Chapter 55: Reconnaissance Mission
Upon the scorched earth, under the scorching sun.
Hundreds of Corpse Soldiers were tearing at and devouring one another. This seemed to be their only form of amusement. On the distant horizon, six figures split into three groups, racing toward Yuma County from three different directions.
Soon, the six of them approached the area where the Corpse Soldiers were fighting. A few on the periphery immediately spotted them. They turned instinctively toward the group, but as soon as they did, their bodies silently burst apart. At the center of each explosion, two rapidly spinning metal spheres appeared.
As the spheres spun, their surfaces emitted a layer of earthen-yellow Spiritual Qi visible to the naked eye. Afterward, they flew back toward one of the six cultivators.
"Nothing but a pile of mincemeat!"
Gao Ding, still moving at full speed, caught the metal spheres. He sounded quite pleased with himself as he spoke, glancing over at Wang Ping and Guangxuan to his right.
"..."
Wang Ping didn’t even look at him.
Yu Lian’s voice echoed in his Spirit Sea, ’That’s Earth Spirit Qi. It’s also imbued with an ability absorbed from some kind of Demon Weapon. The high-speed rotation of the metal spheres seems to be what makes the gathered Spiritual Qi detonate.’
In the brief moment she spoke, more than half of the gathered Corpse Soldiers had been annihilated. The smell of their exploded flesh and blood, mixed with the scorched scent in the air, was utterly nauseating.
"Alright, ignore them!"
Even Hong’an, who was traveling with Gao Ding, couldn’t stand it any longer and spoke up to put a stop to his rather childish behavior.
The group’s mission was to scout Yuma County. If they found that the number of Corpse Soldiers in the town was low, they could decide whether or not to clear them out, depending on the situation.
It was just as Guangxuan had guessed a few days prior, only they hadn’t mobilized a large army.
「Less than thirty minutes later.」
The six of them arrived at the outskirts of Yuma County at nearly the same time. Here, only a small portion of the farmland had been burned. A large, open area surrounded the town, which had saved it from being incinerated by the fire.
The town gate was wide open, and clear bloodstains marked the road. The dense Yin Qi from within the walls made all six of them stop in their tracks.
"SCREECH!"
An eagle’s cry came from the sky. It was a massive, grayish-yellow eagle—Hong’an’s Spirit Pet. It flew swiftly over the town to scout for enemies.
"I hate that eagle. Can’t we shoot it down and roast it?"
Yu Lian’s voice piped up as she poked her small head out of Wang Ping’s sleeve. Her eyes, fixed on the giant eagle in the sky, blazed with murderous intent. She probably wasn’t joking.
"If I get the chance, I’ll definitely help you."
Wang Ping made his promise, then looked up at the sun. Today’s sun was especially vicious, the result of a Great Cultivator from a Mystic Sect manipulating the weather. The goal was to reduce the Yin Qi during the day and weaken the Corpse Soldiers.
After days of confrontation, the Yuqing Sect of Hu Mountain Country had grown restless and sent a Great Cultivator to help. If the chaos in Nanlin Road and Mozhou Road continued, Hu Mountain Country’s medicinal herb trade would suffer a fatal blow.
In other words, Wang Ping’s group in Yuma County wasn’t the only one in action today; Qi Cultivators in other regions had been assigned missions as well.
"My Spirit Pet can’t see anything, but this dense Yin Qi doesn’t lie. We’ll have to go inside to find answers!"
Hong’an’s voice was soft yet penetrating. Across from him, Leng Shan and Yu Shi, as well as Wang Ping and Guangxuan, all turned to look at him at the same time.
As for Mars Taoist, he had remained at the stockade with his disciples to maintain its Spirit Gathering Array.
"Fellow Daoist Changqing... I truly cannot trust you, and I’m sure you can’t trust me. Therefore, I propose we split into three groups and search from different directions!"
Hong’an met Wang Ping’s gaze from across the distance as he spoke.
"Fine!"
Wang Ping agreed without much hesitation. Although the six of them would be at their strongest together, Hong’an was right—they couldn’t trust one another.
"I have no problem with that," Leng Shan said, not objecting either.
"If any group encounters an enemy they can’t handle, they must send a signal immediately. Anyone who sees the signal must provide backup at once. If the mission fails because someone withheld support..." Hong’an didn’t finish his sentence, instead looking toward Leng Shan and Yu Shi. "Fellow Daoist Leng Shan and Fellow Daoist Yu Shi can bear witness."
"No problem!"
"Agreed!" Wang Ping had no reason to refuse.
...
Wang Ping and Guangxuan were assigned the west side of the city.
The two of them stood atop the low, dilapidated, rammed-earth wall, gazing at the silent town below, but they did not immediately go in to search.
"Do you really trust Hong’an and Gao Ding?"
"Judging them by my own standards? If they ran into danger, I’d certainly be happy to see it and would hesitate to save them. So from that standpoint, I don’t trust them. But... this matter is anything but ordinary. I received a message from my master yesterday. In his letter, he specifically reminded me not to, in public situations..."
Wang Ping chuckled, leaving the rest unsaid. "I’m sure Hong’an received a similar letter as well."
Guangxuan nodded thoughtfully. "So you’re saying this mission is safe, and we can, for the most part, trust them."
"That’s on the condition that we don’t get ourselves into a situation we can’t escape. So, when we’re searching, if we run into any danger, don’t overthink it. Getting out safely is the only thing that matters."
"Right!"
Having come to an agreement, they were just about to enter the city when a loud BOOM suddenly rang out. Following the sound, they saw a plume of blackish-purple smoke rise into the air.
"That’s the short one’s aura!"
Yu Lian provided a timely warning. Guangxuan’s small bird, his Spirit Pet, also landed on his shoulder. The ’short one’ must be Yu Shi.
’But there’s no distress signal...’
’Just a routine fight?’
As the thought crossed Wang Ping’s mind, he felt an unsettling aura wash over him. He then saw two bizarre figures appear on the roof of a rammed-earth building inside the city up ahead.
"Fellow Daoists, would you two mind not entering the city?"
The speaker was a bloated man, over seven feet tall and bloated in build. He carried a coiled, barbed iron whip covered in chillingly sharp, densely-packed spikes still slick with blood and flecks of flesh. At the very tip of the whip was a hideous human head. It was this head that had just spoken!
"What do you two Fellow Daoists think?"
This time, the speaker looked like a small child. He was standing on the shoulder of a Turtle Demon whose head was covered in black spots. Beside him stood a Tiger Demon over ten feet long, its exposed hide also covered in the same black spots.
’Evil Cultivators from the Taiyin Sect!’
They achieved rapid cultivation by refining flesh and blood, whereas the Pure Cultivation Sect tempered their own bodies with Taiyin Qi. That process was even slower than ordinary Foundation Establishment and was accompanied by a degree of pain most people could never endure.
Wang Ping was unsettled by their appearance. Forcing back his discomfort, he said, "I’m afraid I must refuse..."
The words had barely left his lips when the enemy attacked. The large man holding the Barbed Iron Chain struck first, whipping it toward Wang Ping and Guangxuan’s position.
Neither Wang Ping nor Guangxuan panicked. As they dodged apart, they quickly formed hand seals for a magic formula. Wang Ping cast the Cyan Wood Technique, shielding both himself and Guangxuan to prevent any possible corpse poisoning.
Guangxuan, however, used the simplest Sword Control Technique to block the other, smaller one’s line of attack...