Chapter 1573: Drawing the Sunbow, Slaying the Azure Hound, Another Year Under Stars and Moon

Random Recommendation:"Draw the sun's bow to slay the grey dog,Clothed in stars and moon, another year passes.""A hundred tribulations of life and death, yet never turned back,Among mortals, the extraordinary stand at the pinnacle!"— Chen Pu, "Upon Suddenly Hearing of My Esteemed Teacher's Death on September 7th"

This small poem penned by Chen Pu, the Dean of Muguan Academy, can perhaps describe but a fraction of the arduousness of the Dao path.Considering the vastness of the present age, and the boundless expanse of ancient times. How many peerless talents have followed one after another, yet in the end, how many were able to stand at the very end of that extraordinary Dao path?Those who have attained the Great Dao in this world.The so-called Kings of True Men, the so-called Teachers of Heaven and Earth!Their reverence and nobility far surpass that of ordinary national rulers. Their might and grace cannot even be described as "divine."Ruan Qiuming, the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau of Great Qi.It is said that "the world is like a sea of bitterness, crossing it with one's own body," hence his name.He stands at the highest peak of the art of stellar divination in the present age, an undisputed Grandmaster of the Way of Destiny. If the starry firmament were the board and the stars the pieces, looking across the world, only a handful could play alongside him.And now, he makes his move!With a single step, he emerged from east of Lianjiang, stepping onto the west bank of Lianjiang, from atop the Rong Chong Siege Tower to the battlefield above Jiangyin Plain. His Daoist robe fluttered in the high heavens, like swirling nebulae.With but a raise of his hand—The clear sky suddenly darkened.What military qi, what smoke and clouds, what sunlight, what battlefield of two hundred thousand people clashing...The canopy of the daytime sky was unveiled, and the curtain of the night sky was pulled down by his single hand.On his excessively young face, there was almost no expression.But the mountains and rivers where he stood trembled for him. The heaven and earth suspended above felt for him.And thus, night covered day.And thus, the starry firmament descended upon the world.As far as people's eyes could see, star after star lit up in the night sky.Beautiful! Unfathomable! Mysterious!Countless stars, in the high heavens, formed an incomparably complex and utterly magnificent and vast star chart.Every star, named or unnamed, no longer grudged its brilliance.The ancient starry firmament seemed to have been pulled down by his one hand, bowing low to the mortal realm.And then... The nine heavens of stars fell!This was a magnificent sight that many would never forget for all eternity.The stars suspended in the night sky, one after another, exploded.Starlight like javelins and waterfalls!Streaming perpetually towards the earth!In an instant, descending from the high heavens to the human world, completely obliterating people's reaction time!Who can describe this grand spectacle?Who can describe even a fraction of it?If one cannot be there in person, one cannot know this peerless might!With one hand raised, day turned to night; with a wave of the hand, stars fell from the nine heavens.In such an instant, starlight like pillars, piercing heaven and earth like a forest.The entire Jiangyin Plain, and even the distant Tongyang City, were all under the assault of the starlight!This was truly the might of world-destruction!General Long Jiao, the Commander of the Great Xia's Garrison Army, now sat on his horse amidst the military formation, his face stained with blood.The remaining forty thousand or so soldiers of the Garrison Army were gathered around his battle standard.But he made no reaction.At this moment, any reaction he made would be too late!With the hundred thousand Garrison Army in neat array and formation, he could still contend with a True Monarch. Now that half the army had perished and the military qi was almost depleted, even if he, Long Jiao, were to burn his body and extinguish his soul, he would be powerless to turn the tide.So at this moment, he merely looked up at the sky, he merely gazed at the starry sky.How beautiful. He thought.It had been a long time since he had looked up at the starry sky.As a Grand General of the Xia Kingdom and the commander of the Garrison Army, he had long ago lost the right to be bewildered, and no longer possessed the freedom to fantasize.In this head-on confrontation with Li Zhengyan, he believed he had given his all. The power he could contribute to the nation had been fully contributed... except for not having died in battle yet.Every officer and soldier of the Garrison Army, from top to bottom, had also given their utmost, only then causing heavy casualties to the Zephyr Army.Of the hundred thousand soldiers of the Garrison Army, over fifty thousand had died, and over forty thousand were still alive... every single one of them was a soldier he had trained.Such good soldiers...Over the years, he had lived entirely in the military camp, training and drilling diligently, never daring to be slack. The soldiers' food, clothing, housing, and transportation, he cared for as if they were his own flesh and blood.Every day over these years, he had hoped this day would not come. Every day over these years, he had been waiting for this war.These soldiers were excellent. They hadn't been lazy in peacetime, and they hadn't flinched when fighting desperately. They had charged and fought with the Great Qi's Nine Battalions until the end!Great Xia supported the two armies with the strength of the entire nation. Today, he could say that every soldier in the Garrison Army was worthy of their hometown and kin.Those with whom he spent day and night, were those who filled the frontier with their flesh and blood.In this instant, he thought of many things.Perhaps only at such a moment could he vaguely recall that he was also a "person." Though a True Man of the present age, he was also one of the myriad beings.There were times when he would be vulnerable.He also... felt powerless.Like falling into an abyss, with only a long rope soaked in oil in his hand. No matter how hard he tried, how much he struggled, how desperately he fought, he could only slowly slip down.How he wished he could do more, grasp more, hold on tighter.But at this moment, he could only watch.And then he saw, in the boundless night sky, a back clearly imprinted.A person not particularly burly, not tall enough, but one who gave off an ancient feeling.He faced the myriad stars, and the stars seemed to prostrate themselves before him.He stood beneath the night sky, his black martial robe seemingly forged of iron, unexpectedly unmoved by the wind.The Martial King of Great Xia, Si Jiao!Above his head, the nine heavens of stars fell; opposite him was True Monarch Ruan Qiu.And he, too, merely raised one hand!Also as calmly as Ruan Qiu extended his hand.One palm reversed the傾, lifted towards the high heavens.The boundless night sky不知為何鋪在了腳下, the army that had just stopped fighting seemed to stand in the high heavens.People vaguely saw heaven as earth, and mud as heaven.It turned out that heaven and earth were both in his grasp.With this palm pushed upwards, he thus overturned the human realm!Jiangyin Plain was still Jiangyin Plain, the warriors were still those warriors.Heaven was still heaven, earth was still earth.But the starlight filling the sky had all reversed, countless stars had dimmed one by one, and the night had been beaten back into a clear sky!!Ten thousand miles of dawn light, splashing onto the plain.The strong wind rolled the remaining flags, a magnificent and grand scene of mountains and rivers!This man, Si Jiao, why is he called "Martial King"?He defends the frontier with martial might, supporting the nation!This person's strength is absolutely not diminished by the nation's decline. This person's might吞萬里.Facing such a strong person, Ruan Qiu merely took a step forward.A black jade hairpin bound his long hair, but a complex star chart unfolded with his boots. With one step down, heaven closed, earth rose, and the four directions stood high. In an instant, a square starry cage formed in the high heavens, imprisoning both Si Jiao and himself within it.The starry cage disappeared in an instant, and when it reappeared, there was only a flash of starlight from the extremely distant sky!The two True Monarchs' exchange before others was only a single engagement, but what was left was a long-lingering surge in the hearts of the onlookers.After the two Great Dao cultivators had fought, overturning heaven and earth, it was unknown where the battle had reached.But the war on Jiangyin Plain was not yet over!Or rather, the most crucial moment was about to arrive.Li Zhengyan gathered his troops and moved towards the south of Jiangyin Plain, maintaining pressure on Tongyang City while withdrawing from the battlefield.As long as the Zhenguo Army under Long Jiao's command gave the slightest opportunity during their retreat, the Zephyr Army would immediately rush forward!And Long Jiao indeed displayed the ability of a Great Xia Grand General, leading the heavily casualties-stricken Zhenguo Army without revealing any weaknesses, retreating steadily and orderly back to Tongyang City.Leaving behind—corpses covering the plain.Human corpses, horse corpses.Enemy corpses, comrade's corpses...Jiang Wang exhausted the vision of his Qianyang Scarlet Eyes, scouring the battlefield for a long time. He finally saw Li Fengyao, still cold as frost, and couldn't help but feel a little happy. Finding Li Longchuan, his tightly gripped heart relaxed.In front of the Spring Death Army, Chen Zeqing sat alone in a wooden wheelchair, gazing into the distance, still expressionless.An old blanket covered his legs.Behind him, Wang Yi Wu held the flag for him.If the Xia Kingdom still had the determination at this moment, daring to order the Divine Martial Army out of the city, then the Spring Death Army would meet and fight them.The first of the four seasons is Spring Death, and what they fight is the strongest army.At this moment, the hundred thousand Spring Death Army was silent, only the battle flag fluttered in the wind!And on the Rong Chong Siege Tower, guarded by ten thousand personal guards, Cao Jie ordered without hesitation: "Bring out all the Moon-Shooting Crossbows, advance fifty li west of the Lianjiang bank, and fire in unison at Tongyang City!"The flag officer galloped away on his horse, shouting the order.Amidst the great army, giant crossbow carts, one after another, were driven out under the efforts of the draft beasts.These carts were about ten zhang high, connecting two axles, drawn by eight wheels, using the cart as a frame, drawing the string with a windlass. The iron-cast crossbow bolts were fourteen zhang long, engraved with formation patterns!Two draft beasts were needed to pull it in front to maintain high-speed movement.They drove over the ice, crossed the river bank, and the wheels rolled on the Jiangyin Plain!The Yang Valley in the Coastal Islands mastered the Star-Shattering Crossbow, inherited from the Yang Kingdom era and improved over generations, with fast firing speed and strong power. One crossbow shot was similar to the full power strike of a Level 4 Beyond Tower cultivator. Mounted on the Scorching Sun Flying Ship, repeated shots were like shattered stars, terrifying the Sea Clan in the Maze Realm.And Great Master Gongsun Ge of Qi Kingdom, on the basis of the remaining relics of the Old Yang, completely forged a new path, creating a greatly enhanced powerful crossbow cart, named "Moon-Shooting."This cart had a slow firing speed, high consumption, and was expensive... It had too many drawbacks.But one advantage was enough—Terrifying power.A Moon-Shooting strike was almost like a Divine Arrival!On this expedition to conquer Xia, only thirty Moon-Shooting Crossbows accompanied the army, and at this moment, all of them were pushed out, pushed across the frozen Lianjiang, and set up on the Jiangyin Plain.At this time, on Tongyang City, powerful individuals of the Xia Kingdom were gathered. If attacking the city with Thorns Ships, they would be easily destroyed.But the Moon-Shooting Crossbow, with its extremely long range, was different. Guarded by the great army, there was almost no concern of being suddenly broken by the Xia army.On the plain, both sides were racing against time.Almost as soon as the Zhenguo Army retreated into the city, the Moon-Shooting Crossbow carts had already reached their destination.The winding rope, made of the tendons of stone cattle demonic beasts, gradually tightened as the windlass turned, emitting a grating sound difficult to bear.The commanding officer simply pointed the small flag in his hand forward and shouted: "Fire!"The winding rope suddenly loosened, and the windlass rotated wildly in reverse.The iron crossbow bolt, a zhang in diameter and fourteen zhang long, directly pierced the sky! The enormous recoil caused the crossbow cart itself to sink several chi!Once the black iron crossbow bolt took off, it instantly absorbed all the elemental power of the heaven and earth in its path. The rapid elemental power swirled into chaotic currents, making the crossbow bolt faster and faster, more and more urgent, roaring like a tornado, and finally just a flash—It penetrated the vast Jiangyin Plain and slammed directly into the shadow of the towering city at the end of the horizon!Thirty Moon-Shooting Crossbows fired simultaneously, almost like thirty Divine Arrival experts attacking Tongyang City at the same time.What is this concept?Although powerful individuals were gathered on Tongyang City at this moment, they would have to work tirelessly to defend against it.And using the power of individuals to contend with the power of military weapons, how could it last long?Suddenly, a dragon's roar rose.A scorching fire light instantly rose outside Tongyang City, the instantaneous flame light was somewhat like fiery flowers burning a city. But in the fire light, nine giant dragons extended their claws and soared into the sky, their势凌八方. Some burned with fire, some struck with claws, some swept with tails, completely blocking the offensive of these thirty Moon-Shooting Crossbows.The Great Xia's hastily constructed city protection formation, the Nine Dragon Leaving Fire Array, was activated!It was also the core of the Great Xia's northeastern defense line in this great war against Qi.Once this formation was opened, it indeed showed its effectiveness. The Moon-Shooting Crossbows could not penetrate it at all.The so-called "united will builds a strong city" is indeed a fortress that cannot be easily destroyed. The efforts of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians of the Great Xia in these days are indeed not to be underestimated.But Cao Jie, still on the east bank of Lianjiang, standing atop the Rong Chong Siege Tower, gazed at this scene without the slightest wavering. He only said: "Bring the flag!"A Purple Star in the Mid-Heaven Grand Emperor Flag was offered into his hands by the flag officer.He actually personally raised this great flag, and ordered consecutively: "Order Chen Zeqing's troops to press forward! Order Chen Fu's troops to prepare to clear the battlefield! Order Xie Huai'an's troops to don armor!"On this expedition to conquer Xia, Cao Jie only brought three national flags of this specification.One flag stands on the peak of Jianfeng Mountain, serving as the first stable stronghold for the Qi army in the Xia territory.One flag is now held upright in his hand.And one more flag is waiting to be planted in Guanyi City later, piercing the Great Xia's Imperial Ancestral Temple!At this moment, he held this flag high, on top of the Rong Chong Siege Tower, stirring up the winds and clouds.And then the great flag leaned forward, pointing towards Tongyang City in the distance!What people saw at this moment was the commander-in-chief of the Xia conquest, Cao Jie, pointing his flag at Tongyang, his勢如怒海.What people could not see at this moment...All the "Purple Extreme Expedition" banners, from Linzi in Qi Kingdom to Fengjie Prefecture in Xia Kingdom, all the way along the route, were all fluttering!Who could have imagined?The "Purple Extreme Expedition" of Qi Kingdom constructed not only a stable supply line, but also a "conquest path"!This was a secret killing move that the Great Qi Empire had hidden for decades!And since entering Xia, Cao Jie had taken every step with extreme precision, perfectly completing all the preliminary steps.If there were a master capable of observing vital energy, they would see the vast national power belonging to the hegemonic power of the Eastern Region instantly rising on this present world map.The terrifying national power of the Great Qi Empire, at this moment, surged wildly along the "conquest path" constructed by the "Purple Extreme Expedition"!From the distant Eastern Region, mobilizing national power to bombard the Southern Region's Xia Kingdom, the losses incurred during the bombardment process were already unimaginable.But with the entire Fengjie Prefecture as a stronghold, with the Purple Star in the Mid-Heaven Grand Emperor Flag on Jianfeng Mountain as a reliance, and with the national flag raised by Cao Jie, the commander-in-chief of the Xia conquest, with the momentum of repeated great victories of the million Qi army, as a guide—This purple extreme dragon, extending for ten thousand li... has been connected!More than just within the Xia Kingdom?From Linzi to Guanyi, all the land in between was resonated by this dragon's roar.Everything that passed through, in the sky and on the ground, was all awed by its majesty.Everything along this route was already subdued by the national power of Great Qi!The purple extreme dragon, extending for ten thousand li, following Cao Jie's great flag pointing west, instantly slammed into the city protection formation of Tongyang City.Those nine leaving fire dragons emitted a painful cry, as if they were living creatures, and in an instant, all of them dispersed!