“What?!” Even the invincible ones were moved. At their level, as supreme beings, they wouldn’t bat an eye even if an immortal mountain collapsed before them. Yet now, they were shocked.
Because the news brought by Jin Tai Jun was too astonishing—could it truly alter the current situation?
Everyone knew the Imperial Pass was in dire peril. If the Immortal Kings awakened, they would surely come. It was only a matter of time. When they arrived to breach the pass, who could stop them?
Now, Jin Tai Jun claimed she could reverse the outcome, causing every creature on the city walls to pale, their breaths growing slightly heavier, filled with tension and anticipation.
“Speak!” an invincible one said gravely. If someone could turn the tide and rewrite the ending, paying a certain price was entirely acceptable.
“If we endure for a few hundred to five thousand years, the crisis of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths can be resolved. What we lack now is time!” Jin Tai Jun declared.
“How? How will you achieve this?” the invincible one pressed further.
This concerned everyone. If the situation could be changed, all would survive, and the Imperial Pass wouldn’t be bathed in blood—a outcome many would welcome.
“There are powerful beings who will hold back the Other Realm,” Jin Tai Jun stated.
“Who are they? Where are they now? Can such people still be found in this world?” someone asked—a great cultivator with white hair and beard, his voice trembling.
“Are they beings from the Forbidden Zones, emerging at last?” another immediately thought of the forbidden regions above the Nine Heavens.
Jin Tai Jun shook her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Have you forgotten? Once, there was a group of beings who repelled the Other Realm’s army, forcing them to retreat from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths!”
“It’s… them!” Many gasped in realization, then were utterly stunned.
For years, they had searched, hoping to find those mysterious beings and enlist their aid to defend the border and the Imperial Pass.
Yet, after countless ages, they had failed. Those beings had vanished without a trace, leaving no sign of their presence.
Some suspected they weren’t of this world but originated elsewhere.
“How did you find them?” the invincible one inquired.
At this moment, even Cao Yusheng, Shi Yi, Da Xu Tuo, and others pricked up their ears, listening intently. This matter was of grave importance, with far-reaching consequences.
Especially Du Gu Yun, who listened closely. As a descendant of the Guardians, his clan was suspected to be among those very beings.
“Since they once appeared in this world, they left traces. I dispatched many elites from my clan, and after ages of searching, we found clues,” Jin Tai Jun explained.
“Can you summon them to the Imperial Pass?” the invincible one asked.
“Impossible. Moreover, they won’t appear for hundreds or even thousands of years. That’s why we must buy time,” Jin Tai Jun said calmly, then glanced at Shi Hao.
“Why?” someone asked, puzzled.
The situation was critical. Wasn’t this the perfect time for those beings to act? If they delayed further, the Nine Heavens might already be drenched in blood.
“Because the place they dwell in is not of this world!” Jin Tai Jun revealed a shocking truth.
That place was too distant, the path treacherous, nearly impossible to cross.
People were dumbfounded. How far could it be, requiring hundreds or even thousands of years to traverse? It was beyond comprehension.
“Then who exactly have you found? Surely you didn’t send your disciples there?” asked the former master of the Five Spirit War Chariot, Qi Hong’s teacher.
As an invincible one, he knew of the mysterious beings who had once repelled the Other Realm’s army, driving them from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
He had investigated, even uncovering some details, but never learned how far their dwelling was or how to reach it.
Now that Jin Tai Jun had vital clues, he was intensely focused.
“I found a descendant of those beings. From his words, I learned part of the secret and can establish contact. That’s why I spoke as I did,” Jin Tai Jun revealed.
Then, her lips moved silently as she privately informed several invincible ones and Wang Changsheng, sharing further secrets.
Others were astonished. Had she truly found them? Could the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths be saved?
Some grew excited, hopeful, eager to know the outcome. Yet some secrets were meant only for the supreme beings, not to be shared with all.
Below the Imperial Pass, a group shouted, unaware of the developments above. They remained unyielding.
“Your final choice—hand it over or not?”
“This old woman has said it: the wooden box cannot be surrendered,” Jin Tai Jun declared. That box surely held great secrets; otherwise, the Other Realm wouldn’t desire it so fiercely.
If she handed it over, those in the Imperial Pass would never accept it and would question her motives.
“Then, can you hand over Huang to us?”
The Other Realm was warlike, its clans forged in blood and fire, their demeanor fierce and unrefined. Now was no exception—they asked directly, without pretense.
This caused the people on the walls to pale. Such bluntness was nothing short of an insult.
“We’ve always been forthright. If the box cannot be handed over, then clearly Huang can be, correct?” someone laughed.
“Outrageous!” On the walls, a group of great cultivators roared. They had always stood firm against the Other Realm, their resolve unshakable.
Now, the Other Realm’s arrogance was blatant, pressuring them to surrender Huang—a humiliation beyond measure.
“Hold your tongue!” Yet Jin Tai Jun suddenly spoke—not to the Other Realm below, but to reprimand the great cultivator.
This shocked many. What was she doing? Was she truly planning to surrender Huang? Even if she had contacted mysterious allies, this was hard to accept.
“Elder, you…” someone questioned.
“We need time. If we endure this period, powerful reinforcements will arrive, and we’ll fear nothing. The order of heaven and earth will be rewritten, ushering in a new era!” Jin Tai Jun declared solemnly.
“This is hard to accept. Surrendering one of our own—I cannot do it!” A great knight mounted on a Devouring Beast hovered mid-air, his voice filled with fury.
“Nor can we!” echoed veteran cultivators who had endured blood and fire, their voices tinged with reluctance.
“Small sacrifices are unavoidable for the greater good. Everything I do is for the peace of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths,” Jin Tai Jun said coldly.
All eyes turned to Shi Hao, most filled with sympathy and anger. This was too humiliating, too hard to bear.
“Fellow Daoist, this… isn’t appropriate. The repercussions could be severe,” an invincible one cautioned.
Handing over Shi Hao was unjust. He had just returned, his merits shining brightly over the Imperial Pass. To treat him thus would chill hearts.
Even the invincible ones opposed it. With their stance clear, others who wished to protect Shi Hao also spoke up, demanding a change of heart.
Moreover, they believed the Other Realm wanted the box. Surrendering Huang alone wouldn’t achieve much.
Yet, to everyone’s surprise, someone below the Imperial Pass spoke, their words contrary to expectations.
“We’ve reconsidered. Hand over Huang as tribute, and we’ll grant you a period of peace.”
Was Huang truly so important? How much did the Other Realm despise him, to equate him with the rotten wooden box?
Some found it bizarre. Was the Other Realm acting out of sheer spite?
“How many years of peace between our realms?” asked an old woman beside Jin Tai Jun.
“Ten years. A mere Huang is nothing. We’ll take him back and flay him a thousand times to avenge our dead,” came the reply.
“Too little!” the old woman snapped, raising a hand. “Five hundred years!”
“Hahaha…” Below, laughter erupted. Someone sneered, “A mere youth, and you think he’s worth five hundred years of peace?”
The dark sea of troops remained silent, disciplined. Only those of high status laughed, showcasing the Other Realm’s strict hierarchy and fearsome discipline.
On the walls, some felt relief for Shi Hao, while others burned with humiliation at the Other Realm’s audacity.
Yet others lamented—couldn’t Huang be exchanged for a more satisfactory term?
“We can add some years.”
Suddenly, from the black ancient chariot before the Imperial Pass, the voice of the Imperial Clan’s supreme being spoke again.
“Five hundred years,” Jin Tai Jun said.
“What nonsense! Why don’t you hand over your own descendant, Jin Zhan, you old hag? How despicable!” The Moon Rabbit suddenly exploded in anger.
“Elder, this is unacceptable,” Qing Yi added.
“Are you even a supreme being?” Cao Yusheng challenged.
They sensed the deal might succeed. The Other Realm seemed unusually fixated on Shi Hao, going to great lengths for him.
There was more to this. Cao Yusheng’s expression shifted as he recalled his master’s words, hinting at hidden truths.
“You dare speak to me so disrespectfully?” Jin Tai Jun’s voice was icy, her eyes flashing with divine light.
An invincible one stepped forward, shielding Qing Yi and Tianjiao Ant from her overwhelming aura.
Jin Tai Jun didn’t press further but calmly explained, “If my descendant—say, Jin Zhan—could ensure the Imperial Pass’s safety for even ten years by his sacrifice, I’d send him to his death without hesitation!”
“Jin Tai Jun is wise!”
“Jin Tai Jun is selfless, devoted to the Imperial Pass. We admire her!”
Voices rose in praise, some out of genuine hope for peace, others out of allegiance to the Jin Clan.
“Jin Zhan, step forward. If the Other Realm demanded you in exchange for this city’s safety, what would you choose?” Jin Tai Jun asked.
“I would go alone to the Other Realm, even if it bought just a few decades of peace!” Jin Zhan declared.
Murmurs spread, and many eyes turned to Shi Hao.
“Bah! Jin Zhan can’t compare to Shi Hao—not even a hundred of him!” Cao Yusheng erupted.
These words shamed Jin Zhan, enraged the Jin Clan’s elders, and darkened Jin Tai Jun’s expression.
“Well said!” Tianjiao Ant cheered.
“Boom!”
Jin Tai Jun’s gaze bore down like a falling star, her aura crushing toward Cao Yusheng to punish him.
Again, the invincible one intervened. “He’s the disciple of Old Fool,” he said, pointing at Cao Yusheng.
The name “Old Fool” carried weight. Jin Tai Jun withheld her killing intent but glared coldly.
Throughout, Shi Hao remained silent, standing alone on the wall, gazing at the endless black army below, his figure starkly solitary.
Then, from the black chariot, the Imperial Clan’s supreme being spoke once more.
“Five hundred years. I agree.”
Simple words, yet they stunned the people on the walls. He agreed? For a mere youth, the Other Realm would swear a blood oath?
“I agree purely out of admiration for this young man. Alone, he slew thousands of our people at the border, including over a hundred great cultivators. Such a feat is rare. Though he’s an enemy, I respect him.”
The Imperial Clan’s supreme being spoke calmly, his voice like thunder, shaking many on the walls.
“Young man, come to our realm. We may not kill you. If our Immortal Kings also admire you, anything is possible.”
“What possibility?” someone on the walls couldn’t help but ask.
“A youth with such achievements is peerless in this era. If the Immortal Kings favor him, he could establish his own clan—a royal clan, or even surpass it!” the supreme being declared.
All were stunned. Was this truth or a ploy to sow discord?
Eyes turned to Shi Hao, awaiting his decision. What would he choose?
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