Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 222 Life-Saving Items

"Trial?" Zhu Ge frowned slightly.

Red Rice Immortal nodded, his gaze passing through the window to the churning poisonous clouds in the distance.

"The great powers of the Southern Yue and Burmese wilderness have all perished, and the three realms are leaderless. There are spiritual veins, mineral deposits, medicinal fields, ancient ruins, the remains of divine beasts, and countless resources."

"Without guidance, those things will only be stolen by the demons and barbarians. But if a human prodigy seizes the opportunity to enter—"

Redmi Daxian gave Zhu Ge a meaningful look: "That will lay the foundation for the next hundred years."

"So you think someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes?" Zhu Ge frowned. "Even the Annihilation True Monarch is just a pawn?"

"It's not just a feeling, it's certain." Hongmi Daxian turned around and looked at Zhu Ge: "The sword strike of the Annihilation True Monarch not only severed the great figures of the Southern Yue and Myanmar wilderness, but he also severed the shackles of an era."

"Those prodigies who were suppressed by the powerful can now fight with all their might. And those who win this battle will be qualified to stand in a higher position in the future."

"That makes sense—" Zhu Ge said thoughtfully, "You mean, you want me to treat the Battle of Yuanyang City as a trial as well?"

'

"You were born to be a prodigy." Red Rice Immortal laughed. "You killed a third-realm cultivator at the second realm, subdued four third-realm demon beasts, and lifted the siege of several cities. I estimate that someone like you would be at least in the top thirty on the Winter List of the State and the List of the Fox Coat."

"But being in the top thirty isn't enough, Palace Master. I think what you need to do is make sure that those who are in the top ten can also see your name."

Top 30!

Zhu Ge remained silent.

He remembered what Yan Liyuan had said.

The top ten on the "National Ranking" are all figures who dominated their era.

Lin Zhi, Mingxing, and Yuan Shentong—those three are the cream of the crop, absolutely comparable to the ancient philosophers.

"I'd like to give it a try too," Zhu Ge said solemnly.

"I know, that's why I'm willing to submit to you."

After saying this, Redmi Master picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked somewhat relieved.

Zhu Ge did not rush to respond to the topic, but sat back down in his chair and tapped the table lightly with his fingers: "Lord, since we've come this far, let me ask a few more questions."

"Please speak." Red Rice Immortal put down his teacup.

"Yuanyang City has been besieged for five months. How much supplies are left in the city? I'm not asking about food; I'm asking about weapons, formation materials, spiritual herbs, and usable spiritual artifacts."

Know yourself and know your enemy.

What Zhuge wants to do now is to be a confidant.

"Supplies and such—" Hongmi Daxian pondered for a moment, then took out an account book from his sleeve and handed it to Zhu Ge: "Take a look for yourself."

"Okay." Zhu Ge took the ledger and opened it.

The pages were filled with detailed records of the city's supplies, but as he turned each page, his brow furrowed more and more.

The armory contained fewer than three thousand swords and knives, only eight hundred bows and crossbows, and fewer than twenty thousand arrows.

The array materials were almost exhausted, and there were very few spiritual herbs left. The Yuan-level healing pills had long been used up, leaving only some low-grade spiritual ointments for external application.

The situation is even worse for the spiritual artifacts. There were originally twelve Yuan-level spiritual artifacts in the city, but now only three are still usable. The rest are either damaged or have run out of spiritual energy.

"It's worse than I imagined." Zhu Ge closed the ledger and handed it back to Hongmi Daxian.

"It's already a miracle that we've managed to hold on until now," Red Rice Immortal said with a bitter smile. "The people in the city who could leave have already left, and the women, children, the elderly, and the weak who can't leave are just waiting to die."

"Most of the remaining hundreds of thousands of people have relatives in the city's defense forces or are soldiers' families. They don't leave because they believe we can hold the city. Of course, they can't leave anyway."

"Then hold the line." Zhu Ge's expression grew more serious. "Even if not for yourself, for the sake of these hundreds of thousands of people."

Those aren't numbers; they're living, breathing people.

"Not for myself—" Red Rice Immortal looked at him, a complex look flashing in his eyes: "Palace Master Zhu, how old are you this year?"

"Not even twenty," Zhu Ge said, revealing the original owner's age.

"Not even twenty—" Red Rice Immortal murmured, repeating, "When I was twenty, I was still gathering herbs in the mountains, not even reaching the first realm. And you, on the other hand, are already planning how to save a city."

"Times have changed." Zhu Ge shook his head: "The Holy Emperor is dead, the world is in chaos, and if you don't fight, you will die. I also want to cultivate peacefully, but the demon beasts won't give me the chance."

"When you are successful, you should help others; when you are unsuccessful, you should cultivate your own virtue."

"Besides, I'm not entirely acting for the people; I'm also doing it for myself, aren't I?"

At this point, Zhu Ge smiled and said, "This is a trial. If there are gods watching over us, it'll be a good opportunity for them to see how I perform."

Zhu Ge appeared calm and composed.

Yes, he is a selfish person.

Let others make the sacrifices.

He wasn't doing it for the common people; he was doing it for a trial, to leave a mark in history, and to gain the favor of the Lamp-Carrying True Lord and the Annihilation True Lord.

They used this to build relationships and curry favor with the powerful and influential.

Yes, that must be it.

"Is that so?" Redmi Master asked.

"That's right," Zhu Ge said firmly.

Redmi Master was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do you know how to set up an array?"

"I know a little." Zhu Ge nodded: "I've read 'The Eight Formations of Armored Soldiers' a few times, and I've used the circular formation, the cone formation, and the Xuanxiang formation in actual combat, but I can't help with the formations in the city; that's the job of the formation masters."

"Array Masters—" Red Rice Immortal shook his head: "There aren't any in the city, and even if there were, they wouldn't be able to do much. But there is one thing that you might find useful."

He got up, walked to the cabinet in the corner, opened the cabinet door, and took out a palm-sized wooden box.

"This is something I acquired during my travels in my early years, but I've never used it. Take a look."

"Oh?" Zhu Ge took the wooden box and opened it.

Inside lay a pale blue jade tablet, its surface engraved with intricate array patterns, faintly emanating a spiritual aura.

"What is this?"

"The array base," Red Rice Immortal pondered, "to be precise, it's the core of a mobile array."

"As long as you inject blood energy or literary energy into it, it can generate a defensive array with a diameter of ten zhang, which can withstand attacks from those below the third realm, and also weaken attacks from those above the third realm by 30%."

"This is something that can save your life, so please keep it safe. Consider it a gift from me when I come to you to seek refuge."

"Good stuff!" Zhu Ge's eyes lit up, and he didn't refuse. He was in dire need of something that could save his life.

"It's a pity it can only be used three times." Red Rice Immortal sighed. "After it's used up, the jade pendant will shatter. I originally wanted to keep it for my descendants, but they are all rotten wood. It's better for you to carry it; perhaps it can save your life in a critical moment."

"Thank you, Lord City Lord." Zhu Ge carefully put the jade token into the grass bowl.

This is indeed a good product.

Having a trump card like this, which can save your life in a critical moment, is always a good thing.

Unfortunately, it's clear that even if Redmi still has some left, there won't be many.

Zhu Ge couldn't possibly ask someone to hand over everything.

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