12: The death of Wang Liu threatens the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion.

Late at night, the starry sky stretched across the heavens.

The great battle outside Guanghe Commandery's city walls had already ceased.

Last night's clash between the Cultivators of both sides resulted in at least over fifteen hundred Yellow Heaven Army soldiers being caught in the crossfire and dying innocently, and these were all elite armored troops painstakingly trained and possessing formidable combat strength by the Yellow Heaven Cult.

However, before Cultivators, they were like lambs awaiting slaughter, utterly powerless to resist.

The chasm between Mortals and Cultivators was clearly visible.

After the battle concluded, of the Yellow Heaven Cult's nine Disciples, four at the Early Stage of Qi Refining had perished.

The remaining five were also almost all wounded.

As for the State Preceptor's Mansion, aside from the two who fled first, they were completely wiped out.

Moreover, True Man Huang Tian had personally given chase, so it's uncertain whether those two could escape either.

"Who knows exactly how many Cultivators the State Preceptor's Mansion has. Is a loss like this insignificant or a crippling blow?"

Yu Xuzi's figure merged into the darkness, disappearing from sight over the river.

Several hours later.

Early morning.

The scorching sun rose in the east, casting a pale golden hue over the entire landscape of broken walls and ruins.

At the commandery city gates, the Yellow Heaven Army, having suffered equally heavy losses, began cleaning up the battlefield.

The shattered city gate looked as if gnawed by a giant beast; the towering city walls had completely collapsed, leaving only countless charred trenches crisscrossing the ground.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood and char, mixed with the damp, earthy scent of soil.

Dense clusters of soldier figures staggered through the ruins like weary ants, silently turning over broken bodies and chunks of shattered bricks.

Most corpses were mangled and torn apart, with severed limbs and internal organs scattered everywhere, and congealed dark red bloodstains covering the ground.

Countless twisted and grotesque pieces of iron armor and arrowheads were embedded in the earth's surface, as if metallic thorns had grown from the depths of the ground.

"This is..."

A young soldier suddenly stopped in his tracks; his foot had kicked against a metal plaque half-buried in the dirt.

He crouched down and gently brushed the dust off it.

The plaque was deformed, its edges curled, but the characters "Wang Liu" on the front were still recognizable, while the back was engraved with a large character "Hundred".

"centurion Wang..."

He muttered to himself, his voice dry.

An old veteran nearby heard the sound and walked over. His face was covered in soot and bloodstains, only his eyes remaining sharp.

He took the plaque, his thumb gently rubbing the engraved characters, his expression complex.

"It's him!"

The two began carefully searching the surrounding area.

Soon, not far away, they discovered a body reduced to only half, almost unrecognizable—if not for the uniquely forged fragments of iron armor, they couldn't even be sure it was a human body.

The iron armor, along with the flesh and blood of the torso, had been cleanly split in two, then seemingly melted by terrifyingly high heat, fusing together completely.

However, the distinctive tiger-head pattern unique to the Vanguard Assault Camp was faintly visible.

The young man looked at that half-melted armor, imagining the horror of scalding metal sizzling against skin, and felt his stomach churn.

"How valiant he was when storming the city walls. What a pity."

"No matter how profound one's martial arts or innate divine strength, they are so utterly helpless before an Immortal."

"Dig a pit and bury him."

...The Yellow Heaven Cult's decisive defeat of the State Preceptor's Mansion outside Guanghe Commandery, killing several Immortals in a row, was impossible to conceal under the watchful eyes of the public.

This news spread rapidly throughout the entire Yu Kingdom in less than ten days, immediately shaking the imperial court and setting the Jianghu abuzz.

Even the usually prosperous and dazzling capital of Yu Kingdom became somewhat desolate, an intangible sense of oppression permeating the air.

Immortals had been killed!

This was a novel event in Yu Kingdom, something not encountered for over a hundred years.

Moreover, merely three days after the battle, the Yellow Heaven Cult regrouped, requisitioned a large number of boats from up and down the great river, and began transporting Yellow Heaven Army soldiers continuously across the river northwards, marching straight for the royal capital.

If the State Preceptor's Mansion suffered successive defeats from here on, a dynastic change might truly become a possibility.

On Purple Gold Mountain, the State Preceptor's Mansion.

The consequences of Ding Qing and the others' demise for the State Preceptor's Mansion were even more severe than what the outside Mortal world speculated.

Currently, the entire State Preceptor's Mansion had only a little over twenty Cultivators left, and most of them were at the Early Stage of Qi Refining.

There were originally not many Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivators, and several of those had died outside.

As for Late Stage Qi Refining, there were only two elderly Elders, one of whom was even at the Kang Country Dharma Assembly and not on Purple Gold Mountain.

Although there was still the Peak Qi Refining State Preceptor, he had been in seclusion for three years and had yet to emerge.

He absolutely must not be disturbed unless it was a matter of life and death.

"Elder Li, what should we do?"

"Yes, Elder Li?"

"It must be the neighboring factions targeting us!"

"Should we request the State Preceptor to emerge from seclusion?"

"Yes, yes!"

"No, the State Preceptor might be at a critical moment of breaking through to the Dao Foundation Stage. What if we disrupt him?"

"..."

As the Yellow Heaven Cult's army gradually approached, the State Preceptor's Mansion also fell into a state of panic.

However, what they feared was not the Yellow Heaven Cult itself, but the hidden existence behind it.

The cause of Ding Qing's death had been brought back, but they had no clue as to who the person who secretly struck was.

What was the Yellow Heaven Cult?

Even if they could kill Senior Brother Ding Qing, they couldn't pose a fatal threat to the State Preceptor's Mansion.

The most worrisome issue at present was the mastermind behind the scenes.

The Hunyuan Sect? The Celestial Immortal Sect? Or some faction from a neighboring country... "Enough, all of you, stop panicking!!"

Elder Li, with hair and beard completely white, roared angrily. The great hall immediately fell silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

Looking at these Disciples who had grown up sheltered like flowers in a greenhouse with exasperation, he sighed deeply and said, "Elder Wang is on his way back from Kang Country. With us here and the protective formation guarding us, Purple Gold Mountain cannot be breached."

"Use your thick skulls to think carefully: why would they specifically target us at this time? And even create something like the Yellow Heaven Cult?"

Everyone looked at each other. A few clever ones had already figured it out and exclaimed with sudden realization, "Elder, you mean their goal is... the State Preceptor??"

Elder Li cast a slightly approving glance their way.

Not completely stupid.

"For the past six months, the Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence on the mountain has been gradually gathering towards the Immortal Cave at the summit. With this anomaly, it indicates the State Preceptor is definitely at a critical juncture of his Breakthrough and must absolutely not be disturbed. So, don't mention the idea of requesting the State Preceptor to emerge from seclusion."

"Everyone, stay calm. With Elder Wang and me here, if we hold firm and defend, we will find a way."

"As for Yu Kingdom, don't bother with it. Once the State Preceptor succeeds and emerges from seclusion, he will settle accounts with them one by one!"

Hearing this, the Disciples' confidence greatly increased. They all cupped their hands and shouted in unison, "Disciples obey!!"

Regardless of what individuals thought in their hearts, at least for now, this seemed to be the only option.

Only after watching the Disciples disperse, their backs receding, did a trace of worry finally surface in Elder Li's eyes.

He was already over ninety years old. Considering the average Lifespan of a Qi Refining Cultivator is no more than two sexagenary cycles, his remaining days were few.

Having lived long, his experience was naturally broad.

If resources were sufficient and spiritual essence abundant, a Breakthrough to the Dao Foundation Realm would generally conclude within two or three months, regardless of success or failure.

But now, the State Preceptor had been in seclusion for two or three years with only a slight sign of movement. The situation was quite unfavorable.

After all, although the current State Preceptor had excellent Spiritual Root talent and was younger than him, he was also eighty years old.

At that age, one's Physical Body vitality and blood energy have already weakened considerably. Without the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill, breaking through to Dao Foundation was inherently very difficult.

Coupled with the world entering an age of decadence, the spiritual essence from Purple Gold Mountain's First-grade Spiritual Vein being too sparse, the State Preceptor's Mansion's impoverished resources... with all these negative conditions stacked together... saying the odds were nine deaths to one survival was an overestimation!

"Time is running out."

Elder Li sighed deeply and wobbled back to his own Immortal Cave to prepare for the upcoming battle.

Poor old man.

His cultivation had stagnated for thirty years. He couldn't even enjoy a peaceful retirement and live out his remaining years in comfort. On the verge of death, he still had to fight one last time.