Wayfarer

Chapter 489: Hold It, Friend

In a hall on Thousand-Spirit Island, Yin Tianci sipped tea as he asked, "Have the five kingdoms around the empire of Dayin unleashed their troops? How goes the fighting?"

Mo Lengxuan took a deep breath. "Poorly all around. The officials of Dazheng are no easy foes."

"Oh?" Yin Tianci put down his teacup.

"We were planning to catch Dazheng off guard, but they saw through our tricks by coincidence or skill. After several fights, we've lost forty Immortal spirits. The Dazheng Immortals that were badly wounded have vanished from sight, and they've likely all been taken down as well. About thirty or forty of their number have perished."

"Casualties on both sides?" Yin Tianci exclaimed.

"More or less. In addition, Dazheng has officially waged war against its five neighboring kingdoms."

"How do you think the war will progress?"

"Dazheng boasts a considerable number of Immortals, but there are already thirty to forty casualties on their side. I suspect that's the better half of their Immortals gone. Dazheng might look strong, but they're overextended, and we have a large group of reinforcement Immortal spirits. They're close to destruction," Mo Lengxuan promised confidently. Then, however, he frowned. "It's just that..."

"Just what?"

"Tang told me that Xiao Nanfeng possessed a blood peach tree that was able to absorb the essence of the carcasses of Immortal spirits and transform it into blood peaches to birth new Immortals for the Dazheng empire. I'm worried that Xiao Nanfeng is planning on this."

"That blood peach tree? I'm aware of it—it's the Peach Buddha. There's nothing particularly significant about it. Strong pillmasters can do the same thing with spirit carcasses; it's just a matter of efficiency. Sometimes it takes a dozen or more Immortal spirit carcasses for one Immortal, and sometimes more. It's not something to be too concerned about."

"Good." Mo Lengxuan nodded.

"Where's Tang? Has he been participating in frontline strategy?"

"He hasn't. He believes that I'm still cautious about him, so he's trying to avoid suspicion by giving up on anything to do with the frontlines."

"Doesn't he care about taking revenge on Xiao Nanfeng?"

"Oh, he's even more fervent than before."

"Oh?"

"He keeps worrying about how we don't have enough Immortal spirits as reinforcements, that we need more of them, and stronger ones too. I've repeatedly told him to calm down, but when he saw that I had no intention of enacting his strategy, he's been drumming up support on Thousand-Spirit Island."

"Isn't he powerless on Thousand-Spirit Island? How would he garner any support?"

"He is powerless. Even I only have limited power on the island, but hardly enough to make unilateral decisions. It took a great deal of favor for me to send two hundred Immortal spirits as reinforcements. As for him, he tricks them onto the battlefield."

"Show me," Yin Tianci said curiously.

Mo Lengxuan nodded and brought Yin Tianci to the peak of a mountain, from which point they could see the mouth of a valley in the distance.

Immortal spirits rushed in and out of the valley. Tang stood at a hidden spot on the outside, as though waiting for someone. Suddenly, a crocodile spirit waddled out.

Tang immediately jumped forward. "Hold it, friend!"

The crocodile spirit gave Tang a strange look. "You're looking for me? What for?"

"Friend, I have a huge opportunity for you," Tang replied immediately.

"Oh?"

"Are you aware that a large number of Immortal spirits from Thousand-Spirit Island have left to fight over an opportunity?" Tang asked.

The crocodile spirit blinked. "What opportunity? Why am I unaware of it?"

"Come here, please. I'll explain everything to you carefully." Tang immediately brought the crocodile spirit to the side and unleashed his spiel.

Two hours later, the crocodile spirit grew infuriated. "Is there truly such an opportunity? How could Commander Mo not have informed me of it? Tell me where to go. I want to head there, now!"

"Very well!" Tang gave the crocodile spirit directions as it rushed off toward Dazheng.

Yin Tianci and Mo Lengxuan watched on in silence.

"This is the tenth Immortal spirit that Tang has lured onto the battlefield. He's using all his tricks in order to take down Xiao Nanfeng..." Mo Lengxuan explained.

"Isn't that for the best? It is best to concentrate as much strength against Xiao Nanfeng as possible. Tang's working harder than you are!" Yin Tianci was very satisfied with Tang's actions.

Taking Tang as his subordinate was a supremely intelligent decision on his part. With a subordinate like Tang, what wouldn't he be able to accomplish?

He looked into the distance as Tang hailed down another Immortal spirit.

"Hold it, friend!" Tang shouted.

A month later, in a hall on Thousand-Spirit Island, Mo Lengxuan shared the latest reports from the frontline with Yin Tianci. Tang watched on silently from the side.

"Are the five kingdoms so weak? They've already lost a third of their combined territory over the past month," Yin Tianci exclaimed.

"The forces of Dazheng remain very strong, and many of the soldiers want to gain merit on the battlefield. They fight proactively and to the best of their ability," Mo Lengxuan replied, frowning.

"Can't you just take down their commander or generals, then?"

"We've tried. A large group of Immortal spirits struck at Ye Sanshui's main camp several days ago, only to find that a group of Dazheng Immortals had gathered there by coincidence. A huge fight ensued, causing eighty Immortal spirits to perish. Because Dazheng had the territorial advantage, they lost fewer Immortals, perhaps around seventy."

"How can that be? How many Immortals has Dazheng lost by now? And how many Immortal spirits on our side?" Yin Tianci exclaimed.

"We've lost two hundred and eleven Immortal spirits, while Dazheng has lost a hundred and eighty-six Immortals. The fighting is intense."

"Didn't you claim that Dazheng only has a few dozen Immortals? How could they sustain such losses?"

"I never expected Xiao Nanfeng to have so many forces in reserve. No wonder Nalan Qiankun succumbed to him," Mo Lengxuan replied, sighing.

"How about Earth Immortals? Aren't there Earth Immortal spirits participating in the fighting?" Yin Tianci asked.

"There are, but Dazheng has Earth Immortals of their own. Two huge toad spirits suppress our side's Earth Immortal spirits, and Ye Dafu's crew of golden Immortals can take them on as well. By the looks of Ye Dafu, he might be a Heaven Immortal."

"I remember now. My subordinates responsible for taking down Ye Dafu went missing. They likely perished at his hand!" Yin Tianci blanched.

"Xiao Nanfeng really does have a lot of trump cards, doesn't he?"

"Damn it, why didn't you consider this? If not for Tang's assistance in bringing the spirits from Thousand-Spirit Island over as support, we would have been done for!" Yin Tianci shouted.

"I never expected the Dazheng empire to be so difficult to deal with," Mo Lengxuan replied wryly.

"You didn't? What sort of investigation have you been carrying out, then?" Yin Tianci thundered.

Mo Lengxuan frowned.

Tang immediately jumped in. "Your Highness, it isn't Sir Mo's fault. No one ordinary would expect Xiao Nanfeng to possess such trump cards up his sleeve. Sir Mo has helped us a great deal by forcing his hand in advance. This is valuable experience for the next time we attempt to take down Xiao Nanfeng."

"Hm? You think this is Xiao Nanfeng's fault?" Yin Tianci frowned.

Mo Lengxuan took a deep breath and glanced at Tang gratefully.

"Your Highness, I wasn't mistaken before, was I? Xiao Nanfeng's blood peach tree must be helping him produce more blood peaches and more Immortals. Even if it's not the blood peach tree, he must have a similar artifact. Otherwise, he could hardly be replenishing his supply of Immortals to this extent," Tang continued.

"You're quite right." Yin Tianci nodded.

"That's why we can be certain that Human and Earth Immortal spirits won't be enough to deal with Xiao Nanfeng," Tang concluded.

"You're right. We have to treat our opponent seriously, rather than being arrogant like some people." Yin Tianci gave Mo Lengxuan a furious look.

Mo Lengxuan lowered his head, frowning. He was the one who had initially said that Tang was making too big a fuss for nothing.

"Your Highness, neither of you can be blamed for this. You haven't had enough contact with Xiao Nanfeng, so you aren't aware of how tricky he is. I've interacted with him enough to know not to drop my guard. If we want to take him down, we'll have to strike him at full force."

"What do you think we should do?" Yin Tianci asked.

"We need the help of Heaven and True Immortal spirits to take down Xiao Nanfeng and ensure that he dies once and for all. Of course, we'll have to start by drawing out all of Xiao Nanfeng's remaining trump cards before attempting an assault on Yongding. We can't have any uncertainty in our plans."

Mo Lengxuan sucked in a deep breath. "Tang, you aren't aware of the circumstances. There are a few True Immortals on this island, but I don't have the qualifications to call upon them. As for the Heaven Immortals, they're under the command of the True Immortal spirit kings. They won't listen to me—unless we have our subordinates strike instead."

"We're known to work together with His Highness, so if our subordinates strike and Xiao Nanfeng traces it back to His Highness, we'll make a fool of ourselves, especially if there are any dead or injured. The best choice is to invoke the aid of the spirit kings on the island, absolving His Highness of any possible link to the attack and ensuring no loss of his subordinates," Tang replied.

"As I said, those spirit kings won't listen to me." Mo Lengxuan frowned.

"Leave it to me. Allow me to invite the True Immortal spirit kings to strike alongside a few of their Heaven Immortal subordinates. I shall invoke only Sir Mo's authority, not His Highness'."

"Very well, Tang. I'll leave it to you," Yin Tianci replied in satisfaction.

Tang was clearly working in his best interest, and Tang seemed far more reliable than Mo Lengxuan.

Mo Lengxuan could see that Yin Tianci was growing more trusting of Tang day by day, almost to the point of superseding his relationship with Mo Lengxuan, but he could hardly be upset. The task that Tang had taken on would be no easy feat.