Chapter 67: The Outbreak of the National War

An Miaoling remained inside the imperial palace without stepping out once after her return, waiting for Qin Tian to emerge from seclusion.

Another half-month slipped by, and Qin Tian finally concluded his closed-door cultivation.

"Master!"

"Uncle Qin!"

The moment Qin Tian stepped outside, he heard the joyful cries of the two young women.

He retrieved an Emperor-grade medium-tier sword and handed it to Mu Qingqing, saying, "See if you like this!"

Mu Qingqing accepted the sword, inspected it closely, and then exclaimed with delight, "I love it! Thank you, Uncle Qin!"

Without delay, she immediately bound the weapon to her soul. Instantly, a rare celestial phenomenon manifested in the skies above the imperial capital.

Deep within the imperial palace, the Ice Empress also wore a faint smile.

After completing the soul-binding ritual, Mu Qingqing politely bade farewell to Qin Tian and departed in a hurried manner.

At this moment, Qin Tian was in high spirits as well, for this session of cultivation had also yielded three Emperor-grade medium-tier pills.

Medium-tier pills were vastly superior to their lower-tier counterparts.

Once he absorbed one of these pills to supplement his foundational accumulation and then proceeded to sign in, he should be able to break through directly to the Emperor realm.

After spending a short while with An Miaoling, Qin Tian handed her an Emperor-grade medium-tier pill.

"This is an Emperor-grade medium-tier pill?" An Miaoling asked, her lovely eyes widening in shock!

She had absorbed an Emperor-grade medium-tier pill once in the past and was well aware of their precious nature; in terms of value, they were not inferior to an Emperor-grade weapon in the slightest.

"Isn't your master impressive?" Qin Tian nodded, saying with a smug expression.

"Thank you, Master!" An Miaoling offered a rare, gentle expression of gratitude.

She then retrieved the lightweight silk auspicious cloud robe she had purchased and handed it to Qin Tian. "I have a gift for you as well, Master."

Qin Tian looked surprised as he accepted the robe. This was the first time he had ever received a gift.

He immediately changed into the lightweight silk auspicious cloud robe.

Draped in the delicate attire, his entire demeanor radiated an even more ethereal and otherworldly immortal quality.

"How does it look?" Qin Tian asked.

"It looks wonderful!"

"Did you buy one for yourself as well? Put it on and let your master see."

Hearing this, An Miaoling instantly recalled the ultra-sheer undergarment she had bought for herself, and her pretty face flushed crimson as she blurted out:

"No!"

Noticing An Miaoling's reaction, Qin Tian immediately sensed that a pleasant surprise awaited him.

Thus, he secretly resolved to visit An Miaoling's chambers more often in the future, confident that sooner or later he would lay eyes on what he wanted to see.

Shortly after, the two of them went their separate ways to enter seclusion with their respective pills.

Ten days later, An Miaoling emerged from seclusion.

Propelled by the immense medicinal potency of the Emperor-grade medium-tier pill, she had broken through to the second layer of the Saint realm.

Beyond that, a vast amount of residual medicinal energy remained within her body, which would also require some time to fully digest and assimilate!

Upon finishing her seclusion, An Miaoling first went to check on Qin Tian, but he was still in deep seclusion!

She could sense from his aura that Qin Tian's strength had grown considerably.

Seeing this, she decided not to disturb him.

Soon after, she received word that the Haotian Empire and the Blood Realm Ancestor had joined forces to launch an offensive against the Haotian Empire.

In just over a dozen days, the coalition had already captured nine cities belonging to the Haotian Empire.

At present, the entire Haotian Empire was gripped by panic!

Judging by this rate of progress, the Haotian Empire would be completely destroyed within two to three months.

Upon hearing this news, An Miaoling grew somewhat troubled. Her enemies had actually united against her.

The reason the Blood Realm Ancestor had made a move was most likely because she had previously slain his son.

Ultimately, she resolved to side with the Haotian Empire to fight against the Blood Realm Ancestor and the Kunyuan Empire.

She left a message for her master before setting off to find Mu Qingqing, only to discover that Mu Qingqing had already gone to the front lines.

After inquiring about the location, An Miaoling took the Kunyuan Immortal and rushed toward the battlefield.

To expedite their conquest, the Kunyuan Empire and the Blood Realm Ancestor had divided their forces into two routes to attack the Haotian Empire.

Chuyuan City!

Mu Qingqing, alongside her aunt Mu Yun and an elderly matriarch, was engaged in battle with the subordinates of the Blood Realm Ancestor.

Among them were the Demon Lord and Luo Hou, among others.

Mu Qingqing was the one exchanging blows with the Demon Lord.

Although Mu Qingqing was only at the first layer of the Emperor realm, she wielded an Emperor-grade weapon and actually held the upper hand.

After clashing with Mu Qingqing a few times, the Demon Lord found his martial arts techniques severely battered and damaged.

Consequently, he did not dare to summon his newly cultivated natal Gu worm, fearing it was still far too fragile.

At that moment, he found himself bitterly longing for his previous natal Gu worm.

The thought only intensified his hatred toward Qin Tian.

Mu Qingqing grew fiercer the longer she fought, unleashing endless variations of the imperial family's swordsmanship.

Emperor-grade medium-tier martial art—Haoran Sword Qi!

Accompanied by Mu Qingqing's crisp cry, a massive wave of sword qi violently crashed downward.

The Demon Lord's expression shifted drastically, as Mu Qingqing's technique was the exact counter to their demonic cultivation.

It was too late to run; he had no choice but to take the attack head-on.

Transforming his entire body into a thick mass of black Qi, he charged fiercely upward.

The collision between the black Qi and the sword qi resulted in a brief, tense deadlock.

The overwhelming aftermath of the kinetic energy rippled outward in all directions.

Practitioners below the Emperor realm within a radius of one kilometer were directly blasted off their feet by the fierce shockwave.

Mu Qingqing continued to pour surging sword qi into her attack.

The Demon Lord, trapped within the black Qi, found himself struggling to hold on and shouted frantically, "Come and help me!"

Another powerhouse at the second layer of the Emperor realm, who had been busy slaughtering others, rushed over to rescue him.

Condensing a gigantic black palm in the void, he slammed it fiercely toward Mu Qingqing.

Sense of a powerful counterattack approaching, Mu Qingqing needed to parry it, yet she felt utterly unwilling to give up.

Just three more seconds would allow her to slay the Demon Lord.

If she backed down now, she would end up injured herself.

Just as she prepared to abandon her attack and fend off the gigantic black palm,

A streak of silver light pierced through the void and slammed into the dark giant hand.

Boom!

The giant palm was instantly shattered by the silver light, dissipating into wisps of black smoke in mid-air.

When the silver light finally came to a halt, everyone realized it was a young maiden wielding a sword.

The girl possessed a peerless and breathtaking beauty, though her expression was chillingly cold.

With the crisis averted, Mu Qingqing unleashed a sudden burst of strength, pressing her sword down hard.

Boom!

The black Qi formed by the Demon Lord was violently blasted apart.

He reverted to his true form and plummeted toward the ground below.

Turning her head, Mu Qingqing offered a grateful smile and said, "Sister An, thank you!"

An Miaoling gave a slight nod and said in a low voice, "The Blood Realm Ancestor is my enemy as well. We are merely helping one another!"

Hearing this, the corners of Mu Qingqing's lips immediately curled upward into a lovely arc!

If An Miaoling joined the fray, Qin Tian would likely join as well.

This way, it would perfectly make up for their current lack of top-tier combat strength.

At that moment, the heavily wounded Demon Lord managed to stagger to his feet, intending to flee.

However, the moment he took a step, An Miaoling struck him down from afar with a single sword slash.

With the death of a second-layer Emperor-realm combatant, the tide of the battle began to turn.

Right at that moment, a powerhouse at the third layer of the Emperor realm manifested on the battlefield.

Mu Qingqing's expression instantly turned apprehensive. "This is the Grand Elder of Blood Realm Mountain, the strongest person beneath the Blood Realm Ancestor himself."

An Miaoling had also heard of this figure, though previously he was only at the second layer of the Emperor realm; she had not expected him to break through.

Although she was no match for a third-layer Emperor-realm expert, she felt not a shred of fear, thanks to the presence of the Kunyuan Immortal.

Mu Qingqing called out decisively, "Fall back, let us retreat first!"

Yet after running a few steps, she noticed An Miaoling hadn't moved an inch, forcing her to halt and shout, "Sister An, let's fall back!"

"A third layer Emperor-realm expert is not something we can contend with!"

Turning her head, An Miaoling replied indifferently, "No matter."

She then watched as a figure in black robes, wielding a long spear, charged straight toward the Grand Elder of Blood Realm Mountain.

After exchanging just a few blows, the Grand Elder looked utterly astonished to discover that his opponent was someone he recognized.

"You are the Kunyuan Immortal?!" the Grand Elder cried out in disbelief!

This exclamation stunned everyone present, as the reputation of the Kunyuan Immortal was legendary to them all.

After all, he was the God of War of the Kunyuan Empire.

Why on earth would he turn his weapons against his own side?

Naturally, the Kunyuan Immortal, who had been refined into a demonic corpse, would never answer his question; all that followed was wave after wave of relentless charges.

Ultimately, the Grand Elder was injured and outmatched, leaving him with no choice but to flee with his subordinates in search of reinforcements.

With the battle concluded, Mu Qingqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Pointing toward the Kunyuan Immortal, she asked, "What is the story behind this?"

She had frequently noticed a black-robed figure trailing behind An Miaoling before.

Not paying much heed to it at the time, she had assumed the figure was merely a bodyguard or a guardian.

Never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed it was the enemy empire's God of War, the Kunyuan Immortal.

An Miaoling shook her head and replied, "I don't know the exact details myself. He was arranged by my master to protect me; he must have been subdued and controlled by Master!"

Subdued and controlled? Mu Qingqing was left in a state of utter shock. A third-layer Emperor-realm expert could actually be controlled.

Such a terrifying method was simply unimaginable.