The main part of the celestial orderians possessed fire-type totems. When all fifteen million troops came together and swept across the sky, it was like a tsunami of flames had engulfed the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect’s territory. Wherever the invaders went, clouds of smoke roiled and the heat scorched everything.
Tianming and Lingfeng stood on the top of Whitesource Peak, looking toward the north. The closer the flames approached, the more the ground shook. Even the air was burning. The entire world turned red.
It was clear their purpose was to intimidate the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. They had yet to arrive, yet they’d managed to create a sense of oppression. The tense situation was like having a mountain pressing down on the tops of their heads. The Myriaddragon Mountains were enveloped in the shadows of the flames and many people were out of breath.
From Tianming’s position, he could already see individual silhouettes within the sea of flames in the sky. They were celestial orderians clad in armor. All fifteen million of them were at least five hundred years old and top elites at the fifth level of the Constellation stage and up. They didn’t rely on roaring and shouting to suppress the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect; instead, they were all cold and silent as they released their powers. Tens of millions of totems gathered atop their heads, forming an enormous fireball that was even larger than the Myriaddragon Mountains. If they were to unleash the fireball, all life in the mountains would be in danger.
Tianming frowned. The celestial orderians were the enemy! Their strength and magnificence brought great pressure to Tianming and their indifferent eyes seemed to weigh heavily on him.
“Their forces will give the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect an even harder time. It’s one disaster on top of another.”
In the seven thousand Earthdragon peaks, the Ninedragon Army looked up at the sky. No matter how tenacious they were, or how strong their fighting spirit was, it was an inevitable fact that greater challenges were approaching.
In the three thousand Skydragon peaks, top experts soared into the sky to welcome the arrival of Apothecary Li’s army. Ten million Veildragon Palace cultivators and the celestial orderians’ five-million-strong Flamefiend Army got into formation. Dragons roared and totems filled the sky; this wasn’t just a welcome, but the convergence of the two armies. Their purpose was to intimidate the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect and break through the Ninedragon Army’s psychological defenses—to subdue the enemy without fighting.
The three dragon imperials led the experts of the Veildragon Palace toward the reinforcements. Li Xiaoyan stood with the Flamefiend Army, his face beaming. These troops came under the banner of ‘protecting’ the Ninemoon Goddess. Under the eyes of everyone watching, the Veildragon Palace and Flamefiend Army fell to one knee and shouted, “Ninemoon Goddess, welcome to the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect!”
There wouldn’t be such a grand scene if Qingyu were replaced by Li Wushuang. Their purpose was to raise her position so the presence of the Goddess Guardians was within reason. The celestial orderians loved using this trick, especially the sun emperor. It was well-tried and time-tested. He first elevated his sister’s position, then his daughter’s.
They respectfully fell to one knee as if welcoming the sun emperor himself. Meanwhile, Li Shenjian stood in stunned silence. Although he understood the disparity between his identity and the Ninemoon Goddess, he never imagined it would be such a large gap. He still had to be polite to his elders. But even though he felt the unfairness of it all, there was nothing he could do except helplessly shake his head.
“Don’t let this bother you. We’re only showing the goddess respect so our troops have a reason to stay here.” The young man in black stared into the fiery sea in the distance, his lips curling in a gentle smile.
“That may be so, but this scene is enough to elevate my sister to a position that none of us brothers will ever reach.” Li Shenjian shook his head.
The young man in black merely nodded.
Li Shenjian was stunned by his response, but soon recalled that the man with whom he shared a close relationship would soon become the Ninemoon Goddess’ husband. Voicing the hidden bitterness he felt about her seemed rather ridiculous. At the thought of that, Li Shenjian put aside his emotions and a smile reappeared on his face. Then, together with the troops behind him, he greeted the goddess.
When the two armies came together, the key figures such as the Torchdragon Emperor and Li Xiaoyan were naturally at the forefront.
“It’s been a while.” Apothecary Li hugged the others.
“We’ve been waiting for you for a long time. With you here, we can accomplish great things,” Li Xiaoyan said.
“Don’t say that. I’m just here to boost morale. You have to decide how we go about it!” Apothecary Li said with a smile.
“You’re too polite… Where’s the goddess?” the Torchdragon Emperor asked.
“Are you so anxious to see your daughter-in-law?” Apothecary Li teased.
“That’s nonsense,” the Torchdragon Emperor dryly laughed. Although she was his daughter-in-law, he couldn’t joke about her in public.
“I must say, His Solar Majesty truly cares for the Long clan. You’re about to soar.”
Apothecary Li brought them to visit the Ninemoon Goddess. They soon arrived before a white marriage sedan covered in flowers and surrounded by thousands of people. The outer ring was made up of cultivators dressed in flame armor from head to toe, each of them extremely powerful. Their most obvious feature was the flame flower on their chests; it was the symbol of the Sunscorch Guards.
The Sunscorch Guards were top elites of the celestial orderians. There were a thousand of them in total, all at the Solar stage. They had to be at least as strong as Jiang Qingliu to be selected, yet the Sunscorch Guards were now the Ninemoon Goddess’ bodyguards. On the other hand, those in the inner ring weren’t worth mentioning. They were all young women that had yet to reach thirty years of age; they were Qingyu’s personal maidservants.
With the Sunscorch Guard’s encirclement, the marriage sedan was impenetrable. Their presence left Li Shenjian speechless. He thought he must have been adopted, or perhaps all ten of the brothers were illegitimate children….
“She’s closely protected by the commander of the Sunscorch Guards, Li Yunxi.”
What was even more shocking was the fact that he had no way of approaching his sister and could only catch a glimpse of the sedan chair through the gaps in the crowd. However, the others were no better. When the Torchdragon Emperor and the others approached, a woman beside the marriage sedan stood in their way.
