"Old Ancestor, what in the world happened?" the Emperor of Da Ling was completely panicked.
"That traitor... no, that senior, is simply not someone we can handle!" the Old Ancestor of Da Ling said slowly, "If he were to truly make a move... Da Ling would cease to exist!"
On the way back, the Old Ancestor of Da Ling had figured it out.
In his opinion, Ye Fan's realm was one he could not even imagine. Such a powerful being could obliterate Da Ling with a flick of his finger!
The reason that senior hadn't killed him on the spot was probably because he disdained to do so.
"Old Ancestor, what should we do now?"
The Emperor of Da Ling was naturally weak. Seeing the Old Ancestor so thoroughly beaten, he was utterly despairing.
"You must quickly write a letter of surrender and personally deliver it to Da Liang!" the Old Ancestor of Da Ling sighed, "Surrendering voluntarily might give us a sliver of hope. Otherwise..."
"This..." the Emperor of Da Ling was hesitant.
The title of a fallen monarch was not a pleasant one...
"You scoundrel!" the Old Ancestor of Da Ling glared fiercely at the Emperor, "At a time like this, you still care about such things? Do you want to watch Da Ling be ravaged and its people suffer!"
"Moreover, surrender might not be a bad thing." the Old Ancestor of Da Ling reasoned, "With such a terrifying senior in Da Liang, their expansion in the future is inevitable. If we surrender now, we can preserve our lives, and secondly... when Da Liang becomes powerful, our status will rise with it."
"Grandson understands!" the Emperor of Da Ling nodded, suddenly enlightened.
The Old Ancestor's words made sense!
Voluntarily surrendering was better than being annihilated!
Empty reputations were false!
Being alive was the only way!
If Da Liang became strong and powerful in the future, he might even become a top subordinate or an elder.
Thinking of it this way, it wasn't a total loss!
"You quickly prepare the surrender letter," the Old Ancestor of Da Ling gestured, "I'm going to heal my injuries. Send someone to bring me some Sheng Dan later."
Having his cultivation forcibly extracted was incredibly taxing on the body.
If he didn't get treated quickly, he might even lose his life!
The Emperor hurriedly arranged for a few guards to help the Old Ancestor leave.
Not a single minister voiced any objection to the surrender.
What a joke!
The Old Ancestor himself was so beaten down, what was the point of objecting?!
Surrendering meant at most working for a different emperor. Their lives were more important!
Thus, the ruler and his subjects began to discuss.
For example, what gifts they should bring when they surrendered...
At the same time, a peculiar group was rapidly approaching the imperial palace of Da Ling.
Er Ha stood on the coffin, his dog eyes shining as he stared in the direction of the Da Ling imperial palace.
His intuition told him that there was a severely injured ally inside waiting for his treatment!
The situation was extremely urgent; if they were late, it might be too late!
The residence of the Old Ancestor of Da Ling.
"You all may leave," the Old Ancestor of Da Ling indicated to the guards after returning to his room, "Guard the door closely during this time. No one must be allowed to disturb me!"
"As you command!" the guards replied and went to stand guard outside the door.
Just as the Old Ancestor of Da Ling was about to circulate his cultivation to heal, he heard footsteps approaching the door.
The Old Ancestor of Da Ling looked up in annoyance, "Didn't I tell you not to disturb me..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
Instead of guards, a group of unfamiliar beings had entered.
Leading the way were five young cultivators, each as black as if they had just emerged from an ink vat.
Behind them, four people carried a gleaming, polished coffin on their shoulders!
On top of the coffin stood a small, snow-white fox and something that was hard to tell if it was a wolf or a dog.
Following behind the group were three spirit beasts.
A magnificent white horse.
An elegant crane.
And a peacock with green eyes.
...
This collection of strangely shaped beings seemed to generate a peculiar sense of pressure.
Just a single glance made the Old Ancestor of Da Ling feel as if he had fallen into an abyss of ice!
It wasn't exactly fear.
It was just that his body uncontrollably began to tremble...
"Indeed, it's an ally!" Er Ha stared at him for five seconds and ordered, "The ally is severely injured, treat him quickly!"
"As you command, Brother Ha!"
The group of five responded, put down the coffin, and walked towards the Old Ancestor of Da Ling.
They showed their most "friendly" smiles, their five small white teeth appearing even more striking against their pitch-black bodies.
"Don't be afraid, don't be nervous."
As this smile appeared, the Old Ancestor of Da Ling felt a chilling cold rise within him!
It was a terrifying chill from the inside out, as if every bone and drop of blood in his body had frozen stiff!
He no longer had the luxury of wondering why the guards outside weren't acting.
Alarms were blaring wildly in his mind!
Driven by instinct, he wanted to escape.
It had nothing to do with fear or cowardice.
He simply disliked this uncomfortable atmosphere!
Tragically, he found that his body was once again unable to move.
"Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!"
Five pitch-black hands touched his body.
"We are professionals, you won't be in pain for long."
Five minutes later.
The coffin lid slowly opened, and the Old Ancestor of Da Ling got up and lay back on his bed.
"Thank you, I feel much better now," the Old Ancestor of Da Ling closed his eyes slowly, "Remember to close the door for me when you leave."
"You're too kind, ally. This is what we should do," Er Ha was delighted, "Rest well, we're off to help other allies."
As they left, the group of five gently closed the door.
Er Ha's army turned into black dots and vanished into the sky.
Whether it was Er Ha or the group of five, they were all very happy.
They had successfully treated another severely injured ally, what a meaningful deed!
This feeling of helping others was truly wonderful, as if their souls had been sublimated!
No more words needed, they had to quickly find more allies!
The main hall of the imperial palace.
The Emperor of Da Ling was discussing the surrender with his officials.
"Your Majesty, bad news!" a small eunuch rushed in in a panic.
"Panicking, what kind of deportment is this?!" the Emperor of Da Ling was startled, "What has happened?!"
This small eunuch was the one he had sent to deliver the pills to the Old Ancestor.
Seeing the eunuch rush in so flustered, could it be that the Old Ancestor had met with misfortune?
"Your Majesty!" the small eunuch knelt down in front of him with a thud, "The Old Ancestor... the Old Ancestor he..."
Perhaps due to extreme nervousness and fear, he couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
"Speak quickly!" the Emperor of Da Ling shouted, "What has happened to the Old Ancestor?!"
"The Old Ancestor... the Old Ancestor has passed away!"
Startled by the Emperor, the small eunuch finally managed to say it.
"Clink!"
The brush in the Emperor of Da Ling's hand fell onto the table, smudging the surrender letter he had written.
However, he seemed oblivious, as if he had gone numb.
After a long while.
The Emperor of Da Ling, having regained his senses, ran madly towards the Old Ancestor's separate courtyard.
Inside the room.
The Old Ancestor of Da Ling lay with his hands crossed over his chest, his expression incredibly serene.
Well...
If you didn't consider that he was currently a corpse, he was indeed quite serene...
The Emperor of Da Ling collapsed onto the floor, his body trembling uncontrollably.
So...
The Old Ancestor's return alive was just so that traitor... that senior wanted him to deliver a message...
Now that the Old Ancestor's mission was complete, that senior had made his move...
"Surrender letter! Yes, surrender letter." the Emperor of Da Ling shakily got up and shouted, "Bring paper and brush!"
They had previously discussed becoming an affiliated state of Da Liang, paying tribute and submitting annually.
While this was a form of surrender, Da Ling would still exist.
Now, it seemed, that was no longer feasible!
Directly merging into Da Liang's territory was the best option!
"Your Majesty..." Old Li said with a troubled expression, "How about we handle the Old Ancestor's funeral first? If we go to present the surrender letter and then come back, the Old Ancestor might start to smell..."
"Handle my foot!" the Emperor of Da Ling roared, "Surrendering now is the top priority! The Old Ancestor will surely understand! When I return, I will give the Old Ancestor a grand burial!"
"I'll dictate, you write," the Emperor of Da Ling pushed the paper and brush towards Old Li.
His hands were trembling too violently to write.
And so, the ruler and his subjects sat by the corpse of the Old Ancestor of Da Ling and began to write the surrender letter.
Despite their immense fear, they persisted in fulfilling the Old Ancestor's last wish.
Truly filial devotion that moved the heavens!