Xianye

Chapter 430: Sweeping Away the Worries
The shouts of killing from both sides shook the heavens and the earth, like hundreds of thunders striking each other, with a series of explosions that echoed in all directions and lasted for a long time!

After hesitating for a long time, Cai Zhang finally arrived at the city gate in a panic. He happened to see three of his own troops who had gone out of the city to challenge him being beaten back in a panic, and many of their troops were fleeing in fear.

If there hadn't been formations and restrictions in the city, and if there hadn't been the desperate support of the leaders of the various sects stationed in the city, the three real people who challenged the enemy wouldn't even be able to survive, and one or two of them would have been left behind and become wild ghosts under the knife!
"So miserable?"

Cai Zhang saw that the three immortals were all in a state of weakening vitality, with blood flowing from their clothes. The one with the most serious injuries looked even more pitiful.

The man's chest was suddenly pierced by a punch. The bloody hole was so shocking that it was almost transparent from front to back!
Although Jindan Zhenren can reshape his limbs, it will take more than a day or two to completely heal such a serious injury. Moreover, the situation outside the city is so serious that the situation is even more urgent.

If even a real person was in such a state, then the many troops that went out of the city to challenge the enemy must be even more miserable.

Many strong soldiers were hacked to death, their flesh and bones were crushed into mud, their livers and intestines were pierced by the spear tips, and their armor heads were hung under the horse rings. The fields were filled with cries of grief and the hills were stained with blood.

Cai Zhang frowned tightly, seeing the martial arts army outside Faliang City was at its sharpest. A quick glance revealed that there were no less than 70,000 of them, all of them strong and brave, and they were so densely packed that they surrounded the entire Faliang City.

Not to mention the birds, even an insect or ant cannot get out of the city. If they move a little, they will be shot to death by thousands of arrows!

The six martial arts masters standing in the lead were even more powerful.

There seemed to be a volcano hidden beneath its body surface, ready to erupt, with blood and energy surging, turning into substance and rising into the sky!

"How am I supposed to fight this?!"

Cai Zhang's scalp felt numb and he scratched his ears and cheeks.

The neatly-armored attendants behind him all gasped, hurriedly took a few steps back, and simultaneously protected Cai Zhang in front of them.

"What do you mean? Am I the master or are you the master? This is insulting God!" Cai Zhang was furious.

Before he could continue to yell and curse, the twenty-meter-long dragon boat high in the clouds moved and ushered the three immortals in. Then the dragon boat sprinkled a cloud of light, and a boy stuck his head out of the boat and said:

"Master Cai, my master invites you to come aboard and have a chat."

"..." Cai Zhang's face turned bitter when he heard this, but he couldn't refuse.

Now he and the Yuchen Dao School in Faliang City are in the same boat. If the city is breached, not only will the Yuchen Dao School be in danger of collapse, but he will probably also be killed by the martial arts barbarians outside the city.

Ban Su's influence in Gelu is already considerable, and with the support of Zhenwu Mountain, he is like a tiger with added wings, and is extremely powerful!

Now the Yunci Cave where he was probably just so-so in Ban Su's eyes.

When these barbarians start fighting, they will no longer care about the face of Yunci Cave...

"Stay here, I'll be back soon!"

Cai Zhang rubbed his face with his hands and whispered to his servants:
"I don't know if Yao Chu wants to capture me and make me a soldier. In this situation, I can't resist and can only obey his orders...

When I'm not around, you all need to be more careful, don't go out of the city, don't rush to be the first, and hide behind others when defending the city. If you have ten points of strength, just use six. If you see the situation is not good, run, and kneel down if you can't run!

If you all die, even if I am lucky enough to survive, I will not be able to return to Yunci Cave to see the elders!"

At this point, Cai Zhang paused for a moment. Although he felt extremely pained, he still spoke reluctantly:
"We have been friends for many years. I have some money that I have buried under the big willow tree in the cave. I asked Toad to keep it for me. I was originally planning to go to Hehuan Cave to polish some merits. If I can survive this battle, you guys..."

Several servants were in tears. They wiped their tears and pricked up their ears to take notes.

I was afraid that I would miss a word and fail to pass the test of the old toad in the cave, and get no money.

"You are a bunch of killer dogs!"

The veins on Cai Zhang's forehead throbbed. After a sigh, he jumped up without delay and flew into the dragon boat.

This dragon boat is a magical instrument of the immortal way. Not only is it extremely fast, but the fake dragon spirit on the boat is not easy to deal with. With a powerful claw strike, mountains collapsed and rivers dried up. Even those martial arts masters outside the city were afraid of it.

After getting on the dragon boat, Cai Zhang, led by the boy, went around and around and finally arrived at a spacious hall.

Cai Zhang saw six Taoists talking in the hall. Three of them looked weak and pale. They were obviously the three Taoists who had just left the city to challenge the enemy.

"Even if I'm included, there are seven of us in total. All the real people in Faliang City are gathered here, and three of them are injured. How can we fight them?"

Cai Zhang complained in his heart, but he did not stop moving. He bowed to the Taoist in black clothes at the top and said respectfully:
"I have met Master Yao Chu."

The Taoist in black clothes had a handsome face and a long beard. He wore a green crown on his head and cloud boots on his feet. His aura was the most powerful in the place.

Seeing that Cai Zhang took the initiative to greet him with a very respectful look, Taoist Yao Chu in black clothes would not ignore him. He eagerly took Cai Zhang's hand and invited him to take a seat.

"It's over. This is really a conscription..."

When Cai Zhang saw Yao Chu's attentiveness, his eyes darkened.

Yao Chu is a second-level Jindan Zhenren, an elder of Lingying Temple, and also the defender of Faliang City and several surrounding cities.

After Ban Su's sudden rebellion, Ge Lu's Yuchen Dao lineage suffered heavy casualties.

Until now, it is only thanks to the Lingying Temple's strategic maneuvers and desperate battles that Ge Lu's Yuchen Daoist lineage can barely maintain the current situation and avoid complete collapse.

Cai Zhang was born in Yunci Cave, a force that had nothing to do with Yuchen.

But given Ge Lu's situation, Lingying Temple naturally wanted to win over Yunci Cave so that the two sides could become allies and fight against Ban Su together.

"In this critical situation, Master Cai is willing to stay in the city to defend against the enemy. This kindness is beyond words. Please accept my greeting. If we can survive this time, we, the Yuchen Dao Sect, are willing to form an eternal alliance with the Yunci Cave and swear not to abandon each other!"

Yao Chu stroked his beard with emotion, took the lead in picking up the golden cup offered by the boy, and drank it all in one gulp.

The five Taoist masters followed suit, and the atmosphere in the field suddenly became a lot more relaxed, which was very different from before.

"I am not the ancestor of the family. Even if I want to agree, I cannot make the decision..."

Cai Zhang was helpless, but he didn't dare not refuse to drink, so he could only force a smile and nod repeatedly.

The situation in Gelu is now in chaos. The Yuchen Taoist sect headed by Lingying Temple is fighting with Ban Suzheng. In the chaotic times, no one can stay out of it.

Cai Zhang had come to Faliang City to pay a visit to Yao Chu on the orders of his ancestor, in order to avoid making the situation too tense for both sides, and also to observe the situation.

Unexpectedly, not long after arriving as a guest in Faliang City, Ban Su divided his troops into several groups and attacked with almost all his might, as if he wanted to wipe out the Yuchen Taoist lineage completely.

This not only made Yao Chu and others extremely anxious, but also caused great harm to Cai Zhang.

In fact, he was not so noble as to live and die with Yao Chu and others. He just sent several letters in secret to explain his identity, but the martial arts masters who besieged the city did not respond.

It was as if the people besieging the city had already made up their minds to wipe out Cai Zhang as well, and put an end to it all...

"The Lord of Shilong Mountain and his wife, the Lord of Lingshui Sect, Yao Chu and two elders of Lingying Temple, and I have to be included, a total of seven golden elixirs..."

The masters sat down as host and guest. Cai Zhang took the initiative to talk to Yao Chu while secretly observing him and thinking in his mind:
"There are only six martial arts furnaces outside the city. Seven against six. I am clearly at an advantage. How did the fight turn out like this? Is the Panlong Staff in Huang Zan's hand really so powerful that even Yao Chu, an orthodox immortal, is no match for him?"

Those martial arts practitioners outside the city are following the path of divine and demonic martial arts.

The realm of the furnace in martial arts corresponds to the golden elixir in the immortal way.

Although Huang Zan was one of Ban Su's most important generals and had long been famous in Gelu, what he ultimately learned was the martial arts of gods and demons, not the Gangsha martial arts that could be equal to the orthodox immortal martial arts, so his innate foundation was inferior.

In the past, whenever Yao Chu faced Huang Zan, he always had to gain the upper hand.

Huang Zan often needs a helper who is a martial artist at the Honglu Realm to defeat Yao Chu, and Cai Zhang knows this very well.

But during the siege this time, Huang Zan had a huge dragon-shaped stick in his hand from nowhere, and he displayed his great power. Even Yao Chu, an orthodox golden elixir, was no match for him.

After several battles, Yao Chu was inevitably defeated and fled, and needed someone to rescue him to avoid serious injuries.

"Where did Ban Su get such a treasure? Maybe it was the help of Zhenwu Mountain that allowed Huang Zan to obtain this treasure. The world is so big, but the backer is the most important after all!"

When Cai Zhang thought of this, he couldn't help but feel excited and his knees went weak. He wished he could take his place. It was only after Yao Chu called him several times that he came back to his senses.

"I am so ashamed, so ashamed... Thinking of the current situation, Cai is really worried. I hope you can forgive me for any inappropriate behavior."

Cai Zhang covered his face with his sleeves and sighed sadly.

"Brother Cai is indeed a good friend of ours!" Yao Chu also sighed, and hurriedly held Cai Zhang's hands, expectantly saying: "In this situation, I wonder what Brother Cai has to teach me?"

Cai Zhang was surprised and didn't understand what he meant.

Yao Chu asked again: "Did any words come from Yunci Cave?"

Cai Zhang's face turned bitter, and he confided: "Brother Dao, I asked you a long time ago! The ancestor just wanted me to wait and see, but he didn't tell me how long I should wait and see! It's bitter, Cai is also bitter in his heart!"

"..."

Yao Chu and other Taoist masters looked at each other in silence.

"Master Yao, in this situation, I wonder what good plan your temple master has?" At this moment, Cai Zhang suddenly became alert and stood up abruptly: "Faliang City is an important town, and it is in a mutually supportive relationship with the Black Whale Sect in the east. If this city is lost, the Black Whale Sect will be isolated and it will not last long!"

He stared at Yao Chu with his eyes: "Your master is a senior Taoist master. If we lose the two important places of Faliang and Xuanjing Sect, it will be difficult to seize the initiative in the battle of Gelu. Now you and I are in the same boat, I hope Master Yao will speak frankly!"

Yao Chu and other Taoist masters laughed awkwardly, and then Yao Chu took out a map.

Cai Zhang took it and looked at it, and was so shocked that he almost lost his balance.

"Brother Cai, you may not know yet. The day before yesterday, the old temple master led his people to help, but was stopped by Ban Su who led his troops himself. The two sides fought several fierce battles, but the outcome was unclear. The Black Whale Sect was also besieged by heavy troops..."

The master of Shilong Mountain was a tall and thin Taoist priest with a bitter face. He sighed and said, "Faliang City can only save itself now. There is no help from anyone."

"Where did Ban Su get so many people? Oh, right, Zhenwu Mountain, it must be Zhenwu Mountain!"

Cai Zhang said in panic, "But what about Yu Chen? You all have a backer behind you, a big backer who can reach the sky! The situation has come to this point, and Yu Chen hasn't taken action yet?"

"..."

Yao Chu didn't know how to answer. Although all the gates of Ge Lu had been destroyed, the old abbot still used his connections to quickly spread the news of Ge Lu.

However, such a long time had passed and there was still no news from the Yuchen Sect, which made Yao Chu despair.

"It is useless to think too much, just look at the things in front of you."

Yao Chu shook his head, calmed his mind and said, "Huang Zan now has a treasure in his hands. Although I can't do anything to him, this city is protected by a forbidden magic array. It's not easy for him to break into the city. Only this beast has been acting a little strange recently. He set up three altars in front of the array. From my perspective, I can't see what the altars are used for."

The reason why the three immortals came out of the city to challenge was because Yao Chu was very afraid of the three altars and wanted to catch the martial artists outside the city off guard and destroy the altars with the force of thunder. However, Huang Zan outside the city had been on guard for a long time, and the attack was eventually stopped.

Fortunately, Yao Chu was careful and did not use all his strength.

Otherwise, if there is no one in the city to guide them and operate the magic circle, they will not only return in disgrace, but also leave several lives outside the city.

"That altar is indeed a bit strange. In my opinion, it looks a bit like a method to collect corpse qi and lonely souls, but it is not quite right..."

Seeing that there was indeed no way forward, Cai Zhang could only helplessly focus on the present and discuss the origins of the altar outside the city with a group of Taoist masters.

In this depressing and solemn atmosphere, three days passed in a flash.

This day.

Outside the central army tent outside the city.

Six martial artists at the Honglu Realm, led by Huang Zan, gathered together. They stood respectfully with their hands hanging down and their heads lowered, surrounding a crystal jade stele about ten feet high, as if they were waiting for something.

After a while, a faint light seemed to emerge from the depths of the crystal jade.

The light particles became brighter and larger. After just a few dozen breaths, they illuminated the entire room, like a nebula floating in the sky.

A voice from deep within the crystal jade said:

"Six ovens can't take down a small city, and I have to do it myself. Huang Zan, you said it yourself, don't you deserve to die?"

As soon as this voice came out, all the cultivators in the tent fell to their knees. Huang Zan, whose life was threatened, kowtowed repeatedly and begged for mercy.

"Forget it. Since Ge Lu is something my cousin told me about personally, it's very serious. I'll go there and come back to deal with you after I conquer the city."

The crystal jade suddenly trembled, spiritual energy surged, and a figure walked out from it slowly.

He first glanced inside the tent and saw that all the cultivators were kneeling respectfully on the ground. The corners of his mouth curled up in a sarcastic smile.

"Here's the Panlong stick my cousin gave me. Bring it here."

He kicked Huang Zan who was standing nearby and said bluntly, "You idiot got my precious treasure, but you can't even do anything to a few side door golden elixirs. You are such a useless waste!"

"..."

Although Huang Zan came from a martial arts background, he was a successful and powerful man after all. Moreover, he was Ban Su's adopted son. He had followed Ban Su to learn martial arts since he was young and had been with him day and night. His status was no less than that of an ordinary person, so how could he have suffered such humiliation?
But even though he was offended and insulted like this, Huang Zan did not dare to get angry.

He simply took out the Panlong stick obediently, crawled forward on his knees, and presented it with both hands.

The man who walked out of the crystal jade was named Zhou Hong. Although he was also at the Honglu realm, he was a disciple of Zhenwu Mountain. He was also a cousin of the true disciple Cui Ju, and they had a very close friendship.

This also means that Huang Zan cannot offend him verbally no matter what.

Otherwise, if Zhou Hong was angered, even Ban Su would not be able to protect Huang Zan.

"Yao Chu and the other remnants of Yu Chen are just minor scabies, and it is difficult for them to compete with your majesty. However, the magic formation in Faliang City is quite tricky..."

Huang Zan raised his head.

In front of him was a young man with a fair complexion and a heroic look.

The man was wearing a turquoise armor and a red robe that looked like a blood cloud, looking mighty and majestic, but there was a long scar between his eyebrows extending to his left lip, which ruined his appearance. His eyes were gloomy, making people afraid to approach him.

Huang Zan asked cautiously, "May I ask, sir, whether there is any decree from the Lord?"

"It's just a small matter, why bother you to ask about it? Since I dare to come here, I must be fully confident."

Zhou Hong spoke impatiently, but his face was filled with eagerness: "What about the three altars I ordered you to build? Have they been lost?"

"No, no."

"Then beat the drums to gather the troops, ring the bells and wave the flags!"

Zhou Hong waved his hand proudly:

"Call all the soldiers, and let you watch how I defeated the enemy, won merit, and returned to the sect in triumph!"

……

……

Arrows were shooting at us like a torrential rain, with colorful lights flashing continuously and rumbling sounds coming one after another.

Huang Zan saw that his troops had been attacking the city for a long time without making any progress. Although he had previously told several of his colleagues not to worry, he could not bear it any longer when he saw this scene.

Although our people are far superior to the Yuchen Daoist sect in Faliang City, there is still a layer of magic circle restriction between the two sides.

Trying to rely on his men to deplete the vitality of the magic circle would undoubtedly be a painstaking effort like sharpening iron into a needle, and the gain would not outweigh the loss.

As if seeing Huang Zan's doubts, Zhou Hong sneered and said disdainfully:
"What's the hurry?"

He took out a small cloth bag and poured it into the air, shouting softly. Suddenly, billowing white smoke came out of the three altars, rising into the sky and connecting into one.

Huang Zan saw that what flew out of the cloth bag were a group of green-eyed insects, about the size of rice grains. When combined with the white smoke, the bodies of the green-eyed insects immediately grew to the size of a thumb and grew six wings, looking extremely ferocious.

As Zhou Hong pointed his finger, the group of evil insects appeared like a dark cloud covering the sky, and swarmed towards the city-protecting magic circle, biting at them with their ferociousness, which frightened Huang Zan.

"This is a secret technique that I have painstakingly cultivated in recent years. When this insect is combined with corpse qi, a magical power will emerge, which is specifically designed to break the defensive formation!"

The "puff" sounds came one after another, like the sound of chewing metal, harsh and unpleasant.

Seeing that the aura of the magic circle had weakened after only a few dozen breaths, Zhou Hong could no longer conceal his emotions and couldn't help but burst into laughter:
"What orthodox immortal way, what Xuanjie Zhengchuan, is this all? It's nothing more than this! If I had mastered this method in the past, Ge Chengbian would not have been as powerful as he is today. He would have been killed by my punch and turned into mud under my feet!"

The evil insects were pressing very hard, and Yao Chu, Cai Zhang and others in the city would not sit idly by and watch them destroy the magic circle.

But no matter how they used their magical powers, they could only disperse the evil insect into a handful of corpse gas.

Not long after, the corpse qi surged, and the evil insects that had just been killed were reborn again, and they were simply endless!
"As the saying goes, 'qi follows form, form follows qi'. This is a mass of corpse qi mixed with masculine blood qi. How can such a lowly method break my magic?"

As time went by, Yao Chu, Cai Zhang and others in Faliang City looked dejected and frightened.

Like fish on a chopping board, just waiting to be slaughtered at will.

Zhou Hong withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and laughed:

"After mastering this method, Ge Chengbian and Yan Feng are just people with empty reputations! From now on, there will be a place for me, Zhou Hong, in the Eight Realms of the Zhenwu Heavenly Emperor!"

Huang Zan and other martial arts masters were so shocked by the evil nature of this evil insect that they broke out in cold sweats and quickly prostrated themselves on the ground.

All kinds of compliments are heard endlessly, and the attitude is extremely humble.

"I have been practicing martial arts since I was young. I entered a beast pit a while ago and fought with lions, tigers, bears and tigers just to hone my skills. In order to obtain the True Vacuum Earth Demon, I narrowly escaped death several times..."

Zhou Hong raised his hand and clenched it, muttering to himself, as if he wanted to pick up the sun and the sky above his head in his palm.

At this moment, his figure seemed to become extremely tall in Huang Zan's eyes.

The shadow swept down, as heavy as a mountain, pressing down on the cultivators in the field, making it difficult for them to breathe and their heartbeats accelerated!
“Nourishing blood, strengthening qi, refining tendons, changing bones, changing marrow, and then gathering evil spirits to form a furnace.

Along the way, I cut through mountains and built bridges over rivers. Ge Chengbian slashed me with a sword that year, and I have kept the wound and never healed it. It is to warn myself, I——"

Although Zhou Hong's voice was low, his fighting spirit was surging like fire, burning fiercely.

The blood and energy all over his body transformed into billowing smoke that rose into the sky, stirring up the wind and clouds!
And just when his energy was at its peak, a flash of red light suddenly flew over!

In a flash, the dragon-shaped stick suddenly emitted a loud bang and shone brightly, but just as it flew into the air, it fell down powerlessly, emitting only unwilling wails in vain.

Zhou Hong's voice suddenly stopped.

The needle drop can be heard in the field.

After a few breaths, in front of the horrified gaze of Huang Zan and others, Zhou Hong's head was drooping little by little.

After a muffled sound, it finally fell down, rolled a few times on the ground, and then landed lightly at Huang Zan's feet.

Zhou Hong still had a cold smile on his face, and his brows were full of vigor and vitality, as if he were a living person, and it seemed that he would speak at any time.

However, the headless corpse lying miserably on the ground not far away and the bloodstains on Huang Zan's face reminded everyone that Zhou Hong had just been clearly beheaded by a sword and was dead beyond redemption.

At this moment, a short thunder sounded from the corner of the sky, breaking through the clouds and disappearing in a flash!
"Fifth Realm! Fifth Realm! This is the thunderous sound of the sword energy of a sword cultivator!"

At this moment, several martial artists who had been practicing for a long time suddenly woke up from their dreams, screaming loudly with cold sweat pouring down their foreheads.

There was no time to figure out why the sword energy and thundering sound were so powerful. Huang Zan tightly grasped the Panlong stick. Fortunately, this treasure did not resist and let himself be driven.

He first formed a formation with the remaining five Honglu martial artists to protect each other, then he looked carefully and saw that the Abi Sword was swiping across the sky like a dragon, shining with a fierce red light, and it made a whistling sound before heading straight to the west.

At this moment, the heavy clouds suddenly broke and the sky was filled with light.

Huang Zan was surprised to see flags waving suddenly in the corner of the sky, with mysterious light rolling, and tens of thousands of soldiers holding swords and halberds, guarding a magnificent golden chariot.

Where the troops passed, even the strong wind in the sky stopped, and nothing could be done.

The golden chariot moved slowly forward, and the mighty soldiers parted like waves in the sea, bowing to the majestic chariot and performing the ceremony with great respect.

The Abi Sword also flew over and fell into the golden chariot, and was easily grasped by a jade-like hand.

Then the owner of that hand stepped out of the golden chariot and stood in the sky.

In the brilliant light and mist, Huang Zan could not see the other person's face clearly. He could only hear the voice coming from afar, which was very calm, like a still well:

"Noisy."

……

……

(End of this chapter)