Chapter 344: The Sages’ Praise

“This old one is called Xu—” Before the Avatar-stage elder could finish stating his name, he suddenly sensed danger and flashed aside in an instant. Not a moment too soon, a great saber slashed through the spot where he had been standing.

The Avatar-stage elder was both startled and furious as he turned to look at the two silent, towering Avatar-stage warriors. For some reason, even though he knew full well they were merely puppets, the mere sight of them always sent a faint chill down his spine. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were quietly scrutinizing him whenever he had his back to them.

It felt as though these two puppets might come to life at any moment and transform into genuine Avatar-stage cultivators.

The two Avatar-stage puppets summoned by Wei Yuan had only just entered the Avatar-stage. Their movements and reactions were rather sluggish and nowhere near the level of true Avatar-stage cultivators. If he were facing the two puppets alone, the elder was certain he could have won. Yet for some reason, he had a gut feeling that their sluggishness were merely an act.

If it weren’t for the fact that both warriors stood nearly a zhang and a half tall, the elder might even have suspected they were real people.

Because of this, the Avatar-stage elder fought with extreme caution, unleashing a barrage of defensive spells and life-saving Dao techniques first to ensure that he was invulnerable. Only then did he tentatively cast two spells at Wei Yuan, both of which were neutralized by Wei Yuan’s own spells.

He moved a little closer to Wei Yuan, intending to break through the encirclement via the weakest link. However, he recoiled in fright as soon as a dim yellow glow lit up at the tip of Wei Yuan’s spear.

Despite being completely surrounded by Wei Yuan and his two Avatar-stage puppets, the elder flew with incredible agility and dodged like an annoying fly. Try as he might, Wei Yuan was unable to find an opening immediately.

Fortunately, his two Avatar-stage puppets had firmly locked onto the elder. If he dared to flee recklessly, he would immediately receive two thunderous blows. Thus, the two sides were temporarily locked in a stalemate.

On the other side, Trueman Chu He was courageously fighting off two elders alone. Neither side was able to gain the upper hand over the other. Neither his cat nor his snake were humans, so yes, this was a 1v2 battle.

The cat was injured and unable to bring out its full strength, whereas Trueman Chu He could only manage to avoid a swift defeat. He didn’t even have the strength to fight back. Even so, this was definitely a heroic 1v2 battle!

Feng Tingyu was at a disadvantage, but Jia Wood Nurtures Life was a tremendous boon for a physical cultivator like her who relied on her physical body to fight. While others took their tonics in the form of pills, Feng Tingyu was basically absorbing it directly into her body. Coupled with the otherworldly fortune Wei Yuan had bestowed upon her, her qi and blood were boiling within her, and her Dao energy flowed endlessly. In this state, she could almost fight until the end of time.

Finally, Xu Zhongxing was incensed, enraged, positively maddened by the dozen or so mysterious figures sticking to Zhang Sheng like the gum under his shoes[1]. Fortunately, Xu Zhongxing also possessed exceptional mental fortitude, so he could vent his fury, fight rationally, and maintain a comprehensive understanding of the entire battle situation all at once.

Far behind the front lines, Fan Donghe had already ordered the troops to spread out to evade the endless artillery barrage. Suddenly, he gave the order for 10,000 archers in the rearguard to drop their bows, draw their sabers, and charge alongside the 10,000 infantrymen toward Xuanwei Three.

The reason he did this was because he discovered that the entire 30,000-strong army had actually gone underground, and their army aura was vanishing rapidly. Meanwhile, the enemy’s army aura was diminishing at a much, much slower pace. In the blink of an eye, his side had suffered over 10,000 casualties, while the defenders had fewer than 2,000 casualties!

As the battle was happening underground, Fan Donghe knew that his soldiers, in their panic, would not be able to find the exit at all. If their morale collapsed, then they would completely be at the mercy of the enemy. That was why he had acted decisively and immediately dispatched 20,000 reinforcements not primarily to kill the enemy, but to rescue the troops trapped underground.

Fan Donghe then stationed troops to guard the surface exits and prevent the underground forces from emerging. His plan was to defeat Wei Yuan’s main force first before turning back to slowly eliminate this contingent.

Of course, Fan Donghe knew that Wei Yuan wasn’t that stupid; he had surely arranged other escape routes underground. That was why he wasn’t hoping to completely annihilate this contingent.

Although the high cultivators on both sides were engaged in intense combat, there had not actually been any actual casualties among them. On the other hand, the casualties of the troops were steadily climbing by the hundreds or even thousands at every moment.

While playing hide-and-seek with the Avatar-stage elder, Wei Yuan continued to bestow Life is a Flash upon the soldiers at the main defensive position. He then ordered them to join the battle.

A Dao Foundation stage cultivator of Qingming stabbed a peak Body-tempering stage junior officer of the Xu Clan with the blade on his gun. He then picked up two stray rounds of ammo from the loose earth in the trench, quickly reloaded, and killed two Dao Foundation stage commandants in two shots. This immediately demoralized the surrounding Xu Clan troops and dropped their fighting spirit significantly.

By this point, the main bulk of the Xu Clan’s army had already stormed the positions, and both sides were engaged in a desperate, life-and-death combat in every corner. However, the Qingming side vastly outnumbered their opponents in Dao Foundation stage cultivators. Each Dao Foundation stage cultivator served as a cornerstone where a dozen or even several dozen soldiers gathered around to fight, forming a formidable squad.

Wei Yuan continued playing cat-and-mouse with the Avatar-stage elder when he heard a sound transmission from Trueman Chu He: “Can you speed things up over there? This old Daoist’s cat can’t hold out much longer—it’s planning to make a run for it!”

Wei Yuan replied, “The time isn’t right yet. Please hold on a little longer, Trueman.”

“How much longer are we talking about?”

“Two ke?”

“I require at least two catties of nether soil to heal my wounds later!”

After Wei Yuan agreed to the condition, Trueman Chu He pulled out a piece of dried meat that was made of who-knows-what and tossed it to his cat with a pained expression.

Upon eating it, the cat’s aura swelled rapidly, and its temperament turned ferocious. Instead of the Avatar-stage elder, its eyes were now reflecting a frail white mouse.

Wei Yuan was still playing hide-and-seek when a strange sensation in his heart grew more and more pronounced. Just then, the Dragon Blood Wood suddenly shook off another fruit that sprouted the moment it hit the ground. At the same time, the shadow in the moon dropped 10 wisps of otherworldly fortune in a go!

At that moment, deep within Wei Yuan’s eyes, black and white began to flicker. The entire world suddenly transformed into vast, intertwining swaths of black and white—they were manifestations of all sorts of fortune. In some places, the fortune was surging upward, while in others, it plummeted rapidly. But along a distinct trajectory, the black and white was collapsing at a maddening pace and dissolving into nothingness.

Meanwhile, on a much larger scale, fortune was converging madly toward a high point in the sky!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wei Yuan instinctively manifested the Great Realm, activated Outlawed by Heaven and Earth, and channeled all of his newly acquired otherworldly fortune into Zhang Sheng!

The clouds in the sky parted to reveal a single finger, and a clear voice rang out, “You are but a pearl the size of a grain of rice—how dare you shine at all?”

That finger pointed down at the center of the battlefield, and at that moment, it felt as if the heavenly river itself had burst its banks. A vast, surging stream of light coalesced into a mighty river and rolled down with overwhelming force!

In that split second, the entire realm of Qingming trembled. Everyone—people, plants, and all other living creatures—regardless of friend or foe instinctively shuddered. Wherever the river of light passed, all life was extinguished; outside its path, fortune was surging frantically.

It was the strike of a True Lord, and the target of the finger was none other than Zhang Sheng!

Zhang Sheng showed not the slightest sign of panic. He remained calm and composed, his every movement as swift as lightning yet perfectly measured. A pale red sword qi shot out of his fingertip and struck the blade of the Crimson Night Slayer of Immortals, lighting it up instantly and causing its power to skyrocket!

Zhang Sheng swung his sword against the river of light. The slender strand of pale red sword qi leaped from the blade’s edge, plunged into the river, and defiantly swam against the flow, mysteriously consuming every speck of light that stood in its path. It defied the heavens for at least 1,000 zhang before slowly fading away!

Beyond the heavens, someone exclaimed in surprise, “An actual Immortal Sword?”

True immortal artifacts were exceedingly rare in this world, and one such as the Crimson Night Slayer of Immortals could cause many True Lords to cast aside all dignity to vie for it.

As the pale red sword qi faded, the river of light—particularly the stream enveloping Zhang Sheng—grew dim and translucent. The scholar immediately unleashed four consecutive sword strikes, each one causing the water to grow even dimmer.

Some parts of the river of light reached the ground and swept through the center of the battlefield. Everyone within the area, be it friend or foe, abruptly dropped dead without a sound.

At the same time, wispy strands of black qi—invisible to the naked eye—rose from the corpses of many Qingming soldiers and drifted toward some place beyond the heavens.

Zhang Sheng dropped to one knee and violently spat out a mouthful of blood streaked with radiant light. It looked as if he was throwing up a river of stars.

His aura plummeted and nearly reached the bottom, but in the end, it did not run dry entirely. The scholar had successfully withstood the direct strike of a True Lord!

Beyond the heavens, the True Lord who had struck the blow was beyond furious. A heavy grunt escaped his lips, and dark clouds immediately gathered in the sky to unleash a torrential rain.

Immediately afterward, the dark clouds parted, and the finger reappeared, pointing once more at Zhang Sheng. This time, distinct cracks could be seen on the fingertip—likely the result of the backlash from the Shattered Realm. However, the True Lord had suffered a severe loss of face due to his failure to slay Zhang Sheng with the initial strike. He was so enraged that he launched another strike even knowing that he would incur yet another backlash.

Suddenly, a red line appeared between heaven and earth, literally. One end was on the ground, and the other beyond the sky. Although there were numerous Avatars present, almost no one had seen how that red line had appeared.

In Wei Yuan’s field of vision, he could only see a blurry figure in red robes rising into the air at an incredible speed. She left behind only a few afterimages before vanishing completely into the sky.

A stormy ring suddenly erupted from the center, violently pushing aside the dark clouds and revealing a vast expanse of the sky!

A shocked and enraged voice broke out, “Zhu Yuanjin, you treacherous woman! How dare you strike me while I am bound by karmic debt!”

A soft, melodious voice responded in kind, “My treachery pales compared to yours, I’m afraid.”

“Are those mortals on the ground not human lives? You could have saved them if you had acted even a moment sooner! Could it be that their lives mean nothing to you?”

The woman replied, “You’re the one who killed them, Qiu Niu. If you cut off your own hands right here and now, then I don’t mind offering them my apologies either.”

Ring after ring of storms swept across the sky, occasionally interspersed with flecks of red light. It was clear that an intense battle was taking place up there.

Qiu Niu’s aura was so boundless that it filled the heavens and the earth. In comparison, the red light was as feeble a spark. But no matter how powerful Qiu Niu’s aura was, it just couldn’t extinguish the red light.

“Zhu Yuanjin[2]! What on earth possessed you to fight me here when your northern mountain gate is in peril? Do you actually want to lose it? Does the greater good not matter to you?”

“Here’s a funny story for you: I was the one who advocated that we abandon the northern mountain gate. What’s so good about that remote, desolate place anyway? My suggestion was that we abandon the mountain gate and sit back and watch as the foreigners wipe out your Xu Clan and desecrate your ancestral lands. The Palace still has two mountain gates, but your Xu Clan would have lost its very roots. By the time you’ve fought yourself to mutual ruin, we’ll simply return to claim both your ancestral lands and rebuild our mountain gate—wouldn’t that be perfect?

“Alas, those old fools refuse to listen to me. It’s fine though. Once they’ve all been killed in battle, I’ll be the one running the Palace of Absolute Beginning.”

Qiu Niu’s breathing had become noticeably labored at this point. The feminine voice chuckled and said, “Come on, you’ve only taken two of my blows. Why are you dodging? Hey, your pants are pretty sturdy, I can’t believe I didn’t manage to cut through it. Let me see where the thread is... Actually, do you mind being a good boy and taking them off yourself?”

Qiu Niu said, “Wait! If we continue fighting like this, a heavenly tribulation will descend upon us!”

The feminine voice replied nonchalantly, “You’re the one who’s entangled in karmic debt, not me. Even if a heavenly tribulation does show up, it’s definitely going to strike you first. As for the remaining aftershocks—care to guess how many strikes I’ll be able to withstand?”

Qiu Niu growled with hatred, “You vile woman!”

“Thank you! The Confucian Sage once wrote a book specifically to praise me, you know?”

Qiu Niu instinctively blurted out, “How could he possibly have praised you? You weren’t even from the same era.”

“Of course he did. The sage once said, ‘Only I and women are difficult to deal with.’ He also said, ‘Only petty people and I are difficult to deal with[3].”

1. I translated in the same vein as this quote, “We have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amuck, and flat out deceived!” If you check the raw it’s more or less like that too: “许仲行则是面对着将张生团团护住的十几个神秘人，只能大怒，暴怒，狂怒。”. I love it when I can maintain both the essence and the form of a sentence. ☜

2. Refer to chapter 109. She has in fact appeared multiple times alongside the old tree in Xu Jingfeng’s courtyard. ☜

3. The actual quote by Confucius is: “Only petty people and women are difficult to deal with.” As she is both petty and a female, Confucius could only be talking about her, right? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ☜