Chapter 5: The Dao is One Foot High, the Demon is Ten Feet High (Please add to your library)

General Guan's bright and spirited eyes shot out three zhang of golden light.

His field of vision changed.

It was as if a super telescope had been installed in his eyes, the lens zooming in and out at will, always maintaining the most stable image, and the field of view was extremely wide.

Every tree, every blade of grass on the sand dunes, every tent and wooden house wreathed in smoke and fire, the charred barbarian corpses in the fire, the barbarian people on the ground who were bloody and still wailing and crying, the flies circling over the barbarian corpses...

Everything was clear, as if he had walked directly in front of them and was looking at them with his eyes pressed against them.

General Guan moved his thoughts, and his field of vision instantly crossed the sand dunes, seeing black-armored cavalry still hacking and killing any barbarians who dared not kneel on the ground outside.

Outside the sand dunes, there were scattered iron-clad knights, who were also equipped with iron armor for both men and horses, but they didn't enter the sand dunes, only riding slowly around the perimeter, hunting down barbarians fleeing from the sand dunes.

Further away, one could see light cavalry wearing light armor and unarmored warhorses, responsible for the barbarians scattered on other hills.

Further away, one could even see knights wearing only leather armor, who also belonged to the cavalry battalion, responsible for perimeter vigilance and patrols to prevent sneak attacks by external enemies.

"Damn it!" General Guan suddenly changed his expression and cursed in a low voice.

"Song Changqing, is Western Sha Man Yu's Shadow God Map still on you?"

"This subordinate wouldn't dare forget the General's order for a moment; since entering the sand dunes, I have been holding the Shadow God Map to search for Western Sha Man Yu."

The pig-eyed knight pulled a scroll as thick as a finger from his belt and handed it over with his head lowered.

General Guan opened the scroll, revealing a small ink painting on white paper, about the size of a mobile phone screen.

A portrait of a person simply outlined with a fine brush, and if it wasn't lifelike, it was at least six or seven parts similar.

If Xiao Yu were here and saw this painting, she would definitely be chilled to the bone.

Because the person in the painting was none other than her.

Staring at the Shadow God Map for a while, General Guan activated his immortal eyes again.

After a full half-hour, the three-zhang-long golden light had shrunk to only two zhang, and the light had dimmed significantly, before General Guan finally closed his eyes with a weary expression, ending the "Immortal Pupil Mode."

"My lord?" Old Zhu the bearded man approached two steps cautiously.

General Guan pressed his eye sockets lightly while saying indifferently: "Zhu Tong, take your squad to the southeast direction, keep going toward the Liushahe, about twenty-five miles... bring Ge Qing's corpse back."

The bearded man Zhu Tong's tiger body shook violently.

Song Changqing raised his head abruptly.

The black-armored knights all around were shocked and wide-eyed.

"Corpse...?" Zhu Tong was full of disbelief, his voice stuttering, "My lord, are you talking about Cheng Qingge?"

General Guan said coldly: "Go and you'll know."

"Cheng Qingge, oh my Cheng Qingge~~~"

Zhu Tong wailed, bean-sized tears instantly rolling out of his eye sockets, flowing into a line on his face.

He jumped onto his horse in a leap, crying and wailing loudly while whipping his beloved horse, running out of the sand dunes like a wild wind.

More than a dozen other black-armored knights, all with gloomy faces, quickly found their warhorses and ran out of the sand dunes following "Boss Zhu."

Among the remaining black-armored knights, a burly man with a square face walked out, shouting excitedly: "My lord, Ge brother was a 'Human Immortal' who had cultivated True Martial Protective Qi, invulnerable to swords and spears, water and fire; who could kill him?"

"Hmph, Human Immortal, he at most touched the foot of a Human Immortal, and he is still a hundred and eight thousand miles away from becoming an immortal." General Guan sneered.

Whether it was Zhu Tong before or this burly man with a square face now, whenever they mentioned Ge Qing, they would call him "Brother."

Other black-armored knights who heard the news of his death all had looks of grief and indignation.

It was evident how high Ge Qing's prestige and popularity were in the Iron Cavalry Battalion.

General Guan's cold mockery immediately made the scene oppressive and stifling.

General Guan himself noticed it, but didn't care at all, even curling his lips, and said indifferently: "You all have no knowledge, hanging 'immortal' on your lips at every turn, and one day you might offend a true immortal without knowing it.

Ge Qing's 'Xuanwu True Essence' was only cultivated to the third level; 'Xuanwu True Essence' has a total of four passes and twelve levels of heaven.

Passing the first pass and entering the fourth level is barely considered laying the foundation for a Human Immortal.

From the fourth level to the twelfth level of heaven's great completion, how far is that?

The Meng family army in the northwest of Great Qin has three hundred thousand people cultivating 'Xuanwu True Essence.'

From the time Emperor Hui established the Meng family army to today, it has been eight thousand six hundred and fifty years.

Among the three hundred thousand standing army, after more than eight thousand years, only a mere five thousand have become Human Immortals.

The distance between the early third level and a Human Immortal is a hundred and eight thousand miles, and that's considered close."

The burly man with the square face was a bit indignant, shouting: "Even if it's the third level, Ge brother was gifted and had the favor of heaven, cultivating protective qi. I heard that among the thousands of Fire Crow Soldiers under Marquis Lieyang, only a few hundred have cultivated protective qi."

In fact, he wanted to shout even more: A mere five thousand Human Immortals, how can you say such big words?! That is a Human Immortal, and there are five thousand!

You yourself haven't even touched the butt of a Human Immortal, just relying on the "Immortal's Eye" to show off!

In the end, he didn't have "Brain-Clamping Wind," just feeling indignant in his heart, not shouting it out directly.

"Protective qi or not, Ge Qing is dead!" General Guan's voice was cool, with a faint, shallow sneer that all the soldiers could see, "Stabbed to death by a lowly Western Sha Man, stabbed in the throat, killed face-to-face, not a sneak attack, no conspiracy, and Ge Qing wasn't alone; the entire ten-man squad was wiped out."

The burly man with the square face flushed red.

"Brother Zhang~~" Before he could shout excitedly again, the pig-eyed knight Song Changqing approached two steps, held his shoulders, and pressed hard.

The burly man Zhang San was stunned for a moment, took a few deep breaths, and forced himself to calm down: arguing with "Guan Old Duck" would only bring more humiliation to himself and Brother Ge, without any meaning.

Uh, "Guan Old Duck" was a nickname given to General Guan, who had "five-willow long beard," by others in secret.

Ducks like to quack, and their quacking is particularly ugly.

Just like today, Guan Old Duck often said mean and cold words, not caring when saying them to those whose status was lower than his; even if the status was far more noble than his, he often mocked them coldly behind their backs.

"General, who in the entire sand dunes could forcefully kill Ge brother face-to-face? And Ge brother wasn't alone; the ten-man cavalry squad was wiped out... we took the entire sand dunes, and only eight brothers died from Western Sha Man poison arrows." Song Changqing said solemnly.

"People died, this is a fact. There is no one here except the Sand Barbarians."

General Guan paused, then said slowly: "The cavalry squad was killed, and the second layer of the encirclement net was broken, creating a large hole; hundreds of Sand Barbarians rushed out from the southeast direction, and now they are fleeing in twos and threes.

There are still 50 black-clad light cavalry on the outermost perimeter, but they are only responsible for vigilance, killing Sand Barbarians they happen to encounter; it is impossible to stop hundreds or thousands of Sand Barbarians.

Although all the Sand Barbarians within a thousand miles are in my eyes, if I don't make a move, who knows who is strong and who is weak?"

More than a dozen iron-clad knights shouted in unison: "How many ran away? We will go and hunt them down immediately."

General Guan sneered again, saying: "In the combat strategy I formulated, there is no plan to hunt down fleeing Sand Barbarians.

Only three hundred cavalry came in total; placed in the sand dune camp, naturally they are invincible, killing everyone they see and burning every house they see.

But if they scatter in the wilderness, thirty thousand light cavalry wouldn't be enough."

As soon as these words were spoken, he immediately noticed the dissatisfaction and indignation of the iron-clad knights, and without waiting for them to speak, General Guan changed the subject again, saying: "However, the Sand Barbarians dared to harm the Great Shu Wang Fu Imperial Guard, which is a heinous crime.

Even if they were cut into a thousand pieces, it would be hard to redeem their crimes.

We definitely cannot let them go just like that.

After Zhu Tong and the others return, you can discuss how to hunt down the Sand Barbarians fleeing to the south.

Before you take action, I will locate the approximate positions of the Western Sha Man warriors with my immortal pupils."

"You aren't going to act with us?" The burly man Zhang San blurted out.

General Guan's right hand trembled slightly, almost unable to resist releasing the "snake flame whip" again to give him a hard lash.

"A mere squad leader, and not even someone who was ambushed; he was accompanied by a team of iron-clad elites, with superior numbers, yet he died on the battlefield.

Does he have some great grievance that requires a dignified Cavalry Commandant to personally avenge him?"

Zhang San and the other iron-clad knights who had brotherly feelings for "Brother Ge" all felt uncomfortable in their hearts.

But they couldn't refute General Guan's words at all.

Not to mention that people dying on the battlefield is the most normal thing, just looking at today's sand dune surprise attack, eighteen people sacrificed including Ge Qing.

Should they find the killer for every person and cut them into a thousand pieces?

In fact, apart from "Brother Ge," no one mentioned the names of the other dead knights, at least not specifically emphasizing them in front of General Guan.

Song Changqing broke the stifling atmosphere, asking: "My lord, have you found Western Sha Man Yu?"

"In all directions, heaven and earth, within a thousand miles, there is no trace of Western Sha Man Yu." General Guan said with a gloomy face.

Song Changqing had actually guessed this answer.

If Western Sha Man Yu had been found, Guan Old Duck would have already galloped away, or pointed out for him to bring the person back.

Now he was sitting on the Red Smoke Steed, silent, and with a look of depression and doubt, clearly having found nothing.

"The Thousand-Mile Eye can even see people hiding in caves, ignoring the cover of earth and stone..." Song Changqing still found it hard to believe, "Even if she died in the chaotic army, she would at least leave a corpse; it's impossible for her to vanish without a trace!"

Zhang San was surprised: "Brother Changqing, you really understand the Immortal's Eye; I only just learned that secret rooms in caves can't escape the Thousand-Mile Eye's search."

General Guan pursed his lips, looking at Song Changqing with a complex gaze.

Song Changqing lowered his eyes, saying softly: "You just said to the barbarians that the Immortal's Eye can peer into the Tiangong above and observe the Nine Underworlds below. If it can peer into the Tiangong and observe the Nine Underworlds, what are mere caves and tiled houses?"

—I was obviously saying flattering words, can't you tell? If it could really peer into the Tiangong, the Jade Emperor would have long ago used a drought thunder to split the dog-fucking Guan Old Duck.

Zhang San muttered in his heart, saying: "If even the General's immortal eyes can't find her, then Western Sha Man Yu is either ten feet high, using unknown demon arts to escape a thousand miles away, or she is ill-fated and was eaten by some passing demon.

This place is near the Liushahe; there are many demons in the Liushahe, everyone knows that." ===== CHAPTER 6 =====

"A mere squad leader, and it wasn't that he was ambushed; he was followed by a troop of elite armored cavalry, with superior numbers, yet he died on the battlefield.

Does he have some heaven-defying grievance that requires a dignified Cavalry Commandant to personally avenge him?"

Zhang San and the other armored knights who shared a deep brotherly bond with "Brother Ge" all felt uncomfortable in their hearts.

But they could not refute General Guan's words at all.

Not to mention that death on the battlefield is the most normal thing, just counting the dune ambush today, eighteen people sacrificed their lives, including Ge Qing.

Should they find the killer for every single person and have them sliced into a thousand pieces?

In fact, apart from "Brother Ge," no one even mentioned the names of the other fallen knights, at least not specifically in front of General Guan.

Song Changqing broke the heavy atmosphere and asked, "My Lord, have you found Sha Man Yu?"

"In all directions, in the sky and on the ground, within a thousand miles, there is no trace of Sha Man Yu," General Guan said with a gloomy face.

Song Changqing had actually already guessed this answer.

If Sha Man Yu had been found, Guan Lao Ya would have already galloped away on his horse, or pointed out for him to bring the person back.

Now he sat on his Red Smoke Steed, silent and looking depressed and puzzled; clearly, he had gained nothing.

"The Thousand-Mile Eye can even see people hiding in caves, ignoring the cover of earth, stone, and houses..." Song Changqing still found it hard to believe, "Even if she died in the chaotic army, at least she would leave a corpse; it's impossible for her to vanish without a trace!"

Zhang San said in surprise, "Brother Changqing, you really understand the Immortal's Eye; I only just learned that secret chambers in caves cannot escape the search of the Thousand-Mile Eye."

General Guan pursed his lips, looking at Song Changqing with a somewhat complex gaze.

Song Changqing lowered his eyes and said softly, "Didn't you tell the barbarians before that the Immortal's Eye can peer into the Tiangong above and observe the Nine Netherworlds below? If it can peer into the Tiangong and observe the Nine Netherworlds, what do mere caves and tiled houses count for?"

——I was obviously saying flattering words, can't you tell? If it really could peer into the Tiangong, the Jade Emperor would have long ago used a drought-thunder to strike the dog-bastard Guan Lao Ya to death.

Zhang San muttered in his heart, but said aloud, "If even the General's immortal eyes can't find her, then either Sha Man Yu is a foot taller than the devil and used unknown demonic arts to escape a thousand miles away, or her fate is rugged and she was eaten by some passing spirit.

Isn't this place close to the Liushahe? Everyone knows there are many spirits in the Liushahe."