Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

The situation is not optimistic. My lord, please be careful and make a decision as soon as possible!
After reading Lu Su's secret report, Gu Rubing's face turned extremely ugly.

One of his worst fears has indeed come true! Cao Cao, that old fox, certainly won't let any possible opportunity slip by!
Almost at the same time he put down Lu Su's secret report, another urgent military intelligence report was presented to him—this was sent back by a spy responsible for monitoring the movements of the Anluo Empire.

Gu Rubing took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and reached out to pick up the second secret report.

The intelligence report came from spies monitoring the borders of the Anluo Empire, and its contents were equally alarming.

The 10,000 elite troops stationed by Sun Jian on the border have suddenly become more active recently! The intensity and scope of their patrols have increased significantly. What was originally just a routine border patrol is now almost constantly patrolling the border, with a clear sense of provocation and pressure.

Furthermore, several small cavalry groups, under the pretext of "pursuing bandits" or "losing their way," have repeatedly crossed the border to test the waters. Although no large-scale conflict has yet broken out, the atmosphere on the border has become increasingly tense, like a fully drawn bowstring, ready to explode at any moment!
"Sun Wentai...this vulture that smelled blood!"

Gu Rubing forced out these words through gritted teeth, a surge of pent-up anger almost bursting within him. Sun Jian's actions couldn't be clearer: he was waiting for an opportunity. Seeing the upheaval in Liangzhou and Gu Rubing's main force bogged down there, he couldn't wait to pounce, ready to seize the opportunity and tear a piece of the pie from the chaos!
The two urgent military reports struck Gu Rubing like two heavy hammer blows.

The situation he feared most and least wanted to see is becoming a reality at the fastest speed!

Although Penglai's conspiracy in Liangzhou was thwarted by their risky actions and an important stronghold was destroyed, this sudden blow may have stirred up a hornet's nest, prompting Cao Cao and Sun Jian, who were still observing and hesitating, to react more quickly and decisively!
Cao Cao wanted to take advantage of the situation and stab him in the back! Sun Jian wanted to fish in troubled waters and keep him at bay from the flank!
And what about himself? He led the main force and elite troops into the quagmire of Liangzhou, leaving the rear forces of Yizhou weak and relying entirely on Lu Su to hold them up.

If Cao Cao were truly determined to launch a massive attack on Yizhou at any cost, Lu Su's forces alone would likely be insufficient to effectively contain him for an extended period. Once Yizhou fell, he would completely lose his foundation, becoming like water without a source or a tree without roots.

In Liangzhou, the threat from Penglai has not been completely eliminated, and its key figures and true motives remain a mystery, leaving a huge mess to be dealt with.

With wolves in front, tigers behind, and jackals on the sides, surrounded by powerful enemies, Gu Rubing and his lone army could be trapped in a desperate situation of being attacked from three sides and ambushed from all sides in an instant!

A tremendous pressure washed over Gu Rubing like ice water, sending a chill through his body.

But he knew he must not panic at this moment!

His gaze suddenly shifted to the bamboo scrolls he had risked his life to seize from the cave on the table beside him, and to the old man who was being closely guarded in the corner, his face ashen.

These two things are incredibly important at this moment, and can be considered the key to breaking the deadlock!
We must obtain intelligence from these prisoners and bamboo slips immediately! Only by understanding Penglai's entire plan, their true strength and purpose, can we determine the extent to which Cao Cao and Sun Jian might intervene, and their most likely next move!
Time is no longer on his side!

"Zi Long!"

Gu Rubing turned around abruptly, his voice urgent and stern.

"The general is here!"

Zhao Yun immediately clasped his hands in response.

"You will personally be in charge of guarding that prisoner from Penglai! Double the manpower, and there can be absolutely no mistakes!"

Gu Rubing stared at Zhao Yun with sharp eyes.

"At the same time, find a way to get him to talk! Use every means possible to find out everything he knows—the distribution of Penglai's strongholds in Liangzhou, where their key figures are, what exactly the 'Tongtian' plan is, and whether they are colluding with Cao Cao and Sun Jian! I'll give you one night; by tomorrow morning, I want to see a preliminary statement!"

Zhao Yun's expression hardened, sensing the urgency in Gu Rubing's words, and he solemnly replied.

"Yun understands! He will do everything in his power!"

Without any hesitation, he turned around and strode towards the room where the prisoners were held. He gathered his reliable men and immediately began to plan the interrogation.

He knew that conventional methods might not be very effective for these people who had been brainwashed or were terrified of Penglai to the core, so he had to take some extraordinary measures.

After arranging the prisoners' affairs, Gu Rubing immediately addressed the accompanying scribe and several advisors who were somewhat versed in classical Chinese and divination.

"Follow me! Decipher these bamboo slips immediately! Do it tonight, without fail!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The men quickly obeyed.

A relatively quiet stone chamber inside the stronghold was quickly cleared out, and several bright oil lamps were lit.

With Gu Rubing personally overseeing the operation, the bamboo scrolls, stained with soot and a few dark red marks, were carefully laid out on the table.

The characters on the bamboo slips are not the commonly used clerical script or seal script, but a more ancient and obscure script, which contains a large number of distorted and strange runes and some strange patterns that are difficult to understand, making them look mysterious and ominous.

The interpretation work was extremely difficult. Several clerks and staff members huddled under the lamp, their brows furrowed, discussing and debating in hushed tones from time to time, and progress was extremely slow.

Gu Rubing sat patiently to the side, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, his gaze occasionally sweeping towards the door, as if waiting for news from Zhao Yun, or perhaps worried about the situation in Yizhou and the border.

Every minute and every second seems particularly long.

Time slipped away slowly in the oppressive silence and the occasional hushed discussions.

Outside the window, the night was deep.

After an unknown amount of time, an older staff member suddenly let out a suppressed gasp, his finger trembling as he pointed to a line of words on the bamboo slip and the runes beside it.

"My lord, look here! And here too!"

Gu Rubing immediately got up and went over.

As the advisors pieced together the fragmented information, a chilling conspiracy, far exceeding their worst expectations, gradually emerged from the ancient bamboo slips!
The bamboo slips repeatedly mention terms such as "earth veins," "spiritual source," and "energy nodes," and are accompanied by complex mountain and terrain maps.

It seems that Penglai believes that beneath the vast and seemingly desolate land of Liangzhou lies some ancient and powerful energy source!
Their fundamental goal is not simply to occupy land and establish a regime, but to seize, or even in some evil way, "activate" or "control" this enormous energy hidden underground!
The creation of the "Divine Marching Army" was far more complex than they had initially imagined. The bamboo slips mentioned that this transformation required a massive amount of "vital energy" and "soul" as "fuel" and "medium"!
This explains why the attacked tribes and caravans were slaughtered without exception—they were not only victims, but were also used as "raw materials" to create the "Divine March"!
Even more terrifying is that this evil refining process can only be carried out by combining it with special ley lines.

For example, the cave base they just destroyed was built on a so-called "yin evil vein" node.

Through the dark red pool water and the eerie rune array, the extracted life energy is combined with a certain power from the earth's veins to mass-produce those incredibly strong and fearless monsters! The bamboo slips even vaguely mention that land whose energy has been massively extracted by this secret method will gradually lose its vitality, becoming desolate and barren, where vegetation struggles to grow, birds and beasts disappear, and it will eventually become a true wasteland!

Penglai, for the sake of their plan, didn't care at all about completely destroying the life and livelihood of Liangzhou!
"These... inhuman beasts!"

A younger clerk, upon seeing this, couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath, his face turning pale.

However, that's not all.

The last part of the bamboo slips seems to record a grander plan, but the key parts are obviously missing. Perhaps it was destroyed in the chaos, or perhaps it was originally recorded on other bamboo slips.

They could only piece together incomprehensible fragments of words such as "reaching heaven," "guiding," and "door" from the disjointed sentences.

"The Sky-Piercing... Project?"

Gu Rubing murmured the word, his brows furrowed. Although key information was missing, the mere phrase "reaching the heavens" was enough to evoke countless unpleasant associations and send a chill down one's spine.

This plan seems closely related to the operation of seizing the earth's ley line energy, but it also seems to point to a grander and more terrifying goal.

The stone chamber fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the occasional crackling sound of the oil lamp burning.

Everyone was shocked by what was revealed in the bamboo slips—just the tip of the iceberg—and felt a chill run down their spines.

Penglai's ambitions extend far beyond a single province or region; their aspirations are likely far greater than anyone can imagine!
Just as Gu Rubing and his advisors were shaken by the horrifying information revealed on the bamboo slips, hurried but steady footsteps came from outside the stone chamber.

Zhao Yun, still carrying a faint scent of blood, strode in. His face showed signs of fatigue, but his eyes remained sharp as ever. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Gu Rubing and said in a deep voice.

"My lord, the old man has spoken."

Gu Rubing perked up and immediately looked away from the unsettling bamboo slips.

"Say!"

Zhao Yun organized his thoughts and replied, speaking quickly but clearly.

"At first, the old man was very stubborn, timid and cowardly, only wanting to die and not daring to reveal a single word. Later... he used some methods, and coupled with his shock and mental breakdown, he intermittently revealed some information."

He paused and continued.

"According to his confession, Penglai had been operating in Liangzhou for a long time, and there were many strongholds like the Qilian Mountain base that we just destroyed!"
That base was primarily responsible for the initial forging of the 'Divine Marching Army' and... the initial extraction of energy from the so-called 'Earth Vein Spirit Source,' making it one of the more important outer outposts.

This news made everyone in the stone chamber feel a chill.

If one Qilian Mountain base is already this troublesome, are there even more?

Zhao Yun's next words made the atmosphere extremely tense.

"He also mentioned that further west of Liangzhou, in a very secluded place, there exists an even more central and larger headquarters! It is personally overseen by an important figure from Penglai, who is responsible for the final tempering of the 'Divine Marching Army' and... the execution of the core ritual of the 'Sky-Reaching Project'!"

"The main altar..."

Gu Rubing repeated those two words in a low voice, feeling as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on him.

"Moreover," Zhao Yun's voice also carried a hint of solemnity.

"The old man mentioned in extreme fear that our attack on the Qilian Mountain base had caused too much of a commotion and had already alerted the headquarters!"

He speculated that the main altar might therefore accelerate certain steps of the 'Heavenly Connection Project' to prevent further unforeseen circumstances. They might even... send out 'protectors' even more powerful than the 'Divine Marching Army' to wipe out these 'interferers'!

A "protector" even more powerful than the "Divine March Army"? Is the plan being launched ahead of schedule?

The intelligence brought by Zhao Yun, together with the information deciphered from the bamboo slips, instantly outlined a larger, more dangerous, and more urgent threat!
All the intelligence, like a cold tide, instantly converged on Gu Rubing, impacting his mind.

He felt a bone-chilling cold that spread uncontrollably from his spine all the way to the top of his head, almost making him shiver.

What Penglai is after is not about conquering the world. They want to shake the foundation of Liangzhou and use the blood and souls of hundreds of millions of people as sacrifices to complete that so-called "heaven-reaching" evil magic!
In their eyes, Liangzhou, and even all living beings in the world, are nothing more than consumable materials to achieve their goals!
Time is running out! The enemy is not only not retreating because of the destruction of a stronghold, but may become even more dangerous and unpredictable due to their shock!

Gu Rubing waved his hand, signaling Zhao Yun and his advisors to leave for the time being, as he needed to calm down and think things through alone.

He was the only one left in the stone chamber, along with the huge map on the table depicting the situation in Liangzhou and its surrounding areas.

He slowly walked to the map, his gaze sweeping over the mountains, rivers, counties, and passes with the precision of a ruler.

The situation is clearer than ever before, but also more dangerous than ever before, like walking on a tightrope over a bottomless abyss.

On the one hand, Penglai's conspiracy is now clear, and its evil and harm far exceed that of ordinary wars, so it must be stopped!

Otherwise, if their evil deeds succeed, turning Liangzhou into a dead zone would be a minor matter; the terrifying consequences of their so-called "connecting to the heavens" would be unpredictable! At that time, perhaps no one in the world would be able to control them, and all living beings would become mere ant sacrifices. For both public and private reasons, for both reason and emotion, he could not stand idly by.

On the other hand, the power of Penglai is unfathomable.

If even a peripheral base has caused them so much trouble, what kind of dragon's den and tiger's lair must the main altar located in the mysterious western land be? The core figures in charge, and the "protectors" they may send, must be far more powerful than Tong Fei and his ilk! Going there rashly would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.

The more real and imminent threat came from Cao Cao behind them and Sun Jian on their flank!
These two sharp swords were already hanging overhead, their cold light gleaming, ready to fall at any moment! Yizhou was his foundation, and he absolutely could not afford to lose it!

retreat?

Should we immediately return to Yizhou, concentrate our forces to eliminate Cao Cao's threat, and stabilize our base? (End of Chapter)