The great battle had filled the surrounding space with drifting corpses.

Wang Sheng sat within the flood dragon chariot, holding the Dragon Sword. He had withdrawn from the battlefield an hour ago.

The immortal power within the five statues had been completely exhausted, and he had fallen into a weakened state.

During the half-hour of intense fighting earlier, he and Spiritless had slain a Taiyi Golden Immortal and two Golden Immortals. He had lost count of how many weaker cultivators he had killed.

The battle proved that Golden Immortals and those stronger than them should never be taken lightly.

When Wang Sheng faced the opponent that Xu Zhongliang had chosen for him, he immediately hit him with a full-force Green Lotus Ultimate, taking him by surprise. Though he held back the wooden sword as his last resort, the Taiyi Golden Immortal still failed to escape his blade. The lotus bloomed, and sword phantasms burst forth.

His opponent managed to endure the strike head-on. Fortunately, it had heavily injured him.

A fierce battle followed, but Wang Sheng had secured the advantage through his opening strike. With Spiritless, he unleashed endless starlight that engulfed his opponent. The two fought openly before countless cultivators.

Only evenly matched combatants could bring out such a truly thrilling fight.

The enemy general whom Xu Zhongliang had chosen specialized in close combat as well. Hence, their clashes were striking to behold.

In the end, Wang Sheng eradicated his opponent's Primordial Spirit with a single stroke. A massive sword phantasm formed from the Great Dao of the Stars shattered the long spear that had appeared behind his foe, finally ending the bout.

He died with his eyes still open.

Defeating his primary target had already consumed a large portion of his Divine-Possession Art.

Xu Zhongliang allowed him to act freely afterward, but he couldn't show a remarkable performance anymore.

Every step after the Heavenly Immortal Realm was a chasm—a trial.

Reaching the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm was never easy. Among thousands of Heavenly Immortals, it was rare for even one to become a Taiyi Golden Immortal. It required endless years of comprehending the Great Dao and forging one's own Dao.

Nevertheless, killing a Taiyi Golden Immortal with his own hands brought Wang Sheng little sense of achievement. After all, the power he had used had not truly been his. It was only borrowed for the sake of this grand performance.

Leaning on the Dragon Sword, Wang Sheng sat quietly in the chariot with his eyes closed. Following Xu Zhongliang's instructions, the soldiers below cleared the battlefield and collected the spoils in an orderly manner.

Throughout this battle, the Star Deity had not personally taken action. After all, he had to oversee the entire field and give constant commands. He also had to serve as Wang Sheng's safeguard. If Wang Sheng encountered danger, he had to step in immediately.

It was quite reassuring to have the forefather of the Shu Sword Sect as his protector.

Fatigue washed over Wang Sheng in waves. He sighed inwardly and focused, enduring the hollow weakness he felt after draining all his strength. It was as though he had gone from a strong adult to a small child in an instant.

The aftereffects of the Divine-Possession Art were even more intense than when he first used the unity of man and sword.

Yaoyun appeared at his side and quietly stood guard. Wang Sheng wanted to exchange a few light words with her, but even speaking telepathically felt exhausting. He could only sit and lean on his greatsword.

Before long, drowsiness overtook him, and he drifted into sleep while still seated.

"Wang Sheng, Wang Sheng... Seriously, do I have to call you Sword Master to wake you? Get up. Everyone is watching you."

"Cough, ahem!"

Who is coughing like their lungs are about to burst? Is someone injured?

Feeling that he had recovered a bit of his primal qi, Wang Sheng opened his eyes groggily and found the Heavenly Court immortals gathered before him. He quickly pushed himself up with the greatsword.

He pretended that he had just been deep in thought about the future of the Heavenly Court and the stability of the Three Realms.

At his side, Xu Zhongliang quickly said, "Marshal, the battle here is over. We have slain over a hundred thousand enemies and eliminated dozens of high-level foes. Enemy reinforcements are arriving. We should withdraw at once!"

Wang Sheng instructed, "We will follow your plan, Star Deity Wenqu. You have all fought well!"

Smiling, the Heavenly Court immortals cupped their hands in salute. Perhaps fighting together had brought them closer. The indifference in their gazes toward Wang Sheng had lessened.

Suppressing a yawn, Wang Sheng sat back on the chariot.

The immortals followed on both sides, while tens of thousands of celestial soldiers marched below.

They only suffered relatively small losses. Moreover, they had achieved all their goals in this battle and even gotten an unexpected gain. They had seized several resource vaults on the celestial body, greatly enriching their reserves.

Soon, Wu Tianshou and Wang Shan returned alongside another Grand Dao Golden Immortal.

When the battlefield had stabilized earlier, two experts reinforced Wang Shan. They, too, had benefited from their own fights. Though they couldn't kill anyone, they had severely wounded two Grand Dao Golden Immortals, severely weakening the enemy forces.

For the Heavenly Court's foes, the incapacitation of two Grand Dao Golden Immortals due to heavy injuries was even more serious than the damage they suffered on this celestial body.

Powerful experts were not easily replaced.

Working together, Wang Shan and the others tore open space. The tens of thousands of celestial soldiers returned to their original departure point.

Following the hidden spatial routes that they had prepared in advance, the soldiers quickly dispersed. The Heavenly Court's immortals relocated as well, moving with Wang Sheng to their next hideout.

Their next operation would take place several months later. When the time came, the scattered forces would gather once more.

After confirming that no great expert could track them, several of their own top members and more than ten of the Heavenly Court's true gods who knew of the God-Slaying Plan held a banquet to celebrate.

However, Yaoyun had to help Wang Sheng to a quiet thatched hut to rest. After meditating for a while, he simply lay down.

The burden that the Divine-Possession Art placed on his Primordial Spirit was far too great.

Yaoyun slightly pressed her lips together and sat beside the bed, silently keeping watch over him. Before long, his soft snoring filled the room.

Yaoyun seemed to think of something. She smiled faintly as she watched him sleep, then raised a hand to smooth her long hair, her thoughts drifting far away.

***

Three days later, Wang Sheng finally woke up. His spirits were high, and his primal qi had fully replenished. He was promptly dragged off to a small house for a meeting.

"The first battle yielded excellent results," Xu Zhongliang said with clear admiration. "Your title as the Heavenly Court's Radiant Devil-Suppressing Grand Marshal has been established in a single fight!

"A being who was only a Heavenly Immortal three hundred years ago cutting down a Taiyi Golden Immortal is huge enough news to shake even powerful beings who have long grown numb! And Fei Yu, your current reputation is already quite impressive."

Wu Tianshou smiled faintly as he added in a deep, rough tone, "I was worried for you before, Marshal. It seems I was overthinking things."

Inside Wu Tianshou's armor, the little white tiger yawned. It looked at Wang Sheng with sleepy eyes, clearly unaware of what had happened.

It had not been able to join the battle.

Wang Shan commented, "We have to be even more cautious from here on, especially since new recordings have already spread across the Immortal Saint Realm. Multiple factions are reacting strongly. In just three days, forces several times larger than the ones we've encountered have entered the four great sky regions, with focus on the west, north, and south."

Wang Sheng asked, "By the way, how are things on Emperor Qinghua's and the Second Master's sides?"

Xu Zhongliang paused for a moment before answering. "The Second Master didn't come across any issues. It was a complete victory, with minimal losses. He even slew two Grand Dao Golden Immortals in a single move, allowing his might to resonate across the land. His Imperial Majesty, however... met a bit of trouble."

Wang Sheng felt his heart tighten at once. Mu Wanxuan was still cultivating beside Qinghua. "Did something go wrong?"

"Not exactly." Xu Zhongliang sighed. "On the contrary, His Imperial Majesty just acted too decisively, resulting in an outcome that was too direct. When his Dao of Death descended, an entire celestial body turned into a dead star. All life upon it vanished. Now, the Immortal Saint Realm and many other forces in the endless space regard the Emperor as a great evil. This is a difficult matter to handle."

Wang Sheng breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. "We already considered this possibility before."

Xu Zhongliang set his folding fan on the table and took a sip of tea, his brow still furrowed.

"His Imperial Majesty now follows the Dao of Death. Though he remains relatively gentle toward us, it has inevitably influenced him. He might end up treating civilians with indifference."

"He probably would not turn against us," Wu Tianshou said, though concern lingered in his eyes.

Wang Sheng did not add much. He understood this well.

The Great Dao could influence one's emotions. He had experienced it himself through the Myriad-Slaying Sword Intent.

The Dao of Death was a fundamental Great Dao. Where there was life, there was death. That was its transcendence.

Yet for that very reason, Qinghua, who wielded the Dao of Death, was gradually moving toward becoming a true master of death.

This did not mean he would lose himself or abandon all ties. However, it did mean that he would no longer hesitate to kill people he did not care about. If something had to be destroyed, it would be destroyed.

One's innocence wouldn't matter to him anymore. The Great Dao itself would pass judgment.

"We can only trust His Imperial Majesty," Wang Sheng said.

The others nodded in agreement.

Jingwu then asked, "Marshal, has your Primordial Spirit recovered? After using the Divine-Possession Art, did you notice anything that needs improvement?"

Wang Sheng sighed. "If the duration could be extended, that would be ideal."

Xu Zhongliang chuckled. "That will be difficult. And moving forward, you do not need to insist on killing the targets I assign. You just have to put on a good act and give everyone a thrilling fight. If you can kill them, then all the better. However, do not force it. The mention of the sacred spirit is already enough to make our powerful enemies uneasy.

"We will continue to provoke them. You will appear repeatedly and pressure them into using the Heaven-Scouring Grand Array again, or force them to gather their forces and launch a large-scale search for you."

Wang Sheng smiled wryly. "This really feels like I'm walking straight toward death."

Wang Shan frowned. "Do not say such unlucky things."

Wu Tianshou added, "We should also watch our tone when speaking to the Grand Marshal."

Wang Shan just nodded.

***

Qiluo Celestial Realm.

Outside the small building where Lishang had lived for three hundred years, Hostess Su arrived in haste on a cloud.

For Lishang, who had already lived for tens of thousands of years, three hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. They hadn't found Wang Sheng yet, but they kept receiving news about him over the past three centuries, making her feel both reassured and helpless.

Had she known, she would have stayed by his side when the Heaven-Scouring Grand Array instead of hiding far away.

Hostess Su leaped in through the window without hesitation. Her flowing dress swayed as she moved, making her look even more charming.

Lishang, who had been cultivating in her true form while reclining on the bed, rose and looked over.

"Hurry, Sister! I'm not just bringing simple rumors this time! I've got real news for you!"