Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

"When heaven and earth were first created, the four cardinal directions collapsed, the nine provinces shattered, the sky could not fully cover the earth, the earth could not fully support it, fire raged endlessly, water flowed ceaselessly, and ferocious birds and beasts ravaged the people. It was the compassionate Heavenly Mother of the Great Darkness who forged two giant stones to mend the sky..."

This person recounted the new doctrine that Xi Heng had helped revise yesterday, and then continued:

"The Great Dark Heavenly Mother was once the first emperor of the world, creating a peaceful and prosperous era."

"In this prosperous age, there are no wicked people oppressing us, no hunger, cold, disease, or war; everyone lives in peace and contentment!"

"If everyone believed in my Dark Heaven Cult and worshipped the Dark Heavenly Mother, the world would surely be a peaceful and prosperous place again, ending this miserable world. Everyone would have food to eat, everyone would have gold and silver, there would be no more robbery or theft, and peace and tranquility would prevail everywhere."

"If any of you wish to believe in the Dark Heavenly Mother, you may join my Dark Heavenly Cult. Once you join the cult, you will be brothers and sisters, close to your fellow countrymen, and you will no longer go hungry or suffer humiliation."

These words reached the refugees' ears one after another. The first few words were useless, but when the last one, "No more starvation," was shouted, it immediately attracted the attention of the vast majority of people.

People rushed closer, forming another queue in front of Chen Xiang's dilapidated wooden table.

……

On the first day of distributing porridge, fifty young and healthy believers were recruited.

Xi Heng watched the whole thing silently, feeling that he had set a goal that wasn't high enough.

In this city of Goldstone, which is full of refugees, recruiting a thousand people a month is by no means a difficult task.

"It might just be because there were too many people on the first day... and training them will take a lot of effort and thought afterward. Too many people are actually harder to manage."

"Let these guys take their time. I, the leader, don't need to be running around all the time..."

After the porridge distribution was over, Xi Heng returned to his newly rearranged room in the church, had dinner, and then went to sleep with nothing else to do.

Six days later, at dusk, the Dark Celestial Sect's first sacrificial ceremony was held in the inner city square of Golden Stone City.

The Dark Celestial Priests, dressed in robes embroidered with many snake-shaped patterns, ascended the platform and began to perform a strange dance to the accompaniment of drums and music.

This group of former Jingming Sect followers are quite familiar with the procedures of a ritual, but since they can no longer use the Jingming Sect's ritual dance, they have to choreograph a new one. They are not very skilled at dancing it yet, and it looks rather awkward and strange.

The priest offered meat as an offering to the Great Dark Goddess, represented by a serpent symbol. He then read aloud the teachings, deeds, and names of the Great Dark Goddess to the followers below and the many refugees who had come from the surrounding area, leading them to worship and pray together. Afterward, a soup kitchen was set up to distribute soup.

Each time the porridge offering begins, the priest will say, "By the command of the merciful holy woman."

The refugees receiving porridge would also express their gratitude to the Dark Heaven and to the Merciful Holy Woman...

Xi Heng listened quietly from the rooftop behind him.

She felt that she was not associated with the word "compassion".

However, this title sounds better than "murderous blood demon".

……

Twenty days passed gradually.

During these days, the Dark Heavenly Sect distributed porridge every day until they ran out of food, and could only purchase more from the few remaining wealthy families or government officials in the city.

During the war, food prices soared, especially in places like Jinshi City where the fighting was fierce. A grain of rice cost one or two taels of gold. The Dark Heavenly Sect spent nearly a thousand taels of silver to buy enough food to continue distributing porridge for a month, plus food for its own followers.

If this extravagance continues, the cost of feeding the followers alone might be enough to bring down the entire Dark Heavenly Sect.

However, the sect has successfully recruited over a thousand members by providing porridge to relieve the people and recruiting new members.

The Jingming Sect originally controlled a lot of land. In addition to killing, arson and bullying the weak, most of its members also had the responsibility of taking care of the fields and doing farm work. Now that it has become the Dark Heavenly Sect, it will not leave too many idle people.

The sect holds daily gatherings for prayer, disseminating and explaining its doctrines, teaching martial arts to young men, and training them in weapons and even some battle formations.

Just as the Dark Heavenly Sect, which had gradually stabilized in Xiheng, was about to move forward, news suddenly came from afar:

Grand Marshal Fang Tiande of Tianliang Army gathered tens of thousands of troops and allied with the western barbarians to launch an invasion of Great Zhao from the southwest.

Fang Tiande is only ten days away from Jinshi.

……

One month after Xi Heng founded the Dark Heavenly Sect.

Under the control of the soldiers and the relief provided by the few remaining families or sects, the residents of Jinshi City gradually regained some vitality.

Although many remnants of the Tianliang faction remained lurking among the common people, they did not cause any major trouble under the strict supervision of the government troops.

As time went by, the atmosphere in the city gradually eased, the blockade and control by the officials and soldiers gradually weakened, and the curfew period gradually shortened.

Until early February, another group of local reinforcements from the north arrived in Champa and garrisoned the city, which suddenly became heavily guarded again.

Scouts sent out of the city brought intelligence that the 60,000-strong army led by Fang Tiande had reached Jianchang in the south and would be at the city gates in a few days to launch a decisive battle against the Zhao army.

If they win this battle, the Tianliang rebels will be able to establish a foothold in the south.

Now that it is early summer, there is no need to worry about the severe cold or the long journey. He can lead his army to continue north, take over the entire Xiujiang River, and divide the region with the Great Zhao court.

However, if they fail, even if Tianliang exerts all his strength, he will not be able to take Jinshi City, which is only defended by a dozen or so Great Zhao Ever Victorious Army soldiers. Fang Tiande will naturally lose all prestige and influence.

Upon hearing this, the few remaining wealthy households in the city immediately began selling off their land and preparing to relocate.

They were able to live peacefully even after the gold and stone were taken away because they had bet on Tianliang.

Now that the government troops have reclaimed the gold and stone, these powerful families have offered the troops a large amount of gold and silver treasures and opened their granaries to replenish military supplies, barely managing to escape the purge.

If Tianliang were to capture Jinshi City again, it wouldn't be so easy to let these rebels off the hook.

It is said that Tianliang treats traitors and opportunists very harshly. If they are found to be supplying money and provisions to officials and soldiers, they will be exterminated and their families wiped out. Now they have all begun to sell off their land and property.

Upon receiving this news, Xi Heng ordered the steward of finances and provisions within the Dark Heavenly Sect to seize the opportunity to purchase a large amount of farmland and territory at low prices.

The grain steward initially tried to argue back, suggesting that it would be best to wait and see. If Jinshi City were to be breached by the Tianliang army again, the money would be lost, and the courtyard and land would be confiscated. In that case, they might end up with nothing.

Xi Heng didn't care about this at all. Ten or twenty thousand taels of silver was just a small amount in her eyes. She could squander it if she wanted.

She simply waved her hand, telling the other person to do it, and if they didn't, she would cut off their head and have someone else do it.

The granary manager had no choice but to obey. He immediately took out all the treasures in the church and exchanged them for gold and silver, almost spending all the church's assets. He then bought a large mansion in the city that had already moved away, along with its thousand acres of fertile land.

Xi Heng also moved his residence, from inside the church to this family compound, which was several times larger. He also had the head of the South Branch of the Great Black Pope lead people here, using this more spacious family courtyard as a training ground for the Dark Heavenly Sect to train new recruits.

After finishing those things, she casually asked:

"How many capable fighters are there within the Dark Heavenly Sect right now?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty..."

After a month, the followers of the Dark Heaven had changed their address of her from demon to saint.

This was mainly because during the previous porridge distribution, the missionaries often referred to her as the "Merciful Saintess" when addressing her as the leader of the Dark Heaven Sect.

Over time, the way they were addressed naturally changed.

"Most of the current members are newcomers, having joined the sect only a month ago. They have not yet learned combat tactics and can only wield knives and clubs at most. They can show off their prowess when they encounter untrained civilians, but as soon as they encounter an army, even if it is just unarmored rabble of the Tianliang people, they will be easily defeated."

"Can't even beat the grunts?" Xi Heng was a little disappointed.

Currently, 99% of the entire Daheitian Sect's fighting strength probably rests on her alone.

Xi Heng also wanted to send the sect's soldiers to the battlefield when Tianliang attacked the city.

In retrospect, going to the battlefield was tantamount to suicide.

"Although the number of followers has exceeded a thousand, less than two hundred can form a proper formation without becoming chaotic," the hall master said.

"Let's develop it slowly," Xi Heng said, deciding against forcing things to grow too quickly.

She established the organization in the hope that it would gain momentum in the future and be of some use in the struggle for the throne.

After all, Zhao Chuxiao, who is currently sitting on the throne, would not stand up and give the throne to her just because she went over there.

Incidentally, the Dark Heaven Sect can also be used to search for traces of immortals, or to deal with the Crimson Goddess along the coast.

This organization was too weak in the early stages and had very little use, so we just let it develop as it pleased.

Xi Heng's current focus is on mastering the fundamentals.

"The next battle is the most important one for the Tianliang people. They will probably send more than one master of the Transformation Realm... This kind of battle with tens of thousands of people should be the battlefield I need. It's time to save this."

……

Three days later, the Tianliang army arrived at the city gates.

Compared to before, their military force this time is clearly more magnificent and vast.

Standing atop the city tower, Xi Heng gazed at the distant rebel army of Tianliang. Despite the absence of fog and relatively clear skies, the army stretched as far as the eye could see.

The strong winds of early summer whipped up dust and mud outside the city, and the yellow flag bearing the two large characters "Tianliang" fluttered and rustled in the wind.

The Tianliang army, arranged in a peculiar formation, gathered outside the winding, thick city walls and barricades, vaguely forming a pattern resembling the Bagua (Eight Trigrams). Their formation shifted and their shouts rang out.

Tens of thousands of people filled the mountains and fields, their momentum as powerful as a rainbow.

One by one, the throwing carts were pulled to the front by several elephants with bamboo platforms and seats built on their backs. The elephants raised their long, wrinkled trunks and occasionally let out a bellow.

Xi Heng, standing atop the city wall filled with soldiers, wondered where Fang Tiande had gotten his hands on the elephants. He wanted to sit on one and take a look.

As for why he stood on the city wall instead of finding a random place to hide and wait for Tianliang to start the battle, and then looking for an opportunity to kill.

The reason, of course, is that she had already contacted the general in the city who had mastered the martial arts, and asked for a position that would allow her to directly participate in the main battlefield.

She is now considered a temporary general of the Great Zhao, responsible for repelling or killing some Tianliang masters who use their lightness skills to fly to the city walls and harass the defending soldiers.

Just like the Tianliang generals she had killed before, she would go wherever a powerful figure was attacking and deal with them.

This position wasn't too difficult for Xi Heng. As a master of internal energy, she could kill ordinary internal energy martial artists within a few moves.

Even if you encounter someone who has mastered the internal energy, as long as their martial arts skills are not far superior to yours, you can still use magic to repel or kill them.

She wouldn't easily make a move against martial artists she couldn't handle. If Tianliang sent someone at the Transformation Realm, the soldiers would naturally send out Transformation Realm experts to deal with them, so she didn't need to worry about it.

As Xi Heng quietly watched the catapults approaching from below the city, a handyman beside him said:

"General, the food below has been prepared. You may use some braised meat and goat milk before returning to your post."

She didn't turn around, but waved for the other person to leave.

After becoming a military officer, his daily meals were quite good. He ate nothing but meat all day long, with maybe a few vegetable pancakes added at most.

"I am indeed a little hungry..."

After whispering the words, Xi Heng was about to turn around and walk down the platform when he suddenly saw the catapult on the sky beam begin to move again.

The elephants also brought the stone projectiles, placing the round stones one by one into the throwing arm of the projectile cart.

The Tianliang Army sent out a flag bearer to stand at the front. With a sudden wave of his flag, the catapult shuddered, the throwing arm was raised high, and the stone projectiles were thrown and smashed against the city wall.

A series of explosion-like booms rang out, and the ground shook as if an earthquake were occurring.

A cloud of dust suddenly rose, and the soldiers on the city wall responded by throwing stones, one after another, which crushed one of the vehicles in the first round alone.

The officers and soldiers quickly filled the fireballs and stone projectiles and fired them outwards.

The operators of the catapults in Tianliang continued their work without pause, with the catapults constantly firing at each other.

Xi Heng felt it was pointless and was about to turn around and walk down the city wall when a stone ball was suddenly thrown towards the area below where she was standing.

boom--

A section of the hollow city gate wall collapsed, releasing a large amount of smoke and dust.

Xi Heng coughed lightly, his eyes revealing disgust and murderous intent as he looked at the catapult that had just smashed the city wall beneath her feet.

She glanced around the catapult, roughly estimated the distance, and found it to be nearly two hundred meters away, outside the range of her sword energy.

"Kill them later..."

Xi Heng memorized the image of the throwing vehicle and the person operating it, then turned and walked down the city wall.

……

For a long time, people inside and outside the wall threw stones at each other. Half of the catapults below had been destroyed, while only three were broken on the city wall.

By attacking from a high position, the soldiers' catapults clearly had a significant advantage.

As night deepened, stone projectiles continued to be fired from outside, but they had little effect on the incredibly sturdy walls and gates of Jinshi City.

"This will probably take a long time... I wonder when the siege will officially begin." Xi Heng yawned on the city wall.

She turned and walked down the city wall to have some more military rations, but the next moment she heard a faint sound, like the sound of a flute, coming from not far outside the city.

Turning around, I saw a crooked yellow line shooting into the sky, scattering smoke and dust as it fell high into the air.

After a brief pause, the yellow light suddenly exploded, scattering an irregularly shaped trail of bright yellow fireworks.

When Xi Heng saw the fireworks disappear with a series of pops, he thought it was a signal for Tian Liang to launch a general offensive.

Looking down, they saw that in the dead of night, under the moonlight, the Tianliang formation remained unchanged, with no war drums or horns sounding.