[Year 56, Age 74.]

[You replaced "Man and Sword as One" with "Ageless Male God".]

[You replaced "Senior Tomato User" with "Dragon Plays with Phoenix".]

[After equipping the male god trait, your appearance instantly reverted to that of an eighteen-year-old.]

[You pulled out that old outfit from your Storage Ring.]

[White robe, silver armor, the Frost Awe Tyrant Spear!]

["I'm really handsome..."]

[You admired yourself in the still-smoking Qiankun Mirror, feeling narcissistic.]

[Arriving in the Southern Borderlands once more, you had three tasks to accomplish this time.]

[Borrow the pill formula for the Five Regions Sacred Pill from Danxiang Valley.]

[Find the Southern Borderlands' supreme treasure, "The Flower of the South".]

[Persuade the Female Emperor to temporarily cease hostilities with the Central Plains and dispatch troops to Cangqiong Ridge to establish a defensive line.]

[While these three things sound troublesome, they are actually quite simple to do.]

[Find Li Lingyue and persuade her!]

[Riding your sword, you flew through the skies.]

[In the mountains, all beasts prostrated themselves upon seeing you.]

[Within villages, commoners bowed in worship upon your passing.]

["Now I've become the mysterious martial artist flying overhead in the eyes of others..."]

[Recently, your cultivation broke through once more, reaching the tenth level of the Spirit Sea realm.]

[The effects of High-Grade Bone Structure were obvious.]

[With sufficient resources, you basically wouldn't encounter bottlenecks in these minor realms.]

[In the past, cultivating naturally was practically useless for you, but now, even natural cultivation could significantly increase your cultivation base.]

[Of course, for a normal Spirit Sea realm martial artist at your age, the efficiency of natural cultivation would be greatly reduced due to bodily aging.]

[Although you were also old, you had "Ginger Gets Spicier With Age", so aging had no effect on your cultivation.]

[War raged between the Central Plains and the Southern Borderlands.]

[The Female Emperor's cultivation had surpassed the Martial King Realm. According to the internal agreement among humanity, she could not directly participate in frontline battles, but she remained stationed in the central command tent.]

[You inquired along the way and learned that the Female Emperor's current location was likely somewhere near the border between the Southern Borderlands and Suzhou in the Central Plains.]

[A vague direction was enough; once you got close, your "Treasure-Sniffing Nose" would catch Li Lingyue's scent.]

[You flew over from the Eastern Wastes, first passing through the northeastern territory of the Southern Borderlands.]

[Compared to several decades ago, the Southern Borderlands now had many large and small "Female Emperor Temples".]

[Most of these temples were bustling with incense offerings, with a continuous stream of devotees.]

[Differing from other temples, these Female Emperor Temples were equipped with a varying number of guards depending on their construction scale.]

[These guards were all fully armored soldiers. Their martial realm was unclear, but they could definitely take on a hundred ordinary mortals each.]

["Temples, incense offerings...

I remember that old granny said Li Lingyue had a Faith Sacred Physique. She probably grows stronger by gathering the power of faith.

No wonder she's attacking the Central Plains and claiming imperial legitimacy.

If she becomes the Great Emperor of the Five Regions, she would surely build Female Emperor Temples all over the Five Regions, and then she would become even stronger!"]

[Among the eighteen paths researched by Founding Ancestor Shen, there was one called the Faith Dao.]

[Li Lingyue was probably cultivating this.]

[Therefore, as long as Li Lingyue's Sacred Physique awakened and she realized she had a Faith Sacred Physique, she was inevitably destined to walk the path of seizing power and proclaiming herself emperor.]

[In feudal times, what could be more influential than becoming an emperor?]

[Not long after, you reached the encampment of the allied armies of the Hundred Kingdoms of the South.]

[Fluttering dragon banners waved in the wind, majestic military flags arrayed in all directions.]

[The central army camp was vast, teeming with soldiers and generals, its aura intimidating.]

[You estimated that flying directly in like this would probably be suicidal.]

[You landed outside the military camp and walked to the entrance of the stockade.]

["Whoosh!"]

[An arrow shot to the ground at your feet.]

[A sentry shouted.]

["Who goes there! State your business here! Speak quickly! If you cannot give a proper account, do not blame us for unleashing a volley of arrows!"]

[You cupped your fist and shook it slightly.]

["I wish to have an audience with the Female Emperor. Please announce my arrival. Say an old friend has come to visit, and my surname is Chen."]

[The sentry laughed disdainfully.]

["Hahaha, everyone wants to see the Female Emperor! I want to see her too! Just because you say your surname is Chen, you think you can meet her? Well, my surname is Chen too! We're all named Chen!"]

[You stood at the stockade gate, straightened the cuff of your armor, a mysterious smile playing on your lips.]

["Three... two..."]

[Seeing your odd behavior, the sentry barked.]

["What are you counting over there? Could you be exchanging secret signals with a spy?"]

[You looked around.]

[Why was there no reaction?]

[Li Lingyue should be incredibly powerful by now. Her divine sense covering the entire camp should be effortless.]

["One point five..."]

[Give her a little more time.]

[Seeing your suspicious behavior, the sentry drew his bow and nocked another arrow.]

["Retreat fifty *zhang* and submit to inspection! Otherwise, we will shoot!"]

["One point three..."]

["Release arrows!"]

["One point two..."]

[These ordinary arrows couldn't even pierce your defense now.]

[You didn't plan to dodge.]

[But just as the rain of arrows was about to hit you, a fierce gale blew out from within the camp.]

["Whoosh—"]

[A strand of black hair brushed past your face, carrying a faint, refreshing fragrance.]

[A tall, heroic figure clad in red armor, a cloak adorned with dragon and phoenix patterns draped over her shoulders, her long, raven-black hair flowing freely.]

["How dare you! Who dares harm him!"]

[The sentries, seeing it was the Female Emperor, were so terrified they fell from the watchtowers, kowtowing repeatedly.]

["Your Majesty, spare us! Your Majesty, spare us! We didn't know he was truly your friend..."]

[Li Lingyue glanced down at these soldiers.]

["Those who shot arrows without announcing the visitor earlier shall each receive thirty strokes of the military rod!"]

[The sentries kowtowed in gratitude.]

["Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing our lives!"]

[Li Lingyue turned around, her eyes meeting yours.]

[After so many years.]

[The two of you finally met again.]

[You still looked the same as back then, and so did she.]

[But in both your eyes, there was now a wealth of experience and vicissitudes.]

[There was no tearful, overjoyed reunion scene, nor any tender inquiries about each other's well-being.]

[Li Lingyue simply led you into the military camp, as if receiving an ordinary old friend.]

["Lingyue, back then at Soul-Severing Cliff, I left without saying goodbye because..."]

["No need to explain. Master has already told me everything. Whether we said goodbye or not, we still had to part. Why add unnecessary sorrow."]

["I came to find you this time to tell you that the war with the Central Plains needs to stop for now. The Demon Tribe from the Great Wastes is about to attack. I have already made arrangements with the Sword Lord to gather forces from all sides at Cangqiong Ridge. At that time, we..."]

[You explained everything logically and clearly.]

[But it felt like Li Lingyue wasn't really listening, just continuing to walk forward.]

[Soldiers in the camp stood at attention and saluted upon seeing her.]

[Most officers and soldiers didn't dare look directly at the Female Emperor. Those bold enough to look held expressions of immense reverence and awe, as if gazing upon a celestial maiden who had descended to earth.]

["Um, Lingyue, the Demon Tribe will make their move soon. If possible, the Southern Borderlands should allocate a portion of troops and resources as quickly as possible to..."]

["You disappeared for so many years, and now you come to see me just to tell me these things?"]

["Well, then... should we... um...?"]

[A slight smile curled at the corner of Li Lingyue's lips...]