Inner chamber of the High Sky Throne Hall.
General Curtain hurriedly pushed open the door, stepped toward the tea table beside the dragon desk, and lifted the wooden tray holding the Imperial Jade Seal and a yellow silk scroll. For a moment, he hesitated.
After a brief pause, he strode out the door, but instead of heading straight for Tusita Palace, he took a slight detour toward another direction of the High Sky Throne Hall.
From a distance, General Curtain saw more than a dozen Heavenly Generals gathered with General Lee and his son atop the mustering platform, with tens of thousands of troops arrayed below.
Each one here possessed at least Spirit-Transformation realm strength.
Upon seeing General Curtain, General Lee quickly approached, bowed, and said, "General Curtain, the army is ready, but the gate guards say His Majesty left in haste. Is it possible that..."
As he spoke, General Lee's gaze fell upon the tray in Curtain's hands, and he paused in surprise. "General Curtain, you carry the Imperial Jade Seal—where are you taking it?"
"His Majesty and Lord Lao are taking tea in Tusita Palace. I am here by imperial order to retrieve the Jade Seal."
"Oh? His Majesty intends to draft an edict in Tusita Palace?"
"Exactly."
"Now that's a rare occurrence," General Lee murmured, stroking his beard with a sigh.
General Curtain, still holding the tray in both hands, bowed slightly. "Heavenly King, your duties are pressing—I won't intrude further."
With that, his tiger eyes widened like bronze bells as he glanced at General Lee and then at the Jade Seal in his tray, before turning to leave.
Nathan Young started to block him, but General Lee held him back.
"Father, what's he doing? From the High Sky Throne Hall to Tusita Palace, he doesn't need to pass this way. And what's with 'pressing military duties, won't intrude'? Aren't we counting on him to find His Majesty so we can set out sooner?"
Watching General Curtain's figure recede into the distance, General Lee half-closed his eyes and said, "I'm afraid something has changed."
"Changed?"
"That's right." Before Nathan could react, General Lee turned, swept up his cloak, and barked to the assembled generals behind him, "All Heavenly Generals of Spirit-Transformation Stage and above, heed my command—follow me to Blossom Mountain as reinforcements, without delay!"
......
Blossom Mountain. The battle had raged for two full days and nights.
Beneath the three breaches torn open in the Heavenly Fleet's lines, the towering piles of corpses had already grown so high that, from a distance, they looked like three steadily rising hills at the edges of the Heavenly Net formation.
Among them lay the corpses of celestial soldiers, demon troops, and even more bodies so mangled and bloodied that their race could no longer be distinguished.
For two full days and nights, the demon army's war drums still thundered, and countless demons surged toward the breaches like a flood. Among them were Shortbeak and even top-tier demons like the Nine-Headed Wyrm.
In response, the Heavenly Fleet had formed three Heavenly General Battle Arrays, reinforced by scattered troops to hold back the demon army's assault.
Though the defenders rotated constantly, the sheer numbers of the demon army meant the Heavenly Fleet suffered devastating casualties. The three Heavenly General Battle Arrays were beginning to falter.
The demon army, too, was at the end of its strength.
Watching the madness unfold from the mountainside, the six Demon Kings were stunned into silence, unable to utter a word.
Was this really the war they had planned to join?
Blossom Mountain's strength far exceeded their expectations. But the Heavenly Fleet was no pushover either.
A battle between equals was not frightening. What was terrifying was that both sides, evenly matched, fought with soaring morale and no way out.
For the demons, defeat means death—there is no escape for anyone.
And what about the Heavenly Fleet? Surrounded as they are, never mind their proud military traditions—if they lose, can any of them escape unscathed?
For both sides, there is only one path forward: keep fighting.
This means the war has become a complete meat grinder, ending only when one side can no longer pay the price.
Peng Demon King took a deep breath, swallowed dryly, and glanced at the equally stunned Ox Demon King, asking softly, "Big brother, when do we act?"
"When do we act?" Ox Demon King blinked in a daze.
For a thousand years, they'd always been on the run—if they could win, they'd fight; if not, they'd flee. Never had they seen anything like Blossom Mountain's desperate, brutal stand.
Compared to this, all their previous forces were mere amateurs.
Did they really want to join such a war?
"I think... it's best not to act," Jiao Demon King whispered, licking his dry lips.
At these words, all the Demon Kings looked at him.
Jiao Demon King coughed twice and continued, "The Heavenly Fleet is clearly fighting to the death. Normally, it's understandable for demons to fight to the death, but what reason do the celestial troops have? It can only mean their reinforcements are coming—they're waiting for help. So, we absolutely must not act rashly, or we won't even be able to escape."
After a long hesitation, Ox Demon King pursed his lips and said, "Then... let's wait and see."
At this moment, the Heavenly General Battle Array centered on Tian Ren had held out against the demon flood led by the Nine-Headed Wyrm for nearly twelve hours. Tian Ren's spiritual power was already at its limit, but the demons beside the Nine-Headed Wyrm had rotated several times, and he himself was nearly exhausted.
Both sides were utterly exhausted—if one more external force intervened, victory would surely tip to one side.
But there was none—neither side received any further reinforcements. The stalemate and pointless slaughter continued.
Marshal Tianpeng, still at full strength, stood silently at the bow, coldly watching the monkey on the distant throne.
What is he really up to? Tianpeng wondered.
Behind him stood dozens of Spirit-Transformation Heavenly Generals still at full power, but Tianpeng dared not use them rashly—they were his counter to the monkey.
He never believed that monkey had no backup plan.
In such circumstances, if all forces were recklessly thrown into battle, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Just as Marshal Tianpeng was deep in thought, a thunderous roar erupted—the ground at the center of the Heavenly Fleet suddenly split open!
Amidst the tumbling sand and stones, the Golden Staff rose like a pillar holding up the sky, striking unerringly at the topmost warship in the Heavenly Net formation.
With a single deafening crash, all the battle cries on the field were instantly cut off.
In the next moment, as the Golden Staff spun rapidly, the roaring sand and stones spread like ripples, quickly reaching every corner of the Heavenly Net formation.
Not good—! The main attack is coming from underground!
In the midst of the rampaging sand and stones, Marshal Tianpeng's eyes widened in shock.
......
Tusita Palace, in the courtyard, General Curtain approached with the tray, met the Jade Emperor's gaze, and gently placed the tray on the stone table.
Lord Lao glanced at General Curtain and said indifferently, "Grind the ink."
"Yes."
General Curtain lifted the inkstone and set it before himself, beginning to grind the ink at a steady pace.
"Where were we?"
"We were talking about the War of Investiture," the Jade Emperor reminded softly.
"Oh, right, the War of Investiture. Look at me, getting forgetful in my old age, hahaha." Lord Lao nodded. "Before the Investiture, all sorts of Daoist arts flourished, a hundred schools contended—it seemed prosperous, but beneath that prosperity, danger lurked... After the War of Investiture, the Investiture List was established, and all the meritorious were taken into the Heavenly Court, thus creating a new order. From then on, those who attained the Dao could no longer meddle in mortal affairs..."
Lord Lao rambled on about the old days. The Jade Emperor and Venus both nodded along, but their eyes kept drifting to the inkstone.
The ink should be ready soon...