Whether it was out of fear or scrupulousness, anyway, the major forces in the universe never allowed the Dark Yellow Army to have their own territories and home planets.
There were a few times when the Dark Yellow Army found suitable places to live. But those places were then invaded and destroyed, and the people there were massacred.
Once the major sects—not only those in the Brilliance Immortal Star Region but also the ones in the Ziwei Star Zone—learned that the Dark Yellow Army had occupied the Divine Land, they would definitely wage a war again. If so, it would be hard to predict the result of the war. The worst was that the place to live they found with great difficulty would be attacked and destroyed again. And after suffering heavy losses, the Dark Yellow Army would have to drift in the universe again.
This was what Dao Lan had worried about before.
But now, the solution finally appeared in front of him.
First of all, he was now half a step away from the King Realm. In some time, after he consolidated his cultivation, it was possible for him to directly advance to the King Realm.
In this way, in terms of high-end combat capability, the Dark Yellow Army could finally be on par with those superpowers in the Ziwei Star Zone. Even if they were still at a disadvantage, they would definitely not be just on the defensive.
Secondly, with the support of the 100,000 invincible ghost cultivators of the Ghost Rally Star, they had actually gained a reliable ally.
Even though the army of ghost cultivators could not step out of the Yin Qi-filled territory of the Ghost Rally Star, at least, they provided them a place to retreat. Thus, the Dark Yellow Army had the confidence to go all out to fight against their enemy.
As Li Mu had suggested, they could make the Divine Land and the Bitter Star their base, the Opposite Bank Star their outpost, and the Ghost Rally Star their shelter. After wandering in the universe for so many years, the Dark Yellow Army seemed to have finally seen the light, the hope of having a home.
The wretched old Taoist began to pretend to do calculations with their fingers. He narrowed his eyes and muttered some words. After a while, he said, “Haha, through divination, I can tell you that this is a wonderful plan!”
Everyone rolled their eyes at him.
“That’s kind of a given, isn’t it?”
“The Dark Yellow Army has a total of 50 flying ships. Today, you only saw 10 of them. There is also the main ship and 39 flying ships. Those are all the fortune we’ve got. We have 123,200 soldiers and 50,3000 fellows comprised of women, children, and elders. The members are divided into six factions. The old blind man who likes to mystify things and I are both Faction Masters. There are also four other Faction Masters, all of whom are at the general level. There are also four kings superior to them. Dao Lan was one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Dark Yellow Army before his strength was dashed. He has practiced the South Dynasty’s Misty Drizzle Sword, which is a heritage of the Southern King. Therefore, he is also called the Southern King. Now that he has recovered his strength, he is definitely worthy of the title of the Southern King.”
The black-cloaked figure introduced the strength of the current Dark Yellow Army to Li Mu in detail.
He had hidden behind the cloak the whole time and never revealed his face to others. No one knew if there was any special reason for that.
However, the wretched old Taoist was not happy to hear that. “Who did you call ‘an old man who likes to mystify things’?”
“What about the other three Heavenly Kings?” Li Mu inquired.
At that, Dao Lan opened his mouth and said, “The other three Heavenly Kings have numerous different incarnations. Their identities are mysterious, and their actions are also evasive. They’ve already turned from aboveboard heroes into secluded figures living in the darkness. Even I have no idea where they are now. They would only show up when the Divine Dragon Battle Drum started to beat. But unless the army is in a life-and-death situation, the battle drum would not beat.”
Li Mu nodded and did not ask further.
After all, he had just joined the Dark Yellow Army and could be regarded as a newcomer. It was, of course, not appropriate for him to get involved in such top secrets for now.
Over the years, the Dark Yellow Army must have also suffered a lot because of “moles”.
The black-cloaked figure said, “You are a sinner, and now you are also a member of our Dark Yellow Army. With your strength, there wouldn’t be any issue even if you want to become a Heavenly King.”
Li Mu asked curiously, “Are the four kings the strongest four men in the army in terms of strength? Or as long as one reaches the King Realm, one can become a Heavenly King?”
“That isn’t necessarily the case. But one must make great contributions to the army,” said the old Taoist.
Li Mu nodded with comprehension.
This actually made sense.
Otherwise, it would not be right that Dao Lan was already one of the four Heavenly Kings before his strength was slashed.
Dao Lan said, “There is one more thing that is very urgent. Li Mu, you are subject to the curse cast by that Blighting Dark Demon, so you must be careful. Why don’t you stay in the Dark Yellow Army for some time? Maybe you can…”
Li Mu shook his head and directly cut him short by saying, “No, I have something else I must attend to.”
After all, he could not go into hiding for the rest of his life.
That did not match Li Mu’s personality, either.
After another round of discussion, the matter of the Dark Yellow Army was settled for the time being.
Dao Lan and some others would go to summon the rest of the army. It would take about several months to gather all the scattered forces of the Dark Yellow Army from various places. Then, they would go to the Divine Land together. Since Caicai’s and other people’s spirits drifted to the Ghost Rally Star after they died, it was solid evidence that the Divine Land was not particularly far from the Ghost Rally Star.
As for Li Mu, he also got a title in the Dark Yellow Army, which was called Soldier Commander.
When the Dark Yellow Army was on its best days, it had 20 Soldier Commanders. Now, after battling for hundreds of years, most of them had already withered away, so many positions had opened up.
Dao Lan and the others were actually more willing to give Li Mu a higher status and title, but Li Mu turned them down.
First, he had just joined the Dark Yellow Army and had not made any contributions.
Second, he needed time to mingle and blend in with this large society.
Third, he still had other things to deal with, so he could not operate with the Dark Yellow Army for the time being.
But with the token of the Soldier Commander, he had the power to mobilize all the secret forces and undercover agents the Dark Yellow Army had planted in various places in the universe over the years. He could also access some of their intelligence channels. That could already make things much easier for Li Mu.
Now the plan had been made, all parties needed to take action.
Li Mu returned to the Sword of Freedom to see Shan Tian.
Shan Tian was chatting and laughing with his wife and daughter. It seemed that he had completely recovered from the tragedy.
Feeling guilty, Li Mu said, “Brother Shan, I’m the one who got you and your family into trouble. I…”
Shan Tian was a frank and righteous man. He just smiled and said, “Younger bro—well, Wild Broadsword, allow me to brazenly call you bro. It’s my greatest honor in this life to help you. It’s a dream and a kind of passion. Even though I’ve lost Wan’er and Xuan’er, I do not regret it. Besides, they are still here, still by my side now.”
Li Mu was at a loss for words.
In front of this passionate and upstanding man, Li Mu felt a pang of guilt that could not be expressed.
“Bro, is the Dark Yellow Army going to expropriate the Opposite Bank Star?” Shan Tian asked again.
Li Mu said, “It’s not exactly an expropriation. They just want to cooperate with the force on that planet.”
Shan Tian said, “Listen to me, bro. If they can occupy it, then they should do it. I’ve finally realized that my family can’t keep this foundational business anyway. The Shan family… has sunk into chaos. After today’s battle, it’s almost wishful thinking that the Shan family can control the major docks on the Opposite Bank Star and stay out of trouble for its own sake. I only hope that the Dark Yellow Army can give my family a chance to survive.”
Li Mu was stunned.
He never expected that Shan Tian would do so much thinking.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Li.” Shan Xuan’er came over and greeted Li Mu sweetly.
Li Mu smiled and picked up the little girl.
“After this incident, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Shan family is going downhills. In the face of the real powerful force, we can’t withstand a single blow.” Shan Tian sighed with emotion before continuing, “Besides, my older sister is now in a relationship with the king of the Dark Yellow Army. The other big sects would not tolerate this kind of thing. Today, it was Wei Ximin who took advantage of their relationship and plotted against them. In the future, there would be more villains like him coming after them. I don’t want my older sister to be unhappy, and I don’t want her to be separated from Dao Lan again. So, I think the Shan family might as well join Dark Yellow Army. Then, we may find a glean hope of survival.”
Li Mu deliberated his words.
“This is also a solution.”
After all, once the Dark Yellow Army was really based on the Divine Land and the Ghost Rally Star, the location of the Opposite Bank Star would become extremely vital.
Because with the relationship between Dao Lan and Shan Yunxiu, the Shan family and the Dark Yellow Army were practically already united through marriage. No matter what the high-level members of the Shan family thought, it was already a fact set in stone.
If Shan Yunxiu was elected as the patriarch of the Shan family one day, then this bond would be truly unbreakable in the future.
If it was someone else who was in charge of the Shan family, the Dark Yellow Army would probably find it hard to truly trust them. And the Shan family would not really stand on the same side as the Dark Yellow Army either.
However, to change the power structure of a family was no picnic.
The first challenge would be the current patriarch of the Shan family, which Shan Yunxiu would probably not be able to pass.
Besides, Shan Zhengfeng was the father of Shan Tian and Shan Yunxiu, so they certainly could not use force to make him step down.
Troubled, Li Mu rubbed his temples.
“I should take time to deal with this matter.”
That night.
Shan Tian drove the flying ship to the Cliff of the Living and picked up Ding Yi and the cute version of Second Senior Fellow Apprentice.
The next day, he returned to the previous battlefield.
There was only one flying ship of the Dark Yellow Army left there. The rest had all been sent out on missions.
With a bottle of wine in his hand, Shan Tian went to Li Mu for a drink.
Li Mu was happy to accompany him.
“Bro, I have one question. Could Wan’er, Xuan’er, and my old brothers, really be able… to break the cycle of life and death one day and return to the world of the living?” Shan Tian, who was squiffy-eyed and laying on his back on the deck, asked in a loud voice.
Li Mu nodded and said, “Of course, they just need some time to cultivate and cross several realms to reach the Celestial Demon Realm.”
Shan Tian smiled.
“In heaven let us be two birds flying ever together, and on earth two trees with branches interlocked forever. I want that more than immortality, hahaha!”
That night, Shan Tian was totally wasted.
One day later, the news of Shan Tian’s death was released.
This passionate and upstanding man committed suicide below the mainmast of the Sword of Freedom.
Everyone in the Shan family was shocked.
Shan Zhengfeng, the patriarch, was reduced to tears.
Although he and this son of his had not gotten along well with each other on the surface in recent years, he was not a stony-hearted man. How could he really not care about his son?
“I want to reunite with my wife, daughter, and my old fellows.”
After Shan Tian’s soul was caught by Li Mu with Taoist magic arts and retrieved his intelligence and memory of the past, he made that remark to Li Mu with a smile.
He then looked at his father and said, “Dad, forgive me for being unfilial. Don’t be sad. I’ve just chosen another way to reunite with my family, reunite with my old fellows. Please cherish my older sister and consider my proposal. Our family needs to change.”
Shan Zhengfeng was stupefied at that.
In an instant, he seemed to have aged hundreds of years, and his hair turned completely silver.
One day later, the Shan family announced that Shan Zhengfeng, the current patriarch of the family, would abdicate the position, and the new patriarch would be his daughter, Shan Yunxiu.
The Sword of Freedom then became a ghost ship, wandering in the territory of the Ghost Rally Star, helping the world of the living and the world of the dead to communicate.
After that, Li Mu left the Opposite Bank Star with Ding Yi and Second Senior Fellow Apprentice, who had turned into a cute piggy sitting on Li Mu’s shoulder.
According to the information obtained from the intelligence channel of the Dark Yellow Army, the Heavenly Fox Clan, a very powerful clan in the universe, was about to hold a grand gathering to select a suited husband-to-be for their little princess, Daji.
This was an event that had nothing to do with the Dark Yellow Army, so the intelligence only mentioned it curtly.
But Li Mu’s heart was stirred by the words “little princess named Daji”.
She was the little fox spirit who called Li Mu “Daddy Li” back on the Divine Land. Later, she was sent to the Heavenly Fox Clan, and her name was still Daji.
