"General!"

With the death of the White Lotus Saint Mother, the entire White Lotus Sect’s destruction was only a matter of time.

The Dragon-soaring Army continued their advance, and amid the cries of ’The bandit leader is dead, surrender and you shall not be killed,’ the entire White Lotus Sect’s congregation immediately fell.

Aside from a small number of die-hard White Lotus Sect followers who fled, the remaining sect members either were killed or surrendered.

Soon, Guangqing City returned to tranquility once again.

Xie Jiuque found Xu Mujun, who was holding his breath, sensing something, and respectfully said, "We have collected the corpse of the White Lotus Saint Mother, along with all her magical artifacts and her storage bag."

Xu Mujun looked and saw two Dragon-soaring Army soldiers holding a wooden tray with several items on it.

They consisted of a fist-sized white lotus, half a flying sword, a bunch of gauze, and a storage bag embroidered with a white lotus.

Xu Mujun nodded and said, "Your Majesty had promised me the right to dispose of the war spoils. Unfortunately, this time the White Lotus Saint Mother’s power was too strong, and all the magical artifacts were destroyed. Even if we wanted to use them, we could not."

"As for this storage bag..."

He shook his head again and said, "None of us are cultivators and cannot even open it."

"Send it quickly back to the Capital City. Perhaps only... Who’s there?!"

He suddenly shouted, looking sternly to his left.

But there was no one on the left, only a few Dragon-soaring Army soldiers guarding the distance.

Xie Jiuque asked curiously, "General, you..."

"Hm?"

Xu Mujun frowned, stretched out his hand, and a bloody Sword Qi immediately exploded, cutting towards the empty distant ground, accurately speaking underground.

"Come out!"

"Boom!"

The Sword Qi slashed, immediately cutting a large pit in the not-too-distant ground.

This sudden change drew a lot of attention from the Dragon-soaring Army who quickly surrounded him.

"Protect the General!"

"Who’s there!"

"General, you..."

"Hahaha..."

Suddenly, a loud laughter echoed from the dust.

Through the haze, everyone saw a tall figure stepping out.

Xu Mujun’s expression became extremely cautious; he could clearly feel the dangerous aura emanating from the person.

As the dust dissipated, a giant man with bronze skin, apricot-yellow pupils, draped in animal fur emerged.

"You must be Xu Mujun, worthy of being the Great Yu Military God, able to beat that troublesome old woman, the White Lotus Saint Mother!"

Xu Mujun frowned and asked, "Who are you?"

"Me?"

The giant man revealed a mouth full of white teeth, saying, "Ten Thousand Beasts Borderless Sect, Xiong Gang!"

"Ten Thousand Beasts Borderless Sect?"

Xu Mujun hesitated, "Cultivator?"

"Indeed."

"What is your purpose here?"

"Hehehe..."

Xiong Gang chuckled, saying, "Your fame has been far-reaching these years. Even as I secluded myself in the Wilderness Valley, people occasionally mentioned you."

"I know nothing of military strategy, but to be able to elevate Martial Arts Cultivation to the Innate Realm in a place like the Spiritless Land, you are indeed a pioneer throughout history."

As he spoke, he moved his body, producing a clear sound of bones rubbing together.

"Before becoming a cultivator, I was also a martial artist."

"And now, I am just excited by the hunt. Xu Mujun, would you spar with Brother Xiong?"

"Spar?"

Xu Mujun frowned and said, "I’m not interested, I have urgent matters at hand."

"Urgent matters?"

Xiong Gang scoffed, "Isn’t it just Tuoba Wufeng, that old scoundrel, and the Tianlong Temple? If you agree to some of Brother Xiong’s conditions, Brother Xiong will help you eliminate them!"

Xu Mujun’s eyes brightened slightly but quickly said, "Why should I trust you?"

"Trust?"

Xiong Gang thought for a moment and then caught a folded paper, throwing it to Xu Mujun.

"Once you read this letter, you’ll understand."

The letter shot towards Xu Mujun, almost immediately landing in front of him, which he caught.

After giving Xiong Gang a deep look, Xu Mujun slowly unfolded the paper, its contents simple enough to read in a few seconds.

"General?"

Xie Jiuque asked in confusion, while Xu Mujun nodded and handed the letter back.

"It turns out it was Elder Celestial Master Zhao’s letter to Brother Xiong. Brother Xiong, are you heading to the Capital City? It seems we are colleagues?"

"Colleagues?"

Xiong Gang’s eyes brightened, saying, "In Brother Xiong’s eyes, only those with equal strength can be considered colleagues!"

"Fight me, defeat Brother Xiong, and Brother Xiong will acknowledge you as a colleague."

"No rush."

Xu Mujun shook his hand and said, "Brother Xiong mentioned a few conditions earlier. Xu is all ears."

Xiong Gang boldly pointed to the relics of the deceased White Lotus Saint Mother and said, "Those things are of no use to you, give them all to Brother Xiong."

Xu Mujun shook his head and said, "In principle, these spoils are at my disposal, but these items are precious and must be presented to Your Majesty before making a decision."

"The magical artifacts are broken. Even if your Emperor has great abilities, they cannot repair them in the Spiritless Land."

Xiong Gang unabashedly said, "It’s better to give them to Brother Xiong as a gesture of goodwill."

"As for the storage bag, you can hand it over to your Emperor, can’t you?"

"Broken magical artifacts? What does Brother Xiong intend to do with them?"

"Brother Xiong’s cultivation technique is somewhat special, requiring a large number of magical artifacts."

Xiong Gang stopped halfway and then said, "Forget it, Brother Xiong will give you a piece of advice."

"What advice?"

"You... are about to die."

As soon as the words fell, Xu Mujun frowned slightly, and his personal soldiers looked at each other.

"What do you mean?"

Xiong Gang said indifferently, "You forcibly broke into the Innate Realm from a mortal body, absorbing a large amount of Spiritual Qi, but unable to store it."

"This technique fully relies on Qi Blood Power, which severely consumes your lifespan!"

"And furthermore, using the Power of Divine Thought to induce the Heaven and Earth Rules, it further depletes the Divine Soul."

"If you stop now and no longer use the Innate Realm, you can live for ten years."

"But if you continue using it, each usage will decrease your lifespan... until you perish!"

Xu Mujun said calmly, "So that’s it, is Martial Dao Will the Power of Divine Thought?"

"You’re not worried?"

"Why worry?" Xu Mujun countered, "As a soldier, I should return wrapped in a horse’s hide."

"I thought I only had one or two years left."

"You know?"

"Faintly sensed it, I suppose."

"Then why forcibly kill the White Lotus Saint Mother?"

"For Great Yu, for the people, for the world."

"You..."

Xiong Gang fell silent, let out a long sigh, and said, "Forget it, Brother Xiong here has a method to slightly extend your lifespan, would you dare use it?"

"What method?"

"Blood Exchange Pill!"

"Blood Exchange Pill?"

"Indeed," Xiong Gang said, "This pill is refined using the Essence Blood of Spirit Beasts or Demon Beasts, containing extremely potent Evil Qi."

"Ordinary cultivators who consume it can invigorate their Qi Blood, replacing all their blood with Evil Blood, unleashing tremendous power briefly."

"And a mortal consuming it... will inevitably die from explosive force!"

"But you... in the Innate Realm, your so-called Martial Dao Will ensures that you won’t explode, allowing you to purify all your mortal blood, thereby enhancing your Qi blood and increasing lifespan, what do you think?"

Xu Mujun’s eyes moved and said, "An elixir that temporarily increases a cultivator’s power, well then, these relics of the White Lotus Saint Mother are Brother Xiong’s."

"Hahaha... Excellent, refreshing!"

Xiong Gang laughed heartily, reaching out to grab, instantly emitting a forceful suction from his hand.

The white lotus, flying sword, and gauze held by the Dragon-soaring Army were immediately sucked over, seized by Xiong Gang.

As for the storage bag, it was left in its original place.

Once grasping the three magical artifacts, Xiong Gang held the miniature white lotus, scrutinized it briefly, then actually stuffed it into his mouth, using his white teeth to chew off a small piece, chewing thoroughly.

"This..."

Everyone looked at each other, wondering if this was how cultivators cultivate?

About ten seconds later, Xiong Gang was still chewing, but his speed had increased considerably.

"Let’s go, Brother Xu, let Brother Xiong see how heavy Innate Realm power is, hahaha..."

Then he strode straight towards the city outskirts, while Xu Mujun ordered to send the storage bag to Your Majesty as soon as possible.

After glancing at Xiong Gang’s back, he chased after him.