Chapter 769: Fear

In Green Mountain Country, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord returned to his palace in a disheveled state.

In recent years, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord had been living quite well.

First, Lu Mountain God died.

In that battle outside the domain, although Jin Chi, the tiger, survived, he was controlled by Five Aggregates Demonic Blood. Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord brought Jin Chi back, but had no way to remove the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood. He could only send him back, Seal him, and wait for Jin Chi to break the Seal himself.

However, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord was not prepared to wait for him to break the Seal himself.

He made meticulous and thorough arrangements, ultimately assassinating Jin Chi while he was in a state of confusion brought on by the Five Aggregates Demonic Blood, thereby completely taking control of Green Mountain Country.

From then on, he was the only one who called the shots in this country.

This kind of life continued until today.

Just today, Human Dao launched an attack.

Originally, he thought it was just like the attack on Song Kingdom thousands of years ago, merely a tentative probe by Human Dao, so he didn't take it to heart. But after a few hours, he realized... this time was clearly different.

Human Dao's Southern Border had already deployed troops, using Song Kingdom as a base, preparing to conquer Baiyue.

Moreover, he also heard... the voice of a First Grade.

After the Human Dao Grand Preceptor's Dharma Form ascended, he declared that Baiyue would become a battlefield, and even read out that declaration.

The declaration was like an arrow, and upon hearing it, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord felt cold sweat trickling down his back.

He was still outside the domain at that time, only remembering himself stumbling through the endless Void Realm, even constantly bumping into worlds while traversing the Void Realm.

Other than that, he no longer remembered anything else.

He was completely enveloped in the terror of the First Grade personally issuing the declaration. That invisible terror was like a hand reaching into his chest, firmly gripping his heart, making it impossible for his heart to beat.

He seemed to feel a Flying Sword circling and dancing above his head, ready to fall at any moment and cut off his head.

The Green Mountain Kingdom Lord rushed to the nearest Star-Mansion Array at the fastest speed, even though he kept bumping into things along the way, he didn't dare to stop for a moment.

Along the way, he was tormented by fear, and coupled with advancing at the fastest escape technique, even using a life-draining escape technique meant for fleeing, this left him utterly exhausted and unable to run any further. He finally staggered and collapsed beside the Star-Mansion Array. A dignified Fifth Grade, he just lay there on the ground, motionless, pressed down by fatigue and fear, unable to move.

The Green Mountain Kingdom Lord only remembered lying there for a long time.

Then, he finally sat up, looking dazed, even somewhat forgetting how he had come to be beside the Star-Mansion Array.

At this moment, he finally sobered up a little, the terror gradually receded, and reason regained the upper hand.

He looked at himself and found that his crown was gone, his collar was loose, his clothes were disheveled, and his hair was messy.

His memory was confused because of this. When he recalled his experiences before lying down, his memory only contained three things—

Vast darkness, the empty Universe, and his own fear, weakness, and pain.

The impending misfortune firmly gripped him.

But now, he had awakened from that fear, and his whole body had an unreal, dreamlike sensation...

He began to feel a bit ridiculous; the previous feeling had completely reversed.

There was no reasonable transition; it was as if after just lying down for a while, he immediately returned to normal. He transformed from a lunatic who had thrown off his crown and ripped open his collar back into a respectable and noble Baiyue Kingdom Lord.

The previous silent Universe, the terrifying declaration, and his own blind, frantic fleeing—all of it felt like a nightmare. He even began to ask himself, did all of this truly happen?

He couldn't be sure at all.

Even as a Fifth Grade, he couldn't say... that his previous madness was real; his memory and thoughts were in Chaos.

Finally, he stood up and stumbled onto the Star-Mansion Array.

People came and went around the Star-Mansion Array, many of them residents from outside the domain. So, they remained in their various states, hurrying to complete their journeys on the Star-Mansion Array, not paying attention to a Fifth Grade lunatic.

Of course, being a lunatic wasn't the reason for their indifference; being a Fifth Grade was.

If you were only a Ninth Grade, even if you were fully vigilant and on guard, you wouldn't escape those evil people. But if you were a Fifth Grade, even if your mind was filled with fear and confusion, no one would dare to touch you.

But at this moment, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord didn't care about any of that. He was like one awakening from a dream, drenched in sweat. When he crawled up from the ground, his mind was blank, and he even wondered if he had just been dreaming.

He stumbled along, his Origin Qi almost completely depleted. He swayed and stumbled like a drunkard.

The Green Mountain Kingdom Lord ran towards the Star-Mansion Array, only to see a two-headed creature from outside the domain appear, carrying a basket. This was a small vendor, with a small boy running beside him.

The vendor walked past the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord and greeted him, seemingly mustering courage to promote his goods and merchandise. Normally, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord would have directly dismissed the other party, but at this moment, he opened his mouth but was speechless, only mumbling indistinctly before continuing towards the Star-Mansion Array.

As the Star-Mansion Array activated, the surrounding starlight began to stretch and stack. Some world-class giant ships, in order to resist the pulling force during the Star-Mansion Array' activation, sprayed fuel, roaring and spewing a thick white smoke, flashing with fire, from their tails.

The surrounding world-class giant ships, various single-person small Flying Swords, these were all tools for travel to the Star-Mansion Array. There were constant sounds of rumbling, booming, whooshing, clanging, and thumping.

Hearing these sounds, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord shrank into the crowd. He looked around; there seemed to be a group of hazy figures talking around him. This should be some gaseous extraterrestrial species, he didn't look where he was going and cut in.

All of this seemed so real, so familiar... Thinking back to everything he had just encountered, it was too absurd, too illusory! The Green Mountain Kingdom Lord slapped his face, telling himself that none of it could be real.

Haha... how could it be? How could a First Grade speak to him? How could a First Grade personally issue a declaration to him?

He comforted himself in this way.

Perhaps he was just a person with unique emotions, or perhaps it was just a demonic thought that had arisen.

He didn't know what was going on with his state of mind just now, to actually produce such a strange illusion... He was clearly a Fifth Grade, how could his state be so bad?

At this moment, he calmed down a bit and recovered some of his magical abilities.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's the situation in Baiyue now?" The Green Mountain Kingdom Lord asked Qingwu City while on the Star-Mansion Array. (For Qingwu City, see Chapter 135)

"Lord..." The voice of Fox Immortal came through the communication, extremely panicked: "Southern Border... Human Dao Heavenly Palace has descended."

The Green Mountain Kingdom Lord fainted directly.

In an instant, he felt himself and the surrounding world detach. It was as if his spirit had already transcended, seemingly leaving his body, observing everything from an incredibly distant place, transcending time and space, transcending spirit and reality.

This peaceful state of mind seemed out of place with the surrounding events.

It wasn't until a while later.

He heard another voice—

"I am Li Qi, appointed by Shaman God Mountain as the commander-in-chief of the Baiyue War. I invite the Baiyue Kingdom Lords to come for a discussion."

These words instantly brought him back to his senses.

Shaman God Mountain, yes... Shaman God Mountain!

Shaman God Mountain had made a move, he was safe.

He immediately seized the time. The moment he emerged from the Star-Mansion Array, he cast aside everything and ran to that coordinate at the fastest speed.

At the coordinates, a palace floated in mid-air.

This place was originally a green mountain, and the palace built by Li Qi was above the green mountain, beneath the sky.

The mountain god of the small mountain below was an Eighth Grade jackal, originally the leader of a wolf pack, occupying a mountain and acting tyrannically. But now, he was trembling.

Because, a Fourth Grade floated overhead, and countless Fifth Grades were arriving one after another.

All kinds of Spiritual Artifacts, Flying Swords, gourds, and mounts whistled through the sky. He was like a small blade of grass on the migration path of a herd of wild oxen, liable to be trampled to death at any moment.

Fortunately, these herds of oxen were just as trembling as he was, taking every step cautiously, not daring to show any disrespect.

Because, for these charging herds of oxen, what they had to face was a fierce tiger—

Oh, and there was also a rabbit.

But all in all, Li Qi sat calmly on the palace, quietly surveying the arriving Baiyue Kingdom Lords.

These Country Lords landed on the palace and wasted no time, simply bowing to Li Qi and then finding a seat.

Approximately three hours passed, and all of the Baiyue Kingdom Lords, over three hundred of them, were seated below.

These Baiyue Kingdom Lords looked at each other, most of them having experienced the same thing as the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord. Although their reactions varied slightly due to individual personalities, generally speaking... no one could remain calm after hearing the declaration personally spoken by a First Grade.

In reality, to be able to remain calm and think rationally, like Li Qi and Shen Shuibi, despite the shock in their hearts, was already considered among the best of the Fifth Grades.

Although... the Baiyue Kingdom Lords were actually not bad; in terms of combat power, they might be at the bottom among the Fifth Grades in the world, but it wasn't like that outside the domain.

There were too many strange and bizarre Fifth Grades outside the domain. Even the Baiyue Kingdom Lords were considered very powerful; at the very least, they all had orthodox Legacy, rather than having struggled their way up on their own.

Struggling one's way up sounds impressive, but in reality, most likely, they took crooked paths. Many have already had their Dao cut off, and their magical arts and Divine Abilities are very ordinary, not comparable to the Baiyue Kingdom Lords.

Even the Baiyue Kingdom Lords were so frightened, which shows... the pressure Li Qi had to bear.

However, Li Qi, who bore all of this on his shoulders, appeared calm and composed, sitting above and looking down at the Baiyue Kingdom Lords below.

Actually, he was just pretending; he was also very nervous.

But when the sky falls, the tall ones bear it. Although Li Qi was bearing it now, if Li Qi couldn't bear it, there was Zhu Fengdan. If Zhu Fengdan couldn't bear it...

Then we'll talk about it later, let the teacher figure it out himself.

Thinking this, Li Qi was no longer nervous.

Beside Li Qi, Shen Shuibi sat to the rear side, eyes closed, holding the little chow chow, not caring about the Baiyue Kingdom Lords.

Soon, everyone was present.

Li Qi looked around and said in a clear voice, "All Country Lords—"

"Greetings, Young Master." Hundreds of Fifth Grades rose in unison and respectfully bowed to Li Qi.

"This time, I am the commander-in-chief, responsible for leading all of you to face the Human Dao's military might. I believe you all know the current situation. Human Dao has already deployed troops in the Southern Border, intending to advance. If you wish to protect yourselves, you can only put aside past grievances and face death together. Know that at this moment, begging for death is begging for life; seeking escape will inevitably lead to no life." Li Qi said simply.

They were all Fifth Grades, and their minds were very sharp, so there was no need to say much. Unless these Country Lords were willing to drop in grade and leave on the spot, transforming from Baiyue Kingdom Lords into Sixth Grade underlings, with no chance of promotion ever again, otherwise... now, only by fighting with all their might could they survive. Facing death to find life was the only way out.

Because, for these Fifth Grade Country Lords, dropping in grade was basically equivalent to death. After so many years, who didn't have enemies or grudges? If they dropped to Sixth Grade, and these enemies came knocking, what then?

In the end, there would still only be a dead end.

Therefore, Li Qi didn't even ask for their opinions. If someone couldn't even recognize this, then they didn't deserve to live.

Everyone remained silent, waiting for Li Qi to continue.

"First, we can look at the situation. On the Human Dao side, there are roughly forty Fifth Grades, and a Fourth Grade like me—" Li Qi said, waving out a light screen. On the light screen were the analysis materials he had prepared beforehand.

No need for small talk, let's get straight to the point. Everyone knows what's going on, they just don't understand what they need to do, so they can't form a united force, just a scattered mess.

To mobilize this scattered mess, Li Qi first needed to clearly understand the situation, identify what needed to be done where, then arrange the right people to do the right things, so everyone could act together and gather their strength.

In any case, when fighting a war, one always has to first deploy troops and arrange formations, clearly analyze the strength of the enemy and oneself, and then do what needs to be done, formulate strategic goals, and then execute and complete them.

If everything went smoothly, then the problem would be solved.

Regarding this, there was also what could be considered good news: although the combat range of Fourth Grade and Fifth Grade was very large, the world's matter was extremely tough, and there were many strong individuals, and cities were sturdy. So, although Fifth Grade combat had a large impact, it could at most scour the surface; it was difficult to truly turn the entire thirty thousand li underground into a pot of Chaos soup.

To put it plainly, everyone could throw nuclear bombs at each other, but the earth was still very hard. Scouring the surface was easy, but exploding the entire world continent was still quite difficult.

It was precisely because of this that there was a possibility of maneuvering, rather than just relying on cultivation to fight directly as in the Void Realm.

"Through the above comparison, we can know that Human Dao's absolute power surpasses ours. Both sides can control the weather, and as for 'human harmony'... I don't need to say it, you can all understand the disparity. Therefore, geographical advantage is our only advantage."

"Therefore, the first step of the war, I need all of you to cooperate with me in carrying out Grand Ritual, to sacrifice your nations, integrating all the power within your countries into the sacrifice, to forge an iron city."