Chapter 88: Peerless in the world

Sun Chaoen woke up leisurely, and when he opened his eyes, he found that he had returned to the county government office. He wanted to sit up, but he was weak all over, and as soon as he got up halfway, his chest and back were in severe pain, and he fell back onto the bed.

County assistant Ren Youwei was guarding beside him and hurriedly said: "My lord, don't move! If you move again, the wound will open!"

"Has anyone been sent to General Li's side?"

"My lord, rest assured, someone went early this morning."

"Has Regional Commander Liao dispatched troops yet?"

Ren Youwei hesitated for a moment, but still said: "He refused to send troops, but this was also expected."

Sun Chaoen supported himself and wanted to sit up, shouting hoarsely: "Liao Jingwu! This county will behead him sooner or later! Help me up!"

"My lord, you can't! You are not his opponent now. And killing an imperial official without authorization is to execute the clan!" Ren Youwei was shocked and persuaded bitterly.

Seeing that the county assistant refused to help, Sun Chaoen panted: "I can't go even if I want to now. I remember there is a signal arrow in the ancestral hall, was it brought back?"

"It's placed under the hall."

"Shoot it out, go now!"

Ren Youwei hurried out, and a moment later the signal arrow exploded in the air, lingering for a long time. The information in the signal arrow was: Little Wei Yuan went north, rescue quickly.

Sun Chaoen sensed the fluctuation of the signal arrow's Dao power, his heart relaxed, and he fainted again. At this time, human affairs were exhausted, and the next step could only depend on heaven's will.

In the military fortress, Liao Jingwu was hosting a banquet in the back hall again, but the banquet was a bit dull, and everyone seemed to have a lot on their minds. A captain tentatively asked: "General, the county has sent people to urge us to send troops for the third time. If we don't move again, it will not be easy to explain to the imperial court, and it will not be easy to explain to the Taichu Palace. Why don't we send some people to show our meaning?"

Liao Jingwu slammed the table heavily: "That Sun guy is just someone without a foundation. He can kill Wang Delu, dare he move me? Just killing Wang Delu is enough to execute the clan! As long as he dares to enter my camp, I will take him down and behead him first. There is merit and no fault!"

Another person said: "But the Liao barbarian Snow Eagle Cavalry passed by our military fortress, and we didn't warn the county..."

Liao Jingwu glared at him fiercely, and the man shuddered and immediately stopped talking. Only then did Liao Jingwu curse: "The county town hasn't been broken, so it's not our responsibility. Look at your bear-like appearance, what's there to be afraid of? I said I would let that Fang guy die unclearly, didn't I do it? As for Sun Chaoen, bah! I am a person of the Xu family, is he someone a poor scholar can move!"

Thinking of Liao Jingwu's tiger-bear-like wife, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open, and several people walked in, the leader being Li Zhi. He scanned the room and smiled: "General Liao really has a good mood!"

Li Zhi was from an Immortal Sect and was the most prominent person in family background nearby. Although they hadn't met, Liao Jingwu had seen his portrait and recognized him. At this moment, Liao Jingwu suppressed the anxiety in his heart, stood up and said: "So it is General Li! Why didn't anyone notify me?"

Li Zhi said: "A small matter, I'll finish speaking and leave, so I thought I wouldn't need anyone to notify me, and I'd just come in myself."

"What are General Li's orders?"

Li Zhi said: "Two small things. First, I want to ask General Liao to send troops north to respond to my brother Little Wei Yuan."

Liao Jingwu shook his head immediately: "I'm afraid I can't comply with this! This general has a heavy responsibility on his shoulders to protect the safety of the people of the whole county, and cannot act rashly, let alone mobilize the masses for a mere person!"

Li Zhi took out a command talisman and placed it on the table, and then took out a letter, also slapping it in front of Liao Jingwu, and said lightly: "This is the military talisman of Commander Zhang, and this is the handwritten letter of your father-in-law. It is estimated that the letter doesn't say anything good, but you can read it later. Does General Liao want to consider it again?"

Looking at those two things, Liao Jingwu's cold sweat came down. Commander Zhang was his immediate superior, and his father-in-law was his foundation. Seeing Li Zhi take out these two things, how could he not understand what this meant?

Liao Jingwu suddenly knelt down: "The end general didn't know Taishan, please punish me, General Li! If General Li doesn't abandon me, the end general is willing to follow the adult from now on, go through fire and water!"

Li Zhi showed a faint smile and said: "General Liao is a smart person. Just do things well when you follow me in the future. Now point the army and leave the camp immediately."

Liao Jingwu roared immediately: "Point the soldiers! Everyone must arrive within half a pillar of incense, not one left, no, leave fifty to guard the camp! Those who are late will be beheaded!"

Several captains at the banquet hurriedly left the tent to point the soldiers. When they left, none of them forgot to salute Li Zhi.

A moment later, the horns in the military fortress sounded long, iron cavalry rushed out, and teams of elite border infantry rushed out in full force, and the army went north.

In the army column, Liao Jingwu rode a horse beside Li Zhi, appearing somewhat uneasy, and said: "General Li, only fifty people are left in the camp, what if..."

Li Zhi said lightly: "There is no what if."

Liao Jingwu felt a chill in his heart and understood the weight of the people of a county and Little Wei Yuan who was going to be responded to in Li Zhi's heart. However, he was even more worried and said carefully: "General Li, I have offended quite a few people in the past, and I have also offended Lord Wei. You see..."

Li Zhi naturally understood what he was thinking and said lightly: "As long as you follow me sincerely, I will protect you from nothing. But those messy things in the past can't happen again, understand?"

Liao Jingwu nodded repeatedly, his waist almost broken: "The end general understands! The end general understands!"

150 miles east of Quyang County, a flying boat slowly rose into the sky, dragging the flying boat that had been shot down, and flew slowly toward the south.

In the central building of the dock fortress, Bao Yun sat at the head, and the banquet was full of young talents from various families, each with a deep family background and a handsome appearance. At this time, everyone was talking and laughing, commenting on the Western Jin government and the current war situation from time to time, and everyone was articulate, clearly full of goods in their stomachs.

Bao Yun didn't need to speak, just sat there, and the talents scrambled to speak, but there was great learning in how to speak. They had to be insightful about the situation, sharp and concise, and couldn't be wordy, preferably every word was a pearl, and not a single word could be deleted if it fell on paper. So the talents were all racking their brains, and this meal was more tiring than the sect big exam.

Suddenly, an old servant walked into the room and whispered something to Bao Yun.

Bao Yun's face changed slightly, and she stood up immediately, apologizing: "Brothers, I'm really sorry, a friend of mine had an accident, and now I have to go to respond. Everyone, please eat slowly, I'll leave first."

Everyone stood up hurriedly and said one after another: "We all brought troops and horses. Since it is a friend of Miss Bao who is in trouble, then it is our business! We will go with Miss Bao!"

Bao Yun appeared somewhat hesitant: "But this time we have to go deep into the Liao domain, which is very dangerous. I'll go by myself, you don't have to take risks."

"What is Miss Bao saying? Your business is my business!"

"Since we have come to this place, how can there be people who are afraid of death?"

"Hahaha, if we don't walk through the depths of the Liao domain, wouldn't it make our Dao foundation dusty?"

Bao Yun bowed and said softly: "Since this is the case, then I will thank you all first. The military situation is urgent, please set off with my army."

A moment later, the dock fortress opened wide, and thousands of heavy armored crossbow soldiers walked out of the dock fortress, marching toward the Liao domain in a mighty manner. There was also a flying boat accompanying the army. Behind Bao's army, teams of various teams followed and advanced, totaling more than three thousand people.

With the blessing of the formation Daoist technique, the large army marched slowly but fast, and reached the boundary of the Liao domain in half an hour. The flying boat also entered the Liao domain with the army. A Linglong precious tree appeared on the boat, its branches and leaves swaying and scattering points of clear light, forcing the yellow Qi around to retreat.

After walking for dozens of miles in the Liao domain, suddenly a peerless sword intent came from the south, and a flying sword came from far to near, its momentum like lightning! The yellow Qi was separated by the flying sword like waves, surging to both sides.

Zhang Sheng stood on the flying sword, but this time he was no longer empty-handed, but held a green long sword in his hand, and the sharp murderous intent was not hidden at all, permeating a thousand zhang!

Zhang Sheng crossed Bao Yun's army in an instant, just looked at this side, and then went north in an instant. 【8

Zhang Sheng suddenly streaked past Bao Yun's great army, casting only a single glance in this direction before vanishing toward the north in an instant.

A desolate horn sounded from the flying ship, a military order summoning the great army to advance at full speed. The crowd of heavy-armored crossbowmen all began to jog, and the Exquisite Treasure Tree on the flying ship suddenly doubled in size, its light dazzling. The radiance enveloped the entire army, and as a result, the running speed of the thousands of troops increased again, actually doubling!

They hadn't gone far when they saw Zhang Sheng standing quietly in the air, as if waiting for something. The military horn sounded again on the flying ship, and thousands of heavy-armored crossbowmen spread out laterally, shifting into a battle formation and advancing slowly.

On the distant horizon, a black riderless warhorse appeared, coming from the south like the wind.

In the blink of an eye, the warhorse galloped closer, and only then could it be seen that a person was slumped over the horse's back, with several arrows stuck in their back, their life or death unknown. At this moment, the earth shook, and a yellow dust cloud appeared on the horizon, rising higher and higher, rolling toward them! Within the dust, there were shadowy figures of countless Liao cavalry, each rider frantically whipping their horse, chasing the black warhorse in front. In the blink of an eye, the dust was already dozens of zhang high!

Behind the dust cloud, which was like a high wall, there was a white snow eagle that reached from the earth to the sky, flapping wings that had only a small fraction of their feathers left, pursuing rapidly. Its wingtips were entwined with wisps of rain, and there was also a hazy black aura flickering in and out of existence.

As the black horse ran, it suddenly let out a long whinny, exhaling a final wisp of thin mist, and the last embers on its hooves extinguished. Its front legs went weak, and it collapsed to the ground, the person on its back being thrown far away.

Seeing that Little Wei Yuan was about to crash into the ground, a mass of cyan sword Qi suddenly caught him, smoothly shaving away all the arrow shafts, and then Little Wei Yuan fell into an exceptionally warm, yet somewhat fragile, pair of arms.

Zhang Sheng knelt on one knee, holding Little Wei Yuan with one hand, but he looked up at the giant snow mountain eagle that had already flown overhead, and he also saw the few wisps of rain that had not yet completely dissipated between the eagle's feathers. The sand and dust had also reached a thousand zhang away, and the Liao cavalry charging at the very front slowed their pace upon seeing Bao Yun's army standing in battle array. As the front slowed, the Liao cavalry in the rear kept crowding forward; it looked like there were at least several thousand riders.

At this moment, a horn sounded from the west, and a unit of over a thousand men appeared, setting up a strict formation and marching over. Although this unit was not a world-renowned branch of the military like the heavy-armored crossbowmen, they were nonetheless battle-hardened elites of the Western Jin border army. The two units formed a pincer formation from the east and west, finally forcing the thousands of pursuing Liao cavalry to halt.

The giant eagle hovered high in the sky, looking down at Zhang Sheng, who was like an ant on the ground, and said chillingly, "Hand over the person in your hands. For the sake of your master, I can spare your life!"

Zhang Sheng said, "What kind of thing are you?"

Just as the giant eagle was about to fly into a rage, Zhang Sheng had already swung his sword!

A winding, twisting beam of sword light appeared between heaven and earth, eerie, thin, and faint, stretching from the lower left to the upper right, connecting the earth to the sky. This sword light lacked the slightest sharpness, yet it filled those who looked at it with an indescribable sorrow, like a woman waiting for someone under the moon, waiting for years upon years, lifetimes upon lifetimes, from the time her hair was black until it was like frost, yet never seeing that person arrive.

Under the sword light, the wind and sand weakened, as if heaven and earth were grieving together.

Immortal Sword: Parting Sorrow!

The giant claw extended by the giant eagle shrank back as if it had touched thunder, and large patches of feathers fell from its body. It let out a mournful cry, and without looking back, it flew toward the north, disappearing into the horizon in an instant.

Zhang Sheng withdrew his sword and backhanded it into the ground, the gleaming blade stopping just half an inch from Little Wei Yuan.

"What happened?" Zhang Sheng's brows were imposing as he asked in a deep voice.

!.

Little Wei Yuan managed to lift his hand, showing the knapsack he was clutching tightly, and said, "My brother's head was snatched by the Liao barbarians, and I went to snatch it back."

Little Wei Yuan had expected a scolding, but Zhang Sheng said, "Next time something like this happens, call your master, and I will go with you!"

Little Wei Yuan looked at Zhang Sheng's paper-white face and bloodless lips, and he hesitated. If it were just himself and the situation were unfavorable, Little Wei Yuan could flee without hesitation. But his teacher was different; no matter who the enemy was, he would usually want to trade blows first.

How could Zhang Sheng not know what Little Wei Yuan was thinking? He said calmly, "With your master here, even encountering a Dharma Form is nothing. Look at how this snow eagle of Northern Liao is rumored to be so formidable; wasn't he still slashed back by your master's sword?"

Little Wei Yuan nodded with difficulty: "He is quite useless; I took three hits from him along the way, and he didn't manage to kill me."

Zhang Sheng remained expressionless. His left hand, which was holding Little Wei Yuan, moved slightly, his fingertips pinching an arrowhead, and he pulled it out in one motion, casually sealing the wound with sword Qi. This method of pulling the arrow was extremely brutal, and the sensation of the sword Qi sealing the wound was even more indescribable; Little Wei Yuan let out a cry of pain!

Zhang Sheng said softly, "Disciple, if you don't want to talk, you can shut your mouth."

Little Wei Yuan gasped in pain, turning his gaze away, not daring to look at Zhang Sheng's terrifyingly bright eyes. His gaze fell on Zhang Sheng's right hand, and suddenly he couldn't move it away.

Zhang Sheng was holding the sword hilt in a reverse grip with his right hand and hadn't let go the entire time. Rather than saying he was striking a peerless pose, it was more accurate to say he was relying on this sword to support his body so he wouldn't collapse. Fresh blood was constantly welling up between his slender fingers, flowing down along the blade.

Zhang Sheng also noticed Little Wei Yuan's gaze and hurriedly said, "This sword of your master's has a great origin..."

Before he could finish, the long sword suddenly made a 'crack' sound, countless cracks appeared, and then it shattered into pieces, leaving Zhang Sheng with only a hilt in his hand. With the support gone, both Zhang Sheng and Little Wei Yuan nearly fell over.

Zhang Sheng looked at the hilt in his hand, momentarily at a loss for words. In truth, if it hadn't been for the wisp of sword Qi attached to Little Wei Yuan's sea of consciousness spontaneously protecting its master, causing a wisp of Zhang Sheng's Primordial Spirit to be annihilated, Zhang Sheng would not have been so severely injured at this moment. It could be said that seventy percent of his injuries were caused by that wisp of sword Qi. But this inside story could only be left for Little Wei Yuan to realize on his own; explaining this bare hilt was not easy.

Fortunately, with this jolt, Little Wei Yuan suddenly began to cough violently, and as he coughed, fresh blood kept gushing from his mouth and nose, his eyes gradually losing their focus.

Zhang Sheng was shocked and could no longer maintain his composure, scrambling to check Little Wei Yuan's injuries. It was one thing not to check, but once he did, his heart sank. There were countless hidden injuries inside Little Wei Yuan's body; how could three hits from a Dharma Form be so easy to take? Zhang Sheng was not skilled in the medical arts and was momentarily at a loss.

Just at this moment, a hand suddenly reached over in front of Zhang Sheng, holding a yellow fruit in its palm, round and translucent, appearing both real and illusory. Zhang Sheng looked up and saw Bao Yun.

"This is the first fruit my tree has borne; it can save a life," Bao Yun said.

Zhang Sheng immediately pried open Little Wei Yuan's mouth, and Bao Yun stuffed the fruit inside.

The fruit melted upon entering his mouth, and a tender sprout suddenly sprouted from the center of Little Wei Yuan's brow, growing into a small sapling in the blink of an eye before sinking into his sea of consciousness. Subsequently, a massive vitality erupted within Little Wei Yuan's body, countless hidden injuries healed rapidly, his breathing gradually became steady, and color finally returned to his face.

Zhang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, his mood having traveled back and forth between heaven and earth, and he was surprised to find his forehead covered in cold sweat. He looked at Bao Yun, struggled fiercely in his heart for a while, and then said, "Thank you. I will certainly repay this in the future. Besides, there is one more thing... that, um... it was I who pushed you out back then; I apologize to you."

Bao Yun didn't understand at first, but in the blink of an eye, she was shocked, looking at Zhang Sheng, her mouth slowly opening wide enough to swallow a pigeon egg.

"You, you..." Even though Bao Yun had seen much of the world's treachery, she couldn't speak at this moment. She had suspected everyone at the time, except for Zhang Sheng. At that time, Zhang Sheng had even gone with Ji Liuli to beat up Xu Henshui. Recalling it now, it was truly worth pondering.

Just at this moment, Little Wei Yuan slowly opened his eyes, interrupting Bao Yun's shock. Having just woken up, Little Wei Yuan's consciousness was still a bit fuzzy, and there were familiar faces all around, but he couldn't quite place them for a moment.

"Brother Wei! You are safe and sound; that is truly wonderful!"

Little Wei Yuan turned his head, and it took a breath before he remembered that this person was called Li Zhi. As his consciousness gradually cleared, Little Wei Yuan finally remembered everyone around him. He was just a bit dazed; a moment ago he was fleeing for thousands of miles, finally collapsing in his teacher's arms, and the moment he opened his eyes, there were so many people around.

At this moment, Little Wei Yuan's body was filled with massive vitality, as if there were a spiritual spring constantly gushing forth vitality and spiritual power. Little Wei Yuan's physical strength and spiritual power recovered rapidly, and he struggled to stand up. Now Little Wei Yuan understood that these people had all come to meet him.

Little Wei Yuan was just about to thank Li Zhi first when his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he saw a familiar person behind Li Zhi: Liao Jingwu!

Little Wei Yuan had long since reconstructed the entire sequence of events. Five hundred Liao iron cavalry were a massive force, especially since there were one hundred snow eagle riders among them; it was impossible for them to conceal their tracks. If the main force wanted to attack Quyang, they would inevitably have to pass through the military fortress. And when the Liao cavalry raided Quyang, the county was completely unprepared, forcing Fang Hetong to sacrifice himself to intercept them. In other words, the military fortress had neither intercepted the Liao cavalry nor sent reinforcements, and hadn't even issued a warning with beacon smoke!

Little Wei Yuan leaped up, and without a word, strode toward Liao Jingwu.

Liao Jingwu's expression changed drastically, and he retreated continuously, shouting, "What are you doing? I am an imperial official, a seventh-rank Regional Commander! Aren't you afraid of being executed along with your nine clans? General Li, Lord Li, you said you would keep me safe! Help..."

Li Zhi also hadn't expected such a turn of events and stepped forward to try to stop Little Wei Yuan. Before this step could even be taken, Bao Yun suddenly appeared at his side, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him, and said softly, "Brother Li, why are you so impatient? You might as well watch first."

From the moment Bao Yun appeared, an invisible barrier stood before Li Zhi, preventing him from advancing an inch.

Little Wei Yuan reached Liao Jingwu in a few steps, reached out and grabbed, and that long spear rose into the air from where the warhorse had collapsed, appearing in Little Wei Yuan's hand in an instant like a dragon soaring from the abyss!

Liao Jingwu was terrified beyond measure and subconsciously drew his sword to block in front of him!

Li Zhi was unable to move, and in his anxiety, he could only shout loudly: "General Liao has already abandoned darkness for light! Give..."

This sentence, "Give me, Li Zhi, some face," had no chance to be spoken.

Little Wei Yuan swept his spear horizontally, and Liao Jingwu froze in place. A thin line appeared on his sword, arm, and neck, and subsequently, the long sword and his arm were severed in two, while his head flew into the sky. Blood sprayed like a fountain, shooting up over a zhang.

Seeing their commander dead, several captains subconsciously retreated; after all, those who were truly not afraid of death wouldn't have made it this far in this unit. The several experts under Li Zhi's command gripped their sword hilts, knowing they were no match, yet intending to act, waiting only for Li Zhi's order.

Little Wei Yuan stood quietly holding his spear, the blood on the spear tip dripping down drop by drop, turning into small, round beads on the ground. At this moment, countless thoughts surged and intertwined in Little Wei Yuan's heart, and everything he had seen and heard in his life emerged at this moment. He suddenly looked up at the sky, seeing clusters of yellow aura in the air, within which seemed to be countless pairs of eyes, each one revealing murderous intent.

Little Wei Yuan suddenly turned his head and said to Zhang Sheng, "Teacher, didn't you say that heaven and earth have great love? But why does the heaven and earth here only want to put us to death?"

"Then we shall change the heaven and the earth!" Zhang Sheng said decisively.

"It should be so..." Little Wei Yuan slowly closed his eyes.

At this very moment, three years of enlightenment, ten years of bitter cultivation, the myriad Dao foundations transformed into a galaxy, his old father in the Wei family residence and the farmers working hard in the fields, refugees, blood, raging fire, Fang Hetong's head, the ups and downs of the human world spanning hundreds of thousands of years in history books, the Liao clan young master who wanted to take him as a lackey, the giant claw falling from the sky, the first spear to defy heaven and earth, the sacrifice, the heads of Wang Delu and Liao Jingwu, the soldiers present who were only there to be driven by others, Li Zhi's astonishment, the surprise of the aristocratic disciples, the human pure domain, the yellow aura of the Liao frontier, the destiny from beyond the sky, the madman of heaven and earth, Bao Yun's first fruit, and the figure of Zhang Sheng kneeling in the Heavenly Blue Palace—everything, absolutely everything, gradually merged into one.

Heaven and earth suddenly fell silent, and then the rolling yellow aura retreated in a panic like a receding tide. Within a hundred miles, the sky and earth gradually cleared, and wisps of heaven and earth primordial energy emerged from unknown places, one after another converging into Little Wei Yuan's body. More and more primordial energy from the void arrived, and in the blink of an eye, it formed a massive primordial energy storm. Little Wei Yuan stood in the eye of the storm, absorbing the endless primordial energy as if he were a bottomless abyss!

In his sea of consciousness, the Jade Toad suddenly leaped up, swallowing the full moon in one gulp, and then lay prone without moving, its body gradually merging into the giant rock and the ground. The ground, meanwhile, extended continuously, as if it were endless.

A golden light suddenly appeared above Li Zhi's head, and within the light, an ancient-looking four-image three-legged cauldron rose and fell. This cauldron suddenly vibrated, emitting several trembling chimes. The four-image three-legged cauldron was an ancient human emperor's vessel for sacrificing to heaven, yet at this moment, it was actually intimidated by the aura emitted by Little Wei Yuan, appearing fearful, causing Li Zhi to retreat several steps, his face as white as paper.

Primordial Palace, Wan Xiangdian.

The star-blue hall suddenly vibrated, shocking the entire sect! In the blink of an eye, streams of light broke through the air, and the True Lords and True Persons still within the sect arrived one after another, unaware of what had happened.

Under the gaze of all, the Wan Xiangdian suddenly rose in height by half, then expanded several times over, majestic and magnificent!

Several True Lords acted simultaneously, pointing toward the hall, and the Wan Xiangdian instantly became ethereal, revealing the scene inside.

The galaxy composed of myriad Dao foundations was still there, but now there was a massive continent beneath it, supporting the entire galaxy. The galaxy spanned the firmament, starting from one end of the continent and ending at the other.

That night, Emperor Su of Tang was startled several times and passed away in the early morning. Emperor Xuan ascended the throne at the age of eleven, changing the reign title to Tianqi.

In the first year of Tianqi, Little Wei Yuan forged the Dao foundation 【Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains】; this Dao foundation was peerless under heaven.

End of Volume One: The Age of Great Contention.

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