Chapter 421: Senior Brother, the Reverse Psychology Tactic
The sky was obscured by black clouds, and the desert wind whipped up sand.
A fiery red serpent, stretching for hundreds of li, snaked across the horizon, marking the front lines like a fiery scar that divided heaven and earth.
Without the sun and moon, time’s passage was unknown.
However, just as the wood in a bonfire eventually burns out, so too would their resistance.
Whoosh—
On the battlements of the Donghuang Great Wall, the dragon flag symbolizing the Xing Tian Division detached from its flagpole in a gust of wind and fell into a pool of blood, stained crimson.
Zhou Muhe, clad in golden Daoist robes and wielding a chipped spirit sword, stood before the city gate, surrounded by the dismembered limbs of his subordinates.
His eyes held the same unwavering resolve as days before, but his sword-wielding hand trembled uncontrollably.
To buy time for the remaining forces of the Xing Tian Division and the rogue cultivators of Donghuang Immortal City to escape, Zhou Muhe volunteered to lead his 126 Xing Tian Division disciples, relying on the domain-protecting formation and countless magical artifacts to hold the Great Wall alone.
He alone had slain nearly three hundred demonic cultivators.
The nicks on his sword, forged from Meteorite Iron, were testament to this.
And now—
Zhou Muhe surveyed his surroundings, gazing at the desolate street where no living soul remained. He inhaled the scent of blood and dust tinged with rust, and understood that he was the only one left.
Boom—!!
The ten-thousand-jin iron gate below the battlements shuddered violently. Cracks spread across the three thick beams used to barricade it.
Boom—!!
The ground shook, and bricks and tiles rained down from the Great Wall, kicking up plumes of dust dozens of feet high.
Boom—!!
After the third blast, Zhou Muhe held his breath, tightened his grip on his spirit sword, and as the two massive iron gates crashed down, countless Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators, like phantoms wearing iron masks, poured in.
Zhou Muhe’s gaze sharpened. He immediately charged forward, sword flashing.
To the “trash” of the Foundation Establishment stage, his spirit sword, wielded by a Nascent Soul stage Sword Cultivator, was like a meat grinder.
With each swing, several Ghost Spirit Sect disciples were reduced to bloody chunks, scattering over the heads of their fellow disciples.
But as he swung his sword for the third time…
Crack—
The blade of the sword, forged from Meteorite Iron, instantly shattered into fragments and dissipated.
Zhou Muhe looked up. Standing before him was a middle-aged man in a black robe.
However, the mere sight of his face sent a sharp pain through Zhou Muhe’s abdomen, forcing him to his knees, face down.
“Hmph, a mid-Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator, yet you held for four days with over a hundred men. Do you expect praise?”
Zhou Muhe clutched his bleeding abdomen and forced himself to look up. Facing a cultivator who was also merely at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, he chuckled.
“Heh, thank you for informing me. Because of this dark sky, I hadn’t realized four days had passed.”
“Thanks?”
Clang—
The remaining hilt in Zhou Muhe’s right hand fell to the ground. As if relieved, he smiled and replied,
“I was ordered by the Pavilion Master of the Xing Tian Division to delay you evil path fiends for three days. The Xing Tian Division has left, and the rogue cultivators in Donghuang Immortal City have escaped. This Donghuang Immortal City is now yours as a reward… Rest assured, I’ve left nothing behind for you but this desolate city and these ruins…”
Hearing this, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth, glared, and waved his hand.
Instantly, a purple spiritual energy enveloped Zhou Muhe. His flesh and skin rapidly rotted before his eyes, revealing bare bone. Yet, Zhou Muhe maintained his smile until his Nascent Soul shattered, and he fell to the ground, annihilated.
“Hoo—!”
Seeing this, the middle-aged demonic cultivator kicked away Zhou Muhe’s remains.
It was at this moment that the sound of drums suddenly echoed from behind him.
A luxurious palanquin, carried by dozens of skeletons clad in black brocade, glided through the city gate. Atop it, Gui Muqi, wearing a ghostly mask, leaned against the armrest, his body swaying with the palanquin’s rhythm.
The middle-aged demonic cultivator immediately knelt.
“Father…”
The palanquin stopped before him. Gui Muqi rolled his eyes and looked down at him with a hint of disappointment.
This middle-aged demonic cultivator, named Gui Qinghe, was Gui Muqi’s own son. Before the siege, Gui Muqi had ordered him to breach the Donghuang Great Wall within three days. But Zhou Muhe had fiercely resisted, holding him off with just over a hundred men for three waves of attacks, relying on formations and artifacts.
It was only when Gui Muqi personally intervened and broke the Great Wall’s protective formation that he was able to lead the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples through the gates and into Donghuang.
Now, facing his father’s displeasure, Gui Qinghe trembled uncontrollably.
However, the Great Elder of the Ghost Spirit Sect, who followed behind the palanquin, quickly stepped forward, cupped his fists, and spoke on his behalf.
“Sect Master, Young Master Gui only had a few Nascent Soul cultivators under his command, along with over a thousand Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stage Ghost Spirit Sect disciples. It’s not entirely his fault it took three days to break through.”
Gui Muqi remained silent, his gaze shifting to the Great Elder.
“… …”
The Great Elder of the Ghost Spirit Sect nodded in acknowledgment and then continued,
“According to the scouts we sent into the Central Domain, the Xing Tian Division has indeed split into four groups, heading in four directions as rumored. Their intention is likely to have at least one group escape. Perhaps we should let Young Master Gui lead some men to pursue the group heading towards Seven Dragon Valley?”
Gui Muqi pondered for a moment, then nodded and gestured for the skeleton bearers to proceed.
Seeing his father hadn’t said anything else, Gui Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his fists towards the Great Elder beside him.
“Thank you, Great Elder.”
The Great Elder of the Ghost Spirit Sect stroked his long beard and patted his shoulder, chuckling.
“No need for such formality, Young Master. It’s truly not your fault. The Sect Master likely never expected you to capture Donghuang in three days, hehe…”
“Uh, then may I ask, Great Elder, what about the Xing Tian Division forces heading towards Seven Dragon Valley?”
“According to our inside sources, the group heading to Seven Dragon Valley consists entirely of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, about three thousand in total. The leader appears to be a young man in the early Core Formation stage, accompanied by the Young Master of Xuan Xing Sect and the Eldest Miss of Moon Shadow Sword Sect. The Xuan Xing Sect Young Master is also only in the early Core Formation stage, and that Miss Yun is merely in the late Foundation Establishment stage.”
“In that case… I shall lead fifty Core Formation stage disciples.”
Based on past experience, one Core Formation stage demonic cultivator was equivalent to ten ordinary Foundation Establishment stage immortal cultivators.
However, fifty Core Formation stage demonic cultivators, acting in concert with a formation under unified command, could be formidable opponents, even against tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment stage immortal cultivators.
Moreover, Gui Qinghe was a mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
The Great Elder of the Ghost Spirit Sect felt it was overkill, but the Ghost Spirit Sect had ample combat strength, so he simply nodded in agreement.
“Yes, go…”
Gui Qinghe cupped his fists. “This disciple obeys!”
However, at that very moment, a woman’s voice interrupted them.
“Elder Kong… might I accompany Young Master Gui?”
As the voice faded, both the Great Elder and Gui Qinghe looked towards the source in surprise, their brows furrowing upon seeing Gu Mingxin.
The Great Elder, Kong Xiangmo, narrowed his eyes and retorted,
“Young Master Gu was under orders to pursue the Core Formation stage Xing Tian Division cultivators with your Elder Fu…”
Gu Mingxin, who had just passed by and overheard Kong Xiangmo mentioning a young man in the early Core Formation stage as the leader, immediately thought of Ye Anping, which emboldened her to speak up.
She paused for a moment before quickly saying,
“Junior…”
But Kong Xiangmo interrupted her again, refusing outright.
“Denied!”
The spiritual energy of a Deity Transformation stage cultivator emanated from him. Gu Mingxin felt her whole body immobilized, her clasped hands creaking ominously.
However, Fu Yuanhua quickly stepped forward, intervening.
“Young Master Gu, do not be rude.”
Seeing Fu Yuanhua arrive, Kong Xiangmo retracted his spiritual energy and cupped his fists.
“Elder Fu, please manage your subordinate.”
“I will.”
Fu Yuanhua shot Gu Mingxin a fierce glare and, taking her by the shoulder, prepared to leave. But Gu Mingxin swallowed hard, then clasped her hands and called out,
“Then at least, please ask Young Master Gui to bring another Deity Transformation stage cultivator or a few Nascent Soul elders with him!!”
Hearing this, Gui Qinghe, who had been silent, displayed barely suppressed anger. He retorted,
“Young Master Gu, are you looking down on me with those words?”
Gu Mingxin raised her gaze slightly, meeting his eyes directly.
“Young Master Gui took three days to conquer this Great Wall defended by a hundred men. If I were leading, this Great Wall would have fallen in one day. I’ll say this now, if you only bring fifty Core Formation stage disciples, you will only…”
Kong Xiangmo, standing beside them, glared and interrupted again.
“Insolent!”
This time, Gu Mingxin did not look down. Instead, she gritted her teeth and met his gaze, using her spiritual energy to directly resist the spiritual pressure of Kong Xiangmo, a Deity Transformation stage cultivator. She only staggered back one step before regaining her footing.
Fu Yuanhua, seeing this, felt a premonition of trouble. He quickly stepped forward, placing himself between them, and cupped his fists, assisting Gu Mingxin in apologizing to Kong Xiangmo.
“Great Elder Kong, I will discipline her later…”
“… …”
With that, Fu Yuanhua glared at Gu Mingxin, then forcibly pulled her shoulder and vanished into the distance as a streak of light, flying towards the city.
After they left, Kong Xiangmo narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, smoothed his expression, and looked at the frowning Gui Qinghe beside him.
“Young Master Gui, there’s no need to mind what that girl said. Fifty Core Formation stage cultivators are more than enough. If you bring a few elders with you, when you return victorious, the Sect Master won’t acknowledge that you accomplished the task, understand? Fifty Core Formation cultivators are sufficient.”
“… …”
“As for the remaining nearly twenty thousand Xing Tian Division members, they are mostly Qi Refining stage cultivators and Donghuang rogue cultivators. After you’ve dealt with those Foundation Establishment stage immortal cultivators, you can take a detour to deal with them as well. The Sect Master’s intention is to not let any immortal cultivators leave the Central Domain…”
Gui Qinghe nodded in understanding. “This disciple understands.”
… …
—
Whoosh—
Under the blazing sun, in the desolate desert where birds and beasts dared not tread, a procession stretching nearly ten li from head to tail snaked through the yellow sand like a dragon.
Leading the way was a wooden sand skiff about thirty feet long. Many Xing Tian Division disciples lay sprawled on its deck, wiping their foreheads and necks with cloths soaked in cool water to combat the Yang Ling Qi emanating from the Central Domain’s earth.
Inside a cabin, Ye Anping, wearing the sect uniform of Xuan Xing Sect, held a jade slip and was writing a string of names on it with an ink brush.
—Xing Tian Division Pacification Commissioner, Zhou Muhe.
He then placed the jade slip on the table and took out another brand-new one, writing another name:
—Xing Tian Division Squad Leader, Liu Yucheng.
… …
A moment later, the cabin door was pushed open from the outside.
Yun Yiyi, dressed in a golden dress of the Sword Sect, entered with a plate of cool water and approached Ye Anping.
“Anping, have some water. We’ll be at Seven Dragon Valley soon.”
Ye Anping nodded slightly, placed the jade slip in his hand down, and asked,
“How is it? Any trouble?”
“No… However, some of the Xing Tian Division’s Alchemy Cultivators are close to collapsing. Young Master Xiao has instructed those with weak spiritual seas to rest on the Immortal Ship.”
“Mm, you should also make more appearances outside. I’ll be fine here.”
Yun Yiyi glanced at the dozens of jade slips on the table and sat beside him, pouring him a cup of water.
“Anping, you’ve had me and Young Master Xiao constantly visible to the Xing Tian Division disciples on this journey. Are you afraid they’ll cause trouble?”
“Something like that.” Ye Anping nodded and replied, “Although the Xing Tian Division is now under my command, apart from the few who have seen me before, the ordinary disciples don’t trust me. I need them to know that you, the Eldest Miss of the Sword Sect, and I, the Young Master of Xuan Xing Sect, are still with the team, so they won’t feel like abandoned pawns.”
“Using my and Young Master Xiao’s identities to pacify the army?”
“Pretty much. Ye Anping shrugged slightly and smiled. “But among these three thousand people, there are bound to be spies from the demonic cultivators. Now that Donghuang has fallen, the Ghost Spirit Sect’s pursuers are likely on our tail.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“Naturally.” Ye Anping lowered his gaze to the geographical map hanging on the wall. “It’s nearly five thousand li to Jiannan Pass. If we travel day and night like this, exhaustion combined with the fear of pursuers will inevitably lead to internal strife within the group.”
“So…”
“Seven Dragon Valley.” Ye Anping stared intently at the spot circled on the map. “We need to eliminate all pursuers there. After Seven Dragon Valley, it’s open plains, but…”
At this point, Ye Anping showed a trace of unease.
Seeing his expression, Yun Yiyi pondered for a moment, then gently held his right hand.
“What is it?”
“The situation is constantly changing. I’m worried the Ghost Spirit Sect might act unpredictably and send one or two Deity Transformation stage cultivators after us. If that happens, perhaps eighty percent of these three thousand Xing Tian Division disciples will perish.”
Yun Yiyi mused for a moment, then seemed to realize something and nodded.
“No wonder you didn’t pay any mind to the spies within the team…”
“Mm, the demonic cultivator spies will report accurately that these three thousand are all Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. Therefore, if the Ghost Spirit Sect elders confirm our strength, they will only send a Nascent Soul cultivator with dozens of Core Formation stage cultivators to pursue us…”
Ye Anping lowered his gaze and stroked his chin.
“As for who it might be… perhaps it’s Elder Chi of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Chiming Hall, or perhaps it’s the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Young Master Gui Qinghe, or maybe Chi Ming… I do hope it’s Gui Qinghe who pursues us; he’s easier to deal with…”
“Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Nothing much. Just make sure to show your face to the Xing Tian Division disciples more often.” Ye Anping looked at her sideways. “Your cultivation is still not as good as Yunluo’s, so you can’t be of much use.”
?
Yun Yiyi blinked, her brows furrowing instantly. She pinched him.
“Anping…”
“Just kidding. I just don’t want you to be in danger. Otherwise, your father would skin me alive.”
Yun Yiyi listened, feeling a touch of helplessness. But she was also realistic. In a fight, she was only slightly stronger than an ordinary late Foundation Establishment cultivator due to her superior magical artifacts and spirit sword, but she was nowhere near Ye Anping or Pei Lianxue’s level.
Yun Yiyi looked at the jade slips with names on the table. After a moment of hesitation, she summoned a guqin from her storage bag, sat down to the side, and placed it on her lap.
“Since Husband is writing spirit tablets, Consort will help by playing music to comfort the spirits.”
“…Mm.”
Ye Anping said nothing more and nodded in agreement.
Just as Yun Yiyi’s fingers brushed the strings of the guqin, the room door was suddenly pushed open again.
Yun Yiyi’s hands quickly stilled on the strings, and she turned towards the doorway.
Xiao Yunluo, carrying a teapot, bumped the door open with her shoulder and walked in. She seemed to want to bring Ye Anping a cup of tea, but upon seeing Yun Yiyi inside and noticing the teapot on the table, she understood.
—She was a step too late.
“… …”
Yun Yiyi smiled faintly. “Apologies, little lady was a step ahead.”
Xiao Yunluo pouted, looked at Ye Anping without acknowledging Yun Yiyi, walked forward, and placed the teapot on his table. She then glanced at the guqin in Yun Yiyi’s hands.
“Miss Yun has such elegant taste… playing the five strings for leisure during a military march.”
“I was merely accompanying Husband as he wrote spirit tablets, so I offered a musical accompaniment.”
“Ah?”
Xiao Yunluo was stunned and looked at the spirit tablets on the table. Her face flushed with embarrassment. She quickly lowered her head, knelt on the cushion, clasped her hands, and began to chant softly.
“May the dharma assembly be achieved, may salvation be near…”
Ye Anping looked at their interaction and let out a sigh. He said nothing more.
After the guqin music concluded and the Daoist scriptures were recited three times, Ye Anping placed the 127 completed jade slips into a dedicated storage bag. He then looked at the map on the wall and asked,
“Yunluo, do you know why Seven Dragon Valley is called Seven Dragon Valley?”
Xiao Yunluo recalled for a moment and nodded.
“Mm… I remember reading that thousands of years ago, seven dragons resided there. But it seems that due to the collapse of the spiritual脉, the once lush valley turned into a wilderness, and the dragons disappeared…”
Ye Anping feigned ignorance and nodded.
“So that’s how it is…”
Xiao Yunluo smiled happily, even glancing triumphantly at Yun Yiyi.
“I have a photographic memory, Anping. You can ask me anything you don’t know.”
Yun Yiyi didn’t say anything, feeling that Xiao Yunluo was like a child, easily fooled. It was obvious Ye Anping was pretending not to know.
Ye Anping shook his head slightly, thinking to himself.
In the game, Xiao Yunluo, having gone through life and death with Feng Yu Die many times, had understood her destiny as a Xuanlong (Mystic Dragon) in several near-death experiences.
And now, perhaps because of his question, Xiao Yunluo, despite being a golden treasure, had no opportunity to shine.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he would push her a little.
With this thought, Ye Anping furrowed his brow seriously.
“Yunluo, at Seven Dragon Valley, my life will be in your hands.”
“Ah?”
“Do you remember what I said that night at Yu Guan? You are a Xuanlong. If you can’t comprehend my words then—”
…Then I’ll have to use the Nine Dragon Sky Seal.
Ye Anping thought to himself, but he said aloud:
“—I will surely die.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yunluo froze, stunned for a long moment, her face tense as she lowered her head.
“Anping… Are you serious?”
“Mm.”
“You are entrusting your life to me?”
“Mm.”
Xiao Yunluo was very uncertain and asked softly,
“…Do you have no other way? I…”
Ye Anping frowned and shook his head. “No, this is the only way. Whether I live or die depends on you.”
Yun Yiyi, standing beside them, saw at a glance that Ye Anping was likely just trying to scare Xiao Yunluo, but she didn’t expose him. Instead, she smiled.
“Young Master Xiao, my aptitude and cultivation are inferior to yours, so my husband’s life is entrusted to you.”
“Ah…” Xiao Yunluo came to her senses and quickly looked up. “Then… of course! He is my husband too!”
But as soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Yunluo saw Ye Anping’s extremely serious face and lost her confidence again.
Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something more, but didn’t. Finally, she nodded.
“Anping, I will do my best!”
“Not just my best. My life is in your hands this time…”
“Ah… Mm, I will do it… I will… Mm.”
… …
