hair covering his face. A single crystalline tear rolled down his cheek.
“Bring on the remaining eighty-one heavenly thunderbolts—all at once!”
“Ninth Junior Brother, you’re insane!”
“There are only nine days left, Ninth Junior Brother—don’t be reckless!”
“All at once will reduce you to ashes!”
Yun Chunfeng suddenly raised his head and stared straight at the Heavenly Dao. “Helping the righteous is now considered defying Heaven. Stirring chaos in the world goes unpunished. Where is the law? Where is justice? Those visitors from beyond recklessly alter and destroy our world. And when we merely fight back, we are punished with heavenly thunder—what kind of reasoning is that!”
A small, round figure stepped in front of Yun Chunfeng. Behind her, several silhouettes flashed, and eight disciples lined up on both sides.
“Emperor Fuxi, are you really going to keep tolerating the outsiders and letting them destroy our original Heavenly Dao?!”
High above, hidden among the dense clouds, Emperor Fuxi sighed.
“Brother, it’s time.”
Beside Emperor Fuxi stood a beautiful woman with a glowing complexion and the lower body of a serpent. Her large, innocent eyes blinked with determination. “Brother, we’ve endured again and again, and all we got in return was their escalation. At first, they only changed the fates of a few mortals. Now they’re bringing things that don’t even belong to this era into our world—what kind of nonsense is that? If this continues, won’t we become their slaves, giving them whatever they ask for?”
Storm clouds gathered in Emperor Fuxi’s eyes, waiting for that final straw.
“Big Brother, this is bad!”
Emperor Shennong came racing from afar. “The Child of Destiny in Nanzhanzhou had his fate stolen by outsiders—his soul has just been obliterated, and heaven and earth have turned dark in mourning. The Chosen Woman in Xihezhou had her inner core gouged out, her immortal bones ripped away, and she was thrown into the Demon Refining Abyss. Dong Shengzhou is engulfed in war, with over half its people dead or wounded—all thanks to the outsiders stirring up trouble everywhere!”
“Enough! If the Heavenly Dao is like this, then I’ll break through this sky! Do they really think we’re afraid of them?!”
Emperor Fuxi waved his sleeve, and the dense thunderclouds above instantly dispersed. “All immortals, heed my command!”
“Here!”
In an instant, countless gods manifested across the sky.
“Restore every thread of fate across the four continents to its rightful path! Expel all outsiders! If they resist, kill without mercy!”
“Understood!”
“Emperor Fuxi, for such a major undertaking, how could you not call on us poor monks?”
The three celestial emperors turned around together to find the Ancient Buddha Dipankara, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya, accompanied by countless Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and five hundred Arhats, all arriving to lend their support.
“This Saha world is also a land we can call home. Emperor Fuxi has been magnanimous and merciful, embracing all with the broad-mindedness of a mountain that turns no dust away and a sea that accepts all rivers. You wished to tolerate all outsiders. But when Heaven is unjust, our lands have suffered long enough! Since war is upon us, we Buddhists cannot stand idly by—we have come to request battle!”
Emperor Fuxi strode forward to welcome them.
The four continents of this world had always been protected by both immortals and Buddhas. The people believed in immortals, or in Buddhas, or in both—each minding their own affairs without conflict. Now, countless outsiders, sheltered by the Heavenly Dao, were stirring up trouble across the four continents. Even small changes could lead to catastrophic consequences. The continents were spiraling out of control, leaving them no choice but to act.
“Buddha of the Past, Buddha of the Present, Buddha of the Future—you’ve come at just the right time. This great calamity requires the combined strength of both immortals and Buddhas to turn disaster into blessing!”
Before the three Buddhas could respond, the Heavenly Dao suddenly let out a deafening roar, as if it were laughing wildly.
“You are nothing more than a wisp of my breath—not even my avatars—and you dare to oppose the Heavenly Dao?! This world was created by me, and it is I who decides its fate. Thunder and rain, favor and wrath—all are my grace. If I decree your destruction, how dare you act on your own!”
Emperor Fuxi’s gaze sharpened. “Heaven and Earth are not benevolent—they treat all things as straw dogs. The Heavenly Dao is not benevolent—it treats all living beings as straw dogs. We are not puppets! The lives of countless beings are in our hands—we will not go to the slaughter like lambs!”
“Then let’s see you try!”
Heavenly thunderbolts filled the entire Milky Way, rushing forward like a flood from a great river, threatening to drown all the immortals and Buddhas.
“Form ranks! Face the enemy!”
At Emperor Fuxi’s command, the immortals and Buddhas unleashed all their power—countless beams of gold, white, and purple light surged toward the thunderbolts, barely holding their ground.
“Count me in!”
Crack!
Yun Chunfeng broke free from the black iron chains binding him.
“Heaven and Earth, dark and yellow! The universe vast and wild! Surging and boundless, grant me your holy light!”
A long-unseen aura of sagehood swept across the realm.
The Heavenly Dao was stunned. “How can this be?! Didn’t I send people to eliminate everyone who could possibly become a sage?! How does he have this power? This makes no sense!”
Amid the Heavenly Dao’s enraged roar, the combined power of the immortals and Buddhas overpowered the thunderbolts. The first battle—a complete victory!
