Reincarnated as a Ginkgo Tree: I Create an Eternal Divine Kingdom - Chapter 127

Outside the city, a dense black tide of ferocious beasts surged toward the walls—an overwhelming beast tide that had arrived without warning. The sudden onslaught threw Southern Mountain City into a state of panic.

The leaders of the Nine Great Forces turned pale with fear. Had their allied forces already been assembled, they would have had nothing to fear from this beast tide. However, they were still in the negotiation phase, with their combined forces barely numbering ten thousand. There was no way they could withstand such a massive tide of beasts.

“Hold the line!” they commanded, but within less than half a cup of tea’s time, the front wall was utterly destroyed.

“Retreat!” Luo Jiannan was the first to react. A wise man does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. With no knowledge of what lay behind this massive beast tide, there was no reason to risk staying. The negotiations for the alliance would have to be postponed. The excuse was simple enough: Zhang Yusheng’s death had disrupted their talks.

Seeing Luo Jiannan retreat, the other leaders quickly lost their resolve. However, escaping from such a massive tide of beasts would not be without its costs.

In the end, the nine-thousand-strong army of cultivators from the Nine Great Forces suffered over seven thousand casualties. The remaining leaders fled with only a couple of hundred survivors each.

Just after they had fled, the beast tide quietly withdrew as well. The sight of such a disciplined retreat left the inhabitants of Southern Mountain City in awe.

At this moment, a force of three hundred soldiers appeared, led by Ruan Huian. This group was a mix of various factions, with the disciples of the Sect of the Other Shore serving as Ruan Huian’s personal guard, while the rest were elite cultivators summoned by the Southern Desolation geniuses, each bringing dozens of loyal followers. The combined forces of these powerful individuals had formed a formidable three-hundred-strong army.

Although small in number, this army was potent enough to dominate Southern Mountain City. Ruan Huian quickly used this force to seize control of the city, first targeting and overpowering the leading noble families with her three hundred soldiers, then using the Heavenly Mother’s Poison Seal to control the leaders of these families and, through them, the entire city.

Within just three days, Ruan Huian had completely taken over Southern Mountain City. Her forces swelled to ten thousand, bolstered by the freed disciples of the Sect of the Other Shore, who numbered over a thousand and became her most loyal followers.

The higher-ups in the Sect of the Other Shore were shocked by the developments in Southern Mountain City. Initially, they had been enraged and helpless upon hearing of Song Minglou’s death, as the sect, though influential, lacked a stronghold or centralized leadership and was rife with internal factions. However, what they had been powerless to achieve, Ruan Huian had done—she had seized Southern Mountain City from the Nine Great Forces, a feat that seemed almost miraculous.

As word spread, Ruan Huian’s prestige within the sect soared. Disciples from across the Southern Desolation began flocking to Southern Mountain City to rally behind her. However, many still held back, uncertain of how long she could hold the city. It was one thing to take a city, but another to defend it, especially when the Nanzhao Kingdom could retaliate at any moment.

Indeed, the royal family of Nanzhao was furious. Southern Mountain City, after all, was their territory, and Ruan Huian’s actions were intolerable. Without delay, the nearest Nanzhao garrison, a force of fifty thousand soldiers, marched on Southern Mountain City, determined to crush the Sect of the Other Shore’s forces.

The situation appeared grim for the sect, which had only ten thousand hastily assembled troops. Onlookers from across the Southern Desolation and the Great Xia awaited the outcome of this battle with bated breath.

Outside Southern Mountain City, a unique cavalry unit appeared—mounted not on horses but on wolves. This was the Wolf Cavalry Unit from Su City in the Misty Forbidden Zone, now expanded from an initial hundred riders to three hundred. After half a year of honing their skills, this was their first foray into a major battle.

The wolf cavalry took position on a mountain overlooking the fifty-thousand-strong army of Nanzhao. Far from intimidated, they were eager for battle, having longed for such an opportunity after months of training.

As the battle outside Southern Mountain City loomed, the wolf cavalry charged like arrows from a bow, striking the Nanzhao army from the rear. Despite their small numbers, they tore through the enemy ranks, sowing chaos among the troops. The disruption to the army’s formation was devastating, and the disarray within the ranks led to significant casualties.

Seeing the opportunity, Ruan Huian ordered her forces to open the city gates and launch a counterattack. The Nanzhao army, now in complete disarray, was utterly defeated. The victory sent shockwaves throughout the Southern Desolation, as Southern Mountain City had successfully repelled the attack.

For the Sect of the Other Shore, this victory was a moment of immense pride. Southern Mountain City was becoming a holy site in the eyes of the sect’s followers, and more disciples began flocking to the city from all corners of the Southern Desolation.

Within days, the city’s population swelled to over a hundred thousand, with more arriving each day. Even the Nanzhao Kingdom hesitated to make another move. But while the kingdom stalled, Southern Mountain City did not. Under Ruan Huian’s leadership, the Sect of the Other Shore began to expand its influence, causing significant concern in Nanzhao, Mount Longhu, and the Great Xia.

Nanzhao was a key territory for Mount Longhu and an affiliate state of the Great Xia. With the kingdom in turmoil, neither Mount Longhu nor the Great Xia could afford to remain idle. Troops were dispatched to help quell the rebellion, but the task was anything but simple. The Sect of the Other Shore’s influence in the Southern Desolation was vast, and while it had previously lacked cohesion, it now had both a central figure in Ruan Huian and a stronghold in Southern Mountain City.

Meanwhile, Su Mu’s attention was drawn away from Southern Mountain City by a greater threat arising on the western edge of the Ancient Wilderness Mountains—a sudden and powerful invasion from the Kunlun Plateau.

The once peaceful border between the Ancient Wilderness Mountains and the Kunlun Plateau was suddenly engulfed in chaos as the temperature plummeted and violent atmospheric disturbances shook the region. Before long, a terrifying snowstorm descended from the Kunlun Plateau, sweeping into the Ancient Wilderness Mountains, accompanied by a horde of white-furred beasts—Kunlun Yaks, a species unique to the plateau.

The creatures of the Kunlun Plateau had launched an invasion of the Ancient Wilderness Mountains without warning. The local beasts were caught off guard and quickly overwhelmed. The Kunlun Yaks rampaged through the mountains, reaching the heart of the region—Cangshan, the domain once ruled by the Water Buffalo and the Mermaid, and a critical area for the Misty Forbidden Zone.

The Misty Forbidden Zone could not let this incursion go unanswered. Immediately, the Ironback Ape and the Earthquake Bear led their forces to confront the invaders. A fierce battle ensued, and the Kunlun Yaks began to falter. However, the conflict did not end there. Reinforcements soon arrived from the plateau: vast armies of Snow Wolves, Snow Leopards, and Snow Vultures, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, descended upon the Ancient Wilderness Mountains.

The Misty Forbidden Zone mobilized its entire military force for the first time. Aside from the spirit wolves still in Southern Mountain City, every major player moved to the front lines. The Ironback Ape, Earthquake Bear, White Spirit Python, Snow Spirit Mink, and Lin Che led the ground forces, Shadow Beetle, Purple-Gold Mosquito, and Huang Shuling dominated the low skies, while Spirit Crows and Su Qianqian controlled the high altitudes. The Sea Monk and the Mermaid managed the waterways.

A battle that would shake the heavens and earth unfolded in the Ancient Wilderness Mountains, largely unnoticed by the outside world. For the first time, the Misty Forbidden Zone faced an enemy strong enough to challenge them. In previous conflicts, their enemies had been easily crushed, but this time the Kunlun Plateau’s beast armies proved formidable.

It wasn’t until the Water Buffalo and Bai Qianzhang joined the fray, along with the return of Su Yao from Southern Mountain City, that the tide began to turn. The combined might of two fourth-tier beings and a peak Golden Core cultivator overwhelmed the invaders, and the Kunlun armies began to retreat.

Within a day, the Kunlun forces had withdrawn to the edge of the plateau. The Misty Forbidden Zone’s armies pursued them across the border, stepping into Kunlun territory.

A dragon’s roar echoed through the skies as the armies of the Misty Forbidden Zone crossed the threshold. Moments later, the western skies darkened, and a pair of imposing golden eyes appeared amidst the clouds. Just the gaze of these eyes sent a chilling terror through the ranks of the Misty Forbidden Zone’s beasts.

At the same time, a mist rolled in from the east, and a pair of ancient, tranquil white eyes locked onto the golden ones. All the creatures present felt as though they were suffocating under the weight of the confrontation.

“Why do you invade my territory?” a voice boomed through the air, filled with the power to shake the heavens. The being behind the white eyes demanded an answer.