The First Sage of Military Strategists

"Bring him up!" Emperor Yu said loudly.

Da da da!
Accompanied by a series of deep and powerful footsteps, Vasala strode into the main hall. This once imposing royal general was now wearing only an extremely ordinary light blue robe with cloud patterns, but he still maintained the demeanor of a great man with his head held high and his eyes shining.

"Vasala, what brings you to the capital seeking an audience?" Emperor Yu asked in a deep voice.

After the Holy Royal Court capital was captured, Vasala mysteriously disappeared. Recently, he suddenly sent someone to deliver a secret letter to the capital, requesting to meet with Emperor Yu. Emperor Yu naturally agreed without hesitation.

Vasala's voice was low and deep: "With the Peacock King Buddha killed, the royal court is doomed. I have come today for only one thing: I beg Your Majesty to spare my three thousand personal guards. These men have followed me through thick and thin for more than ten years. I cannot stand by and watch them be killed!"

As the chief commander of the royal court, Vasala has a personal guard of three thousand men, all of whom are powerful warriors.

These people are the sharpest swords in Vasala's hands, following him as he travels north and south, conquering all directions, and each of them is extremely brave.

However, the royal capital was captured, and some of the guards were killed in battle, while others were captured alive and are now imprisoned in the dungeons of the royal capital.

Emperor Yu raised his eyes and stared at Posala: "These three thousand brave warriors are all powerful and loyal to you. If they are released, they may cause trouble. I need a reason."

Vasala said slowly, "Your Majesty, I know the place where the Demon of Lust is sealed. I will use this as an exchange to beg you to release the person."

"Oh?" Emperor Yu's words finally showed a hint of emotion. "The Demon of Lust is one of the seven ancient demons, and he contains a supreme inheritance of the Heavenly Dao. If the situation is true, I can naturally release him. Tell me, where is the place of the seal?"

Vasala said loudly, "Your Majesty, please release him first. I entered the palace alone, thus entrusting my life to your hands. If I have deceived you in the slightest, Your Majesty may kill me at any time."

Emperor Yu said calmly, "My word is as good as gold. You don't believe me? Very well, I will send word to release them right away!"

Vasala bowed slightly: "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Put him in the Heavenly Prison!" Emperor Yu said calmly.

"Yes!" Vasala was immediately taken away.

...

After Vasala left, the palace fell completely silent again. Han Yi said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the Holy Armor Sect has recently sent another batch of battle armor. Those who wear the armor can fly and escape into the ground, can withstand an attack from the leader of the Holy Land head-on, and can also join forces to attack and kill. With a full-force strike, even a cultivator at the Rainbow Transformation Realm can be killed."

"Indeed, the Holy Armor Sect lives up to its reputation as a sect specializing in crafting battle armor in the Upper Realm. However, the true strength of this batch of armor still needs further testing. My dear minister, you must quickly lead the Heavenly Dragon Guard to the Shennong Kingdom. I have just received news that Han Qing has found the sealing place of the Gluttonous Demon. We cannot wait any longer. If we are too late, this inheritance may fall into Han Qing's hands." Emperor Yu then instructed.

"Your Majesty, I obey your command. Rest assured, I will definitely stop Han Qing and seize the Gluttonous Demon's inheritance!" Han Yi shouted loudly as he strode out of the palace.

...

Shennong Kingdom.

Above the South China Sea, Han Qing and his companions hovered in the air, with a large abyss below, its dark waters slowly swirling.

"Is this the place where the Gluttonous Demon is sealed?" Yan Qiuling murmured, probing into it with her spiritual senses, only to find it unfathomably deep.

"Let's go, I'll take you inside to explore. Who knows what dangers lurk within?" Han Qing whispered, flipping his palm. A Taixu Treasure Tree, shimmering with silver light, swayed and shone on his hand. Then, the silver light enveloped the two of them, and with a whoosh, they fled into the sea abyss below.

Before long, the two arrived at the deepest part of the abyss. Drawn by a mysterious force, they were suddenly sucked in. With a dizzying sensation, they found themselves in a dark space surrounded by surging demonic energy.

This demonic energy was extremely strange, constantly gathering and transforming into all sorts of demons, baring their fangs and claws as they pounced on Han Qing and his companion.

Han Qing ignored it completely; the silver light on his body acted as a solid barrier, repelling all the demonic energy.

Han Qing closed his eyes slightly, calming himself to sense the direction of the demonic energy flow.

"Go, it's right ahead!"

After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and flew forward at high speed with Yan Qiuling, breaking through the surging demonic energy to create a path.

As the two ventured deeper, the demonic energy grew increasingly dense and powerful.

A moment.

The two arrived at the center of the plain, the place where demonic energy was most concentrated. Suddenly, they saw a tall stone tablet with golden ancient patterns on both its front and back sides, resembling tadpoles. They did not know the meaning of these patterns, but they could vaguely sense their mystery.

"Could this be the Primordial Ancient Seal?" Yan Qiuling's eyes swept up and down.

"There should be no mistake, this ancient seal exudes a profound pressure." As Han Qing spoke, he reached out and grabbed, and strands of silver light burst forth from his body, converging and condensing into a giant silver hand at the front, which then suddenly reached out and grabbed at the stone tablet.

Suddenly, the stone tablet trembled, and a surge of demonic energy rose into the sky.

Not only that, all the demonic energy that filled this area surged up, gathering towards the very center like a wave, and instantly condensing into a huge demonic shadow.

This demon was as fat as a small mountain, with purplish-black skin covered in demonic scales, sharp horns on its head, and a large mouth on its abdomen with interlocking fangs, from which flowed a nauseating, yellowish liquid. It was none other than the Gluttonous Demon.

"Now that you have encountered the Heavenly Demon, why not defeat him?"

The Gluttonous Demon stared intently at Han Qing and his companion with its pair of purplish-black eyes, its gaze flashing with a cold and cruel light. Its attitude was arrogant and contemptuous.

"You're nothing but a mere demon, suppressed under the Primordial Seal, barely clinging to life for tens of thousands of years, yet you still dare to be so arrogant. I've come today to annihilate you, you demon!" Han Qing sneered.

"I was born with heaven and earth, immortal and indestructible. You little brat, your skills are mediocre, but your words are arrogant. Even the Primordial Emperor could not kill me, so how could you? Very well, I need more flesh and blood to break through the seal, so I will devour you all!" The Gluttonous Demon suddenly made his move, and the huge mouth on his abdomen suddenly opened wide, bursting out with a shocking suction force.

Both Han and Qing were drawn by this immense force and were about to fly towards the giant mouth.

Moreover, Han Qing also felt that his spiritual power and blood energy were also surging violently, as if they were about to be forcibly extracted.

Han Qing dared not be careless and directly activated the Boundless Stele, raising his hand to unleash a Boundless Stele that reached the heavens.

The demon was clearly extremely wary of Han Qing's move. It immediately closed its large mouth in its abdomen, suddenly soared into the air, and dodged upwards.

But Wujie Tongtian had already locked onto him from afar, and immediately changed direction, launching another fierce attack on him.

"Demon Spirit Condensation!"

The demon suddenly let out a low roar, and the surging demonic energy around him converged and condensed into eighteen phantom images of a demon king, each bearing the exact same appearance as the Gluttonous Heavenly Demon. Then, these eighteen phantom images met the Boundless Heavenly Qi, and with a series of crackling explosions, the demonic phantom images collapsed and dissipated into the world.

However, with each illusory figure that collapses, the power of the Boundless Heavenly Qi is weakened.

When all eighteen illusory figures dissipated, the Boundless Heavenly Qi finally arrived in front of the Gluttonous Demon, only to be swallowed whole by its enormous belly.

Then, the Gluttonous Demon let out a hearty burp, and its aura suddenly intensified.

"Husband, be careful! This demon can devour the power of others to strengthen itself!" Yan Qiuling warned.

Han Qing nodded slightly: "Then let's kill him in one move!"

Han Qing unleashed his full power, mobilizing a massive amount of magical energy, while simultaneously activating the Boundless Stele and the True Spirit of the Void.

The True Spirit of the Void unleashed its power first, releasing a world projection that enveloped this area, like a cage, sealing the Gluttonous Demon within. Then, another Boundless Heavenly Qi shot out, striking the Gluttonous Demon at an extremely fast speed.

This time, he wanted to kill this demon in one fell swoop to prevent it from devouring his power and becoming stronger.

The Gluttonous Demon also had a solemn expression, and there was no longer any playfulness in his eyes. He felt that his body was bound and he could hardly move. He also felt a strong sense of life and death crisis.

Suddenly, demonic energy surged around him, and his body underwent a series of violent changes, expanding at an astonishing speed.

At first, its body was only a dozen feet long, like a small hill, but now, its body suddenly swelled up, doubling in size from a dozen feet to thirty feet, and its aura also increased dramatically.

That wasn't the end of it; the changes continued, its body continued to grow, changing eight times in an instant, growing eight times, for a total of nine times.

Previously, his body was a small hill, but now it has become a majestic mountain, weighing a thousand pounds, and its aura has reached an unprecedented peak.

He suddenly reached out with both hands and exerted force to both sides, directly tearing apart the world projection released by the True Spirit of the Void.

Then, he raised his hand and slapped forward, scattering the boundless, all-encompassing energy in mid-air.

Han Qing frowned. The Gluttonous Demon in this state was incredibly powerful. He felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. This was his strongest move, yet he still couldn't defeat it. He felt that no one in the world could possibly defeat this demon. The so-called Primordial Ancient Seal and the Gluttonous Demon's inheritance were just a trap, unless he was willing to join forces with Yu Huang, the Nine Yin Great Sage, and many other powerful figures.

Just as he was considering whether to leave, the Gluttonous Demon's body suddenly shrank, like a deflated balloon, and its strength also dropped rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it returned to its previous size and seemed to have fallen into a weakened state, even worse than before.

This gave Han Qing renewed hope of slaying the demon. He had felt something was amiss with what he had just witnessed. The demon's true form was sealed within the Primordial Ancient Seal, and because the seal had loosened, only a portion of its power had leaked out. How could it be so powerful? He guessed that the demon must have used some kind of forbidden technique to temporarily increase its combat power, which was unlikely to last.

As expected, the Gluttonous Demon roared in resentment, "If this ancient seal hadn't restricted my power, why would I need to use the Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Demon? I could have annihilated you with a single palm strike!"

Upon hearing this, Han Yi's heart stirred slightly. Could it be that in the ancient times, the Gluttonous Demon's body was already a thousand feet tall, and what he had just revealed was its inherent terrifying power?

"Just who exactly is the Primordial Emperor? Among the Seven Great Demons, the Gluttonous Demon's strength is only average. Yet, he was able to seal all seven of these demons by himself back then. His strength is truly unbelievable."

Han Qing pondered for a moment, then immediately launched a fierce attack. The Boundless Monument was activated, and a powerful Boundless Heavenly Qi blasted towards the Gluttonous Demon at an astonishing speed.

"Demon Emperor Fist!"

The Gluttonous Demon suddenly raised his hand forward and threw a punch. A surge of demonic energy burst forth from the tip of his fist, colliding with the Boundless Heavenly Qi in mid-air.

However, the destructive power of the two was not on the same level at all. This demonic energy suddenly collapsed, and the body of the Gluttonous Demon was directly pierced by the Boundless Monument, with a large hole pierced in its abdomen.

His body suddenly became extremely unstable, twisting and undulating, as if it would collapse at any moment.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred. Two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance to the abyss, none other than Young Master Qiu and Soul Lock, who had disappeared earlier.

As soon as Young Master Qiu appeared, he immediately threw out an ancient, dimly lit scroll and began to recite it in a low voice.

In an instant, runes shot out from the scroll, converging into a torrent that suddenly appeared before the Primordial Ancient Seal in front of it.

Then, the ancient seal trembled violently, and the tadpole-shaped ancient characters on it shone with golden light.

"It really worked!" Young Master Qiu's eyes lit up. He had heard that this ancient book was a personal letter from the Primordial Emperor, and it contained the Primordial Emperor's blood. It had actually awakened this ancient seal.

He could vaguely sense that there was a subtle connection between him and the ancient seal, as if he could mobilize the immense power contained within it.

"die!"

Suddenly, Young Master Qiu's face contorted into a ferocious expression. With a loud shout, he unleashed his immense power, attacking both Han Qing and the Gluttonous Demon simultaneously.

Two beams of intense light erupted from the ancient seal, suddenly splitting into two and striking out separately.

Han Qing reacted extremely quickly, immediately activating the Boundless Stele and the True Spirit of the Void to protect himself. Dark black light and silver light surged, condensing into two layers of shields around his body, blocking the golden light from the outside.

With a series of loud bangs, the two streams collided and annihilated each other, and finally, the golden light dissipated.

Meanwhile, the Gluttonous Demon beside him was not so powerful; its body was suddenly pierced and it was completely destroyed with an angry roar.

Although it was not the Gluttonous Demon himself who died, it was the one who had spent countless years gradually pouring his power into this ancient seal, accumulating such a force, only to have it completely destroyed now.

Seeing that his first move had failed, Young Master Qiu exerted his strength again. The mysterious power contained within the Primordial Ancient Seal was once again activated, and it suddenly shot out, heading towards Han Qing once more. This time, it was even more ferocious than before.

Han Qing frowned, his figure flashed, and he pounced directly on Young Master Qiu. The golden beam of light hit him again, but was blocked once more.

Young Master Qiu looked shocked. He hadn't expected that the power of the Primordial Ancient Seal posed no threat to Han Qing.

Seeing that Han Qing was about to charge at him, Young Master Qiu became anxious and suddenly shouted, "Soul Lock, make your move quickly!"

Suddenly, Soul Lock spat out a cloud of blood mist towards the token in his hand. The token suddenly shone brightly and, whoosh, transformed into a stream of light that shot into Soul Lock's brow.

Soul Lock first let out a miserable scream, then its eyes showed a struggle. After a while, the struggle gradually dissipated, turning into a cold and ruthless gaze. Its aura also rose rapidly, and a phantom appeared behind it. This phantom was dressed in a black robe, as heavy as a mountain, and unshakable.

"Greetings, Dao Ancestor!" Young Master Qiu bowed deeply to the illusory figure.

Han Qing's gaze also locked onto this illusory figure. At this moment, the Soul Lock gave him an extremely dangerous feeling, a deep and restrained calm, as if no powerful enemy, above or below, could shake it in the slightest. (End of this chapter)