Chapter 8 The Eight-Dragon Cloud City

Side hall of the Heavenly Mang Hall.

The Xia Emperor, the five Heavenly God True Immortals, and the nine commanders including Ji Ning were all present. Ji Ning and the others had already mastered the key techniques of the “Xingtian Formation” and now understood its full mysteries.

“This Xingtian Formation, at its most powerful, should mobilize eight hundred and ten thousand loose immortals and nine thousand celestial immortals, led by a single strong commander. Only then is its power maximized, and the Xingtian Deity formed is most perfect,” said the Ten Thousand Beasts Celestial Immortal, stroking his big beard in awe. “Nine is the ultimate number; eighty-one is the perfect total—truly a complete grand formation.”

“Mm.”

“If eight hundred and ten thousand loose immortals and nine thousand celestial immortals all obeyed my command, the power of this formation would surely increase greatly,” said the Mad Celestial Immortal, his face showing anticipation.

The Xia Emperor above them laughed. “Indeed, the most perfect Xingtian Formation does require eight hundred and ten thousand loose immortals and nine thousand celestial immortals under one commander. If so, the strength of your Xingtian Deity would rise by at least one or two levels. But forget the perfect formation—even this simplified version, with one hundred thousand loose immortals and one thousand celestial immortals, can only channel a fraction of the world’s power that you can control. Moreover, the numbers of celestial and loose immortals are limited. In my Great Xia world, if we set up the perfect Xingtian Formation, we could only field one. But with this simplified version, we can field over ten!”

Ji Ning and the others nodded.

True.

In fact, if the difference in strength is not too extreme, the weaker side can at most be at a disadvantage in battle. Unless one is severely countered—like a Fiendgod fighting a qi refiner at close range, which is a massacre. But if two Fiendgods fight at close quarters, with only a small gap in strength, it results in mere suppression.

A slightly stronger Fiendgod versus ten slightly weaker ones—in war, the Xia Emperor naturally knew how to choose.

Suddenly—

A distant, grand voice, like the sound of heaven and earth, directly entered the Heavenly Mang Hall. Or rather, the voice reached every corner of this world.

“The Xia Emperor is without virtue; a great calamity descends. I, the White Extreme True Immortal, lead an army of a million immortals, following the Heavenly Dao, to raise arms against Xia!”

“Raise arms against Xia!” “Raise arms against Xia!” “Raise arms against Xia!” … The voice echoed through heaven and earth.

…

The citizens of the Great Xia royal capital were the proudest, but for the past half month, they had been discussing the countless immortals entering the palace and the three hundred-plus earth-shattering roars that lasted almost a day and night. They were puzzled and speculated.

But today, under the bright sun—

“The Xia Emperor is without virtue; a great calamity descends. I, the White Extreme True Immortal, lead an army of a million immortals, following the Heavenly Dao, to raise arms against Xia!”

The distant voice, as if from the edge of the world, stunned the countless citizens of the Great Xia royal capital, and then they went wild.

“A campaign against Great Xia?”

“White Extreme True Immortal? Could it be a Pure Yang True Immortal?”

“An army of a million immortals? Is this true?”

The citizens of the capital were no ordinary folk; at least they knew that above celestial immortals were Pure Yang True Immortals.

“No wonder so many immortals gathered in the palace earlier—so this is to deal with the White Extreme True Immortal’s rebellion.”

“This White Extreme True Immortal is incredibly powerful, able to lead a million immortals. All immortals! A million! That’s just…”

“Could the White Extreme True Immortal be the ancestor of the White Extreme clan?”

All sorts of discussions.

Though the capital’s citizens were shocked and fearful, the capital had been the safest place for endless ages. Even when marquises rebelled in history, they never reached the capital. So the citizens still had confidence in the Xia Emperor.

…

“A campaign against Great Xia?”

“An army of a million immortals?”

“Heavens above.”

…

“This voice seems to resound everywhere, and at the same time in every place.”

“White Extreme True Immortal—what is a True Immortal? Is it an existence stronger than a celestial immortal? A million immortals? Our entire sect has only one immortal.”

“No wonder our Fire Fan Commandery has been so chaotic lately—the times are changing.”

…

Across the vast Great Xia world, from the broad lands to the four seas, countless humans, beasts, great demons, and cultivators heard these words, each with their own thoughts. The mention of “a million immortals” caused particular terror. Coupled with the recent chaos in Great Xia, many ignorant mortals thought: “This Great Xia is probably finished. A million legendary immortals! Heavens!”

Even the knowledgeable were terrified: “Does all of Great Xia have a million immortals? Probably not even that. In this war, Great Xia will find it hard to win; it might even lose.”

For a time, panic spread.

Just these words alone stirred unrest among the people.

…

Side hall of the Heavenly Mang Hall, Great Xia royal capital.

Hearing the voice, the Xia Emperor and the others all changed expression.

“It has begun,” Ji Ning said silently in his heart.

“Hmm?” The Xia Emperor looked up, frowning. As the ruler of Great Xia, with his level of power, he could faintly sense changes in fortune.

“Where the people’s hearts turn, fortune gathers. Where the people’s hearts turn away, fortune dissipates,” the Xia Emperor murmured to himself. The people’s will could influence fortune to some extent, but it was not absolute. Many factors affected fortune—for instance, if ten Heavenly God True Immortals were suddenly born in the Great Xia world, fortune would likely surge.

After all, fundamentally, one’s own strength is most important.

The people’s will? It is secondary.

In a mortal world, the people’s will might be paramount, but in this immortal demon world, strength is paramount. The people’s will is secondary. Still, one cannot ignore it entirely; the stronger the fortune, the better. Strong fortune brings great benefits—for example, the ability to draw more power from heaven and earth, to obtain more heavenly treasures. Many innate spirit treasures, and even legendary treasures born from chaos—Chaos Treasures—require fortune to obtain. Otherwise, why would you be the lucky one to find them while others cannot?

Of course, if one’s strength reaches Nuwa’s level—

Nuwa’s strength is number one in the Three Realms.

Then fortune would also be indisputably number one, because her strength is so great that she could destroy heaven and earth. Even if others obtained treasures, she could forcibly take them. In short, strength is paramount and heavily influences fortune. But when strengths are close, other factors become important.

The Abyss Gate and Nuwa’s camp clearly had no certainty of annihilating each other, so they naturally sought to compete for fortune.

“I will be back shortly,” the Xia Emperor said in a low voice.

Whoosh.

The white-robed Xia Emperor vanished, leaving the side hall.

In just a moment.

Another voice, equally grand, as if descending from the Nine Heavens, resounded through every corner of the Great Xia world.

“White Extreme, you brat! Once a stray dog trembling at my feet, now you band together with some petty scoundrels, claim a million immortals, and dare to rebel against me? This is my realm, my world—no one may covet it! White Extreme, have you forgotten the fate of every rebel marquis? Every rebel has been utterly destroyed, soul and spirit, without exception!” The Xia Emperor’s voice was filled with natural authority and dominance.

The voices of the White Extreme True Immortal and the Xia Emperor, one after the other, resounded across the world.

The White Extreme True Immortal’s was colder.

The Xia Emperor, long ruling as the sovereign of Great Xia, naturally exuded a kind of authority that was even more convincing.

“Is that the Xia Emperor’s voice?”

“The voice of our Great Xia world’s ruler?”

“I’ve heard that from the Age of Fiendgods to now, the Great Xia Emperor has always been the same person—the Xia Emperor.”

Countless people across the Great Xia world became fervent.

The Xia Emperor was a legend.

Even some tribal mortals knew they were ruled by Great Xia. Hearing someone say, “This is my realm, my world—no one may covet it,” they naturally understood it was the Great Xia ruler speaking.

“So there have been marquis rebellions before.”

“Right, even our tribe has had traitors and rebels. A vast realm like Great Xia having rebels is normal.”

Countless tribal mortals thought this was just another rebellion like those in the past.

Their tribal records were brief; they had no idea how different this rebellion was. The Xia Emperor deliberately blurred the distinction, and the White Extreme True Immortal could not refute it. After all, the Xia Emperor’s influence in Great Xia was too deep—ruling for endless ages, submission was rooted in the depths of their hearts.

…

The Xia Emperor sensed fortune gradually stabilizing. The people’s hearts were like that: partly relying on strength, but more on rhetoric. Words could win hearts or scatter them.

“Let’s go,” ordered the black-robed Xia Emperor. “It’s time for war with the Abyss Gate.”

Whoosh.

The five Heavenly God True Immortals, Ji Ning, and the other eight commanders all rose and followed the Xia Emperor out of the side hall, then flew into the air.

On the palace square, over ten thousand celestial immortals and a million loose immortals had already been divided into ten groups: the nine armies commanded by Ji Ning and the other eight commanders, and the celestial and loose immortals directly controlled by the Xia Emperor.

“The Abyss Gate has declared war,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said, looking down from above, his voice grand. Since rhetoric was useless on celestial immortals and loose immortals, he said directly, “In this war, only one side can win. What we must do… is set out and crush them all.”

“War!”

Immediately, someone below shouted.

“War!”

“War!”

“War!”

A million immortals shouted the word “war” in unison. Each possessed a powerful will, and their collective cry was like the sky collapsing and the sea splitting—a tsunami-like roar that drove every immortal into fervor. Who said immortals couldn’t be fervent? They just lacked the environment to ignite it.

“This is an innate spirit treasure, the Eight-Dragon Cloud City,” said the black-robed Xia Emperor, waving his hand. A city the size of a palm flew rapidly into the sky, then quickly expanded.

It was a golden city, surrounded by clusters of clouds, with eight azure dragons circling endlessly, its aura overwhelming.

“Eight dragons circling a cloud city?” Ji Ning and the others were awed by the sight of the eight azure dragons winding around the cloud city.

“Nine generals,” said the black-robed Xia Emperor.

“Here!” Ji Ning and the other eight responded in unison.

“Lead your respective immortal armies and enter the Eight-Dragon Cloud City,” ordered the black-robed Xia Emperor.

“Yes!”

Ji Ning and the other eight immediately flew out, then each led their vast host of a thousand celestial immortals and a hundred thousand loose immortals upward.

“The remaining celestial and loose immortals, follow me. In this campaign against the Abyss Gate, I am the supreme commander,” said the black-robed Xia Emperor, his aura overwhelming. He then led the five Heavenly God True Immortals and the host of celestial and loose immortals upward in a grand procession.

The entire Eight-Dragon Cloud City became a true barracks for the immortal army.