Chapter 361: Chapter 360: Return
While Yi Tianyun and the others were quietly departing, the news of General Feng’s death once again caused a massive uproar, shocking the entire Netherworld Empire and Celestial Realm Continent. General Feng had led the whole of the Wind Divine Soldiers, and every last one of them had fallen in battle. When men were sent to investigate, all they found was a pile of corpses—not a single person was left alive.
Since no one had returned, it was clear they had all been slaughtered, meaning the mission was a failure. Just like General Long, it was a total and complete failure.
"General Feng is dead too? Both Grand Generals are dead!" The Netherworld Emperor was utterly enraged. A terrifying pressure emanated from him, pressing down on the surroundings and causing many of his ministers to tremble in fear, not daring to speak.
The National Preceptor’s expression was just as grim. He immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I request permission to lead the Celestial Master Team and annihilate the Spirit Race!"
"Good! You will deploy the Celestial Master Team. And bring General Cheng with you. Raze the Spirit Race to the ground for me!" The Netherworld Emperor was furious. He wanted to go and destroy the Spirit Race himself, but since the National Preceptor had already volunteered, he would let him go. After all, the Emperor needed to remain here and hold the fort.
"Yes, Great Emperor!"
The National Preceptor didn’t waste another word. After a slight bow, he quickly departed, his eyes filled with killing intent. As the National Preceptor of the Netherworld Empire, it was his duty to uphold the Empire’s honor. The two fallen Grand Generals had also been close friends of his; how could he not be enraged that they had died out in the field?
’A grave miscalculation, losing two generals at once... How could this have happened to General Feng? Even if he couldn’t win, couldn’t he have escaped?’ A cold light filled the depths of the Netherworld Emperor’s eyes, his anger irrepressible.
Two of his most capable Grand Generals were dead; it was impossible for him not to be furious. More importantly, he had lost face. The entire Empire’s honor had been thrown away.
"What force is behind this? I refuse to believe the Spirit Race has this kind of hidden strength... Could it really be people from the Celestial Dragon Empire?" The Netherworld Emperor paced a few steps before muttering in a low voice, "Unlikely. The Celestial Dragon Empire can’t even fend for itself right now. How could they possibly help?"
"If I find out which power is pulling the strings behind the scenes, I will personally lead the Netherworld Legion and raze them to the ground! Even if it’s the Celestial Dragon Empire, I will crush them mercilessly!"
The Netherworld Emperor reached out, grabbing the Dragon Throne beside him. With a sudden squeeze, CRACK! It turned to dust. These repeated incidents were constantly testing his limits and, what’s more, had far exceeded his expectations.
If the Netherworld Empire wasn’t facing some internal issues at the moment, he would have mobilized personally to raze the Spirit Race Forest.
The National Preceptor set out with General Cheng. General Cheng’s cultivation was slightly lower, at the First Layer of the Void Spirit Realm, having broken through not long ago. The National Preceptor was personally leading the expedition to raze the Spirit Race Forest. This was all a precaution; if even the National Preceptor couldn’t defeat them, then truly no one could conquer the Spirit Race.
Their main objective was to investigate and find out exactly what power was stationed there. After all, none of the men they had sent before had ever returned to report, leaving them completely in the dark about the situation.
Soon, they arrived outside the Spirit Race Forest. The large group stood imposingly outside as the National Preceptor’s cold gaze swept over the area.
"To think you’d give me an excuse to act personally. You’re all dead!" The National Preceptor sneered and charged swiftly into the Spirit Race Forest. His proficiency with Divine Runes was considerable, so he had no fear of the grand array within.
A moment later, the National Preceptor walked back out with a frown. "No wonder. The Illusionary Array has been activated to its full potential. There must be a Divine Rune Master or someone of a higher level controlling it to achieve this effect. It looks like I’ll have to be the one to break it!"
The National Preceptor immediately began his own Array Formation outside, preparing to dismantle the Illusionary Array. After studying it carefully for a good while, he began the process of breaking it. It still took him several days, but he finally succeeded in destroying the Illusionary Array.
"I’ve broken the Illusionary Array! Everyone, charge! Capture every last member of the Spirit Race for me—and I want them alive!" the National Preceptor roared, leading the charge inside. Many of his men let out a battle cry, their murderous aura surging as they rushed in after him.
Everyone was ecstatic. They were finally going to crush the Spirit Race. How could they not be excited?
But when they charged in, they were stunned to find the place completely empty. There wasn’t a single person in sight. Not one member of the Spirit Race could be found. All the houses were deserted, and everything had been moved out.
"What’s going on? Have they all evacuated?" The National Preceptor was stunned, but he quickly dismissed the idea. "Impossible. They can’t leave this place. If they leave here, they’re doomed..."
The National Preceptor knew a great deal about the Spirit Race, including the fact that they could not procreate if they left this land. Leaving here was tantamount to a death sentence, yet now, they had all fled.
"Search! Search everywhere! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find them for me!" The National Preceptor’s anger flared, and he immediately issued the order. ’Has this whole trip been for nothing? This is as humiliating as running away.’
"Yes, sir!"
His men quickly began to search, but the result went without saying: they found nothing. All that remained were the empty houses; everything else had been cleared out.
"They really have evacuated. It seems they’ve given up resisting and chosen to leave this place... Fine, then! Tear down this Spirit Tower for me!" the National Preceptor said coldly. "Since it has come to this, I’ll tear down their Spirit Tower and then burn this entire place to the ground!"
The National Preceptor was equally enraged and ordered everyone to begin the destruction, to completely raze the Spirit Race’s home!
「At the same time」
Yi Tianyun was already secretly leading his people toward the Earth Realm Continent, a journey that took a considerable amount of time. Since many of them couldn’t fly, they had to travel on foot—or more accurately, by Earth Dragon.
He had captured a good number of Earth Dragons, which served perfectly as mounts, making their overall speed quite fast. Moreover, they chose to travel through more remote regions, so for the most part, no one discovered them, allowing for a very safe evacuation.
"The Merak Sect is just ahead. We’ll make our new home there for the time being," Yi Tianyun said, looking up. Ahead was the familiar Merak Sect. Everything looked normal; from a distance, he could even see many disciples training.
The people following behind him looked over curiously. They all wanted to see what kind of place their Spirit King lived in.
"Who goes there... Elder—Elder Yi?" When the disciples on guard saw a vast procession of people approaching from behind him, all of them riding Earth Dragons, they were utterly dumbfounded.
When had they ever seen so many dragons? Their pretty faces turned pale with fright. Thankfully, they recognized a familiar face, otherwise they would have sounded the alarm.
"Yes, these are our honored guests. Open the gate and let us in," Yi Tianyun gestured.
"Yes, yes..." They hurriedly opened the main gate to let them through.
Yi Tianyun then led the large procession inside. By chance, Shi Xueyun was outside, and when she saw Yi Tianyun and his group, she froze.
"Heavens, what have you brought back this time..." Shi Xueyun was dumbfounded. ’So many people, and so many Earth Dragons... Don’t tell me they’re all going to join the Merak Sect?’
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