Saint Emperor Devourer of Heaven

Jun Wuxie and Anning returned to the Azure Cloud Sect more than twenty days later.

This was after Jun Wuxie spared no expense in depleting his blood energy, traveling almost non-stop at the fastest speed possible; aside from not using the divine ability of the Rune Dao, he had nearly pushed his speed to the limit.

Anning sent a talisman letter to the Ning Royal Mansion, and then sent talisman letters to Fan Xichong and the two female powerhouses respectively.

She didn't know if they were alive; the vast mountains at the border of Hanzhou made it impossible to search, so she could only use this method to see if they could receive the messages.

Princess Anning remained in the ordinary appearance that Jun Wuxie had given her, and followed him back to True Martial Peak.

As soon as they arrived in the front courtyard, True Person Cheng Yuan hurried to greet them, and Third Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Brother also pushed Second Senior Sister and First Senior Brother forward.

"Wuxie, where have you been these past few days?"

True Person Cheng Yuan looked relieved and said, "We were so worried when you suddenly disappeared for such a long time. We've been keeping this from your Aunt Jing, not daring to tell her. Fortunately, she's been in seclusion inside her room and hasn't come out, otherwise, we really wouldn't know how to answer if she asked…"

"Master, it's good that Junior Brother has returned."

Second Senior Sister pushed her wheelchair forward, gently took Jun Wuxie's hand, and said softly, "Junior Brother, please tell us when you leave in the future, don't make Master and us worry again."

"I'm sorry, I didn't handle this matter well. I left in a hurry at the time and forgot to tell you, it won't happen again in the future."

Jun Wuxie felt apologetic; he knew that his master and senior brothers and sisters would inevitably worry about his safety after he left silently for more than a month this time.

"Who is this?"

Only now did they have the mind to pay attention to the woman beside Jun Wuxie.

"She's a friend I met outside."

Jun Wuxie introduced her simply, without even mentioning her name.

"Greetings, True Person Cheng Yuan."

Anning stepped forward to greet him politely, and also greeted Jun Wuxie's senior brothers and sisters.

"Since she's Wuxie's friend, then don't be polite or restrained, just make yourself at home."

True Person Cheng Yuan said with a smile.

In his heart, he was actually a little puzzled; this woman had a good temperament, but her appearance was too ordinary, the kind that you wouldn't be able to find even if she walked down the street.

What kind of person was Wuxie? Although he didn't judge people by their looks, he wouldn't be so close to a woman with such an ordinary appearance, and he didn't even introduce her name.

"Thank you, True Person Cheng Yuan."

Anning smiled politely and thanked him sincerely, feeling the atmosphere of True Martial Peak, which was different from the interior of other sects, which surprised her somewhat.

She could see that the relationships between these people on True Martial Peak were extremely good, treating each other sincerely and caring for each other, completely different from the superficial harmony and secret competition between fellow disciples in other sects she had seen in the past.

It was precisely because of this that Anning felt even more worried in her heart.

Being in such an environment, Gongzi Yue probably had deep feelings for the people of True Martial Peak as well.

In that case, he would be even less likely to let bygones be bygones regarding past events.

"Junior Brother, don't just stand there, your friend has come, aren't you going to invite her to sit down?"

Second Senior Sister Yun Shu said with a smile, then took Anning's hand.

Jun Wuxie smiled and stepped forward to push Second Senior Sister's wheelchair towards the middle of the courtyard.

There was a large stone table there, where they usually discussed matters and chatted together.

Anning followed Yun Shu, feeling her kindness and enthusiasm as she held her hand, and looking at her missing legs, thinking about how she had spent the past twenty years, a deep sense of guilt welled up in her heart.

She had always disagreed with her father's methods towards True Martial Peak.

She hadn't paid much attention to the disabled disciples of True Martial Peak before, but seeing them up close today, looking at the smile on Yun Shu's face, an unprecedented feeling of sadness surged into her heart.

Everyone sat down around the stone table, and Anning was slightly distracted.

Jun Wuxie sensed her emotions and state of mind, and couldn't help but gently pat her arm.

His senior brothers and sisters revealed a strange look in their eyes when they saw this.

It seemed that Junior Brother's relationship with this woman was unusual, otherwise, he wouldn't have made such an intimate gesture.

Originally, in their imagination, with Junior Brother's handsome appearance and unparalleled talent, such an outstanding man, the woman who could be close to him would at least have to be a peerless heavenly daughter, with both talent and appearance at the world-class level.

But they didn't expect that now such an ordinary-looking woman would actually gain Junior Brother's favor, so she must have something special that attracted Junior Brother.

Nan Jin, Yun Shu, Yi Ling, and Han Ye all thought this way.

Even True Person Cheng Yuan had similar thoughts.

"Master, how is the situation at the border city?"

"Not optimistic."

True Person Cheng Yuan's expression was solemn, "Although we hate what the Ning King did to True Martial Peak, the border city is an important strategic town of the Great Qian Rivers and Mountains, and it cannot be lost. In these past few months, the Wu'an Dynasty army has been constantly attacking, and both sides have suffered heavy losses."

"How could this be…"

Before Jun Wuxie could speak, Anning beside him spoke up, "I heard that the border city has three million elite soldiers, including nearly a million elites, which are the top-tier Rune Armor Army of Great Qian. With the Wu'an Dynasty as the attacking side and the Ning Royal Mansion's army as the defending side, and with so many elites defending the city, this shouldn't be the case."

"That's right, originally, the border city, as the defending side, should have been able to withstand Wu'an's attack and achieve a good kill ratio. However, the Wu'an Dynasty, at some point, cultivated a particularly powerful Rune Armor Army. Their Rune Armor level has already surpassed the Rune Armor of the Great Qian elites, and the soldiers' cultivation levels are also very high…"

True Person Cheng Yuan explained in detail the recent news he had received, saying that a particularly terrifying legion had appeared in the Wu'an army, not the Wu'an elites that people were familiar with before, but its strength was extremely strong. All the soldiers in that army had reached the Half-Step Saint King Realm, which was even better than the Great Qian elites, and with slightly better Rune Armor, the border army elites suffered heavy losses.

Although the soldiers of the border city are still fighting bloody battles and defending the city, the daily casualties are in the tens of thousands.

The Ning King has already transferred troops many times to support them, but the war still sees no end in sight.

The Wu'an Dynasty has not stopped attacking the city, and judging by their posture, it seems that they will not give up until they break through the border city.

"It is said that within the army of the Wu'an Dynasty, there are also hidden experts who are good at assassination. They are mixed in with the army, and every time the two teams clash, they will take the opportunity to kill the border army generals. Initially, the border army did not expect this situation, and the generals suffered heavy losses. Later, they paid attention and took precautions, and the situation improved a lot, but the losses of the generals are still very large. If this continues, I'm afraid the border city will really be broken. At that time, my Great Qian will be equivalent to having a gap torn open by the Wu'an Dynasty in the most critical position, and the consequences will be very serious. The entire national defense strategic layout of Great Qian will be severely challenged!"

"For so many years, the strength of the Wu'an Dynasty and Great Qian has been neck and neck, how could they suddenly become so much stronger? It's not easy to improve the level of Rune Armor. In terms of the strength of the Wu'an Dynasty, it shouldn't be enough to invite that level of Rune Masters to work for them. Also, those assassins, in the past countless conflicts between the two countries, have never appeared, but they suddenly appeared this time, there must be something strange about this…"

Jun Wuxie has been in the Upper Realm for more than half a year, and he has a relatively good understanding of the situation in Great Qian.

In addition, he has formulated a plan in his heart to support Anning to take the throne in the future, so he has learned about the strength comparison between the armies of Great Qian and the Wu'an Dynasty, as well as the situation of their battles over the past thousands of years.

"Gongzi Yue, do you mean that the Wu'an Dynasty has suddenly become stronger, and someone may be secretly helping them?"

Anning was quick-witted and immediately understood the meaning of his words.

"I don't rule out this possibility."

Jun Wuxie revealed a thoughtful expression and said, "Wu'an launched this war because of the ancient tomb, which shows that their understanding of the ancient tomb is far greater than our Great Qian, and there must be something inside that attracts them. Therefore, I speculate that the ancient tomb is definitely not the tomb of a Hegemon Saint, or even the tomb of a Saint Emperor. If it's just the tomb of a Hegemon Saint or a Saint Emperor, then their purpose this time is probably not just the ancient tomb in the border city."

"Because they are very clear about what a full-scale war with Great Qian means and what kind of price they will pay before their strength is absolutely suppressed. The scale of the war launched by Wu'an this time is not small. The three marshals of the Wu'an Dynasty, as well as the Emperor of the Wu'an Dynasty, should be clear that once a war of this scale is launched, the balance between the two sides will be broken."

"Even if this war can be temporarily brought to an end, the irreconcilable hatred between the two countries will be provoked. No one can sleep peacefully, and everyone understands that only by destroying one side can long-term peace be achieved, and those pro-peace advocates in the two countries will no longer have a reason to advocate peace. Then, a full-scale war will be launched at any time in the future."

"Wuxie, what are you trying to say?"

Everyone looked at him, listening to his analysis, and felt that it made a lot of sense, so why did the Wu'an Dynasty do this?

"What I want to say is that the Emperor of the Wu'an Dynasty is not stupid, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sit firmly in that position. Small-scale conflicts on the border are unavoidable between two equally matched great powers, but launching a large-scale war must have a firm reason to destroy the opponent, so they are not afraid of proactively provoking a war and triggering a full-scale war."

"Now, the Wu'an Dynasty is doing this, perhaps because Great Qian has something they covet. It's just that they didn't know it before, but now they know it. I'm not sure yet whether it's related to the ancient tomb in the border city, and I have to go to the border city and understand the situation of the ancient tomb before I can make an accurate judgment."

“Yes, Wuxie, what you said makes a lot of sense.” Realist Chengyuan expressed his agreement, “For hundreds of years, Prince Ning and the Emperor have been fighting and vying for power, causing great internal division. Even so, Wu'an has not dared to launch a large-scale war. They know that even if we are internally divided, once a large-scale war breaks out, their Wu'an Dynasty will still pay an extremely heavy price. But now, they have suddenly launched an attack, and the problem is thought-provoking.”

“Unfortunately, the Crown Prince is still targeting Prince Ning, dispatching troops from all directions to contain Prince Ning's armies in various places, preventing Prince Ning from gathering superior forces to carry out a large-scale annihilation of the Wu'an Dynasty's army. Although the three million border troops can now support the border cities at any time, facing nearly ten million Wu'an troops, the three million border troops will be exhausted sooner or later.”

Yun Shu sighed; she could not understand the Crown Prince's choice.

At this time, it would be one thing not to resist foreign enemies together, but he actually wanted to take the opportunity to use the Wu'an Dynasty to deplete Prince Ning's elite border troops.

Perhaps it was because the Crown Prince was too wary of Prince Ning's elite troops.

After all, Prince Ning had a total of four million elite troops, of which the border troops accounted for seven to eight hundred thousand.

And the combat power of the elite Rune Armor Army, one million of them, was enough to be equivalent to ten million non-elite troops.

Those elite Rune Armor Army soldiers, tens of thousands of them, could contend against a Great Saint Extreme Celestial Realm Completion powerhouse. As long as they were surrounded, at the cost of one-tenth of their casualties, they could exhaust a Great Saint Extreme Celestial Realm Completion powerhouse to death.

“Normal people cannot understand the Crown Prince's behavior, but from the Crown Prince's perspective, he may feel that he must do this. The Crown Prince and Prince Ning are brothers, and they should know each other quite well. In the Crown Prince's heart, Prince Ning is perhaps like a nightmare, feeling that he is difficult to defeat. Now that he has finally seized such an opportunity, how could he miss it?”

Jun Wuxie still had some things he didn't say, which was that the Emperor's days were numbered. In his current state, he was afraid that he would only live for a little over ten years at most.

The Crown Prince must know the Emperor's situation, so he was burning with anxiety.

However, it seemed that the Emperor had not told the Crown Prince about the cooperation with the Rune Masters.

And the Emperor was probably tacitly approving of the Crown Prince's current behavior.

Because the Crown Prince's behavior could make Prince Ning see his exhausted and unscrupulous mentality. In that case, there would be no unnecessary complications.

The Emperor only needed to wait slowly for the Rune Masters of the Four Realms to emerge.

At that time, whether it was dealing with Prince Ning or the Wu'an Dynasty, in the Emperor's view, it would not be difficult, so he was so indulgent of the Crown Prince, because he was not afraid of any consequences caused by it.

In fact, the Emperor was also gambling by doing this.

He had placed all his bets on the Rune Masters of the Four Realms.

After all, he didn't have time to slowly play games with Prince Ning anymore. His life was short, so he could only take a gamble.

Thinking of this, Jun Wuxie couldn't help but sneer in his heart.

Taking a gamble was destined to be an irreversible disaster.

“It seems that I have to prepare to go to the border city to see the situation, but before that, I have good news to tell Senior Brother and Senior Sister.”

“Ah? What good news?”

Nan Jin, who was thinking, was stunned and looked at him blankly.

“Don't you want to know where I've been for the past month or so?” Jun Wuxie smiled and didn't hide anything, “I went to Hanzhou.”

“Hanzhou!”

They all looked at him in shock. This was something they never expected.

Hanzhou was so far away. How did Junior Brother manage to go to Hanzhou and return to the sect in just over a month?

Moreover, what did he go to Hanzhou for?

“That's right, I went to Hanzhou. I managed to get some Second-Grade Rare Treasures there that can help Saint King Realm cultivators regenerate their severed limbs.”

“Really?”

Realist Chengyuan, Yi Ling, and Han Ye instantly stood up, their expressions excited.

“Junior Brother, are you… are you telling the truth?”

Yun Shu and Nan Jin's eyes were full of anticipation, and their bodies trembled slightly with excitement.

Before, when they heard Junior Brother say that he would help them regenerate their severed limbs, they just smiled it off.

Because at that time, they didn't have any hope. Those kinds of rare treasures were too expensive, and Qingzhou couldn't buy them.

But now, Junior Brother said that he had already obtained those rare treasures.

No one wanted to live as a cripple forever, just sitting in a wheelchair for the rest of their lives.

“Of course, it's true.”

Jun Wuxie didn't say that the rare treasures were obtained by An Ning.

At this time, he didn't want to mention An Ning, nor could he tell them the truth.

He was worried that they would be resistant to it because of this, and unwilling to use the rare treasures.

Only when their limbs were repaired, and then he told them the truth, with the joy and excitement of limb regeneration as a foundation, would they be more likely to accept it.

He took out two Blood Muscle Grasses and a bottle of Holy Spring of Life from his Na Ring and placed them on the table.

In fact, it couldn't be said that they were two Blood Muscle Grasses. One of them was missing two leaves and could only be considered a little more than half a plant, not complete.

The foot-long Blood Muscle Grass, like a headless humanoid figure, flowed with a scarlet, crystal-clear light, and permeated with a special aura of life.

The Holy Spring of Life was emerald green and crystal clear. Through the crystal bottle, it looked like fine jade liquid.

“Blood Muscle Grass… Holy Spring of Life…”

Realist Chengyuan trembled as he gently stroked the two rare treasures. His old eyes were filled with tears, and his voice choked up.

So many years, he had been running around, not knowing how many places he had traveled in Qingzhou, just to find these two rare treasures?

But he had gained nothing.

Ever since a disciple had his hands and feet crippled for the first time at the Martial Arts Assembly, he had begun to search for them, for a full hundreds of years.

During those hundreds of years, he had hardly cultivated, and his time was spent on it.

He had also tried to go to Hanzhou, but he had failed several times, unable to cross that mountain range, encountering ferocious birds and ancient beasts, and almost died there each time.

“Wuxie, this Master thanks your Senior Brother and Senior Sister for you!”

Realist Chengyuan suddenly turned around and bowed deeply to Jun Wuxie.

“Master, what are you doing?”

Jun Wuxie hurriedly stepped aside, helping him up, and said, “They are my Senior Brother and Senior Sister. It is right for me to do these things. Master saluting the disciple like this, isn't this shortening the disciple's life?”

“Junior Brother, Senior Brother and Senior Sister don't know how to thank you, we…”

Nan Jin and Yun Shu were in tears.

Nearly twenty years of disabled life, the pain and torment, apart from themselves, no one could understand the hardships and pain.

Before the Martial Arts Assembly, they were all high-spirited young men and women.

In the blink of an eye, they had become useless people who could only sit in wheelchairs all day long, relying on only their true energy to maintain the fire of life in order to survive.

Those years were dark, desperate, without a future, and life was bleak.

Until Junior Brother appeared, they didn't know what hope was.

Since Junior Brother came and helped them repair the Wheel of Life, they rekindled their fighting spirit because of him. The blood that had cooled down nearly twenty years ago became hot again.

Now, Junior Brother had found the rare treasures, the holy medicine that could help them regenerate their severed limbs!

At this moment, in their hearts, there was never a time when they were so full of hope for the future, as if the whole world had instantly become infinitely beautiful, as if sunlight had shone into their hearts, filling every corner and dispelling all the haze in their hearts.

“Second Senior Sister, don't cry.” Jun Wuxie wiped the tears from her face, then wiped the tears from Senior Brother's face, and said, “The haze in life, those unbearable years, are ultimately just fragments in memory, and everything will be fine in the future.”

“Senior Brother and Senior Sister are just too happy. Junior Brother, you're laughing at us.”

Nan Jin and Yun Shu hurriedly wiped the tears from the corners of their eyes, with bright smiles on their faces.

Realist Chengyuan, Yi Ling, and Han Ye looked at their smiles and knew the meaning of the smile. This smile represented that they had dispelled all the haze that had enveloped their hearts for the past twenty years.

An Ning was touched by this atmosphere, and her eyes were also a little moist.

She could empathize because she had also lost an arm, but she knew that the suffering of a severed arm that she experienced was far less than that of Nan Jin and Yun Shu.

She only had a severed arm and no internal injuries.

But Nan Jin and Yun Shu had their legs broken, unable to walk, and their Cave Heavens were also cracked. Their true energy had almost completely dissipated, and they were living on borrowed time.

What a dark and desperate time that was?

She felt even more guilty about what her father had done to True Martial Peak.

“Now let me help Senior Brother and Senior Sister regenerate their severed limbs. Let's go into the house. Master and Fourth Junior Brother, don't come in. I'll help Second Senior Sister regenerate first.”

Jun Wuxie pushed Yun Shu towards the house. After all, Second Senior Sister was a woman. When her legs were regenerated, it would definitely not be good to show a pair of white, long legs in front of people. This point still needed to be considered.

“Ah, why not let us…”

Han Ye protested. He also wanted to see his Senior Brother and Senior Sister regenerate their severed limbs with his own eyes.

As a result, before he could finish speaking, Yi Ling slapped him on the back of the head.

Han Ye cried out, “Third Senior Sister, why did you hit me?”

Yi Ling looked at him angrily: “Fourth Junior Brother, are you stupid? Second Senior Sister is a woman. She is regenerating her legs. What do you want to see?”

“Ah?” Han Ye immediately reacted, his face flushed red, and he hurriedly lowered his head, embarrassedly saying: “I'm stupid, I didn't think of this…”

“Hmph, then tell me, should you be beaten?”

Yi Ling put her hands on her hips, looking fierce.

She was actually quite spicy in nature, but Senior Brother and Senior Sister were both disabled, so she naturally couldn't show her spicy nature in front of them. When Junior Brother first came, she was afraid of scaring him, so she also behaved very gently.

Later, seeing that Junior Brother was so powerful, she began to admire Junior Brother again, so she didn't treat him spicier, only Han Ye was the most miserable, always being bullied by her.

"I deserved it, but Senior Sister, you shouldn't hit the back of my head. What if you make me stupid?"

Han Ye, usually taciturn and with a stern expression, was now like a big boy wronged by his older sister's scolding.

His expression caused Cheng Yuan Zhenren and Nan Jin to laugh heartily.

An Ning also laughed along from the side.

The room was very quiet, and everyone stared intently, feeling the overflowing vitality within, their hearts involuntarily becoming tense.

Time slowly passed. After half a day, the vitality overflowing from within gradually dissipated, and their hearts became even more tense.

Just then, the door creaked open from the inside.

They saw Jun Wuxie supporting Yun Shu as she slowly walked out.

Beneath her long skirt, there was no longer emptiness. Her legs had been reborn, but after twenty years without legs, now that she had them again, she was still somewhat unaccustomed. Her walking posture was not very natural and would require slow adjustment.

"Second Senior Sister!"

Yi Ling hurried forward, tightly embracing Yun Shu, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"Alright, Senior Sister's legs have been reborn. Junior Sister should be happy, why are you still crying?"

Yun Shu smiled gently, lightly wiping away the tears on Yi Ling's face.

Cheng Yuan Zhenren and Han Ye also had reddened eyes.

Twenty years, ah, it hasn't been easy.

"Eldest Senior Brother, it's your turn."

Jun Wuxie pushed him towards the room.

"Little Junior Brother, do you want to rest? You look like you're not feeling well."

"No need."

Jun Wuxie closed the door. Just now, helping Second Senior Sister Yun Shu regenerate her legs had consumed a drop of his Life Blood Essence, along with rare and precious treasures, because he was worried that the legs had been severed for too long, and relying solely on the medicinal power of the treasures would not be enough.

Eldest Senior Brother had not only lost his legs, but also an arm, making his situation even more serious.

He had Eldest Senior Brother consume the remaining whole Blood Muscle Grass and half a bottle of Life Holy Spring, gathered two drops of Blood Essence, and injected them into his body, beginning to guide these powers.

… …

This time, it took even longer than the last. It wasn't until the morning of the second day that he supported the emotionally excited Eldest Senior Brother and opened the door to walk out.

At this point, Nan Jin and Yun Shu's bodies had completely recovered. All the gloom was swept away, and in their hearts, there was only gratitude towards Little Junior Brother and anticipation for the future.

"Young Master Yue."

An Ning stepped forward, holding his arm, looking at his pale and tired face with great concern.

"Little Junior Brother lost several drops of Blood Essence for our sakes…"

Yun Shu and Nan Jin felt both heartache and guilt, feeling that they owed Little Junior Brother too much in this lifetime.

"Little Junior Brother, are you alright?"

Yi Ling stepped forward and also held his arm.

"I'm fine, I just need to rest for two days."

"Then I'll help you go rest."

"Why do you need to help me? Am I that fragile?"

Jun Wuxie smiled and shook off Yi Ling and An Ning, saying, "In these two days, please, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, entertain my friends."

After speaking, he quickly returned to his own courtyard, entered the bedroom, and sat down directly, refining the Divine Beast Blood Essence to begin restoring the depletion of his body's Blood Essence.

Large amounts of sweat constantly rolled down his face.

The Blood Essence he had previously depleted helping his Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters had not actually been completely regenerated. Now, having lost another three drops of Blood Essence, even his abnormal physique could not withstand it.

Life Blood Essence was the essence of a cultivator's life source, extremely precious.

Blood Essence was different from refined blood.

Refined blood was only the essence of blood, while Blood Essence was not only the essence of blood but also condensed the origin of life essence.

"I have to recover quickly and then rush to the border city…"

He thought while refining the Divine Beast Blood Essence.

… …

In the front yard, everyone sat together, but there was no atmosphere of joy. Instead, they frequently looked towards the small courtyard where Jun Wuxie was, their eyes filled with worry.

Princess An Ning rested her chin on her hand, silent, her eyes somewhat dazed, not knowing what she was thinking.