Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

However, Gu Xingzhuo's gaze drifted to the man's waist, where there was a token.

It was a very familiar token.

"Speaking of which, you are a guard of Shatterwood City?"

"Me? No, I belong to the 17th Banner of the Guardian Army."

"The Guardian Army is here too..."

"After all, this incident caused quite a stir, and we also received news that Brokenwood City might be attacked. General Fang even personally led a team here."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruoxue raised an eyebrow, "General Fang is..."

The man puffed out his chest and said proudly, "Speaking of General Fang, he is naturally the Guardian General of the Nation, the Imperial Sword Saint General Fang Yan."

"He is currently stationed in Shatterwood City."

"Fang Yan..."

Upon hearing the familiar name, Zhang Ruoxue was startled.

Gu Xingzhuo noticed his junior sister's reaction and asked curiously, "Do you know this Fang Yan, junior sister?"

"I think I recognize it."

After being shocked, Zhang Ruoxue scratched her head blankly.

"But I seem to remember his name was Yuan Yan... or Fang Yan? I can't quite remember... or was it Pingxingsibian Yan...? Did he change his name?"

Gu Xingzhuo: "..."

12. What kind of inflammation? What's the prescription?

Fortunately, the man didn't hear Zhang Ruoxue's ramblings about Fang Yan. Otherwise, given Fang Yan's current status in the empire, he might have accused Ruoxue of insulting an imperial general and locked her up for ten days or half a month.

That's a fearless general guarding the borders of the Lantian Empire! How could you joke about his name?!

—However, this has almost become a tradition of Yuntian Academy. Ever since he met Fang Yan, no one in that courtyard has been able to call him by his name correctly.

Later, he even started to wonder if he should just change his name.

Back to the topic.

Having encountered the Guardian Army here, Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo no longer intended to linger. Instead, they followed the man to their destination.

Broken Wood City.

An indescribable oppressive atmosphere permeated this desolate town. Before the two even stepped into the town, they could sense the faint stench of blood. If they carefully used their spiritual energy to observe, they could even see a few demonic spirits wandering around the town.

Gu Xingzhuo and Zhang Ruoxue had anticipated this scene.

After all, Broken Wood City is located on the border of the empire, and is under attack from the Demon Dynasty. In order to resist the demon cultivators, injuries and deaths are inevitable.

Only after officially entering Broken Wood City did the two realize that... they had underestimated the destructive power of the Demon Dynasty.

There was hardly anyone wandering the streets as far as the eye could see. The buildings such as restaurants had probably been completely demolished and replaced with rest stations for people to recuperate. The surroundings were desolate, with doors and windows tightly closed, like a dead city.

At the entrance of the alley, there were several makeshift thatched huts. Lying inside were the Broken Wood City cultivators who did not want to occupy the inn's buildings. They all had some scars on their bodies, and wisps of black smoke were still rising from them—clearly left by demonic cultivators.

"They are all cultivators from Broken Wood City."

Noticing Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo's gazes, the man walking in front turned around and explained to them with a complicated expression:

"To make room for more important people to heal, we chose to recuperate in this kind of place... To be honest, it was a last resort, because there are very few doctors in Brokenwood City, and we don't have enough energy to take good care of every wounded person."

Gu Xingzhuo's expression hardened slightly, and his tone turned serious: "Didn't Sansang City send any cultivators skilled in medicine to provide support?"

“Yes, but very few.” The man sighed. “Moreover, most of their injuries were inflicted by demonic cultivators and demons. The injuries were already difficult to heal, and then they had to expel the demonic energy, which naturally made it even more difficult.”

"This guy is also..."

As he said this, he reached out and touched the thick, furry neck of the giant wolf beside him. The wolf squinted and showed a human-like expression of enjoyment.

It was as if it wasn't a hungry wolf, but a well-behaved husky.

It was at this moment that Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo noticed that on the giant wolf's neck, beneath the fur, there was a half-meter-long wound about the thickness of a wrist that had not yet fully scabbed over, as if it had been chopped by an axe.

Wisps of demonic energy emanated from it, and even though the wound was almost scabbed over, it still emitted some blood.

"Sigh—" The man couldn't help but sigh, then stopped stroking them and turned to the two of them, saying, "Let me take you to the military camp first. General Fang and Lieutenant Lü should still be there."

"That would be troublesome."

"No trouble at all. Your arrival is an indispensable fighting force for our Guardian Army."

"Of course, that's possible..."

He suddenly stopped talking at this point.

Zhang Ruoxue frowned in confusion, looking at him with puzzlement: "What could it be?"

The man waved his hand, turned his back, and said casually:

"It's alright, you'll find out soon enough."

Seeing the man's attitude, Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes. However, they did not choose to press for an answer, but instead followed the man to the military camp in Broken Wood City.

……

The so-called military camp was more like a hiding place than one might imagine.

Perhaps Fang Yan wasn't too particular about such bases, because the Hulan Army and the city lord's army of Broken Wood City were stationed in the southwest corner of Broken Wood City.

There, in a deliberately cleared open space, stand two palaces that are not particularly magnificent and have a rather simple design.

Inside the palace, there were no other decorations. The flags of the Lantian Empire were planted on both sides of the entrance, and the interior was an empty space with a used sand table in the center.

now.

Outside the palace were two rows of guards to guard against accidents, while on either side of the palace in the center were temporary watchtowers, each with three monks from the Guardian Army on duty.

Above the watchtower floats a magic array used to observe the demonic forces within a radius of several miles. This array is controlled by the three cultivators in shifts, with one maintaining the array while the other two rest and recover their spiritual energy.

Apart from the relatively empty central palace, the palace on the right was packed with people, with its doors wide open, revealing a large number of Guardian Army cultivators practicing from the outside in.

They wouldn't choose to sleep because no one knew when the Demon Dynasty would attack. Using cultivation to erase physical fatigue was the most efficient approach.

In every respect, it perfectly suits the style of soldiers engaged in border operations.

As soon as they stepped inside, Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo could feel the chilling aura emanating from them—an atmosphere that showed no sign of slackness, as if these cultivators could pick up their magical weapons and throw themselves into a life-or-death battle at any moment.

It's no wonder they're called the Guardian Army... It's because of these people that the Lantian Empire hasn't fallen yet.

In every sense, the monks present could be considered heroes of the empire.

The man stood before Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo, pointed to the palace with its gates tightly shut directly ahead, and said:

"That's General Fang's council meeting place. Since you've come from Sansang City, you're probably not very familiar with the battle situation here. Go find General Fang first, and I'll explain it to you in detail."

After saying that, he turned around, touched his beloved mount beside him, and smiled: "I have to go back to patrol, so I won't accompany you inside."

Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo wanted to express their gratitude further, but the other party did not give them the chance and quickly led their mounts away into the distance.

He came and went in a hurry... He must have been worried that demonic cultivators would attack while he was away from his post.

The Demon Dynasty...

The mere existence of this sudden appearance kept the entire empire on edge, fearing that they would be plunged into death at any moment.

These demonic cultivators...

Thinking of this, Zhang Ruoxue clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and her eyes flashed with anger.

She took out a black jade token from her storage ring, looked at the words on it, slowly closed her eyes, and scenes from the past floated before her eyes.

"Let's go, senior brother."

After leaving these words, Zhang Ruoxue took the lead and walked heavily toward the palace directly in front of her.

Gu Xingzhuo nodded slightly and followed behind.

……

……

Inside the Parliament Hall.

The young man, sitting upright in his chair, slowly placed his silver helmet aside. A few drops of sweat clung to his neat, short black hair. He let out a long sigh, his body relaxing after a long time.

Before him were three sand tables, with the tactical plans he had previously discussed with the other soldiers laid out on top.

His handsome face, now devoid of childishness, was filled with melancholy and unbearable sorrow. Occasionally, a look of utter exhaustion would flash in his obsidian-like, crystalline eyes.

He hadn't slept for days.

These past few days, he has been thinking of countermeasures. With the current fighting force, winning this battle is too difficult, too difficult.

He has experienced many battles that seemed impossible to win, but he persevered and has come this far step by step.

But this time, his chances of winning are almost zero.

It's not a matter of combat strength, but a more fundamental reason.

With his brows furrowed, just as he closed his eyes in deep thought, the voice of a messenger suddenly came from outside the door.

"General Fang—a cultivator from Sansang City requests an audience."

"Sansang City?" The young man, sitting alone, narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Didn't they come here just now?"

The messenger outside paused for a moment, then explained, "They are two cultivators who arrived a little late because they were attacked by demonic cultivators."

Demonic cultivators attack...

Indeed, Fang Yan also remembered that recently there seemed to be a lot of news about demonic cultivators attacking villages around Broken Wood City.

He took a deep breath, straightened his posture, and tightened his nerves again, which he had finally managed to relax for a while.

"Let them in."

"Yes, General Fang."

Fang Yan never refuses the cultivators from Sansang City.

However, judging from the current situation, no matter how many cultivators Sansang City sends, it may be to no avail.

Because this isn't about combat strength at all... The key to winning this battle isn't whether or not we can resist the Demon Dynasty's invasion...