8: Black-scaled horses, marching to attack cities

"The strength of this Yellow Heaven Cult is quite a bit lower than I had anticipated..."

"Also, these fellows are normally nowhere to be seen. Just where are they hiding to Cultivate? Could it be a spiritual land with more abundant spiritual energy?"

Yu Xuzi made wild guesses in his heart, but his eyes remained fixed on the Huangtian Great Army on the main road.

Dozens of breaths later.

Finally, the royal carriage symbolizing the supreme authority of the Yellow Heaven Cult appeared in everyone's sight.

Wherever it passed, the crowd boiled with excitement.

Cheers rose like wave after wave.

Even though Yu Xuzi's Heart-Nature was cold and resolute, a faint trace of astonishment couldn't help but flicker in the depths of his eyes upon seeing this royal carriage.

The carriage was crafted entirely from rare purple sandalwood, carved with dragons and phoenixes, and inlaid with countless pearls and fine jade.

The carriage cabin was three zhang in both length and width, resembling a small mobile palace, with bright yellow crepe gauze hanging around it.

Even more eye-catching was that the ones pulling the carriage were not mundane steeds, but nine exceptionally majestic "Black Scale Horses" that stood nearly ten feet tall!

These horses were far taller and more robust than ordinary warhorses, their bodies covered in dense, fine scales. Their hooves were massive, and as they stepped on the bluestone slabs, they actually produced a crisp sound like the clashing of metal and stone.

Their heads were ferocious, and a faint white mist exhaled from their mouths and noses.

Their pupils were actually vertical and golden; with every glance, an untamed wildness and a natural pressure emanated from them.

"Although they aren't Yao Beasts yet, they are much stronger than ordinary Mortal horses. I just don't know where the Yellow Heaven Cult caught them."

Yu Xuzi turned around, his figure quietly merging into the still-boisterous crowd behind him, like a drop of water into the sea, leaving no trace.

He intended to find a place outside the city and then silently wait for the great war between the Yellow Heaven Cult and the Yu Kingdom.

The reason Guishan City was so lively today was that the Yellow Heaven Cult had raised its troops, declaring they would attack the last commandery of the Yu Kingdom in Jiangnan... Outside Guishan City, fifty thousand soldiers of the Huangtian Great Army were already arrayed in neat, murderous phalanxes, standing in silent stillness.

A forest of blades and spears, banners blotting out the sun!

The sunlight hit the countless suits of armor and weapons, reflecting a heart-palpitating cold light that formed a vast, icy ocean of metal.

A high platform standing three zhang tall had been erected in front of the army, where True Man Huang Tian, dressed in bright yellow ceremonial robes, was giving a passionate speech.

"Citizens of Huang Tian! Warriors!"

"The Yu Kingdom is unjust and treats the common people with cruelty!"

"I follow the decree of the huang tian supreme god to save the people from their suffering and re-establish the fundamental principles! To cleanse the demonic air and remake the world!!"

"Today, I shall march north with all of you to strike directly at the pseudo-capital of the Yu Kingdom!!"

At this point, True Man Huang Tian's face was flushed red. He suddenly drew the precious sword at his waist with force and pointed it toward the heavens.

"Clang~"

In the next instant.

Two streaks of golden light rose into the sky and suddenly exploded at a high altitude, their dazzling radiance outshining the rising sun.

"Boom—!!!"

"This battle! Victory is certain!"

A five-zhang tall golden armor giant phantom appeared behind him, mirroring True Man Huang Tian's movements, truly possessing some of the Aura of the huang tian supreme god.

At the very least, it was more than enough to deceive the fanatical Mortal army below.

"Certain victory! Certain victory! Certain victory!"

Fifty thousand soldiers roared in unison, the sound waves erupting like a tsunami, making the very earth tremble!

Spears and sabers struck the ground, armor clattered, and together with the roars, they merged into a destructive torrent.

True Man Huang Tian looked at the fanatical army before him with satisfaction and gave a light wave of his hand.

"Dong—Dong—Dong—!"

The heavy and murderous sound of war drums thundered, spreading across the fields.

The massive military formation began to move slowly, like a set of precise gears starting up.

The vanguard set out, the main army moved, and the rear army followed closely!

Dust rose into the air, obscuring the sky and the sun.

The nine-horse royal carriage, surrounded by the elite Huangtian Camp, merged into this surging northward torrent.

Meanwhile, Yu Xuzi stood on a slightly elevated dirt slope outside the city, looking down at everything with cold eyes.

As he silently judged the strength of the Cult Master of Huang Tian Cult's Aura, a touch of disdain couldn't help but appear on his face.

"He is much stronger than me, but it's not a qualitative difference, and he doesn't give me the feeling of being powerless to resist."

"Late Stage Qi Refining... at most Peak Qi Refining."

This cult master, who styled himself True Man Huang Tian, was actually only a Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator?

How did he dare?

In the five Realms of cultivation for the Human Race below Immortal Ascension, the Qi Refinement Stage goes without saying, while those in the Dao Foundation Realm are generally addressed as 'Superior Man'.

Only those in the third Realm, the Mystic Fetus Realm, can be honored with the title 'Immortal Master'!

Further on, the Dharma Idol Realm is honored as 'True Lord', and the Primordial Spirit Realm is honored as 'Dao Lord'.

Previously, Yu Xuzi had never met the Cult Master of Huang Tian Cult and had only heard his title of 'True Man Huang Tian'. He had thought the man was quite formidable, assuming he was at least a Dao Foundation Cultivator.

To his surprise, the man was also just a Qi Refining Cultivator.

"He dares to rebel while only at the Qi Refinement Stage!"

"Is it pure arrogance? Or is it that... the strength of the State Preceptors Mansion isn't much either?"

...Twenty days later.

Guanghe Commandery, the commandery city.

As the most prosperous of the three commanderies south of the Canglan Great River in the Yu Kingdom, Guanghe Commandery city was situated right next to the great river.

By virtue of the convenience of river shipping, it could connect with surrounding countries and possessed docks where large tower ships could moor. In the past, merchant ships had frequented the area.

However, with the Yellow Heaven Cult's rebellion, it had naturally become increasingly desolate.

Yet, on the wide surface of the river, there were dense clusters of ships of all sizes anchored, where countless people witnessed the brutal war on the shore with their own eyes... Yu Xuzi was among them.

Outside the city, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but an earthy yellow tide.

Over forty thousand soldiers of the Huangtian Great Army surrounded Guanghe Commandery city so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

The other counties had already been taken; once this commandery city was captured, the Yellow Heaven Cult would unify the three Jiangnan commanderies of the Yu Kingdom.

Tents were like clouds, and banners blotted out the sun!

In particular, the countless Huang Tian Great Banners dancing wildly in the wind carried an arrogant and rebellious air that seemed to overturn the heavens, pressing down so hard that the defenders on the city walls could barely breathe.

The sound of war drums was no longer just a beat, but had turned into continuous muffled thunder, making the ground tremble and the air thick with the nauseating smell of blood.

The siege had lasted for three days!

Even though the Immortal Masters of the Yellow Heaven Cult had not yet made a move, the city was already on the verge of collapse.

Below the city walls, the moat had long since been filled in.

Corpses were piled as high as mountains, layer upon layer.

Countless simple scaling ladders and flying bridges were propped against the city walls.

A swarming mass of soldiers wearing yellow turbans, like a colony of migrating ants, shouted and roared as they climbed upward, one after another.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!!"

"Long live Huang Tian!!!"

"Ahhh~~"

On the city walls, rolling logs, stones, boiling oil, and golden juice poured down like a rainstorm. Every time they fell, they were accompanied by a wave of shrill screams and scenes of mangled flesh and blood.

Dense volleys of arrows interlaced in the air like a swarm of locusts, carrying the whistle of death as they flew into the city.

From time to time, defenders were either hit by stray arrows or dragged into the fray by yellow turban soldiers who had climbed onto the wall, falling from the high city walls with screams.

In this bloody purgatory, a figure as burly as a brown bear was particularly eye-catching.

It was Wang Liu!

He was now a centurion in the Yellow Heaven Cult's Elite Veteran Camp.