The chariots on both flanks opened fire first. The shells ignited midair, turning into meteoric fireballs that crashed down upon both flanks of the Song Cui battle formation.
Upon striking the ground, each shell burst into a ring of fire that burned in eerie silence. Strangely, the flames could not ignite physical matter at all; yet the moment a person was touched by so much as a spark, their entire body would burst into flames.
One burning soldier after another shrieked in terror, but all in vain. The flames could not be extinguished by any means. In the blink of an eye, the burning soldiers collapsed to the ground. The dusky flames continued to burn quietly, yet their corpses bore not a single wound.
This uncanny sight terrified the Song Cui soldiers. Fortunately, even if one stood merely a step away from the blazing ring, so long as there was no contact, the flames would not catch. Thus, those closest to the fire scrambled backward frantically, subtly compressing both flanks inward against the center. The formation began to lose order.
The chariots fired continuously, forging corridors of fire along both flanks and forcing the wings back into the center, brutally squeezing their formation into a narrow rectangle. Some soldiers in the center resisted the press, only to face the drawn blades of their comrades from the flanks; dozens were hacked down in an instant. The flanking troops preferred facing military execution over burning to death in that eerie fire.
"Karmic fire!" Cui Chengxiao cried in shock and fury, pointing at Zhang Sheng. "What vicious, venomous methods!"
Zhang Sheng cupped her hands. "Not compared to your esteemed wife's."
Cui Chengxiao was apoplectic, so enraged he was momentarily at a loss for words. "Then there is no helping it—today I have no choice but to bully a junior!"
Zhang Sheng stood with her hands clasped behind her back. "The enemy challenges us to battle. If you do not meet him now, what are you waiting for?"
In the rear ranks, Feng Chutang looked completely helpless and glared hard at Zhang Sheng. However, his entire face was concealed behind a visor, leaving his expression hidden.
Feng Chutang vaulted into the air to intercept Cui Chengxiao. Above his head, an Underworld Dragon raised its head from among the ruins.
Cui Chengxiao said in a heavy voice, "Your dharma idol is extraordinarily rare, and you have a bright future ahead of you. Why throw it away here? Step down, and I will stay my hand."
Cui Chengxiao made no move, and Feng Chutang stayed his hand as well, replying, "Our two houses were once on friendly terms, bordering on an alliance. Why must things come to such a pass? Is this truly what the Cui family's Immortal Ancestor would desire?"
Cui Chengxiao's expression did not waver. "How can mere mortals divine the grand designs of an Immortal Ancestor? Our generation need only act according to directives. But now that you have used karmic fire to slaughter our soldiers, this matter can no longer end peacefully."
Feng Chutang retorted, "Karmic fire is merely a weapon, and it brings a swift death. But your side tortured and butchered our entire diplomatic mission first, and we possess indisputable proof! How does such savage cruelty differ from the alien races? Once this is made public, the world will judge right from wrong for itself!"
Just then, the woman below snapped in fury, "He is nothing but a mere junior! Why haven't you struck him down? What are you waiting for?!"
Cui Chengxiao sighed inwardly, knowing that reason was futile now. He said to Feng Chutang, "If you find yourself outmatched, simply withdraw on your own. I am bullying a junior, so naturally I will not truly deal a fatal blow."
He was still leaving room for maneuver. As a veteran Scenery Command cultivator, Cui Chengxiao possessed ample discernment and experience; he knew that someone with a rare immortal manifestation like Feng Chutang was bound to be highly prized by the Palace of Grand Beginning. If he were truly to kill the young man or even merely damage his cultivation path, Feng Chutang's masters and sect would never let the matter rest. When that day came, the one to suffer would be Cui Chengxiao himself; at most, the woman in palace attire would receive a scolding and be confined for a few decades before the storm blew over.
Unexpectedly, Feng Chutang did not appreciate the sentiment at all. He simply said, "There is no reason to flee halfway through a battle! Senior, after you!"
Cui Chengxiao's face darkened. "I have yielded time and again. Since you fail to appreciate my goodwill, I have no choice but to teach you a lesson! Make your move!"
Feng Chutang immediately drew out a dark-red talisman and slapped it onto his flanged mace. Blazing karmic fire ignited across the mace head in an instant! With a casual sweep, Feng Chutang cast a broad ring of fire.
Seeing Cui Chengxiao's sour look, Feng Chutang smiled faintly. "Be careful, Senior. This karmic fire not only burns karma, but can also damage one's mindscape world. With karma as heavy as yours, Senior, it would be best not to let even a speck touch you."
With that, Feng Chutang drove straight down the center, thrusting his mace directly at Cui Chengxiao's chest! Stirred by daoist power, the flames on the mace head flared outward several zhang in an instant, scattering sparks in all directions.
Cui Chengxiao's expression turned as dark as could be. He had no choice but to dodge aside. As the karmic fire neared, a foul stench even drifted into his nostrils. Cui Chengxiao's heart gave a sudden thud, instantly reminding him of several deeds from his younger years that had incurred grave karmic debts.
Feng Chutang pressed his advantage relentlessly, thrusting the mace toward Cui Chengxiao again and again while continuously twirling it to fling fiery sparks everywhere.
Down below, the Qingming battle formation had closed in before the Song Cui army. The Song Cui host had loosed two volleys of arrows, though raggedly, and the Qingming warriors easily caught them on their raised shields. Before the giant shields and heavy armor of the Qingming soldiers, the standard arrows of the Song troops were utterly useless.
In the blink of an eye, the two sides drew within ten zhang of each other. The Qingming army maintained perfect cadence, every warrior marching in unison. Their footsteps thumped like the war drums of a giant, echoing in the heart of every Song soldier. The earth shook and trembled beneath them; many Song soldiers could not tell whether the ground was swaying or their own legs were shaking.
Fear showed in the eyes of the front-rank Song soldiers. Suddenly, a warrior broke from the formation, howling as he charged toward the Qingming lines all by himself.
With a roaring blast and a flash of fire, the charging Song soldier flew backward through the air. His chest and face were a mangled ruin of flesh and blood, nearly half his body shredded away.
The Qingming soldier who had fired kept marching forward in lockstep with the rest, the faint wisp of blue smoke curling from his muzzle the only proof that he had fired at all.
When the distance closed by another three zhang, each side could clearly see the eyes of the other. All at once, the Qingming soldiers raised their guns and fired in unison. A dense shower of lead shot blanketed the air and tore into the Song ranks, mowing down the entire front line in an instant, smashing some men to pieces along with their shields!
The Qingming phalanx advanced two paces and fired another volley. The Song army's second, third, and fourth ranks were scythed down like weeds!
The exposed rear ranks of the Song army fell into chaos—some surged forward, some froze in place, and others tried desperately to shove backward. But with karmic fire still blazing on both flanks, the sides had already been forced inward into the center, warping the formation from a broad horizontal rectangle into an elongated vertical one. The center was hopelessly packed; those in front wanted to retreat, but how could they push through the crush?
The few Song soldiers who threw themselves toward the Qingming lines met a chilling row of gleaming blades! The double-barreled fire guns issued to Qingming's heavy legion were fitted with three-foot cleaving bayonets; gun and blade together weighed nearly a hundred jin, requiring at least great completion in Body Casting to wield.
When such a blade struck down, man and horse alike were cleaved to pieces!
The charging Song soldiers were instantly chopped into bloody remnants. Then the first rank of Qingming warriors broke into a sudden charge, building momentum over a few zhang before slamming their several hundred jin of armor and gear straight into the Song lines!
The Song formation shuddered violently and was compressed backward by several feet! Packed solid from behind, the men had no room to move, and some soldiers trapped in the middle were suffocated and crushed to death right where they stood!
Row upon row of cleaving blades rose high and fell in rolling succession. Before the Song lines, waves of blood sprayed into the air as severed heads and limbs flew in every direction.
Along the flanks there was no path of retreat. The chariots kept firing, rekindling patches where the karmic fire had burned down to maintain continuous long walls of flame.
From the start of the battle, the Qingming warriors had remained utterly silent. Now they simply collided, cleaved, collided, and cleaved again in mechanical repetition, turning the clash of battle into a slaughterhouse routine.
In the chariot to the rear, the woman in palace attire had gone deathly pale. She had already smashed everything within reach, yet no matter how her generals pleaded, she adamantly refused to order a retreat.
Suddenly, she shrieked, "You dare use karmic fire... Fine, burn then! The more you burn, the better! The more karmic fire you wield, the more horrible your own deaths will be! Trading tens of thousands of ants for a genius who can wield karmic fire is no loss at all!"
Above the battlefield, Feng Chutang brandished his flaming flanged mace, chasing Cui Chengxiao all over the sky. Just when Cui Chengxiao finally managed to hold out until the karmic fire on the mace burned out, he saw Feng Chutang slap another talisman onto the weapon, sending Cui Chengxiao scrambling for his life once again.
Chapter 925