Everyone's Immortal Cultivation: Starting from a Junior Talisman Maker

Chapter 185 The Struggle for National Destiny, Three Kingdoms Declare War (Revised)
After all the cultivators in the Xia Kingdom who had reached the True Core Realm voluntarily made a soul oath.

Mingwu Zhenjun, who had been watching this matter from the shadows, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the number of high-level cultivators in the Xia Kingdom who had defected to the enemy and betrayed their country in recent years was not as bad as he had imagined.

In his view, as long as the high-level cultivators of their Xia Kingdom who have reached the True Core Realm do not defect to the enemy and betray their country in large numbers.

He believed that after his death, if other nearby countries wanted to annex their Xia Kingdom, they would have to pay a heavy price.

After all, True Core Realm cultivators, as a nation's high-end combat force, can essentially determine the final outcome of a war without the intervention of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.

While Nascent Soul Realm cultivators possess formidable combat power...

It can easily annihilate a group of True Core Realm cultivators, or even Golden Core Realm cultivators.
However, when both countries at war have Nascent Soul cultivators, the Nascent Soul cultivators generally do not easily intervene to bully the weak.

Otherwise, if a Nascent Soul cultivator from an enemy country were to attack a True Core cultivator from their own country...

Then, the Nascent Soul cultivators of this country can also go to the enemy country and easily kill the True Core cultivators of the enemy country, as well as slaughter a large number of low-level cultivators.

Such an outcome is clearly not what the countries that started the war want to see.

Therefore, as long as there are two countries, and both have Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in charge, it is possible to achieve this.

When war breaks out between the two sides, they will usually only send Core Formation Realm cultivators to participate in the war.

Regardless of the final outcome, the war will not escalate to the point where the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators of both countries intervene.

Otherwise, both countries will pay a heavy price and ultimately suffer losses.

Of course, this excludes cultivators at the True Core Realm.

In their Xia Kingdom, the combat power of the pseudo-core realm cultivators should not be underestimated.

However, according to Mingwu Zhenjun's understanding, there are more than 500 pseudo-core cultivators in their Xia Kingdom.

However, it is somewhat unrealistic for Mingwu Zhenjun to gather so many people in the capital city and force them to make a divine oath.

After all, these hundreds of pseudo-core cultivators have been assigned to important positions in various immortal cities by the Xia Kingdom.

Once they are all summoned to the capital city, the other cities will be left unguarded, which could lead to a great deal of chaos.

They dispatched True Core Realm cultivators, carrying Soul-Cursing Talismans, to the immortal cities where these False Core Realm cultivators resided, to have them swear a divine oath.

It is also difficult to implement.

After all, these pseudo-Core Formation cultivators are scattered throughout the various immortal cities of the Xia Kingdom. Sending True Core Formation cultivators to force them to make a soul oath would be time-consuming and laborious.

Moreover, information can easily leak during the implementation process.

If some of these pseudo-Core Formation cultivators are spies who have been bribed by the enemy, and they learn of this and take some extreme actions, such as threatening the lives of cultivators in an entire immortal city, then it will be difficult to resolve the situation.

Moreover, these fourth-tier soul-infused runes are extremely difficult to draw and have very high production costs.

Even the True Lord Mingwu didn't have much stock.

They simply couldn't produce hundreds of fourth-tier Soul-Spelling Talismans for all the pseudo-Core Formation cultivators in the Xia Kingdom to swear an oath upon.

As for using third-tier soul-inducing talismans to make those pseudo-core cultivators swear oaths, the effect will be greatly reduced.

After all, even if they swore an oath, if they later wanted to defect to the enemy or betray their country, they could privately ask a True Core Realm cultivator from the enemy country to help them break the oath.

Therefore, True Lord Mingwu instructed True Lord Beihan to summon all the True Core Realm cultivators of the Xia Kingdom to the capital city of Xiancheng, and after they had sworn a divine soul oath, he stopped.

In any case, the strength of a True Core Realm cultivator is much stronger than that of a False Core Realm cultivator.

As long as True Core Realm cultivators are prevented from defecting to the enemy or betraying the country, the situation in the nation can be stabilized.

Normally, even a cultivator at the early stage of the True Core Realm can easily kill three or four cultivators at the Pseudo Core Realm working together.

Even if ten Pseudo-Core Realm cultivators joined forces, they might not be able to successfully kill a True Core Realm early stage cultivator.

This is the difference in strength between a True Core Realm cultivator and a False Core Realm cultivator.

True Core Realm cultivators are stronger than False Core Realm cultivators not only in terms of cultivation in terms of Dharma, Body, and Spirit.

Furthermore, it can cast third-tier spells and control multiple third-tier magical artifacts to amplify its own strength.

For cultivators at the Pseudo-Core Realm, due to the poor quality of their Core Formation, it is extremely difficult to cultivate a third-tier spell to the entry level.

Moreover, given the quality of a cultivator's magical power at the Pseudo-Core Realm, even when wielding a low-grade third-tier magic weapon, it would be difficult to unleash its full power.

This results in a pseudo-core cultivator being slightly stronger than some cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Furthermore, even if multiple Foundation Establishment cultivators joined forces to besiege a Pseudo Core Formation cultivator, they could potentially kill him.

Therefore, in the eyes of a True Core Realm cultivator, there is no difference between a False Core Realm cultivator and a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

After True Monarch Bei Han forced all True Core Realm cultivators in the Xia Kingdom to swear a soul oath.

Not long after, Mingwu Zhenjun passed the throne to Beihan Zhenjun on the grounds of poor health.

After that, Mingwu Zhenjun never appeared in the public eye again.

Even the task of preaching to Yang Feng and Zhao Qingting was entrusted to True Lord Bei Han.

After Bei Han Zhenjun succeeded Ming Wu Zhenjun to the throne.

Many cultivators outside the sect speculated that True Monarch Mingwu probably didn't have much time left.

Soon, the news reached the ears of the kings of several countries bordering Xia.

There are a total of five countries bordering the Xia Kingdom.

These five countries are Wuqi, Yunlai, Nanyu, Yue, and Weiyang.

Furthermore, the overall national strength of these five countries, from strongest to weakest, follows the same order as above.

Among the five countries, the Wuqi Kingdom, which has the strongest overall national strength, also currently has two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.

Furthermore, the two Nascent Soul cultivators from Wuqi Kingdom are not very old at present.

He is only a little over four hundred years old this year, and has just broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm less than a hundred years ago.

He was over six hundred years old and his strength was at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm.

As for the other four countries...

Currently, each country has only one Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in charge.

Among them, the Nascent Soul cultivator from Yunlai Kingdom is currently over five hundred years old, and his strength is also at its peak.

The Nascent Soul cultivator from the Southern Kingdom is currently over seven hundred years old, which means he has entered old age. His strength may not be weak, but it will be difficult for him to make any further progress in his cultivation in this lifetime.

As for Yue and Weiyang, they are two relatively weak countries. Yue, in particular, was founded less than a hundred years ago, and its king is relatively young, currently over four hundred years old. Since he broke through to the Nascent Soul realm less than a century ago, his cultivation level is probably the lowest among the countries bordering Xia.

The king of Weiyang Kingdom is the oldest among these countries.

It is said that he is already over nine hundred years old. Given that he is at the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, his lifespan is limited to at most a hundred years. His strength is probably not even comparable to that of the King of Yue.

If the Weiyang Kingdom is unable to cultivate new Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in the next hundred years.

Perhaps, the Weiyang Kingdom will perish even earlier than the Xia Kingdom.

Because cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage can gather the nation's fortune to bless themselves when they serve as leaders or kings of a country.

Luck, on the other hand, has many benefits for the cultivation of Nascent Soul cultivators.

It is said that the larger a country's territory, the more cultivators it has, and the stronger its overall strength, the greater its fortune will be.

Therefore, any country without a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in charge will suffer.

Neighboring countries would immediately annex and divide it up to enhance their own national fortune.

Including the Xia Kingdom, which, for the past few hundred years, also used this method to annex large swathes of immortal city territories of several neighboring countries, thereby enhancing its national fortune.

Ultimately, he helped Mingwu Zhenjun successfully break through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.

However, as True Monarch Mingwu entered old age, and the Xia Kingdom had not cultivated any new Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in the past few hundred years, True Monarch Beihan had not broken through to the mid-Nascent Soul Realm either.

This naturally attracted the attention of several neighboring countries, who also set their sights on the aging Xia Kingdom.

In particular, the kingdoms of Wuqi and Yunlai are two countries with relatively strong overall strength, and both have Nascent Soul realm kings who want to further advance their cultivation in the future.

At this moment, they received news that True Lord Mingwu had passed the throne to True Lord Beihan. Believing that True Lord Mingwu's lifespan was nearing its end, they naturally became restless.

They all wanted to seize some immortal city territories from the Xia Kingdom while they were still young, to strengthen themselves and improve their country's fortune.

Then, by taking advantage of the nation's fortune, one can accelerate one's own cultivation and strive to make further progress in cultivation in the future, breaking through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, thereby living for several hundred more years.

Thus, the kings of Wuqi and Yunlai Kingdoms died shortly after Beihan Zhenjun ascended the throne.

They then formally declared war on the Xia Kingdom, citing the fact that the Xia Kingdom had previously occupied a significant portion of their territory, and demanded that the Xia Kingdom return the territories it had seized.

Meanwhile, the other countries saw that Wuqi and Yunlai had formally declared war on Xia.

Furthermore, a large number of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators were formally mobilized and gathered to go to the border immortal city adjacent to the Xia Kingdom in preparation for launching a war.

The King of Yue, who had just established his kingdom, followed suit and declared war on Xia.

As for the kings of Nanyu Kingdom and Weiyang Kingdom, due to their advanced age, even if they seized some immortal city territories from Xia Kingdom to enhance their own nation's vitality, they could not advance their cultivation further. Therefore, these two kingdoms remained silent.

After assuming the throne, Bei Han Zhenjun did not back down in the face of declarations of war from several neighboring countries.

Similarly, a large number of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators from across the country were mobilized to go to the border immortal city to guard it.

Furthermore, in order to encourage cultivators at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages to actively participate in the war, True Lord Beihan promulgated various preferential policies for cultivators who volunteered to participate in the war.

At the same time, the Ministry of Resources of Xia Kingdom offered a large amount of precious resources as a form of enticement.

Examples include Foundation Establishment Pills, Breakthrough Pills, and high-level pills that enhance spiritual root aptitude and body quality, as well as Core Formation spiritual objects.

As long as cultivators voluntarily accept the Xia Kingdom's arrangements to guard the border immortal cities, they can obtain a large amount of merit points. Once a certain amount of merit points are accumulated, they can be exchanged for these precious resources that are usually difficult to buy.

This prompted many cultivators who had reached the Qi Refining Realm or wanted to advance their cultivation to the next level to respond to the call.

After all, although war is cruel, for some cultivators who dare to fight, war is also an opportunity for them to change their own destiny.

Thus, as several neighboring countries declared war on the Xia Kingdom, the Xia Kingdom also quickly assembled a large number of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators and rushed to various border immortal cities to strengthen their defenses.

When Mingwu Zhenjun saw that only three countries had declared war on their Xia Kingdom, he breathed a sigh of relief.

At least, the worst-case scenario did not occur.

According to Mingwu Zhenjun's investigations over the years, he learned that the three countries that declared war on their Xia Kingdom had only fifty or sixty cultivators with cultivation levels above the True Core Realm.

It's roughly the same as the number of True Core Realm cultivators currently existing in their Xia Kingdom.

Even if these three countries declare war on Xia Kingdom, it is clearly impossible for them to send all their True Core Realm cultivators to participate in the war.

After all, there are thirteen countries in the entire Northern Plains. This means that while the three countries of Wuqi Kingdom are declaring war on Xia Kingdom, they also have to leave most of their defensive forces behind to prevent neighboring countries from taking advantage of the situation.

Yang Feng felt a mix of emotions when he saw that the once incredibly powerful Xia Kingdom had been declared war on by several other countries shortly after his master abdicated.

In this world of cultivation, the rise and fall of a nation, and its future destiny, are closely related to the strength and lifespan of its leader.

The stronger the leader, the safer the country is relatively.

Once a Nascent Soul cultivator dies in a country and no new Nascent Soul cultivator takes over, the entire country will immediately become a piece of meat, which will be quickly divided up by several neighboring countries.

Fortunately, although several neighboring countries believed that their master's lifespan was nearing its end after his abdication, they all wanted to take a piece of their Xia Kingdom.

But at least their Xia Kingdom still has a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in charge, so even after his master passed away, he wouldn't immediately collapse.

In addition, Yang Feng thought that his cultivation had now reached the mid-stage of the Golden Core Realm, which meant he had a certain ability to protect himself, which made him feel a little more at ease.

In particular, Yang Feng is now highly valued by his master and his third senior brother as a potential Nascent Soul cultivator in the Xia Kingdom, and therefore does not need to be sent to the Xia Kingdom's border to guard like others.

This means he doesn't need to worry about his safety at this stage.

Even if the domestic situation is tense.

From now on, he only needs to stay in Kyoto Immortal City and focus on his cultivation.

However, when they think about their Xia Kingdom, they realize that it is now facing an attack from three countries.

In their Xia Kingdom, apart from his third senior brother, True Monarch Bei Han, the other senior brothers and sisters have little hope of achieving the Nascent Soul stage in the future.

In addition, his third senior brother, True Lord Beihan, is already over seven hundred years old and only has a lifespan of over two hundred years left.

This made Yang Feng feel a sense of urgency.

After all, what if his senior brothers and sisters are unable to break through to the Nascent Soul realm in the future?

So once his third senior brother, True Monarch Beihan, passes away, and if no new Nascent Soul cultivator is born in their Xia Kingdom, then the entire Xia Kingdom, including him, will be in danger.

Therefore, no matter what, Yang Feng must seize the time and try to break through to the Nascent Soul realm before his third senior brother's lifespan ends.

Otherwise, if the Xia Kingdom is annexed by several neighboring countries, it will become extremely difficult for him to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

(End of this chapter)