If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Zhou Ming did not linger in Antai County for long, withdrawing his divine sense from the notice at the city gate.

His figure turned in mid-air, aimed at the direction of Yuyang County in Youzhou, and transformed into a streak of purple-gold light that shot away.

Having been away for half a year, he needed to return as soon as possible to understand the current state of affairs in the world.

However, after flying for only half an hour, he realized something was wrong.

The major cities that should have been taken over by Su Mingyue's army have changed their flags at some point.

In the garrison camps of major cities, there should have been the familiar black banners of the Youzhou army.

Now, however, it is filled with all sorts of colorful flags, fluttering haphazardly in the wind.

Some flags were embroidered with the character "Zhang" in large characters, some with the character "Wang", and a few didn't even bother with embroidered characters, just drawing a rough tiger head totem.

The flags changed in every city they passed through; no two were the same.

Zhou Ming lowered his flight altitude and stopped over a large city at the border of Chongzhou and Youzhou.

Several dark red flags embroidered with the character "Sun" fluttered in the wind atop the city wall.

Zhou Ming extended his divine sense and sensed a familiar aura in the city lord's mansion in the center of the city.

A Blood Refining Realm martial artist, specifically one who has cultivated the Crossing the World Scripture.

There is a thick chain of cause and effect above this person's head.

Zhou Ming recognized him at a glance: this person was one of the martial artists who had come out of the Blood Pool Cage.

Zhou Ming made a hand seal, and a thick fog rose up around him, completely enveloping his figure. Then, in a flash, he appeared in the study of the city lord's mansion.

The martial artist was sitting cross-legged on a low couch, reciting the Scripture of Salvation, with a handwritten copy of the scripture spread out on his lap, muttering incantations.

He suddenly felt the air in front of him distort slightly, and looked up.

I was scared half to death.

A swirling, unpredictable mist stood three steps in front of him, exactly like the mysterious immortal who had carved scriptures on the mountainside wall and killed the immortal Liu Jun with a single palm strike that day.

The martial artist trembled with fear, rolled off the low couch, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to his knees, his forehead slamming heavily against the blue brick floor, his voice trembling.

"An immortal... an immortal!"

"Tell me, what's the situation in Great Xia right now?" Zhou Ming didn't want to waste time with small talk and asked directly.

"This... immortal," the martial artist cautiously raised his head to look at Zhou Ming, but could only see a swirling mist and couldn't see anything clearly.

He swallowed hard, his voice filled with awe and nervousness.

"Reporting back to the immortal, the Great Xia is now in complete chaos, no... not only the Great Xia, but also the Great Yuan and the Great Yan are in complete chaos."

After he finished speaking, he secretly glanced at the thick fog again, but still couldn't see anything. He only heard a hard, dry sound coming from the fog.

Tell me more.

The martial artist quickly lowered his body and recounted all the changes that had occurred over the past six months.

Since Zhou Ming released them from the cage that day, more than two thousand martial artists above the Blood Refining Realm have been reciting the Crossing the World Scripture day and night in front of the stone wall.

They were martial arts masters, possessing not only an amazing memory but also a fast speaking speed.

Within just one or two days, people began to cultivate their first strand of magical power in their dantian.

With magical powers at their disposal, these people were unwilling to stay in the valley for even a moment longer.

In twos and threes, they ventured into the endless forest, and with their martial arts skills largely restored, they fought their way out and escaped this nightmare land that had imprisoned them for countless years.

Once they left the Endless Forest, these people were like sand entering the sea, each returning to their original families, sects, or forces.

This threw the world into complete chaos.

When power belongs to oneself, no one wants to be subordinate to others anymore.

What's more, they were a group of desperate criminals imprisoned in iron cages, their blood drained every day, their hearts filled with rage and nowhere to vent it.

Each of them was once a powerful figure who dominated a region, and each of them was accustomed to having the power of life and death.

Now that he has regained his freedom and has cultivated magical powers that are beyond the reach of ordinary people, why would he care about any imperial court or emperor?

The first to suffer was Emperor Yongchang, Liu Ji. Since these people couldn't kill Liu Jun, they took their anger out on his descendants.

Several months ago, late one night, a group of martial artists who had infiltrated Yuyang County from an unknown source launched a surprise attack on the imperial palace.

Although the imperial guards of the palace had cultivated the Transcendental Scripture, their cultivation level was still shallow, and they were no match for these Blood Refining Realm warriors.

The Imperial Guard's defenses were breached, and the group of warriors stormed into the Qian Yuan Hall as if it were empty.

It is said that Emperor Yongchang was playing with crickets under an oil lamp when he was struck by a palm and shattered into pieces, leaving no trace of his body.

After killing Emperor Yongchang, these warriors prepared to storm Yongning City.

At the critical moment, Su Mingyue's army arrived just in time outside the city.

Although the individual cultivation levels of her soldiers were not as high as those of these martial artists, they had the advantage of large numbers, good training, and the entire army had mastered the more than ten simplified spells left by Zhou Ming.

Tens of thousands of fireballs, ice needles, earthen walls, and wind blades rained down outside Yongning City, overwhelming the warriors with sheer numbers and forcing them to retreat.

That battle caused half of Yongning City's city walls to collapse.

It was only because Su Mingyue reacted quickly that she was able to do so; if she had been any slower, the entire Yongning City would probably have been reduced to ashes.

Even with the advantage of magic, Su Mingyue's control over the Great Xia inevitably crumbled in the following months.

On one hand, the warriors who returned from the valleys are now scattered all over the world, each occupying a county and ruling as kings.

They either recruited soldiers to conquer cities and seize territories, or they returned to their old clans to undermine the authority of the imperial officials.

Or they secretly formed an alliance to attack and defend, and the entire territory of the Great Xia was divided into dozens of forces of varying sizes.

On the other hand, an even more fatal reason plunged Su Mingyue into an unprecedented predicament.

Su Yongning is back.

Su Yongning led several other martial artists who had also escaped from the valley out of the Endless Forest and headed south back to Youzhou.

When he appeared at the foot of Zhenbei City, the old soldiers guarding the city could hardly believe their eyes.

The old Marquis is not dead?

The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire northern border army.

Those veterans who had just retired from the battlefields of Yunzhou and Chongzhou rode their horses to Zhenbei City, knelt in the city gate, hugged the old marquis's legs, and wailed.

Su Yongning's prestige in the border army was earned through decades of fighting and bloodshed, and this prestige will not dissipate just because he was absent for more than half a year.

Su Mingyue's position as the young marshal was originally a temporary appointment to command troops after her father's death in battle.

Now that the old Marquis has returned, the veterans who have followed Su Yongning for most of their lives have naturally regrouped under his command.

A large portion of Su Mingyue's military power was thus divided up.

The martial artist then cautiously added:

"However, I heard that the young marshal did not fall out with the old marquis."

"It seems the father and daughter talked behind closed doors in the marshal's mansion all night, and then..."

"The old Marquis took his old troops to the northern frontier to take charge, while the young marshal personally oversaw Yuyang County and the heartland of Youzhou."

"As for other places..." He stopped abruptly.