CHAPTER 434: CHAPTER 376. THREE CAVE FIVE THUNDER, WOOD EMPEROR

Donghua Jungle.

The crowd gathered here, divided into sections according to their respective teams rather than their magical veins.

Song Lin surveyed the surroundings.

Fortunately, there were not many casualties. The battle system Song Lin had designated was undoubtedly very effective.

Throughout the battle, the trio repeatedly achieved victory through overcoming odds and defeating stronger foes with weaker numbers.

Song Lin, having traversed countless worlds, had lived for over a thousand years.

He had gained profound insights into combat; the outcome of a fight was not solely determined by the level of cultivation or who had the higher realm.

Rather, it hinged on the grasp of life-and-death opportunities.

Whoever could seize even the slimmest chance of survival in a battle to the death could emerge victorious.

Additionally, the coordination among the trio made it entirely possible to achieve the effect of defeating a stronger opponent with weaker resources.

Beyond that, many people had made breakthroughs.

In particular, Shi Yinhua and Wang Ziyue both transcended their shackles and entered the Purple Mansion Realm.

Adding in Yan Jiuge and Guu Yuchan, Song Lin had cultivated a total of four individuals into the Purple Mansion Realm.

This proved that Donghua’s Taoist lineage was on the right path.

The Holy Might Taoist School’s lineage appeared vast and diverse, but roughly eighty percent of its disciples could not hope to reach the Purple Mansion Realm.

Another smaller portion could, at best, reach Core Formation.

And only a handful of secret techniques existed above the Purple Mansion Realm.

This was why, when Song Lin’s cultivation was low, he encountered all sorts of different Taoists; but as his cultivation grew higher, the techniques of even the great masters of the Taoist Schools became more predictable, only drawing from a limited repertoire.

"For this Drought Relief Ceremony and the demon invasion, everyone has contributed. All participants will be rewarded. All spiritual prohibitions and blessed lands will be made accessible for free for three months, and all materials in the warehouse will be sold at half price."

Song Lin walked to the center and announced to the crowd.

"Long live the Taoist Leader!"

"Compassionate Taoist Leader!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Yinhua smiled bitterly. While the Taoist Leader was indeed generous, they would have to pay nearly thirty million dharma coins to cover the costs.

However, it wasn’t necessarily a loss. The demon corpses, demon cores, and the innate spiritual treasures from the Elephant Lord and the Second Prince could be sold for a good price.

Of course, keeping them for personal use wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

The Yin King’s and Yunhai’s collections were also quite abundant. Overall, it was neither a loss nor a gain.

From a political perspective, however, they had profited immensely.

The Crown Prince was close to breaking through to the Primordial Spirit Realm, and many of Tianhe’s lackeys had been wiped out.

The Donghua Alliance was about to launch a full-scale counteroffensive.

Of course, the more critical the moment, the less they could afford to be careless.

At Donghua Jungle, though outwardly calm, vigilance was unrelenting. At the slightest sign of enemy attack, the defensive restrictions would activate, and all high-level cultivators would immediately emerge from seclusion.

"Those who have achieved breakthroughs in their cultivation, stay behind."

Song Lin was preparing to conduct the liturgy for his disciples.

For Qi Refinement, the Grand Commissioner Talisman was bestowed; for Divine Establishment, the Alliance Power Talisman; for Core Formation, the Five Thunders Talisman; and for Purple Mansion, the High Divine Sky Treasure Talisman was added, to be held concurrently with the Five Thunders Talisman.

As for the Three Cave Five Thunder Talisman, it was only bestowed at the Transcendence Tribulation Stage.

The remaining Upper Pure Three Cave Talisman and the Three Pure Ones Three Cave Talisman were exclusive to Heavenly Masters.

Song Lin himself was now at the Transcendence Tribulation Stage and could have bestowed the Three Cave Five Thunder Talisman. Unfortunately, due to his conflict with Tianhe, he refrained from administering it.

It was said that the Three Cave Five Thunder Talisman could truly connect to the mysteries of the Heavenly Court. Those with the capability might even directly communicate with the Immortal Gods to gain insights into Taoist Skills.

Or perhaps comprehend a wisp of the Great Dao.

Each individual’s enlightenment during the liturgy would differ.

Song Lin once asked Zhengxin about his supreme Divine Intent Bright Silk Spell mastery; Zhengxin had achieved it in a moment of Heavenly Human Connection during the liturgy.

The liturgy itself was simple, but Donghua Jungle added a layer of reciting precepts to the ceremony.

In less than no time, over a hundred individuals had completed the liturgy.

Song Lin returned to his secret chamber, his mind circling back to the liturgy earlier.

It was out of the question for Tianhe to preside over a liturgy for him, and Song Lin wouldn’t dare let that man administer such a complex talisman.

His only option now was to have Spirit Treasures personally administer the talisman.

In this regard, Song Lin had considerable confidence.

After all, with the setbacks in sealing other nations, it would soon come down to the arena battles.

Given that he had already demonstrated the power to single-handedly obliterate a Demon Lord, Spirit Treasures would inevitably have to rely on him.

Evidence was clear from the trial fight against Yin King and Yunhai—

So long as Song Lin had the moral high ground, even the Spirit Treasure Celestial Master wouldn’t want to intervene.

Thus, the liturgy should be a minor matter.

But there was no rush; there were still many unresolved matters within the Donghua Alliance.

Furthermore, the campaign in Yanz State within the story world had reached a critical juncture.

A delay wouldn’t hurt anything.

...

Story World.

The 20th Year of King Mu of Zhou.

The eastern conquest had reached its final phase.

Only Yanz State remained of the Eastern Yi Tribes yet to be conquered.

After taking Qingzhou, they aimed to capture Ju Mang, the Eastern God. (The earlier text misidentified; it was not the Sea God but the Eastern God Ju Mang.)

In ancient times, the four cardinal gods existed. Ju Mang, God of the East, was the Spring God and the Wood God.

The ancient divinities were no longer suited to rule over the Nine States.

Song Lin’s current task was to subjugate the gods of the four directions and integrate their Taoist lineage into his own.

With this in mind, he boarded the Sun Jade Car, preparing to traverse 8,000 miles to Yanz State.

The ancient world was vast, and the distance to Yanz State’s extremity spanned 8,000 miles.

Marquis Lvu and the others had fought their way to Yanz State, defeating countless barbarian nations and capturing numerous Abnormal Soldiers.

From Song Lin’s return to the real world to this moment, the war had already lasted for over twenty days, or more than two years in the story world’s time.

If not for the Zhou Army being composed mostly of exceptionally gifted mortals, they might not have been able to sustain such a long campaign.

The Eight Horses each possessed unique divine skills, their flying speed far exceeding that of sound. In addition to their unparalleled speed, they carried immense power for vanquishing demons and spirits.

Wherever they passed, demonkind turned to ash.

The carriage’s tracks stretched across rivers and mountains, and countless living beings witnessed the grand image of the Heavenly Emperor’s procession, leaving behind countless myths for future generations to sing of.

Soon, Song Lin arrived at Yanz State.

The Xuanhuang Lands echoed with the clamor of battle cries, as golden weapons and armored horses clashed amidst green fire and poisoned smoke. Combined, the armies on both sides totaled over a million soldiers, battling so fiercely that heaven and earth were tumultuous, and neither the sun nor moon could be seen.

The Zhou Army consistently held the upper hand, deploying highly mobile cavalry, Mystic Iron Infantry, Mystic Iron Bowmen, and Mystic Iron Heavy Infantry.

Their military formations were so imposing that enemy forces crumbled upon engagement. If not for the demon beasts among the barbarian armies, their forces would have long since fragmented.

Even so, the barbarian army was steadily losing ground.

Finally, they were pushed up to the Eastern Extreme.

The Eastern Extreme marked the Dao Grounds of the Ju Mang God.

As the army pursued, they came upon an endless expanse of dense forest.

Each blade of grass stood as high as a house and as thick as a man’s thigh, while vines resembled Azure Dragons sprawling across the earth, stretching infinitely.

A surge of abundant wood energy greeted them, as if their very vitality was being assimilated by this heaven and earth. Examining carefully, they noticed various animal-like plants growing vibrantly.

These must have once been living beings who had mistakenly entered this realm and were then dissolved into wood energy.

Countless barbarians fled to this place, chanting in a frenzy, "Great Hao Fuxi, Wood Emperor! Great Hao Fuxi, Wood Emperor!"

As they reached the edge of the Tree Realm, their bodies disintegrated, transforming into green wood energy.

The Zhou Army halted, horrified by what they saw.

These barbarians were actually sacrificing themselves!

The wood energy materialized into the form of a petite girl with a delicate nose, small rosy face, and green feathery hair that resembled a mischievous ancient bird. She stood atop two Azure Dragons.

"Ju Mang!"

"Ju Mang!"

At the sight of this deity, the clans of the Yi cheered ecstatically.

Grass and trees flourished, spreading vibrant greenery for a thousand miles.

The barbarians’ savior had arrived!

Just then, a golden light descended between the two armies.

It was none other than the Zhou Emperor.

"The Emperor! The Emperor!"

The Human Clan erupted in even louder cheers.

A great battle was on the verge of breaking out!

But at that very moment, Ju Mang opened her emerald green eyes.

Under the hopeful gazes of the barbarians, she parted her gorgeous lips slightly and said, "Central Plains Emperor, we are willing to surrender!"

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