Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

Chapter 382 The Tragic Story of Nangong Shi

General Nangong Shi of Xiqi led his army in a direct charge towards the Shang army camp. Because all the Xiqi soldiers had taken the antidote, they were not afraid of the plague.

Therefore, they charged forward without any hesitation, breaking through the camp gates in just a moment and heading straight into the camp.

Although most Taoist disciples had taken the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir, they were still subject to significant restrictions under such a severe plague.

Furthermore, cultivators are forbidden from directly killing mortal soldiers. This also restricts the actions of Daoist disciples, making it difficult for them to use their magical treasures and supernatural powers to annihilate the Xiqi army.

Although he was still capable of holding his own due to his own cultivation, the army of Xiqi was simply too large, swarming in like a flood.

Finally, Yunxiao had no choice but to set up the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation, which enveloped the entire Shang army camp.

This deterred the Xiqi army from further battle, forcing them to retreat back to Xiqi City. The crisis posed by the rebels was thus temporarily averted.

However, without a way to completely eradicate the plague, these hundreds of thousands of soldiers will eventually die on Jinji Ridge.

Suddenly, a clear cry of a roc rang out from the sky. Everyone's spirits lifted, and they saw Yang Jian descending from the heavens, holding bamboo slips and elixirs bestowed upon him by Shennong.

“Master! Your disciple has lived up to your expectations. I have brought back antidotes from the Fire Cloud Cave, as well as the Shennong Materia Medica for treating the plague.”

Yang Jian gave the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill to Jade Cauldron Immortal. He then handed the Shennong Materia Medica to Yunxiao, who was standing nearby.

Yang Jian then recounted his journey in detail to everyone. This finally eased the tension in their expressions.

Fairy Yunxiao then took out the Three Lights Divine Water and dissolved one of the pills, temporarily relieving part of the Shang army of the plague.

Ao Bing transformed directly into his true form, carrying the Three Lights Divine Water infused with elixirs, and flew over the camp, showering it with medicinal rain.

Unfortunately, Yunxiao had only a limited supply of the Three Lights Divine Water, which was enough to cure the plague in just one-third of the Shang army.

Even so, a full 200,000 merchant troops had regained their fighting strength. This inevitably gave Zhang Guifang a bold idea.

He immediately spoke up, saying, "Fellow senior brothers and sisters, our army now has 200,000 soldiers ready for battle. It's time to avenge our being pursued."

The Taoist disciples were not very skilled in military strategy and tactics. Therefore, they entrusted the matter to Zhang Guifang and Chong Houhu for discussion.

Finally, after discussion, Feng Lin and Chong Yingbiao each led an army of 100,000 men down Jinji Ridge and ambushed them on both sides of the only road they could pass.

At the same time, Yunxiao had already removed the Nine Turns Yellow River Formation. After all, ordinary mortals would inevitably be tainted by the formation's malevolent energy if they stayed in it for too long.

Jiang Ziya had also thought of this, and now he saw the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation on Jinji Ridge being withdrawn.

He then directly ordered Nangong Shi and Ji Fa's two younger brothers to lead an army of 200,000 to launch another attack on the Shang army camp.

Before the Xiqi army could even reach Jinji Ridge, they were ambushed and dealt a heavy blow by the troops lying in ambush on both sides.

Nangong Shi hadn't anticipated that the Shang army had laid an ambush. He was completely unprepared and caught off guard.

Finally, Ji Fa's two younger brothers were killed by Feng Lin and Chong Yingbiao. The two true spirits headed directly towards the Conferred God Platform.

Bai Jian, standing on the Investiture Platform, suddenly saw two true spirits approaching. He immediately waved his Soul-Guiding Banner, summoning the two spirits to the platform. However, Bai Jian did not immediately allow these two spirits to enter the Investiture List. After all, he had kept Emperor Xin's instructions firmly in mind.

However, when Bai Jian saw that the two true spirits were the two princes of Xiqi, and considering that the Netherworld Gate mentioned by Di Xin had not appeared, he led them into the Investiture of the Gods.

After putting down the Soul-Guiding Banner, Bai Jian couldn't help but sigh and said, "I have been sitting in the Conferred God Platform for some time now, and apart from those who are supposed to be on the list, I have never seen a true spirit."

"Could it be that our human race has become so powerful that we can actually contend with the disciples of a sage and remain undefeated?"

Although Bai Jian was somewhat puzzled, he was also pleased. After all, the human race had suffered terribly casualties during the great battle against Chi You.

Meanwhile, Nangong Shi had already led his army back to Xiqi. A preliminary count revealed that more than half of the 200,000-strong army had been lost.

This enraged Jiang Ziya, who immediately ordered Nangong Shi to be arrested. Had it not been for the intercession of the civil and military officials of Xiqi, Jiang Ziya would have executed Nangong Shi outright.

Even so, Jiang Ziya had no intention of letting Nangong Shi go. After all, Ji Fa's two younger brothers had died because of him.

In the end, it was Ji Fa who spoke up, giving Nangong Shi a chance to redeem himself and save his life.

It was called an opportunity to atone for his crimes, but in reality, it was just a way of saying they didn't want to pursue the matter any further. After all, Jiang Ziya would never again allow Nangong Shi to lead a large army to raid the Shang army camp.

However, Jiang Ziya also found it strange that, even though the Shang army had already been afflicted with the plague, why were there still troops who had laid an ambush and even defeated Nangong Shi's 200,000-strong army?

Jiang Ziya immediately went to see Daoist Ran Deng and told him about the matter.

After hearing this, Daoist Ran Deng was also completely puzzled. In the end, he could only ask Lü Yue what exactly was going on.

When Lü Yue learned of this, he was also puzzled. He even suspected that someone from Xiqi was secretly colluding with the Shang army and had given the antidote he had given to Xiqi to the Shang army.

When Jiang Ziya learned of this, he couldn't help but feel worried. He immediately sent people to investigate, but the final result was that all the antidote had been used on Xiqi itself, and none of the antidote had flowed out of Xiqi City.

Upon receiving this result, Lü Yue couldn't help but feel worried. He immediately prepared to take advantage of the night to release the plague into Xiqi City again.

Meanwhile, Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, had returned from Qinglian Island, bringing with him a sufficient quantity of the Three Lights Divine Water.

Before long, the other three Dragon Kings of the Seas also arrived at the Shang army camp with their dragon sons and grandsons.

To Yang Jian's surprise, the three Dragon Kings brought as many as two thousand of their sons and grandsons.

Yang Jian couldn't help but think to himself, "This isn't about bringing rain; it's about flooding Xiqi."

Meanwhile, Yunxiao had already used the Three Lights Divine Water to dissolve the remaining two Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pills. He then handed them over to the Four Seas Dragon Kings.

Then, a dragon seemed to surge and churn above the Shang army camp. Streaks of thunder and lightning streaked across the sky.

Finally, not only was a medicinal rainfall showered over the entire Shang army camp, but even Sishui Pass was not spared, demonstrating that preventative measures were taken to avoid any potential problems.

This scene was witnessed by Lü Yue, who had just arrived. He dared not spread the plague to the Shang army any further and instead retreated back to Xiqi City with his two junior brothers.

(End of this chapter)