CHAPTER 179: CHAPTER 176: COUNTER PLOT_2

"For tens of thousands of years, I lived in fear, worried about being killed by you, terrified day in and day out!"

"Now, it’s all coming to an end!" Nie Feng roared menacingly, his right hand leaving five bloody holes in the head of the Light Divine Emperor, streams of black power surging into the latter’s body.

Under the invasion of the ’darkness’ power, the ’light’ power within the Light Divine Emperor started to retaliate, but with his Dantian shattered, he was unable to mobilize more power and could only be devoured by Nie Feng.

An endless stream of energy flowed into Nie Feng’s body through the five blood holes.

Power of light!

Power of darkness!

Under the effect of the Cultivation Technique, these two entirely different powers reached a balance.

For a moment, Nie Feng’s body alternated between black and white, until finally, black and white evenly divided his body.

BOOM!

A column of black and white light shot into the sky, forming a black and white vortex at the zenith, absorbing all the Spiritual Energy within a ten-thousand-mile radius.

A terrifying aura erupted from Nie Feng.

The Imperial Capital began to tremble. Millions of city dwellers felt a stifling pressure in their chests, struggling to breathe.

"Formation, activate!"

Yuan Tiangang frowned slightly. With a series of hand seals, he activated the Nine Dragons Facing Heaven Formation. Nine colossal golden dragons soared out, intercepting the oppressive might emanating from Nie Feng.

"Your Majesty, the situation is changing!" Zhuge Liang approached Qin Wudao, looked with trepidation at Nie Feng’s overwhelming momentum, and said gravely.

During their previous discussions, they had not anticipated that Nie Feng could turn around and devour the Light Divine Emperor. Judging from the situation, he was already breaking through to the Second Revolution of the Saint King Realm.

"He is constrained by the Heavenly Dao oath, at least for a short time. He’s still under our command!" Qin Wudao mused, his face a bit grim. They had been plotted against! In this exchange, the only winner was Nie Feng! The greatest benefit was breaking through to the Second Revolution of the Saint King Realm, which far exceeded the value of the Great Light Domain. To hold such power meant having everything! With the cultivation of a Second Revolution Saint King, he could easily conquer several king-level domains to build an even larger Divine Court, or even advance to the Kylin Holy Land and become an elder with high status. And the Qin Empire? All they gained was merely the Great Light Domain!

Zhao Yun and Yue Fei stood near Nie Feng, not daring to move any closer. The energy flowing in the Void was powerful enough to tear them apart.

"A Second Revolution Saint King... truly formidable!" Zhao Yun’s throat felt dry. The mere aura radiating from Nie Feng, who hadn’t even fully completed his breakthrough, was enough to make him feel a deathly threat. It was hard to imagine how terrifying his power would be if he fully broke through! One realm, one heaven!

It was often said on the mainland that on the path of cultivation, there are two stages of complete transformation.

The first stage is the Nirvana Realm; the more revolutions of Nirvana one undergoes, the further their future progress will be.

The second stage is the Saint King Realm. Each revolution achieved increases the chances of breaking through to the Emperor Realm.

If one undergoes nine revolutions in the Nirvana Realm and their cultivation reaches the level of a Ninth Revolution Saint, they will definitely be able to break through to the Emperor Realm.

After all, before the Immortal Path appeared, those cultivators who broke through to the Great Emperor Realm had, at most, only achieved eight revolutions in Nirvana.

"BREAK!"

An hour later, Nie Feng suddenly roared.

An even more terrifying aura filled the surroundings, knocking Zhao Yun and Yue Fei back. Their feet gouged deep ruts into the ground as they retreated, only feeling slightly relieved when they were behind the Formation.

Both looked at Nie Feng, their faces etched with shock and horror.

At that moment, Nie Feng’s appearance was terrifying. His body was split in half: one side resembled a hideous demon, while the other was like a pure and immaculate deity.

The powers of light and darkness intertwined, tearing the Void to ashes, leaving nothing behind.

"What a captivating feeling!" Nie Feng extended his arms wide, a look of ecstasy on his face, as if he were embracing the Void, the wind, his freedom, and the entire world.

After a long while, he finally calmed down, concealing his aura, and appeared as an ordinary man.

With a single step, he appeared in the imperial palace.

His appearance startled everyone present. Zhuge Liang, Jia Xu, and the others rushed to block Qin Wudao, their faces full of caution. Surprisingly, Li Si, the Prime Minister, stood off to the very side.

But everyone’s attention was focused on Nie Feng; no one paid any mind to Li Si.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Qin Dynasty!" Nie Feng cupped his hands in a salute, his face wreathed in smiles as he spoke.

"Congratulations, General, on your substantial progress in cultivation!" Qin Wudao said indifferently from his imperial throne, his attitude unchanged despite Nie Feng’s breakthrough. This was his domain! He was the true monarch here!

"The Qin Dynasty fulfilled its promise to slay the Light Divine Emperor. Therefore, I, as a General, must also keep my promise to help the Qin Dynasty occupy the Great Light Domain and advance to a Divine Court..."

Nie Feng paused for a moment, his expression solemn, and continued, "There are three criteria for advancing to a Divine Court. First, the territory must be large enough. Second, there must be Saint King powerhouses within the nation. Third, all citizens must be Martial Artists!"

"The Qin Dynasty has occupied nine major domains, barely meeting the standard for promotion to a Divine Court, but it lacks Saint King powerhouses. As long as Your Majesty allows this General to join the Qin Dynasty, this problem will be easily solved!"

"As for the strength of the citizens, the treasury of the Light Divine Emperor’s Divine Court holds many treasures. This General can lead troops to seize them!"

Nie Feng’s voice, tinged with excitement, echoed in the empty hall.

Qin Wudao did not immediately respond. His eyes stared fiercely at Nie Feng, as if trying to see through him, but he discovered nothing. He had a bad feeling!

"Your Majesty..." Zhuge Liang called out softly and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Welcome, General Nie, to our ranks!" Qin Wudao reacted, smiling as he said, "Let it be known! Appoint Nie Feng as Great General of the Eastern Conquest, to lead the army and attack the Great Light Domain!"

"This General accepts the order!" Nie Feng exclaimed, secretly delighted, and saluted with cupped hands.

With that, he turned and left, eager to attack the Light Divine Emperor’s Divine Court.

The hall fell silent. Once Qin Wudao confirmed Nie Feng was a safe distance away, he waved his hand, and a Formation appeared outside the hall, isolating it from external probes.

"Your Majesty, Nie Feng has the look of a greedy wolf. Why did you agree to let him join the Qin Empire?" Yuan Tiangang blurted out, unable to wait. This was something he had just realized. After slaying the Light Divine Emperor, Nie Feng seemed like a changed person. If before he was like a sword coated in dust, then now he was definitely an unsheathed blade, exuding an aura of greed!

Qin Wudao did not answer, instead looking towards Zhuge Liang.

"Your Majesty, esteemed ministers, do you still remember the Heavenly Dao oath Nie Feng swore?" Zhuge Liang asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Swearing a Heavenly Dao oath does not mean it absolutely must be fulfilled. If the one who swore wishes to complete it, but the one with whom the oath was made refuses, then the Heavenly Dao oath will be deemed invalid!"

"In other words, if Nie Feng has the ability to fulfill the Heavenly Dao oath, but we refuse, the oath will immediately become void!"

Zhuge Liang’s expression was solemn as he continued gravely, "Heavenly Master Yuan said Nie Feng has the look of a greedy wolf. If he is not bound by the Heavenly Dao, one can imagine the consequences, can’t one?"

"Would he turn on us on the spot?"

This question echoed in everyone’s ears, sending a shiver of dread down their spines and causing them to break out in a cold sweat.

"But allowing Nie Feng to join the Qin Empire isn’t a long-term solution either!" Wang Yangming said, his face full of worry.

Nie Feng’s breakthrough to Second Revolution Saint King meant he could soon fulfill the oath. By then... it would be very dangerous!

"Then, before Nie Feng completes his mission, we must possess the strength to defeat him!" Zhuge Liang’s resolute voice echoed through the grand hall.

"The Vice Premier is correct," Qin Wudao declared, looking at Zhao Yun and Yue Fei. "Our journey so far has always been about the weak triumphing over the strong, and this time will be no exception. Issue my decree: fully activate the military training grounds! Let the Four Divine Beasts Army and the Bei Wei Army enter for cultivation!"

"This General accepts the order!" the two stepped forward, kneeling on one knee.

"Additionally," Qin Wudao continued, "mobilize the entire nation’s efforts to search for several medicinal ingredients: Thousand Snow Fruit, Ten Thousand Year Sun Tree, Lion Scale Grass..."

Beyond strengthening the army, they also needed to enhance the capabilities of their Martial Artists, ideally by having a Saint King Realm Martial Artist to stabilize their position.

The Spiritual Medicines he mentioned could be used to refine an Earth-grade pill named ’Saint Ascension Pill’!

It could increase the chance of breaking through to the Saint King Realm by thirty percent!