Chapter 1249: One Against Ten Thousand

On the firmament above the Hongze Realm, the anomaly of the Myriad Immortal Alliance group’s demise suddenly appeared.

“Nascent Soul cultivator Lin Bai, cultivated for one hundred sixty-five years…”

“Perished in the Hongze Realm while vying for the Kongming Flow Crystal, ambushed and critically wounded by Qian Sheng, Qian Ming, and Qian Su.”

“His body and Dao dissipated, returning his Dao to Heaven!”

Although they had been slain by the Holy Dynasty’s advance squad, the cause of death displayed on the firmament now involved a conflict with the “Qian family.”

This was Sun Erlang’s first time using the Heaven-Tampering Talisman, and the effect seemed quite good.

Sun Erlang meticulously recorded the celestial phenomena with a projection stone, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Following Zhang Ming’s posthumous message, he then located the Kongming Flow Crystal mine. He carefully gathered all the crystals, root and stem, deliberately scattered some residual fragments from the main vein throughout the Hongze Realm, and finally erased all traces of conflict.

Having completed all this, Sun Erlang quietly departed.

A long time later, the obscured and tampered heavenly secrets of the Hongze Realm slowly returned to normal.

In the Myriad Immortal Alliance, Yueyang Prefecture, at the Qian family estate.

Qian Wanling, the Qian family head and a peak Deity Transformation cultivator, wore a somber expression. Below him, Qian Sheng, Qian Ming, Qian Su, and others stood, still somewhat bewildered.

“Tell me about the great deeds you’ve done.”

“What great deeds?” Qian Sheng was stunned on the spot.

“Elder Brother, why did you suddenly call us here looking like this? What happened?” Qian Su also seemed puzzled.

Qian Wanling slammed the table. “Still hiding it! The Lin family has already come knocking! That Lin Bai was the successor the Lin family placed great hopes on. How could they let it go after you killed him?! Although the Kongming Flow Crystal is a good thing, you need to be alive to enjoy it!”

“Blinded by greed! Utterly foolish!”

The Qian family head looked at his brothers, his eyes almost spitting fire. If not for the bond of blood, he would have instantly struck them all dead.

“Wait!” Qian Ming suddenly realized, his expression changing as he hastily asked, “What Lin Bai? What Kongming Flow Crystal? Elder Brother, you must be mistaken, right? We killed Lin Bai? What kind of joke is this?”

Seeing that they still wouldn't admit it, Qian Wanling was deeply disappointed. “You’d even hide it from me, for the sake of the Kongming Flow Crystal? Fine, fine, fine!”

Fuming, Qian Wanling immediately produced an imprint stone and displayed the anomaly of demise from the Hongze Realm.

Watching the Heavenly Dao anomaly before them, the three Qian brothers were instantly dumbfounded.

“That’s not right, Elder Brother! We truly didn’t do this!”

“Someone is framing us! Elder Brother, you must believe us!”

After a brief stupor, the three brothers cried out in unison, proclaiming their innocence.

Qian Wanling stared intently at them, but found no flaw in their expressions that suggested pretense.

“These idiots’ acting skills aren’t *that* good. Could it be…”

At this point, even Qian Wanling became somewhat hesitant.

“Then, where were you all some time ago?”

Upon hearing this, Qian Sheng and the others hesitated.

However, under their elder brother’s murderous gaze, they had no choice but to reveal the truth.

“That day, we were cultivating by absorbing solar energy in a small building by Yueyang Lake when we suddenly sensed an anomaly in an earth vein not far away, as if some treasure was about to emerge. So, we went to investigate. Unexpectedly, as soon as we arrived, the earth vein power suddenly surged, sweeping us into the earth vein, where we lost control and couldn't extricate ourselves…”

“Until recently, we finally escaped,” Qian Sheng stated matter-of-factly.

Seeing his elder brother Qian Wanling’s increasingly grim gaze, he quickly added, “It’s true. If you don’t believe me, look—due to prolonged immersion in the earth vein, my spiritual energy has inevitably become heavily imbued with earth vein essence.”

Qian Wanling swept his divine sense through the three men’s bodies and indeed found clear traces of earth vein power infiltration.

He then fell silent.

The three Qian brothers thought their elder brother still didn’t believe them and were about to continue their defense.

But they heard Qian Wanling sigh deeply. “Even if I believe you, what good would that do? Would the Lin family believe it? Would the world believe it?”

“The images recorded by this imprint stone have been verified; they are not fabricated.”

“Moreover, it involves the treasure, Kongming Flow Crystal…”

“Our Qian family is in trouble.”

Qian Sheng slowly recovered, his eyes burning with rage. “Who is so meticulously plotting to frame us!”

Qian Ming’s eyes were bloodshot. “Elder Brother, don’t worry, we won’t implicate the family.”

With that, he was about to turn and leave.

“You scoundrel! If you go out now, are you looking for death?!”

He was stopped by Qian Wanling’s furious rebuke.

Seeing his three brothers looking wronged and angry, Qian Wanling sighed again.

He finally made a decision befitting a family head: “As things stand, being misunderstood is unavoidable.”

“We can only report this matter to Lord Fan Li first…”

Fan Li was a Dao Integration cultivator guarding Yueyang Prefecture. He usually disliked staying in Yueyang Heaven City and had built a small building by Yueyang Lake to reside in.

“I will go personally. You must remember to stay home and not go out.”

Qian Wanling carefully instructed, then altered his appearance and left through a secret passage in the house.

He left behind the bewildered and distraught Qian Sheng and his two brothers.

Not long after, Fan Li, who was resting in the small building at Yueyang Lake, heard Qian Wanling’s account and couldn’t help but frown.

Just then, Lin Yufei, the Lin family head, also arrived.

“Lord Fan, you must uphold justice for our Lin family in this matter!”

The Lin family’s informants stationed outside the small building at Yueyang Lake immediately notified Lin Yufei upon seeing Qian Wanling appear.

Lin Yufei rushed over, eyeing Qian Wanling, who was sitting upright in the small building, with unconcealed killing intent.

“Your Qian family is truly audacious! You completely disregard the Immortal Alliance’s laws!”

“Brother Lin, please calm your anger. This matter is due to someone framing us,” Qian Wanling said with a bitter smile, apologizing.

“Framing?! Was the Heavenly Dao’s anomalous proclamation false? Are the images recorded by that imprint stone false?!”

Instead of helping, Qian Wanling’s words sounded to Lin Yufei like evasive sophistry, enraging him further.

He was about to make a move on the spot.

“Silence.”

Fan Li coldly snorted, forcefully suppressing their escalating confrontation.

He then meticulously examined the images in the imprint stone, his brow deeply furrowed.

The images were not fabricated.

But he had indeed sensed the earth vein anomaly some time ago.

The Qian family wouldn’t dare to use such a somewhat ridiculous excuse to fool him.

What exactly was going on?

For a moment, Fan Li felt a headache.

He knew that if this matter wasn’t handled properly, it could very well become known throughout the world.

“You two, come with me to the Hongze Realm.”

Fan Li said in a deep voice.

However, even with Fan Li personally present, they ultimately failed to ascertain the truth from the remaining clues in the Hongze Realm.

There were, however, indeed large amounts of residual Kongming Flow Crystal energy.

“Old villain Qian, Lord Fan personally cast a spell to re-enact the Heavenly Dao demise anomaly. You saw it with your own eyes, what more do you have to say?”

“Brother Lin, is it possible that this Heavenly Dao anomaly is fake…”

“Don’t talk nonsense! From today onwards, our Lin family and your Qian family are sworn enemies, until death do us part!”

Watching the hatred between the two families not only unresolved but deepened, Fan Li felt a throbbing headache.

He looked up at the firmament of the Hongze Realm.

“The Heavenly Dao… has it changed again?”

Upon returning to Yueyang Prefecture, after several tests and multi-party verifications, Fan Li confirmed that the Heavenly Dao anomaly of a cultivator’s demise was still valid.

However, he still harbored some doubts, coupled with Qian Wanling’s persistent assertion that the three Qian sons were innocent.

And after Fan Li personally subjected the three to a soul interrogation, he became convinced that they were not the culprits.

Helpless, Fan Li could only report the matter to the Immortal Alliance Headquarters.

What he didn’t know was that this was already the second such report the Myriad Immortal Alliance had received.

However, due to the inherent operational reasons of the Immortal Alliance system, such incidents had not yet attracted the attention of the true high-ranking officials.

Silently, the seeds of chaos had been sown.

In Da Qi.

Sun Erlang was very satisfied with the effect of the Heaven-Tampering Talisman, based on the intelligence gathered by various Holy Dynasty spies.

Because over the past few thousand years, the accuracy of the Heavenly Dao demise anomaly had been precisely verified. The cultivators of the Myriad Immortal Alliance, accustomed to this established mindset, naturally wouldn't suddenly doubt it.

“However, it can only be used as a surprise; if used too often, it will lose its effectiveness.”

“It must be used at critical junctures.”

Sun Erlang shook his head.

He had truthfully reported the heroic sacrifice of Zhang Ming’s squad to the Holy Emperor.

The Holy Emperor, in a rare move, announced this matter to the world and created a floating divine temple above Shengjing City with his mighty power.

The divine temple glowed with golden light, suspended high in the heavens.

From any corner of Da Qi, one could see the temple’s brilliant radiance, like a great sun in the sky.

The Holy Emperor declared that all soldiers who sacrificed for the Holy Dynasty would form their statues in the divine temple after death.

Although they would lose their physical bodies, they would gain eternal life as heroic spirits.

The golden, overflowing phantom figures of Zhang Ming and others flying from the floating divine temple confirmed the Holy Emperor’s words.

The people of Da Qi cheered for the Holy Emperor’s divine grace, and their fear of death slowly transformed into a fervent desire to enter the floating divine temple and become immortal heroic spirits.

Sun Erlang knew that the so-called heroic spirits were likely manifestations of a trace of lingering will preserved by his master’s divine power.

While still a long way from true eternal life and immortality, it was nonetheless a method of salvation after death.

Rather than having their souls scattered and utterly annihilated, leaving even a last trace in the world was good.

But for Sun Erlang, the true path was to minimize the casualties of soldiers.

He arrived at the secret location where the Holy Dynasty forged its instruments of conquest.

The Army-Annihilating Arrows and the Heaven-Tampering Talisman were both created here.

“Greetings, Master Craftsman Qiaogong.”

Sun Erlang spoke to Master Craftsman Qiaogong, who was busy at work.

Qiaogong did not respond, only focusing intently on the constantly flashing black automaton in the space before him.

Sun Erlang didn’t mind and also looked towards the automaton.

“So fast.”

The black automaton continuously teleported, its figure drifting, even evading Sun Erlang’s divine sense lock.

“Too slow! Still too slow!”

“The source power supply is limited; to make the mass-produced models achieve their imagined capabilities is still a bit strenuous.”

Qiaogong said with regret.

“Sun boy, why don’t you go up and spar with it?”

Qiaogong suddenly suggested.

Sun Erlang nodded and instantly appeared in the testing ground.

The black automaton stopped its rapid movement and instead launched a full-power assault on Sun Erlang.

Its main attack methods were two-fold: one was the black death light it sprayed, imbued with an annihilation aura.

The other was detonating formation modules to trap and injure enemies with standardized formations.

It could almost contend with a typical peak Nascent Soul cultivator, but clearly, it couldn’t harm Sun Erlang at all.

While easily dodging the black automaton’s attacks, Sun Erlang flicked his finger, sending out several blue light orbs.

The light orbs traced different curves, accurately locking onto and hitting the black automaton.

A faint light flashed on the automaton’s body, yet it actually absorbed Sun Erlang’s moves.

“Boy, you haven’t seen this last time you were here.”

“This move is called, returning the favor in kind.”

As Qiaogong spoke, wisps of blue light illuminated the black automaton’s body.

Those blue light orbs were actually reflected back.

“This is still just one automaton, and the advantage of these mass-produced models lies in their numbers.”

Accompanying Qiaogong’s words, dozens more automata suddenly appeared in the testing space.

In his fight against them, Sun Erlang found that these automata acted as if they were a single entity.

Not only did they coordinate skillfully, subtly forming a formation, but any single automaton could also concentrate and reflect all the attacks absorbed by their collective.

Even with Sun Erlang’s considerable strength, without using his killer moves, he felt somewhat overwhelmed when facing over thirty automata.

Stopping the test, Sun Erlang returned to Qiaogong’s side.

“Master Craftsman Qiaogong, how many of these mass-produced automata can be deployed at once?”

Qiaogong shrugged. “Boy, this is a Holy Dynasty secret. Even if you are the Holy Emperor’s direct disciple, I can’t tell you in too much detail.”

Sun Erlang couldn’t help but be speechless.

Qiaogong laughed heartily. “Just kidding.”

“The Holy Army automata are deployed in groups of fifty and require manipulation by special cultivators to achieve their maximum combat power.”

“Killing a Deity Transformation cultivator should not be a problem.”

Upon hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Sun Erlang’s eyes.

“Is there an upper limit to the number of Holy Army automata that can be controlled?”

“Upper limit?” Qiaogong paused slightly, then understood.

“You want to try?”

Sun Erlang nodded.

Qiaogong pondered for a moment, then handed over a black jade disc.

“Don’t overexert yourself.”

Sun Erlang took the disc, and instantly, a scene of a thousand black automata, neat and uniform, standing perfectly upright, appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

His thoughts felt like a silk thread, connecting all these automata.

Each automaton seemed to possess its own consciousness.

After connecting, Sun Erlang’s own soul felt as if it were tethered by a heavy weight, becoming somewhat cumbersome.

However, this also allowed him to control the automata as if they were his own limbs.

Sun Erlang accustomed himself to the automaton’s body. With a thought, one automaton flew into the testing ground.

It began to fly, evade, and attack in a test.

After a period of adaptation, Sun Erlang felt that the burden on his soul had become negligible.

So, he began connecting to other automata.

Next, the third, the tenth, the fiftieth…

Under Master Craftsman Qiaogong’s increasingly astonished gaze, the total number of automata Sun Erlang controlled impressively exceeded one hundred.

And judging by his expression, he still seemed to be effortlessly managing them.

“You, boy…”

“You’re good!”

Master Craftsman Qiaogong suddenly had a new idea: “If you alone were to control the Holy Army automata, would the effect be even better?”