Chapter 180: Teng Snake Transforms, Dragon Chanting, Pati and Chen Lu Shocked!

In the thousand-two-hundred-meter layer of vortex wind, the General Ming Yan warship flew toward the one hundred and ninth city, fifty li away.

Inside the warship's cabin, three 'Sapa' clan members gathered; the three Sapa clan members wrapped themselves in black battle robes, wearing specially made faceplates even on their faces, and sat on three chairs, staring at a map.

"We're almost there. As long as we destroy one more city, the war merits of us three brothers will jump significantly. After returning this time, we can purchase a set of fifth-rank Silver Feather battle armor." One of the Sapa clan members grinned.

"Brother Pati, with your strength, once you don the Silver Feather battle armor, you can unleash combat power equivalent to a seventh-rank perfection. By then, our speed in earning war merits will be even faster."

Speaking thus, these two Sapa clan members both looked at their eldest brother.

"Silver Feather battle armor is merely a transition." Pati, a burly figure, sat on a chair that was completely obscured by his body. "Jin Yu battle armor is the treasure of the Wang Ting!"

"If I can don the Jin Yu battle armor, I can completely kill sixth-rank opponents. Even if I cannot defeat a stronger sixth-ranker, I can still escape."

Hearing 'Jin Yu' battle armor, desire flashed in the eyes of all three.

Jin Yu battle armor represents the pinnacle craftsmanship of the Jin Yu Wang Ting. According to people from the Wang Ting, the craftsmanship of this set of armor has already surpassed that of the Great Zhou.

However, Jin Yu battle armor is exclusively supplied to the royal family. Usually, the various tribes find it very difficult to buy, and can only wear 'Flying Feather' and 'Silver Feather' battle armor.

It was only because Shenshan issued a war order this time, commanding the four Wang Tings to mobilize, that the qualification to purchase Jin Yu battle armor was opened up to boost the strength of the various tribes.

Pati and his three brothers had nearly accumulated enough war merits to exchange for a set of Silver Feather battle armor, but Jin Yu battle armor remained very distant.

"The war merits required for Jin Yu battle armor are a hundred times those for Silver Feather battle armor, and the monthly exchange quota is limited." One Sapa clan member sighed. "I fear we will have to accumulate merits until next year before we have a chance."

"Zesheng, my good brother, do not sigh." Pati smiled. "Once we breach this city and plunder it, perhaps we will accumulate enough in one go."

"Great Zhou goods are very valuable over here; perhaps there will even be leftovers!"

"By then, the three of us brothers will each have a set of Jin Yu battle armor! Hahaha!"

"Hahaha, Big Brother speaks truly; the cities of Great Zhou are indeed treasure troves!"

Hearing Pati say this, the three brothers all burst into laughter together.

The current general direction in the Southern Wasteland is to fight while retreating, yet these three brothers risked returning; what was for? It was to plunder!

Great Zhou is a heavenly imperial nation; even the most ordinary piece of third-rank armor can be sold at a high price among the various Southern Man tribes.

They had already plundered two grain cities, and now the interior of the General Ming Yan warship was already more than half full. Just looking at those divine weapons and sharp blades, they could almost exchange for a set of Silver Feather battle armor.

As for the rest, the many treasures they did not recognize might be of even higher value. However, for the sake of caution, they still decided to destroy this supply city of the Zhenhai Army.

"Only thirty li remain; go tell the clan members to prepare the heavy-water catapults." Pati ordered. "Remember, once the city is breached, first use the 'Blood Kui' to destroy their temple."

"This way, we will have more time to plunder."

"In the previous city, destroying the temple was too slow, causing reinforcements to arrive quickly, leaving too little time for looting."

"We cannot make such a mistake again."

"Yes."

The two Sapa clan members immediately went to the lower cabin, where many Sapa clan members were still operating the mechanical formations in the General Ming Yan warship's lower cabin.

"Click-click-click-click~"

When Pati's command was issued, the General Ming Yan warship, poised and ready, increased its forward speed.

What Pati did not know was that at this very moment, a small Swordfish flying boat had appeared in the sky behind them.

On the Swordfish flying boat, Zhao Xing looked at that General Ming Yan warship: "The warship has slowed down; this means they are preparing to attack the city. It seems no one in this Zhenhai Army city has yet discovered the enemy approaching."

After pursuing for some time, Zhao Xing's Swordfish flying boat finally saw the physical form of the General Ming Yan warship.

It hovered above the one hundred and ninth city of the Zhenhai Army, still maintaining its invisibility state.

Long Xiao: "I do not know who the defending general of this Zhenhai Army city is. We have no way to notify anyone; let us first observe the situation."

Zhao Xing nodded.

Although he and Long Xiao were confident that fighting opponents of the same rank would be easy, if the enemy hid inside the General Ming Yan warship, it would be very difficult for them to breach the defenses in a short time.

The General Ming Yan warship was a medium-sized warship of the fifth-rank level.

But it was not on the same tier as a single fifth-rank divine weapon.

It was composed of over a thousand pieces of fifth-rank materials. Such treasures, once sold for money, automatically increase by one rank in valuation.

A fifth-rank item must be sold at the sixth-rank price of a single weapon.

The Swordfish flying boat possessed no anti-defense sharp weapons, so they could only wait for the enemy to exit the warship.

Or strike when they opened the defensive barrier to attack.

Why did Long Xiao say they had encountered a fat sheep? Because if they captured this warship, it could be sold as a sixth-rank item, and anyone capable of piloting such a warship would certainly have a very valuable head.

"Do you know the Invisibility Art?" Long Xiao asked. "Can you cast one on me in a moment?"

"You overestimate me too much. Knowing how to create an Invisibility Straw Man does not mean I know the Invisibility Art; that is a high-rank spell."

Long Xiao shrugged: "Then we can only force our way in. In a moment, try to bring the warship as close as possible."

The Zhenhai Army could not be relied upon.

The weapon bays on the ship's railings had already extended, yet there was still no reaction below.

"Understood." Zhao Xing nodded.

The defending city commander of the Zhenhai Army's one hundred and ninth city was named 'Chen Lu'.

He was a priest of seventh-rank lower grade, but his official title was 'Junshu Ling'.

Why was that?

Because the deities Chen Lu worshipped were all 'Sino Agricultural Gods'.

Chen Lu loved farming very much since childhood and disliked fighting and killing.

But alas, he lacked talent in that regard; he had taken the exams for seven years without securing a permanent post, so he could only 'serve the country via a roundabout path' by taking the path of priesthood.

He actually possessed great talent in the path of priesthood, quickly standing out from the crowd to become a Sino Agricultural Priest.

In this way, when he summoned a deity to possess him, he could be treated as a Sino Agricultural official.

But in ordinary times, he was merely a priest.

His sensitivity to celestial timing was not that strong.

Thus, Chen Lu had not yet discovered the enemy's arrival.

He was drying Gan Ling Grass in the city; this is a fourth-tier medicinal herb used for treating external wounds, frequently utilized by military doctors.

"Sift, sift, sift~"

Chen Lu held a sieve, sifting the seeds of the Gan Ling Grass, then quickly tied up the processed grass with rope and placed it onto the chicken cart beside him.

"Another few thousand jin finished this afternoon. Today's military duties are done twice over; one thousand battle merits secured." Chen Lu smiled with satisfaction.

Certain materials frequently appear on the daily military duty list.

Because one can never have too many, such as this Gan Ling Grass.

Chen Lu had been grinding this for half a month; most of his tens of thousands of battle merits came from such medicinal herbs.

"Brothers, push a bit harder."

"It'll be dark soon."

Chen Lu shouted, pushing the cart toward the medicinal herb warehouse.

He had not taken two steps when the sky darkened.

A shadow loomed over the entire city.

"My lord Chen, why has the sky turned dark?"

"What is happening? My lord Chen, did you do this?"

Seeing the shadow on the ground, Chen Lu immediately felt his scalp go numb.

He instantly dropped the chicken cart and roared: "Enemy attack!!!"

"Guard Camp, meet the enemy! Meet the enemy!"

Chen Lu sprinted toward the temple.

Because the sky had darkened on a massive scale, like ink, corroding the city's formation array.

In just three breaths, it shifted from black to dark red.

Such a large-scale assault meant the enemy's strength was certainly not simple; for Chen Lu to unleash his maximum power, he must quickly enter the temple to summon the gods, then notify surrounding reinforcements.

As a priest, Chen Lu was qualified.

But as a main commander, his quality was merely average.

He had not yet entered the temple.

The black sky above cracked open with a red fissure.

"Splash~"

A massive amount of thick red substance splashed onto the roof of the temple in City One Hundred and Nine.

Then, a blood rain began to fall around them.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss~"

Smoke began to rise from the roof; a large volume of red liquid seeped into the temple's interior, drenching the statues.

Smoke also began to rise from the ground.

All the statues began to crack; in an instant, Jin Guang was swallowed by red light.

Arms, faces, crowns... were melted away by more than half by this blood-red liquid.

"Ah—"

"Plop, plop!"

Originally, several eighth-rank priests were inside the temple, but after being drenched by the red liquid, their skin began to rot.

Chen Lu watched as several priests screamed and stumbled out.

He immediately turned pale with shock:

"It's a Blood Kui! Do not summon the gods! Do not summon the gods!"

But his warning came too late.

Several priests, after being corroded, instinctively tried to summon the gods to possess them, but not only did they fail to summon anyone, they themselves turned into a pool of blood.

Seven ninth-rank priests walked out of the temple with sinister grins; four arms protruded from their backs, and their muscles had swollen significantly.

Ignoring Chen Lu, a seventh-rank, they rushed to kill the others.

"Power of the Evil God."

Chen Lu's heart turned ice cold.

When the Blood Kui drenched the temple, if the Great Zhou priests attempted to summon the gods, they would immediately summon the Evil Gods worshipped in the Southern Wastelands!

The Evil Gods of the Southern Wastelands would corrode a person's mind, turning them into their puppets.

"Ah! Help!"

"Do not run! Use the Spirit-Breaking Crossbows to shoot them dead!"

"Heavens, how can they still run after their heads are severed?!"

"Monsters!"

The temple was destroyed first; the 'Evil God Puppets' produced created a shockwave too great for people to bear.

Because these puppets feared no death; even if their heads were severed or their chests pierced, they were completely fine and could still move.

And those killed by these puppets quickly stood up again.

Inside the city, chaos erupted quickly.

First, Chen Lu, as the main commander, failed to organize a rapid counterattack or issue effective commands; the commanders of each department failed to coordinate well.

Second, the enemy breached the temple, a crucial institution, in an instant, and spawned monsters like flesh puppets.

Third, the Zhenhai Army had fought too smoothly for the past half-month, suffering almost no proper resistance; Chen Lu's sector had never had an enemy come before.

Thus, the Zhenhai Army here, though possessing the strength to fight, quickly fell into a rout.

At this moment, Chen Lu finally stepped away from the small divine statue inside the Marching Hall.

"Please, Lord Tian De, save us!"

Chen Lu dropped to one knee with a thud, quickly burning incense and paper money.

"Fssst~"

The flames burned.

The divine statue rapidly opened its eyes; a golden phantom appeared, swallowed the incense smoke, and then flew onto Chen Lu's body.

"Tap tap tap~"

Chen Lu's expression changed; he rose solemnly and walked briskly out of the Marching Hall.

Swish~

With a wave of his hand, the sound-transmission token appeared in his grasp.

"Where is the First Commander of the Martial Bureau?!"

No one responded.

"Second and Third Commanders of the Martial Bureau, hurry and encircle the Evil God puppets in the eastern part of the city! Smear your own yang blood qi onto your weapons to strike them down!"

Still, no one responded.

"Director of the Works Bureau, quickly repair the defense of the Ink-Steadfast Boundary! And..."

"Heh heh heh~"

This time someone did respond, but it was a strange, eerie sound.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Crash!"

"Boom!"

Massive boulders rained down from the sky, yet when they struck the ground, no dust flew up; instead, countless water droplets splashed outward.

Chen Lu sighed.

"Blood Kui God-Defiler, Heavy Water Stone-Throwers."

"Boy, flee! This city can no longer be held. Those attacking you are at least an elite Seventh-Rank unit; they possess a Fifth-Rank warship."

"You worship the Agriculture God; even if the city falls, they will not behead you."

"No!"

A flicker of struggle appeared on Chen Lu's face.

"This humble official offers his heart-blood as sacrifice, beseeching the True Lord to save this city!"

Having spoken, Chen Lu swiftly slashed his own chest with his fingertip; a single drop of heart-blood materialized on his finger.

"Fool!"

Another voice rang out; a left hand pressed down on Chen Lu's right hand.

"What harm if this Lord's fragment soul perishes here? Why must you sacrifice your heart-blood?"

"The situation is hopeless; if you die, Great Zhou will have needlessly lost a Seventh-Rank official!"

"Quickly carry this Lord's statue, set the Inner Treasury ablaze, then use the Profound Earth Technique to escape underground."

The stern voice forcibly moved the right hand aside.

A trace of pain appeared on Chen Lu's face; in the end, he agreed with the True Lord's judgment.

He then rode the gale, swiftly arriving at the city's Inner Treasury.

A wisp of flame sprang from his fingertip as he prepared to set fire.

"Hmm? Wait!"

At that moment, the True Lord's voice sounded again; Chen Lu's left hand once more seized his right hand.

"Look up at the sky."

Chen Lu looked up, puzzled.

He saw the red hue in the sky gradually receding.

"Whoosh!"

Chen Lu raised a finger and immediately cast the Cloud Technique, holding it aloft over the city.

"Splash~"

A torrential downpour fell upon the blood-colored puppets within the city.

"Hiss hiss hiss~"

The raindrops, mingled with yin-soul divine power, instantly caused the blood-colored puppets to smoke and their mobility to plummet.

"They've weakened."

"Moreover, the enemy has not descended yet."

"Have reinforcements arrived?"

Chen Lu immediately soared into the clouds.

When he reached the sky above the city outskirts,

he saw within the gale layer above a red-and-black General Ming Yan warship.

But at this moment, the warship's weapon mechanisms had all swiveled, firing toward the higher sky.

"Boom boom boom boom!"

Spiritual energy arrows, chain nets, and various sharp weapons, each wrapped in heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, or carrying gales, or carrying flames, launched an assault toward a certain direction.

"What are they fighting?"

Chen Lu looked utterly bewildered.

The General Ming Yan warship fired while closing its own barrier.

It seemed to fear an unknown enemy.

Yet just as the barrier was about to close completely.

"Whoosh~"

A flying dragon rushed over swiftly; upon close inspection, one could see that at the center of this dragon-shaped phantom was a golden greatsword.

"Clang!"

Just as the General Ming Yan barrier was about to seal shut, the golden sword struck a statue on the warship with perfect accuracy.

The barrier, wreathed in black flames, stopped closing.

"Awesome!"

Zhao Xing, standing in the sky, watched this scene and couldn't help but sigh: Sword cultivators are simply awesome. Long Xiao's move, 'Dragon Roar', was even more explosively awesome.

…………

Time rewound half a quarter-hour earlier.

When the heavy-water catapults on the General Ming Yan warship launched, the Blood Kui rained down, and the barrier broke.

At that moment, Patie also ordered his two brothers, 'Zesheng' and 'Pachao', to lead their clansmen down to plunder.

But just then.

Zesheng and Pachao discovered that within the gale, a mist appeared.

Moreover, it drifted over rapidly, the distance quickly shrinking from a thousand meters to five hundred.

"How can there be mist within the gale layer?" Zesheng and Pachao hadn't yet realized the severity of the problem; they merely looked on in confusion.

The Five Elements Mist Concealment Art cast by Zhao Xing was too deceptive; at a distance of over a thousand meters, it blended into the gale layer, appearing to share the same form as the gale itself.

Within a thousand meters, concealment became difficult, yet Zhao Xing controlled the form of the mist shadow, shrinking continuously as it approached.

It looked as though the mist was moving away from the two of them.

Once within five hundred meters, Pachao and Zesheng, these two Seventh-Rank cultivators, finally realized something was wrong.

But it was already too late—

"Whoosh!"

A golden sword, like a swimming fish, rushed toward Pachao swiftly, appearing right before his eyes.

"No!!"

Pachao desperately tried to block, but his hands simply could not keep up with his brain's speed, for this golden sword was too fast!

A Seventh-Rank Sword Cultivator was far beyond his ability to resist; moreover, it was a calculated strike against an unprepared mind. Long Xiao's move, 'Dragon Roar', was his fastest technique.

By the time he reacted, the sword tip was already pointing at his nose.

"Pfft!"

Pachao, who had just opened his faceplate to breathe fresh air and prepare for a great battle, was pierced straight through by the golden sword, falling toward the ground.

The other Sand Clan member, 'Zesheng', seeing this scene, immediately tensed his nerves, frantically driving the primordial energy within his body, and covering his faceplate.

But just then, he found his vision suddenly becoming blurred and flattening into a single line.

"Thump! Thump!"

His heart beat rapidly then weakened; his blood grew cold.

Zesheng looked at his own palms; he didn't know when scales had grown upon them.

His two feet instinctively fused together; he stuck out his tongue and actually spat out a 'snake's forked tongue'!

"Save me!"

This bizarre scene made him instinctively want to rush to his elder brother 'Patie' for help.

But the sound that came out was a 'hiss'.

His two feet were glued together; skin, muscle, and bone were all undergoing violent changes!

"Hiss hiss hiss~"

Zesheng felt his eyes grow heavy; his eyelids had also grown scales, and the primordial energy within his body was vanishing rapidly.

Regression!

Frantic regression, accompanied by cross-species mutation!

The Five Elements Qi within his body, in a bizarre combination, was turning inward to devour every inch of his flesh and blood, every inch of his skin.

After struggling in mid-air for three seconds, Zesheng, now half-man and half-snake, exploded into flesh and blood; his internal organs shattered, and he fell from the sky.

"Plop Plop Plop!"

Long Xiao's golden sword was even faster than Zhao Xing's, piercing through all the several hundred small soldiers around them.

The sky suddenly rained down a shower of 'corpses'.

"What?!"

Patie, who had been waiting to collect the spoils of war, froze completely.

Fast, too fast!

One second ago, he was rejoicing at the smooth breakthrough of the Zhenhai Army's city walls; the next second, his two brothers were dead.

Especially his brother 'Zesheng', whose manner of death was incredibly bizarre, resembling the methods of those Earth Witches.

He hadn't even had time to react!

By the time he did react, Long Xiao had already killed half of the small soldiers who had just jumped out.

"Attack! Kill them!!"

Patie was furious and also terrified; he felt a strong sense of insecurity, even though he wore the Flying Feather Battle Armor and was inside a Fifth-Rank warship.

Yet he still felt a chill rise in his heart.

"No! Seal the barrier and run!!"

Three seconds after issuing the command, Paty's reason took the upper hand, and he immediately decided to shut down General Ming Yan's barrier and flee.

His strength was comparable to that of his two brothers; even if slightly higher, the margin was limited.

If he could instantly kill his two brothers, wouldn't he also be able to kill him?

If not now, when else to run?

However, at this moment.

A golden sword pierced the air and nailed itself precisely into the barrier's foundation array, causing the closing barrier to stall and leaving a large gap.

"Want to run?!"

"Have you asked your Lord Long?"

Long Xiao leaped from the clouds, instantly landing on the deck inside General Ming Yan's warship.

Zhao Xing, meanwhile, watched from the clouds as Long Xiao charged in.

He was the Military Supply Commissioner; the rest did not require his personal involvement. Charging into the warship to slaughter on all sides was something Long Xiao could handle more efficiently.

"Killing a seventh-rank Sand Clan member using the Ascendant Snake Transformation cost me thirty percent of my primal energy. This move is a heavy burden for me."

"But Long Xiao, this sword cultivator, killed another Sand Clan member without his primal energy dropping much."

Compared to Long Xiao, this sword cultivator, his own seventh-rank status was still somewhat lacking.

His own killing move was probably equivalent to Long Xiao's several 'consecutive basic attacks'.

"If I used the Ascendant Snake Transformation on Long Xiao, it would likely be ineffective; his internal organs are guarded by sword qi, making it hard to shake this Transformation technique. At most, it could make scales grow on Long Xiao's body, but it could not cause a drastic change in his form, let alone trigger a metamorphosis that would cause him to explode."

In terms of killing power, sword cultivators are stronger. Of course, Zhao Xing also understood that the Military Supply Commissioner had his own role; Long Xiao could not approach silently, nor was he as comprehensive as Zhao Xing.

"If I take Long Xiao as a hypothetical opponent, in a surprise encounter, I have a thirty percent chance of killing him; in an ambush, the possibility rises to sixty percent."

"And as long as I am on the ground, his chance of killing me is zero," Zhao Xing thought silently.

With the Divine Step Protection diving underground, Long Xiao could only stare helplessly; sword cultivators have no way to burrow underground.

And even while underground, Zhao Xing could still use spells to attack.

Below, Chen Lu was completely stunned.

He watched with his own eyes as two seventh-rank alien beings fell past him.

One was blown to bits by a headshot; that was still normal.

But the other's manner of death was very abnormal.

Snake-like features actually appeared?

"True Lord, what spell is this?" Chen Lu asked in his heart.

"The Transformation technique, the high-level spell Ascendant Snake Transformation!" the True Lord's voice rang out. "The person standing in the clouds is a Military Supply Commissioner."

"True Lord, can I use the Transformation technique?" Chen Lu asked.

"You cannot use it," Tian De True Lord said. "This involves the mechanical transformations of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang; your comprehension of the Dao is too weak. Even with me possessing your body, you would need to reach the sixth rank to possibly cast it."

"Boy, your fate is not yet to end. These two are both Great Zhou generals: one a sword cultivator, the other a Military Supply Commissioner."

"Go quickly and assist them; see if you can gain some merit from the counterattack. If you can, it will make up for your losses."

"Remember, be polite."

Chen Lu nodded, then cautiously rose on clouds, stopping at a height ten meters below Zhao Xing's cloud platform.

"Chen Lu, Equalization Commissioner of the Zhenhai Army, thanks to my lord for the rescue. May I ask my lord's name?" Chen Lu's attitude was very respectful, speaking entirely in the posture of a subordinate official.

There is still one chapter today! Expected at one o'clock! Also, recommending a friend's book. The portal is below.