Chapter 9: Members

In the year 189 AD, the Great Han.

After Dong Zhuo deposed the Emperor and installed the Prince of Chenliu, acting in reverse and against the natural order, the warlords across the land grew dissatisfied, and subsequently, under the call of the Cavalry Colonel Cao Cao, they raised armies to attack Dong Zhuo.

Heroes from across the land gathered, totaling eighteen warlord routes, with the Governor of Bohai, Yuan Shao, as the alliance leader, leading hundreds of thousands of troops to the gates of Sishui Pass.

Yet this small Sishui Pass managed to halt the hundreds of thousands of the allied warlord army.

First, the Governor of Jibei, Bao Xin, greedy for merit, sent his brother Bao Zhong to lead troops along a small path to reach the foot of Sishui Pass and attack the city, only to be beheaded by Hua Xiong under Dong Zhuo's command.

Subsequently, the vanguard of the allied army, Sun Jian, was crushed by Hua Xiong leading his troops because Yuan Shu failed to send grain supplies, and at the same time, Sun Jian's great general Zu Mao was also beheaded by Hua Xiong.

Two battles, two victories; Hua Xiong's momentum grew even stronger.

Until today, Hua Xiong even led his troops down from the pass, arriving before the allied warlord camp to curse and challenge them to battle!

Upon learning that Hua Xiong had come to the camp to curse and challenge, the allied leader Yuan Shao flew into a rage, then gathered the eighteen warlord routes, hoping someone would go to fight Hua Xiong.

Yu She, the brave general under the General of the Rear Yuan Shu, was the first to request battle, but he could not even withstand three moves in Hua Xiong's hands before being beheaded by Hua Xiong.

Subsequently, the Governor of Jizhou, Han Fu, sent his great general Pan Feng to fight Hua Xiong, but not long after, Pan Feng was also beheaded by Hua Xiong.

Having lost two great generals in succession, the allied army's morale immediately dropped greatly, and the eighteen warlords felt immense pressure, not knowing what to do.

After all, if a mere Hua Xiong was so difficult to deal with, how would they cope if they encountered Lu Bu, who was even stronger than Hua Xiong?

"Generals, who dares to go out and fight Hua Xiong?"

"Who dares to go out and fight? A reward of a thousand taels of gold and a hundred fine horses!"

Seeing that everyone was frightened by Hua Xiong, the allied leader Yuan Shao immediately offered a huge reward.

Just at this moment...

"The Horse Archer Guan Yu requests to fight Hua Xiong!" A majestic and heavy voice rang in everyone's ears.

Everyone turned their heads towards the sound and saw a man step out from behind Liu Bei, the Magistrate of Pingyuan County, who had been given a seat by the alliance leader Yuan Shao due to his status as a member of the Han imperial clan.

This man stood nine feet tall, his face like dark red dates, with a beard two feet long, phoenix eyes, silkworm eyebrows, holding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, standing before everyone; he was none other than the Guan Yu, Guan Yunchang, famous to future generations.

Facing the gazes of the warlords, Guan Yu's face showed no fear at all; instead, there was a hint of faint arrogance.

"Hmph!"

The General of the Rear Yuan Shu immediately spoke coldly: "You, a mere Horse Archer, dare to speak arrogantly! Do you think there are no great generals in our allied warlord army? Come, drag him out!"

"Wait!"

Just at this moment, the initiator of the allied army, the Cavalry Colonel Cao Cao, suddenly stood up: "Brother Gonglu, please calm your anger! Since this person dares to request battle, he must have some basis!"

"If we let a Horse Archer fight first, Hua Xiong will probably laugh that our alliance has no one capable of fighting!" Yuan Shao, seated in the main position, immediately said.

Cao Cao immediately said: "This person has an extraordinary appearance and looks majestic; Hua Xiong certainly will not know he is merely a Horse Archer. Let him try!"

"If I cannot behead Hua Xiong, then cut off Guan's head to apologize!" Guan Yu immediately said.

"The three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang live and die together; if my second brother cannot win, then cut off the heads of us three brothers." The Magistrate of Pingyuan County, Liu Bei, quickly stood up to strongly support Guan Yu.

"Hmph, then let him try!" Yuan Shu snorted and said.

Although he did not care about the three Liu brothers, he still had to give Cao Cao some face.

Just at this moment, Cao Cao had already poured a cup of fine wine, attempting to boost Guan Yu's morale for his departure.

"Put the wine down for now; Hua Xiong is a mere nobody; Guan will be back shortly!"

As soon as the words fell, Guan Yu immediately held the Green Dragon Crescent Blade and walked out of the tent.

Moments later, the drumming outside the tent roared loudly, and at the same time, cheers from the soldiers inside the camp were heard.

But just at this moment, Cao Cao, standing nearby, was slightly stunned.

"Ding! Welcome to join the Myriad Heavens Chat Group!"

Huashan, also known as Mount Taihua, is located in the territory of Shaanxi, connecting to the Qinling Mountains to the south and overlooking the Yellow and Wei rivers to the north; since ancient times, it has been said to be "the most strange and dangerous mountain under heaven."

Huashan, the headquarters of the Huashan Sect, inside a magnificent main hall.

On a plaque between the beams of this hall were written the four large characters "Control the Sword with Qi," and on both sides hung long swords; the scabbards were dark, and the sword tassels were old; these were the swords worn by the ancestors of the Huashan Sect through the generations.

And inside the hall, at this moment, two figures were conversing; they were none other than the famous "Gentleman Sword" Yue Buqun and his wife in the Jianghu.

"Senior Brother, were you not too harsh on Hu'er this time?"

Ning Zhongze, appearing as a beautiful woman in her thirties, could not help but advise: "He merely secretly went down the mountain to drink a little wine, yet you want to punish him with seclusion for three months!"

"Junior Sister, it is not that I am too harsh on them, but that our Huashan Sect now needs more outstanding junior disciples!"

Yue Buqun sighed, then said seriously: "Since the Sword and Qi dispute, the prestige of our Huashan Sect has been declining day by day! First, the title of the Five Great Mountains Alliance Leader was taken by the Songshan Sect, and later our Master passed away; the entire Huashan Sect is now left with only you and me to support it!"

"Since I assumed the position of Sect Leader, I have always been very worried, worried that the Huashan Sect would continue to decline under my hands. Fortunately, you and I supported each other, and after mastering Wu Gong, we recruited some outstanding disciples; now our Huashan Sect finally has a foundation to survive in the Jianghu!"

"However, the experts in our Huashan Sect are still too few! Hu'er has extraordinary talent and cultivates at an extremely fast speed, but unfortunately, his nature is too free and unrestrained, and he is addicted to fine wine!"

"The Huashan Sect will eventually be handed over to him!"

Yue Buqun said earnestly: "My strictness towards him now is mainly to temper his nature, so that he can settle down to cultivate in the future and shoulder the banner of our Huashan Sect as soon as possible!"

"Senior Brother!"

After hearing Yue Buqun's words, Ning Zhongze could not help but gently touch Yue Buqun's face: "These years, you have truly worked hard!"

"Is that so? Then Junior Sister, you..."

Yue Buqun was about to pull Ning Zhongze into his embrace, but suddenly a voice rang in his mind.

"Ding! Welcome to join the Myriad Heavens Chat Group!"

In the outer space of Earth, an ancient bronze coffin was being pulled by nine vivid divine dragons towards the ancient star Yinghuo.

Inside the coffin.

"How could there be... an extra person!"

"Who... who is it?"

A group of people asked, their voices trembling uncontrollably.

At this moment, inside the coffin filled with darkness, everyone lit up their mobile phones, then gathered with familiar acquaintances nearby, fearing to encounter a strange face.

After everyone gathered together, they quickly clarified each other's identities; they were all their classmates and friends, leaving only the last figure in the corner.

"You... who are you?"

"Are you human or a ghost?"

Merely climbing Taishan had sucked them into an ancient bronze coffin; how had they, these ordinary people, ever experienced such a bizarre event?

Therefore, their nerves were already stretched to the breaking point; upon seeing a strange figure, they quickly linked him to the mastermind behind this bizarre ordeal.

"I... I..."

Pang Bo's heavy coughing sound came from the dark corner; then, swaying with a somewhat weak figure, he stood up: "I am Pang Bo! What the hell is this place? Are we now inside that bronze coffin?"

As Pang Bo spoke, he walked toward the crowd.

Although he was always bold, in this incredibly bizarre place, he was also somewhat worried and afraid, so naturally, he wanted to gather with everyone.

But just then, Pang Bo's movement was stopped by the crowd.

"Stop, do not come over!"

The crowd, having not yet identified Pang Bo, was very vigilant at this moment; they all raised their mobile phones to shine forward, seemingly wanting to identify his identity.

Only his close friend Ye Fan was the boldest; he pushed through the crowd and walked toward him first: "Are you really Pang Bo?"

"Of course it is me!"

Pang Bo said in a bad mood: "Ye Zi, can you not even recognize my voice?"

"I don't believe it!"

Before Ye Fan could reply, someone behind him trembled and said: "Pang Bo never came to this gathering; you... who exactly are you?"

"I am definitely Pang Bo!"

Pang Bo continued walking forward, trying to let everyone see his face clearly, while shouting: "Who among you has water? Quickly give me a bottle; I'm dying of thirst!"

"I believe he is Pang Bo."

Ye Fan strode up to Pang Bo, then handed over the bottle of mineral water in his hand.

After Pang Bo took the mineral water bottle from Ye Fan's hand, he gulped down several mouthfuls, then began to tell his experience: "I indeed did not attend the gathering earlier due to family matters; later, hearing everyone was going to climb Taishan, I finished my family business and rushed over non-stop; who would have thought I would encounter such a bizarre thing?"

Hearing Pang Bo recount many past experiences, the crowd finally dispelled their doubts, then gathered together, using the light of their mobile phones to observe the surrounding environment.

But just then, Pang Bo was slightly stunned, because a voice suddenly appeared in his mind.

"Ding! Welcome to the Myriad Heavens Chat Group!"

Huangfeng Valley, in front of the Great Hall of the Hundred Mechanisms Hall.

"Junior Uncle Ye!" A simple-minded young man was respectfully bowing to an old man.

"Junior Nephew Han!"

The old man surnamed Ye slowly said: "Regarding the Foundation Establishment Pill transaction between us last time, can the other items be postponed for me for a while? I am currently refining Harmony Qi Pills, my hands are a bit tight, and it is really inconvenient."

"However, Junior Nephew, rest assured; as long as a year or half a year passes, this Junior Uncle can return all the items I owe you!"

"Junior Uncle Ye, what kind of words are these?"

After hearing the old man surnamed Ye's words, Han Li was first slightly stunned, then hurriedly said: "Since Junior Uncle's hands are inconvenient, then just give whatever you can? As for the rest, consider it a tribute from this junior to you!"

"Junior Nephew, what do you mean by these words!"

The old man surnamed Ye immediately said in a deep voice: "Does Junior Nephew think this old man is the kind of person who breaks his promise? Rest assured, the things I promised you will definitely be handed to you one by one without missing a single piece; it is just that the time might be a bit later!"

Hearing these words, Han Li even began to curse in his heart, yet the expression on his face became even more sincere.

"Junior Uncle Ye, you have misunderstood this junior!"

Han Li said seriously: "This junior just feels that since he has just joined our sect, the things you mentioned are truly too luxurious for this junior. Therefore, the remaining items should just be temporarily kept with you, Junior Uncle; this junior simply cannot use them in the short term."

"Junior Nephew Han, your words make quite a lot of sense!"

The old man surnamed Ye immediately said: "If you new disciples rely too much on external objects, it will indeed hinder your cultivation! Since that is the case, let us proceed as Junior Nephew suggests; keep the remaining items temporarily with me, and if you need them in the future, just come and take them!"

"Also, if the Medicine Garden mission you just accepted is not suitable, you can also come to my Hundred Mechanisms Hall anytime to exchange it for a new mission!"

"Then I trouble you, Junior Uncle Ye!" Although Han Li was extremely depressed in his heart, a simple-minded smile still appeared on his face.

"Haha, this is nothing!"

The old man surnamed Ye was in high spirits, then laughed heartily: "Let us go handle Junior Nephew's mission first!"

Next, with the help of the old man surnamed Ye, Han Li quickly finished all the procedures, obtained the jade token regarding the Medicine Garden mission, and then left the Hundred Mechanisms Hall.

After leaving the Hundred Mechanisms Hall, the expression on Han Li's face finally disappeared.

"This old fellow is truly too hypocritical!"

Han Li thought secretly in his heart: "He already took a huge advantage by exchanging for my Foundation Establishment Pill, and in the end, he still took most of my items!"

The occurrence of this matter also made him more firmly believe in the view that the cultivation world is where the strong prey on the weak!

"Hmph, this matter cannot just be left like this!"

Han Li secretly made up his mind in his heart: "Wait until my strength is sufficient in the future, then I will go to that old fellow to take back the remaining items!"

Thinking of this, Han Li couldn't help but touch the small green bottle in his bosom.

Although his talent was low, with the help of the small green bottle in his bosom, he still had a chance to become even stronger!

But just then, a voice that arose in his mind made his face stiffen.

"Ding! Welcome to the Myriad Heavens Chat Group!"

This is the first time I have written switching back and forth between several worlds; it is far inferior to my understanding of Devouring. Although I had plans long ago, the speed is still a bit slow; the next chapter will be a bit later.

PS: Although there are only two chapters every day, they are all over three thousand words; the quantity is not small...





(Chapter End)