Start by conquering the world with unlimited job opportunities.

Chapter 237 A Storm is Brewing!! (Updated 45 times out of 2 words)

The ripples from the force field barrier have not yet subsided.

Zhang Tiezhu's burly figure crashed in like a cannonball, his chipped machete still tightly gripped in his uninjured right hand, his bloodshot eyes instantly scanning the entire valley floor.

"Captain Fang! Comrade Wei! Jiang!"

The roar abruptly ended, as if an invisible hand had gripped its throat.

Zhang Tiezhu, along with the surging Tiger Company soldiers and elite sniper squad behind him, were instantly frozen in place at the entrance of the valley, as if they had been collectively frozen in place.

The scene before them completely overturned their understanding of the word "battlefield".

It also shattered all their imaginations of the horrific conditions at the summit when they were at the foot of the mountain.

There were no mountains of corpses or seas of blood.

There was no scene of mountains of corpses of the dead.

The terrifying Vajra Buddha that loomed over everyone like a nightmare was nowhere to be seen.

There was only a vast, utterly desolate, and chilling silence.

The entire bottom of Heisong'ao seemed to have been swept away by an invisible, giant hand that covered the whole world in the most tyrannical and unreasonable way!
As far as the eye can see, the field of vision is wider than ever before.

The once numerous ruined villages, where at least some outlines of broken walls and ruins could still be discerned, have completely disappeared.

There wasn't even a mud wall half a person high that could be found.

Instead, a thick layer of charred black "powder" covered the entire bottom of the valley, reaching a depth of about a foot. It consisted of the finest dust, gravel powder, and a blackish-red, glassy substance that had been instantly incinerated at an extremely high temperature and then cooled and solidified.
This layer of dust covered the earth, as if laying a layer of hell on this ravaged land.

A cold and despairing carpet.

The air was filled with a pungent, burnt smell and a strong sulfur odor.

The ground at the edge of the force field barrier clearly presents two completely different states.

Beyond the barrier lay trampled mud and blood-stained ground.

Just a step away from the barrier lies this shocking, boundless expanse of scorched earth, a scene of utter devastation.

"This is fucking ridiculous."

An old soldier behind Zhang Tiezhu spoke in a hoarse, trembling voice. He instinctively raised his foot, then hesitated, as if he were stepping not on scorched earth, but on some forbidden boundary. "Where are those ghosts? Where is that big guy?!"

Another soldier bent over nervously, trembling as he grabbed a handful of charred powder, spread it in his palm, and ground the fine glass particles between his fingertips. It was icy cold, yet carried a strange, lingering heat.

"All turned to ash?" he muttered to himself, his voice filled with disbelief, bewilderment, and a hint of fear. "All gone?"

Yes, they're all gone.

Whether it was the mountain of corpses of the dead that had been killed by Fang Qingyu's team before.

Or the subsequent sixth wave of terrifying frenzy that was enough to engulf everything, and even that Vajra Buddha, which was like a world-destroying demon god.
Everything vanished without a trace beneath this layer of charred dust that covered everything.

It was as if they had never existed.

Only this completely "flattened" ruin at the bottom of the valley silently testifies to the terrifying intensity of the battle that just took place, far exceeding everyone's imagination.

"Captain Fang! Comrade Wei! Comrade Jiang! Comrade Chu! Comrade Lu!"

Zhang Tiezhu snapped back to reality, his hoarse roar, filled with uncontrollable panic and worry, instantly shattering the suffocating silence.

He was acting like a madman, dragging his broken arm.

He stumbled and trudged into the scorched, dusty plain, using his dulled knife as a crutch to poke deep holes in the soft, burnt earth.

His gaze, like a searchlight, swept frantically across this desolate, scorched earth.

"Over here! Company Commander! Captain Fang and the others are over here!"

A sharp-eyed soldier from the elite squad pointed deep into the valley, in a direction close to the back of the mountain wall, and shouted in a terrified voice.

Zhang Tiezhu suddenly turned his head to look.

On the relatively "towering" scorched earth slope, five figures lay scattered like discarded rag dolls amidst the thick layer of black ash.

Fang Qingyu lay on his back, his naked upper body covered in black ash and dried blood, almost blending into the scorched earth. Only his chest rose and fell very faintly, proving that he was still alive.

Jiang Wei's small figure was curled up not far from him, her face pale, with traces of pale gold blood still remaining at the corner of her mouth. Her little mouth moved slightly unconsciously, as if she was sucking on something that didn't exist.

Wei Banmeng leaned against a charred rock about half her height. Her pale face was devoid of color, her lips were cracked, and her Xuanchi twin swords lay limply at her side. Her eyes were closed, and even her breathing seemed extremely weak.

Chu Kuanglan lay sprawled out in a slightly distant "pit," his body covered in black ash, as if he had just been dug out of a mining disaster. His arms were twisted at an unnatural angle, and there was still blood at the corner of his mouth. He was breathing heavily, like a broken bellows.

Lu Jiuyuan knelt on one knee beside Chu Kuanglan, leaning on his long sword with its blade chipped. The deep, bone-revealing wound on his waist and abdomen reopened, and blood soaked through his tattered combat uniform, mixing with black ash and turning into a dark red mess. He lowered his head, his body trembling slightly uncontrollably.

Of the five people, none of them could stand up.

There wasn't a single spot on his body that was intact.

Only that faint yet tenacious breath of life, like a candle flickering in the wind, burned silently on this scorched earth that had been utterly destroyed.

"Medic!!!"

Zhang Tiezhu's eyes were bloodshot, and he let out a blood-curdling roar with all his might.

"quick!!!"

Several soldiers carrying heavy medical kits rushed over, stumbling and crawling.

Zhang Tiezhu did not step forward immediately, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions and the sob in his throat.

He turned around abruptly, his blood-stained face instantly regaining its cold, hard edge.

"First row! Second row! Clear the valley entrance passage immediately! Ensure the force field barrier exit is unobstructed!"

"The third platoon escorted Captain Fang and the others out."

His voice was hoarse but resolute, carrying an unquestionable authority.

"Hurry up! The Ghost Festival isn't over yet! Who the hell knows what other weird things might happen in this godforsaken place!"

"Yes! Company commander!"

The soldiers roared in unison, and the suppressed shock instantly transformed into high morale and motivation.

The dark green figures spread out rapidly like worker ants, beginning to build a new defensive line on the thick, scorched earth.

Zhang Tiezhu then strode towards the five figures.

He first walked to Fang Qingyu's side, watching the medic carefully clean the charred ash off his body and check his injuries.

Fang Qingyu slightly opened his eyes, his molten gold-like eyes dimming considerably.

But his eyes remained calm, and he gave Zhang Tiezhu a very slight nod.

Captain Fang's voice was hoarse, a thousand words stuck in his throat, but in the end, he could only say, "You've worked hard, leave the rest to the brothers!"

Fang Qingyu gave a slight twitch of his lips in response.

Zhang Tiezhu then looked at the other four people in turn, watching the medic treat the blood from Jiang Wei's mouth, feed Wei Banmeng water, stabilize Chu Kuanglan's twisted arm, and re-bandage Lu Jiuyuan's wound on his waist and abdomen to stop the bleeding.
He watched silently until the medical team leader looked up and said to him in a deep voice, "Company Commander, initial treatment is complete. Captain Fang and the others are severely injured, especially from exhaustion and internal organ concussion. They need to be transferred to rest immediately! The conditions here are too poor, and the environment is..."

"understand!"

Zhang Tiezhu nodded vigorously, took out the field communicator from his waist without hesitation, and switched to the elite squad's encrypted channel.

"Hawkeye! Hawkeye! Reply received!"

"Eagle Eye received! Company Commander, please proceed!"

The steady voice of the squad leader, codenamed "Eagle Eye," came through the communicator.

"They've been brought out! Repeat, Captain Fang and his five-member team have successfully been brought out of the Black Pine Pass force field!" Zhang Tiezhu's voice was resolute, heavy with unquestionable authority. "They are now severely injured! Extremely weak! They have lost most of their combat capability! I give the order!"

He took a deep breath, each word like a hammer blow: "The elite squad, provide immediate support! At all costs! Escort them safely to the brigade's field hospital at the foot of the mountain! In case of any situation en route, their safety is the highest priority! And if I may say if... if any insurmountable danger arises again in Heisong'ao..."

Zhang Tiezhu paused, his gaze sweeping across the desolate, scorched earth, over the faintly glowing force field barrier at the valley entrance, and finally landing on the five pale, tired, yet still resolute faces on the stretcher.

His voice suddenly rose, carrying a resolute determination:

"You take Captain Fang and the others and evacuate immediately! Don't look back! Don't worry about us! This is a death order! Do you understand?!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communicator.

Immediately, Hawkeye's resolute voice, imbued with an iron will, rang out clearly:

"Elite squad received! Mission accomplished!!!"

Inside the makeshift field medical tents set up at the foot of the mountain, the air was filled with the smells of disinfectant, blood, and faint herbs.

A few emergency lights emitted a stark white light.

The light reflected off the pale faces on the makeshift cots.

Fang Qingyu refused the injection of strong analgesics and only accepted basic debridement and fixation.

He sat back on the cot, his bare upper body wrapped in bandages, his bronze skin covered with a mix of old and new scars and scorch marks.

His eyes, though gleaming like molten gold, still showed signs of weariness.

But it was much brighter than when we were on the mountaintop, and I was staring at the phone in my hand with its shattered screen, covered in black ash and bloodstains.

On the screen, the WeChat chat interface remained on the nickname "Old Man Hong from Chang'an Ancient Street".

Fang Qingyu's fingers tapped slowly and heavily on the virtual keyboard.

[Old man, in Black Pine Pass, you've encountered a talking ghost.]

The message was sent successfully.

Fang Qingyu closed his eyes and leaned against the cold metal bed frame.

The image of the Vajra Buddha's enormous head, with its eerie smile that blended compassion and malevolence, and its strange words that sounded like sand rubbing against a temple bell, uncontrollably resurfaced in my mind.

"You are also in the cage."

These six words, like maggots clinging to the bone, echoed repeatedly in the depths of my mind.

He had seen a thinking ghost.

But the ghost that could clearly express such bizarre content overturned all previous understanding!

The phone screen suddenly lit up and vibrated.

Fang Qingyu suddenly opened his eyes.

Hong Qitian's reply was surprisingly quick, consisting of only a few brief words:
[A Buddhist-like fate?]

Fang Qingyu's pupils contracted slightly.

How did the old man know?

He didn't even describe any form of the Fate Demon!
Fang Qingyu replied immediately:
Yes. It takes the form of a giant Buddha statue, with dark red Sanskrit characters on its body, and human figures inlaid at its joints.

The message was sent immediately, and the other party displayed "The other party is typing."

Soon, new information popped up:
Oh, forget about it. A bunch of Buddhist fools with the attitude of "If I don't go to hell, who will?" They overplayed their hand and ended up getting themselves into trouble. Their obsession was too deep; their minds were no longer functioning properly. Everything they said was nonsense; just treat it as farts.

His tone carried an almost sarcastic, dismissive quality. Fang Qingyu's brows furrowed even more as he read the reply.

This explanation seemed reasonable, but it couldn't completely dispel his doubts.

Especially the phrase "in a cage".
His fingers twitched slightly, as he prepared to ask further questions.

The message "The other party is typing." flashed on the screen again.

This time, the input lasted even longer.

It seemed the old man on the other side was also lost in thought.

Finally, a new message popped up, carrying a clear hint of surprise:

[Wait a minute, kid! What stage of Fate Demon are you fighting?!]

Fang Qingyu slowly typed a few words:

[Peak of Tier 2.]

send.

Then, he stared at the screen and waited.

The tent was silent, except for the occasional suppressed gasps from Chu Kuanglan on the cot next to him, and Lu Jiuyuan’s steady but weak breathing.

Time seemed to be stretched.

A few seconds felt like minutes.

The message "The other party is typing." disappeared from the screen.

Another ten seconds or so passed.

Just when Fang Qingyu thought the signal had been interrupted.

hum!
The phone vibrated again.

Instead of text, something else popped up on the screen.

Instead, it's an extremely eye-catching animated GIF meme full of absurd and impactful visuals.

A man with a chain, large sunglasses, and slicked-back hair, nicknamed "Crow Brother," raised one hand with a bright smile.

Accompanied by large, eye-catching text effects:
[Well done, kid!]

Fang Qingyu: "..."

He stared at the image filled with Crow Brother's meme for a full three seconds, stunned.

A feeling of utter absurdity and amusement instantly dispelled the heavy atmosphere and doubts that had been building up in my heart.

What does the old man's reaction mean?
Amazed by his own record, is he expressing his speechlessness in this way?
Fang Qingyu stared at Crow Brother, who was still waving his hand in a loop, and his lips twitched uncontrollably.

That old man.
"Aoko."

A soft, calm voice suddenly rang in my ears, carrying a hint of earnestness that was barely perceptible.

Fang Qingyu snapped back to reality and turned his head.

Jiang Wei was already standing beside his cot, and he didn't know when she had arrived.

The little girl's face was still pale, but she seemed to have recovered quite a bit. Her clear, molten gold eyes were staring at him without blinking, and she was still holding half a lollipop in her hand.

"what happened?"

Fang Qingyu put away his phone and asked in a deep voice.

Jiang Wei rarely initiates conversations with him, especially not at times like this.

Jiang Wei took a small step closer, almost touching his ear, and whispered earnestly in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Something felt off inside the force field just now."

Fang Qingyu's heart skipped a beat: "Something's not right?"

Jiang Wei's molten gold eyes narrowed slightly, as if recalling a detail. Her small face was expressionless, but her tone carried a hint of solemnity:
"Before that Vajra Buddha appeared, at the very beginning of the fifth wave of the Ghostly Tide."

She paused, as if organizing her thoughts, before clearly adding:
“A ghostly spirit extended only one hand to ambush Zhang Tiezhu for a very short time, about two seconds, before retracting it. The spatial fluctuations were very slight, but very strong.”

"Very strong?" Fang Qingyu's brows furrowed instantly.

A person whose fate was described as "very strong" by Jiang Wei
"Hmm." Jiang Wei nodded vigorously, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. "The fluctuations of that hand should be at the mid-stage of the second tier."

Fang Qingyu's breath hitched for a moment.

Second-tier mid-stage?!
All the scenes of the battle on the mountaintop flashed through my mind like lightning.

Vajra Buddha is at the peak of the second tier, and is the undisputed ruler.

But apart from that, in the entire five waves of the Ghostly Fate Tide, including the final, earth-shattering sixth wave, the strongest Ghostly Fate they encountered was only at the initial stage of the second tier!
So even though there were five waves of an enormous number of Ghost Tides.

Fang Qingyu and the others were a bit tired, but they managed to block everything.

Logically, Vajra Buddha is the strongest force in the Ghost Festival tide in this area.

It is the commander, the BOSS.

Once the BOSS appears, its horde of spirits will definitely charge forward.

This is the pattern of the tides of fate.

But now, Jiang Wei clearly told him that before the Vajra Buddha appeared, there had been a second-tier mid-stage Fate Ghost!
But just as Vajra Buddha appeared, and the sixth wave of the Ghost Tide.
The ghost that Jiang Wei mentioned never appeared.

what does this mean?
Fang Qingyu felt as if his heart was being gripped by an icy hand.

Two possibilities collided fiercely in his mind in an instant:
The first possibility is that the second-tier mid-stage life ghost was a special character such as an "assassin" or "warlord" under the command of Vajra Buddha.

It was discovered and wounded by Jiang Wei.

Intimidated by the rapid increase in the intensity of the subsequent battle, they ultimately chose to hide or retreat.

If that's the case, it shouldn't come back, so there's no need to worry about it for now.

In the coming period, Heisong'ao will most likely enter a relatively calm respite.

But the second possibility
But this sent a chill down Fang Qingyu's spine instantly!
That second-tier mid-stage life ghost was not a subordinate of Vajra Buddha.

Vajra Buddha is not the real BOSS.

If that's the case...
Fang Qingyu's gaze instantly sharpened like a knife as he swept his eyes sharply towards the outside of the tent.

The night was deep outside, and the mountain wind howled.

In the distance, on the mountaintop, the faintly glowing force field barrier stood like a silent period in the darkness.

And after that point, deep within that desolate, scorched earth, in the shadows of countless spatial rifts that were not yet fully closed...
Is there a pair of eyes lurking beneath the surface, colder, more cunning, and more dangerous than those of the Vajra Buddha?

It waited patiently, waiting for their weakest, most relaxed moment.
Fang Qingyu slowly withdrew his gaze and looked at Jiang Wei's clear yet solemn eyes.

The little girl had obviously thought of this second possibility as well.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and a silent heaviness filled the quiet medical tent.

On the cot next to him, Chu Kuanglan seemed to be having a dream.

He mumbled in a muffled voice, heavy with sleep and pain, "Damn it, what's wrong now? Can't I even catch my breath?"

Fang Qingyu remained silent.

He simply looked once more at the dense, impenetrable darkness of the mountain forest outside the tent.

Total feeling.
In the darkness, a storm was brewing.

Second-tier mid-stage!

A ghost that briefly appeared before the Vajra Buddha appeared, ambushed Zhang Tiezhu, and was then frightened away by Jiang Wei!
Was it really just a "scared-off" assassin?

Or.
"boom--!!!"

A terrifying explosion, seemingly capable of tearing the entire mountain range apart, rang out without warning outside the tent!
It didn't come from the direction of Black Pine Valley at the top of the mountain.

Rather, it comes from a more distant horizon.

The sound was extremely muffled, as if it came through a thick barrier of space, yet it carried a penetrating power that made even the soul tremble!

The emergency lights on the top of the tent were flashing wildly, their light flickering erratically.

The ground shook violently as if struck by a powerful earthquake, and the cots emitted a screeching sound!
"Holy shit! It's happening again?!"

Chu Kuanglan sprang up from his cot, wincing in pain from his wounds. His only unbroken hand gripped the short knife beside his pillow tightly.

Lu Jiuyuan sat up abruptly, his eyes sharp as knives, blood instantly seeping from the bandages around his waist and abdomen.

Wei Banmeng opened her eyes instantly, her hand already on the hilt of the Xuan Chi sword.

Jiang Wei's small body tensed up, and her Molten Gold Eyes instantly locked onto the direction from which the sound came.

Fang Qingyu's eyes, which were like molten gold, suddenly narrowed, and he struggled to get out of bed.

"It's not Black Pine Pass!"

Zhang Tiezhu abruptly flung open the tent flap and rushed in, his face filled with fear, but even more so with shock. "The sound... the sound is coming from a very far northeast direction! Through the mountains!"

The words have not yet fallen.

Om-! ! !
An indescribable, terrifying pressure, like an ancient, dormant god awakening, instantly enveloped the entire camp!
This oppressive force was heavy and domineering!
It carries a martial arts will that is pure to the extreme!
It was as if an invisible, towering mountain had suddenly descended!
All the warriors in the camp, including Zhang Tiezhu, a peak Transcendent Realm expert, instantly felt as if they were carrying an immense burden, their blood and qi stagnated, and even breathing became extremely difficult.

Some of the weaker recruits turned pale, their legs went weak, and they almost knelt down!
"This is.?!"

Zhang Tiezhu's pupils dilated to their limit, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

A figure, like a shooting star tearing through the night sky, with a blinding, crimson-gold flame that seemed to be forged from pure blood and qi, descended fiercely from the northeastern night sky at a speed that surpassed the limits of vision!
There are no fancy trajectories, and no excess energy dissipation.

It was a straight, domineering streak of crimson gold light, as if it were about to shatter space itself!
Boom!

The streak of light crashed onto the open ground in the center of the camp.

A ring of condensed, crimson-gold energy spread out silently like ripples on water, instantly smoothing out the rubble and dust on the ground.

The light dissipated.

A tall, robust figure appeared before the crowd, wearing an old-fashioned gray cloth jacket that had been washed until it was faded and was covered in dark red stains and mud.

He looked to be around forty years old, with a resolute face as if carved by a knife and axe, short hair like steel needles, and a pair of tiger eyes that shone brightly when they opened and closed, as if containing a terrifying power like molten lava.

What is most striking are his exposed bronze arms and calves, where the bulging muscles resemble coiled dragons, and the skin is covered with fine, scorched marks as if burned by high temperatures. There are even a few fresh, deep claw marks that reveal the bone, slowly oozing dark red blood and emitting a strong bloody smell and a chillingly fierce aura.

He stood there, without exuding any deliberate aura.

But the air in the entire camp seemed to freeze.

A tangible, heavy, and suffocating martial will naturally spread out.

Third-tier Martial Saint!

absolute!
(End of this chapter)