From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 439 The Price of Becoming an Immortal

"Peng Kuo... Peng Kuo ran away!"

Both the soldiers on the city wall and the gods suspended in the void were shocked to see Peng Kuo escape.

"grown ups."

Upon seeing this, Wu Mo was not pleased; instead, his expression changed drastically.

Peng Kuo is a cruel and cunning man who can command an army of ten thousand. He must be a man of strong will. How could he suddenly abandon his army and run away?

There must be someone interfering behind this.

Among everyone present, the only one with this ability was their Yuanling Mountain's Sizheng.

You Ming didn't reply, but simply watched everything calmly.

He originally didn't want to get involved, but the moment he saw the chaotic army, a sudden impulse arose in his heart.

These chaotic armies were actually interfering with his own cultivation tribulations.

But he didn't know exactly what this calamity was, so You Ming used a cheat code to test Peng Kuo.

You Ming recently acquired the cheat skill of "Mental Harmony," and he used it to inflict the emotion of "Fear" on Peng Kuo.

Despite his strong will, Peng Kuo couldn't even withstand moderate fear and broke down mentally.

The cheat codes seem to be a power independent of the Heavenly Dao, which even beings at the Golden Immortal level cannot fathom.

Peng Kuo's retreat stunned the besieging troops, and their morale plummeted.

To put it bluntly, they were just a bunch of incited rioters. Once they lost their leader, their fighting power was almost gone.

Many people turned and ran halfway through their run.

The escape of some people triggered panic in others.

For a group of ten thousand people, those at the back couldn't see what was happening in front at all. They could only see the large-scale retreat of the group in front, with some people shouting things like "The Heavenly King has run away."

This exacerbated the panic within the group, and those at the back began to retreat as well.

This seemingly powerful team crumbled in an instant.

You Ming remained calm as he watched the rout. A force of ten thousand men in disarray would be a terrifying sight.

Many people bumped, pushed, and jostled each other, and some even drew their knives and slashed at those around them in order to gain space to escape.

Those once-fierce rebel troops are now like abandoned prey, vying for the last glimmer of hope for survival.

"Charge out!"

On the city wall, the yamen runners and inspectors were still watching, not quite sure what had happened.

However, the county constable of Yuanling County was very decisive at this moment and quickly issued orders.

The county magistrate was the third most important figure in Yuanling County. He was also one of the representatives of the local faction in Yuanling County, and at the same time, one of the officials secretly supported by the Niangniang Temple.

Why is the county magistrate sent down by the imperial court just a figurehead? It's because the people doing the work below are all from the local area.

Although the county magistrate did not know why Peng Kuo had retired, he keenly sensed an opportunity to make a name for himself.

If we can wipe out the bandit forces that are running rampant in Si and Bing prefectures, the imperial court will surely reward us. How can we delay such a golden opportunity?

At his command, the warriors from the Niangniang Temple, clad in rattan armor and wielding forest swords, were the first to charge out.

They were already formidable fighters, and now, armed to the teeth, they were like tigers charging into a flock of sheep, making the already routing and chaotic army even more disorganized. Their charge also emboldened the constables and inspectors.

One by one, they rushed out of the city gate and began to target the lone, scattered soldiers.

……

You Ming kept watching the chaotic army, his gaze growing increasingly calm.

The chaotic army of tens of thousands retreated from outside Yuanling County, fleeing back in the direction they came from, but finally stopped in front of the Baisha River.

Baisha River is a tributary of the Feng River. It is no more than two zhang wide, and the water is so clear that you can even see the white sand at the bottom of the river, hence the name.

This river extends southward, reaching all the way to Pingliang County.

Because Pingliang County is good at growing maple trees, rows of red maples are planted on the south bank of this river. Since it is late autumn now, the leaves are burning like flames.

There is only one stone bridge over the Baisha River. It is unknown who built it, but it must be quite old and looks rather simple. The bridge has only two stone slabs, making it difficult for even two people to walk side by side.

Now that the army wants to cross the river, it will naturally be difficult to pass.

Many people were pushed into the river, or simply prepared to swim to the other side. Although the Baisha River was not wide, it was quite deep. Now it was late autumn, and Bingzhou was extremely cold. Many people shivered from the cold after getting wet.

The pursuers from Yuanling County were only keeping a distance and did not get close.

They also knew the principle of not pursuing a cornered enemy; if they were to provoke the ferocity of these people, the few inspectors and constables in the county town would not be enough to kill them.

Only a small number of those who were separated from their pursuers would be swarmed by them, and the pursuers would cut off their heads to claim the credit.

You Ming remained calm as he watched everything unfold, but if you looked closely, you could see that his pupils were unfocused. Clearly, although he was looking at the fleeing troops, his mind was preoccupied with other matters.

In fact, he is facing a difficult decision at this moment.

What practitioners ultimately seek is transcendence and liberation; they should stand detached from worldly affairs and not interfere with the affairs of the mortal world.

However, when he saw the invisible malevolent energy and vengeful spirits entangled around these chaotic soldiers, he could not remain calm.

Although these rebel soldiers were coerced by Peng Kuo, each of them had acted like wild beasts, cruelly slaughtering their own compatriots and even using them as food.

He felt a deep disgust for these people.

You Ming stood suspended in the void, and everything in front of him seemed like a huge vortex. The chaos of the rebel army, Peng Kuo's atrocities, and the fate of innocent people were all like a constantly rotating scroll, gradually approaching the depths of his heart.

He is a deity, transcending all things in the world, and theoretically should not be affected by these worldly troubles. However, in his heart, he is full of resistance to truly becoming that clay or stone sculpture.

At this moment, he realized that this inner choice had become an unavoidable tribulation on his path of cultivation.

The trials and tribulations encountered in the "Tribulations" realm are all tests and transformations of the soul.

Every cultivator must truly confront their inner self and pass the test of their heart in order to transcend the mortal realm and achieve immortality.

"Is this the price of becoming an immortal?"

You Ming looked up at the sky, as if a deep eye was staring at him from behind the dark sky.

When he couldn't help but attack Peng Kuo, Heaven had already set its sights on him.

If I were to lose all ten thousand of my chaotic troops here, I fear I would truly face utter ruin.

and so……

Should we follow our hearts, or choose to blend in with the crowd?

(End of this chapter)