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Ten days later.

In a secret chamber, Qi Tian sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, eyes closed, muscles relaxed yet taut, his mind calm and composed.

Commanding a herd of five hundred thousand horses placed a significant burden on his soul.

The King of Ten Thousand Horses and the Heavenly Steed had already been enslaved by Qi Tian, while Ma Zun's soul had become useless and was sent back to the Blessed Land. Even Ghost God Wuying had been freed up and assigned another task.

Despite being a Rank Five Gu Master, Ma Zun's soul held little value for Qi Tian. Any useful knowledge had already been extracted. However, as the soul of a horseman of a thousand, it could still serve some purpose—by being transformed into a soul beast of considerable strength.

Meanwhile, Qi Tian's bones had been modified into Black and White Impermanence Gu, and his soul had reached the strength of two thousand human souls.

As a Slave Path Gu Master specializing in horse control, using Horse Soul Gu to transform his soul into a Horseman Soul was the best choice. This transformation would make controlling horse herds significantly easier, as the herd would instinctively recognize him as one of their own on a soul-deep level.

However, Qi Tian's refined two-thousand-human-strength soul was difficult to transform into a Horseman Soul, as he had already used an Immortal Gu to refine his soul. Even a Rank Five Horse Soul Gu had little effect.

Yet Qi Tian had no regrets. There are always trade-offs. Using Ghost Womb Immortal Gu to refine his soul provided no direct advantage in Slave Path, but its high efficiency made up for it.

After two hours of sleep, Qi Tian's soul fatigue vanished. He sat on the prayer mat and began refining Gu.

---

Refining the Qi Eye Gu

Qi Tian was refining a scouting Gu. Ma Zun's Horse Ear Gu allowed detection of enemy movements through sound, a valuable ability in tribal warfare. However, it was too limited. Qi Tian needed an additional scouting Gu—one he had used before in Central Continent: Ghost Eye Butterfly Gu.

Previously, this Gu had merged with Qi Tian's left eye, but before arriving in Northern Plains, he had extracted it, restoring his eye with a healing Gu.

Now, he planned to advance it to a Rank Five Qi Eye Gu.

The Ghost Eye Butterfly Gu—

A butterfly with pure white wings adorned with black patterns flapped gently, emitting a radiant glow of intertwined white and dark light.

The Transforming Qi Gu—

The butterfly's radiance intensified, transforming into a black and white mist, interwoven in an eternal dance of light and darkness.

The Yang Cloud Gu, Yin Cloud Gu—

Two opposing clouds, one above, one below, surrounded the mist, causing it to fluctuate and expand.

To speed up the process, Qi Tian activated Same Qi Linked Branch Gu, enhancing fusion despite its reduced Rank Three effect.

Qi Tian's sharp gaze remained locked on the swirling mist.

Now is the moment!

The mist had grown as large as a basketball. Qi Tian began feeding it primeval stones.

Each primeval stone that touched the mist disintegrated into white powder, causing the mist to shine even brighter, forcing tears from Qi Tian's strained eyes.

Once the mist condensed, Qi Tian ceased his input of primeval stones.

Finally, the mist vanished, leaving behind a single wisp of pale gray energy floating in the air.

"It's finally done!" Qi Tian exhaled deeply.

This pale gray wisp was the newly refined Qi Eye Gu.

Initially named Ghost Eye Nether Butterfly Gu, Qi Tian later renamed it Qi Eye Gu because it no longer resembled a butterfly.

A Qi Path Gu, this creation of Qi Tian's overcame the Ghost Eye Butterfly Gu's shortcomings. Unlike before, it no longer required sacrificing an eye—instead, it merged into the eye as a wisp of energy, making it more convenient and practical.

With a surge of true essence, Qi Eye Gu fragmented into countless wisps of air, merging seamlessly with the surrounding atmosphere.

Through Qi Eye Gu's vision, Qi Tian saw everything within ten miles from multiple angles and perspectives.

Within the camp—

The torches burned brightly outside.

Numerous Gu Masters bustled about, tending to their tasks—some feeding the horse herds, some organizing supplies, others patrolling the perimeter.

Many clans had sworn allegiance to the Ma Clan, creating a flurry of activity—negotiating terms, tallying resources, and coordinating affairs.

Qi Tian withdrew his sight.

Qi Eye Gu's scouting ability was exceptionally concealed, one of Qi Tian's greatest creations from his past life. Nobody in the camp detected his surveillance.

Its seamless fusion with Northern Plains' aura ensured absolute stealth, a unique advantage of Qi Path Gu worms.

After meditating for a while, Qi Tian composed himself and stepped out of the secret chamber.

---

A Crucial Invitation

Emerging from the Giant Lizard House Gu, Qi Tian encountered two Rank Three Gu Masters standing like gatekeepers.

Ma Zun's identity was critical—now that he had arrived at the Ma Clan's main camp, he was under strict protection.

"Greetings, Lord Ma Zun." The two Gu Masters, Ma Ying and Ma Jiu, saluted respectfully and reported:

"Clan Leader requests your presence at the banquet. He has an important matter to discuss."

In the Ma Clan, "Clan Leader" referred to Ma Shangfeng, even after he had become the alliance leader.

Over the past few days, Qi Tian had mostly remained in seclusion, focusing on cultivation and refining Gu to control additional horse herds in preparation for the Royal Court Contention.

Meanwhile, Ma Shangfeng had been hosting frequent feasts, negotiating with newly allied clans. Though he had invited Qi Tian multiple times, Qi Tian had declined under the pretext of cultivation—a decision that suited Ma Zun's taciturn personality.

But this banquet was different.

Through Qi Eye Gu's reconnaissance, Qi Tian already knew—this was about the Alliance Blood Oath.

His steps paused briefly before he finally changed his usual stance.

"Since it's an important matter, I shall attend."

---

The Alliance Blood Oath

At the banquet, Qi Tian's guess was correct—the discussion revolved around the Alliance Blood Oath.

The Hero Assembly had only established initial alliances. A true coalition required binding agreements to integrate the various clans into a unified force.

The alliance pact outlined mutual obligations and benefits, ensuring each clan's interests were safeguarded.

Seeing no issues, Qi Tian joined the others in taking the Poison Oath Gu.

However, Qi Tian was an exception—he had already refined the Wordless Betrayal Gu, a long-lost Gu only rediscovered two hundred years later by a Western Desert chieftain.

The alliance contract had no hold over him.

---

The First Campaign

Inside the royal tent, the seating arrangements were carefully planned:

Ma Shangfeng sat at the head, with Ma Yingjie standing behind him.

To his left, Ma Zun held the highest rank.

To his right, the Cheng Clan's leader, Cheng Long, sat with his brother Cheng Hu.

Further down sat leaders of medium clans and fourth-rank demonic path experts.

With the alliance truly solidified, it was no longer a scattered coalition.

"Now that we are one, tradition dictates we must claim a victory to consecrate our banner!" Ma Shangfeng declared.

"I have decided— we march southwest. We shall conquer weaker tribes, expand our cavalry, and temper our troops in preparation for future battles against major powers!"

With sixty thousand troops, the Ma Clan Alliance surged forth from Tianchuan, marching southwest—toward their first conquest!