Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 376 The Dark Shadows Lead to a Dead End; Only We Can Help You. The Azure and Yellow Pills, the Battle of Ba Shang Begins.

April 5th, 132nd year of the Moo calendar, during the day

A side hall on the east side of Muyin City.

An elderly man with half-white hair sat upright at the head of the hall, constantly rubbing his forehead. From his furrowed brows, agitated expression, and the act of rubbing his forehead, it was easy to see that the old man was extremely anxious at this moment.

He wasn't the only one in the hall; there were at least a dozen other people sitting below him, three of whom looked older than him, and the rest were mostly middle-aged.

"All 32 village-level camps across the territory have been recruited into the city by all those at the Cold Resistance level and the limit of the Earth Digging level. In less than four months, the number of Cold Resistance level in the town has surged from just over three thousand to more than five thousand. Do the village-level camps really have that many Cold Resistance level? Jinshan is clearly treating us like fools."

“That guard has more than 800 men, and at least 70% of them are from Jinshan Town. Shangguan Hong has now sealed off the area around the main hall, so our men can’t get in at all. We can’t even find the leader to take charge.”

"Not only that Imperial Guard, but the two newly added Garrison Guards also have more than four hundred Cold Resistance level soldiers, and the rest are all at the limit of the Earth Digging Realm. There must be a lot of people from Jinshan Town mixed in among them."

"Not only Jinshan, but also Beishuo and Wuchuan must have had people infiltrate."

"This is just what's on the surface; who knows how many more are hidden behind the scenes. The town is riddled with problems. If we don't clean it up soon, it will be too late."

"It's all the work of that witch from Jinshan Town. Town Chief, don't hesitate any longer. If she continues to wreak havoc like this, it won't be long before Muyin is completely destroyed."

………………

Hearing the words of the crowd below, Murong Chui frowned even more deeply. He turned his head to look in the direction of the main building on the west side, his eyes filled with entanglement and struggle.

"Father, we cannot allow the lord to continue acting so recklessly!"

Suddenly, an elderly man with white hair who was closest to him below spoke up.

As soon as the old man spoke, everyone else stopped and turned to look at him.

“Yan’er wants to surrender to Jinshan, which is not a big problem, as long as it’s not to Wuchuan. However, the town’s foundation is still intact, and Jinshan Town has not made any public statement. It’s too much for us, Muyin, to be so humble, even though we are weak.”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded emphatically, their faces filled with indignation.

As Murong Ping said, as long as it's not about surrendering to Wuchuan, they wouldn't have any objections to which lord Murong Yan wanted to pledge allegiance to. What angered them was never Murong Yan's intention to surrender.

Although they were unwilling to accept it, they all knew very well that ever since Lord Murong Ding passed away four years ago, Muyin Town had been declining and was no longer able to maintain its former status.

Three years ago, Wuchuan occupied another twenty-three village-level camps. In the end, under the joint pressure of the seven towns, Wuchuan returned twelve of them. However, as long as no new Xianyang-level forces emerge, Muyin's decline will not be reversed.

Wu Chuan continued to be aggressive, so at this point, it wouldn't be shameful for Mu Yin to seek help from either Jin Shan or Bei Shuo; it was simply a practical necessity.

However, Murong Yan's series of actions were indeed a bit too hasty.

Of course, they also knew why Murong Yan did this.

Murong Yan's suspicion of Murong Chui had become increasingly serious since he succeeded as lord. He was well aware of Murong Chui's side's attitude: the vast majority of them were unwilling to surrender to the three towns, and a very small minority were biased towards Beishuo. So, taking advantage of the marriage agreement three years ago, they directly sided with Jinshan and, with the support of Jinshan Town, competed with Murong Chui for control of the town.

"Three years ago, our Muyin was still well-established and supported by the five towns in the south and central regions. We were not afraid of the three towns at all. But that fool Murong Yan was in a hurry to invite the wolf into the house and fight among his own people, which caused the town to be in disarray and everyone to feel insecure."

Now, Dajue Temple is coming on strong. In the battle of Binjiang, Jiang Yinglong died, and Jiangxia is barely surviving and on the verge of collapse, just like us. Yangqu and Longgu towns have also been severely weakened. Bashang is now in dire need of its own protection, and none of the five towns can help us.

Surrendering now is not like it was three years ago, when all I had to do was be subservient to others. Given the nature of the three northern towns, they will not give up until they have completely devoured my Muyin.

The town is on the verge of collapse, and I reckon Murong Yan is still in the main hall, indulging in his pipe dream of becoming a lord. Bah, what an idiot, what an idiot…”

Murong Chui's second son, Murong Yan, lived up to his name, having an exceptionally fiery temper. Moreover, his feelings towards Murong Yan were clearly extremely negative, and he did not treat him as a lord in his words. After speaking, he even cursed him as an idiot several times.

boom……

Murong Chui slammed his fist on the table, interrupting Murong Yan. He stood up, pointed at his five sons, and roared, "He's a fool, and you're no better. If even one of you five had broken through in four years, I wouldn't be in this predicament alone. My Mu Yin wouldn't be where I am today!"

Upon hearing this, the five Murong brothers immediately lowered their heads in shame.

Unlike the five people, the expressions of the rest of the people in the hall were slightly gloomy.

Bystanders see things more clearly; they could tell from Murong Chui's words that he was still trying his best to uphold Murong Yan's authority as lord.

This happens to be the biggest problem within the town at this moment, or rather, the biggest problem for Murong Chui's faction.

Because of the two factions that split in the upper echelons over the past three years, and the internal strife was severe, the morale of the town has long been low, and it is even considered that the situation is beyond repair. If Murong Chui could make up his mind to rectify the situation, there might still be some hope. However, he has a stubborn loyalty and is unwilling to completely break ties with his grandson Murong Yan.

As staunch supporters of Murong Chui, they had tried to persuade him countless times, but Murong Chui remained unmoved. At this critical juncture, Murong Chui was still protecting Murong Yan, which made them somewhat disheartened.

"Zhang Hai pays his respects to the town chief!"

Just as the entire hall fell silent, a person suddenly rushed in from outside.

Zhang Hai entered and first bowed to Murong Chui. Then, after looking around to confirm that everyone present was one of his own, he immediately faced upwards and said, "Chief, there has still been no fighting in Ba Shang. However, according to reports from our scouts, the Dajue Temple is continuously reinforcing its troops. All the village-level camps within its territory have been filled by the Digging Realm. Ba Shang has kept its city gates closed for half a month and is not taking the initiative to attack no matter what. It seems that they intend to defend the town to the death."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone in the hall immediately turned ugly.

Muyin's only hope of avoiding being annexed by the three northern towns is to gain the joint support of the four central and southern towns. But how easy is it to gain their support?
The battle of Ba Shang is still unresolved. If Dajue Temple truly destroys Ba Shang, their next target will definitely be the four towns in the central and southern regions. If they support Muyin at this time and offend the three northern towns, no one will help them when Dajue Temple comes knocking on their door.

In other words, if Ba Shang can withstand Da Jue Temple and make the four towns realize that Da Jue Temple is not so terrible, and are not afraid of offending the three northern towns, then Mu Yin Town will definitely be able to turn the tide.

In short, whether they live or die depends on the outcome of the Battle of Ba Shang.

Either Ba Shang is destroyed, or they obediently surrender to Bei Shuo;

They either hold their ground at Ba Shang, or they seek help or form alliances with the four towns.

What I fear most is that things will drag on like this without a fight.

With the cooperation of Murong Yan and Shangguan Hong, Jinshan's infiltration of Muyin has been continuously deepening. The longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for them.

"Or perhaps we should go to Beishuo..."

Murong Ping finally couldn't help but speak, but he only said half of what he wanted to say.

Because at that moment, another person burst into the hall.

A girl in red who looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old.

The girl had a charmingly innocent look on her face and a very pure expression. She didn't seem to care at all about barging into the main hall. She wasn't nervous at all about being stared at by more than a dozen people. She immediately bowed to Murong Chui at the head of the table and said, "Yan'er greets Grandfather, Father, uncles and aunts. Today, Yan'er wants to introduce a great talent to you!"

When Murong Yan entered, everyone in the hall, including Murong Chui, immediately relaxed and showed a gentle expression.

The Murong clan has two branches. If Murong Yan, who broke through to the Cold Resistance level at the age of eighteen, is the face of the first branch, then the young girl Murong Yan, who is standing in the middle of the main hall, is the face of the second branch.

Murong Yan's talent is not only comparable to Murong Yan's, but also among the best in the entire Nine Towns. At the age of seventeen, she broke through to the Cold Resistance level with her Super Battle Body, and upon breaking through, she had the strength of more than four manes, which was stronger than the two brothers Murong Chui and Murong Ding at that time.

When Murong Yan was born nineteen years ago, Murong Chui was already 108 years old. He was already considered to have a granddaughter late in life, and she was born to his most beloved youngest son, Murong Yuan. Murong Chui doted on this little granddaughter from a young age, and after Murong Yan showed amazing talent, she became even more extraordinary.

Especially two years ago, when Murong Yan broke through to the Cold Resistance level with her superior battle physique, she realized that this granddaughter was very likely to be the third Manifest Yang level in the Murong family after herself. Murong Chui gave her whatever she wanted and granted her every request.

With her grandfather's doting love, Murong Yan was naturally unrestrained in the town and could do whatever she wanted. For example, she dared to break into the main hall at this moment. No one else would dare to do such a thing unless it was an extremely urgent matter.

Not only did Murong Yan dare to do it, but everyone else didn't dare to say anything either.

After all, Murong Chui above had a smile on his face at the moment.

Who among them would dare to have any objections?

Of course, there are still people who dare to speak out.

When Murong Yuan heard his daughter say that she wanted to introduce a great talent to her grandfather, he immediately shook his head and scolded her in a low voice, "Girls shouldn't be so proper. Can't you see that your grandfather is discussing matters with us? Go play with other people."

Being reprimanded by her father in front of so many people, Murong Yan instantly lost her temper and looked at her father, saying, "Father, don't look down on people. The great talent I'm talking about may not be weaker than you."

"Then tell me, Yan'er, where did this talented person you introduced to Grandpa come from? How did you come up with the idea of ​​introducing him to Grandpa?"

Murong Yuan shook his head repeatedly after hearing this. Just as he was about to continue speaking, his father, Murong Chui, interrupted him. He quickly got up and tried to pull his daughter away, but was pulled back by his fourth brother, Murong Ying.

He paused for a moment, then, seeing his fourth brother Murong Ying gesturing towards the outside of the hall, he quickly looked up and gazed out. After a moment of sensing, his expression changed drastically.

Its cold-resistant level of perception can cover a range of approximately 200 meters.

They knew exactly how many people were standing outside the hall.

There were only twenty guards a moment ago, but now there is one more.

Moreover, he couldn't discern the person's aura.

So what my daughter said—that someone's strength isn't necessarily weaker than mine—is true!
Countless thoughts flashed through Murong Yuan's mind in an instant, and his eyes immediately became much more somber, his gaze towards the outside of the hall turning unfriendly.

Murong Yan was smiling as she answered her grandfather's question.

"Grandpa, didn't Brother Yan set up a very powerful Imperial Guard? Yan'er has been bored lately and wanted to see how the Imperial Guard was doing. Unexpectedly, something interesting happened today. The Imperial Guard's commander, Shangguan Qing, and deputy commander, Shangguan Xing, were actually taught a lesson by a mere soldier who fought them both. Shangguan Xing even had an arm cut off, which angered Madam, who has now dispatched the Imperial Guard to conduct a large-scale search throughout the city!"

This passage reveals that although Murong Yan is naive, she is by no means completely ignorant of the current situation in Zhencheng and the Murong clan.

Upon hearing these words, the expressions of everyone in the hall changed slightly.

Murong Chui, especially, immediately looked up and stared at the person outside the hall, clearly sizing him up.

The names Shangguan Qing and Shangguan Xing reveal the true quality of the Imperial Guard that Murong Yan has recently assembled.

Jinshan Town is confident that Murong Chui won't dare to do anything, which is why they dare to blatantly send people over.

They injured two people and also broke Shangguan Xing's arm.

This person is definitely not from Jinshan Town.

Why are the spies from Beishuo Wuchuan being so high-profile now?
Murong Chui and everyone in the hall frowned.

“Interesting. Yan’er, call that person in and let us see him.”

Upon hearing her grandfather's words, Murong Yan immediately nodded, turned around, and called out loudly towards the outside of the hall, "Brother Yuwen, please come in!"

Yuwen? That's probably an alias.

Murong Chui and the others frowned slightly and looked outside the hall.

Soon, a sharp-looking young man in black walked slowly into the hall. He carried a giant broadsword and smiled slightly. He was not intimidated at all when he looked at the people in the hall. Even when he looked up and met the eyes of Murong Chui at the head of the hall, he did not show the slightest nervousness.

"So young!"

Is there thirty?

Although no one voiced their thoughts, the surprise in their eyes was unmistakable when they saw the young man in black.

Even Murong Chui, who was at the head of the table, was no exception.

"He is no more than thirty years old, in the late stage of the Cold Resistance Realm, with the strength of Thirty-Two Manes, and his talent is even stronger than Yan'er's. The Three Towns would never send such a genius over as a spy. He is not from the Three Towns, and may not even be from the Nine Towns."

Murong Chui possessed the cultivation level of the Manifestation Yang realm, allowing him to discern more than others. The moment he saw through the black-clad man's cultivation level, strength, and age, he instantly deduced a multitude of things.

"Yuwen Tao greets Chief Murong and all the esteemed officials!"

The young man in black was none other than Yuwen Tao. He first bowed to Murong Chui at the head of the table, and then turned to bow to everyone in the hall. While bowing, he naturally took the opportunity to look over all sixteen people in the hall.

"Yan'er has truly brought me great talent. It seems Grandpa should thank you properly. But let's have Grandpa and the uncles have a good chat with this talent another day. How about you go play somewhere else?"

Murong Yan seemed to understand something. After listening, she nodded sensibly, and turned to leave without saying anything.

"I haven't seen such a talented young man in a long time. May I ask, young brother Yuwen, where do you come from? And what brings you to my granddaughter?"

After offering a slight compliment, Murong Chui didn't waste any words and immediately went straight to the point, asking about Yuwen Tao's background and purpose.

All eyes in the hall instantly turned to him, their expressions clearly showing hostility as they waited for his reply.

This scene was truly unexpected for Yuwen Tao, but he reacted quickly, realizing that Murong Chui had seen through his disguise as one of the Nine Towns. He decided not to waste any more time, looked up to meet Murong Chui's gaze, and cupped his hands in a smile:

"Yuwen Tao apologizes to Chief Murong first. Approaching your granddaughter was merely an accident and had no ulterior motive. As for where I came from, that's not important. What's important is what I can offer Chief Murong!"

Murong Chui's expression darkened slightly, and he nodded to signal him to continue.

"Chief Murong, your town has long been infiltrated by spies from the three towns. Your lord is foolish and ignorant, relying on his father-in-law Jinshan's influence to fight you for power and profit, not realizing that he is inviting a wolf into the house. The town is in a state of panic, a disorganized mess, with everyone looking for their own way out. Forgive my bluntness, but right now, Muyin Town is a leaky, dilapidated ship, about to capsize."

"Be bold!"

"Who do you think you are, to point fingers at my Muyin Town?"

"Ignorant child, stop spouting nonsense!"

………………

Before Murong Chui could speak, Murong Ping, Murong Yan, and more than a dozen others couldn't help but rebuke him. Several hot-tempered ones even stood up, seemingly ready to fight, clearly angered by Yuwen Tao's words.

It seems they don't want their town to be wiped out and still have the fighting spirit, which makes things even better.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Yuwen Tao's eyes flashed with a hint of joy, but he sneered and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, the situation in Zhencheng is still within the control of Commander Murong. The reason you dare not make a move, or rather, are unwilling to make a move, is because you are still waiting for the outcome of the Battle of Ba Shang. You are all hoping that Ba Shang can hold Dajue Temple, and then the four towns will be free to help Muyin and prevent the three northern towns from annexing you, right?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Chui, who was seated at the head of the table, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The crowd, who had been furious just moments before, instantly fell silent, looking up at Yuwen Tao with a mixture of suspicion and surprise on their faces.

The other side clearly possessed far more information than they had imagined.

"wishful thinking……"

After uttering these four words, Yuwen Tao paused slightly, then continued in a deep voice, "I dare to assert now that the day the battle begins at Ba Shang will be the day Wu Chuan and Jin Shan towns attack Mu Yin. At that time, you will only have one path left: to surrender to Bei Shuo. But if you take this path, Mu Yin town will be gone, and the Murong clan, and all of you, will be dependent on others..."

"Boy, what exactly are you trying to say!" Murong Chui's face grew increasingly grim as he listened. Before Yuwen Tao could finish uttering the words "living under someone else's roof," he coldly interrupted him.

Yuwen Tao looked up at Murong Chui, then glanced around at everyone in the hall. He noticed their expressions were even more grim than Murong Chui's. A glint of shrewdness appeared in his eyes, and he lowered his voice, speaking slowly: "Chief Murong, if you want Muyin Town to continue existing on the southern slopes of Mount Mo'ao, Jinshan Town can't help you, Beishuo Town can't help you, and the four towns of Zhongnan certainly can't help you. The only ones who can help you..."

He paused, took out a palm-sized silver token from his pocket, tossed it to Murong Chui at the head of the table, then looked up at him and continued firmly, "Only us!"

Murong Chui accepted the silver token, his pupils suddenly narrowing.

While being willing to use silver of the highest grade (10,000 taels) to make a token could demonstrate wealth, it was not enough to elicit such a reaction from Murong Chui.

The key is the character "夏" (Xia) on the front of the token.

He could tell at a glance that it wasn't made with a tool, but rather by someone pressing it out with their fingers. Moreover, judging from the continuity of the characters, it was written in one go.

Weapons used by the Xianyang class are generally forged from silver of the 100,000-fold grade.

Silver of the Ten Thousand Refinement level is actually comparable in hardness to a body of the Manifestation Yang level. Murong Chui admitted that he could not achieve that.

So, behind this Yuwen Tao...

Murong Chui took a deep breath, looked up at Yuwen Tao, a hint of wariness rising in his pupils, and asked in a low voice, "Then I wonder, young friend, and the people behind you, how do you intend to help my Muyin Town survive on the southern road of Mo'ao Mountain, and what do you want to gain from my Muyin Town?"

Once you're interested, everything else is negotiable!
A smile appeared on Yuwen Tao's face as he cupped his hands and said, "Chief Murong, rest assured, our Great Xia only wishes to make friends with the Nine Towns, and has no interest in anything from Muyin Town..."

Murong Chui and the others in the hall naturally didn't take his words seriously, but as Yuwen Tao continued speaking, their expressions became increasingly strange, and their faces gradually became agitated.

Is there really such a good thing in the world?
This thought gradually surfaced in the minds of Murong Chui and the others.

………………

The 26th day of the fourth month in the eighth year of the Great Xia Dynasty

The Great Xia Dynasty, the Star-Picking Platform in the inner city.

On the twelve-petaled silver lotus platform of enlightenment, Xia Hong sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

His entire body was engulfed in flames, and a skeletal phantom was floating behind him, but unlike the thousand-foot tall figure during the battle, it was only three feet tall at this moment.

Since it is a skeleton, it naturally lacks flesh and skin. However, unlike a normal white skeleton, the skeleton behind Xia Hong is dark red, and its surface is covered with a layer of golden patterns like molten lava, making it look quite mysterious.

The cyan medicinal power of the Bone Gathering Pill continuously circulated around the skeleton, being absorbed by the molten lava patterns on the bones. As the medicinal power was absorbed, those patterns became more and more obvious, and the color and texture of the bones continued to improve.

Of course, this process is extremely slow and cannot be distinguished by the naked eye.

call…………

After a long while, Xia Hong slowly opened his eyes, gently exhaled a breath of cyan medicinal gas, and the molten bone structure behind him slowly dissipated.

"My strength has basically stopped increasing, which is about what I guessed. Only after completing the stage of tempering and passing the critical point will my bones be strengthened and my strength will increase accordingly. However, this tempering process is a bit too long."

After pondering for a moment, Xia Hong quickly shook his head and chuckled.

"I can't be too greedy. After all, I only broke through last September. If I could complete a stage of tempering in seven months, then my Manifest Yang level cultivation would be too worthless."

He broke through to the Cold Resistance level in March of the first year and broke through to the Manifestation level in early September of last year. The entire Cold Resistance level cultivation took a total of six and a half years.

Based on his current understanding of the ages of the nine towns at the Manifestation Yang level, this cultivation speed is already considered heaven-defying.

The cultivation required at the Manifestation Yang stage can never be less than that at the Cold Resistance stage.

"Among the Manifestation Yang level cultivators in the Nine Towns, there are most likely only Yang Zun, Shangguan Yang, and Qin Feng with late-stage cultivation. Judging from Xiahou Zhang's reaction when he saw me make a move, I can deduce that my strength is not much different from these three. So, I have some confidence to compete with the Nine Towns!"

Xia Hong's gaze sharpened slightly, and he suddenly looked up towards the entrance of the Star-Picking Platform.

Li Xuanling, dressed in a white palace gown, strode forward. Seeing that Xia Hong had finished his practice, she spoke directly: "News has come from Wuyuan. Dajue Temple has transferred all the digging forces from more than fifty village-level camps across the entire territory to Bashang. Now the total force is 160,000. The last three hundred formal monks have also gone there. Last night, Dajue Temple's military camp moved five kilometers closer to Bashang City. Now the two sides are less than two kilometers apart. It is expected that the battle will begin in the next few days at the latest."

Xia Hong frowned upon hearing this and asked, "What about the situation in Qinghe Village?"

"Qinghe Village is extremely vulnerable now, with only a thousand monks from the Zen Temple watching over it. If Xu Ning's intelligence was correct, they only have eight hundred formal monks. Then Dajue Temple should be at its weakest point in terms of defense right now."

However, according to reports from scouts in Qinghe Village, the Zen Temple in the east of the village and the Great Enlightenment Hall at Chilong Lake remained heavily guarded, with no unauthorized personnel allowed to approach, and no scouts from the Nine Towns dared to go near them.

In the months that Dajue Temple and Jiangxia Bashang Town were fighting, Qinghepu area was extremely vulnerable, especially as the war escalated. The number of people at the Cold Resistance and Earth Digging Realm levels in the three villages and eighteen households was decreasing. Daxia had already taken the opportunity to plant many spies there.

"The intelligence that Xu Ning risked his life for is definitely not wrong. The question is whether Dajue Temple has added any new ones. Since they can mass-produce monks with hair, they can probably do the same with formal monks. In the past six months, Dajue Temple has captured more than fifty village-level camps and taken in at least tens of thousands of children. Who knows what the situation is like inside Dajue Temple now!"

In the past few months of intense fighting, Dajue Temple has basically deployed all 800 of its official monks, and has even added 7,000 monks to its Zen monasteries. This inevitably raises suspicions that they may have the means to mass-produce these monks.

Although only seven thousand new monks have been added to the Zen temple so far, the Great Enlightenment Hall remains a mystery to everyone, and no one dares to say what is inside.

Li Xuanling said softly, "So far, only the three great masters, Vajra, Flame Dragon, and Black Nether, have appeared at Dajue Temple. The remaining two masters have not shown themselves at all. I guess only those few Ninth Town Manifestation Yang level who escaped from Dajue Hall know a little about them. How many masters do you think they will send to attack Ba Shang City?"

Xia Hong shook his head, his brows furrowed.

"The situation is basically clear now. Dajue Temple has mobilized all the forces it can. The only thing that is still unclear is the whereabouts of the five masters. The Xianyang-level forces in the three towns and other towns are definitely watching Ba Shang. Once the battle starts, as long as more than two masters appear on the Ba Shang battlefield, they will definitely take advantage of the emptiness of Qinghepu and attack Dajue Temple. You just need to stay in Qinghepu and wait to pick up the spoils."

Hearing Li Xuanling's words, Xia Hong looked up at her and smiled, "The last time we fought the Hongguan battle, the Nine Towns of the Xianyang level had the same idea, but they suffered a great loss at Qinghepu, with two dead and three seriously injured. Have you forgotten?"

Li Xuanling shook his head and said in a deep voice, "That was the first encounter. We didn't know the methods of those masters. We had experience once before, and they must have thought of countermeasures in the past few months. This time, the situation should be different."

Xia Hong did not deny Li Xuanling's statement, but lowered his head and pondered for a moment before looking up and asking, "Is everything ready in Wuyuan?"

"We are ready. Apart from the Falcon and Mighty Armies, the Cloud Dragon, Dragon Slayer, Tiger Leopard, Xuanwu, Divine Martial, Longyuan, Mountain River, and Northern Zhao Armies are all on standby at the Wuyuan Camp. All military equipment is ready. Moreover, the Xiazhi Road from Wuyuan to Songyang and then to Baiyang has been fully expanded. The distance between the three places is only about 70 kilometers. It can be reached in just over an hour. From Baiyang to Qinghepu, it is more than 20 kilometers away. It can be reached in as little as three hours."

Li Xuanling had clearly planned a lot in advance, even stating the marching distance directly. Xia Hong smiled lightly and said, "No need to rush. I have already explained things to Xia Chuan. He knows when to move."

He paused slightly, as if remembering something, and continued, "What about the Dragon Martial Army? They've all gone there by now, haven't they?"

Li Xuanling nodded and replied, "The last seven soldiers who broke through to the Cold-resistant level the day before yesterday have also gone over, along with a thousand members of the Dragon Martial Army. His negotiations with Murong Chui went quite well. After seeing your token, Murong Chui and his group have become more motivated and have begun to focus on reorganizing the town."

"That's good! Everything is ready. Now we just need to wait for the battle to begin at Ba Shang."

………………

May 1st, 132nd year of the Moo calendar
On the east bank of the Hengjiang River, Ba Shang City
Regardless of outside speculation or the plans of the eight towns, neither side in the conflict knows anything at this moment.

Even if they knew, they wouldn't bother with it.

Because this is the moment when they are under the most pressure.

Like the calm before a storm, as May arrived, the temperature actually began to rise slightly, and the cold winds on the east coast subsided considerably, as if the heavens and earth were brewing emotions for this great battle.

Three kilometers north of Ba Shang City, nearly two hundred black military tents stretched out in a vast expanse, turning the entire land black and blocking out the sun, lying across the front of Ba Shang City.

"It doesn't seem so cold anymore, the temperature has risen?"

Suddenly, the door to one of the military tents on the edge was opened from the inside.

Two armored soldiers walked out from inside, one after the other.

"This isn't a temperature rise; it's that the February cold snap has completely passed!"

"It lasted for just over two months. The cold wave over Xingjiang has subsided, and the temperature has naturally risen a bit."

Xiang Liang almost misspoke and said the name "Yinghe River," but Bai Shanqiu patted him on the shoulder and he corrected himself in time.

"They've been stationed here for almost a month, and they still haven't started fighting. What is Dajue Temple waiting for?"

Xiang Liang looked up at Ba Shang City to the south, his brows furrowed.

These words could not be spoken aloud near the military tent; he could only mutter them to himself.

On the night of March 20th, after capturing the Jiuqu camp, they stayed in Jiuqu for half a month. On April 5th, the vanguard troops he and Bai Shanqiu were in arrived at Ba Shang City.

Then came the continuous reinforcements. The three villages and eighteen households of Qinghe Village had already been conscripted several months earlier, and those who came later were all from village-level camps in Jiangxia and Bashang.

The brainwashing skills of Dajue Temple are indeed impressive. They can take over those village-level camps and then trick all the cold-resistant and earth-digging level cultivators in those camps into joining their army to fight for them.

In general, the number of soldiers decreases as the fighting continues, but the number of soldiers at Dajue Temple only increases. If it weren't for the considerable strength of the Jiangxia and Bashang families, which depleted most of Dajue Temple's forces, Xiang Liang estimated that the army currently stationed there would have doubled to at least 300,000 to 400,000.

"It's a pity that no one except the monks can get close to the central command tent. If only we knew how many masters had come!"

Xiang Liang turned his head to look at the military tent in the very center, his expression shifting.

The reason why Dajue Temple was able to advance so rapidly to Ba Shang City was due to the methods of those masters. He had personally witnessed three of them: Master Yanlong's Melting Fire Pill and Shurangama Mantra; Master Jingang's Zen Gold Powder and Six Paths Vajra Mantra; and Master Heiming's Clear Cold Pearl and Pure Water Mantra.

Among them, the Black Nether Master's Water Purification Mantra was used when attacking the Binjiang Camp.

The Qinghan Pearl was about the same size as the Ronghuo Pill, and the method of use was the same. After taking it, the soldiers of Dajue Temple recited the Pure Water Mantra along with the formal monks. Then, when they went to the battlefield, the soldiers were as if they did not feel pain. It was simply abnormal to the extreme.

According to Xiang Liang's observation, the results of Dajue Temple's three attacks on the Binjiang camp in January were not good.

Leaving aside the Xianyang level for now, in January, the three towns of Jiangxia, Yangqu, and Longgu gathered a total of 10,000 garrison troops, plus 150,000 Digging Realm soldiers. At that time, Dajue Temple only had 150,000 Digging Realm soldiers and a little over 4,000 Zen monks. Although 200 more formal monks were added at the end, this force was still quite different from that of the three towns.

Firstly, Dajue Temple could not guarantee that the battle would end during the day. The first two daytime battles ended in failure. In the final night battle, Master Heiming arrived from Dajue Temple and used the Qinghan Pearl and the Pure Water Divine Mantra. The army did indeed display unimaginable combat power. The three masters also suppressed the four Xianyang-level warriors Jiang Yinglong, Xiahou Zhang, Long Mingyuan, and Cao Qianyang from the three towns throughout the battle, but in the end, they still failed to break through the Binjiang camp.

"Fortunately, the divine spell of Dajue Temple can only be used one at a time. If multiple spells could be used in combination, then let alone Jiangxia and Bashang, even the nine towns combined would probably have a hard time fighting them."

Since October of last year, and almost half a year since he joined the army, Xiang Liang has naturally gained a considerable understanding of those three divine spells.

What he's most curious about now is the effect of the spells cast by the two remaining masters who haven't yet revealed themselves.

"I've had my spies send the Fire Melting Pill, Zen Gold Powder, and Cold-Clearing Pearl back to Xia City. I wonder if the Craftsmen's Department has figured out what materials they're made of. If Great Xia can use these three divine spells in the future, then my contribution this time will be immense..."

Xiang Liang took a slight breath, a hint of excitement appearing in his eyes.

He risked his life, lying low at Dajue Temple for over a year, all for the sake of gaining merit, whether it was earning contribution points or military achievements, it was all about improving his strength and status. Judging from the current situation, his and Bai Shanqiu's mission this time was definitely a huge success.

"This is the final battle. All eight towns are watching this place. Dajue Temple seems to be obsessed with destroying Ba Shang Town, and it is already showing signs of defeat. After this battle, Elder Bai and I should be able to return to Xia City."

Xiang Liang breathed a slight sigh of relief, exchanged a glance with Bai Shanqiu beside him, and the two instantly understood each other's meaning, nodding slightly and revealing a smile.

"Xiang Liang, Bai Shanqiu, come in, I have something to announce!"

Suddenly, shouts came from behind. The two turned around and saw Wang Yu'an waving at them.

The two quickly exchanged glances, their expressions brightening, and hurried towards the military tent.

Upon entering the military tent, Xiang Liang and Bai Shanqiu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Wang Yu'an, who had entered before them, was carrying two cloth bags and distributing the contents of the bags to everyone in the tent.

One bag contained blue pills, and the other contained yellow ones.

The Fire Melting Pill is red, the Zen Gold Powder is gold, and the Cold-Clearing Pearl is blue.

These two colors are ones that have never appeared before.

The two of them each received two pills. Xiang Liang squeezed the two pills and noticed that their texture was similar to the previous three types. A glint of light immediately appeared in his eyes.

"These are the last two gurus' methods; the battle is about to begin!"

Xiang Liang's guess was soon confirmed.

Two kinds of pills were distributed during the day on the first day of the lunar month.

As soon as night fell, the army began to move.

"The army, in battalions, assemble in the south! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"The army, in battalions, assemble in the south! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"The army, in battalions, assemble in the south! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Three shouts rang out from inside the tent. Xiang Liang and Bai Shanqiu had already jumped up from the ground and urged everyone to hurry out of the tent.

Thanks to Wang Yuxiu's instructions, Wang Yu'an treated the two of them very well. He never restricted them on the battlefield and even promoted them to battalion officers. This is why the two of them were able to follow the army of Dajue Temple for half a year.

Urged urgently by the two men, the more than a thousand people inside the tent quickly got up and assembled, and soon opened the tent and went out.

Buzz…………

The moment I stepped out of the military tent, a wave of heat hit me.

Xiang Liang and Bai Shanqiu looked up and saw the massive army of over 100,000 soldiers rapidly gathering in the south. Their hearts trembled slightly.

This wasn't some special heatwave. The two had been fighting alongside the Great Awakening Temple for half a year and had experienced it before, so they knew very well that it was simply caused by the sheer number of people at the Earth-Digging Realm, whose blood energy had condensed together and was emanating from it.

"They've started the siege so soon?"

"The last two measures have been implemented, and everyone who was supposed to come has arrived, right?"

"I wonder how many of those five great masters have come!"

The crowd was extremely noisy, and Xiang Liang and Bai Shanqiu were no longer afraid of being overheard. They gathered in the south while talking in hushed tones.

The two quickly arrived at the southern assembly area, and their expressions tightened slightly as they looked at the Ba Shang city gate, which was two kilometers away.

The final battle!

(End of this chapter)