Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 345 The Demon Army Presses In, Just to Capture You

In the heat of battle, the two men would only glance at the distant battlefield and wouldn't pay attention to every detail of such a vast and chaotic battlefield.

Only when Shen Tang's sword flashed like a meteor, leading the masses to turn the tide of a major upheaval, would they notice such a dramatic change. Even Lu Xingzhou and Sheng Yuanyao's thousand-man squad on the other side was overlooked.

But at this moment, Long Qinghuang paid special attention and saw Lu Xingzhou and Shen Tang looking at each other and smiling.

Long Qinghuang: "..."

It seems it's more than just serving... So she's already taken, not Ye Tinglan's?

Long Qinghuang didn't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief that snatching people had become easier, or to feel something else... In any case, her mood became a little strange at this moment, and her punches became three times more violent: "Laugh, what's so funny!"

Gu Zhanting: "?"

When did I laugh? This mother dragon is definitely a madwoman.

As the battle escalated, neither of them had the time to pay attention to the changes on the battlefield. They figured nothing would change anyway; the only question was whether Huo Xingyuan could successfully break through. In any case, Lion Mad would definitely return to their side to help.

When the Lion King arrives, the balance here will be broken, and any changes will inevitably occur during this period.

Long Qinghuang's divine sense was shrunk to a very small size, focusing mainly on her few trusted clansmen.

This performance alone shows that Long Qinghuang is slightly stronger than Gu Zhanting, and has the energy to spare. However, this slight advantage is unlikely to turn into a victory, and she could be easily defeated if she is ambushed.

With careful observation, the battle between Long Lie and Hai Ruyuan seems to be getting closer and closer to this direction.

Originally, they deliberately kept a distance during the battle to avoid accidental injury, but didn't they get too close as the battle progressed?

It's not within the warning range yet, so it's hard to be sure... Long Qinghuang narrowed her eyes.

The Lion King is getting closer and closer to the city... The outcome of this entire game is about to be revealed.

Ten miles... three miles...

Just then, a call came from the Holy Mountain through Long Qinghuang's communication device: "Your Majesty, the enemy has attacked the Holy Mountain. If there is no urgent matter, please return to its aid!"

Long Qinghuang's pupils dilated violently.

It's hard to say what the mother dragon was feeling at that moment... Others couldn't hear the communication, but Gu Zhanting, as her opponent, clearly sensed that Long Qinghuang's mentality was off.

After planning for so long and paying such a high price, this is the moment we've been waiting for!
His punching style suddenly changed.

Long Qinghuang seemed to see that as Gu Zhanting threw this punch, purple energy rose behind him, and a dragon shape gathered and roared into the sky.

Dharma form?

No, something's not right.

We're old rivals, and we know each other's secret techniques inside and out.

At least the Huangji Jingshi Jing does not contain such a strange Dharma form. It does have a dragon-like energy, but what is this strange Dharma form behind him?
The situation left her no time to think, and she unleashed her ultimate technique, roaring in fury: "Gu Zhanting! I thought you were some kind of hero! To attack my Holy Mountain, you actually colluded with the Ancient Realm! Don't you know what the Ancient Realm wants?!"

With a furious punch, a golden dragon shape enveloped the scene, making it extremely bizarre. It no longer resembled a clash between two humanoid creatures, but rather a golden dragon tearing at a purple dragon.

Gu Zhanting's use of his ultimate technique was already straining his still-healing body, so he wouldn't normally resort to it lightly. Long Qinghuang, enraged by the attack on the Holy Mountain, also lost her composure in this attack, her blood and qi still churning, her emotions unsettled.

In any case, Long Qinghuang is bound to be unable to attend to anything else at this moment, and the moment for the traitor to launch a sneak attack is now!
Even Long Qinghuang herself had prepared a backup plan, but to the surprise of both Long Qinghuang and Gu Zhanting, the mole was not moved.

Neither Long Lie, who was fighting Hai Ruyuan nearby, nor Long Xi, Long Yun, and the others, who were suppressing the rest of the army in the city, took any action.

If things continue like this, it will be another lose-lose situation, and the mole will remain elusive.

Gu Zhanting didn't care; if the mole didn't act, so be it. The successful attack on the demon race's sacred mountain meant his strategy was at least half accomplished. But Long Qinghuang suffered a terrible loss: she couldn't find the mole, and the sacred mountain was gone.

Long Qinghuang was both shocked and furious, and almost vomited blood.

Just then, a joyful call came from the communication device: "Your Majesty! Just now, Si Han led his troops to attack, but the attackers, fearing they would be surrounded from both sides, quickly retreated. Seeing that the other side had retreated, Si Han also retreated... The Holy Mountain is safe!"

Gu Zhanting had no idea what was happening; he was simply watching helplessly as a mother dragon, whose red-hot color was about to explode, suddenly started to smile.

The lion stormed into the city and flew straight to the center of the battle.

Gu Zhanting, believing that the Holy Mountain had succeeded, didn't wait for any internal traitor to make a move. He decisively gave up and quickly withdrew: "I didn't expect Your Majesty the Demon Emperor to have made progress in your cultivation. You were holding back just now? I admit defeat and will not continue this spree!"

These words were also a reminder to the traitor Long Qinghuang that he had a backup plan. In short, if he wanted to leave, no one could stop him, including Long Qinghuang, whose blood and qi were in disarray at the moment.

"Your Majesty!" Lion Madman finally arrived, but Gu Zhanting had already vanished in a flash of light, and even the old eunuch Hai Ruyuan took the opportunity to run away.

"Your Majesty, shall we pursue them?"

Long Qinghuang took a few breaths, catching her breath before saying, "No need. Continue to reorganize the army and march south to their former border, the Demon-Repelling Pass!"

Lion Madman: "?"

Long Lie: "??"

Still fighting?

The Demon-Repelling Pass is unlike the new border defense system Huo Xingyuan has built over the years; it's a true formidable pass that has stood for thousands of years in the Great Qian Dynasty. Gu Zhanting is unharmed; how can they possibly take it by simply defending it?

What if Yi Tinglan causes trouble again? Wouldn't all the gains from this battle be wasted?
Long Qinghuang was in an extremely good mood: "What do you know? Gu Zhanting has run out of cards. Unless he dares to let the people of the Ancient Realm openly stand with him, that would be tantamount to breaking ties with Ye Tinglan. Does he dare to make such a choice?"

"But if he doesn't get involved with the Ancient Realm, Ye Tinglan will naturally come to help. Wouldn't it be better to stop while he's ahead?"

Long Qinghuang smiled slightly: "I know we can't fight, but Gu Zhanting must be even more guilty right now. I want to take advantage of the situation to force him to negotiate."

"..." Lion Mad Dragon Fierce looked at each other, not knowing what His Majesty was thinking: "Your Majesty, what just happened? Your breathing was obviously disordered."

The communication artifact is only used by Long Qinghuang; no one else knows about it, and to this day, no one knows that the Holy Mountain has encountered a major upheaval.

Long Qinghuang touched the ring; inside was a letter.

Si Han's strange assistance could only have been orchestrated by him. Long Qinghuang knew that Si Han owed Lu Xingzhou a favor.

Looking back on this battle, Long Qinghuang was truly astonished. Shen Tang must have been summoned by Lu Xingzhou, saving tens of thousands of soldiers and generals of the Great Qian Dynasty, the benefits of which for her in the future were self-evident; such a rescue could also make Shen Tang feel that he was working hard for the people of her Great Qian Dynasty, which would surely fill her with tenderness, and Ye Tinglan would also be overjoyed; foreseeing the changes at the Holy Mountain, her warnings to herself were in vain, and she sent Si Han to provide assistance, which not only prevented the Ancient Realm from succeeding, but also earned Long Qinghuang a huge favor.

In the power struggle between the two emperors, he, a mere third-rank cultivator, secretly reaped all the benefits, killing countless birds with a single stone.

She was unaware of the feud between Lu Xingzhou and Huo Xingyuan; if she had known, she would have been even more unaware.

In addition to saving Sheng Yuanyao, there's also a bird.

Even though the two birds, Long Qinghuang and Lu Xingzhou, were unaware of this, they were already incredibly amazed, and their desire to obtain Lu Xingzhou was stronger than ever before.

“It’s nothing.” She smiled. “I must have someone… If the previous military campaigns were at most motivated by this, then the current continued advance is solely for him.”

She couldn't analyze why the mole didn't act this time... Perhaps she was overthinking it, and there wasn't actually a mole?

Having failed to uncover such a complex situation, Long Qinghuang felt a lump in her throat, knowing that it would be difficult to succeed on her own.

But what if he were there?

Most of the others had already guessed who she was referring to, and Lion Madman couldn't help but say, "Lu Xingzhou should be on the battlefield just now. If Your Majesty wants to capture him, you can do so now."

Long Qinghuang shook her head: "After Chen Yu was captured by us, regardless of whether he betrayed the country or not, in the eyes of the Daqian people, Chen Yu was already tainted. If I were to capture Lu Xingzhou in the same way... he would hate me."

Long Lie Shi Kuang remained expressionless.

Are you afraid he'll hate you? What should you do then? Love you?
…………

Meanwhile, Shen Tang and Xiang An gathered their defeated troops and retreated all the way back to Juyao Pass. Lu Xingzhou had already taken off his mask and changed back into his outer robe at some point and appeared beside Sheng Yuanyao. As soon as he appeared, he staggered and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Sheng Yuanyao was alarmed and grabbed him, saying, "What happened? I didn't see him retaliate against you!"

"It's alright." Lu Xingzhou waved his hand and popped a pill into his mouth: "It's one thing for Huo Xingyuan to break through to the first rank, but to actually reach the upper rank in such a short period of time... If he had this kind of efficiency all along, what was he doing before?"

Theoretically, the third rank and the first rank are already at the same level. Even if a first-rank cultivator can still defeat a third-rank cultivator, there is no qualitative difference. Even if a first-rank cultivator could injure Lu Xingzhou with a counterattack, it would only result in minor injuries at most. With the effect of Lu Xingzhou's Tai Xu Rotation, there should be no serious consequences.

For Huo Xingyuan to injure him to the point of vomiting blood, he must be at least a high-ranking or peak-level first-grade cultivator.

That was a misjudgment; I thought it wouldn't be that quick. But in hindsight, I quickly realized it.

The Huo family possesses a miraculous alchemy furnace... which it may not only be used to refine healing elixirs.

It is obvious that Huo Xingyuan's rapid progress is based on this.

It's just a pity we didn't manage to kill him.

Sheng Yuanyao also asked in a low voice, "If we didn't succeed in killing him, will he recognize you?"

“They probably won’t recognize him.” Lu Xingzhou smiled. “If we didn’t kill him, we didn’t kill him. I’ve planted a bunch of landmines for the Huo family. We’ll play with them slowly. They’ll have their fun.”

Just then, Anuo pushed Shen Tang and rushed over in a flash.

Before Shen Tang even arrived, he called out from afar, "Are you injured?"

Lu Xingzhou blinked and replied loudly, "I was slightly injured in the battle just now, it's nothing serious."

In the midst of the question and answer, Shen Tang had already reached her side, subtly gesturing with her hand to position the wheelchair between Sheng Yuanyao and Lu Xingzhou.

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

Lu Xingzhou stared blankly, unsure of what to say.

Didn't you encourage me to date Gua Mei? But when I actually dated you, you wouldn't agree.

Shen Tang said, "I have something important to ask you."

“Hmm…” Lu Xingzhou knew what she wanted to ask, and sighed, “Leave before your father comes back. Up close, he can’t hide your fake broken leg. Don’t cause any trouble. Leaving now will leave the impression that you don’t ask for anything in return.”

Shen Tang knew this perfectly well, but she was still bitter and angry: "I think you're just trying to keep me from bothering you and Sheng Yuanyao!"

Sheng Yuanyao: “?”

I don't know why, but even though I was targeted for no reason, it felt so good...

When you position yourself as a female friend who annoys others, then all inner demons cease to be inner demons and instead feel incredibly good.

The scene of the inner demon tribulation was half realized without him saying a word!

Incompetent wife!
So this is what the inner demon tribulation means... Once you overcome the inner demon, the road ahead will be smooth.

Lu Xingzhou was saying to Shen Tang, "Don't be like this. Once this matter is settled, I'll go back to Danxia Mountain to be with you. This time, I can stay with you for a long time."

Shen Tang smiled immediately: "It's a deal."

Sheng Yuanyao walked around the wheelchair in the middle and put one hand on Lu Xingzhou's shoulder: "Hey, Lao Lu..."

Lu Xingzhou jumped in surprise: "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask, is your sect leader quite reluctant to part with you?"

Lu Xingzhou glanced at the soldiers not far away: "Of course, the sect leader has always taken good care of his subordinates."

Shen Tang: "...Miss Sheng, where is your hand resting?"

Sheng Yuanyao chuckled, "Sect Master, you're in charge of everything, so why are you interfering with your subordinates' friendships?"

Shen Tang: “?”

“Go back to your Danxia Mountain, don’t ruin your peace and tranquility here… As for your subordinates, your brothers will take care of them.”

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Just a sneak attack, please vote with monthly tickets!
(End of this chapter)