“Rise,” a cold voice fell from the heavens into the midst of the vast army, like shattered jade cast into a pool, stirring up ripples.
They rose in response.
Their armor clattered in perfect unison.
“This journey south will cross vast distances of mountains and rivers, and the date of return is uncertain. If you regret this now, there is still time to back out.”
Not a single soldier in the entire army retreated; none of them even bowed their heads.
Those ten thousand pairs of bright, dark eyes looked up in unison at the Divine Lady in midair, completely unwavering.
Shen Jue and Feng Chunya cupped their fists, declaring in loud voices, “To serve the Divine Lady is our greatest honor!”
“Divine Lady above,” a centurion at the very front of the army formation looked up, his voice as steady as iron. “I have been an orphan since childhood and have never read books, but I still know what it means to repay kindness.”
“That we, the commoners of the north, can live such good lives is entirely due to Your Grace's benevolence in giving us a second chance at life. Now, those dogs in the Great Yong court have dared to offend you. If we, your believers, cannot vent this anger for you, I am not worthy of being called a man!”
Behind him, another young soldier chimed in.
“Divine Lady, if you hadn't led your believers to cure the plague in Yecheng back then, the people of the entire city would have probably died out long ago. How could we still be alive today? Before I left home, my father personally sharpened my blade for an entire night. He told me that a man can be poor and have no great abilities, but he must not lack ambition!”
“I don't know what counts as having ambition, but I know that following you is absolutely right!”
Words were incredibly infectious, and the emotions of the believers, whose faith in Yun Shu was already overflowing, surged even higher.
“Divine Lady, don't mind that we are rough men who don't know how to speak elegantly, but our hearts are as clear as mirrors. In this world, we will be good to whoever is good to us. Never mind going south—even if we have to walk through a mountain of daggers and a sea of flames, we will step right through!”
Wave after wave of voices rose higher and higher. A boiling heat burst from the chests of the soldiers, and even the watching commoners at the city gate found their eyes turning red.
A moment later.
The army of ten thousand roared in unison, their voices shaking the wilderness.
“We are willing to follow the Divine Lady south, slay the State Preceptor, reclaim our lands, and rescue the common people of the world!”
The purple luminescence above the wilderness grew increasingly dense. The rift in the clouds behind the Divine Lady slowly expanded, enveloping the entire Xindu City in a magnificent glow.
“Good,” she uttered but a single word.
Then, she slowly raised her hand and made a casual swipe, as if tearing open a rift in the void.
The air suddenly froze.
Countless wisteria flowers poured out of the void.
Densely packed and intertwined, they constructed a massive gateway at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Tiny buds bloomed on the vines, bursting into full blossom in the blink of an eye, beautiful to the point of being bewitching.
On the other side of the gate, blurry lights and shadows shifted, and one could faintly see rolling mountains and winding rivers.
That was the south, thousands of miles away.
“Step through this gate, and you shall arrive at the South Sea.”
The Divine Lady said calmly, “Go.”
Hearing this, Shen Jue reined in his horse without the slightest hesitation. The warhorse let out a long neigh and took the lead, stepping toward the wisteria flower gate.
Wherever its hooves landed, purple light rippled outward.
Feng Chunya followed closely behind.
Soon after, the soldiers also stood up in unison.
The front rank of soldiers began to march.
The entire army poured into the gate like a torrent, their figures gradually swallowed by the pale purple light.
When the silhouette of the last soldier completely disappeared, the celestial gate wrapped in wisteria flowers began to slowly close.
The wisteria flowers slowly withered, their petals falling and turning into a sky full of drifting purple fireflies before dispersing in the wind.
The city gate instantly became empty, leaving only the Divine Lady standing in her original spot, her sleeves fluttering in the wind.
Meanwhile, the commoners inside the city had already knelt all over the ground, their weeping and prayers blending into a noisy clamor.
She cast one last glance at Xindu City.
Then, her figure began to turn transparent, starting from the hem of her robe, dispersing bit by bit like ink dropping into clear water.
Purple light peeled away from her body like thousands of scattering star fragments, merging with the falling wisteria flowers.
As the last wisteria flower fell from the branch, she vanished into thin air along with the magnificent glow that filled the sky.
【Xi Yue Shock Value +100】
【Shen Ying Shock Value +100】
【Zhang San Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 88,770,000】
Returning to the System Space, Yun Shu had no time to look at the Shock Value on the panel. With lightning-fast hands, she selected the South Sea location marked by the Return Formation and descended directly from the System Space. She wanted to arrive ahead of Shen Jue and the others, who were being teleported via the Return Formation, to set up the props she would need for her grand entrance.
If the transmission range of the Return Formation—a formation component of the Mirror of Retrospection—could be a bit larger, she wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.
Unfortunately, it wasn't.
The Return Formation could only teleport to the South Sea at most; there was no way to directly teleport to her destination, Wuling Prefecture.
The little fox said, “Host, Shen Jue and the others will appear in about three seconds. You need to move faster.”
“Three seconds is enough,” Yun Shu replied.
Yun Shu quickly put on the Tide of All Things Set and placed its mount component, the Abyssal Tower Boat, on the seashore.
Immediately after, she changed into the Cranes by the Inkstone Set. Using the ability of its handheld component, the Poet Immortal's Brush, which could make poetry come true, she added some functions to the Abyssal Tower Boat, allowing it to not only submerge but also sail smoothly across the sea without any obstacles.
This not only saved time but also allowed her to harvest Shock Value.
Wuling Prefecture was full of illusionists, and the local commoners were already used to seeing all kinds of illusions. If her entrance wasn't cool and flashy enough, they wouldn't feel much shock.
Actually, the mounts in her wardrobe that could carry multiple people weren't limited to the Abyssal Tower Boat. She also had the Thousand Machines and Myriad Crafts Set, whose mount, the Cloud Shuttle Skyship, could also carry many people, and a flying ship would definitely be much more visually shocking than a tower boat.
However, the Cloud Shuttle Skyship had a drawback.
It couldn't carry ten thousand people.
Even if she used the Poet Immortal's Brush's skill to enlarge the skyship, she would still have to make two round trips, which would really ruin her cool image.
After finishing the preparations and making sure everything was fine, Yun Shu changed into the Mystic Sound of the Nine Heavens Set. On the way to Wuling Prefecture, she could also purify the ocean along the way, killing two birds with one stone.
She tapped her toes lightly, her body floating up to land on the topmost deck of the tower boat, where she quietly awaited the arrival of Shen Jue and the others.
Before long, a wisteria flower gate materialized.
The first figure stepped out of the gate.
It was Shen Jue.
He looked up.
The sea breeze rushed into his mouth and nose, salty and unfamiliar.
After a brief daze, his gaze swept across the beach and landed on the shoreline not far away.
The massive tower boat.
It caught his eye completely unprepared.
Shen Jue froze right where he stood.
Behind him, Feng Chunya was stepping out of the gate.
Seeing Shen Jue motionless, she instinctively followed his line of sight. The question she was about to ask was swallowed back down, ultimately turning into a soft gasp.
She had never seen such a massive ship in her life.
Rate on N.U.
