A Thousand-Year Journey Through the God of War

Four people stood on either side, and a fifth person gracefully walked towards the God of War and his companions. She was beautiful, with fair skin, long, slender legs that were straight and firm, and bright, sparkling eyes. At that moment, she parted her lips slightly, and a captivating voice rang out: "Could you gentlemen be friends of the God of War Temple? Here to find your former guild leader, Zhao Ying?" The God of War quickly replied, "How did you know our identities and the purpose of our visit, young lady?" Feng Xuexin hurriedly tugged at the God of War's arm; these people looked strange and seemed to have ill intentions, likely enemies rather than friends. "Oh? Then we are friends." Seeing how easily the God of War had agreed, the mysterious woman smiled and took out a letter, handing it to him, saying, "This is a letter from Miss Ziyan, sent by General Zhou through Xiao Qiao." The God of War took the letter; it read "To Brother Ying" in four delicate characters—indeed, Ziyan's handwriting. Remembering Ying-ge's parting words, Dou Shen opened the letter. It read: "Winter has passed and spring has come; more than two years have gone by in the blink of an eye. Yan often leans against the window gazing north, yet she cannot see your face. During festivals, she tosses and turns, thinking of you all night. In Jiangdong, demons stir, and Yan bravely vanquishes them, thus ensuring peace in Jiangdong. However, Sun Ce is seriously wounded, and Hua Tuo has gone to the Central Plains, leaving no one to heal his wounds. Now, Bo Fu is dead, and Da Qiao is heartbroken, weeping day and night. Yan also feels grief and cannot bear to see her excessive sorrow, so she escorts her to the East Sea to find the Immortal Lake of Penglai. If Ying-ge reaches Jiangdong during this time, he can go to Gong Jin to find Xiao Qiao; he will surely be able to settle you well. When Yan returns with Da Qiao, she will never leave you, and will follow you through life and death." For the rest of my life, I only wish to slay all demons with Brother Ying and restore peace to the world. After we succeed, we will live in seclusion, hiding our identities and sailing the rivers and seas, wandering through life amidst the misty rain.

—Respectfully submitted by Ziyan in the spring of the tenth year of Jian'an (200 AD)

The God of War looked at the mysterious woman before him with suspicion and asked, "So, Miss Ziyan has already sailed far away. But Ying-ge has not yet been found, so we cannot ask you to bring back any letters for Miss Ziyan." "That's alright," the mysterious woman said, pursing her lips. "Miss Ziyan said that if Zhao Ying arrives in Jiangdong ahead of time, he only needs to wait at Zhou Yu's residence." "I heard from Miss Ziyan that there is a sister in your God of War's Hall who is proficient in music. I would like to learn from her. May I ask which one is present?" As she finished speaking, a very beautiful jade flute, entirely emerald green, suddenly appeared in her hand, shimmering beautifully in the sunlight. "Wow! This flute is so beautiful! It can even glow in broad daylight!" Na'er suddenly ran to the mysterious woman's side and grasped the jade flute with both hands. The mysterious woman smiled, gently stroking Na'er's hair, and her melodious voice came: "Little sister is so cute. Tell your sister, which one can play the piano?" "Na'er, don't be silly, come back quickly!" Ye'er hurriedly ran over. She had been guarding against the other four people on the other side and hadn't noticed that her younger sister had run over.

Suddenly, a weasel-faced man blocked her path, chuckling, "I just love ice beauties. Let's play around, don't try to take her from me!" Ye'er flew into a rage, shouting, "You lecherous scoundrel, die!" Before she finished speaking, her ancient sword slashed straight at the man's face. In an instant, the ancient sword clashed with the Twin Star Annihilation Blade, both displaying their full skills in a fierce, back-and-forth battle. The God of War, seeing this, was shocked. He looked at the mysterious woman and asked, "Aren't you friends of Miss Zi Yan? What's going on?"

The mysterious woman, while playing with Na'er using a jade flute, said, "We're friends, but it's normal for friends to spar. Besides, everyone appreciates beauty." The God of War, seeing the scene, realized this wasn't a sparring match; it was a life-or-death battle. Without hesitation, he grabbed his Swift Wind and Thunder Cudgel and went to help. He'd only taken a few steps when a figure blocked his way—it was the one wielding the Wind God's Sky-Shattering Cudgel. His chiseled face was filled with murderous intent: "I don't like killing women, so I'll reluctantly send you on your way first!"

The God of War dared not be careless, unleashing the full power of his Thirty-Six Styles of Swift Wind and Thunder Staff Technique. The countless staff shadows enveloped his opponent, but his opponent coldly snorted and unleashed the full power of his Wind God's Sky-Breaking Staff, using speed to counter speed. The two fought from the ground to the mountain and back again, with sand and stones flying everywhere and vegetation destroyed. In the blink of an eye, a hundred moves had passed. The God of War grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. No matter how fast his staff technique was, he could not harm his opponent in the slightest. It seemed that his opponent was using him as a training tool, or perhaps he had some unspeakable secret.

Watching the four locked in fierce combat, Feng Xuexin suddenly hatched a plan. Before she could act, the man in the Taoist robe, holding a whisk, approached her with a smile: "This old man sees that the Qilin Disc in your hand is a rare treasure. May I borrow it for a closer look?" Feng Xuexin thought to herself, "This isn't borrowing; it's stealing!" So she could only force a smile and say apologetically, "Old man, this is a family heirloom. Our ancestral teachings forbid it from being parted from your person!"

"Since you're so ignorant, don't blame me for being impolite." The Taoist priest said, rushing towards Feng Xuexin. "Pah, shameless old man!" Feng Xuexin spat and turned to run. "Aaaah, you're driving me crazy! When I catch you, I'll skin you alive!" Feng Xuexin was petite and agile, her movements incredibly fast, weaving and dodging throughout the area, making the Taoist priest yell and scream behind her, helpless for a moment.

As Ye'er fought her enemy, she gradually fell into a disadvantageous position. Her opponent wielded two long swords that appeared and disappeared unpredictably, with extremely tricky angles, making them impossible to defend against. For the first fifty or sixty moves, Ye'er, relying on the power of the Ancient Ding Blade and her exquisite swordsmanship, could still hold her own against her enemy. However, after seventy or eighty moves, Ye'er gradually began to struggle to hold on. By the time they had exchanged a hundred moves, Ye'er's stamina was severely depleted, and she could no longer unleash the power of the Ancient Ding Blade or use her superb swordsmanship. As the battle entered a fierce stage, Ye'er let out a soft shout, and her recently mastered ultimate killing move, "Phoenix," was unleashed in a suicidal attack. The Ancient Ding Blade transformed into a phoenix, radiating five-colored cold light, striking her enemy's entire body. The five colors were: red, white, blue, green, and yellow. These represented fire, ice, thunder, wind, and lightning, respectively.

In an instant, the heavens and earth changed color. However, this only lasted for a mere thirty seconds before the Ancient Ding Blade in Ye'er's hand lost its brilliance. It turned out that while the "Phoenix" technique was powerful, its duration was too short. That's why Ye'er used it at the last moment. At this point, she was too weak to fight anymore, but she had temporarily intimidated her opponent. The Ancient Ding Blade transformed into a phoenix, possessing both the power of a blade and the exquisite skill of a sword. Although it didn't cause him too much serious damage, it left him in a sorry state, his clothes riddled with holes, his body covered in sores from fire, ice, wind blades, lightning strikes, and scorching electricity. He was furious. Just as he was about to unleash the Twin Star Annihilation Technique to attack Ye'er again, suddenly, the universe shifted, rivers flowed backward, the sun and moon lost their light, and the heavens and earth changed color.