Chapter 369: If We Resist, What if the Retaliation Is Even More Brutal?

Chapter 369: If We Resist, Will the Retaliation Be Even More Brutal?

In Qinyuan, countless eyes looked up at the sky at that moment.

Many people’s eyes held confusion.

Some young couples cheered: “They’re setting off fireworks in the sky!”

Others seemed to understand, their expressions turning especially grave.

Such light appearing in the heavens could signify something terrifying.

Many people went online, waiting for trending topics, wanting to know what was happening.

Some harbored secret worries.

But they did not get an explanation about “fireworks”; instead, they received a bloody, crimson declaration of war!

Canxing, in alliance with the ancient Wu Kingdom, formally declared war on Qinyuan.

“A declaration of war?”

“Canxing declared war? How is that possible!”

“It’s over—Canxing has actually entered the fray!”

The internet erupted in uproar.

Although Canxing and Gongxing had always been at odds, scheming in secret,

a full-scale declaration of war was unprecedented.

Even during the last invasion, Canxing had not declared all-out war.

“Haha, Canxing is the beacon of civilization. I’ve been waiting for this day—so happy!”

A small number of people cheered online.

“Only under Canxing’s leadership can Qinyuan have true freedom and true democracy!”

Back then, when Canxing and Gongxing fought, Gongxing was always at a disadvantage.

On Gongxing, many people admired and groveled before Canxing.

These remarks immediately sparked widespread anger.

“War has always been bloody and brutal!”

“If you like Canxing so much, go there yourself!”

“Hmph, our old Qin people defended our territory before, and we can do it again today!”

“Back then, with our perseverance, strong will, indomitable spirit, and the Sky Eye we found in the desert, we defeated Canxing.

Now, we not only have the Sky Eye but also a new group of cultivators—what is there to fear?”

Voices rose and fell across Qinyuan’s internet.

In offline supermarkets and shopping malls, people crowded in, starting to hoard supplies.

At that moment, suddenly, an official video from the ancient Wu Kingdom detonated across Qinyuan again.

“Fellow citizens, at 6:06 PM on March 7,

Canxing’s fleet launched a death strike on Qinyuan’s airspace.

In this strike, all of Qinyuan’s… Sky Eyes were destroyed.

You must have seen the brilliant colors like fireworks in the sky—yes, that was the sound of the Sky Eyes shattering.

Now, Qinyuan’s strongest barrier is broken. Qinyuan will be completely exposed within the attack range of Canxing’s aerospace warships.

Raise your hands, abandon resistance, and welcome the arrival of the heavenly army!”

Everyone who saw this video was struck with terror at that moment.

“The Sky Eyes are gone?”

“Impossible!”

“Absolutely impossible!”

This time, everyone panicked.

Even those cultivators felt a dense shadow of gloom.

Because they knew best the power of the Sky Eyes—

a terrifying weapon capable of obliterating the Zifu realm.

Suddenly, all were destroyed.

How could they not be shocked?

Canxing had silently annihilated Qinyuan’s strongest weapon without a sound.

What did that mean?

It meant Canxing was far stronger than before!

It meant that when Canxing’s warships arrived, Qinyuan would have no means to resist.

War happened so suddenly.

Indeed, many did not understand why it had erupted like this.

They naturally did not know that Canxing was now under the control of the demon race from the Ten Thousand Demon Realm.

The demon race of the Ten Thousand Demon Realm cared nothing for Canxing’s survival and directly ordered Canxing to launch a suicide attack.

This time, although Qinyuan’s Sky Eyes were destroyed,

Canxing also suffered heavy casualties and severe damage,

losing thirty percent of its military capability outright.

Plundering Qinyuan could never make up for the deficit.

So many did not believe Canxing would launch a large-scale invasion across the stars—it would be a losing proposition.

Yet now, it had happened.

At this moment, in the capital, chaos reigned.

The Seven Martial Star families, twenty clan heads, the king, and senior military commanders gathered in an underground facility.

The white-haired old man looked furious and dejected: “How could Canxing do this? Hurting the enemy a thousand while losing eight hundred—what benefit is that to them?”

“Now is not the time to discuss that. We need to consider how to counter Canxing’s attack!

Their follow-up fleet has already set out. In ten days, the army will be upon us—we’re finished!”

“We’re truly doomed. The Sky Eyes are gone. How can we resist their warships? Will the cultivators chop them with swords?” one young clan head said, utterly despondent.

The Sky Eyes were their faith.

The strength of the Seven Martial Star families was inextricably linked to the Sky Eyes.

Relying on the Sky Eyes, the Seven Martial Star families had stood unshaken.

Even when faced with mysterious and mighty cultivators, the Sky Eye displayed overwhelming pressure and dominance.

The patriarch had grown up hearing tales of the Sky Eye, and now... the Sky Eye shattered, his soul scattered in terror.

"The Sky Eye is a weapon that defines an era. Without the Sky Eye, what do we have to resist with?

Forget it, surrender. Resistance is meaningless now," one patriarch said in despair.

Indeed, if the Sky Eye was a T0-level weapon, then the Qin Yuan Kingdom had no T1, no T2—only T3.

Such was the might of the Sky Eye.

But now, the Sky Eye had been ambushed and completely destroyed.

The Qin Yuan Kingdom was utterly finished.

"Surrender?" The king's voice carried anger and resentment. "Do you mean to say that you also wish for our people to become meat?

Are the messages and intelligence from Canxing not clear enough?

The common folk of Canxing have become meat for the Ten Thousand Demon Realm.

If we are conquered by the Ten Thousand Demon Realm, the next to become meat... will be us!"

The former seventh prince, tempered by the passage of years, had grown more mature.

His voice was cold, brimming with fierce discontent.

News from Canxing had been continuously transmitted to Gongxing.

They knew that Canxing's fate was now utterly miserable.

Nearly all its high-ranking officials had been infiltrated by the Ten Thousand Demon Realm, their lives and deaths controlled by the demonic beasts.

The common people at the bottom were being shipped off as meat to the Ten Thousand Demon Realm.

The newly established Great Star Navigation Company on Canxing was the one running this vile trade.

To the demonic beasts of the Ten Thousand Demon Realm, humans were nothing more than ingredients.

If they were taken over by Canxing, they dared not imagine what awaited the people of Qin Yuan.

These high-ranking officials might still scrape by, enjoying wealth and luxury, only occasionally having to bow and scrape.

But what about the common folk?

The former seventh prince had never been qualified to become king.

Later, he ascended the throne and became king.

He had always been cautious, yet he harbored ambitions.

He did not wish to be an incompetent ruler.

Gongyi Qing nodded and said, "Exactly, we must never surrender.

Even if we die, we must make the invaders pay the price!"

Once, Gongyi Qing had not been a direct descendant of the Gongyi family.

Before the world reset, he had been cautious, standing before Qi Yuan's tombstone, earnestly and respectfully reciting the contract and secret words over and over. Qi Yuan remembered him, so the Gongyi family promoted him to patriarch.

Perhaps because of Qi Yuan's favor, he had always kept his original intentions and pursued higher goals.

At his level, what material pleasures had he not experienced?

Now, his pursuit was more about leaving a name in history.

"But the more fiercely we resist, the more Canxing will be enraged and retaliate against us tenfold!" someone said weakly.

"Not resist? Just let the blade fall?"

"If we don't resist, we die; if we resist, we also die, and perhaps more horribly..."

"Without the Sky Eye, what do we have to fight with?"

Among the Seven Martial Star families, the patriarchs shifted blame and argued among themselves.

The king watched this scene, deep disappointment in his eyes.

He knew that many of these twenty patriarchs were terrified.

They feared resistance would offend Canxing and bring retribution.

He recalled Mr. Qi's words from long ago—indeed, the Seven Martial Stars had no reason to exist.

Even without the Seven Martial Stars, the Qin Yuan Kingdom could have thrived.

But when he had asked Mr. Qi whether to topple the Seven Martial Stars from their pedestal, Mr. Qi had said, "I'm just playing a game; what does it have to do with me?"

The argument dragged on for half a day, the hall thick with smoke and strife, yet nothing was resolved.

When everyone had left, the king looked at the aging Gongyi Qing, his eyes filled with despair, and then said, "Have you managed to contact Mr. Qi?"

There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

At this moment, he could only place his hopes on Mr. Qi.

Though he had not dared to contact Mr. Qi for decades.

Because Mr. Qi had said, don't disturb him.

Disappointment flickered in Gongyi Qing's eyes: "I can't reach him. Mr. Qi is like a dragon that shows its head but not its tail; perhaps only when the Martial Arts Tournament begins will we see him.

Aside from the tournament, he seems to care nothing for the affairs of Qin Yuan."

"Alas, this time... it's too difficult.

I fear that even if Mr. Qi steps in, it will be hard to resolve the current situation.

The Ten Thousand Demon Realm is too powerful; even Canxing couldn't resist at all.

Even if Mr. Qi agrees to help, he would be a lone tree in the forest, a single hand unable to clap."

The king said, lost in thought.

"This time, we can only rely on ourselves.

We can't always pin our hopes on others.

Mr. Qi owes us nothing; he is not our babysitter."

The Qin Yuan Kingdom fell into chaos, turmoil erupting everywhere.

Meanwhile, on a small island, more than twenty young men and women gathered.

Most of these youths had ordinary appearances, but upon closer inspection, one could sense their extraordinary bearing.

Among them, a young woman in a tight-fitting outfit wore a look of anxiety and uncertainty.

If Qi Yuan were there, he would recognize her as Xiao Mei, the blind date from when he first started playing this game, who had also lent him a lot of money.

This Xiao Mei was also the disciple of his character's parents.

At that moment, "Xiao Mei" followed behind a female Daoist, her expression troubled, seemingly worried about Gongxing.

The female Daoist then rose, looked at the gathered youths, and spoke in an ethereal voice: "Everyone, disaster is imminent. If you remain in this realm, great terror may descend upon you."

This female Daoist was the sect leader of Tianyuan Sect, the Celestial Fiber Daoist.

"Not staying in this realm, where to go?" a man asked.

These people were, in fact, all Rebooters.

Most Rebooters had entered the immortal gates in recent years and become cultivators.

However, over the years, frequent conflicts had erupted among the Rebooters, leaving only twenty or thirty survivors.

Hearing the man's question, Celestial Fiber Daoist couldn't help but sigh regretfully, then said, "We'll discuss that later. For now, please cease your fighting and killing.

According to the divination of the Celestial Origin Mystic Stone, once all Rebooters fall, or only a handful remain, something terrifying will occur."

"Heh heh, the Sky Eye falling, the Brilliant Star invasion—is there anything more terrifying than that?" a woman couldn't help but say.

The others dismissed the female Daoist's words.

If she weren't the sect master of Celestial Origin Sect, powerful and a senior, they wouldn't have given her face.

"Don't mention the great terror. We should think about how to resist the Brilliant Star invasion. Otherwise... if the demon race descends, we'll all die."

"Yes, the bloodline flowing in our veins is most favored by the demons. The demons of the Ten Thousand Demon Realm won't let us go!"

"Though the Three Realms are strong, they cannot withstand the Brilliant Star, nor the Ten Thousand Demon Realm!"

These Rebooters were weighed down with worries.

Hearing this, Celestial Fiber Daoist looked bewildered: "The Celestial Origin Mystic Stone's divination says the crisis facing the Three Realms and the Arch Star is even more severe than the Brilliant Star invasion. What... could it be?"

The Brilliant Star invasion, the descent of all demons from the Ten Thousand Demon Realm—this realm would become a demon's paradise.

All humans would likely become food for the demon race.

That was already extremely terrifying and tragic.

Yet, the Celestial Origin Mystic Stone said their fate, the Arch Star's fate, would be even worse.

"It seems only by awaiting the Patriarch's descent can there be a glimmer of hope," Celestial Fiber Daoist thought.

The Patriarch was a Yin God, possessing the power to suppress all enemies in the world. If he descended, all demons and evil spirits would vanish.

The Brilliant Star invasion would become a joke.

Such was the might of a Yin God!

But it would still be some time before the Patriarch descended.

And in that time, could the Arch Star withstand the crisis?

...

Upon the high tower, silence and mystery reigned.

Almost all the Martial Lords sat with closed eyes in meditation, save for one who idly watched the Martial Kings attempting the trials.

Qi Yuan scrolled through the forum and received many useful suggestions.

"This man's wisdom is no less than that of Great Wisdom True Lord.

Indeed, to establish the underworld, one must first have a piece of land.

That was my oversight.

Pity, everyone is speculating in real estate now; prices are too high, and I can't afford it."

Qi Yuan looked troubled.

Moreover, ordinary land wouldn't do—it had to be a place with heavy yin energy.

Otherwise, it wouldn't match the underworld's decor style.

"Black Deer, do you know of any region... with heavy yin energy?" Qi Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"Yin energy?" Black Deer Martial Lord was surprised, then said, "The Origin Land has heavy yin energy—it's filled with the dead everywhere."

Hearing this answer, Qi Yuan was not surprised.

The Origin Land, though a place of beginnings, implied vitality.

Unfortunately, due to the ancient war, its yin energy was far heavier than that of the End Land.

He knew the yin energy was heavy there.

But he hadn't expected it to be this heavy.

"Tell me, if I were to buy the Origin Land, how much would it cost?

By the way, what currency do you accept? Can I use hell banknotes?" Qi Yuan couldn't help but ask.

He didn't want to spend money, but he could spare some from the Bank of Heaven and Earth.

"Cough, cough..." Black Deer Martial Lord coughed, as if choked by saliva. "Is the gentleman joking?"

Who would buy the Origin Land?

"Haha, if your strength is sufficient, you could directly occupy the Origin Land and claim it as your private territory.

But then again, it's too difficult. Not to mention the ASEAN, there's also a powerful, mysterious force in the Origin Land. You must never offend them, or else..."

Mentioning that force, Black Deer Martial Lord's face was complex, with deep wariness.

"Direct occupation is too improper, completely unethical. I have to buy it with money.

Alas, sometimes I wish I could get rich overnight, wake up from a dream, and win the lottery jackpot," Qi Yuan dreamed and fantasized.

But then he thought that even if he won the lottery jackpot every day, he probably still couldn't afford it, and he grew even more disappointed.

(End of this chapter)