weddingnovel Chapter 2396 - 2395: Internal Strife
Chapter 2396 - 2395: Internal Strife
The sky darkened, and the firelight illuminated everyone’s faces.
After consuming the Demon Lord Meat, the group immediately sat and began to channel their energy.
The divine substances inside were too abundant; if they weren’t careful, their entire bloodline felt like it would explode.
The soldiers beneath Celestial Realms City did not return to the city but camped under the Suspended Continent to rest and regroup.
Zhang Ziling finished her tasks and happily brought Li Jinxuan over.
Behind her, bringing along Li Chengfeng, Li Daoxun, the four sons of the Li Family, and Ye Qingtian, the original Celestial Mystery Top Ten, Yao Qinglian, Zhang Danfeng, Wang Tianhong, Bai Fengxiu, Jiang Hengshuo, and other generals familiar with Long Fei, all came to meet him.
These youths from Celestial Mystery City had now grown into the backbone of the military forces.
In Celestial Realms City, they supported Zhang Ziling.
Because of them, the Nine Clan’s Descendants did not dare to act rashly.
With Li Chengfeng in literature and Li Daoxun in military matters.
The two assisted Zhang Ziling, pioneering and reforming in these thousand years, suppressing the power of the Nine Clans.
In every trade or profession among the three hundred and sixty lines of work, new signs of vitality emerged.
However, their achievements were all disrupted by the Demon Race.
Under their leadership, a group of generals respectfully bowed deeply to Long Fei.
Long Fei nodded with a smile and returned the gesture with clasped fists.
Li Jinxuan happily called out from behind, "Alright, everyone is holding up the Emperor’s time."
The group all laughed briefly.
Long Fei offered drinks, letting everyone sit down to drink first.
He walked and talked with Zhang Ziling, not far away.
This thousand miles around Celestial Realms City had been utterly destroyed by the Demon Race, not a single green plant could be seen.
Zhang Ziling sighed, "The Demon Calamity has brought such devastation, when will this ever end?"
Long Fei smiled at her expression and said, "Perhaps I shouldn’t have let you become the Emperor at that time. You’re too young to be worrying like an old lady."
Zhang Ziling immediately covered her face with her small hands, "Have I aged?"
Long Fei shook his head with a smile, "No, it’s your heart that’s aged a bit."
Zhang Ziling, who thought her heart had become very strong, suddenly felt it soften and ache.
Her eyes began to redden.
After Long Fei left, she no longer had a shoulder to rely on.
All these years, she had been gritting her teeth and holding on by herself.
The kind of pressure she faced was unimaginable to ordinary people.
Long Fei heard her breathing change, stopped walking, and turned to hold her small hand.
Zhang Ziling sobbed, then wrapped her arms around him, resting in his embrace as she did when she was a girl.
Long Fei patted her head and comforted her, "It’s okay, the Demon Calamity will soon pass. I’ve already established a passageway between the Immortal King Star and Terra King Star, and soon, all Nine Domains will be connected. The domains can support and connect with each other, sharing resources, and we can then unite all power to resist the Demon Race."
Zhang Ziling breathed deeply, steadied her emotions, looked up at Long Fei, and curiously asked, "Are you referring to that strange tree?"
Long Fei nodded and introduced, "It’s not a strange tree, but a Star-Devouring Tree. A Divine Tree that once grew on a Spatial Fragment, its fibers are countless Spatial Passages."
"If that’s the case, it would be a great fortune for the Nine Domains!"
Zhang Ziling felt the pressure on her lighten considerably, her heart brightened, as the despair she felt against the Demon Calamity seemed to vanish without a trace.
She inquired about Wang Xiaoya’s news from Long Fei, and Long Fei truthfully explained his departure from the Nine Domains.
Zhang Ziling was amazed, her eyes wide with surprise, as she never thought there truly existed an Immortal Realm.
She complained to Long Fei, "Do those Immortals in the Immortal Realm know the Demon Race is wreaking havoc in the Human Realm?"
"Naturally!"
Long Fei nodded.
Zhang Ziling indignantly said, "Then why do they turn a blind eye, allowing the Demon Race to slaughter unchecked in the Human Realm?"
Long Fei looked up at the sky, displeased, "That’s likely exactly their intention!"
Zhang Ziling didn’t understand, seeing Long Fei unwilling to discuss it, she didn’t press further.
Fearing they kept others waiting, they returned together.
The previous group had already been awakened by another group, and they simply started drinking and eating meat.
When Long Fei and Zhang Ziling returned, they found a place to sit.
A group of young generals stood up, wanting to toast Long Fei.
Without Long Fei, they probably would have faced complete annihilation today.
Long Fei raised his cup, accepting every toast, drinking with them.
Everyone temporarily forgot the slaughter, drinking through the night.
The next day, someone came early to report, saying the army was preparing to return to the city but found the defensive barrier opened, and those inside were refusing entry.
On hearing this, Zhang Ziling exchanged a look with Long Fei, and immediately led the group back beneath Celestial Realms City.
A soldier angrily shouted upwards, "Who closed the defensive barrier, open it up at once. We fought hard down here, and now you’re saying we can’t go home?"
Someone above shouted back, "Stop making noise, the situation is urgent, we’re forced into this. You know that Great Demon Chief has returned. If he enters Celestial Realms City, the city will be destroyed."
The speaker was none other than Yao Zhaoyu from the Yao Family.
Yao Qinglian looked up at him, eyes full of disdain.
He was also from the Yao Family but harbored resentment against the main Yao Family in Celestial Realms City.
Over the years, the Nine Clans had made things difficult for them at every turn.
He saw through the old entrenched powers’ real intentions and lightly shouted up, "Yao Zhaoyu, are you staging a rebellion?"
The shout echoed like muffled thunder.
Everyone from all sides heard it clearly.
Yao Zhaoyu shouted from above, "Brother Qinglian, what are you saying? We’re from the same family, why make things difficult for your kin? Currently, Celestial Realms City is temporarily taken over by our seniors. As long as the Emperor keeps that Demon Chief out, we’ll open the defensive barrier and let everyone come home immediately."
The generals exchanged looks, fury burning in their eyes, eager to rush up and fight.
Zhang Ziling finally spoke, sternly calling up, "In my capacity as Emperor, I command you to immediately open the defensive barrier. If not, you’ll face the consequences."
An old man sneered from above, "Emperor, don’t make it hard for everyone. Your troops have been exhausted in the battle with the Demon Race. What do you have to fight us? If I were you, I wouldn’t entangle myself here. Use this time to find a place for the armies to hide. The Demon Army hasn’t truly retreated; they could attack at any moment."
While Zhang Ziling led the army battling the Demon Race, the Nine Clan’s Descendants, under orders from their Clan Elders, quietly took control of Celestial Realms City.
Currently, all city defenses of Celestial Realms City are under the Nine Clans’ control.
With the defensive barrier active, the Clan Elders believed that no matter how powerful Long Fei was, he couldn’t breach it in one go.
Previously, even with multiple Demon Lords attacking in turns, the defensive barrier remained intact.
They aimed to pressure Zhang Ziling to retreat on her own, thus restoring the world back to the hands of these old traditional powers. To them, the Demon Calamity was not a disaster but a blessing.
Looking around, every face in their ranks was filled with smugness, viewing the soldiers below as if they were fools.