"God-Slaying Ballistae, target: the Great Cauldron. Fire!"
"Runic Cannons, target: the Great Cauldron. Fire!"
One by one, enormous ballistae and cannons lit up with radiant light. Gigantic bolts shot forth like divine rays piercing the sky, striking heavily against the Four-Directional Celestial Gold Cauldron. The runic cannons fired beams of cannonlight that seemed capable of shattering the heavens. Thousands upon thousands of attacks bombarded the golden cauldron all at once.
Ding ding ding!!
However, the treasured cauldron merely spun slightly, and from within, a boundless devouring force was released. Effortlessly, the countless bolts and cannonlight were absorbed into the cauldron and vanished in the blink of an eye, as if they had never existed. That scene was eerie and terrifying.
"This cauldron can devour attacks. The runic cannons can't penetrate its defense. Quickly, light the war signal fire!"
Within several blood-iron fortresses, the expressions of the generals changed drastically. They immediately understood that this time, a powerful enemy had truly arrived — one beyond their capacity to resist. They could only rely on the Iron-Blood Great Wall's own defensive barrier to hold.
Howl!!
At that moment, within the territory of Da Yi, peace reigned as usual. People cultivated, ran businesses, bounty hunters went in and out of the wilderness, battling ferocious beasts and foreign races, returning bloodied or not at all. Striving to grow stronger — always striving.
If they felt stuck, they'd marry, have children — and more children.
In Da Yi, there was never such a thing as idleness.
Unless one truly aspired to be a salted fish — the kind that never turns over in ten thousand years.
But just then, within Da Yi's seven great realms, no matter which one, anyone who looked up could see a massive pillar of smoke rising from the direction of the Dragonbeast Realm. That smoke was entirely blood-red, like fresh blood, a divine column soaring to the heavens. Even separated by hundreds of millions of miles, it was still visible — condensing into a massive blood-colored war wolf in the void, which let out a heaven-shaking howl.
"That's the beacon smoke! That's the Iron-Blood Great Wall's signal fire from the north — the Dragonbeast Realm. Something's happening there!"
Countless citizens heard the wolf's howl and saw the blood smoke. The Beacon Tower was a heaven-defying treasure, already fused with the Iron-Blood Great Wall. Once lit, its smoke could be seen throughout all of Da Yi.
"So that's the legendary war signal smoke of the Da Yi Holy Court. Incredible — it's completely integrated with the Iron-Blood Great Wall. The moment something happens, the beacon is lit, and everyone across the realm can see. This must mean something major has occurred."
In the Shushan Realm, countless sect disciples and cultivators looked on in shock.
"One... Two... Three... The beacon fires are spreading. If the skies are filled with war smoke — that means full-scale war has begun."
Each beacon represented a fortress sounding the alarm — under attack by a force strong enough to threaten the Iron-Blood Great Wall itself. More than nine beacons meant the flames of war were everywhere — an extremely dangerous situation. The enemy was strong. Terrifyingly strong.
"War has begun."
In the Hall of Knowing and Action, Yi Tianxing looked up into the void, eyes flashing.
He was not surprised by the arrival of this war. Da Yi had long known about the strange movements across the various realms. Their lack of action had been deliberate — stillness to counter movement. But in truth, Da Yi had long been prepared. Within the War Soul Realm, billions of troops stood ready to march at any moment. Every soldier trained diligently, using not only military-distributed resources but also merit points to exchange for additional supplies.
Each strove to rise.
In the main combat legions, even the most ordinary soldiers had reached the Dharma Phase Realm. Primordial Spirit (Nascent Soul) Realm cultivators were the core of the army. Sun (Yang) God Realm cultivators were legion commanders.
By now, the earliest legion commanders to follow Da Yi had mostly reached the Sun God Realm, and some were close to the True Spirit Realm. Da Yi possessed tribulation-crossing secret arts — as long as no major mishaps occurred during the Three Calamities, there was almost no risk of death.
The military was also the most resource-rich organization. Every effort was made to satisfy their needs.
Now, every soldier was eager, ready to rush to the battlefield and seize military merit — to earn supreme honor.
"Summon the officials. Assemble at the Hall of Heaven. The Xuanhuang Holy City will head to the battlefield."
Yi Tianxing gave the order calmly and deeply.
Immediately, the Xuanhuang Immortal City began shifting northward toward the battlefield. Throughout the process, the city's citizens felt nothing — life continued as usual.
"A fate-bound treasure... a realm-defining divine artifact. The Gold Clan's Four-Directional Celestial Gold Cauldron — they're launching a national war and staking everything. In that case, how can this Holy King not accompany them to the end? This is a war of destiny — victory brings kingship, defeat brings destruction."
The Iron-Blood Great Wall was itself a nation-suppressing divine artifact and fate treasure. If Yi Tianxing wished, he could see everything around it with ease. The moment the Golden Cauldron appeared, he saw it clearly — every detail was known.
The use of such a nation-suppressing artifact made it clear: the Golden Empire was going all in. This would be a true battle between fate nations. And not just with the Golden Empire — multiple fate nations would be involved.
Such an enemy was enough to arouse Yi Tianxing's interest.
After all this time, it was about time to act.
And among these enemies were individuals he was personally interested in.
Not witnessing this with his own eyes would be a regret.
The ministers, upon receiving the summons and seeing the war smoke, rushed to the Hall of Heaven at once. Within the grand hall, the ministers assembled — civil and military officials alike.
"Greetings to the Holy King!"
They bowed in unison.
"No need for formalities. War has begun. The enemy has chosen to break through from the north — the Dragonbeast Realm. Most likely, they'll coordinate to breach the Iron-Blood Great Wall and launch a full attack. This war must be won — defeat is not an option. This is a national war — victory brings kingship, defeat is annihilation. The war effort will be led by Lord Zhuge. The Heavenly Strategy Office will oversee planning. I hereby appoint Liu Ji as Da Yi's Left Prime Minister. He may participate in all state deliberations. The position of Right Prime Minister remains vacant. Both posts are of transcendent rank."
Yi Tianxing spoke directly, wasting no time.
Most importantly, he was formally granting Liu Bowen a true status — Left Prime Minister, a transcendent position in the court, granting authority over all manner of state affairs. However, Da Yi maintained the separation of civil and military powers. In the military, Liu Bowen could offer suggestions but had no decision-making power. That still belonged to the Military Cabinet.
Still, the Prime Minister's role held immense power. Many lesser petitions wouldn't even need Yi Tianxing's review — Liu Bowen could directly approve them. All such documents were archived in the Hall of Ten Thousand Affairs for review and reference.
"They've chosen the northern battlefield? The Dragonbeast Realm? In that case, we can proceed with our plan. While they divert their forces to invade Da Yi, the other realms will be at their weakest. This is the perfect time to launch our own invasions."
Zhuge Liang's eyes lit up. He fanned himself and smiled confidently.
The war strategy had long been prepared through detailed simulations by the Heavenly Strategy Office and Da Yi's many strategists.
"Holy King, this humble official requests authorization to launch military campaigns against the six realms!"
Zhuge Liang declared.
"Approved!!"
Yi Tianxing gave a single firm word. He did not elaborate.
He had already entrusted the war to Zhuge Liang and would not interfere unless absolutely necessary.
"Twelve Zodiac Legions, step forward!"
Zhuge Liang called out.
"We await orders!"
Twelve legion commanders stepped forth:
Battle Tiger Legion: Wang Dahu
Snow Rabbit Legion: Xue Kunlun
Heavenly Horse Legion: Feng Yumo
Demon Ape Legion: Shi Jiantang
White Dragon Legion: Zhao Yun
Boar Legion: Pang Shigu
Bull Demon Legion: Niu Gao
Spirit Snake Legion: Wu Chang
Golden Rooster Legion: Lan Yu
Azure Ram Legion: Yang Zhi
Clever Rat Legion: Yi Zixuan
Heavenly Dog Legion: Shan Xiongxin
Each radiated fierce fighting intent.
"Battle Tiger and White Dragon — go to the Beastmen Realm."
"Heavenly Horse and Demon Ape — to the Goldstone Realm."
"Snow Rabbit and Bull Demon — to the Skyfire Realm."
"Boar and Heavenly Dog — to the Dragonbeast Realm."
"Spirit Snake and Golden Rooster — to the Featherwing Realm."
"Clever Rat and Azure Ram — to the Titan Realm."
Zhuge Liang issued his orders crisply.
"We obey the command!"
The twelve legions responded in unison.
"Holy King, this humble official requests permission for the Twelve Zodiac Guardians to accompany their corresponding legions to the battlefield."
Zhuge Liang continued.
The Twelve Zodiac Guardians were Da Yi's top-tier combatants. Each one rivaled or surpassed a True Spirit Realm expert.
"Approved!"
Yi Tianxing nodded.
With them present, each legion had a stabilizing pillar. These guardians shared a natural affinity with their legions, allowing for perfect synergy.
"Thank you, Holy King."Zhuge Liang smiled. "All other legions — proceed to the northern battlefield."
"Yes, my lord!"
The commanders answered.
"Holy King," said Jia Xu, stepping forward, "this humble official requests a decree: instruct the Shushan Realm's sects to dispatch their Dao Soldiers to join the northern battlefield."
"Approved. Cao Zhengchun — take the imperial edict to the Shushan Realm. Command the sects to dispatch 70% of their Dao Soldiers to the northern battlefield. This order is voluntary. Participation grants access to military merit."
Yi Tianxing declared calmly.
Investigations revealed that the total number of Dao Soldiers in the Shushan Realm's sects exceeded a billion.