Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

Followed by.

Under the horrified gazes of Ying Que and the other two, who looked as if they had seen a ghost.

The sword beam shattered inch by inch from the point of contact with the folding fan, turning into countless tiny blue light spots.

It drifted down onto Li Changqing's blue robe and disappeared without a trace in the wind.

"This...this is impossible!"

Ying Que's face turned deathly pale, and he exclaimed in shock, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

That's the true sword technique passed down from the Penglai Immortal Sect!

Let alone ordinary people, even cultivators of the same realm would not dare to take a direct hit with a mere mortal object!

"With such meager skills, you dare to presume to claim that the chasm between immortals and mortals is insurmountable?"

Li Changqing closed his folding fan and sighed slowly.

"It seems those few longevity pills have really messed up the brains of you Qin Dynasty descendants."

"You have all ruined the reputation of the First Emperor."

He slowly raised his head, and his deep eyes, which were like ancient wells, were no longer as still as they had been.

An immense pressure, dormant for centuries, slowly opened its eyes within the seemingly frail body of the man in the blue robe, like an ancient dragon.

The surrounding air became incredibly viscous in that instant.

The howling autumn wind suddenly stopped.

The river under the Baliqiao Bridge seemed to be frozen by some terrifying force, ceasing its flow.

The three people in mid-air felt an unprecedented, terrifying pressure that could destroy their souls, like ten thousand mountains pressing down on their shoulders in an instant.

Their protective aura, which they were so proud of, crumbled like fragile soap bubbles in the face of this oppressive force.

"You... what kind of monster are you...?"

Ying Que gritted his teeth and desperately tried to escape by channeling his inner energy.

He found that the space around him seemed to have turned into a solid block of iron, and he couldn't even move a single finger.

Li Changqing did not answer.

He simply tucked his hands back into his sleeves.

"Now that we've left the island, let's stay in this mortal world forever and become a handful of dust."

He lifted his foot and lightly stomped on the bluestone slabs of Baliqiao Bridge.

"Thump."

A dull thud that struck straight to the soul.

The three Ying brothers and sisters, who were suspended in mid-air, didn't even have time to utter a scream.

In their eyes, filled with extreme fear and despair.

Their immortal bodies, refined by spiritual energy over two thousand years and considered indestructible, were struck head-on by an invisible hammer from the heavens.

"Bang bang bang!"

Three blinding clouds of blood mist exploded in mid-air.

There was no escape of the Nascent Soul cultivator, nor any aftershock of the complete annihilation of the soul and spirit.

With just a slight stomp, three terrestrial immortals, who were unattainable in the eyes of mortals, were shattered into the smallest dust particles. Not even a drop of flesh or blood fell before they were completely wiped out by the great power of heaven and earth.

The wind blew across Baliqiao again.

The river flows on once more.

The one-armed commander stared blankly at the dissipating blood mist in mid-air, then looked at the blue-robed figure with his hands behind his back at the bridgehead. He was like a clay or wooden sculpture, completely losing the ability to think.

Li Changqing did not turn around.

He opened his folding fan and turned his gaze to the majestic Forbidden City in the west.

The curtain has only just been raised.

Those arrogant and ignorant patriarchs of immortal sects are probably still dreaming of taking over the Golden Palace.

As the master, he still had to make a trip to the Forbidden City to sweep away the last dust for his disciple.

A man in a blue robe, upright and honest, takes a step forward.

The weight of history and the illusion of immortality will ultimately face the most thorough reckoning at the feet of this immortal seeker.

……

In the late autumn twilight, the setting sun shone like blood.

The continuous glazed tiles of the Forbidden City were dyed a shocking dark red.

The autumn wind howled down from the Yanshan Mountains in the north, sweeping across the empty Chang'an Street, stirring up the fallen leaves and scattered shop signs.

The once bustling capital city, a hub of rare treasures from all over the world, now resembles a vast, deathly silent mausoleum.

The city gates had long been sealed shut with sandbags and stones, and the banners on the city walls fluttered in the cold wind.

It was like the last, defiant lament of the Ming Dynasty.

The atmosphere in the square outside Fengtian Gate was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Emperor Chengping, Zhu Youzhen, was wearing dark gold mountain-patterned armor and had his hand on the Emperor's sword.

Like a cast-iron statue, it stands quietly on the white marble steps.

His temples were frosted with white by the years, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes held the marks of a lifetime spent conquering new territories.

Beside him, the Grand Secretary Song Yin and the high-ranking officials of the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers were all dressed in mourning clothes, their expressions extremely sorrowful.

Tens of thousands of elite troops from the Beijing Garrison and the Divine Machine Battalion surrounded Fengtian Gate completely.

The soldiers' armor gleamed coldly in the setting sun, and the fuses of their muskets were already lit.

The muzzles of the Hongyi General's cannons were all pointed towards the eastern sky.

Everyone knows the truth.

This so-called impregnable fortress is nothing but a futile struggle before those who are about to arrive from beyond the world.

The entire 100,000-strong Tianjin naval force was annihilated, and the Tongzhou camp collapsed in a single day.

Those land-based immortals who ride the wind on swords and can summon heavenly thunder and earthly fire with every move.

They used cruel methods to trample the firearms and military formations that ordinary people were proud of into pieces.

"emperor……"

Song Yin's voice was hoarse as he looked at Zhu Youzhen's desolate profile, his eyes filled with pain.

"The secret agents of the Embroidered Uniform Guard risked their lives to send back news that something seems to have happened at Baliqiao outside Tongzhou City. The three demonic cultivators from the Immortal Sect who went to pursue them have disappeared there."

"However... the enemy's main force, those dozens of sorcerers, has already crossed Tongzhou and is heading towards the capital by wind. In no more than half an hour, they will be at the city gates."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youzhen's bloodshot eyes remained unmoved, showing no sign of backing down.

He simply loosened his grip on the sword hilt, looked up, and gazed at the blood-red setting sun.

"Minister Song, look at the prosperity of this city."

Zhu Youzhen's voice echoed across the empty square, carrying a profound weight that had traversed the vicissitudes of time.

"The maritime frontiers of the Ming Dynasty were opened up step by step for me by the Grand Tutor, who endured eternal infamy. The silver in the national treasury was accumulated bit by bit by you, working day and night, meticulously calculating the accounts of the world."

"I have ruled this country for over twenty years, working tirelessly day and night without a moment's slackening. I had hoped to bring a century of peace and prosperity to the people of the Ming Dynasty."

He gave a bitter smile, a smile tinged with endless sorrow.

"Who would have thought that there really is such a lineage of alchemists who have been hiding on an island for thousands of years, detached from worldly affairs."

"They consider themselves immortals and regard us mortals as insignificant ants."

"I refuse to accept this."

Zhu Youzhen suddenly turned around, his piercing gaze sweeping over the civil and military officials and tens of thousands of soldiers below the steps.

"I am the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, appointed by Heaven to govern all people! Under the rule of the Great Ming, there are only sons who die on the battlefield, and no slaves who kneel and beg for survival!"

"Today, I stand here outside Fengtian Gate, ready to live and die with the Ming Dynasty! Even if I am shattered to pieces, I will let those heretical demons know this!"

"Even mortals have their pride, and mortals should not be insulted!"

"We swear to follow the Emperor to the death! We will live and die with the Ming Dynasty!"

Tens of thousands of soldiers roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

That overwhelming fighting spirit, ready to die for its cause, actually condensed into an invisible, bloodthirsty aura in mid-air.

It dispelled some of the chill of late autumn.