Chapter 504: Strong Reinforcements
Boar-Bristle Giant Tree Mountain.
Vines and shrubs densely covered the steep cliffs.
A special kind of pine tree grew in the mountain, called the boar-bristle pine. Its needles were thick like boar bristles, pale as frost, soft yet extremely tough.
The wild boars here often rubbed themselves against these pine trees to relieve their itching.
Some of their bristles would be scraped off during the rubbing, falling into the soil and gradually being absorbed by the tree roots.
The Barbarian-Demon Camp was in a difficult situation.
The demon cultivators wore luxurious clothing but lacked armor. Although the barbarian cultivators possessed powerful physiques, their combat techniques were wild and primitive, making coordinated cooperation extremely difficult.
The wild boar herd surged like a tide, pouring in from all directions. They spread across vast stretches of mountain terrain, crashing again and again into the defensive lines of the Barbarian-Demon Camp.
Among the wild boars were many different varieties.
There were Iron-Armored Boars, their hide like iron, their defenses extremely strong. Their bodies were like small elephants, weighing over a thousand jin.
There were also Violet Lightning Boars, agile in form and crackling with electricity. When they sprinted across the battlefield, their bristles flashed with lightning, their roars thunderous. When they slammed into enemies, violent electric shocks spread through the victims, paralyzing their entire bodies and dropping them to the ground, where the following herd trampled them into minced flesh.
There were also Blood-Fang Boars. Each had blood-red eyes and medium-sized bodies, but they were the most ferocious and savage. In battle they feared no death, fighting with insane madness.
The front lines of the Barbarian-Demon Camp were repeatedly broken through. Casualties kept increasing, and morale rapidly slid toward the bottom.
Meanwhile, their commanding general, General Xu Dali, was chasing the beast-taming demon cultivator Giant Bing.
Giant Bing’s true form was precisely a mountain boar. Having cultivated successfully, he had transformed into human form. His physique was sturdy, yet his temperament was extremely shrewd.
Upon seeing Xu Dali charge toward him, he continuously retreated, stalling for time while directing the boar herd. His intention was to annihilate the Barbarian-Demon Camp before personally clashing with Xu Dali.
Just as Giant Bing gradually approached his tactical objective, a Nascent Soul cultivator and a Golden Core cultivator suddenly revealed themselves at the outskirts of the battlefield.
They no longer concealed their auras, immediately attracting the attention of both Xu Dali and Giant Bing.
Both Nascent Soul cultivators engaged in battle displayed deep vigilance.
In the next moment, the mysteriously appearing Nascent Soul cultivator cupped his hands and laughed.
“I am Ding Bi, and this is my young disciple Jia Wan. We came at the secret invitation of the King of Liangzhu Kingdom to join the army in secrecy. General Xu, allow us to lend you a hand.”
Giant Bing’s expression changed drastically, and he retreated even faster.
Xu Dali waved his hand instead.
“Fellow Daoists, don’t worry about me first. That fellow over there has thick hide and tough flesh. He cannot be dealt with quickly.”
“Please help rescue my subordinates first!”
Nascent Soul cultivator Ding Bi nodded.
“General Xu treats his soldiers like his own children. Admirable, admirable.”
At this point, he looked toward his disciple.
“Wan’er, set up the pot.”
Golden Core cultivator Jia Wan looked like a young boy, round in build with chubby cheeks. His eyes were clear and lively, full of curiosity.
On his back he carried a massive iron wok, like a giant tortoise shell strapped behind him.
Hearing his master’s words, he immediately replied in a crisp voice, “Yes, Master!”
He reached to his shoulder and flipped the huge wok from behind his head to the front.
He poured mana into it, letting the wok float in midair.
Then he took a coal stove from his storage bag.
He ignited the stove and placed the wok atop it.
The stove’s flames surged fiercely, quickly heating the bottom of the iron wok until it glowed red.
An intense aroma of food began to drift out, rapidly spreading across the entire battlefield.
Many barbarian cultivators and demon cultivators began swallowing their saliva.
The sensation was extremely strange.
They were clearly fighting with all their strength, yet at this life-and-death moment their stomachs began growling loudly, and a powerful appetite rose within them.
It was not only the Barbarian-Demon Camp.
Even their opponents—the wild boars—began drooling heavily from the corners of their mouths.
Jia Wan continued working, taking out three more woks from his storage bag.
Each one was two sizes smaller than the previous.
He set up a rack and stacked the smaller pots into a tower through the frame.
Jia Wan began adding oil, water, various seasonings, spices, vegetables, and more.
“Master, it’s almost ready. Just missing your meat,” Jia Wan said, his small mouth repeatedly swallowing his own saliva.
Ding Bi burst into laughter.
“The meat has arrived.”
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and drew a kitchen knife from his storage bracelet.
Holding the knife, he slashed diagonally toward the battlefield.
The blade light was almost imperceptible. It flashed faintly in midair before vanishing completely.
But the next moment, the wild boar herd erupted in incomparably miserable screams.
Hundreds of wild boars collapsed instantly, greatly reducing the pressure on the Barbarian-Demon Camp’s front line.
Ding Bi beckoned again, and the boar corpses were immediately lifted into the air, slowly flying toward him.
He swung the knife three more times. The faint blade lights flashed.
The boar corpses were instantly sliced apart into thin pieces of pork, while skin and bones were cleanly separated.
Thousands upon thousands of pork slices dropped into the great iron wok.
These raw pieces of meat were usually cooked within just a few breaths. The stronger the boar had been in life, the longer it took to cook.
However, even pork from Golden Core–level boars was cooked within thirty breaths, releasing an incredibly rich fragrance.
Jia Wan could no longer wait. Holding a pair of chopsticks that were themselves a magical treasure, he crouched beside the wok, picking up slices of pork and placing them into his mouth one after another.
After eating more than twenty slices, he sighed in lingering satisfaction and stood up.
“A bit bland.”
He took out some treasure salt and sprinkled more than a dozen grains into the wok.
Then he ate another twenty slices of pork and nodded with satisfaction.
“Master, the flavor is just right.”
Ding Bi swung his knife more than ten additional times. By his strength alone, he slaughtered forty percent of the boar herd!
Now Giant Bing’s eyes turned blood-red. He could no longer sit still.
Xu Dali had him entangled, preventing many of his methods from being used. As a result, the boar herd had little ability to resist attacks from a Nascent Soul cultivator.
After all, the intelligence of wild boars was far inferior to human cultivators.
Human cultivators could cooperate and train battle formations, but forming such formations with boars was extremely difficult.
Without battle formations, individual strength could hardly be truly consolidated.
After fighting for half a teacup of time, only twenty percent of the original herd remained.
Giant Bing howled mournfully and let out a roar, ordering the boar herd to abandon the fight and retreat completely.
He himself transformed back into his true form to cover their retreat.
Xu Dali shouted, “So you have this day too!”
Finally venting his anger, he relied on his heavy armor and once again clashed head-on with Giant Bing.
But after revealing his true form, Giant Bing was as large as a small mountain. His strength was hundreds of times greater than in human form.
Xu Dali was directly sent flying far away by Giant Bing’s counterattack.
Giant Bing also began to retreat.
Jia Wan shrieked, “Master, that pig wants to run! That’s premium meat!”
Ding Bi waved his hand toward Giant Bing.
“Boar King, Heaven cherishes life. I have slaughtered most of your herd today, which was already improper. You may go. I will not attack you again.”
Giant Bing froze for a moment, then immediately turned and fled.
Xu Dali attempted pursuit, but his speed was far inferior to Giant Bing’s. He could only watch helplessly as the latter disappeared among the mountains.
“Daoist Friend Ding Bi, you just let a huge amount of military merit slip away.”
Xu Dali was extremely grateful to Ding Bi and Jia Wan, yet he also felt some irritation.
Ding Bi smiled and sat cross-legged on the ground.
Jia Wan snorted.
“General Xu, I said that on purpose earlier. The two of us already wiped out most of the boar herd.”
“They hardly have any combat strength left.”
Xu Dali suddenly understood. Jia Wan had been bluffing earlier.
He quickly cupped his hands and bowed in gratitude before the crowd.
“Although Giant Bing escaped, he is a beast-taming cultivator whose strength mainly lies in his herd. With such devastating losses, it will be difficult for him to recover his peak combat strength anytime soon.”
Ding Bi smiled.
“General Xu, the one you should truly thank is not me, but Marshal Du.”
“It was Marshal Du who secretly dispatched us to follow your forces in secret and escort you from the shadows.”
“He also ordered us that if we encountered enemies, we could act at our own discretion.”
Xu Dali showed a look of surprise.
“So it was Marshal Du!?”
“I had thought that our four armies were merely pawns sent to probe the enemy’s military strength.”
Ding Bi replied, “In great wars, we are all pieces on the board. Marshal Du is the player.”
“From this exchange, it is clear that Marshal Du’s move was superior.”
Xu Dali nodded and sighed, his expression filled with mixed emotions.
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said, “In that case, the other three allied forces also have experts like you secretly protecting them?”
Ding Bi paused, somewhat surprised that Xu Dali only realized this now. Then he smiled faintly and nodded.
Dicebone Giant Tree Mountain.
The Three Generals Camp was being attacked repeatedly by poisonous techniques and was in extreme danger.
Liu Er’s body was covered with poisonous sores. Weak and anxious, he said to Ning Zhuo,
“Strategist, your Mechanical Army is not afraid of this poison. Now is the time for you to act!”
Guan Hong echoed, “Strategist, please dispatch your troops quickly.”
Zhang Hei chuckled.
“Strategist, let them see how powerful you are!”
The three generals used spiritual sense to transmit their thoughts repeatedly, urging Ning Zhuo.
But Ning Zhuo shook his head, his face pale.
“Not appropriate.”
“I have a premonition. If I deploy the Mechanical Army and fight independently, the enemy will certainly exploit the opportunity. The result will be very bad.”
Compared with the three generals, Ning Zhuo also had poisonous sores on his body, but far fewer.
This was because the foundation of his physical body was far weaker than that of the three generals.
Naturally, Ning Zhuo’s premonition came from his Mechanical Ring.
He had long had the thought of fighting independently and leading his own army. Yet every time the idea arose and he prepared to act on it, the Mechanical Ring on his finger would tighten sharply.
Without exception.
The warning was already extremely obvious.
Ning Zhuo obediently followed it. No matter how tense the situation in the Three Generals Camp became, he remained within the battle formation without any intention of fighting outside.
Liu Er could no longer stand it. His hatred toward Ning Zhuo surged wildly.
“Strategist, this army was also created by you. You invested so much wealth into it.”
“If they all die here, wouldn’t all your efforts go to waste?”
Ning Zhuo waved his hand with a smile.
“Thank you for your concern, Lord Liu. It’s merely some money. No problem.”
“If necessary, taking out three times, five times, or even ten times that amount would be easy for me.”
“Uh…” Liu Er was speechless, his anger growing even stronger.
Just as he was about to continue speaking, a stream of clear energy swept across the battlefield, greatly reducing the poisonous atmosphere.
“Who goes there?!” Tu Ming’s expression changed drastically as his sinister eyes immediately looked toward the sky above the battlefield.
A female cultivator slowly revealed herself.
Her figure was slender, her appearance delicate. Her jet-black hair was tied into a high bun, adorned with a delicate silver hairpin from which a red bead hung.
She wore plain white brocade robes. Around her waist was a silver chain holding a delicate jade bottle. On her feet were green embroidered shoes.
Her expression was cold as she looked down at Tu Ming.
“Shen Qinghe.”
Tu Ming’s pupils shrank slightly.
“Shen Qinghe?!” Diao Ye and Wu Lan cried out simultaneously.
Tu Ming took a deep breath.
“You are a cultivator from the Embroidery Kingdom. Why involve yourself in the muddy waters of Liangzhu Kingdom?”
Shen Qinghe replied expressionlessly,
“I have sworn to eliminate all poison cultivators in the world. Therefore I accepted the invitation to join this war. Tu Ming, come receive your death.”
She extended a slender finger and pointed at Tu Ming.
Medical Technique—Sloppy Completion Finger.
A green spark shot from her fingertip. It looked slow yet was actually fast, reaching Tu Ming in an instant.
Tu Ming retreated rapidly while activating nearly ten layers of defense.
Useless.
The green light dissolved the various defenses one after another with effortless ease.
It penetrated and planted itself into Tu Ming’s body.
Tu Ming’s expression changed drastically as he felt his poisonous cultivation power rapidly dissolving.
“So it really is the Azure Spirit Purifying Poison Scripture!”
The mana cultivated from this technique suppressed poison cultivators too severely.
As a result, any cultivator practicing this technique was regarded as a mortal enemy by poison cultivators everywhere, all of whom sought to eliminate them.
But clearly, Shen Qinghe was a Nascent Soul–level cultivator and a famous physician cultivator of the Embroidery Kingdom. She was not someone Tu Ming could deal with.
The only path before Tu Ming—
Run!
Tu Ming fled with all his strength.
Shen Qinghe pursued relentlessly.
The two quickly disappeared behind the mountains.
“Counterattack!”
“Kill! Kill them all!”
Guan Hong and Zhang Hei roared almost simultaneously.
With the Nascent Soul enemy gone, the Three Generals Camp launched a fierce counterattack.
Diao Ye and Wu Lan lost their will to fight and also tried to retreat.
“Where do you think you’re going?!” Ning Zhuo tested the situation and found that the Mechanical Ring showed no reaction. He immediately rushed out.
While moving, he took out large numbers of Mechanical Puppets from his storage belt.
The puppets assembled into an army and quickly formed a formation.
Battle Formation—Swift Wind Light Step Formation!
The Mechanical Army’s speed surged dramatically, instantly leaving the Three Generals Camp behind.
Still in the Iron-Wall Formation, the Three Generals Camp would have to transform into the Triangular Arrowhead Formation before gaining the speed necessary to pursue.
Ning Zhuo’s Mechanical Army charged toward Wu Lan.
Wu Lan dared not face it directly and kept retreating.
Ning Zhuo then deliberately rushed into the poison fog, allowing it to corrode and destroy many Mechanical Puppets.
Ning Zhuo’s own combat strength soared dramatically.
Very quickly, he once again possessed Golden Core–level battle power.
With the reinforcement, Ning Zhuo unleashed Five Elemental Spells again and again, repeatedly threatening Wu Lan and Diao Ye.
Diao Ye hid within the poison fog, making it difficult to locate him for the moment.
Thus Ning Zhuo focused on pursuing Wu Lan.
Wu Lan was constantly restrained by various Five Elemental Spells and eventually fell into the encirclement of the Mechanical Puppets.
Large numbers of Mechanical Puppets attacked Wu Lan.
Wu Lan excelled at offense but was weak in defense, forcing her into a desperate struggle.
Many Mechanical Puppets were slaughtered. Wu Lan nearly broke out of the encirclement several times, but Ning Zhuo repeatedly used Five Elemental Spells to push her back inside.
Meng Yahu!
Nightwalker Backstab Diagram!
When the moment was ripe, Meng Yahu suddenly attacked from behind. The Ghostslay Claws pierced straight through Wu Lan’s heart.
Wu Lan died.