May I seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and live a long and prosperous life.

Because the barbarian army was suffering repeated defeats.

Therefore, the barbarian leader sent an envoy to negotiate peace with Emperor Jingwu.

The terms of the peace agreement were that the barbarian leader would voluntarily relinquish the title of emperor and cede two cities in Qianzhou. The two sides would then divide the country into north and south, with Qianzhou as the boundary.

Emperor Jingwu directly ordered the execution of the barbarian envoys who came to negotiate peace, and declared to all officials that anyone who dared to advise peace would be executed.

When the barbarian leader saw that his envoy had been beheaded, he was furious and decided to stop negotiating peace. He then ordered the massacre of tens of thousands of people in Qianzhou.

Upon hearing of the barbarians' atrocities, Emperor Jingwu immediately ordered an attack on Qianzhou in an effort to annihilate the barbarians as soon as possible!

Two months later.

The Chu army and the barbarian army launched their largest field battle in the Qianzhou Plain.

Both sides mobilized their warriors, resulting in a fierce and brutal battle. Li Heng secretly observed the situation and then struck down two Grandmaster-level warriors, frightening the barbarian Grandmasters into fleeing in terror, no longer daring to engage in battle lightly.

It ended in a great victory for the Chu army.

In this battle, more than 20,000 enemy soldiers were killed and more than 5,000 were captured. The Chu army suffered 6,000 dead and more than 3,000 wounded, which can be described as a great victory!

The barbarian leader led the remaining troops in a hasty retreat northward.

The entire territory of Qianzhou was successfully recovered by the Chu army.

This time, the barbarian army retreated in haste and did not have time to order the massacre of the people of Qianzhou. They could only set fire to a few cities.

When the people of Qianzhou saw the Chu army, they all brought food and drink to welcome the royal army.

……

Another six months later.

The Chu army successfully recaptured the capital. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the barbarian leader fled the pass in panic after leaving behind more than 10,000 corpses.

After resting in Kyoto for half a month, Emperor Jingwu ordered the army to leave the pass and recover the two prefectures outside the pass, namely Huangzhou and Hanzhou.

Li Heng naturally followed the army out of the pass.

A month later, Huangzhou was successfully recovered, and the army continued its northward advance to attack Hanzhou.

Twenty days later, the Chu army, filled with high morale and anger, swept through the three cities of Hanzhou in succession.

The three cities of Hanzhou were no exception; they were all slaughtered by the barbarians.

Blood congealed into dark brown patches, covering the entire city; severed limbs, bits of flesh, and stark white bones were scattered everywhere.

Emperor Jingwu ordered that all the remains of the victims be collected, cremated, and a monument be erected in their honor.

Li Heng remained silent. War is cruel; it's either you die or I die.

After recovering the two prefectures outside the pass, Emperor Jingwu still did not withdraw his troops. He wanted to fight all the way to the barbarian stronghold and completely annihilate the barbarians.

……

Beyond the pass, in the ancestral temple of the barbarians, there is a tall hall built of huge stones.

The leader of the Xing Kingdom, accompanied by a group of trusted followers, arrived outside the main hall, knelt down, and respectfully addressed the tent: "Ancestor, you have advanced to the Celestial Realm. The Chu army is approaching, and our people are facing the danger of annihilation. Please emerge from seclusion and lead us to defeat the enemy!"

After a long while, an old sigh came from inside the hall.

"Sigh, you should go back. If I were still at the Grandmaster level, I might have been able to lend you a hand. Unfortunately, I have advanced to the Celestial Realm. The Celestial Realm and the Grandmaster Realm are two completely different realms. In fact, you and I are no longer the same kind of beings."

Ever since I broke through to the Celestial Realm, I have been bound by some unseen constraint, one of which is that I must not interfere with the mortal world or kill mortals, otherwise I will be punished by heaven. Therefore, I cannot help you. Moreover, I have severed my ties with the mortal world. From now on, I will focus on seeking the Dao, and the rise and fall of my clan will be none of my concern.

No race is invincible, nor is any dynasty invincible. One day, dust to dust, ashes to ashes, everything will cease to exist.

Furthermore, don't underestimate the Chu people. I was able to advance to the Celestial Realm, so surely their clan has no Celestial Realm experts? As far as I know, the Chu Kingdom currently has at least two Celestial Realm experts. If Celestial Realm experts were to interfere in the mortal world, our clan might be wiped out even faster. Those two are also my fellow Daoists, and we have already agreed to travel together to the overseas immortal islands.

Just as the barbarian chieftain was about to try to persuade him again, a sudden gale arose, and the weather around the world changed drastically.

Two extremely powerful invisible energy fluctuations filled the area around the barbarian leader, pressing down on all the barbarians present so that they could not lift their heads.

Two figures suddenly appeared in the sky above the main hall.

One of them was a Taoist priest wearing a green robe, with his black hair coiled into a bun and a wooden hairpin inserted in the bun. He had an old face and was holding a whisk in his hand.

The other was a middle-aged man wearing a purple robe, with white hair tied up in a crown, a thin face, and a long sword stuck in his back.

The two men looked at the group of barbarians kneeling outside the main hall with disdain and disgust. Then one of them transmitted his voice into the hall, saying, "Fellow Daoist Jin, it's about time. We should set off."

A voice immediately came from inside the hall: "Fellow Daoists, please wait a moment, I, Jin, will be right out."

"You should all go back quickly, don't waste your time here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind rushed out of the hall, blowing all the barbarians outside the hall far away.

After a short while, an elderly man with a broad face and white hair, dressed in a golden robe, came out carrying a large black sword.

"Fellow Daoist Jin, the weather is fine today. The overseas immortal masters have given us one year to set off. Time is running out, so let's go now."

"Sigh, to be honest, I'm really a little reluctant to leave. From now on, this mortal world will no longer be relevant to us!"

"Who can argue with that? But the mortal realm doesn't allow experts at the Celestial Realm to linger. Once they break through, the overseas immortal masters will sense it, and they must leave the mortal realm within a year. This is an ironclad rule that cannot be violated."

"Let's go, let's talk as we fly, don't keep the immortal masters from the overseas immortal islands waiting!"

……

Emperor Jingwu led 100,000 elite troops northward, sweeping through the barbarian strongholds and capturing all the barbarian tribesmen along the way.

A month later, the Chu army marched directly into the ancestral home of the barbarians.

The barbarian chieftains were killed in the war, and almost all the barbarian generals were wiped out.

More than 10,000 barbarian soldiers were killed in battle, and the remaining 30,000 were captured.

The ancestral temple was destroyed by Emperor Jingwu to avenge the previous attack on the capital that forced Emperor Xiangqing to commit suicide.

After the war ended, Emperor Jingwu ordered the massacre of all the surrendered barbarian soldiers. Barbarian royal and noble men were all enslaved, and royal and noble women were forced into prostitution.

Subsequently, Emperor Jingwu ordered all the barbarian people to be dispersed and exiled to the northwest to do hard labor.

All the barbarian warriors were stripped of their martial arts skills and reduced to slavery.

Emperor Jingwu incorporated all the lands of the barbarians into the territory of the Chu state and ordered a large number of Chu people from within the pass to settle there.

Wu Gui, the former garrison commander of Yulong Pass, was ordered by Emperor Jingwu to be executed by slow slicing.

After dealing with all these matters, Emperor Jingwu led his army back to the capital.

Li Heng also arrived in the capital with the army.

This was his first time visiting the capital of Chu, and he settled down in a secluded courtyard.

When he has free time, he reads and writes, especially medical books, which he believes can help cure diseases and save lives.