378: Jinguan is shocked! (4K monthly ticket request)

One must know that the flesh and blood of Heavenly Gate Devils are cultivation treasures that ordinary people can barely obtain. Many Body Profound experts who have been unable to break through the Heavenly Gate Bottleneck for years could break through the Heavenly Gate in one go with just one bottle of Heavenly Gate Devil essence blood.

But now, the convoy escorting these demon bodies stretched for several miles, numbering over a hundred, and their variety was unprecedented.

The Ten Fiends were all present, along with other strange and exotic creatures!

What made Cloud Skyborn's eyelids twitch wildly was that he actually sensed the Qi of Wucang Great Demons on two of the carriages.

There was a black, lustrous scale, about one zhang in size, and a large, restrained box.

This scene, even Cloud Skyborn, who had followed the General into the Demon Battlefield and fought in countless campaigns, was stunned!

He was not only shocked by the sheer number of Heavenly Gate Devil corpses, which exceeded the total from their previous campaigns in Guangan Prefecture and Weiyuan Pass, but also by what exactly had happened. The Ten Fiends had all appeared, and Great Demons had been dispatched. Who had killed so many demons, and why had Jinguancheng not heard any news?

It was not difficult to guess that this must have been a battle that shook the mountains and rivers!

Cloud Skyborn's heart tightened, and he forcefully suppressed the shock in his eyes. As a general, he must be as still as a mountain; this was something he had learned by following the General.

“Hiss, hiss”

Anxious neighing of horses echoed across the snowy plain.

The horses beneath them, impacted by the Demonic Qi, let out long neighs, their hooves restlessly pawing. Cloud Skyborn patted his horse's back, let out a long breath, his expression extremely solemn, his eyes gleaming with sharp light.

“Captain Lian!”

“With so many Heavenly Gate Devil corpses, all Ten Fiends present, and even the Qi of Wucang Great Demons, what major event has occurred?!”

The deeper Cloud Skyborn thought, the more eager he was to know the answer.

Opposite him, Lian Nishang, in a red dress, looking capable and spirited, knew that he had many questions and directly gave the answer:

“Three nights ago, my elder brother returned to Qingshan County from Tianxiong Pass.”

“A Wu Zang Human Demon was causing trouble in Qingshan County, plotting to take revenge on my elder brother in Qingshan. My elder brother, upon learning of this, cast a spell to capture this demon. This demon hid in Langdang Mountain, sacrificing countless souls to open a teleportation passage. Ten Wucang Great Demons led Demon Soldiers to descend.”

“At that time, it just so happened that my elder brother was dispatching troops from several nearby Fu Gates, preparing to pass through Qingshan before heading to the southeastern front lines.”

“So my elder brother led his troops and several Wu Zang Seniors to jointly kill the ten Great Demons!”

The complexity of the matter was such that even though Lian Nishang had personally participated in most of it, she couldn't explain it clearly in a short time. That night, her elder brother cast a spell to find that Human Demon, leaving her to guard Qingshan County and the severely wounded, newly awakened Old Wu, which prevented her from arriving in time for that major battle.

She tried to explain the whole story in the simplest possible terms, so that the Piaoji by her elder brother's side would understand.

Because she also had some urgency!

“Where is the General now?”

Cloud Skyborn understood that the 'elder brother' this Miss Lian referred to was his own General, and his doubts were immediately resolved.

It was indeed his own General!

And only his own General!

His eyes suddenly shone brightly as he asked.

As he asked this, he saw Lian Nishang's heroic eyebrows tighten, and then a voice transmission immediately sounded in Cloud Skyborn's ear.

Soon, Cloud Skyborn's expression changed several times.

His gaze tightened. Lian Nishang had transmitted that a Dragon Tiger Great Demon had appeared later, capturing the General and a group of Wu Zang into a spatial passage. The General's whereabouts were currently unknown.

But he should be fine!

“Captain Lian, how can you prove the General's safety?” Cloud Skyborn was concerned about the General's safety, his body tensed. He had just thought that one should remain calm when facing major events, but he still lacked the General's composure and confidence, his tone somewhat agitated.

Lian Nishang tugged on the reins beneath her, turning her horse sideways.

Dozens of meters behind her, at the very front of the convoy, was an ordinary covered carriage. The other carriages were for escorting demon corpses, huge in size, sealed by Restrictions and covered with black cloth along the way. Only this one was a normal carriage.

Beside the carriage, a pale, beardless fellow in dark armor, with a somewhat shifty look in his eyes, was riding a horse and looking this way, his eyes darting around.

Lian Nishang glanced at this person. His darting eyes settled, and he put on an arrogant expression, raising his head and pulling on the reins to move forward.

“This is the Contracted Demon Heavenly Dog under my elder brother. Cavalry General Yun should know that, under normal circumstances, if a master dies, the Contracted Demon will also perish, unless the Contracted Demon's strength surpasses the contractor's, allowing it to resist the rules of the contract.”

Lian Nishang explained the origin of “this person” to Cloud Skyborn. Who else could it be but that Heavenly Dog?

The Heavenly Dog's expression, which had been one of not wanting to bother with anyone, immediately collapsed. This girl was truly rubbing salt in its wounds, poking at its heart.

It wanted to bare its fangs, but it had seen its master and this woman were very familiar in the small courtyard in Qingshan County, and this woman called its master 'elder brother'. Forget it, it couldn't afford to provoke her.

The Heavenly Dog could only keep its frustration to itself!

Upon hearing this, Cloud Skyborn's gaze fell on the Heavenly Dog's transformed human body, and he then remembered this fact. No wonder he felt Demonic Qi on this person.

Two days had passed since the incident. Seeing that the General's Contracted Demon was fine, the General should be temporarily safe.

Cloud Skyborn felt a little relieved.

“This Piaoji remembers that Contracted Demons can sense their master's location. May I ask you, can you sense the location of my General?”

The Heavenly Dog really wanted to roll its eyes, thinking who was this talking to? Asking a dog still depended on the master. But it had also seen Cloud Skyborn, the deputy general who followed its master. Forget it, forget it, it wouldn't stoop to this kid's level, so it grumbled:

“The Adult followed that ship and was captured by a Dragon Tiger Great Demon from the Ten Thousand Mountains into a teleportation passage. That passage leads directly to the Ten Thousand Mountains, thousands of miles away, so how could I sense it?”

“It's just that the Adult should have found an Opportunity to escape midway, otherwise, if he were truly captured by that demon Senior... I'm afraid... In any case, the Adult is currently alive and well, it's just unknown where he landed!”

The Heavenly Dog made a guess. It was with the Adult on the battlefield at the time, and from the commotion, it seemed that the rumored Tomb-Guarding Old Demon from the Sacred Mountain had made a move. If the Adult and those Wu Zang were truly captured, they would surely face certain death.

Lian Nishang was right. If Chen Yuan died, as a Contracted Demon forced into an “unequal” contract, it would also be doomed, hence this deduction.

Cloud Skyborn listened to the Heavenly Dog's analysis and nodded, just about to feel a little more at ease.

“However, you should be clear about the situation in the south now. If the Adult fell outside the Ten Thousand Mountains, with the Adult's Divine Ability, he would naturally be fine. But if he landed inside the Ten Thousand Mountains, it would be hard to say.”

Cloud Skyborn and Lian Nishang's expressions changed slightly.

Indeed, it was not impossible.

This required deliberation.

“Please, Captain Lian, accompany me into the city to discuss countermeasures!” Cloud Skyborn's expression was solemn. He was currently only roughly digesting this sudden news; many details of the matter were still unclear. The Adult's safety was of great importance and could not be taken lightly.

“I came precisely for my elder brother's matter!” Lian Nishang's eyes were resolute. The incident was sudden, and her elder brother and others' whereabouts were unknown, leaving the mess in Qingshan County. Originally, with her identity as Patrolling Mountain Commandant of Qingshan County, she was not qualified to take over. She had no authority to mobilize the troops of the Three Gates. Fortunately, her elder brother always had backup plans, leaving a few Contracted Demons to lead the troops, and the Heavenly Dog knew the relationships involved.

So, she was forced into action, leading over a thousand cavalry to escort these priceless Heavenly Gate Devil flesh and blood back to Jinguancheng to inform her elder brother's troops to devise a countermeasure. The remaining mobilized troops from the Three Gates were stationed outside Qingshan County, and some affairs of Qingshan County were left for Fang Qingzhu to help oversee. She also informed Zhonglang General Xiang Qingtian when passing through Baidi City midway.

After speaking, she prepared to have the iron cavalry behind cover these demon corpses again.

After all, such a large quantity of Heavenly Gate flesh and blood would inevitably be shocking, and with her elder brother currently absent, it might attract unwanted attention.

But at this moment, Cloud Skyborn stopped her, his eyes gleaming.

“Wait!”

“No need to cover them, just enter the city like this!”

“Why?” Lian Nishang frowned and asked.

“I know what Commandant Lian is worried about. The General is not here right now, and so much Demonic Qi and blood are immeasurably valuable. They could even Cultivate many Heavenly Gate experts in a short time. But there's a saying, ‘Returning home rich without showing off is like walking in embroidered clothes at night.’ It might not be perfectly fitting here, but Jinguancheng is now a mixed bag of dragons and fish, with undercurrents stirring. Some people are always restless. The more this is the case, the more we must be ostentatious and unrestrained!”

“Many people in the city only heard rumors about the battle at Tianxiong Pass. And some rats hiding in the sinister Hell secretly fanned the flames, saying that the General openly defied the imperial army at Tianxiong Pass and wanted to rebel, and that going to the Demon Battlefield was just an act to win over people's hearts, wanting to coerce the people of Shu to fulfill his ambition, and that the imperial court would sooner or later settle accounts, attempting to shake the Foundation of my Ninth Mountain.”

A cold light flickered in Cloud Skyborn’s eyes.

“Hmph, too bad they can’t!”

“Let the fate of these Demons tell them!”

“Even if the General isn’t here, would they dare to harbor such thoughts?”

Cloud Skyborn’s gaze was disdainful, carrying a sense of contempt, completely fearless.

This was a kind of Qi, a kind of Qi cultivated by following the General!

Lian Nishang’s eyes flickered. The soldiers led by her brother were indeed extraordinary.

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Then we’ll listen to Cavalry General Yun!”

Cloud Skyborn immediately turned his horse around, slapped its belly with both legs, and immediately ordered, “Enter the city!”

Then, the large horse galloped out.

Lian Nishang flicked her reins, dressed in red with a sword on her back. The date-red horse beneath her transformed into a red misty shadow, advancing neck and neck, kicking up snow and dust, a dashing figure.

Following closely, a rumbling sound rose.

The Ninth Mountain Army and over a thousand soldiers from the Three Gates Prefecture followed, escorting miles of Demon corpses, moving majestically.

At noon, in the northern part of the city, in a red-light district, there were theaters for listening to music, and a scene of lively prosperity.

In a bustling and noisy theater, in a certain room, a woman's scream rang out.

“Young Master Mei, I perform for a living, but I don’t drink. No, thank you.”

At this moment, with a “smack,” there was a woman's shriek and the sound of a cup shattering.

In an elegantly decorated room, filled with a warm fragrance, five young men sat around a round table.

At this moment, a woman in a pink palace dress with a cinnabar mark between her brows fell to the ground, covering her red face, her lips torn and sobbing. To her left lay a shattered celadon cup with spilled wine, and to her right, a pipa had fallen.

And where her gaze was directed, a young man in a light green plum blossom robe with a sinister look between his brows sat grimly in his seat, exuding a tyrannical aura.

Behind the woman, several women holding guqins and flutes seemed frightened and dared not help their sister.

“Get out, and don’t ever appear here again!”

The Young Master surnamed Mei spoke in a gloomy voice, with barely suppressed anger.

But when the woman heard this, she was struck as if by lightning. Her sobbing, pretty face turned pale, and she quickly scrambled to her feet.

She didn't know why this usually refined and handsome Young Master had changed so much, but she knew that if she offended him, she might die.

“Young Master, please forgive me, I’ll drink!”

The woman walked over, on the verge of tears, ready to pick up the wine cup on the table and pour wine to apologize to Young Master Mei.

But his face darkened with impatience, and he directly flicked his sleeve.

“I told you to get out, didn’t you hear me?”

“Bang!”

The woman was sent flying directly, crashing into the screen, shattering it into pieces, and she immediately fainted.

“Ah!”

The singing girls shrieked, but were stopped by the gaze of Young Master Mei, then quickly carried the unconscious woman away and left the room.

The other men in the room watched all this with cold eyes.

“Brother Ziqi, forget it. You’ve vented your anger. What does it matter whether you wear that armor or not? It's better this way, more at ease. There are too many rules in the barracks, it’s uncomfortable to stay there.” A person at the same table comforted him.

These few were precisely the several Young Masters from prominent families in the city who had been publicly stripped of their armor outside the Ninth Mountain Army camp not long ago. After being publicly disgraced, they came to the red-light district to amuse themselves and vent their anger, mainly because they didn't know how to explain it back home; it was truly humiliating.

“Indeed, our families originally sent us there just to cope. Isn't it just not being a soldier of the Ninth Mountain? As if anyone cares to go. Many Young Masters have long wanted to leave, and they all left this time. What's there to be afraid of? Only those commoners are willing to train so hard there, just for those pathetic Medicinal Pills. Can they compare to us?” Another person spoke, his face annoyed, his tone disdainful.

“Being publicly stripped of our armor today, this matter will definitely spread. We will become a laughingstock. This is too much! What is Cloud Skyborn? He’s just lucky. Damn him!” The speaker, a young man in a blue robe with a fair complexion and meticulously trimmed eyebrows, crushed the wine cup on the table, growing angrier the more he thought about it.

“Brother Ziqi, that person cannot be kept. He actually turned on us and slapped our faces!” As this person spoke, he looked at the young man in the green plum blossom robe, his tone filled with murderous intent.

This person's surname was Guo, the one called out by Cloud Skyborn. After receiving the news a few days ago, he found an excuse to resign, but the events at Tianxiong Pass reversed everything. He came to report and was then stripped of his armor, and his face was still burning.

As for the person he mentioned who turned on them, it was that commoner Commandant who knelt.

Mei Ziqi nodded coldly. The others also exchanged glances, their eyes sinister.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and a smiling voice came in.

“I wondered who it was. Turns out it’s Brother Wentao and Brother Ziqi. You’ve bullied Miss Mudan in this building into such a state.”

“What, I heard you were stripped of your armor by the Ninth Mountain?”

As he spoke, a Young Master from a prominent Family who had also joined the Ninth Mountain walked in. They all knew each other.

The few of them changed their expressions, not expecting the news to spread so quickly, “You, Liu, shut your stinking mouth!”

That person, however, walked straight in, sat down unceremoniously, glanced at their faces, and said mockingly, “Look at how dejected you all are. I know you’re thinking this matter will provoke the Ninth Mountain, or that your Family will lose this backing. But wake up, everyone!”

Then, his voice lowered, “I heard from my Family that the battle at Tianxiong Pass, while seemingly glorious for the Ninth Mountain, actually harbors great danger. It’s better to get out early. See, I didn’t go back to suffer. What can I do staying there? Be cannon fodder?”

“Everyone wants to be the second Cloud Skyborn, and the Yun Family? That’s just a typical example set by that General. Just you wait and see, what can Liu Family, the first to side with them in the city, do? How many benefits did Liu Qingshu of his Family get? What can those guys who rushed to join the Ninth Mountain do?”

“They’re just being tricked into being cannon fodder!”

“Besides, haven’t you heard the news? Shu is recovering, and beneath that frozen land for a thousand miles, there will be various Opportunities. Experts from all over have come to Jinguancheng, searching for the whereabouts of these things. Soon, a great era of competition will arrive. Don’t you all want to soar to the sky and Breakthrough to Heavenly Gate early?”

This person’s speech was full of exaggerated claims, making the others’ eyes light up, and they felt much better.

But at this moment, outside, there was the sound of “crackling” doors and windows opening, and people running downstairs, followed by exclamations!

“Look quickly!”

“It seems to be the Ninth Mountain Army!”

“Oh my goodness!”

“…”

At the same time, the faint sound of hooves came from outside.

These Young Masters from prominent families, who had been stripped of their armor by the Ninth Mountain, heard the commotion, exchanged glances, moved their bodies, opened the window, and looked out.

Across the street, from a high vantage point, these Young Masters saw a scene that made their pupils shrink in horror!

Miles of winding, terrifying Demon corpses, like small mountains, passed through the streets. The aura emanating from them made their hearts pound and their eyes burn with desire.

“They are all Heavenly Gate Demons!”

“How many must there be!”

And at the head of that procession, Cavalry General Yun Tiansheng of the Ninth Mountain, who was quite famous in Jinguancheng, became a mere backdrop.

A woman in red with a sword on her back, riding a tall horse, became the focus!

The entire North City instantly boiled and vibrated, and a piece of news spread like wildfire.

And just as Jinguancheng was in an uproar, Chen Yuan led his men deeper into the Ten Thousand Mountains, a thousand miles south!

He guessed that the Demons would set up a net in the south, so he decided to go deeper into the mountains! (End of this chapter)