181: Dynasty Willow God, a creature of destiny, how dare an ant ruin a good thing?

On the edge of the Tianhao Dao Domain.

This place was desolate, and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was extremely thin.

It was also the territory of the Great Xia Dynasty, a Dynasty established by Mortals.

There were only a dozen or so cities, and the total area was no more than a hundred thousand mu.

Yet, Mortal dynasties like this were countless across the Myriad Domains of the Heavens.

After all, the vast majority of living beings across the heavens were naturally Mortals who lacked the talent to Cultivate and struggled to survive at the very bottom.

However, the atmosphere in the Great Xia Dynasty today seemed somewhat strange.

Countless people gathered in front of the massive plaza before the royal capital.

Many nobles, and even the current ruler of the Great Xia Dynasty, had gathered here.

The reason was simple: today was their Great Xia Dynasty's annual sacrificial ceremony to the god.

And the "god" they worshipped was none other than that towering willow tree rooted in the massive plaza!

The willow tree's branches were lush, dense, and dripping with verdant green.

Its massive trunk was so wide that it would take several people holding hands to fully embrace it.

As a Mortal Dynasty, the Great Xia Dynasty did not possess powerful Cultivators within its borders.

The strongest Cultivator was merely their ruler, who was in the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Yet, many of the surrounding Mortal kingdoms all possessed great Cultivators in the Purple Mansion Realm.

The reason such a weak Great Xia Dynasty could become the strongest Mortal Dynasty in this vast, desolate land...

…was entirely thanks to the massive willow tree they worshipped, which they called the Willow God!

According to the mythological records of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Before the Great Xia Dynasty was even established, and even before traces of the Human Race had appeared, this willow tree had already taken root here.

It was as if it were the very first willow tree of the heavens, representing the beginning of a Dao.

Even though the Spiritual Qi in this area was so thin it was almost non-existent, this willow tree had stubbornly endured for countless years.

It absorbed the essence of the sun and moon, nurtured a spiritual nature from Heaven and Earth, and even Cultivated on its own, attaining the cultivation of the Purple Mansion Realm.

And because the ancestors of the Great Xia Dynasty had always worshipped the willow tree and revered it as the Willow God...

…the Willow God had become the guardian deity of the Great Xia Dynasty, protecting them for generations of peace.

"Your Majesty, according to the prophecy, the Willow God is set to complete its transformation today."

"During this period, the Willow God will be extremely weak and will struggle to have any combat strength..."

A Great Xia Dynasty official said worriedly, "If those fellows from the Da Zhou and Da Wu kingdoms find out, will they mobilize their armies to invade?"

Usually, due to the Divine Might of the Willow God, other powerful Mortal dynasties nearby dared not invade the Great Xia.

This had caused the many other dynasties to hold a grudge, and they were secretly very hostile toward the Great Xia Dynasty.

Now that the Willow God was weak and lacked combat strength, these fellows would very likely be restless.

Taking advantage of such a perfect opportunity to launch a massive invasion of their Great Xia Dynasty!

"Father! During the Willow God's transformation, I am willing to personally lead the troops to guard the borders! To protect the safety of the Willow God!"

A young man with handsome features, wearing a purple-gold imperial robe, stepped forward.

This person was the Ninth Prince of the Great Xia Imperial Dynasty, Xia Wushuang. He was also the most talented young Cultivator in the current Great Xia Dynasty.

Having just stepped onto the path of cultivation, he had already Cultivated to the Blood Moving Realm.

As a child, Xia Wushuang loved to read, Cultivate, and practice martial arts in the shade of the Willow God's branches.

Now that there was a crisis potentially threatening the Willow God, Xia Wushuang, who believed himself grown up and capable of taking charge, decided to shield his Willow God from the wind and rain.

But soon, the cruel reality would slap him in the face.

"Report!" At this moment, a guard with an incredibly panicked expression stumbled in from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty! The Da Zhou and Da Wu kingdoms have formed an Alliance with the other seven kingdoms!"

"The nine kingdoms have gathered three million troops and are launching a massive invasion of our Great Xia Dynasty's borders!"

This sudden news plunged the originally lively plaza into dead silence.

An Alliance of nine kingdoms? Three million troops!? They wanted to completely annihilate their Great Xia Dynasty!

Xia Wushuang, who had previously been full of ambition and had requested his father's permission, saw his expression change slightly, and he very prudently retreated silently behind the crowd!

Although he had grand aspirations, he wasn't a fool! Their Great Xia Dynasty could only muster at most three hundred thousand troops.

Facing over three million allied troops, there was simply no way to fight! Since the Willow God could no longer shield him from the wind and rain, he could only consider how to run away!

... On the other side. Kong Wudao was fast; he had already descended upon the Tianhao Dao Domain and arrived above the Great Xia Dynasty.

The massive body of the Heavenly Revelation Azure Dragon was hidden within the clouds of the ninth heaven. Standing atop the Dragon's head, Kong Wudao scanned downwards, taking in the vast area below at a glance.

He naturally saw the vast army gathering like ants at the border of the Great Xia Dynasty's territory.

Although such a scene was visually striking, it did not cause the slightest ripple in Kong Wudao's heart.

In his eyes, these Mortal armies were no different from ants. With a casual flip of his palm, he could easily crush millions to death.

His gaze pierced through layers of clouds. Kong Wudao's eyes soon fell upon the Great Xia Dynasty.

After some more searching, Kong Wudao finally locked onto his target, and a smile curled the corners of his lips.

"Oh? This is truly interesting. The existence nurturing the embryonic form of a heavenly mandate is not a human, but a willow tree?"

Kong Wudao's gaze fell directly upon the massive willow tree in front of the Great Xia royal palace. An information panel suddenly appeared.

[ Name: None ] [ Identity: Heavenly Mandate Creature, Innate Willow Tree ] [ Age: 5,600,280 years ] [ Realm: Purple Mansion Realm, 9th Layer ] [ Physique: Innate Heavenly God Physique · Damaged ] [ Cultivation Technique: Innate Creation Art... ]

[ Ding! Special heavenly mandate fluctuation detected, System is decoding. Decoding complete, special panel information unlocked, please take a look, Master. ]

[ Life Experience: It was a willow tree seed that should have remained silent in the endless Grandmist years. Due to an unknown and terrifying upheaval, it fell out of the primordial origin along with a fragment of the world. It drifted in the desolate Universe for countless years, not knowing how long, until it finally touched solid ground and took root and sprouted here over countless years. Although the Spiritual Qi here was thin, it could not stop its heart from striving to grow. Today is an important day for it; success means transformation and rebirth, failure means returning to the mud, never to regain its former glory. ]

[ heavenly mandate points: ??? (The specific quantity will be determined after the other party successfully completes the transformation.) ]

After reading the System panel of this willow tree, Kong Wudao was slightly stunned.

The special embryonic heavenly mandate before him was not only the lowest in cultivation he had ever seen, but also the most bizarre he had ever encountered.

The other party was not only a willow tree, but it had also survived for a full several million years. This should be traceable back to The Glorious Era of the Heavens, right?

What he found even more interesting was that a willow tree was related to the heavenly mandate, and the specific heavenly mandate points would have to wait until it successfully completed its transformation.

He wondered if it would end up like the Reincarnation Empress, with heavenly mandate points so high they would be shocking.

However, Kong Wudao did not intend to intervene just yet. He also wanted to see what this willow tree would eventually transform into.

Moreover, the System panel stated very clearly that this willow tree was absorbing the heavenly mandate power of the Tianhao Dao Domain. This process could not be affected.

Otherwise, the final Heavenly Mandate Creature would not be able to be fully born.

Thinking of this, Kong Wudao's gaze swept coldly toward the millions of allied troops from the nine Mortal kingdoms.

"Hehe... It's not often I come across such an interesting toy. How could I let you ants ruin my fun?"