A life of idleness in the world of demons

Chapter 36. The Non-existent Iceberg
Several days later.
Ning Xuan didn't get the arranged marriage he was waiting for, but he did get to see his elder brother emerge from seclusion.

Wangyue Prefecture began receiving refugees from the north, and some ghostly occurrences began to emerge. There were reports of gnawing sounds at midnight, human skin fluttering in the wind, and newly buried people in the cemetery coming back to life. In short, people were filled with fear.

Ning Xuan realized there was no way to avoid it, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and "start business".

So the three of them, along with four battalions of soldiers and one hundred and thirty-six martial arts practitioners, headed north along the official road.

The sorcerer wasn't brought along, since he still had to deal with those "human-skin demons".

Although Wangyue Prefecture is far from being in "great chaos," the people living in peace and comfort have begun to witness "demons."

As for the four battalions of soldiers, three of them were ordinary soldiers, and the other battalion was the "Fiery Battalion" equipped with oil barrels.

Of the 136 martial arts practitioners, half of them came from a gang called the "Hunter Gang".

Wangyue Prefecture has many mountains and many hunters. These hunters spontaneously formed "hunting gangs", leading dogs and hawks, and howling through the mountains and forests. Ning Xuan used to have a lot of dealings with them.

This time, the trip to Ping'an Prefecture was to recruit people from the "Hunting Gang" so that their hunting dogs could scout the way and reduce casualties.

That thing is invisible and intangible; it won't be discovered until it enters the target's body.

But those things were actually quite easy to deal with; a single fire breath from the Blazing Fire Camp was enough to annihilate them.

They will use hunting dogs to scout ahead, and if there are any problems, the Blazing Fire Camp will immediately take over. If all else fails, Ning Xuan and the others will step in.

This was Ning Xuan's first time leading troops into battle in such a novel way. He didn't have to manage the troops; everyone protected him in the center. Yet, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable.
He truly experienced what it means to "fight a war and need money," and what it means to "fight a war and it's all about money."

If no one dies today, it'll be fine. But if someone dies and they have to pay compensation, the money will just keep flowing out.

That money is enough for him to build a harem of three hundred beauties.

If the enemy is ruthless and all the people he brought today are dead, then he could build an imperial palace and harem.

The key point is that although the money appears to belong to the prefect, it actually belongs to his family.

He looked at his older brother beside him.

This army was not formed by him, but was trained by his elder brother.

To protect his safety, his elder brother assembled a well-trained army, determined to resolve any issue with money rather than let him resort to violence.

Ugly Slave was riding his horse, watching the advance ahead with a blank expression.

Sensing Ning Xuan's gaze, Chou Nu slightly turned his head and asked, "What are your orders, General Ning?"

Ning Xuan said, "No."

The Ning family needs stability.

If you can buy stability with money, then go for it.

As for the dead?

Ning Xuan had long known the principle that "a kind heart cannot command an army."

Raising an army for a thousand days can be spent in just one moment.

On the battlefield, those in power should treat everyone as pawns, striving to achieve the greatest victory with the least sacrifice, rather than thinking "these people will be sacrificed" when moving the pawns.

If one lacks even this basic awareness, the outcome will often be the greatest sacrifice resulting in the greatest defeat.

Let the soldiers clear the way, and they can take action only after they have a clear view. This is the least sacrifice possible.

The fairy maiden Yao Zhen, dressed in a python robe, did not ride a horse. She moved gracefully, her feet barely touching the ground, extremely light. Compared to when she first arrived at the Ning family, she now wore a white veil over her head, so from the outside, no one could see what she looked like.

The fact that she can do this shows that floating and traveling consumes almost no energy for her.

She had witnessed Ning Xuan's strike and knew that the young man was qualified to be a general. Now, she had entrusted the only "whisper" communication to this young general, and the two of them had a sense of "destiny that bound them together by imperial power and responsibility."

At this moment, she was sensing the information within the "Imperial Capital Celestial Master Circle." These people were scattered in various places and could provide a great deal of intelligence.

She carefully selected them, then her lips moved slightly.

She only needed to make the slightest sound, so faint that even someone listening closely nearby wouldn't be able to hear it, to get her words to Ning Xuan's ears.

“In the northern part of Heian Prefecture, a mountain that had never existed before has appeared.”

It was an iceberg, covered with many hard ice spikes, and many corpses were impaled on it.

This iceberg is strange. It's almost summer now, but there's no sign of it thawing at all.

The demonic scourge in Ping'an Prefecture may be related to this iceberg.

"In Ping'an Prefecture?"

"No, it's in the northern part of Heian Prefecture."

"Is it in Ping'an Prefecture?"

"No, it's in the northern part of Ping'an Prefecture."

"Well, then it has nothing to do with us."

"However, if you want to become a divine general, you must take the initiative to explore these places. Once you become a divine general, you will receive the support of the entire nation's resources."

“If it’s there, I’ll go. If it’s not, then forget it,” Ning Xuan replied once again.

Fairy Yao Zhen fell silent.

Based on his previous dissolute behavior, she understood the nature of the general she had come to assist.

She began to recall why she had left the capital and decided to assist this young man.

oh.
I remembered.

The memorial stated, "His slaying of demons and monsters at Manfeng Mountain was like thunder and lightning, shocking all evil spirits and intimidating the arrogance of the General's personal guards. He also killed a Celestial Master and a demonic boy, both petty villains who had committed wicked deeds in secret."

Immediately, the image of a valiant general appeared in the mind of Fairy Yaozhen. She felt that if she waited any longer, she might not find a good candidate, so she chose this one. Then she received the imperial decree to come and assist him. As a result, she was greeted with the words, "Then I want to sleep with you, does Your Majesty agree?" and "It has nothing to do with us."

"Changqing Tianzun, calm my anger."

"Changqing Tianzun, calm my anger."

Fairy Yao Zhen silently repeated it to herself several times, suppressing the inexplicable surge of anger.

As they were talking, a dog suddenly barked from ahead. The lead hunting dog suddenly fell to the ground, and the other dogs barked around it.

The soldiers of the Blazing Fire Battalion went straight forward. The flames burned fiercely, and screams filled the air. Then, a cloud of black smoke, like cooking smoke, rose into the sky. The soldiers beside them watched with solemnity and tension.

Then look at the charred hunting dog.

A soldier gritted his teeth and stepped forward, cleaving the hound in two with a single stroke. A large chunk was missing from its abdomen, as if it had vanished into thin air.

A strong feeling of shivering arose.

The army continued its advance.

The barking of dogs gradually increased.

Soon, the hunting gang's hounds were all used up.

The closer you get to Ping'an Prefecture, the more of those invisible ghostly things there are.

This doesn't mean that Ping'an Prefecture has fallen, but rather that Ning Xuan and his group were traveling north. If they went another thirty miles, they would turn right to reach Ping'an Prefecture, and if they went straight, they would arrive at the ice mountain that Fairy Yao Zhen had mentioned. Therefore, it was not surprising.

This also confirms that these strange things are very likely related to that iceberg.

At the same time, both Fairy Yao and Ugly Slave had sensed the demonic aura rising.

It was a faint, yet overwhelming, demonic aura that enveloped the area.

Ning Xuan suddenly stopped his horse.

He stopped, and everyone else stopped too.

Ning Xuan said, "The road is still long. Soldiers, retreat ten miles and set up camp."

He was prepared to sacrifice his soldiers, but the sacrifices he was about to make were meaningless and bottomless.

Ugly Slave frowned.

Ning Xuan suddenly said, "Ugly Celestial Master, you should stay as well."

The ugly slave still wanted to speak.

Ning Xuan glanced at the horse he was riding, then at Yao Zhen, who was floating in mid-air, and asked, "Ugly Celestial Master, can you do what Yao Zhen does?"

Ugly Slave shook his head.

He had been observing for a long time; this Celestial Master from the capital was practically flying the entire way, something he simply couldn't do.

but.
"No, I have to go in with you."

“Ugly Celestial Master, you should stay outside and provide backup. If I run out exhausted, at least there will be someone outside to help me hold them off.”

"Then you must be very careful."

Half an hour later.

The young general, carrying a long sword meant for slaying beasts, walked deeper into the area.

He sealed all the "apertures" around his body with the golden body of a Bodhisattva, so that all the ghosts and monsters were useless.

At first, he tried to kill these ghostly things, but as he walked deeper into the area, he gave up.

Too much.

They were densely packed, like mosquitoes and flies in summer.

He then glanced at the Fairy Yao Zhen beside him.

A golden sphere of light surrounded Fairy Yao Zhen, from which black smoke-like substances kept rushing in. However, no matter how fast the black smoke was outside, it would become extremely slow once it entered the golden sphere. As Fairy Yao Zhen moved, the extremely slow-moving black smoke was thrown far away.

Ning Xuan was not surprised by this scene.

He had already communicated with Fairy Yao Zhen before setting off.

He learned two things.

First, there are different ranks of Celestial Masters.

The grading system is quite strange; Grade 1 is the lowest, with no upper limit.

However, if we were to classify officials according to their ranks, the first rank would actually be the highest.

Why is it divided in this way?

Because no one knows what level a "Celestial Master" can reach, each qualitative change will elevate them to the next rank, with the lowest being the first rank.

At that time, one's vision could pierce through the mountains and see the scenery on the other side. One could move mountains and suppress the spirit, and in three breaths, one could burrow several miles underground. One who had condensed the Celestial Master's Seal could smash things everywhere and knock out demons was a first-rank Celestial Master.

A Celestial Master who possesses abilities such as surveying the ground for tens of miles, setting up mountain barriers, shrinking the ground to an inch so that the enemy cannot take a single step, instantly burrowing underground, and having extremely fast recovery speed is a Second-Rank Celestial Master.

Of course, there are also the third-rank Celestial Masters.

Fairy Yao Zhen is a half-step third-rank immortal.

According to this classification, the ugly slave is a half-step second-rank official.

There's a huge difference in status between the two, so Ning Xuan naturally didn't bring his older brother.

Secondly, the Golden-bodied Demons are a very special, extremely troublesome, and extremely rare type of demon. They are not afraid of the Heavenly Master's suppression, but at the same time, they can use their golden bodies to unleash powerful flesh and blood forces, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

Their existence is quite mysterious. While other demons come in groups, they always travel alone.

Fortunately, all the golden-bodied demons are extremely fragile, which may be their only weakness.

Even the strongest generals today are still made of flesh and blood; none possess an invincible body.

It can be said that the generals were all flesh-and-blood demons with rationality, disguised as humans.

But Ning Xuan was different.

He has a golden body, but also flesh and blood.

So he thought he could carefully take a couple of steps forward to see if that dreadful scent-stealing rat had actually come this way.

(End of this chapter)