Martial Emperor City, the City Lord's mansion.
Inside the council hall, Chen Yuan held the Celestial Book, a strange treasure, and was communicating with several Dao Lords from the Dao Divinity Palace. Beside him was a cup of steaming immortal tea, a precious treasure of Lu Chengfeng.
Now that the decision to act had been made, there would be no delay. Ye Xiangnan had already gone down to prepare, mobilizing heavy troops to advance in the direction of Central Province. As for why he hadn't set off yet,
There were three reasons. First, with his cultivation, he could traverse the state and reach the Divine Capital City in less than a day. Having broken through to the Martial God realm, his overall strength had increased several times over.
His speed had naturally also greatly improved.
Traveling ten thousand miles a day was not enough to describe his speed.
Therefore, there was no need to rush, as the other armies were still advancing.
Second, he was waiting for the Old Ancestor Su Ming of the Celestial Demon Hall, preparing to have a good talk. He told Lu Chengfeng and the others that Su Ming had no choice but to completely sever ties.
Because of his previous efforts in guarding Zhennan Pass, Chen Yuan couldn't say he liked him, but at least he didn't dislike him.
If everything could be happy, that would be best.
Third, he was waiting for Jiang He. When he achieved the Martial God realm and Ye Xiangnan broke through to the Sixth Realm, Jiang He, this rare genius of the century,
Finally, with the convenience of clear heaven and earth rules, he broke through to the Half-Immortal realm, comprehended the power of rules, and was now in seclusion to stabilize his realm and cultivation.
Jiang He's aptitude was naturally beyond doubt. It could be said that if Chen Yuan hadn't appeared out of nowhere, Jiang He would have been the most dazzling martial arts prodigy in recent centuries.
Of course, there was also much good news, namely that the other members of the Dao Divinity Palace, Li Suqing, Yang Huatian, and even Su Ziyue, had all passed the lightning tribulation and achieved the True Lord realm.
Currently, all the Dao Lords of the Dao Divinity Palace were at the Yang God realm or above.
When this news arrived, Chen Yuan was very happy, but not surprised. First of all, both Yang Huatian and Li Suqing were top-notch martial arts talents.
Otherwise, Moro, who was in the Human Immortal realm, would not have invited them to join the Dao Divinity Palace.
Li Suqing and Yang Huatian had accumulated hundreds of years of experience and had a profound foundation. With Chen Yuan's various resource assistance, he would have been surprised if they hadn't broken through.
And Su Ziyue was even more needless to say, her talent was extremely high, and she also possessed the divine blood of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan, coupled with the various rare treasures Chen Yuan gave her, her conditions were stronger than Yang and Li's.
It wasn't surprising that she could break through.
Breaking through now also happened to be a time when the confluence of heaven, earth, and human harmony gathered. The clarity of heaven and earth rules not only made it easier for warriors to comprehend the rules.
It also caused some subtle changes in heaven and earth.
The Immortal Realm was a great calamity, sealing the heavens and locking the earth, and polluting the mortal world. It didn't cut off the road to the Immortal Martial Dao, but it made this road more difficult. Now... in his opinion, it was returning to its original state.
After being suppressed for so long, some changes would naturally occur, good changes...
The void twisted, and Chen Yuan looked up and saw the White-Clothed Sword Immortal coming through the air, step by step to his front, with a calm expression, and then slowly sat down, raised his head to look at Chen Yuan, and the two smiled at each other.
"Congratulations."
"Congratulations to you too."
Jiang He already knew that Chen Yuan was now in the Sixth Realm, and he had achieved the only Martial God in history. In comparison, his breakthrough was not so important.
"Now that the rules of heaven and earth are clear, it is much easier to break through to the Sixth Realm. You also need to hurry up."
Jiang He shook his head with a wry smile. Although he had good talent, how could any of those who could cultivate to the True Lord realm of the Yang God realm be ordinary people? Even if the rules of heaven and earth were manifested, it was relative.
It didn't mean that everyone could break through to the Sixth Realm. Otherwise, thousands of years ago, immortals would have been everywhere.
It was difficult to enter the Sixth Realm!
"How are the other Daoists?"
Jiang He changed the subject and asked.
"Daoist Yang, Daoist Li, and Ziyue have all entered the Yang God realm. The Dao Lords of our Dao Divinity Palace can be considered to have reached Senior Moro's expectations."
A smile appeared on Chen Yuan's face. Moro's original intention of creating the Dao Divinity Palace was only partly to deal with the Immortal Realm. Essentially, he wanted to wait until everyone reached the Yang God realm before counterattacking Mount Lingshan and reclaiming his body.
Jiang He also smiled when he heard this and thought of this, saying:
"With the strength of our Dao Divinity Palace, we now have the strength to counterattack Mount Lingshan."
"Unfortunately, the biggest enemy now is not Mount Lingshan, but the Immortal Realm. In comparison, Mount Lingshan is nothing." Chen Yuan could match the Buddha.
In addition, with Moro, it wouldn't be difficult to push through Mount Lingshan.
It's just a matter of prioritizing things.
"Yes, when are you going to act?"
Jiang He nodded in agreement.
"I'm waiting for you to come out of seclusion."
"Then let's go now?"
Chen Yuan pondered for a moment, rubbing the Celestial Book in his hand, and suddenly smiled:
"Wait a moment."
"Hmm?"
Just as Jiang He was wondering, suddenly, a powerful aura descended directly on the City Lord's Mansion, surging towards Chen Yuan, but it disappeared into nothingness ten feet away from him.
"Martial God... truly powerful!"
The voice of Old Ancestor Su Ming of the Celestial Demon Hall came, with a hint of solemnity.
This time, Chen Yuan invited him to discuss important matters and revealed that he had achieved the Martial God realm, which immediately surprised Su Ming and made him feel a little unbelievable.
Martial God was not a realm, but a title, a title that belonged exclusively to the former Chu Taizu. Now that Chen Yuan called himself Martial God, wasn't it saying that he already possessed the strength of Chu Taizu?
Only then did Su Ming rush over, and then test him.
Without needing to fight, just a simple test, he could feel Chen Yuan's uniqueness, and treat his powerful prestige as nothing, which also made him believe him a little.
"Old Hall Master Su, please."
Chen Yuan remained calm, stretched out his hand and pointed, and then a cup of immortal tea floated in the void, surrounded by a Martial God rule that combined two systems.
Su Ming reached out to take it, and as soon as he touched it, his expression changed drastically, and he suddenly looked at Chen Yuan.
"Please."
The power of the rules dissipated into nothingness, and the teacup fell into Su Ming's hands, but he couldn't be happy at all, but his heart was constantly shaking, full of horror.
He had tested it, and this was Chen Yuan's response.
Taking the teacup, Su Ming picked up the lid, scraped the fragrant tea, sat on Chen Yuan's lower right, and asked in a deep voice:
"Prince Yan said that he wanted to work with me to accomplish great things, I wonder... what is it?"
"Does the Old Hall Master know about the Immortal Realm?"
Chen Yuan directly cut to the chase.
"Of course." Su Ming nodded. The current Immortal Sects all knew something about the Immortal Realm, let alone someone like him who had lived for thousands of years.
"Then has the Old Hall Master felt that the world is a little different recently?"
Su Ming frowned:
"The rules of heaven and earth have become much clearer."
"The Immortal Realm is about to descend in the near future."
"What!"
Hearing what Chen Yuan said, Su Ming's pupils suddenly shrank, and his mind suddenly became a little uneasy.
"Is this true?"
Su Ming knew that the Immortal Realm was a huge existence, extremely terrifying, far beyond what the so-called Immortal Sects could compare with. If the Immortal Realm descended... then the current struggle for hegemony in the world seemed like a joke.
Therefore, his face looked extremely solemn.
"The purpose of inviting the Old Hall Master here is to discuss this matter." Chen Yuan picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Looking at Chen Yuan's calm expression, Su Ming narrowed his eyes and had already realized something:
"Then Prince Yan invited me here to resist the Immortal Realm?"
"That's right."
"This... please forgive me for being unable to do anything..." Su Ming was silent for a moment, and rejected Chen Yuan's invitation. The Celestial Demon Hall cooperated with Chen Yuan to bet that he would become emperor in the future and complete the agreement.
But it didn't mean that he would fight against the Immortal Realm. He knew how much he weighed, but he was only in the Human Immortal realm, and his physical essence was lost, and his Primordial Spirit was no better than before.
How could he resist the Immortal Realm?
You must know that the Immortal Realm is likely to have Earth Immortal Great Power, as well as the legendary Heavenly Immortal Supreme.
Chen Yuan didn't rush, and said softly:
"If this prince is not mistaken, the Old Hall Master is probably running out of lifespan, right?"
In the Human Immortal realm, even if some secret methods were used, it was impossible to achieve immortality. Even most of the lifespan was only about eight hundred years. Su Ming was a figure from the same era as Chu Taizu thousands of years ago.
Combining the time it took for him to grow up, it must have exceeded a thousand years.
He was not like Lu Chengfeng, who had already entered the Five Qi Gathering at the Origin realm, and his lifespan had increased again. Now he must be nearing the end.
Old Ancestor Su Ming's face suddenly changed, as if his deepest secret had been exposed, and he tightly held the armrest of the chair with both hands, and said in a deep voice:
"Prince Yan, what do you mean by this?"
"Don't you want to know the secret of the Immortal Realm's eternal existence?"
"Hmm?"
Su Ming was stunned, and felt a little surprised by Chen Yuan's words.
"The Immortal Realm... the Immortal Realm... this place is different from the mortal world. According to Chen's understanding and deduction, the Immortal Realm must have some immortal spiritual objects, and it is not short of divine sources.
Even, there is still a road to the Heavenly Immortal realm. Since Old Hall Master Su is running out of lifespan, why not take a gamble and fight for it. If you can succeed, there is hope for longevity.
Moreover, when the Immortal Realm descends, it must have a plan, and it may even bloodbath all the immortals in the Sixth Realm. Even if the Old Hall Master remains neutral, it will be difficult to avoid disaster in the future."
Su Ming frowned, a little moved:
"But the Immortal Realm is too powerful, I..."
"No matter how powerful it is, wasn't it still killed by Chu Taizu on the ninth heaven? This prince has become a Martial God, and can fight the Earth Immortal Great Power, and there are other Earth Immortal Great Powers to help. With several Human Immortals assisting, why can't we fight?
Waiting to die is what fools do. If we can overthrow the Immortal Realm, we may not be able to obtain the secret of longevity..."
Su Ming was not like Lu Chengfeng and Moro, who hated the Immortal Realm very much, nor was he like the Old Celestial Master, who had a sense of righteousness in his heart and did not want to be a puppet of the Immortal Realm. He had to be tempted with benefits.
"How many immortals has Prince Yan gathered?"
"All the immortals in the Central Plains are now willing to take action, the Old Celestial Master of Wudang Mountain, the City Lord Ye of Martial Emperor City, Senior Moro of the Dao Divinity Palace, and another Earth Immortal Great Power.
Counting this prince, there are already five. If the Old Hall Master joins, there will be six. In addition, there are also a dozen or so Yang God True Lords, and a million elite soldiers..."
Su Ming's eyes flickered, and suddenly said in a low voice:
"If I still don't want to, what will Prince Yan do?"
Chen Yuan stared at him for a moment, and smiled faintly:
"The Old Hall Master previously guarded Zhennan Pass, which I admired very much, alas..."
"Hehe, I understand." Su Ming stood up, cupped his hands and said:
"In that case, then I will gamble with Prince Yan and fight for eternal life!"
"The Old Hall Master is straightforward."
"I wonder when Prince Yan is going to act?"
"Right now."
"Now?"
Su Ming was stunned, and seemed not to have expected it to be so urgent.
"First destroy the imperial court."
Chen Yuan stretched out his hand and pointed, and a portal instantly condensed in the void. Then, he got up and stepped into it. Jiang He didn't say a word and followed closely behind. Su Ming opened his mouth, smiled wryly, and followed.
......
While Chen Yuan was setting off, the four prefectures of Central Province were also gradually falling. Wherever they passed, the officials of the Great Jin Dynasty and the guarding generals surrendered one after another.
It felt like they were welcoming the king's army with food and drink.
The elite army that had gathered now numbered 500,000, but wherever they passed, they did not commit any crimes against the people. Those who violated military laws were beheaded in public.
The reason for this was that Chen Yuan was preparing to gather the Human Emperor's destiny for his future ascension to the throne. Moreover, the military pay and everything else that he distributed to the army had been prepared long ago.
If anyone dared to be greedy again, he couldn't be blamed for being ruthless.
For a time, beacon fires rose everywhere in Central Province. In a short period of time, almost all the imperial court's territory except for the Divine Capital City had been lost. Now, this dynasty that had stood for more than two hundred years was finally coming to an end.
Inside the Divine Capital City, the past hustle and bustle was long gone. In addition to some panicked soldiers, there were very few people on the streets. Even the people in the capital had a very good impression of Chen Yuan.
But now that the army was pressing down on the border, they didn't dare to gamble.
They could only honestly stay at home, waiting for the final judgment. Of course, there were also some people with status and power who had already left the capital, seeking a stable life.
Chen Huaiyi, Chen Yuan's maternal uncle, was in charge of everything outside the capital. The dignitaries and nobles in the capital had long secretly contacted him. Some even began to offer suggestions, saying that the one guarding the city gate was a son of their family and could open the gate at any time to welcome the king's army into the capital.
But they were all rejected. Only after Chen Yuan arrived would it be the moment of decision.
Inside the imperial city, the palace maids and eunuchs were all in chaos, appearing extremely flustered, their hearts filled with fear and trepidation. In the imperial court, the dignitaries lined up in the hall, whispering to each other.
It seemed that they were discussing some plan to save the country, but only Sima Ke, who was sitting on the dragon chair, knew that most of the people in the hall were not thinking about saving the country, but about betraying it.
In terms of military generals, everything was fully controlled by Princess Pingyang. Xiao Jing, the Grand Commander of the Sky Patrol Division, and Zhang Yantong, the former Divine Envoy, were her wings. Basically, everything had been cleared.
Princess Pingyang sat below the dragon chair, closing her eyes and not speaking. The entire Golden Luan Hall appeared very depressing.
Outside the hall, many old members of the Sima family's clan gathered together. After being reported, they entered the Golden Luan Hall, their faces filled with a sense of determination.
They were all surnamed Sima, and now they were being suppressed without any real power, but they were also members of the royal family, so they should advance and retreat together with the imperial court. The civil and military officials gave way.
Two young members of the Sima family's royal family supported an old man with white hair and a cane, gradually walking forward.
"The Grand Clan Elder has long retired, why has he come today?"
Princess Pingyang opened her eyes and glanced at the old man.
But the Grand Clan Elder did not look at her at all, as if he was directly ignoring her, but instead looked straight at the new emperor Sima Ke on the dragon chair, and asked in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, the rebel army is already at the city gates, I wonder how Your Majesty plans to deal with it?"
Sima Ke's mind kept recalling the words of the Taizu that day, and Chen Yuan's face. After being silent for a moment, he said in a low voice:
"The rebel army is powerful, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and strong men like clouds. I... for the sake of the people of the capital, want to offer the capital to preserve the people of the capital and not wantonly commit murder."
"Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty..."
Several old civil officials, with tears rolling down their faces, knelt on the ground, as if they were crying for the demise of the dynasty. Many civil officials, seeing this, followed suit and began to cry in the Golden Luan Hall.
But few of those military officials were crying. Most of them were watching coldly, as if it had nothing to do with them.
"Bang!"
The old Clan Elder directly slammed the cane in his hand on the ground, glared at Sima Ke and said:
"We are about to fight to the death, how can you, as the emperor, surrender first?"
"You... are you worthy of the ancestors of the Sima family?"
"Under the nine springs, how will you face the late emperor, face Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizu!"
Sima Ke frowned, thinking that the old thing couldn't see the situation clearly. Besides some members of the Sima family, who wanted to fight to the death? If there was any hope, how could he be willing to be the king of a fallen country?
"The old Clan Elder is confused, help him down."
Sima Ke waved his hand to signal.
But no one dared to move.
Sima Ke's face was a little ugly, and he looked at Princess Pingyang and said in a low voice:
"Imperial sister..."
"Help the old Clan Elder down."
Princess Pingyang said lightly.
Zhang Yantong waved his hand, and immediately several Sky Patrol Division warriors stepped forward, preparing to help.
"I see who dares to move me, Pingyang, you unfilial descendant who brings disaster to the country, you are in charge of the power of the court, how can you do this, how can you do this? If you don't want to fight, then cut off my head and step on my corpse to kneel down and beg for mercy!"
The Grand Clan Elder directly scolded.
"Okay, someone, take him down, give the old Clan Elder a decent burial." Princess Pingyang said softly.
"I see who dares!"
The old Clan Elder shouted angrily, but the experts of the Sky Patrol Division ignored this and directly suppressed him, forcing those members of the royal family to withdraw from the Golden Luan Hall, and the old Clan Elder's angry scolding was still echoing in the hall.
"The court meeting continues."
Pingyang continued.
Sima Ke cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and said:
"Prince Yan Chen Yuan is accomplished in both civil and military affairs, and has made great contributions. He guards the territory and expands the territory, and has the posture of a ruler. I have mediocre aptitude and cannot take on the great responsibility. For the sake of the people of the capital and the people of the world, I want to open the city and surrender. What do you all think?"
Zhang Yantong, Xiao Jing, and many military generals and experts, bowed and said in unison:
"Your Majesty is wise, we agree."
Those civil officials who were still crying just now quickly wiped their tears and snot, and said one after another:
"Your Majesty is wise, we agree."
Sima Ke was silent for a moment, and said:
————
"First give me some monthly votes, and I'll surrender immediately."