Chapter 1321: Military Chaos

Chapter 1320: Military Chaos

The Feathered Ascension expert of the Great Wilderness pointed forward with the long spear in his hand, coiling like a flood dragon. In an instant, heaven and earth roared in fury, ten thousand voices shook in thunderous howls. It was as if murderous intent erupted from the land itself, within the darkness of night, countless demon cavalry burst forth and charged madly ahead, surging toward Mo Hua’s position.

“Royal Court raid on the camp!”

“The Great Wilderness demon cavalry, they’re killing their way over!”

“Form up!”

“Kill!”

On the Dao soldiers’ side, amid the chaos, waves of battle cries rose in response.

From the darkness on the other side, a figure clad in flowing, radiant light slowly emerged, it was True-Person Huá. His expression was just as grim.

He had never expected that the Demon cavalry troops of the Great Wilderness Royal Court would actually dare to raid the camp.

Nor had he expected that this Feathered Ascension expert of the Great Wilderness would dare to openly appear before them.

As massive numbers of demon cavalry surged in like a tide across mountains and plains, True-Person Zhuge and True-Person Huá exchanged a glance. Without hesitation, they activated their movement techniques and retreated backward.

This was a Second-Grade Mountain Realm.

According to the usual rules, it was a forbidden zone for Feathered Ascension cultivators.

Golden Core cultivators could suppress their cultivation and muddle about in a Second-Grade Mountain Realm with Foundation Establishment strength.

But Feathered Ascension power was simply too strong. No matter how much it was suppressed, it was difficult to precisely keep it at the Foundation Establishment level.

Small-scale skirmishes were one thing, those could be risked. But in a large-scale charge like this, the slightest mistake that unleashed power beyond Foundation Establishment would invite tribulation lightning. Even a Feathered Ascension expert would be reduced to ashes, their lifetime of cultivation returned to heaven and earth.

This was the Heavenly Dao.

Under the laws of the Heavenly Dao, all beings were equal, True Persons included.

Whether True-Person Zhuge or True-Person Huá, neither dared to slaughter these Royal Court barbarian troops in a Second-Grade Mountain Realm.

Even though, in a Fourth-Grade Mountain Realm, these Foundation Establishment barbarians covering the mountains could be annihilated with a flick of their fingers.

Here, they could not kill.

They could only retreat, retreat back into the Fourth-Grade Mountain Realm.

At the same time, there was still another great enemy before them: this Feathered Ascension expert of the Great Wilderness Royal Court.

At this moment, that Feathered Ascension expert did not attack them directly. Instead, riding a ferocious tiger, he charged straight toward the Dao Court garrison in the Fourth-Grade Mountain Realm.

True-Person Zhuge and True-Person Huá would have to intercept him at the entrance to the Fourth-Grade Mountain Realm, and fight him head-on, to decide victory or defeat.

Otherwise, if they allowed this Great Wilderness Feathered Ascension—like a walking colossus—to charge into the Dao Court garrison and slaughter at will, a catastrophic disaster would surely follow.

This surprise attack by the Great Wilderness Royal Court had been completely unexpected.

Even True-Person Zhuge had only sensed the karmic warning less than the time it took an incense stick to burn.

And so, they had no choice but to be led by this Feathered Ascension expert into the Fourth-Grade Mountain Realm.

As for everything else… they could no longer manage it.

True-Person Zhuge’s gaze turned toward the night. Through the darkness, he could see Mo Hua’s startled face, and worry stirred in his heart.

But now, even Mo Hua was beyond his concern.

What followed would be a battle of Feathered Ascension. If Mo Hua followed, the danger would only be greater.

In the present situation, all he could do was leave the child to fend for himself. He could only hope the boy was clever enough… and that nothing went wrong…

True-Person Zhuge thought silently.

In the darkness, Mo Hua also saw the complexity in True-Person Zhuge’s eyes.

Relying on his extraordinary understanding of Heavenly Dao formations, Mo Hua instantly grasped the situation and understood True-Person Zhuge’s thoughts. He nodded solemnly toward him.

True-Person Zhuge froze.

“Damn it… this kid, don’t tell me he can really read minds? Can someone actually be this smart?”

Still, as long as Mo Hua understood, that was enough. True-Person Zhuge said no more. After giving Mo Hua one last look, he activated a Second-Grade movement talisman, left the camp, and retreated toward the Fourth-Grade Mountain Realm on the other side.

True-Person Huá’s expression was dark. He had more important matters to attend to, but under the current circumstances, he had no choice.

He crushed a jade slip in his hand, seemingly transmitting a message.

Then, without hesitation, he activated a movement talisman as well, heading ahead with True-Person Zhuge toward the Dao Court garrison in the Fourth-Grade Mountain Realm to restrain the Great Wilderness Feathered Ascension expert.

The situation changed far too quickly.

Mo Hua barely had time to react when, not long after, blood-soaked killing intent rushed toward him head-on. In the distance, the Royal Court demon troops had already charged close.

Mo Hua’s heart jolted.

“Little Senior Brother!”

With the situation in chaos, Little Senior Brother’s side would definitely be in danger.

Mo Hua hurried toward the Imperial Celestial Bureau’s prison, guided by the information he remembered.

Earlier, True-Person Zhuge had already “led the wolf into the house,” bringing Mo Hua through the prison once.

With Mo Hua’s heaven-defying Divine-Sense and formation attainments, the prison’s layout, formations, guards, and locks had all been engraved into his mind.

These past few days, Mo Hua had already been eyeing this prison.

Now that True-Person Zhuge was gone, True-Person Huá was gone—Mo Hua was truly like a fish in water, without the slightest restraint.

Mo Hua entered the Imperial Celestial Bureau’s prison under concealment.

One by one, the prison formations were dismantled by him.

The hidden guards were also silently taken down one after another.

Some were stunned unconscious by spells, some were sealed by formations, and a few with higher cultivation were simply glanced at quietly by Mo Hua with the Divine-Dread Sword, and promptly fainted…

All of this was done while Mo Hua was invisible. From the outside, it looked as though a “ghost” had entered the prison.

Bai Zisheng sensed the disturbance, opened his eyes, and saw the scene before him, his pupils shrank sharply.

With his high cultivation, great strength, and keen instincts, he quickly realized that some invisible “ghost” had infiltrated all the way to his cell door within just a few blinks.

Before the cell door was the Seven Stars Formation Lock personally laid down by a True Person of the Imperial Celestial Bureau.

And now, mysterious light had begun to glow upon it.

Someone was attempting to break the formation.

Seven Stars formations were profound formations monopolized by the Dao Court, exceedingly intricate and never transmitted to outsiders.

This invisible “ghost” didn’t seem fully proficient. The light on the Seven Stars Formation flickered on and off, waxing and waning uncertainly, occasionally even sparking, clear signs of failed attempts.

But the “ghost” did not give up.

His movements grew increasingly focused, and the chaotic flashes of light on the formation gradually became continuous and stable.

After an unknown amount of time.

With the flash of a complete and profound star pattern, the Seven Stars Formation shattered with a sound. The lock fell to the ground, the cell door opened, and from the void emerged a figure with refined features.

It was Mo Hua.

“Little—”

Bai Zisheng’s eyes lit up, his chest trembling as he was about to speak.

“Shh…” Mo Hua quickly made a silencing gesture and whispered, “I can break True-Person Zhuge’s formation, but I still don’t have a way to deal with the Huá Clan’s Dragon Locks. You—”

Before Mo Hua could finish, his expression suddenly froze, his face darkening slightly.

Not long after, Bai Zisheng also sensed something. His gaze turned cold.

“Someone’s coming?”

Mo Hua nodded. “Little Senior Brother, be careful.” As he spoke, his figure gradually faded, vanishing into concealment once more.

Bai Zisheng glanced around and found not the slightest trace left behind. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, his junior brother’s concealment techniques had grown ever more miraculous.

He then looked toward the outside of the cell.

Sure enough, in less than a moment, seven or eight figures in black appeared in his field of vision.

These black-clad men had deep cultivation, all at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Their eyes were icy, their killing intent sharp.

Seeing that the cell door had been opened and the guards were unconscious, they froze briefly—but upon spotting Bai Zisheng, the killing intent in their eyes flared even more violently.

Seven or eight black-clad assassins transformed into streaks of black light and charged straight at Bai Zisheng.

Bai Zisheng’s gaze sank.

He was still bound by the Nine Layer Dragon-Confining Heavy Locks.

Hidden in the darkness, Mo Hua frowned as well. He hadn’t finished preparing a straw dog and couldn’t directly kill; he could only use spells, or employ the Great Void Divine Sense Sword Art to forcibly suppress these assassins.

But just as Mo Hua’s eyes sharpened and he prepared to act, his expression suddenly shifted again… and he stopped.

The situation before them changed abruptly.

The four assassins charging in front were suddenly slashed across the back by the four behind them.

Blood sprayed everywhere. The four black-clad assassins were grievously wounded and smashed to the ground, twisting around as they cursed angrily, “You—!”

Before the words could leave their mouths, the other four hacked at them in a flurry of blades, sending them straight to the afterlife.

Mo Hua was momentarily stunned.

Bai Zisheng frowned slightly as well.

At that moment, light footsteps sounded. A woman with a graceful figure, dressed in a gold-and-jade embroidered robe, walked in lightly.

Her beauty was like a blossoming flower, her fair chin slightly raised, her brows and eyes tinged with arrogance.

It was Huá Pīng.

Huá Pīng’s eyes shifted as she surveyed the surroundings. Seeing that the formation locks and guards inside the prison had already been dealt with, she looked somewhat surprised.

“You’re quite capable,” she said crisply to Bai Zisheng. “Locked up in the Imperial Celestial Bureau, yet you still had a way to save yourself?”

Bai Zisheng frowned. “What do you want to do?”

Huá Pīng’s pale fingers lifted slightly as she flicked them several times, releasing strands of golden thread that shot straight toward Bai Zisheng.

Hidden in the shadows, Mo Hua was about to raise his hand to intercept them, but after glancing at the trajectory of the golden threads, he lowered his hand again.

The golden threads landed on the Nine Layer Dragon-Confining Heavy Locks on Bai Zisheng’s body.

At the tips of the threads, golden needles took shape.

These needles embedded themselves at the joints of the heavy locks. As golden light flickered, they transformed into liquid gold, seeping into the Dragon Locks.

Golden light flashed inside the locks. Amid faint creaking sounds, the entire set of heavy locks was disassembled piece by piece.

Then, with a flash of light, the locks fell to the ground.

Bai Zisheng’s limbs were freed at last. He rolled his wrists, then raised his head to look at Huá Pīng and asked in a deep voice,

“Why save me?”

Huá Pīng smiled lightly, offering no direct answer. “You only need to remember this, I saved your life.”

With that, she clasped her hands behind her back and walked toward the prison exit.

After a few steps, she suddenly turned her head back, narrowing her eyes as she stared at a corner of Bai Zisheng’s cell.

That corner was empty, with nothing there at all.

Huá Pīng frowned slightly, feeling puzzled. After looking for quite some time and finding nothing, she shook her head and turned away.

She left the prison.

The black-clad men who had slain their own companions carefully escorted Huá Pīng out as well.

Within the prison, only Bai Zisheng remained.

From the silence came Mo Hua’s voice: “Go.”

Bai Zisheng hesitated no longer. Though still covered in wounds, his powerful bloodline continued to grant him formidable stamina.

His figure flashed as he leapt over the corpses on the ground and left the prison. Before departing, he casually reached out and drew a long spear to himself.

Outside the prison, shouts and clashes filled the air.

The barbarian soldiers of the Great Wilderness Royal Court had already reached the military camp.

Ferocious demon cavalry clashed with the Dao Court’s army and a host of prodigies. Flames flared everywhere, killing intent boiling over.

Several royal court demon cavalry charged at Bai Zisheng. He countered with a backhand thrust of his spear, skewering them. With a casual fling, he sent the corpses flying far away.

But his grievous injuries had yet to heal, each spear thrust could only kill one foe.

The charge of two more demon cavalry followed, and for a moment he lacked the strength to defend.

Just then, a flash of blue light appeared. The Water Prison Technique descended, freezing the remaining two royal court demon cavalry in place.

Bai Zisheng froze for an instant, then acted without hesitation. His spear shot out like a dragon—one man, one spear—and the two demon cavalry were slain.

“This way…”

A familiar voice spoke from the darkness.

“Little Junior Brother.”

Though Bai Zisheng couldn’t see Mo Hua, he knew that at this very moment, his junior brother was guarding him at his side. For the first time, he felt an unprecedented sense of reassurance.

“Alright.”

Bai Zisheng nodded, then followed the guidance of the voice and fled forward.

The remaining demon cavalry, seeing him kill one man with each spear thrust—fierce beyond human measure—were struck with fear and dared not pursue.

Before long, Bai Zisheng encountered several Dao Court prodigies.

They were fighting the royal court cavalry, and upon seeing Bai Zisheng, their expressions changed in shock:

“Bai Zisheng!”

“He escaped!”

“Hurry, catch him!”

But the royal court cavalry’s assault on the camp had thrown everything into chaos. These prodigies had to protect themselves amid the military turmoil while also hastily forming formations to defend the camp. They were completely overwhelmed and had no spare capacity to capture Bai Zisheng at all.

What was more, from the battle some days earlier, Bai Zisheng’s activation of the Mysterious Yellow Dragon-Blood state had left behind a lingering, invincible might.

None of these prodigies dared to face Bai Zisheng alone again.

Occasionally, a few bold ones rushed forward, only to be frozen in place by Mo Hua’s spells and then blasted back by Bai Zisheng’s spear.

Meanwhile, more and more barbarian soldiers from the Great Wilderness royal court surged in to kill.

Very quickly, everyone was too busy just trying to survive.

Those prodigies could only watch as Bai Zisheng, spear in hand, departed alone, disappearing into the chaos of war.

After leaving the military camp, Mo Hua continued to guide Bai Zisheng.

His original intention was to head for the Fourth-Grade Mountain Realm to seek True-Person Zhuge, along with Senior Brothers Huangfu and Shangguan, to shelter with them.

It wasn’t the best solution, but it was the only solution left.

However, after traveling for a while, they suddenly saw the distant horizon erupt with light that pierced the heavens, as though a True Person had descended into the world.

The roar of a flood dragon shook the earth. Resplendent radiance spread across the sky, and profound, wondrous starlight illuminated the night like broad daylight.

This was a battle between Feathered Ascension Realms.

The Feathered Ascension experts of the Great Wilderness, True-Person Huá, and True-Person Zhuge seemed to have finally found each other. They were unleashing the power of Feathered Ascension, engaging in a clash of the highest realms.

The destructive force shook heaven and earth. Powerful fluctuations traveled from an unknown distance, giving Mo Hua an inexplicable sense of dread.

Even Bai Zisheng’s gaze trembled.

A Feathered Ascension battlefield was something low-realm cultivators could not touch in the slightest.

A chill ran through Mo Hua’s heart, and he immediately said to Bai Zisheng, “Senior Brother, go the other way.”

“Mm.” Bai Zisheng nodded, then used his long spear to carve a path, forcibly slaughtering his way through the tide-like masses of barbarian soldiers.

Mo Hua concealed himself behind Bai Zisheng, providing support with spells and Divine-Sense techniques.

The two brothers—one in the open, one in the shadows; one attacking, one defending—worked together, carving out a bloody path from the chaotic battlefield and fleeing toward the distance…

…

On the other side, the exquisitely beautiful Huá Pīng boarded a carriage.

The interior of the carriage was refined and luxurious, while the exterior was sheathed in solid steel. Eight powerful steeds pulled it, and an elite unit of Dao soldiers escorted it.

This elite force protected the carriage as it sped away through the chaos of war.

Along the way, every barbarian soldier was shredded by the Dao soldiers’ spears and halberds, flesh and blood flying.

Night, steel, demon cavalry, slaughter, and bloodshed were all sealed off outside the carriage.

Inside, the carriage was elegant and tranquil, peaceful and still.

Huá Pīng sat within, resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought. Her delicate beauty, bathed in candlelight, radiated a faint halo.

After a moment, she withdrew an embroidered piece of merman silk from her sleeve. Her gaze turned hazy, and with a soft smile at the corner of her lips, she murmured gently:

“I saved your elder brother… you must remember my kindness to you…”

Upon the merman silk was embroidered a lone, proud platinum-white phoenix.