Zhennan Prefecture is more than 3,200 miles south of Chuanzhong Pass and has jurisdiction over 27 counties. The territory is full of mountains and peaks, steep ridges and towering peaks. Thousands of mountains compete for beauty, and the peaks and ridges meander like dragons and snakes. The Jinsha River rushes through it, and its turbid waves empty out and split the mountains.
Once upon a time, this place was full of flowers and fruits, which were transported to various prefectures in Shu. Now, the mountains are white, the forests are dyed red, and it has become dead silent. There is no one living for thousands of miles. In the last battle, all 27 counties of the prefecture fell into the hands of demons. Countless people were displaced. On the way north, there were scattered bones everywhere, as well as demons and beasts that ate human flesh and roamed the mountains and forests.
"quack"
About forty miles north of Zhennan Prefecture, there is a barren mountain more than two hundred meters high.
The top of the mountain was full of broken rocks, broken trees, roots stuck in the cracks of the rocks, feather arrows stuck in the trees, and broken halberds!
In the desolate and bleak snowstorm, a half-broken black flag with a gold border was inserted diagonally, fluttering in the wind.
Under the flag, a black crow landed on a pale human skull with its feet. Its sharp beak pecked at the rotten flesh in the eye sockets of the skull. After two bites, it stopped and looked up. Its pair of yellow eyeballs rolled left and right, and its pupils like thin black lines paid attention to the surroundings.
Suddenly, there was a "swish" sound in the air.
The crow flew up in fright, cawed twice, and prepared to flap its wings and leave.
The next second, with a puff, the black feather exploded, and a few tiny feathers appeared on the snow.
"call"
There was a sound of wind blowing, and then a figure appeared beside the flag.
The figure squatted down and looked at the pale skull. Then he stretched out a hand and pushed away the snow, sand and mud under the skull, revealing the green iron armor underneath.
The further down I scrolled, the more I realized that the man seemed to be standing.
The figure simply flicked his sleeves, and the snow underneath was blown away like yellow sand, revealing the complete appearance of the armor.
Qingjia knelt on one knee facing north, holding the felling flag in one hand and kneeling with a knife in the other, with a hole as big as a bowl in his stomach.
And this flag is the mountain-cutting flag of the Fifth Mountain!
The Fifth Mountain, together with Jishan, guarded Dingshan Pass when the battle first broke out. Later, the great demon Musashi killed the two Taichang Temples who were sent by the imperial court to negotiate peace in Shiwandashan, broke through Dingshan Pass, and the army fighting in the mountains was defeated. The Fifth Mountain also lost all its troops in the process of fighting and retreating.
They died in the barren mountains thousands of miles to the south, buried under the white snow and bleak dust. No one told of their achievements, only that they were defeated and the battle was over.
The cold light of the iron armor is still there, but the Fifth Mountain is no longer there!
"Hey"
A young sigh expresses all the vicissitudes and desolation.
Then, the figure stomped his feet, and the ground below cracked open, burying the man in green armor under the earth and rocks.
Then, he pulled up the felling flag of the fifth mountain and stuck it on the small mound. Then he looked up through the vast snow and wind and looked into the distance. His eyes had a brilliant light and he could see that in the white sky in the distance, there was a monstrous demonic aura, full of oppressive and terrifying atmosphere.
The man had silver hair, divine light flowing around him, and was dressed in white. He looked at the surging demonic energy in the distance with his eyes flashing rapidly.
That is the Zhennan Prefecture Pass that was captured by demons!
His last training ended here, this time, he wanted to break into this devil's cave.
A few days ago, Chuanzhongguan issued an urgent reward for investigating the situation of the demon's teleportation array. It seemed to be an important matter, so he took down the list.
Of course, he is not the only one coming this time.
As Zhao Quanzhen's thoughts turned, two figures slowly condensed in the air around him.
One of them was wearing a linen robe, with white hair and a youthful face, looking like an immortal; the other one had black and white hair with a wooden hairpin inserted in it, and was wearing a black feather dress with a white lining underneath. He had a small tuft of beard on his chin, and his face was like a pair of silkworms. He was holding a jade ruyi in his hand, and his eyes revealed a sense of majesty without even being angry.
The two people are Zhao Quanzhen’s teacher Ling Yunzi, and his uncle, Uncle Yangshan, one of the Eight Great Shanren of Wudao Mountain!
Ling Yunzi and Yangshan looked down at the small grave mound in front of them, with a somewhat lonely look on their faces.
"Jun buried in the mud to sell bones, I send snow to the world."
"I think this sentence written by our predecessors is also very sad."
"I didn't expect that the war between Shu and the demons would be so cruel. If you don't go there in person, it's hard to understand just by hearing those words. Those old guys in the paradise should come and see it. The carefree life of the breeze and the moon is enough. It's time to leave the mountains."
Yangshan lowered his eyebrows, his tone was filled with sighs and emotion, and he looked at the grave in front of him.
"Are these people also the mountain-cutting troops?"
"Hmm!" Zhao Quanzhen snorted, then looked at the half of the flag fluttering in the wind and said solemnly, "This is the flag of the Fifth Mountain Fashan Army. This Fashan Army was wiped out in the previous battle."
"There is a second mountain, an eighth mountain, a tenth mountain, and an eleventh mountain."
Zhao Quanzhen had been training on the front lines for a while and had some understanding of the news. He also kept it in mind, because during his training outside the Sichuan Pass, which covered more than 2,300 miles, what shocked him most were the corpses of the soldiers who had cleared the mountains. Many of the soldiers had fought with demons before their death and died along with them.
He also followed the Ninth Mountain's troops and participated in the tail end of the previous battle. The bravery of those mountain-cutting soldiers gave him a great shock as a practitioner in the mountains.
This is also the reason why he stayed in Chuanzhongguan!
Yangshan listened in silence, but then he raised his eyelids and looked in the direction of Zhennan Prefecture, his eyes and eyebrows gradually showing his majesty.
"Let's go. We are all human beings. How can we stand by and watch these beasts run rampant?"
"I want to meet them."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, and a ray of precious light flew out from his sleeve and landed on his hand.
In his hand, he was holding a glittering white and green precious robe. The robe was as thin as a cicada's wing, and the thread was extremely delicate and exquisite, exuding an extraordinary quality.
Then he turned sideways and said to Zhao Quanzhen:
"This is the Bichen Dharma Robe, woven and refined from the silk of the Laofan silkworm, and then nurtured by my two divine treasures of water and fire for three years. It is invulnerable to swords and guns, and is immune to water and fire. It can also hide the body and spirit."
"You haven't practiced enough yet. I see that there is a demonic aura ahead. It is undoubtedly a demonic cave. I am afraid there is more than one big demon in charge. The mission is dangerous. Put on this robe to help you hide your aura."
"If you hadn't been through so much and understood these demons, I would have gone with your teacher and wouldn't have let you take the risk. Go ahead!"
Zhao Quanzhen listened to the master's words and knew that it was his care and concern. He lowered his body slightly and took it with both hands. He felt that this dust-repelling robe was extremely light and soft in his hands, like a puff of smoke. "Thank you, master!"
"Put it on!"
"This is a magic formula." Yangshan pinched his fingers, then hit Zhao Quanzhen's wrist. A stream of white true energy penetrated into the opponent's wrist and automatically flowed through his acupuncture points, forming a route map.
This is the route of the true qi that drives this robe. Zhao Quanzhen circulated his true qi according to this method, and the dust-proof robe in his hand turned into two streams of smoke, spreading upward from his two arms.
A flash of spiritual light appeared, and in the blink of an eye, Zhao Quanzhen was covered with a robe, just like a transparent silk robe, but the energy surging in his body became vague at this moment, and the effect was immediate.
"Your uncle has taken out the robes. It seems he is serious. Quanzhen, you go first. Your uncle and I will follow behind. I will also check the results of your recent training."
Ling Yunzi spoke at this time, his eyes filled with encouragement and some expectation.
"Yes, teacher!" Zhao Quanzhen clasped his fists, and then without saying much, he took two steps forward, looked at the small pile of graves under his feet, then stood up, turned into a ray of white light, disappeared into the vast wind and snow in the sky, and rushed straight towards the direction of Zhennan Prefecture.
On the barren mountain behind, Ling Yunzi and Yangshan watched him leave, then looked at each other.
"Brother, I sense that the demonic energy in Zhennan Prefecture is boiling. I'm afraid this trip won't be that simple." Ling Yunzi spoke and took a long breath, vaguely feeling that something big was about to happen.
There was something unusual about the bounty offered by the Chuanzhongguan Mountain-Fighting Army, and he really couldn't guess what the intention was.
"It's okay, didn't you stop Quanzhen? You have always treated him like your own son." Yangshan asked him back.
"This is his path, and we are getting old too. This trip to Shu has had a great impact on him, and he has met a good guide. I feel that if Quan Zhen can follow his own wishes this time, he should be able to break through the third level of Dao Fruit soon and be promoted to Musashi." Ling Yunzi's eyes were filled with the expectation and hope of an elder.
"Really?" Yangshan was a little surprised, then he remembered something, "You are his master, you know him best, you dare to say that, it means that your nephew has made great progress during this period of time, no wonder he refused to participate in the Luotian Grand Ceremony, if he can be promoted to Wuzang, he will not be inferior to those geniuses from other mountains who will be on the list in the future!"
At this point, he suddenly remembered something, and his eyes were filled with a hint of doubt, "Junior brother just said that Quanzhen met a very good guide? It's a bit strange for you, as a master, to say that. Who is that person?"
Ling Yunzi's face was solemn, and a silver-armored figure emerged from the flickering light in his eyes. "He is the ninth general of the mountain-killing army. Brother, you should have heard of him when you came to Shu!"
"It's him! I've certainly heard of this person. After I entered Shu, I heard about his deeds several times. Not long ago, there was quite a commotion at Tianxiong Pass."
"Well, my master and I met this General Zhonglang by chance, and we once fought back from the land outside the Great Wall with the Ninth Mountain troops in the last battle, where we began to witness the cruelty of the demon battlefield. I think it was at that time that the Quanzhen Dao heart changed, which led to this saying." At this point, Wu Zang's expression suddenly changed, thinking of the Luotian Grand Ceremony, and said to his brother who looked a little surprised:
"Brother, you have never met this general, so you may not know that this man is about the same age as Quan Zhen!"
This is a problem that many people ignore or don’t understand clearly!
Because not many people have actually come into contact with this General of the Central Army and do not know his true origins, many people have only heard rumors from the market. The more they spread, the more distorted the truth becomes. Or, it can be said that the deeds of the General of the Central Army of the Ninth Mountain are so dazzling that people ignore the issue of his age.
"What?" Yangshan was surprised when he heard this. "How is it possible? I heard that this general defeated Musashi in Tianxiong Pass and even dared to fight against the void projection of the Dragon Tiger Mighty."
Facing his senior brother's doubts, Ling Yunzi simply said, "Junior brother, I'm not joking."
Yangshan slowly gathered his expression and turned serious. "There is such a talented person in Shu. If he participates in the Luotian Grand Ceremony, he will probably be ranked first. The others will become a joke."
"It seems that it is really possible that he is the leader of Quanzhen as you said!"
As the two Musashi from Wudao Mountain were talking, a loud explosion was suddenly heard in the distance.
The sudden noise caused the two men to stop their conversation. Their expressions changed and they looked in the direction where the explosion came from.
"It seems that Quan Zhen has started to take action!"
"go!"
Then, the two of them disappeared in the wind at the same time, leaving behind the low grave mound and the felling flag swaying in the wind, rustling as if whistling a war song!
At the time when the three members of Zhao Quanzhen's lineage were rushing to Zhennan Prefecture, they were heading north to Jinguan City, thousands of miles away.
In the Ninth Mountain military camp, a group of armored soldiers were lined up on the parade ground. The armor style of these soldiers was different from that of the Ninth Mountain.
At this time, under the reviewing platform, three generals in red armor and a woman in red stood opposite each other.
"Mr. Wu, I'll leave it to the three generals!"
Lian Nishang clasped her fists and bowed to Yun Tiansheng and the other two.
"Captain Lian, your words are too polite. You are the general's trustee, so we dare not neglect you. However, the military situation is urgent, and the three of us have not fulfilled our duty as hosts, so we are sending you away like this."
"Of course there will be a chance. We will meet again in the mountains and rivers. As my brother entrusted me, we will meet on the front line someday! Goodbye!" Lian Nishang didn't say too much politely. After she finished speaking, she turned around and walked quickly. Then she stepped on the big maroon horse.
Then, one of them lifted the reins.
The horse neighed loudly and turned its head.
"Captain Lian, take care!"
Yun Tiansheng bowed to the fiery woman in red on the horse and shouted.
Just then, a sound of "Gee" was heard.
The big chestnut horse galloped out in an instant, rushed through the soldiers lined up on both sides, and rushed out of the slowly opening gate of the Ninth Mountain Military Camp.
As she moved, more than a thousand cavalrymen from the three prefectures immediately moved from both sides to the middle, spurring their horses and waving their whips.
"drive"
"drive"
"drive"
Snow and mud flew, horses' hooves rumbled, and the race rushed away.
Lian Nishang led the thousand-plus troops and rumbled out of the Ninth Mountain and returned to Qingshan County to take over the remaining 30,000 troops. Then, according to Chen Yuan's entrustment, she led the troops to the southeast defense line to complete the defense and face the upcoming second battle!
Inside the military camp, Yun Tiansheng and the other two watched Lian Nishang and her men rushing down the mountain. Their eyes flickered as they watched them go far to the north until they disappeared.
Then, the three of them understood each other, looked at each other, and then passed the order down.
"Blow the whistle!"
"Send the order!"
Soon, a sharp whistle sounded in the Ninth Mountain Military Camp and spread.
The training ground that had just been emptied was soon filled with the roar of men and horses. (End of this chapter)
