Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 199 Chen Bing (Part 2)

Lu Shang stood under the banner, his knuckles lightly tapping the hilt of his sword at his waist, and said in a deep voice: "The Feng Hou clan forged the compass to stabilize the morale of the army with the coordinates of heaven and earth. Its foundation lies in the word 'correctness', which means correcting the direction, correcting oneself, and correcting the army's momentum."

Having said that, he suddenly drew his sword and used it as a pen to draw several streaks of light in the air, saying, "However, the compass is based on 'righteousness,' just like a river flowing along its course. It seems impeccable, but in reality, it already has hidden dangers."

"Have you ever seen a whirlpool in a river? The more powerful the current, the more likely it is to create turbulent backlash when it encounters reefs and shoals."

Dongliang Boying Kai seemed to understand something, leaned forward and said, "Although this principle is simple, breaking the compass's divine power is not easy at all."

It should be understood that in this world, things are easier said than done. Knowing how to do something is one thing, but being able to do it is another.

In response to Ying Kai's words, Lü Shang said with a sigh, "I have a method that can reverse Yin and Yang, disrupt the order of the Four Symbols, and break their supernatural powers."

As he spoke, a fire seemed to flicker in his eyes as he swept his gaze over the assembled feudal lords.

"Gentlemen, the moment of success or failure is before us. I implore you all to help me!"

Jiao Bo, Jiang Xia, and Lü Shang exchanged glances, their thoughts racing, and Jiao Bo said directly, "Since Uncle Xu has a way to break the formation, we will certainly give him our full support."

Seeing Jiao Bo and Jiang Xia express their opinions, the other members of the Ying clan, led by Dong Liang Bo Ying Kai, looked solemn and, after weighing their options, finally replied, "Jiao Bo is absolutely right. Since Xu Bo has a way to break the formation, we should give him our full support."

Upon hearing this, Lü Shang sheathed his sword, raised his eyes to look at the assembled officials, bowed deeply, and solemnly said, "Shang thanks you all for your assistance."

After he stood up, he stepped forward and glanced at Jiao Bo Jiang Xia, Dong Liang Bo Ying Kai and others, and said: "Shang, I hereby swear by the mountains and rivers that if we can defeat the enemy at the Zhen River and save my country from its crisis, the State of Xu will treat you all as honored guests in the future."

As Lü Shang finished speaking, the mountains and rivers seemed to echo. He raised his hand and stroked the cloud pattern on the sword sheath. A thought struck him, and he sighed, "Today you all have shown each other your loyalty. If one day, due to the changing of the heavens and the divergence of our nations, we meet again on the battlefield."

"I should order the banners to retreat three hundred li, to repay the kindness of sharing the wind and dew by the Zhen River today."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the feudal lords in the western corner varied, including those of Jiao Bo and Jiang Xia.

Nations forge alliances based on mutual benefit, yet also harm each other because of it. They can be like lips and teeth in the morning, and enemies in the evening. This is the way for nations to survive.

Lu Shang solemnly said, "Those who helped me break the formation today are all my old friends. Even if we fight each other in the future, we should leave a way out for the world, so that the mountains and rivers can witness our past loyalty."

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Lü Shang officially became the commander of the army, and the camp on the west bank of the Zhen River almost turned into a boiling furnace.

Twenty thousand armored soldiers from the western kingdoms and the Xu kingdom stood in formation, their blood boiling, their black and red banners standing like a forest in the morning mist.

"Formation,"

Lu Shang, clad in armor, stood atop his chariot, his command flag piercing the morning mist as he mobilized the armored soldiers of various states.

The mist on the west bank of the Zhen River was torn apart by the steaming blood vapor of the armored soldiers, and the black and red banners fluttered in the wind, each battle flag wrapped in blood-red light.

Just as the troops on the west bank of the Zhen River were lined up, eager to fight, on the east bank, Ji Shi, leaning on the carriage of the compass chariot, looked across to the opposite bank. He could see the bloody aura on the west bank like ink-stained morning mist, with black and red banners surging, and even wisps of fierce energy drifting on the river breeze.

These fierce and malevolent energies collided with the Ji clan's allied forces, turning into crackling sparks.

Upon seeing this strange phenomenon, Ji Shi suddenly tightened his grip on the compass carriage's handlebars, causing the taotie pattern on the bronze handlebars to gleam with an eerie light as he ground it with the force of his fingertips.

“Eber?”

Ji Shi said in a deep voice, "Look at the clouds on the west bank. Overnight, they have changed so much. The war aura of the various states is gathering. What exactly do the states in the west and that brat surnamed Jiang and Lü want?" Ebo Ji'an's eyes were fixed on the surging black and red clouds on the west bank. He said, "If the Compass Divine Power is not broken, our allied forces will be invincible. If I were Xu Jiao and other states, I would definitely break the Compass Divine Power before launching an attack."

"Could it be that Xu Jiao and the other feudal lords have already found a way to break the compass's supernatural power?"

"Broken compass?"

Ji Shi's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. She sneered, "I'd like to see how he breaks my compass."

As he spoke, he waved his sleeve, and suddenly a dazzling blue light burst forth from the formation. The blue light stretched across the Zhen River like a bolt of lightning, shattering all the fierce energy drifting from the west bank.

At the same time, the clouds on the east bank of the Zhen River, which were originally a fiery red, now seemed to be stained with ink, gradually condensing into a towering, illusory figure.

"Dharma Image, open!"

The armored soldiers in formation suddenly knelt on one knee at the same time, their spears striking the ground with a metallic clang, and thirty thousand streams of energy converged into a torrent.

The sky suddenly split open, and crimson clouds surged into the outline of a giant god. This god was clad in armor of lightning and wore a crown of mountains. In his left hand he gripped a lightning spear formed from thirty-six Chi You battle flags, and in his right hand he held a magic seal formed from the banners of fifty-nine countries.

Ebo Ji'an whispered, "This is... the Dharma Image!"

The crimson clouds on the east bank of the Zhen River surged violently. As soon as the illusory image of the Dharma statue solidified, lightning bolts shot out from the gaps in its armor.

The mountain crown pressed down on the sky, the thirty-six Chi You battle flags transformed into roaring thunder dragons on the thunder spears, and the magic seal formed by the intertwined banners of fifty-nine countries flowed with divine patterns that were azure and black, each pattern breathing in the essence and spirit of the allied soldiers.

"With such a powerful manifestation, let's see how that brat Lü can break my supernatural powers!"

Ji Shi stood on the chariot of the south, her ceremonial robes dyed crimson by the radiant light rain emanating from the image of the Buddha.

This is the most powerful divine ability of human military formations, condensing the divine will of the soldiers, invoking the laws of heaven and earth, and evolving the divine image of the ancestral gods.

The reason why human warriors can terrify ghosts and gods is because of the existence of this ancestral god's image.

Lu Shang stood on the chariot, the sound of his knuckles striking the hilt of his sword disappearing into the morning mist. The moment the image of the Dharma took shape on the opposite bank, flames suddenly erupted around him.

"Zhurong Flag!"

His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his leather belt suddenly burst forth with a crimson glow. A small crimson flag, about an inch long, flew out on its own, growing longer in the morning mist. The flag's surface resembled a burning crimson sunset, with crimson flames swirling around its edges.

The moment the Zhurong Banner appeared, the dark red blood energy on the west bank of the Zhen River exploded like boiling oil meeting water, sending up thousands of sparks that instantly dyed the clouds on the west bank a lustrous red-gold color.

Lu Shang's eyes gleamed with a deep blue light as he used the great divine power of Gonggong inherited from his bloodline to block the rivers and vigorously waved the banner of Zhurong.

"Water and fire have switched places!"

With a low shout, he thrust the Zhurong Banner forward. With the pure blood of Gonggong and the divine artifact of the Zhurong clan, water and fire clashed, yin and yang reversed, and in an instant, the Zhen River flowed backward and turned into a torrent of black water, which then burst into flames the moment it touched the fire.

That wasn't water vapor evaporating, but rather the Xuan Shui itself igniting a dark blue divine fire. The crimson flames and the Xuan Shui intertwined in mid-air, and the water and fire, which should have been mutually destructive, strangely merged, transforming into countless rotating yin-yang fish patterns. From the eye of each fish, a roar of the reversal of the five elements erupted.

(End of this chapter)