Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Zhang Ruoxue noticed that his eyes... were tinged with the flames of jealousy.

But in the blink of an eye, that jealousy... transformed into a chilling killing intent towards himself.

"So--"

As if he were looking forward to it, Lü Chonghou shook his hand and a sinister smile appeared on his lips.

The demonic energy within him surged forth, and at the same time, the army of corpse puppets of the Guardian Army standing behind him gradually became tainted by the extremely dense demonic energy around them, their forms becoming increasingly distorted.

He gazed at Zhang Ruoxue in front of him and licked his lips.

"Let's start with you—my army."

20. You are my threat

at the same time.

Broken Wood City.

Dark clouds loomed overhead, and a chilling wind rose from all sides.

With each step the 20,000-strong demon army took forward, darkness spread across the sky, and the cold air was filled with oppressive evil energy.

Shatterwood City—an ordinary city that was not particularly magnificent to begin with—at this moment, in this intense cold and darkness, resembled a frail, withered flower.

Swaying violently in the wind, the delicate flowers and leaves could be crushed by the wind at any moment and wither away in the cold.

And those who guard this withered flower, in the end, are nothing more than people who futilely resist with their weak and powerless bodies.

It's like a praying mantis brandishing its claws at a black bear.

Hundreds of elite Guardian Army soldiers stood before the towering city, holding magical weapons, their faces grim. They were arranged in a perfectly trained formation, their eyes fixed on the seemingly endless darkness before them.

They are the last guardians of Shattered Wood.

But they didn't know that they might also be the last guardians of the Lantian Empire.

And the leader of the Watchers—

With a wave of his hand, his red robe billowed in the strong wind. The man with black hair and black eyes, carrying a heavy black sword, stood at the very front of the formation, showing no sorrow, joy, fear, or alarm. He held the sword horizontally, and the faint light reflected off the blade illuminated his cold and handsome features.

His fearless gaze fell upon the demonic army that was already besieging the city. The army was a dark mass, and his vision was filled with surging demonic energy. Thick black smoke filled Fang Yan's pupils.

Indeed, if it were only 20,000 Demon Dynasty troops, Fang Yan wouldn't take them particularly seriously.

He had commanded many battles against the nearly 100,000-strong army of the Demon Dynasty, and his win rate was extremely high. He had almost never been defeated. Even if he was, he would only retreat after taking a large chunk of the enemy's flesh.

However, that was under his command with a full complement of the Guardian Army, and with the assistance of tens of thousands of imperial soldiers.

What now?

Nothing.

There are only seven hundred cultivators in the entire Broken Wood City who are capable of fighting.

Seven hundred against twenty thousand?

That difference in numbers is something no one could withstand.

But Fang Yan knew he had to hold on.

This is a battle we cannot afford to lose.

Facing the darkness, facing the darkness that was rolling towards him like a chariot—

Fang Yan's expression remained unchanged. He stood with his sword in his right hand, in front of Broken Wood City, in front of the 20,000-strong Demon Dynasty army, and even in front of his hundreds of subordinates.

That majestic figure was the only light illuminating the darkness.

"We won't die here."

As a general, his voice was loud and powerful, like a great bell.

Fang Yan's words echoed in the ears of every member of the Guardian Army. They were the words of their general, and they would follow the orders of their entire lives.

A torrent of spiritual energy surged from the body of this guardian general, and ancient sword patterns appeared one after another on the blade of his jet-black longsword, the radiance of which illuminated the entire area in an instant.

"The Guardian Army has never been defeated. From the moment we were founded, unless death separates us from victory or defeat, we will always be the victors."

Faced with an overwhelming disparity in troop strength, Fang Yan seemed to disregard the 20,000-strong Demon Dynasty army, and his words appeared to be a declaration of victory.

"To live is to win! To live is to lose! As long as the Guardian Army exists, even if there is only one person left, the Guardian Army will still exist in the world, and the Lantian Empire will not fall."

"Therefore, in this battle! As your general, I have only one order to give you—"

"That means survival!"

"Live as citizens of the Lantian Empire, live as soldiers of the Lantian Guard, live as yourselves!"

"Survival is victory!"

With a long sword held horizontally, Fang Yan was swept by a whirlwind, and golden light suddenly shone from his body. At this moment, Fang Yan's aura reached an unparalleled peak, and the domineering aura of an emperor burst out from his tall figure.

Fang Yan's expression turned slightly cold as he pointed his sharp longsword at the Demon Dynasty army surging forward like a black tide.

"Strive to survive, soldiers."

These words were spoken.

The general, who led from the front, transformed into an invincible golden light. Fearless, he charged into the extreme darkness as a general protecting the country.

at the same time.

How could the hundreds of Guardian Soldiers behind him disobey their general's orders? In this battle, what they needed to think about was not how many enemies to kill, but how to survive the Black Tide's attack.

As long as they survive, that is their victory.

Fang Yan knew this all too well.

Once those thousand reinforcements arrive, the situation will reverse. The elite Hulan Army will not take the mere twenty thousand Demon Dynasty troops seriously!

Yes, as long as we hold out until those thousand reinforcements arrive...

As the commander of the Demon Dynasty army—the owner of that frail and slender figure—Demon General Wang Xiaomo faced the hundreds of Guardian Soldiers rushing towards him with an indifferent expression. He showed no contempt or mockery, but he did not take them seriously at all.

She simply held the massive, black axe, its sharp blade pointing forward, and coldly uttered a single word:

"kill."

The word "kill" is uttered, and the intent to kill arises.

A chilling killing intent suddenly swept across the entire area. Every demonic cultivator present had taken the lives of no less than a thousand people. In their eyes, human lives were just numbers, and human blood was just food for cultivation. The killing intent that surged from them was, in the absolute sense, a pure desire to kill.

This is extremely terrifying, even more terrifying than the morale that the Guardian Army has displayed!

In an instant, the dark waves mingled with the tiny specks of starlight, and endless sounds of battle echoed across the battlefield.

"..."

There were far too many soldiers rushing towards the demonic cultivators from the side, and far too many were seriously injured under the demonic cultivators' siege.

The clash between two vastly unequal armies seemed to hold no interest for him whatsoever.

The white-haired boy named Gu Xingzhuo kept his eyes fixed on the person in front of him the whole time.

The girl who once came from Hanyu Village, standing in front of him, now pointed her enormous axe blade at Gu Xingzhuo.

"We meet again..."

Gu Xingzhu smiled bitterly.

All around him were the sounds of clashing weapons and the explosions of spiritual energy colliding with demonic energy, yet Gu Xingzhuo's words reached Wang Xiaomo's ears without missing a single one.

A look of confusion flashed across her delicate face as she looked at Gu Xingzhuo, as if she were recalling something.

"You are the... strange person from before."

"Yes, a strange person."

"You know me?"

“I know you…you should have known me too.”

"I do not remember."

"It's not exactly a particularly good memory."

"Yes, I think so too."

Wang Xiaomo nodded, his left hand inexplicably clutching his heart, which had long since stopped beating. He frowned, staring at Gu Xingzhuo with a bewildered expression.

Just looking at that face gave her an extremely strange feeling.

A feeling I've never experienced before.

It made her feel weak in her limbs, made her feel dizzy, and even gave her the feeling that her long-dormant heart was about to beat again.

A little sad, a little painful, a little joyful, a little excited, a little dull.

Since she woke up, Wang Xiaomo has lost everything. She only remembers her name, but has forgotten everything else.

She didn't even understand what happiness or sadness was... She envied those who had emotions, so every time she was a demon general and followed the demon lord's orders to kill and destroy cities, she would always leave a few people behind at the end.

Then try to find ways to feel the emotions you crave from them.

She killed many people, and when she was about to kill someone, she suddenly told that she would not kill him, thus gaining a kind of pleasure.

To kill someone's family or loved one in front of others, and thus experience grief and pain.

He manipulated someone's limbs to make him kill his own child, and then felt guilty and desperate.

Many, many more...

She received a lot of affection from others.

Family, friendship...

They were about to find love, but it was interrupted.

The feeling that was now emerging made Wang Xiaomo feel terrible.

It was so bad that she felt she had to find a way to erase this inexplicable feeling.

Before this—

Do you know me well from the past?