"Hmm..."
A wisp of spiritual energy floated up from the fruit and flew into Hua Hongyi's mouth and nose, peeling off the spiritual fruit. The face and limbs of the three-month-old baby quickly withered and rotted, turning into a pool of sticky black, dripping through his fingers onto the ground.
There was a faint foul smell.
hiss~~
Hua Hongyi raised her face, her burnt hair faded away, revealing a shiny and smooth appearance, a trace of green spiritual energy was visible on her white bone skin, interweaving with it and quickly closing together, pieces of burnt ashes fell off, revealing brand new white skin.
The parts of his body that were burned by the fire were healing rapidly and exuding vitality. The sky gradually darkened and a pale sky appeared in the east. Hua Hongyi then walked out from under the tree, his steps still a little unsteady. He found a stream, looked at his reflected face in the water, and gently rubbed his fingertips over his healed face.
Then, with a splash, the water splashed on the surface. Hua Hongyi stood up, hugging her tattered dress. Water droplets on her hands dripped from her fingertips to the ground. She looked at the rolling mountains to the south and murmured softly.
"Lu Liangsheng... just wait!"
The last three words came out heavily between her lips. She was the red-compassioned evil spirit who cultivated herself in the temple. They not only shared common memories, but also the emotions of separation.
It was Master Wuyuan who ordered her to come to the south to capture the old monk Zhenhai, but going to Qixia Mountain was her personal idea. She originally thought that Lu Liangsheng had lost his cultivation, so she would take him back to Baihu Ridge to become a loving couple. However, she did not expect that the scholar's cultivation was still there, and he had even more bizarre magic.
Hua Hongyi looked at the mountains shrouded in misty clouds. Her nails unconsciously dug into her flesh. She felt somewhat unwilling to have Zhu Erniang trapped in there.
"I will come back, but before that, I have to complete the second task of the Master..."
Head north to the grasslands!
These thoughts flashed through her mind. She turned around, holding her burning chest and ribs. The golden morning light gradually emerged, illuminating Hua Hongyi's tattered clothes. She staggered away, and in a few steps she turned into a gust of cold wind that blew through the woods, causing the branches and leaves to sway wildly.
The sun rose above the clouds, it was a brilliant autumn day, its rays extended between the clouds, passing over the rivers and streams, the bustling world, the sky turned grey, and the temperature gradually dropped.
Under the sky, the endless sea of grass showed the withered yellow of late autumn. In the occasional wind, grass debris flew all over the sky within people's field of vision. There were also people screaming in shrill voices, which were unlike the panicked shouts in Chinese language in the Central Plains.
“Here it comes!”
"Don't look back—"
"ah!!"
The sound of horses' hooves trampled on the ground, making a series of rumbling noises like thunder passing through. Dozens of Turkic people were galloping on their horses. Some people heard screams and looked back. What came into their eyes was a cloud of blood mist bursting out of a tribesman. Both the man and the horse were torn into two halves, and they fell to the ground and rolled to the left and right. The bloody internal organs were thrown out, and the remaining strength continued to drag, staining the dry grass into a scarlet patch.
After a moment, a man descended from mid-air, stepping on the grass with armored feet, and walked several feet. He followed closely behind, holding a golden sword full of engravings in one slightly raised arm.
Soon, dozens of Turks fleeing in front rushed into a tribe. In a moment, there was a sound of horses neighing and people shouting. Hundreds of cavalry rushed towards him, waving spears and blades and shouting.
“That’s the guy!”
"Kill him—"
"A Sui person dares to go to the grassland alone to kill people!?"
However, what greeted them was a flash of cold light rushing straight at the surging cavalry formation, sword energy and sword light flashed wildly, and in an instant, the limbs of people and horses were broken apart, lifted into the sky, and fell heavily to the ground.
The boiling hot blood stained the grass leaves and soaked the soil. The corpses stretched out around the figure standing there. There were no people or horses standing anymore. Those who were not yet dead were holding their broken arms and thighs and crying miserably. The war horses that had lost their hooves were struggling and wailing on the ground. At a certain moment, the figure in the middle slowly raised the sword, held it above his head with both hands with an expressionless face, and then suddenly stabbed it into the ground. Cracks spread out in all directions.
"Blood Spirit..."
The hands gripping the hilt tightened, and the sword's magical light shone brightly, spreading along the dense carvings to the ground, extending along the cracks, forming a huge magic circle, covering the corpses and wounded on the ground.
“… Festival!”
The heavy sword was half-buried in the ground, and the huge magic circle gradually turned scarlet. The two corpses that were close to each other suddenly moved and stuck together. The flesh and blood merged, and peeled off bit by bit and turned into blood drops rising into the air. The surviving Turks tore their faces and chests, roared and screamed, watching the flesh and blood slowly dissipate and turn into drops of blood flying towards the Sui people standing over there.
"God, please spare us!"
One of them crawled on the ground and reached out to grab the other man's ankle. Amidst his miserable cries for mercy, his outstretched hand melted away like snow, and the sound came to an abrupt end. Only his clothes and armor remained on the ground.
“Not enough!”
The figure stood holding the sword, his cloak fluttering. He looked down at the blood drop floating in his palm. The last drop flew over and merged into it. He pulled out the big sword on the ground, and the magic circle flew back like a tide and disappeared under his feet.
"Master Yuwen!!"
In the distance, the sound of horse hooves was heard. Yuwen Tuo put away the blood bead in his hand and turned around. A Sui scout rode over on horseback. He jumped off the horse about ten steps away, came close, knelt on one knee and raised his hands.
"Teacher, General Shi wants you to go back. He has important military information."
"Um."
Yuwen Tuo looked in the direction of the military camp, waved his hand to let the scout leave first, put his sword back into the sheath, and without even looking at the Turkic tribe behind him, he raised his hand and waved.
A flash of lightning suddenly fell from the sky. A bluish-white light flashed for a moment, and a fire broke out. The entire tribe was burning, and the screams of people and livestock were heard.
Beyond the glow of flames, Yuwen Tuo had disappeared from the spot. Under the magic of shrinking the earth into an inch, he arrived at a secluded valley in the southeast. The sky was gloomy, and the military camp standing here was filled with solemnity. The patrolling Sui soldiers passed by with weapons in their hands, and when they saw a figure coming from the distant sea of grass, they shouted to stop.
When he saw the face of the person coming clearly, he hurriedly made way, waved his hand to urge his companions on the other side to open the gate, and stood to one side with his weapon in hand and bent over.
"Master, please!"
Yuwen Tuo glanced at him, lifted his cloak and strode away.
"Is Shi Wansui in the rear camp or the front camp?"
"Reporting to the Grand Master, the general is in the front camp."
The soldier followed him into the camp gate and said with an apologetic smile, "The general sent someone to look for the Grand Tutor, so we have been staying in the front camp waiting for him to come back."
As he spoke, he also looked at the Grand Tutor who was striding in front of him in a cloak. He was no more than 20 years old, but he came to the grassland alone. Not only was he a master of martial arts, he could also summon thunder and set fires. In just two months, he wiped out more than 20,000 Turks from 17 tribes. The court even issued an order to confer the title of Grand Tutor of the Eastern Palace and let General Shi assist him.
I heard that Grand Master Yuwen has another master, isn’t that even more powerful
When they were almost at the front camp tent, the soldier ran forward quickly and lifted the curtain for the guard. Yuwen Tuo nodded at him and walked in.
In the middle of the tent, a general with a dignified appearance and a majestic beard was walking back and forth in front of a desk with his hands behind his back, occasionally glancing at the map hanging beside him. When he saw Yuwen Tuo coming in, he stepped forward and saluted.
"I have seen the Grand Master."
"You're welcome, General."
Yuwen Tuo took off the Xuanyuan Sword and put it on the table beside him, then sat down and made a "please" gesture. He said in a monotonous and calm tone: "General, why did you call me back? What is the military situation?"
Shi Wansui, who was standing in front of the desk, took a letter from the table, handed it to the other party with both hands, then walked to the map and gestured with his fingers.
"Scouts report that the Turkic Khan Shaboluo who escaped before is back again. Hmm... The Grand Master has killed too many people in the past two months, which has attracted his attention. I think we should withdraw before his army arrives to avoid being surrounded."
"How many people did he bring with him?"
"Nearly 80,000..."
Yuwen Tuo picked up a glass of cold water, took a sip, and looked at the gloomy sky outside the tent, with sporadic snowflakes floating down.
He whispered:
"Just enough."
Not long after, the first snow of winter fell, covering the withered sea of grass. However, the atmosphere on the entire grassland was depressing, and the crystal snow particles covering the ground began to shake gradually.
Countless iron hooves were flying, and under the sky filled with snowflakes, desolate horns were blowing. Dense cavalry stretched out as far as the eye could see, rising and falling like waves.
Woo~~
Amid the sound of the horn, the surging "wave" slowly slowed down as a large banner stopped, and someone in front tightened the reins and stopped the horse.
"Whoa!"
Shaboluo called out softly, narrowed his eyes, raised his hand from his cloak and pointed to the distant place where snowflakes were falling.
"Sui people, is that him?"
The high priest who was following beside him hurried forward in the direction the Great Khan pointed. There was a lone figure standing there. His face could not be seen clearly, but he could feel from the other person that he was also a cultivator.
"It wasn't enough to kill one last time. Here comes another one seeking revenge. Great Khan, wait a moment. I will kill him and present his head to you for your enjoyment."
All around, the Turkic cavalry who were deployed in battle array also saw the figures in the wind and snow. They had been fighting in the sea of grass for a long time, and had never seen a man standing in front of an army, so they couldn't help laughing.
The high priest asked his attendants to bring a few small jars and place them on the ground. He tore off the seals on the jars and began to perform the ritual.
On the warhorse nearby, Shabol took a quick look, then nodded with a smile and looked at the figure in the distance.
"The people of the Southern Dynasty are really not afraid of death. This Khan will no longer compete with one person like before..."
The north wind blew the fur on his cloak. The high priest who was performing a ritual next to him suddenly stopped and asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
In front of my peripheral vision, the figure moved.
The next moment, he turned back and froze on the horse's back. Even the powerful high priest felt his scalp tighten under his felt hat in an instant.
In the field of vision, a golden light rushed into the sky.
Then, using the loudest voice of his life, he turned around and shouted to the endless army behind him: "Run!"
Behind the roaring head, the golden light in the sky transformed into a giant sword that pierced the sky and the earth, flashing countless hollow patterns, and roared down towards this side.
boom-
The golden light created a circle of air waves that spread in all directions, flattening everything.
Shi Wansui was standing on the top of the hill, with his mouth slightly open. The wine cup in his hand fell to his feet with a clang and rolled down the hillside.
"Eighty thousand people... just like that?"
After recovering from the shock, Shi Wansui immediately had a letter sent urgently to Chang'an over a distance of 800 miles. The war horses galloped along the official road heading south through the drifting snow, then crossed the mountains and forests, entered Chang'an, and entered the imperial palace. Soon, the news that the magic was involved was once again reported from the imperial city.
For a time, the whole Chang'an was in an uproar and the news quickly spread to various states.
…
The cold wind whistled through the mountains and forests, and the first snow fell on the sprawling Qixia Mountain, covering the foothills in white.