Chapter 25: Departing Fire
Deep in the Southern Border, south of Ling River. A cyan giant bird quickly streaked across the sky. The giant bird’s master Ang Ri was dressed completely differently from Yao People, because proper cultivating Dao feather masters of Da Yao would never have such unkempt mustaches like rat whiskers? He, clad in a cyan-blue feather robe, was surveying the mountains and rivers here.
This place was named Yun Qie Valley. Due to the undulating mountains arranged in a north-south direction, clouds here were severed into pieces, hence the name Yun Qie.
Li Huo Sect was established here. Li Huo Sect disciples chiseled eternal lamps into the cliffs on both sides of these mountains. Every nightfall, the firelight hung on the mountains like a necklace, a spectacular sight. However, he was not here to admire the scenery. During their migration from beyond the sky, he and his descendants were assaulted by Primordial Wind, causing uncontrollable crystallization on their bodies, and the flying strange beasts they brought from Haotian Realm had all mutated, forcing them to dispose of most of them.
Likewise from Haotian Realm, Ang Ri’s branch had not chosen to merge with Pu E’s branch. There were two reasons.
First, the Dragon Descendants had better self-protection when passing through Primordial Wind, so they did not suffer severe Primordial Transformation, whereas his Crow People line possessed scout characteristics, often serving as pathfinding vanguard, getting exposed to Primordial Wind more frequently, resulting in more severe Primordial Transformation. They needed a peaceful environment for recuperation.
Second, the Dragon Descendants chose a landing point right next to Da Yao Dynasty. This strategic deployment hugging the core forces of Xi Ren Realm made conflict with local forces inevitable, and once conflict escalated, it would allow Primordial Wind from outside to exploit the weakness. Moreover, the Dragon Descendants were too overbearing; Ang Ri did not want to return to Xi Ren Realm only to be commanded by them again.
Correct, Xi Ren Realm was also one of the origin places of Crow People. As early as ten thousand years ago, Crow People were a great clan in the Southern Border.
And now, traces of their own kind could still be found further south in the Southern Border, in the fertile sea region, where clusters of Feathered People Kingdoms were located. However, after ten thousand years of separation, the racial and cultural divergence between Crow People and Feathered People was even greater than the difference between current Haotian Realm immigrants and Da Yao people. Ang Ri had crossed the thorny forest seas to seek aid from those “kin,” but those Feathered People did not consider these sudden sky outsiders as their own kind.
While Ang Ri was reminiscing about the past, the giant bird underfoot let out a soft cry.
Ang Ri patted the giant bird beneath him and asked, “Have you sensed the Sacred Flame’s information?”
The giant bird responded, “I sense the Sacred Spirit’s aura, but it is very faint now, already gone.”
This cyan-blue big bird had a wingspan of eight zhang, and its body length was no less impressive than a golden bull. Of course, the bird’s volume was illusory; in fact, the entire bird weighed no more than one ton. As a flying species, this was still a giant beast. The giant bird’s talons were thicker than an adult’s arm, able to tear rhinoceros hide when swooping fiercely. And its beak was not a raptor hook but more like a crane’s.
Comparing to species on Earth, it resembled the crested ibis. This flying strange beast was named Tai Yue Luan, blood-related to the Vermilion Bird deity of Southern Ridge ten thousand years ago. But now grown into this form, it had not evolved in Xi Ren Realm, especially that conspicuous cyan feather—unknown what it encountered in Haotian Realm!
Actually, at the end of Haotian Realm’s final era, it was the peak of Primordial Wind corrosion over a millennium, and Haotian Realm also had other exotic birds there; Tai Yue Luan hybridized with them, hence its current appearance differing from ancestors.
Ang Ri flew above Yun Qie Valley, soon intercepted by red fire clouds over the valley.
Understandably so, phoenixes do not perch in unworthy lands, and how could a spiritual vein once inhabited by the Vermilion Bird, closely linked to phoenixes, lack local forces entrenched there?
Ang Ri landed under the fire cloud interception, arriving at the mountain gate of Yun Qie Valley, where the stone tablet bore three large characters: Li Huo Sect.
…The perspective shifts to the North, crossing the north bank of Ling River, to the area occupied by various clans in the northern part of Southern Border…
Outside Yongji Pass, Wu Fei led a team of eight hundred, conducting a cursory armed reconnaissance toward the South.
The troops led by Wu Fei this time were not for combat, because combat would require preparing large quantities of arrows, as well as food and grass supplies for the entire army for months. Such scale of food and grass required building temporary fortress depots. Even medicines and alcohol for soldier injuries and illnesses needed consideration, but none of these were prepared!
Moreover, preparing all the above would require considerable manpower and resources. Sunzi’s Art of War states: “The cost to the people is seven-tenths; the cost to the state is six-tenths.”
Although Yongji Pass had recently earned some money from checkpoints, the thrifty Wu Fei did not want to squander it like this.
Wu Fei’s eight-hundred-man troop only carried seven days’ rations, as simplified as could be. And among these eight hundred, a considerable portion possessed unique skills, such as identifying thousands of plants and insects in Southern Border, knowing their toxicities and antidotes. Others could distinguish drinkable from poisonous streams in Southern Border by sense of smell.
Xuan Chong: As a student who crammed from childhood to adulthood, I have developed a habitual processing routine for every first-time task I undertake.
If the Southern Border conquest is a major exam, then this trip is like a pre-exam simulation.
Leading thousands of troops deep into enemy territory right away? Better rub at the doorstep first.
Along the way, Wu Fei strictly ordered all soldiers to maintain discipline and not harass local people! For thousands of troops, such “no harassment” would be utter nonsense. But for now, it was feasible. When encountering various foreign races of Southern Border, Xuan Chong personally interrogated them, and after, gave each a pack of salt to take home.
Under such reconnaissance, roads and the activity ranges of various tribes were marked on the feng shui map.
In the military camp, after Wu Fei used the mountains and rivers Yao calculation map to fill in relevant information.
He simultaneously asked Yao San Gu, the Master holding the lamp beside him, “San Gu, have you gotten results from your lotus fire guiding technique?” (At some point, Wu Fei stopped calling her immortal, directly San Gu. If even closer, it would be little San Gu.)
San Gu held a lotus-shaped lamp stand levelly; under the flickering lamplight, her countenance was solemn and sacred, like an empress in a temple.
After two cups of tea, San Gu exhaled, dropped the sacred appearance, and responded to Wu Fei, “General, along this route, I have transmitted the law to ghosts and spirits in the mountains. The army’s march will face no wind or rain.”
Wu Fei glanced over, politely praising the “ritual.” But inwardly he muttered, “You’re not fooling me, are you?”
However, seeing the lamp flame floating on her onion-root-like fingertip, confirming it was not a trick with hidden lamp oil in her palm but sourced from the fire qi of the entire forest, Wu Fei tentatively believed her divination.
Wu Fei sniffed, sensing the water qi in the mountains and wind direction changes through the sixty-eight physical test instruments in his body. He could roughly gauge directions by perception, not completely led by the nose by her.
“Report!” A message came from outside the military tent. Xuan Chong immediately went out to handle it. Seeing this reporting soldier, Wu Fei knew it was intelligence on local core forces.
Minutes later, in the military camp, after Wu Fei received definite news from this soldier originating as a Southern Border traveling merchant, he pondered, “Li Huo Sect?”
Wu Fei had long known that south of Ling River in Southern Border, a group of supernatural people gathered, worshiping with flames, but confirming they were Li Huo Sect still surprised him.
This sect was originally a prestigious sect of the Central Plains, but a thousand years ago, summoned to the palace to participate in “immortality pill” refining, some incidents occurred, causing imperial relatives to die from the medicine, branded as an evil sect, and its lineage shifted from orthodox “Li Huo” to heterodox external alchemy.
Having become “heterodox path,” hiding in this miasma-filled Southern Border where they could not be seen, they should not be any immortal sect! Their mastered methods were strange and dangerous.
Wu Fei had a plan in mind: This was no ordinary sect, but one that took the evil path, a demon sect blocking our great army, requiring a heavy fist strike.
A few years ago, Wu Fei still harbored some fantasy toward immortal sects, like a pleb chasing a goddess. Now, gradually realizing the “irreconcilable” standoff with spiritual evil forces, he felt eager to lead the army and storm any immortal sect’s mountain gate.
Wu Fei reviewed records of multiple miasma disasters at Yongji Pass decades ago, the most recent one stating:
Shu Tian 16th year (ten years ago), spring, much miasma, mornings foggy, sky dim. Ferocious beasts from deep mountains and great marshes frequently raided villages, devouring people, disrupting trade.
…Li Huo Sect was indeed no immortal sect…
Meanwhile, Ang Ri had entered the sect gate, shocked by what he saw along the way. The lights encircling the mountains from afar were actually fueled by corpse oil.
At the center of Li Huo Sect’s grand lamp array in Yun Qie Valley was a massive heavenly pit guarded there, containing extreme heat. Beside the pit, batches of Southern Border slaves pushed pulley systems by the trench, lowering stone containers, then retrieving batches of dust from the trench.
Of course, these slaves wore no shackles; they did it willingly, like devout believers.
After retrieval, this dust alternated between black ash and rekindled red states. Ang Ri’s eyes lit up watching these slaves’ conditions; though varying in size, the foreign state on their bodies had retracted inward, a freely controllable state.
Ang Ri understood this was the Sacred Flame’s effect, capable of dispelling Primordial Wind contamination.
Those porters with red runes glowing on their bodies lifted stone mortars to a stone platform, then poured ash into the center. After spreading, the ash separated into black ash and rekindling sparks, forming a Yin Yang Fish with red sparks and black ash, red sparks constantly extinguishing into black ash, black ash reignited by red sparks, thus the Yin Yang Fish rotated.
Meanwhile, numerous Li Huo Sect disciples like cult followers knelt in worship, then heedless of the scorching heat, devoured the ash alternating in “extinguishing, rekindling” process.
Ang Ri snapped back, observing these Li Huo Sect disciples? Sensing a burst of “vitality” awakened in them.
An evil aura emanated from the cave. Ang Ri frowned, for he had sensed something similar in Haotian Realm toward Taixi direction, a group sustaining lifespan by sucking human blood essence. The one in the cave now calling himself “Fire Ancestor” gave Ang Ri the same feeling, only now suppressed by Sacred Flame.
…After the ritual ended…
Ang Ri: “By Moon Empress’s order, come to wish Fire Ancestor longevity.”
From the cave designated as holy ground in the fire sacrifice, came an aged response: “Qing Luan Empress’s disciple, pleased to meet.”
The voice wave came from the cave, as the mountain lights flickered accordingly. Though Li Huo Sect was far from Central Plains, in sacrifices and calendar, it still aligned with Central Plains. “Sun and moon” held unique meaning in the ritual system.
Thus, Ang Ri stating his faith in Moon Empress and displaying her magic power attributes, the Li Huo Sect ancestor respectfully called her “Empress,” but would never acknowledge the title “Moon Empress.”
Ang Ri, as Haotian Realm’s “Moon Empress” emissary, was clearly dissatisfied with such address. His mind-linked luan bird lightly trilled hundreds of zhang away, wings quivering slightly.
Ang Ri restrained from this topic, preparing to discuss what he wanted.
Ang Ri stated his request. After a long while, three unignorable lamp fires suddenly flickered in the cave, their shadows swaying as if discussing, then reverting to one lamp fire.
Under flickering lamplight, the aged voice responded, “Lately great waves on Ling River, blown from the North. If your tribe wishes return, must stand firm in this wind.”
…Perspective shifts back to the North…
End of 4th month, Shu Tian Calendar 26th year, ahead of rainy season, Wu Fei swiftly returned troops inside the pass.
The tribes expecting Northern Yao People to come conquering, after tense ten days, finally heard Yao People returned to the pass, breathed relief. But also secretly cursed the leading Yao general for stirring trouble, wandering about, bound for retribution.
However inside the pass, a crowd of speculative merchants, confirming Wu Fei’s expedition “returned without achievement,” bringing no slaves or specialties for these “family members,” all complained, and the nickname “little sparrow” spread wildly again amid gossip.
Wu Fei knew this “nickname” was like wildfire, impossible to extinguish forever.
Since it could not be extinguished, no use wasting effort; the more he struggled, the more it showed he cared. As Wu Family’s sole commander guarding Southern Border, most important was to steadily secure the situation step by step, enduring gossip.
Wu Fei clearly knew of the ideological split in Wu Family now: between him and Wu Hengyu, who would be next “head”?
Wu Fei was not worried about Wu Hanluan; he would judge most beneficial to Wu Family as needed. Those irrational? Often unserious family members stirring topics to flaunt influence. They were the variables!
San Gu beside was embroidering a handkerchief. Time serene, blue thread leaping at fingertips.
Wu Fei: Regarding Military Master’s position, impossible to claim indifference now, and he knew clearer his role in the military! As long as he fulfilled it, he was irreplaceable. That role was defending home! Defend steadily, never act without full assurance.
After returning inside pass, Wu Fei kept sending people inside pass to search for “Li Huo Sect” secrets. Strangely, all Da Yao records on Li Huo Sect ended four hundred years ago at some point after noting their skill in pill refining.
Abnormal must have demon, so Wu Fei raised the bounty to one thousand strings, obtaining seemingly vital news: his scouts were targeted by Demon Suppressing Division. Clearly, this touched some taboo.
Several days later.
While Wu Fei was guessing blindly, Wu Hanluan sent a letter with “Li Huo Sect” secrets; Wu Family’s alchemist kin in palace had some info.
After reading the info in the sealed box, Wu Fei exhaled: No wonder then.
Suddenly felt like forgot something today
