Chapter 436: The War Ends, United in the Same Boat

At the very moment the Flood Dragon Emperor appeared, Yan Wuyong, who had already ordered his entire army to retreat a hundred li, sensed the gaze of the Void Emperor. Meeting that look, he returned it with equal determination.

The latter was momentarily stunned by such a gaze, then laughed and said,
“This time, the Flood Dragon Emperor has transformed into the ten-thousand-li Dragon Mountain, separating everything beyond Northern Huangtian by five hundred li. I hope the Human Emperor won’t press the issue.”

“From now on, let the Dragon Mountain be the boundary. Let man and demon keep to their own sides and not disturb each other. I will guard the mountain, preventing the demon race from crossing over, and likewise, I hope the Human Emperor will set aside thoughts of war.”

“The Great Wu has been at war for twenty years. The people have suffered. It’s time for the land to heal…”

“Besides, considering the Flood Dragon Emperor returned two hundred thousand civilians to you and didn’t strike first…”

“If, in the future, there are enlightened demons within the Great Wu’s borders who have committed no evil and wish to return to the demon lands beyond the Dragon Mountain, I hope the human race will show some leniency and not block their way.”

With that said, the heavily wounded Void Emperor stepped into the air, forcefully stabilizing his form, and disappeared into the dense forests of the Dragon Mountain.

On the side of the Southern Yan Army, a young officer couldn’t help but ask,
“So what now? The demons aren’t fighting anymore?”

“Yinsha Prefecture was taken by the demon race—shouldn’t we reclaim it?”

“Reclaim your ass!” Advisor Liu cursed with a laugh, pointing at the massive Dragon Mountain stretching into the distance.
“Forget the canyon—just climbing over that mountain would wear us out!”

There was one more thing Advisor Liu only said to himself—

The demon race still has a Demon Emperor. Even heavily injured, the current Emperor Yan wouldn’t dare provoke them…

Soon after, Yan Wuyong, who had been silent for a moment, turned to the Dragon Mountain and gave a solemn bow. Then he declared in a powerful voice,
“Pass my order to the entire army: The Lei Dynasty has fallen, the demon race has been driven from Great Wu, and we have claimed victory!”

“From this day forth, the lands of Great Wu shall be renamed Great Zhou!”

“May all living beings in Great Zhou unite as one, know no more war, and share in peace!”

As his words fell, a wave of passionate cheers rose like a tide from all directions, merging into an unstoppable torrent that shook the skies.

“We’ve won!”

“The Great Zhou Dynasty—united in the same boat!”

“No more chaos, long live peace!”

The voices of the soldiers were filled with strength and fervor. Every word rang from the depths of their hearts, shaking the heavens and earth.

Soon, more soldiers joined in, even the two hundred thousand civilians who had been moved to the rear!

The chorus of shouting continued endlessly, echoing over the battlefield. It was as if even the wind was cheering and the clouds made way in reverence!

Thus, the twenty-year war of Great Wu came to an end. A new dynasty was born, and the old one became history…

…

“At this point, the game is over… and I have lost.”

With a trace of unwillingness, Heaven Arbiter Ashen looked toward the Heavenly Gate, where Daoist Ling Xi was still entangled with the Illusory Heavenly Dao, and spoke calmly,
“Ling Xi’s talent still falls a little short. Trying to forcibly cross two worlds has exhausted too much of her origin.”

“Now, either she becomes part of the Illusory Heavenly Dao… or clings to a sliver of hope, and keeps resisting it.”

“To think I could lose with such a favorable setup.”

“But in the end, the third prince, the fifth prince, the black flood dragon, the kui ox—these key pieces all turned into white stones at the final moment…”

“So basically, all my pieces were traitors!”

Beside him, Gu Ning’an, standing on the Path to Heaven, focused intently on everything unfolding around them.

He didn’t even bother replying to Heaven Arbiter Ashen, whose words by now were mostly nonsense and misleading.

Take his comment about Ling Xi’s talent being lacking—that was absolutely false. If her talent had truly been insufficient, the Illusory Heavenly Dao would never have opened the Heavenly Gate to her.

Furthermore, from the manifestation behind the Heavenly Gate—the shadow formed by the Illusory Heavenly Dao—Gu Ning’an sensed something different… the aura of a living being…

Which meant the former master of “Illusion” hadn’t been completely annihilated but still existed within the Illusory Heavenly Dao.

At this point, Ling Xi was already too deeply entangled with the Illusory Dao. Only two outcomes remained:

She either fully seizes control of it, driving out the previous master…

Or, she gets completely assimilated and devoured…

Pop!

With a faint bubble-bursting sound, the black stone above Ling Xi’s head disappeared completely. Both Gu Ning’an and Heaven Arbiter Ashen, as intangible participants in the game within the Path to Heaven, felt a powerful force rejecting them.

It was the clash of one “Dao” against another.

The Illusory Heavenly Dao was stronger than the Chess Heavenly Dao, and thus would not allow the latter’s power to interfere. The game had come to an end…

Before the mountains-and-rivers chessboard, the two players simultaneously opened their eyes.

The suppressive power of the Heavenly Dao that had previously kept them from interfering was now gone.

In simple terms: they could fight now.

“Gu…” Heaven Arbiter Ashen had only just cupped his hands when three blazing red sword beams flashed in his eyes!

Without a word, Gu Ning’an attacked!

Shocked, Heaven Arbiter Ashen hurriedly cried out,
“I don’t acknowledge the wager of the game! I am willing to be suppressed by the Heavenly Dao!”

Suddenly, every “blade of grass and tree” on the chessboard seemed drawn by an invisible force, transforming into dazzling chains of light.

These chains twisted and weaved through the air, forming a complex and elegant pattern, glowing faintly.

As they extended and shifted, they surrounded the middle-aged man, tightly wrapping around him.

They seemed sentient, moving deftly without touching him, yet isolating him from the world.

Standing within this space formed by the chessboard’s chains, Heaven Arbiter Ashen remained calm and deep-eyed:
“Mr. Gu, bet you didn’t expect the wager to be used like this, did you?”

He had turned the Chess Heavenly Dao’s suppression into a form of protection. Just then, his body shifted, and he became a floating cloud of ash.

Logically, combining two complete Heavenly Daos should create a shell harder than steel.

Clearly, Heaven Arbiter Ashen had long prepared for the possibility of losing.

The three crimson sword beams struck the chains formed by the Chess Heavenly Dao, causing an earth-shaking tremor!

But in the blink of an eye, the seemingly unbreakable chains shattered completely!

However, the remaining force of the sword lights, once they reached the ash cloud, vanished like mud into the sea. They merely scattered tens of thousands of ashes before losing all power.

Sure enough, a complete Heavenly Dao is far tougher than that coffin board from before!

At that thought, Gu Ning’an let his soul leave his body!

The moment his spirit emerged, celestial energy surged, brilliant light bursting forth like a radiant star!

But on closer inspection, one would see that Gu Ning’an’s spirit looked like a porcelain doll covered in cracks. Some cracks were fine as hair, nearly invisible, while others were as wide as ravines, clearly etched into every part of his soul.

What frightened Heaven Arbiter Ashen most was this:

Within Gu Ning’an’s soul were nearly a hundred crimson sword lights, all poised to strike…