Chapter 179: Immortal Blocked On The Southern Journey
Tian You Calendar Year 3, Zhenzhou. Xuan Chong received a decree from the Imperial Court. The decree tacitly approved the legitimacy of Xuan Chong marching north to eliminate the plague. — It seemed like giving the Wu Family a way out, but in reality, it restricted the Wu Family Army. The actions to retaliate against the vassal lords in Ji Prefecture and other places became unjustified.
At the same time, Xuan Chong also received a secret letter from Su Wang. Xuan Chong looked at it for a long time but couldn’t understand it, didn’t pay it any mind, and casually placed it among unimportant document files, filing it in the study.
Meanwhile, Yang Sanniang, who happened to be able to enter the study, seemed to sense something. She drew the letter from the files and asked Xuan Chong: “Husband, this is a secret letter from a powerful minister in the Imperial Court. How can you just toss it around carelessly?”
Xuan Chong glanced at the document she had drawn out, subconsciously thinking he had leaked an important file and wanting to take it back; but upon seeing it was a letter, he put his hand down and said to Yang Sanniang: “Powerful minister? Just an iceberg that won’t last a few more days. I haven’t even settled the old score with him yet (for inciting forces like Ji Prefecture to seize Zhenzhou). He’s the one clinging to me, and I’m too lazy to deal with him.”
Yang Sanniang covered her mouth and smiled. She knew Xuan Chong hadn’t grasped the implications of this letter.
As “Qian Cuo,” she could clearly see the hidden clues in the “Myriad Changes” scheme laid out within.
Su Wang’s repeated veiled threats in the letter were trying to hint something to Wu Fei. But all the efforts of this “keeper of secrets” were like casting flirtatious glances at a blind man.
Xuan Chong was far away in Chong Land, busy raising funds and acquiring land for the railway in Lingnan and Chong Land, utterly swamped; he had no idea what Su Wang was getting at with his “simple riddle.”
Xuan Chong only felt like this guy was trying to blackmail him. But he didn’t know what he had to blackmail him with.
Back then, regarding the matter of Consort Li dreaming of stepping on the ground and the System informing him “you have an extra son,” in Xuan Chong’s mind, that matter was long over.
Back then, Xuan Chong thought that enchantress had settled down to raise the son honestly thereafter.
Speaking of a weak woman, Xuan Chong still felt he ought to take care of her, but an enchantress with abilities could certainly manage on her own.
Xuan Chong had no idea she had advanced through her own efforts, remarried with child into the palace, and even gotten her cheap son a title as Prince Ji.
Seeing Xuan Chong utterly clueless, Yang Sanniang’s lips kept a smile.
Xuan Chong was baffled: “Why are you laughing?”
Yang Sanniang pouted: “I like laughing. Got a problem?”
After Xuan Chong left the study, Yang Sanniang put away the letter, looking at his retreating figure: “Husband, you really are upright and unafraid of slanted shadows.”
…Lamp fire flickered behind Wu Fei, his shadow stretched long and very long…
During a court assembly in the second month of Tian You Calendar Year 3, when a censor remonstrated that the Wu Clan was stirring up evil in the South, harming one region, and that the Imperial Court should issue a decree to strip their titles—Su Wang, who had always adhered to the policy of suppressing the Wu Brothers, instead suppressed the issue this time. On the white jade steps, Su Wang proclaimed the decree on behalf of Emperor Ling: The matter in Chong Land was merely Wu Hanluan’s oversight.
Su Wang wanted to subtly show Xuan Chong a gesture, indicating possible cooperation. But this plan was doomed to be like casting flirtatious glances at a blind man.
Xuan Chong in the West was completely unaware he was now embroiled in the matter of “defiling the rear palace.”
Instead, it was Su Wang himself, cursed and with his soul locked by purple thorns, tormented by the feeling of wanting to speak but unable to.
He had no choice but to tightly guard the explosive secret that “Prince Ji is Wu Fei’s son.”
“Defiling the palace”? No no no, everyone knew that back when Emperor Ling was still Prince Zhou as regent, he forcibly took Wu Fei’s fiancée. When Li Family servants privately approached the Wu Family to discuss the matter, they acted demonically, resulting in Wu Fei’s retainer beheading a Li Family servant in the street in righteous fury.
Even back then, the uproar over censors impeaching the Wu Family for letting a slave commit violence was still being gossiped about by storytellers in streets and alleys.
Moreover, what was Wu Fei doing when Consort Li was taken by Prince Zhou? He was continuously conquering Hao State, fighting in the Northern Border for Da Yao.
So even if the matter exploded, how would the many lords in Yao Capital explain it to Under Heaven: How did Wu Fei manage to be in two places at once, eating sand in Bo Prefecture in the North while somehow sneaking onto the Imperial Consort’s bed?
These past few years, even the historians determined to blacken Wu Fei could only busy themselves fabricating how shamelessly he was in the North, having an affair with Hao State generals by exchanging gifts, how brutally he exhausted Bo Prefecture’s manpower for conquest—this plot was already filled to the brim.
If they further blackened Xuan Chong for using flight to return from Bo Prefecture to Yao Capital, crossing palace restrictions. Oh boy, how would later generations view this history book? What would they say? Historians have faces too.
Besides, even if they sorted it all out, in the eyes of the common folk: the betrothal, asking for the name, divination, bride price, wedding date, grand dowry, registry, and escort—how many steps did Emperor Ling follow? Li Shi simply didn’t complete the process back then and was rejected by the Prince of Northern Tranquility’s Mansion.
During Prince Zhou’s regency, he secretly sent eunuchs out to forcibly seize common girls. Why weren’t the unselected commoners happy? Because everyone knew Prince Zhou was just buying a mold to use and discard. And those forcibly seized weren’t from completely minor families; they were side branches of great clans, raising daughters hoping for marriage alliances with main branches of other clans, only for them to become Prince Zhou’s used discards. It’s impossible not to harbor some resentment.
If it really exploded now that Li Shi’s child isn’t Emperor Ling’s? The commoners in Yao Capital would gloat over the absurd truth. They might even mock in private: If the Son of Heaven is morally deficient, how can he govern Under Heaven?
And if the Son of Heaven is morally deficient, he won’t die, but a close minister like Su Wang would be unforgivably guilty.
At this point, Emperor Ling’s adopted heirs had all been offended by Su Wang; even if he wanted to turn back now, there was no path left.
After court, Su Wang went again to the wind and thunder messaging platform in Zhen Palace, but still no reply from Wu Fei.
His attempt to pull Wu Fei as an ally had failed. He couldn’t help turning to glare toward Consort Li in the palace, grinding his teeth: “How exactly did you (Li Shi) get pregnant with Wu Fei’s child out of thin air?!”
After all, ancients couldn’t comprehend 40th-century advanced seeding methods.
…Great Scholars divided seats over mountains, rivers, and human affairs…
Xuan Chong had no time now to decipher the overtures and threats in letters sent by the Imperial Court and various noble families. From a strategic perspective, after confirming stability across situations, Xuan Chong arrived at Fen Xing City, summoned the peacock, assembled a troop, and flew toward the Chi You Soldiers area in the South.
Besides the peacock ridden by Xuan Chong himself, there were those riding Tai Yue Luan and wooden wind-riding flying luan, making five large aerial aircraft in total. The troop crossed south of Ling River, landed at a soldier station to resupply food and grass, then reorganized with a five-hundred-man crow people troop.
These southward troops were all veterans, having entered deep into the Southern jungles multiple times. This time, Xuan Chong leading south wasn’t just to grab weapons and go, but to set up an advance post for future Southern conquest.
Xuan Chong’s southward venture this time wasn’t an exploration team; no matter how large an exploration team, considerations are limited to each individual taking care of themselves; upon exploration failure and retreat, it’s every man for himself. Sick or injured can be directly abandoned.
But a troop, even the smallest scale, must consider maintaining combat effectiveness in the most extreme situations! Combat effectiveness requires belief to sustain, and belief is collectivism: never abandon, never give up.
Once non-combat losses occur, priorities for retreat must be arranged, support arranged. Mobilize all powers including diplomacy as a backstop.
As army commander, facing any pressure, one must not lose composure hastily; every order needs serious feasibility assessment, precise quantification of time and location scopes.
When anticipating crises, the commander must assign actions for risky tasks to subordinates with clear numerical standards, no ambiguity allowed.
“Adapt as circumstances dictate” can only be issued when there’s leeway at the frontline. In critical moments, the commander must take responsibility and give clear orders.
…Approaching forty, unswayed by others…
Giant bird wings flapped in the sky, horses threaded through the jungle; local guides led the troop navigating rivers, advancing by land, water, and air in three prongs.
Under Xuan Chong’s command, the journey was very smooth. Even with strange storms, bizarre forest fires, miasma ahead, these anomalies caused little hindrance.
Amid these interferences, the troop guides could identify directions using markers left from prior explorations.
Moreover, Xuan Chong himself could determine position via starlight.
Such a force of giant beasts, Masters, iron armor corps marching straight ahead made the petty troublemakers creating various anomalies frantic.
After half a month, following Ling River east then turning south, the corps had located Chi You Mountain—a dome-shaped hill upside down, covered like a grid with bands of regular hexagonal patterns of rust.
Upon confirming arrival at the target, Xuan Chong didn’t order entry; all troops rested three days first.
At that moment, Jia Mude walked over to Xuan Chong and said: “My lord, the wind and rain nearby are very abnormal.”
Xuan Chong glanced at the distant rosy clouds, understood what he meant, and summoned Bai Renfeng.
Bai Renfeng said straightforwardly: “My lord, this is Wangheng Sect’s doing. This place is quite far from the Human Realm, and your army is just over a thousand.”
Xuan Chong nodded: “Can you talk to them? Tell them we shouldn’t fight and forget each other in the martial world, okay?”
Bai Renfeng glanced at Xuan Chong’s expression: “I can talk, but my lord, do you really think we can laugh off grudges with them?”
Wangheng Sect wished Xuan Chong would just croak while wandering in the clouds, severing Chong Land’s auspicious qi.
Xuan Chong sighed: “Words still need to be spoken. Trouble Immortal Elder to make a trip.”
Bai Renfeng nodded: “No trouble at all.”
Before the words finished, he turned into a streak of red light, rising from this five-hundred-man killing intent military formation, sword light mingled with spiritual evil shooting into the sky.
This was the state stuck at Qi Condensation Layer 28: magic power density no less than Core Formation, but highly unstable due to mixed killing intent, unable to condense.
Xuan Chong raised his head watching rosy clouds clash at the distant clouds, nodded slightly; then turned to instruct everyone in the troop: “Everyone mind your own tasks, set up camp here.”
Accompanying Jia Mude said: “General, shan’t we go help?”
Xuan Chong: “How would you help? Send troops lumbering after them, and the cultivators flee a thousand li in an instant; then with their divide-and-conquer plum blossom ploy on you, our camp gets hit by cultivators’ midnight gale scattering it or fire burning the camps!”
Though spiritual energy avoids killing intent, if killing intent scale is insufficient or midway in remote areas, water-fire disasters or falling meteors, collapsing city walls may occur.
Xuan Chong said to the surrounding soldiers: “Just follow procedure, and nothing will go wrong.”
Xuan Chong began adjusting his schedule; due to vital energy loss and travel fatigue, many bodily systems were unstable.
The troop set up four camps: on the mountain, at water source, near jungle edge. Distances between the four camps averaged within a hundred zhang, mutually supporting corners.
Xuan Chong himself rested quietly by water during day, stargazed at dawn and dusk, sometimes rested at forest edge.
…Formation settled, killing intent entrenched…
Wangheng Sect cultivators had followed all the way; their divinations showed Xuan Chong’s five-hundred-man troop heading South to uproot a heaven-shaking killing aura, so they came to stop it.
As Xuan Chong guessed, if spiritual energy and killing intent reached a tipping point of mutual growth and decline, military strategists would suffer from immortals’ stirred heavenly disasters.
But Xuan Chong along the way cleared mountains, bridged waters, with tribal soldier stations responding like a king’s procession.
What is a king? Killing intent’s essence is harming the insufficient to benefit the surplus, making the harmed willingly serve as subjects to confront the Way of Heaven—that is king.
Thus Xuan Chong’s small five-hundred-man land-water-air troop, crossing Southern Border, still couldn’t be affected by cultivators mobilizing sufficient spiritual energy.
Only after exiting three hundred li south of Ling River into the jungle did Xuan Chong’s kingly aura wane.
That is, now cultivators could use Daoist arts to create accidents for Xuan Chong’s southward army, like gales whipping up great fires or floods overflowing. But only remotely affecting; far from ancient Elucidators and Interceptors directly arraying formations to conjure rivers, quicksand deserts, or swamps to block armies.
Xuan Chong’s camp formation was highly skilled, camps mutually overlooking, every soldier’s view fixed on peripheral grass stirring in wind.
The camp’s vigilant “killing aura” swept surroundings in rotation; as long as formation held, cultivators still couldn’t use spiritual arts.
Next, this place had a stele erected by Southern Border exploration teams; as long as the inscribed text here was read every ten years, it remained Human Realm territory. In the Human Realm, with fifty soldiers’ gazes fixed, Foundation Establishment and above immortal arts couldn’t be used!
Xuan Chong’s camp defenses were tight; any stir would raise alarm. Night gales or fire sparks alike, immortal arts would hardly work.
…Just like Elucidators and Interceptors at the border pass…
Fifty-three cultivators from various sects, driving spirit boats or riding spirit beasts, upon seeing Wu Fei’s “four towns killing” great camp, suddenly a sword light streaked from the formation.
Bai Renfeng stopped before them, proclaiming loudly: “Fellow Daoists, the General orders: we have no grudge against you, why do you repeatedly act like bandits!”
A Linjian Sect cultivator stepped forward: “Wrong! The Way of Heaven is constant; once the sealed item in Southern Border emerges, it will bring chaos to Under Heaven. We act on Heaven’s Will, Wu Fei defies Heaven—please don’t mislead yourself.”
Bai Renfeng: “Your sealing is following the Way of Heaven? Then months ago when Chong Land folk suffered plague disaster, not only did you not save the people or cut the source of chaos, but instead isolated one prefecture’s mountains and waters—why!”
This sword cultivator frowned wanting to explain, but met an unparalleled sword light.
Bai Renfeng had no intent to debate doctrine, merely baiting the opponent to speak first; once a sword cultivator opens mouth to argue, sword intent is weakest. Thus as the other spoke, the sword strike arrived. After felling the opposing swordsman, Bai Renfeng shouted: “Come try my sword!”
Amid rosy clouds clashing, sword lights and thunder began colliding; the auspicious clouds of many cultivators were split by one sword.
Bai Renfeng’s sword light swept many cultivators; after thirty exchanges, the cultivators realized his sword qi didn’t vanish after emission but began forming a formation, then said: “This man is possessed, let’s scatter back to sects for reinforcements.”
Spiritual energy messages flew back to major sects, and immortal holy land main peaks rang alarm bells for sect crisis.
…Magic battle spans a thousand li…
Because at this moment, Yang Sanniang held the seal, gazing at the map below. She was comparing Chong Land’s human realm power distance to surrounding mountains and waters.
She raised the Lotus Lamp, and simultaneously, Xian Daoren’s aura manifested in the lamp fire.
Xian Daoren tempted: “You’ve claimed one prefecture’s auspicious qi, very good, very good—quickly sacrifice him.” His words narrated as if a beautiful scene.
Yang Sanniang sank into it nodded: “Time to sacrifice. Earlier those immortal sects’ formation collapsed once; now they’ve laid a heaven-net earth-web outside, forming trapped dragon flying south.”
Xian Daoren: “What did you say? That formation is mine. (Major immortal sects are using it now under Xian Daoren)”
Yang Sanniang raised the Lotus Lamp in hand: “Yes, you’re the one who set this trap, but why should I follow your scheme?” At this, Yang Sanniang smiled: “Need some changes, some innovation.”
Xian Daoren seemed suddenly enlightened: “Qian Cuo, you want to oppose me!”
Yang Sanniang: Mm, it’s not me opposing you, but we never saw eye to eye to begin with.
Yang Sanniang pinched the lamp fire; at that moment, the Golden Dou rampaging erratically underground, purified into spurting flames, suddenly flew toward Yao Capital.
At this time, Xian Daoren’s pupils reflected such a scene: he fell into a great pit, fleshy tentacles erupted from floor tiles, pustules constantly grew underground, and amiable smiles audible from below anytime.
Each laugh made walls jiggle like fat, floor tiles crack like sores, spraying unknown pus.
Xian Daoren struggled free of the dream, gnashing teeth: “Qian Cuo!”
Yang Sanniang innocently looked up at the slowly merging Evil Moon in the sky, slowly saying: “Old Marshal (Wu Hanluan) said before death to always reserve a spot for you; I’ve kept it.”
Xian Daoren felt another Evil Moon force shining on him, unable to speak.
Chong Land was designed for “green Evil Moon” corrosion; after Xuan Chong resolved everything, karma would backlash one by one.
Major immortal sects would face issues, but if the behind-scenes black hand Xian Daoren could “settle peacefully,” then Yang Sanniang’s years cultivating “Dao of Changes” would be for naught.
Yang Sanniang’s pupils now flickered golden gaze, saying to Xian Daoren: “Senior Brother will be fine; yours is just ordinary change—want me to pull you out?”
At this point, Xian Daoren covered in pustules, his twin pupils also reflected gold—this was the last lifeline straw as Xian Daoren was about to be crushed by twin Evil Moons into a mutated chaos egg.
