Shi Xuan and the others were busy with the process of cultivation and spirit forging learning, and they didn't have the slightest leisure these days, Shi Xuan often instructed Zhao Zhuo to practice the Red Soul Spear Spirit Skill he had just obtained, this Spirit Skill was not much weaker than Shi Xuan's Explosive Flame Slash, and it was also able to get the bonus of the Fire Spirit.

Under Shi Xuan's guidance, Zhao Zhuo can be regarded as making rapid progress, he has been fighting well in the martial arts arena in the past two days, and when the other disciples return, Zhao Zhuo wants to enter the ranking battle to test his recent cultivation.

The Great Secret Realm finally ushered in the closed day, feeling the huge force of repulsion, the disciples inside walked out of the Great Secret Realm one after another, and Shi Xuan and the others ran to the entrance early to wait.

At this moment, the glow at the entrance of the Great Secret Realm is slowly converging, this is a sign of closure, and the disciples inside will be subjected to a strange rejection, if they don't come out at this moment, they will be trapped in the Great Secret Realm for a year like Shi Xuan and the others, if there is no life-saving means or luck, it may be dangerous.

All the disciples didn't dare to slack off, and rushed to the exit, Shi Xuan watched a large number of new and old disciples walk out of the secret realm back and forth, most of them had smiles on their faces, obviously they had gained a lot, and there were also some disciples who were discouraged, obviously not very lucky.

Many people are chatting bustlingly, some are telling strange experiences, some are talking about battle scenes, and some are envious of others who have obtained the legendary soul crystal, and their strength has greatly improved.

Zhao Zhuo said to Shi Xuan: "It seems that this year's harvest is really good, these disciples are very happy, and the harvest is not bad if you want to come."

"They're okay, I'm only worried about the master them", Shi Xuan and the three of them have been in it for a year, so they naturally know what the risk of the first layer is, but they haven't even found the entrance to the second layer, and they don't know what the situation is.

At this time, two familiar figures appeared, Dai Mengli and Lin Zixu walked out with calm faces, Shi Xuan and the two took the initiative to step forward to say hello, "Congratulations to Senior Brother Lin and Senior Sister Dai for further improving their strength", Shi Xuan naturally noticed that their strength had greatly improved.

"You're not bad, it's only been a few days, and I feel that your strength has improved again," Dai Mengli said.

"This year can be regarded as a bumper harvest for Tianhua Sect, I heard that many teams have obtained a lot of soul crystals, and their strength has improved a lot," Lin Zixu said.

"I don't know what the master is like to them," Shi Xuan asked.

"This time, a teleportation circle appeared in the center of the secret realm, and it was from there that the masters entered the second layer, and with their veteran experience, it is not a big deal," Lin Zixu said.

Shi Xuan relieved his mind at this time, and at this time, a special figure appeared, it was really Su Cheng who was bathed in holy light, and at this moment he was followed by a group of people with good strength, and these people all admired his strength and followed him around.

"Such a powerful power of holy light, even if I train my Red Soul Spear to the top, I will not be his opponent", Zhao Zhuo looked at this confident young man.

"Senior Brother Su Cheng seems to have gained a lot, and even I find his breath a little interesting", Lin Zixu also looked at this junior brother.

"The power of holy light is rare in the world, powerful and domineering, and difficult for ordinary people to match", Dai Mengli's evaluation of him is also extremely high.

At this time, Su Cheng also walked over, "I have seen Senior Brother Lin, Senior Sister Dai and two senior brothers", Su Cheng took the initiative to say hello.

"Congratulations to my junior brother for making rapid progress," Dai Mengli said.

"I didn't expect Senior Brother Shi Xuan to survive in such a dangerous environment for a year, it's really amazing, Su Cheng also wants to learn from Senior Brother in the future", Su Cheng looked at the calm Shi Xuan confidently and said.

"Since Senior Brother Su has the heart to learn, there will naturally be opportunities in the future, and Shi Xuan will naturally do his best to accompany him."

After greeting each other, several people waited for the return of the masters, and waited for a long time, until most of the disciples had already come out and were nowhere to be seen, "This seal is about to be closed, why haven't they come out yet?" Zhao Zhuo was also a little anxious.

Even the two elders who were in charge of opening the secret realm were a little worried, no matter how slowly the seal was closed, they would not have the ability to open the entrance.

Just as a few people were anxiously waiting, the powerful aura of the drumming came out, and it was the master who led the many elders to return.

"It's the palm that taught them, and they're back", Zhao Zhuo relieved himself.

Dai Mengli happily ran over: "Dad, are you injured?" Dai Mengli looked at Dai Tiande, who was a little haggard.

"It's okay, the battle with the Tianbao Divine Beast before consumed the true yuan, I can't sleep and is weak, it's good to rest for a while, this time we came out late because of some things in the Great Secret Realm, so I worried you, let's go back", Dai Tiande said.

Shi Xuan and Zhao Zhuo also walked to Du Chunhua's side and said, "Welcome to the safe return of the master", Du Chunhua was also full of smiles when he saw the two of them return safely, and the disciples of the Spirit Forging Hall had not seen his smiling face for a long time.

"It's okay if you two are fine, all the brothers are worried about you", Du Chunhua finally got rid of the knot.

With the closure of the Great Secret Realm, all the peak cultivation returned to the right path, the furnace in the mountain behind the Spirit Forging Hall once again radiated brilliance, the sound of steel crashing was endless, the crisis of the four empires had not yet been resolved, and the Tianhua Sect would still have to send a large number of disciples out to carry out the mission in the near future. The task of their Spirit Forging Hall is also heavy, and batches of orders are constantly being sent.

Now it is late autumn, on the vast continent, where there is no war, there are tense harvesting of grain, but the civilians are not happy to look at the golden yellow all over the ground, they know that these golden grains will soon be expropriated by the state, and they can only leave a small amount of grain to live hard.

Compared to the civilians who were able to harvest, the refugees were far more miserable, they were uprooted from their homes, unable to farm, and had to rely on handouts or work as coolies for large families to beg for food, and many were left to bury their bones in the wilderness, and no one cared about them.

Two lonely figures walked in some towns around Dark Night City, most of the places they walked through have been recovered by Zhao Yu, the defender of Yecheng, at this moment some villagers have come back to live, but many places have been flooded by the previous flood, everywhere is barren, the people here can only dig wild vegetables, eat tree roots, life is miserable.

"Brother, they are so pitiful, the three-year-old child is so hungry, and he doesn't know how long the war will last", Han Yunxi followed behind his eldest brother Han Yunyi.

"Our mainland rangers can only do their own meager efforts, the rest depends on the next situation, I hope the four empires can resist their attacks, end the war as soon as possible, and let the people recuperate", sixteen or seventeen-year-old Han Yunyi has matured and stabilized a lot over the years, as long as he is by his side, the girl behind him has never felt afraid, they have traveled to many places on the mainland over the years, and they have been used to wandering for their home.

Han Yunxi is a cheerful girl, she and her brother have experienced a lot of hardships over the years, and have seen too much darkness, even so, she still maintains the innocence and romance of a little girl, and her existence also lets this big brother know that he can't fall, and he has a beloved sister to protect.

After wandering for so many years, thanks to the mainland rangers who took them in, wore their cultivation skills, and taught them to be chivalrous and righteous, they have been moving forward for a noble goal all these years.

Wherever there is war, they go there, their existence maintains the rare justice in the world, even in the darkest of the world, they also ignite a glimmer of justice.

"I heard that the defender of the Dark Night City has been replaced by Liang Ming, this person has suffered a defeat, and is staying in the city to accumulate strength and prepare to attack again", Han Yunxi said.

"After Zhao Yunai, the defender of Yecheng, is a famous general, he will not fall easily in Yecheng, Liang Ming has no real material, and he should be able to withstand it," Han Yunyi said.

"Brother, what do you think of Tianhua Sect?" Han Yunxi walked up to his brother and asked.

"Tianhua Sect has a long heritage, its strength is unfathomable, the ten peak masters are all strong people above the Spirit Realm, and they have an unshakable position on the Southwest Road, and they have made a lot of contributions to the successful defense of Yecheng," Han Yunyi said.

"What about the Moon Worship Sect, this mysterious sect that we haven't learned about for so many years?"

"This Moon Worship Sect heard that the inheritance is the oldest sect in all the southwest continents, thousands of years after a sudden retreat, it only returned again decades ago, their disciples are extremely mysterious, and it is normal for us not to be able to touch them, but I heard that their head of the sect Yi Zhouyang This person is a god stick, believes in gods, and is extremely strong, more than ten years ago, he had a brief fight with the former head of the Tianhua Sect and did not fall behind, and no one has seen him do it all these years", Han Yunyi also knows very little about this person.

"I heard that the Moon Worship Sect has been secretly supporting the Danyang Empire to wage war on the mainland, and I don't know why?" Han Yunxi couldn't figure it out.

"We don't know about this kind of game between transcendent things, but there is definitely no good thing, and it will be extremely cautious to meet the disciples of the Moon Worship Sect in the future", Han Yunyi didn't want to have anything to do with them.

"Then brother, do you have any plans for the future, or will we just keep wandering?" Han Yunxi's words pierced his heart, if there is a stable place, who wants to wander all his life and drift with the wind, everyone has their own helplessness.

"Let's talk about it in the future, we are now a ranger, we have too many things to do, and we will make other plans when the world settles down in the future", Han Yunyi comforted, in fact, he also understood that she was indeed a little tired of the duckweed-like life over the years, and they were facing beatings and killings all the time over the years, and they were burdened with a lot of pressure that should not be at this age.

The two lonely figures gradually walked into the distance......

On the star-picking platform of the Moon Worship Sect, Yi Zhouyang is still evolving the heavens, the stars are unpredictable, and a strange star map appears, indicating many possible futures.

"Sect Master, the Danyang Empire has been cultivating for so long, and now that the autumn harvest has arrived, it's time to urge the next step," the old man said.

Yi Zhouyang's eyes flashed with starlight, and then he deduced the sky for no reason, at this time, a divine thunder roared down and bombarded towards the star-picking platform, the power was monstrous, Yi Zhouyang was shocked, and he shot with all his strength to block the heavenly punishment.

The endless power of the stars propped up the huge defensive barrier, and the terrifying explosion directly knocked the two to the ground, and the old man spat out a mouthful of old blood.

Yi Zhouyang was only a little embarrassed, the old man was miserable, his whole body convulsed and ached, and Yi Zhouyang continued to output spiritual power to him.

"The sect master is so dangerous, your deduction just now angered the gods, this is the punishment of the gods, it is better to be careful, there are some forbidden areas that cannot be deduced", the old man persuaded.

"My gods, why are you still so wary of me? I just want to see my future clearly, why do you incur such punishment? I have served you for so many years without merit and hard work, is it true that the gods are hard-hearted?" Yi Zhouyang was unwilling.

"The sect master should be cautious, and never disobey the will of the gods, our lowly servants are not worthy of mention in front of the gods", the old man was in awe, this was not the first time they had been punished by the gods.

In the Danyang Empire, in the imperial city, there is still singing and dancing, Emperor Jiang Bingkun is still eating, drinking and enjoying himself, at this moment he is urging the household department to urgently send officers and soldiers to various places to collect grain taxes, and at this moment he is preparing for war for the next military operation.

A steady stream of grain and grass was transported from villages and towns to the Imperial Grain Depots for storage, and groups of young children of fifteen or sixteen years old were forcibly brought into the barracks, and a new round of military expansion was really brewing.

The Shadow Moon Fortress is still the same as before, the Shadow Moon King is still leisurely every day, eating, drinking, and merrymaking, and the Shadow Tiger Scouts are not worried about them when they see it.

However, in the deep mountains of the Shadow Moon Fiefdom, the new army, which has always been powerful, has basically taken shape, and the real Shadow Moon King has already come here to train soldiers intensely.

The resistance within the empire has never stopped, and the bloody slaughter of the Shadow Tigers has not killed them all, but has become more active these days.

However, this huge dark empire after expansion is still rising, whether it is army, food, grass, or ordnance far more than the sum of the four countries, which is also his domination of the Central Plains.

The starving camels are bigger than the horses, their strength is still not something that several other empires can shake, and the initiative of the war is firmly in Jiang Bingkun's hands, whether to fight or stop, it is completely up to him.

Today, both sides of the war are trying to gather all the supplies that can guarantee victory in the war, from food and ordnance to young soldiers and many other resources.

Spirit saltpeter, a cherished spiritual material, is extremely rare on the mainland, and occasionally some can be mined, this kind of violent spiritual material can be made into a terrifying arcane **, the power is huge, if it is used on a large scale on the battlefield, it will definitely be able to play a huge role.

This powerful arcane** was inadvertently created by an alchemist, and its power is amazing, but people have been searching for the mines of spirit saltpeter for countless years, but they have all failed, and occasionally they can find some, but the meager amount cannot be used in war at all.

However, things have changed, and a mysterious force of the Danyang Empire has made a huge discovery in the distant Beicang Mountain Range, which is located between the north of the Southwest Continent and Zhongzhou, with an insurmountable mountain range that stretches for thousands of miles, where it is inaccessible and full of demonic beasts, and belongs to the barren and borderless land.

In order to collect a lot of war materials, the Danyang Empire specially sent a mysterious peak force to search for many spiritual material mines in the world, specifically serving the imperial war.

Just a few days ago, after a major earthquake collapsed, a large mountain collapsed, burying some Imperial soldiers, but they also suddenly found a strategic weapon that can change the pattern of war.

This mysterious unit sent the sample back to the Danyang Empire overnight and brought back the map.

At this moment, in the imperial city of the Danyang Empire, the ministers of military and political affairs were urgently summoned, and Jiang Bingkun was full of smiles on his face at the moment.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty, our army has successfully found a huge deposit of spirit saltpeter for Your Majesty, these spiritual materials can be refined by alchemists into the world's most powerful arcane **, once put into the battlefield, the enemy is unstoppable, I heard that the arcane ** is difficult for even some spirit masters to resist, let alone those ordinary soldiers?" the prime minister flattered with a smile on his face.

"Shadow Tiger Yao Jingcheng listens to the order, I order you to personally lead a group of 50,000 elite central garrison troops to Beicang to protect our ore veins, and the mining and transportation tasks there will be handled by you with full authority", Jiang Bingkun carefully examined the sample in the hands of the man.

"Your Majesty now that the nationwide grain requisition has come to an end, and now that the granary is full, can you order the army to move?" asked the Minister of Military Aircraft.

"Originally, the widow was ready to launch an attack immediately, but we actually found such a huge deposit of spirit saltpeter, we can wait for a while, wait for the alchemist to refine some arcane ** and provide it to the military, and launch a campaign, so that our army can drive straight in and reduce losses", Jiang Bingkun planned.

"Your Majesty, this matter must be carried out cautiously, the minions of the Tianhua Sect, the Divine Sword Valley, and the Moon Worship Sect are monitoring our actions all the time, Beicang is thousands of miles away from here, far away from our military defense, it will not be good if they find out", the prime minister said.

"Your Majesty, I will march in secret, disguising ore as ordinary supplies such as grain, so as not to arouse suspicion. Shadow Tiger Yao Jingcheng said.

"You have followed me for many years, and no one trusts you, so you are fully responsible," Jiang Bingkun said.

"Wechen is going to prepare to recruit a group of professional alchemists, and as soon as the mineral deposits arrive in the empire, they will immediately let them refine them non-stop," the prime minister said.

"This matter must be tightly sealed, who dares to leak and kill the nine clans," Jiang Bingkun said.

"I'll keep their mouths shut," the prime minister replied.

In the deep mountains of the Shadow Moon Valley, the military advisor Zhang Tiancheng said to the Shadow Moon King: "The general has now finished the autumn harvest, why hasn't His Majesty launched an attack yet, this is not his style?"

"Taiwei and I are on good terms, I learned from him that the empire has made a major discovery? Jiang Bingkun delayed the start of the war", although the Shadow Moon King was in the mountains, he knew the matter in his heart.

"What kind of thing is more important than him dominating the country?" Zhang Tiancheng was puzzled.

The Shadow Moon King took out a piece of spiritual material with an impressive aura and handed it to Zhang Tiancheng.

"This, this is a spirit saltpeter", Zhang Tiancheng looked at the thing in his hand in surprise.

"That's right, the empire has made a major discovery in the distant northern cang, at this moment the Shadow Tiger troops have set off to excavate, at least tens of thousands of laborers have been recruited a few days ago, or it won't be long before a lot of spirit saltpeter will be transported to the empire", the Shadow Moon King was thinking about something.

"This is very unfavorable to us? With this kind of strategic weapon, our plan may come to naught," Zhang Tiancheng said.

"That's not necessarily, we may also secretly send a group of troops to secretly ambush him, and let him make a wedding dress", the Shadow Moon King decided to make a move.

"If this is discovered, we will have no way out," Mr. Zhang said.

"We can completely disguise ourselves as people from the Tianhua Sect or the Divine Sword Valley to do things, this account will naturally be counted on their heads, who will doubt us?"

"Clever move, I'm going to recruit a group of alchemists to get ready", Zhang Tiancheng went to do something.

The shadow tiger troops of the Danyang Empire secretly marched overnight to avoid many important roads, and went straight to the depths of the Beicang Mountains in the distance, a large number of laborers were recruited by them to send to the north, and a huge mountain collapsed in the deep mountains, revealing a spiritual saltpeter mine, which was guarded by mysterious troops at this moment, waiting for the mining troops of the empire.

The terrain into the mountains here is steep, the mountain roads are extremely difficult to find, and it is extremely easy to get lost without accurate maps and signs. Within the Empire, the Emperor sent others to replace Shadow Tiger to continue to suppress the rebellion at home, and a dark empire was rising under his bloody rule for a year.

Their secret actions, even the Moon Worship Sect that supported them behind them were kept in the dark, Jiang Bingkun did not regard the Moon Worship Sect as an ally at all, just a relationship of mutual use, and even eradicated this stumbling block in one fell swoop in the future to prevent future troubles.

The Moon Worship Sect also felt a little unusual at this moment, and on the star-picking platform, the old man came to Yi Zhouyang's side and said: "Sect Master, Jiang Bingkun is still repairing, and the generals of the Four Roads Army are impatient, and he still has no intention of making a move."

"This is really unusual, he doesn't take advantage of such an opportunity?" Yi Zhouyang was also confused.

"Could it be that his dog guts have been frightened?"

"No, you should immediately send a competent person to the Imperial City to investigate and see what the hell he is doing?

"I'm going to arrange for someone to go to the imperial city to investigate," the old man disappeared into the shadows.

"Jiang Bingkun, you'd better not do anything about it, otherwise we can get it back if we give it to you", Yi Zhouyang looked at the vast starry sky with deep eyes.

Not only them, but even the four empires that had been nervously preparing to resist the attack were all surprised, Jiang Bingkun's attack had not arrived for a long time, and there must be something strange when things were impermanent, they informed Tianhua Sect and Divine Sword Valley of this matter, hoping that they would come forward to investigate the matter.

In the main hall of Tianhua Sect, Dai Tiande's vitality has recovered a lot now, and he has gathered many elders to discuss the affairs of the front line at this moment.

"Senior Brother Zhang, there is a letter from the Tianyang Empire, saying that the Danyang Empire has not launched a war call yet, which is very strange, and I hope we will send a spirit master to investigate this matter", Elder Xu said.

"It's really strange, now that there is plenty of food and grass, it is an excellent opportunity to start a full-scale war, but Jiang Bingkun is not moving, is there any conspiracy?" Xie Tianxing said.

"Elder Xu, you send some powerful disciples into the Danyang Imperial City to investigate, be sure to figure out his plan," Dai Tiande said.

"I'll arrange it," Elder Xu said.