Of course, Xiang Yu did not intend to pursue the path of immortality cultivation. Cultivating his domineering aura to the Heavenly Realm and reaching a lifespan of celestial length would no longer be a problem, and there would be no heavenly tribulation.
However, the difficulty of the Heavenly Realm of Overbearing Power is many times greater than that of the Earthly Realm. The Earthly Realm only requires the control range of Overbearing Power energy to exceed one hundred miles, while the control range of the Heavenly Realm cannot be measured in miles; it must be able to cover the entire plane!
In the early stages of the Heavenly Realm, one can use domineering energy to cover lower-level planes; in the middle stages, one can cover middle-level planes; and in the later stages, one can cover higher-level planes. This only refers to the requirements regarding the coverage area.
There are other conditions that need to be met to advance to the Heavenly Realm, and it is too early to mention them now. Xiang Yu has only recently advanced to the Earthly Realm, and he still needs to accumulate experience for a period of time before he can continue to seek breakthroughs.
Moreover, there is an even more important problem: even if Xiang Yu can now control half a plane, his domineering energy is not enough. He needs to fight, to fight to the death.
Therefore, Xiang Yu must go to the spirit realm or other mid-to-high-level planes as soon as possible to find a powerful opponent.
When Xiang Yu left the Demon Source Sea, he did two things: first, he bound a shadow system to the Xuan Turtle; second, he left Tong Mo in the Demon Source Sea, allowing him to integrate the forces of the demon cultivators, restrain them from committing evil deeds outside, and also use him as a means to train the Zhongyuan cultivators.
Soon after, the demonic cultivators and traitors of the Central Yuan Continent were completely purged. The sects of the five southeastern kingdoms, including Wu and Yue, merged to form the new Feather God Sect. At the same time, they absorbed many cultivators whose sects were destroyed during this demonic invasion, making the Feather God Sect instantly the number one immortal cultivation sect in the Central Yuan Continent and even the entire world.
The surviving cultivators from various countries who were unwilling to enter the Feather God Sect returned to their respective countries to re-establish their sects. Each country only established one sect, but within each sect, it could be divided into many branches, with each sect's heritage preserved by peak.
Then, Xiang Yu announced the establishment of the Feather God Alliance, which brought all sects of the Central Plains Continent into the alliance, thus completing the unification of the Central Plains Continent.
The Feather God has become a recognized true god in the cultivation world and mortal kingdoms of this plane. More and more people worship the Feather God. When the disciples of the Feather God Sect go out to train, they will also do chivalrous deeds, making the Feather God even more efficacious.
During this time, Xiang Yu, Yu Ji, and the others had already discussed and decided to go to the Spirit Realm together, where the concentration of spiritual energy was higher, making cultivation faster.
Meanwhile, the various generals of the Great Chu Empire also completed some tasks in lower-level planes one after another. Hao Jiu's smile never stopped, and he made one windfall after another. He only encountered some trouble in the late Tang Dynasty plane, but several reinforcements had already been sent to his aid.
On Storm Island, Xiang Yu repositioned the spirit realm teleportation array. "Are you ready?"
Shi Potian's lips twitched violently. "Ready."
"Then let's activate the teleportation array and head to the Spirit Realm together!"
Chapter 478 Respect and Reflection
Late Tang Dynasty setting, Jinyang, execution ground.
A tall and strong prisoner lay on his back on the ground, his hands, feet and neck bound with ropes, the other ends of which were tied to five carriages.
"Thirteenth Brother, tell me how bad your reputation is. Not only is there no one to plead for you, but I'm the only one who came to see you off." The speaker was dressed in silver armor and was in his thirties. He looked at the prisoner lying on the ground with a playful expression.
Then, the silver-armored general waved his hand lightly, and five carriages moved forward a few steps, pulling the prisoner up from the ground. They were just waiting for the general's order to tear off the prisoner's head and limbs.
This was an ancient form of extreme punishment known as dismemberment by chariot or being torn apart by five horses.
However, calling the dismemberment by chariot "dismemberment by five horses" is not accurate at this time, because there were not only five horses, but two horses in each chariot. It should be called "dismemberment by ten horses".
"Then I thank you, Fourth Brother. Come on, since my godfather insists on my death, I'll just die a quick death." The prisoner closed his eyes, as if he were talking about something trivial.
The silver-armored general walked up to the prisoner, looked down at the thirteenth brother he was talking about, and sneered: "You've figured it out, you're at peace now? Hehe, but as your older brother, I can't bear to let you become a fool."
I admit, I was the one who falsely accused you of treason to my godfather, but so what? My godfather is so wise and powerful, he actually believed me! To be honest, I was quite surprised myself. Don't you think he'd been looking for an excuse to get rid of you all along?
"Li, Cun, Xin! Stop trying to sow discord between us, father and son!" The prisoner's eyes widened suddenly, and the ropes began to shake violently.
Li Cunxin sneered, "Li Cunxiao, have you forgotten about your betrayal of your father so quickly? Do you think an apology and admitting your mistake will make everything alright? You really think of yourself as his son? But you're only two years younger than him, aren't you? Aren't you ashamed to repeatedly play the role of a son to someone your own age?"
“Aren’t you only six years younger than him? It’s like the pot calling the kettle black,” Li Cunxiao said through gritted teeth.
“But I never really considered him my godfather. Unlike you, who was about to die and still thought about being a filial son to Li Keyong, thinking that you would be fine after being punished by your loving father for making a mistake. You are incredibly foolish and have wasted your martial arts skills.”
"Prince Jin is not a soft-hearted man. To him, you are just an adopted son with no use. Even before you rebelled, Prince Jin suspected you. Now that you have rebelled, what's more, it's pointless to say more. For the sake of our brotherhood, I'll give you a quick death." Li Cunxin turned and walked to the side.
"Godfather, you will definitely regret losing me!" Li Cunxiao said angrily through tears.
"He won't!" Li Cunxin shouted after saying that, "Full speed ahead, execute him!"
"Giddy up!" the five coachmen shouted at the same time, and the ten warhorses strode forward with all their might, their hooves digging into the ground.
The dismemberment scene that Li Cunxin had envisioned did not occur. The five carriages not only failed to make any progress, but were instead pulled back by Li Cunxiao!
"Hey!" Li Cunxiao roared, exerted his strength, and landed back on the ground.
Li Cunxin gasped, then roared in fury, "Idiots! Back the car up a bit before you sprint!"
Soon, the carriage reversed several steps.
"Giddy up!" The five carriages pushed off again. This time, with a running start, their power was naturally increased, but it was still not enough.
Li Cunxiao clenched his teeth, his face flushed red. The ropes on his limbs didn't bother him, but the one on his head was extremely uncomfortable.
In truth, he didn't want to resist. What would be the point of resisting? Even if he could break the ropes, it would just be another way to die. At this point, breaking out would be even more difficult than when he was besieged by the army. It would be impossible to escape the execution ground.
People say he has the courage of a hegemon, but he himself knows very well that the hegemon was able to fight his way out of Gaixia when he was surrounded by enemies on all sides. If he had that ability, he wouldn't have pinned his hopes on the bond between father and son.
When he rebelled, he was forced to do so. Prince Li Keyong of Jin listened to Li Cunxin's slander and no longer trusted him, which made him seek another way out in anger and choose to submit to the court.
However, he was betrayed by Wang Rong, Yuan Fengtao and others, and was eventually trapped in the city. Unable to break out and running out of food, he surrendered, which led to his suffering of being torn apart by chariots.
Li Cunxiao deeply regretted his actions. He felt that he should have committed suicide on the city wall that day, rather than being torn apart by chariots. Moreover, he had endured countless humiliations and sufferings during these extra days.
Although it sounds impressive to survive being torn apart by chariots multiple times, the longer the torn apart lasts, the longer the suffering lasts. Once you're torn to pieces, it's actually much easier.
Li Cunxin's face was ashen. "This time, retreat more and charge together on my command!"
"Hahaha... Fourth Brother, you can't kill me like this. If you want to tear me apart by chariots, there's only one way."
That means severing my tendons in my hands and feet, rendering them unable to exert force, and then breaking my knee and elbow bones, disconnecting my limbs. Only in this way could they possibly kill me.
We've been brothers for so many years, so for my sake, please give me a quick death so you can return and report back soon.
Li Cunxiao truly did not want to struggle any longer and only wished for a quick death, even if it meant enduring the pain of broken tendons and shattered bones. Li Cunxin would certainly not refuse this request.
Li Cunxin smiled coldly, drew his sword, and with two swift strokes severed Li Cunxiao's Achilles tendon, followed by his knee and wrist tendons.
"Hey, the Thirteen Protectors' innate superhuman strength is indeed well-deserved, not inferior to the Overlord at all. Speaking of which, you and the Overlord do have some similarities. Both of you are incredibly strong, both are exceptionally brave, and both suffered only one defeat in your lives. The Overlord was dismembered after his death, while you will be dismembered to die."
However, Xiang Yu was at least a powerful ruler who divided the land among himself; even Liu Bang had submitted to him. You, on the other hand, are merely a fierce general, or perhaps a brainless brute? In short, your level is too low; you're not worthy of respect!
"Li! Cun! Xin! How dare you humiliate me like this! I will haunt you even as a ghost!" Li Cunxiao struggled violently, but what could he do with his bones broken and tendons snapped?
“He’s right. You’ve wasted your divine strength. You clearly had a chance to fight back, or even capture or kill him, but instead of fighting back, you gave him ideas to kill you. When has the Overlord ever been as cowardly as you?” The coachman who had been dismembered jumped off the carriage and walked over.
Li Cunxiao was puzzled. He didn't know this person, but what was the purpose of this person jumping out to say these things at this time?
Li Cunxin was completely bewildered. "Who are you?"
“The one who saved him. I don’t want to kill you, but I must take this person with me. If you try to stop me, don’t blame me.” The coachman reached out and ripped off the mask from his face, revealing his true face—it was Liu Yan!
"You want to save a cripple? Haha, you say he wasted his chance to fight back, but aren't you the same? If you have the ability to save him, why didn't you do it before he was crippled?" Li Cunxin said disdainfully, while brandishing the sword in his hand.
"Because it's easier to subdue him now. Li Cunxiao, the opportunity is in front of you. If you want to live, agree." As Liu Yan spoke, a black halberd suddenly appeared in his hand, and his aura surged instantly, even faintly displaying a domineering power!
"No!
Please call me.
Peace, respect, and reflection!
Chapter 479 Resurrection
Why did Liu Yan come to the late Tang Dynasty world to complete a mission?
Firstly, he has also comprehended the realm of domineering protection and is trying to break through to the Profound Realm.
Secondly, Liu Xiu has been resurrected and can take his place in guarding the new final plane.
For Liu Yan, staying in his original plane was quite boring, and he had no rivals. It was better to go out and do missions, especially since he had already received training.
If we were to say who is most likely to be the host in the late Tang Dynasty world, Li Cunxiao, who was later known as "no king is better than Ba, no general is better than Li", would naturally be a strong suspect. Hao Jiu also gave Liu Yan this hint.
Therefore, Liu Yan came to investigate Li Cunxiao.
As it happened, Li Cunxiao was defeated and captured. A person who was about to be torn apart by chariots was unlikely to be the host. However, Li Cunxiao survived the torn apart, which aroused Liu Yan's suspicion.
However, Hao Jiu told Liu Yan that this was possible. With his superhuman strength and superb martial arts skills, Li Cunxiao's ability to stand at the pinnacle of the general level was certainly not undeserved.
Of course, many military generals of the Great Chu Empire, including Liu Yan, were dissatisfied, believing that the saying "no general is better than Li" only applied to the late Tang Dynasty. It was not that Li Cunxiao was so strong, but that his opponents were too weak!
However, after witnessing Li Cunxiao's survival despite being torn apart by chariots, Liu Yan somewhat acknowledged Li Cunxiao's strength. He was indeed quite powerful among mortals, but his style of doing things was infuriating.
Not only did he act like a son to his peers, but he also acted as if a son was afraid of his father. Otherwise, how could he have ended up being torn apart by chariots?
Before Li Cunxiao was captured, he actually had the upper hand. He launched a surprise attack on Li Cunxin's camp and almost killed him. Later, he was also locked in a stalemate with Li Keyong's army.
Li Keyong wanted to dig trenches and build defensive fortifications to surround the city, but he was unable to complete the work due to Li Cunxiao's attacks.
At this point, Yuan Fengtao, a general serving Li Cunxiao, said, "What you fear is the Prince of Jin. If you allow them to complete the trenches, the Prince of Jin will naturally leave. Once he's gone, who will be your match?"
Li Cunxiao thought it made sense and did as Yuan Fengtao suggested. How afraid was he of Li Keyong? Even his own son, who was beaten from childhood, wasn't this afraid of him.
I'm so scared my IQ is practically dropping to negative levels!
Once Li Keyong's army had firmly established itself and built trenches and fortifications, Li Cunxiao was unable to break through. He waited until the city ran out of food before climbing the city wall to plead his case and admit his mistakes.
Moved by Li Keyong's words, he sent someone to bring Li Cunxiao to his central command tent. Then, he changed his attitude and launched a scathing attack, accusing Li Cunxiao of treason and sending him back to Jinyang to be executed by dismemberment.
This move was so brilliant it blew the Thirteen Protectors' eyes out of them; Li Cunxiao was captured without even realizing it!
Later, during the dismemberment process, Li Cunxiao even gave Li Cunxin advice on how to kill him, which greatly angered Liu Yan.
But none of this was as shocking to Liu Yan as Li Cunxiao's "no." Could it be that Li Cunxiao had rejected the divine object?
Liu Yan had already made up his mind: if this guy really dared to refuse the God of Wine's kindness, then he wouldn't save him; he was beyond saving!
Fortunately, Li Cunxiao only denied the name 'Li Cunxiao', and used his name before he was adopted by Li Keyong, An Jingsi.
This also represents an attitude: he has completely given up his status as Li Keyong's adopted son and the Thirteen Protectors, and has been reborn!
"An Jingsi, do you want to avenge yourself by killing your enemy?" Liu Yan said, swinging his halberd and cutting the ropes binding An Jingsi.
Swish, swish, swish...
With the ropes broken, An Jingsi regained his freedom.
"Yes!" An Jingsi knew he was crippled by broken bones, but that was what he really thought, so he said it.
"Okay!" Liu Yan said, taking out a healing pill, then paused, biting off half of it, and putting the other half away.
"Hahaha... Li Cunxiao, you cripple, you still want to kill me? You two look around, my troops have already surrounded you!" Li Cunxin laughed wildly, not afraid at all. Li Cunxiao was crippled, so how powerful could that coachman be?
"Eat it, believe in the Overlord, and you will gain eternal life." Liu Yan stuffed half a healing pill into An Jingsi's mouth.