272: I want to protect this land.

Half an hour later, the messenger rushed into the main hall, falling to his knees.

"Reporting to Your Majesty... Chief Lin... is gone! There were no signs of a struggle in his residence, nor any indication of him packing up, yet he has vanished without a trace..."

"What?!"

Emperor Qin's pupils constricted, and a terrifying pressure erupted, shattering a palace maid who had just entered the palace.

He stared intently at the ground, his voice low as thunder:

"Damn it!! Could it be... Lin Fei betrayed me?! Or has he been discovered and eliminated by the Heavenly Dao!!!"

Emperor Qin's gaze was like a knife, and he coldly ordered:

"Send out the Heavens Punishment Legion! Even if they have to dig three feet deep and flatten a hundred thousand li of mountains and rivers, they must find Lin Fei for me! I want him alive, or his corpse!"

"Yes!" The messenger acknowledged the order and rushed out.

Moments later, a dark military camp deep within the Heavenly Martial King City suddenly awoke—

The Heavens Punishment Legion, on the march!

This army was once an undefeated force personally forged by Killing God Bai Qi, composed of a hundred thousand death warriors, each clad in heavy profound iron armor, wielding soul-slaying blades, relentless and obedient only to the Emperor's command!

Ten years ago, Bai Qi mysteriously disappeared, and the legion was once on the verge of collapse.

Its current commander was the newly promoted general—Wang Jian!

He came from humble origins but possessed extraordinary talent, slaying a Foundation Establishment Yao Beast at seventeen and commanding an army of ten thousand at twenty, utterly loyal to Emperor Qin with no wavering.

Even with Zhao Gao's corrupt governance, the world in chaos, feudal lords carving up territories, and border defenses failing, he still led the Heavens Punishment Legion to guard the King City, not yielding an inch!

Rumors in the army said—

"Wang Jian's loyalty can illuminate the sun and moon; the Heaven's Punishment's sharpness can sever destiny!"

At this moment, Wang Jian, clad in black scale armor, stood before the army Formation, his battle halberd pointing to the sky:

"By imperial decree—search for Chief Lin!"

"East to the Azure Sea, west to the Desert, south to the hundred thousand great mountains, north to the extreme cold snow plains!"

"I want him alive, or his corpse, disobedient ones—beheaded!!"

A hundred thousand Heaven's Punishment soldiers roared in unison, their voices shaking the nine heavens!

War drums thundered, Killing Intent soared, and a black torrent surged out of the King City like a tide, rushing in all directions!

They would crush every inch of land, burn every city, just to find the man who held the secrets of the heavens—

Lin Fei... In the western desert, yellow sand stretched for ten thousand li, the Scorching Sun blazed like fire, and the world was utterly silent.

Gusts of wind whipped up sandstorms, roaring like giant beasts, devouring all life.

Yet, deep within this uninhabited and desolate land, a small oasis was hidden—its spring water clear, a few poplars growing tenaciously, like an isolated island forgotten by time.

Su Jiuning brought Lin Fei, whose cultivation had been crippled and who had become a Mortal, here.

She used spiritual power to set up a concealment Formation at the edge of the oasis, isolating the Heavenly Dao, making it difficult even for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to detect.

She gently placed Lin Fei in the shade of a tree, looking at his pale face, her voice so soft it was as if she were coaxing a child:

"Lin Lang, I still couldn't bear to kill you in the end. Just stay here, and we'll... live out our lives together, alright?"

Lin Fei's eyes were bloodshot. He struggled to sit up and roared:

"I'd rather you kill me with a single sword than live like a prisoner! Emperor Qin is waiting for me! The revival of Great Qin is waiting for me! You are destroying everything!!"

Su Jiuning, however, merely smiled faintly, as if she hadn't heard his anger.

She squatted down and dug up a few tender green plants from the sand, a hint of joy flashing in her eyes:

"Guess what I found? Wild tomatoes... Although small, the seeds are pure. If I can cultivate them successfully, I'll be able to make you scrambled eggs with tomatoes in the future."

Lin Fei froze, then sneered: "You crippled me, imprisoned me in this desert, and you're still talking about scrambled eggs with tomatoes?! Is this your way of humiliating me?!"

Lin Fei's heart was dead, unwilling to cling to life.

He sat cross-legged under a poplar tree at the edge of the oasis, closing his eyes and refusing to eat, enduring the Scorching Sun and the sand-lashing wind. For three days, he didn't drink a drop of water, his body growing weaker, his lips cracked and bleeding.

He had only one thought in his mind:

I would rather die here than be a prisoner!

However, Su Jiuning just watched him quietly, her gaze almost cold in its calmness.

On the morning of the fourth day, she walked up to him with a bowl of clear water, placed it on the ground, and said indifferently:

"Why do you torment yourself? This place is inherently a virtual world created by the Heavenly Dao. Life and death are just a cycle of Reincarnation. If you die, your Divine Soul will not dissipate; it will only sink into the Sea of Consciousness, awaiting a restart."

"And I... will not be sad."

She paused, her gaze directed towards the distant sand dunes:

"But if you live, you will have a chance to recover your cultivation and find a way to break the situation. Even if there's only a sliver of possibility, it's better than giving up completely. Have you ever thought about it? Your death fulfills the order of the Heavenly Dao; only your life has the potential to break it."

Lin Fei suddenly opened his eyes, staring at her: "Are you persuading me to live? To resist the Heavenly Dao?"

Su Jiuning shook her head: "I am stating facts."

Lin Fei was silent for a long time.

In this illusory world, death was meaningless; only by living could he turn the tables.

He finally lowered his head, picked up the bowl of water, and drank it all.

He gave up his hunger strike.

In the days that followed, Su Jiuning displayed astonishing psychological control.

On Earth, she had been an ace instructor in a special forces unit, proficient in interrogation, counter-reconnaissance, and psychological conditioning.

She knew how to break a person's will and how to rebuild his daily life.

She no longer mentioned the Heavenly Dao, nor discussed missions, only planting tomatoes with Lin Fei, drawing water for irrigation, and building shelters for shade, like a true reclusive couple.

She told interesting anecdotes from Earth's mundane life, cooked simple meals, and at night even leaned gently on his shoulder, counting stars.

Lin Fei gradually "integrated" into this life—he began to actively fetch water, repair the thatched hut, and help her tend to the young seedlings.

To outsiders, he had accepted his fate, embracing these peaceful years of exile.

But only Lin Fei himself knew—

All of this was a disguise.

Every response, every smile, was meticulously calculated.

He was waiting for Su Jiuning to lower her guard... Lu Family Village.

It was late at night, past midnight.

Lu Family Village was silent in the deep night.

A crescent moon, like a hook, hung in the sky, casting a cold light that illuminated the familiar mountain forest outside the village.

It was already past midnight, and all was quiet. In a thatched hut on the east side of the village, a lamp was still lit.

Inside the hut, Lu Xiaohu sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his bare upper body rippling with muscles, sweat pouring down his back like rain.

His eyes were tightly closed, and faint spiritual energy fluctuations enveloped his body. His breathing was steady and prolonged—his Early Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation was as stable as a mountain.

Ten years had passed. The young man who had been taught martial arts and Cultivation Technique by Master Lu Chen was now a twenty-eight-year-old strong man, broad-shouldered and thick-backed, with eyes like an eagle, no longer possessing the childishness of yesteryear.

"Xiaohu..."

His new wife, Lu Xiaoyu, gently pushed the door open, carrying a bowl of warm spiritual ginseng soup in her hands, her eyes filled with tenderness:

"It's almost dawn, rest for a while... How can your body endure such continuous arduous cultivation day and night?"

Lu Xiaohu slowly withdrew his Qi, opened his eyes, his gaze as firm as iron:

"How can I rest? Master Lu Chen left ten years ago and has been unheard from since."

"Although our Lu Family Village is now protected by General Chu, the surrounding forces are covetously eyeing us—"

"Although General Chu is a man of his word, he is a feudal king. Political situations change, and human hearts are unpredictable... Who can guarantee that he will remember our small village ten or twenty years from now?"

He stood up, looked out the window at the familiar land, his voice low but powerful:

"So I must become strong. I want to be the pillar of Lu Family Village. I want to protect this land!"