Chapter 639: Withdrawal
The Yin wind wailed.
Black clouds still churned across the sky, layer upon layer, pressing down with suffocating heaviness.
The Prefect of Ghostfire had already been defeated and fled. Before the Painted Skin Rakshasa could open a breakthrough in Forgetting River Immortal City, he himself had failed to hold on and withdrew from the battlefield first.
And the primary factor that had led to this outcome—the Nether Flood Dragon Scissors—was now sealed within an Ice Coffin, motionless, as though sunk in deathly silence.
Outside the Ice Coffin, the towering Earth Fiend Turbid Deity had discovered that all manner of spells would be frozen by the coffin and turned into fuel. It could only resort to fists and feet, striking and smashing the Ice Coffin again and again, sending up countless bursts of cold air and frost powder.
The Ice Coffin had been transformed from the entire Frozen Abyss Ice Coffin Candle. Though it trembled and suffered some loss, the damage was not severe. To the naked eye, it was clear that it could endure for a long time yet.
As for Its true body—the Prefect of the Forgetting River—it still hid within a tributary of the Forgetting River, rapidly recovering while in slumber.
The Earth Fiend Turbid Deity could not help feeling vexed. “The Nether Flood Dragon Scissors are separated from the main body. Without this portion of Fortune enhancement, there may be even more unfavorable changes.”
“Hm?”
The Altar suddenly changed. The bloodlight intensified once more, and its radiance flowed with a sheen almost like polished jade.
Seeing this, the Earth Fiend Turbid Deity’s irritation eased somewhat. “Luo Si has done well. The blood sacrifice is about to be completed.”
“He has proven his strength. Hmph. The other generals all feared responsibility and proved unfit for great tasks!”
“After this, he should at least be promoted three ranks in succession.”
The mortal world.
The battlefield of White Paper Immortal City.
The endlessly flowing black water gathered into mountain-like masses, lifting the entire immortal city high.
Though the Yin Soldiers’ Army was vast in number, it made no progress while attacking upward against the city.
Xie Sichao’s expression was gloomy. “Damn it! The White Paper Immortal City Lord schemed too deeply. She actually used the South City Gate to lay a trap, causing our army to lose too many strong experts.”
“Without them, how are we to break through strongholds and shatter formations?”
Luo Si’s expression remained calm. He did not speak, merely observing the battlefield in silence.
The Deadbone Colossus climbed the Black Water Mountain. The current beneath its legs kept washing downward, dragging it lower as well. Even when it climbed halfway up, Ironbone Zheng singled it out and concentrated forces to knock the colossus down again.
The Deadbone Colossus could not approach the city walls. Relying solely on the various Big-Head and Small-Head Ghosts, the flying Skin-Flaying Ghosts, the wall-climbing Soul-Tempting Geckos, and the like posed little threat to the walls.
Bang.
With a tremendous crash, a White Bone Giant Crocodile slammed into the city wall, instantly knocking many cultivators from the ramparts.
This was the Bone Crocodile Demon making his move, commanding his trump-card demon pet.
Upon Black Water Mountain, his demon pet was even more suited to the terrain, repeatedly displaying formidable combat strength and fiercely battering the city walls. The defenders were forced to take it seriously.
But he alone was far from enough.
“Full army assault!” Luo Si suddenly ordered.
Within the central command tent, many generals cast puzzled and questioning glances.
Yet Luo Si had no intention of explaining.
The generals could only grit their teeth and obey.
Thus, from all directions, the Yin Soldiers’ Army launched a frenzied assault upon White Paper Immortal City.
The pressure on the city’s defenses surged sharply.
Ironbone Zheng, however, was not alarmed but delighted inwardly. “The enemy’s momentum is exhausted!”
He did not fear a full-force assault; he feared trickery. A total offensive meant a straightforward defensive battle—and that was precisely his specialty. Moreover, White Paper Immortal City held overwhelming geographical advantage.
Without question, the Yin Soldiers’ Army was attacking the enemy’s strength with its own weakness.
Soldiers clung to the walls like ants. Arrows fell like rain. Countless spells collided midair; some fell into the formations of both sides, causing casualties.
“Quick, quick! Replace armor, change talismans!” The cultivators atop the walls rotated at several times their usual speed.
They did not rest for a single moment. There was no more waiting after rotation—only racing against time to recover.
Ironbone Zheng constantly received reports of losses.
His mind calculated clearly, and he decisively ordered the deployment of the Paper Effigy Puppets.
These intelligent paper puppets were a specialty of White Paper Immortal City and had always served as reserve forces in city defense.
They ran along the walls, wielding long talismanic weapons, hacking apart Yin soldiers who climbed the battlements. More Yin soldiers trampled over the shattered bones of their comrades, slaughtering the paper puppets. A brutal tug-of-war erupted atop the walls, all for a tiny foothold.
Bone fragments, shredded paper, and blood rapidly smeared the once-pristine white walls.
Wave after wave of Yin soldiers advanced, their assault rising like surging tides.
The defenders of White Paper Immortal City neared exhaustion. Their mana was nearly depleted. Paper talismans and magical artifacts were consumed like flowing water. Their paper armor grew thinner and thinner, repairs gradually failing to keep pace with destruction.
The pale white city walls were being stained, inch by inch, black by the Yin soldiers—eroded and occupied.
Even Ironbone Zheng, a seasoned defensive general, felt his fingers whiten from gripping too tightly. He had never encountered such casualties before.
He clenched his teeth and held firm.
Finally, when he saw large sections of the wall occupied, he immediately ordered, “Have Wen Ruanyu make his move!”
Within White Paper Immortal City, at the Ink Pool.
Wen Ruanyu had long since awakened after being rescued and had been stationed here for some time.
Parched and impatient from waiting, he finally received Ironbone Zheng’s command.
“Good!”
His momentum surged. He swept his scholar’s robe aside and struck the bricks of the Ink Pool with both palms.
Rumble…
The Ink Pool shook violently, rising into the air, then was overturned by Wen Ruanyu’s mana, pouring all its ink outward.
Confucian Art—All the Army Be Inked!
Under the effect of the Confucian Art, the ink transformed into a great ink dragon, bursting through the roof and soaring into the sky.
As it flew, it stirred up a tidal surge of ink wherever it passed.
The ink tide roared, staining all things!
The originally snow-white walls, pavilions, and towers were instantly drenched in thick, inky black.
The ink waves continued rolling, crashing upon the walls.
All Yin soldiers within their reach were swallowed whole.
The ink first enveloped them, then rapidly eroded them.
Their skeletal frames emitted sizzling sounds of burning. The phosphorescent flames within their eye sockets flickered wildly like dying candles in the wind, swiftly dimming. All ghostly and Yin energy melted like snow under the blazing sun, dissolving and collapsing!
Their terrifying roars became agonized wails. Their fierce charge turned into desperate struggling within the ink!
The Yin Soldiers’ Army fell into chaos. Their combat strength plummeted!
Ironbone Zheng’s eyes flashed brilliantly. He decisively ordered, “Now! Full charge! Kill—!”
The defenders, who had long held back their strength, erupted in a heaven-shaking counterattack!
The ink did them no harm but heavily suppressed the Yin Soldiers’ Army.
Like a hot knife through butter, they reclaimed the lost walls almost in the blink of an eye.
Not only that—under the leadership of Yang Sanyan and a few others, cultivators charged out of White Paper Immortal City, inflicting even greater casualties.
The Yin Soldiers’ Army collapsed like a mountain avalanche!
Even the central command banner began to sway.
“Lord Luo Si!” Many looked toward him, seeking instructions for counterattack.
Unexpectedly, Luo Si calmly ordered, “Withdraw.”
The generals were greatly puzzled.
Luo Si said, “The Prefect had already given orders. My leading of this army was primarily to conduct the Tribulation Offering Rite sacrifice.”
“Now, White Paper Immortal City has suffered heavy losses, meeting the blood sacrifice requirement.”
“They still possess considerable strength. To continue fighting desperately at this time would be extremely unwise.”
“Full army order—retreat!”
After a brief explanation, Luo Si issued the command again.
When the generals heard him invoke the Prefect of the Forgetting River, none dared disobey.
Only Xie Sichao’s eyes flickered darkly as he thought further. “This blood sacrifice likely does not involve only White Paper Immortal City. The losses among our own soldiers may also be part of the sacrifice.”
Of course, he only dared let that speculation circle within his mind.
“The Yin army has lost!”
“They’re running! They’re running!!”
“Kill them all!!”
Seeing the enemy retreat, the defenders’ morale soared.
Ironbone Zheng swiftly organized pursuit teams while leaving more than half the cultivators to guard the city.
The pursuing forces surged forth like tigers unleashed from cages.
The White Paper Immortal City Lord’s avatar personally commanded, pressing the pursuit and inflicting heavy losses upon the Yin soldiers.
Luo Si maneuvered skillfully, arranging rearguard forces in succession.
Though retreating, the Yin Soldiers’ Army maintained much of its order, avoiding widespread rout.
“The general leading them is truly formidable,” the White Paper City Lord’s avatar ground her teeth inwardly.
What could have been a once-in-several-centuries record-breaking victory was diminished by Luo Si’s skillful command.
In the end, she even saw the central command banner.
Unwilling, she gritted her teeth and hurled the Primordial Dispersing Form Ruler.
Spell—Primordial Wild Goose Returning Wave!
Jade radiance surged around the Primordial Dispersing Form Ruler.
The jade light gathered, then burst apart, releasing a great wild goose.
With a single flap of its wings, it soared high into the sky toward the Yin Soldiers’ Army.
Wherever it passed, waves of light radiated outward. All Yin soldiers touched by the light disintegrated.
The Ghost Generals trembled in fear.
Luo Si turned on horseback and snorted coldly. “You truly refuse to relent.”
“Very well.”
“Since you insist on pushing further, let me give you a profound lesson.”
He spread his fingers and grasped at the void.
A fishing rod appeared out of thin air, complete with line.
Forgetting River Ferrying Line, Three Lives Hanging World Hook!
The hook flashed with spiritual light and, in an instant, spanned the sky, hooking the wild goose.
The goose cried out as its beak was caught, then was dragged back.
The White Paper City Lord was horrified and hastily tried to disperse the spell and recall the Primordial Dispersing Form Ruler.
The spell activated—but there was no response.
The goose’s form had already been locked by the Three Lives Hanging World Hook, unable to transform.
With a flick of the rod, Luo Si extended his left hand and seized the pulled-back goose.
Ghostly aura surged. Mana roared forth. Various spells and talismans stacked rapidly, suppressing the struggling goose.
The soldiers’ fallen morale immediately rebounded, restoring some of the army’s strength.
The White Paper City Lord’s avatar had not expected Luo Si to conceal such astonishing methods. Regret surged within her. She almost ordered a full assault to reclaim the treasured Primordial Dispersing Form Ruler.
But Luo Si issued commands, and Xie Sichao activated prepared formations, raising massive waves of Nether Flood Dragon River water.
Immersed in the surging river, the Yin soldiers stood ready in formation.
This time, they held the terrain advantage.
The pursuing forces fought briefly, achieving little while suffering heavy losses.
“City Lord, the situation is unfavorable. Perhaps we should withdraw to the city first?!” A subordinate bravely suggested.
The White Paper avatar pressed her lips tight, staring at the central command banner.
The Primordial Dispersing Form Ruler!
It was a treasured artifact left in White Paper Immortal City by the Profound Plain Scholar, and she had lost it.
Though she was but an avatar, she felt utterly ashamed to face her true body.
Yet as she hesitated, further changes erupted in the Nether Flood Dragon River. Another enemy formation activated, unleashing boundless Yin energy.
The barrier between Yin and Yang worlds was opened once more.
The Yin Soldiers’ Army ceased retreating. A further step back would send them directly into the Underworld.
They halted, reorganized swiftly, and formed up like a mountain blocking the pursuers.
The White Paper forces instinctively regrouped.
Beneath the central banner, Luo Si spoke calmly, his voice clearly carrying: “White Paper City Lord, many thanks for the departing gift.”
With that single sentence, his army’s morale rose again.
The White Paper City Lord’s avatar’s brows stood on end in fury. She nearly ordered an attack but ultimately restrained herself.
Staring at the central banner, she forced out a single word: “Withdraw.”
The pursuing forces, who had surged forth in high spirits, now retreated in somewhat awkward fashion.
“Lord Luo Si, shall we not pursue?”
“They are not an army after all—we can employ military strategy.”
Several Ghost Generals were eager.
Luo Si glanced over them calmly. “If you wish to pursue, then go. I, however, will follow the Prefect’s orders—return to court and reinforce the Altar.”
The troublemaking Ghost Generals had mostly perished in the siege. Though defeated, Luo Si had established considerable prestige. The remaining generals fell silent and obeyed.
The Paper Effigy Army advanced swiftly.
By the Forgetting River, waves surged sky-high. At the edge of sight, an immortal city rose above the river’s surface, towers clustered and shrouded in vast mist.
“That is Forgetting River Immortal City.” The Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin stood upon a war chariot, pointing ahead to Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong gazed carefully, spiritual light flickering in his eyes. “The immortal city stands in the river’s center. How are our forces to attack? Even approaching it is extremely difficult. This is the Forgetting River.”
The Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin smiled faintly and shook her head. “This army need not approach the immortal city.”
Sun Lingtong blinked. “Aunt, do you have some brilliant strategy?”
The Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin said, “You need only infiltrate it. As for my army, it must immediately head to Water Burial Valley.”
Sun Lingtong’s eyes widened. “What?!”
He pointed at himself in disbelief. “A-Aunt, you mean just me and a dozen Ox Cavalry, infiltrating the enemy’s main camp?”
The Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin shook her head. “You alone. The Ox Cavalry will return to their unit.”
Even bold as he was, Sun Lingtong drew in a sharp breath and forced a bitter smile. “Aunt… this really isn’t the time for jokes.”