Chapter 866: I’ll Stop Playing Around Now
Zhao Ruizhi felt goosebumps and quickly grew vigilant. How long had it been since he felt the threat of death, ever since he became the most powerful cultivator in the world? He couldn't be bothered with the archer general at all, and quickly shifted his arms to the side to defend himself.
Golden and black lights clashed, causing a powerful shockwave. The tough terracotta warriors didn’t stand a chance. Those that stood nearby exploded into pieces one after another, while those further out were left leaning unsteadily from side to side.
Zhao Ruizhi was blown back a large distance, blood trickling from his palms. How many years had it already been since he was injured? He had already forgotten that feeling. But at that moment, his attention wasn’t on his injury. Instead, he stared rigidly at the one who had wounded him.
That individual’s entire body was shrouded in black mist, so Zhao Ruizhi couldn't see his face at all. However, his outline made him appear to be dressed in armor. He was likely a general as well. He had a long halberd in hand; however, its speartip wasn’t straight like a normal halberd, but rather curved. Furthermore, it was much longer than a normal halberd, making it resemble a reaper’s scythe.
He had another, even more distinctive trait; his entire body was shrouded in dense killing intent. Even Zu An and the others could sense a thick wave of bloodiness, as if the general had just crawled out from a mountain of corpses.
“Who are you?” Zhao Ruizhi asked. “Anyone who’s capable of injuring me can’t possibly be nameless.”
Unfortunately, the other party didn’t reply to him. Instead, the black mist around his entire body surged, and he charged while brandishing his scythe again.
Zhao Ruizhi shivered. He didn’t dare underestimate his opponent when he faced the attack. The two of them exchanged several moves in an instant, at speeds far greater than the spectators’ wildest imaginations. Those from King Qi Manor couldn't even see their movements.
Even Zu An could only make out a few afterimages with his full concentration. He could only ask, “Gorgeous master, who is this ridiculously strong fella?”
His blade had almost removed the emperor’s head! Such strength really was ridiculous.
Mi Li’s expression was strange. “The Great Qin… No, it’s more accurate to call him the Warring States period’s number one general, the Human Butcher Bai Qi.”
Zu An was alarmed. He turned around to stare at that figure. This was the renowned Bai Qi?
Bai Qi had led the Battle of Yique. With his army, he had taken down the Wei and Han alliance’s strongholds one after another; the battle had ended with the enemy suffering 240,000 casualties. In the war against the Chu state, he had taken down their capital city. In the battle of Changping, more than four hundred thousand Zhao soldiers had been buried alive on his orders… His existence represented the deaths of countless people, and thus, he was given the title of ‘Human Butcher’.
“I know what they are,” Mi Li said with a conflicted tone. “This is Westhound Tomb, the ancestral court of the Qin royal family. Not only are the successive generations of Qin Emperors consecrated here; there are also outstanding ministers from the Qin Dynasty, just like an ancestral shrine. Wang Jian and Bai Qi are heroic spirits of the ancestral shrine.”
The different dynasties similarly had their own honored minister chambers. Similar to the Western Han Dynasty’s Qilin Chamber, Eastern Han’s Cloud Altar of Eighty Generals, and the Tang Dynasty’s Lingyan Chamber, the other dynasties had also granted some ministers the honor of being buried together with the Qin Emperors, representing tremendous glory for these subjects.
Once, Zhang Tingyu, a senior minister who had served three successive emperors, was granted that privilege when Yongzheng died. However, for the sake of that honor, Zhang Tingyu had been so scared of making a mistake that right before he died, he had that right stripped away by Qianlong. It was an absolute tragedy.
Zu An couldn't help but become interested, asking, “Then isn’t Zhao Han dead for sure?” All this time, he had been worried about how he was going to deal with the emperor, but now, the situation had completely solved itself!
Mi Li shook her head. “If they had been as powerful as when they were alive, Wang Jian and Zhao Han would be almost on par in strength, while Bai Qi would be even stronger than them. But now, they’re nothing more than soul fragments that have continued to exist in this special world. They’re much weaker than before. It would be extremely difficult for them to take down Zhao Han.”
Sure enough, the battlefield situation had already begun to change by the time Mi Li finished speaking.
Zhao Ruizhi’s fist smashed into the dark figure and a large amount of the black mist scattered. It clearly suffered great damage from his strike. He sneered. “I don’t care what kind of thing you are. Die!”
His other fist slammed toward the figure’s head. It wasn’t surrounded by golden light like the previous one, but instead had turned completely golden, as if his hand were made of gold.
At that moment, Wang Jian raised his bow, firing at the emperor’s back. A bit of hesitation filled Zhao Ruizhi’s eyes, and in the end, he chose not to take the risk. He turned around, using his fist to smash the arrow to pieces.Bai Qi raised his sickle and attacked again.
This was a fearsome duo, with one excelling in ranged attacks and one in frontal combat; even Zhao Ruizhi found himself in a difficult situation. The pair also commanded their subordinates to attack from time to time as well. They were both illustrious generals; even though they were just soul fragments, commanding the battlefield had already become an instinct. Under their commands, the army’s strength seemingly multiplied. Eventually, Bai Qi didn’t even have to face Zhao Ruizhi directly and only had to offer some support from time to time.
No matter how strong Zhao Ruizhi was, he was gradually drowned out by the sea of troops. He felt an incredible sense of danger. He knew that continuing like this would only slowly bring him closer and closer to defeat, and he could even die. As such, he decisively seized an opening to rush out, and vanished into the distance.
When Bai Qi and Wang Jian saw him flee, they quickly commanded their army to pursue him. Normally, ordinary war chariots and cavalry had no chances of catching up to cultivators, but for some reason, these war chariots and cavalry were exceptionally fast. They could actually catch up to Zhao Ruizhi from a distance.
Those from King Qi Manor were stupefied. He Li rubbed his eyes in disbelief, murmuring, “His majesty… ran away?”
It might not have been that big of a deal for Zu An, but for residents of the capital like them, the emperor was the symbol of invincible power! His actions in the dungeon so far had only further proven that point. But now, he was actually forced to flee for his life! In that instant, all of them suddenly felt as if something within them broke.
But they didn’t have any time to ponder such thoughts. The ones that had chased after Zhao Ruizhi were the war chariots and cavalry; there were still many ordinary troops left. The terracotta warriors turned around, aiming their weapons toward the cultivators, and charged.
“Damn it all!” Even though He Li was at the peak of the ninth rank, he had already lost all of his confidence after all that had happened in the dungeon. He didn’t have any will to fight anymore! When he saw the terracotta warriors charging over, he immediately chose to run for his life.
Again and again, he told himself that it was fine even if he couldn't outrun the clay soldiers; he just had to outrun his companions! They could buy him some time; in that case, he might even be able to escape and obtain some tremendous immortal encounter.
The other cultivators fled in confusion when they saw He Li run, all heading in different directions. But there were more and more terracotta soldiers gathering around them. King Qi Manor’s soldiers were soon completely surrounded. Even though they fought back with everything they had, the enemy’s numbers were just too great. They were almost instantly cut down.
“We’re leaving!” Zu An grabbed Bi Linglong and sprinted toward the distant bridge of light.
When she heard miserable screams fill the air around them again and again, Bi Linglong’s face paled. These strange clay soldiers were all around them; was it even possible to escape?
Along the way, she brandished her sword against the warriors several times. They weren’t weak at all. She could defeat one or two of them with her six ranks of cultivation, but the soldiers coordinated with each other far too well. She would have no choice but to run if there were five or six of them grouped together, and she might not even be able to get away.
Fortunately, Zu An was fast enough. They were always able to somehow barely slip past the hordes of terracotta warriors and break out of their enclosure.
As time passed, Bi Linglong couldn't see those from King Qi Manor anymore. Even though they were her enemies, they were still people after all. Furthermore, after having been around each other for so long, she found them far more pleasing than the lifeless clay soldiers.
However, Bi Linglong’s face suddenly paled when she saw a row of clay soldiers appear in front of her. These guys even knew about flanking tactics! She felt despair. Even the invincible emperor had no choice but to run, so how could they defeat this endless army of soldiers?
She gathered her resolve and turned to Zu An, saying, “Ah Zu, you should run. Don’t worry about me; I’ll help you hold them off. You might have a chance to get away if you’re by yourself.”
Zu An gave her a look of surprise. “You have it backward; how can you hold them off with your bit of cultivation? Even if someone had to do it, that would be me.”
Bi Linglong shook her head. “My cultivation is too low, I won’t even be able to get very far even if you try to hold them here. But you’re different. With your cultivation, there’s still a good chance for you to escape.”
She suddenly got up on her tiptoes and kissed him when she saw that Zu An was about to say something. “Ah Zu, you don’t have to say anything else. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me along the way; it’s now my turn to do something for you. Even though this journey has been dangerous, I’ve actually been extremely happy… happy that I got to meet you… There’s not much time left. You need to hurry, or both of us will die here meaninglessly.”
Bi Linglong really began to panic as she saw those troops get closer and closer. She repeatedly urged Zu An to leave.
“Who said we were going to die?” Zu An had a strange look on his face. Then, he looked at the vicious soldiers. “I wanted to fight you fair and square, but you guys really are going too far. Whatever, I’ll stop playing around now.”
A draconic roar filled the air as he drew his sword and raised it above his head. He focused all of his attention on using the Primordial Origin Sutra, commanding, “The Qin Emperor is here! All subjects shall obey!”