Chapter 722: Each Taking a Step Back

Tens of thousands of Azure Void infantry and several thousand light cavalry arrived and began to clean up the battlefield on the spot. Several commanding generals came to Li Zhi, saluted, and paid their respects.

This batch of troops was actually mostly Li Zhi's Zhenshan Army, only they had changed into Azure Void military uniforms and fought alongside the main Azure Void force. It was just that before it was their turn to perform, Zhang Sheng had already used one hundred thousand Azure Void main forces to frontally crush two hundred thousand Zhao troops. Now the Azure Void main force was seizing the time to adjust their formation, leaving the battlefield for Li Zhi and his subordinates to clean up.

After Li Zhi finished arranging the tasks, he took three thousand elite light cavalry and followed Zhang Sheng.

At this time, Lu Gaozhi's army had just retreated from the hilltop when they saw war chariots appearing on the top of the hill, looking down and beginning to bombard the Zhao army. Lu Gaozhi could not care about reorganizing the army formation and had to leave behind another unit to cover the retreat, then led the remaining troops to accelerate their retreat toward the Zhao border.

However, the Azure Void army was entirely a cavalry force, and their mobility was far superior to the Zhao army, which was mostly infantry. Zhang Sheng followed unhurriedly, constantly directing the army to encircle and eat up Lu Gaozhi's covering troops; then continued the pursuit, forcing Lu Gaozhi to split his troops to cover the retreat again, and then eat up his covering troops again.

Just like that, Zhang Sheng followed the Zhao army, constantly biting off pieces of meat from this massive beast. She even divided the Azure Void troops into three parts, with one part always resting.

Li Zhi followed the whole way and saw Zhang Sheng standing on top of a war chariot with her hands behind her back, eight cyan fairy swords protecting her body. With a light touch, she eliminated groups of enemy troops; her demeanor was truly unparalleled in the world!

Li Zhi did not dare to disturb her use of troops, and besides, he didn't know whether it was Zhang Sheng or Bao Yun standing there. But judging from the sword qi that made his body ache, it seemed it should be Zhang Sheng.

At this time, Lu Gaozhi in front was in a sorry state, both shocked and angry. Now he finally knew why Zhang Sheng had so politely asked him to retreat back to Zhao Guo.

This woman actually didn't want to let a single soldier return to Zhao Guo at all. The reason she said that was just to make the Zhao army move.

As long as the Zhao army retreated, she could pursue and nibble away all the way. And when the army retreated in panic, even Lu Gaozhi found it difficult to restrain them, only able to barely maintain the army from collapsing, completely unable to organize an effective counterattack.

At this time, smoke and dust rose again in the rear; the Azure Void cavalry had clearly eliminated the covering troops and caught up again.

Lu Gaozhi was furious and shouted: "Yellow-mouthed child, simply bullying people too much!"

Several generals had been running wildly for hundreds of miles and were already exhausted. At this time, they said: "Great General, how about we disperse and retreat?"

"Foolish!" Lu Gaozhi shouted angrily: "Isn't splitting the troops exactly what she wants? If the army stays together, we can still retreat with some people; splitting the troops will only let her catch us all in one net!"

The generals realized in the blink of an eye that with the opponent's exquisite command, dispersing to break out was just like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth.

A general showed determination on his face and said: "Then this time, I will cover the retreat!"

Lu Gaozhi's expression was solemn, and he nodded slowly.

Someone suddenly said in the air: "This girl surnamed Zhang is truly a rare talent. Using troops like this, it's hard to find an opponent in field battles. It's just that she is still a bit young and vigorous, liking to kill them all; this is a bit inappropriate. This Prince will go and teach her the principles of being a person, hoping she can become a towering tree in the future."

This voice was clear and warm, making people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze, and all the Zhao troops were invigorated.

When the Zhao Guo army moved, naturally there were "Masters" accompanying them, but as a Master, generally, one was embarrassed to interfere in the conquests of mortal armies. This was because the Zhao Guo Master saw that the Zhao army was defeated too miserably, so he had to appear.

A person with a refined face appeared in the air, wearing plain clothes that could not hide his graceful and noble air.

Lu Gaozhi was also invigorated, paid a salute to the air, and then ordered the army to accelerate their retreat.

This person appeared, naturally not for something as superficial as showing off in front of people, but to wait for the Azure Void side's Master to appear. The two sides would first roughly discuss conditions, and then talk about other things.

Sure enough, a woman in red appeared in the air. Her face was blurry, and she was playing with a jade flying knife in her hand. The refined Prince's gaze instantly fell on the flying knife, and his pupils shrank, appearing extremely wary.

"What is this?" He hesitated for a moment before asking.

"A replica of the ancient holy object, the Soul-Slaying Flying Knife. I don't know which immortal copied it; currently, it can still be used once. Once this knife hits, it will slay one of the three souls and seven spirits. Which one it destroys depends entirely on heaven's will.

But this knife is far from the holy object itself. After being hit, there will be some residue left. One only needs to cultivate in seclusion for a few hundred years, eating more heavenly treasures and holy medicines every day, and the soul might still be able to recover. So being cut by it is no big deal; it's nothing more than pushing back the ascension by a hundred or two hundred years."

Nothing more than pushing it back by a hundred or two hundred years? Just look at the precedent of Xu Wangu, and you will know. Let alone a hundred or two hundred years, sometimes it's just that difference of ten or twenty years.

The refined Prince's face twitched, and he cupped his hands: "Many thanks to the fellow Daoist for informing me."

Zhu Yuanjin said: "I am telling you honestly, not for any other reason, but to let you know that I am speaking to you from the perspective of strength. So you can take back some things that shouldn't be said."

The Prince smiled bitterly: "Why must the fellow Daoist be so absolute?"

Zhu Yuanjin said indifferently: "Just daily conduct, no need to praise."

At this time, a rough voice sounded again: "Brother Li, why waste words with her! Today, with the two of us here, are we afraid of her alone?"

A big man in battle armor appeared in the air again, holding a long halberd, his murderous intent like a mountain!

As soon as he appeared, he pointed his long halberd at Zhu Yuanjin and said coldly: "In a while, Brother Li, you suppress her fairy soldiers, and I will behead her Dharma body and physical body. However, fighting is not our original intention. As long as you stop pursuing our Great Zhao soldiers, return all the wounded and captives, and give enough compensation and pension to those who died in battle, the two of us will not interfere. How about it?"

On the ground below, Zhang Sheng was rolling forward with the war chariots. She suddenly raised her head and looked at the firmament.

Li Zhi also looked up at the sky, then had an angry look on his face, saying: "Zhao Li is truly shameless! As a Master, they actually want to directly intervene in mortal battles? They aren't even afraid of being entangled by karma."

Zhang Sheng first ordered the left and right: "The army continues forward, don't let a single Zhao soldier run away! As for those two in the sky, treat them as if they don't exist."

Li Zhi was startled and said: "Those are two Masters, and Prince Duan's strength is extraordinary. Taichu Palace only sent one Master. Oh, although Ancestor Yuanjin's strength is high and she is good-looking, after all, it is one against two. Should we make plans early?"

Zhang Sheng said indifferently: "Since my Taichu Palace only sent one, that means one is enough. Sending more is just a waste."

She said this without any cover. Li Zhi was greatly shocked and wanted to remind her, but it was already too late.

Sure enough, the general in the air was furious and shouted: "Little girl, sharp-tongued. It seems that today I must teach you a lesson for your teacher!"

Zhang Sheng said calmly: "If my ancestor were also here, if you dared to repeat these words in front of him, I would respect you as a man."

The general was so angry that fire sprayed from his crown, saying: "Brother Li, help me guard the formation. Today, I have no choice but to bully the small with the big!"

Zhu Yuanjin said at this time: "You aren't going anywhere. You first look, what is this."

Another precious pearl appeared in her hand, with pink light rippling inside, and water waves shaking from time to time. The general only took one look and was made dizzy by the water waves. His heart tightened, and he put away his anger, asking: "What kind of fairy treasure is this again?"

Zhu Yuanjin said: "This pearl is a supreme treasure refined by a high-level Buddhist cultivator in the ancient period before he entered nirvana. Inside, there is a 'Great Pure Severing Fate Precious Light'."

As soon as the general heard this name, he felt inexplicably creepy. He wanted to ask more, but couldn't let go of his old face. Fortunately, Prince Duan said in time: "I wonder what is so miraculous about this 'Great Pure Severing Fate Precious Light'?"

Zhu Yuanjin was just waiting for him to ask, so she said: "This precious light is somewhat similar to a great curse of the Shaman tribe; both are used to sever bloodline inheritance. Once illuminated by this precious light, if one cannot resist the Buddhist nature of that high monk, the karma will be passed on to all bloodline descendants. These descendants will never be able to give birth to children again, and from then on, the line will be severed. Hence the name: Pure Severing Fate."

The general was shocked and angry, feeling cold in his heart, saying: "This thing is so vicious, how could it come from the hands of a high Buddhist monk?"

"That high monk's Dharma name was Nirvana Superior. He came from the Blood Soul Temple and cultivated to the Return to Oneness Realm at five hundred years old. Naturally, he is a high Buddhist monk."

The two great Masters of Zhao Guo looked at Zhu Yuanjin's jade knife in her left hand, then at the precious pearl in her right hand. Their faces were naturally as ugly as they could be. They suddenly noticed that she also had a bag tied to her waist, bulging and not knowing what was inside.

The general habitually opened his mouth to scold, but the dirty words reached his lips and he swallowed them back.

Prince Duan smiled and cupped his hands: "How about we each take a step back and no longer interfere in the matters below?"

Zhu Yuanjin put away the two fairy treasures and said: "That would be best." Afterward, her figure faded and disappeared.

The general was so angry he jumped, but he couldn't vent. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly looked down, and his face changed.

The Zhao Guo army below was like a group of little deer chased by hungry wolves, running toward the Zhao Guo border.

And the Zhao Guo garrison had long received the news. Tens of thousands of troops were marching at full speed to meet them. Behind them were more than one hundred thousand troops, but the army moved slowly, and it would take half a day to reach the border.

And at this time, another Azure Void army appeared in the distance, mixed with war chariots and cavalry, and also carrying hundreds of cargo trucks.

This motley crew moved at a very fast speed, simply "invading like the wind." According to their speed and direction, they would be able to intercept Lu Gaozhi's defeated troops at the Zhao Guo border!

"This, what should we do?" The general had an anxious face.

Prince Duan was still calm and said: "This unit is not large in number. If it dares to intercept, it will have to face a pincer attack from both sides. I see that the girl uses troops quite exquisitely, so she shouldn't do such an unwise thing."

Prince Duan's voice was gentle and firm, and hearing it made people feel much more confident.

It was just that things went contrary to wishes.

That Azure Void mixed unit inserted itself between the Zhao Guo defeated troops and the reinforcements, and stopped just outside the Zhao Guo border.

As soon as the unit arrived, they seized the one-quarter-hour gap, built a barrier with cargo trucks, used war chariots as fire support points, and all the cavalry dismounted to fight on foot, setting up guns and aiming. In the blink of an eye, they built a defensive line.

A moment later, the Zhao Guo defeated troops surged over, and the reinforcements also arrived at the same time, but a thin defensive line had already been built between the two sides. It was a case of "so close yet so far," and they could not connect.

The defeated troops were desperate to survive, and the reinforcements were fighting to save people. Both sides attacked this defensive line fiercely, but they couldn't break through this defensive line that was as thin as paper. The soldiers in the defensive line didn't just rely on guns and cannons; when the Zhao army rushed up, they would also draw swords and shields for hand-to-hand combat.

Under the bloody battle, the Zhao army was completely at a disadvantage, and the soldiers who finally rushed up were hacked back alive.

At this time, the Azure Void main army arrived, and countless cavalry encircled them. The Zhao Guo remnant army had nowhere to go and could only surrender. Inside Zhao Guo, the rear army finally arrived late, just in time to see the friendly forces surrender.

The Zhao Guo general leading the army was so angry he cursed loudly and wanted to lead his troops across the border to save people. At this time, the Azure Void army formation suddenly opened, and an eight-drive war chariot drove out from the center.

Zhang Sheng stood on the war chariot, pointed at the Zhao Guo general, and then hooked her finger. Her fingertips were glowing.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 723 =====