Wayfarer

Chapter 601: A Magnificent Start

The Dayin Immortals who attacked every city of Dazheng varied in strength, but Wen Zhong had made arrangements in advance. There were more than ten Dazheng Immortals within each city, and the ones with significantly higher cultivation were scattered across the entirety of Dazheng to be able to respond quickly in case of large disparities in strength. Dazheng wasn't aiming for overwhelming victory; it sought instead to delay and trap the Dayin Immortals from leaving.

As Dayin's Golden Immortals retreated, the other Dayin Immortals likewise received orders to retreat.

High in the air above a small city, ten Dazheng Immortals fought against ten Dayin Immortals. None of them were able to extricate themselves.

Just then, within a forest outside the city, a hidden Dayin soldier suddenly rushed into the air.

"The general has commanded that—" The soldier had made half his pronouncement when a sudden beam of sword energy killed him in the blink of an eye.

The ten Dayin Immortals who were fighting, not having received the command to retreat, continued to fight.

In another small city, a man dressed in Dayin attire shot into the air.

"The general commands all Dayin cultivators to keep fighting the Dazheng Immortals and stall for time. Reinforcements are on their way!"

The next moment, a Dayin soldier rushed out of the nearby forest. "No, that's a lie! The general never—"

Before he could finish speaking, a golden arrow had struck him in the head, killing him.

In the middle of yet another group of cities, a Dayin soldier released fireworks in the air as a signal flare.

However, the moment the fireworks shot up, an avian spirit hovering in the sky leapt toward it and sent it back to the ground.

"You dare ruin my signal?" the Dayin soldier cried out.

He was preparing to launch another set of fireworks when a black specter appeared behind him and thrust a sword through his chest. He fell to the ground, lifeless.

Similar situations occurred all across the five thousand cities of Dazheng.

The officials that Mr. Wen had fostered were paying particularly careful attention to those Dayin soldiers responsible for transmitting orders to the Dayin Immortals throughout Dazheng territory.

Of course, some of the Dayin Immortals had avatars of their own and were able to receive orders in real time. They could call out for their companions to turn and flee, but they were in the majority.

Similarly, some means of intercepting messengers failed, and the Dayin Immortals in those areas managed to receive the order to retreat.

However, the majority of Dayin Immortals had been cut off from their information network.

The twelve golden cultivators and any Immortals nearby, on Xiao Nanfeng's orders, scattered throughout Dazheng toward twelve separate battlefields.

They quickly defeated the Dayin Immortals present in those cities, killing all 120 present.

The 120 Dazheng Immortals that had now been freed up quickly split up to assist their allies in neighboring cities as well.

Ao Zhou and his countless dragons and sea spirits also joined the fray, as did Croak, Warble, and the spirit Immortals they had managed to convince to join their cause.

They stopped those Dayin Immortals attempting to flee and killed those that continued to fight. The fighting grew protracted.

Just then, as Sage Black Ape died, Xiao Nanfeng consumed his inner core. After sending off his subordinates, he hurriedly entered secluded cultivation.

Trying to advance at his level of cultivation required more than a single Golden Immortal's inner core. He was also consuming a large number of pills that he had prepared in advance. Energy gushed through his body and began to resonate with his cultivation.

Four hours later, as a fiery blaze of energy emanated from him, he opened his eyes wide and exhaled. "The peak of the Heaven Immortal realm... I'm finally there."

He stood up and was just about to leave secluded cultivation when the black lotus silently flew back and returned to his mindscape.

"Senior, were you successful?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Those Golden Immortals of Dayin attempted to rejoin the battlefield, but ran off the moment I impersonated a Martial Aspect and appeared before them," the black lotus reported.

"Thank you, Senior!" Xiao Nanfeng said.

"It's a pity that no bodhisattvas appeared. Only that roc was a cursed effigy, but it was too fast for me to catch up to."

"Those cursed effigies are Yin Shenhua's most trusted subordinates, and I don't expect he'll send them out until late into the war. Perhaps he's guarding against you, too," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Forget it. There'll be more opportunities yet. I still have to finish digesting the bodhisattvas and three Buddhas I devoured, too."

"How strong are you now, Senior?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.

"After I finish distilling this Buddha, I'll be about as strong as Emperor Feng initially was. It won't be enough to deal with Yin Shenhua yet."

"I'll come up with ideas to help you regain your strength more quickly, Senior."

"Very well." The black lotus retired within Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape.

After a day and a night of fighting, the first confrontation of the war had finally ended.

Of the fifty thousand Dayin Immortals, five thousand had managed to escape. The remainder perished or surrendered. Those that had been killed were given as fertilizer to Xiao Nanfeng's blood peach tree, while those that had surrendered were detained.

Countless forces had been eyeing the war. When they learned of what happened from the very first clash, they were incredibly shocked.

"This can't be. How could Dazheng have won to such an incredible extent during its first clash against Dayin?"

"You can't say that, can you? The Imperial Court lost one of its Martial Aspects!"

"The Martial Aspect of Bluefrost is on the weaker side as Martial Aspects go. He was merely unlucky."

The discussion among the forces grew more and more heated. They couldn't help but be shocked at the hidden forces of Dazheng that had propelled it to a sudden victory.

At the same time, within Xuanhuang Hall in Yongding, Xiao Nanfeng sat hosting a session of court. He wore red draconic robes with golden trim and a red crown as he stared at his ebullient, indignant officials.

"Your Majesty, fifty thousand Immortals from Dayin tried to kill all the civilians of Dazheng! If we hadn't made sufficient preparations, our entire empire might be done for. We can't let things stand like this. I, Ye Sanshui, volunteer to lead an army against Dayin!"

"Your Majesty, let us bring war to Dayin!" the other officials echoed.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded firmly. "Yin Shenhua attempted to destroy Dazheng as a matter of enmity between our empires, but to do so by striking at ordinary civilians is barbaric and demonic. Today, I hereby announce the formation of a demon-slaying army. Ye Sanshui shall serve as commander, and Ye Dafu as vice-commander. Raise the army immediately. It shall march against Dayin and slay the demons of the land for the good of the world!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ye Sanshui shouted.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ye Dafu echoed.

"Wise is Your Majesty!" the courtly officials agreed.

Dazheng was formally sending an army against Dayin.

In the imperial study within Dayin's capital, Yin Shenhua was glaring at the reports before him. The second prince Yin Peng and a group of officials had gathered in the study alongside him.

"A demon-slaying army? Ha!" Yin Shenhua scoffed.

"Father, though we've suffered significant losses, we managed to kill a Martial Aspect of the Imperial Court. It was hardly a great victory for Xiao Nanfeng. But what informed your decision not to send more subordinates over? Perhaps we might have been able to take down all four Martial Aspects..." Yin Peng murmured.

"Don't underestimate Xiao Nanfeng's cursed effigy," Yin Shenhua warned.

"Oh?"

A monk beside them explained, "The ancestral Buddha is taking advantage of this opportunity to probe that cursed effigy's strength. If we had accompanied you and it had discovered us, Xiao Nanfeng would surely have alerted Ao Canghai. There would have been more than four Martial Aspects heading to the battlefield in that case."

"Have you uncovered the cursed effigy's identity?" Yin Peng asked.

Everyone turned to Yin Shenhua.

Yin Shenhua shook his head. "Not yet, but the fact that it can detect your presence sensitively and devour these golden lotus hood cursed spiritual avatars at will—I have two suspects in mind."

"Oh?"

"One is the true Past Buddha."

"Father, didn't you say that it couldn't be the Past Buddha?" Yin Peng asked.

"Perhaps someone has entered a symbiotic relationship with the Past Buddha, suppressed its will, and stolen its cultivation. Possession, in other words."

"Oh? And what's the alternative?"

Yin Shenhua frowned. He seemed a little worried. "Perhaps that cursed effigy is the Venerable Buddha."

"The Venerable Buddha?" Everyone in the study seemed to gape.

"Wasn't the Venerable Buddha killed in the past?" Yin Peng exclaimed.

"It was once the supreme cultivator of his era. Don't you think it would have aces up its sleeve? It too attuned to the original golden lotus hood, so it shares the powers of the Buddhas of Three Aspects."

Yin Peng's eyes twitched. "But it's no longer the Venerable Buddha's era. So what if it managed to regenerate? From the looks of it, it's still very weak at the moment."

Yin Shenhua nodded. "That's right. Eighty thousand years ago, I was able to supplant it. I'll be able to do the same again."

"Understood!" everyone replied.

"Dazheng's demon-slaying army has already crossed into Dayin's borders. They're a group of thieves and bandits, and we should get rid of them before they can become a threat. Raise a bandit-quelling army in my name. You, Yin Peng, shall be the commander of this army. Lead the spirits into battle against these bandits," Yin Shenhua commanded.

"Yes, Father!" Yin Peng replied.

The next day, the bandit-quelling army was formed under the auspices of the officials of court and announced publicly to the world at large.

By that time, Dazheng's demon-slaying army had officially set off toward Dayin, moving so quickly that the spectating forces were taken aback.

"An ordinary empire, sending troops out against a divine empire... Just what is Xiao Nanfeng thinking?!"

"A demon-slaying army, followed by a bandit-quelling army—doesn't it take a tremendous amount of time to raise an army? How could Dazheng and Dayin have done it in just a few days? Isn't that way too fast?"

"The two armies must have been all but ready to begin with. Dayin was poised to rebel against the Imperial Court, so that's understandable. As for Dazheng, on the other hand—it must have been preparing to take on Dayin well in advance if it already has an army, but that's ridiculous!"

The spectating forces observed the confrontation between Dazheng and Dayin with bated breath.

What would Dazheng, which had shown itself to be a worthy opponent from the very first clash, do next?