Pfft

Back when he was in the Soul Condensation Realm, Xu Yuan knew that military arrays were formidable—formidable enough that few high-stage cultivators dared to stand against one head-on. Even so, he had possessed only a rudimentary notion of their true might. The moment Li Qingyan seized his wrist, Xu Yuan suddenly understood why the Barbarian King had held back earlier. A sudden jolt of trepidation and imminent doom had gripped him, as though he were locked in the sights of some primeval behemoth. "..." Their eyes met for a heartbeat. Xu Yuan’s expression turned solemn, and his tone grew utterly dignified. "What I meant was, if you're ever in a good mood down the road, you could consider showing me a little bit of respect." "The nerve of you." Li Qingyan rolled her eyes at him. Her red lips curved into a faint, inadvertent smile as she released his hand. "This princess will head into the city first to arrange matters. With that bizarre qi of yours, flying straight in might make you a target." With that, without waiting for his reply, she accelerated sharply. In an instant, she pulled far ahead of the other three, streaking toward the colossal city nestled within the canyon. "..." Watching that graceful red figure vanish into the massive stronghold, Xu Yuan turned back to glare at Luo Xiran, who was biting back a laugh. "What are you looking at?" Luo Xiran answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "Looking at you get put in your place, of course, brat." "..." Xu Yuan had no words. "A brat is a brat after all. Pouting already?" Luo Xiran let out an airy, graceful chuckle before asking with a hint of curiosity, "What method did your princess just use? It elevated her aura by several tiers in an instant without the slightest backlash." Xu Yuan rolled his eyes at the old woman. "Hah, why should I tell—" "Elder Brother." "..." Clad in a lake-blue palace gown, the gentle woman looked as pure as water. Her flawless face beamed as her bright eyes curved into crescent moons. "Elder Brother, would you be so kind as to explain it to Xiran?" "..." Giving the old woman a long, hard look, Xu Yuan let out an exasperated sigh. "A military array. A path of cultivation that has risen only in the past few thousand years. As for the specifics, you can ask Li Qingyan later." "A military array... a mortal array?" Luo Xiran murmured, as though reminded of something. A flicker of intrigue passed through her bright eyes, but she soon turned back to Xu Yuan with a radiant smile. "Brat, though the qi dynamic she displayed just now was powerful, she still shouldn't be your match." "Heh." Xu Yuan could not be bothered to indulge this fickle old woman. Watching the Barbarian Sacred City draw closer and closer, he replied indifferently, "I know that, of course. A slight probe was enough to tell me Qingyan is no match for me." Luo Xiran raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. "Oh? You actually know how to show tenderness toward a woman?" "Tsk, wasn't your head working fine before?" Xu Yuan looked at her as if she were a fool. "If I don't yield to her now, who's going to back me up when my aberrant ghost cultivation fades and she pins me down to bully me every day? You?" "..." Luo Xiran fell silent. After a beat, Xu Yuan added under his breath, "Besides, what she showed just now was merely an embryonic form of the array. It wasn't fully deployed." When the three of them flew above the Barbarian Sacred City and looked down from the sky, Xu Yuan's very first impression was how desolate it felt. It was cavernous to an extreme; on many streets, not a single figure could be seen. The thought had barely crossed his mind before Xu Yuan shook his head. A city built to house a million souls was now garrisoned by barely ten thousand. It was only natural that it felt empty. As for the million barbarians who had once lived here... Xu Yuan's gaze swept over the hundreds of snow-covered mounds outside the city walls. *Right, they've probably all moved in there.* "..." Talk about morbid humor. Silently murmuring a few prayers for virtue and merit, Xu Yuan turned his attention to the perimeter walls. Just as he had expected, most of the Beifeng White Armors were stationed near the ramparts. At this moment, the soldiers who had been resting or rotating shifts were already mobilized by Li Qingyan's arrival. Many rushed out of their quarters before even fastening their armor properly, donning their gear on the run. Some dashed to assemble, others ran toward the stables to fetch mounts, while still others hurried to haul supplies. The scene appeared somewhat chaotic for a moment, resembling an urgent assembly under emergency orders. While he was lost in thought, Li Qingyan's voice drifted up from below. "Changtian, over here." "..." Xu Yuan followed the trace of Source Qi to its origin. Clad in vivid red, she stood atop the city wall, waving up at him. The three descended together. Luo Xiran sensed her surroundings with curious detachment, while Bai Muxi gingerly took in everything on the ground. Xu Yuan walked straight over to Li Qingyan. Glancing down at the activity below the battlements, he asked with a smile, "Qingyan, what are you preparing for?" Li Qingyan replied without hesitation, "Can't you see for yourself? Preparing for battle, of course." "What?" Xu Yuan blurted out. "Preparing for battle?" Li Qingyan glanced at him, smiling. "Changtian, if you were the Barbarian King, what is the very first thing you would do after emerging from the underground palace?" "..." Xu Yuan's brows knit as he turned the question over in his mind. After leaving the underground palace, the Barbarian King had two choices: north or south. First, head south to return to the Great Yan front. Second, head north to return to this Sacred City. Barely ten-odd days had passed since they entered the subterranean halls. At the speed of a Saint, the Barbarian King could reach the front lines within Great Yan in two to three days. If Xu Yuan were the Barbarian King, upon emerging, he would almost certainly use his newfound Saint cultivation to rush back to the battlefield within Great Yan in the shortest possible time. Whether measured by strategic importance, urgency, or the timeline of events, rushing to Great Yan to take personal command of those hundreds of thousands of Barbarian elites was the best course of action. So long as the Barbarian army avoided a decisive confrontation, a war involving a million troops was unlikely to conclude within a few weeks. If his subordinate tribal chieftains directed the forces properly, they might even preserve enough strength to put up a fight against Zong Qingsheng. And the Sacred City? The Land of Utter Darkness was so vast that Marquis Wucheng might not even manage to find it— At that thought, Xu Yuan froze. A memory suddenly struck him—one that made him want to slap himself across the face. Back when he was bluffing the Barbarian King into cooperation inside the underground palace, he seemed to have... blurted out the location of the Barbarian Sacred City directly. Even though he had never actually given Marquis Wucheng the exact coordinates, would the Barbarian King believe that? The answer was an undeniable no. That single piece of information would almost certainly dictate the Barbarian King's decision. His fists tightened slightly, and gravity crept into Xu Yuan's gaze. "The Barbarian King will come to the Sacred City. Break camp and withdraw north immediately." Noticing the sudden change in his expression, Li Qingyan offered gentle reassurance. "Don't worry too much, Changtian. Although I ordered our forces to prepare for battle, standard logic dictates that he should head for—" "No, he will definitely come here," Xu Yuan cut in. "What?" A look of confusion flashed across Li Qingyan's eyes. Xu Yuan took a deep breath, staring directly into her lovely eyes with utmost solemnity. "I'm telling you, the Barbarian King will definitely come, and he should be arriving soon." "..." Their gazes locked for a moment. Seeing the unwavering seriousness in his eyes, Li Qingyan slowly narrowed her phoenix eyes. "Are you certain?" Xu Yuan's tone was heavy. "Certain." Li Qingyan went quiet for several breaths. Then, her crimson lips softened into a gentle smile, and she gave him a nod. "Very well. I believe you." "..." Hearing that, Xu Yuan breathed an inward sigh of relief. He had genuinely worried that once this chest-binding princess returned aboveground, she would revert to her stubborn, standard operating procedures. After all, he had no way to explain the slip-up—he couldn't very well pin this blunder onto Old Man Luo's head again, could he? Yet Xu Yuan soon realized something was amiss. The chest-binding princess had agreed with her words, but made no move whatsoever. "..." Licking his lips, Xu Yuan asked hesitantly, "Qingyan, aren't you... going to give orders?" Li Qingyan raised a slender, jade-like finger, pointing toward the soldiers forming ranks below the gate tower, and smiled. "Haven't I already done so?" "No, wait." Xu Yuan clicked his tongue, glancing toward the southwest. "The Barbarian King is arriving soon!" "So what if he comes?" "He has attained Sainthood." "And?" "..." *We're doomed.* Xu Yuan finally understood what Li Qingyan intended to do. Carefully weighing his words, Xu Yuan said in a low voice, "Qingyan, if the Barbarian King dares to come to the Sacred City, he must be resolved to die. I shouldn't need to tell you how terrifying a Saint with a death wish is. Our best move is to avoid the brunt of his fury for now and rendezvous with Marquis Wucheng." "*I* should avoid his brunt?" "..." Xu Yuan choked. The smile on Li Qingyan's lips slowly faded. A fierce edge of baleful intent, one Xu Yuan had never seen before, surfaced between her valiant brows. The piercing glare in her phoenix eyes was enough to make anyone avert their gaze. "We could withdraw. "But what about the ten thousand soldiers in this city?" "..." Xu Yuan fell silent. "Fleeing before the enemy while commanding a military array—this princess cannot do it." Li Qingyan took a deep breath. A crimson blade materialized out of thin air into her palm. Looking out toward the dark southwestern horizon, she said with a faint smile, "If you wish to leave, Changtian, then you may—" *Smack—* A crisp slap rang out, cutting her words short. Beneath the red robe, her firm, shapely curves rippled with a sensual tremor. "..." Luo Xiran's eyes widened in astonishment, her red lips parting into a tiny 'o'. "..." Bai Muxi blinked her bright eyes and instinctively shrank her neck. "..." Li Qingyan's entire body froze stiff. Then, her voice shook with tightly suppressed fury. "Xu... Xu Changtian! I am in no mood to joke with you right now!" The moment the words left her mouth, the flaming crimson blade rested directly against Xu Yuan's neck. "..." Looking at the razor-sharp edge pressed to his throat, Xu Yuan took a step forward with a chuckling grin. The blade sliced into his skin, and blood trickled along the cut. Seeing this, Li Qingyan's delicate brows furrowed, and she reflexively drew the blade back. Her concession allowed Xu Yuan to step right up against her. After gazing into her eyes at point-blank range for a fleeting second, Xu Yuan reached out and swept Li Qingyan's soft, supple form into his arms. With soothing familiarity, his hands kneaded the peach-like bottom he had just struck, and he spoke in a tender murmur: "Come on, this young master is a Transcendent aberrant ghost right now, after all." At the insolent motion of his hands, Li Qingyan's frosty composure betrayed a faint blush. Her voice turned chillingly cold. "So... you're not leaving?" Xu Yuan looked at her with a smile and gave a nod, his hands tightening their grip. "Since you're staying, how could I possibly abandon you?" "Heh, is that so..." Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes lowered slightly. The jade hand gripping the hilt tightened, and as she felt his wandering fingers drifting ever lower, she suddenly asked with a smile, "Changtian, did you just say you still have the body of an aberrant ghost?" "Hm?" Confused, Xu Yuan let his roving hands continue their work as he answered instinctively, "Yeah, what about—" *Pfft!* or2