Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Sudden Change
"Who the hell is it?!"
Veins bulged on Ji Chang’s forehead.
For the past several days, the Lingzhou Army had been secretly searching for the mysterious Alchemy Master who had traded with the Changhe Gang.
But just a few days ago, a mysterious expert had killed dozens of Lingzhou Army soldiers in one fell swoop before making a clean getaway.
Since then, Lingzhou Army soldiers had been dying mysteriously at regular intervals.
The Lingzhou Army was used to running roughshod over Ling Province. When had they ever suffered such a grievance?
Ji Chang was naturally furious.
But the man’s methods were exceptionally brilliant, and his movements were as unpredictable as a ghost’s.
Ji Chang possessed immense martial prowess, but he couldn’t even get a glimpse of his opponent. How could he possibly fight back?
This feeling of utter helplessness drove Ji Chang nearly mad.
Crucially, the killer was never greedy. He’d show up, kill his targets in less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, and then leave without a trace.
Ji Chang wasn’t afraid of a direct confrontation. What he feared was this situation—the enemy hidden while he was exposed. It felt like punching cotton.
It was just like when the Lingzhou Army had dealt with the Divine Mansion Sect, forcing the then-Sect Leader, Murong Tian, to run his troops ragged.
The current situation was an exact mirror of the past.
Ultimately, defense was far more difficult than offense. An army as large as Lingzhou’s was bound to have countless vulnerabilities; it was impossible to guard them all. Yet, when they wanted to take the initiative, they couldn’t even find their target.
Ji Chang suspected the attacker was likely connected to the mysterious Alchemy Master—he might even be the one who had killed the Kaiyang Taoist and Yan Mo.
This only infuriated Ji Chang further.
He was supposed to be the one hunting this mysterious expert, but now the roles were reversed, and he had become the hunted.
’Is there any justice left in this world?’
Reversed Celestial Spirits?!
But no matter how angry he got, it was useless. For two days, he had tried and failed. The enemy was killing men right inside his own army camp, and he still couldn’t catch him.
The little Daoist, Yin Xi, glanced at the furious Ji Chang and pursed his lips.
"The Lingzhou Army are all brutes, just as I thought."
’He grumbled to himself.’
He shot another glance at the bookworm beside him, who was completely absorbed in his reading, and rolled his eyes.
’This mysterious expert must be betting on the fact that Chunyuan Taoist and Liu Kanshan are in Lingzhou. That’s why he dares to be so brazen.’
’Of course, the man’s methods are truly brilliant. Even from the perspective of the Longevity Palace, I have to admit I’m impressed.’
...
"Mysterious expert slays dozens of Lingzhou Army soldiers."
Lu Shanshan’s eyes widened as she read the report.
’The Lingzhou Army... what kind of force are they?’
’Even the Divine Mansion Sect, as powerful as it was, was annihilated by them. Yet now, a single person was harassing them to the point that their morale was on the verge of collapse.’
Lu Yu also read the report, murmuring to himself.
’Could it be my Brother Bai who did this?’
’This style... it’s just too much like Bai Yuan.’
’He’s truly... savage.’
"Everyone else, even the Lu Family, would do anything to avoid the Lingzhou Army. But Bai Yuan? Not only did he not hide away in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, he actually went on the offensive and started killing their soldiers."
Even Lu Yu, who normally loved a good stir, felt a chill run down his spine.
’Looks like I’d better keep some distance from Brother Bai...’
...
「In the deep mountains of Huanglong Prefecture.」
A squad of Lingzhou Army soldiers that had entered the mountains to search now lay in a heap of corpses.
Blood still dripped from the long saber in Bai Yuan’s hand.
He, of course, was the one who had killed them.
In his eyes, there was no such thing as an innocent soldier in the Lingzhou Army. By choosing to join, they had to be prepared to be killed by him—just like the members of the Divine Mansion Sect had been that night.
’There are too many innocents in this world.’
’If there’s anyone to blame, it’s this damn world.’
Bai Yuan felt the Qi and Blood in his body surge, his strength several times greater than before.
Although his Rolling Blood Saber was still only at the Proficient level, its blood-burning effect had increased from ten percent to twenty, greatly boosting his combat power.
Combined with his Painted Skin and Night Wanderer Step techniques, he had become the Soul-Seeking Yama of the Lingzhou Army.
To others, the Lingzhou Army was a terrifying scourge, but to Bai Yuan, they were nothing more than a private training ground.
It was far more convenient to kill Lingzhou Army soldiers than to hunt demons in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Bai Yuan suddenly sensed something. In a flash, he vanished.
The next moment, Ji Chang appeared before the pile of corpses, his expression so dark it looked like it could drip water.
"You insect! I’ll skin you alive one day!"
From the depths of the woods, Bai Yuan watched Ji Chang.
’In my past life, we called this an ’impotent rage,’’ Bai Yuan thought.
’You old bastard. Sooner or later, I’ll kill you.’
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
If the Lingzhou Cavalry weren’t waiting at the foot of the mountain, he might have actually tried to kill Ji Chang right then and there.
Ji Chang was strong. Martial Artists like him, forged in the crucible of army life, were killing machines whose combat prowess defied conventional measure.
Still, he couldn’t be that much stronger than the Kaiyang Taoist.
Since he could kill the Kaiyang Taoist, he could certainly kill this General Zhao Wu. He just hadn’t found the right opportunity.
It was Ji Chang who had led the Lingzhou Army that night on Shenfu Sect’s Main Peak, slaughtering over a thousand members of the Divine Mansion Sect.
It was a debt Bai Yuan had not forgotten.
Now that he was the Sect Leader of the Divine Mansion Sect, it was his responsibility to seek vengeance.
It just wasn’t the right time.
...
「The situation at the Northern Great Wall had suddenly changed.」
A general from the Northern Garrison Army led his entire battalion in defecting to the Demon Sect. The Demon Sect’s grand army seized the opportunity, pouring over the Great Wall and conquering a thousand li of territory.
The shockwaves were felt even in Ling Province.
The thousand-li defensive line established by the former Grand General of the North, Xu Dingchun, had crumbled overnight.
Left with no choice, the new Grand General of the North had to abandon the front line in Dingzhou and retreat a hundred li, which was just enough to stabilize the situation.
But this retreat meant that half of Dingzhou fell into the hands of the Demon Sect.
Ling Province, which bordered Dingzhou, suffered even more.
With no wall to stop them, Demon Sect experts frequently crossed the Northern Garrison Army’s new defensive line to raid Ling Province, joining the Soul-Chasing Tower masters who were already lurking within Xuan Yang.
The peace Ling Province once knew was gone.
After such a catastrophic defeat, everyone assumed the newly appointed Grand General of the North would be punished.
But to everyone’s surprise, the new Grand General of the North managed to shift all the blame onto Xu Dingchun.
He claimed the rebellious unit had defected precisely because they only recognized Xu Dingchun and refused to acknowledge him as their new Grand General of the North.
In the end, Emperor Xuanyang used the crisis on the northern border as a pretext and did not reprimand the Grand General of the North too harshly.
This made it clear just how deeply this Grand General of the North was favored by the Emperor. His treatment, compared to Xu Dingchun’s, was like the difference between heaven and earth.
The Grand General of the North emerged unscathed.
But the common people of Ling Province suffered for it.
Their relatively peaceful lives were shattered by the Demon Sect’s southern advance.
Agents of the Soul-Chasing Tower reappeared in Huanglong Prefecture. If things were this bad in Huanglong, the other prefectures were surely in an even more dire state.
The Lord Governor, who had planned to bring the Jianghu to heel, was forced to abandon his efforts, now preoccupied with fending off Demon Sect experts.
Bai Yuan, however, scented an opportunity.
The murkier the waters in Ling Province, the easier it would be for the Divine Mansion Sect to operate.
’At worst, I can just pin everything on the Demon Sect.’
’The same dirty tricks the Lingzhou Army used are still just as effective.’
He had already secretly ordered Yu Hui to lead an elite unit of the Divine Mansion Army down from the mountain for the sole purpose of ambushing the Lingzhou Army.
The treatment the Divine Mansion Sect had once suffered must, of course, be repaid to the Lingzhou Army in full.
In just a few days, over a hundred Lingzhou Army soldiers had been killed in action.
The Lingzhou Army forces in Huanglong Prefecture numbered only a few hundred. Such a terrifying casualty rate was becoming too much even for Ji Chang to bear. Fortunately, with two great masters, Chunyuan Zhenren and Liu Kanshan, present to hold the line, the situation hadn’t yet spiraled completely out of control.
What had once been a mere pretext for dealing with the Divine Mansion Sect had now become a reality.
Huanglong Prefecture, as a second line of defense, was now truly serving its purpose.
Ling Province was too close to the battlefield. Major sects like the Seven Star Sect and the Longevity Palace had tacitly agreed to relocate to Huanglong Prefecture.
It had become the safest place in all of Ling Province.
"Those bastards from the Divine Mansion Sect!"
Ji Chang snarled through gritted teeth.
He was all too familiar with the Divine Mansion Army’s tactics. He quickly deduced that, aside from the Demon Sect, the group responsible for the most deaths in the recent string of attacks was the Divine Mansion Army.
The remnants of the Divine Mansion Sect, who had been hiding in the shadows, had finally bared their fangs.
Even though Ji Chang was certain the remnants of the Divine Mansion Sect were hiding in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, he lacked the forces to send in a search party.
Liu Kanshan stared at a map of Huanglong Prefecture and said gravely, "According to our scouts, Blood Saber Liang Ziheng of the Northern Plains has arrived in Huanglong Prefecture."
The war in the Northern Territory had changed dramatically.
And the situation in Ling Province changed along with it.
Seven of the top fifteen masters on the Heavenly Ranking were now in Huanglong Prefecture, and, correspondingly, Demon Sect experts were also converging on the city.
The Divine Mansion Sect had operated in Huanglong Prefecture for a thousand years, and the Prefecture City’s defenses were no weaker than Lingzhou City’s. Otherwise, General Lu Xiao would never have designated it as the second line of defense.
As a staff officer for the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office, Liu Kanshan was no longer concerned with the Divine Mansion Sect or the identity of the person who killed Yan Mo and the Kaiyang Taoist. Those were trivial matters now.
The Demon Sect was the only opponent worthy of his full attention.
Liu Kanshan spoke abruptly. "We absolutely cannot allow Liang Ziheng to enter Huanglong Prefecture."
Beside him, the Chunyuan Taoist frowned. "Then how do we stop him?"
Liu Kanshan’s reply was decisive. "I’ll lead a team to kill him."
"..."
The group in the Shenfu Mountain military camp fell silent.
Liang Ziheng was a renowned master in the Northern Territory; his power was said to surpass even that of the Chunyuan Taoist and Liu Kanshan.
Since defecting to the Demon Sect, he had wreaked havoc across several provinces in the Northern Territory, leaving a trail of countless dead.
But no matter how much the people of those provinces loathed the Northern Plains Blood Saber, they were powerless against him.
The Chunyuan Taoist’s expression firmed. "Brother Liu is right."
Once Liang Ziheng entered Huanglong Prefecture, capturing him would be next to impossible. That being the case, it was better to strike first.
Fighting spirit ignited in Ji Chang’s eyes.
"I will lead three hundred Demon Riders from the Lingzhou Army to assist you both."
After a brief discussion, they decided to set out immediately to intercept Liang Ziheng at the border of Huanglong Prefecture.
According to the intelligence reports, several other Demon Sect experts were accompanying Liang Ziheng.
It was sure to be a bloody battle.
Ji Chang immediately strode out of the military camp to muster his troops.
’I’ll spare those little bastards for now,’ he thought viciously.
’First I’ll kill the Northern Plains Blood Saber, then I’ll go cut down those remnants of the Divine Mansion Sect.’
Just as Ji Chang strode out of the command tent, a Lingzhou Army soldier standing guard turned his head and glanced inside.
He had heard every word of Ji Chang’s vicious muttering.
The corner of the soldier’s mouth quirked upward.
’Why go to all the trouble of you finding me? The result will be the same if I come to kill you.’
