As everyone knew, the Great Liang Emperor's ascension process was a legendary tale. Starting as a vassal prince, he eventually inherited the imperial throne. Such a journey, rising from a mere eight hundred soldiers to challenging an entire nation, was rarely seen even across the history of the human race.
To put it mildly, there was only this one successful rebellion led by a vassal prince in the entire history of humanity, and that was the current Great Liang Emperor.
The Great Liang Emperor was legendary enough, but the Demon Emperor in front of him was equally legendary. Originally the least favored by the previous generation's Demon Emperor, he was never in consideration when the previous Demon Emperor decided to establish the demon race's Crown Prince. Looking as the previous Demon Emperor weakened with each passing day and gradually approached the end of his life, several demon princes finally could not restrain themselves any longer and launched a rebellion successively. Several uprisings were suppressed by that Demon Emperor, resulting in many bloody tales in the demon race at that time.
After several rebellions, only two princes remained in the demon race back then.
However, the previous Demon Emperor leaned toward passing the demon throne to the other prince, and did not consider the current Demon Emperor.
But in the end, during the first court session after the newly appointed Demon Emperor ascended the throne, the prince who had always been deliberately overlooked appeared in the great hall. He approached the throne and directly snapped the neck of the new Demon Emperor in front of everyone.
The story's process was very complicated and uninteresting, yet the outcome was undeniably shocking.
In a certain sense, this story bore some resemblance to the tale of the Great Liang Emperor. However, these two rulers obviously would not share any sentiments about their past stories here. The two sovereigns stood on opposite sides of the riverbank, silently facing each other.
Suddenly, the entire river water began seething.
The Demon High Priest did not say a word, dissipating from this place.
The towering Demon Emperor gazed at the Great Liang Emperor, and a heinous demonic aura quickly shrouded half the sky. But in the end, the demonic qi could only stop on one side of the riverbank, leaving behind a strange sight: half of the sky resembled nightfall, while the other remained unchanged.
"Since the concession of the thirty thousand miles of the desolate north years ago, no human monarch has dared to venture deep into the North. You're the first."
The Demon Emperor finally spoke, his voice as cold as if it came from hell, akin to millennia-old unmelting ice.
The Great Liang Emperor looked at this greatest adversary of the human race and showed nothing out of the ordinary. He just said, "In the future, many humans will come here, heading farther north. They will cross the Onan River and arrive at your royal city."
In the demon territory, the Onan River served as their final barrier. Once crossed, it signified the end of the demons' final defense, and the demon race would have reached the stage of its greatest crisis.
"For thousands of years, my demon race has never faced such a situation. On the contrary, you humans have been constantly defeated. Thirty thousand miles of the desolate north, doesn't it say something?"
The Demon Emperor said indifferently, "Today, you dare to venture deep into the desolate north. We admire your courage, so We came to see you in person."
Humanity's monarch ventured deep into the desolate north, it symbolized unparalleled courage. After the demons learn of this intel, they could dispatch countless powerhouses to surround and kill him, making him remain here forever. In reality, when this news reached the ears of the Demon Emperor, he could choose to do so. He could have brought those great demons here and made this human monarch remain here forever.
This was naturally the safest course of action, but it was not what this Demon Emperor wanted to do.
Facing the human race, the demon race had always held the advantage. For countless years, only they would venture south, the humans would never go up north. Although in the past two centuries, the Northern Frontier Great Wall obstructed their thoughts of advancing southward, the human race mostly maintained a defensive stance, and the dynamics between the two races did not reverse.
So when the Demon Emperor learned that this human emperor came here, he chose the simplest method: which was to walk out of the capital city, and come to the desolate north from there, and kill this human emperor with his own hands.
The Great Liang Emperor said, "After seeing you, I knew there would be no more ambushes."
The Demon Emperor said indifferently, "Since you dare to venture deep into the desolate north, We also believe in you. Even if We are wrong in the end, We still admire your courage."
As the Great Liang Emperor listened, his slightly graying temples moved without any wind, floating in the air.
Since the death of the Empress, this Emperor had aged visibly, but the aging was not physical; it was a psychological weariness.
Yet, no matter how old, he was still the Emperor of Great Liang, the most powerful martial artist in the entire world.
The Demon Emperor slowly said, "Under your rule, the human race has undergone some changes in recent years, but overall, not much has changed."
"Those fellows in the south, if it were Us, We would trample each of their sects to let them know who truly holds sway in this world. But you didn't, which means that you're not the most powerful existence in the human race. We truly hope to fight once with the strongest among you humans and see how long he can last against Us."
As the Demon Emperor spoke, the demonic qi in the sky became more intense. This supreme existence of the demon race, perhaps also the supreme existence in the entire world, looked at the Great Liang Emperor with a calm and serene expression.
The Great Liang Emperor did not speak. It was just that his half of the sky continued to block the demonic qi, not allowing it to infiltrate this area in the slightest.
Just like what he had been doing for all those years.
Since his ascension, the demons had never crossed that Great Wall again.
"In this great battle, you humans have schemed a lot, expended so much effort, and in the end, all you seek is merely a small victory. We currently don't care about the outcome of this war. If We were to kill you here, what would it matter if you all attain victory elsewhere?"
Indeed, the final result of this great battle held little significance. If the emperor from either side were to die here, the side without a king would naturally lose the victory.
"We think you're overthinking, and your thoughts are too optimistic."
The Great Liang Emperor glanced at the river before him. The river that was already seething endlessly finally could no longer be controlled by anyone at this moment, directly exploding with a loud bang. Countless splashes surged into the sky, forming a barrier between the two rulers.
The Demon Emperor tilted his head back, a faint smile on his lips.
The Great Liang Emperor also lifted his head.
Separated by a long river, the two rulers each made their move.
A battle sufficient of being recorded in history unfolded here.
Between heaven and earth, what might be the two most terrifying auras emerged seemingly out of nowhere and collided here.
The entire world seemed to tremble slightly at this moment.
On the desolate north plain, with the two as the center, a terrifying air billow spread out. Countless wild grasses in the entire plain bowed down in submission. As if all things between heaven and earth had to bow before these two rulers at this moment!
……
……
When the Great General rushed to Bluestone Pass, there was also a sword immortal in blue who also hurried to this now crucial pass. The two of them virtually arrived simultaneously and met in front of the ruins.
The weary Great General had wrinkles piled on his face, resembling a series of deep ravines. He looked at the sword immortal in blue and asked, "Sword Immortal Liu, why do you know the importance of this place?"
Liu Banbi's face was pale. He only relaxed a little after taking a sip of alcohol. Hearing the Great General speak, he simply shook his head, saying softly, "When I studied at the academy, it wasn't just the teachings of sages; they also taught military strategy."
Liu Banbi was indeed an excellent scholar sapling, which was why the Dean valued him so highly. When he learned that the General's Office had planned a major scheme, he pondered many things. Eventually, he concluded that Bluestone Pass was the most important location.
However, in comparison, he needed to rescue people first before heading to this place.
Now, it seemed his deduction was correct.
The Great General's expression became solemn, and he lamented softly, "We're already too late. The demons have already moved out. But who could have arrived here before us?"
Bluestone Pass was already breached, but they did not see a single demon on the way here. Instead, they found the corpse of a great demon here. This indicated that someone from the human side had arrived first. Furthermore, their cultivation realm was not low. Perhaps it was a formidable cultivator at the pinnacle of the Nepenthe Realm. Otherwise, how could they have killed a great demon without leaving much trace of a battle.
Liu Banbi glanced at the distant corpse of the great demon and shook his head, saying softly, "In the entire Northern Frontier, besides Great General, how many cultivators have the ability?"
The Great General also furrowed his brows slightly and shook his already. Although there were Nepenthe cultivators in the Northern Frontier too, no one could rival him. At this moment, they each had their own assignment too, and would not show up here.
"Looking at it, they seem to have come from the South. I wonder if it's those cultivators from the foreign lands who have traveled here, or if it's the imperial court's..."
Liu Banbi suddenly frowned and said with a bitter smile, "How could it be so simple?"
"Great General, I'm going deeper into the Northern Frontier to see what's ahead."
He already made his decision with just a moment of contemplation.
The Great General said solemnly, "You mustn't, the Northern Frontier is dangerous. Sword Immortal Liu, you mustn't take such risks! If Sword Immortal Liu dies in the Northern Frontier, this general cannot explain it to the Dean."
Liu Banbi lifted his wine gourd, took a sip, and found that the wine gourd was already empty. He then said regretfully, "Without alcohol, there's no courage. But if that person has ventured alone into the Northern Frontier, I want to lend him a helping hand. As for dying in the Northern Frontier, why do you need to explain it to anyone, Great General?"
Liu Banbi put the wine gourd back at his waist and said softly, "If Teacher knew I died in the Northern Frontier, he wouldn't say anything."
After saying this, Liu Banbi said seriously, "I can go deep into the Northern Frontier, but Great General can't. Great General must stay on the Great Wall, so this Liu will go first!"
The Great General frowned and was about to speak, but he found that he could not say anything. In the end, he just sighed heavily.
Liu Banbi threw out his companion sword, Embracing Cicada. Then, he leaped on it before looking north and said with a smile, "Going deep into the desolate north this time, I hope I can catch a glimpse of the Onan River."
