Early morning.
Following the scent of blood, Huang Tingyu arrived at a stream. Just as Lin Zhao, Su Qingjiu, and Wu Zhi arrived, they witnessed a scene of utter devastation. The bank of the stream was littered with corpses, all of them soldiers from Western Shu. Many cavalrymen were split into dozens of pieces, along with their horses, while others were reduced to bloody pulp by searing sword energy.
"Brother Lin Zhao."
Su Qingjiu found a troop deployment token on Li Chuyun's chest and said, "This person is... Li Chuyun, the commander of the Western Shu Iron Cavalry."
"Ah?"
Lin Zhao took the token and examined it. It was indeed a token held by a general of the Great Shang Dynasty. Furthermore, this token was made of pure gold and held a very high rank. In the past, this Li Chuyun would have been equivalent to a regional military governor. It was rather ignominious that such a second-rank general had died here so obscurely.
"My Lord, there are also bodies in the stream."
Wu Zhi called out.
"Mmm."
Lin Zhao stepped forward to inspect them. They were all itinerant cultivators accompanying the Great Shang Dynasty army, numbering around 500 in total. These people had not even had a chance to escape, having been slaughtered in a short period. There were also no signs of resistance, indicating that their opponent was too strong, far exceeding the strength of this army.
"Who could it be?" Lin Zhao asked.
"The sword intent is extremely refined."
Su Qingjiu examined a stone stalagmite that had been cut in half nearby. She reached out and ran her fingers over the cut surface, still feeling a faint trace of sword energy. She frowned and said, "Brother Lin Zhao, if I'm not mistaken, it should be the work of the Xunlu Sword. That person named Gu Yanshu killed a full 500 soldiers of the Western Shu Iron Cavalry, even killing their commander, Li Chuyun, along with them."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and said, "Since we are here, let's not let these people lie exposed to the elements. Old Huang, change back to your original form and dig a pit. We'll bury these people before we leave."
"???"
Huang Tingyu picked his nose and said, "Damn it, do I have to change back to my original form just to dig a pit? Can't I, Huang Jianxian, dig a pit?"
"Alright, alright."
Lin Zhao said, "As long as you can dig it out."
"Hmph!"
Huang Tingyu raised his hand, and streaks of sword intent rose from the ground. In a blink of an eye, a large pit appeared in front of them, with the excavated soil piled to the side. Immediately, Su Qingjiu and Wu Zhi remotely controlled their sword intent, sending the corpses of the cavalrymen one by one into the pit. Even the bloody remains were severed with a sword and buried along with the soil. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a large grave was constructed.
Lin Zhao carried a stone stalagmite over, buried it in the ground, and had Wu Zhi use a sword to flatten the surface. Then, Lin Zhao controlled his flying sword, Xinhuo, and carved the words "Tomb of Li Chuyun and the Five Hundred Western Shu Iron Cavalry" onto the tombstone.
Just as Lin Zhao finished arranging the tombstone, a ripple suddenly appeared in the wind, followed by a flying fish flapping its tail in the wind in front of Wu Zhi. It was a flying fish message. Wu Zhi nodded, and the flying fish spat out a bubble, which contained a piece of paper. Wu Zhi picked up the letter, read it, and handed it to Lin Zhao.
The flying fish message was from Xu Shuo of the Mohist Ancestral Court, and it contained only a few lines:
"Wu Zhi, inform Lin Zhao that Gu Yanshu, who wields the Xunlu Sword, has emerged from seclusion, carrying an extremely heavy killing intent. He intends to use the killing nature of the Xunlu Sword to nourish his own cultivation. Although this person is a disciple of Lin Shenghan, the Sword Saint of Western Shu, he has degenerated into a sword demon. By order of the Mohist Ancestral Court, the Confucian Wenlin, and the Military Ancestral Court, any who encounter Gu Yanshu are to kill him if possible, or flee without hesitation if not."
"Mmm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "From now on, let's focus on pursuing and killing Gu Yanshu. Leaving this person in the human world will inevitably be a disaster. Old Huang, your nose is keen, can you track his scent and find his whereabouts?"
"Difficult."
Huang Tingyu said, "Gu Yanshu is a smart person, and the killing intent of the Xunlu Sword is too strong, which has a certain obscuring effect on his aura. I can try my best, but I may not be able to truly find Gu Yanshu's whereabouts."
"It's alright, just do your best."
"Yes!"
...
Northern Region, Fusu Great Wall.
The New Year had just passed, and the Fusu Great Wall remained cold, as usual. Every day, cultivators from the Fusu Great Wall headed north to kill demons in the Great Wilderness of the Northern Region. The demon cores and the heads of demons would be sources of merit. The Fusu Great Wall was harsh and cold, and almost all cultivation resources for the cultivators here came from the exchange of merit, which made the atmosphere in the Fusu Great Wall even more decisive and resolute.
Lin Wanhua, dressed in white as snow, sat quietly on the battlements, but her gaze was directed south. At this moment, a cataclysmic change was happening in the Shu Prefecture area. Unfortunately, Lin Wanhua had received orders from the Confucian Wenlin not to leave her post. As the lord of the Fusu Great Wall, she had to guard it.
However, the Southern Qinling Great Wilderness was fraught with danger. News had just arrived that Ning Hao, the Mountain Lord of Dongyue at the twelfth realm, had sacrificed himself. Moreover, he was killed on his own mountain. This made Lin Wanhua's heart heavy. Ning Hao was a genuine peak thirteenth-realm cultivator in Dongyue. Even he had been killed. Perhaps the demon race had truly sent their entire upper echelon.
Those demon cultivators did not cross the Jianxi River and the Fusu Great Wall. Some entered human territory from the East Sea, while others circumvented through the underworld and infiltrated the human heartland. Furthermore, there were rumors that Gu Yanshu, the wielder of the Xunlu Sword, the prodigy of Shu Prefecture born under the thunder, had appeared with the Xunlu Sword, carrying immense killing intent.
This made Lin Wanhua quite worried. Although Lin Zhao was accompanied by Su Qingjiu, Huang Tingyu, and Wu Zhi, could they return safely if they encountered the same crisis as Ning Hao? She frowned. In fact, after the water and fire crisis, the Upper Realm had informed Changming Mountain. Even Lin Qing'er, a thirteenth-realm sword immortal in the Upper Realm, had sent a message to Su Qingjiu, telling her that if she wanted to break through, she could do so and reunite with her master in the Upper Realm. However, Su Qingjiu was unwilling to break through. She wanted to stay in the mortal world to accompany Lin Zhao. For such a stubborn Su Qingjiu, it was extremely difficult to break through, so Su Qingjiu could only be considered a twelfth-realm cultivator.
Lin Wanhua pursed her red lips. If she were by his side, perhaps there would be no more threats. Even if she encountered a fourteenth-realm demon cultivator, even if the Demon Ancestor himself appeared, she, Lin Wanhua, could fight for it. At most, she could go all out and try her best to achieve a fourteenth-realm? Even if she failed, she would still have the foundation of a thirteenth-realm. However, if Lin Wanhua were to reach the fourteenth realm one day, she would truly have to ascend.
Moreover, reaching the fourteenth realm was not that easy to strive for.
"Aunt!"
At this moment, a young man flew up to the Great Wall on his sword and said, "I heard Brother Lin Zhao went to Western Shu? Why didn't you go?"
Lin Wanhua felt that this kid was really bringing up the wrong topic and immediately stood up and slapped him on the back of the head. "Why are you bothering yourself with this!?"
The young man spun around from the blow, scratched his head, and said, "If you don't go, you don't go. Why are you angry... Aunt, there's a piece of sword intent I can't comprehend, can you enlighten me a little?"
"Ask your father. I don't have time." Lin Wanhua was still angry.
"Oh, isn't that because Aunt is a great sword immortal and Father is a small sword immortal..."
This remark made Lin Wanhua both amused and speechless. The brat really knew how to talk.
So she waved her hand, leaving a wisp of sword intent around the young man's wrist, and said, "Alright, take it back and comprehend it slowly. If you still can't comprehend it, don't think about reaching the Upper Five Realms anymore. Go to the backyard and tend to the horses."
"Okay, okay."
Qin Ran rode his sword and floated away. His voice drifted in the wind, "Aunt, wear more clothes. Don't catch a cold. I'll go to the market this afternoon to buy pork knuckles, and I'll stew a ham hock for you tomorrow."
Lin Wanhua couldn't help but smile. The brat was so thoughtful!
Just then, she narrowed her eyes and looked towards the Northern Region. There, the sky curtain of the Nishang Realm was being lifted by dozens of Curtain Lifters, forming a continuous expanse. Immediately, dense formations of demonic cavalry began to march south. Moreover, there had been constant movement from the direction of the Demon Ancestral Mountain in the past few days. The demon army camps in Panyun Mountain had increased from four to ten. Ten camps meant two million troops. Such a large demon army probing the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool from afar made one feel very uneasy.
...
Lin Wanhua turned her head. Two martial artists arrived by wind, one young and one old. The young one was in the Heaven Yuan Realm, and the old one was in the Rebirth Realm. They were the Marshals Lin Ruo and Lü Fengxian.
"Greetings, City Lord Lin." The two clasped their fists together, their attitudes extremely respectful.
Lin Wanhua smiled and returned the gesture. "Marshals, you are here at the Fusu Great Wall. I presume you have something on your mind?"
"Indeed."
Lü Fengxian crossed his arms. This old man had served under Lin Zhao a hundred years ago, when he was still in the Heaven Yuan Realm. Now he had reached the Rebirth Realm. Although the world rumored that Lü Fengxian's Rebirth Realm foundation could not compare to the old Marshal Chen Wanli, and was like paper, those were ultimately rumors. Moreover, the Rebirth Realm was the Rebirth Realm. Even a paper-thin Rebirth Realm was an astonishing existence.
Lü Fengxian grinned and said, "I'm not good with words. Lin Ruo, you speak."
"Mmm."
Lin Ruo said, "I believe City Lord Lin has also investigated. The demon race has reinforced Panyun Mountain to two million troops, and the demonic race is also mobilizing. Hundreds of thousands of demonic cavalry may march south at any moment. Tomorrow morning, our Panshi Army and the troops of Wuzhen Tower will march north through the Fusu Great Wall. I also ask City Lord Lin to make preparations. A great battle is imminent."
Lin Wanhua nodded.
Lin Ruo said, "This is not just for us, but also for the situation in Southern Shu. Only by deploying heavy troops on the border can Lin Zhao, Su Qingjiu, Xu Shuo, and others deal with the demon race's schemes and the situation with the Xunlu Sword in the south with undivided attention."
"Mmm, I know."
Lin Wanhua smiled. "I will order the Fusu Great Wall's mess hall to work overtime tonight. Tomorrow morning, large quantities of dry rations and strong liquor will be placed along the streets. The soldiers of your two armies can take them as needed. The dry rations will fill your stomachs, and the strong liquor will keep you warm."
"Thank you!"
The two Marshals clasped their fists together.