Chapter 379: 353 Sprout Soldiers

The gate opened, and four people crawled out one after another: a tall, burly man, a seasoned middle-aged man, a young man with striking features, and a female Daoist who had renounced the world. These four had completely different styles and did not look like a team that had come together, yet they had crawled out together.

Li Yijian did not recognize the others, but he certainly recognized Tang Zhao, and immediately said with pleasant surprise, "Instructor Tang, you've returned? That's wonderful!"

Tang Zhao was taken aback; he had not expected to meet an acquaintance upon getting off the carriage, especially one who welcomed him so warmly, revealing a sentiment of "Why did you only just arrive? We couldn't do it without you." He felt quite gratified and said, "Brother Li is here. Right, since you are at the front line solving the rift, naturally you would be. The Pixiu Sword General is here too."

The Pixiu Sword stood on the Jiangtai, signaling slightly. As a general, he naturally did not need to descend the steps to welcome them.

Lao Qiao, who had traveled in the same carriage, steadied himself, finally shaking off the dizziness from the high-speed shuttle. Seeing the Cui Jiangjun so close, he tensed up. Fortunately, being seasoned, he pretended he didn't see the Pixiu Sword often and saluted, saying, "Broken Sword Cui Jiangjun, we are the Sword Guests Qiao Hai, Shanye Gang, Suxi, and Tang Zhao. We have come in response to the recruitment; please give your orders, General."

Cui Yinsheng's gaze swept over their figures. He vaguely remembered these faces. Although Sword Guests at the front line were not rare, he generally had an impression of those with some seniority in Moyun City. He said, "Good that you've come. The situation is urgent now; every extra Sword Guest adds a bit more strength. In a moment, I will assign you a sector. The first priority is to hold the area, then follow the commands from the Jiangtai, whether to hold the line or attack. Come up."

The four ascended the Jiangtai and arrived before the Yunhai Illusion. Young Master Cui had already skillfully enlarged the map and pointed out the current situation to them.

Tang Zhao had made a Dream Bonsai before and was not surprised by this kind of miniature illusion, but standing on the mountain looking down at the Yunhai, he could not see any trace of the mountain range from the day before. He could not help but be secretly astonished, thinking: I have only been gone for a few hours, yet this place has been turned upside down; red earth has become a cloud sea. What kind of great power is this? Only the Sword Law of the Kun Sword could achieve this. Is it the Sword Technique of the Pixiu Sword?

From a general perspective, it was difficult to associate the Pixiu Sword with a "Yunhai"; it seemed more like a large-scale Dharma Artifact or Fu Array that only "Moyun City" would possess.

Using a tangible Yunhai to observe intangible Space Fluctuation was truly a good approach. Tang Zhao noted this down; in the future, it could be used to deal with Void Material. When the Empty-Type Demon Cave descended back then, if he had made such preparations in advance, it would have been much easier to dodge the Space Storm.

"You will be at this battlefield." Young Master Cui helped determine the battlefield and pointed to a hilltop, saying, "You will guard this high ground. To the left is the battle team of the Six Hermitages Sword Guests. To the left is... the team of Caiyun Gui."

Tang Zhao raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Qiao Hai was also startled and said, "The Six Hermitages are my old friends; we can look out for each other. What is going on with Caiyun Gui?"

Young Master Cui explained, "Caiyun Gui is our ally. It just so happens that a Sword Guest from there came to pay respects to the General. Hearing that the situation here had changed, and since the Six Great Factions are of one mind, she volunteered to come and support us, so the General brought her along. Our two houses are friends, not enemies; we certainly won't hold each other back. You need not worry."

The few Sword Guests nodded. They did not have a good impression of Caiyun Gui, but just as Tang Zhao felt before, it was only an impression. They hadn't even met anyone from Caiyun Gui, so with the General's guarantee, they naturally couldn't say anything. Only Tang Zhao felt a bit wary; it seemed that being too close to Caiyun Gui was not a good thing.

Cui Yinsheng then asked, "Lao Qiao, do you have any sprout soldiers on your carriage?"

Qiao Hai said, "There is still one jar."

Cui Yinsheng said, "One jar is too few. Cui Yajiang, give him another jar."

Shanye Gang said in surprise, "We actually need two jars? None of us are very good at the Art of War, and we aren't skilled at commanding sprout soldiers. Handing hundreds of soldiers to us would be a waste."

Qiao Hai hurriedly said, "Since the Pixiu Sword is here, he will do the coordinating. What does it matter if we know how to command troops or not?"

Although he said this, he still tilted his head, wanting to see exactly what kind of Tianmo were on the other side of the Boundary Gap that could make Cui Yinsheng allocate so many sprout soldiers.

At this moment, the void in the Yunhai looked bottomless and deep, and one could only vaguely see a large Shadow on the opposite side...

No, it was three large Shadows.

The few of them discovered something was wrong at the same time. They saw the shadow of a city on the opposite side, but looking diagonally upward, it seemed there was also the shadow of a city in the sky on the opposite side, and looking further down, there was one on the ground as well...

The sky... the ground... the underground; three cities were simultaneously pressing toward the gap.

Could this be...

"Xiuluo City!"

It was actually Tang Zhao who said it.

Among those present, Tang Zhao was the least familiar with the Suiyu and usually didn't even go out when they invaded, but when it came to the overall situation of the Tianmo Jie, he was likely not inferior to others. Perhaps no one else had the opportunity to read as many documents and records as he had, so he quickly recalled the story of the three cities from his memory.

So, is it the Xiuluo who have come?

It is said that the Tianmo Jie does not have large nations or dynasties like the Human World, but rather individual cities. Each city has its own gods and tribes; the tribes have different appearances, vastly different customs, and various abilities. Like this Xiuluo, it is said that every Tianmo has three bodies and three heads, and they are famous for being warlike and skilled in battle.

The source of the Tianmo's power seems completely different from that of the Sword Guests, but while the phenomena differ, the essence may not. As Zhang Rong speculated in his book, these cities might all be controlled by powerful Sword Guests, and the different customs and even "rules" within them are the externalization of different Sword Intents. Powerful Sword Guests can form a "Sword Momentum" that envelops the entire city, and the tribes within the city are even the private soldiers or slaves of the Sword Guest, able to borrow the Sword Momentum to display abilities similar to Sword Techniques and Sword Arts.

Regardless of whether Zhang Rong's speculation is the truth, it is certain that the Tianmo are divided into tribes and abilities. Moreover, every Suiyu seems to border a different Tianmo Jie, so everyone is usually fighting "old friends."

The Xiuluo are "old friends" of Moyun City and even Qianjin City, and they are among the most difficult of the old friends to deal with.

Qiao Hai had been at the front line for a long time; he only needed to see those three cities in the three realms to know. The main body of the Xiuluo city was on the ground, but there were two reflections in the sky and underground. They corresponded to one head each. The symbols of the heads and the cities probably had different meanings to the Tianmo, but humans generally would not delve into it.

Now this Boundary Gap was already in imminent danger, and there was the great enemy of the Xiuluo lurking on the ground, ready to cross the border at any time. It was clear that the situation had indeed reached a critical point.

Young Master Cui took out a jar and handed it to Qiao Hai. Inside were round beans the size of pearls. Tang Zhao glanced at them and only felt that the beans were shriveled, with some slightly ugly patterns on them.

They looked like... the shape of human faces.

Tang Zhao had never seen sprout soldiers before. He glanced at the jar and felt the uncanny valley effect kicking in; no matter how he looked at it, it seemed a bit evil. He thought: Is this an Art Tool? It doesn't look like one. Could it be some kind of Sword Technique?

Or perhaps... a rare treasure unique to the Suiyu?

A specialty of the Tianmo Jie—a demon object?

Sprout soldiers... is it what he thinks it means?

The military order was received, and the equipment was collected. The group left the Jiangtai and had to take a carriage to the battlefield. Li Yijian, however, called out to Tang Zhao and said, "Instructor Tang, I remember you are an outstanding Talisman Sword Master?"

Tang Zhao instinctively wanted to decline with a few words, but Li Yijian said, "It just so happens that we are missing a master to preside over the rift-sealing here. Will you take on this job?"

Tang Zhao was stunned; he didn't react for a moment and said, "Seal... what?"

Mishi?

Does it mean to eat?

Li Yijian saw his expression and knew he didn't understand. He sighed inwardly and said, "It means to seal the broken rift using special Dharma Artifacts and formations."

Tang Zhao said, "Do you need me...? I don't know how."

Every trade has its specialty. Even if he was a decent Talisman Sword Master, he had never taken on such a task. It was his first time stepping onto the Suiyu; how could he shoulder such a heavy responsibility? Even if he were to learn it now, it would likely be too late.

Li Yijian said, "Wait a moment... I have already contacted Master Ouye, the number one Talisman Sword Master in Moyun City. He usually does this task and has very rich experience. Let him guide you, and you do the work. You are a Talisman Sword Master after all, much better than us. Following the steps shouldn't be difficult, how about it? Currently, the Talisman Sword Masters of Moyun City cannot make it over here; you are the only one who can be of use. I hope you will not decline."

What else could he say to this?

If no one else can come, then isn't it "if not me, then who"?

Tang Zhao indeed could not decline. Although he really wanted to follow his newly met partners to fight the Tianmo—he called himself a Sword Guest, yet he had never fought a Tianmo, while he had already played an important role as a Talisman Sword Master before—he wanted to change his way of fighting. But the situation before him did not allow him to choose.

Hearing that Tang Zhao was actually a Talisman Sword Master, Qiao Hai and the others were greatly surprised and said, "It is rare for you, brother, to be so talented at such a young age. Isn't this exactly the opportunity for you to show your skills? It's a pity we cannot fight side by side this time."

Tang Zhao said with regret, "There will be opportunities next time."

Qiao Hai's eyes lit up and he said, "If you have the heart, there will certainly be opportunities." He then took out a small bag, grabbed two handfuls of sprout soldier balls for him, and said, "Keep these for self-defense."

Tang Zhao thanked him and followed Li Yijian onto another Fire Seed Carriage that looked like a small boat, heading toward the center of the Yunhai.

On the way, Li Yijian asked about the whereabouts of Tang Zhao's students. Hearing that they had all left safely, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good that everything is fine over there. I have recorded the results of this exam. If there are no accidents, everyone who was able to leave safely with the team will be considered to have passed."

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "The pass rate has set a record; this can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."

The two arrived at the edge of the void; even with the protection of the Fire Seed Carriage, they could not easily approach it. On one side of the void, another Fire Seed Carriage had been used to build a platform, and the platform was piled high with all sorts of materials.

Tang Zhao swept his gaze over them and was surprised to recognize only a small portion; he figured they must be rare treasures found only in the Suiyu, and he praised, "The preparations are so thorough. I have never even used such fine materials."

Li Yijian said, "We have experience."

On the platform, another soldier wearing a military uniform was none other than Li Yijian's subordinate, Commandant Huang Ping.

Before him stood a large Mirror, and within the Mirror was the shadow of an old man.

Is this Ouye Fuhu? He is certainly quite old.

Li Yijian said, "This... who is this? Are we not contacting Mr. Ouye?"

Huang Ping had a bit of a headache and said, "This is an Elder of the Ouye family. We were contacting Mr. Ouye at the Ouye family grounds, and this Elder happened to be nearby."

Li Yijian said happily, "Oh, an Elder is even better; the skill level is higher. Please, Elder, take action."

Huang Ping said helplessly, "But he says..."

The Elder of Ouye in the Mirror suddenly said, "I will be blunt: this Boundary Gap cannot be mended!"