Chapter 160 - The Outsiders Will Never Truly Be on Our Side, Kill Them!
Chapter 160: The Outsiders Will Never Truly Be on Our Side, Kill Them!
The capital city.
One rainy night.
A battle was raging on, one that was almost white-hot in its intensity. Rain poured down ceaselessly from the heavens as if draping the heaven and earth with a delicate veil.
The Black Dragon Guard finally made their move. They leaped down from the rooftops and unsheathed from their waist the Li knife, a thick and heavy one. Swept away by the oppressive and dense force of the Spirit Qi, he swung it down mercilessly.
Some of the South Manor Army troops could not withstand the attack. They were split into half immediately, their head splitting from their body.
Crimson-red blood stained the ground. Rain fell, washing away the blood.
The old eunuch and Tang Yimo were locked in battle. He flicked his fly-whisk to draw up the water on the ground and transform them into a water wall.
Although the old eunuch only knew the very basics of manipulating Spirit Qi, he could still manage to amplify his power quite a bit.
The Black Dragon Guard troops, armed with Li knife, dove down rapidly, crowding in on Tang Yimo.
With a terrible, grating sound, the Li knife scraped across the surface of the ground like broken knives.
Tang Yimo frowned.
After a while, the Spirit Qi in his body started gushing.
The first meridian started now.
Boom!
As he started the first meridian, Tang Yimo’s entire being felt like it was on fire. His power doubled, his speed doubled, and his attacking strength doubled.
The surrounding South Manor Army underwent a similar change. They relied on an abridged version of the Eight Meridians Escaping Demonic Technique also to trigger an extremely strong aura.
In a split second, Tang Yimo had disappeared from where he was standing.
He left behind an innumerable number of imaginary figures in the surroundings as if not even the rain could catch up with his speed.
The old eunuch was appalled, only to realize that Tang Yimo had appeared beside him suddenly. The latter swung his fist down, a powerful blow with the power of Spirit Qi within it.
Thump!
Rain splashed.
The old eunuch spat out a mouthful of blood.
His toes touched the ground and marked out a long, long waterway.
The Spirit Qi surrounding Tang Yimo was burning like a flame.
He spoke coldly.
“Go.”
With that command, the South Manor Army burst forth to pillage the main gate.
The Black Dragon Guard continued their pursuit, and the battle instantly progressed to a white-hot stage.
However, compared to the long streets where the white-hot battle was raging on…
Tang Yimo had not noticed that, in the small alleyway, there was a scholar dressed in Confucian robes. He was carrying a book box on his back and an oil-paper umbrella in his hand, quietly observing the battle.
After quite some time…
The scholar finally laughed gently.
He stepped forward.
Whoosh, whoosh…
The Heaven and Earth fell into an unparalleled silence, leaving only the sound of footsteps falling on the pavement and water surging.
A lot of people were shocked, and they lifted their heads to look…
Only to see a scholar dressed in Confucian robes making his way over slowly.
The icy-cold rain fell upon the old eunuch’s face, forcing him to close his eyes from time to time. Through the curtain of rain, he saw the scholar dressed in white Confucian robes who was holding on to an umbrella, and then the glee was evident on his face.
“Mr. Kong, please do something about this traitor!”
The old eunuch’s shrill voice was like a bolt of lightning in the dark night. It lingered in the small alleyway.
Kong Nanfei was a cultivator, and the old eunuch knew as much. He also knew that the other was no ordinary cultivator; he had once obtained the Righteousness Spirit Transmission Technique, a traditional cultivation method, from the Secret Realm of the Hidden Dragon Ridge.
Compared to the warriors like the Black Dragon Guard, who relied on destroying Dragon Gates to gain Spirit Qi, this man had a much purer and more honest way of doing so.
The old eunuch had no real idea of how strong Kong Nanfei was specifically.
All that mattered was that the man was stronger than he was.
Kong Nanfei walked over with his umbrella in hand. His cloth shoes landed on the ground and stirred the water up.
But he moved quicker and quicker. After that, he leaped lightly onto the rooftops and walked toward the city gates.
He sat upon the city gates.
With the umbrella in his hand and the book box on his back, he looked down quietly at the battle.
Tang Yimo raised his head to fix his gaze on Kong Nanfei, who was sitting there on the city walls, cross-legged, in his white Confucian robes.
“You’re barely tied to Tang Xiansheng by blood since you’re his illegitimate son. Plus, you’re a man of chance. It’s not worth it to die for a rebel like Tang Xiansheng.”
“You can go if you leave Tang Xiansheng behind,” Kong Nanfei said.
His voice rang out, louder than the sound of rain falling. It cut through the rain and reached the ears of Tang Yimo and the people around him.
Tang Yimo looked at Kong Nanfei. He felt the pressure; this Kong Nanfei was a cultivator, no weaker than he was.
The principal disciple of the Confucianist Imperial Advisor was a first-rate cultivator at the Qi Core Realm.
The sound of Tang Xiansheng coughing rang out from within the carriage.
Tang Yimo took in a deep breath. He had made a promise to Tang Xiansheng, which could count as an agreement.
Since he had made that promise, then it was only natural that he tried his best to fulfill it.
“My apologies,” Tang Yimo said.
After a while, Tang Yimo jerked violently from beneath the city walls, swinging toward Kong Nanfei, who had been sitting atop the gate towers, his fists clenched tightly.
Rain poured down like columns as if they had transformed into heavy arrows, charging straight toward Kong Nanfei.
Kong Nanfei frowned.
He was not all shocked when he looked toward the flying arrows. Spirit Qi was lingering about him.
It was not just that. He opened his mouth slowly, and words flowed out rapidly as if narrating poems from memory.
The rain seemed to fall slower.
All of a sudden, a bout of invisible Qi lingered and saturated the air.
Confucianist Righteousness Qi.
It was Confucianist Righteousness Qi that had combined with Spirit Qi.
Boom!
The water arrows exploded one after the other.
Tang Yimo felt an overwhelming pressure.
Kong Nanfei sat atop the city wall in his white Confucian robes, the words spilling eloquently out of his mouth.
A formless pressure burst forth.
It was as if the South Manor Army and Tang Yimo did not even have the energy to lift a single finger.
The Confucianist Righteousness Qi that had formed after the Spirit Qi combined with the Righteousness Qi was actually rather similar to Lu Fan’s Spirit Pressure.
The technique that Kong Nanfei had demonstrated was honestly rather shocking.
Tang Yimo grit his teeth as he shouldered this enormous pressure.
The soldiers of the South Manor Army fell to one knee, one after the other, and their blades touching the surface of the ground.
On the gate tower…
“Will you surrender or not?” Kong Nanfei asked, his umbrella in hand.
Below…
Tang Yimo did not hesitate much before answering.
“I won’t.”
He raised his head up suddenly.
The black Demonic Qi on his body started swirling. He started working on breaking through the second meridian.
He had tried this second meridian more times than he could count, but he had never once broken through. But today, he would die if he did not break through it!
Kong Nanfei furrowed his eyebrows.
He recited the Righteousness poems.
With a smack of his palm, an uncountable amount of rain seemed to gather upon his palm, warping the air.
A giant palm suddenly smacked down.
The South Manor Army cultivators could not withstand this hit, and they fell to the ground.
The Black Dragon Guard ran over and held their Li Knife right against the necks of the South Manor Army cultivators.
One of the Black Dragon Guards slowly lifted his knife, as if to hold it against Tang Yimo’s neck. However, Tang Yimo broke free from the shackles of the Righteousness Qi.
He turned back and swung a fist.
This Black Dragon Guard blocked with his Li knife, but Tang Yimo’s blow punched right through the blade.
The punch landed right on his chest, causing it to collapse. He spat out a large mouthful of blood and flew backward.
This Black Dragon Guard fell in the curtain of rain, and his breath weakened gradually.
Kong Nanfei’s palm smacked down from the skies.
The uncountable black Qi on Tang Yimo saturated the air.
The green vein on his neck was visible, and his eyes were bloodshot. His skin was close to red.
He was forcefully breaking through to the second meridian.
But he was still unable to break through.
Pft.
Tang Yimo spat out a mouthful of blood.
Finally, he had an epiphany.
Black Demonic Qi swirled around him as if it had cut off the rain.
He gave a low roar…
And swung his fist out to hit the giant palm that was gathering the rainwater.
The giant palm exploded into heavy rain.
Kong Nanfei, who was on the gate tower, was slightly shocked.
Tang Yimo had opened up a tiny sliver of the second meridian, and his power had increased quite a bit.
He bolted out immediately and rushed into the carriage Tang Xiansheng was in. All of the Qi and strength in his body tore the curtains to shreds.
After that, he carried Tang Xiansheng and rushed out the carriage, charging toward the city gates.
Tang Xiansheng felt like he was suffocating.
There was the aura of a cultivator emanating from Tang Yimo that shook Tang Xiansheng to his core.
Tang Yimo leaped up. Like a black shadow, he barged into the thick city gates viciously.
Boom!
Tang Yimo flew out with Tang Xiansheng in his arms.
However, the moment Tang Yimo landed on the ground, the force beneath his feet exploded once more and blew the stones open.
He rushed forth yet again, turning into a beam of black light with Tang Xiansheng in his arms, and viciously swung his knee into the city gates.
Finally, he managed to knock a hole into the thick city gates.
He squeezed out the hole with Tang Xiansheng still in his arms.
Words continued to spill out of Kong Nanfei’s mouth ceaselessly, and the Righteousness Qi caused the uncountable raindrops to transform into arrows…
Charging once again toward Tang Yimo, who was beneath the gate tower.
However, they were turned to dust when Tang Yimo turned around and roared.
The Righteousness Qi injured Tang Yimo. He coughed out a mouthful of blood, still carrying Tang Xiansheng. Speckles of blood dotted the ground, and he moved farther and farther into the rainy night.
He escaped.
The old eunuch stared in shock at the city gate that had been knocked open, the skin on his face quaking.
Atop the gate tower…
Kong Nanfei was still holding on to the umbrella as he stared at Tang Yimo and Tang Xiansheng, who were disappearing into the night.
He frowned.
After quite some time, he finally shook his head. He made his way down the gate tower and walked away, disappearing down the long street.
******
Beiluo, Lake Island.
Lu Fan looked away as he sipped on his green plum wine.
Tang Yimo had chosen to break through to the second meridian forcefully, and he actually ended up forcing it open by a crack to obtain a bit of its power.
His power exploded for a second time, and he escaped from Kong Nanfei, who had been using his full strength.
Leaning against the Thousand Blades Chair, Lu Fan’s finger gently tapped the armrest.
“The Eight Meridians Escaping Demonic Technique emphasizes mainly the state of mind, as well as accumulation. It’s no accident that Tang Yimo opened the first meridian, but for him to have opened the second one because of Tang Xiansheng, it seems Tang Yimo is not completely unfeeling toward that father of his.”
Lu Fan took a sip of his wine.
The issue of the capital city more or less came to an end like this.
Tang Xiansheng was fortunate enough that Tang Yimo had managed to force a crack in the second meridian at the last minute.
Otherwise, Tang Xiansheng would have had to have been handed over to the capital city.
However, in the capital city, relying solely on the Black Dragon Guard would not be enough to stop Tang Yimo.
If not for Kong Nanfei intervening at the last second, Tang Yimo might not necessarily have been able to break through the second meridian forcefully.
Lu Fan stopped thinking about this issue.
The wind blew over the surface of the lake, and Lu Fan detected an unusual charm.
He squinted and looked out toward Beiluo Lake.
Only to see that there seemed to be a smear of light swirling beneath the lake, glimmering.
“Is that the Earth’s Origin?”
Lu Fan’s lips quirked up.
The formation he had created was currently absorbing the Earth’s Origin that had golden light on its surface and condensing into Origin needed by the world today.
The Low Level Martial World lacked Origin, so Lu Fan needed to gather Origin and change it into Natural Law to allow the Wuhuang Continent to step into the Mid Level Martial World.
Initially, Lu Fan would definitely have taken a lot of time if he had started gathering from scratch on his own.
After all, it was always difficult to do things from scratch.
Not only was it challenging to figure out where to start, but also there was the concern of going down the wrong path.
And the appearance of the golden light had solved some of Lu Fan’s problems.
“Has it started gathering?”
Lu Fan squinted.
He gently patted the Thousand Blades Chair, and the chair dragged him as it flew out of the White Jade City Pavilion to land on the surface of Beiluo Lake.
The lake water rippled gently, and Lu Fan looked down into it.
He could see that there was a weak light, about the size of a fingernail, glimmering at the bottom of the lake.
And there was an incomparably magnificent aura coming off of it.
Lu Fan extended a finger slowly, passing through the barrier of Beiluo Lake to touch the wisp of golden light, and then a bout of Righteousness aura came rushing out.
Right in front of his eyes, a system prompt suddenly appeared.
[“Congratulations, Host. You have successfully created a prototype of the Earth’s Origin, and you will be rewarded with 100 Available Points and the chance to experience Natural Law Thunder Calamity once.”]
Lu Fan could not help but frown when he read the text on the system prompt.
“I really did create a prototype of the Earth’s Origin, but it is still just a prototype. For it to really become an Earth’s Origin, I still have to keep absorbing for a few more days.”
Lu Fan smiled.
His focus shifted to the “Natural Law Thunder Calamity experience” reward.
Natural Law Thunder Calamity… As its name suggested, it was probably just like getting hit by thunder.
This thing… was it supposed to be a reward?
But Lu Fan did not immediately choose to experience it. When it came to a fate like the Natural Law Thunder Calamity, Lu Fan would be wise to really think things through before he tried this experience.
Punishment by thunder… It sounded rather thrilling.
******
North County.
In the long and narrow valley…
Jiang Li was dressed in his martial attire as he stood on a high spot in the valley.
At the pass of the valley, the Black Dragon Guard army were holding their Li knives and staring firmly ahead.
As soon as an enemy invaded the valley, they would burst forth like a strike of lightning to kill the enemy.
To the Black Dragon Guard, this terrain was basically a natural barrier for them.
The corpses of the South Manor Army soldiers were already piling up at the pass of the valley, and Jiang Li thought that Tang Baiyun should learn something from this.
“Tang Xiansheng is in the capital city, but he’s still trying to scheme against me… Is he planning to exchange one life for another?”
Jiang Li squinted.
There were 100,000 South County troops in front of him, and the terrifying, powerful North County troops behind.
It seemed Jiang Li had really encountered the greatest crisis since he joined the army.
He shut his eyes. “What would General Bai do if he were in a crisis like this?”
It was such a pity. Jiang Li was downtrodden because he just could not think of a way to escape from this.
Although the Black Dragon Guard was powerful, Spirit Qi was exhaustible, and it’s not like the defeated troops he had under him could function like a sharp arrow to breach through their defenses.
The only thing he could do was slowly wait for his death.
Jiang Li sat upon the icy-cold surface of the field. It was very humid in the valley, and the haze was extremely thick.
If they continued to be surrounded like this, it was only a matter of time before Jiang Li’s troops and horses would fall.
However, there were also some wild creatures and wild berries in the valley that could become sustenance for his soldiers and horses, so it was not too big of a problem if they had to hold out for a few days.
“Reporting!”
“The South County Army have sent their troops over!” A scout rushed to Jiang Li, reporting to him with his hands in a fist and palm salute.
“Tang Baiyun’s not giving up. There’s no way he’ll be able to stage a proper attack in such a short period of time…”
Jiang Li breathed in deeply.
“Commander, it’s not the South County troops this time, but… a strange troop wearing black hoods,” the scout said.
“Not the South County troops but people wearing black hoods?”
Jiang Li frowned slightly.
He stood up and left the field, rushing down toward the pass.
As he neared the pass, he managed to catch sight of the figures dressed in black robes. Their sleeves were droopy, and from within their sleeves flew out venomous snakes and insects…
These venomous snakes and insects dispersed and quickly seeped into the valley.
They moved quickly toward the Black Dragon Guard who were hiding in the woods.
Although the Black Dragon Guard had managed to obtain Spirit Qi, they were still human. After the venomous insects had bitten them, all sorts of symptoms, swellings, and pus started appearing on their bodies…
Some of their lips even turned black after the venomous snakes bit them, and they promptly fell dead soon after.
Jiang Li was enraged at the sight of this.
“Nanman witchcraft?!”
“D*mn it!”
“Barbarians?!”
“There are barbarians in South County? Tang Baiyun, no… Tang Xiansheng’s actually working with Barbarians?!”
At this moment, an anger that could not easily be quelled had stirred in Jiang Li’s chest.
He stared firmly at the barbarians who were giggling at the pass to the valley. These people had lowered their hoods to reveal crudely drawn lines on their heads. There was a murderous aura to their gaze.
The troops of the Five Barbarians, which included Nanman and Xirong, were a plague unto the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Back then, Bai Fengtian had insisted on burying 300,000 Xirong people, even at the expense of eternal infamy.
And today… the South County Army was actually working with the barbarians?!
Jiang Li stepped on the bluestone, his hands falling onto a dagger strapped to his waist.
This dagger had once belonged to Bai Fengtian. Today, it belonged to Jiang Li.
There was the sound of metal clanging, and then the dagger was unsheathed. The blade was shiny as ever.
“Kill them!”
At this moment, Jiang Li stopped retreating.
The moment Jiang Li drew the dagger from his waist, it was as if a fire had ignited within the 5,000 or remnant troops within the valley. They blazed with the desire for war.
The Black Dragon Guard’s gazes had taken on a blood-red gleam, and they charged out from the woods where they had hidden.
The barbarians cloaked in black robes flung out venomous snakes and insects yet again and then charged like maniacs out of the valley.
From atop a bluestone, Jiang Li drew his bow. He pulled the string all the way back and fired a shot. The arrow pierced through the chest of a barbarian, the magnitude of the force shredding the black robes and pinning the barbarian firmly into the ground.
And outside of the valley…
The South County Army that had been waiting for Tang Baiyun’s command this entire time charged forth as well.
The North County camp…
A scout scrambled into the tent.
“Reporting!”
A roar rang through the whole tent.
Tantai Xuan squinted.
“Reporting to you, Mayor. We’ve found out which troop South County sent into the valley…”
“It’s the Nanman barbarians who specialize in witchcraft. They poisoned the Black Dragon Guard with venomous snakes and insects and forced Jiang Li into attacking!” The scout spoke extremely rapidly.
As soon as he spoke, a pin-drop silence filled the tent.
The scout was shocked.
In the next moment, he was lifted off the ground by Tantai Xuan.
“Is everything you just said true?!”
The scout was so frightened that all the blood had drained from his face. He nodded hurriedly.
“That scum Tang Baiyun! He dares conspire with the barbarians to kill Jiang Li?
“Would a hero as outstanding as Jiang Li be wiped out by a mere group of barbarians?!
“I stake my life to fight back against the Xirong army only for the South County to collude with barbarians to defeat the Great Zhou’s hero?”
In the tent…
Tantai Xuan’s words were laced with fury and rage.
Mo Ju and Mo Beike squinted as well.
They made no move to dissuade Tantai Xuan, for even they found this situation rather unbelievable.
The South County had colluded with barbarians. This strategy was definitely not something Tang Baiyun would have settled on, which means to say…
Tang Xiansheng made this strategy!
Tang Xiansheng who was in the capital city!
Tantai Xuan’s battle robes were like fire. He drew the blade on his waist and swung it furiously, chopping off a corner of a table. He roared, “D*mn, to hell with this alliance! Tang Baiyun, that scum!
“Heed my command!”
“The outsiders will never truly be on our side! The South County has colluded with the barbarians. Kill them!”