Saint Emperor Devourer of Heaven

The battleships were visually striking, their metallic hulls gleaming coldly under the sunlight, covered in engraved runes.

On the decks, the banners atop the masts fluttered wildly in the wind, embroidered with two characters: 'Great Sacrifice!'

Nine battleships formed a squadron in each border buffer zone, constantly patrolling the public buffer areas with no ownership, their spearheads pointed directly at the border fortresses.

This behavior was quite arrogant and provocative, yet it did not actually violate the Dawn Dynasty's territory. It was the kind of borderline tactic meant to disgust people.

"I've long heard that the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty has many Great Sacrifice battleship squadrons, one of its most powerful military branches. Wherever these war vessels pass, it's like a grand blood sacrifice, leaving nothing alive, be it human or animal, utterly brutal!"

A high-ranking official from the Ministry of War said this in the Imperial Study.

As the Minister of War, he had naturally learned about the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty through various channels, knowing that it possessed an extremely powerful military branch called the Great Sacrifice Army!

The Great Sacrifice Army used the Great Sacrifice as its military banner, the banner's background color being blood red. Besides the two characters 'Great Sacrifice,' it also depicted scenes of bloody slaughter.

The strength of the Great Sacrifice Army not only came from the high cultivation realms of its individual soldiers and the high level of their rune armor, but also from their extremely coordinated teamwork and the many terrifying rune war machines on the Great Sacrifice battleships.

"Hmph, the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty is truly shameless, using such rogue tactics that only petty street brawlers would use, running to the buffer zone to flex their muscles. Who are they trying to impress? They know very well that we won't be intimidated, so they're just putting on a show for those countries around our dynasty. Those countries actually believe the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty is invincible, no wonder they're all acting like they've been injected with chicken blood, acting as their pawns!"

Another high-ranking official said, quite disdainful of the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty's rogue tactics, believing they had no practical significance other than to disgust people.

Of course, this could inject chicken blood into the surrounding dynasties, inciting them to provoke.

However, as long as the surrounding dynasties did not formally launch an attack on the Dawn Dynasty, it would have no substantial meaning.

"The Sacrifice Earth Dynasty still has old ideas. They probably still think our dynasty is newly established and lacks cohesion. By pulling in surrounding countries to besiege us, they hope to create a sense of isolation within the dynasty, and then they can incite discord and create public opinion to achieve internal disintegration."

"These Great Sacrifice battleships are indeed terrifying, and the Great Sacrifice Army is extremely ferocious, a very difficult army to deal with. Right now, they are only provoking and acting like thugs, but who can say when they will actually launch an attack? In any case, we need to prepare in advance for any eventuality, so that we can respond calmly in case of a sudden situation!"

A high-ranking official from the Ministry of War advised.

"Preparation is naturally necessary, but the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty is, after all, an old dynasty with a long history in building the Great Sacrifice Army. Our dynasty is newly established, and no matter how much we try to catch up, it will probably be difficult to contend with the Great Sacrifice Army in a short time. But currently, the threat of the Great Sacrifice Army is very real and must be faced directly. If we must use the army to confront them, I suggest using human wave tactics! Although the sacrifice will be great, it seems that this is the only way for now."

An official analyzed and advised.

"You think my soldiers need to use human wave tactics to defeat the Great Sacrifice Army?"

Although Emperor Wu Xie knew that the official was giving this advice from his perspective, based on the limited information he had, he felt a strong aversion to the idea of using soldiers' lives as cannon fodder!

Since he took power in the Lower Realm, his army had never used human wave tactics to kill enemies, but had always achieved victory with fewer troops!

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger, I… I didn't mean that… I… I wouldn't dare!"

The official, hearing the change in his tone, was so frightened that his whole body went limp. He immediately knelt on the ground, his speech slurred, his tongue twisted, and his body trembled like a sieve.

"I'm not going to punish you, what are you afraid of? Get up."

"I… I wouldn't dare…"

The official was so frightened that his mind had gone blank.

The pressure from the current Emperor Wu Xie, due to his high cultivation realm and being a dual-path high realm cultivator, was too strong.

"If you still want to kneel, then kneel. Remember, don't ever mention human wave tactics again! In my heart, the lives of my soldiers are no less important than the lives of you ministers! How can we use lives as cannon fodder unless it's the truly desperate last moment? In the future, offer less of this nonsense!"

The advising official was so frightened that his whole body spasmed. He prostrated on the ground, constantly trembling, not daring to breathe, and kept saying he wouldn't dare again.

In the Imperial Study, everyone was silent, each minister understanding the important and special place that the soldiers held in Emperor Wu Xie's heart!

"Your Majesty, this is indeed a problem. The current strength of our rune armor army has a huge gap compared to the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty. It is impossible to confront them head-on with the army. Growth still requires a long time. So, the problem we face now is, how can we delay time, and if we can't delay it, how can we deal with the Great Sacrifice Army of the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty?"

King Ning, sitting in his wheelchair, expressed his grave concern about the situation the dynasty might face.

The surrounding dynasties were naturally not to be feared, as they were not the Dawn Dynasty's opponents at all, but if the Great Sacrifice Army took action, the situation would be different.

An Ning, Xu Yan Ning, and Yun Shu also had solemn expressions.

Clearly, they were also very aware of the difference in strength between the dynasty's army and the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty's army.

The dynasty was newly established, and the army was transferred from the previous dynasty's army, lacking cultivation based on the dynasty's standards. How could it contend with the long-established army of the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty?

They believed that they would definitely be able to contend with, and even completely suppress, the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty's army in the future, but that required time to grow. A newborn dynasty lacked time for accumulation the most.

"You don't need to worry about this. The Sacrifice Earth Dynasty hasn't directly sent its army to attack because they haven't found a reason yet. The Heavenly Dao Academy maintains the order of the Canglan Ancient Star, one of which is that wars between dynasties need a justified cause, that is to say, to fight a national war, you need an excuse. After all, dynasties are too large, belonging to the great forces of the cultivation world, and are national structures in nature, so they try to avoid wars to prevent the suffering of living beings."

Emperor Wu Xie had just used his divine sense to discuss this matter with Jing Ya in the Eight-Nine Mysterious Palace.

After understanding the situation, Jing Ya expressed her view, saying that the Heavenly Dao Academy did not allow dynasty-level countries to start wars arbitrarily.

A dynasty needed a not-so-far-fetched reason to fight another dynasty, at least it had to act within the rules established by the Heavenly Dao Academy.

"But, if this continues, they will always find an excuse. Even if we are careful, we can't avoid it for a long time."

An official said.

Emperor Wu Xie said lightly: "Who said we need to be careful? We should do what we should do, and even authorize the generals of the border army to allow the soldiers to appropriately retaliate against the provocations of the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty within the city. As long as we don't accidentally start a war, everything is within a controllable range. If the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty wants to launch a war, it's not like they can do it with just any excuse."

"Your Majesty, what about after that?"

King Ning was puzzled, as this didn't seem to solve the problem.

"I will be leaving for a while soon, it shouldn't be too long. If the army of the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty launches a war before I return, An Ning, you will take my hand decree to the Refinement Sect and find Senior Sister Shen Xi. She will naturally solve this problem."

As Emperor Wu Xie spoke, he opened his palm, and an energy talisman appeared in his hand, containing the hand decree he had left with his spiritual imprint.

"An Ning remembers."

She took the energy talisman, very curious about the Refinement Sect that Emperor Wu Xie mentioned.

In fact, everyone present was curious about the Refinement Sect, and also curious about the Golden Armor, Phantom Thunder, and other tribes that suddenly appeared in Qingshan Province, especially the Taiji Divine Beast Tribe.

They naturally knew that there were many unfamiliar forces in Qingzhou, building sects here, and those forces were all related to Emperor Wu Xie, as if Emperor Wu Xie had brought them back from outside.

"Remember, if the army of the Sacrifice Earth Dynasty does not personally launch a war, then do not go to the Refinement Sect to find Senior Sister Shen Xi."

Emperor Wu Xie instructed, currently he didn't want the people of the various tribes to form legions and go to the battlefield. A big tree attracts the wind, and after a war, it would inevitably make a large number of dynasties feel threatened.

At that time, the Dawn Dynasty would definitely be besieged, and the dynasty had not yet made the best preparations.

If the various tribes wanted to form armies, equipment such as rune armor and rune weapons were essential, which could greatly improve the combat effectiveness of the legions.

However, the demand for rune armor and rune weapons was huge, and the Refinement Sect's refiners were restoring their flawless refining techniques, so the dynasty needed buffer time.

Besides, coming out of the special small world, the people of the various tribes were now in the process of adjusting their own states, transforming towards the flawless realm, and it was not appropriate to interrupt them.

… …

"Your Majesty, where are you going?"

After leaving the Imperial Study, An Ning, Xu Yan Ning, and Yun Shu accompanied him to the Imperial Palace's back garden.

It was quiet here, with beautiful scenery.

"I'm going to return to the Lower Realm for a while. Yan Ning, would you like to come back with me and take a look?"

"Ah?"

Looking at Emperor Wu Xie's smiling face, Xu Yan Ning's delicate body trembled, and she was stunned.

Was Emperor Wu Xie saying that he was going back to the Lower Realm?

Had she heard correctly?

"Are you silly?"

Emperor Wu Xie pinched her round face full of collagen.

Xu Yan Ning exclaimed, only then did she come back to her senses, thinking that An Ning and Yun Shu were watching, and she was actually pinched on the cheek by Emperor Wu Xie, and couldn't help but feel a little shy.

"Is Your Majesty really willing to take me back? Will it make it more difficult to return to the Lower Realm?"

"It won't. This time, returning to the Lower Realm, depending on the situation there, I may establish a permanent passage. At that time, you can return to the Lower Realm at any time and reunite with the people of your Royal Spirit Sect."

Xu Yan Ning was stunned, and An Ning and Yun Shu were also stunned.

Establish a permanent passage between the two realms?

How could such a thing be done?

It should be known that between the two realms, one could only forcibly open a passage by finding special weak spatial nodes and possessing absolute strength.

Moreover, this passage would not last too long and could hardly bear the burden of too many people crossing realms.

"Anning, manage the imperial dynasty well and don't be afraid of anything. Remember, I am behind you, so you should be fearless in everything!"

"Yes."

Anning's eyes were full of light. The sentence 'I am behind you' filled her heart with an unspeakable sense of belonging.

"I'm leaving."

Jun Wuxie put Xu Yan Ning into the Eight-Nine Mysterious Palace and greeted Shen Xi and the others with his divine sense. Then, he appeared in a remote location in Qingzhou.

"Aunt You, I want to go to the Lower Realm."

He transmitted his divine sense to the Zhenyu Tower in the Eternal Divine Palace. Of course, he wasn't going to open the passage himself. That would be too much effort, and he would have to find special spatial nodes.

Nowadays, it would probably be difficult to find weak nodes in the Upper Realm. Even the Eternal Sacred Land might not be able to open a passage. This is different from the era when the Lower Realm encountered the initial stages of the Doomsday Torrent.

Back then, people from the Upper Realm could descend to the Lower Realm because they could find many weak spatial nodes. As the world continued to recover, the spatial barriers between the two realms became extremely stable, making it difficult to penetrate them again.