"General Xu, His Majesty has a secret decree. The heavenly soldiers sent to capture you—kill as many as you can. After killing them, flee to the mortal realm and never show yourself again."

  The Gold Star of Venus's secret transmission made Xu Fang's heart skip a beat. He understood that the Jade Emperor still wanted to protect him.

  However, Xu Fang felt no gratitude.

  Because this was a transaction!

  Killing these uncontrollable heavenly soldiers for the Jade Emperor in exchange for his freedom!

  "From now on, I owe you nothing."

  Xu Fang nodded somberly, and the Gold Star of Venus sighed. After pretending to persuade Xu Fang a few more times, he returned to the Jade Emperor's side.

  Li Jing, too, wore a look of reluctance.

  Back in the day, they had fought side by side. Xu Fang had risen from an unknown soldier to become the renowned Demon-Slaying Divine General of the Three Realms, and Li Jing had witnessed it all.

  However, even though Li Jing admired Xu Fang, he would not defy the Jade Emperor's decree for his sake.

  "All troops, heed my command! Capture the criminal Xu Fang! Anyone who retreats will be executed!"

  Li Jing, to be safe, issued a strict order forbidding retreat. Otherwise, these heavenly soldiers might all disobey.

  "Kill—"

  As the command was given, the roar of battle cries erupted!

  One hundred thousand heavenly soldiers, wielding cold, gleaming spears, charged toward Xu Fang with murderous intent!

  They belonged to the other Four Sovereigns, so their fear of Xu Fang wasn't as pronounced.

  Hearing the deafening battle cries, Xu Fang silently stared at the overwhelming tide of heavenly soldiers!

  These soldiers carried a cold killing intent, their murderous aura piercing the heavens!

  The Ghost-Mourning Blade slowly rose, and a cold smile crept onto Xu Fang's lips. "Those who wish to kill me for merit, come!"

  In an instant, the one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers surged forward, and Xu Fang was swallowed by the tide.

  The onlookers could only see the black tide of soldiers rushing toward Xu Fang, but they couldn't see what was happening within.

  On the clouds above, the Jade Emperor stood at the center, flanked by the Tathagata, the Four Sovereigns, and the Three Pure Ones.

  A faint trace of anticipation was hidden on the Jade Emperor's face, while the Tathagata, Guanyin, and others sneered as they watched.

  For the Buddhist Sect, this was an internal matter of the Heavenly Court. No matter how much was lost, it wouldn't affect them.

  Of course, if Xu Fang could be exhausted to death in the process, that would be even better.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  On the other hand, the Four Sovereigns wore expressions of indignation.

  They could see that the Jade Emperor was using Xu Fang to deplete their forces. However, at this moment, they didn't dare to openly refuse to send troops.

  ...

  Behind the Three Pure Ones, a figure stood behind Master Tongtian and whispered, "Master, in your opinion, does the Demon-Slaying Divine General have any chance of survival today?"

  Master Tongtian didn't look back but smiled faintly. "Yunxiao, after being trapped in the Tushita Palace for so many years, your mind still cannot find peace. The situation is still uncertain. The Jade Emperor clearly wants to use Xu Fang to deplete the forces of the other Sovereigns. Even if Xu Fang's cultivation and strength are impressive, in a situation like this, even if he can stand firm against one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers, what about two hundred thousand? Three hundred thousand? The Four Sovereigns won't stand by and watch Xu Fang slaughter their troops, and the Tathagata won't let him go either!"

  The person standing behind Master Tongtian was none other than Yunxiao, one of the Three Xiao!

  During the Investiture of the Gods, Yunxiao had attacked Laozi but was instantly captured and imprisoned in Lord Lao Zi's Tushita Palace. It was only thanks to Sun Wukong's theft of the peaches and elixirs that Yunxiao was accidentally released.

  After being trapped in the Tushita Palace for so many years, Yunxiao naturally harbored deep resentment toward Lord Lao Zi and his true form, Laozi.

  She had also made her way to the Purple Heaven Palace to seek out Master Tongtian, hoping to restore the glory of the Jie Sect through him!

  Unfortunately, Master Tongtian had also been confined to the Purple Heaven Palace by Ancestral Daoist Hongjun and couldn't act. Now, taking advantage of the Jade Emperor's Peaceful Heaven Assembly, he had a chance to catch his breath.

  "Master, Xu Fang is exceptionally talented. If we save him now, is there any hope of bringing him into the Jie Sect?"

  Yunxiao refused to give up and whispered.

  Master Tongtian glanced at the Jade Emperor and then said in a low voice, "The Jade Emperor still holds the souls of thousands of your fellow disciples. This matter cannot be rushed. If Xu Fang can escape this calamity today, there may be a chance for him to join our Jie Sect. If he dies today, it will only prove that he is mediocre and not worth saving. For now, let's wait and see."

  Yunxiao wanted to say more, but Master Tongtian glared at her. Seeing this, Yunxiao took a step back and fell silent.

  ...

  At that moment, their gazes returned to the battlefield.

  On the battlefield, the battle cries had diminished, replaced by waves of agonized screams.

  In the midst of the battlefield, rivers of blood cascaded like a collapsing heavenly river, surging endlessly. More than half of the one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers had already fallen!

  Severed limbs piled up like mountains, and blood flowed like rivers!

  "Kill!"

  Xu Fang, holding the Ghost-Mourning Blade, was drenched in blood. However, the blood did not belong to him but to the one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers.

  With a roar, the heavenly soldiers on the battlefield were blasted apart. The entire Heavenly Palace seemed to tremble under this roar.

  With a single sweep of the Ghost-Mourning Blade, thousands of heavenly soldiers fell. In just one move, thousands had perished!

  The surviving soldiers still radiated killing intent, but the aura emanating from Xu Fang was even more overwhelming!

  It was like a pack of sheep facing a dragon!

  Xu Fang, wielding the Ghost-Mourning Blade, didn't even need to use his divine abilities. He charged left and right through the endless tide of soldiers, and with every swing, groups of soldiers fell!

  This was a one-sided massacre!

  These soldiers' cultivation levels were low. In Xu Fang's hands, they were like melons and vegetables to be chopped!

  However, with Li Jing supervising the battle from behind, the soldiers didn't dare to retreat. They could only charge forward one after another, only to become corpses that fell from the sky.

  ...

  On the clouds above, the Jade Emperor's face was expressionless, but inwardly, he was ecstatic.

  In fact, he wished Xu Fang could maintain this state and slaughter all the troops under the Four Sovereigns!

  Meanwhile, the other Four Sovereigns' faces had turned ashen.

  "Gold Star of Venus, convey my decree! Immediately mobilize another two hundred thousand heavenly soldiers to capture Xu Fang!"

  As the Jade Emperor's voice rang out, the three of the Four Sovereigns felt their hearts skip a beat.

  The Great Emperor of the North Pole and Purple Subtlety stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the criminal Xu Fang is extraordinarily fierce and has already caused massive casualties to the Heavenly Court. In my opinion, it would be better to ask the Buddha to suppress Xu Fang to prevent further losses to the Heavenly Court."