Longzang

Chapter 722 Each Takes a Step Back

Tens of thousands of Qingming infantry and several thousand light cavalry arrived and began clearing the battlefield. Several generals who led the troops came before Li Zhi and saluted in greeting.

This force was mostly composed of Li Zhi's Zhenshan Army, only now they were dressed in Qingming uniforms and fighting alongside the main Qingming army. However, before they could even make their mark, Zhang Sheng had already decisively defeated 200,000 Zhao troops with 100,000 Qingming soldiers in a direct confrontation. The main Qingming force was currently busy readjusting its formation, leaving the battlefield to Li Zhi's men to clean up.

After assigning the tasks, Li Zhi led three thousand elite light cavalry and followed Zhang Sheng.

Just then, Lu Gaozhi's army withdrew from the hilltop, only to see chariots appearing on the summit, bombarding the Zhao army from above. Lu Gaozhi, unable to regroup, had to leave a rearguard behind before leading his remaining troops in a hasty retreat towards Zhao territory.

However, the Qingming Army consisted entirely of cavalry, whose mobility far surpassed that of the Zhao Army, which was mostly composed of infantry. Zhang Sheng followed unhurriedly, continuously directing his army to encircle and annihilate Lu Gaozhi's rearguard; then he continued the pursuit, forcing Lu Gaozhi to divide his forces again to cover his rear, and then annihilating his rearguard once more.

And so, Zhang Sheng followed Zhao Jun, constantly tearing chunks of flesh from the enormous beast. She even divided the Qingming army into three parts, with one part always resting.

Li Zhi accompanied Zhang Sheng the entire time and saw him standing with his hands behind his back on top of the chariot, surrounded by eight cyan immortal swords protecting him. He effortlessly eliminated wave after wave of enemy soldiers, his demeanor truly unparalleled in the world!
Li Zhi dared not disturb her military operations, and besides, he didn't know whether the person standing there was Zhang Sheng or Bao Yun. But judging from the piercing sword aura, it seemed to be Zhang Sheng.

At this moment, Lu Gaozhi, who was in the lead, was in a sorry state, both shocked and angry. Now he finally understood why Zhang Sheng had been so polite in asking him to return to the State of Zhao.

The woman didn't actually want to send a single soldier back to Zhao. She only said that to get the Zhao army moving.

As soon as Zhao Jun retreats, she can pursue and gradually erode his forces. When the army retreats in panic, even Lu Gaozhi can hardly control it and can only barely keep the army from collapsing. He is completely unable to organize an effective counterattack.

At this moment, dust rose again from behind, indicating that the Azure Mist Cavalry had clearly annihilated the rearguard and were pursuing them once more.

Lu Gaozhi was furious and shouted, "You brat, you've gone too far!"

Several officers and soldiers, who had been running for hundreds of miles and were already exhausted, said, "General, should we split up and retreat?"

"Foolish!" Lu Gaozhi shouted angrily, "Isn't splitting up the troops just playing into her hands? If the army stays together, some of them can still be withdrawn. Splitting up the troops will only allow her to wipe them all out!"

The generals quickly realized that, given the enemy's skillful command, their attempt to break out separately would be like lambs to the slaughter.

A general's face hardened, and he said, "Then I'll cover the rear this time!"

Lu Gaozhi nodded slowly, his expression grave.

Suddenly, someone in the air said, "This girl surnamed Zhang is truly a rare talent. With such military prowess, she would be hard to beat in open battle. However, she is still a bit too young and impetuous, and likes to kill without mercy, which is somewhat inappropriate. I will go and teach her the principles of being a good person, hoping that she can grow into a towering tree in the future."

The voice was clear and gentle, like a spring breeze, and all the soldiers in Zhao's army were invigorated.

When the Zhao army set out, Yu Jing naturally accompanied them. However, as Yu Jing, he was generally reluctant to interfere in the conquests of mortal armies. It was only because Yu Jing saw that the Zhao army had suffered such a crushing defeat that he had no choice but to appear.

A person with a refined and elegant appearance appeared in the air; his simple clothes could not conceal his dignified and noble air.

Lu Gaozhi was also invigorated. He saluted the air and then ordered the army to speed up the retreat.

This person's appearance was not for something as superficial as showing off in front of others; rather, he was waiting for Yu Jing from Qingming's side to appear. The two sides would first discuss the general terms, and then talk about other things.

Sure enough, a woman in red appeared in the air. Her face was indistinct, and she was playing with a jade throwing knife in her hand. The handsome prince's gaze instantly fell on the throwing knife, and his pupils shrank, showing great apprehension.

"What is this?" He hesitated for a moment before asking.

"This is a replica of the Primordial Sacred Artifact, the Soul-Slaying Flying Knife. It is unknown which immortal made the copy, but it can still be used once. Once this knife hits its target, it will sever one of the three souls and seven spirits. Which one is destroyed depends entirely on the will of Heaven."

However, this blade is far inferior to the sacred artifact itself. Even if struck, some remnants will remain. With a few hundred years of secluded cultivation and daily consumption of rare and precious medicinal herbs, the soul may still recover. Therefore, being struck by it is not a major issue; it merely postpones one's ascension to immortality by a hundred or two hundred years.

It's just a matter of pushing it back a hundred or two hundred years? Just look at the precedent of Xu Wangu. Let alone a hundred or two hundred years, sometimes it's just a difference of a dozen or twenty years.

The handsome prince's face twitched, and he cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you for informing me, fellow Daoist."

Zhu Yuanjin replied, "I'm being frank with you for no other reason than to let you know that I'm speaking to you from the perspective of strength. So you can take back any things you shouldn't have said."

The prince smiled wryly and said, "Fellow Daoist, why must you be so ruthless?"

Zhu Yuanjin said calmly, "It's just routine work, no need for praise."

At this moment, another rough voice rang out: "Brother Li, why waste your breath on her! With the two of us here today, are we afraid of her alone?"

Another burly man in full armor appeared in the air, carrying a long halberd, his murderous aura as imposing as a mountain!
As soon as he appeared, he pointed his halberd at Zhu Yuanjin and said coldly, "Brother Li, you will suppress her immortal soldiers, and I will sever her physical body. However, fighting is not our intention. As long as you stop pursuing my Great Zhao soldiers, return the wounded and prisoners, and give the dead sufficient compensation and pensions, we two will not interfere. How about it?"

Below, on the ground, Zhang Sheng was rolling forward with the chariot. Suddenly, she looked up at the sky.

Li Zhi also looked up at the sky, his face immediately turning angry. He said, "Zhao and Li are shameless! As imperial lords, they actually want to directly intervene in the battle in the mortal realm? Aren't they afraid of being burdened by karma?" Zhang Shengxian ordered his men, "The army continues to advance. Don't let a single Zhao soldier escape! As for those two in the sky, pretend they don't exist."

Li Zhi was taken aback and said, "Those are two Imperial Realm experts, and Prince Duan's strength is extraordinary. Tai Chu Palace only sent one Imperial Realm expert. Oh, although Ancestor Yuan Jin's strength is superb and he is handsome, he is still fighting two against one. Shouldn't we make plans in advance?"

Zhang Sheng said calmly, "Since my Taichu Palace has only sent one person, that means one is enough. Sending more would be a waste."

She spoke without any attempt to conceal her true intentions, which greatly alarmed Li Zhi. He wanted to warn her, but it was too late.

As expected, the general in the air was furious and shouted, "You little brat, you have a sharp tongue. It seems I'll have to teach you a lesson on behalf of your teacher today!"

Zhang Sheng calmly replied, "If my ancestor were here, and you dared to repeat these words in front of him, I would respect you as a true man."

The general was so angry he was practically spitting fire. He said, "Brother Li helped me cover the retreat, so today we can't very well use the strength to bully the weak!"

Zhu Yuanjin then said, "You can't go anywhere. Take a look at this first."

Another precious pearl appeared in her hand, its pink light shimmering and rippling in the water. The general glanced at it and was immediately made dizzy by the ripples. He paused, his anger subsiding, and asked, "What kind of celestial treasure is this?"

Zhu Yuanjin said, "This bead is a supreme treasure that was refined by a high-ranking Buddhist monk in ancient times before his passing away. It contains a 'Great Pure Light that Cuts Off All Ties'."

Upon hearing the name, the general felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason. He wanted to ask more questions, but couldn't bring himself to do so. Fortunately, Prince Duan asked in time, "I wonder what mystical power this 'Great Purity and Severing of Karmic Bonds' possesses?"

Zhu Yuanjin was waiting for him to ask, so he said, "This precious light is somewhat similar to a great curse of the Witch Clan. Both are used to sever the bloodline. If one is illuminated by this precious light and cannot resist the Buddha-nature of that high monk, the karma will be passed on to all bloodline descendants. These descendants will no longer be able to have children and will die out. Hence the name: Purification and Severance of Karma."

The general was both shocked and furious, a chill running down his spine. He said, "How could something so vicious come from the hands of a high-ranking Buddhist monk?"

"That eminent monk's Dharma name is Master Jimie. He came from the Blood Soul Temple and achieved enlightenment at the age of five hundred. He is naturally a high-ranking monk in Buddhism."

The two imperial guards of Zhao glanced at the jade knife in Zhu Yuanjin's left hand and then at the precious pearl in her right, their expressions turning extremely grim. They then noticed a bulging pouch tied around her waist, its contents unknown.

The general habitually opened his mouth to curse, but swallowed the profanity back down.

Prince Duan smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "Shall we each take a step back and cease interfering in the affairs below?"

Zhu Yuanjin put away the two magical treasures and said, "That's for the best." Then her figure disappeared.

The general was so angry he was jumping up and down, but he couldn't lash out. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly looked down and his expression changed.

Below, the Zhao army, like a herd of deer being chased by hungry wolves, was rushing towards the Zhao border.

The Zhao garrison had already received the news, and tens of thousands of troops were marching at full speed to meet them. Behind them were hundreds of thousands of troops, but the army was moving slowly and it would take them more than half a day to reach the border.

At this moment, another Qingming Army appeared in the distance, composed of a mix of chariots and cavalry, and also led hundreds of wagons.

This haphazard force marched with remarkable speed, practically swift as the wind. At their pace and in their direction, they were poised to intercept Lu Gaozhi's defeated army on the Zhao border!
"What, what should we do?" the general asked anxiously.

Prince Duan remained calm and said, "This force is small in number. If it dares to intercept us, it will be attacked from both sides. I think that girl is quite skilled in warfare and would not do such a foolish thing."

Prince Duan's voice was gentle yet firm, instantly boosting one's confidence.

It just backfired.

That combined force of Qingming and Ming managed to insert itself between the defeated Zhao army and the reinforcements, and stopped just outside the Zhao border.

As soon as the troops arrived, they seized the brief window of opportunity to build a fortified position with freight cars, use tanks as fire support points, and have all the cavalry dismount and fight on foot, setting up their guns and aiming, thus constructing a defensive line in the blink of an eye.

Moments later, the defeated Zhao army surged in, and reinforcements arrived at the same time. However, a thin defensive line had already been erected between the two sides, making them unable to communicate despite being so close.

Desperate to survive, the defeated army and desperately trying to rescue their fallen comrades launched a fierce attack on the defensive line, but neither could breach it, which was as thin as paper. The soldiers within the line relied not only on guns and cannons, but also on the Zhao army, who would engage in hand-to-hand combat with swords and shields when they charged.

In the ensuing bloody battle, Zhao's army was completely at a disadvantage, and the soldiers who managed to charge forward were cut down and sent back.

At this moment, Qingming's rear army arrived, and countless cavalry surrounded them. The remnants of the Zhao army had nowhere to go and could only surrender. Within Zhao territory, the rear army finally arrived late, just in time to see their allies surrender.

The Zhao general leading the army was so angry that he cursed loudly and was about to lead his troops across the border to rescue the people. At this moment, the Qingming army formation suddenly opened up, and an eight-wheeled war chariot stepped out from the center.

Zhang Sheng stood atop her chariot, pointed at the Zhao general, and then beckoned with her finger. Her fingertips were glowing.

(End of this chapter)