Ever since the Great Qin Dynasty unified the Eastern Continent, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the former kingdoms were either killed or driven out.
All the resources that could assist humans in breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage on the entire Eastern Continent were monopolized by the Great Qin Dynasty.
As long as the Great Qin Dynasty firmly controlled the path to advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, no matter how many years passed or how corrupt the dynasty became, no one could shake its rule.
No matter how much a Nascent Soul cultivator struggled, they could not escape the grasp of a Nascent Soul expert.
However, due to the immense consumption each time a Nascent Soul expert made a move, and the limited spiritual energy concentration on the Eastern Continent, it was difficult to replenish.
After just a couple of exchanges, they would need to recuperate for several months. If a major battle occurred, it would take at least several years to recover from the depletion.
Therefore, these Nascent Soul experts usually hid in their abodes like tortoises, cultivating themselves and only appearing when absolutely necessary.
Even when they truly needed to act, they would think thrice before doing so: could it be delayed for a few days? Could it be avoided? Could it be delegated to someone else?
Because these Nascent Soul experts remained low-key and rarely showed themselves, many Nascent Soul cultivators could barely sense their presence.
When there are no tigers in the mountains, monkeys become arrogant, mistakenly believing they are the kings of beasts.
Thus, this time, the Nascent Soul experts of the Great Qin Dynasty had to show themselves to awe all cultivators and let everyone know who was in charge.
The local lords were originally acting quite boisterously, hands on their hips, pointing fingers and dictating the world, feeling as if they had reached the pinnacle of life!
Now that the Nascent Soul experts of the Great Qin Dynasty had appeared, the lords who had declared themselves kings and overlords were instantly silenced.
They were like a group of mischievous children who, upon seeing their parents chasing them with sticks, were all scared and scattered like birds and beasts.
On the very day they received the news, the various lords pleaded for forgiveness from the Great Qin Dynasty and surrendered, claiming they were all misled by the Great General and had accidentally strayed from the right path.
As for why the Great General was pushed out to take the blame?
With so many people rebelling and establishing their own territories, the Great Qin Dynasty had to hold someone accountable.
The best outcome would be to execute the ringleader and make an example of them.
The vast majority of cultivators lacked the virtue of stepping forward to bear responsibility for others; as long as their fellow daoists died and they themselves survived, that was enough.
And the Great General, who was the first to step out and lead the rebellion, naturally became the prime candidate. Everyone unanimously chose him.
After all, he was the first to rebel, possessed the strongest power, and according to whispers, the Great General was a hidden agent of the demon race lurking within the dynasty.
It would be a waste of his talent if such a person wasn't made a scapegoat.
Indeed, the Great Qin Dynasty accepted the surrender of the various lords, as there were still demons to be dealt with, and they needed a large number of personnel.
However, they had no intention of letting the Great General off the hook. The Nascent Soul experts of the Great Qin Dynasty directly descended upon the Great General's mansion, preparing to exterminate his entire family!
"Today, I will let the world know that betraying the Great Qin Dynasty is a dead end!"
The Great Qin Dynasty's execution of the Great General was aimed at establishing authority and serving as a warning.
Therefore, this time, they absolutely could not carry out the killing stealthily; it had to be a grand and spectacular execution of the Great General and his entire family.
Ying Dang, a Nascent Soul expert of the Great Qin Dynasty, stood in the void. With a loud shout, his Nascent Soul pressure enveloped everything, his aura fully unleashed, having already attracted the attention of heroes from all over who were observing from the shadows.
The Great General's mansion remained silent, with no reaction, not even the crowing of roosters or barking of dogs. They must have been scared witless.
Ying Dang was quite satisfied with the effect he had achieved so far, stroking his long beard which had been ruffled by the wind.
At this moment, the spiritual energy in the heavens and earth surged wildly, all rushing towards Ying Dang's location.
Under Ying Dang's command, this spiritual energy formed a giant water dragon that surged towards the General's mansion below.
Just as the General's mansion was about to be destroyed by the water dragon, a white bone hand emerged from above the mansion and grasped the giant water dragon.
"Hehehehe..."
As this blood-bone hand appeared, a demon covered in bone spurs emerged from the Great General's mansion. The aura emanating from it was no weaker than that of Ying Dang, who stood suspended in the air.
"Impossible! A Nascent Soul demon!"
Ying Dang gasped, taking in a mouthful of cold air. How could a demon have a Nascent Soul expert?
According to the intelligence, the strongest demon currently only possessed late-stage Nascent Soul strength, and this certainly did not include the bone-spurred demon before him.
"Nothing is impossible. Surrender to our Holy Race immediately, and I can spare your life."
As the bone-spurred demon spoke, it clasped its hands behind its back and flew into the air, facing Ying Dang.
"Hahaha... You? You want to keep me here! In this world, the person who can keep me has not yet been born!"
Ying Dang had come today to establish his authority. Even if he failed to do so, he would never surrender to the demons.
It wasn't that he was boasting; almost no one on the entire Eastern Continent could kill a Nascent Soul expert in a one-on-one fight.
When the Qin Kingdom defeated the other two major powers, it was several Nascent Soul experts wielding spiritual treasures and overwhelming them with numbers.
Because at this level, life force is tenacious, and escape methods are extremely abundant. Without a strength that is several times higher, it is difficult to kill them.
"To wait for you to walk into my trap, I have prepared the Heavenly Demon Array."
The bone-spurred demon let out a burst of laughter, and then black mist began to rise from all around. Dozens of Nascent Soul demons, holding formation flags, emerged from the black mist.
These demon Nascent Soul experts waved their flags, and the surrounding black mist grew thicker, enveloping Ying Dang and the bone demon within.
Ying Dang knew something was wrong. The timing was unfavorable today, and it was best to retreat. Immediately, his body melted into a pool of liquid and seeped into the ground.
"You want to escape? It's not that easy!"
The bone-spurred demon stomped its foot forcefully on the ground, and countless black mists seeped into the earth.
After a moment, Ying Dang's somewhat disheveled figure emerged from the soil, with an earthworm still hanging from his head.
"I have always disliked fighting with others. Do not push your luck!"
As Ying Dang spoke, a large patch of tiny ice needles appeared around him. Each needle was as fine as a cow's hair, yet extremely tenacious, containing a water-elemental magical force.
These ice needles appeared extremely small, but once they pierced an enemy's body, they would melt away invisibly, remaining within the body and continuously damaging the cultivator's meridians, muscles, and bones.
Ying Dang pointed with one hand, and these countless ice needles surged towards the bone-spurred demon like a misty rain.
The water-elemental cultivation he practiced had gradually led him to comprehend some laws of water at the Nascent Soul stage.
Water is the ultimate softness in the world, it travels through the ultimate hardness, it can overcome rigidity, water has no constant form, and its transformations are endless.
Although the bone-spurred demon defended with all its might, it was still pierced by many tiny ice needles. These ice needles turned into water-elemental magical force, hindering the operation of demonic energy within its body.
"Attack!"
Upon hearing the bone-spurred demon's command, the dozens of Nascent Soul demons holding flags simultaneously waved their formation flags.
Within the array, 24 black mist dragons simultaneously coiled towards Ying Dang, while the bone-spurred demon thrust a bone spear towards Ying Dang's chest.
Under the combined attack of these divine abilities, Ying Dang's body was instantly shattered into pieces, turning into scattered water droplets that spilled onto the ground.
"Damn it! He still escaped!"
The bone-spurred demon cursed angrily. What he saw before him was merely a false body created by the opponent using magical power to conceal his tracks. His true body had already escaped to an unknown location.
Hundreds of miles away, countless white clouds converged, gradually forming a human shape. This mass of clouds continuously contracted and condensed, eventually taking on Ying Dang's appearance.
"That was close! I almost died!"
Ying Dang dared not linger and decided to return first. He had suffered considerable damage this time and needed to recuperate properly.