On the vast earth, a group of several hundred defeated soldiers is trudging southward with difficulty.

"Come on, brothers, once we cross that great river ahead, we'll be in Jiangdong territory!"

Fan Kuai rides his horse back and forth to boost the morale of the troops.

Liu Ji, with a straw of dog's tail grass in his mouth, smiles at the scene.

Nowadays, not only has his injuries healed, but he is filled with confidence!

This confidence stems from his true Golden Finger—the Demon Refining Gourd!

This gourd can refine all things, absorb spiritual energy and Dao Rhythm, enhancing his own strength.

Previously, just a minor test healed his injuries and refined the literary charm from several collected ancient books, greatly improving his classical literary skills and knowledge, even making Xiao He and Cao Can show admiration when discussing matters with him.

Liu Ji deeply understands a principle: In turbulent times, a ruler chooses his ministers, and ministers also choose their ruler!

If he doesn't appear to be wise and mighty, give them hope, and share the spoils, his subordinates will eventually scatter like birds and beasts.

Especially since this team has just experienced defeat, it's a time of unstable morale.

Therefore, relying on the Demon Refining Gourd, continually showcasing the extraordinary, is beneficial in stabilizing morale.

After temporarily calming Xiao He and Cao Can, he took the opportunity to refine several wild boars and mountain wolves, enhancing his physical fitness to the peak of ordinary people and improving his archery and horseback skills, finally having some self-preservation ability.

'Unfortunately... can't find a single Immortal cultivation textbook.'

Liu Ji looks at the attribute panel that only he can see, the tags like [Classical Literature Level 3], [Horsemanship Level 2], [Archery Level 1], and sighs internally.

He has no cultivation techniques, and no matter how powerful his Golden Finger is, it cannot be improved.

Moreover, through this period of exploration, he realized that the more powerful the skill, the harder it is to improve, consuming more of the gourd's spiritual energy.

To enhance cultivation techniques, the Demon Refining Gourd might need to devour some demon beasts with exotic beast bloodlines or other spiritual objects of the Immortal Dao.

'In summary, just one word... poor!'

Liu Ji rides his horse, looking at the surging river, feeling a slight sense of excitement.

No matter what, he would soon meet the Overlord of Western Chu, Xiang Yu.

Although he is but an ant in front of him now, he has Golden Finger, and will definitely grow stronger!

At this moment, a sudden sound of horns comes from the sky.

"Not good, the pursuers are here!"

Fan Kuai yells.

Liu Ji looks up in shock and sees three pitch-black... flying boats?

They have no sails or oars, but two wings, freely traveling among the clouds, as if swimming in large rivers like the Yangtze.

"It's the Immortal Qin Flying Wing Boat! Each boat can carry two hundred soldiers, and crucially, there's always a cultivator presiding!"

Xiao He, full of panic: "We are absolutely not their match. The only strategy now is for everyone to scatter and escape. Whoever survives is lucky!"

"How can it end like this?"

Liu Ji feels deeply unwilling. His team has just been founded, and it's already about to break up?

"Audacious traitors, swiftly meet your deaths!"

At this moment, from the pitch-black flying wing boat in the sky, a cultivator descends controlling a sword, and shouts: "I am Li You, Black Mountain Captain of Immortal Qin. Traitors should surrender at once!"

"Core Formation cultivator!"

"Sword Cultivator?"

Xiao He looks utterly hopeless: "He's too fast, not one of us can escape... For our small righteous army to encounter an Immortal Qin Captain is simply the worst luck of eight lifetimes!"

In mid-air, Li You triggers Finger-shocking Thunder, casually unleashing a thunderous Sword Qi into the crowd below.

Boom!

Like an aerial bomb explosion, not a soldier within a dozen-meter radius survives, and the terrifying aftermath sweeps through with thunderous energy, causing the hundred-strong righteous army to be thrown into chaos.

"Is this... the power of a Golden Core Ancestor?"

Liu Ji watches Li You charging with sword control, full of unwillingness: "I hate this... If only I were given time, I'd definitely become a Golden Core Ancestor, even stronger than him!"

Just then, the surroundings change, with flowers blooming everywhere, forming a realm!

"Li You, you dare come to Jiangdong to massacre the righteous army, how bold!"

A woman's voice resonates throughout the Flower Realm.

"Ah... Nascent Soul Domain!"

Li You merges with his sword, retreats desperately, but is directly knocked down by a jade hand: "Immortal Qin's forces that reach here shall stay here!"

As soon as the words fall, the three flying wings in the sky explode, one after the other.

"Yu Ji!!"

Li You's resentful voice erupts and then everything falls silent.

"Haha, Lord, we are saved, it's Lady Yu Ji who rescued us!"

"It's said that Lady Yu Ji is a peerless genius among Jiangdong's female practitioners, deeply in love with Xiang the Tyrant, both breaking through the Nascent Soul Realm, and suppressing the area..."

"If it weren't for encountering this ancestor, we'd be doomed."

"Thank you, Ancestor Yu Ji!"

...

In the midst of discussions among Fan Kuai and others, Liu Ji is full of complaints he doesn't know how to voice: "This is Yu Ji? Are you joking? Why do I feel this Yu Ji is damn more powerful than Xiang Yu! This is absurd!"

...

At the summit of Kunlun Mountain.

Zhong Shenxiu stands alone on the mountain peak, seemingly seeing through boundless clouds to witness the scenes unfolding in the mortal world, with a trace of a smile on his lips.

"The world these days is getting more and more lively."

Kunlun, on the contrary, is remarkably peaceful.

Zao Fu once accompanied Mu Heavenly Emperor to Kunlun, and heard many secrets, knowing Kunlun doesn't care much about mortal affairs, even indifferent to sacrifices and tributes, thus he resolutely decided to seize West Zhou's world.

After becoming the ruler of Immortal Qin, he ordered the protection of Kunlun's sacrifices and replaced West Zhou in offering tributes to Kunlun, so Zhong Shenxiu naturally refrained from interfering, and indeed peace prevailed.

Besides Immortal Qin, nowadays Kunlun serves as a residence for deities and is the source of the Immortal Dao.

Both Jiang Shang and Mu Heavenly Emperor have connections to Kunlun, hence attracting some cultivators' covetousness.

However, Zhong Shenxiu foresaw this and set prohibitions on Kunlun Mountain, making it difficult for any cultivator, even one like Zao Fu at Nascent Soul Peak level, to cross the thunder pool.

This has led to Kunlun's legends becoming more ethereal, while the mountain remains increasingly quiet.

"Now, the world is about to be chaotic again."

Suddenly, a whirlwind erupts, as Qingyuan steps on Lu Wu transformed into a winged tiger, arriving at Zhong Shenxiu's side.

"Immortal Qin's five hundred-year grand strategy rests entirely on Zao Fu!"

Zhong Shenxiu also sighs.

The world he crafted now fully aligns with his desires, but prioritizes individual cultivation.

Whether there is a powerhouse capable of suppressing an era is the key threshold for becoming a major force.

For example, in this uprising of the righteous army, those without Nascent Soul Stage cultivators were simply dishes, easily solved by Immortal Qin.

"Even if Zao Fu cannot break through and advance to the Refining God Stage, transitioning to the Immortal Path shouldn't be a problem, right? Despite Immortal Qin's current weakened national power, it's still stronger than early West Zhou..."

Qingyuan says.

After so many years of population growth, the world's populace likely exceeds tens of millions, far surpassing the mere ten million during West Zhou times.

Especially due to the creation of the Immortal Dao, with more cultivators, and world elevation, her Divine Power has also increased, along with a number of Junior Fate Masters and Masters of Fate similarly experiencing rapid cultivation enhancement.

Strictly speaking, Qingyuan is also half an immortal, only supported by a world.

"Even so, the world's nobles probably won't give Zao Fu the chance to transition, will they."

Zhong Shenxiu seems to have seen through everything.