Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 311 Counterattack
Princess Dong and the Tang Clan only held off the Bai Clan for two days before Tang Xiaoyu rushed over with several disciples.

This was the first time Tang Yinxiang had met her master's two newly accepted disciples. One of them was quite young, only nineteen years old, named Guo Shun. The other, however, had grown a beard and looked almost as old as Tang Yinxiang, his surname was Xiangli, and his given name was Jue. He was originally a disciple of the Wuya Academy in the Southern Chu Kingdom.

Both disciples were very respectful to Tang Yinxiang. Upon meeting her, they politely cupped their hands and addressed her as "Senior Sister," which greatly alleviated Tang Yinxiang's anxiety about her master and herself belonging to two different sects.

Besides Guo Shun and Xiang Lijue, Tang Xiaoyu also brought an unexpected "cultivator," or rather, "spiritual practitioner," who was Sandy, the peak master of the Spirit Beast Peak of the White Stone Immortal Sect.

Sandy hasn't refined her transverse bones yet and can't speak, but she has been learning to write for a long time. She even asked Huang Wu to make her a bunch of small pens, and the characters she writes are even more beautiful than Zhang Chengdao's in private.

Therefore, she always carried a stack of pre-cut yellow paper for drawing talismans with her, so that she could write and communicate with others at any time.

As a squirrel, she was already as big as a kitten. She wore a green dress made for her by an embroiderer, and simple leather boots wrapped in leather. Around her neck hung an exquisite little pouch, which was the Qiankun bag that every disciple of the White Stone Immortal Sect had.

"This is the peak master of the Spirit Beast Peak of the White Stone Immortal Sect, named Sandy, surnamed Sang," Tang Xiaoyu introduced Sandy and Tang Zhongfu to each other. "This is Tang Zhongfu, the military governor of Jiannan Circuit."

Although Tang Zhongfu hadn't expected that the squirrel that his ancestor had mentioned coming to help was also a squirrel, it was clear that this squirrel was no ordinary squirrel. So he quickly bowed and greeted him with great respect: "Greetings, Immortal Sang!"

Sandy was prepared; she pulled out a small piece of yellow paper, no bigger than a palm, and held it up to the crowd. Two large characters were written on it in a flamboyant style:
No formalities required.

Tang Zhongfu was stunned for a moment, his lips twitching. Before he could even be surprised that this "Squirrel Immortal" could actually write, he heard his ancestor say to Sandy, "Peak Master Sang, those controlled beasts are just ordinary beasts. Given the concentration of spiritual energy here, it seems unlikely that any spirits or demon cultivators will be born. You'll have to work hard these next few days!"

[Easy to say]

This time, Sandy immediately wrote those two big characters after taking out paper and pen.

Apart from the members of the White Stone Immortal Sect who were already used to it, everyone else watched in shock as the squirrel, no bigger than a kitten, took out paper and pen and, with lightning speed, wrote two large characters and held them in front of Tang Xiaoyu.

As a result, the atmosphere in front of the main hall of Tangguan City became somewhat strange.

Well, if the previous resurrection of the "White God" and the bestowal of "divine sorcery" merely stirred up a cloud over the ordinary mortal world, then this strange squirrel, which should be revered as an "immortal," has literally pulled them right out of the clouds—

Is there anything more absurd than squirrels becoming spirits and transforming into "immortals"?

Fortunately, the squirrel fairy, though absurd, is quite reliable.

She only stayed in Tangguan City for one day before heading south with the army reorganized by Princess Dong.

The new army included not only Princess Dong's own imperial guards, but also the Jiannan Road garrison sent by Tang Zhongfu, as well as the local warriors from several small tribes under the control of the Tang Clan.

All in all, there were 30,000 people, half of whom were garrison troops from Jiannan Road.

It sounds a bit ridiculous, only 30,000 people—

In the Central Plains, even a small-scale conflict between the Southern Chu Kingdom and the Northern Xiao Kingdom could have reached roughly this number. But don't forget that the armies in the Bashu and Dianyun regions, which were mainly composed of indigenous warriors, were real soldiers. They had no auxiliary troops or logistics; almost every indigenous warrior was their own logistics provider.

They carried their own rice cakes and weapons, and wore no iron armor. Even the wealthiest native warriors wore only a leather armor with two iron plates sewn onto their chests.

Most of the weapons were made of bone, and some had iron plates wrapped around their heads and sharpened into pointed blades.

Only the garrison of Jiannan Road under Tang Zhongfu and the imperial guards of Princess Dong were worthy of carrying curved iron swords, many of which were rusty—the garrison of Jiannan Road had not fought a war for a long time and was only engaged in drills, so their weapons were somewhat unusable.

However, the situation wasn't much better for the rebels led by the Shirabe Taka clan; in fact, it seemed even worse.

The Gao clan of the White Tribe and the Louyi clan of the Black Tribe were somewhat better off, as their personal guards and warriors were still using shiny new weapons. However, the situation was different for the other tribes. Some of them didn't even have leather armor, wearing only ordinary tie-dye vests and bare feet, walking barefoot on the wild ground covered with weeds and thorns.

Even more outrageous is that these tribes, including the Gao clan of the White Tribe and the Louyi clan of the Black Tribe, marched as if they were going on a picnic rather than going to war.

Some raced to the front, competing to see who could keep up the pace; some strolled leisurely at the back; and some, after walking for a while, would go into the woods to relieve themselves. Once they had fastened their belts, the main group was nowhere to be found.

If 10,000 people march, they'll be lucky to have 6,000 by the time they reach their destination. If they wait a day or two longer, they might be able to gather another 8,000.

Without "divine sorcery," such a chaotic army would have no chance of defeating the Grand Master and the royal guards, who at least managed to maintain order.

Unfortunately, with the help of the Tang Clan and the White Stone Immortal Sect, the fake White God disappeared without a trace. Even if some of the remaining rebels practiced the Divine Witchcraft, they wouldn't be able to achieve anything in just one or two months. It's foreseeable that the good days for the Gao family of the White Clan are about to come to an end.

As expected, when the Dong family's imperial guards once again took the initiative to go south and engage the Bai troops, the wolves, deer, rhinoceroses, and various other animals that were being led back into the battlefield suddenly collapsed to the ground, their bodies stiff, unable to move forward.

The scene was bizarre and terrifying. No one understood what was happening, and the warriors of the White Army couldn't help but retreat, their faces filled with fear.

If those on the battlefield only felt a sudden, inexplicable, and terrifying aura, then the wild beasts in the mountains and forests felt as if they had encountered the king of beasts, the overlord of all beasts, and were so overwhelmed by the powerful demonic energy that they could not lift their heads.

Sandy's skills weren't that great—

Cultivating as a demon is much more difficult than cultivating as a human. As long as one's aptitude isn't too bad, a human can achieve Foundation Establishment in a few months, and there's even a saying about "Foundation Establishment in a hundred days." After cultivating for several decades, as long as one's comprehension isn't too low, one can eventually form a Core, which is considered a decent level of cultivation.

However, for demon cultivators, good luck and awakening their intelligence are only the first steps. To condense a true demon core and reach a cultivation level similar to that of a human at the Foundation Establishment stage, it often requires nearly a hundred years of hard work.

Of course, this is partly due to the fact that demon cultivators have low intelligence and poor comprehension, resulting in less effort for more effort. However, it would still take at least three to five years to condense a demon core, or even just to condense demon power into a non-physical fake demon core.

Sandy did it in less than a year.

This is certainly related to the excellent cultivation conditions she enjoys at the White Stone Immortal Sect, such as good food and resources, abundant cultivation resources, and the ability to eat Immortal Peaches every day. However, it is undeniable that Sandy's purple card is of very high value. Her cultivation level, based solely on her demonic power, is now comparable to that of most outer sect disciples.

In short, under such powerful demonic intimidation, even though the wild beasts of the mountains and forests were controlled and forced to rush forward with all their might, the fear they felt physically prevented them from taking another step.

With Sandy's help, the situation on the battlefield was almost instantly reversed.

In addition, although the army of corpse puppets was fierce, it only numbered a little over a thousand. With the Earth Spirit Yin Fire Talisman sent by Tang Xiaoyu, it was very effective against the corpse puppets.

In just half an hour, Princess Dong vented her anger, donned her armor, and led her personal guards to chase after the fleeing Bai warriors on the battlefield.

Without the army of beasts and the army of corpse puppets, the rebels lost their trump card and could no longer pose a threat.

The leader of this rebel army was a member of the Gao clan of the Bai tribe. They adopted the tribal terminology of the past and called him "Commander." This Commander Gao had been relentlessly pursuing Princess Dong, but the sudden reversal of events caught him off guard. Enraged, his eyes turned red, and he drew his sword and killed several fleeing warriors from other tribes in an attempt to halt the rebels' advance. He believed himself to be well-versed in the military strategies of the Central Plains and possessed great skill; this was the method he had learned from military texts.

Unfortunately, this method only works for regular, well-organized armies with strict military discipline. For a hastily assembled army like these local warriors, it was not only ineffective but also counterproductive.

When everyone saw that their leader had even killed his own people, they panicked completely. Instead of simply running backwards, they fled in all directions into the mountains and forests.

Now, they couldn't even wait to gather the fleeing troops back together.

Most of the indigenous tribes here live by hunting and gathering. Once they enter the mountains and forests, even if it is not the mountains and forests where their own tribe lives, they are like fish in water, and it is difficult to catch them again.

That's the downside of the Great Changhe Kingdom: there are just too many mountains and forests. Once the Bai tribe's warrior army is routed, they're like pebbles scattered in the sand, impossible to track.

The pain of losing her father, brother, and son in succession fueled Princess Dong's anger. She led her men and chased after the enraged and clueless Commander Gao for twenty miles before finally stopping.

In a literal sense, she dismembered him into eight pieces. Not satisfied with slitting his throat, Princess Dong also cut off the limbs and hands of this commander, whose name she did not even know, and threw him into the river to feed the fish.

She didn't even consider enslaving the captured White warriors as a reward, but instead ordered them to be executed directly, regardless of age or gender.

This battleground is in the southern part of Jiannan Road, in a place called Mahubu.

The Mahu tribe belonged to Jiannan Circuit and was under the rule of Tang Zhongfu. They were very loyal to the Tang Clan.

When the Bai tribe marched north and attacked the Mahu tribe, the Tang Clan came to their aid in time, but they could only protect the Mahu tribe members as they marched north. They could not hold the Mahu tribe, which resulted in heavy losses for the Mahu tribe.

Soon after the battle, Princess Dong did not choose to press her advantage. Instead, she requisitioned the grasslands of the Mahu tribe and set up a large camp with the Imperial Guards on the Mahu side.

Because of this incident, the Mahu tribe was in an uproar that very night.

The old clan chief insisted on following the Tang Clan, while the young clan chief, who had temporarily led his young and strong warriors to join Princess Dong's army, thought it was a great opportunity to serve the royal family. He thought that the princess might grant the Mahu tribe better pastures and more fertile land, so why would they need to make a living under the Tang Clan?
Both sides had their own reasons, and the argument escalated until the young acting clan chief finally raised his arm and led hundreds of warriors from the Mahu tribe away from the tribe. They packed up their leather armor and bone spears and went to Princess Dong's royal camp.

That's right, on the very afternoon of the day she decisively defeated the Bai tribe, Princess Dong declared herself queen.

No one knows the given name of Princess Dong, but to the outside world, she claimed to be the eldest daughter of the King of Changhe, named Zhenyun. She said that after the death of her father and brothers, she was entrusted with a critical mission and proclaimed herself the new King of Changhe – a new female monarch.

It's hard to say whether the name "Zhenyun" was chosen suddenly, since the area directly controlled by the Da Changhe royal family has always been called Yundi.

However, after Dong Zhenyun became king, for more than ten days in a row, many tribes came to join him, including the Mengshe tribe and other tribes from the Kunmi River who had crossed over a large area conquered by the Bai tribe.

On the fifteenth day, news came from the south that the White Tribe and the Black Tribe had a conflict and split up to govern themselves. One established the Kunmi Kingdom and the other established the Xichou Kingdom. Thus, not counting the Jiannan Road that Tang Zhongfu had separated from the others, the entire Dachanghe Kingdom was completely split into three kingdoms: Dachanghe Kingdom, Kunmi Kingdom, and Xichou Kingdom.

In fact, news of the internal strife in Da Changhe had reached the ears of the Southern Chu Kingdom half a month earlier.

But just as the emperor of the Southern Chu Kingdom was about to get involved and gain some benefits, he heard that the "White God" who supported a certain tribe's rebellion had been killed by the "White Stone Immortal" invited by the Tang Clan.

With this delay, the emperor of Southern Chu dared not make any rash moves. He could only send people to constantly inquire about the situation in Da Changhe Kingdom, but dared not actually do anything.

However, Zhang Chengdao, whom he feared, didn't really care about the state of Dachanghe Kingdom.

As long as there are no more cultivators or suspected cultivators causing trouble, he won't bother interfering in the local indigenous regime, lest he disrupt the process of social development and end up doing all the work for nothing.

He Yu, on the other hand, has been so busy that he hasn't slept for half a month.

Although he is a "ghost", he doesn't actually need to sleep.

Besides being busy dealing with matters in the underworld and constantly cooperating with the Day Wanderer (a weasel demon) to take turns capturing new ghosts, he also had to find time to compile the "Soul-Nourishing Technique".

Considering that this world is still in the stage of spiritual energy revival, many parts of the original "Soul Nourishing Technique" are not suitable. Therefore, even if He Yu can recite the entire technique word for word, he will still have to make some modifications.

Not to mention he's not a soul cultivator, so he can't possibly memorize the entire "Soul Nourishing Technique"!
Therefore, apart from the cultivation method being derived from the original "Soul Nourishing Technique", the new "Soul Nourishing Technique" is actually no different from the real "Soul Nourishing Technique" except that they are both red (both are soul cultivation techniques) and have absolutely no relation to each other.

It was precisely because of this that He Yu gave this cultivation method and its characteristics, which he had compiled, a new name: "Spiritual Witch Soul Condensation Technique".

As the name suggests, many places adopted the "shamanistic" approach of "shamanism." However, in order to distinguish it from the "shamanism" spread by the fake white god, he specifically changed the name of "shaman" to "spiritual shaman," still adding the "shamanistic" element to ensure the local deity worship characteristics and indirectly ensure the stability of his own faith as the King of Qin in the future.

Fortunately, the path of soul cultivation is relatively simple in the early stages, both in theory and practice. However, due to the lack of spiritual energy, many techniques and supernatural abilities that even He Yu only had a vague understanding of were simply omitted.

Anyway, as long as someone cultivates this path, with the passage of time and the development of soul cultivation, sooner or later a group of talented people will research out techniques and supernatural abilities that are more suitable for this world, so there is no need for me to make it up.

In any field that continues to be applied, the idea of ​​favoring the past over the present is somewhat absurd.

Because the fields in which it is continuously applied are constantly developing and evolving according to needs, in terms of both practicality and applicability, the present is definitely better than the past.

Unless judged from the perspective of craftsmanship and aesthetics, which are highly subjective, that is another system altogether.

In many practical fields, whether it is modern technology, martial arts in this world of martial arts and cultivation, or civilizations where extraordinary systems and groups have not declined due to objective conditions, the so-called preference for the past over the present is mostly just like anti-China sentiment. It is nothing more than a way to justify one's incompetence by saying "it's not that I'm too bad, but that the objective environment made me bad."

Even with current online novels, many people are praising them, saying things like "Back then, it was truly a battle of gods, with Dragon Raja and Douluo Continent," or "There are no good novels anymore, slow-burn stories can't stand out, and being well-written is useless," thus predicting the downfall of the online literature industry. But in reality...

Basically, you can fool your buddies, but don't fool yourself. Otherwise, a novice author like me wouldn't be able to make a living in this industry...

Well, I've digressed. In short, whether it's He Yu or Zhang Chengdao, their ideas are very similar at certain times.

They did not micromanage the development of the world as a whole, but instead encouraged it in the general direction, whether it was the various tribes of Mengshe at this time or the Taiyue Sword Sect back then.

This is not just laziness, but respect and reverence.

It is a form of respect and reverence for civilization.

(End of this chapter)