Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 474 He Comes

North Midtown.

Chen Qingzhi was still on guard against Erzhu Rong launching a surprise attack, so even after the victory, he still sent out scouts to patrol along the Yellow River to prevent the Tianlu Army from bypassing Beizhong City and crossing the river.

Every day, Yu Tianmin would also send someone across the river to relay the latest situation on the south bank.

Normally, this arrangement would be enough for Chen Qingzhi to keep track of every move on both sides of the Yellow River.

But he still felt a little uneasy. Standing on the north bank of the Yellow River, he looked at the blurry mountain shadows on the south bank. The sky was high and the clouds were light, birds were hard to find, and even the sound of the wind had disappeared.

Chen Qingzhi frowned slightly and said, "It's too quiet, so quiet it's unsettling."

"Does Commander Chen feel the same way?" Ren Yuan whispered from the side, "I think the clouds today look similar to those yesterday."

"Really?" Chen Qingzhi was taken aback; he hadn't noticed.

He recalled for a moment and realized that he seemed to have seen that cluster of white clouds, resembling a phoenix spreading its wings, just yesterday…

A general must be knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and understand yin and yang and the eight trigrams. As a military genius, Chen Qingzhi naturally knew what this meant.

He took out his coins, immediately cast a divination, and frowned, saying, "Everything is normal."

He then asked Ren Yuan, "Didn't you dream of any danger?"

"No." Ren Yuan shook his head. Since the expedition began, he had hardly ever boarded the ship in order to anticipate dangers in time.

That's why he was able to foresee the future and avoid the Nine Netherworld God-Trapping Formation that Yuan Tianmu had set up under the Yellow River when he fought Yuan Tianmu.

"..." Chen Qingzhi fell silent. Ren Yuan's precognitive dream and his own Yin-Yang magic both showed no problems, so there shouldn't be any. Then why were they both so uneasy?

"I'm not reassured just by listening to reports. I'd better go and check it out in the south," Ren Yuan suggested.

"Alright." Chen Qingzhi nodded and smiled, "It'll put your mind at ease and save you from being suspicious all the time."

Ren Yuan left without warning, disappearing in a flash.

A short while later, he returned and smiled at Chen Qingzhi, saying, "I went over and chatted with Lao Yu. I also went to Luoyang for a visit and greeted Yuan Hao. Everything is normal; we were definitely overthinking it..."

But Chen Qingzhi's face looked extremely ugly.

"What's wrong?" Ren Yuan touched his face and asked blankly, "Is something the problem?"

"How long have you been gone?" Chen Qingzhi's voice trembled slightly.

"About an hour," Ren Yuan estimated.

Chen Qingzhi pointed to the unburnt incense sticks on the table and said, "I lit these incense sticks when you left."

One incense stick burns for about fifteen minutes, and there's still about one-fifth of the incense remaining in the burner...

"How could this be?" Ren Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted, and he suddenly thought of a place—Dreamland!
Time flows at ten times the speed of reality there!
"Could it be that I didn't go to the other side just now, but instead fell asleep?" Ren Yuan asked in a tense voice.

"Very likely." Chen Qingzhi nodded slowly.

"No way, I'm a demigod now, how could I not know whether I'm asleep or not?" Ren Yuan said incredulously.

"People don't know when they enter a dream state, or when they leave it," Chen Qingzhi said in a deep voice.
"The key question is, how could Dreamland appear on the Yellow River? It shouldn't even be in this realm!!"

He then said, slowly and deliberately, "There is only one possibility, and that is... He has come."

"You mean...He has come?" Ren Yuan's hair stood on end.

"Hmm." Chen Qingzhi nodded, having regained his composure. Remaining calm even when faced with a collapsing mountain is a fundamental quality of a great general.

"Quickly gather all the generals," he instructed Chen Zhao.

"Yes."

~~
In a short while, all the generals arrived at the Yellow River.

Chen Qingzhi surveyed the crowd with a grim expression and said, "Something's happened. Luoyang is in danger." "What? Have the enemies attacked Hulao Pass again?" Hu Longya asked.

"No." Chen Qingzhi shook his head and said to A Yao, "Can I borrow your flying sword?"

Ayao nodded and handed the Ziwei Sword to Chen Qingzhi.

Chen Qingzhi gripped the hilt of his sword, pointed it diagonally to the west, and drew down the brilliance of the Gouchen star.

Once the starlight had accumulated to its maximum, Chen Qingzhi roared and swung his sword towards the sky above the Yellow River!

One sword can shatter all laws—

The generals opened their eyes wide and saw the Gouchen Star Radiance, which dispelled evil, transform into a streak of light and fly out!
Logically, the starlight should have flown into the sky without hindrance, but it exploded with a deafening roar shortly after it set off above the Yellow River. A vibrant, multicolored barrier then materialized out of thin air…

"Who has such a grand gesture?" The generals were stunned.

"What's the use of this barrier?" someone asked.

“After all living beings enter, they will dream.” Ren Yuan answered for Chen Qingzhi: “The content of the dream is exactly what they are going to do after crossing the river.”

"And then?" Ma Fonian and the others were somewhat confused.

"Then you'll think you've done what you were supposed to do, and return the way you came to report to your commander that everything is normal," Chen Qingzhi said in a deep voice.

"What's going on?" Hu Longya curled his lip and said, "Are they deliberately toying with people?"

“You’re right,” Chen Qingzhi replied, “but its more important function is to sever our connection with the south bank…”

"..." The generals finally understood why Commander Chen had said Luoyang was in danger.

The enemy's decision to isolate the White-Robed Army from the south bank is unlikely to have any other purpose.

"Losing Luoyang is not a big deal, but we must not cut off our escape route." Ren Yuan expressed the sentiments of all the generals.

"Yes." The generals nodded in agreement. "We need to find out the situation on the south bank as soon as possible."

"I just went there, and I fell for their trick again," Ren Yuan said with a wry smile.

"Ah?" The generals were shocked. Even a demigod couldn't cross the river? "Then this is no ordinary illusion. Commander Chen must take action!"

"Yes." Chen Qingzhi had the same idea and instructed his generals, "Gather the soldiers and listen to my orders."

"Yes." The generals responded and summoned their subordinates, and six thousand white-robed soldiers arrived in no time.

"Do not act rashly. If all else fails, head west and return to Shu from Guanzhong!" Chen Qingzhi instructed again.

After the soldiers agreed, he transformed into his nine-zhang-tall Dharma form, and with a single stroke of his halberd, he drew a long bridge composed of starlight.

This bridge is called the Sky Bridge, and it is unaffected by any environment.

Chen Qingzhi stepped onto the bridge and reached the middle of the river in just two steps.

He suddenly stopped, raising his halberd to block. A deafening roar followed, and amidst the flying sparks, a three-armed deity launched a sneak attack from mid-air!

"Erzhu Rong!" Chen Qingzhi's eyes were bloodshot; this was the worst-case scenario he could have foreseen—the Dream God had joined forces with Erzhu Rong!

He quickly sent a telepathic message to his generals: 'Do not cross the river, head west immediately!'

"Hahaha, surprised?" Erzhu Rong sneered, "Our battle isn't over yet, let's settle this once and for all!"

As he spoke, he unleashed a barrage of swords, knives, and hammers, striking Chen Qingzhi with tremendous force.

"Even if you fight a hundred times, you'll still be a defeated opponent!" Chen Qingzhi sneered, bracing himself to face Erzhu Rong.

The two gods clashed once again on the Yellow River.

(End of this chapter)