Chapter 1120: It Begins (IV)

At this moment, Boundless.

A Gold Armor floated next to the guardian plant spirit. “It’s very strange, those Silver Moon people have come again...” he said in aloof tones.

“Do we let them in?”

“Let them in!” answered the fearless Gold Armor. They had no need to be concerned about anyone. Just the revitalized Saint-level plant spirit within the city was beyond the current capabilities of anyone in Silver Moon, to say nothing of anything else.

The three visitors came into view, slightly disheveled and bedraggled. Gan Wuliang dusted himself off, the anxiety flickering in his eye rapidly quieting to calm. “Apologies for disturbing you, senior! Our deepest apologies!”

“It’s alright, what is the matter?”

“I went back to Commander Li with the senior’s words,” Gan Wuliang quickly responded. “The commander says that it’s most likely someone has falsely incriminated the Zhengs, so he wishes to speak with the family. He’s brought along Senior Zhang An, Senior Wang Ye, and a few others to clear the Zheng name! However, he also hopes that the Zhengs can sign a pact of mutual non-interference in return...

“In addition, the leader of the real traitors have shown themselves—they go by Red Dust! He’s calling for a meeting in the Barren wasteland with the four nations and is prepared to invade Skystar Dynasty. He’s marching on Skystar Commander Office and the various New Martial seniors...

“The commander sent us because he wishes we can band together to withstand the enemy. Whether it is Divine Nation in the west or the traitors, they are all New Martial enemies!” Gan Wuliang spoke very quickly, as if deathly afraid of being interrupted. He had to get out everything that was important.

“If the senior is unable to come to a decision, can we speak with the guardian plant spirit senior?” he hastily added. “Plant spirits are involved in our defense this time—the imperial guard, the guardians of the base stations, General Pagoda, and other powerful plant spirits. They are all willing to stop the parley of five directions...”

The Gold Armor raised an eyebrow. The other five factions were meeting to eliminate Li Hao’s side? No wonder these people had traveled here in such a hurry in the middle of the night.

“This time, we suspect that the traitors have congregated in the Hongs’ Thunderblast city,” Gan Wuliang laid out with urgency. “This is the only main city that we have been unable to contact. Sword City has vanished and is said to be near the Star Gate.

“Senior Wang Ye said that the Hong patriarch was not from the early days of New Martial. He rose to prominence later, so we speculate that he’s the one who slandered the Zheng patriarch and planted false evidence. No matter what, we feel it is imperative that we prevent an alliance from forming among our enemies!

“Senior, the commander has sent me with one hundred million stones as a token of our sincerity. We will help the guardian plant spirit senior revive!” Gan Wuliang offered a storage ring with utmost respect.

The Gold Armor peeked into it, his heart skipping a beat at the contents. There really were one hundred million stones inside! This was a significant accumulation of wealth.

“In addition, this junior would like to converse with the plant spirit senior... According to what General Pagoda says, the guardian plant spirits of the eight main cities know a set of combined formations. General Pagoda would like to discuss if two of the families can be excluded and the formations reset with two replicas among the participants...”

“The Hongs are the backstabbers?” the Gold Armor said calmly. “You guys certainly have a habit of wild conjectures! Of course, anything is possible. Guardian Peach has just awoken, so the guardian remains very weak...”

“It’s fine, let them approach.” A peach tree’s wizened voice sounded from the rear. “I have not seen General Pagoda in many years. Since he has revitalized, why has he not sent a replica with you?”

“General Pagoda’s replica is absorbing energy from the Skystar mine. We also hope for the peach tree senior to sever a replica and head to the Skystar ruins. You will hasten your recovery if you absorb energy from the mine. That will strengthen your replica so you can defend against the divine spirits of the west...” A respectful Gan Wuliang walked toward the tree. “In addition, we seek reinforcements from Boundless to join our side in battle. If the various seniors are willing to sever replicas, the Skystar Commander Office will supply energy for your recovery!”

The Gold Armor wanted to ask a few questions, but found himself unable to cut into Gan Wuliang’s steady stream of explanations.

A human face manifested on the giant tree trunk in the distance. It appeared quite wizened and softly interrupted, “General Gan seems much stronger than before...”

“The commander is combat ready,” Gan Wuliang nodded. “He has forcefully enhanced everyone’s cultivation at the cost of everything else. Our battle strength is a bit inflated after the consumption of endless Water of Life and mysterious power stones. We have left ourselves with no retreat in the pursuit of eradicating traitors!

“The commander knows that we have some misunderstandings with the seniors of the Zheng family.” Gan Wuliang set his jaw. “And that we tarnished the Zheng family name before this. Therefore, we have brought a generous gift by way of apology and compensation!”

“A generous gift?” The Gold Armor rushed over with curiosity. What else apart from the one hundred million mysterious power stones could there be?

“Yes!” A pained expression crossed Gan Wuliang’s face, illustrating his extreme conflict. “Stellaris!”

Whether it was the tree or Gold Armor, both froze.

What?!

“What??”

“Stellaris!” Gan Wuliang repeated with resignation. “The commander knows that our misunderstanding with the Zheng family runs too deep, that the seniors may still feel estranged even after our apology. Therefore, he offers Stellaris to repair relations! He only hopes that Boundless considers the fact that he is the Sword Sovereign’s descendant and offers a bit of help!”

He took out a small sword that glowed dully and walked toward the big tree.

“This is Stellaris,” he introduced with clenched teeth. “Being of rich experience, the senior should be familiar with it and can determine if it’s real or fake. The commander offers his greatest sincerity with absolutely no hint of falsehood!”

Both the big tree or Gold Armor looked dumbly at Stellaris. Immense greed rose from the bottom of their hearts.

The sword of the Lis!

This was Stellaris, the Sword Sovereign’s personal weapon! Forged by the Human King, it was the key to the Star Gate and bequeathed with exceptionally high authorization. It could control some of the important locales in the various main cities...

It was coming into their possession, just like this?

They could scarcely believe their eyes and didn’t know how to respond for a moment. No one could withstand the excitement or greed roiling in their hearts.

The peach tree shook and its tone changed, but it remained affable. “How can we accept this? This is the heritage of the Sword Sovereign, we cannot take it...”

Its mental strength extended into a shadowy figure that took a step forward, as if wanting to refuse the offer. However, its mental strength stuck to Stellaris, wanting to determine if the sword was the genuine article.

This was astounding! Li Hao had brought out Stellaris simply to defuse the misunderstanding with the Zhengs. This... this... was beyond shocking!

Gan Wuliang’s heartstrings drew taut. He ignored everything and all of his trepidation, thrusting the sword forward. “Please do not refuse, senior. This is a token of the commander’s sentiments. If the senior suspects this is a fake, then permit Wuliang to demonstrate for the senior...”

He infused the sword with a surge of energy while explaining, “Those not of the Li family cannot activate the sword, but there are other ways. For example, the Breakthrough Incantation can partially activate it...”

Starlight trembled and emanated faint radiance. Whether it was the peach tree or the Gold Armor, both stared raptly at the sword. The intensity of their greed was starting to scare even Gan Wuliang.

As expected, no one could resist their desires!

......

Within the Hao Cosmos.

Li Hao and the rest were extremely nervous. A crack had formed in the dao universe and a towering tree could be faintly glimpsed through it!

They were nearly face to face with the enemy’s guardian plant spirit!

Everyone held their breath out of trepidation. The crack fully opened as Gan Wuliang fully broadcast his location.

Battle had begun!

......

Boundless, next to the peach tree.

Stellaris suddenly sparkled with radiance. A crack had appeared in the world, but the tree and Gold Armor were distracted by the sword.

The Gold Armor had eyes only for Stellaris, yet the peach tree was a Saint at the end of the day. A sense of danger suddenly brewed in its heart and its shadowy face flickered with surprise. The look of greed disappeared, but it was too late.

Whether it hadn’t truly revitalized or its disguise was inadequate, the peach tree was too large and the crack too close to it. The crack was less than three meters away, a distance that may as well not exist in the eyes of powerhouses.

“Kill!” A roar echoed in everyone’s ears. The Gold Armor seemed to see a ferocious tiger howl and mountains descend. The world broke apart and he saw... the Sword Sovereign!

The shimmering Stellaris immediately landed in someone’s hand. That person was very young. He wasn’t the Sword Sovereign, but he seemed to become part of the sword in this moment. When the sword stabbed forward, revealing the truth of the situation!

The Eternal Sword!

The Gold Armor looked around blearily.

The Sword Sovereign...

The thought flashed through his mind as the peach tree next to him erupted with scintillating golden light. Its undying body radiated aureate radiance over the land and its presence built explosively.

However... it was too late.

Crunch!

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

A tiny crack rang out as the insignificant human being raised a tiny sword and stabbed it straight into the mammoth tree trunk. The blow carried a certain guarantee of death. There was no need for Li Hao to make a judgment call or wait for the right timing.

The enemy was right next to him!

Flaring with rays of sword light, a sword ran right through the tree. Sword light destroyed everything inside the tree and exterminated all life force. The massive heart of life collapsed like a crystal house!

The peach tree’s primary body struggled mightily as an agonized wail echoed through the world.

“You bastard!”

They fought geese everyday, but were pecked blind in turn today!

Li Hao was right. It had been too long since the enemy last fought. Even though the peach tree was a Saint and had sensed a bit of impending danger, it hadn’t reacted in time. It could only keen with despair before a loud explosion echoed.

Its heart of life spontaneously shattered and Water of Life flooded out of the tree, drowning Gan Wuliang for a second. There was so much, too much of the precious resource. How much had a living plant spirit of the Saint level accumulated after so many years?

This also served to explain that the tree had been awake the entire time. It’d simply pretended to be very weak.