Eternal Time and Space

Chapter 23 Hongqing and Moyun

Countless races gathered from all corners of the primordial world. The dragons led the aquatic races from the four seas, the phoenixes led the birds from the southern border, the white tigers led the beasts from the western edge, the black tortoises led the scaled creatures from the northern plains, and the qilin led the hundred races of the central lands to guard the center. Where the armies gathered, banners covered the sun, and the camps stretched for hundreds of thousands of miles, vast and magnificent, with an imposing momentum.

However, the first battle between the allied forces of all races and the army of ferocious beasts was quickly lost.

The Allied Forces of Ten Thousand Races outnumbered the ferocious beasts several times over, and their strength far surpassed that of the ferocious beast race. They should have won; they did not lose to the ferocious beast race, but rather to Shen Ni alone.

In the first war, Shenni fired only one shot.

The blood-black spear light, like a rainbow piercing through the heavens and earth, swept through the very center of the allied forces' formation.

Wherever the spear's light passed, the great formation shattered, the divine light dissipated, and countless soldiers turned into blood mist within the spear's light. The great formation protecting the clans, which the five clan leaders had jointly set up, was as fragile as paper in front of Shen Ni's spear, and it couldn't even last a moment.

Once the great formation was broken, the ferocious beast army surged in like a tidal wave, and the allied forces of all races were routed.

In this battle, the allied forces of all races suffered more than half their losses, with rivers of blood flowing and mountains of corpses piled up. The chieftains of the five races were all severely wounded and only managed to withdraw the remaining troops after fighting with all their might.

The atmosphere in the Allied forces' camp was extremely oppressive.

The five clan leaders were gathered together at this moment, discussing countermeasures.

This is a temporary hall, located deep within the last stronghold of the Allied Forces of Ten Thousand Races. Inside the hall, the five clan leaders sit in five different directions, their faces all solemn and grave.

Meng Zhang transformed into human form, a middle-aged man in a green robe with a resolute face and dragon horns peeking out from his hair; Ling Guang was a woman in a crimson feathered robe with an exquisitely beautiful face, but her brows carried an inescapable weariness; Jian Bing was a female general in silver armor with snow-white hair and eyes like knives; Zhi Ming was an old man in a black robe, carrying a tortoise shell on his back, as calm and composed as an abyss; Kun Lun was a burly man in a yellow robe with a square face, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

"We can't stop him anymore." The supervisor spoke first, his voice as cold as a knife: "Shennie has surpassed the Great Luo Golden Immortal. You all felt the power of that spear. Even if the five of us joined forces, we couldn't stop his spear. If we continue, we'll just be throwing our lives away."

"We must stop them even if we can't," Meng Zhang said in a deep voice. "Do you intend to surrender to these ferocious beasts? To bow down and submit to those savages who only know how to kill?"

"I'm not surrendering," the guard said coldly. "What I'm saying is that we need experts of the same level. Only those who surpass the Great Luo Golden Immortal can fight against those who surpass the Great Luo Golden Immortal."

Zhi Ming slowly shook his head: "In the vast primordial world, how many people can take that step? We have been trapped at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm for countless years, and we still cannot even touch the threshold. Even if other hidden great powers exist, they may not be willing to take action."

Kunlun sighed, "If there were a being surpassing even a Great Luo Golden Immortal to oversee things, things wouldn't have come to this."

Before the words were finished, a voice suddenly came from outside the hall.

The voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present. It was peaceful and calm, like a clear mountain spring, without any trace of worldly concerns.

"This humble Taoist priest, Hongqing, requests an audience with the five clan leaders."

The five people exchanged glances, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes. None of them had noticed anyone approaching the main hall.

Meng Zhang took a deep breath, stood up, and cupped his hands in greeting: "Fellow Daoist, please come in."

The temple door opened by itself, and a Taoist priest walked in.

The Taoist priest wore a simple gray-white robe, devoid of any ornamentation. He wore an old Taoist crown and hemp shoes. His face was thin and refined, with three long strands of beard hanging down to his chest. His eyes and brows conveyed a sense of detachment as if he had seen through the ways of the world.

Upon seeing this Taoist priest, the pupils of the five clan leaders simultaneously contracted.

They couldn't sense Hong Qing's cultivation level. Hong Qing stood there like a wisp of air, a mirror, a void—visible yet imperceptible. His aura was completely integrated with heaven and earth; heaven and earth coexisted with him, and all things were one with him.

The five clan leaders had experienced this feeling with Shen Ni, but Shen Ni gave people a feeling of oppression, violence, and an arrogant and fierce power, while Hong Qing gave people a feeling of emptiness, nothingness, and being in harmony with the Dao.

Surpassing the Great Luo Golden Immortal, yet another being who surpasses the Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Meng Zhang was the first to come to his senses, and bowed deeply: "Junior Meng Zhang greets Senior Hong Qing."

The other four clan leaders also stood up and bowed respectfully. On the path of cultivation, those who have achieved the highest level are given precedence. Since Hong Qing has already taken that step, he deserves their respect.

Hong Qing nodded slightly and said, "I have come here regarding the matter of Shen Ni."

A light flashed in the eyes of all five of them, and Ling Guang couldn't help but ask, "Senior, are you willing to lend a hand?"

"I can take action," Hong Qing's voice remained calm. "But I alone may not be able to defeat Shen Ni. He possesses the God-Slaying Spear, a supreme innate treasure and a weapon of destruction. Although I am not afraid of him, to completely suppress him, I will need to find another..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hongqing suddenly frowned slightly, turned around, and looked towards the direction of the palace gate.

Another person walked in from outside the palace gate.

This was a young man in golden robes, with a cold and stern face, sharp eyebrows and eyes like knives, and his black hair tied up with a golden crown. His steps carried a fierce aura.

Unlike Hong Qing's detached and otherworldly demeanor, this young man exuded an aura of boundless grandeur, as if the heavens were looking down upon all things.

The young man entered the main hall, as if a vast world had forcefully entered the hall. The five clan leaders felt a blur before their eyes, as if they were not seeing a person, but a majestic world pressing down on them. The sky was low, the stars were dazzling, and the vast and boundless starry sky was faintly visible behind the young man.

"Mo Yun," the young man announced his name, his voice clear and resonant like the clash of metal and stone.

Hongqing and Moyun's eyes met in the air.

The air in the hall seemed to freeze at that moment. The five clan leaders felt their breath catch in their throats, and an invisible pressure emanated from between them, making it almost impossible for them to breathe.

Fortunately, the pressure only lasted for a moment before the two of them simultaneously looked away.

A hint of surprise flashed in Hong Qing's eyes, and Mo Yun's brows twitched slightly.

The two greeted each other.

With just one glance, Mo Yun could tell that Hong Qing's cultivation had undoubtedly surpassed that of a Great Luo Golden Immortal, and that his foundation was extremely profound, having broken through even earlier than his own.

Hong Qing also sensed the same aura from Mo Yun, which surpassed that of a Great Luo Golden Immortal. Mo Yun exuded a vast aura that even he could not fathom, as if the person standing in front of him was not a person, but a vast world filled with dazzling stars.

Mo Yun, or rather Zi Chen's celestial incarnation, was lost in thought. He had come here because Zi Chen's true body had sensed the surging of the celestial calamity in the sea of ​​stars.

The aura of calamity soared to the heavens, and slaughter was everywhere. This was a sign of the full-scale outbreak of the Great Calamity. For ordinary beings, the Great Calamity was a disaster; but for the powerful beings standing at the pinnacle of the primordial world, the Great Calamity was also an opportunity.