Chapter 427 The Taoist Soldiers
In the Immortal Court, the Immortal Emperor in a loose white robe was feeding fish at the immortal pool. Several immortal children were holding all kinds of fish food behind him.
Li Changgeng came slowly and asked to see him in the distance. The Immortal Emperor waved his hand and let him come in directly.
After saluting, Li Changgeng stared at the colorful fish gathering and fighting for food. He smiled and said, “These spiritual fish are really blessed that you feed them personally. Look, how well they grow!”
The Immortal Emperor glanced at Li Changgeng,”Not they but I am blessed.”
Li Changgeng thought that he understood what the Immortal Emperor meant, so he flattered him with cupped hands. “Your Majesty, you are really a saint for you can feel for others.”
The Immortal Emperor glanced at Li Changgeng. “Nonsense. I fatten them up, not for compassion, but to eat them. I said I’m blessed not because I’m happy to watch them swim, but because I can eat them!”
Li Changgeng opened his mouth, speechless for a long time.
The Immortal Emperor turned to focus on throwing fish food. “Why did you come to see me?”
Li Changgeng said with embarrassment, “There are 1,000 people in the first group of Taoist soldiers. They have already gone down to the human world through Kunlun, and they are handed over to He Jingcheng.”
This was exciting news, and it should have shown the momentum of the settled situation. But when Li Changgeng thought of what the Immortal Emperor had said just now and saw him seriously feeding fish, he couldn’t bear to look at them and couldn’t go on anymore. He thought that these little fish were really miserable.
At this moment, the Immortal Court shook suddenly. Although the amplitude was so small that it was difficult to be aware, the Immortal Emperor and Li Changgeng immediately noticed the anomaly because of their high cultivation.
Li Changgeng’s expression changed. “The Immortal Court is very stable. Why would it shake like this? Could it be that Taoist Dust broke the seal and ran out to make trouble?”
The two of them didn’t wait long before an immortal official rushed over and reported to the Immortal Emperor. “Your Majesty, something bad happened. Li Ye has achieved the Immortal Realm in Youzhou!”
“What?!” Li Changgeng was shocked and his eyes were full of disbelief. “How could he achieve the Immortal Realm without the permission of the Immortal Court?”
The immortal official said, “I don’t know, but it’s true. When Li Ye achieved the Immortal Realm, his cultivation power burst out, forming a cyan and white light column straight to the sky. The Immortal Court shook because of this!”
“That’s impossible!” Li Changgeng yelled, “Even though he achieved the Immortal Realm, the movement he made couldn’t shake the Immortal Court! He was becoming an Earth Immortal, not a Daluo Golden Immortal!”
The immortal official also felt it incredible. He said in a low voice, “But that’s the truth...”
The Immortal Emperor didn’t say a word, but he stopped feeding fish. He was lost in thought.
After the immortal official left, Li Changgeng tried to remind him. “Your Majesty?”
The Immortal Emperor threw the fish food and sighed. “The will of heaven is unpredictable. Just wait and see.”
Li Changgeng was stunned because he didn’t expect that the Immortal Emperor would have such an unclear attitude. He immediately said, “Your Majesty, don’t worry. Since the Taoist soldiers have been dispatched, he won’t make trouble for long!”
The Immortal Emperor didn’t comment. Instead, he turned to say to the immortal children, “Go and pick up the fattest fish and cook it. Don’t steam it this time. Boil it and simmer it. I want fish soup.”
...
After Li Ye achieved the Immortal Realm, he didn’t stay in Youzhou. With Red Boy and the others, he went back to Pinglu through Hedong.
Li Ye left Youzhou by flying in the air, but Liu Rengong still hospitably saw him off with the Youzhou officials and generals at the city gate. Even though they could only see the long rainbows left by the cultivators of the demon clan, they all looked pious, as if Li Ye would feel their loyalty although he couldn’t see them.
When they returned to Taiyuan, no one came out to welcome them, because Li Zhen didn’t know that Li Ye would come back at this time.
Li Ye held a meeting and knew how things were going in Hedong during his absence. Then, he decided on a few important things.
After that, he ordered the Pinglu Army to set out. Some were left to guard the important places in Hedong and help rebuild the Hedong Army. The rest all went back to Pinglu.
Because Li Ye had a very tight schedule, Li Zhen reported all the things to him by following him from the manor to the city gate. He breathed a sigh of relief after telling Li Ye all the details along the way.
“I’ll leave Hedong to you. If there is anything that needs to be decided in the future, you can decide yourself. Except for the important matters related to the overall situation, you can just report it to me afterward,” Li Ye said to Li Zhen in front of the city gate. He didn’t want to do everything by himself, so he had to learn to delegate power.
Li Zhen nodded and suddenly asked with bright eyes, “Your Highness, have you already achieved the Immortal Realm?”
Li Ye stepped into the Ground Immortal Realm in Youzhou, but the news had not yet reached Hedong. He nodded and said no more. Then, he flew away with You Daxiao, Su Emei, and the others.
As for Red Boy, Li Ye asked him to leave in Hedong temporarily and stabilize the place with the cultivators of the demon clan. If anything happened, he could directly support the northern border such as Youzhou.
Looking at Li Ye’s figure disappearing under the sun, Li Zhen was lost in thought for a long time. Finally, he sighed and said, “It’s good for us and for the northern vassal states and ordinary people that His Highness has achieved the Immortal Realm... Prince An, the one who can secure the country and the people can be called Prince An!”
...
Qing Prefecture.
In the military barracks outside the city, accompanied by He Jingcheng and the others, Zhu Wen came to the back camp with majestic steps. Then, he saw 1,000 armored soldiers standing upright on the ground.
These 1,000 soldiers put on silver armor, and their faces were covered with helmets. They stood upright with long spears in their hands, exuding overwhelming sharpness. Even though there were only 1,000 people, they had the momentum of thousands of troops.
Zhu Wen believed that most of the cities and passes in the world could not withstand the fierce attack of this army.
He Jingcheng slightly raised his chin and said in a tone of honor and pride, “This is the Taoist soldiers of the Immortal Court. I think you heard that Li Ye had defeated the 800 monks’ corps of Buddhism in the western regions by cooperating with others on Fengqi Mountain. At that time, the 800 monks’ corps only had the cultivation at high-level Qi-refining, but Li Ye and his men were almost killed by them. Now, there are 1,000 cultivators in the Spiritual Master Realm standing in front of you!”
“Besides, their armor and weapons are all high-class magic tools. I’m not arrogant. Even if you search the whole Tang Empire, you can’t get 1,000 these magic tools. With this Taoist army, the cultivators of the demon clan can’t stop you from conquering Qing Prefecture, no matter how much trouble they will make!”
Actually, Zhu Wen didn’t show too much respect for the Taoist sect, and he even didn’t like their behaviors. If it weren’t for the strong enemy, Li Ye, they wouldn’t need to cooperate, and he wouldn’t pay attention to them at all.
But when he saw 1,000 Taoist soldiers in front of him, Zhu Wen’s expression changed. As a veteran general, he certainly knew how terrible this army would be on the battlefield.
He Jingcheng was very satisfied with Zhu Wen’s reaction. This was the time to show the strength of the Immortal Court. Of course, he would make Zhu Wen stand in awe from the bottom of his heart. “This is the first group of Taoist soldiers down to the human world, and there are 100,000 of them in the Immortal Court. As long as the Immortal Court wants to send reinforcements, they can do it at any time!”
He wasn’t telling the truth. There were not so many Taoist soldiers in the Immortal Court, and the Immortal Court paid a heavy price for sending 1,000 Taoist soldiers down to the human world at the same time. Moreover, the Kunlun Channel was forced to shut down because of the heavy load, and it needed to be maintained for a long time.
Of course, this was a secret. Only the Immortal Emperor, Li Changgeng, the commander of the Taoist soldiers, and he, the leader of the immortals in the human world knew about it.
Zhu Wen didn’t show awe immediately because of He Jingcheng’s words. On the contrary, the surprise on his face quickly subsided.
He said in a deep voice, “In that case, what are you waiting for? Send them to the battlefield first and see if they can conquer Qing Prefecture!”
“As you wish, General Zhu.” He Jingcheng was full of confidence. He secretly thought, “Don’t be so frightened to worship them when you see the power of the Taoist soldiers. When they conquer Qing Prefecture, you will bow your head to me obediently.”
Cui Keli and Shangguan Qingcheng stood side by side on the city wall of Qing Prefecture.
After days of commanding the war, Cui Keli looked gaunt and lost a lot of weight. Even his official robe seemed big on him. Fortunately, Shangguan Qingcheng returned to help in time and shouldered the burden of commanding the war, which made Cui Keli relaxed.
Although Cui Keli no longer commanded the war, he was responsible for the dispatch of weapons and food, the organization of civilians and strong youths, the daily food preparation, the treatment of the wounded, and so on. He was still very busy every day.
However, even though Cui Keli was tired and became thinner day by day, he was still full of energy, and his tough and intelligent eyes still encouraged everyone.
Seeing 1,000 Taoist soldiers approaching the city wall quickly from the Xuanwu Army, Cui Keli said to Shangguan Qingcheng seriously, “This group of soldiers put on different armors, and their momentum is different. They have never been seen before. Where are they from?”
Compared with Cui Keli, who was thin and gaunt, Shangguan Qingcheng’s appearance didn’t change. Her face was still as white as snow, and her lips were still as red as blood. After all, she was a veteran general and used to fighting on the battlefield, unlike the scholar like Cui Keli, who was seldom so tired in daily life.
Shangguan Qingcheng said coldly, “I’ve read a classic, and it mentions the Taoist soldiers of the Immortal Court. If I’m right, the 1,000 silver-armored soldiers should be the Taoist soldiers of the Immortal Court. Their cultivation is at least at the realm of Spiritual Pool Spiritual Master!”
Cui Keli was a little stunned. Even though he didn’t have the experience of fighting on the battlefield, he knew what these 1,000 cultivators in the Spiritual Master Realm meant.
While they were discussing it, the Xuanwu Army began to attack the city again.
The armored soldiers rushed to the city wall like tides. Dust was flying, and battle cries reached to the sky. The 1,000 Taoist soldiers rushed to the foremost position in the center of the formation, straight to the city gate!
Shangguan Qingcheng turned to say to the cultivators of the demon clan beside her in a deep voice, “I’ll trouble you to deal with the 1,000 Taoist soldiers of the Immortal Court.”
“We can’t defeat them!” said Yurong. Squatting on the ground, he held several pots of mutton and glutted himself with delicacies.
He was burly, and his shoulders were about 1.5 meters wide. Although he wore a breastplate, it couldn’t cover up his thick yellow and red hair. He didn’t change into a human being. He had red eyes and a long tail, and his face was like a ghost’s. He looked very fierce and horrible.
Shangguan Qingcheng’s eyes were sharp. “You have to fight them even though you can’t defeat them!”
“Well, I’ll listen to you.” After eating the last lamb leg, Yurong wiped his mouth and stood up. He looked around at the cultivators of the demon clan and said in a low voice, “We are going to fight the Taoist soldiers. What are you going to do with He Jingcheng and his men?”
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