At their dark faces, Zhuo Fan shrugged with a smile, âWhy act that way if I knew? As humans, none of us would willingly recruit another race to fight other humans. If this does occur, then the perpetrator should ask themself what they did to make it happen.â
âYou just had to share your resources and high cultivation methods with the people of the Eight Emperorsâ lands, giving them hope of rising to the top, and they would never resort to this. Where then is the virtue, the honor, in fighting for someone that wonât even feed them? You made it this way with your own actions.â
âNo, the Sacred Mountains must live forever and for that to happen, no outsiders are allowed to invade. We are in the right!â He Yunshan spoke with conviction, âZhuo Fan, I admit that youâre a rare talent, but youâre not one of us. The more amazing you are, the more you need to die so that we can remove all threats to the Sacred Mountains. This shall never change!â
âAnd thus you dug your own grave. When the water is stagnant, it will need to flow again. Youâve been at the top for too long. Your disciples have everything and lost everything. Without experience, without hardship, thereâs no progress. This is the root cause for not having a single Sovereign despite all your Saints, not even a half Sovereign. Youâre nothing but thugs hoarding resources with a bit more Yuan Qi than the rest. You are strangling the prospects of future generations. You all are the real criminals of humanity.â
He Yunshanâs face twitched, âThe Sacred Mountains train in the strongest cultivation methods, and we donât move around as long as we have resources so that we ease our understanding of Dao. This is the fastest way to the Sovereign Stage. Instead of sharing resources thinly across everyone, we centralize the resources on the best talents, none of the resources will be wasted. Of course, these cultivators must support the Sacred Mountains as well. We must keep it in the family.â
Zhuo Fan sighed and shouted, âShangguan Feixiong, with me!â
Shangguan Feixiong flashed before him and Zhuo Fan patted his shoulder, âHeâs of average talent, yet can fight most of your Saints as just an Emperor. Care to try?â
âAs if thatâs possible!â
He Yunshan sneered, âThe difference in those stages is insurmountable. Not even the Eight Emperors could harm a Saint.â
He pushed Shangguan Feixiong forward and the latter moved forward. He Yunshan looked at a disciple and that disciple stepped out â immediately summoning his Sacred Body.
âHeâs the worst Saint of ours. Iâll be easy on you, soâŠâ
A shocking explosion cut off his smug declaration. A scarlet glow ran through the discipleâs Sacred Body, punching a large hole in it.
The disciple coughed blood and slumped to the ground while his Sacred Body vanished.
Everyone gapped, watching the red sword image return to Shangguan Feixiongâs body.
âSoaring Sword Mark! Much obliged!â
Shangguan Feixiong returned to Zhuo Fan, bowing.
The elders were dumbstruck.
[How did an Emperor do that?]
The Dragon Sovereign laughed, âSteward Zhuo has amazing people. My elder said your men are incredible, far beyond average and can contend with our dragons, if not overcome them. Now that I see it, Iâm convinced, ha-ha-haâŠâ
âThank you Dragon Sovereign!â
Zhuo Fan smiled, turning to the dumbstruck elders, âHeâs my weakest as well, but through his experiences, he came to make his own sword art. Dao and martial arts are a combination beyond anyoneâs imagination. Cooped up in your precious mountains, hoarding resources is actually an utter waste. If you had any bit of wisdom, youâd have shared them instead of stealing them from normal cultivators.â
He Yunshan glared at Zhuo Fan and left, âZhuo Fan, Dragon Sovereign, see you on the battlefield!â
âHe wonât give up until itâs too late. Stuck with his own idea despite having no argument. Then let them witness our allianceâs might until he cries, he-he.â
The Dragon Sovereign said, âSteward Zhuo, besides us, many spiritual beasts have answered the call of the sacred beasts, coming over. Weâre going to erase the Sacred Mountains from this world.â
Zhuo Fan nodded, âHumans are such hypocrites. They want an eternal win, but hate all thatâs evil, making up some grand excuse in the end. When all facades are stripped away, they play the devil. Ha-ha-ha, Iâm ashamed to call myself human.â
âWould you like to be a part of us then? You inherited Dragon Ancestorâs refined body and Qilinâs arm. Youâre no longer a human.â
âEven so, I still want to be humane.â
âWhy?â Dragon Sovereign asked, âDidnât you just mock humanityâs character?â
âYeah, but there are someâŠâ
Zhuo Fan smiled and looked at all the people in the city, âI am no longer alone, ha-ha-haâŠâ
The Sacred Mountains returned to prepare for war. The elders were dark, with the elder with long beard saying to He Yunshan, âOld fellow, are we really going to war? Does Zhuo Fan have anything to do with Sir Shui JingâŠâ
âMost likely not. He mustâve got the help of the dragons to ruin the 6th Sacred Mountain. Thereâs no connection with Sir Shui Jing.â
He Yunshan paused in his flight, âThey say Sir Shui Jing is like a ghost, incredible and elusive. He alone can wipe out our Seven Sacred Mountains, so why go to dragons for help? Dragon Sovereignâs appearance proved that Zhuo Fan has the dragonsâ support and not Sir Shui Jingâs.â
The elder with a long beard sighed, âBut the dragons arenât much better either. Weâve lost the Eight Emperorsâ lands, our best front lines, and we now have no choice but to fight in the open. Weâll suffer greatly!â
âWe still have to go to war.â
He Yunshan clenched his fist, his eyes firm, âWeâd have hopes of salvaging this if it were mere revenge or about the Sacred Mountainsâ dignity, but you heard Zhuo Fanâs plan. The punk wants to share everything that makes the Sacred Mountains dominant in the Sacred Domain. Losing this war means losing our hold on the Sacred Domain. We can never allow this to happen.â
[You want our riches? In your dreamsâŠ]
The six Mountain Lords rushed back to their mountains to prepare. With the Eight Emperorsâ lands no longer theirs to block the dragonsâ advance, the Sacred Mountains would become the main battlefield.
Shortly thereafter, the war began.
With so many people fighting in such a small area, the war could only be a bloody one.
This was the first ever Sacred Domain war. With all beings now fighting, the Eight Emperorsâ lands, dragons, Sacred Mountains, and spiritual beasts.
With each deafening quake, along with terrifying shockwaves, the weaker cultivators and dragons fell to their deaths, the first victims of the disaster.
The Seven Sacred Mountains placed a guardian formation and formed their defenses while Zhuo Fan and the Dragon Sovereign commanded a raging charge.
The Seven Sacred Mountains had plenty of experts though, with only the dragons having the power to handle three of the mountains. But as they were defended, the dragons were at a disadvantage, suffering grave losses. Zhuo Fan didnât mind, slowly chipping them away as they fought.
He waited for the spiritual beast army to arrive and showcase their true power.
With the Nine Serenities Secret Records in his hand, he knew all arrays. In just half a month, Zhuo Fan stripped the six Sacred Mountainsâ defensive arrays.
The savage beasts ran amok across their mountains, killing anything on sight along with the dragons.
The Sacred Mountains army crumbled.
Zhuo Fanâs side held supremacy with their unstoppable power. The lofty Sacred Mountains that had stood above in the Sacred Domain for millions of years were about to fall.
In the clamor of the battlefield, nine shadows appeared above, each holding piercing eyes and thick aura, beyond what any Saint on the Sacred Mountains could achieveâŠ