131: Chapter 131 A Plan to Turn the Tide

Pang Hai was beaten until he rolled around like a gourd on the ground, screaming incessantly.

Su Bai paid no attention to the Pang Hai, who was currently receiving a violent thrashing.

Walking to the edge of the cliff, he looked down at the sea of fire still raging below, a cold sneer curling the corner of his mouth.

He pointed at the "figures" struggling and screaming amidst the flames below.

Facing Hu Li, the First Boss of Fierce Tiger Mountain who stood at the entrance of the mountain top camp, he said indifferently, "First Boss Hu Li, your way of welcoming guests is truly passionate."

Hu Li, a burly man with a face full of curly whiskers and a build like a bear, was now frightened pale, his entire body shaking like a sieve.

He couldn't understand for the life of him how Su Bai and his people had managed to sneak behind him so silently.

And what was going on with those people down the mountain?

"Those... those... aren't your people?"

Hu Li asked stutteringly.

"My people?"

Su Bai laughed. "My people are all right here."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled a palm-sized Formation Plate from his robe and tapped it lightly toward the sea of fire below the mountain.

In the next second, a miracle occurred.

The sea of fire down the mountain, along with the figures struggling and screaming within it, actually began to turn illusory, like a reflection in a mirror or a moon in the water.

Finally, they vanished completely.

All that remained was a ground covered in rolling logs and boulders, and some still-burning fire oil.

Illusions!

They were all illusions!

Hu Li was completely stunned.

He turned his head again to look at Pang Hai, who had been beaten out of human shape by Ma Lie and Su Tao and was now kneeling on the ground like a dead dog; his brain gave a loud buzz.

He understood everything in an instant.

He had been played.

He had been played by this idiot Pang Hai.

Su Bai had known long ago that Pang Hai was a mole, so he beat him at his own game, deliberately letting Pang Hai leak false information.

He then used this Formation Plate to create the illusion that his army was surrounded, luring Hu Li into focusing all his attention and defensive measures on that godforsaken place, A Thread of Sky.

Meanwhile, Su Bai himself had led his elites up through another secret passage that Hu Li didn't even know existed, sneaking up quietly!

How ruthless!

What a venomous strategy!

Hu Li knew that this matter could no longer be settled peacefully today.

But he still held onto a final sliver of hope.

Putting on a brave front, he roared at Su Bai, "Su! Don't get too ahead of yourself! So what if you've made it up here?! My fortress gates are forged from century-old ironwood and reinforced with a Formation; they are impregnable!

I still have over three hundred brothers under me! If we hold our ground and don't come out, I don't believe that with just these few dozen people of yours, you can actually force your way in?!"

"Is that so?"

Su Bai let out a disdainful cold snort.

Leisurely, he pulled out another Formation Plate from his robe.

This Formation Plate was crimson all over, and the runes carved upon it were filled with a murderous Aura.

He injected Spiritual Qi into it.

He pointed lightly toward the massive, tightly closed mountain gate in the distance.

"Break."

A single word escaped his lips.

In the next second, the red Formation Plate erupted with brilliant light.

A torrent composed of countless sharp swords of Spiritual Qi appeared out of thin air, carrying a sharp Aura as it slammed violently against the mountain gate of Fierce Tiger Mountain.

Boom—!

A massive explosion!

That century-old ironwood gate, claimed to be 'impregnable,' along with the crude Formation reinforced behind it, was like wet paper under this strike.

It was instantly blown into fragments, turning into dust that filled the air.

Looking at the wide-open mountain gate and the Bandits behind it who were scared out of their wits.

Hu Li fell into complete despair.

His legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, frantically begging Su Bai for mercy:

"General, have mercy! General, have mercy! I... I am willing to surrender! I am willing to offer all the treasures of the fortress, I only beg the General to spare my life!"

However, Su Bai didn't even bother to look at them again.

"Bind them and take them back."

...

The wealth of Fierce Tiger Mountain...

...far exceeded Su Bai's imagination.

There were ten full chests of gold, silver, and jewels.

Various weapons and armor were piled up like a mountain.

The grain in the granary was enough to feed five thousand people for a year.

They even found several bottles of decent Medicinal Pills and a few second and third-rate Cultivation Technique Secret Manuals in Hu Li's secret room.

This time, they had truly struck it rich!

The spoils of war were so numerous that the small number of men Su Bai brought could barely move them all.

In the end, they had to commandeer all the donkey and horse carts in the fortress to barely fit everything.

When Su Bai escorted Hu Li, Pang Hai, and the long convoy back to Yunzhou City...

...the entire Yunzhou City was in an uproar.

General Su had not only wiped out another bandit den that had been a scourge for years but had also rooted out a spy within the army.

For a time, the name 'General Su' became a household word in Yunzhou City.

Whether it was the soldiers in the army or the common civilians...

...everyone gave a thumbs up and spoke of Su Bai with praise whenever his name was mentioned.

Su Bai's prestige in Yunzhou City reached its peak.

However, at this moment, Su Bai...

...only wanted to go home, take a nice hot bath, and then hold his lovely wife for a beautiful sleep.

However, just as he stepped through the gates of the Generals Mansion...

...Zhou Qingying greeted him with a face full of joy.

"Husband! You're back!" She excitedly grabbed Su Bai's hand and spoke with exhilaration, "I have good news for you!"

Seeing her excited look, Su Bai's heart stirred, and he smiled along, "What good news? To make you so happy?"

"Good news?"

Su Bai wrapped his arms around his wife's soft waist and gently rested his chin in the crook of her shoulder, "Could it be that my lady has made me another of her specialty dishes?"

Zhou Qingying laughed at his teasing, turned around to cup his face, and looked at Su Bai with sparkling eyes.

"It's ten thousand times better than that!"

"Husband, do you remember that Spirit Stone Mine outside the city?"

Su Bai's heart gave a sudden leap.

"I remember, what about it?"

"It can be mined now!"

Zhou Qingying's voice rose a few pitches, "I asked someone to invite an Old Master Miner named Shi from the south. He went to see it today and said our vein is of extremely high quality and can officially be mined!"

This news caused Su Bai's eyes to widen instantly.

Wild joy swept over him in an instant.

Spirit Stones!

Those were hard currency!

They were essential for a Cultivator to Cultivate, set up Formations, and drive Magical Artifacts.

The bandit-style digging Qin Northern used before couldn't be called mining; it was more like destruction.

When a whole Spirit Stone was pried out by brute force, more than half of its Spiritual Qi would dissipate, and its value would be less than a tenth of what it should be; it was simply a waste of natural resources.

Professional Spirit Stone Miners were craftsmen with skills passed down through generations, possessing techniques and special tools to peel them away perfectly along the grain of the Spirit Stone.

This maximized the preservation of the Spiritual Qi within.

A mineral vein that could stably produce high-quality Spirit Stones was of incalculable value!

This was not just wealth; it was the Foundation for his future recruitment of soldiers and the development of his power.

"That's wonderful!"

Su Bai could no longer contain his excitement; he swept Zhou Qingying up into his arms and spun around several times.

Zhou Qingying let out a soft cry and immediately hugged Su Bai's neck tightly in surprise.