Chapter 40

(Weekend, one update)

No one knew that a mysterious figure in black robes had been seen near the stone fort where they were staying. The vanguard, who had entered the Jade Dragon Mountain to search for the enemy, discovered that the main force of the rebels was gathered at the Yellow Dragon Abyss, three hundred miles away. The main force, consisting of inner disciples and their attendants, along with the left and right guard armies, numbering over a thousand elite soldiers, immediately rushed to the Yellow Dragon Abyss.

The Yellow Dragon Abyss was originally a mountain lake deep in the Jade Dragon Mountain. Due to years of drought, the water area of the Yellow Dragon Abyss had shrunk to less than one-tenth of its original size, but it remained one of the few water sources deep in the Jade Dragon Mountain.

Over a hundred thousand refugees who had fled into the Jade Dragon Mountain could only gather near such a water source. Previously, Chen Qing, Jie Wenzhuo, Lu Hongqian, and others had infiltrated the Jade Dragon Mountain to reconnoiter the enemy situation and noticed that the rebels were gathering near the Yellow Dragon Abyss, but at that time, the main force of the rebels had not yet gathered there.

The mountains and valleys near the Yellow Dragon Abyss were precisely the watershed between the Wuwei Army and the Hexiong Army. To suppress the rebels gathered at the Yellow Dragon Abyss, only small detachments of sect disciples could be sent to carry out a quick and decisive attack.

Otherwise, if Wuwei Shenhou Dong Liang were to dispatch over ten thousand elite soldiers from the Iron Stream Camp to advance into the Jade Dragon Mountain, the Hexiong Army's Grand Protector General's Office would not remain indifferent and might even send troops to enter the Jade Dragon Mountain from the south to guard, which would complicate the situation.

Before the Yellow Dragon Abyss, there were mountain people who had built a fort on the dangerous terrain. The refugees, after causing chaos, had turned it into their main base. When Chen Hai and his group arrived at the Yellow Dragon Abyss, they saw a sturdy black rock fort embedded between two towering peaks, with extremely treacherous terrain.

The two peaks stood like a natural gate, and behind the gate was the Yellow Dragon Abyss mountain lake. In front of the gate, a thousand-meter-wide stone slope was steep and slippery, with a narrow and winding path that was completely exposed to the fort's attacks.

Before the main force arrived, the vanguard of four hundred sect disciples had attempted to launch a strong attack, but they were repeatedly repelled by logs and rolling stones, suffering casualties. They were now stationed on a low hill opposite the gate, waiting for the main force to arrive.

The inner disciples who made up the main force, most of whom had opened the Spirit Sea Secret Palace, could store true essence and use magical treasures and spirit swords to resist strong enemies from a distance of over a thousand meters and decapitate them. A few, like Li Xianghai, had even reached the Enlightenment Realm, where their consciousness could sense the天地元气 and channel pure and righteous elemental energy to perform more powerful magical techniques.

Although inner disciples like Chen Qing could drive their refined spirit swords to kill enemies from two to three thousand meters away, the control over the spirit sword would weaken as the distance increased.

Among the tens of thousands of rebels, there were also many skilled warriors who, although they could not wield spirit swords or refine magical treasures, could still resist the spirit swords of cultivators at close range.

Generally speaking, inner disciples who had reached the Spirit Sea Realm needed to keep the distance to the enemy within three to four hundred meters to maximize their strength. If the distance was too far, the power of the spirit sword and magical treasures would weaken, and if it was too close, they would be easily entangled by strong enemies and unable to focus on wielding the spirit sword.

The simplest and most effective tactic at this moment was to have the sect disciples and their attendants advance along the steep stone slope to protect the flanks, allowing the inner disciples of the main force to get close to the fort. Then, they could concentrate on using their magical treasures and spirit swords to break through the sturdy stone walls, crush the morale of the rebels, and quickly capture the fort.

At this point, the complete suppression of the rebels and the resolution of the crisis in the Jade Dragon Prefecture would be just around the corner.

Chen Hai, being at the bottom, did not have the qualifications to participate in the military council, but by observing the deployment and adjustments of the main force, the vanguard, and the left and right guard armies, he knew the plans of the inner disciples. Although this tactic was not bad, Chen Hai always felt it was too easy. However, given his low status, his concerns were only heard by Shen Kun and Ge Tong.

Even Zhou Jun did not take his questions seriously.

As for the higher-ups like Liang Siyu and Li Xianghai, they were only thinking about quickly resolving the conflict in the Jade Dragon Mountain before it attracted the attention of the Hexiong Army.

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After a brief rest, the vanguard, which had already suffered some casualties, stayed behind to command, while the six hundred elite sect disciples of the left and right guard armies directly launched an attack on the fort from both flanks.

Dozens of fierce spirit birds flew into the sky, emitting cries that sounded like the clash of metal.

Occasionally, fierce birds would swoop down from the sky, grabbing the rebel scouts who were hiding in the bushes, and fly up with broken branches and leaves, tearing the scouts into pieces in mid-air and throwing them towards the fort to intimidate the rebels.

Most of these fierce birds were spirit birds raised by inner disciples, with the strongest having the combat power of the late Spirit Sea Realm. The rebel scouts who approached the fort from the bushes looked fierce and strong, but they were powerless against the sharp claws of these birds.

The scene was bloody, but for the sect disciples and soldiers entering the battlefield, it felt like their blood was being ignited.

The middle path was too narrow to deploy a large force, so Chen Hai and the three hundred sect disciples and soldiers of the left guard army, holding iron shields and battle spears, advanced up the steep and slippery stone slope towards the fort. In addition to the front row holding shields to block the falling rocks and logs, the back row was also assigned to chisel steps into the stone.

It was not certain that they could capture the fort in one go, but by chiseling new steps along the stone slope, the next attack would be easier.

The three hundred sect disciples were all strong and heavy. Even Chen Hai, using the tail of his battle spear, could create a foothold in the rock with a single strike. However, the morale of the rebels was strong, and soon the falling rocks and logs became more frequent, rolling down the stone slope with a terrifying sound.

The walls of the fort were filled with bare-chested rebel soldiers, who pushed the prepared rocks and logs down from the walls.

Chen Hai did not need to stand at the front with Ge Tong and Shen Kun, but the stone slope was steep and slippery, and the falling rocks and logs bounced and rolled down, or were thrown by the strong rebels, making it unsafe to be in the formation.

Seeing a rock weighing over a hundred pounds heading straight for his head, Chen Hai raised his cold iron shield and braced his shoulder against it. The impact made his body shake, and his arms went numb, but he managed to stay on his feet, though his chest felt a surge of discomfort.

Before Chen Hai could catch his breath, another boulder the size of a millstone came crashing down towards his head.

"Damn!" Chen Hai suspected that these falling rocks had eyes, as they kept targeting his head.

The boulder, weighing over a thousand pounds, was thrown from a height of four to five hundred meters. Chen Hai felt that even if his Qingyun Spirit Armor was still intact, he would be crushed by this boulder today.

He did not expect that there were such strong rebels who could throw a boulder weighing over a thousand pounds.

Chen Hai did not have time to think about the people behind him. He focused his feet, and his eyes, which were slightly narrowed, tightly followed the boulder as it rapidly approached. He was about to dodge, but suddenly a green sword light flashed behind him, and a sword aura several yards long burst out, like a lightning bolt striking the boulder.

The boulder exploded into pieces.

Chen Hai's face, hit by the flying stone fragments, was painful, and several cuts appeared. Turning his head, he saw Chen Qing calmly sheathing the Nianyue Spirit Sword that had shattered the boulder, her beautiful eyes full of disdain. He sensed that she had been silently watching him and had seen his every move, which made her even more disdainful.

Chen Hai grumbled to himself, "Damn, I haven't even reached the Profound Realm to cultivate true essence, and if I had to use my physical strength to block that boulder, I would have been turned into minced meat."

Most of the left guard army's sect disciples and soldiers had reached the Profound Realm and could use iron shields and true essence to withstand the impact of several hundred pounds of rocks, but the consumption was great, and it was not a sustainable strategy.

Even if Li Xianghai, Chen Qing, Jie Wenzhuo, Lu Hongqian, and Yu Siyu could cut the boulders into pieces, they could not cover all areas, and soon there were casualties. The three hundred sect disciples and soldiers of the left guard army advanced to a cliff and stopped, waiting for the main force and the right guard army to catch up.

Li Xianghai had the highest cultivation, but he had to control the overall situation. Chen Qing, Jie Wenzhuo, and Lu Hongqian were all sword cultivators who had refined the sect's superior spirit swords as magical treasures, making them very powerful. However, they had not yet reached the Enlightenment Realm, where their consciousness could sense the天地元气, and could only control their swords within their line of sight.

Chen Hai and the others retreated to the cliff, waiting for the subsequent troops to arrive, but Chen Qing, Jie Wenzhuo, and Lu Hongqian were not satisfied with inaction. The three spirit swords on their backs hummed and flew out of their scabbards, instantly glowing with a bright light, transforming into three streaks of light that slashed towards the fort six to seven hundred meters away.

Six figures emerged from the fort. Although they were not sword cultivators and did not have any magical treasures, they moved agilely on the walls, like dragons. They held knives and shields, battle spears, or large swords, and with terrifying speed, they closed in on the three spirit swords controlled by Chen Qing, Jie Wenzhuo, and Lu Hongqian.

Moreover, their weapons were extremely heavy and not afraid of the sharpness of the spirit swords.

Seeing this, Chen Hai was secretly alarmed, not expecting that there were still many people in Yanzhou who, without cultivating true essence, could train their martial skills to such a high level!

The speed of the spirit swords controlled by Chen Qing and the others was also extremely fast. In a flash, the three spirit swords clashed with the six figures on the wall, sparks flying, but they could not break through the defense of the six figures.

"These people are likely commoners who have become wandering knights. The people in the western regions of the river are fierce and martial, but few have the opportunity to enter the sects for cultivation. I guess there are many such people among the rebels..." Shen Kun, seeing Chen Hai squeeze in, lowered his voice to explain that the people who could entangle the spirit swords might be martial knights.

Chen Hai thought that among the children of the sect's poor disciples, only a few could follow in their parents' footsteps and enter the sect for cultivation. Those who could not enter the sect, after their parents died, would lose their last connection to the sect. If they trained their martial skills to a high level and were not content with mediocrity, they would become wandering knights.

Chen Hai felt sorry for these people. If there were no sect cultivators, these knights could shine, but in Yanzhou, they could only be the supporting cast to the sect cultivators.

Chen Qing's cultivation was still slightly inferior. Li Xianghai, seeing her spirit sword entangled by the six knights, frowned and took out a small apricot-yellow flag from his chest.

The flag was initially only three inches in size, and Chen Hai could not see it clearly, but when Li Xianghai threw it into the air, it grew to three feet in size and fluttered in the wind.

The flag was woven from a material that was neither gold nor silk, emitting a golden spiritual light. The convex-bellied unicorn snake embroidered on the flag was lifelike. Li Xianghai made a secret hand seal, and a mysterious aura emanated from his body, causing the weather within a few thousand meters to change.

This was the manifestation of the connection between consciousness and the天地元气. In a flash, arcs of electricity appeared in the air and rapidly gathered on the flag...

"This is Elder Li's Thunder Spirit Flag!" Shen Kun, seeing Li Xianghai personally take action, could not help but get excited.

Chen Hai, who had seen grand scenes in the Blood Cloud Wasteland, also felt that Li Xianghai's Thunder Spirit Flag was extraordinary. In a moment, the flag had gathered enough arcs of lightning, and in the next moment, it transformed into a blinding lightning column, striking the wall above.

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