The Word of Heaven

Chapter 198 Blood and Fire
The study suddenly became quiet, the autumn wind blew in through the window, and a chill gradually grew.

The subordinate who had been excited a moment ago now had an extremely stiff expression on his face. His thick lips had not yet closed, but no sound came out of them. He looked like a sculpture.

General Wang didn't care. He returned to his desk and personally picked up the information sent by the Sky Patrol and began to read it.

"If you think this idea is inappropriate, you can speak up."

His tone was casual and gentle, and actually no different from before: "I just think this matter is quite interesting, and I am also quite curious about the Three Lives Pagoda, so I just mentioned it briefly."

Among the three great generals of the Qin Dynasty, General Wang was quite different from the other two colleagues. No matter a hundred years ago or today, he had never been labeled as violent, cruel, wise, or elegant.

His reputation is often associated with loyalty.

It is precisely because of the word loyalty that he has been able to sit firmly on the northern border of the Qin Dynasty, as unshakable as a mountain, for decades.

Loyalty is the most dazzling word. However, for the trusted subordinates who have been with the general for many years, this is just the most superficial and simple side of the general.

How could a general who was only loyal be able to find himself in such a complicated situation, swimming calmly and at ease like a fish in a lake?

After a long period of silence and thinking, the subordinate finally gave his answer.

“It’s not impossible, but it’s better to put it on hold.”

He said seriously, "It is less than twenty days before the time Yu Yang gave. The new leader of the Tianming Sect is very likely to have entered the wilderness and headed for that place. Instead of wasting energy to intervene at this time, it is better to wait for the opportunity and let him sit down and become your guest when he returns."

General Wang took over the conversation, gently touched the gray hair on his temples, and said slowly: "This can be considered a legitimate reason... Then let's do it."

After saying this, the middle-aged man, who already looked old, sat down with his eyes half closed, as if he was so tired that he was about to fall asleep.

Many things appeared in his sea of ​​consciousness. It was his unwavering loyalty to the Emperor, and also the depression, annoyance and melancholy that had accumulated from his state of mind being stuck in for decades.

Over the years, his loyal subordinates would remove all the mirrors in the general's mansion and wherever he traveled, because he didn't like to see himself getting old. He was once the youngest of the three great generals of the Qin Dynasty, but now the strong wind and cold frost in the north have made his hair turn white and he looks so old.

The traces left by the years made him more anxious, and people inevitably need comfort at such times.

In the past, this consolation was beautiful women and fine wine.

Now there is only one thing - breaking through the realm.

Or it could be a beautiful prophecy about breaking through.

He hoped to get such a prophecy from the leader of destiny.

……

……

The vastness of the wilderness lies in its desolation and monotony. It has been three days since the caravan left the important border town, but the scenery before them has not changed at all. Everyone seems to be going around in circles in the same place.

This feeling initially brings uneasiness, which is then replaced by boredom and emptiness, and finally you start to kill time.

However, this wilderness is so desolate and lonely that even if one looks far away, one still cannot see the majestic figures of the mountains. People cannot find the scenery to see through, and can only focus their eyes on each other.

As night fell, the caravan began to choose a spot to set up camp as usual. The red-hot charcoal in the firewood pile burst into flames, bringing an increasingly precious feeling of warmth.

Gu Zhuo had already taken off his hat, but no one recognized him. His face, simply covered with Taoist magic, made him look quite ordinary. There was nothing special about him. He was just an ordinary practitioner with a lukewarm temperament.

Although this Taoist method he created temporarily was not as good as the Flowing Water Body, it was enough to make the people present unable to see through it.

There were three other practitioners similar to Gu Zhuo in the caravan, all of whom were in the Yangshen and Chengyi realms. Their purpose in following the caravan to the wilderness was very clear, which was to hone their own realms in order to make further progress.

On the surface, the four people's goals were naturally the same, and they naturally formed a temporary small group. They did not seek to help each other at critical moments, but at least they could unite at certain moments in daily life.

"There are still about four days to go. By then, the situation will not be as peaceful as it is now. It is very easy for something to go wrong."

"Is it because we entered the territory of evil cultivators?"

"Not only the evil cultivators, but also the barbarians will try to attack the caravan."

"So there are still wild people whose spines haven't been broken?"

"You'd better put away this stupid idea. The vast majority of the barbarians are indeed willing to be dogs in order to survive. Only a few of them have the idea of ​​resistance. But you can't forget one thing."

"what's up?"

"The barbarians are really fertile. Even if only 20% or 30% of them hate us, it actually makes up a huge group."

"Have you ever seen it?"

"I have... If I hadn't been lucky, you wouldn't be able to see me now."

At this point, the woman who was leading the conversation looked dazed, and recalled the scene at that time: "Those barbarians whose bodies had already begun to change treated themselves as mounts, carrying their own people on their backs, roaring and charging at you one after another, as if they didn't know what death was, as if they just wanted to splash their blood on you."

She tightened her thick clothes, as if she was chilled by the night wind, and whispered, "Actually, those barbarians are not that strong. As long as I can stay calm, there is nothing to be afraid of."

Others were puzzled, wondering why you said you almost died before, and asked tactfully, "So why do you remember it until now?"

The woman was silent for a moment, then said, "Because this has happened more than once. I watched those barbarians who looked like humans constantly transform themselves into monsters and rush towards me. It was like an endless nightmare. I couldn't wake up until the whole world was dyed red with blood."

Gu Zhuo did not participate in this conversation.

He listened quietly, no corresponding images appeared in his sea of ​​consciousness, and his heart was always calm.

"Why do you want to come to the wasteland again?"

Someone asked in confusion.

The woman was silent for a long time, and then said seriously: "The one who tied the bell must be the one who can untie it. If I can't get out of this situation that once trapped me, I'm afraid I will never be able to break through to the Chengyi realm in this lifetime."

After the words were spoken, there was silence around the fire.

The two people who had spoken to me earlier suddenly recalled what their elders had said - the wasteland is very likely the most suitable place in the world for practitioners to break through to the realm of Chengyi.

They used to think that this sentence only referred to the unique scenery of the wilderness, but now it seems... the teachers and commanders were not referring to the vast sky here, but the endless blood shed by the people of the wilderness.

And there is hatred.

Using this thing to sharpen one's mind is the best thing in the world.

……

……

Gu Zhuo said nothing, and the other three lost interest and did not want to talk about the life and death of the barbarians anymore.

So the topic fell on the evil and unorthodox ways, but ultimately it could not avoid the existence of the savages.

"Evil cultivators are also human beings, so naturally the barbarians have a deep blood feud with them."

"Why are the gates of the evil sects mostly in the wilderness? It's because the evil cultivators like to use the people of the wilderness as consumables. Whether they are refining evil artifacts such as soul-summoning banners, or simply using them as slaves, they can meet their daily cultivation needs."

"…Why do I suddenly feel that our group has become noble?"

"Of course it is noble. Otherwise, why would so many barbarians be willing to trade with us? Compared to those evil heretics, we are doing business according to the rules. As long as they can provide the goods, we will not turn our backs on them. Isn't this a great gift from heaven for them?"

For some reason, the three people sitting by the fire no longer had the previous depressed look in their eyes, and they were so proud of themselves that they felt honored.

Gu Zhuo couldn't comment on this.

Fortunately, he remained silent throughout the whole journey, so the other three thought he was dumb, or had practiced some kind of meditation or something like that, and would not talk to him at this time.

He raised his head, gazed at the starry sky in the wasteland, and listened to the sounds of all things.

Everything here is different from anywhere else in the world.

Always silent, often speechless.

Even Gu Zhuo took a long time to get them to speak and stop being so taciturn.

Then the night wind brought a message.

"You're being targeted."

……

……

The words were said tonight, but the incident happened in the afternoon of the next day.

As the caravan carriage passed a winding curve and arrived at a freshwater lake recorded on the map, preparing to carry out necessary supplies, someone was surprised to find the figure of an evil cultivator appeared on the other side of the lake.

With a whistle, the entire caravan was immediately on alert. The evil cultivator smiled and greeted everyone, then turned around and left.

After the figure of the evil cultivator disappeared, the leader of the caravan rushed to a carriage as quickly as possible and talked to a powerful person in the Guiyi Realm who was meditating inside. He got a piece of news that made him look very unhappy.

Judging from the aura leaked out by that evil cultivator, he has not yet entered the state of unity, but this is not the point. The point is that he is a member of the Chiyin Sect.

The Chiyin Sect is quite remarkable.

The most amazing thing is that, although all the evil sects in the wilderness are full of evil, the Chiyin Sect is able to stand out among them, making its peers applaud and praise it.

One of the things that merchants least want to encounter in the wilderness is being targeted by the Chiyin Cult, second only to having to pay tribute to the border troops on their return journey.

"If the Chi Yin Cult really sets its sights on the caravan and wants to attack it, I hope you won't just stand by and watch."

The leader of the caravan warned Gu Zhuo and the other three, "The Chi Yin Sect is not like other evil sects. If you encounter other evil sects, at worst you can die. But if you encounter the Chi Yin Sect, you will not rest in peace even if you die. So we must leave alive, okay?"

This request was not refused.

Because in the evening of that day, the evil practitioners of the Chiyin Sect appeared in front of the caravan members in the afterglow of the setting sun.

More than a dozen bright red sedans were lifted up by evil spirits refined by evil power, floating in the air, maintaining two unrelated parallel lines on the left and right of the caravan, and moving forward together.

What is even more strange is that after the sun set, the disciples of the Chiyin Sect took out the gongs and drums and started playing them.

The sounds of gongs and drums echoed across the wilderness, making it extremely lively.

It was like a wedding. But it was a ghost marriage.

That night, no one in the caravan slept.

……

……

The celebratory sounds did not fade away until the next morning.

However, the disciples of the Chiyin Sect did not leave. They still maintained the two parallel lines and began to sing a sad song.

If we ignore the current situation, this song can actually be said to be nice to listen to, and it can definitely not be described with the four words "ghosts howling and wolves howling".

However, the people in the caravan had no time to listen and were all anxious.

The chief went to the carriage again and asked in a low voice.

After a moment, a calm and proud voice came from the carriage.

"There is only one person in the Guiyi realm, I can kill him instantly, and you can deal with the rest by yourselves."

Hearing this, the merchant leader heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I will go inform those four people now and ask them to help out later."

There was another sound in the carriage.

"Forget about that young man who seems to be dumb."

The merchant leader looked surprised and asked, "Why?"

The man in the car gave his own explanation.

"The day before yesterday, when the four of them gathered around the campfire to chat, when they talked about the barbarians and the evil cultivators, the mute kept aloof from the matter. He must be a traveling disciple from a large sect, because the Taoist method he used to conceal his appearance was so profound that it was visible to the naked eye."

"Aren't disciples from large sects better?"

"That's true, but this mute is most likely someone who is being protected. He just heard that training in the wilderness is the best way to break through, so he ran over here without knowing the immensity of the world. He has never seen a truly cruel scene, so his Dao heart can easily not withstand the shock."

"I understand what you mean."

"It's better to understand that I don't want to be forced to risk getting hurt to save people when I'm fighting with the people of the Chiyin Sect."

The merchant leader felt a little regretful and turned away.

The cultivator sitting in the carriage lifted the curtain and glanced at Gu Zhuo inconspicuously, thinking that this was really a big trouble.

……

……

Gu Zhuo sat with his sword in his arms.

A moment ago, the merchant leader had come over and told the four people the general plan.

Among them, the task given to Gu Zhuo was to protect the formation and he did not have to break into the formation with everyone else.

He heard everything that came out of the carriage clearly but he didn't care, and of course he didn't have the idea of ​​proving himself.

It would be best if things could be solved so simply.

The agreed time is getting closer and closer, and the other forces that were originally in the ancient battlefield must be on their way to the depths of the wilderness.

Whether compared with the royal family of Northern Yan, General Wang who was stationed at the border of Great Qin, or even the two major sects of Yishui and Qingjing Temple, he was too insignificant with only his own strength.

If not, why would he go to Yishui to meet the old man in the wheelchair and borrow Qie Man?

Otherwise I won't feel at ease.

……

……

A flying sword suddenly appeared under the autumn sun, emitting a dazzling light that was impossible to look directly at.

Before this, everyone in the caravan who had been prepared had closed their eyes. Only the evil spirits of the Chiyin Sect following on both sides faced the sword light head-on, being caught off guard and having no way to avoid it.

The sad song instantly turned into wails, and the evil spirits refined by the barbarians dissipated like winter snow meeting the spring sun. More than a dozen sedan chairs on both sides of the caravan fell instantly, but before that, the flying sword had already broken through the air, and the sound of the sword pierced through the sky, piercing through one of the sedan chairs with incredible precision.

boom!
A loud bang drowned out the screams, and the sedan chair engraved with the formation shattered into pieces in an instant. Wood chips and iron blocks were swept into the powerful air wave, plowing the surrounding land like a hoe!
The sky was filled with dust and smoke, but the red dress was still so conspicuous.

That person was undoubtedly an elder of the Chiyin Sect.

This powerful man, who had already entered the state of unity and had a great reputation in the wilderness, now felt an empty feeling in his chest!
Not to mention the internal organs, even a bone was gone, and the scenery behind was clearly visible.

Until this moment, the other disciples of the Chiyin Sect still had not fully reacted. They had never expected that there was someone in the caravan who could wield such a domineering sword.

For some reason, the woman who had chatted by the campfire at night now looked just as pale.

The next moment, the rest of the practitioners in the caravan began to take action.

How could someone who had the courage to go to the wilderness be a true weakling? No matter how notorious the Chiyin Cult was, it was not enough for them to surrender.

There is only one force in this land that is qualified to allow them to do this - the Qin Border Army.

Since they are not the cavalry under the command of that great general, what is there to be afraid of?

For a moment, the sound of charging and killing was deafening.

Gu Zhuo sat next to the carriage.

He put on the hat again and looked around the caravan quietly, without forgetting what he had promised.

Not far away, the swordsman sitting in the carriage was regulating his breathing.

That sword was an extremely heavy burden on him, otherwise how could he instantly kill a practitioner of the same realm? Now he only had the strength to protect himself and would not be able to draw his sword again in a short period of time.

Fortunately, Guiyijing is not an ordinary person, and the Chiyin Sect is not a righteous leader like Yishui who is famous all over the world. It is impossible for them to send two such practitioners to a caravan.

This idea is not wrong, it is correct.

Two quarters of an hour later, the fight between the caravan and the Chiyin Cult ended, with the latter's defeat.

The dozen or so sedan chairs had been torn into pieces, and even the Chiyin Sect disciples sitting inside had been killed, literally killing no one. In contrast, the caravan had not lost many lives.

After searching for the spoils, it was not yet dark, so the caravan continued on its way.

That night, a celebratory banquet was held with the lighting of a bonfire.

Those who had comradeship in arms were no longer so unfamiliar. They quickly became familiar with each other through blood and fire, and raised their glasses to celebrate the victory of this battle.

Only two people stayed out of it.

One of them was Gu Zhuo, and the other was the sword cultivator who did not want his peace to be disturbed, but the treatment they received was naturally different.

Halfway through the banquet, the woman who had described the beautiful scenery of the wilderness came to Gu Zhuo.

"I can see you're a little frustrated."

She said soothingly, "But this is definitely not us rejecting you."

Gu Zhuo glanced at her and wondered what depression was.
The woman smiled, stretched out her hand, and said, "I forgot to tell you my name before. My name is He Tinghe."

"There is still more than a month to go and a lot of things to happen. I believe we will be able to get familiar with each other soon."

She said sincerely, “Live and die together is a joke, but playing together as a joke can be real.”

Gu Zhuo still didn't speak.

He Tinghe was not angry. She kept a smile on her ordinary face and said, "How about I pour you a glass of wine? It would be too embarrassing for you to sit here alone and do nothing."

Gu Zhuo remained silent, but no longer cold.

He raised his hand and shook the wine bag in his hand to indicate that it was not necessary.

He Tinghe was slightly startled, and said bitterly and self-deprecatingly: "It turns out that you don't want to drink, but I was just being sentimental."

After saying this, she left Gu Zhuo naturally and walked towards the bonfire again.

Soon after, a man hugged her waist and started dancing to the cheers of the crowd. Her clothes were blown by the night breeze and reflected by the flickering firelight, which looked very beautiful.

Gu Zhuo watched the scene quietly, without any emotion in his eyes.

……

……

That night, He Tinghe and the man lived in a tent.

Everyone knows what is going to happen, so they look away to show respect and refrain from peeking or looking at others.

However, shortly after the fire in the tent went out, a familiar chilling aura suddenly enveloped the entire camp.

Along with it came the sound of gongs and drums, as if to say that the wedding banquet was not over yet.

The man sitting in the car had a gloomy face.

Gu Zhuo raised his head slightly.

Looking to the sky.

It will rain.

　Chapter 5500

　　
　
(End of this chapter)