Daqin Zhentiansi

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yuan's figure passed the group of Celestial Youths and headed towards the mission platform deep inside.

That calm, that indifference, that absolute confidence in his words, as if stating the ultimate truth of the universe, instantly extinguished the laughter and clamor that had just risen in the hall, like a cold tide.

The deliberate sarcasm on Young Master Xuan Lan's face froze completely. His handsome face twitched slightly, and his fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on the hilt of the spatial divine gold longsword at his waist.

Young Master Yaochen's smile froze on his face, a hint of surprise and annoyance at being slighted flashed in his eyes, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

The elites from the Celestial Realm who had been waiting to see the spectacle and continue their jeering seemed to have been gripped by an invisible force. The mockery on their faces quickly faded, replaced by an indescribable look of astonishment and disbelief...

A chilling shadow involuntarily rose in my heart when that calm gaze swept over me.

Zhang Yuan's indifferent attitude and his declaration of "waiting here" weighed heavily on the hearts of all the Heavenly Palace elites who were waiting to see a good show, like a heavy boulder.

Deep inside the main hall.

Several celestial beings, their auras as profound as the sea, sat in high positions.

They are the true administrators of the Boundary Barrier, coming from different celestial palaces, responsible for overall coordination and task allocation.

Zhang Yuan stepped forward and handed over the jade talisman representing the Xuanqiong Palace and the Fire Marshal's identity.

The Venerable Zichen, dressed in a purple-gold star-patterned Taoist robe and with an ancient and simple face, took the jade talisman. He scanned it with his divine sense, his gaze lingering on Zhang Yuan for a moment, a subtle complexity and scrutiny flashing in his eyes.

Beside him, Venerable Li Xing, from the Heavenly Punishment Hall, with a sinister face and dressed in a black robe with silver stars, curled a cold smile at the corner of his mouth when he saw Zhang Yuan.

“Zhang Yuan? The newly appointed Fire Commander by the Xuanqiong Palace?” Venerable Zichen’s voice was calm. “Your garrison area, Battalion No. 7 of the C-class, is already known. This is your trial mission.”

A jade slip flew towards Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan took it and probed it with his divine sense.

The task details are clearly printed.

From this moment forward, be stationed outside the border for at least ten days in the Blood Mill area.

During the mission, there was no rear support and communication was cut off.

Mission objective: Kill or repel any Chaos threats attempting to invade the area, and collect at least ten "Star Beast Core Fragments" or equivalent Celestial Demon Essence to hand over.

There were many well-informed people in the hall. As their divine senses swept over the contents of the jade slip, a low murmur of surprise arose.

"The Blood Millstone?! That place..."

"Isn't that a notorious meat grinder? Surrounded on three sides, with the most unstable spatial structure, it's the place that giant beasts and demons love to attack!"

"No support? Cut off from communication? What's the difference between this and suicide?"

"I heard that the elite thousand-strong squad from the Heavenly Punishment Hall that was sent to garrison there last time was completely wiped out after only three days..."

"The Xuanqiong Palace is stationed there... is this... a scheme to use someone else to do their dirty work?"

Venerable Zichen frowned slightly, as if he wanted to say something.

But Venerable Li Xing preemptively looked at Zhang Yuan with a forced smile and said, "Hehe, Marshal Huo is renowned for his bravery and victory against overwhelming odds in the wasteland. I'm sure he will succeed in this important task!"

"This is also the Heavenly Palace's trust in your abilities and a test. Don't let the Heavenly Palace down!"

His words were unmistakably sarcastic.

Even the Heavenly Punishment Hall, whose strength far surpassed that of the Profound Vault Hall, could not hold out.

Can Zhang Yuan and his human army hold out?
This mission was less of a trial and more of a death sentence for Zhang Yang and his human army!

The other venerable ones in the hall either remained expressionless or kept their eyes downcast, clearly tacitly approving of the task.

In the end, Venerable Zichen only gave Zhang Yuan a deep look and said nothing more.

Zhang Yuan's expression remained unchanged, as if he had only received an ordinary task.

He put away the jade slip and nodded slightly to the venerable ones: "Zhang Yuan obeys the order."

His voice remained flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.

After saying that, he turned and left, with Lei Zhen following closely behind, his face ashen and his fists clenched.

After Zhang Yuan's figure disappeared at the palace gate, someone whispered to Venerable Li Xing, "Lord Li Xing, this mission... is far too difficult. Zhang Yuan only brought a mere ten thousand newly trained human soldiers, isn't this..."

Venerable Li Xing picked up his teacup, blew on it, and a cold smile appeared on his face. His voice, though not loud, clearly reached the ears of those around him: "Difficult? If he dies, wouldn't that be better for the Heavenly Palace?"

"Someone has to pay the price for what happened in the wasteland. If he really has the ability to come back alive... Hmph, we can settle the remaining 'debts' later."

Inside the main hall, everyone looked at each other and fell silent.

……

Back at the noisy and chaotic camp of the Seventh Battalion of the C-Class, Zhang Yuan immediately summoned his core generals, including Yue Zhenshan, Pan Yue, the abbot of Panshi Temple, the abbot of Cangming Temple, the Sword Master Lingxiao, and the leaders representing the wasteland and the divine beasts, and announced the contents of the jade slip mission.

The atmosphere inside the tent instantly became heavy.

"A blood millstone?! This is practically sending us to fill a hole!" Pan Yue, the abbot of Pan Shi Temple, had a fiery temper. He slammed his fist on the makeshift metal table, making a loud noise.

"No support, communication cut off... The Heavenly Palace's intentions are despicable!" The sword aura in Lingxiao Sword Master's eyes was chilling.

"General Zhang, this place is extremely dangerous. We need to plan this carefully." Abbot Cangming frowned, his face full of worry.

The representatives of the wasteland and the mythical beasts also looked worried, as they knew all too well the terror of that place.

Zhang Yuan raised his hand, silencing the crowd's murmurs.

He walked alone to the edge of the tent, gazing at the gray-purple void beyond the pass in the distance, where muffled impacts and eerie hissing echoed continuously, holding the cold mission jade slip in his hand.

He closed his eyes, his mind sinking into the nascent chaotic miniature realm within his body.

Details of the telepathic communication task.

"The Blood Millstone?!" The flames on the remains of the lava giant tortoise flickered violently, and the divine sense was filled with fear. "Boy! That's the 'Burial Ground of Saints'! The spatial turbulence and chaotic erosion are the most intense there, and it's one of the main springboards for giant beasts to break through the boundary barrier!"

"Back then... one of our clan's peak Saint Realm elders perished there from exhaustion!"

"No support...isolation..." The remnant soul of the six-winged thunder roc let out a sharp cry, "A trap! An absolute trap!"

"That is the 'eye of the vortex' of chaos, where the Heavenly Demons love to ambush and erode minds! You ten thousand of you are there like torches in the darkness!"

Even the most composed remnant soul of the Prison-Suppressing Divine Elephant trembled: "Zhang Yuan... this mission is fraught with peril. Be extremely careful of the colossal beast's breath that distorts space... and the omnipresent whispers of the Heavenly Demons..."

The voice was filled with heavy worry.

The mythical beasts' warnings confirmed that the mission was far more dangerous than expected.

However, amidst this solemn atmosphere, Zhang Yuan's fingertips caressed the mission jade slip, and chaotic runes flowed in his eyes.

Although he stood with his eyes closed, his mind was rapidly reconstructing the battlefield of the Blood Millstone—the trajectory of shattered stars, the turbulence of the chaotic vortex, and the roar of the star beasts were all transformed into deduction data.

Three breaths later, he suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

"The Burial Ground of Saints... the Eye of the Chaos Vortex..." A whisper, audible only to himself, rolled down his throat, his smile growing clearer with each deduction. "No support, communication cut off? Heh... just what I wanted." The last three words were as light as dust, yet they caused the jade slip in his hand to silently vanish into ashes.

----------------

The three days passed in the blink of an eye amidst the intense preparations for war.

The atmosphere of grimness at the Qin Martial Guard camp reached its peak.

The 10,000 guards, after thorough equipment checks and skillful battle drills, were all fully aware of what they were about to face.

That indomitable will, born from the bloody battles in the wasteland, was tempered into something even purer under the threat of death.

On the morning of the fourth day, the massive gate of Jielu Pass, facing the "Blood Millstone," slowly rose a crack amidst a piercing metallic scraping sound.

A chilling, chaotic aura surged into the pass like a tangible tide.

Zhang Yuanxuan, his black Taoist robe motionless in the howling wind, stood before the formation.

Behind him, ten thousand guards formed a disciplined Xuanwu Qingtian battle formation, their black armor like a forest, their lightning patterns shimmering, their silence as solid as a mountain.

Their actions attracted countless eyes at the checkpoint.

At this critical moment, the area was densely packed with defending troops and elites from all sides who came to watch the spectacle.

"Ha! He actually went? He's courting death!" Someone sneered; it was none other than Young Master Xuanlan, who had mocked Zhang Yuan in the main hall earlier.

"Ten thousand new recruits dare to venture into the Blood Millstone? Their courage is commendable, but their foolishness is even greater!" Another Celestial Elite shook his head.

"Zhang Yuan! Don't die! Keep your life, and wait for the Heavenly Palace to 'deal with' you!" A malicious voice shouted, causing a burst of laughter. It was someone from Venerable Li Xing's faction.

But there are also dissenting voices.

Standing beside the elder of the Xuan Turtle Clan, the golden-armored celestial general, Venerable Zhaowu, looked at the silent human army below, a hint of appreciation and solemnity flashing in his eyes.

He took a deep breath, gathered his spiritual power, and spoke in a booming voice that pierced through the noisy laughter, reaching Zhang Yuan's ears clearly:

"Zhang Yuan! Blood Millstone is dangerous! Hold your ground and wait for reinforcements. Survive! Don't die—!"

The shout brought the laughter that had been building to a halt.

Upon hearing the voice, Zhang Yuan slightly turned his head, his gaze piercing through space, and met the eyes of the golden-armored celestial being at the pass. He then nodded in greeting.

Immediately, he stopped looking at the gate and fixed his gaze firmly on the gray-purple void outside the gate, a void churning with death and destruction.

"Great Qin Martial Guard—"

Zhang Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a stabilizing force, reaching the ears of every soldier.

"Marching!"

The command flag is waved down!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Ten thousand armored soldiers, with their orderly and heavy steps, surged out of the massive gate of the Boundary Barrier Pass, like a black torrent bursting its banks, braving the oncoming chaotic storm, and rushed into the deathly abyss known as the "Blood Millstone."

The gate slowly closed behind us, cutting off our last escape route and the clamor.

Zhang Yuan's figure blended into the gray-purple chaotic background and disappeared.

Only in the distant void, a few colossal star beasts, sensing the presence of "fresh prey," slowly turned their massive bodies, their crimson eyes locking onto the newly appeared "black spot."

Blood-soaked battlefield.

Northeast corner.

Above the position codenamed "Meteor Cliff," demonic clouds churned and surged like boiling asphalt.

Three remaining defensive runes flickered under the corrosive poisonous miasma, like the last gasps of a dying person.

Beside the broken boundary marker, the three remaining guardian cultivators leaned against the cold stone, like the last three rusty nails welded to the position.

The leading veteran had his left arm severed at the root, and his only remaining bloodied right hand was pressed tightly against the center of the formation on the ground, his knuckles turning blue and white from excessive force.

The protective barrier he had painstakingly erected by burning his divine soul was now as thin as a cicada's wing, groaning under its unbearable weight.

Outside the protective barrier, hundreds of Bone-Eating Demons were frantically gnawing on the still-warm bones of their fallen comrades from the previous day. The crunching sounds, mixed with the greedy roars of the demons, echoed across the deathly silent battlefield.

Beside the veteran, a young cultivator's right eye was a bloody mess, and his only remaining left eye stared intently at the dim halo of the runes, hoarsely roaring, "Captain, hold on!"

Before he could finish speaking, an exceptionally large Bone-Eating Demon slammed into the protective barrier with a "rip," and cracks instantly spread like a spider web. The foul-smelling demonic energy seeped in through the gaps, scorching the skin.

The veteran's body trembled violently, a trickle of black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and the veins on his right hand, which was pressing on the core of the formation, bulged. The burning pain in his soul made him clench his teeth, making a grinding sound.

He managed to squeeze out a single word: "Awesome...!"

On the other side, his companion, whose chest was pierced and whose wound was emanating black energy, futilely traced dim rune paths in the void with his fingers.

Each attempt caused him to cough up bloody froth mixed with fragments of internal organs.

He stared at the last shattered spirit stone beside him, devoid of any spiritual energy, and despair tightened around his heart like cold vines: "Spirit stone, all gone... Communication jade slip, broken... Who can come?"

His voice was so faint that it was almost swallowed up by the clamor of the monsters.

Despair. In fact, they had already been in despair since they began guarding the Blood Mill.

Unexpectedly, the 20,000-strong army couldn't hold out for three days.

"Om-"

Just as the protective light was about to completely fade away, the young cultivator's only remaining left eye suddenly caught a glimpse of an unusual light flashing by at the edge of the distant chaotic storm!
A tiny, almost instantly swallowed up by the demonic cloud, blazing white lightning!
He grasped at the last straw and screamed desperately, "Light! Over there! There's light!!"

However, the faint point of light vanished in an instant, completely submerged by the surging gray-purple chaos, as if it had never existed.

The spark of hope was ruthlessly extinguished as soon as it was lit.

The old soldier's cloudy eyes struggled to move, glancing in the direction where the light had vanished, leaving only endless demonic clouds.

His blood-stained face twitched, and he poured the last ounce of his burning soul power into the array's core, uttering a final, desperate murmur: "Reinforcements, quick..."

Before the words were even finished, the protective shield, which had been stretched to its limit, emitted a piercing explosion and cracked and shattered!
With their last barrier gone, the shadows of the Bone-Eating Demons, as vast as mountains and as deep as the sea, crashed down on the three tiny, blood-stained figures beneath the boundary marker like a destructive tide!
"Whoosh—Boom!"

A piercing sound of tearing through the air suddenly ripped open the demonic clouds.

A giant arrow, coiled around a lightning python, pierced through the horde of bone-corroding demons, and the exploding lightning instantly vaporized dozens of demons.

The three people on the cliff looked up in horror and saw the Xuanmo battle flag spreading across the sky like splashed ink.

Lei Zhen stood at the front of the formation, his feet planted on thunderclouds, the bowstring of the Rift Abyss Divine Bow still vibrating: "Rockstone Camp Vanguard, clear the field!"

"Zheng—"

The resounding clang of thousands of thunder-slaying blades being drawn simultaneously overwhelmed the storm. (End of Chapter)