Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 247 Subduing Demons (Part 2)

Ten days,

Eighty li north of Diezhou City, in the Bering Mountains, Lü Shang, clad in armor made of wild antelope, the armor's leaves reflecting the frost, exuded a formidable aura with every glance.

Bering Mountain, located at the westernmost point of the Qinling Mountains, is a vast mountain range that stretches for hundreds of miles, divided by the Yetao and Min rivers, with towering peaks and rugged cliffs.

Because of this, the mountains are steep and the valleys are deep, and the roads are deserted, so demons often roam during the day. These demons hide in the mountains and forests, sometimes posing as beautiful women, sometimes as delicacies, to steal people's souls, suck their life essence, and harm and kill them.

"Military strategists call it the Ten Ultimate Techniques: The Long Snake, Two Dragons Emerging from the Water, Heaven, Earth, and Man, Four Gates Encircling the Bottom, Five Tigers and a Flock of Sheep, Six Ding and Six Jia, Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, Eight Gates Golden Lock, Nine-Character Linked Rings, and Ambush from Ten Sides."

Lü Shang held the command flag, stood on a high place, and looked down at the army. With a wave of the command flag, the weapons clashed, their cold light gleamed, and the battle cries shook the heavens.

"kill!"

The five hundred elite soldiers advanced or retreated, joined together or split up, forming ten teams of fifty men each, and changed formations in turn according to the direction of the command flag.

Fifty elite soldiers at the front of the formation, stepping in a divine procession, occupied the key points of the formation. The other nine elite soldiers moved in staggered steps, creating the sound of wind and thunder.

Watching the changing formation below, Lü Shang said softly, "My Heavenly Dipper Formation has finally gained some form and spirit; it's ready for use."

The so-called Big Dipper Formation is a military formation created by Lü Shang after studying the Ten Great Military Strategies and incorporating their true essence.

After receiving instruction from Zhang Ziyang, Lü Shang's understanding expanded to all knowledge points. If he so desired, all the methods and practices of the world were readily available to him; it was simply a matter of whether he was willing to cultivate them.

Roar!
Just as Lü Shang was pondering this, a tiger's roar resounded through the sky, and the wind followed the dragon, the clouds followed the tiger, and the wind and clouds surged.

"You beast!"

Upon hearing the tiger's roar, Lü Shang's expression darkened. His gaze fell upon the black tiger in the formation, and he said, "It seems that even with the Heavenly Dipper Formation, these five hundred elite soldiers still have a hard time killing a demon with three or four hundred years of cultivation."

"Perhaps I should create a martial art specifically for these soldiers, a martial art that is compatible with the Heavenly Dipper Formation. If all five hundred soldiers reach the Refining Organs Realm, and then perform the Heavenly Dipper Formation, its power will surely be boundless."

"Even five hundred times of marrow refinement and blood exchange, or even five hundred times of blood exchange reaching the Great Perfection,"

In recent days, Lü Shang has been leading five hundred elite soldiers to practice military tactics and strategies at Bering Mountain. These five hundred soldiers, combined with the Heavenly Dipper Formation, are simply no match for ordinary demons.

With Lü Shang in command, along with five hundred elite soldiers and the Big Dipper Formation, the Bering Mountain demons were routed in just over ten days.

However, after killing so many demons, several old demons deep in the Bering Mountains finally became restless.

It should be noted that every hundred years is a hurdle for mountain spirits and monsters, and every three hundred years is another hurdle. Their supernatural powers and magical abilities are almost worlds apart, and this black tiger is one of the best among them.

Roar!
Within the Big Dipper Formation, the black tiger roared, stirring up a foul wind as it rampaged wildly.

"Form a shield formation,"

The soldiers in the vanguard raised their shields and formed a defensive formation to block the tiger's pounce. The black tiger leaped wildly, fierce and violent, its claws striking the shields and leaving deep marks.

"Change the three powers,"

Upon receiving the order, the shield formation instantly split into three groups: the left group, with shield bearers leading the way; the middle group, with spearmen thrusting straight forward; and the right group, with swordsmen cutting off tiger's feet.

Roar!
The black tiger, writhing in pain, roared wildly, its tail sweeping across the forest like a whip. The spearmen in the middle were caught off guard and were struck in the waist and ribs, vomiting blood and collapsing to the ground.

The right-wing soldiers seized the opportunity to wield their blades, splattering tiger blood and staining the rocks red.

Lü Shang stood on the cliff, waved his command flag again, and shouted, "Turn through the four gates!"

"kill,"

Upon hearing the commotion, the four elite squads moved swiftly, each taking up a corner in the east, west, south, and north, their shields as solid as iron walls, completely surrounding Black Tiger.

"Damn humans, they've gone too far! Damn them, damn them!"

Trapped in the formation, the black tiger's ferocity intensified. With a wide-open maw, a strong wind arose, exhaling a black gust of wind carrying a foul stench.

"Erect shield!"

The shields of the vanguard interlocked, followed by dozens of spears.

Seeing that he could not break the formation, Black Tiger became increasingly agitated and tried to charge in several times, but was forced back each time. This was the wonder of Lü Shang's Heavenly Dipper Formation: the ten troop formations moved in unison, forming a unified whole. If the head was attacked, the tail would respond; if the tail was attacked, the head would respond; if the waist was attacked, both the head and the tail would respond.

The Big Dipper symbolizes the nine stars of the Big Dipper. Of Lü Shang's ten troop formations, one is the core of the formation, while the other nine are the nine stars.

The nine stars of the Big Dipper, also known as the Nine Palaces Flying Stars or the Purple and White Nine Stars.

This is called the Nine Stars: One White Greedy Wolf, Two Black Giant Gate, Three Green Prosperity Star, Four Green Literary Star, Five Yellow Integrity Star, Six White Martial Star, Seven Red Broken Army Star, Eight White Left Assistant Star, and Nine Purple Right Assistant Star. The Nine Stars gather together, and their mysteries are endless.

Roar! ! !
Seeing that it was trapped in the formation and could not escape, the black tiger's eyes became even more ferocious. It suddenly opened its bloody mouth and stopped spewing out the foul black wind. Instead, it stretched its neck and roared.

This roar was unlike any before; its sound was like thunder rolling across the ground, causing rocks to fall from the surrounding peaks and causing birds roosting in the forest to scatter in fright.

"A cornered beast's struggle,"

Upon seeing this strange phenomenon, Lü Shang stood on the rock, his brows furrowed slightly, and let out a soft hum.

At the same time, all the soldiers raised their shields, and the swordsmen on the east and west sides charged through the enemy lines, their blades flashing like lightning, their swords striking the Black Tiger.

"Ow!"

The black tiger winced in pain, and black flames seemed to leap from its fur.

"kill,"

After the swordsmen retreated, the nine squads of soldiers in the formation suddenly merged together. The swords, shields, spears, and halberds were scattered and reflected the shape of the Big Dipper, exuding a fierce aura.

The next moment, one hundred and twenty spears, like silver ribbons, were drawn together by the Big Dipper Formation and shot towards the Black Tiger from all directions.

One hundred and twenty silver streaks intertwined, the black tiger let out a miserable roar, the black energy dissipated, and the huge tiger body crashed to the ground, shaking the rocks and causing them to tumble.

After Black Tiger died, the soldiers' faces were solemn and cold. The shield bearers still held up their shields to form a wall, the spearmen pointed their spears at the tiger's corpse, and the swordsmen stood with their hands on their swords.

"Withdraw,"

Lu Shang pointed the flag tip diagonally, and as soon as the flag command was given, the fifty elite soldiers at the core of the formation were the first to withdraw, their shields returning to their positions with a neat and resounding clang.

"Order the troops to rest where they are,"

"promise,"

The squad leaders and soldiers responded in unison, their voices echoing through the woods.

Lu Shang slowly walked down the rocky platform and stopped in front of the tiger's corpse. The black tiger, about ten feet long, had its eyes wide open, its fangs exposed, and blood was constantly seeping from its neck and abdomen.

"Ling Yue, go find a few skilled people to dissect this tiger carcass for me. The mountain lord has become a demon, and its entire body is a treasure trove. Tiger bones, tiger blood, tiger meat, and tiger skin are all rare and precious materials that cannot be wasted."

"Yes,"

Ling Yue, the ya general standing to the side, quickly responded.

Just as Ling Yue accepted the order and turned to leave, dust billowed from the forest road beside him as a man and a horse galloped towards him, their hooves beating rapidly like drumbeats.

"My lord, an urgent report from the camp, from the General's headquarters,"

Upon seeing Lü Shang, the messenger immediately dismounted, knelt on one knee, and presented the document.

"They've finally arrived,"

Lü Shang took the document, unfolded it, glanced at it, and turned to his personal guard, saying, "Order each unit to assemble their troops, count their men, and return to camp immediately."

"promise!"

The guards obeyed the order.

As soon as the military order was given, the armor plates around them clanged together. Before long, the soldiers were fully assembled and lined up in battle formation.

Lü Shang mounted his horse and cracked his whip, saying, "Back to camp!"

(End of this chapter)