Chaotic Times and Disasters: I Hunt Down Martial Arts Masters and Become a God

Wan Gu Valley is the lair of Gu cultivators from the Yue Kingdom.

The valley entrance was so narrow that only two carriages could pass side by side. The mountain walls on both sides were steep as if cut by a knife. Looking up, the sky was cut into a thin blue line by the mountain walls.

The valley entrance was covered with densely packed Gu array runes. These runes had been carved for countless years, and the strokes were oozing with dark red Gu worm fluid. The ancient Gu energy condensed into a light green light curtain that enveloped the entire valley.

The remaining allied troops retreated into the valley, sealing the entrance. Behind the light screen, one could vaguely see the Gu cultivators hurriedly setting up a new Gu array.

Zhang Wukai sent his troops to launch a probing attack. The boulders thrown by the catapults crashed into the valley entrance, but the moment they encountered the Gu Qi, it was like tofu hitting an iron plate.

The cannons from the airship bombarded the light screen, but could only create a faint ripple, not even enough to blast a crack.

After three attempts and the deaths of dozens of soldiers, Zhang Wukai ordered a halt to the attack.

"Surround."

He slammed his teacup on the table in the central command tent.

"Surround them without attacking, cut off their water supply, and let them come out on their own. The allied forces' food supplies won't last long. The Gu worms of the Yue Kingdom need water and fresh live organisms to cultivate. Being trapped in this isolated valley is a dead end!"

An Sheng squatted on the vanguard battalion's position, drawing circles on the ground with a stone in his hand, and looked up to ask Fu Qing,

"Brother Fu, do you think the commander's plan will work? What if they have a secret passage..."

Fu Qing shook his head as he wiped his knife. "No, Wan Gu Valley is the lifeblood of Yue Kingdom. If the Gu Pool can't be moved, they have to guard the valley entrance to the death."

...

On the third day of the siege, the allied forces in the valley could no longer hold back.

The demon warriors, lacking food and water, began to grow restless. Some small groups even attempted to escape by scaling the mountain walls, but were forced back by the Gu cultivators above the valley entrance using Gu worms.

The Gu worms of the Yue Kingdom's Gu cultivators died in large numbers due to the lack of fresh live organisms to replenish them, and the dying hisses of the Gu worms could be heard from time to time in the valley.

On the morning of the fourth day, the valley entrance suddenly opened wide.

The heavy stone gate burst open with a deafening roar, and the allied forces poured out in full force. Demon warriors led the charge, thousands of demon soldiers forming a dense, charging formation, their demonic energy condensing into a dark green mist that blotted out the sky...

The Gu cultivators followed behind, their black robes wielding Gu lamps. Gu worms poured out of the valley entrance like dark clouds, the sound of their flapping wings making one's eardrums ache.

The high priest stood on a high platform above the valley entrance, personally overseeing the battle. His withered hand gripped a Gu staff that was taller than himself, and the demonic fire at the top of the staff flickered in the morning breeze.

"Heh, I couldn't hold on any longer..."

Zhang Wukai was prepared.

When the allied forces rushed out of the valley, they found that the Jing army's defenses were much stronger than they had expected. Archers and artillerymen were already in position. The allied forces had only made it halfway when a dense rain of arrows and artillery fire came down from the sky.

The arrows were specially made, with the arrowheads coated with a remedy prepared by the Medicine Palace to expel Gu worms. When they hit the Gu cultivators or Gu worms, they would immediately emit white smoke.

The cannonballs were mixed with a secret medicine, which exploded and created white mist that enveloped the Gu worms.

Meng Guang's left wing and Fu Qing's right wing launched a counterattack simultaneously.

Meng Guang's troops cut in from the flank of the Allied forces, with swordsmen and shieldmen in front and spearmen behind, cutting off the Allied charging formation in half.

Fu Qing's vanguard battalion swooped down from the right flank ridge, their flanking maneuvers perfectly coordinated.

The battle raged from dawn until afternoon, with the Allied forces suffering heavy casualties.

The corpses of the demon warriors stretched from the valley entrance all the way to the front of the Jingjun defense line, and the bodily fluids of the Gu worms stained the land a dark green.

But the high priest didn't seem to care about casualties. He kept ordering reinforcements, and as soon as one batch of Gu cultivators died, the next batch would immediately take their place, as if he were using the lives of the allied soldiers to fill the Jing army's arrows and ammunition.

After slaying a Gu general at the first level of the Gang Qi realm, Fu Qing looked up at the valley entrance.

The high priest still stood on the high platform, the demonic fire at the tip of his staff even brighter than in the morning.

Several Gu cultivator elders dressed in black robes stood beside him, each holding a ghostly green Gu lamp.

The flame inside the Gu lamp remained motionless in the wind, while the Gu array runes above the valley entrance were slowly changing in rhythm with the Gu lamp, spreading deeper and deeper stroke by stroke.

These Gu cultivator elders hadn't moved since the start of the battle; the lives of the allied soldiers were none of their concern. Their entire focus was on the Gu lamp and the Gu array runes.

The high priest was using the corpses of allied soldiers to pave the way, buying himself time to deploy his forces.

Fu Qing's heart tightened, and he grabbed the messenger who had just rushed over.

"Go tell the commander-in-chief that the high priest has set up an array at the valley entrance. Those people in black robes haven't moved since the start of the battle. Tell him to check the Gu array runes above the valley entrance and see if they're changing!"

The messenger rushed off.

A reply arrived shortly afterward.

Zhang Wukai's bodyguard, panting heavily, shoved a note into Fu Qing's hand. It contained only eight words: "Continue the attack and force him to back down."

Fu Qing understood.

Zhang Wukai's strategy was to force the High Priest to abandon his formation through a fierce frontal assault; if the High Priest kept reinforcing his troops, he would fight to the death.

This puts the high priest in a very difficult position: either abandon the formation and withdraw the black-robed elders to reinforce the front lines, or watch helplessly as the allied forces are devoured piece by piece by the Jing army.

"AXA!"

Fu Qing stuffed the note into his pocket, drew his cold iron knife, and shouted, "Brothers, let's get to work!"

Under Fu Qing's leadership, the vanguard battalion launched its fiercest attack yet.

An Sheng's thousand-man squad charged out from the left flank ridge, their silver spears like dragons emerging from the sea, piercing through several layers of the allied forces' defenses and rushing all the way up to the valley entrance. He was now at the ninth level of the Meridian Opening stage, just one step away from the罡气 (罡气 is a type of internal energy cultivation).

The high priest could no longer sit still.

He looked down at Fu Qing, who was approaching from below the valley entrance, a sinister smile appearing on his withered, bark-like face. Then he turned and beckoned to the shadows behind him.

Two demon generals emerged from the shadows.

One was a lion-headed human, covered in dark golden scales, with burning demonic flames in its mane. It was several times larger than an ordinary demon warrior, and the stone slabs beneath its feet trembled slightly with every step it took.

He carried a bronze hammer in each hand, the hammerheads of which were covered with densely packed demon bone runes.

The other was tall and thin like a snake, with bluish-gray skin, narrow vertical pupils with no whites, and his entire eye was dark green.

He held a snake-bone spear in his hand, the tip dripping dark green venom that hissed as it hit the stone slab, corroding small pits in the process.

The lion monster, carrying a bronze hammer, leaped down from the high platform, grinning to reveal a mouthful of gleaming white fangs.

"Human brat, do you remember me, Lion? That day you almost broke my bones, today I'll take your life!"

Fu Qing looked up, her heart sinking, but she chuckled lightly, "So it's the big lion. Your human form is rather ugly. Has your injury healed completely?"

The lion glared and charged forward, hammer in hand.

The snake demon locked its vertical pupils around Fu Qing's throat, and the snake spear was already thrusting towards him.

Fu Qing parried with his sword, their internal energies clashing. The venom on the spear tip hissed as the energies collided, and a foul stench assaulted his nostrils—the venom was extremely corrosive, capable of even eroding internal energy.

The lion monster's two bronze hammers followed closely behind, and with a muffled "bang," the rubble beneath Fu Qing's feet was sent flying everywhere, and his calves felt slightly numb from the impact.

The two demon generals cooperated perfectly. The snake demon used a spear to restrain Fu Qing, keeping the spear tip close to Fu Qing's throat and chest, while the lion demon smashed down with a powerful and heavy copper hammer.

Fu Qing's [Outstanding Talent] was triggered when he was isolated and helpless, and his combat power began to rise.

[Exhilarating Combat] As his health and mana were depleted, his sword strikes became heavier with each strike.

However, the demon race is naturally stronger than the human race at the same level. In a head-on collision at the same level, the human race is already at a disadvantage, and fighting two against one is even more dangerous.

He was forced to retreat under the combined attack of the two demon generals, his feet trampling deep pits into the ground. His cold iron blade clanged under the relentless blows of the copper hammer and the serpent spear.

Suwen, who was behind, witnessed this scene.

She was leading the disciples of the Medicine Palace to use medicinal energy to dispel the Gu worms. She held a medicine cauldron in her hands, and pale green medicinal energy rose from the mouth of the cauldron, killing the Gu worms.

She saw Fu Qing being forced to retreat towards the mountain stream by the two demon generals, and stuffed the medicine cauldron into Su Xue's hands, saying, "You take charge, I'll go help him."

Su Xue's expression changed drastically, and she grabbed her sleeve.

"Those are two Qi Refining Realm demon generals! What can a mere medicine cultivator like you do there?!"

Suwen pried open her hand and took out a palm-sized copper plate from the medicine pouch.

The bronze plate was covered with runes, which lit up one by one the moment her fingertips touched it, and golden light flowed around the edge of the plate.

Su Xue's eyes widened. "The Confucian's wondrous Dao treasure plate, Master gave this to you!"

Suwen nodded, held the copper plate in his hand, and, carrying the medicine bag on his back, chased after them towards the mountain stream.