A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 266 A Spirit That Swallows Mountains and Rivers, a Cold Corpse

During those seventy-two days and nights, while painstakingly refining the Demon Pearl, Guan Luoyang was also constantly reflecting on his experience of fighting against the Heavenly Emperor and his group.

The Emperor of Heaven's Mandate was decent in terms of practical combat skills, but only so-so, and Guan Luoyang didn't take him seriously.

His foundation is solid, and with the blessing of the Qi Luck Method, he will only become stronger after taking command of the army and borrowing the turbid Qi of the three armies. However, once the Demon Pearl is refined, the slight difference in this aspect will not be an insurmountable chasm.

The truly most troublesome thing is actually that dreamlike, elusive strike that ignores all defenses.

Guan Luoyang pondered deeply and realized that the essence of that slash was actually quite similar to Chen Xizhen's last sword strike. In addition, he had once asked Chen Liqing about some of the Taiqing Tianxing Theory's techniques, but because it was an unorthodox path, he had not rushed to study or learn from it.

Once he had a plan, he started from the outline of that cultivation technique and figured out a way to seal that blade energy.

"Making me suffer?!"

The Heavenly Emperor's physical body transformed into sword energy, which, under Guan Luoyang's seal, could no longer coalesce into human form. However, his soul could still manifest, appearing on the surface of Guan Luoyang's Heart Sea, laughing heartily.

"You are courting death! Using my body as a furnace may temporarily make it inconvenient for me to use my physical body, but it also means that I can coordinate with both internal and external forces to launch an offensive against the corrupt forces outside."

"With the combined efforts of internal and external forces, any attack by the turbid energy will be one that you cannot dodge."

As the emperor laughed in his mind's eye, the chaotic sword energy that had accumulated within Guan Luoyang's body surged wildly, constantly attacking the seal formed by the four Azure Demon Pearls and restraining Guan Luoyang's power.

Meanwhile, outside, the turbid energy of the three armies, covering an area of ​​several miles, surged and gathered, even drawing more demonic turbid energy from the large pit and from the other side of it.

The tens of thousands of troops, drawn and guided by the turbid air, could no longer afford to shrink back from the terrain's obstacles.

Their quality was very different from the local troops that Liangshan had defeated before. Even though the main generals and fierce generals such as Yao Pingzhong were gone, there were still officers at all levels who automatically filled the gaps and took command.

These men split into several groups from the army formation, bypassed the large pit, and attempted to cross this dangerous pass through other mountain peaks and low-lying areas.

"It's time to make a move!"

Guan Luoyang's voice was like a chant or a whistle, a long and endless sound wave that burst out from between the turbid air and spread to the mountains and fields.

Boom!!!

A cannonball was fired from the barrel and struck the cavalrymen who were heading towards the mountain pass. It was blocked by their swirling, turbid air and exploded in mid-air.

The flames raged fiercely, but they failed to harm the armored soldiers below.

However, this first shell was merely a sign, like a leaf falling from a branch before a hurricane arrives.

Following closely behind was a barrage of hundreds and thousands of shells.

These soldiers were truly battle-hardened elites. Though startled, they remained calm and, using their combined demonic powers, still managed to hold up the barrier of turbid energy.

The scene resembled an invisible gray-black shield in mid-air, parallel to the earth, appearing and disappearing without a trace, its boundaries only becoming clear where shells landed.

The protective layer, resembling a gray-black crystal, was interspersed with crimson patterns imbued with demonic charm, fiercely resisting the onslaught of those cannonballs.

However, these shells were fired with such precision and density, and their power was astonishing. Soon, the vanguard troops were exhausted and could not hold on. Many shells fell like fish that slipped through the net, blasting many men and horses to tumble and crash into the hillside.

The others realized that the firepower was getting fiercer as they moved forward, so they quickly regrouped and retreated to gather their strength.

Among the main force behind them were members of the artillery battalion who shaded their eyes with their hands and observed the trajectories of the cannonballs in the mountains. They deduced the artillery positions of the Liangshan troops and immediately ordered everyone to wave command flags and issue commands.

The strongmen, dressed in thin shirts and with bulging muscles, pushed the cannon barrels and mounts, causing the muzzles to rotate. The small and medium-sized cannons were fine, but the powerful ones, such as the Dragon King Cannon, had grotesque bodies and were covered with magical carvings.

Each cannon requires a dozen strongmen capable of lifting tens of thousands of kilograms to surround it and work together to complete the turning as quickly as possible.

The soldiers of the artillery battalion gripped the cranks and winches on the rear of each cannon, turning them with all their might. The gears clattered, and the shafts slowly rotated, gradually raising the muzzles and allowing for more precise aiming.

The army's cannons roared, leaving trails of black smoke like long bridges, crashing down between the hills on the far side.

In no time, the two or three hilltops were reduced to rubble and on the verge of collapse, with smoke and fire rising everywhere.

By the time the soldiers' cannons were burning hot and they had to take a break to prepare another batch of cannons, the cannon fire from Liangshan had completely disappeared.

The aura of the Heavenly Emperor arrived, drawing in the turbid air. Officers at all levels felt it and were urged on even more urgently. After a slight adjustment, the officers and soldiers were to proceed according to the previous plan, crossing the obstacles through the low-lying areas where the mountains connected.

Just as these people approached, aerial artillery fire resumed, firing from a different direction, but coincidentally, it landed right in the artillery camp.

A Taoist official intervened in time to block the attack, but the aerial barrage continued unabated, with more and more cannon fire. After the shells exploded, not only were ordinary pieces of iron shot out and poisonous smoke dispersed, but even cinnabar was splashed out, breaking the magic power.

As the artillery fire fell, the captain and others in the artillery battalion were terrified, their souls nearly leaving their bodies, and they fled for their lives.

The artillery battalion's supplies were ignited by the artillery fire, exploding one after another, creating huge bursts of flame in the rear of the officers and soldiers.

"How could this be?! How could they have so many cannons, such concentrated firepower? After destroying one batch, they still have a large number left?!"

An incredulous scream was drowned out by the sound of the explosion.

In the remote mountains, Ling Zhen surveyed the situation of the officers' and soldiers' artillery battalion and directed his men to close the firing range.

Liangshan simply couldn't muster two batches of artillery capable of providing significant fire coverage.

It was the same batch from beginning to end, rapidly moved here from the previous artillery position.

The smaller cannons are self-explanatory, but the barrels of the larger cannons are divided into sections, with strangely shaped beast legs attached to the bottom of the barrels.

Even now, there are still these artillery vehicles that come one after another from the mountains. They automatically assemble themselves, connecting their bodies. The various arrangements between the cannons can fit together perfectly, and they can withstand the power of the cannonballs.

The ingenuity of the mechanical puppets is truly remarkable.

Guan Luoyang left Ling Zhen with very few men, only a little over a thousand, but these men were more than enough to handle tasks such as adjusting trajectories and reloading ammunition.

They didn't even have to carry the boxes of Dan Shi cannonballs themselves; mechanical beasts with bodies like boxes assisted them.

The shimmering cinnabar stones were piled up like small mountains inside these boxes.

Bianliang was the wealthiest city in the world, but this wealth was not entirely reflected in its food reserves. In fact, even counting Bianliang's grain reserves was not enough to support the activities of the rebel armies across the country.

However, in Bianliang City, there was far more than enough "food" in another sense. The refined elixirs were the resources for demonic cultivation techniques, and they were plentiful in official residences, mansions, and military supplies of the Imperial Guard.

The highest quality ones are extremely rare, but even the mid-grade and low-grade ones, after being guided and mixed with the original cannonballs and shells by Ling Zhen, can unleash astonishing power.

Fireballs, like a continuous shower of meteors, whistled through the air and bombarded the army formation one after another.

Even with Ling Zhen's guidance, it was impossible for such a large-scale artillery barrage to be precisely aimed within the army's formation.

Many shells landed in sparsely populated areas, or even in places where the cavalry had already moved away, causing the soil and rocks on the wasteland to crack and the ground to tremble.

But most of the artillery fire still landed above the tens of thousands of soldiers, causing the demonic energy to churn endlessly, with black waves rising and falling across the sky.

These tens of thousands of troops were firmly blocked on the other side of the mountains.

Only a thin layer of demonic energy gathered around Guan Luoyang, but it couldn't shake him at all.

"Another reason for drawing you into the body is to separate you from the army's forces as much as possible."

Guan Luoyang's eyes were half-closed, and in the depths of his mind, his own image appeared.

That was an image constructed from azure energy; even a single eyelash and a single hair were formed from azure energy, and were also a convergence of his spiritual power.

This figure, draped in a long robe and surrounded by countless threads of lightning, sat cross-legged above the sea of ​​the mind, much larger than the divine soul of the Heavenly Emperor opposite him.

He extended one palm, and the shadow enveloped the Heavenly Emperor's soul, making it difficult for him to move.

Lightning bolts struck down from between Guan Luoyang's five fingers, bombarding the emperor's body. Below, the calm surface of the Heart Sea ignited with golden-red flames, burning his soul.

"How long can those cannons hold out?"

The Emperor of Destiny raised both palms, unleashing numerous bolts of lightning. His face was dark as he laughed mockingly, "You don't need to bluff. In truth, even if you use your body as a furnace, you can only barely trap me. What appears to be a single palm strike to your soul is actually your full strength."

"You must first refine my soul before you can refine the sword energy. But my Dao heart, having undergone the tempering of illusion and reality, is already the will of Heaven. Do you dare to compete with me in the steadfastness of your mind and soul?!"

Guan Luoyang lowered his eyelids, looking down at him: "Your sword energy is entangled with much pain and resentment. You haven't been able to thoroughly shatter and refine them; you've merely manipulated them with a cold mind. With such an attitude, how deep can the pain you've experienced be?"

"So, to what extent can your so-called 'tempering' actually go?"

Guan Luoyang leaned forward slightly. "Why don't you dare to taste that bitterness and resentment, and swallow it all?"

"I simply disdain it."

"Yeah?"

Guan Luoyang leaned forward lower and lower, his figure undergoing an unusual change.

His long blue robe billowed up, as if transforming into long, heavy feathers, while his body also lengthened, becoming a colossal, winding, and coiling creature.

The feathered dragon hovered above the sea of ​​the heart, unleashing increasingly dense lightning bolts. As the dragon's gaze fell, the flames below burned ever more fiercely.

is it?

Yeah??

Yeah???

The long echoes continued to reverberate where the dragon had traveled, trapping the soul of the Heavenly Emperor within, as if he were in an inescapable hell of thunder and fire.

"ah!!!"

A crack appeared on the forehead of the Emperor of Destiny, and forked lines tore through his face, spreading down to his neck.

The terrible pain made him howl uncontrollably, and his entire soul trembled.

But he continued to struggle, supporting his palms against the lightning and fire.

"I will not die in a place like this... I will not die..."

This was not meaningless barking, but the confidence that the Emperor of Destiny had not lost even in his trembling pain; he was certain that there would be a turning point.

That was someone he both feared and needed—Zhao Kuangyin.

If he dies here, Zhao Kuangyin will have to face alone a leader of Liangshan who could devour the Song emperor.

If Emperor Tianming were to defeat Guan Luoyang unscathed, it would certainly not be something Zhao Kuangyin would be happy to see.

Therefore, Emperor Tianming directly asked the Liao Kingdom to borrow a general. The letter requesting the general was nominally a transaction, and the words only talked about the transaction. But Zhao Kuangyin was not unaware of its true meaning; it was an invitation.

He simply invited Zhao Kuangyin to come and observe the battle.

The generals are not reliable; only by being present in person can a clear judgment be made.

On the sea of ​​the heart, the Emperor of Destiny roared, and the sword energy sealed by the Azure Demon Pearl seemed to solidify in a hazy, colorful light, turning from its original agitation into silence.

Calm, solid, hard, luminous.

The light burst forth in an explosive burst, like a most thorough burning.

There was no smoke, no fire, only a dense, molten gold-like substance that expanded wildly, impacting the golden light of the Azure Demon Pearl.

Outside, Guan Luoyang's body swayed, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"What a great opportunity!"

A voice drifted through the thin black mist, "Watch out, I'm about to give you a good whack."

Boom! ! !

In an instant, the turbid air in the sky dissipated.

Under a clear blue sky, white clouds drifted away into the distance, like expanding white waves, revealing a clear blue sky in the center.

Guan Luoyang raised his left hand and blocked the blow aimed at his heart.

The clash between the stick and the palm produced only a muffled thud.

But the Celestial Master Flying Sword, the Eight Winds Bronze Drum, the Wuwei Divine Sword, the Thousand Gold Divine Weapon, and others hovering beside him all emitted a violent tremor and flew out in all directions.

Guan Luoyang's figure retreated a thousand feet.

A violent air current ripped open a sliver of vacuum, and in the blink of an eye, a long scorch mark was torn open across the barren ground, turning the grass to ash and the soil faintly melting.

"I originally thought you were just seeking fame and fortune, but I never imagined you would actually do such a thing for the sake of your military discipline and the righteous armies in various places."

Zhao Kuangyin, carrying a staff with a gleaming gold dragon pattern and still dressed in the everyday clothes of the Liao emperor, stepped onto this desolate land. "It's a pity. With your soft heart, you will never achieve great things as an emperor."

"Originally, if we had made some choices, we could have at least held onto our territory. Perhaps we could have even divided our land and ruled over it, leading to a situation where multiple states coexisted. I am actually looking forward to that scenario."

Zhao Kuangyin smiled.

After all, that was more like the era he was familiar with: Jingnan, Wuping, Later Shu, Southern Han, Southern Tang, and so on. The old rivals of the founding of the Song Dynasty were all defeated under his command.

This time, there will be no chance for his younger brother to trick him into taking the elixir and causing him to ascend to heaven prematurely. He can slowly finish this matter and fully realize the grand ambitions he had two hundred years ago.

Guan Luoyang raised his left hand and remained motionless with his eyes closed.

"So it seems we're truly completely held back?"

Zhao Kuangyin lifted his foot, then his eyes flickered slightly as he turned to look.

A complaining voice came from the wind.

"I finally managed to lie down on Maoshan Mountain and stay peacefully in the earth. Lin Lingsu, you should know that Taoists love peace and quiet. You actually went and dug up my grave."

"I was also dug out of my grave. This world hasn't even settled down yet, how can we expect to find peace?"

Two Taoist priests walked over together.

The older man looked up and sighed again.

"I never imagined it would actually be the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty. I have also received the favors of several generations of emperors of the Zhao Song Dynasty. Although the last two have been disappointing, they still want to attack the founding emperor. Sigh..."

Lin Lingsu said calmly, "Wake up. It might not be us hitting him; he might be hitting us. But anyway, as long as we can hold out for a quarter of an hour, it's Guan Luoyang."

Zhao Kuangyin laughed and said, "Since you know you are no match for me, why not submit to me? All three of you bear the marks of the destiny of my Great Song Dynasty. You must have once admired the rule of the emperor, but you have been disheartened by this current emperor."

"But I am different. You should know my deeds: conquering the south and the north, pacifying the chaotic world, encouraging agriculture and sericulture, purging corruption, abolishing outlying prefectures, strengthening the central government and weakening the local governments, maintaining internal and external balance, reshuffling officials every three years, establishing the position of vice-prefect, and so on. I have created a golden age, and I will create another. Walk with me, and your name will be recorded in history. What do you say?"

A third person came from the east, carrying a large spear.

"Emperor Taizu was unparalleled in martial arts, and his fame has lasted for hundreds of years. His civil and military achievements are still outstanding today. He was once the person I admired the most."

Zhao Kuangyin's eyebrows twitched: "Oh? Well then..."

"pity!"

Lu Junyi sighed, "Since the rebellion, it seems that I have truly come back to life, truly opened my eyes, and seen the world."

"Our Great Song Dynasty, you emperors, claiming to be virtuous and capable, claiming to be brave and martial, yet the Yellow River has brought disaster for a thousand years, and even allowing imperial relatives to open markets and eat people, it is nothing but a calamity for the common people."

He flicked his spear tassel, "For the sake of the people of the Great Song Dynasty, I beg Emperor Taizu... would you mind dying?"

(End of this chapter)