A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 263 A lone boat is cut off by the river; three cries from the green hills save the masses.

It's raining in Jiangnan today.

The lakes and rivers crisscrossing the land, when hit by the rain, immediately rise up in a thick mist. The boats traveling on the water are washed by the rain, and old and new wounds on the hulls are washed even cleaner and more conspicuous.

The rebel soldiers under Gao Tuoshan's command were busy repairing the hull, patching up the areas riddled with arrow holes or grazed by cannonballs with wooden planks, and then the sorcerer was casting a spell.

The uneven chanting of incantations, accompanied by the occasional appearance of green light from various places, meant that whenever a flash of green light appeared, the newly patched planks would already be integrated into the hull.

Although the material and color are different from the original material of the hull, and the newly repaired parts are not painted, revealing the original color of the wood, they feel smooth to the touch, and the original arrow holes, knife marks, dents, etc. have all disappeared.

"It appears the hull has been fully repaired, but the spells used by my sorcerers are different from those used by the court to collectively inscribe the hulls. Each time these warships undergo a medium-scale repair, their defensive capabilities will decrease slightly."

When Gao Tuoshan spoke, his gaze fell on the sails; the hull itself was actually fine.

The sails were the main focus of the officers' and soldiers' firebombs; they were becoming increasingly damaged, with large patches clearly visible.

The soldiers climbing on the sails to repair them had all taken off their shirts, exposing their upper bodies to the rain. One could see the ripples of their muscular bodies, as agile as a leopard's. Because of this, it was also obvious that their belts were tightened, and their bellies were slightly concave under the belts.

There was still some food left on board, and they could catch a few fish, but it had come to the point where they had to conserve food. If they ate to their hearts' content, the entire fleet could finish all the food in just a day and a half.

Shi Xiu said, "The people who repaired the ship have used up a lot of energy, so they need to be given more food today."

Gao Tuoshan glanced at him but didn't say anything. During this period, Shi Xiu, Lin Chong and others, relying on their high cultivation levels, had already stopped eating and only drank some water every day.

Some things don't need to be tested; just by looking at their actions, you can tell that their minds are made up, or rather, that they remain resolute. Gao Tuoshan had no choice but to follow them and not eat.

Generals can survive for several more months on water alone, while skilled sorcerers can live on dew and absorb the essence of the heavens, saving as much as they can.

Shi Xiu smiled at him and said, "We have received news that Liangshan's troops rushed to various places to provide reinforcements on the first day of the tenth month. If all goes well, we may be able to join them today."

Gao Tuoshan said sullenly, "Then..."

So what? How many places will be sent to provide aid? Is Jiangnan the top priority? How much food will they bring? And will the journey be smooth?

He couldn't finish his sentence because he sensed something unusual in the rain.

Gao Tuoshan leaped up and jumped to the top of the mast, wielding a five-pronged fork in his hand, and swung it toward the winding river to the left rear of the fleet.

The river was shrouded in mist and rain, layer upon layer. With a wave of his hand, he created a path through the rain but without any mist, making everyone's vision clearer. Some sharp-eyed people had already spotted the fleet of ships about ten miles away.

"Is it a patrol by soldiers?"

Some people said that everyone on the ship had already taken up arms and entered a state of combat readiness.

They were like hungry cormorants, scattered across the boats, their bodies slightly hunched and weary, but their eyes were still keenly fixed on the water.

Looking at them, Gao Tuoshan felt a surge of satisfaction and pride.

Everyone says that Jiangnan is elegant and refined, and that its scholars and literati are renowned for their refined tastes. But these people, who spend their lives by the water, on boats, battered by wind and waves and washed by rain, still retain a touch of sharp and unyielding spirit.

Fueled by this pride, he felt a surge of fighting spirit and braved the wind and rain to carefully observe the other side.

The ships coming from that direction were not large. Even the largest ones were not as big as the warships at the foot of Gaotuo Mountain. However, those ships had a deep draft and a long, slender shape, cutting through the water with great speed.

It was indeed a patrol boat among the officers and soldiers, but the flags on the boat did not seem to be the official flags they had become accustomed to seeing these days. The flags were getting closer and closer, and were blown open by the wind for a moment.

Gao Tuoshan could see it clearly.

That's Liangshan!

"It's a ship from Liangshan!!"

Someone shouted first, and people on the deck here, as well as on the surrounding large and small ships, became restless in the rain.

At this moment, Shi Xiu shouted loudly, "Don't let your guard down! Don't let your guard down! Be careful, it might be a plot by the government!"

Naval warfare differs from land warfare; naval deployment takes much longer. If these people are caught off guard by the fleet approaching, and if that fleet is actually government agents in disguise, the situation could become uncontrollable.

Gao Tuoshan's generals calmed down a bit and directed everyone to prepare for battle, but the restlessness did not completely subside. They continued to discuss among themselves, hoping that it really was Liangshan's fleet.

When the two fleets were about five miles apart, someone from the other fleet stepped out from the crowd, took off his raincoat and straw hat, and waved his arms vigorously in their direction.

"Brother Shi Xiu, General Lin, General Gao!"

Shi Xiu recognized Li Jun and even several familiar faces among the soldiers. Finally, he lowered his guard and smiled with relief.

Li Jun's fleet intersected with Gao Tuoshan's group. The Liangshan soldiers on board covered sacks with their straw raincoats and carried sack after sack of grain onto the ships.

Some of the bags, which were specially labeled with water-repelling talismans, actually contained prepared dried bread and pressed wild vegetable buns. These buns, made from a mixture of wild vegetables and flour, looked extremely ugly, yet Gao Tuoshan's men couldn't wait to gather around them.

The crowd cheered, but the cheers quickly subsided, leaving only the sounds of chewing, swallowing, and gulping down water.

Shi Bao and the others on the ship continued to distribute the food, while Li Jun jumped onto the large ship and found Gao Tuoshan.

"General Gao, dry rations can only solve the immediate problem. Our fleet also has a batch of grain that we harvested from near Liangshan in late September using magic."

"But there are still many soldiers nearby, and the situation is dangerous. It's not a safe place. Once we break through the encirclement and get the large group of soldiers some distance away, we can slowly cook them up and eat them."

Gao Tuoshan swallowed a fist-sized steamed bun, looked around with a broad smile, and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Okay! Okay! Whatever you say."

After agreeing, he came to his senses and quickly said, "Wait a minute, we can't be reckless in breaking out. The government troops are much stronger than us and are guarding all the key roads. Your route is downstream, the river is narrow and the control is loose. If such a large group of us wants to break out, we can't take that route."

Li Jun laughed and said, "When those Taoist priests of the Shangqing Sect were acting as messengers, they drew many topographical maps from high above. When we came, we also released a flock of paper cranes to explore all sides. By comparing them one by one, we already had a clear understanding of the situation."

"The best route for us to get to Liangshan from here is to go east for more than ten miles, go around a sandbar, then go north through the reeds, enter the river from the river, and head east. We can then take advantage of the high tide to speed up the fleet's breakout and calmly plan our way to the waterway to the eastern part of Beijing."

Gao Tuoshan nodded and said, "But the sandbar is heavily guarded, and iron chains cross the river. Even if we can cross it, we will definitely have to deal with some trouble. By then, the main force of the government troops will have already arrived after hearing the news."

Li Jun said, "Don't worry, we already have people intercepting the main force of the government troops. Just focus on breaking through the encirclement later."

Gao Tuoshan pondered for a moment, then nodded firmly and shouted back, "Don't eat too much! Get up and stretch your limbs when you're about half full. There's a tough battle coming up later. After we win, we'll eat our fill!"

The crowd responded.

"How many troops actually came to reinforce Jiangnan?"

Lin Chong dragged Li Jun and Shi Xiu to the edge of the deck, seemingly gazing at the water, but behind him he used a gentle force to isolate them from the outside world, and asked in a low voice, "When the messengers came and went several times before, claiming that troops had been dispatched, they were vague and unwilling to say exactly how many troops there were."

"What's there to hide? Tell us the number so we can assess and allocate resources."

Li Jun smiled slightly, flipped his right hand in front of his lower abdomen, and spread his five fingers.

Lin Chong frowned and said, "Fifty thousand? Are you planning to only save Jiangnan and another place, and then join forces to relieve the siege of other places? I'm afraid the other places won't be able to hold out for that long."

Li Jun shook his head and then shook his hand.

Lin Chong asked in astonishment, "What do you mean?"

Shi Xiu said leisurely, "Five thousand, I guess. Their ship, apart from the grain, can carry just four or five thousand people."

Lin Chong was incredulous. After a long silence, he said with difficulty, "Really five thousand?"

Li Jun whispered, "Han Shizhong, Lu Da, Wu Song, Dai Zong and others led 40,000 troops along the Liangzhe River into Guangnan. I came to Jiangnan and Gongsun Sheng went to Jinghu, each with only 5,000 troops. The other 50,000 were divided into two routes and went to Huainan and Hedong."

Lin Chong remained silent for a long time. Li Jun was worried that he couldn't accept it, and was about to explain the consequences to him in detail and persuade him, when he saw that the slightly depressed face of Lin Chong gradually regained its spirit.

The change was slow, but in the end, Lin Chong's face was full of self-confidence and radiance, as if all the pent-up emotions in his heart had been dispelled, leaving only a sense of joy.

"Very well, indecisiveness or choosing life over righteousness will only lead to being trapped in the quagmire and gradually suffocating. Is such a shameful struggle something a true man should do?!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jun couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "General Lin has always been patient and mild-mannered, and he's always been able to hold his tongue. I never imagined he had this side to him."

"Brother Lin has always been troubled by the times; he has been troubled far too many times. Fortunately, Liangshan is not a place where heroes are trapped."

Shi Xiu chuckled twice and pondered, "However, with this kind of fighting style... there's only one big boss, whether he's in Jiangnan or Jinghu."

"They're not here."

Li Jun shook his head, "But this plan was indeed negotiated personally by the big boss who approached each of us one by one..."

Shi Xiu waved his hand: "Then there's no need to say anything more. Even if the chief doesn't come, he will surely send someone he trusts. Now that we've been assigned here, we just need to cast aside our worries and break through the encirclement!"

A moment later, the fleet turned around and headed east.

Before long, the sound of cannons boomed around the sandbar, and billowing black smoke spread through the misty rain.

The sounds of battle drifted ashore, over uninhabited villages, over barren fields, and onto another great river, into the fleet of ships carrying the main force of the government troops.

The commander-in-chief on board was Yang Wen, the military governor of Jiangnan. However, he no longer commanded only local troops. The original Jiangnan navy was only sent to patrol various places, while this main fleet was filled with elite soldiers and generals from the border army, who were much more alert than before.

Just as the sound of cannon fire was heard, Yang Wen hurriedly stepped out of the cabin. Before he could determine the exact location of the cannon fire, he discovered that the large ship had already adjusted its course and was heading downstream.

He listened carefully and realized that the cannon fire was coming from the sandbar. Sure enough, the person directing the fleet to turn around had chosen the fastest route.

"Those Zhang Heng, Zhang Shun, Du Xing, and others, though unremarkable in appearance, are truly astute."

As Yang Wen was secretly admiring the sights, seven or eight more handsome and distinguished generals, each with their own unique bearing, emerged from the cabin behind him.

Hua Rong, the first of the "Little Li Guang" (a famous general), listened intently, his ear twitching slightly, and said, "Besides the rhythm of the soldiers' cannon fire, there is another rhythm of artillery fire, and the battle sounds are extremely intense."

"Ever since we came to support the military governor, the rebels in Jiangnan have been stingy with their ammunition. This offensive is so fierce, they must be running out of food and want to make a last-ditch effort."

Upon hearing this, Yang Wen stroked his beard and said, "In that case, perhaps the time to completely crush them is today. Issue my order: command the Taoist priests, sorcerers, oarsmen, and sailors to advance at full speed, sparing no effort in terms of magic and medicine."

The thought that the long-standing rebels might be completely wiped out today filled him with excitement. He took a few steps onto the deck, intending to climb to the bow so that he could be the first to witness the panic of the Jiangnan rebels when they approached the battlefield.

His deputy quickly raised a large umbrella to shield him from the wind and rain.

Just then, a bright, glittering light flew by in the wind.

Yang Wen yelled and tumbled off the bow of the boat. Fortunately, he was skilled in martial arts and unleashed a flurry of sword light, leaving only a bloody hole in his left shoulder.

His lieutenant was also unlucky; he didn't even have a chance to roll off the ship and stood upright at the bow, but his umbrella and body were riddled with holes.

The faint light pierced through the armor and flesh, continuing to strike the cabin, only to be blocked by the sonic boom of the generals' shouts.

Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be just some crystal-clear ice beads. Under the vibration of the sound waves, the ice beads shattered and turned into scattered powder.

The generals jumped to the bow of the boat to look, and saw a small boat coming upstream in the middle of the river.

Many archers on the ship drew their bows and unleashed a swarm of arrows like locusts.

Fang La, his white robes billowing, stood on the small boat, tilting his head back and taking a breath. As countless arrows fell toward him, their speed gradually slowed, the arrowheads were frozen, and cold white frost quickly covered them.

With another exhale, the rain of arrows that had been suspended in mid-air scattered like a school of fish, falling haphazardly back towards the government soldiers' boats of all sizes.

On the fleet of government and military ships, a series of muffled booms resounded. Generals at all levels commanded their soldiers, mobilizing demonic energy. A layer of dark cloud seemed to rise above all the ships, preventing the rain of arrows from penetrating and causing them to be deflected and fall into the water.

Hua Rong, standing at the bow of the ship, held a powerful bow and nocked a five-foot-long, golden, dragon-carved arrow.

The Great Snow Eagle Bow in his hand can shoot an arrow through the snow clouds and reach the golden eagle above the clouds when the snow is heavy and indistinct. It is best at breaking through defensive spells such as freezing air.

The mere sound of the bowstring being pulled taut was enough to make the soldiers around involuntarily tense their backs and feel a chill run down their spines.

When he drew his bow seven-tenths open, Han Tao, the "Hundred-Victory General" on the left, with a triangular paper talisman hidden in each hand, clenched his fists and clasped them together in the direction of Fang La.

Two tiny demons, barely visible to the naked eye, suddenly appeared behind Fang La. They were green-skinned and wrinkled with sharp claws. One of them stuck its hands into Fang La's ears, while the other chirped and chuckled, trying to burrow into the back of his head.

These little ghosts were not made from the souls of living people, but were painstakingly contemplated by Han Tao using ghost paintings drawn by Taoist masters. They are called "Trouble Ghosts" and "Deaf Ghosts".

Once a certain level is reached, enough to manifest in broad daylight, the cultivator must consume the Supreme Yang Elixir, sit amidst naturally glowing minerals, and endure the piercing pain of 84,000 pores.

Only in this way can the little devil be trained to be neither yin nor yang, unafraid of thunder magic and sunlight, and unafraid of evil magic and blood energy, so that he can move freely in the demonic battlefield where turbid power is overwhelming, and fly away without a trace.

On the right, Peng Qi, the "Heavenly Eye General," spreads his arms wide, revealing an eye in each palm beneath the skin of his fleshy hands.

Its eyeballs are pure black, and its pupils are pure white. With a blink, it can cause visual disturbances in the person in front of it, making it impossible to distinguish any colors. Everything seen is a hazy gray, and the position of all three-dimensional objects will also be distorted.

If someone's skill level is slightly lower, being struck by the evil light in those eyes will cause them to lose their balance on the spot, and the world will spin around them.

When Peng Qi was on the battlefield, even three to five hundred cavalrymen would be routed and flee on the spot when they encountered this kind of magic.

Just as their spells landed on Fang La at the same time, Hua Rong drew his bow to its full extent, and a golden light shot out from the bowstring, as if it had disappeared into thin air. In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Fang La.

Their coordination was seamless and effortless, showcasing the formidable strength of seasoned veterans. Meanwhile, the other generals around them unleashed perfectly timed air blades from their weapons, following closely behind Hua Rong's arrows. Some flew close to the water, some darted underwater, and some slashed through the air, leaving no escape route.

Fang La simply flicked his sleeves, and a wave of light rippled out from his body. At the same time, his seven orifices emitted light, and the little demon clinging to him screamed and turned into green smoke.

The Evil Eye Technique was pushed back by the light wave. Peng Qi withdrew his hand, clenched his fist, and felt a sharp pain in his palm that seemed to penetrate to the bone.

All the generals' swords, whether on or underwater, were instantly extinguished by the wave of light. Only Hua Rong's golden arrow lacked power, and Fang La had to hold the arrow shaft with his own hands to stop its momentum.

"Exceptional archery skills!"

Fang La praised, then broke the golden arrow in two. "It's a pity that even if there were a hundred Hua Rongs here today, your tens of thousands of troops still wouldn't be able to get through."

He didn't shout, but his voice boomed across the officers' and soldiers' large ship.

"Are you Fang La?!"

Yang Wen stood up, furious, his body rising higher and higher. "The Liangshan rebels only sent you, and you think you can stop us and save Gao Tuoshan of Shazhou?"

"All troops, listen to my command! Circulate your power together, activate your spells, and protect the ship."

He continuously absorbed the surrounding turbid air, his muscles bulged, and his bones were stretched to become even thicker and longer, making him more than ten feet tall. His armor also grew larger, and he perched on the bow of the ship, brandishing his sword and roaring.

"Run them over!!!"

The generals channeled their stagnant energy, pooling their power together. The soldiers' large ships roared like angry dragons, cleaving the water's surface, stirring up huge waves, and accelerating forward.

Wherever the large ship passed, a section of water several dozen feet long at its stern could not close in time, leaving a noticeable dent.

Yang Wen's shoulder injury had been squeezed shut by the muscles. He held a large sword, looking imposing and menacing as he gazed down at the small boat.

His soldiers were completely outmatched by the border troops, leaving him speechless. But the rebels on the other side dared to underestimate him so much, sending only one person. This infuriated him, making him unable to control his anger.

Hua Rong and the others around him had their arrows nocked and their halberds raised, waiting for the moment when Fang La would charge onto the bow of the ship.

No master in the world could single-handedly stop tens of thousands of fierce and indomitable demonic soldiers. The only way was to assassinate the commander-in-chief in order to create chaos.

Yang Wen had made up his mind that even if they were at a disadvantage, they would rely solely on themselves and not ask other troops to come to their aid. He ordered the remaining officers, soldiers, and large ships to rush to the sandbar as quickly as possible and make sure to wipe out the rebels first.

But when the soldiers' massive ships, which resembled ancient behemoths, approached within thirty feet of the small boat, a purplish-black bead appeared above Fang La's head.

Hua Rong and the others' gazes instantly and involuntarily focused on that bead.

The bead was incredibly deep, as if it contained too many different kinds of minerals and too much primordial energy, all condensed within it. Just its mere presence gave people a sense of weight that made it impossible to look away.

After all, it takes an entire warehouse of top-grade divine sand wine to refine a bead the size of a longan.

Besides the emperor's treasury, Chen Xizhen, Liu Yongxi, and Yun Tianbiao all originally had residences in Bianliang. In particular, many of the Taoist officials under Chen Xizhen were skilled at accumulating wealth, and their treasuries contained a considerable amount of high-grade elixirs.

Gongsun Sheng was already horrified, thinking that Guan Luoyang had used up all the elixirs in the emperor's treasury. Little did he know that Guan Luoyang had also picked out the finest divine sand ore from the confiscated properties of various high-ranking officials.

First, using the Heavenly Demon Technique, without distinguishing types or categories, it devoured all the magic wines, pills, and stones, transforming them into Heavenly Demon True Qi. Then, it transformed the Heavenly Demon True Qi into the Wuwei True Qi, which is the easiest for people to absorb and utilize.

However, even after undergoing such absorption, refinement, and transformation, it was still impossible to completely remove the poison from the pills. Within the seemingly inactive mineral energy, there was still a massive amount of demonic poison hidden within.

Therefore, in the end, Guan Luoyang did not condense this mineral energy into pills that could be directly consumed by people, but instead refined it into the Wuwei Demon Pearl, which was used for self-destruction.

The art of disintegration is not digestion, but a kind of fusion that is both close and distant, capable of mobilizing all its power, or being extracted again.

Fang La could freely mobilize the power within the Demon Pearl. When his physical body could no longer withstand the poison within, he could then remove the Demon Pearl. Since the poison was part of the divine weapon, it would naturally leave his body along with the Demon Pearl.

Once the physical body is restored, it can be used a second time after a short while.

The Hundred Dragons Ascension Dojo is the framework; the method of refining the various impurities within the dojo into "Dragon Pearls" is the fruit of the future body's ten years of painstaking effort.

Although Yang Wen and his men did not know what the Wuwei Demon Pearl was, they instinctively sensed something was wrong and jumped off the bow of the ship to attack Fang La.

While everyone was still in mid-air, Fang La reached out and pushed them, and they felt the force that had been pushing them forward be reversed.

In an instant, all the generals were pushed back onto the ship.

Although this method couldn't harm them, Yang Wen felt inexplicably panicked.

To calm his panic, he said to Hua Rong and the others beside him, "Don't panic. At most, this thief can only damage the hull of the ship. He can't possibly stop all of us."

"As long as the power of the three armies continues to circulate, the ship will not collapse. In the end, these rebels are just wasting their efforts."

Indeed, there has never been a precedent in this world where one person alone could block the path of an army on flat terrain.

"How could I possibly stop tens of thousands of elite demonic soldiers all by myself?"

On that day, Fang La also asked Guan Luoyang the same question.

Guan Luoyang gave him the magic pearl and replied, "It won't work anywhere else, but that place is Jiangnan."

"There is no battlefield in the world more suitable for you than this one."

On the great river, the Demon Pearl disintegrated and entered the body.

Fang La chuckled softly, "That's right, this is Jiangnan, and you're all on the water!"

He pressed his palms down, and the raging waves slowed down, the river became calm, and the boats that were crashing into him began to move as if they were on land.

The large ship slid forward for dozens of feet, breaking through the stagnant water, and almost crashed into Fang La before finally coming to a stop.

But the next moment, the vast water surface softened, the water flowed freely, creating hundreds of eddies and waves that crashed against the still boats.

Even Fang La, with his magic pearl, couldn't stop tens of thousands of elite soldiers, but he didn't need to stop those tens of thousands; he only needed to stop a few dozen large ships and a few hundred small ships.

He used the Sun and Moon Heart Sutra, which he was most skilled at manipulating power, to borrow the power of the river.

The great river briefly split into two layers: the current below continued to flow, while the current above reversed direction.

All the ships were rocking and bobbing violently.

Hua Rong accidentally shot an arrow onto the deck, and Yang Wen almost thought he was dreaming.

They saw that a horizontal crack had appeared on the river surface in front of Fang La.

The line connects the two banks, but there is no water in it, because the river water that should have flowed there has all been reversed, turning into turbulent white waves that push back the soldiers' large ships.

The river flows upstream, and the entire army retreats.

………………

In the northern part of Jinghu, nestled among mountains.

The five thousand soldiers from Liangshan, each carrying large bags of grain, joined up with the local rebels. Before they could distribute the grain, government troops arrived in pursuit, forcing them to retreat hastily.

The main force of officers and soldiers chased into the mountains and was about to rush up the hillside when they suddenly became alert.

The officers reined in their horses and ordered their soldiers to form ranks and channel their inner energy. The demonic, turbid energy that caused the wind and clouds to change color gathered into divine images, protecting the army formation.

From the forest atop the mountain ahead, a Nine Suns Golden Bell flew out.

Gongsun Sheng, standing on the altar in the forest, with his hair disheveled, was violently shaking his master's black and yellow pendant.

The pure Yin treasure of Erxian Mountain and the pure Yang treasure of Longhu Mountain collide with each other, emitting Yin and Yang energies.

The first strike is like the ringing of a bell, the second strike is like the breaking of a gong.

After the three impacts, the generals and officials among the soldiers seemed to hear a howl coming from the mountain.

The earth's veins trembled slightly, and the hillside collapsed.

The gentle slope of the mountain, which was facing the soldiers, collapsed completely, sending mud and rocks flying and crashing into the army formation.

The soldiers worked together to sweep away most of the mudslide and debris, ensuring their own safety. However, as the dust settled, soil and wood fragments still reached their feet, accumulating up to their knees.

The mountain ahead looked as if it had been cleaved in two; one half collapsed, while the other half remained standing, with the split in the middle forming a cliff hundreds of feet high.

On the cliff, Gongsun Sheng, panting heavily, collapsed to the ground.

Zhang Wanxian held a wooden staff, pressed the demonic pearl to his brow with his left hand, dissolving it into his body, and pointed the wooden staff downwards with his right hand.

The soil that had accumulated around the soldiers instantly became moist, and the broken pieces of wood and branches took root and sprouted on the spot.

But this time, what grew out were no longer the original tree species, but countless green thorns with a poisonous stench, and strange purple flowers that smelled foul and caused hallucinations.

The surrounding land, due to the abnormal growth of countless plants, has formed numerous cavities of varying heights and undulations beneath the seemingly flat ground.

One cavalryman lost his footing and fell into the deep pit. The soil covered him and his horse, and then leveled out again, leaving no trace of the change. Only the muffled, terrified cries from beneath the earth proved that what had just happened was not an illusion.

Zhang Wanxian mobilized the power within the magic orb, enabling him to continuously unleash large-scale spells.

The true form of the Azure Dragon of the Eastern Wood element soared and flew through the mountains, forests, clouds, and dust of the earth, its roars never ceasing, and countless azure light spots scattered across its body, bringing it immense joy.

"Northern Jinghu is mountainous. With the Nine Yang Divine Bell and the Xuanhuang Pendant, and you in charge, no one will be able to escape easily from your battlefield."

When Guan Luoyang handed the Demon Pearl to him, he said the following.

At that time, Guan Luoyang's expression was not entirely one of prediction and command, but rather one of trust and entrustment.

I believe you can do this.

You must do it!

Zhang Wanxian accepted the magic pearl, which meant she left behind her promise.

"I will not fail in my mission. Where will you go?"

Guan Luoyang laughed and said, "I'll take care of guarding the house. We'll wait for you to come back and celebrate our victory."

The rivers that were supposed to be cut off have already stopped flowing.

What could shake mountains has already turned mountains into forests.

But perhaps the hardest thing is to guard the home.

"Alliance Leader."

The Taoist priest atop the cliff ignored the clamor of the army below, whispering, "Don't let the people of the world down!"

Beyond the mountains, on a vast and flat wasteland.

Guan Luoyang carefully put down a newly moved hill, straightened up to examine it, then lifted it up again, moved it to a different position, and made sure it fit perfectly.

"Phew, mission accomplished."

He stretched, covered in sweat, and glanced back as if sensing something.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill him last time, but I won't fail this time."

(End of this chapter)