78: The army crossed the river, and the strange nine-headed infant...

The fifteenth day of the Peach Moon, the night of the full moon.

The moonlight was full, and the Qianlong River was sparkling and calm.

The Wu Dynasty's 400,000 Prefectural Army, along with the 300,000 enslaved troops from the Jinmu Kingdom and 100,000 Ghost Soldiers, were stationed by the river.

The Ghost Soldiers acted as overseers, driving the enslaved troops to launch a large number of rafts into the river.

The Qianlong River was dozens of miles wide; at a glance, it looked like a vast ocean.

Gazing at the river water felt like gazing into an abyss.

"Your Majesty."

Xia Xuan came to the riverside, with Bai Qi standing respectfully beside him.

"Why do you say that the Qianlong River is only calm on the night of the full moon each month, yet extremely dangerous on all other days and nights?"

Xia Xuan looked at the river surface, deep in thought.

"Your subject once entered the river to investigate. At the bottom of the river, Flood Dragons, evil spirits, and specters each occupy their own territory. On normal days, the food in the river is not enough to satisfy them.

Thus, there are disasters like Flood Dragons causing floods and specters raiding the surrounding areas.

However, every full moon night, that fierce creature at the source of the river will swim from the riverbed to the middle reaches, absorbing the moonlight, and all the Flood Dragons will lie dormant, not daring to show themselves."

Bai Qi answered in detail.

The army gradually boarded the rafts, and dense crowds of people began to cross the river.

On the opposite bank,

the bandit armies of Wrath King City, Desire King City, and Greed King City were responsible for receiving them.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Suddenly, Bai Qi frowned, looking upstream, and reminded, "Your Majesty, be careful, a scent of blood is drifting over."

The scent of blood intensified, and moments later, the river surface appeared somewhat scarlet and eerie.

Above the Qianlong River, Heavenly Dark Star flew over, treading on air, and reported in a deep voice, "There's a large-scale army slaughter upstream, throwing bodies into the river."

No sooner had he spoken,

the Qianlong River's surface boiled like water, bubbling and steaming.

Blood, like a veil of crimson, spread across the river.

At the bottom of the river, countless dormant specters, evil spirits, demonic beasts, and Flood Dragons all opened their bloodthirsty eyes, churning the river.

At this moment,

large areas of rafts on the river overturned, and countless enslaved troops and Ghost Soldiers fell into the water, dragged away and devoured by the bloodthirsty mouths at the river bottom.

"Enemy attack!!!"

"Save me!!"

"Ah!!!"

...Screams rose and fell, quickly drowned out by the piercing wails of specters and the roars of Flood Dragons in the air.

Hundreds of water columns shot skyward.

"Ang—"

"Roar—"

One by one, Flood Dragons with wild manes, sharp horns, massive bodies, and chillingly reflective dark green scales soared into the air, their bloodthirsty pupils fixed on the armored soldiers struggling in the river.

This scene terrified the entire army, filling them with immense dread.

Just in the area where the river-crossing army was located, there were hundreds of demonic Flood Dragons, each comparable to the Dharma Aspect Realm, capable of manipulating water and causing floods, doubling their combat power in the river.

Looking in other directions, water ghosts, specters, and evil spirits all emerged as dark shadows, as if the entire Qianlong River was enraged, intending to punish all beings who desecrated the river god.

"Did Yuan Tiangang make the Prefectural Army hold back because he had already anticipated this scene?"

Behind Xia Xuan, the army stood ready, Dharma Aspect Realm experts as numerous as clouds, each remaining calm in the face of danger.

"The Grand Marshal considered the possibility of Xia Ying breaking the agreement and always kept a defense ready, but the trouble that follows will require Lord Wu'an to act."

Heavenly Dark Star cupped his hands to Bai Qi.

"No problem, you all protect Your Majesty."

"It's been over four months since I descended, and I haven't had a chance to properly stretch my muscles. Now, I should get what I wished for."

Bai Qi, clad in ornate black armor, stood by the river, drawing a bronze sword with an incomparably sharp blade from his body.

He looked at the hundreds of demonic Flood Dragons stirring up trouble and devouring living beings, and the bright white blade of the king qin sword in his hand turned blood-red.

With a single slash, the blood-red sword light, like an extremely thin and long crimson thread, instantly reached the opposite bank.

Overwhelming Killing Intent solidified, like ten thousand years of cold ice, suppressing the surface of the Qianlong River.

In an instant, all demons fell silent.

The blood-red sword light dissipated, and on the now still river surface, blood immediately splattered, Flood Dragon heads flew, and countless specters were cleansed and annihilated.

Half-severed Flood Dragon bodies, headless Flood Dragon bodies... crashed onto the river surface, and the blood spread, staining this entire section of the Qianlong River with a rich crimson hue.

The scent of blood was overwhelming.

"Cross the river!"

Following Bai Qi's thunderous command,

the 400,000 Prefectural Army majestically crossed the river, treading on the floating corpses and rafts.

The imperial carriage traversed the Void Realm, and not a single demonic creature or evil spirit dared to show its head.

"Your Majesty, today we can completely annex the seven prefectures of Seven Kings City."

Yuan Tiangang greeted him on the bank.

Just then, upstream on the Qianlong River, a series of piercing cries, like a baby's weeping, rang out.

The river water churned.

Under the moonlight, a colossal creature with nine blood-colored Flood Dragon heads surfaced, confronting Bai Qi, who was rapidly moving through the air.

"Roar!!!"

Its central Flood Dragon head was extraordinarily divine, with blood-red scales, wild whiskers, and prominent Dragon horns, bearing a strong resemblance to a true Dragon.

"Legend says there's a Vicious Beast called Jiuying that can spray water and fire, and its cry sounds like a baby's weeping. Could this be a variant Jiuying?"

General Yue Changting murmured, gazing at the upstream of the Qianlong River.

Before he finished speaking, the Flood Dragon heads to the left and right of the variant Jiuying Dragon head separately spouted water and fire.

The flames were as red as blood, and the water columns, carrying immense force, simultaneously engulfed Bai Qi.

Bai Qi's arm, gripping the king qin sword, suddenly erupted with dazzling blood-red light, illuminating the dark night.

Xia Xuan watched, this was his first time witnessing the great Divine Ability of the Divine Extreme Realm.

After all, it was an existence that could be called a demigod; its power resided within itself, and even without the power of heaven and earth, it was extremely formidable.

Boom!

The river surface exploded.

A crimson expanse spread beneath Bai Qi's feet, manifesting the cruel scene of a battlefield.

The sky was dark, and a cold wind howled, as if the underworld had descended.

On that battlefield, the fallen bones belonged to immortal Ghost Soldiers, heaven-reaching gods and devils, and terrifying giant beasts as vast as mountains.

Bai Qi raised his arm and swung it, and the blood-red God of Slaughter Domain spread, engulfing heaven and earth, pulling both himself and the variant Jiuying into it.

"A Domain-type Divine Ability?"

This was the most powerful type among great Divine Abilities. Although it lacked the power to kill in one blow, it could reverse the order of power and fight across realms.

The God of Slaughter Domain vibrated incessantly, and the blurry figure of the Jiuying was faintly visible, along with the piercing cries of a baby and the enraged roars of the Dragon heads.

The river water surged, and the Origin Qi of heaven and earth became chaotic. If they weren't fighting within a Domain, each of their clashes would likely cause a devastating river flood.

"Is this what a true great Cultivator is like?"

General Yue Changting yearned for it immensely.

About a month ago, the Sun Moon Imperial Dynasty announced to the world that it had unearthed a cultivation method for transcending the mortal realm and ascending to godhood after the Dharma Aspect Realm from an ancient ruin.

Countless old monsters emerged from seclusion, traveling across the Four Seas and Five Regions, searching for so-called heavenly divine objects, attempting to attract heavenly lightning and heavenly fire, and trying to shape a divine fetus.

However, to date, no one has been heard to successfully advance to the Divine Extreme Realm.

To be able to witness a battle of the Divine Extreme Realm was already a great fortune.

In the distance, in a dark area obscured by a battle flag formation, the Eastern Prefecture Allied Army gathered. Blade Without Dao, the Grand Elder of Sword Cliff, coldly stared at Xia Ying, asking in a chilling voice:

"How can Xuan Emperor have a Divine Extreme Realm expert under him? How was the intelligence work done!?"

Xia Ying snorted, "What are you all afraid of? The Divine Extreme Realm isn't invincible. You all have inheritances spanning ten thousand years; surely you have Divine Artifacts left behind. Go around them, and while the Wu Dynasty's army hasn't fully landed, catch them off guard and kill them."