Given the tyrant's temper, what else can be done?
Let's just do it! This will allow us to unify the entire universe!
Chapter 460 Crisis
The Yue Kingdom has been concealing the news of the third Nascent Soul cultivator, actually biding its time. They originally wanted to advance the cultivation world of the Yue Kingdom further, and had long targeted a spiritual vein of the Immortal Spear Sect of the neighboring Ou Kingdom to the south.
Like the Yue Kingdom, the Ou Kingdom has six immortal cultivation sects and two Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
However, after the Grand Elder of Tianhun Valley successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, the strength of Yue Kingdom instantly surged. With some preparation, once they seized that spiritual vein, the other factions in Ou Kingdom might not dare to launch a full-scale war.
The nine sects of Wu, north of Yue, each possessed three spiritual veins and had Nascent Soul cultivators in each. They were incredibly wealthy and the strongest nation in the southeast of the Central Yuan Continent.
They have reached a critical point; further expansion would threaten other powerful forces in the Central Plains. Therefore, they have long abandoned any plans for expansion and are instead secretly supporting the cultivation sects of neighboring countries such as Yue.
Therefore, once Yue and Ou go to war, Wu will not only not stop Yue, but will even step in as a peacemaker after the fact, quell the dispute, and make Ou accept the situation and cede that spiritual vein to Yue.
If it weren't for the fact that further south of Ou Kingdom was the wilderness, and Yue Kingdom didn't want to directly confront the barbarians, they could have simply annexed Yue Kingdom.
The other two neighboring states of Yue, Pan and Yang, were about as powerful as Ou, but they faced pressure from the western states and were unlikely to interfere in Ou's affairs.
Therefore, the Yue Kingdom has ushered in a good opportunity for development. It is impossible for it to surpass the Wu Kingdom and become the hegemon of the southeast, but at least it can make the cultivation sects of the Yue Kingdom live a more prosperous life.
However, the unexpected disappearance of the Path to Heaven shattered the dreams of the Yue Kingdom.
The current situation is that the four kingdoms of Wu, Pan, Yang, and Ou are jointly attacking the kingdom of Yue. On the surface, the kingdom of Wu has ten Nascent Soul cultivators, one of whom is in the late stage of Nascent Soul. The other three kingdoms together have six Nascent Soul level warriors.
Moreover, the western countries that had been harassing the two kingdoms of Pan and Yang would not intervene at this time.
It can be said that the Yue Kingdom has reached a dead end. Even if they find the stolen teleportation array now and hand it over, they will not gain any merit. On the contrary, it will only confirm their serious crime of stealing the teleportation array.
For the entire Zhongyuan Continent and even the cultivation forces in this plane, the Yue Kingdom is insignificant. Destroying it to deter others is more effective than preserving its fighting strength.
Xiang Yu did not regret taking away the teleportation array, because that teleportation array leading to the upper realm would be a hidden danger sooner or later, but Xiang Yu really wanted to prevent the tragedy of the Yue Kingdom from happening.
Some suggested diverting the trouble eastward by sending the teleportation array to an overseas island nation, but Zhang Liang opposed this, because it was too late.
If the teleportation array had appeared on the overseas island nation before the Central Plains made the decision to destroy the Yue Kingdom, it could definitely have saved the Yue Kingdom.
But now, the Central Plains is not using overseas island nations as sacrifices, but instead targeting the Yue Kingdom, which means that overseas island nations and other cultivation forces have been excluded.
Even if Xiang Yu sent the teleportation array to an overseas island nation, it would be useless. At most, he could destroy the Yue Kingdom first, and then destroy the overseas island nation to see if it was true.
Even if the Yue Kingdom committed a mistaken killing, it was still a mistaken killing. However, to save face for the powerful figures, the Yue Kingdom will likely be accused of conspiring with an overseas island nation.
Therefore, for the time being, this war is unavoidable.
Fortunately, Xiang Yu was not afraid of fighting at all; he just went for it!
The only problem is that the highest cultivation level under Xiang Yu's command is Foundation Establishment, and there isn't even a Core Formation cultivator. The closest to Core Formation are Xiang Yu, Xiaoyaozi, and Li Canghai, who are all at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
There are many Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators in this great battle, and while Foundation Establishment cultivators are barely considered cannon fodder, their role is not significant.
"Then I will take full responsibility." Xiang Yu wanted to resolve the conflict peacefully with the Central Yuan Continent, but the prerequisite for peace talks was having sufficient strength. Otherwise, he would end up like the three Nascent Soul cultivators from the Yue Kingdom, without even the right to surrender.
The fact that the Nascent Soul cultivators didn't intervene wasn't something the three of them secured; rather, it was an opportunity for each sect to train their disciples, as such opportunities for a war to destroy a nation are rare.
If the disciples at the Core Formation and Foundation Establishment stages are unable to resolve the situation in Yue Kingdom, the Nascent Soul stage experts of the four-nation allied forces will certainly not hesitate to take action. Once the Core Formation stage experts of Yue Kingdom are killed, Yue Kingdom will be powerless to retaliate.
"Don't forget I'm here, Overlord. And although everyone's cultivation is low, we can still contribute." Hao Jiu smiled. "Overlord, there's no need to blame yourself. This plane is very similar to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. If Overlord doesn't take action to unify, more people will die every year from fighting each other. Casualties are inevitable if we want to unify. As long as our people don't suffer any losses, that's fine."
"I understand. Whether we want to occupy this plane or fight against our next formidable enemy, we must first unify the Yue Kingdom, and we must do it quickly. There's no time to take it slowly." After saying this, Xiang Yu entered the alternate dimension and left the medicine garden.
Moon Sword Sect, the strongest sect in the Yue Kingdom.
While the entire sect was busy preparing for war, the core disciples and elites among the inner disciples were summoned to the back mountain. Faced with a battle they were destined to lose, each sect had to consider how to ensure the continuation of their lineage.
It's definitely impossible for the entire sect to withdraw; they're too conspicuous, and they have no other way to survive except to cross the sea to the island nation in the east or break out to the wilderness in the south.
However, the fact that the major powers in Zhongyuan have set up this formation indicates that they have made arrangements at sea and in Ou Kingdom. There are countless Nascent Soul Realm experts lying in ambush, and they will definitely not give the Yue Kingdom's cultivation world a chance to break out.
What they wanted was to massacre the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom and give the entire Zhongyuan Continent an explanation.
Therefore, the only way for the various factions in Yue Kingdom to survive was to find their way within Yue Kingdom itself. Tianhun Valley has explored the ancient battlefields quite a bit over the years, and the fact that the Grand Elder was able to advance to the Nascent Soul stage is also related to this.
In the ancient battlefield, one can barely find a relatively safe place. With the help of spatial rifts and the souls of the dead, as long as it is not a Nascent Soul cultivator who makes the move, there should be hope for a group of people to survive.
But it certainly can't accommodate too many people, and even if it could, it wouldn't dare. If there were too many people, the four countries would notice, and its last chance of survival would be gone.
As for the medicinal herb garden, they didn't even consider it.
After a heart-to-heart talk, the core disciples of the Moon Sword Sect finally learned the truth about this foreign invasion; it was not at all about standing up for the Ou Kingdom.
It turned out that the path to heaven had been severed, and the teleportation array, which was crucial to the entire plane, had mysteriously disappeared despite the day and night protection of several Nascent Soul Peak experts.
For a moment, many disciples cursed inwardly which damned person stole the teleportation array, but the most suspicious person in the whole matter was the Nascent Soul and Nascent Soul peak experts on Storm Island that day.
However, those individuals testified against each other, and they were powerful, controlling a vast cultivation force. It was impossible for them to be forced to confess, and they had no reason to destroy or steal the teleportation array.
Thus, the six factions in Yue suffered a tragedy, even though they didn't even have the ability to reach Storm Island.
But weakness is the original sin. If the Yue Kingdom also had a Nascent Soul Peak expert, perhaps this kind of thing wouldn't have happened to them.
The hope of the Moon Sword Sect has departed. They secretly head to the ancient battlefield to join the core disciples of the other five sects. Each sect has fewer than twenty slots, and the total number of disciples must be kept to double digits.
Grand Elder Yue Hualong of the Moon Sword Sect sighed, "I just hope they won't go so far as to wipe us out..."
"Why don't you take your destiny into your own hands, fellow Daoist?" Xiang Yu, dressed in white like a sword immortal, suddenly appeared outside the secluded place of Yuehualong.
Creak... The stone door opened.
Yuehua Long carefully examined the young man in front of him. He appeared to be only at the late Foundation Establishment stage, but even a fool could tell that it was a lie, otherwise there would be no way he could have arrived here so quietly.
Who are you?
"The Feather God Sect, the Overlord Xiang Yu!"
Chapter 461 The Truth
This world obviously doesn't have the history of the Chu-Han Contention, so Yuehualong only felt that the title of Overlord was very imposing, but he had never heard of Xiang Yu's name.
"Feather God Sect? Forgive my ignorance, but I have never heard of such a cultivation sect in the Central Yuan Continent. Could it be from another continent or island?"
"The Feather God Sect is a secluded sect located in the Yue Kingdom. If it weren't for this foreign invasion, I wouldn't have come out so quickly." Xiang Yu naturally wouldn't mention that the Feather God Sect had only been established for a few days.
"A hidden sect in Yue Kingdom?" Yue Hualong was somewhat disappointed. No matter how strong this hidden sect was originally, in Yue Kingdom, there were only so many spiritual veins. A sect without cultivation resources could not be very strong no matter how strong it was. "May I ask where your sect's mountain gate is located?"
"A desperate situation," Xiang Yu said calmly, without directly referring to it as a medicinal garden.
"What! The forbidden land of Yue Kingdom?" Yue Hualong's breath hitched. The forbidden land the other party mentioned could not be Storm Island. It must be either the ancient battlefield or the medicine garden. No matter which forbidden land it was, the fact that a cultivation sect was hidden deep within it was shocking enough!
If the people of the Feather God Sect can come and go freely even in the depths of the herb garden, then wouldn't they be able to take any medicinal herbs from the garden at will?
Furthermore, the herb garden itself is a place rich in spiritual energy. Even if there are no spiritual veins, there must be some treasures or spiritual springs. If there are such cultivation resources, then the Feather God Sect is something to look forward to.
We are all from the same Yue Kingdom, so we are naturally reliable allies who can share weal and woe!
At worst, the Feather God Sect could take in more disciples from the Moon Sword Sect. No one would expect that the disciples of the Moon Sword Sect would be hiding deep within the medicine garden, a forbidden area that even Nascent Soul experts cannot set foot in.
Of course, it's not that it's truly impossible to set foot there. If one disregards the rare treasures within the herb garden and uses great supernatural powers to crush it, leveling the entire herb garden wouldn't be difficult.
But that's enough. No cultivation sect would do something so wasteful. At least for now, they can still harvest a batch of precious medicinal materials such as the Spirit Marrow Fruit, the main ingredient for Foundation Establishment Pills, every ten years.
If we can overcome this crisis, wouldn't the rare and precious treasures of the herb garden be...?
Yuehua Long gave a bitter smile. What was he thinking? Even if the Feather God Sect was truly a hidden sect in the Medicine Garden, it would be difficult to withstand the cultivators from the four kingdoms.
Moreover, compared to the medicine garden, the location of the Feather God Sect is more likely to be in the ancient battlefield. As long as one knows the location of the spatial rift, living inside it will not be difficult.
However, in that case, the Feather God Sect would probably only be able to cultivate using the souls of the dead, just like the Heavenly Soul Valley. Although it is not very suitable for the disciples of the Moon Sword Sect, it would be good enough if they could live.
Yue Hualong was determined to persuade the other party to take in more disciples of the Moon Sword Sect.
Xiang Yu could roughly guess what Yue Hualong was thinking. "Don't overthink it. The Feather God Sect will not allow outsiders to enter. I came here this time to save the Yue Kingdom. I hope you can lend me a hand and unite the cultivation world of the Yue Kingdom as one. Only in this way can we overcome this calamity."
Yuehua Long thought to himself, "This young man has been living in seclusion for far too long; his tone is truly arrogant." He continued, "Does Your Excellency know who Yue's enemy is this time? And do you know why they are attacking Yue?"
"I'd like to hear the details." Xiang Yu remained expressionless; after following Hao Jiu for so many years, he had developed a thick skin.
Yuehualong sighed inwardly, "Although the Feather God Sect has been in seclusion for many years, you must have heard of the Path to Heaven on Storm Island, right?"
"That's natural," Xiang Yu nodded.
"The Path to Heaven is actually a teleportation array leading to the Spirit Realm. Legend has it that the Spirit Realm has a higher concentration of spiritual energy, second only to the Immortal Realm. The reason why the four kingdoms of Wu, Pan, Yang, and Ou attacked the Yue Kingdom this time is because the teleportation array on Storm Island disappeared."
Yuehua Long glanced at Xiang Yu, noticing that the latter didn't seem too surprised, clearly aware of the matter, and continued:
"With such an event, Nascent Soul Peak experts outside the Central Yuan Continent will definitely suspect that the Central Yuan Continent wants to monopolize the teleportation array in order to blackmail those Nascent Soul Peak experts on other continents whose lifespans are about to end."
It can be said that a world war is on the verge of breaking out, but the Central Plains Continent does not have exclusive control of the teleportation array, nor does it want to go to war with other continents. Therefore, it can only try to give other continents an explanation, which is the cultivation world of the Yue Kingdom.
To be honest, sacrificing the Yue Kingdom might not even quell the anger of all Nascent Soul cultivators. For the Central Yuan Continent, the best outcome would be for the other continents to trust the Central Yuan Continent after the Yue Kingdom is destroyed, and for everyone to work together to repair the teleportation array.
The array diagram is still there, but the core materials are hard to find. Moreover, having the diagram alone is not enough; a top-notch array master is needed to set up a cross-dimensional teleportation channel.
In short, this matter is extremely difficult; a success rate of 30% would be considered good. Unless absolutely necessary, searching for the missing teleportation array should be the priority. How to search? Searching the souls of cultivators from various sects of the Yue Kingdom will undoubtedly be one of the main methods.
Therefore, even if the Yue Kingdom can withstand the attack of the four kingdoms this time, or even defeat them, a stronger force will soon come to attack, or even Nascent Soul experts from other continents will personally take action.
This was a war that was destined to be lost, or even a massacre. Even Nascent Soul cultivators had a slim chance of survival if their souls were searched, while those below the Core Formation stage were almost certainly going to die.
Now that we've come this far, do you still believe that Yue Kingdom can defeat its opponents by uniting as one? Let's discuss how many disciples of my Moon Sword Sect can be accommodated.
Otherwise, if I were to accidentally leak information about your sect, even if the Feather God Sect is in the medicine garden, those peak Nascent Soul Realm experts would still storm in for the teleportation array, willing to destroy the medicine garden at any cost.”
Yuehua Long smiled slightly as he spoke, clutching a talisman in his hand. Better safe than sorry; if the other party tried to kill him to silence him, he could immediately teleport away and report the matter to the Elders' Council of the Central Yuan Continent.
Perhaps with this achievement, the Moon Sword Sect lineage can be preserved?
Xiang Yu's expression turned cold. He had heard Hao Jiu talk about the ways of doing things in the cultivation world before, and now he saw that it was indeed the case. But since Xiang Yu was the one who caused this, he held back. Besides, Yuehualong was also thinking about the disciples of his sect.
To be fair, if a Nascent Soul Realm expert like Yuehua Long were to abandon his sect and flee, his chances of survival would be quite high, and various factions would be willing to take in Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
However, Yue Hualong's primary concern was the continuation of the sect and the safety of his disciples; at least he still possessed some humanity.
"It's just a teleportation array to leave this plane. To wipe out an entire nation's cultivators for it is too cruel." Xiang Yu really couldn't understand why they would do such a thing.
Yuehua Long sighed, "It seems that your sect does not have any experts at the Nascent Soul stage, so you know very little about these secrets. The next breakthrough after the peak of the Nascent Soul stage is the Nascent Soul stage."
Although Nascent Soul cultivators are powerful, they will be rejected by this plane and will be unable to continue cultivating. Their lifespan will eventually run out, and they will become cold corpses.