The First Sage of Military Strategists

Boom!

A loud bang suddenly came from the horizon, and a huge disc-shaped flying ship descended from the sky. Its entire body was constructed from countless intricate mechanical gears, exuding an astonishing pressure.

The moment it appeared, it immediately emitted a magnificent white light, wave after wave, frantically impacting the Nine Dragons Sealing Heaven Formation.

Two terrifying forces collided violently in the valley, producing a series of crackling sounds and stirring up storms of light and flame in this vast world.

Everyone was terrified. The clash between these two supreme magical treasures was so intense that even being slightly affected could result in one's soul being annihilated.

At this moment, thousands of miles away, the Boundless Monument finally devoured and absorbed the last magical artifact.

Its appearance has changed to some extent; the patterns on the stele are more complex, and the mysterious light it emits is more intense.

"Elder Ming, do you have the strength to fight?" Han Qing asked.

"If we were to confront the Nine Dragons Palace of the Heavenly Emperor head-on, I'm afraid we'd still be three points short. We could only protect ourselves and couldn't defeat them. But the Boundaryless Stele also has its advantages: it's secretive and fast," Elder Ming replied.

A flood of information rushed through Han Qing's mind in an instant, and he understood the meaning behind Elder Ming's words.

After this transformation of the Boundless Monument, it possesses stronger concealment capabilities and its flight ability has also been greatly enhanced. It can instantly traverse the void and travel thousands of miles in extremely harsh environments.

"This ability is more than enough!" Han Qing replied.

He immediately activated the Boundless Stele, and a ball of mysterious light enveloped the stele. With a distortion of light and shadow, the Boundless Stele completely disappeared into the world, and then transformed into a stream of light, flying at an extremely fast speed toward the center of a continent.

In the blink of an eye, Han Qing had already reached the farthest point of the battlefield. He saw that the valley was covered by golden and white light, and in the sky, the Imperial Nine Dragons Palace and the Heavenly Craft Workshop each occupied a vast area, facing each other like two great mountains.

Both the Heavenly Craft Workshop and the Imperial Nine Dragons Palace radiated white and golden light, vying for control of this valley. Under the power of the Dharma Eye, one could see two extremely powerful forces constantly colliding and clashing, causing intense sounds to echo throughout the void.

Meanwhile, many people watched from the sidelines, none daring to venture inside.

The Palace Master and others also entered the Boundless Monument. Through a light screen above their heads, they could observe the outside world. Furthermore, their spiritual senses could extend outwards. With the blessing of the Boundless Monument, their detection range would be greater and more concealed.

At this moment, everyone's expression was solemn, because the intensity of this confrontation was too great. Even a Golden Body Realm Third Stage Refiner might be able to break in, but he wouldn't be able to hold out for long. Just protecting himself would require a lot of energy, let alone fighting for the dragon and phoenix remains.

"Do we have a chance?" The Palace Master of Zongheng Palace was filled with worry.

"It's alright, I'm confident. Just wait for me to make my move." Han Qing's words calmed the anxious hearts of the people around him.

Seeing his calm and confident demeanor, everyone felt a sense of anticipation.

Han Qing wasn't in a hurry. He knew that the Boundless Stele was inferior to the Imperial Nine Dragons Palace and the Heavenly Craft Workshop, but he had an advantage: he was in the shadows. If he accumulated strength and made a move at the crucial moment, he would have a great chance of obtaining a portion of the dragon and phoenix remains.

So he waits, which requires patience, but patience is the last thing he has in abundance.

As time passed, the two behemoths in the sky were finally about to determine a victor.

In wave after wave of collisions, the white light gradually gained the upper hand, occupying 70% of the entire valley, while the Huangtian Nine Dragons Palace's counterattack became increasingly weak.

Although it is hailed as the greatest treasure of antiquity, it is, after all, an incomplete version and cannot compete with the Tiangongfang.

Then, the Heavenly Craft Workshop made its move. Throughout the valley, thousands of dragon and phoenix remains transformed into crystals that rose into the air, gathered together, and were enveloped in a huge white sphere of light, flying rapidly towards the Heavenly Craft Workshop at the top.

At this moment, Han Qing made his move, suddenly activating the Boundless Monument and unleashing the Boundless Heavenly Qi. A jet-black beam of light shot straight forward at an astonishing speed, striking the enormous white sphere of light directly.

Han Qing had been preparing for this move for a long time. The Boundless Monument unleashed its full power, shattering the white light sphere in an instant. In a flash, the remains of thousands of dragons and phoenixes scattered to the ground.

At the same time, Han Qing, controlling the Boundless Monument, had already entered the valley and immediately attacked the dragon and phoenix skeletons. A faint light swept around, and nearly half of the dragon and phoenix skeletons were enveloped and captured, flying rapidly towards the Boundless Monument.

"Huh? You dare to steal my things!"

An aged voice echoed between heaven and earth, and a blinding white light suddenly appeared, instantly enveloping the five hundred flying pillars of light and engaging in a struggle with the Boundless Monument.

Han Qing immediately felt a tremendous pulling force, giving him the illusion that he couldn't control it. So, he quickly made a decision to abandon two hundred of the dragon and phoenix skeletons and focus on capturing the remaining three hundred.

With this, Han Qing's pressure was greatly reduced, and in a flash, three hundred dragon and phoenix skeletons were collected into the Boundless Monument.

"Han Qing, you deserve to die!"

The aged voice echoed once more between heaven and earth, carrying a hint of anger and chill.

However, at this moment, the Nine Dragons Palace of the Heavenly Emperor made its move to seize the remaining dragon and phoenix skeletons, which forced the Heavenly Craft Workshop to deal with the Nine Dragons Palace of the Heavenly Emperor first.

In that instant, Han Qing got a chance to escape. With a whoosh, the Boundless Monument transformed into a stream of light and escaped the valley. Then, in full view of everyone, it disappeared into the world.

"Wow, that's fast!"

Inside the Tiangong Workshop, an elderly man dressed in gray with gray hair and a hunched back stared intently in the direction where the Boundless Monument had disappeared, his brows slightly furrowed.

Several people were standing behind him, one of whom was wearing a mask. He was Lin Motong, the next generation leader of the Mo family, and the old man was none other than the current leader.

"Han Qing's Boundless Monument seems to have become even more powerful," Lin Motong murmured.

The old man said in a deep voice, "The Boundless Stele can devour magic treasures to grow stronger, but I didn't expect it to have such a strong ability to hide. It can hide nearby and even the Heavenly Craft Workshop can't find it. But it doesn't matter. No matter how good this person's talent is, he is still just a person with a shallow foundation. He can't pose any threat to my Mo family. As long as those three hundred dragon and phoenix skeletons don't fall into the hands of the imperial court, that's fine."

He pondered for a moment, then his gaze swept across the area and landed on the Imperial Nine Dragons Palace not far away.

"Emperor Yu wants to use the dragon and phoenix remains to repair the Nine Dragon Palace of the Imperial Heaven and prolong his life. We must not let him succeed in this matter." The old man's tone was calm, but it contained an undeniable domineering and confident aura.

For the Mohists, the imperial court was the greatest threat.

It would be best to obtain all of the dragon and phoenix remains. If not, it would be acceptable if they fell into the hands of others, but they must never fall into the hands of the imperial court.

Therefore, upon seeing Han Qing leave, he did not pursue him, but instead focused all his efforts on preventing the Nine Dragons Palace of the Heavenly Emperor from seizing the remains.

...

At this moment, Han Qing had already controlled the Boundless Stele to fly thousands of miles away. Seeing that the Heavenly Craft Workshop had not pursued him, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He had just approached the Heavenly Craft Workshop at close range and confronted it head-on, and only then did he realize how terrifying the Heavenly Craft Workshop was. Elder Ming was right; they still couldn't confront it directly.

However, the Boundless Monument is indeed very good at hiding. The reason it was able to succeed so easily is because the Heavenly Craft Workshop did not expect that a third party would intervene in the struggle for the Dragon and Phoenix skeletons.

After this incident, both the Mohists and the imperial court will be more cautious, and the success rate of replicating the previous operation will be greatly reduced.

However, Han Qing didn't care. After today, he would definitely collect a large number of magical treasures to help the Boundless Monument transform into a level that could directly compete with the Imperial Nine Dragons Palace and the Heavenly Craft Workshop.

According to Elder Ming, there is theoretically no upper limit to the improvement of the Boundary Marker; it's just that the difficulty of improvement increases as you go further.

With his thoughts churning, Han Qing suppressed his distractions and focused his gaze on the 312 dragon and phoenix skeletons before him, a faint joy welling up in his heart.

Each dragon and phoenix skeleton is inside a huge "amber stone". Although they are dead, their appearance and posture in life are still clearly visible. At first glance, they seem to be living things, not lifeless sculptures.

The Palace Master and the others stood before these enormous dragon and phoenix skeletons, each as large as a small mountain, looking them up and down with curiosity in their eyes.

"Hehe, I didn't expect you, Han Qing, to actually manage to snatch more than three hundred skeletons from those two old geezers. I knew I hadn't misjudged you," the Red Lotus Demoness said with a grin.

"Han Qing, there are a thousand skeletons in that valley. You took three hundred of them. That's a great harvest. This trip was worthwhile," said the Palace Master of Zongheng Palace.

"Thanks to the Boundary Marker." Han Qing murmured, walking forward to a dragon skeleton crystal. He reached out and touched it, feeling its icy touch. Even though the red dragon was dead, he could still faintly sense the terrifying aura it had exuded in life.

"Now that we've succeeded, let's leave here as soon as possible," Yan Qiuling said.

"Are we not going to fight over the remaining dragon and phoenix skeletons?" the Red Lotus Demoness asked.

“I think there’s no need to argue. People are never satisfied. If we go back and our whereabouts are discovered, we might not even be able to keep the three hundred skeletons we have, and our lives could be in danger,” said the Palace Master of Zongheng Palace.

“I agree with you, my husband, we should know when to stop,” Yan Qiuling advised.

Han Qing nodded slightly. He was confident, but not greedy. He knew his own limitations. He was not strong enough to take all the dragon and phoenix skeletons. He was already extremely satisfied with the three hundred skeletons he had managed to seize.

“My wife is right. We should know when to stop. These three hundred skeletons are enough to greatly increase our strength,” Han Qing said.

Just then, Qi Guanzi, who was usually silent, suddenly said, "Han Qing, there are ancient records in Yuelu Academy that besides the dragon and phoenix skeletons, there seems to be other treasures in Panlong Immortal Realm, such as golden rice!"

"Golden Rice?" A glint of light flashed in the eyes of the Palace Master. "You mean the mysterious grain known as the sustenance of immortals?"

“Indeed, Golden Rice was born with the heavens and earth and is one of the most precious spiritual plants. Long-term consumption can nourish the body and soul, and rapidly increase strength without any side effects. In ancient times, countless powerful people lost their lives in the struggle for Golden Rice. I know that there is a place in Panlong Immortal Domain where Golden Rice was also grown in ancient times, but I don’t know if it is still there now?” Qi Guanzi nodded.

Han Qing's interest was piqued: "Since we have the opportunity to obtain such a rare item, we must not miss it. Mr. Qi, where is the Golden Rice? Let's go and take a look!"

Qi Guanzi pointed his finger, and a wisp of magical thought flew into Han Qing's brow. A map appeared in the latter's mind, which already marked the location of the Golden Rice, right here on this icy continent.

"go!"

Han Qing immediately controlled the Boundless Stele and flew at high speed following the route guided by Qi Guanzi. Before long, a dilapidated ancient city appeared in front of him. At first glance, the ancient city was extremely desolate and there was nothing there. However, according to the map, the Golden Rice was located here.

After a moment's thought, he manipulated the Boundless Monument to appear above the ancient city. A faint light bloomed, quickly covering the entire city, and everything within it appeared in his mind.

He then made a significant discovery: one of the tall, square buildings was actually protected by a magic array.

He immediately activated the Boundless Monument, and a pure black pillar of energy, the Boundless Heavenly Qi, descended from the sky, slamming into the magic array outside the tall building and destroying it directly.

The crowd then discovered that the building contained a large amount of grain, each grain emitting a pale golden light and about the size of an adult's fist. The moment the magic array shattered, a fragrant aroma permeated the air.

"As expected, there is golden rice. This should be the warehouse built by the Dragon and Phoenix clans back then, specifically for storing treasures. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, many magic arrays have been destroyed, and only the magic array of this building remains intact. Hehe, we are really lucky!" said the Red Lotus Demoness.

Qi Guanzi scanned the area with his magical senses and saw that there were hundreds of similar buildings in the ancient city. He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret, unable to imagine how many treasures must have been inside if the magical formations of these hundreds of buildings had been preserved intact.

Han Qing nodded slightly and immediately activated the Boundless Stele to collect all the grain in the warehouse into it.

Just then, he frowned and whispered, "Someone's coming!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure flew rapidly from the northeast direction; it was none other than the Peacock King Buddha.

As soon as he arrived at the ancient city, he immediately took action. His magical power surged, and a phantom of a Buddhist kingdom descended, instantly enveloping the entire ancient city.

Originally, Han Qing was about to bring the golden rice into the Boundless Monument when the Peacock King Buddha suddenly intervened, interrupting his actions.

"Han Qing, hand over the Golden Rice and disappear from my sight immediately! I don't want to kill you today!" the Peacock King Buddha said loudly.

Han Qing laughed and said, "I was the first to arrive here, broke through the formation and took the rice. This should rightfully belong to me. Are you trying to snatch it?"

Peacock King Buddha frowned. He felt that Han Qing was overestimating himself. He didn't want to waste time, but that didn't mean he was incapable of dealing with Han Qing. Although Han Qing was strong, he was only equivalent to a leader of a holy land, and there was still a big gap between him and Han Qing.

So he sneered, "You overestimate yourself. Then I'll suppress you and seize your magic treasures and fortune!"

Suddenly, the illusory image of the Buddhist kingdom solidified, and a terrifying pressure descended, threatening to crush the Boundless Monument.

The Boundless Monument emitted a faint light, and the phantom of the ancient city appeared out of thin air, colliding fiercely with the phantom of the Buddhist Kingdom. For a moment, the world was filled with the rumbling sounds of the two forces clashing.

A look of surprise flashed in the eyes of the Peacock King Buddha. He suddenly realized that he could not suppress the Boundless Monument, and instead, his own Buddha Kingdom phantom was showing signs of collapse.

"Hmm? How could this stone tablet suddenly have such great power?" Peacock King Buddha immediately found the problem. He could feel that the Boundless Tablet was much stronger than before.

The news that the Boundless Monument can evolve is a secret of the world, known to only a very few people, and the Peacock King Buddha is not among them.

While he was still wondering, Han Qing had already made his move, directly unleashing a Boundless Heavenly Qi that instantly arrived in front of the Peacock King Buddha.

A strong sense of crisis arose in the heart of the Peacock King Buddha. He immediately took action, thirteen Buddha light pearls shooting out from his body, rapidly rotating around him to form a layer of Buddha light shield, meeting the dark pillar of energy head-on. (End of this chapter)