I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

On the border of Qingzhou, loess dust rolls in.

The Heavenly Inspector of the Great Yu Dynasty sat high in a palanquin carried by eight men, surrounded by three thousand heavily armed and clad Imperial Guards of the Divine Martial Camp. With halberds like a forest and banners obscuring the sky, this elite force, representing one of the highest military powers of the Great Yu Dynasty, originally entered Qingzhou territory with the murderous aura of suppressing rebellions.

According to the inspector and the two royal attendants accompanying him, with over a hundred old cases resurfacing in Qingzhou, coupled with the defection of the remnants of the Demon Suppression Bureau, Qingzhou must now be a hellish place filled with demonic energy and starving corpses. They were even prepared to use the lives of the Imperial Guards to forcefully fill the demon caves.

However, as this massive imperial army ventured deeper into Qingzhou, what the inspector saw and heard along the way made his face grow increasingly grim, and he even felt an uncontrollable chill.

There were no mountains of corpses or seas of blood as expected, nor were there any rampant demons blocking the way.

The official roads along the way, which had been cut off for decades, were not only thoroughly cleaned, but were even solidified by some unknown force to be as smooth as a whetstone. Outside the villages and towns along the roadside, the disaster victims did not turn into bandits as usual, but lined up in an extremely orderly manner to receive medicine in front of the white medicine sheds and food in front of the soup kitchens. The local militia and remnants of the Demon Suppression Bureau, who should have fled long ago, were now wearing neat leather armor and maintaining order on the streets with high spirits.

What terrified the inspector most was that in every county and major town he passed through, there stood a majestic, dark gold statue of a god. The people of Dayu, including some low-ranking officials, were spontaneously kneeling before the statue, offering their most devout incense and worship.

Qingzhou was spared the devastation caused by the rebellion. On the contrary, the stability, vitality, and order that this land displayed at this moment were ten times better than those of Zhongzhou, which was under the jurisdiction of the Emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty!

"You scoundrels... a bunch of ungrateful scoundrels!" The inspector gripped the sedan chair's armrests tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He absolutely could not admit that Qingzhou had been saved by this foreign force. If this were true, the legitimacy of the Great Yu Dynasty's rule over the past centuries would be completely undermined. He could only cling to one excuse: "A heretical cult is misleading the masses! This is absolutely some kind of sorcery by demons, attempting to overthrow the Great Yu Dynasty!"

"Order the entire army to march straight to Qingzhou Prefecture! Capture the king first to defeat the enemy!"

……

Central Square of Qingzhou Prefecture.

The towering statue of Gu Qing, reaching tens of feet high, pierced the clouds. Dark golden array patterns shimmered on the base as if breathing, firmly connected to the earth veins deep within Qingzhou.

In front of the square, three thousand imperial guards of the Divine Martial Camp stood in formation, their swords and spears drawn, exuding a murderous aura.

Beneath the statue, Han Zhao, Shen Yanqiu, Xu Chenzhou, and several high-ranking members of the Earth Legion stood side by side, coldly watching the arrogant imperial army.

Surrounded by a group of imperial guards, the inspector stepped forward, unfurling the bright yellow imperial edict in his hand. His attitude was extremely arrogant, but if you listened carefully, you could actually hear a hint of weakness in his voice that he himself was unaware of, because the impenetrable situation in Qingzhou had long exceeded his understanding.

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees!"

"Shen Yanqiu, commander of the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division, has colluded with foreign enemies and privately established an evil god. His crimes are tantamount to treason. He is hereby dismissed from his post and imprisoned in the Imperial Capital!"

"Disarm any heretics and demons in the streets immediately! Demolish all evil god statues in the city at once! Hand over all weapons, provisions, and medicines of unknown origin, as well as the 'Complete Record of Old Cases of Evil Spirits in Qingzhou,' to the imperial court for safekeeping by this envoy!"

"Shen Yanqiu, come and face your death! You heretical cultists, if you dare to disobey the imperial decree, the Divine Martial Camp army will trample you into mincemeat today!"

The inspector's shrill voice echoed across the square.

Han Zhao, upon hearing this arrogant and prejudiced decree, didn't even raise an eyelid. He merely took a step forward, looked at the high-ranking inspector, and asked an extremely piercing question:

"Last night, over a hundred old cases erupted simultaneously in Qingzhou, threatening to wipe out the entire city's population. Where was the imperial court then?"

The inspector's face flushed crimson, and he jumped up and down like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shouting angrily, "Insolence! Both thunder and rain are acts of imperial favor, and the court has its own laws. How dare you rebels try to argue your way out of this! Seize him!"

Han Zhao didn't look at him again, but said calmly:

"What can I do if I say no?"

As Han Zhao finished speaking, the inspector, enraged, swung his command flag: "Divine Martial Battalion! Charge! Death or life!"

The three thousand Imperial Guards roared in unison, their armor clanging as they charged towards the statue like a black torrent of steel. By the standards of the First Realm, this was indeed a rare elite force; their combined might was enough to make ordinary demons and monsters retreat in fear.

But the Earth Legion had no interest in playing along with this battle of the cold weapon era.

"Tactical link activated, execute minimum casualty suppression plan." Zhou Lan's cold voice rang out in the channel.

The next second, a true civilization-level system of overwhelming power descended.

"Boom!"

The Imperial Guards had barely taken fifty steps in their charge when one hundred and eight dazzling array pillars of light suddenly rose from the ground surrounding the plaza. The Earth's array master legion had immediately deployed a high-level confinement barrier, completely locking down the entire plaza.

A chilling sword cry rang out in the sky.

Dozens of Golden Core sword cultivators descended from the sky, directly setting up a massive "Ten Thousand Swords Pressing Down Formation" above the Imperial Guards. The terrifying sword intent was like Mount Tai pressing down, instantly suppressing the charge of the three thousand Imperial Guards. The heavy infantry in the front row were even forced to kneel on the bluestone slabs by the pressure of the sword force.

"Clang—"

It's unclear who was the first to succumb to the despairing dimensional pressure and throw down their spear.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of weapons hitting the ground echoed across the square like dominoes.

In a mere quarter of an hour, without a bloodbath or a scene of carnage, three thousand renowned Imperial Guards of the Great Yu were completely disarmed, with only a handful of casualties.

Seeing the Imperial Guard crumble in an instant, the Inspector collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.

"You audacious scoundrel! How dare you presume that there is no one capable of ruling Great Yu!"

Two loud shouts rang out from behind the inspector. The two royal attendants accompanying him could no longer stand idly by and watch the army be annihilated.

These two elders, both at the late Golden Core stage, were considered high-level combatants who could suppress their respective regions within the Great Yu Dynasty. One cultivated an extremely domineering and brutal sword path, while the other cultivated a method that connected with the dynasty's ley lines to ensure its survival and prosperity!

"You brat, prepare to die!"

The swordsman, having merged with his sword, transformed into a terrifying sword beam tens of feet long, which struck directly at Han Zhao and the base of the statue.

"Xu Chenzhou." Han Zhao didn't even turn his head.

"Clang!"

Xu Chenzhou took a step forward, drawing his old iron sword. He not only possessed fully unsealed cultivation, but was also now empowered by a sword formation formed by dozens of Golden Core sword cultivators from Earth behind him.

This is the power of a system!

With his first sword strike, Xu Chenzhou precisely targeted the weakest point of the sword energy offered by the royal family, deflecting its killing intent!

The second sword strike, with its light as sharp as a bolt of lightning, annihilated the protective aura surrounding the body!

When Xu Chenzhou unleashed his third strike, a crisp "crack" resounded. The natal spirit sword, which had been enshrined for a century and was known for its ability to cut through iron like mud, was cleanly cleaved in two by the old iron sword.

As the sword intent entered his body, the Sword Master coughed up a mouthful of blood and flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily at the feet of the Inspector. His fate was unknown.

Meanwhile, the worshipper who practiced the Qi Luck Technique stood in place with disheveled hair, frantically forming hand seals, trying to summon the golden dragon of the dynasty's Qi Luck beneath Qingzhou Prefecture, and use the orthodox laws of the Great Yu Dynasty to counter the array patterns on the statue.

However, he discovered to his despair that the land veins of Qingzhou seemed to have been completely taken over by a different master. His calls for divine intervention were like a stone thrown into the sea, receiving no response whatsoever—the land veins of Qingzhou had long since been taken over! His cries were utterly unanswered!

"Times have changed, old man."