Tou Youlu was vomiting. A horde of three-headed people bypassed him and continued charging toward Wuyouping.
The giant head spun halfway around. Tou Youlu felt deeply insulted.
"Even if you don't think I can fight, at the very least you should be able to tell I'm handsome! Leaving without even glancing my way—what's that supposed to mean?"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Everyone who passed by Tou Youlu, no matter how many legs they had, found them tangled together and crashed to the ground.
Eighteen Wheels seized the chance to surge forward, rolling over them and sending flesh and blood flying.
Tou Youlu leaped onto the carriage roof. Wherever his gaze fell, three-headed men burst apart one after another.
Hong Ying exclaimed in admiration, "This big head really knows how to use Viewing Flowers from Horseback!"
Watching with a pounding heart, Nian Shangyou asked Qiao Yi, "My Lord, shouldn't we send reinforcements?"
Qiao Yi shook his head. "No need. Just command the field."
Faced with such formidable enemies, how was he supposed to command?
Seeing Eighteen Wheels charging with terrifying ferocity, Nian Shangyou first ordered the army's Travel Cultivators to assemble and erect obstacles together.
Upon receiving the order, the Travel Cultivators gathered in one spot and cast Sever the Path to Forge a Way. Layer upon layer of trenches opened across the battle formation, but Eighteen Wheels feared nothing—he could fly.
With his train wheels hovering an inch off the ground, the trenches instantly became useless. The Old Train blew his whistle, spun his wheels, and kept plowing into the enemy ranks.
The enemy shifted tactics. Silt churned within the trenches, raising wall after wall of earth.
Eighteen Wheels rammed through several walls in succession, then suddenly came to a dead stop.
Tou Youlu asked, "What happened? Feeling sore after just a couple of crashes?"
It wasn't pain; a massive amount of silt had jammed between the connecting rods and the axles, freezing the wheels.
Even though the wheels didn't touch the ground, if they couldn't turn, the Old Train couldn't move.
Tou Youlu drew a deep breath and whipped up a large vortex around the wheels, hoping to suck out the mud and sand.
After pulling at it for a moment, the mud didn't budge at all. The Old Train sensed something wrong inside the wheels. "Damn it, they're using glue!"
The earthen walls had only been meant to slow the Old Train down. What truly gummed up the wheels and rods was glue mixed into the sand. In an army of ten thousand men and thirty thousand heads, every Path was represented, and the dozens of Glue Cultivators hidden in the ranks had succeeded in their ambush.
Another wave of sand and mud surged toward the Old Train. Sensing danger, Tou Youlu quickly flew into the sky. Hong Ying used Sever the Path to Forge a Way to raise a snow wall, blocking the brunt of the sludge for the Old Train.
Sludge splashed everywhere, splattering all over the Old Train's body, seemingly doing no harm.
Li Banfeng moved to step in and rescue the Old Train, but the Old Train urgently barked, "Brother, stay back! There are Rot Cultivators!"
What was a Rot Cultivator?
Li Banfeng was taken aback, only to see flecks of rust cropping up across the Old Train's body.
Tou Youlu spotted someone in the enemy ranks using a Rot Cultivator technique. That person's face was mottled with rust spots, and he was channeling power in secret, aiming to rust the Old Train right through.
"Rot Cultivators actually exist in this world? Rare specimens like this are hard to come by!" Tou Youlu flung the Rot Cultivator into the air and brought him crashing to the ground, smashing him to a pulp.
He thought this would save the Old Train, but unexpectedly, the rust on the Old Train's body only deepened, threatening to corrode completely through.
There were more Rot Cultivators in the enemy host!
Rot Cultivators had been extinct for many years; how could there be more than one among the enemy?
In his cavern, Qiao Yi took a sip of tea. "Every setback Great Shang ever suffered has been carved stroke by stroke into the Great Totem."
The Old Train shouted to everyone, "Don't mind me! Keep killing the enemy!"
As he spoke, a layer of black water welled up over the Old Train's body, streamed down the hull, turned yellow, and seeped into the axles.
How could a grandmaster artisan cultivator be so easily subdued? The Old Train had plenty of tricks left. Rust dissolved above while glue cleared below, and the wheels began to turn once more.
Yet the Glue Cultivators and Rot Cultivators were too numerous. The Old Train could not remove the rust as fast as it spread, and the freshly freed axles soon seized up again.
Li Banfeng and Hong Ying kept fighting through the enemy ranks, while Tou Youlu hovered overhead, hurling and slamming enemies, clearing swathes at a time.
A shroud of mist enveloped Tou Youlu. He felt a mild burning pain, which meant poison lurked within the fog.
Ordinary poisons were nothing to him, but the mist contained countless varieties—nearly every toxic property in existence was represented. There was no telling which one might bring Tou Youlu down.
The poisonous mist pressed downward. To evade it, Tou Youlu had no choice but to dive. At low altitude, nets woven by Garment Cultivators hemmed him in on all sides, and Arrow Cultivators loosed volley after volley, forcing Tou Youlu to the ground.
Landing wasn't easy for him. Tou Youlu had no feet; to touch down, he had to form a vortex beneath his neck to pull himself downward, and regulating that force had always been tricky.
This time the pull was clearly too strong. With a loud splat, Tou Youlu crashed heavily into a mud pit.
The Mud Cultivators had already prepared a swamp on the ground. The moment Tou Youlu landed, his mouth and nose sank into the muddy water.
Hong Ying surged forward to rescue Tou Youlu, but just as she drew near, her movements abruptly slowed.
With a long spear as her skeleton, flesh and blood had grown over it, making her feel no different from the revived Zhao Xiaowan.
Yet she had forgotten one thing: this long spear could also rust.
Now that the spearhead had rusted, it seemed to rust Hong Ying's core, leaving Yingying's body stiff and clumsy.
Of four top-tier Travel Cultivators, three were trapped in the blink of an eye. Relying on his multiple Paths, Li Banfeng struggled on bitterly.
Watching through his mirror, Qiao Yi's lips curled into an uncontrollable smile.
This time, Nian Shangyou felt genuine admiration for Qiao Yi. The Totem Army Qiao Yi had forged was truly formidable.
Facing such mighty foes in their very first clash, and unfamiliar with their formations or tactics, the Totem Army's adaptability, coordination, and combat prowess were beyond reproach.
*Hoooot!*
A blast of the train whistle shattered Qiao Yi's smile. The Old Train broke free from the grip of the Glue Cultivators and Rot Cultivators, once again rampaging through the battle ranks.
Nian Shangyou sighed with feeling. "A grandmaster artisan cultivator after all. He knows far too many techniques."
"It isn't just techniques!" As a Scrying Cultivator peering through his mirror, Qiao Yi spotted changes on the Old Train's body.
The Old Train sent over a dozen soldiers flying, and Qiao Yi saw their reflections gleam on his surface.
He was glistening, coated in a layer of oil!
It was thanks to this layer of oil that the Rot Cultivators' corrosion was warded off, and the Glue Cultivators' adhesive failed to stick to the Old Train's wheels.
Where had this oil come from?
Chaos reigned over the battlefield, and the mirror's field of view was limited. Only after observing for a long while did Qiao Yi catch a clue.
A figure was sprawled across the Old Train. Could the oil have come from him?
The mirror's surface rippled. As the Old Train rushed past Hong Ying, he first helped strip away her rust.
The man on the train cast a technique as well, smearing a coat of grease onto Hong Ying's spearpoint. Hong Ying, previously stiff and sluggish, gradually regained her agile form.
"Is that Lian Buda?" Qiao Yi murmured. "And where did Lian Buda come from?"
If the Old Train had brought him, he should have joined the battle long ago instead of waiting until now.
If someone else had brought him, where was that person?
Amid his contemplation, a song suddenly drifted across the battlefield:
"Oh darling brother~ walk a little slower, won't you? The horse-blossoms on the mountain have bloomed!"
The Totem Army did not recognize the tune, nor did they find anything unusual about it.
All they saw was a cloud of fist-sized bombs flying through the air, roughly three to five hundred in total.
A group of Food Cultivator soldiers rushed forward, gulping down the bombs one by one.
Just as A'yi was feeling astonished, Tou Youlu raised his head from the swamp. His eyes swept across the hundreds of Food Cultivators, lighting up every single one of them.
Li Banfeng shouted in praise, "Good sister! Good Old Ancestor!"
Taking hundreds of shadows with him, he charged into the enemy ranks. One shadow to one man, they pinned down the glowing Food Cultivators and beat them to death!
Hong Ying darted through the formation, providing lethal support back and forth. In the blink of an eye, the Food Cultivators were slaughtered to the last man.
Nian Shangyou said in shock, "Their teamwork is incredibly seamless."
Qiao Yi shook his head repeatedly. "It's not as simple as teamwork."
A'yi threw bombs, and the Food Cultivators ate them; that was standard discipline for the Totem Army, perfectly logical.
Yet while Tou Youlu was locked in a bitter struggle in the mire, he had the leisure to notice elsewhere and mark every single Food Cultivator with uncanny precision.
In such a brief window, how could he make such accurate judgments?
The only reasonable explanation was sheer luck.
Tou Youlu's luck was indeed good. Amid the fierce fighting, sensing danger above, he had looked up. Fearing he wouldn't see clearly, he channeled Carrying a Torch into the Night with that glance.
And thanks to his masterful technique, that single look illuminated every Food Cultivator.
How could his luck be so extraordinary?
Tou Youlu was baffled himself, but there was no time to ponder it. His mouth and nose were still steeped in the swamp, and a thick canopy of poison fog hung over his head; his situation remained dire.
*Whoosh!* A gust of freezing wind blew over, scattering the poisonous mist.
Overjoyed, Tou Youlu immediately used Riding the Wind and Clouds to soar into the air. A cluster of Poison Cultivators was still replenishing the venomous fog, and Tou Youlu saw their movements clearly.
A single sweep of his gaze lit up the Poison Cultivators as well.
"Old Seven! Eighteen Wheels!" Tou Youlu bellowed. "Wipe out their Path!"
"Wiping out a Path" meant slaughtering all enemy soldiers of the same discipline, depriving them of that countermeasure entirely.
As Tou Youlu slew his enemies, he marveled at his good fortune, only for Granny Ku's voice to ring out behind him: "Big head! What you owe me, you'll have to pay back."
His luck was good because Granny Ku had lent him her fortune.
Tou Youlu didn't care to humor Granny Ku, so Granny Ku took back the luck. Immediately, a group of Arrow Cultivators surrounded Tou Youlu and loosed a relentless storm of arrows.
Amid the rain of arrows, Tou Youlu activated Free and Unfettered, dodging with great amusement and seemingly under zero pressure.
In the distance, Lu Qianjiao drew her bow, releasing ten arrows at once to hunt down the Arrow Cultivators.
Tou Youlu made a point to glance down.
Lu Qianjiao was such a handsome woman, and she was helping him so earnestly; she had to harbor feelings for him.
It made Tou Youlu eager to record a tale of a talented man and a lovely woman in the *Floating Clouds Gazette*.
Not only Lu Qianjiao, but another stunning woman was present—though she seemed quite fond of Old Seven.
Sui Chanxin, Founder of Charm Cultivators, arrived beside Li Banfeng. Using her bewitching arts, she made many would-be ambushers reluctant to strike him. She spoke softly to Li Banfeng: "Lord Seven, are you still holding past grudges against me?"
"I'm not, but she might."
"Who do you mean?"
Sui Chanxin turned her head, nearly getting impaled by Hong Ying's spear.
Qiu Luoye plowed through a crowd of enemies to clear space for Shui Yongquan. Shui Yongquan summoned a water formation, strafing the enemy ranks with bullet-sized water droplets.
Behind the enemy, Liu Hutian, Founder of Wine Cultivators, unleashed a torrent of strong liquor. Eighteen Wheels rushed close and ignited it, setting ablaze a vast sea of enemy soldiers.
When the enemy attempted to shift formations, Grandmaster Garment Cultivator Feng Xuanzhen released layers of needles and thread, weaving and entangling their feet.
Li Banfeng was puzzled. Why had this crowd showed up? Weren't they making trouble alongside Hen Wuyou at the Ink Fragrance Shop?
Could it be they weren't working for the Inner Province after all?
Or had they had a change of heart after seeing the tides shift?
Qiao Wuzui glanced at Ye Jianhuang. "Don't just stand there! Let's light some fires too, brother!"
Song Qianhun looked at Gui Jianchou. "You claim you have more ghost servants than I do? Bring them out and let's see!"
The two of them truly released their ghost servants, and the tide of battle turned.
Combined, their ghost servants numbered over ten thousand. As they clashed, a sense of parity in sheer numbers swept the field.
Among the enemy ranks, a three-headed vulture took to the air. One head shrieked mournfully, one snarled hoarsely, and the third spoke in human tongue:
"Heavenly Dipper purges filth, Earthly Fiends incinerate form; Xun winds bind souls, Li fire tempers the essence; Five Thunders sever all, Nine Nether realms pierce with light; spirits disperse, forms dissolve! Tortoise and snake entwine, tiger roars and dragon bellows; Three Corpses pin bone, Seven Fiends sever sinew; Golden Crow blinds the eye, Jade Rabbit chills the heart; ten thousand ghosts bow down, forever suppressed in darkness!"
Song Qianhun realized something was wrong. He recognized this technique—it was Death Knell Circling the Rafters.
The three heads of this vulture were a Sound Cultivator, a Mourning Cultivator, and a Demon Cultivator.
The Sound Cultivator carried the voice, the Mourning Cultivator chanted the curse, and the Demon Cultivator manipulated the departed souls.
With their cultivation, they certainly couldn't fight Song Qianhun and Gui Jianchou head-on, nor could they wrest control of the ghost servants, but they excelled at demoralizing departed spirits. The fighting spirit of Song Qianhun and Gui Jianchou's ghost servants ebbed significantly.
Lu Qianjiao shot several arrows into the sky to bring the vulture down, only for several hundred three-headed vultures to ascend together. Thick-hided and sharing the damage among themselves, they weathered all the arrows.
Hundreds of three-headed vultures screeched and roared together, draining the ghost servants of all will to fight.
Under these conditions, Gui Jianchou and Song Qianhun could no longer take part in the battle.
As the two wracked their brains for a counter, a crane's cry rang through the sky. Bai Wusong led the White Crane Gang charging upward, grappling the three-headed vultures in midair in a furious melee.
Bogged down in bitter combat, the vultures could no longer suppress the ghost servants. Once the ghost servants rejoined the fray, the battle reached a turning point.
Nian Shangyou turned to Qiao Yi. "My Lord, the situation looks grim. We must send reinforcements."
Qiao Yi remained silent. With so many top experts from Puluo Province arriving, this ten-thousand-strong detachment of the Totem Army could still react properly and keep up a back-and-forth contest.
"Observe a little longer!"
After watching for a while more, Qiao Yi could sit still no longer.
The center of the formation suddenly collapsed as a torrent of golden liquid erupted outward.
Golden light diffused, blanketing half the formation. Xu Han wielded his ladle, slinging out two more cascading waterfalls.
Dealing with a Gold Cultivator was exceedingly tricky; this Path suffered no counter, and the best way was simply to kill the cultivator himself.
Yet killing Xu Han was no simple matter; his daring appearance in the heart of the enemy lines showed he was fully prepared for a bloody fight.
The night soil was fiercely corrosive, forcing soldiers to retreat to either flank. The battle line was severed down the middle, rendering mutual coordination and support nearly impossible.
Qiao Yi ordered, "Instruct the other two columns to reinforce them!"
Nian Shangyou asked, "There are two other columns. Should they also—"
Qiao Yi shook his head. "The remaining two columns will stand by!"
Nian Shangyou transmitted the command, and both columns received the orders.
The detachment trapped in the formation rechecked their bearings and rushed to assist, but their heading remained wrong—Jiu'er was still leading them in circles.
Over on Yuan Miaoping's side, however, things weren't going as smoothly. Illusions were far inferior to actual formations. The enemy rallied their Scrying Cultivators and spotted flaws in the snow.
It wasn't that Yuan Miaoping was careless or that the projector lacked caution. Using the snow as a projection screen inherently invited flaws. In the beginning, Hong Ying had used her technique Walking as on Flat Ground to smooth out the snow; once she left for the fight, the snowfield grew increasingly disordered, and flaws multiplied.
The Totem Army mustered dozens of Fire Cultivators, who spewed flames together, melting the snowfield into slush and puddles.
With melted snow coursing underfoot, the projection blurred and fractured across the rippling water, exposing Yuan Miaoping and the projector.
There was no longer any hope of continuing to delay the enemy. Whether they could even escape was up in the air, given the numerous Travel Cultivators in the enemy ranks.
Staring at the slush on the ground, Yuan Miaoping abruptly jammed her antenna into the water. A powerful surge of electricity shot through, sending the front-line soldiers into violent convulsions.
Seizing this opening, Yuan Miaoping took the projector and bolted.
Yuan Miaoping was not fast—mainly because television sets were poor runners—and the projector's speed was even more limited.
The two thought they were doomed, but after running a few li, they realized the enemy wasn't giving chase.
These foes had no concept of pursuit; having found the correct heading, they rushed directly toward the battlefield to reinforce their comrades.
Yuan Miaoping paused in bewilderment. "Little Projector, they stopped chasing us. So tell me, what do we do now?"
The projector replied, "Can you locate Director Seven? At a time like this, regrouping with him would be best."
Yuan Miaoping pondered for a moment, then looked at the projector. "Have you never dreamed of living a free, unfettered life?"
The projector gave no answer. His lens flickered in bursts. Yuan Miaoping could sense that he was already preparing his Wither technique.
He was merely a magic treasure, while facing him stood the founder of a Path; the gap between them was immense.
Yet the projector showed no fear. Film continued to spin in his chamber; he was documenting art until his final breath.
"Don't be so tense. I didn't say I was going to run. I signed a covenant deed with Li Qi. Let's go meet up with him," Yuan Miaoping sighed. "I truly don't understand why all of you are so loyal to him."
Yuan Miaoping soon sensed the vibrations of combat, and amid the chaotic fray, she even detected one of her own disciples.
"Little Projector, Li Qi is fighting them, and the group from earlier went there too. Are we still going?"
The projector said, "I don't particularly care for the art of the battlefield, but I have no reason not to go."
Yuan Miaoping led the projector toward the battlefield. As her two antennas adjusted, she found the right frequency and reached Song Shu.
Song Shu was locked in combat when Yuan Miaoping's voice reached her ear: "How are things on your end?"
"Founder!" Song Shu gasped in pleasant surprise. "Where are you?"
"Never mind where I am. A column of enemies is heading your way."
"How many?"
"Over ten thousand."
Song Shu was shocked and quickly relayed the news to Li Banfeng.
Though his heart seized, this was well within Li Banfeng's expectations. One could hardly expect a television and a projector to stall them until nightfall.
Their marching straight here was actually a blessing in disguise; if they had kept running south into Wuyouping, Li Banfeng wouldn't have known how to handle them.
Touching Mengde, he checked the time: four-thirty.
Looking at the corpses littering the ground, over half of this enemy force had been wiped out.
Overall, they still held a solid upper hand.
If another ten thousand came, they would just keep fighting. He only hoped they arrived late enough for A'yu to finish setting up the boundary in time.
Li Banfeng had thought it through, but someone nearby hadn't.
"Another ten thousand?!" Grandmaster Scrying Cultivator Zhen Luoming overheard Song Shu's words to Li Banfeng. "What do you mean by ten thousand? You can't possibly mean there are ten thousand more enemy troops like these?!"
The man had a booming voice, and his shout carried across the entire battlefield.
Li Banfeng was busy fighting and didn't bother answering, but the others reacted quite differently.
Not everyone had come prepared for a grueling death match. Some had figured ten thousand enemies wasn't that many and came to see how things stood, never imagining the enemy would be this formidable.
Liu Hutian, Founder of Wine Cultivators, called out, "Gentlemen, we cannot keep fighting like this! We're outnumbered, and we shouldn't throw our lives away for nothing. If you ask me, whether we continue fighting needs careful deliberation!"
As he spoke, Liu Hutian stowed his wine gourd, preparing to pull out.
Half a Mouthful of Yellow Broth Qiao Wuzui asked, "What is it, Founder? Drank your wine too fast and looking for a place to rest?"
Liu Hutian snorted. "Where I go is none of your business!"
Sui Chanxin called out, "Old Liu, don't leave by yourself, take me with you!"
Seeing this, Grandmaster Garment Cultivator Feng Xuanzhen prepared to leave as well.
The founders and grandmasters who had come from the Ink Fragrance Shop were all poised to retreat, yet seeing that Granny Ku hadn't budged, they hesitated to leave just yet. After all, they had all passed through Kucaizhuang; without Granny Ku's nod, they had no way back.
Granny Ku had no intention of retreating. She had brought dozens of Bitter Cultivators, none of whom fell back.
If Granny Ku withdrew now, it would affect not only combat strength but also fortune, so she was determined to hold her ground.
Still, Granny Ku harbored doubts: if another ten thousand arrived, could they truly win?
Nor was she the only one worrying; after battling for so long, the Old Train was nearing exhaustion.
Lian Buda, lying atop the Old Train, said, "Can we think of a way to catch our breath first?"
"Catch our breath how? Go ask the enemy if they'll listen to you!"
Ye Jianhuang wiped blood from his face and asked Qiao Wuzui, "Your founder is leaving. Aren't you following him?"
Qiao Wuzui took a swig of yellow wine, panting heavily. "Why follow him? He's so old—if he kicks the bucket one day, am I supposed to go with him?"
Brave words, yet the hand holding Qiao Wuzui's wine gourd trembled. Few among those present could hold out much longer.
Li Banfeng discussed with the Old Train, suggesting he take those with no stamina left to rest first. Before the Old Train could reply, Li Banfeng heard A'yu's voice: "Old Seven, pull everyone back! The Boundary is set, ready to use in five minutes!"
It was done!
An hour and a half earlier than expected!
Li Banfeng was ecstatic. He whispered to the Old Train, "Let's pull back. The Boundary is ready."
As he spoke, Li Banfeng's legs were shaking; he too could barely stand.
The Old Train asked no questions. Turning around and throwing open his carriage doors, he plowed another circuit through the enemy ranks.
Whenever he came across allies, he scooped them straight into the carriages. In less than two minutes, everyone who wasn't airborne had been packed inside.
Li Banfeng flew into the sky holding Hong Ying, retreating alongside Tou Youlu and the White Crane Gang. In the blink of an eye, only the three-headed men remained on the battlefield, bringing the fighting to an abrupt halt.
The Totem Army regrouped and continued marching south. In their mission, marching south was the top priority; fighting came second, and everything else mattered not at all.
Seeing the Manor Boundary just ahead, Qiao Yi suddenly instructed Nian Shangyou: "Halt the march!"
Nian Shangyou relayed the military command, and the army halted near the line.
No one knew what Qiao Yi intended, and Qiao Yi merely felt that Li Qi's sudden withdrawal was too abrupt.
While the host waited for orders, a sudden cloud of dust and smoke billowed across the snow.
Along a boundary roughly a meter wide, the snow vanished, the soil vanished, and the dead leaves and withered grass all vanished.
Nian Shangyou cried out in shock, "A boundary!"
Qiao Yi shook his head repeatedly. "Wuyouping cannot have a boundary."
Nian Shangyou did not know what to say, for the boundary lay right in front of the army, yet this was indeed against all common sense.
Looking at the dust on the snow, Song Shu whispered to Granny Ku, "How can an uncharted land have a boundary?"
Granny Ku was dumbfounded as well. If Wuyouping could have a boundary, did that mean Kucaizhuang might have one in the future too?
That was certainly not an outcome she wanted to see.
Everyone was gripped by astonishment, but Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to explain.
What if Wuyouping had a boundary?
This was a matter of survival; who cared about common sense anymore?
With this boundary in place, let's see how Qiao Yi plans to get out!
If he can't get out, I'll find an opportunity to head over and have a nice private chat with him where no one can disturb us.
Just as Li Banfeng smiled at the boundary, A'yu's voice sounded by his ear: "Old Seven, this boundary won't last long."
"Won't last? Didn't the Heavenly Maiden make the boundary? Doesn't it last forever once it's created?"
"Wuyouping is special. Creating this boundary took a huge toll on the Heavenly Maiden. With good luck it can hold for five days; with bad luck, it might be gone in three. You need to come up with a plan as soon as possible."
Standing beside the boundary, Li Banfeng stared blankly.
Come up with a plan?
What plan could he possibly come up with?
I'd better go bring my wife back first.
Chapter 826