Luo Shui had now assumed leadership over Stronghold Thirty-One, and many people could tell that the First Empress of Ages was gradually returning to her past glory.
“I’m not sure whether Luo Shui’s return and her subsequent takeover of Stronghold Thirty-One is any good or bad. I wonder what impact it will have on the existing structure?”
“It would be fine if it were any other ordinary stronghold leader. However, this person is the former Daoist Celestial Luo Shui and the disciple that Chaos Daoist Celestial was most proud of. She also has some grievances with Heavenly Golden Daoist Celestial.”
“With the Blood Tribe as our main concern, I hope they can let go of their grievances.”
“Well, we can only hope so much.”
“But based on Heavenly Golden Daoist Celestial’s temperament, do you think that’s likely?”
…
On a certain planet.
Heavenly Golden Daoist Celestial Lord looked in the direction of a stronghold in the distance, and a cold gaze flashed in his eyes. “You’re bold to kill Heavenly Imperial Wuhen the moment you return, Luo Shui. You really are testing my nerves, huh?”
Luo Shui was only a Heavenly Imperial now, so she did not pose a big threat to him.
He also knew that even if Luo Shui ascended back into the Daoist Celestial Realm, she would not attack him rashly. As long as they are under the threat of the Blood Tribe, she would never do anything to compromise the combat elite of Firmament Star.
However, this did not mean that he could sit back and relax.
“Once Luo Shui becomes a Daoist Celestial, she will definitely rescue Chaos Daoist Celestial. Adding Transcendental Daoist Celestial to the list… The influence I have on the Firmament Star then will surely be greatly reduced. I can’t allow this kind of thing to happen.”
“Luo Shui, Chaos Daoist Celestial… and the Human King!”
“W-why are you guys so persistent?!”
Heavenly Golden Daoist Celestial Lord mumbled.
His current position on the Firmament Star could be said to be supreme. In the Extraterritorial Battlefield, nearly half of the twenty-four Daoist Celestials look up to his lead, and almost billions of Firmament Star cultivators in over eighty-one strongholds submit to his command.
He would never allow anyone to sabotage all this.
“Besides Luo Shui, I must also think of ways to deal with those few Heavenly Tormentors, the personal guards of the Human King back in those days.”
Heavenly Golden Daoist Celestial suddenly recalled the scene where the Heavenly Tormentors swore to protect Chu Kuangren.
Their sheer domineering aura overwhelmed the many Daoist Celestials there.
This matter made him feel restless.
Once the strengths of those Heavenly Tormentors had been restored and they joined forces with Luo Shui and Chaos Daoist Celestial, he would no longer have an edge over Firmament Star.
“They have got to be my best weapons to deal with those Heavenly Tormentors…” Heavenly Golden Daoist Celestial muttered as he looked toward the distant Firmament Star.
In the meantime.
Inside Stronghold Thirty-One.
Chu Kuangren was sitting cross-legged in the command headquarters, gaining insight from the Heavenly Punishment Dao Patterns post-integration with the Dao patterns from Central Heaven Daoist Ground.
The Heaven Punishment Dao Patterns were now more perfect than before, and it gave him the feeling that it was closer to that almighty Heavenly Dao.
“Heavenly Dao energy, eh? Fascinating.”
“That state that I was previously in, being connected to Heavenly Dao as one… Let’s just call it the Dao Convergence State. Once entering the Dao Convergence State and harnessing the Heavenly Dao energies, how strong will one’s combat strength be?”
Chu Kuangren muttered in anticipation.
Dao Convergence State, Prominent-grade Esoteric Art, Stellar Undying Body, Time Lock… Chu Kuangren had way too many trump cards at this point.
He felt that he could even slay a Daoist Celestial if one were to show up at his door!
“I really want to find a Daoist Celestial to battle with!”
Chu Kuangren became a little eager to attempt that.
As for Heavenly Imperials, they no longer pose any threat to him.
Suddenly, the communication compass around his waist vibrated.
A message came in.
“Oh, it’s Yue Zhaowu.”
Chu Kuangren was slightly surprised.
Yue Zhaowu was a Blood Tribe Heavenly Imperial that he had dominated as a slave using the Soul-Vanquishing Slave Seal not long ago. He had temporarily made Yue Zhaowu lurch within the Blood Tribe as his spy.
Now, he has sent him a message.
“Master, the Blood King of Bai House has issued an order to kill you. Also, the Blood Tribe is in the midst of gathering their troops. A war is about to begin…”
There was not much information, but it was enough to garner Chu Kuangren’s attention.
Especially the latter sentence.
‘A war is about to begin… The Blood Tribe must have prepared some big scheme of theirs.’
Dong, dong, dong…
While Chu Kuangren was immersed in his thoughts.
A bell suddenly sounded in the stronghold.
His eyes narrowed.
“This bell is… the harbinger of the Blood Firmament War!”
The Blood Firmament War.
This was the cruelest battle in the Extraterritorial Battlefield and a battle started by a large-scale assembly of the Blood Tribe’s army, followed by a large-scale invasion.
Every time there was a Blood Firmament War, it would spell a big disaster for Firmament Star as the casualties among cultivators would amount to up to one hundred million.
Over the several dozen eras, there had only been up to seven Blood Firmament Wars.
In these seven wars, incomplete statistics stated that the number of cultivators who died on Firmament Star’s side was as high as one hundred and twenty billion!
Now, the eighth Blood Firmament War was about to begin!
“The real battle is on the horizon!”
Chu Kuangren took a deep breath before he walked out of the room and saw that the faces of every soldier in the command headquarters were covered with solemnity. On the other hand, some of the recruits who had just joined seemed a little frightened.
Command headquarters, in the main lobby.
The newly appointed Luo Shui was holding a military meeting with the generals of the remaining eighty strongholds through some means of communication. They discussed the upcoming deployment matters, and the meeting was held for a whole three days and three nights.
Luo Shui sat on the chair, feeling a slight ache in her head. “The Blood Firmament War just had to welcome me for taking office. Sigh, I’m really unlucky.”
At this moment, Chu Kuangren walked in.
“How’s it going?”
“This war is imperative. We can only make our best preparations. I have also sent my commanders down to dispatch troops, and the rest of the strongholds are almost ready as well,” Luo Shui remarked gently.
“What about the Blood Tribe? How many do they have?”
“This is an image sent back from the front line.”
Luo Shui snapped her fingers.
A light spot flew out, transforming into a light screen.
In the light screen, many warships were neatly lined up in the cold and quiet universe, ubiquitous and countless.
The warships were of all shapes and sizes, from small warships of a few hundred meters to large warships of tens of thousands of meters, or even hundreds of thousands.
Moreover, there were countless Blood Tribe cultivators riding on it.
“This is just the Blood Tribe’s front line. I don’t know how many more of them are there in their camp. This war… is going to be very difficult.”
Luo Shui said with a grim expression.
“When will they arrive?”
“In ten days!”
…
Stronghold Thirty-One.
Countless cultivators gathered on the edge of the stronghold’s barrier.
Luo Shui was the one leading them.
Her Emperor Thought surged, and she sensed that the Blood Tribe’s troops were closing in, almost a hundred kilometers away from their stronghold. This distance could be considered very close.
Some Emperors and Heavenly Imperials could easily cross over to reach them in just a few moments’ notice.
Chu Kuangren, who was beside Luo Shui, also noticed the approach of the Blood Tribe cultivators. Suddenly, he had an idea and smiled faintly. “Empress, why don’t we start things off by giving our enemy’s front line a big welcoming gift?”
“Oh, what do you have in mind?”
“Heh.”
Chu Kuangren chuckled. With a raise of his arm, a surge of majestic Emperor qi surged. He lifted his hands higher and threw out a punch towards the distance.
The palm qi traveled across the sky before it eventually disappeared into the void.
In the distance, the mighty Blood Tribe troops were advancing towards Stronghold Thirty-One. However, an overwhelming palm qi suddenly landed from above!
With an abrupt boom, tremendous amounts of strength qi swept across the void of the universe, and dozens of warships exploded like fireworks!
Thousands of Blood Tribe cultivators perished on the spot.
“Incoming, incoming!”
Among the Blood Tribe, a Heavenly Imperial shouted.
He scanned the place with his Emperor Thought, but he could not locate a single human nor soul.
“Was that strange energy wave just now… a spatial fluctuation?”
